Missing Grandpa Slagell

Christmas time was always full of fun times in my family. Grandpa Slagell would always spend Christmas morning with us. I guess that would explain why I'm missing him so much right now. He'd really get a kick out of watching Grace!

Trey absolutely insisted that I sit down and watch "The World's Fastest Indian" with him tonight. There are so many Grandpa moments in that movie! I cried and cried when I saw him in his army green shirt and dark rimmed glasses, and then when he used shoe polish to make his tires look new, I lost it!

For those of you lucky enough to have known Earl Slagell, I hope you take the time to sit and watch this movie.

Happy 60th Birthday Nana Lana!

Trey's mom turns 60 today. We spent last night at their house celebrating her wonderful milestone. Happy Birthday Nana Lana!

Grace continues to amaze us. She's growing up so fast! Thanksgiving day she said her first words, "Hi" and "Dada." She waves when she says hi too! I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that Mama wasn't her first word. She's been saying mmmmmm. . . when she eats since she was about four months old. But, she sure loves her daddy! For his sake, I'm glad she said Dada first.

She is currently working on her two top teeth to go along with her two bottom teeth, and I think her canines aren't too far behind. She can walk (a little unsteady, but really) while holding onto one hand. We were amazed yesterday that she could stand by herself, nothing to steady her balance, and went to a kneel without falling. What great leg strength she has! She loves her puppies and adores her cat. She has a boyfriend at school. (He's a few months younger) Apparently, he enjoys pulling her hair and she in turn tackles him to the ground and then gives him a kiss. Whew! She's starting early!

Trey's back from an enjoyable weekend with my dad at the Galveston motorcycle rally. He sure loves to ride his motorcycle! I spent the weekend working on grading and final exams. What would I have done without grandparents this weekend? Grace stayed with Lana Saturday night and my mom watched her Saturday during the day so I could work. I'm relieved to have my exam written, grades averaged, exemptions signed, and the end of the semester well in sight!

Six and Seven Months Old

We dressed Grace up as a puppy for Halloween. Thanks Uncle Brannon, Aunt Mary, Max, and Ben for the cute costume! She didn't go trick-or-treating, but she had a fun party at daycare. They dressed all of the kids up in their costumes and had a parade around the school. She brought a little bit of candy home, and Daddy made sure he took care of it so she didn't rot her two teeth.

Grace LOVES being on Trey's shoulders. Yes, I know, she doesn't match. Her Daddy was trying to irritate me that day. The cheer for the Cowboys together. (Not that it's working)

Here's our little girl, not so little anymore. She's pulling herself up on anything and everything.
She'll be 34 weeks old November 7th.

This was taken the day Grace turned six months old. She continues to amaze us each week with her new "firsts." She is trying to pull herself up on absolutely everything! She's a speedy crawler, and always heads straight for the dog's water dish. She has two teeth now and is working on two more. She's discovered her voice and she and I converse on the thirty-minute drive to school every day.

A little something for Angie

For those of you who don't know, my sister lost her baby last week. She and Scott went in for their first ultrasound and heard the heartbeat. The doctors discovered that the baby was not where it was supposed to be; it was attached to the outside of her fallopian tube. She got out of the hospital today and is resting at home with Noah and Scott. My mom is there for the week to help take care of her. She could use continued prayers as she and Scott are going through a tough time emotionally and she is in quite a bit of pain.

Angie, I hope this little video clip makes you smile!

Go Cowboys!

Trey had to pick Grace up at daycare a couple of weeks ago because she had a stomach bug and he found a Colts bib my sister sent as a joke in our bib rotation. He was not pleased. He emailed this picture to me while I was at work. He's so creative!

She's a Dallas Cowboys fan loud and proud!

It's been quite a while since my last post. I've been really busy with school and Trey's been on the road every other week. Grace is growing like crazy! She now has her two bottom teeth. They graced us with their presence last weekend. It was so hard seeing her in so much pain. Her entire body would literally shake in pain. Other than a few outbursts of crying and screaming, she took it like a trooper. She is such a great baby!

She's crawling all over the place now, still not using her knees, but dang, she's fast! She'll follow me from room to room. We started baby-proofing the house this weekend. I'm sure it won't be too long before she's up and walking. She's already trying to pull herself up on things. At her six month check-up she was 26 1/2 inches long and weighed 16 pounds. She was in for a cold check-up a week before that and she was 25 1/2 inches long. She grew an inch in a week!

Trey and I took Grace to the Austin City Limits Festival this year and she had a ball. She is such a little flirt! She loved batting her eyelashes at the guy behind us! Here are a few pictures of Grace at the festival.

Surprise!

Grace and I flew to Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend to surprise Angie for her 29th birthday. Boy was she surprised!

I was pretty nervous flying with Grace for the first time. I didn't want her to be one of those dreaded children who scream the entire flight. I flew to Indianapolis on the 6AM flight, so Grace slept on and off most of the way there. When she was awake, she spent her time batting her eyelashes and flirting with the other passengers. My mom flew back with us on the return flight so I had her help with Grace. She slept most of that flight too. People were constantly commenting on her eyes and eyelashes. She loved all of the attention!

Noah wasn't so sure about Grace using his stroller.

Grace just wants to go for a walk already!

Noah, checking to make sure Mom is ok with Grace using his stroller.

Noah and Grace becoming friends.

Noah is finally ok with Grace. "She likes me!"

We had a great time visiting Angie, Scott, Noah, and their dogs. We all went for a walk around the neighborhood.

It's a family parade!

We went to a park nearby and took a hike, played on the playground, and had lots of laughs.

Hook 'em Horns!

Grace fell in love with their Great Dane, Mia. Mia was very protective of her.

Checking out the giant dog.

Mia had to come down to Grace's level.

OOPS! Too close!

We got home Monday afternoon. Trey, his dad, and my dad all went to Galveston for a guy's night. Trey and my dad rode their motorcycles down and Trey's dad met them down there with their luggage. Trey was very happy to see Grace when we returned. She was pretty excited to see him too!

Grace has started scooting herself across the floor. It's kind of like an army crawl. She doesn't quite have the strength in her arms yet. Her legs do most of the work. We can't believe she's mobile already! She isn't even six months old yet!

I've been teaching for two weeks now and I'm already ready for a break. A lot of my old students keep finding any excuse possible to come see me during the day. If I'm teaching, they make sure to tell my class how awesome I am and that they'd better not screw up. If I'm in the hall, I always get hugs and a quick hello as they head off to class. I'm still getting to know my new kids, but I think this will be a great year.

Five Months Old!

Grace is five months old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I'm very busy getting ready for school to start next week, so I'm just going to post a few pictures.

Loving her teething bee!

Squash anyone?

She's so cute when she's sleeping!

Sending Aunt Mary in Denver our love!

Look how much I've grown!

AHHHHH. . . Sleep!

Trey went behind my back and got my mom to watch Grace last night so we could have "date night." We saw the new Batman movie and went to a cool new bar/grill. More on that later. My mom kept Gray all night and we'll pick her up later today. Let me just say that I feel more human today than I have in weeks. It's amazing what a little sleep can do!

Grace used to be sleeping through the night. This was at about 2 months (I think). The last month or so, Grace has returned to getting up at 3 and 5, and sometimes more than that. I think she's a bottomless pit! I started feeding her solids at 3 months thinking that it would help, and it did a little, but didn't solve the problem. She now eats oatmeal for breakfast with a mix-in of fruit and cereal at night with a mix-in of vegetables. She's eating every three hours on the dot. Still, not sleeping through the night. Needless to say, after a couple months of this, I'm a walking zombie!

School starts in two weeks and I'm trying to get ready, but I feel so scatterbrained that I can't get organized. AHHH! I dropped her off at daycare yesterday so I could cut my Crucible unit from 7 weeks to 3, and that helped. She'll probably go 2 or 3 days this week so I can get my room ready and finish up some planning and paperwork.

The new Batman movie was pretty good. It was a little hard for me to follow (maybe due to lack of sleep); I felt like they were talking too fast and I couldn't understand what they were saying. It certainly was darker and more depressing than the other movies! I kept finding myself trying to analyze the joker. Then I found myself thinking, I wonder if Heath's ex watched the movie and how she felt about seeing him in this role. (Remember, I did tell you I was scatterbrained) After the movie we walked down the street to a new bar/grill called Zingers. It was great! Good service, good food! They had TV's EVERYWHERE! We watched part of the opening ceremonies, split a hamburger, had a Stella, and headed for home. It was quite a nice evening!

I know I promised some of you that I would have pictures up, but we've had a computer issue this week. Our desktop which stores all of our photos is having some power problems and keeps restarting. Trey ordered a part to fix it and once it's fixed, I'll be able to access the pictures from my laptop. Right now all I get is an error message. Ugh! Technology is great, but only if it works properly! I'll try to get the pictures up soon!

Yummy Cookies!

I've been starting to worry about my milk supply once I go back to work. I have been doing some research and came across this recipe for cookies. I thought I'd share it. Heather, I KNOW you'll love these! Robin, I'd be surprised if you even bake them, there might not be anything left in the bowl to bake once you taste test them! LOL!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies by Noel Trujillo
This recipe is great for mothers who are breastfeeding. It helps to keep your milk supply up or increase your milk supply. Use more brewers yeast and oatmeal if you are wanting to increase your milk supply. You can use more chocolate chips if you like or any kind of chips.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips
2-4 tablespoons brewer's yeast

Directions:
1Preheat oven to 350°.
2Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
3Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.
4Add eggs and mix well.
5Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
6Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt.
7Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
8Stir in oats and chips.
9Scoop onto baking sheet.
10Bake for 12 minutes.
11Let set for a couple minutes then remove from tray.

I was tagged!

1. Where is your cell phone?
Right next to me. I'm waiting on a call about a glider/rocker I found on Craigslist.
2. Your significant other?
Upstairs working
3. Your hair?
Still wet, but in a braid.
4. Your mother?
One of my best friends!
5. Your father?
One of a kind!
6. Your favorite thing?
Grace singing herself to sleep.
7. Your dream last night?
I don't think I had any that I can remember.
8. Your favorite drink?
Diet Coke
9. Your dream/goal?
To be out of this house by this time next year!
10. The room you’re in?
Dining room
11. Your hobby?
Uh, I don't really have one.
12. Your fear?
Rats, lightning, heights.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
Teaching at LHS and living in a home with our two kids. 14. What you’re not? A patient driver.
15. Muffins?
Banana Nut.
16. One of your wish list items?
New carpet.
17. Where you grew up?
Indiana
18. The last thing you did?
Put Grace down for a nap.
19. What are you wearing?
Jeans and a tank top.
20. Favorite gadget?
Blackberry
21. Your pets?
1 cat, Shadow, and 2 dogs, Abby and Ranger.
22. Your computer?
Toshiba Laptop
23. Your mood?
Bored
24. Missing someone?
Yes, my sister!
25. Your car?
In the garage and filthy!
26. Something you’re not wearing?
Shoes
27. Favorite store?
Target
28. Like someone?
Yes
29. Your favorite color?
Red
30. When was the last time you laughed?
Today at lunch with Trey.
31. Last time you cried?
Friday night.

Fourth of July Fun!

Here we are in the back of Trey's truck. Well, most of us are back there! Trey and I are riding up front. We drove through the Briarcliff subdivision in the 4th of July Parade. Grace stood the entire time and crashed just as the parade was coming to an end. What a trooper!

Here we all are at the picnic. As you can see, Grace has had her fun for the day and is ready for her afternoon nap. Don't we look cool in our matching shirts?

Here's Max, the big cousin, holding Grace for the very first time. He did a GREAT job holding her!

Max and Ben loved Grace. Here they are with Gray after she woke up from her nap at Dave and Lana's.

Max was wanting to make sure he had Grace's undivided attention.

Max, Grace, and Nana Lana were ready to head up to the pool for a swim.

Max suprised his Aunt Becky by standing tall in three feet of water. Are you coming in too baby Grace?

It's ok darlin', Daddy's got ya!

Grace went in the pool for the first time. She absolutely loved it! Trey said she was even kicking her feet a little! As my nephew would say, "Cool dude!"

Grace is getting tired of swimming.

So is Ben! He found a tug boat (his daddy, Brannon) to haul him in.

New Layout

I changed the layout for all of you daisy haters out there! :)

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

My dad and Grace after his surgery

She'll sleep anywhere!

Telling Grandma all about it

Lovin' the new bouncearoo!

Wow! It lights up and makes noises too!

Pretty blue eyes!

You DO know I hate getting my picture taken, right?

Sitting pretty

Where do babies come from?

Yea! Grandma's home from Indiana!

Lacing my fingers is my new trick!