Rylan Picasso

Go Callie Jae!

After school today, all the big kids were running around by the office at St. Peter's.  It was delightful and loud, organized chaos as all of us mommies laughed and stood around chatting.  I put Callie Jae down on her feet and let go and she stood there for what seemed to be at least 30 seconds, although realistically it probably was more like 10 seconds.  She was so proud of herself too!  It was pretty stinkin' cute!

Coffee!

Ahhh...silence.  Do you hear that?  Neither do I!!  All THREE of my babies are sleeping peacefully (the big one is "working" from home today).  I would like to as well, but I also enjoy the peace and quiet of a rainy afternoon, and I am trying to make myself stay awake.  Plus, starting on Monday, I am going to be participating in a MWF 5-6 a.m. boot camp class on top of trying to continuing my TTh 5-6 a.m. morning runs.  It really seems to be the only time that I can get in a good workout.  Right now, the inconsistency of waking up one morning at 4:45 and the next at 7:30 is killing me.  I go through waves of exhaustion because I have a hard time getting to sleep on some nights and then don't sleep well on top of it.  So, I am looking forward to seeing if consistency will allow my body to get into some sort of good sleeping pattern which will hopefully take away the need for a BIG 3 p.m. cup of COFFEE!

"My God is so BIG..."

Rylan's first choir performance was at the traditional service at church today.  We have been practicing at home the past few days and he has been really cute.  We lined up "his friends" on the couch yesterday and he performed for them and Callie Jae and I.  It was really sweet to see him so excited.

"...so STRONG and so MIGHTY..."

 

"...there's nothing my God cannot do."

 I think he was a little distracted looking for us but he was not nervous at all!  Go Rylan!  Daddy and I are very proud of you.  

It was such a nice morning all going to church together.  Jason and I were able to go to the element, our contemporary service first, while Ry was in Sunday school (Callie Jae in the nursery) and then we headed over to the traditional service immediately following to watch the big performance.  My heart was definitely overflowing this morning!  What a great way to end/begin another week!

...changes continued

Well, as most of you know by now, thanks to a FB post by my husband, our house is on the market.  It really was not something that I wanted to advertise (really, no one from FB is going to buy it), as I have been a little more stressed about everything that involves moving.  I really wasn't ready to answer more questions from anyone.  Yesterday, I found myself in a very foul mood.  There was not one particular reason, but I have no doubt that it comes from how OCD I am about keeping things clean and organized.  Typically I can let go of that a little bit because I have to, but with my house on the  market, it has kind of consumed me.  Anyways, with that being said, it always feels good to know that He is always right there to bring me back to what is important.  Last night I had my bible study, and it just felt good and right to be there, talking about Him, with women that I respect immensely.  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God; And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Phillipians 4:6-7.  He's got this.  I need not to worry because everything will happen in His perfect timing.  There are some things that are just out of our control.  Actually as much as we hate to admit it, most things are.  Please pray for our family as we continue on our year of changes and choices.  There are many exciting and beautiful times in our future and it will all work out according to His plan.

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

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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!!!!!

Christmas is in full swing!

This has been a fabulous month so far!  I am really enjoying being able to be home for the holidays this year without the pressure of traveling.  Our entire family, in fact, has really gotten into the spirit.  We have lights on the front of the house AND the back, every single Christmas decoration and ornament is out, the guest room even has Christmas sheets, a throw, and pillows!  Rylan is thoroughly enjoying Nick, our Elf on the Shelf, his countdown to Christmas calendar with daily activities, and three other Advent calendars.  Now, I may not be on top of my game as far as timing on getting things together, but I took a new approach this year...one day at a time.  It seems to be working wonderfully and I am enjoying the season more than ever.  Of course it helps to have a smiling 9 month old that fills your heart with love every single day; thank goodness, because the 4 year old acts like he's 10 lately!  ;)

Rylan has been really enjoying school this year.  He asks every day, "do I have school tomorrow?"  Ms. Debbie told me yesterday how proud she was of him.  Apparently they had a substitute Motor Skills teacher and she thought his name was Ryan.  I guess he politely told her that his name was not Ryan, R-Y-A-N, that it was Rylan with an L in the middle.  He says his name pretty darn cute because he has just recently picked up the middle L sound.  Debbie was very happy!  He continues to work hard on practicing writing his name and even signed about 30 of our Christmas cards!

Life is sweet.  Sometimes I wish I could just bottle it up and keep it like this forever.  I LOVE this phase of innocence, flexibility, fun, and play.  I am so glad that I am able to keep Ry this way for another 1.5 before the craziness and pressure of school begins.  I always thought that it would stink not being able to send him to Kinder next year because of his late birthday, but I have really embraced it and look forward to my little sweet family for an extra year.

God has been so good to us and has blessed us in ways that I can't even begin to explain.  Even in times of sadness, I know that He is always there holding me up.  What an amazing blessing to have Him to always lean on. 

Love, from Texas.

XOXO

Christmas Card

As much as I don't like to give you a preview before the actual mailing, I LOVE a deal.  I got $10 off just to post the card!  Sorry to spoil the fun :)!

Stationery card

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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The Eckel Family just returned from New Jersey!  We had a fabulous visit with GG and GG Pop, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jim, and Missi and Pop!  Rylan and little Miss Callie Jae were very well behaved, slept great, and had lots of fun playing and relaxing with everyone.  The weather could not have been more beautiful.  It was in the sixties almost every day.  In fact, the day that Jason, Rylan, and I made a trip into New York City, it was a record breaking warm day...no coats needed!  It felt more like a warm spring day then the end of November!  Rylan thoroughly enjoyed the The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, especially since we were center stage and SIX rows back!  The seats were amazing, the entertainment spectacular, and the expressions and comments from Rylan priceless!  Rylan might just be a city boy one day, which would make his father very happy.  He had a blast and talked like he was Mr. Big Shot walking the streets of New York.  He loved the hot spots we hit...Lego store, FAO Schwarz, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, M&M store, and riding the train back and forth of course!  Thank you so much for the fun packed weekend GG and GG Pop!  We love you and miss you already!

11.11.11

Happy 11.11.11!  That is kind of cool :)!  Things are looking up at the Eckel house.  Today felt normal for the most part which was very pleasant and nice.  Our Friday began by going to one of my Friday Mother's groups.  It is always a nice couple of hours for me when I get to sit with other mommies and discuss our lives, knowing that there are other people out there that can truly identify with the stage that I am in.  Rylan and Callie Jae were great as always in their respective childcare rooms and we headed home for lunch immediately following the meeting.


Jason came home early afternoon, right about the time the kiddos were going down for their naps.  It really felt like a Saturday because we started working on a house project, replacing the fan in the game room with a light fixture, a little bit of housework, and then playing soccer on the XBox.  It was a very normal day but a very welcomed one after the last several months.  The kids were still sleeping after 3 hours and it was 5:15.  I decided that I should probably wake them up since their bedtime was only going to be a couple of hours later. 


Thank you God for the simple things.

NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I was so thrilled when November 1st came!  It has been a CRAZY two months.  In some respects, I don't even know where the time went, but in others, it was the longest and most draining two months that I have endured in a LONG time.  I could even go on record saying that I would rather deal with the last two months of pregnancy than have to go through another stretch like that.  I am hoping that with the turn of a new month, we will receive a new lease on life.  Hoping for some good health, happiness, and family unity.  Life is never supposed to be easy breezy, and we always learn from the experiences that we endure.  I am constantly reminded to be thankful of it ALL because there are so many wonderful things in store.

Surgery #1, Rylan's Train Party Birthday, Surgery #2, a second Missi visit, Gma and Papa's visit, Fall Festival, stomach bugs, Callie Jae turning 8 months...I'm not even sure what ordered they all occurred in, but they did all happen and here we are with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner.  Thanks to all of my amazing family and friends for getting me through.  Your prayers, your thoughts, your loving hands and hearts, are something that I think about often.  I am so fortunate to have you all in my life. Whether you have been with me since my first blessed day on this earth, or if I've only known you for a short 10 months, I love each of you with all of my heart and am so lucky to be able to call you my friend or family.