August 2016

When we got back from Oklahoma, from Jacob's cousin's wedding (his dad's side), we were welcomed by Jacob's other cousin and his family (on his mom's side). His cousin, Adam, started grad school here at A&M in August, and we're so excited to have some more family in town. 

Kayla loved having cousin Ryan over while Carly got their apartment cleaned up and started moving things into it during that next week.

And the following weekend (after just returning from Oklahoma) we went back up once more. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking. 6 hours both ways, 2 weekends in a row. But we survived. Unfortunately, this time it was for a funeral. Jacob's Uncle Curtis. I never got the chance to meet Curtis, but he made quite an impact on all of those he knew. I loved getting to know him through those he loved and served. Unfortunately, the funeral was during Kayla's nap time and we missed getting to hear more about him, since we were in the hallway trying to stay calm. Aside from the sad reason to be there, we enjoyed being able to spend more time with family. These cute cousins are just under 6 months apart from each other.

Kayla and Aunt Laura (Jacob's Aunt, Kayla's Great-Aunt)

After the service the family hung around the church for a lunch and to spend time with one another. Kayla still hadn't taken a nap at this point, so we were still doing what we could to keep her calm and happy... I did *try* to get creative with my camera though, through all the hallway wondering.

It looked cuter when Kayla did it and the way I pictured it in my head, but I guess it's still kind of neat.

We stayed with Jacob's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Greg (McConnell side of the family) on this trip and Jacob was pretty excited when Greg let him take the old Porsche for a drive. (I couldn't even tell you what year it is, Jacob would be so disappointed...)

#IfIFitsISits ... but first I have to dump out all the toys...

Facetiming Grandma (Ruske). Kayla is so insistent on being independent. Sometimes, it's annoying. But mostly, it's adorable.

After 2 weekends in a row of driving up to Oklahoma and back, the next weekend was Jacob's nephew's baptism in Abilene. (a 5 hour drive each way) His nephew asked him to be a witness for the baptism and to participate in the circle for his confirmation. So Jacob went, but I just couldn't do it a 3rd weekend in a row, so Kayla and I stayed home. While Jacob was there, his sister Kim gave him this little onesie and bib. Kenny, the nephew who was getting baptized, was Jacob's first nephew. Jacob was in Boston when Kenny was born, and Jacob got this outfit for him. Jacob doesn't like to get emotional and mushy about things... but no doubt we both felt the feels about this gift! Jacob can't wait to put Wilson in it!

Another #IfIFitsISits

Seriously, I could make a book out of these...

I made a run to HEB one night for a few things, and Jacob had requested some ice cream. I normally see Blue Bell post the flavors they release, but somehow this one got away from me. I only bought one of the small ones. But I also ate the whole thing at once. (4 servings my butt...) I'm not even upset though. It was delicious and just what the 8 months pregnant lady needed ;)

8 months pregnant. Drinking a ton everyday. PEEING a ton every day. And the chain for the toilet flap breaks. (The same weekend that Jacob went to Abilene for the weekend, ugh.) Look at it, the chain is made of PAPERCLIPS. No wonder it broke.... Yes, I'm still upset. Also, apparently this is a super old toilet and he could only do a temporary fix without replacing the whole thing... or something like that. It's *fixed*, but never have we had so many issues with the flap not shutting all the way when you flush and the toilet running. I'm so annoyed by it. It still does this multiple times a day, 2 months later. I should probably just request them to replace it. But at the time I was grateful I didn't have to go without a toilet for any amount of time while they replaced it. (we only have 1 bathroom) okay, end rant.

#IfIFitsISits

Independent girl tries to dress herself all the time. She's great at assisting us as we dress her... she still hasn't quite got down the whole shirts go over your head and pants go on your legs thing yet.

A for effort though ;)

I was feeling guilty that I hadn't made anything for Wilson, and when nesting kicked in I decided to make a few things.

Star Wars blanket with his name.

#IfIFitsISits

Mmm donut

Look mom, no hands. Lol.

We love where we live... That being said, one of the down sides to living in a college town is all the crowds the few weekends before school starts back up. The line at Target was all the way down the side wall, almost to the opposite side of the building. It was like Black Friday!

Seat protecters. Okay I didn't make this one *for* Wilson... but for his and Kayla's car seats. 

Excuse the mess. My husband is a mechanic, so there's always tools to find close by ;) but aside from that, he was about to switch jobs and started bringing things home from one job to take to his new job.

Speaking of which... Jacob started a new job at the end of August. I've felt for a while that it was time for him to switch jobs. Like almost a year. We really like the people that Jacob was working with/for, but I felt strongly that it was time to move on. Jacob, however, wasn't ready. He really wanted things to work out where he was. Which I admire about him, even though I disagreed. But we both kept praying. Finally, (months later) he got a call about a job offer. It wasn't even an official offer at the time. But as soon as Jacob mentioned the phone call, I immediately felt such a relief and felt like it was an answer to our prayers. For the next few weeks, our prayers changed to asking if this was the right choice. We finally decided to make the change. I feel like this trial of waiting and struggling has been such a testament to me that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and my family. Not only that, but it has reminded me the importance of my relationship with my husband and with Heavenly Father.  I wish I could say it magically fixed all of our problems. Unfortunately, we still have many, many trials to endure, but I feel so strongly that we are exactly where we need to be.

We moved the seats around to make room for baby brother. She was so excited the first time she rode in the car after the change. And as always, so cute!

The cover I had with Kayla was very pink. So, for my 3rd sewing project I made a new cover.

Kayla loves her cousin Bella's bike. And she looks pretty cute on it, too. Haha. Bella is so nice to let Kayla take rides on it. Also, she is currently, MAJORLY obsessed with anything and everything Frozen.

This girl has a similar heart to her daddy. She loves her daddy's old truck. She especially loves when he moves cars around and he lets her sit in his lap.

It's fun taking a little one to your doctor's appointments with you, especially when you have them every week... said no mom ever ;)

And then I had to do a 24 urine test... Good news was that I didn't have high protein levels or pre-eclampsia.

Grandma (McConnell) made these cute little books for all of her grandkids for Christmas last year. Kayla is slowly starting to say words. She brought this up to me one day saying "che-chus". I asked her, "Jesus"? and she smiled real big and repeated "che-chus". Proud momma moment and another reminder that I must be doing something right.

one more #IfIfitsISits