Chaos Is Good, Right?

Cullen's birthday and his party are only three days away. I cannot believe my baby will be one year old in just a few days! I am in complete and total denial. As the party draws near, we are doing everything we can to be prepared. I still have a laundry list of things to do, but it is slowly getting smaller. I'll be taking Thursday and Friday off this week to make sure Saturday is an easy day.

As is to be expected, we've had a couple of guests here and there let us know that they won't be able to make it. Sadly, James' parents are a part of that group. James' mom was assigned a case at work that absolutely requires her to attend on Friday. Since they wouldn't be able to arrive until Saturday morning, we decided Thanksgiving would be a better visit. Now we have more family time to look forward to later this month! The crummy part is that I was counting on the extra help with Cullen on Friday, and I just can't bear to send him to school when I could have him at home. So I'm taking an extra day off work. Bummer. Two days at home with my favorite little guy. :) The good news is that we can have a fabulous Thanksgiving at home with just a few people. I love quiet family time!

Last night, James and I stayed up until midnight making little bear-shaped gingerbread cookies as part of the party favors. Tonight's project is assembling the favors and cupcake toppers and completing Cullen's scrapbook. Wish me luck! Hopefully, I'll have party pictures to post by this time next week!

Cullen's first Halloween was a fabulous success. He looked great, he was completely happy with his costume, and we had so much fun! I can't wait to do it again next year!

xoxo Ashley

Sometimes Change Is A Good Thing

We haven't had much change this week. My mom is still in the hospital, we're all exhausted, and we're working on Cullen's birthday party. In just over a week, my baby will be 1!

We had a busy weekend last week full of zoo and Baylor. It was a lot to squeeze in, but we had so much fun! After only 93 seconds of playing time in the Baylor game, there was a lightning delay. James and I have encountered some pretty crummy weather at Floyd Casey, but this was the first time they actually recommended that we leave our seats. After a 1 hour, 47 minute delay, the game resumed, and the bears earned their sixth win of the season. That means we are bowl eligible and should be going to our first bowl game since 1994! It was a stressful day, but it was so worth it!

This weekend, we'll be headed back to the zoo with other friends, and we'll be taking Cullen's one year pictures on Saturday. After pictures, we're going to watch the Baylor-UT game. On Sunday, I'm planning on sleeping. Or going shopping for skinny jeans. I haven't bought anything for myself in a few months, and I think it's time. I would love to come home with something that isn't for someone else for once. We'll see how that goes! Maybe next week, I'll have some cute photos from Picture People to post! Until then, enjoy this one of Cullen being cute during dinner. He now has seven teeth!

xoxo Ashley

When It Rains, It Pours

Isn't that the Morton Salt tag line? I'm borrowing it today. It just fits.

James and I have been keeping busy with our day to day life, a family virus, and my mom being in the hospital. We aren't really sure which one of us caught the virus first, but it knocked all three of us to our knees within a twelve hour span. It amazes me how well children can handle it. I know Cullen wasn't doing well, but it didn't slow him down as he made laps around the living room. He is really on the move now, and it amazes me everyday. He is slowly taking a few more steps consecutively each day, and he is so proud.

Our most entertaining development this week is when we sing "If You're Happy and You Know It." He laughs and claps his hands just when he's supposed to. It seems to put a smile on his face no matter what he's doing!

My mom has been in the hospital for a little over a week now. A routine surgery went poorly, and she is now in ICU for observation. It has been really hard to get to see her, because Cullen isn't allowed in ICU, and he never sits still. Today, I'm going to visit her at lunch just to keep Cullen out of there. We're hoping for some good health soon, and she should be going home by the end of next week.

Tomorrow morning, I'm taking Cullen to Zoo Boo to spend time with our friends Noah and Dana. Hopefully, I'll have some precious pumpkin and costume pictures before next week's post.

This weekend, we're loading up the car and taking a day trip to Waco. It is Homecoming, and it will be Cullen's first home football game. If things go the way we'd like, we'll also be celebrating our sixth win for the season. That means we go bowling!

We're praying for health and wellness in our home and our family. God is taking care of us; we just have to be patient!

xoxo Ashley

Feels Like Home

At 11 months old, Cullen finally got to see Austin. We made a quick day trip to Round Rock when he was teeny tiny, but this was the first time he made it to Austin. James and I made it into town for a wedding with friends. It was a short trip, and we packed it with every single thing we could. We didn't get to see very many people, but we had a few amazing meals and soaked up what we could. Cullen really enjoyed his meals at Plucker's, Moonshine, and Taco Deli. We didn't make it to the capitol, but I'm hoping for many more trips in our future! Of course, I took zero pictures. Oh well...

Upon our return to Houston, James and I got to partake in a health review at my office. Blue Cross is offering a discount on our health insurance for participating in the review, and it's always nice to get a free checkup and flu shot. We should know in about 2 weeks how healthy or unhealthy we are, and we'll be seeing that discount on my paycheck in January. It will be like a mini raise!

Cullen's birthday is just over three weeks away, and I'm in total disbelief. How could my baby be almost one year old? I'm not okay with it, but I'm trying to make the adjustment.

In other exciting news, Cullen got a new cousin yesterday. Congrats to Jon and Erica on their beautiful little girl!

xoxo Ashley

Eleven Months Already?

It's hard to believe my little guy is already eleven months old. He is a big-stepping, chattering, wild, little thing. Goodness! He talks non-stop, and I love every moment of it. He has a few things that he says that we actually understand, but most of it is gibberish. He says mama and dada, but I don't really believe he knows which of us is which yet. The most entertaining is when he yells at Scout when she tries to take his food. So precious!

He is also becoming slightly more proficient with the whole walking thing. Last night, we got to see him take four pretty solid steps. Of course, he refused to do anything other than crawl when we got out the video camera. Stubborn little guy.

Each day is more fun than the last, and we're soaking up every moment. Now if only I could get more than five hours of sleep per night... Maybe in another twenty years or so. :)

Here's a picture of Cullen enjoying his oatmeal breakfast.

xoxo Ashley

Life In The Fast Lane

There is never a dull moment in our house, so we made sure to keep ourselves busy this week. I finished making Cullen's birthday invitations, thank you cards, banners, favor tags and cupcake toppers on Friday. The cramp in my hand from the scissors is just now letting up, but it's a small price to pay. Or something like that. I've even ordered most of the paper goods, and I'll be meeting with the cake lady next week. Things are coming together pretty seamlessly, and I'm so super thankful for that. We still have to figure out presents, but that can be solved with a quick trip to Toys R Us.

I can't seem to get the the picture to rotate, and I'm not really sure why it turned on it's side in the first place, but this is the picture we used for Cullen's invites. He was 10 months old that day. Wow.

On Saturday, we made a quick trip to San Antonio to see James' cousin after his Air Force graduation. We are so proud of Michael, and it was a lot of fun to take Cullen on a short trip. He was a great sport about all of the car seat time, and he really seemed to enjoy himself.

During lunch, ducks from the river kept walking around Cullen's high chair and picking up his scraps. Once he caught on, he was throwing quesadillas at the ducks. James took a little time to take Cullen to the river to feed the ducks tortilla chips. So healthy for the wildlife.

After lunch, we walked over to the Alamo to get Cullen a t-shirt. What's a trip without a t-shirt, right? I learned that at Baylor... This probably isn't the best family photo in the world, but Cullen sure does look excited.

After our quick trip to San Antonio, we changed attire and headed out to the Baylor game. Cullen got to enjoy the first quarter of his very first Baylor football game before they had to postpone the game due to lightning. We were all pretty bummed, but we survived.

James' dad was in town for a fishing trip, so we also got to spend some time with him. It was a short trip, but it was nice to see some out of town family. In just a few weeks, we will have lots of family and friends in town for Cullen's birthday party. I can't wait!

xoxo Ashley

Forgiveness Is Key

I'm working really hard to forgive James right now. Forgiveness is important, right?

Cullen took his first steps last Wednesday. Of course, he took them at daycare, so I wasn't there to see it happen. When Marie told me that afternoon, I cried on the floor at the daycare. That's right, I cried. On the floor. I'm a total grown up.

If we go way back to last May and review this story from the beginning, you have to know that I never wanted to move to Houston. The weather is terrible, the traffic is awful, and (other than Lupe Tortilla and a few select people) there are very few redeeming qualities. I haven't had a "good" hair day in over a year. Except that time when I went out of town.

James has wanted to move to Houston since we graduated from Baylor. When he got laid off last April, James put effort into finding a job in Houston. Since I was pregnant, I told him I didn't care as long as I got to stay home with our wee little baby. When James accepted his job with IS&T and asked me to move to Houston, it was guaranteed that I would never have to go back to work unless I wanted to.

Now, I completely get that guarantees really aren't guarantees, and bad things do happen, but I was beyond upset when I had to go back to work. I don't want to miss milestones for my child. They only happen once! And now I've missed his first steps. Never to happen "first" again. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again. I don't want to be upset with James that I missed those first steps, but it sure is tough.

And, of course, Cullen is becoming increasingly vocal these days. He says mama all the time, but now all I can think when I hear it is that he's trying to say Marie, since he doesn't look at me when he says it. In all honesty, he's probably just babbling, but it hurts.

I tried to contain the Houston complaints when I was at home, because I got to spend quality time with my little guy, but I'm pretty sure I gripe a little more with each passing week. I'm hoping that I'll be posting about us moving back to Austin by this time next year. I think two years here is all I can take.

xoxo Ashley