Happy Halloween!

So we LOVE Halloween. It was a huge deal in Santa Barbara where Mark and I met. We have been dressing up every year since our freshman year. I was looking through old photos and thought I would post pictures of our past Halloweens. I couldn't find a picture from every year but I did pretty good.

Here is me my freshman year, all the girls in my hall decided to go as devils. I don't have a picture of Mark because we hadn't met yet.

Then our sophomore year we decided to be cowboys.

I couldn't find pictures of our Junior and Senior year, but this was the first Halloween in our old house. I was a cop he was my prisoner (not our best costumes, we were on a budget).

This was our second Halloween in our old house, I was a fairy and that's my sister Sydna as a boy!

This is the same year, Mark was a dork, our friend Peggy was a French Maid and Bernd and Thea were sunburned skiers.

This was last year. Bernd and Thea were by far the best dressed they came as the Bounty Hunter and his girlfriend.

And here is Mark this year as Clark Kent

And I saved the best for last. Here is baby Brody as a Hotdog for his first Halloween!

Brody - 3 Months

So I can't believe Brody is already three months old. He has grown so much from when we first brought him home from the hospital. He has really been changing in the last two weeks. He is so frustrated with trying to roll over. He can go from his tummy to his back with no problem, but the back to the tummy is another story. He just can't seem to get past his arm, he gets himself all worked up about it. He has definitely found his hands, they are his favorite thing to suck on. He is having to wear bibs now because he is constantly a drooling mess. He has also come a long way with the little toy he has been playing with. When we first gave it to him he would just kind of follow it with his eyes now he picks it up, swings it around and of course sucks on it. This is my first time trying to download a video, but this was him this morning trying to roll over and smiling at mommy.

New Friends

So we had a very fun weekend. It started quiet on Friday, Mark and I stayed in and I was feeling a little lonely. Kind of the normal lonely for me. I started missing my family and close friends, which was a normal thing in California because my family, especially my sisters and best friends were always far away. Anyway I woke up on Saturday and Mark informed me that Dr. and his girlfriend were coming for a BBQ. At first I was a little put off, thinking I needed to clean the house and scramble to get ready for company. But they ended up coming and we totally hit it off. Dr. whose real name is Joey and his girlfriend Jamie were fabulous. We connected right away and ended up having an amazing night. They were both born and raised in Texas. Dr. brought us some deer meat that he had just hunted and offered to take Mark hunting next time he goes. It will be a new experience for Mark but he is really looking forward to going. Dr. knows a lot about photography and showed Mark some new tricks on our camera. We got some great shots of the full moon rising over our fence.

Then on Sunday I went to our friend Amanda's house. She was having one of those jewelery/Mary Kay parties. It was nice to get out and meet some other mom's in the area. Amanda lived in Taos for a few years and knew my parents. They moved to Austin about a year ago and it was a happy coincidence that they ended up living about 2 miles away. So that was our weekend. I still have some new pictures of Brody that I'm going to post soon and I'm trying to figure out how to put some video clips on here as well. Hope everyone has a happy Monday.

Skinny Fat Jeans

What are skinny fat jeans? Well as most women do, I gained quite a bit of weight when I was pregnant with Brody. I know for some people the weight just comes right off, but that hasn't been the case for me. I have been stuck wearing maternity clothes, which isn't that big of a deal but it doesn't do a whole lot for my self image. Well, I started Weight Watchers when we got to Texas. I'm happy to report I have lost 10lbs and yesterday for the first time I was able to put on my skinny fat jeans. These are jeans that I bought at the very beginning of my pregnancy that are a bigger size then I normally wear but they aren't my maternity jeans! Yay, it feels good to be in real clothes again. I have to say that I just love Weight Watchers, I don't even feel like I'm on a diet. I don't go to the meetings I just do the online version where I keep track of points. It's great because it takes into account points for nursing mom's. Well that's it for now, I have some pictures of Brody that I will post soon, I can't believe he is officially 3 months old!

Tour de Fat

That was the name of the beer festival we went to on Saturday. It's put on by Fat Tire. It was in Austin down by the water. Abbey thought it was by the lake and Mark thought it was the river so I'll be neutral and just say water. There was food, live music and of course beer. Mark, Abbey, Brody and I all went. The weather was nice I think it was in the 80's. We got lucky and got some chairs under a great big tree so we were able to just sit in the shade, eat, drink and people watch, which is one of my favorite activities. It was nice to get out and explore our new surroundings a little. We did remember to bring the camera but we only managed to take two pictures. We'll have to try and do better next time.

Quiet Week

So it has been a pretty quiet week around here. Mark is really settling into his new job. He really loves the fact that he doesn't have to wear a tie every day and that on Fridays he can even wear jeans. Everything just seems a little more laid back out here, which we are loving. I've been having fun trying to take pictures of Brody all week. I keep trying to get him when he is really smiling but I always just miss it. He has really found his hands in the last couple of days and is even picking things up. We gave him this little rattle toy and he just loves it. I think he thinks it is a giant pacifier, but if it keeps him happy and entertained, then a giant pacifier it is. Here are some fun pictures from this week.

" Leave me alone mom, I'm trying to sleep!"

A pretty good shot of him smiling

The new toy!

Tummy time on Daddy

The best smile picture I've been able to get.

Well that's it for our week. We are heading into Austin on Saturday to check out a beer festival they have. I'll let everyone know how goes. Have a good weekend!

The House

Ok so I was finally able to take some pictures of the house and I kind of took a lot, so warning, this may be the longest post yet. We just finished decorating for Halloween so you may see the occasional spider or pumpkin. Here goes the official tour....

Here is the house from the front, I'm still not crazy about how the grass looks but they asked us to give it two months so I will wait.

This is the entry when you first walk in the house, Shasta couldn't figure out what I was doing but he thought it was fun and followed me all around the house, so you may see him popping up in a few of the pictures.

This is the dinning room with our old table and chairs. It works for now but a new dinning room set is definitely on my list of wants for the new house.

The office, you can't really see it but that's my Pottery Barn desk I have been waiting 3 years to get! This is the room we are going to put the walk in wine cabinet, so excited can't wait to see how that comes together.

This is the Kitchen. Love, love, love all the space!

Another view of the kitchen.

This is the view from the Kitchen to the living room, we love the open floor plan.

View from the living room the the Kitchen/Breakfast nook, that's my new table!

The laundry room, I really like having a space inside the house to do laundry. In our old house it was in the garage and it was always so hot out there.

This is the mater bedroom, it was hard to get it in one shot, but to the left is our dresser with the mirror and then closer to the door we have the rocking chair and ottoman while Brody is still sleeping downstairs, which won't be for much longer :o(.

This is the upstairs play room, we decided to make this a place for the kids. I know we only have one kid right now but we plan for more and then when they get a little older they will have a fun place to play, see we already have toys waiting for them.

This is Brody's room, it's kind of half done also. There is a window to the left of the crib where the rocking chair and ottoman will go. We still need to put up some shelves and some pictures, but it's coming along.

This is Brody's half of the Jack and Jill Bathroom.

This is one of the guest rooms, it will eventually be the other kids room, but we have to wait and have more kids first :o)

This the the Jack and Jill portion of this room.

This is the main guest bedroom. Right now it is the most unfinished of all the rooms. We thought we had a bed frame but it turns out the one we brought is for a queen bed not a king so we are just kind of waiting to finish this room.

This is the guest bathroom.

This is Mark's favorite part of the house, the outdoor living. This is the other area that isn't quite done yet, we still need to get some patio furniture and we haven't decided if we are going to put in a mini refrigerator or a kegerator, yes you heard me right, Mark wants to put in a kegerator. We'll see what happens.

And finally this is the back yard. Again, I'm really not to happy with the grass but we told them we would wait so I'm waiting. The backyard doesn't have any landscaping so this will be another future project.

Well that is the official tour of the house. We still have a lot to do, but I think it looks pretty great. We are definitely enjoying it and we know it will just get better with time!

Lazy Days

So we didn't do much this weekend. Saturday we ventured out of the house to go to Costco, that place is always such a zoo. We got in and out pretty quickly considering how busy they were. Then we made a stop by Old Navy to pick up Brody's Halloween costume. I'm so excited it's so cute, he is going to be a hot dog. I know it sounds funny but it's just too cute for words, I couldn't resist. I'm sure he'll love me for it when he is older. Then on Sunday we just hung around the house and watched football, we were really pulling for the Cowboys, too bad they lost. They are still 5-1 so I guess we can't really complain it about it too much. Here are some pictures from yesterday, I was trying to capture Brody watching the football game but it was kind of a hard angel to get.

Then Brody decided to show off a little plumbers crack, it was too cute.

And the close up! He is so going to love me for this when he is older.

Time Flies

The last couple of days have just flown by. Thursday was me and Mark's 4th anniversary. I can't believe it has already and only been four years. It seems like we have been together forever but I feel like the wedding was just yesterday. Here we were four years ago, I miss being that tan and that skinny!

We have had a lot happen in the last four years. I have had 2 new jobs, Mark has had 3. We have bought two houses, sold one. Traveled to Vegas, New Mexico, South Beach, New York, Austin, Tahoe, Oregon, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Had a baby and moved to Texas. I'm exhausted :o) I guess it's nice to be settling down a little. Here is a little trip down memory lane.

Mark turns me into a die hard A's Fan

Mark's 24th Birthday

Dad turns 50!

Wine tasting in Napa at Joseph Phelps

Everyone in New Mexico for Mom's Birthday!

First time snorkeling in Maui

Happy 21st to Kelley!

My 26th Birthday

Family Gathering at Judy and Joel's

The Caribbean (When we found out about Brody)

And Baby makes three!

Well there is my mini trip down memory lane. It was fun going through all of our pictures. Speaking of pictures, we have had lots of requests for pictures of the house, I promise to try and take some this week and post them.