ABCS of Me

Addison is still at Gigi & Poppy's today. I am picking her up later, so here's another Quiz about me for now! (:
A - Age: 22 years young B - Bed size: King & I still think its too small C - Chore you hate: Putting away Laundry this is exactly why I restart the dryer 2 or 3 times.  D - Drink of choice: I don't like the taste of alcohol. I know. Weird. So I'm gonna have to go with Cherry Coke. E - Essential start to your day item: Probably my phone. I always hang in bed & do the "morning scroll" on fb before I get up.  F - Favorite color: Pink G - Gold or Silver: Silver H - Height: 5'1 1/2 & yes the 1/2 is important! I - Instruments you play(ed): Piano. A little Guitar. J - Job: Swim Instructor.  K - Kids: Addison Braylen <3 L - Living arrangements: Live in a rental house with Cam, Addison, Tora.  M - Mom's name: Okay, sing it with me.... ROOOOXXXANNE!  N - Nicknames: These days its "Mommy" O - Overnight hospital stay: Only time I've ever been in the hospital was when I had Addison. P - Pets: Puppy named Tora & our Turtle Sheldon Q - Quote from a movie:? "She doesn't even go here!" (I know, not creative).  R - Right or left handed: Right hand. S - Siblings: 17 year old brother, & 14 year old sister T - Time you wake up: 7ish U- Underwear: It is preferred. lol V - Vegetable you dislike: zero! I love Veggies.  W - What makes you run late: Addison X - X-rays you've had: fingers when I broke them in 3rd grade Y - Yummy food you make: I wouldn't call my food yummy just yet.  Z - Zoo favorite: Giraffes of course!
Okay, I know that isn't anything interesting, but I'm home-alone & kid free. Not too much excitement except for laying in bed & watching netflix! Have a Happy Friday everyone! (: 

Slow Week

Well, we haven't had anything TOO exciting going on lately.

We spent all weekend lounging & doing literally nothing. Not too much fun to blog about, but everyone needs those kind of weekends every now & then.

I know I say it a lot, but he is such a good Daddy. 

Addison loves playing with her toys. Its so cute to watch & listen to the conversations her toys have. She plays so well by herself, but I absolutely love when Cam jumps in on the fun. It makes my heart melt to see him pretending to be Cinderella so he can play along with her. Its moments like this that I want to freeze and keep forever.

"Mom! My Barbies are tired. They are sleeping."

She also has gotten really into Barbies. She even has been asking for Barbie's Ultimate Dream Castle. (Thanks a lot commercial!) I thought maybe she would forget about it in a few days, but nope. Maybe we can convince "Santa" to leave it under the tree this year. Hm...we will have to see!

Other than that we have just been trying to stay warm! Cold weather is not for me.

We even busted out the footie pajamas & snuggled up to watch Turbo. She loved her Ariel pjs & when I showed her my footie pjs, it was pretty great. She thought it was the coolest thing ever. I know that won't last long & she will soon be embarrassed by them haha!

She wanted another picture by her sign. 

Addison is staying with Gigi & Poppy tonight. She was also there last night, but wasn't ready to leave just yet. Little Stinker! It was nice having a quiet day, but I'm ready for my troublemaker to get back home!

THREE

It arrives faster every year. My sweet baby is THREE.

That is just crazy to me. Three sounds so much older & is definitely not a baby age anymore. I don't think it has hit me just yet or at least I haven't cried yet! (Surprising I know...)

We've been having such a great time with Addison. She can talk to us, be silly with us, understand so much more, & is completely potty trained! So maybe three isn't so bad after all. Of course she will always be my little baby no matter how old she gets.

Our last picture with our TWO year old!

We had a wonderful day to celebrate our big three year old! Cameran had to work, so Addison & I slept in & snuggled in bed until about 10. We had plans to meet my dad for lunch at Addison's favorite...chick-fil-a!

Gigi surprised us & came along too! She showed up at our house with balloons, ready to go. Addison was so excited. She said, "Are those MY balloons?!" with the biggest smile (:  Good thinking Gigi!

We enjoyed lunch & watched Addison play in the playground for a bit. Then it was time to tell Poppy goodbye & go present shopping!

We had to bring along our balloon dog! He is so cool and everyone we passed had a good laugh at Addison walking a balloon dog.

Addison picked out a few toys & some candy and we headed home. Thanks Gigi & Poppy!

Cameran & I had a few presents for Addison & we decided to go ahead and let her open them on her birthday instead of waiting for her party. Well, as I was getting them out to wrap (procrastinate much?) she saw me and was jumping up & down. So she didn't exactly "open" any presents from us, but she didn't seem to mind.

We also got her a little cake that she could enjoy on her actual birthday. She loves to sing Happy Birthday to everybody so it was exciting that it was finally her turn!

Then, Peaches came by to visit! She opened a few presents from Peaches and then we spent the rest of the night playing outside.

 Cameran brought out a bunch of glow sticks & she had a glow stick jumping party on the trampoline. It was a wonderful day! I'm so thankful for these past three years with my silly girl & can't wait to see what else is in store!

Life in Katy

Well, I guess its about time I not only write a new post, but also update on how things are going in our new town.

We've been here just a little over three months and most of the time I still feel like a stranger. I know I need to give it more time, but its hard not to want to run back to Texas City. Don't get me wrong I love this new chapter we have started, but TC was our first home away from home so its been hard to part with. I'm sure with more time I will love Katy just as much.

Rental Sweet Rental

Our House: I love it! Its nice having so much extra room and a yard to play in. I think the best part may be no longer having to walk up a flight of stairs to carry in groceries or no longer being kept up at night by the elephants who lived above us. It also has been fun to finally update everything and decorate!

Living Room.

             We did hit a bit of a rough patch with our house, but thankfully it is finally all sorted out. Our A/C would not cool the house below 78 degrees and we could just be sitting on the couch and start sweating. It was awful. The management company that was in charge of our house sent out maintenance three times and it still would have no change.

A peak of Addison's reading nook/color/play area & the kitchen

           Finally they called one evening and said the owner of our rental home would not be fixing the A/C so we could deal with it or find elsewhere to live. SUPER frustrating. We hadn't even been here an entire month, why would we want to repack everything and go house hunting again? It became this big ugly mess with the owner dropping the management company and management company not wanting to talk to us and the owner saying we aren't her tenants and she has never gotten any rent or even heard of us...yeah I know crazy?!

Front Entry...Wall are so bare. Work in Progress (:

Cam's office & Master Bedroom. LOVE that he has this space.

        Super long twisted crazy story short the owner sold the house and we now have a new owner! He has been wonderful. He came by to look at the house one day to potentially buy and he met my little family and he told us to stay, he'd take over and we can keep renting from him. We had a brand new A/C unit a couple days later and have not had any more issues. BIG blessing.

We have a nice park, soccer fields, even a baseball field just a walk away

Work: I started working at the YMCA here in Katy. Well, I guess its technically in Houston. It has been different. I can't complain because they are wonderful with my difficult schedule and Addison always gets to come with me, but its just not the same as my old Y. Maybe its just all my co-workers I miss. If any of you guys are reading this... I miss you!! I probably just need to give it more time as well. I start up with the Swim Team in October so that should be fun. (:

I do LOVE the indoor pool. Its been a cool summer inside (:

Friends: Addison & I have joined a playgroup here in Katy! They are a really active group & we have been having lots of fun with them. Still consider myself a newbie, but I'm working on that. I really like the way they set-up their group. Everyone hosts one play-date a month and they put out the dates on all the days and what they are (National Pancake Day, Talk like a Pirate Day, etc.) to help with inspiration. There is always a huge variety of ideas and its fun to mix it up every month. I sure do miss my Bay Area friends (Mommy Friends & Non-Mommy friends) though. They are what I miss the most.

Playdate Fun!

Overall, Katy has been great to us. Cameran likes his job & he is on the company soccer team & gets to play in a soccer game once a week. We finally have a normal schedule and get three day weekends every other week. (Its AMAZING!) We even get to see my family more often & have lunch dates with my dad. Yes, some days I'd rather be back in good ol' Texas City, but I know it can only get better as we settle more down here. 

Lunch date with Poppy!

Houston Zoo

I have really been missing all of my Bay Area Mommy Friends. At the time, we really had not been active in the Katy playgroup yet & been busy dealing with house drama. (Update coming soon!) Addison & I have been going stir crazy & we def missed seeing our friends every week. So, we planned a Zoo meetup with our former Playgroup.

The Crew!

It was nice to be reunited with some good friends. I'm thankful we can still meet-up inside the loop of Houston every now & then!

Lego Gorilla

Lego Giraffe

It was a HOT day, but we had a great time. The Zoo has a Lego animal exhibit right now & it was pretty cool. I don't think Addison enjoyed it as much as I did, but I'm glad we made the trip to see it before it left.

Lego Flamingos

After the Lego exhibit, we started heading towards the giraffes. I think sometimes that is the only reason we even go to the Zoo. The moment we pull into the Zoo parking lot, Addison asks to go see the giraffes. If I ask her if she wants to go to the Zoo she says "See Katie & Feed the Giraffes!"

Addison & Katie on the Carousel.

Mishell & I.

We had a few minutes before they opened the Giraffe feeding so the girls rode the Carousel. Addison & Katie are carousel pros & let Mishell & I ride next to them instead of standing beside them.  It was fun & the girls loved it. Mishell & I may have had a little too much fun taking "selfies" during the ride. 

Action Shot!

Gavin & Addison feeding the giraffes.

Finally, the moment we have all been waiting for! Giraffe Feeding time!

Headed Home!

We then had lunch near the giraffes (I'm telling you these guys MAKE the zoo trip) & got to catch up with our friends. It was a good trip just SUPER hot! I'm so glad they decided to brave the heat with us. We will have to do it again soon & someplace indoors!

I don't know about you but,

I'm feeling twenty-two.

That of course was my theme song on Tuesday.

22. I sure don't feel 22, maybe more like 32.

Sleeping in! 

We started off our day LATE & it was wonderful. Addison & Tora slept in until 10. I couldn't believe it. I was sure one of them would wake up early & wake up the other. That was a perfect birthday gift to me from my two crazies. The gift of sleep...ahhhh (:

So much love. 

We enjoyed our lunch outside & went for a short walk with Tora. It was a very low-key day, but I loved every minute of it. Nothing is better than spending the day with my two favorite girls. It was also  relaxing to just stay at home & keep it simple.

Ready for Mommy's Birthday Dinner!

After I got off work, Frank, Gordie, Kelsey, Trevor, & McKenzie came by and met Tora. Then we went to dinner at Atami's. I had never been there yet, but I love habachi grills & I thought Addison would stay entertained.

It was super yummy & it was fun! I loved watching Addison take it all in. We had a great time & had great company. Thank you guys for coming down & taking me to dinner! I felt special & it was a great ending to my day. (:

Introducing...Tora!

I haven't blogged in quite a while. There's much to update & maybe one day I'll get around to it. Who knows...

Throwback Family Picture.

One of the big things that happened to us was we lost our sweet baby Bear. It is a big loss for us & we are still dealing with it. Some people may not understand, but she was our first baby before we had Addison. We loved & treated her like she was our own child. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of her & I am so thankful for all of our good memories we had with her.

So much love.

 The question of the hour was would we get another dog? For a while we were very against it and we sure didn't think it would be this soon. It would be so hard to have another dog other than our Bear around the house, but then an opportunity appeared & we decided to just go for it. We thought if the new puppy was as half as great as Bear was, she would make us very happy.

So, here is the newest family member...Tora!

Addison, my dad and I picked her up from the airport cargo on Monday. As soon as I saw her sweet little face & big ears I fell in love.

Waiting for her arrival!

She has been a joy to have & its been great having some puppy love back into our house. We've had a "Bear-shaped hole" in our hearts & Tora has been a big help to our family.

Its been quite interesting trying to Potty Train TWO (Addison & Tora) at one time. I feel like my life revolves around going to the bathroom these days. I'll update more on that later.

Ring Dunk & Lake Time!

To kickoff our busy weekend, Cameran finished his FINAL project for school & had his ring dunk. I met Cameran down in Galveston and we had dinner with some of his friends. Then we headed to Jamaica Beach for his ring dunk.

He dunked his ring with two of his friends, Sean & Laura. I can't remember his dunking time, but I think it was around 1 minute 30 seconds. It was pretty entertaining & I am glad he finally decided to dunk his ring. If you are not an Aggie & curious about what a ring dunk even is... Here ya go! (: 

Saturday Morning, I had to work Healthy Kids Day at the YMCA and then we headed to Navasota. Of course, we had to feed the ducks! 

Sunday, we were up & ready bright & early to take pictures of Cameran for graduation. I was hoping to sneak in a few family photos, but Addison was not in the picture taking mood. We did get great pictures of Cam, but I have yet to post them. Ahhhh, Maybe one day soon (: 

It was thankfully a sunny day & the rain stayed away so we made a quick trip to Lake Somerville. I've been dying to go to the lake. When I was still in high school, we would make trips to the lake often & stay for a week. I haven't been to the lake in several years.

Addison has been hanging out in my dad's boat at their house & I thought she'd love to take it in the water & actually ride on it. 

The Kehlenbeck/Crawford crew came out with us! We had Frank's boat & my dad's and we would switch back & forth in between boats. We tubed, skiied, & kneeboarded. The only downside was the water was freezing! 

 

Addison even tubed! She loved it. She rode with me & also Kelsey & McKenzie. It was a nice quick getaway & hopefully there will be more of these days this summer!

We headed back to Navasota & Kelsey & I stopped by the Blue Barrel for a bit of shopping. The store was closing & Amanda & Aunt Gordie were going through everything getting it ready for clearance sales. We found these big, lacy, old wedding dresses in a back room. 

So of course, we put them on & had a bridal photo shoot late at night.

I did buy a bunch of cute dresses for Addison from the Blue Barrel! 

Alright, this post is getting long, but the last event to get caught up on for this week is Cameran's scholarship dinner.

I've been Cameran's date to this dinner all 4 years of college. Its crazy to see how far we've come. This was our final dinner since he will be graduating. We've been so blessed that Cameran's college was completely paid for. It helped us out so much in this season of our lives.