Washington County Fair Pet Show

Sophia could not wait. For two weeks, we promised her that she was going to be able to take dad's little dog, Wrangler, down to the Fair Pet Show. She was so excited that nearly every morning when she would get up, she would ask me, "Is the pet show today? Is it Saturday already?" We practiced a little but I was not sure that once we got down there amongst all of the people and pets, she would still have the same interest.

Checking out Dawson and Hailey's Chickens and Rabbit!

Sophia and Wrangler checking out the competition!

Wrangler and Sophia had matching cow outfits :-)

Thanks BonBon and Mrs. Terry Boeker for making Wranglers!

In the "Show Arena" trying to get Wrangler to follow!
Well, Saturday finally came and she has never gotten dressed in the morning so easily. She wanted her boots on from the moment she got out of bed. It was our little cowgirls first competition at the Fair and she did great! She was a little hesitant when she saw the crowd, but quickly became very protective of Wrangler when she realized other dogs were getting close!

We entered her in the Smallest Dog Category and she WON 1ST PLACE! To top it off, she even won the Showmanship in her class and so it was another round for the showmanship championship after all of the class winners were chosen! Sophia and Wrangler went home with a trophy, a couple of ribbons and some other great prizes. What a fun time!

She was so excited to have so many people there watching her and cheering her on! Thanks to all of you that came out to support her! All in all, it was a great experience and we left with one happy little girl! And that's all that mattered....

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

It's true what they say, "The greatest thing about having you as a dad, is that my children get to have you as a Grandpa!"

Thanks for everything you do for our little princess!

She LOVES you!

Happy Birthday to an awesome dad and an even better Grandpa!

September 11...then and now.

Ten years ago, we all remember where we were. Sitting in my College Station apartment preparing for class, I had turned on my little television to see what was going on just in time to see the news break in that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. I wanted to stay and watch, but I knew I needed to get to campus and so I hurried out the door to my car and headed to class. It was when I pulled into my parking spot that I heard the news break in again, the second tower had been hit. Tears started coming down my cheeks and I realized that our country would NEVER be the same...we were under attack.

The day went on and I made my way to several classes (most of which were let out as quick as they started or even cancelled completely). However, I remember staying on campus with so many of my Aggie Family. We watched, we hugged, we shed tears. We knew that our world would never be the same. Days would pass by and huge efforts were made by the student body to help in any way possible. Red, White and Blue Out became a nationally broadcasted event at the A&M football game a little over a week later. It was amazing. The entire country seemed to be doing whatever they could to ease the pain of those around us.

And here we are....ten years later. I am married, I have a daughter and another baby on the way. My husband is on AGR orders with the Air National Guard doing his part to help this country maintain freedom and safety in whatever way he may be led to do so. Life has changed for me and so has the country we live in. Perhaps, we are safer today because of the lessons we learned on that terrible day, and we hope and pray that we never see another day like that fateful one ten years ago. We have moved on, but may we never forget. September 11 will always be remembered...

I'm a Big Girl Now!

I dreaded the first day I was going to be forced to drop our baby girl off in the car line at school. I could only imagine the tears, and sad face I would drive off to. For this reason, I was so happy when the teacher told us the first day that we could continue to walk in with the kiddos for a while.

And then came this morning...We drive up to our usual parking spot...I unbuckle her seat belt so we could get out...and she looks at me and says, "Momma, I am a big girl now. Big girls go to the car line. You don't need to walk in with me. I can do it by myself!"

She was so happy with her self acclaimed "Big Girl Status," but this pregnant momma was not ready to let go of that hand so quickly. However, I knew that this was a much better way to begin our "drop offs" then the tearful alternatives and so she got back in the carseat and we proceeded to the carline! She quickly jumped out and waved goodbye.

Don't get me wrong, I was proud...a little sad, but proud. She has had a huge week (including mailing her nightime pacifier to the mailman for other babies :) )! It's just crazy how fast she is growing up, but I am stil enjoying EVERY minute!

Our God Child, Wyatt!

This weekend we loaded the car up and headed for Kansas to witness the Baptism of our nephew, Wyatt Anders. Kris and I feel so blessed and honored to be his God Parents and Sophia absolutely adores her cousin! He is such a great baby and has grown so much every time we see him. We really enjoyed our time in Kansas with the Bartels family!

Jenn, Wyatt and Jeff...such an awesome family!

Brothers, Jason and Kris!


Wyatt learning "tricks" from his Big Cousin! Oh the things he can learn from Sophia! :-)
Wyatt with his grandparents :-)

Sophia and Mema - Love the fact that Sophia was able to get some quality time this weekend with her great grandmother!

A First for Sophia and Mommy

Sophia made her first trip to the doctor to check on the baby in mommy's tummy! She had her own appointment first to check on her ears and since my appointment was in the same building an hour later, I decided the two of us could make the trip together!

Her appointment went well. Her ears looked great (fingers crossed)! And well...it wasn't until we hit my doctor that the million questions began. For an hour and a half, I softly answered questions about "Why do they weigh you?" or "Why did they do that to you arm (blood pressure)? and so on. Needless to say, I was pretty tired by the time I actually saw the doctor.

However, I am so glad that this opportunity presented itself. I really wish I would have taken a picture of her face when she watched the doctor check the heartbeat. She looked up at me with a huge smile and said "Mommy that's our baby's heart!" I told her it was our baby's heart beat and it completely made my day! :-)