Happy Halloween!

After much debate about what Sam should be for Halloween, we decided he'd make a cute little cowboy. Sam, however, decided he was a "cow" rather than a cowboy...and he was very excited about wearing his costume. Here's my little cow blowing his mama a kiss!

On our way to school...
My sweet little kitty cat!
After school, we went to see daddy at work (SWA). The kids had a great time there, then we headed home to get ready to go trick or treating! Here's Sam having a snack before GO-time...
We went trick or treating with our neighbors, Carl and Sommer and their kiddos. Here's Sam and Asher excited after getting some yummy candy.
Daddy, Sam and Stella
Sam holding sweet Clara's hand. He was pretty smitten with her :)
Daddy and his little girl
Here's a group pic (minus me)...so cute! It was a really fun Halloween!

Sunday at Owens Pumpkin Farm

We decided to take the kids to a Pumpkin Farm, although Sam's main interest was definitely the animals...especially the cows! Ever since he got to see cows up close and personal at Grammy and Papaw's house, he's become fascinated with them. He really loves all animals though. Here are Sam and Daddy feeding the goats...

Love that sweet little face...
Here's our attempt at a family shot...oh well, at least mommy and daddy were looking :)
My sweet boys
Sam did not want to leave this cow
The girls :)

Sam's first official hair cut!

At 22 months old, I finally gave in and decided it was time for Sam to get his first hair cut. As you can see, it was getting a little shaggy. We took him to Mustang Barber Shop, where daddy gets his hair cut. Thankfully, he did awesome! Here are a couple "before" shots...

Let the hair cutting begin!


We tried to get an "after" shot, but Sam was not cooperating. He had his eye on a train table and was ready to get down and go play. Oh well, at least he did great during the cut!
After the hair cut, we decided to swing by Northpark Mall and take Sam to Build-A-Bear. After Sam's accident at school, we weren't able to give him his pacifier anymore (the sucking could mess with his tooth). He only used it to go to bed, but it was still hard to take away since it comforted him and helped him fall asleep. He was a trooper though...he really only cried the first two nights, and even then it was only for about 15 minutes each night. He's now been pacifier free for a week. So, we thought we'd get him a special bear to replace the paci---a "night-night bear" that he only uses to sleep with.

After picking out the perfect bear, Sam and daddy went to the "stuffing station" where they put a heart in the bear and stuffed it until it was nice and soft.

Sam was so happy with his bear, he didn't want to let go of it at check out.
Giving his bear kisses :)
We also bought the bear Lightening McQueen pajamas, and let Sam help dress him at bed time. This worked so well....he loves his bear and he gets excited to see him when it's time to go night-night :) Thanks, Hedy, for this great idea!

Daddy's birthday present

Since Justin is such a car enthusiast, for his birthday I got him an hour ride in a Lamborghini Gallardo. He got to share the experience with his dad , who also got this as a birthday present from Margaret (Justin's mom, aka Grammy).

They had some really cool cars in their show room, where we waited while the guys filled out their paper work.

Here's Grammy and Stella waiting so patiently :)

Of course, we had to get a picture of the engine...

Daddy and Sam-bug...he had no interest in posing for pictures
The Jones clan
Justin about to leave for his hour drive...grinning from ear to ear!
Papaw before his drive...

Sam's Accident

I got the phone call every mother fears this week. Sam's school called and said he fell hard at lunch, and that I needed to get up there as soon as possible. Needless to say, I was out the door in less than 30 seconds. My poor baby boy was covered in blood and had what looked to be a knocked out front tooth. However, it turned out the tooth had actually got jammed up in his gums. After a visit to the ER, we were sent to a specialist/dentist in Richardson. They took some X-rays there, and Sam was such a trooper. He was in so much pain, but acted like such a big boy.

In many cases, the tooth will descend from the gums on its own. However, Sam's tooth is lodged pretty far up there--which lessens the chances of that happening. But, the dentist said he at least wanted to give it a chance. So, we have a follow-up visit in 2 weeks (Tuesday, November 8th) to see if there is any improvement. If not, they may have to extract his tooth :( It just breaks my heart.

The other big concern is if this did any damage to the permanent tooth behind the baby tooth. The dentist said the x-rays show that there is a good chance his permanent tooth has not been damaged, since the baby tooth is not pushing on it at all. However, we will not know that for sure until the permanent tooth actually comes in. So we have to just wait and see...

Here is a picture of my sweet baby's mouth a couple of days after the accident. His upper lip and gums are still swollen, but look a lot better than they did. Please keep Sam in your prayers.

Fair Day

We decided it would be very un-Texan of us to not take Sam to the State Fair this year. So we packed up the kiddos and headed south, where we met up with the Robles family. It was the last weekend of the fair, so of course it was very crowded. The kids didn't seem to mind it at all though :) In fact, they did great and it was a really fun day for all of us!

Sam and daddy checking things out at the fair.

I got to take Sam on his very first ride. At first he didn't know what to think of it. But, he had a big ol' grin on his face within seconds of the ride starting.

Sam really enjoyed the spinning tea cups, but was already eyeing the ride next door because he wanted to ride in the "car". Unfortunately, he wasn't tall enough to ride that one. Next year buddy....

What is the State Fair without funnel cakes and fried food?! Here we are devouring our funnel cake...Sam wouldn't even look up for a picture, can't say I blame him :)

Daddy and Alex took Sam inside the Petting Zoo. He had a good time looking at all the animals, especially the kangaroo with a baby in its pouch!

Sam got to ride one last ride before we left...it was a giant slide that he got to go down with Daddy, and then once more with Alex. Unfortunately, I got it on video but forgot to take a picture. I also didn't get any shots of sweet Stella at the fair...and she was quite the trooper! Maybe she'll be ready for her first ride and funnel cake next year :)

Stella's baptism

On October 9th, 2011, we had Stella's baptism at St. John Lutheran Church in Pflugerville, TX. This is the church where Sam was baptized as well....and the church we were married in. This is also the church Justin grew up in, and where his parents were married...I could go on and on. Needless to say, it has a special place in our hearts. Since we've been married, and even since Sam's baptism, a new preacher has joined the church. Pastor Scott Mann did such an amazing job, and we were so grateful to have him be a part of our special day.

Funny, though, how these "special" days never go quite how you envision they will. For us, we knew things were taking a turn around 2am on Sunday morning. This was about the time Sam woke up screaming, and began vomiting for the next 4 hours. Oh, stomach bug, how I despise you. This was the second time Sam had gotten this terrible bug in a six week span, poor kid.

He was a mess that morning, between feeling awful and not having slept all night. So, sweet Papaw offered to stay home with Sam bug while the rest of us attended the baptism. We scurried around trying to get ready--Justin and I going on zero sleep. Oh, and I forgot to mention a cold front had blown in that night and it was pouring rain that morning--prior to that, Austin hadn't gotten rain in months. Go figure. So, Margaret, Justin, Stella and I ran to the car in the rain...when I remembered I had forgotten Stella's pacifier on the kitchen counter. Justin leaped out of the car to go get it, running so that he wouldn't get soaking wet. As luck would have it, he tripped over the water hose while running, tearing both his shirt and pants, as well as leaving him with quite a welt on his arm. It was just that kind of day.

But once we entered that church (and miraculously, we made it on time...barely!), our moods suddenly shifted. All that mattered was that we were around loved ones who were there to celebrate our baby girl's special day. And as crazy as the day had started off, the baptism really was beautiful and memorable.

Uncle (Zio) Mike and Auntie (Zia) April...who are expecting a little one in May!! :)

The sweet Berg family

After Stella was baptized, Pastor Mann called the children up to the front and included them in the service. He kept Stella with him, in his arms, during this time...and it was just so sweet how he included her in his message for the day.

A picture of us with Stella's Godparents/Sponsors, and Pastor Scott Mann.

Apparently, it was gray shirt and black slacks day...or so Justin, Vito and Jason thought :)

We were so blessed to have family and friends come in to witness Stella's baptism and celebrate her special day with us!

After church, the plan was to go back to Sam and Margaret's house for reception/lunch. Unfortunately, we had to tell most people not to come...since Sam had the stomach bug and we feared he would spread it to others. But even though we ended up being small group, we all enjoyed visiting and had a great time anyway!

This picture is just the perfect way to describe how Sam was feeling that day :(

Sam wanted to snuggle with his daddy. And in this picture you can see where Justin hurt his arm from the fall earlier that morning!

Papaw and Stella bella were having a moment :)

Papaw, Grammy and Stella

Stella's cake...we had tons left over, along with lots of delicious BBQ. And it's a good thing...because poor Margaret ended up catching Sam's stomach bug just a couple of days later. So, Sam (Papaw) was able to eat on BBQ and Italian Cream cake for a full week while Margaret was so sick.

Phyllis and Stella

Some pics of sweet baby girl in her beautiful dress that Nonna got her while in Italy. So pretty!

And of course, Sam couldn't let Miss Stella have ALL the attention...so here he is in white too :)