Eventful Month of February

Here are some of our highlights from the month of February.  Lots of pictures...not in a great order...I hate rearranging them in this blog.  I feel like it takes too long.

Makiyah getting ready to come home from the hospital.

Tylie being a great big sister!

Newborn sweetheart.

Snuggled in a blanket mommy's student made for her.

Tylie asleep under the kitchen table.

The girls playing with their new doll.

Just love those smiles!

Gifts from my dear friend, Kristy....SO CUTE!

Final pregnant pic.

Such a sweet, wonderful gift from a group of my students. I almost cried when they presented it to me on my last day of work before Makiyah was born.  Love my job!

Brand new, and hanging with mom and dad.

Dad getting his snuggles in.

Mom getting her snuggles in.

Big sisters visiting the hospital to see their sister for the first time.

First family picture.

Haha!  Love that tongue and that gut!

Mom....seriously!?

Heading home.

Kaelisse sneaking into a picture.

Crazy hair and chubby cheeks.

Tylie helping me frost cookies.

The girls playing with their tub crayons.  I love how long they will keep themselves entertained in the tub.  It's a nice break for me!

I love watching little ones sleep.

Loving (albeit, one very unhappy) sisters.

Hair, hair, hair!

More of the newborn.

Love this girl, too!

Getting a nap in...not usual for her.

Rewind to January

After we came home from our holidays in Louisiana, Brent and I both had another week or two off that we were able to spend together as a family.  It was absolutely wonderful just being together a little more than usual.  Here are some of my favorite pictures/memories of January:

We went to a park will millions of birds and spent a lot of time feeding them, mostly because the girls really enjoyed it.

The park had a very tall, exciting play ground for the girls to burn some energy on.

There was also a walking path with a cool umbrella-like bush/tree thing that we climbed under.

 Other than that, we mostly just hung out.  The girls love to read books, so they do a lot of it.

 And we don't watch a whole lot of TV or movies, but we do enjoy the occasional cartoon. 

Grandma & G-Daddy-O in Texas

My parents were able to come for a visit in March, and it was so wonderful having them here!  We went to UTA baseball games, played board games, read books, celebrated Kae's birthday, shopped, visited for hours, blessed Makiyah, cuddled a sick toddler.....so much to do in so little time!  Mostly, though, me and my kids simply enjoyed having Grandma and G-Daddy-O here with us!  Thanks for coming!

My girls couldn't get enough of their grandparents, a rocking chair, and books.

UTA's baseball team had home games, so we caught as many as we could.

 We blessed baby Makiyah.  We were at church for about 15 minutes total....walked in, listened to opening announcements, blessed the baby, and left.  Why??  Because my 2-year-old woke up that morning with the stomach bug.  We were lucky to get in as much of church as we did...she spend the rest of the day (and many days to come) in complete misery.  

The blessing was wonderful, and it meant a lot to have my parents here for the occasion.  Makiyah was a perfect participant.  We gave her a binkie and she sucked the life out of it the whole time.  Dad said she reminded him of the baby on Simpsons...lol.

 The baby of the hour, getting all her time in with my parents.

Celebrating Kae's birthday in the 30 total minutes she felt good that day.

We had many plans for the week mom and dad were here.  Most of that fell apart, however, when Kae woke up one morning feeling like this:

So, instead, we spent much of our time like this:

Mom and dad still got our of the house a little to see Cowboy Stadium, 

 Go to the UTA baseball game that was held at Ranger Ballpark, 

 and go shopping to spoil us rotten.  

 And, of course, we all spent a lot of time behind cameras to capture all the wonderful memories.

My heart was so full during their visit, and continues to be.  I'm so very grateful for wonderful parents and an incredible family.  I truly have been so blessed in my life to be surrounded by such incredible people.  Thanks for coming to visit, Mom and Dad.  We love you and wish we were all closer.  Weeks like this give us such great memories!

One Month Old

Makiyah is already over 1 month old.  It's always incredible how fast the time goes by, and how much these little ones learn, grow, and change.  Makiyah is a joyful addition to our little family.  She is mellow and content most of the time.  She loves to sleep, often choosing that over eating.  She seems to be fairly expressive already.  She is my first child to really like using a binkie.  After a few weeks of little/no weight gain, she finally surpassed her birth weight at her 4-week checkup.  Love you little one!

 This expression is a common one, and I think it's very adorable!

 Love her beautiful blue (for now) eyes.

We're all crazy about her HAIR!  I can't believe how long and thick it is, and how much it sticks straight up.  I thought I would have a little fun with it for these pictures...who knows how long she'll get to keep it!

Entertainer of the Year

Our little Kaelisse is an entertainer at heart.  She thrives on attention, and demands it with every gesture and noise.  I have always been especially enthralled with her many facial expressions, and many people have commented about them as well.  These are from a series of pictures I took within about 5 minutes, and give you just a small taste of what she is capable of:

Haha!  Love this girl!