18 Months Old

My sweet Brooks Vaughn turned 18 months on January 23...how in the world did this happen??  I know people say that time flies the older we get, but really...I blinked and he's a year and a half. :(  I've said it before in all of my posts, but this little guy is the biggest blessing to my Mama heart.  His snuggles, big bear hugs, cries for Ma-Ma, and hysterical laughing when being tickled warm my heart more than words can express.  He is SO big!  But really...the kid officially weighs more than his 3 year old sister (he is 29.4 lbs. and Reese is 28.8 lbs.)  He is rock solid and wearing 18-24 month clothing and lots of 2T's.  He is 32 inches tall and looks bigger to me every day. 

 

To my little guy...I still love that you curl up in my lap every night in your room to read books, say prayers, and rock. 

 

I love that I am the only one who can rock you to sleep. (You prefer to fall asleep with Daddy in our big bed watching some t.v. :)) 

 

 I (secretly) love that you still end up in our bed half way through the night, because when you roll over next to me just to touch my arm and to make sure I'm there, it melts my heart. 

 

I love that you have the best bed head EVER! 

 

 I also love that you can truly eat more than I can at EVERY meal. 

 

I love how you fold your sweet hands and bow your head every time we pray. 

 

I love how your precious big sister loves you. She's grown up so much to me just recently. She brings you your milk, juice, pacifier, shares her snack, helps you with puzzles, etc. I can see that when you look at her with those big blue eyes, you're in awe.  You love to copy what she does.

 

I love that after dinner in the evenings, when Daddy and I are cleaning the kitchen, you and Reese run around in your diaper and panties playing, chasing each other, singing, and just being rambunctious, lovable, children. 

 

I love to dress you...who ever said that dressing girls was more fun, was wrong :)

 

I love that you are becoming your own little person.  You love to throw balls, watch Bubble Guppies, you are obsessed with Peppa Pig, and you want nothing more than to be outside. You eat everything (so proud that you eat fruits and veggies ALL the time). The only thing we have found that you don't like is broccoli and pineapples.

 

I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life.  Every day I pray his richest blessings on you and your precious sister.  It brings me to tears to think of how God has blessed your Daddy and me with you and Reese.  We pray that you will both always know Him.  May you two have a relationship with our loving God, and have faith that He will always take care of you.  We love you!!

 

 

 

 

 Happy Half Birthday!!!

 

 

 

Evelyn Rose Finnell

Baby Evie made her debut on the evening of January 21, 2016.  To say that we are in love with her is an understatement.  She is the most beautiful thing and has more hair than I have ever seen on a sweet baby.  She weighed 8 lbs. 6 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.  She's going to be tall like her beautiful Mama.  Kyndall and Blake are doing great and we all had a chance to drive down to Little Rock this weekend to meet this new blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to snuggle you again (24 hours was hardly long enough).  You are part of a wonderful family Miss Evie Rose.  I can promise you that you will be loved for the rest of your life by this crew.  We cannot wait to watch you grow!!! :))

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Boy

My handsome hubs had a birthday yesterday!!  The big 3-9 folks!  He still looks amazing and we had a great time celebrating our guy.  Last Thursday, Mom watched the kiddos while we went out to celebrate.  (We had to celebrate a little early, because Baby Evie is due ANYTIME!)  Matt and I went to Ruth's Chris for drinks and appetizers and then moved our little party on to Bonefish.  Bonefish is one of the few chains that we love and we hadn't been there in forever. #winterwhitecosmo  We had so much fun being together, laughing, and enjoying some time with just US. He was pretty good this year, and got the new iPhone 6S and a Yeti Hopper from Mama and the kids.

 

 

On January 18, his actually birthday, he requested Whole Hog for dinner and then we devoured a cookie cake. (By far the kids favorite ;))

 

 

Happy Birthday to my main man!!  God made me wait 28 years before he put you in my life, but I thank Him every day for doing so. You are the Christian leader our family needs, the most kind-hearted nurse I know, and the best loving father who guides our children with a gentle hand. I hope your day was perfect, and thank you for doing life with me! I love you babe!!!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!



 

A Big Girl Room for Reese

Well, I'm not going to lie...I might have cried a little bit as I took the last pictures of her "nursery" and toddler bed.  Our baby girl is almost 3.5 years old, so I suppose it was time.  She is so excited that she now has a big bed.  Her entire nursery was a portrait out of the Pottery Barn catalog.  They discontinued the 'Hayley' bedding, so I chose flowers, butterflies, and lots of pink. Reese loves it! We kept her walls a soft green and I'm slowly taking down the owl decor and looking for "big girl" wall art. :(  Here is the before...

 

 

 

And now here's the after...

I still need to find some decorative pillows.

 

 

EXCITED!!

 

 

I never want Reese to be sensitive about her freckles.  Occasionally some insecure soul would make fun of mine when I was at a young age. I want her to NEVER doubt how beautiful she is and hopefully someday she will love her freckles like I do. :))

 

 

 

I just can't bear to take down her baby pictures that are still up...maybe one day!!

 

 

 

 

 

A Louisiana Christmas

We left to have Christmas with Matt's side of the family on Monday, December 27th.  We had planned to leave earlier, but due to the Winter Storm Goliath, we were delayed by a day.  We were able to spend 3 nights in Monroe, and I swear...our time there is never long enough. We always have so much fun seeing everybody and just spending time together.  This trip was no different. It was full of lots of memory making!!

What's a road trip without a giant bag of party mix?

 

Thrilled to be with cousins!

 

Dog piling Uncle Matt/Daddy

 

 

Tuesday night, Andree' and Larry were sweet to keep the kids so that Matt and I could go to dinner with this great group of friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday morning, while Matt went with his Dad to the deer camp, Emily, Andree' and I took the kids to the trampoline park.  It was Reese and Brooks' first time.  It was a HIT!

 

 

Sweet boy watching the big boys play basketball.

 

Getting in on the action ;)

 

Thanks for the coke icee, Aunt Em!

 

These two....

Wednesday night, we all went to Jack and Emily's and ordered in pizza, relaxed, and let the kiddos play their little hearts out.  It was the perfect ending to our wonderful trip.  Brooks ate two pieces of pizza, and then went for Charlie Claire's plate too.

 

 

 

These girls loved playing together so much!!

 

 

As always, we can't wait for our next trip back to Louisiana!! :)