Houston's 6-7 month of life

Dear sweet boy houston-

You have been a busy fella the last few months.  you have come up with lots of new tricks.  your still a super easy going, kind, all smiles type of guy.  

 you love morning time, eating, bath time, and waking up in the middle of the night.  

 your wearing lots of your cousin's cloths these days.  you look handsome in them just like Casen and Ben did.  

 you love to walk !!!! you require two fingers to move forward but your getting pretty quick at it.  

 you had your 1st valentines.  

 you love your sissy, she was your special valentine this year.  

 you had some ups and downs in this photo shoot.  

 you love bath time and love being naked.  

 your not much on crawling.  it seems like a lot of work to you.  

 its snowed and been pretty cold but we managed to find things to do.  you enjoyed it, bc sissy got to stay home from school.  

 you had another trim job, and handled it like a champ.  

 Christmas 2014 was so fun.  sissy got all she ever wanted and you were happy as pie about the wrapping paper.  

 your favorite toy is a spoon.  you have one just about everywhere.  

 emrie loves you so very much.  you two snuggle every morning and play good together.  this might change when you get moving, but for now she is your hero and your her side-kick.  

 your sitting alone in the bath tub and playing with toys.  

 you spend lots of time at nana's and papa's house.  they both love seeing you every morning.  you and papa usually read the paper and eat breakfast with each other.  nana lue loves you so much.  she calls you 'sunshine boy" bc you give her the sweetest smiles every morning.  you have her wrapped around your finger.  
i am so glad you get to be loved and spoiled by her.  

 you just broke your 3rd tooth and we are all happy about that. 

Houston Boy-  your more then we could of ever of imagined.  your loved more then all the stars in the sky.  your perfect, smart, sweet, giggly, healthy, and so very fun to be around.  We love you more and more every single day.  

2014

i could of never have dreamed up a better year. 2014 was the very best year !  in Dec. of 2012 i remember feeling defeated and DONE.  little did i know what God had in store for my family.  

Each month brought us new adventure and excitement.  In Jan 2014 We found out that lobster #3 was a fella.  

 In February me and Len celebrated 10 years of marriage.  if you know our marriage story this is quite an accomplishment.  

 in march, april, and may i continued to exercise and feel great all while growing our little baby.  

 In June Em was full swing in parades and playdays.  riding horses is defiantly her thing.  she started riding Spoon and advanced leaps and bounds.   

 In JULY we finally welcomed our 4th member to our family !!!  Houston was born and he was the missing piece to our family.  Our little guy is healthy and strong.  God in His perfect timing and plan made him just perfect in every way.  We will always be so thankful for His grace and Gifts.  

 in August Emrie turned 7 !  we celebrated with a slumber party, trail ride, and luch.   She started 1st grade at Purcell and she is so smart and we are pretty proud of her.  She is confident, strong, a leader, and brave.  
The fall kinda flew by and now we are in winter.  all in all 2014 was one of our greatest years.  We are so thankful that God blesses us and that we get to see what 2015 has in store for us.  

Lobster #2

12-12-12 was a life changing day in our house.  We lost our bay lobster #2, i can remember almost every detail of that day.  i remember being at the hospital for my DNC, i remember them poking me 400xs trying to find a vein, i remember saying "knock me out" over and over again.  i remember feeling empty, drained, and asking WHY.   i still from time to time ask why, but i am quickly reminded of God grace and plan.  i watch a little boy on FB who was born in June of 2013, i love seeing him grow.  for some reason even though i never knew Lobster #2, that baby boy reminds me of him/her.  its crazy to even try and picture what He/SHe would look like bc apparently me and len make identical looking kids, and Lobster #2 was a embryo that we adopted, so its hard to even put a image to something i loved so much.  
its funny to me how God knows..... He knows us all.  He knows and has a vision of each of us even before we are formed.  i find great comfort knowing that He knows.  He makes beauty from ashes, He designs beautiful life's.  
each and every time i look into my Houston's face i see just how much He loves me.  How He never forgot me, how He knew just what we needed.  How He makes BEAUTY from broken pieces.  this Dec. 12th i am a little sad but i am SO GRATEFUL to be part of His well thought out plan.  
Lobster #2 - your part of our story and i am so glad i got to hold you for those 11 weeks and 5 days.  you will always be my favorite lobster.  

Houston 4 months

My dear sweet, lovable, happy Houston boy-
   you my sweet boy are the greatest baby in al the land.  your easy going attitude makes our life so much better.  you are a trooper and take on whatever we throw at you with grace and ease.

 you love being naked.  your favorite time of day is laying naked and kicking before your bath.   you get to lay there and kick for about 30 minuets every night.  its great exercise for your little strong legs.

 you love lots of people in your life but momma still holds the number ONE rank for now.  you and me have spent lots of time together and we have created a bond that i used to think was impossible.  you have melted my heart and my love for you is as big as the sky.

 in October you took your first air plain ride.  i was a nervous wreck but you handled it just fine.  we went to see aunt chels in Denver.

 you love to watch your big cousins.  they are real entertaining and loud so they keep your attention for a long time.  tucker is a huge houston fan.  he always tells me that he wants a baby like you.  Casen and Ben like for you to be around but need you to grow a little so you can keep up.

 you got your first haircut in late october.  you loved the whole experience.

 We spend a lot of time in the car, we have watched many hours of horse riding from our front seat.  you seem to not mind it one bit.  you are your sissy's biggest fan.  she loves for us to watch her and cheer her on.  she is getting really good at winning all her play days.

HTH- We love you so much and are so happy that your part of our family.  God knew exactly what He was doing when he made you into the healthy, smart, and sweet boy you are.  we pray that He continues to bless your life and that you grow to honor Him with yours.  We love you SO SO SO much little buddy.

Fat to skinny

There have been many things in my life that i have "achieved" with hard work.   i look back at things like building a house,  remodeling the Beauty shop,  pregnancy, motherhood,  marriage…. things such as these.   i can't think of anything that really compares to weight loss.   it's such a personal and ONE man role.  there is no other person that you can blame or depend on, its just you.  every bite taken or mile ran, is on you and you alone.   thats why i think the success or failure can mean so much.  its defined by what you choose or your dedication.  
When i got healthy in Jan 2013 it was a hard challenge, i mean hard.  i loved bad food in a serious way, but after that first month i felt alive again.  by month 5 i was ready to take on the world.   by month 9, i had found my groove and felt my very best.  then in month 10 i found out about my Houston boy, so i slowed down and ate some pasta.  with him and the pasta i gained 55 pounds, i will add that it was the best weight i ever gained.  i loved being able to carry and give him life.  having him i lost 35pds, but the other 20 wanted to hang on.  i started working out and eating good 5 weeks after i had Houston.  so in 11 weeks i lost the other 20 and have gotten back to my pre-baby weight.  
it has not been super easy but this time it was not hard to go back to eating good and the gym.  it was hard to leave my baby and give myself that 30-45 minutes a day.  i am thankful for my nana who waits for him to come play every morning.  she loves to see her "sunshine boy" every morning and it made it easier for me to leave him.  
i had made lots of excuses in my head before i had him,  but i am living proof that if you really put your mind to it, you can do it.  i want to be an encouragement to you, if you really want to change your life, don't let anything stop you.  at the same time i will tell ya that its up to you alone.  No one can do it for you, and you will be the only person that will push as far as you will need to go.  
my next plan is to run in some part of the memorial marathon in the spring.  

People have told me that i would not be able to take as many pictures of the 2nd child as i did the 1st.   well i am here to prove the theory wrong.  middle children have to be documented too.   Houston tate's 0-3 months video.  We love you Buddy.  

Motherhood Vs fatherhood

Lets just start with the good.  Mom's verses Dad's 
Mom's get.....
to carry, birth, and nurse the baby. 
dad's get to have the sex.
mom's get to stay home and dads provide for the family. 
mom's get to pee on their leg in the shower, to save time.  dad's get to read a magazine. 
mom's stop all fun activities bc the baby needs you, dad's miss a few extra activities. 
mom's never do anything alone (EVER) and dads have lots of time to gather their thoughts. 

There is not one thing i would change about this list, well maybe the peeing part.  but the thing is... God designs us for our rolls.  He makes momma's and daddy's just for the purpose they are supposed to fulfill.  now don't get me wrong it dose not always seem fair or easy, but its the way He planned it.  

i am just glad our kids have a dad that works hard, and loves us so much !