Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM OUR LITTLE PUMPKINS!

 

 

Halloween 2013: Pumpkin Carving

On Saturday October 26th after nap time our friends came over and we had a pumpkin carving party.

We had 5 pumpkins to carve and our friends had 2.

The girls looked through a book we had and picked what they wanted carved into there pumpkin.

Daddy cut the top and asked the girls if they wanted to help take out the seeds, both girls yelled "ewww NO, that's gross!"  LOL  Such girly girls.

 

The girls had a good time watching daddy carve the pumpkins and Kaylee helped daddy a little bit.

The guys finally finished all the pumpkins around 8pm

 

 

The final product
Left to right: Kaylee's spider | Keira's kitty cat | Daddy's eating Kendall's | Mommy's tiki guy



Happy 1st Birthday Kendall

Dear Kendall,

As I sit down to relive your first year of life, I'm almost certain tears will be shed.  I cant begin to put into words the love that I have for you.  You have been such a blessing and I couldn't imagine  you being in our family, you just fit right in.  I never knew my heart could love this much.

I remember the day so well when I found out I was pregnant with you.  I was filled with so many emotions, the biggest one I kept asking myself was "will I be able to handle having 3 kids?"  The answer is YES.  "Will we be able to afford 3 kids and that I'll continue to be able to stay home?"  The answer is YES.  My pregnancy was pretty easy.  Now that I think back I had the worst morning / afternoon / night time sickness with you.  Going in for our big ultrasound, I was excited and nervous.  Just hoping that everything would be ok & most importantly that you were healthy.  You checked out perfect & we found out we would be adding another beautiful little girl to our family.  We had a few false alarms and visits to the hospital to be monitored, but on that very early morning of October 27th at 1:30am the contractions started and were consistent.  At 4am I woke up your dad and said it was time!  Getting into the car that chilly morning I realized this would be the last time I would feel a baby move inside me, the last time I would deliver a baby and the last time I would get to feel the joy & happiness that comes with welcoming a new child into the world.  Welcoming you into our family was the best day of my life, all my deliveries were.  Feeling unconditional love for one little person is life changing.  Even though I'd done it 2 other times it was just as special every time.

Bringing you home I worried if your sisters would accept  you, how they would react and if they would love you as much as we did.  They've surpassed my expectations and took there roles as big sisters very seriously.  You are lucky to have them.  I hope the bond you 3 share only continues to grow deeper.  I hope no petty arguments or little things ever tear your relationship with each other apart!

This year, though it flew by in literally the blink of an eye, has been so much fun with you.  You have been such a joy to our family.  Since day one you have been so calm and so go with the flow.  You are the happiest little girl I've ever met.  Your smile brightens my day.  Your slobbery wet kisses & hugs are my absolute favorite.  Watching you achieve each milestone has been so much fun.  I've loved watching your little personality come to life and also witness your little fiery side as well.  You have the charm and cuteness to put a smile on any ones face.  I am beyond thankful everyday that I get to be your mommy.   Waiting 10 months for you to finally say "mama" was the best, I thought you were never going to say it, but when you did my mommy heart exploded with love.

You have been the greatest joy and blessing to our family.  We love you to the moon and back.
Happy 1st Birthday sweet girl

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Kaylee & Keira
10.27.13

Erin Condren giveaway!

Yes you read that right!

I am hosting a giveaway for the beloved Erin Condren products.

Erin was nice enough to offer one of you lucky readers a $25 gift card!
With the holiday right around the corner I'm sure you can find that special gift for someone or use it on yourself to buy something you've had your eye on.

Erin's got so many great products to choose from...

Stationary...
Greeting Cards...
The Life Planner...
Notepads...
Canvas...
Calanders...
Birthday Invites...
And so much more!

I love all her products and wish I could get everything!  I just ordered a notebook and added a calendar to it.  I cant wait to get it and start getting organized.  I am a big list person and I write everything down, so this notebook with a calendar is going to be perfect for me.

To enter just follow the directions on the rafflecopter

This giveaway will run for 2 weeks and then a winner will be picked

October 28th - November 11th
GOOD LUCK!


 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 on Friday

1.  I'm still in disbelief that my little bitty once squishy baby will be ONE on Sunday.  This has been by far the fastest year ever.  This weekend we will celebrate her first year of life & tears may be shed from me (I've already shed a few tears this week thinking about it!).  Stay tuned next week for the party post!  Until then here is an adorable picture to hold you over!

2.  Today is going to be one busy day....its ENGAGEMENT PICTURE DAY!  I am so excited.  I'm going to get my hair and make up done.  We are dropping the girls off at grandmas, going to get our pictures done and then going out for one last date night with friends before Jason leaves on Tuesday.  We are going to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and I cant wait to enjoy dinner and cheesecake with no kids!  Here is my hair and make up inspiration for engagement pics...if you follow me on instagram (@joeyleeelizabeth) you might see a sneak peek of my hair and makeup.  I cant wait to get our pics back.

3. Thank you all for all the congrats and well wishes for our family and the new adventure we are about to embark on.  Moving to Texas will be a big change but we are excited about it.  I cant wait to see if Kendall gets a little Texas accent, I mean how cute would that be!?!  Although the girls don't quite get the concept that we're moving and grandma wont be right around the corner anymore they are still excited about it.  I'm excited and nervous.


4. On Wednesday a girlfriend and I had mommy alone time together.  We went and got our nails done.  It was nice to be able to get out of the house for an hour and have some me time, since I don't get it very often.  It was nice to talk to someone other than a little kid.


5. Come back Monday for an exciting GIVEAWAY!  I teamed up with Erin Condren for a fun little giveaway, one lucky reader will win a $25 gift card to her site!  Just in time for some holiday shopping! 
 

Big changes are upon us...

There are big changes on the horizon for our family.
Big changes for any family can be scary and I am a little nervous about this big change.
You may remember back in April when I posted about Jason going to Texas for training.
Jason was gone for 5 weeks and then came back home and we resumed our life in CA.
With the Texas thing, the timing just wasn't really right for our family. 
So Jason came back and our family was back together.
We went back to our normal routine but working in Texas was always in the back of Jason's mind.
6 months passed and Jason received a phone call that he wasn't expecting to get at all.
He got the call saying that a Directional Drilling job he really wanted, had an opening and if he wanted the job it was his!

This was music to his ears.  This was what he wanted when he went to Texas the first time.  He is beyond happy, nervous and excited for this opportunity.  The best part is he'll be doing something that he really likes.

On Tuesday October 8th, Jason accepted the job and he will be starting his new job November 4th.  The girls and I will be staying back in CA.  He'll get his first big break the beginning of December, so in that time we will celebrate our family Christmas early and just spend time together.  We will also get family pictures done.  This change isn't going to be easy.  The girls are getting bigger and they don't like when daddy isn't around.  In the drilling industry they don't have a set schedule, he could be gone for 10 days before he gets 2 - 3 days off, which in those 2 - 3 days he may or may not come home.  So there could be times we don't see him for a whole month or more. 

I just hope I'm able to keep things under control here.  Being a "single" parent isn't easy and doing it alone again scares the crap out of me.  I hate not having back up in the discipline department and then I feel like I'm the bad guy all the time and daddy's awesome!  I just hope I'm able to keep my cool and not to stress out to much while he's gone.

 

So this time I can for sure say....

WE ARE MOVING TO TEXAS

 

 

Again I am nervous about moving out of state and not knowing anyone there.  Our good friends from High School live in Texas but they will be 3 hours away.  So I will be going to Texas friendless.  I will be meeting some new girls with kids but meeting new people is a little nerve racking!  I am a shy person and it takes me a little bit to warm up to people.  I am excited for the move and this new opportunity for our family.  So again fellow Texans I will be in need of some friends.  We are going to be living in Bandera, TX near Jason's friend.  We chose to live there so that when our husbands are gone us girls will be close by.

The week of the 21st he'll finish is little bit of work here and there...on the 25th we'll be taking our engagement pictures and having one last date night with friends, the 26th we'll be carving pumpkins with friends and just getting things together for the birthday party, we'll attend my aunts Halloween party that night and then the 27th we'll be celebrating our baby girl.  We are having her party on her actual birthday and on the 28th & 29th we'll just be spending time as a family before daddy has to leave. 

Having a time line to kinda go off of for when daddy will be home is nice to know.  I plan to make a cute countdown for the girls.  The question of "when will the girls and I move there"?  we will move sometime between February and May, it kinda just depends on Jason's schedule and when he'll have a longer break. 

So here's to a crazy new adventure for our family!

Kendall & Keira's birthday invite

I went back and forth with the idea of having a joint party for the girls.
I couldn't decide if I wanted Kendall to enjoy her 1st birthday all to herself or not.
I figured she wouldn't remember it.  With the girls birthdays a month apart we are doing joined parties from here on out.  I'm sure as the girls get older we will not always do a joint birthday.

I was planning to have an elephant themed party with the colors pink & grey.
Well Jason's mom emailed me this really cool idea, since Kendall's birthday is 4 days before Halloween, why don't we have a Halloween party.  Our house is located at the end of a dead end street so it would be perfect.  We have these huge full oak trees in the front that we can hang bats and things from.  So I am now going in a totally different direction and I'm loving it.

For the party the girls are going to dress up in there costumes and all the cousins and kids that are invited can dress up too.  We will play some games and have a trick or treating station (as a thank you).  I'm excited. 

So for the girls invite I dressed the girls in there costumes and went and took some pictures.
Both Keira and Kendall weren't really feeling good, but I managed to get some really cute pictures.
I love the way they turned out!

 

 

Jess Wedding: How I asked my bridal party

 As soon as I got engaged I started thinking about a totally cute way to ask my bridal party to be a part of the wedding. I searched pinterest and etsy for ideas. 

 

After searching and searching and trying to make my own cute cards, which all 4 didn't turn out how I imagined them.  I gave up.  So I went back to searching on etsy, I came across April Heather Art and I loved her hand painted cards.  I purchased the PDF file so that I could print them out at home.  I printed out the cards according to the hair color of my girls.  Inside each card, there was a poem I loved and a special note for each of the girls.  I have 6 girls in my bridal party and Jason has 6 guys.  The people in our wedding party are our closest friends and family members.

 

Matron of Honor: STEPHANIE

I have been friends with Stephanie since our freshman year in high school.   We lived around the corner from each other when we both lived in Las Vegas.  And we'll be reunited again when we move to Texas (3 hours away but still in the same state).   She's been a great friend!

 

Bridesmaid: CEIN

I have been friends with Cein since our freshman year in high school too.  Cein has been a great friend. Even though she lives 45 minutes away and we don't see each other as often as we would like, when we get back together it was like we were never apart.

 

Bridesmaid: JEN

I've only known Jen for about 2 years but she is amazing.

She's sweet. funny and a great friend

 

Bridesmaid: NICOLE

I've know Nicole since we were in kindergarten and its crazy that we have kept in touch and have remained friends for all these years.  She is amazing.  We don't see each other as often as we would like but I couldn't imagine getting married and not having one of my oldest friends celebrating with me!

 

Bridesmaid: ALYSSA

Alyssa is my SIL and I was in her wedding.  I love that I can finally say I have a sister.  I was blessed with 3 brothers so its nice to have a sister.  She is the sweetest.

 

Bridesmaid: BRITTNEY

Brittney is my younger cousin and I love her to death. She is also like my little sister, we grew up together and she is the sweetest too.

The girls fall fashion inspiration

Fall is upon us here in CA and the weather is starting to cool down, finally.

In the mornings the air is crisp and it warms up a little bit throughout the day.

I love fall and all the warm clothes that come with it...long sleeves, boots, chunky sweaters & scarfs.

 

The girls are starting to have a sense of what they like and what they don't like.

I love that I am still able to chose there clothes without a huge fight.

Kaylee is starting to express whether she likes a piece of clothing or not.

 

This fall and in general Kaylee is very into skinny jeans, she'll still wear leggings but doesn't like them very much.  She loves to wear dresses and skirts.  I'm very much into stripes right now.  Kaylee is into flats and boots and she loves wearing scarves. I went searching for some cute pieces for each of the girls and Old Navy has some really cute clothes right now.
 

 

 

 

With Keira, she could care less what she wears.  I'm still able to pick her clothes each day and she doesn't put up a fight what so ever.  Again I'm into stripes and I love the stripes with the elbow pads.  I'm loving skinny jeans on my girls and I love a good colored skinny jean. 

 

 

 

For Kendall I want something she'll be able to move around in, something for easy mobility.  She'll be walking soon, so she needs clothes that wont hold her back from that.  Again skinny jeans are in the mix and I love these floral skinnies.  More stripes and polka dots.  At almost a year old Kendall has yet to wear jeans, she's only worn leggings or jeggings. 

 

 

 



Pumpkin Patch 2013

I love Halloween and was bummed last year that we didn't get to visit the pumpkin patch, so this year I knew we had to go.  Daddy likes to visit the pumpkin patch during the week cause it's less busy.  It turned out that daddy had Friday off and our friends weren't working so they came with us.

The girls were so excited when we told them we were going to the pumpkin patch.  The weather was perfect and we all had a great time.  We also found some really good pumpkins.

The girls got to go on pony ride.  This is the first time they have both ever been on a horse.  The girls had an awesome time.  They were saying "this is so fun" every time they went around and saw me.  I love the smile on there faces, they were so happy!

First pony ride!

Kendall fell asleep before we got the pumpkin patch, luckily we had the wagon.  She rode around in the wagon for the first half of the time we were there.



After the pony ride, we decided to go pick out our pumpkins.  The girls were so funny and were running up and down pointing to all the pumpkins they wanted to pick out.  The girls and daddy picked out some good pumpkins.

Baby Madilyn's first time to the pumpkin patch

After we picked our pumpkins the girls wanted to go and play.  So we got some tickets for the jumping pillow.  The girls had a good time.  Once they jumped for the 5 minutes we decided to go pay for our pumpkins and say good bye to the pumpkin patch. 

HOT DADS! (Kendall is not impressed!)

Proud new parents (baby Madilyn is 2 weeks old)