Family Vacation: Day 1

Over Labor Day weekend, we headed to Branson, Missouri for a long weekend getaway. We had a lot of fun spending time as a family. We played, shopped, and relaxed.

We left early Saturday morning and our first stop was the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure!
Here they had many rainforest animals, a bungee cord jungle, a mirror maze, a coconut tree to climb, and a butterfly exhibit.

Jaelyn and a frog.

So many different kinds of butterflies to see here! They flew all around you!

Checking out all the butterflies with her microscope. :)

Awesome-looking butterfly!

Jaelyn and Finlee on the butterfly bench.

They had a window that you could look through to see all of the butterflies that were being raised. While we were there, they were letting the ones go that had came out of their cocoon.

 

Fun Fact: Butterflies don't have noses. :)

The girls got their faces painted so pretty!

After lunch at a good Seafood restaurtant and checking in at our hotel, we headed to the Branson Landing, Branson's big mall.

Chaseton was there too! :)

Jaelyn with a big bear at Bass Pro Shop!

Our main purpose for going to the mall was to take the girls to Build-a-Bear. Since pregnant with Jaelyn, I have always wanted to take her here!

Jaelyn picked a purple and green cat and Finlee picked a brown puppy dog.

Stuffing her kitty.

Getting ready to put her heart in!

Finlee stuffing her puppy.

Giving them a bath.

Jaelyn named her kitty Tinkerbell because she picked out a Tinkerbell fairy outfit for it. Finlee named her puppy Bear. :)

After the mall, we headed back to the hotel to swim. Our hotel had an indoor/outdoor waterpark with it. The girls had a blast swimming and playing in the water.

We headed back to our room to rest before supper. Then we headed to a pizza buffet, arcade, and ice cream shop before heading to bed for our busy day the next day!

Jaelyn by the big banjo at the pizza buffet.

Here are the girls with their animals just before bed:

Love them!

Our first day was a huge success and so much fun!

Xoxo,

Tanna

Two Months!

Chaseton, you are two months old today!

September 7, 2011

You had your two month check-up yesterday and you weigh 11 lbs, 10 oz and you're 22.25 inches long!

Here's what you're up to at two months of age:

• You wear size 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.
• You love to talk! You are starting to "coo" and "ahh" more and more everyday.
• You've started smiling! (See above picture that is too cute for words!) :)
• You love to be held. And I could hold you all day.
• You bring so much joy to our family! We love having you around!
• You sleep really well. I can put you to bed at 11pm and you will still sleep until 6am. You weren't feeling well the other night and you slept for 9 hours straight!
• You are so good at nursing! You are a good, efficient eater.
• You took your first vacation this weekend (Labor Day weekend) to Branson, Mo.
• Daddy is ready for you to grow up! He keeps asking me if you can eat solid food yet. I wish you would slow down! I can hardly believe you are already two months old!
• You are getting use to your sisters. You have started watching them and smiling at them.
• You can hold your head up completely on your own.
• I love spending the afternoon or evening with you when the girls are napping. You are such a good baby and I love having you around!
• You aren't fond of loud noises. You seem to be sensitive sometimes!
• I love how cute you are! You are getting to be such a handsome boy!
• We hope you know how much we love you!

Here you are at one month old:

And here you are now at two months old:

Here's to another good month with our little man!

Xoxo,

Tanna

30

A few ladies from blogs that I read have been sharing "50 Things You May Not Know About Me". I thought it would be fun to share just 30 different things about myself that others may not know. I thought it would be something fun to look back on when I'm a little old lady! :)

1. Orange is my favorite color. I once begged my dad (and also Matt) to buy me an orange car. My bedroom is all orange. And the Texas Longhorns' color is burnt orange. :) I just love orange!
2. Matt and I got engaged in December when I was 17 years old. I went to Hawaii for my senior trip and turned 18 on my way home. I graduated High school the following May and Matt and I got married in July. I then turned 19 in March of 2007 and had my first baby (Jaelyn) right after in April. Those were the two busiest yet happiest years of my life.
3. I married my High school sweetheart.
4. I love to travel. As a little girl, I was blessed to be able to take many vacations with my family. Even if it was just to Texas to see family, I was traveling. I would vacation and travel every day of the year if I could. Since having babies, traveling has been few and far between but I know someday we will be able to take our girls to see different parts of the country. I feel like tourism and travel is a passion of mine and I would love to make a career (I was once majoring in Hospitality Management and Tourism) of it and travel the world!
5. As much as I love to travel, I also love to be home with my family. Its my favorite place to be. I love my home! I love watching my children grow up here. There's truly nothing better than home sweet home.
6. My favorite season is Spring, followed by Fall. I love the rain, flowers and weather of Spring but I love the color, traditions, and crisp, cool weather of Fall.
7. When I was little I wanted to be a marine biologist. A part of me would still love to be one. Every time I see anything that has to do with marine life, I get so excited. I love the beach and sea life makes me happy.
8. I love the rain. I would take a rainy day over a sunny one anytime! I love the way it smells and how it makes the ground fresh and clean.
9. I would much rather wear comfy clothes with my hair up than get all dressed up. I just love to be casual and comfy and its a big part of who I am. I am very low-maintenance.
10. Mexican food and chocolate are my favorite foods.
11. No matter what I do, I cannot stay awake for movies. If anyone puts a movie in, I fall asleep. I have been better about it now that I am older but when I was younger, I couldn't stay awake for anything.
12. Photography and blogging are my favorite hobbies. I love taking pictures of my kids and documenting our lives and memories. I don't do it for any other reason than knowing my kids will be able to read about their childhood. I feel good knowing that I will be able to look back and read about what life was like when my kids were young. It makes the fact that they are growing up so fast easier to take.
13. When I was in High school, I had a huge flip-flop obsession. Every one would always buy me anything flip-flop. Picture frames, knick-knacks, decor, shoes, and more! My bedroom wall even had flip-flops painted on it. The weird thing about this is, I hate feet! They disgust me. I love flip-flops but feet, not so much.
14. I love watching reality TV.
15. I am afraid of the dark and being home alone at night. I'm also afraid of mice.
16. Growing up, I always cheered for the Oklahoma Sooners because my grandpa was a huge fan. When I met Matt, he was a Texas Longhorns fan. I choose to cheer for the longhorns because my husband loves them. I actually love Texas Longhorn football (I mean we did name our dog McCoy after Colt McCoy) and I like to think I know a lot about the team. Or atleast I try to, to make my husband proud. :)
17. I have two older brothers. One is four years older than me and the other is six years older than me. I love them both more than I ever thought I would. :)
18. My favorite TV show is Friday Night Lights. I could watch it over and over and have most of it memorized. I love the characters and the story!
19. My favorite drinks are Dr. Pepper, Peach Tea, and Chocolate Milk.
20. I would love to own a small business. I am constantly thinking about everything that I could turn into a small business. In High school I always said that I wanted to open up my own coffee shop in Rhode Island called the Flip-flop Coffee Shop. (Flip-flop because I was obsessed with them, Rhode Island because it was a cool, beachy state because I knew of nobody that had come from there and coffee shop because that's what I wanted.)
21. I graduted from a class of 16 people in 2006. I was a cheerleader and was also Football Homecoming Queen in 2005. (Matt was also Football Homecoming King!) :)
22. I love to sew and be crafty! My grandma taught me when I was little and I think its in my blood. I'm so grateful she taught me when I was little and I hope my girls love to sew when they are older. I eventually hope to be able to make amazing quilts like my grandma does. I love to create fun things!
23. My first car was a 2001 Silver Chevy Cavalier, which I still have today. My dad bought her for me my sophomore year of High school. I named "her" Dixie and my uncle bought me a tag that says "I love Dixie" to put on it. I promised my dad she would never leave our family because we love my car that much. Matt always asks me if he can take the tag off, because he drives the car, and I won't let him because I am that sentimental about it. :)
24. I love to people watch. Its fun to see what others are up to or how they act. Its kind of creepy, but its really fun! Different people make me smile!
25. I love spending time with my husband. He makes me smile and laugh so much. I could seriously just sit on the couch with him. I just love being around him!
26. My name, Tanna, isn't very common. I'd always get mad at my parents when I couldn't find anything personalized with my name. I always promised myself I wouldn't do that to my kids yet I named them Jaelyn, Finlee, and Chaseton. :)
27. I get annoyed really easily. More so since having kids. I'm usually pretty quiet but if something annoys me, I will probably tell you.
28. I'm really grateful for my family and friends. I am blessed to have all of them in my life.
29. I always wanted to be a mom. My friends wanted to be lawyers, doctors, and designers and I wanted to be a mom.
30. I love to have fun and laugh! Who doesn't? I'm always up for a good time!

Xoxo,
Tanna

Pictures

Since the weather has been cooler around here these days, we've been heading to the lake as a family for a few evening walks.

I forgot how much I loved taking pictures of the girls. It has been so long since I have done it and I really enjoyed just letting them be themselves and taking their pictures. It makes me feel good to know that they will have so many pictures to look back on from their childhood.

Finlee:

A few of my favorite things about you are...

How sweet you are. I say this so many times but its true. You have the biggest heart.

You're onery. It can be a challenging thing but I have to admit, its cute too!

You are so headstrong. I pray that God uses your determination and courage to conquer the world one day. (Rather than to just challenge me.) :)

You are such a people person. I have to watch you because you will go up to anyone you see just to say hi. You are the friendliest little girl I know.

You have no fear. You are my independent one yet you still rely on me.

I love your personality. You say and do the funniest things. You are happy and funny and definitely have your daddy's sense of humor. You've been saying knock-knock jokes since you were one!

You love music and are constantly singing. I love hearing you sing and learn new songs. You love to dance too!

I love your smile. You love to say cheese and have your picture taken.

I love how I can see so much of myself in you. You look just like me! You can sometimes even be shy like me.

You're so fun! You are full of energy and love to play!

You know that you'll always be my baby girl. You even say it yourself.

I hope you know how special you are to me!

Jaelyn:

A few of my favorite things about you are...

You're my princess and you know it. Infact, you tell me atleast once a day that you're my princess. :)

I love how your mind works. You are constantly telling me the way things should work or the way they are. You learn so much every day!

I love when you use big words in sentences. It makes me realize how fast you are growing up.

I love the funny things you say. You are always making me laugh!

I love how you love to spend time with me. You are always asking me to do something fun with you!

I love your sweet smile. I think you are so pretty!

You love to read. One of my favorite things to do with you is sit on the couch and read with you.

You have a BIG heart! You are always wanting to help me and others around you. You always mention nice things that you want to do for someone else.

I love how you love your little sister. If she is ever scared or hurt, you are the first person to try and fix the problem. Unless you caused it, of course. :) You are such a little mommy!

I love you more than words can say!

Chaseton:

A few of my favorite things about you are...

How relaxed and calm you are. You are such a good and easy baby and I love hanging out with you!

You're so handsome! I love your beautiful blue eyes and your perfect lips!

I love how you fit perfectly into our family! You're pretty special to all of us!

So grateful for my kids today and so glad to be their mom!

Xoxo,

Tanna