Where to start!

I'm not exactly sure where to start with this post. We have had so much going on lately but I guess I will just start from the beginning.

Many of you have heard that Matt will be starting a new job on August 2nd. We could not feel more blessed and lucky to have found this job. For the last 2 years Matt has been driving from Wylie to Ft. Worth everyday for work. That is 1 hour each way. At first it is great b/c this was his first job out of college. But after 2 years of the driving we had to find something else. The thing about Matt's career field is that jobs are so hard to come by. If you do find a job chances are that it will not pay well either. In the health/wellness field you have to basically work your way up by experience. At the beginning of June Matt applied for a job at Concentra. After 4 interviews he was offered the job!! This job will have some travel involved but not much. It will definitely be a step up in his career. Also, Matt will not be driving an hour each way. His commute just got cut in half. We are super excited to start on this new journey.

My birthday was on June 28 and I am now 28. I'm so close to 30 and it scares me. I don't want to be 30 yet. I've enjoyed my 20's and I want to stay right where I am. For my birthday Matt and I went and saw Wicked. If you have not seen this play....GO NOW!! I don't care what the tickets cost it is worth every penny. Wicked was more of a birthday/anniversary gift but either way we loved it. My parents got me a gift card to my favorite decorating store Target! It didn't take me long to spend that bad boy. Then I also treated myself to a gym membership at 24 Hr Fitness. I hate paying so much for a membership but I get time away from kids so it's a nice break for me. Then Matt also surprised me with a trip to Colorado. Turns out though we aren't going to be able to go to Colorado. Matt has to stay here and train the new-hire that will be replacing him. It's ok though b/c I get car sick and they are paying out Matt's vacation time for doing the training. So we are actually making money by staying here instead.

Notice the half eaten cake. My mom made that on the 26th so of course I couldn't wait 2 days to eat it. We didn't have an 8 so it's 27 + 1. I think we had to do the same thing for Matt's birthday.

June was a very good month for us. It flew by so fast! Lately I have been on a decorating kick. But I try to do it all for cheap. I shop at Goodwill or Salvation Army. I try to find things that I can reuse and make look brand new. Also, I have been working on Levi's pirate room. We are about half way done with it. I can't wait to show the big reveal of what all I have been doing in there. I found my "inspiration room" and it is very expensive. So I have been trying to do everything for less than what the decorators paid to do the fancy room. I think I have been doing a pretty darn good job. Here is a sneak peek at what I have done!



Now here is the one from the "inspiration room" that costs $100.


My total cost was $11. Can you believe that? Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. That's only the beginning. I have other projects I am currently working on and hope to have finished soon. I can't wait to show off my before and after pictures.

I think that is all for now. I will have some cute pics of Jax and Levi hopefully a little later.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Even though today started out around 5 am, this is a day that I want to remember. According to Matt, Jax is completely in love with me. Jax will watch my every move. He gets mad if I am not in the room or if I take my eyes off of him for one second. If Matt is holding Jax he will look around until he spots me. I love this b/c before I know it Jax will be Levi's age and will be over the "I'm so in love with Mommy" stage.

This morning Jax woke up at 5. Normally, he doesn't wake up until 6:30 so I knew he was still tired. Our bedroom is on the other side of the house from the kids room so I took Jax in our room so he didn't wake up Levi. Jax wasn't really crying just a little whine every now and then. I started to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider to Jax and he calmed right down. Now, I don't have the voice like Celine Dion by any means. But for whatever reason Jax liked it. I sang this song to him from 6:00-6:25 while swaying back and forth with Jax in my arms. I have put Jax down for 2 naps since this morning and both times I sang Itsy Bitsy Spider over and over. He calmed down each time. This may be a total fluke and he may not like this silly song tomorrow or even later today but I love these moments. I am so grateful that I get to be the one to sing my baby to sleep.

Cars and Bottles

Everywhere I turn I trip over cars and bottles! When I say bottles I don't mean baby bottles. I mean an empty formula can, juice bottle, chocolate milk mix can, etc... Levi likes to play with any sort of container that is empty. Kinda strange but cute at the same time. I like to watch what he does with the bottles. Levi will put his cars in the containers and carry them outside to the sandbox or sometimes he will just carry them around the house. Yesterday he was pretending like one of the containers was a shoe. Then later he was using it as a drum. I love moments like this where Levi will use his imagination and let it go wild. The life of a 2 year old...it's great!!

Levi & Rupert = Best Friends!

If you see Levi you usually see him with his best friend Rupert. Rupert became a part of our family when Levi was about 5 months old. I don't really remember how (I've had way too many sleepless nights since then) but Matt says we let Levi choose what stuffed animal he could sleep with. Levi chose Rupert and they have been together ever since! Rupert has been with us everywhere. Seriously...EVERYWHERE!! Rupert has been to Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma, Missouri, and many places here in Texas. If we ever lose Rupert I really don't know what we would do. I have looked online for a replacement bear that looks just like him but I think Rupert was a one and only bear. Rupert is the kind of friend that you want to have though. He has been with Levi through every sickness, and there has been a lot, every tear Levi has cried, and shared every laugh. Rupert might not have a nose anymore but it doesn't matter. I'm not sure how much longer Levi will be so attached to this bear but I love watching Levi with that silly bear.


This is the first picture I have of Levi with Rupert. Levi was 5 months old. Rupert still had a nose back then.


This is in August so Levi was 8 months here.


The chewing on Rupert's nose begins. This is in December 2008 so Levi is 1.


This was on our trip to Wyoming and Montana. Levi was 15 months.


Levi sleeping with his pal. He still has to sleep with that bear today! September 2009


Levi today with Rupert. Rupert's nose is long gone!!

What have we been doing?

The time is just flying by lately. Jaxon has already been with us for 3 months. I can't believe it! Jaxon had a check up recently and he was at 13 lbs. I don't remember what his head size was but I do remember that it was in the 60th percentile. That's a big head!

My sister Melanie came for a visit on Mother's Day weekend. She took some really great pictures of Jaxon and Levi. Levi, as usual, was not cooperative when we wanted to do a family picture. I think I am just going to have to wait until Levi is 15 to get a good family picture. He just wants to run around and play and not sit still long enough for a decent shot. Here are just a few of the shots Melanie got.

I did have a good Mother's Day. Matt bought me a sewing machine. Word of advice: Always be careful what you say around your husband. The Thursday before Mother's Day I told Matt I would like to learn how to sew. I would start out making something simple like pillows or curtains. I told Matt maybe I could take a class. Friday when Matt got off of work he went and got a sewing machine for me. Thanks to my mom and believe it or not my dad, they showed me how to thread the machine. I sewed a pair of Matt's shorts the other day and I think I did a pretty good job for a beginner. Also, Matt took care of the kids and I was able to get a much needed 3 hour nap. It was glorious!

This last weekend we switched Levi over from his crib to a "big boy" bed. We were expecting the worse. Simply b/c we have had such issues with Levi sleeping. So we were prepared for a miserable weekend of no sleep. But to our surprise Levi went right to sleep and he really likes his new bed. He hasn't fought anything. Now every morning he comes into our room and wakes us up. It was cute the first time but now I'm getting annoyed. I'm not a morning person and hearing Levi ask over and over again for a sippy cup is not how I want to wake up. Oh well...at least he is sleeping. Next up....potty training!!

Matt had a job interview down in Austin. We were able to go and see my sister Melanie and visit our wonderful friends Trever and Jenna. Gosh, we miss Trever and Jenna! They are just so fun to hang with. Matt had 3 interviews with this company. We found out just yesterday that he did not get the job. Basically, it all came down to money. This company was starting up a new wellness program and it was just not in their budget to pay Matt what we were asking. But Matt was their top pick. It was nice to know that he was at the top of the list but we just couldn't move for what they wanted to pay this position. We figure it's just not the right time for us to move.

We look forward to summer and spending lots of time outside. Hopefully we may be able to get away somewhere this year.

I'm in love

I am totally in love with my 2 boys! I can't wait for Jax to be older so he can play with Levi. Thank you Melanie for the cute pictures.

Bluebonnets everywhere

This is why I love Texas!