Mitzi's Memoirs

Farewell to Blogger...

2008-11-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

OK, part of my slacking of posts is in part because I have been working on my new blog! I'm so proud of it and am saying goodbye to Blogger forever...I've been won over by my Mac! Here is the new address for those who want to update their addresses and visit us! I'm leaving you with my all-time favorite photo from Halloween...

http://web.me.com/jeffandmitzi/Site/Blog/Blog.html

Catching up...

2008-10-21T19:17:00.001-07:00

I am sooo behind!! First off, I really am sad that I didn't get an entire blog dedicated to our 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY that we celebrated exactly a week after the big birthday party!!!! However, I will say how extremely blessed I am being married to the most wonderful man in the world...the card that I found for him pretty much sums it up, "To someone who really knows the real me...and married me anyways." Not to get too sappy on you, but Jeff really does complete me...he is my perfect balance and I am so grateful that he did know the real me when we dated, and married me anyways!! We had a great night out (shout out to Grammy and Papa) at Pappas Bros. steakhouse...seriously...I think it probably made the top of my list...the creamed spinach won me over. (I have no clue why blogger is underlining everything)

Moving on... I didn't get to really blog about the big birthday party...it was a lot of fun! We had NO CLUE what the pumpkin patch was like on the weekend...we had only driven by on a weekday and it looked so nice and calm. Forget it...it was INSANE on the weekend, but still lots of fun. Here are some other pictures from the big party...

He was so funny...he kept trying to eat Miss Macie's piece of cake!

You guys all came here to celebrate just for me???!!

That's all for now, I guess...next up...state fair with the fam post!!

Happy 1st Birthday to our baby!

2008-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Angel Baby! You have brought so much joy and love into your Momma and Daddy's lives. We can't believe one year ago today, God gave you to us to watch over for Him while on this earth. We love you so much!!

Pimp my ride...

2008-10-06T08:58:00.001-07:00

Yea for our upcoming switch to the bigger, more comfy, forward-facing ride!!

Going Bonkers

2008-09-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I have been such a blogging slacker these days...don't know what it is...not much time, I guess. Last Saturday, Jeff went to the UT game in Austin with some of his buddies and I wanted to get Thatch out of the house to do something fun! A girl I met at our neighborhood park suggested we try Going Bonkers for something different to do, so on Saturday, we did. Thatch really enjoyed it...we got there at 9am right when they opened to try it out before the craziness set in with a jillion little kids. We had the place all to ourselves...it was really a treat! Here are some pics:

The Latest Trick...

2008-09-16T18:58:00.001-07:00

11 months!!!! I cannot believe my baby is almost a year old...in some ways it really makes me sad and in other ways it makes me really excited to see what lies ahead in this adventure called parenthood (now that I say that, I think I might read this someday and realize I had no clue what I was writing). Anyhow...this is the boy's latest trick...He will stand up and dance a little and then all the sudden just bend over like he is about to do a front-roll...Jeff and I help him with the front-roll on occasion. It is so funny!

So...a few things he is doing at 11 months...he will wave bye-bye (when he feels like it); he will stand on his own and will cruise like crazy through all the furniture going from piece to piece, but isn't quite trying to walk without something to hold on to; sometimes I think he will try to say 'banana' or 'nana'--the boy LOVES his food still!! He loves all vegetables (baby food and steamed ones I make), he loves fruit (rasberries, blueberries, BANANAS, grapes, you name it...he'll eat it), he likes mac and cheese which I made for the first time the other day, mashed potatoes...the list goes on...I hope he always eats this good! But his most favorite thing to eat is....drum roll.....CARPET!!?? Seriously, the child must have some sort of deficiency...he is constantly eating carpet! Jeff and I joke that we will have to replace areas in our house because he is pulling the carpet out and eating it. He knows the best places to go where carpet is easy to pull out and chow down...it is driving us NUTS! Anyways, hopefully this stage will pass soon. He calls everything 'dada' and only says 'momomomoma' when he is upset...go figure. OK, I'll stop with the crazy list for our precious boy for now.

Always a ham for the camera!

Our little gladiator

I love my boys!! I want to eat them up!

San Antone, the Beechnut Party House, and one cute little boy!

2008-09-04T07:50:00.001-07:00

Hola everyone out there in blogger land! We have had a busy couple of weeks...mostly fun, but yesterday was a big, bad ugly! I caught some kind of stomach bug...YUCK...I haven't been that sick in a long time. It is so difficult being sick and attempting to care for an 11-month old...to say the least I felt like a horrible mom! I'm a lot better and am on the road to recovery. Thatch caught a milder version of what I had...luckily, he only had fever and only felt miserable for a few hours. Here are some recent pics:

I love this picture! I got him these awesome boots (to wear to the National Finals Rodeo when we go later this year)...thanks to Mica and Abbie for convincing me to get them, I would've been so mad if I hadn't.

On, to our mini-vacation...a couple of weeks ago, the Tiptons, the Meltons, and Jeff and I went to the hill country for a little get away. We went on Thursday night, got in late to the Beechnut Party House (so named for the street it was on, it was hardly a party house with 3 couples exhausted from lives full of craziness and little ones)...we were a little worried when "Jim" didn't answer our call on arrival, finally on the 3rd call he answered and gave us the code to get in the house...whewww! Below is a picture of our crib for the weekend...
On Friday, the girls went to the outlet mall...lots of fun and tons of shopping. We were NOT very good influences on each other, quite the opposite actually. We did come to the conclusion that "outlet" malls are a not what you would think...we found no crazy deals and steals. We found stuff to buy, don't get me wrong, but nothing that we came away bragging about the great prices. We had a great time and enjoyed rare alone time with great friends. Friday night we ate at Mi Tierra, the most heavenly Mexican food ever, and topped the night off walking along the Riverwalk. On Saturday, we went through the hill country to a winery and had lunch, it was really good food...however, we all agreed that we had never enjoyed a 4hr lunch...this place was what you call RELAXED! Good thing we weren't on any kind of schedule. We drove on to Fredricksburg and walked around the cute little shops, by this time we were pretty broke, so there weren't many purchases. Sunday morning we got up and drove to Driftwood, TX (outside of Austin) to have lunch at the Salt Lick, hands down the best BBQ I have every eaten! Here are the boys getting ready to chow down! Hope you all are having a great Thursday!

Not much to say...

2008-08-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

We haven't had too much exciting going on in the Christ household lately, hence the lack of blogging. Just a couple of things...

1. I'm loving this weather!

2. I am addicted to the olympics...seriously, I am NOT a night owl, but I look at the clock and it's 11pm before I even know it!

3. We have some exciting stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks, so I will have lots to blog about...yea!

4. I know 25 people who are preggo right now!! (that could be an exaggeration, but GEEZ, don't drink the water...congrats to all my cute preggo friends, you know who you are!)

HILARIOUS! Thatch and I went for a walk in the rain the other morning, you can imagine the stares I got from people leaving to go to work...we had a blast and he loved it!

How cute is this chair? My in-laws got it for him for xmas...our car was too full for it to fit, so we just got it (sad)...if you can't tell, it says LSU tigers and his name on it...LOVE it!

Little monkey...(I have NO idea why blogger started underlining everything)

"Can I just have my milk and go to bed??"

Messy little eater :)

Swimming lessons and my funk

2008-08-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

He loves his 'nanas!

Hello to all...not much to update. I have to admit I have been in a bit of a funk lately, just at times feeling totally BLAH. I realize that I should not be this way, feeling like if one more thing goes wrong, I might just lose it...I have SO much to be thankful for and I know that. I just keep telling myself that we are blessed in so many ways, and we are...these "little things" don't matter in the big scheme of things (little things being broken A/C, a brand new unit, mind you/broken garbage disposal/broken ice machine...do you see a pattern here?). Anyways, enough of my bad mood...on to other topics...

This is a regular scene at our house...can you say baby gate?

Thatch and Sophia chilling in their strollers

Last Wednesday, my some of my family from Germany came through big D on the way to West Texas and we had a wonderful visit! It has been so long since I have seen Becki, Reinhart, and Suzanne, and a new addition, Miss Sophia...we have missed them and really enjoyed spending time with them and seeing our babies together! I only wish we could have had more time...

In other exciting news, our Wednesday night small group is reading a great book, Seeing the Unseen. It is sooo interesting...all about spiritual warfare. I have to admit, I haven't ever been taught alot about this kind of thing, it has been very eye-opening for me...I'm seeing more of how Satan attacks us and how real he and his angels are. I can't put this book down, I'm loving it.

Now, on to the little swimmer...he started swimming "lessons" yesterday. You would think that I would realize there is not much swimming you can teach an almost 10 month old, but when I saw the age for these "lessons" at our gym started at 9 months, I was a total sucker. I was so excited for him to start and yesterday at 5pm was the first session. We got there and Jeff and I are the only people in site, except for a couple of kids getting private lessons. When the instructor finished, she said "are you guys here for Splash 101?" We said we were and the "lessons" began...I got in...she threw some bath toys in at Thatch...he splashed around...we went to the deep end...she sang a couple of songs...told me I looked akward holding him in the water (excuse me?)...she "taught" him to pull himself out of the pool (what?!)...and that was it. No other kids showed up...I was a bit irritated, mostly at myself for not realizing my child isn't going to swim the backstroke before his 1st birthday, but SERIOUSLY, $100 for something I could do in my own private tub and not have to scare the public by being in a swimsuit!! Arrrrghh...anyways, we will continue the sessions twice a week for 4 weeks and see what other adventures we have. At least Thatch gets time in the water, which he loves!!

Wordless Friday

2008-07-25T07:46:00.001-07:00

Fun-filled weekend

2008-07-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my cousin Beau and his wonderful wife Joni came down for a ceremony for Joni's brother-in-law. We were lucky in that they stayed with us for 3 nights!! We had so much fun with them and their 5-month old, Grant. He is such a precious boy and they are great parents to him! Here are the boys very upset...it was way beyond naptime...too funny.

Thatch had a ball playing with Grant...here Thatch is playing a little too rough...picking on the younger guy. It is amazing, though, Grant can already crawl, sit up, and even pull-up on things...the child is AMAZING for 5 months old!

Our boys in their matching camo gear...love it!

Sweet Grant, he is such a good baby! How sad is it that we did not get ONE picture of any adults the whole weekend (at least I didn't, I think Joni got some adult pictures of her family, but we got none of the 4 of us). That is my goal, to start including Jeff and I in our picture-taking...I've noticed that we are not usually in any of the pictures we take...they are all of Thatch it is ridiculous! We miss you, Jones, Beau, and Grant...we don't get to see near enough of each other! We can't wait to visit you guys in Arkansas...and who knows maybe someday soon we will all live closer together ;)

Thatch and Uncle Don

2008-07-13T18:19:00.001-07:00

I love this photo! Our friends Janelle and Adam gave Thatcher this Gruene Hall t-shirt when we went down to visit. The other night he wore it to small group and Don commented that he had that same shirt. A couple of weeks later, I had Thatch in the shirt again and my camera and small group was at Don and Tianay's house...I told Don he was in need of a wardrobe change and waaaaalaah...too cute!

Vacation!!

2008-07-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Bob and Janice, our wonderful hosts!

Did I mention how beautiful it was there?

Can I just say that I am the bomb for being brave enough to ride this river? It was a blast!

I love my uncle Bubba!

Don't you love my retro highchair? It was cousins Janice and Sharon's when they were babies

Me and my Daddy and the fish we caught!

My mom insisted it was cool enough to wear this hat...can you tell she likes me in hats?

OK, blogger is not working with me on the pictures, so they will have to be on top...I tried to warn you of how many there were. I've been MIA lately because we've been on VACATION! Boy, did we need it. We went to visit some of my family in Colorado...it was wonderful. To close, I have to jot down a few things a want to remember about Thatcher right now...he is 9 months old in 2 days!!

-he has TWO teeth, they are so freakin cute in his big smile

-he said 'mama' on our trip...TWICE...um...when I was

no where near...of course...Mom and Dad told me about it when I returned from whatever it was I was doing (thanks). He has since said it in front of me (and no, he has no clue that I am his mama)

-he has said 'dadada' a couple of times too (again no clue who dada is)

-the child needs to wear a helmet on his little noggin...he knocks his head on anything and everything, I've stopped counting the goose eggs; I won't go into the falling off the bed story-ending up at the doctor days later with first irradiation exp

rience here...Grammy has had enough grief :)

-Thatch LOVES the water...we took him swimming at the Embassy Suites pool (luckily he doesn't go under the water yet, it was me just ask

ing for some dreaded giardia-ish disease...)

-he is trying to stand up...for the love, help us Lord...crawling is bad enough

-when I say he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, I am not exaggerating...the short list...dead wasp, beetle, rubber band, door stopper rubber cover, floss...please do not ask why all these things are on our floors

Happy hump day people!

Three cheers for Papa

2008-06-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

I have had a little bit of an emergency babysitter situation...Mrs. Stephanie had to make an emergency trip back to her home and is going to be gone for a month! I had a minor panic attack, but knew that things would somehow work out and because of my wonderful family and friends they have! I have to brag on my Dad...he offered to come and keep Thatch during this past week...such a lifesaver! Thatcher loved having his Papa here, they had lots of fun together. Dad taught him to click his tongue in a "clucking" sound, it is so funny...too cute. We got to mess around on Wednesday and enjoyed Bass Pro shop, a trip to a recommended pawn shop, and even a venture to the mall. Thank you Papa!! We missed Grammy, but she had already committed to a room makeover at my Mimi's house back home. Next week, Paige is so sweet to keep the little boy...he will have fun playing with Allie.

I guess that's it for now...I'm just trying to kill time while my defensive driving class online is rambling on...and on. I'd really rather put a fork in my eye than pay attention...it is SO painful. Have a great week everyone!

8 months old!

2008-06-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my big boy is 8 months old! When he was sick a couple of weeks ago, he weighed in at 19lbs, 4 oz! This morning as we were playing, I took a look in his mouth and I think I see a tooth starting to push it's way through! Above is the picture in the chair I always try to get...Here are some things I want to remember about Thatcher Bennett at 8 months:

-obviously, he is quite the smiler for the camera...you whip out the camera and the boy is posing! Don't let this fool you, he does have his moments, believe me...he really is a good boy though!

-he loves his Daddy...he just thinks Jeff is hilarious. He is always making strange sounds and Thatch just gets a kick out of it. My favorite is dadadadada to the theme of SportsCenter??!! Jeff is so good with him, it amazes me when I see them together...

-he loves "Bubba" aka Gunner the cat...now that he can crawl he is getting closer and closer to being able to catch him...he shrieks with excitement everytime he sees him come close

-he is a momma's boy...just take a visit to the church nursery some Sunday morning if your ears can handle it, we're working on this one...

-he is so proud that he can sit up by himself and pull himself up into standing position in his crib...soooo excited that he doesn't think he needs either nap any longer...we're working on this one too...ahhhhhhhhh!

-he is the noisiest eater you have ever heard, he makes all kinds of strange sounds as he is being fed

-Jeff and I are more in love with this little monkey everyday!

Trying to ride my elephant for 8 seconds!

Cheese for mama!

This is quite a regular view now...he is pulling up on everything, especially our ottoman. He is a pro now! Check out those hamhocks!

Do I look crabby to you?? Here's a hug...

Attempting to post a video...

2008-06-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Wasn't as hard as I thought it might be...I am technically challenged. This is mainly for the grandparents...

Long time, no post...

2008-06-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a bit crazy around our house lately, so there has not been much blog posting going on...obviously. We've been a little sickly this past week, and when I say we, I mean Thatcher...anyways...he has had a little viral croup. Not fun, but he's feeling much better now. Had a great relaxing memorail day weekend, doing nothing...it was wonderful. We went to a BBQ with friends and just enjoyed being together.

Some exciting news! We got a ring at our door today and this wonderful lady handed Jeff a gift card to Home Depot and exclaims, "Congratulations, you have the Yard of the Month for June...here is the sign to put in your yard." What??!!! OK, first a little background...the people that lived here before, bless their hearts...didn't understand that there are limits to what you should shove in your flower beds...our beds were crammed full of a bunch of...crap. We have lived with them that way 2 years...Jeff got a little promotion a while back and wanted to spend it getting our front landscaped. It looks so great now! We are still a little worried about keeping it alive, but so far, so good. Here are some pics...I wish I had ones from before...

In other news...little angel baby got himself a swimming pool! Can I just say that he loves being outside and REALLY loves being outside in the water. He is so cute splashing all around in his little swim diaper...I think I could eat him sometimes...

He also loves the swings at the little playground in our neighborhood. Here he is shrieking with delight!

It's official...

2008-05-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

In my last post, did I say Thatch was trying to crawl around a little?? Well, it's official...the boy is mobile. So far, he is just a military crawler, dragging himself around everywhere...but nonetheless, did I mention he was EVERYWHERE? Here he is in "action"...

He took a bit of a detour for a snack...

Happy Monday!!

7 months old on a very Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of you out there! This past weekend was a very special time for me! To start, my parents came down on Thursday to stay the weekend with us...so much fun. They kept the boy while I took Jeff out for his 33rd birthday...Happy Birthday Sweets! We had a nice night out, except for some bad food and service at the restaurant I decided on :( We just made the best of it and enjoyed time alone together.

Happy Birthday Hottie! (and no, this was not on our date night...I look horrible)

Friday was a great day, just hanging out and working in the yard...then on Friday night when Jeff left around 10:30pm to "get some formula, since we were running low"...he returned with none other than Uncle Bubba...my brother flew in to surprise my parents for the weekend. They had no clue and were so excited to see him, we all were! Saturday was so much fun, just being together...the day ended with a great BBQ cookout and homemade ice cream...YUM!! Sunday was such a special day...Mother's Day, Baby Blessing at church, a surprise sermon from Prentice, yummy lunch, a sweet mani/pedi and card from my wonderful baby's daddy...a great close to a perfect weekend!

Papa, Thatch, and Uncle Bubba

Another thing about Sunday was that little Thatcher turned 7 months old! I cannot belive how time really does fly...right now, he is at such a fun age. He is pulling up on EVERYTHING, laughing all the time, he is fascinated with his tongue and is always doing crazy things with it, he loves his baby food (all except the meats!), he loves animals (Gunner, Skeeter, and Shoogie Boogie--the parents weenie dogs), he is scooting around trying to crawl, he loves being outside, loves his jumperoo (at times we put it outside and he is REALLY in heaven!)...he is just getting to be such a big boy!

I'll close with some pictures of the arboretum a few weeks ago, a playdate with Macie, Ava, and Cooper and anything else that I run across post-worthy!

Two words...

2008-04-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

TEETHING BISCUITS

He loves them!! Happy Friday everyone!

6-month birthday!

2008-04-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

This post is a couple days late...but Happy Half-Birthday little Thatch! In some ways, it seems like Thatcher has been with us forever and then in some ways it seems like it was just yesterday that he was born into this world. He is such a joy in our lives, I can't imagine life without him. At 6 months I want to remember a few fun things he is doing: he is still perfecting his sitting up position; he has become quite the little screamer...just randomly, he will start squealing and screaming...it is so funny; he has started banging his toys like a true little boy (he also throws his arms and legs and bangs them on the floor while he is laying there); he LOVES his bathtime (here too always raising his legs and crashing them into the water with big splashes); he is such an independent, happy little baby always smiling and playing with his toys (he even is happy in his playpen which I was surprised about); and most recently, we found out that he LOVES rice cereal, he was like a baby bird...he would open his mouth so wide and couldn't wait for the cereal to hit his mouth...so cute.

This weekend my roommate and best friend from college, Kristi, and her husband and little boy were in Dallas and stopped by to visit on Saturday. Thatch and BW are 2 weeks apart...Thatch has a little ways to go to catch up to BW's stats! Here they are checking each other out...

Here are just a couple more recent pictures that I thought were really cute! Happy Monday everyone!

The Latest Trick...

2008-04-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share what little man has learned to do the past couple of days...SIT UP! Yea! Now...he doesn't stay sitting up for very long, but he is getting really good after lots of practice. What you don't see in this picture is that seconds later, he tumbled over backwards and hit his head pretty hard on that floor and started screaming...poor baby, I couldn't catch him in time...all for Mommy's taking too many pictures :( Check out those chunky legs! (don't look too close at the shirt covered in drool)

Thatch is getting excited to start eating "real food" here in a couple of weeks...can't you tell by the excitement on his face! For now he just sits in his highchair while we eat dinner...

The past couple of weeks...in a few pictures!!

2008-03-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Thatcher's first playdate with friend Kyle went well. We had lots of fun with Kyle and his mom, Jessica (my friend from work). We went to Mother Goose time at the library, had lunch at Chick-fil-A, and then just hung out at our house...fun times!

Getting ready for the Easter bunny! He got this cute bunny and some great spring clothes from Nannie and Granbuddy (Jeff's parents) in the mail.

Easter Sunday he was all decked out in his overalls and posing with his bunny goodies from Grammy and Papa (my parents). We had a wonderful visit with them in Lubbock...we miss our family!

Our Snow Baby

2008-03-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

Can anyone belive this crazy weather??!! We took Thatcher outside to experience his first snowfall. He didn't know quite what to think, but he sure looked cute out there in his snow sack or whatever you want to call what he is wearing. (who knew I would EVER put that thing on him...Texas isn't ever cold enough for THAT kind of outfit). By the way, he is rolling over like it is his job and driving his parents crazy...at night he flips over and then realizes..."I absolutely HATE sleeping on my stomach...I think I'll cry the rest of the night until they come up here and flip me over."...ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

He is going to curse me when he is older!

Our sweet angel

Funny boy...

2008-03-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is typically what Jeff and I walk in and see when we getThatcher up in the mornings or after a nap...crazy baby...

Friday Update

2008-02-29T15:28:00.001-08:00

Where to begin??!! I'll start with these first above pictures. A couple of weeks ago we went to Austin for Jeff to run his first half marathon! We were both a little nervous about it because he hadn't run in almost 2 months because of problems with one of his legs. Everything went well and he finished...we were so proud of him! The race was on Sunday, but we went up on Friday afternoon and stayed with our friends, Adam and Janelle, for 2 nights. We had a great time hanging out with them in New Braunfels seeing their beautiful house and catching up with them and their life with little Knox...so cute! On Saturday we went to San Antonio for some shopping although the weather got bad and we ended up coming home sooner than we thought. On Sunday, we got up at 4am...yes, that is 4am...to get ready, feed the baby, etc to make it to the race. We made it easier than we thought and found parking in all that madness. It worked out nicely that we parked in the parking lot of the Hyatt downtown Austin...I stayed in the hotel lobby for part of the morning waiting for time to pass until I made my way to the finish line to cheer on my hubby....having coffee, people watching, trying to feed the boy with perverts lurking (another story for another day). Anyways, it was a very enjoyable experience topped off with eating at Chuy's on the way out of town...yum!

On to my boy...he is so precious! He is doing a lot of new things lately, the above being one of them. He also usually has at least one of his feet stuffed in his mouth, it is the cutest thing you've ever seen. He pulls his socks right off and puts those tootsies in his mouth...hilarious. He also rolled over from his stomach to his back and is just days away from rolling from his back to his stomach. He is getting so big! He brings us so much joy EVERYDAY!

This one is for you, Bubba! I cut my hair last week...this is really short for me...I have never really cut a lot off my hair. I really like it...it is really easy to fix for the most part. I guess that's the skinny on what is going on in our lives...Happy Friday!

Tagged for the first time...

2008-01-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

Rules: Answer each question about yourself, then tag 5 people by posting their names and leaving them a comment on their blog.

10 Years Ago: In January 1998, I was in my second year of college at Texas Tech. I was probably studying like a big dork or working at what used to be Methodist hospital as a pharmacy technician.

Things On My To Do List Tomorrow: pick up cake for baby shower, hang out with my little man and my hubby!

Snacks I enjoy: fruit, anything salty (chips, pretzels, pickled okra), caramel delight trailmix from Sprouts, I think the question would be what snacks DON'T I enjoy

What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire? definately travel, build a home just the way I want it, give to help people in need and give in ways I have seen people give to me througout my life...I have been blessed to do many things in my life because those who were able, were generous enough to allow me to do some things I would never be able to do otherwise (does that make ANY sense?)

3 Of My Bad Habits: cutting people off in the middle of their sentence or finishing their sentence for them, leaving my clothes on the floor, pulling on my hair

5 places I have lived: Denver City, Lubbock, Amarillo, Dallas, Flower Mound

Jobs that I have had: working in a cotton field hoeing (the inspiration to get every other job I ever had), working at a bank, cleaning computers, pharmacy technician, waitress (HA!) at a Japanese steak house (the kind where they cook at your table...I would have NEVER made it as a REAL waitress), pharmacist

Things people don’t know about me: I have ridden the Hotter than Hell bike race (the 25 mile portion), I have been known to visit the local shooting range, I am very anal about certain things (especially my job)

I tag Jessica C, Jennifer, JT, Alexis and Emily A!

3 months old!

2008-01-13T20:31:00.000-08:00

I CANNOT believe that our little Thatcher is already 3 months old! He looks like such a big boy in this picture, it makes me want to cry. In some ways, I don't want him to grow anymore and then on the other hand, I know the stages to come will be so wonderful and fun. I'm so proud of myself for catching him with a smile, he wasn't even smiling when I went to take the picture...I guess he just smiled as I snapped...such a precious angel. Anyways...the shoes...these Pumas are the gift that I gave Jeff wrapped in a cute little package the night I told him I was pregnant. He had been gone on a business trip (a pretty long one) and I was meeting him for dinner at the NorthPark mall. I met up with him at Starbucks before dinner and handed him the package. He was a little surprised to receive a present, but proceeded to open it. He was sooo tired and seemed so confused when he saw these shoes in the box...I said "Congratulations!" ...it took him a minute and he was freaking out, tearing up...it was a very memorable night for us both! Needless to say, I am very excited that Thatch can now wear these shoes...they are so cute.

A few things I want to remember about Thatcher at 3 months:
-the way his smile spreads across his whole face and melts my heart
-the way he says "gggggccccchhhhh" (just cooing and gurgling) when I put him up on the changing table to change his diaper
-that he is seriously eating us out of house and home, I would say he is definately going through a growth spurt
-he is such a cuddle bug, he will pretty much go to anyone and hang out on their shoulder
-he is getting much better at tummy time, he has hated it his whole life until recently...I can really tell he is getting stronger and will be able to pull himself up before I know it
-Jeff loves it that he does the "touchdown pose" when he sleeps
-the way that he plays with the lamb, pig, and cow on his vibrating chair in the mornings when he first wakes up; he just smiles and talks to these farm animals, it is so hilarious...the cow has a thing that he can grab onto and he has learned how hold on to it, I have seen him fall asleep holding on to the cow...so precious

OK, now that the 2 people who read my blog are totally cheesed out, I will sign off. This begins my second work week after maternity leave. It was very hard the first day (I cried on the drive in) but we were very busy, so I didn't have much time to think! Although I miss my little man so much, it is nice to use my brain again and try to help my little fighters up at Childrens. Hope everyone has a great week!

One Crazy Christmas and Happy New Year

2007-12-31T18:22:00.000-08:00

I can almost sit in my Bumbo chair like a big boy!

Doesn't Thatcher look like he could eat Emerson?

Thatcher and his giant weenie dog from Uncle Bubba...hilarious!

Mimi and Thatcher

Well, we have somewhat recovered from our Christmas holiday traveling. We began our festivities by making the trip to Lubbock for a few days before Christmas. Thatcher did awesome, we only had one meltdown and stopped once to feed him in Abilene. We arrived and settled in and then the next day drove to Denver City. My Mimi got to see Thatcher for the first time, it was a wonderful day spent with her. We also saw my aunt and uncle and visited some dear friends of mine, Betty and Edgar, whom I hadn't seen in a long time. Uncle Bubba flew in the next day, we haven't known what to do with ourselves getting to see him so much lately...we can't get enough!

We visited our friends Michelle and Brett who just had a baby 3 or so weeks ago, Emerson is such a cutie. Another night while in town, I squeezed in a quick chat with a high school friend of mine, Molly and her daughter Zoe...we had wanted to hang out a little more, but we weren't there long enough...we'll be back soon, Mol!

We drove back to Dallas, spent the night, and then got up the next morning and drove to Shreveport to visit Jeff's family. By this time, Thatcher thinks he is from now on living in his carseat...he still did great though. He was such a trooper...Jeff and I were more beat down by the traveling than he was. We decided we will not do that kind of crazy distance again...family may have to start visiting us at the holidays when our boy gets older and knows who Santa is, etc. We received all kinds of goodies and Thatcher made out like a bandit...he's already spoiled and he doesn't even know what presents are yet...ahhhhhhh!! Anyways, we were so blessed to be able to have the time off to go and visit family.

In other news, I go back to work a week from tomorrow...I am very sad, but am so thankful that I am able to work part-time and have a great child care situation. It will be great to see everyone at work, I have missed seeing all the friends I have made at Childrens over the past almost 5 years that I have worked there!! I'm going to sign off now...Jeff and I have put the boy to bed and plan on ringing in the New Year around 10pm with a champagne toast for two! Happy 2008 everyone!

A visit with Santa

2007-12-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

Here is Thatcher at his first visit with Santa Claus. Last week we trucked down to NorthPark mall to have his pictures made. It wasn't bad at all...I went to get our ticket and the guy said we were a high number, but that the line was flying by and that we had time to go grab lunch. I ran to Chick-fil-A (my favorite) and we hurried back to make sure we didn't miss our turn. When we got back to Santa, my friend Abbie and her daughter Macie were standing in line waiting! It was crazy because I had almost called her to go with us, but had kind of been last minute and decided against it. Anyways, we got to chat in line and then helped each other while we each had pictures done...so fun!

This second picture cracks me up...he was smiling up a storm in his xmas outfit and I didn't catch it very well, but I thought the look on his face was so cute!

Thanksgiving...

2007-11-30T10:58:00.000-08:00

The fam in front of our Christmas tree!

Dusty and Mitzi and sacked out Thatch

Thatcher and Uncle Bubba

Hopefully everyone out in blog land had a very happy Thanksgiving. We sure did! Mom and Dad arrived on Tuesday afternoon and we hung out with them, then on Wednesday Mom cooked sides to bring to the Thanksgiving feast. Mom also helped me put up our Christmas tree and decorate it...she is so good at decorating ANYTHING. On Thursday morning we picked Dusty up and soon headed to my aunt and uncle's home in Ft. Worth. We had a great time visiting with family and eating tons of good food.

Sunday was my birthday and after church we ate lunch, changed clothes, loaded up the baby (one of his first "real" trips out, other than just stops here and there) and headed to the NorthPark mall...yippee! My family gave me money for my birthday, so I shopped while my Mom sat and watched Thatcher. It was wonderful...I actually found a few things that I liked! I actually felt very foreign to shopping--it has been SO LONG since I have bought any clothes for myself. We topped the day off by eating dinner at Texas Land and Cattle...yum!

Other than the above events, we have just been trying to squeeze Christmas shopping in, addressing Christmas cards, and enjoying the holiday season. Thatcher is doing well...he has recently discovered his LUNGS--the boy knows how to scream when he isn't happy. He overall is still a wonderful, happy baby...but watch out if you catch him in not so great of a mood :) He has started smiling at us and cooing a little bit, it just melts my heart. He is my little sack of sugar! Anyways, with that cheesy note, I will sign off...happy Friday everyone!

Time's a flyin...

2007-11-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Thanksgiving is a little over a week away...it sure doesn't seem very fallish these days with temperatures in the 80s!! I'm ready for the cool weather to stay for good.

We haven't been up to much these days, just enjoying Thatcher and adjusting to life with a baby. Yesterday we had his 1 month check up and he weighed in at 9lbs, 12oz and was 22 inches! He jumped from the 50th percentile in weight to the 75th percentile in 2 weeks. I knew he had grown, but didn't know it would be that much. He is such a fun little boy, always making Jeff and I laugh...we just love him so much. Here are a couple of recent pictures...enjoy!

Yes, I AM part Texas Tech fan, just don't tell my daddy!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

A very unhappy little pumpkin head!

There's my happy little angel!

I just want to eat this little chili pepper up! This "newborn" costume we bought assumes that women spit out 12 pound turkeys because Thatcher could probably wear this costume when he enters kindergarten...it is huge! We couldn't resist dressing him up anyways...although it was not a pleasant experience for all involved...poor baby! Happy Halloween everyone!

2 weeks old!

2007-10-26T10:04:00.001-07:00

I can't belive our munchkin is already 2 weeks old (and what a slacker blogger I've been)! He has been so much fun...alot of work and not much sleep, but sooo much fun. Yesterday was a busy day for us. We had our 2 week visit with the pediatrician and Thatcher has regained his birth weight exactly, the little chunky monkey is eating better than I thought...whew! Then, we had newborn pictures taken of him last night by a great photographer referred to us by friends (thanks JT and Mica!)...we loved her and can't wait to see the pictures! Here are a couple of recent pictures...I just want to eat him up!

Our sweet baby boy

2007-10-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Thatcher Bennett is finally here! He was born October 11, 2007 at 10:14pm after a very LONG day :) He is the most precious blessing Jeff and I could ask for. He weighed 8 lbs, 3oz and is 20 inches long. God is good! Thank you for all your prayers, keep them coming!!

The two loves of my life!!

Happy Tuesday!

2007-10-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

I don't really have anything exciting to post about today, sure wish I did...like maybe something about having a baby! Oh, well...maybe soon. Yesterday of all things, I was summoned for jury duty on my day off...of course. Let me just tell you that I was thrilled to pull myself out of bed to be in Denton by 8:20am. Believe me , I tried to find pregnancy as an exemption for jury duty, but there was NOTHING. The form DID say if you have another excuse you would like to present to the judge you can do that when you show up. Soooo...in my prego state, I approached the judge when he called for "other excuses" and told him I was expecting a baby any day, could I be excused from my civil duty? I just knew he would take one look at me, have mercy, smile and say "yes ma'am, you should NOT be here, please find your way out." Boy, was I wrong...he basically said sorry about you, if you get chosen to a court, you will opportunity to use the bathroom and we will do what we can to make you comfortable. It took all I had to not bust into tears and crawl back to my seat among the 300 something people packed in this room. We had been told all but 60 people would be assigned to be in court all day...so I immediately started praying to be one of those lucky 60 people. Thankfully, God had mercy on me and I wasn't randomized! I was home by around 10:30am and back in my bed!

I will sign off with a few pics of Thatcher's nursery...all we lack is a baby to complete the room!

Our OTHER child...

2007-09-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't know already, Jeff and I have an older "child," Gunner. This cat child of ours has a long history with me and now Jeff has become his legal guardian as well by marriage. I adopted Gunner when he was just born, probably only a couple of weeks old the summer before I started pharmacy school in 1999. So, as you could probably guess, we have been through a lot together...two declawing incidents (don't ask), many nights of studying, a few moves including one from Amarillo to big D, more nights of stress and studying, many occasions with 2 unnamed weenie dogs, an engagement, finally a graduation, a night-before-the-wedding disappearance (again don't ask, too traumatic), a marriage that he definately had to adapt to (think cat urine and Jeff's clothes), and obviously the list could go on and on. Anyways, all of this to say...imagine my horrified reaction when I was talking to my sweet grandmother on the phone the other night, gingerly climbing up on the couch to close the blinds in our living room (don't go there visually as I am almost 8.5 months prego) and I see this...that, my friends would be our pack n' play...

Here goes nothing...

2007-09-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally decided it is time for me to join the blogging world. Many friends have nudged me to do it and I have to admit, I am always reading other people's blogs in my spare time! Honestly, I think it is such an awesome way to keep friends and family up to date on what is going on with our family. I figured with our little boy coming in about a month, now was a great time to start. I have tried to post my favorite picture of our last sonogram where you can see his precious little face, but for some reason blogger won't let me...you'll have to settle for a picture or two from our recent getaway to Mount Massive Lakes in Colorado! My dad's family has a cabin there and we had such a blast with them. There are about 20 lakes in this community stocked with trout, so we all caught multiple fish everytime we threw out our line...it was such a great time spent relaxing and spending time away with family! The second picture is Jeff, me, Anna and Christina...such amazing girls (my cousins).