Hair

That's right, I'm blogging about my hair today. I hate my hair as much as the next person, and lately I hate it even more. It's really long, and I want it to get longer, but I never know what to do with it. If I wear it down I don't have time to blow dry it... takes at least 20 minutes, and who has an extra 20 minutes to get ready in the morning when you are still nursing your baby? Maybe I could nurse while blow-drying? That wouldn't work. Or at least Layla would hate it. Also, Layla loves to grab it and keeps a death grip on it. I also hate it in a pony tale because of all my stupid fly-aways. My least favorite hair cut on me is just above my shoulders. I would go really short, like chin length, but my face is still fat from carrying 2 children for 9 months, and I don't foresee it ever getting thinner. What to do, what to do... suggestions?

And yes, I realize this is a VERY vain post. Deal with it.

Josiah turned 2!

He officially entered his toddler years on February 19. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone? It's true what they say... the days are long, but the years are short. I wish Josiah would still let me hold him like a baby. Whenever I try he gets mad. I don't blame him. It has to be uncomfortable for his big body to be cradled in my arms. It usually lasts 3 whole seconds. I'll take it!
For his birthday my ENTIRE family came in town... the Oklahoma Reyes' and Mindy flew in from San Francisco! Maybe not just for Josiah's bday, but hey. Aunt LeeLee and Uncle Carter drove up from Austin too! It was so special! I love having my WHOLE family in one room. Something I will NEVER take for granted!

 My immediate family. LOVE them!

 Opening some presents. Jacob is helping.

 He sure does love Mater!

 2 years old!

 Look at that face! So handsome!

 Getting his chocolate cake on. I let all the kids put icing and sprinkles on their cupcakes. It was messy, but fun!

 A little bit of silly string to liven the party up. Josiah follows his cousin Abby around like a puppy dog. Several times a day he will ask where she is.

 Jacob and BeBe stringing some peeps.

 Slippery bubbles!

 Oh, and have I mentioned how much Josiah loves his uncle Carter??

Happy Birthday sweet little boy!

Chris and his babes

Chris loves being a father. I know most wives say that about their husbands when they become dads, but Chris was made to be a daddy. A major reason I say this is because Chris himself is still a kid. He loves to play with bugs and toys, climb trees, watch cartoons, kick and throw balls, and run around outside like a banshee. Josiah and Layla are lucky to have him.

Little Latin Layla

If you have children, you know that at 6 months babies still don't really do anything. She doesn't walk, talk or even sit up. But let me tell you, she is so sweet! So knows who her family is and smiles, giggles and coos when she sees us. She rolls from one corner of the house to the other. She loves grabbing her feet (this started about 2 weeks ago) and, of course, pulling on my hair. As well as Josiah's hair, but he doesn't like it one bit. She is learning to sit up on her own, and we just started giving her baby food. It is slow going, but hopefully she'll get the hang of it soon. She loves being outside and is happy to held by anybody. She naps well, and, for the most part, sleeps well. She's getting her bottom 2 teeth in, so the past few nights she has been waking up crying. Which, let me tell you, after you have had a hit of getting a full night's rest, it's really hard to go back.
Everyone tells me she looks like Chris's mom, Gay. She has beautiful big blue eyes and is very expressive. She's a tiny little thing weighing in at 14 pounds and 25''. She is a very happy baby, fussing only when she's tired, hungry, or has a dirty diaper. Chris and I are very blessed.

Josiah, my lover

I am thoroughly enjoying my little man right now. Right about the time he turned 2 (just over a month ago) he started putting words together. He started out with "what's that?" and "hold you" and now my favorite sayings of his are "I get you, mommy", which means he either wants to chase me or wants me to be near him, and "I see you, Layla". He loves his sister so very much. He wants to kiss her, hug her, lay in her crib with her, hold her and tickle her. He is never rough with her and is concerned when she's not around. I could not have prayed for the transition from one child to two go any smoother. The only hard part I've come across is being sick, like this week. All I've wanted to do is sleep, but sleep does not come because Josiah is very active and Layla needs my attention quite often. But that's really it. 

Being back home has been so great for Josiah. He LOVES his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins so much. He now runs up to them whenever he sees them. It's pretty amazing. I love that he knows who they are and wants to hang out with them. 

Don't get me wrong... he has his 2 year old moments, but the sweet, funny, playful moments are more frequent than the opposite. 

Life

Hello my dedicated 10 followers! Life has been so great these past 5 weeks that I've been absent from the blogging world. We successfully moved home and in with the in-laws, started both our new jobs, been on several fun play dates, caught up with dear friends (still haven't seen everyone yet!), gone to Canton twice, been to The Village every Sunday, started the parenting class The Village puts on, reconnected with our old home group, celebrated Josiah's second birthday, been on a few dates, and much much more. We finally feel settled and have Josiah adjusted to our new life here. In Nashville we had play dates every other week with my dear friend Jenn and her daughter Clara (if you're reading this I love you and miss you and Clara!!). Now we have about 2-3 play dates a week.
We also go out in the evenings to friends' houses and enjoy dinner and conversation with the kids running wild. Josiah is definitely not used to coming home after 8. I know that staying out past 8 and having play dates might seem like a normal thing for you all, but it wasn't for us. Nashville was so hard on us. We had a hard time meeting people and making friends we really wanted to invest in, and play dates were more or less out of the question because most people didn't want to drive the 30 minutes to our house, and I didn't think it was fair that they expected us to drive to them every week. I have so missed people actually wanting to spend time with us and not caring about the drive time. I could go on and on about how different life has been here and harp on all the horrible things about life in Nashville, but I won't. I'm just happy we're home now, enjoying time with family and friends and developing deep and meaningful relationships with people.

Here's a video of the day Josiah discovered hand puppets. Chris and I find hand puppets (or puppets in general) very creepy, but Josiah loves them!