The shrinkin hippo update......

2 weeks old....






1 month...... 8lbs. 7oz




2 Months.......12lb. 4oz



3 months....(with her new pierced ears)



4 months.....she's smiling and oh so so sweet!



5 Months
It is so cool how with each photo I am able to see Lyla change......each photo holds a new milestone! This month Lyla found her feet! They are her new best friend, (next to Tate). She weighs around 18lbs. I will take her next month for her "well baby check up" and we'll see exactly what she weighs. Oh & check out her new hoop ear rings ♥







6 months
Oh my goodness! Lyla is already 6 months old!!!!! That is half of a year, already gone~ just flew by! She is growing and learning so much. She can sit alone now and she has also gained two teeth! With the hustle and bustle of Christmas I was late posting this but the photo is on the 15th of December when she turned 6 months. She broke her first bottom tooth on the 17th (my Bday) and then the second one came in on Christmas morning....those were her gifts to me, the breast~feeding mother! lol Nah, only playing...I am really thrilled they popped out, cause gosh she looks cute with them~ Lyla is such a happy baby, she loves people and is already rooting for their attention. This month she has changed alot. She cries alittle when I leave the room & she will grab for me to hold her~ she is totally lovin' Mom! Her favorite food is bananas & she loves drinking water from a sippy cup. I can't believe how fast she is growing...so here is the pic, can't you just squeeze those legs!

We are here by the grace of God.

It is my biggest fear~ something I have thought about time and time again....loosing a child or my husband. It is something I don't think anyone should have to go through, but at the same time it is in God's plan why things happen as they do & for me I was spared the heart ache and pain on December the 16th around 12pm. I have never felt such a helpless feeling, nor do I ever want to again.

We started the day as we do everyday....normal everyday things~it was cold outside so Tate had to play inside & was pulling every string I had, as I was getting dressed & tending to Lyla. I talked to Rob and had him play/wrestle with Tate on our bed~ which happens to be one of their favorite things to do (or was one of them). As they played I continued to put on my makeup & dress myself until I heard a huge thud & Tate crying! (He had fallen off the bed backwards onto the crown of his head, something I found out later.) So I come running out of the bathroom to find Tate crying and Rob consoling him. Which was really nothing new, as he gets hurt often & really throws a big fit over the smallest things~ so I just went to hold him as I normally would. I noticed before pulling him into my chest, that his lips were alittle purple~ something that sometimes happens when he cries really hard..... well this time was different! As I held him against my chest I could feel the life gone out of him...his chest felt so thin & lifeless~ I will never forget the feeling I felt when I realized he wasn't breathing~ I held his body out from me to see his face & it was completely colorless, his lips were completely purple/blue and his skin had lost all color. I yelled at Rob that he wasn't breathing and he also thought it was just him crying really hard and needing his breath, but once Rob saw his face he too started to scream. We both looked at one another in terror, unsure what to do. Although Rob was a cop for years his training totally left him. I started shaking Tate and yelling his name, but he didn't respond~ it was then that Rob realized I should not be shaking him & he responded to the situation as his training taught him. He instructed me to call 911 and he would do CPR. As I set Tate on the bed his body fell lemp, I couldn't help but pause there and look helplessly at Rob as he yelled at me to call 911!! So I ran down stairs looking for the phone....I glanced at every table then at the kitchen counter~ no phone, I seemed to be in a fog~ as if I couldn't do anything to help! I finally found the phone then called I was back upstairs by the time the woman answered and Tate was breathing again! Rob had compressed his chest 4 to 5 times and then he took a breath...he directly started to cry and it was he sweetest sound I have ever heard. Once the paramedics left the house I sat on the couch with my family and I cried, and cried, and cried and cried! During the rush of it all I didn't REALLY understand what had happened~ it was like I said before more of a foggy type thing. Once it all went away & we were sitting together, doing what we normally do ~ that is when it hit me...I almost lost my son, I held my son when there was no air in his body, I could have spent the rest of my life with out seeing his smiling face....it hit me & I realized more than I've ever realized before just how imporant my family is & just how easily they can be taken from me. I felt helpless in the time of need, although we had all the help we needed. As I ran down the hallway to get the phone I was yelling "Keep him alive, Keep him alive" After replaying it all back with Rob, he said he could hear me yelling that...and that he would've felt so quilty if he wouldn't have kept him alive. My answer to him was "I wasn't talking to you........"

Oh, she is PerFeCT!!

My sweet Birthday~ the big 25!!!!

So today was alittle crazy for a Birthday, as we spent it in the Doctor's office with Tate...just trying to make sure my little boy is okay. (more about that in a later post) So after we finished with the CT scan we met up with Rob at Out Back
YUMMY~steak! Dinner went really well, the kids were excellent at the table & out server was the best! Once we were home we kicked our shoes off & brought out the gifts! Rob had gotten me a pair of Diamond ear rings, that he and Tate picked out. My sweet lil Tater bought me a girly ring/necklace set. Rob let him pickout whatever he wanted to get me, and he choose that...I LOVED it! I will forever have that $3.00 set of jewelry~ There is nothing sweeter than the fact that he was thinking of me when he saw it! As he was sliding them on my finger he told me how much he loved me & that i need to wear the purple butterfly ring forever just like I wear my other ring forever (wedding band) So for the next little bit, I'm gonna make my sweet boy happy & wear it...I'm sure my finger will turn green~ but anything to make him smile. ♥
Here we are putting on my new ring set......

Worthy of it's own post...

Here is a cute lil pic of me that my aunt sent to me the other day~ it was the first time I'd seen it & wanted to share it with everyone....just so ya'll can see where Tate gets his looks :)

what he is like right now@4 years old!

So my little monkey Tate is really coming into his own little world these days~ he says almost anything & questions everything!!




The other day Tate, Lyla and I were laying down for our daily 2.5 hour nap, (yeah I know~I could be doing house work, but it's so nice) when he asked me to sing a song to help him go to sleep, nothing different there....but as I sang the song 'you are my sunshine' I peeked through the slats of my eyeslids to see if he was falling asleep, well he wasn't so I watched him. My sweet little boy watched me sing every word~ as if he were taking in every moment of it....just looking me over so sweetly. I was wondering what he could be thinking so I opened my eyes and asked him. His response was nothing loving & sweet at all......but gosh was it cute! He said "well Mom, I really think after our nap that we should cut your teeth, they are growing really long~the two front ones really need cut!" oh, what a little boy I have....just full of happiness & he don't even realize it! I couldn't help but smile & agree that my teeth are really big (or atleast to him).



When I ask him, he says:

Who is your best friend......Caleb & Uncle Scotty & Daddy
Who is your girlfriend.......You & Lyla
What do you want for Christmas......A sharp knife, blue train, & 4 wheeler.
What makes you sad.....eating supper.
What do you want to get Mommy for her Bday.......a train
Who is Mommy's best friend.....Lyla & Jennifer & Kellie & Nanny & sometimes Daddy ( i added the last one)
What does Mommy do while you are at school....laundry.
Is Mommy pretty.....yeah, but not when Sarah makes your hair real curly, you look pretty now, but not like curly.
Who do you want to be when you grow up.......A Soldier & Daddy & a hunter, so I can get a deer & eat it. Then I'll get a rabbit & you can eat it~(never gonna happen, buddy!)
What is you favorite color....blue & grey
What do you want to do right now.....go to popas' house.





Just yesterday Tate called me to the bathroom to clean him bottom....when I got there I talked to him about learning to wipe on his own, cause he was getting so stinky~ he replied...."nah, probably not til I'm TWENTY!!!" Ha...that's what he thinks :)

I've been eye-balling this place for months!

The leaves have finally turned! Look at how perfect this place is.....on our way home from the park today we stopped to get permission from the land owners to take some photos here, no one was home so I started snapping. I would love to have some family photos taken here....just a perfect spot! (or for a certain someone in a red dress..hint hint Nacole)

Anyway~ here are the pics....I just love one with my side view mirror. As I was snapping it, Tate asked "Momma why do you have to always take pictures?" My answer "This view could be gone tomorrow, but I will have it forever!" He probably didn't know what the heck I was talking about, but maybe oneday he will understand....I do it to mark today, and yesterday, & the day before that! LOL

FUN FUN FUN!

What a beautiful day! Once Pre-K let out we made our way over to the duck park with a few of Tate's friend's from school. Nacole brought Caleb & Gaige (aka Tate's Best friends), Lea & Josh brought Jillian...who skipped out on pictures & Linda brought sweet Juila. We had a wonderful time chatting and the kiddos got to do what they do best PLAY! Tate was all tuckered out once we left, as was I. Here are a few pics of our great Fall day~

Grab a tissue! I cry everytime......

before watching turn the music player off... it is on the right side of this page, scroll down.

A jump back in time to a few of my favorite days......

Here is a cute one of me and my bro's on Nathan's big wedding day. Crazy to think that Tate was in the oven at this time!




This photo of Tater & Braydi jumping on the bed brings back memories...the reason they are in their diapers is because they had just jumped out of the bath. Wanna know the reason they had a bath~ they had creamed two tubs of skin cream on their bodies & all in their hair! It was too cute to get upset, so I just grabbed the video camera and laughed it off. It was a great day in toddler world. I truly miss the days when Braydi and Tate had sleep overs.





Why do I love these photos? Well they remind me of an awesome vacation.... A vacation where I fell in love with my hubby all over again. It was our first vacation as a family & it was a great one!



These photos are from a sweet Fall day decorating our yard. Tate fell on the pavement and hurt his nose that day....I remember the day to be so relaxing and happy! He loved helping us with the flowers and pumpkins! I wish I could go back to this day and pinch his little cheecks! He is just soooo cute!

Yummy Yummy in my tum tum tummy!

Lyla had her first bite of food~bananas and she loved them! She was smacking her lil lips just waiting for the next bite! I am so excited about her eating....I made all of Tate's food homemade & loved it. I can't wait to make all the yummy food for her. Tate's favorite was peas, (not that he would touch them with a ten foot pole now), but I can't wait to see what Lyla loves the most. It is just so rewarding breastfeeding her and knowing that she has grown all because of me. It is also rewarding making her food, as she gets alittle older I will be able to add things like wheat germ, Brewers yeast and other wonderful additives so that she is getting great nutrition in her every meal. I also love the fact that I save like 75% of what jarred foods cost. The nutrition and savings are wonderful & I'm so thankful I'm able to give my baby the very best~with that said here is her first lil feeding! Next week will be Avocados!

A tub of love!

Oh what fun a bath can be.....when you have a sibling to play and splash with! I thought I knew everything about my sweet Tate, but that was before he became a brother. Now I am seeing a totally different little boy~ the bond these two kiddos have is like no other! I am so thankful that they have each other. I am so thankful for the love that is already there. Here are a few shots from their fun in the tub!