Changes...

There are a lot of changes coming about in the Eckel house over the next several months.  I'll keep this post about the most bittersweet one.  In exactly one month, my sweet Callie Jae will be turning ONE!  It really can't be possible that the time of having a sweet baby in our home is about to come to a close.  I am having very mixed emotions about leaving the baby phase of life.  As much as I look forward to the day that the clock and nap schedules don't dictate our lives, I absolutely love having my kiddos with me for the majority of the days.  I am not quite ready yet for the eight hour days that my kids will be in school under the influence of so many others.  Luckily, God chose to send Rylan to us 25 days into September so I can hold on tight to him one more year.  Life.  I am sure in 15 years my posts will look and sound exactly the same.   I'll be talking about how fast time goes, how I can't believe the stages that my children are in...  For now, we will continue to live for the moment and enjoy the small joys of each and every day.

Just another Saturday

Today is a beautiful day here in Katy.  It is about 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  We began the day with a 9:30 birthday party at Chuck E Cheese for a little boy that is in Rylan's class.  It's a lot of fun to see "the boys" interact.  Many of them have been together since last year, so they are very comfortable with each other and are definitely good friends.  I almost feel bad for their preschool teachers, as I am sure that they probably can be a handful at times!

Yesterday I had MOPS, and at our next meeting we are going to have "A Taste of Moppets."  Each table is going to be bringing a snack, main course, and dessert to share with the rest of the group.  The dishes are supposed to be kid friendly, hence the "Moppets."  I was called out of the meeting a few minutes early because Callie Jae was losing it in the nursery (she won't nap there so she gets really tired).  Anyways, I remembered about the tasting this morning and emailed a friend from my table.  She said that only dessert had been signed up for and to let her know which one I wanted to cook and she'd do the other.  So, long story short, I asked Ry on the way home from the party today what was his favorite main dish that mommy cooks.  "Mac and cheese."  Well honey, that's out of box; Mommy doesn't cook that.  "Soup."  Can.  "Eggs."  Um, no. Apparently I cook nothing that is kid friendly?

Callie Jae has been full of new tricks this past week.  She can blow, give five, claps her hands pretty well, pulls up (and gets down) very comfortably, and continues to eat like a horse.  Still not sure where she puts it all but she tries to put every speck of something in her mouth.  After nursing today, she even tried to get the freckle off of my cheek and put it into her mouth.  That was pretty cute and pretty funny.  I'm thinking about what I am going to be doing for her birthday, which is in about 6 weeks.  Not sure how that can be possible, but it is!  I have recently dropped down to three times a day for nursing.  The fourth time that was dropped is now replaced with juice and a snack.  Yesterday, I caught a glimpse of the new freedom that awaits me 6 weeks from now.  After nap, I threw them in the car to run few errands and gave her a sippy and snack cup for the road.  It was so nice, and easy!  How easily one forgets all of that!  After our errands, we stopped at Chik-fil-A and she very easily put away her first kids meal of grilled chicken nuggets and an applesauce pouch!  LOVE that place!

My heart is full!

We must be doing something right around here.  After dinner this evening, and completely out of the blue, Rylan said, "Hey Mom, say this Bible verse with me.  He will be born in Bethlehem.  I love that verse Mom."  The cutest part of the whole thing was that he paused after certain words so I could repeat after him.  Prayers being answered right in front of my very own eyes is an amazing feeling! 

ughh...

There are several reasons that I do not like Jason being out of town.  First of all, we miss him terribly.  The days seems REALLY long and momma gets super tired.  I'm tired though because I end up being a night owl, which does not work cause I still have to wake up in the morning!  It's a vicious cycle but I do end up getting a lot checked off of my list.  I have been working my tail off on our Eckel family album for 2011 and I am very happy that I have completed it.   Next on the list is to get Callie Jae's first year close to completion.  Then she will have 2 of the 4 that one day I am sure she will expect (since Rylan has 4).  Hers may not have as many posts, but I am sure she will love them just the same.  Her baby book is better anyways!  Ha!  Well, I am looking forward to copying and pasting this post as the first post in the 2012 book.  Maybe if I keep up with it, then I won't have to work on it for 3 days straight next January ;).  I'm also looking forward to the year to come...I have a feeling it will bring some interesting things.  Night night.

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Not sure why she has toys...all she plays with are Rylan's cars!

Happy New Year!

Looking back at our 2011, I guess I have mixed feelings.  It was an amazing year because of our sweet Callie Jae being born.  That was definitely our biggest blessing and most exciting event.  However, it was not so great with all of Jason's foot problems.  We are hoping that is all behind us at this point, but we will pray and keep our fingers and toes crossed :).

We ended the year with a great holiday season and a fun visit from Missi and Pop for Christmas.  It was fun to begin some of our own traditions and to have them be a part of them.  The kids were both spoiled rotten as always, but it seemed to go pretty smoothly with some strategic planning of present opening.  The boys were able to accomplish some major attic projects and the girls and Ry enjoyed baking cookies as well. 

The very end of 2011 was super fun as we took an improptu trip to Fort Worth.  I saw a Texas AAA book sitting on the foyer table on Wednesday night.  As I was asking Jason what is was, he said it was a book for weekend getaways, "like what we should be taking."  So I said, well, let's go!  We have nothing going on for the next few days.  Where do you want to go?  Five minutes later, he was looking up Fort Worth and Dallas,  I was texting some friends and posting on Facebook, and an hour later we had our hotel booked!  We did a couple loads of laundry, left the house as is, and hopped in the car on Thursday after lunch.  It was fantastic, much needed, and much deserved family of four time!  I feel so blessed and lucky to even have the opportunity to be able to do something like that!  We enjoyed downtown Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Stockyards, and the Gaylord Texan Resort.

Enjoy all the pictures taken with my new fancy camera and new lens!!!!!