Salado!

A week ago, Katie B. and I took our first road trip together in years...probably since our college roommate years. We went down to Salado (just north of Austin) for the entire weekend, just the two of us for some much needed kid-free girl time. We stayed at the cutest bed-and-breakfast which wasn't too far from town, yet still had the feel of being out in the country so you had wonderful peace and solitude.

We got there Friday night, and loved the scenic walk up to the house. The landscaping was beautiful and gave such a homey touch.

Breakfast was at 9, which meant we got to sleep in and enjoy a wonderful meal without lifting a finger.

On Saturday, we shopped in Salado from the time the stores opened until they closed around 6ish. I bought so many things that I'd (honestly) been looking for and/or needing, and I had a place for every single thing I purchased. This was a cute pic of us while we were in town shopping.

Once the little town of Salado closed their doors to us, we moved on to a nearby larger town which had a Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and things of that nature which stayed open til 9 or later. We shopped the entire day, and although it was a hugely successful shopping day, I was worn out! Here's a picture of the burning sunset which we saw as we drove over to the bigger town.

On Sunday after breakfast, we enjoyed the "backyard" of the bed and breakfast. We each spent time with the Lord, relaxed, enjoyed the quiet and sipped our coffee. I think that's what God intended for the Sabbath to be like, and I felt so close to Him.

As if this wasn't enough, we also saw a movie - at the theater! - on both Friday and Saturday night. AND, we went to the Salado Spa for massages and pedicures on Sunday. Wait, there's still more: I come home to find out my husband has not only kept Julia all weekend long with joy, but has run errands, done laundry, and did some grocery shopping. I was utterly impressed!!! It was a phenomenal weekend.

Dylan's arrival

Before Dylan's arrival, I got to have breakfast with his wonderful mommy and one of my most favorite people in the whole world. A new spot opened up at Mother's Day Out for Haley recently, which meant Karla got all of a whopping 2 Thursdays in which she was kid-free. Since I'm also kid-free on Thursdays, we treated ourselves to breakfast at Original Pancake House. We split chocolate chip pancakes and a breakfast burrito. Both were to die for!!!


A few days later, Dylan made his grand entrance into this world. Karla & Dustin hadn't found out the baby's sex, but they were pretty convinced it was a boy. Right they were! Dylan is absolutely perfect in every way and truly a beautiful baby.






Dylan was born at Presby Dallas, which is right off the Dart Rail. So after Jarret got off work, he rode the train north from downtown, while Julia and I hopped on the southbound train. It was her first train ride! She loves watching the Baby Einstein "Numbers Nursery" DVD which has a train in it. Every time the train comes on to the screen she says "Chooch" for choo-choo train. So she was well prepared to see a real train, and of course, kept saying "chooch" over and over. It was really cute.



Somehow we didn't get a picture with Jarret holding Dylan on our camera. Sorry hon! But here's me holding the little guy:


After visiting, the three of us got to ride together for the train ride home:




Less than 48 hours after Dylan's birth, the Self family came home (this is foreign to me since I was in the hospital 5 days after my c-section!). Jill, Andrea, and I surprised them with a small welcome home party. Julia, Haley, Noah, and Jacob were all in school. But Caleb and Paige got to be a part of the festivities.





We love you guys! Dylan we're excited you're finally here!

Halloween!

Halloween evening started off great! Julia enjoyed running around in her costume, and she let Bunny come along for the Halloween festivities.

She heard a dog in the neighborhood, so she is saying "Woof":

Then things went downhill fast. We tried trick-or-treating at three houses. She threw a fit and sobbed each time because she wanted to go inside the house and we, of course, wouldn't let her. We don't even think she noticed the candy. She just wanted to explore the houses.

Since trick-or-treating obviously wasn't going well, we decided to go back inside. On our way in, she tripped and fell into my knee and busted her lip. Understandably, more sobbing.

Then we proceeded to have more sobbing due to a bad juice box incident and the dreaded nighttime-diaper-and-pajamas routine. Needless to say, we put her to bed early! We had her noise maker on high, but alas, that did not drown out the doorbell which caused her to wake up screaming. After 3 doorbell incidents, we finally turned off the lights at 7:45 with a half-bowl of candy remaining. Good thing I made sure to buy candy that Jarret and I love. Whew - Better luck next year!

The craziest part of the whole evening actually took place in the morning...she slept for just over 16 hours. What on earth?! No wonder she was so fussy during the Halloween festivities! Poor girl.