Monday, December 31, 2012

Adios, 2012

2012's most memorable moments....

*Daddy/Daughter Valentine Dance

*Surprise Spring Disney Vacation

*Weekend with friends at Great Wolf Lodge


*Addy's preschool graduation

*Sold our house in Round Rock and moved to Salado

*Two week summer vacation to Maine, Vermont & New Hampshire

*Random Galveston roadtrip to finish out the summer

*Aubrey started 3rd grade and Adelyn started Kindergarten

*We got a baby niece/cousin, Harper

*We became a diaper free household

*11 year anniversary cruise
2012 brought many great memories, as you can see.  It is easy to focus on the best times here on the blog, and that is really what I want to do.  It is easy and lighthearted and fun.  However, sometimes I think it paints an unrealistic picture of our life.  2012 presented some challenges for Dave and I as a couple, that were mostly brought on by a lack of communication over the years.  We got caught up in the day to day and put our marriage on auto-pilot.  We started to take each other for granted.  We kinda lost our connection for a while.  It happens to the best of us.  We spent a good half of the year mending what we thought was a fantastic union.  It took lots of late night discussions and quite a few arguments to really understand what was going on, how we got to that place, and how we were going to fix it.  Luckily, as with any strong marriage, we worked through our issues and we are looking forward to starting 2013 stronger than ever.  

We think moving to Salado is one of the best decisions we have ever made.  The kids are so active here and always want to be outside.  Aubrey and Adelyn love their schools.  The teachers love them.   Aubrey has struggled with reading since kindergarten, so we finally had her tested for dyslexia this year.  She was not diagnosed as dyslexic, but she was diagnosed with ADD.  We started her on Adderall and it, in my opinion, has made a tremendous difference in her learning and attention.  I think it's a freaking miracle drug.   She is the sweetest, most loving child you will ever meet.  She is always thinking about others.  She likes playing games on her Kindle, singing along to Taylor Swift, and playing with Addy & Blake.  Addy has ruled kindergarten like a boss.  She was recognized at the first assembly for showing respect to others.  I am so proud of her because I wasn't sure how kindergarten would go.  She is very opinionated and talkative, but apparently she knows when to shut it off at school.  She loves to draw and says she wants to be an artist when she grows up.  I wouldn't be surprised if that came true.  She and Blake are big buds and she gets way jealous if he hangs out with Aubrey instead of her.  Blake is doing awesome too.  He started going to school everyday and he loves it.  I drop him off around 9 and pick him up about 2:30.  He can't wait to get there in the morning to play with his friends.  He cracks me up.  He either loves stuff or hates it and there is no in between.  It took him a while to start talking, but he is making up for it now.  He told me this morning, "you so sweet, mom".  Kid knows how to butter me up already.  These little munchkins make life interesting and fun, as well as frustrating and challenging.  I am always amazed by how much they can change in a year.  

This year has taught me many things, but the most important is to not take anything for granted.  
Enjoy every single day.  Don't get caught up in the unimportant details.  Don't stress out about things you can't control.  Don't get caught up in drama.  Show people you care through your actions.  And ask yourself this question:  If you were to record yourself, would you like what you see?
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” –Unknown
With that, I will bid 2012 farewell.  
May 2013 bring you lots of love and laughter.  
Happy New Year!! 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Girly day!

My friend, Angie, and I took our girls to The Nutcracker today in Austin.  The girls are all very close in age and they hit it off when they met each other.  We had a great time.  Ate at Monument Cafe beforehand, managed to score VIP parking at the Long Center, and enjoyed a great day with our sweet little girls.  

They picked out their outfits yesterday, and you can totally tell the difference in personalities.    I think they look SO grown up here, it kinda freaks me out!!

Sweet friends in Austin!

Love these girls.  

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Llama, llama...

I'm one thankful mama...


Thursday, December 13, 2012

a bedtime story

Tonight I read Blake a book.
Then I told him it was time to get in bed.
He didn't want to get in bed, he wanted to play.
I told him if he didn't get in his bed, he would be in trouble.
I repeated this two more times, getting a little more serious each time.
Then he told me I was mean.
I told him that I didn't care if he thought I was mean, it was still time to go to bed.
Then he looked at me and said, "You have stupid hair."
Seriously?
Not sure where he got that one.
I have awesome hair. ;-)
Goodnight.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

organization works!

Yay!  I put these hooks here for the kids a while back.  They are hanging on the first wall you see when you walk into the house.  I had to remind them for the longest time to hang their backpacks up when they came in, but today....holy cow!  Look what I found when I walked through the door....ALL THREE kids hung up their stuff.  Without. Me. Asking.  BOOM, that's how you do it!




Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Elfie Hefner

Turns out the Elf-ster is quite the ladies man.  This is the second year in a row that he has taken a liking to Rapunzel....he forgot to visit the North Pole last night because he was too busy "smelling her hair", according to Aubrey.  Adelyn said yesterday, "How in the world can Elfie watch what we are doing when he is always looking at Rapunzel?"
And today, after he had not moved, Addy says, "I am giving that elf one more chance before I take Rapunzel away from him for good."  

Friday, November 30, 2012

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We had our first Santa sighting tonight at the Salado Christmas stroll!

Elfie made a return trip from the North Pole to keep an eye on these Watkins kiddos!

Christmas decor is popping up all over the house.  ;-)
Tis the season to be jolly!  Fa la la la la, la la la la la!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Holy dog hair, Batman!

Our poor dog was in desperate need of haircut.  He used to go to a groomer in Round Rock, but I think she was super mean to him so I tried to switch him to a new groomer in Salado.  Well, maybe because of his past experience with mean groomer, he kinda bit the new, nice groomer.  OK, not kinda.  He really bit her.  As a result, he was banned from the new groomer.  Who needs one though?  Mama bought some pet clippers at Target and got busy hacking away tonight.  Gotta say, I am pretty pleased with the results.  And Herky, he was PERFECT while I was grooming him.  I actually think he kinda enjoyed it.  ;-)  

Check out that pile of hair!!!  He might need a Christmas sweater now that I chopped off all his insulation.

Who's a happy dog?
BTW, for those of you wondering...Herky got his name from the University of Iowa's mascot, Herky the Hawkeye.  We got him two weeks before we left Iowa, so we thought it would be a good way to remember our year there.  Anyway, that's the story.  It isn't short for Hercules and it's not Turkey.  

Friday, November 23, 2012

Bananas for birthdays!

I never posted the pictures from Blake's 3rd birthday, but it was soooo cute!!  I found adorable monkey supplies at Dollar Tree months before his birthday, so I snagged them before they sold out.  Most of the stuff came from there, so it was pretty affordable.  We had a great time celebrating with family and friends!   
The invitation.  I LOVE Vistaprint.  You can customize any invitation or upload your own design.  This design worked perfectly with the color scheme.  

Burlap, paint and ribbon = endless possibilities for party signs!

Found these awesome monkeys at Dollar Tree and wrapped their arms around a banana for party favors.  

I wish I had the talent to make these cookies, but I'm not that good.  ;-)

Three little monkeys sittin' on a wreath...

All the mantel decor was found at Dollar Tree

Uncle Bink is SUCH a good sport.  ;-)

These lanterns became decorations in Aubrey's bedroom after the party was over.  

Blake was a big fan of the cookies.  

 Our precious little monkey

Wonder what he wished for?

No caption needed.

Yay for matching bouncy houses!  
There was definitely no jumping on the bed after his party; our little monkey passed smooth out.  ;-)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Turkey baby

11/22/06...this little turkey entered our lives.  She came the day before Thanksgiving, so my mom and Uncle Kerri brought me Thanksgiving dinner to the hospital.  I can NOT believe that was SIX years ago!  Today we went and did the Turkey trot with Nanny and GG Dada and then had breakfast at the Hyatt.  Our waiter snagged a cupcake off the dessert buffet table and sung Happy Birthday to our girl.  It was super cute.  The turkey trot is a tradition we look forward to every year.  After that we headed to Uncle Kerri's new house where he had prepared an amazing spread for lunch.  We spent time with the whole gang, including new baby cousin, Harper.  I am pretty sure this may have been the BEST Thanksgiving ever.  Unfortunately, Dave had to work, but it was such a relaxed and fun day.  We are thankful for so many things in our lives.   


We celebrated Addy's birthday last weekend at the Sugar Shack in Salado.  She has such a sweet group of little friends and they had a great time jumping around.  They got sacks at the end to fill up with whatever candy they wanted...pretty much a kid's dream if you ask me.  Not sure the parents totally appreciated us sending their kids home on a sugar high, but oh well.  I forgot my camera, so this is the only picture I have....I know, terrible.  BUT, Dave's dad and another mom took some for me.  ;-)  I love helpers.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Deactivated.

My facebook account, that is.  and it feels good.  Now back to blogging for the main reason I started in the first place, to keep a virtual scrapbook for my family.  For my family.  Because someday, my kids will read this.  and I want them to remember the happy times.       
                   


Monday, October 15, 2012

Happy Fall, Y'all!


I love our little village of Salado!!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

WHEN

did this baby boy...


become this BIG boy???

Seriously??  The last three years have been a complete blur.  I feel like I went to sleep one night with a baby and woke up to find a little man in my house.  Crazy!!!!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

FANtastic

Who knew Dave was such a handyman??  He replaced our family room fan over the weekend and replaced the one in the master bedroom yesterday.  Next on the list---those lovely light fixtures...




Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Blake's first day of preschool

Blake was so ready for school to start. He would go every single day if I let him.  He carries his backpack when we go drop off his sisters at school every morning.  He loves his teachers already and he loves playing with his friends.  I will edit this later, gotta go pick up the girls.  In the meantime, enjoy the pics of my precious little guy.  Can't get enough of his sweet face.