Our Little Lisey is here!

In true Cara-fashion, here I am announcing the birth of our little Lisey almost two weeks late!
I was induced on October 13th. Here is my last pic before heading to the hospital at 5:00 am. We owe a huge thanks to my friend, Brittney, for watching Allie for a couple of days for us!
Everything went so quick and smooth with the induction and she was born at 2:59 pm.
Lisey Mae (pronounced Lee-see)
7 lbs 19 1/2 inches

These past two weeks have gone so fast! We are so glad that Lisey is here and is healthy!! Allison absolutely loves her to death! She loves to go and check on her for me. Although this last week, Allison has started being so sassy! I am attributing it to the new baby...what do you think? And, what do I do?!
Jeff has been amazing! He was able to stay home for a week and a half with us. He did everything around here and made sure that I got a nap everyday and was in bed by 8! Loved it!!
I feel like we are transitioning pretty well into a family of four. I did forget how much time a newborn takes...but am enjoying every minute of it!!

Allie holding her sister for the first time.
Our growing family!!
Lisey- 2 days old
We are so grateful to have Lisey here! She is such a sweet little girl!!

The Best Friends EVER...and 37 weeks!

So, I have some of the best friends EVER and that also includes the BEST HUSBAND EVER!! Back in August, Jeff told me that there was a huge gun show in Houston and he wanted to go. I was thrilled with the idea of the almost 4 hour drive because I had been missing my H-Town buddies like crazy! The big gun show was being held over Labor Day weekend, so we made plans and headed down. Saturday night my friend Kelli A. said that there was going to be a Girl's Night at Kelly S. which was perfect because then I would get to see a bunch of my friends. We went and walked in the door and...it was a surprise baby shower for me!!!!! It was so great!! And, because there were a lot of witnesses I can't deny that there were a few tears :) What great people! Here I had been moved away for about 5 months and they still remembered me! Thanks Spring Chicks...you are the best!
And, as for the "gun show"...a joke! Just a reason that Jeff came up with to get us to Houston. He knows that I love surprises, and this was definitely one of the best!

Jump ahead a month or so and here I am this last Sunday at 37 weeks! And, you might notice the haircut...I cut 10 inches off! I am ready, so ready for this little baby girl to arrive! I am scheduled to be induced October 13, but my fingers are crossed that she will decide to come a little early!! Here's to hoping!
(Please forgive the little crotch hold by Miss Allie)

My Favorite Thing...

This is my favorite thing right now! I needed some kind of board to put things on like baby announcements, reminders, lists, coupons, etc. Jeff and I share the same ill feelings toward cork boards so we decided to make a magnet board and I love it!

My Little Girl

I can't believe how fast Allie is growing up! It just amazes me! I love that she can actually help me do things now, like unload dishwasher, set the table for dinner, fold towels, etc. And, her favorite thing I think is to help cook! Allie seems like such a big girl already but I know once our baby is born she will really be grown up!
One of our favorite things to do as a family is go for evening walks to look for golf balls or "golf-galls" as Allie says. During one walk we decided to cut some sunflowers to have on our table.

Our Summer's Top 9

Apparently I haven't been keeping up my blog to some people's standards...you know who you are...anyway, I will try to do better! Hopefully this will do for now...

Onto, our Summer's Top 9! (not in any particular order)

Number 1: Jeremy and Chantelle's Wedding
Our summer started when we flew up to Idaho for Jeff's brother, Jeremy's wedding! Jeremy and Chantelle were married June 27th! The wedding was beautiful and I am so glad to have a sister-in-law on the Warnick side now! Welcome to the family, Chantelle! The day was made even more memorable when Jeff, his dad, and I got stuck in the temple elevator! One of my worst fears!!
Allison and I then spent the next 5 weeks in Idaho with our families and had a blast! Jeff came up at the beginning and end for weddings. I hope our little family is never apart for that long again!!

Number 2 and 3

Number 2: Yellowstone
We took a day drive to Mesa Falls with Jeff's family. Texas is beautiful, but it doesn't compare to Idaho! Then we camped for a couple of days with my family and went through Yellowstone Park.
Our little Rambo taking in the fresh air and keeping an eye out for wildlife.
Taken right before the buffalo charged us...scary! ...just kidding, don't worry we read the pamphlet about not putting your child on the buffalo to take pics. No, I assure you we didn't have to be told not to ride the buffalo. But, isn't it sad that they actually have to tell people not to do that?! Some people...

Number 3: MHS 10 Year Class Reunion
Jeff did a great job planning our 10 year reunion and it was a huge success! I was so proud of him! We spent a great day catching up with old friends. And, after a whole day, I had taken only two pictures. Regretting that a little.
Cara, Jenise, and Amanda
Cara and Amber

Number 4 and 5

Number 4: Our Sixth Anniversary
Jeff and I were apart for our anniversary, but he sent me the most beautiful roses and a very sweet note! It was so hard being apart for a month. Never want to do that again!!

Number 5: Greysriver
Every year for the last 35 years plus, my mom's siblings and their families have gone camping to Greysriver. Allie and I got to go this year and had so much fun! This was the first time in three years that all of my six siblings have been together. And, here are the ten grandkids!!
Along with the fun of camping, come major breakdowns. Poor Allie!
And, this is what makes camping for a week bearable...a flushing outdoor potty! Don't I have clever brothers!

Number 6 and 7

Number 6: Jessica and Hayden Goudy Wedding
Jeff's sister, Jessica, got married August 1st, to Hayden and we couldn't be happier! The wedding and reception were beautiful! We wish you both the very best!
This pic is of the happy couple at their rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. They chose a cowboy theme which was so fun!
Allie made a cute little flower girl! Here she is with Jeff's mom, who made a beautiful mother of the bride!

Number 7: Jeff in Wranglers
There are some individuals who had been waiting for this for quite some time...Jeff in Wranglers! I think we can all agree, it was worth waiting for!
Two words: Oh yeah!
Allie made an adorable little cowgirl!

Number 8 and 9

Number 8: Jeff's Nose Surgery
Jeff had nose surgery for a deviated septum in August. Allie was a good little nurse for her daddy! She still kisses him softly on the nose each day and asks him if his nose is feeling better.

Number 9: Waiting for Baby #2
We are very, very anxious for Baby Girl 2 to come in 5 weeks! My doctor has me scheduled to be induced October 12, which is a week before my due date, and I couldn't be happier!
Allie is very excited about being a big sister! Her latest suggestion for the baby's name is Lime Juice! We told her we would consider it. I can't wait to have my two little girls!

Urgh...

I have just spent the last 2 hours trying to update my blog... urgh... blogger will NOT upload my pictures! At least it has kept my mind off the fact that I am missing out on a concert I had been looking forward to for months! We have had tickets to the Cheap Trick, Poison, Def Leppard concert since like February!! But, my doctor said it would be too loud for the baby. Oh well! So, when my handsome man comes home from the concert he will no doubt figure out the blogger dilemma in seconds and a real update will soon follow! Until then...

It's a...

GIRL!

Yep, we are going to have another girl! She wasn't hiding it either! She was spread eagle and ready to show us! We're excited for Allie to have a litte sister! I already know how to do the girl thing and we certainly have lots of girl stuff already! Everything looked great during the ultrasound and we are right on target for an October 19th due date!

The Big Three!

Allison turned 3 on Monday! We had a fun day and were glad that Grandpa Lee and Grandma Lori could be here to celebrate with us. The morning started off with Allison's hair catching on fire from the candle we put in her waffles! Luckily it didn't burn too much. If you look close in some of the last pics you can tell that she has a lot of short hairs right in the front. Certainly made for a memorable birthday morning!

For her present this year, Jeff and I decided to get her a little playhouse. Jeff and his dad worked hard to put it together! I tried to help but ended up reading directions wrong and making it take longer than it should have...oops! But, it turned out so cute! Jeff's parents gave her a little swimming pool that she has been in everyday since her birthday! I can tell we are going to be spending a lot of time outside this summer! Oh well, I could really use the tan!

Allie loves to help me cook! So, for her cake I let her pick out what kind of cake and frosting, and then she helped make them! I love simple! And, luckily no hair caught on fire with the cupcakes!

Redemption...

Allie and I made confetti cupcakes this afternoon. This was my attempt to redeem myself as a nice, fun mom. It has been one of "those" days...tell me that you have had those too?! I'm not sure what her deal is today, but I'm praying it's a 24 hour kind of thing. Only a couple hours into the morning I started looking on the internet for preschools, Mother's Day Out, anything!! And, to add to the mix, after weeks of feeling normal and being able to keep my stomach contents down, today has been a different story. Blah.. Hopefully, we will both forget about this day other than the fun we had making cupcakes for our (pretend) My Little Pony Party!

Thank you...Potty...

Although I do owe the potty a thank you for giving me a break from changing diapers (at least for the next 5 months), this is actually 2 non related posts in 1 !!

The other day I asked Allie if she wanted to make her dad a Thank You card for all he does for her and she loved the idea (I think partly because it meant using glue). So, I helped her make it and then asked her what she wanted to thank her dad for and here are her answers:

THANK YOU FOR...

• going driving together
• making me laugh
• wrestling with me
• being the best
• being incredibly nice
• caring about the baby
• lots of things, like driving.

She loves the way her dad drives and also probably the sight of her panicked mother in the front seat as he goes way too fast around corners (because "It's an all-wheel drive, Cara. That's what it is made for.") I am suddenly stricken with flash backs of family vacations and hearing my mother saying, "Clint! Clint! Slow down! This is your family in the car!"

And, here is the proud little potty-goer with her first (and only) potty chart! She caught on amazingly quick. As Jeff put it, she was "over-ripe" for all this big girl stuff. I think it was me who wasn't ready yet. But, I am so glad to have passed this step! I remember holding Allie as a newborn and thinking how glad I was that I had years ahead of me before I had to potty train her, and now we have been there done that!

Doing great...

We have been in our new house for two weeks now and are LOVING it! All the boxes are unpacked and now it is just decorating more than anything. I want to wait to post pics until we are a little more settled.
It kind of worried me about how Allison would do with the move, but she has done great! Actually, it seems like she has become such a big girl since we have moved here.
-We have finally gotten her into a big girl bed! She loves it!
-She has learned to pedal on her little tricycle!
-And, in just the past week, she is now potty trained! She picked it up so fast and sometimes just goes all by her self! I'm so proud of her!
We are loving the McKinney area and can't wait to have more visitors! Thank you Carrie and Danny for coming to visit this week! We miss our Houston friends very, very much!!! I have honestly thought about driving down for playgroup one of these weeks!

It's about time...

It's about time! We are finally moving!! After one buyer fell through, several delays, and a lot of frustration, we are moving into our new house this Thursday!
AND...
It's about time! We are finally having another baby! We are very excited to welcome a little one into our family in October! I apologize to any of you that I may have told half-truths or full out lies to during the last couple of months when I wasn't quite ready to tell anyone. I still love you!

I have gotten a few comments lately about being a blog slacker, so I will try to do better! I will post pics as we get settled in our new home! Thank you to many of you for your prayers and concern during these last couple of very stressful months! We love you all!

So close...and now so far away...

Everything was set, scheduled, and ready to go! We were going to close this Thursday and move into our new house (pic above) this Friday and life in Dallas would begin! But, that was not to be just yet I guess. This last Friday the whole deal fell apart. Buyer couldn't get financing. Now, we are back to square one. Finding a new realtor, listing the house, showings, and then (hopefully sooner rather than later) an acceptable offer. Ah, we were so close!

And, a huge thank you to the best friends ever, the Dondos, for an awesome going away party...too bad we aren't going anywhere yet! 

Home Training...

For the last 3 months, Jeff has been studying for his new position at BMS. The great thing about that is that it has been at home! We have loved having him home everyday. Although he is in our office most of the time, it's been nice just to know that he is here. He has gone a little stir-crazy, but Allie and I LOVE it! I don't know what I'm going to do when he is done with training, which unfortunately will be in about 3 weeks. But, those are going to be 3 very busy weeks. Two of them he is out of town and the week in between we pack and move! (Well, we don't literally "pack and move" because the company hired movers!!! If we had to do the packing, etc, I wouldn't be nearly as excited.) Jeff has been a good sport though with all that goes on around here on a daily basis.

Some of the things I will miss when his home-training is over:

• Having breakfast and lunch together everyday.
• Being able to put Allie down for a nap and run errands...by myself!!
• Not having to worry about him driving in crazy Houston traffic.
• Watching Family Feud with him during his lunch break.(We've become nerdy GSN watchers.)
• Having him help make dinner and clean up the house at the end of the day.
• Being able to pop in the office anytime I want just to say Hello!
  
  
  
  
  

Goodbye to our first home...

Although we did have something exciting happen today, my main purpose for blogging this evening is to get rid of some guilt. The guilt I feel when I see my blog's name at the very end of my friends' bloglist because it's been way over a month since I last posted.

So, our good news...we sold our house today!!!!!! Yeah, let the party begin! This pic is of the wonderful home that has been ours for the last 3 years. It is good news that we finally found a buyer, but it is bittersweet. This was our first home. It's the longest we've lived anywhere during our marriage! We brought Allie home from the hospital to this home and it's the only one she's known. It's been a great house, but I am having fun looking for a new one! I'm excited for our new adventures in Dallas!

I am just going to go ahead and get rid of the rest of the guilt I have been feeling for not posting about Christmas and just say that our holidays were GREAT! We loved spending 3 weeks in Idaho with family and meeting up with a few old friends. And, were reminded daily by the snow and cold temps of why we love living in Texas!

Phew! Wow! Guilt-free at last!