Merry Christmas!

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

This was Cara last night before we left for our Christmas Eve service. Thanks for the 4 wheeler Luxtons...she likes it, can you tell. We had a great time at my parents house yesterday (and this weekend). This morning we woke up and Cara LOVED her kitchen. Then we went to Eric's parents house for gifts and lunch, and watching movies all day. We are still here now, waiting on Ronnie, Eric's best friend to come visit. Cara is already asleep, she was exhausted after this week!! Love to all. Remember Christ was born to die for our sins. God couldn't have sent a better gift.

2 years

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Here's the comparison! :)

Santa

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

This is just too cute to not post. We are very much focused on teaching Cara about Jesus' birth and the true meaning of Christmas day; that is our main goal and why we celebrate. It's hard to stay out of the secular traditions, but we believe we've found a nice balance. We don't really talk about Santa, we agree we'll pretend she gets gifts from him, until she asks us for real, then we won't lie, but I can't pass up these cutie patootie photo opportunities! :) I'll post this year and last year too! :)

Back from the dead (ok, just offline)

Hi! We are back online. Thanks to family and friends I've been able to check emails periodically, but didn't want to waste time doing posts/pictures, etc. We got our new Dell laptop today (we were told it wouldn't ship until tomorrow...go Dell). It's great, and fast. It's our first computer to buy as a married couple! We bought our old one a couple of months before we got married, so it lasted 6.5 years. Anyways, lots have happened recently. We've found out the gender of about 5 of our friends babies. My best friend, Trayce Hernandez, had her 2nd little girl on Thursday, Dec 6th at 12:31 am, after a whopping hour and a half of labor (I PRAY my next comes that fast!). There will be pictures on flickr shortly. Eric's Christmas concert was last night, and Cara actually stayed through it. She was VERY tired at the end, and fell asleep the second she was in the car, but she was pretty well behaved through it. The band kids just love her. I'm on month 8 of trying to get pregnant. I had my yearly exam with my OB/GYN yesterday, and she said that if I'm not pregnant by mid January, because of my surgery last year and losing the use of one of side of my tubes, that I'd have an HSG done. I've heard from a friend it is very painful, so let's pray I just get pregnant now! :)

Anyways, that's a brief update. Will do more later, I'm sure. Love to all and Merry Chrsitmas!

no computer

I'm not ignoring you if you send me an email, but our computer crashed on Saturday. My cousin's husband is trying to fix it, and in the mean time I've been making trips to the library and my neighbors house checking emails. I've had 2 Juice Plus wellness workshops this week and they went great. I have lots of new customers that are getting started on improving their health, just in time for the holidays! Anyways, keep in touch, phone calls are good :)

Almost Thanksgiving, can you believe it??

It just seems like this fall has flown by. Maybe it's because how busy Eric was with marching contests and football games (they didn't make the playoffs--woo hoo), and with how busy Cara is these days. She doesn't walk anywhere, she runs!! She and I have a pretty good schedule. We wake up, eat breakfast, and head to run errands or go to the YMCA (or both). She loves the childwatch there, and I love how much endurance I'm finally building up by working out most days of the work week! On Wednesdays we go to playgroup at 10. Fridays she goes to CEC at church and I either go to MOPS for 2 hours or to the YMCA for a class at 9:30--it kicks my booty but I love it.

In other news we're heading to Georgetown next Tuesday night for Thanksgiving with the Gambles (mom's maiden name). We are throwing my cousin Ashley a family shower Wednesday night, she and Eddie are expecting their first baby in the spring. Then on Friday we're heading to Corpus Christi to visit with the Newsomes. Eric's cousin Amy is due to have her first little boy in January. It's definitely baby season. There are 7 women pregnant in our ABF at church, and I know 4 others (friends/relatives), so it's basically one or two a month for the next 9 months :) My best friend Trayce is having her 2nd little girl in December, we can't wait. We'll actually be in town for her birth (the first one, Julianne, we had a 2 week trip to Houston planned when we lived in Michigan, but she came 10 days early!!) :) That's all for now. I'll try to load more pictures soon!

GO Bears!!

We're off to Baylor this morning to hang out with our old friends and see our old campus. We can't wait. Sic 'Em Bears!!

Fall Fest

Yesterday was a fun day. Cara was so cute as our little bumble bee. Go see our flickr account, there are hundreds of pictures on there! We had a fun time at our playgroup costume party in the morning. Then, after her nap we snuggled on the couch and watched "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," that I had DVR'ed from the night before. She liked it because she has been obsessed with pumpkins this fall! Then when Eric got home we went up to our church's fall fest. We had such a good time. She just wanted to run around, everything thought she was so entertaining! Then we came home, she went to bed, and we handed out candy for a little while. All in all it was a fun day.

In other news, my Juice Plus+ business has really taken off. I've gotten my first few customers, and I have already promoted to get a higher commission!!! I truly believe God has led me to this business. Everyone in my upline is a sweet and servant Christian, that want to make those around them (as well as themselves) healthier! I hope to get a few more customers by the end of my first 60 days (12/22/07), or some distributors, so if you are interested in increasing the health of your family through a thoroughly researched whole food, just let me know!!

I also chopped all my hair off today, about 8 inches! Here's a picture, although it's not the best shot!

Pumpkin time and other stuff!

It's that fun time of year again....off to the pumpkin patch. We had a friend's friend meet us out there this year and take some great pictures of Cara (& me). You can view them on this website: http://www.timestwocreations.com/html/newsome_.html They are precious. Of course she doesn't actually look at the camera, and she didn't smile, but that's ok. She's been sick, yes AGAIN! Runny nose started last Tuesday when we went up to Georgetown to visit my grandparents for a couple of days. The cough started on Thursday evening. I figured it was drainage and gave her my best dose of benadryl and delsym over the weekend. It got worse (the cough) so we took her in on Monday to the doctor. She said she had a major infection in her nose, so we were prescribed amoxycillan again. That evening (about 8 hours after her first dose), the rash started again. (see my flickr site for pics). It dawned on me, this isn't Roseola like last time because she hasn't run a fever, then it clicked, she's allergic!! Called the doctor, she said don't give it to her that night, to give her benadryl and stop by in the morning. We stopped by at 8:15, and she said she was marking her down as allergic (it had mostly gone away, but I took pictures the night before). She said it may be amoxycillan rash, but we'd stay away, so now she's on a new med and it seems to be working ok (but don't get me started on the 3 trips to walgreens to get it!!).

Anyways, that's the long version of what's been going on lately. Oh I forgot. Our ABF (adult bible fellowship) at Kingsland got together 2 friday nights ago and had a murder mystery party. It was hilarious (because most of us dressed themed). There are some pictures on my flickr site. Now I'm done!

Happy Birthday Ronnie!! (& Denise & Aidan)

Today is Eric's BEST FRIEND - Ronnie Garretsen's birthday. We hope he and his family are having a great day up in Denver. I also missed my good friend Denise Campbell's birthday on Tuesday, and her son Aidan's on Monday! I've been getting really bad about it! We hope everyone is enjoying this fall season!

This is a picture from last Christmas season when Ronnie and his family were down visiting. At the good ole' Pappadeaux!

After

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Here's a shot of the after on our kitchen. You can click on it and see the befores and afters on my flickr site!

Mommy's sick

Yesterday was just a horrible day. I woke up about 2 am with a fever. I was hot to the touch (per Eric) but I was shivering and I could not get warm. First I added pants, then socks, then a hoodie. I laid under the blankets for awhile and just shivered. Then I got online to look at symptoms. When I decided it was just a cold/flu, I went and laid on the couch and watched tv. I think I nodded off about 6:20, then woke up at 6:45, then laid down at 7, then got up with Cara at 8! Thank goodness I already had an allergist appointment scheduled for 8:45. He was able to prescribe me a Z-pack (which I can take because I'm still not pregnant!). Cara was so good yesterday, thank God! I was worthless, I just laid on the couch all day. She played and danced and played some more. She is such a sweetie pie when she's not sick! :) Eric of course was especially busy yesterday. They had their district's "Band Extravaganza" yesterday. It's basically Pre-UIL where all their district bands perform. Eric said his band performed the best he's ever seen them, so it's looking up. But he didn't get home till 10:45! Cara was sleepy (probably from inactivity), so she was in bed at 6:45. Which gave me plenty of time to lay on the couch and catch up on my tv. By the way, the private practice from Wednesday made me cry hysterically! If you've just had a baby, or are pregnant, I recommend not watching that episode!! My fever broke yesterday evening after the 1st dose, and I feel better today.

Also, we've been having our kitchen redone. We've gotten new granite countertops, and a new dishwasher, microwave/hood and convection range. The last of the granite is being installed as we speak (some small parts they forgot Tuesday when they were installing the rest). I have some before and after pictures, but remember everything's not done. I LOVE my new sink. I wanted 1 basin and the deepest I could find. It's great. All my cookie sheets/roasting pans, etc all fit in there! Anyways, Cara's down for her nap, I'm going to get some stuff done.

1 Year

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Yeah, this is an old picture, from her birthday, but I just got it in the mail and it's too pretty not to blog!! This is my sweet Cara girl. Cara, I am so proud and happy to be your mom. You have changed my life upside down and I wouldn't re do a minute of it. Daddy and I love you!!

15 month stats

We had her 15 month checkup last Thursday. Here are the stats:

Weight: 25 pounds, 11 ounces - 86%

Height: 32.25 inches - 92%

Head: 18 inches - 43%

The doctor was just so happy to see she was normal again with no rash/sickness/fever! She's been a busy little girl. She LOVES school! She just walks right in and starts playing. Her favorite things to play with are fake plates/bowls and the kitchen area, so I think we're going to get her something like that soon. We are also going to start looking on craigslist for some bigger outdoor toys. She loves to be outside. Right now all we have are the 2 dogs to chase around, and her baby pool filled with toys that she splashes in from the side. We finally, after our 3rd time trying since she turned 1, got her on a 1 nap a day schedule starting Sunday the 16th. She now sleeps from 12-3 every day. Eventually I'd like to move it back to 1-4 or something like that because then she'd be able to stay up and see daddy till closer to 7:30/8 every night. But right now it's just hard enough keeping her entertained/awake from 8-12 every day. She is so sleepy in the mornings, which is beyond me. She slept last night from 7 pm till 8:30 am! And was still sleepy starting around 11. Of course once lunch starts, she's ok...until the food runs out!

Our friend Julie Paquette and her girls Rilyn and Ella were in town yesterday. We went to the park and played in the morning and then all had lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was great seeing them. They moved last February to Austin. We hate them being far away, but at least Cara and I get to see them every time we drive to Georgetown to see my grandparents, it's right on the way.

I'm a big kid now!

Cara is currently at her first day of preschool! Our church, Kingsland Baptist Church, has a Child Enrichment Center, and we signed her up for Friday's from 9-2:30. That way I can attend MOPS every other Friday and I can go do bookkeeping, and stay caught up. Well that was the plan at least. But the people I do bookkeeping for have had computer issues for about 2 months now, so I couldn't go out today because I wouldn't have a computer to work on! So today, I'm going to our local scrapbooking store and spending my day as a relaxed mommy! It'll probably be the only time this happens, so I'm taking advantage of it.

Cara Leigh was such a big girl today. She walked right into her classroom and started playing with the table/chairs and the little cups/apples/bowls/kitchen area, etc. She was so cute. I was talking to the teachers for a little bit. Then I said, "I love you, bye bye." She looked at me from the back of the room, said "bye bye," and kept on playing. Man, when you think they'll need you the most.....off they go to play! Of course mommy teared up leaving, but I'm ok. I took picture too of course, so I'll post those soon. I'm also have cell issues, so if you're trying to reach me and it goes to voicemail, keep trying, or send me an email.

Cara is better

Praise Jesus. The rash definitely on it's way out and she's acting like my sweet Cara girl again. Keep us in your prayers, she starts her first day of preschool on Friday. She'll be going to Kingsland's Friday CEC (Child Enrichment Center) from 9-2:30. I originally did it because they teach them so much, and so I could go do my bookkeeping without having a friend watch Cara. Now they are having so many computer problems it might be weird if I can't go and she's there! I'll find something to do! :)

Sick little sicky girl

Well, it's been that week. When this turns into this turns into more doctors visits! Last Thursday (8/30) Cara had been cranky for awhile, but was out of control and had started a clear runny nose and a slight cough. Then, she threw up during her 2nd nap so I knew it was time to see the doctor. Come to find out, she has her first ear infection, and it's a DOUBLE! So we got get the amoxicyllan (sp?) and we're on our way. She had no fever, so I'm glad I took her in, usually I 'wait it out' a couple of days. She's fine and by Friday her runny nose is gone and she's more like the happy Cara we love! Then on Tuesday, clear runny nose comes back, with a cough. And by Wednesday she feels SUPER hot to the touch and pukes again. So we take her back in. They said ears are perfect, now it settled in her chest and she probably has bronchitis. So they say no more amoxicyllan, let's give her an antibiotic shot so she's not on them for 2 weeks, and here's a cough medicine prescription, but only give it to her if you HAVE to b/c it's got that crazy drug in it. Lovely. But, she also has a 102.2 fever, so we're supposed to alternate tylenol and motrin ever 3 hours. So with 1 dose of cough medicine and fever meds, she's down to 99.5 by bedtime. She didn't wake up at all that night (which is normal) but that also meant no fever meds. So she wakes up with this pitiful whine Thursday morning with a 101.9 fever. Back to tylenol and motrin. She feels better and by bedtime yesterday, no fever. We even woke up her up to check it a little after 10 when we were going to bed and it was low, 97.7. This morning, she wakes up, no fever still, eats breakfast, and I go to get her ready for the day, and I notice a rash....all over her belly. Then I'm talking to my nurse friend on the phone and I see it on her back and her neck and behind her ears. I'm like, GREAT $120 in doctors visits in 8 days. But I call my genius doctor cousin and she says the same thing my nurse friend does, and the nurse at the pediatricians office that I talked to. It was probably a virus, now the fever has broken and the rash is here. It's not raised like hives or an allergic reaction. So hopefully she'll feel better. But as I sit here she's not taking her morning nap and when I checked her earlier it was up to 99.5. God, please heal my poor baby. Also, I'm not feeling good, and of course Eric won't be home most of the day tomorrow either b/c their first football game is 6 pm on Saturday. Prayers please!

Video of Cara

Darrell asked me for some new video of Cara, so this is what we shot yesterday.

Happy Birthday Greg!

Eric's brother Greg turned 22 today. We had a yummy, yet very SLOW dinner at Macaroni Grill tonight. Hope you had a great day Greg!

Happy Birthday Mom / YaYa!

Mom,


Hope your birthday was great! We hope you had a good day, and enjoyed that new unburnt coffee :)
Love US!

Happy 50th Birthday Darrell!

Last night was Darrell's surprise 50th birthday party down at my parents house in Santa Fe. We had a great time visiting with family and friends. Cara even stayed up till 8:00 enjoying the festivities!

Speaking of Cara, she's still getting teeth in and she's been in a particularly bad mood (i.e. my girl who LOVES to sleep refusing to take naps and screaming the whole time we're in the car). Please pray for my sanity. I know it's just part of motherhood, but it just seems these past few weeks have been over the top! Thank God for God and my quiet time, or I don't know what I'd do. Just keep us in your prayers. In case you were wondering, she had only the bottom 2 teeth until about a month ago. Since then she's gotten 6 (she has the front 4 on top and bottom now) and tonight I saw a 5th one on the bottom poking through. I posted new pics on flickr...go check them out.

No more Port Bishop

We just got back from closing on our old home. But it's not ours anymore. It went fine, and we're glad to be here instead of there. We LOVE our new house. LOVE being a 1 story. It's such a quiet street and nice neighborhood, and it's close to EVERYTHING. We are super happy God led us here. It's sad to see the old house go. We built it. We got Riley there. We brought Cara home there. But it was time to go.

Onto other news, Eric's good friend from high school's wife had their baby girl on the 13th. Avery Jean Spadoni, you are one loved little girl. We can't wait to see pictures!!

Quick Update

Sorry, just got internet tonight (at 9:30 after our appointment was from 2-5pm!!) and we're off to bed; however, we just got told we're famous! :) http://www.kingsland.org/ Click on the link to our church's homepage and one of the first little picture rolls on their (ABF) is our class at our superbowl party. Eric, Cara and I are there :)

BIG DAY

It's Moving Day!! Wish us luck

(And if you can read this and are in the Houston area.....come help!) :)

Tomorrow we are the owners of TWO homes....YIKES!

Tomorrow afternoon we close on our new home; just in time since we have lots of friends and family helping us move Saturday morning!! We are SO looking forward to moving in and getting everything settled and not having to have the house 'show-ready' at a moments notice. We are also looking forward to being so much closer to friends and our church. Eric is going to love the 20 minutes off his commute as well. We will be cable/internet-less for about 10 days (of course the first day the cable company can come out is August 13th....2 weeks after I called to set it up!), so I probably won't update much.

Please pray on the continued ease in the sell of our current home. The inspection went fine (well there was some drama but it's over) and everything is set to close on August 15th. We just pray that nothing crazy happens in the next 12 days to deter from that, we for SURE can't afford 2 mortgages. We hope all is well with everyone, please keep in touch! Also, I will be emailing out our new address soon. If you don't get an email, please email me....sometimes my email is wacky!

Here's a pic of Eric and I at our last meal before we left Galveston last week.

Galveston "vacation" and house link.

Eric and I celebrated our 6th anniversary a little late (to get away from all the weekend rates) and went to Galveston on Monday for a days worth of shopping, R&R, and overall couple bonding. We had a great day. We visited the Elissa, a used book store, had lunch at the mosquito cafe where my best friend Trayce works, we had a great dinner, and shopped the strand on and off all day. It was topped off by the gorgeous Tremont house hotel, which was beautiful and had all the amenities, but come to find out, very UNCOMFORTABLE beds! Good thing we only stayed one night. My mom watched Cara for her first night away from us, and she did great.

In other news, in case you want to see our new house online, here is the link on HAR.com. Enjoy!
http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=7228450&class=1&leadid=6&sTYPE=0&backButton=Y

Happy 6 years baby!

Happy 6th anniversary Eric. God has blessed my life beyond comprehension by first giving me you and now sweet Cara. We have had some amazing journeys through our short first 6 years. I look forward to the challenges and exciting times lying ahead of us. I love you.

Video and Pictures uploaded!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Here's some video of Cara blowing kisses while she and Garrett played in the sprinkler. They had a lot of fun together, as did the grown ups. I also posted all our new pictures on flickr.

Lots has been going on. We got the house we wanted. The inspection went well except for the roof, now we're waiting to hear what the owners are going to offer us for it. We pray everything goes smoothly, we want to move in August 2nd (when we close) so we can have some time to settle before Eric starts summer band on August 8th. We have begun the packing process, and selling of items process. We're moving to a smaller home, so we are getting rid of some big furniture we do not need anymore. Man, we have accumulated a lot of STUFF in this house that we didn't have to move in to it (it was delivered!). Last night was my last scrapbook night before we move, so I'm packing up my stuff so I'm not tempted to do that instead of pack! :) Right now however I'm posting here instead of completing the last hours of my CPE I need to renew my CPA! Off to the online course again.... :)

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!

We are so happy! We got a good price for it, and now we are putting an offer in on the one we want to move in to. It is vacant, so we hope that we can close quickly and move in before Eric goes back to summer band on August 8th. We can't believe we are finally going to move. This is all a result of us wanting to raise great kids and live debt free. We have been debt free since December, and now, with getting a cheaper home (in a great school district and neighborhood) we will be able to save more and DO THINGS we'd like to do! What an answer to prayer. God is truly good, and we know everything happens in His timing. We may even make it up to Michigan for a long overdue visit!!

In other news, my good friend Deanna Nesvadba had her baby girl, Brylie Elizabeth, yesterday morning. I went to see her today and she is just perfect.

Our good friends Shannon, Nathan and Garrett Wood came in on Friday and just left today. We had a fun time hanging out, watching Cars, Nemo, and Dora multiple times, and taking Garrett and Cara to the beach for the first time. They must have been good luck because our offer came in Saturday morning and our buyer accepted our counter this morning, Nathan's birthday!!! :)

Not a lot else has been going on. Mom and 9 of her teacher friends left for Vegas today and will be back Thursday. Eric and I are going to be watching Hailee, my mom's friend's 5 year old Tuesday-Thursday. Wednesday is my 27th birthday, but I have no idea what we're doing. I guess that's it for now...I ordered a new cord for my camera, so as soon as I get it, we will post over 170 pictures to flickr! :)

NO NEW PICTURES

Well, ever since Cara's birthday party, we can't find the cord that hooks our computer to our digital camera. It's driving me crazy, because I usually download the pictures a few times a week, and now my card is getting full. That's why there are no new ones on flickr. In other news, we had a great trip to Dallas June 24-27th. We got to see a lot of Baylor friends. We stayed with Justin and Ashley Wood, and visited with Nathan and Shannon Wood (& Garrett) a lot. We also went to McKinney to visit with the Dutys (on their trip home from Michigan) and Dazeys.

We had a great 4th of July visiting with Eric's best friend Ronnie, and his wife and Amanda and their family. They were in town from Denver, and we had a great time. I forgot to bring Cara's sleepy blanket, so she didn't go down so easy that evening there in the pack n play, and woke up before we went to go do fireworks. So we took her with us and she just sat in awe. She wasn't scared, just watched them. However, when we were done our car wouldn't start because we ate away at the battery. Ronnie's mom had AAA tow our car to our house and a friend gave us a ride home. The next morning we got a new battery and all is well. However, it was awesome because of being up late, Cara slept till almost 9. And every morning since (except when we woke her up early for church on Sunday) she has slept until at least 8:30. It's been awesome!!

In other news, since we are in need of a 2nd used car by the time Eric goes back to summer band August 8th, we are both working side jobs this month. I am working 6 am - noon Tuesday/Thursday at the old CPA office I worked for a few months last fall. It's nice because I miss Houston traffic, and I'm home around lunch time. Eric is playing with the town and country theater the last 3 weekends in July. Last night was their first rehearsal. I didn't get to talk to him because they rehearsed till 11, and I was asleep when he got home due to having to get up and get to work this early.

My sister, Bailey, and I have been taking course 1 of a cake decorating class at Michael's. It's been fun doing it together, mostly because we have to teach ourselves because our teacher is not really doing much. We have also certainly enjoyed the fruits of our labors! We've been scrapbooking a lot together, and I have gotten a lot done!!!! It's been great. It's been amazing having Eric home all summer. We traveled a lot in June, and now we are getting to enjoy our family time and get stuff done around the house. We cleaned out the entire garage yesterday. Not only organized and got stuff ready for goodwill, but CLEANED it! Cara got to play in her little baby pool, she loves that thing! We had date night Sunday night at the Alamo Draft House theather in Katy. It is the best place to go see a movie, we've been going to it for years (the one at west oaks before this one opened). It's relaxed and you can eat and drink. We had just had dinner, but we got to have a coke and water, and maybe a little strawberry daiquari. We saw Evan Almighty, which was very cute. After the movie, we went to Cold Stone Creamery (because I had a buy 1 get 1 free coupon), and it was good as well. Although to B1G1Free, you have to get like a medium size, and it was HUGE!

Cara is walking like a pro now. She is such a happy baby. Eric and I were just talking about how fun she is and how much we can't even imagine our lives without her. We truly are enjoying being parents.

Our 6 year anniversary is coming up July 21st. We are waiting until Monday the 23rd to celebrate (it's cheaper). We are going down to Galveston to stay at the Tremont House. We're going to shop on the strand, have lunch at my friend Trayce's Mosquito Cafe and overall enjoy each other's company. My mom will watch Cara for her first night away from us. Wish us luck!

Cara is weaned

It's sad and happy at the same time. I stuck with it and I'm one of only 17% of nursing moms that make it to the year mark. It was a goal I set and hoped my body would keep up with, and it happened. I think Cara is healthier for it. It was hard at times, but besides 6 hours as a 4 day old newborn when my milk wasn't in yet, (she had about 3 ounces of formula over 6 hours), she never had a drop of formula. I'm very happy that she easily transitioned to whole milk and last night was the first night we put her down without nursing. Don't get me wrong, she's sleep trained and goes to bed awake, but I still liked my alone time with her. I had scrapbook night here last night and Eric put her to bed with no problems. As a mom, it's very freeing (IF we went places at night, we rarely did before I put her to bed) and at the same time, she's growing up so fast which makes me sad!! Just thought all would want to be updated ;)

The party

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Click on the picture to see some pics a friend has sent me, I can't get mine off my camera yet, we can't find the cord. She wouldn't really eat the cupcake until we broke it apart for her. She had a great time, even though it was raining and we couldn't get in the pools. She got lots of great outfits, books, puzzles, bath toys, etc!! We're leaving tomorrow for Dallas after church and staying till Wednesday. We can't wait to see everyone up there!

Stats

Here are her one year stats:
weight: 22 pounds 13 ounces (75%)
height: 30 1/4 inches (75%)
head: 17 3/4 inches (75%)

Doctor says she looks great. She was a trooper with a prick to her right forearm and both legs! She hasn't even acted like it hurts sine we got home.

Congrats to my cousin Mandie

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

My cousin (my dad's cousin's daughter) Mandie Leigh Eichenlaub. She had a beautiful baby girl today (bailey's birthday!) at 10:19 am. She was 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches. She named her Lillie Elizabeth Eichenlaub, which spells LEE (a family name). This was a blessing because she has been in the hospital for a week and a half with pre-eclampsia. She wasn't due until 7/16, but they knew she would be early, and she was a great weight!! Congrats Mandie and hubby Caley! This picture is one of us from last year at a baby shower, holding a picture of little Cara Leigh! What a difference a year makes.

Happy Birthday our sweet Cara Girl!

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Today she turned one. We had our playgroup over to our neighborhood pool, and we provided juice boxes and I made cupcakes and the icing from scratch!! :) They were yummy. Thank you to all who attended, there were about 20 friends there. Then we came home and got ready for our big 'photo shoot.' We went to JC Penney for her 1 year portraits, and we took the dogs!! It was hilarious, but we got some good shots. Not too many with the actual dogs in them :) We'll post as soon as we get them. And I'll post some new ones of today shortly. We love you Cara Bell. We can't even imagine what our life would be like without you in it. We are so blessed that God sent you to us for this short time here on earth.

Update on Gift Ideas

Lots of people have asked me what to get Cara for her birthday. Here are some ideas if you so wish to read:
1) 18 months clothes. She still fits in 12 months, but I have a feeling she won't by the end of the summer. (no swimsuits, she has TONS for this summer)
2) bath/swim toys. She LOVES the water, and if we're not in our 2 back yard pools, we're at play group in a pool or at our community pool.
3) Signing Times dvds. We're borrowing volume 1 and 2 from a friend, and she LOVES them Update - my friend just asked for them back for her brothers baby so we will not have any now (did I mention she can now sign bird, train, fish, night night, milk, hi, all done, etc.) I'd prefer the Baby Signing Times which you can see on the link here. Please no baby einstein, we have TONS already
4) Anything Leap Frog. I have a friend already getting her the fridge phonics alphabet, but besides that anything is good.
5) Astros gear
6) Anything learning related. She LOVES books, so any board books (besides brown bear - our entire family has that memorized) and hungry caterpillar, she has that.
Hope that helps!

Back from the River and Happy Birthday Eric

Hi again! I will post pics as soon as I download them from my camera. We had a great time at the river, but let me back up a little bit. I taught 25 entering first graders with my good friend Sterling Greene June 4-8 at our church, Kingsland Baptist. We had over 1,200 kiddos come!! It was so much fun, and challenging. I STILL Have the songs stuck in my head.

Then Friday, as soon as it was over, Eric, Cara and I headed to the Frio river to catch up with my folks, Bailey, Matt, and the Luxtons (Tommy, Kristal and Hailee). We stayed until yesterday and had such a good time. We floated a couple times, and took Cara down to the shallow part of the river to play. We got back mid-day on June 13th, which was Eric's 28th birthday. We went out eat at Hasta La Pasta last night with his folks for his birtdhay. Like I said, it's been crazy. Today was a laid back day of hanging at the house. We went swimming after Cara's very good 2nd nap. Plus, after waking up every day of vacation at 6:30, she slept till 8:15 today, hallelujia! Anyways, her big 1st birthday is coming up next week, along with Bailey's 24th! We have lots to celebrate this month! I have found out 3 friends are pregnant within the past 3 weeks, it's baby boom season again! Anyways, hope that you are all well.

Oh yeah, the reason that I posted....lots of people have asked me what to get Cara for her birthday. Here are some ideas if you so wish to read:
1) 18 months clothes. She still fits in 12 months, but I have a feeling she won't by the end of the summer. (no swimsuits, she has TONS for this summer)
2) bath/swim toys. She LOVES the water, and if we're not in our 2 back yard pools, we're at play group in a pool or at our community pool.
3) Anything Leap Frog. I have a friend already getting her the fridge phonics alphabet, but besides that anything is good.
4) Signing Times dvds. We're borrowing volume 1 and 2 from a friend, and she LOVES them (did I mention she can now sign bird, train, fish, night night, milk, hi, all done, etc.) Please no baby einstein, we have TONS already
5) Astros gear
6) Anything learning related. She LOVES books, so any board books (besides brown bear - our entire family has that memorized) and hungry caterpillar, she has that.
Hope that helps!

Oh, I forgot!

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Yesterday was very eventful. My friend Amberly, who if you search old blogs, I had asked you to pray for because she had cancer, came to visit. She is cancer free, and brought Cara a 1st birthday present. Also, our friend Crissy Dazey from good old BU was in town with her son Drew, so she came by for a visit and the kids got to meet and play in the gameroom. Here's a picture of the duo!

YEA! VBS, Frio here we come!

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Just a quick update. Here is a cute picture of Cara from last Sunday after church. Aunt Bailey gave her this cute dress she got when she worked at House of Hattan. I've been working at our Vacation Bible School all week at church with my good friend Sterling Greene. It has been so much fun, and so TIRING. We really have a great class of kids. 25 entering first graders. I've learned a lot about me, Sterling and our friendship in the process, and it's been a blast. After tomorrow's VBS, Eric, Cara and I leave for the Frio to hang out with my folks, Bailey, Matt, and the Luxtons. We'll post pics when we get back. We return on Eric's birthday, so be sure to wish him a happy 28th on the 13th! :) Love, Misty

Funny video

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Cara does this funny thing all the time, only when she's in her high chair, and we finally caught it on tape! My mom says I (Misty) used to do this when I was little too...it's too funny!

11 month portraits

I have posted her 11 month portraits on our flickr account, go check them out, they are too cute. I also had one taken for Father's Day, that Eric keeps trying to find....I will post it once I give it to him! :)

Step by Step

Well, she's trying to start walking. She's been taking half steps for a week or so. Today I got her taking a step or two at a time, in 3 different videos. I also got a cute one of her playing. She's very talkative! She has been the best baby. She's had a little cough, which I'm sure she got from the church nursery, but it's the first time she's been sick since I started the super baby food diet in January. We went in, only b/c it had been a week and the doctor even said she's been so healthy in the last 5 months. She weighed 22 pounds 3 ounces on May 22nd, so she's gained 2 pounds in 2 months, which is partially because she's been a PIG lately. Especially since she gets lots of finger foods now. Anyways, the doctor said nothing's wrong, no chest issues or ear, just a little cough, they didn't even prescribe an antibiotic. It's already better. If I had held out for 2 days, I could have saved that $40! :) Anyways, I opened up a new dropshots account in eric's name so I could leave old videos in mine, so click to go see this one and you can see the other ones. Enjoy!

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New Videos - Yea for summer!

We are very happy summer is almost here! Here is a cute video of Cara playing in her little pool. Before I hear about it, she was doused in sunscreen and we put a hat on her right after the video! :) Enjoy.

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Baby Signs

Cara has really taken to her baby signs. She started waving bye bye and hi at around 8.5 months. Now she signs milk (not when she once it, but while I'm nursing), all done, and food/more. She doesn't sign sleep yet, but she doesn't need to. The second she reaches for that ear, we go lay her down! :)

April 28th-a big day.

We had a fun weekend. Saturday my dear friend Courtney Dewees from Baylor Accounting got married to Peter Merry. We had a great time catching up with old BU friends and seeing Courtney and Peter's commitment to each other. The reception was at the Courtyard at St. James place and it was absolutely fabulous! Since it was an 11 am wedding, they had a breakfast bar with fruits, waffles, omelets, biscuits, etc. Everything, including the gorgeous cake was very yummy. You can see lots more pictures on my flickr site. Also that day was Eric's mom's birthday! They had a fun time baby sitting Cara while we were at the wedding, and then later that night when we went out to eat and had cake. Happy Birthday Mom!

Surgery went well

Darrell's surgery went well. The doctor said there was much more scar tissue in there than they had expected. He said he has to be off of it for at least 2 weeks. Darrell said "guess I can't go to the deer lease this Saturday." I think he expected to be back to work next week.....guess he'll have to change that thinking. Thanks for the prayers, all is well. Especially until the numbness wears off later tonight :)

10 months

I can't believe my little girl is already 10 months! This time a year ago I was having my first baby shower! She has grown up so fast the past few weeks. You can see her trying to walk on the dropshots videos. We had this picture taken today at Picture People. I like that you get the pictures the same day, and I just got a free 8x10, but I think I'll stick with JC Penney. They take longer to get, but it's a much better value. This is one of many bathing suits Cara has for this summer. She also has a camo two piece, and some cute one pieces my friend Sterling is letting us borrow. This weekend we have a birthday party (well 2 but we can only make 1) for our friend's little girl Hannah. Keep my step-dad Darrell in your prayers, he's having foot surgery on Wednesday. Also, keep the sale of our house in your prayers, we have found the one we want to buy, now we just have to sell ours!

Prayers for Amberly (Couch) Hall

Please keep a friend of mine from 2nd grade in your prayers. She was pregnant with her 2nd little boy back in February when she went in to get some moles removed (just because her sister in law had just had it done). They ended up taking way more than she was expecting and had to wait on pathology. They called her on a Tuesday and said to come in with someone. She went in on Thursday, they said it was cancer and she was going to be induced on Monday (5 weeks early). Little Ashton was born naturally on March 20th and was only in the hospital the normal 2.5 days, and they went home that Thursday (strong little man). I took her dinner and she seemed in good spirits. She has Aiden (20 months) and Ashton at home, plus her mom took some time off (she teaches with my mom down in Santa Fe) to help. She went into the hospital 2 weeks ago for more testing to see if it had spread and to have surgery. While in surgery she went into shock and had a series of small strokes and almost died, but God pulled her through. Right now they are waiting for the doctors to tell them the next step and to find out the new pathology report. Please keep Aaron, Amberly, Aiden and Ashton Hall in your prayers. She is just 27, with 2 small babies at home. They are christ followers, but I can imagine how scared she is to lose those babies. Just remember her daily!
Update: they just heard the cancer hasn't spread to her lymph nodes, Praise the Lord! She's meeting with an immunologist and neurologist to see what the next step is.

Also, the cord was wrapped around Ashton's neck TWICE! So if he hadn't been born early and as small, he may not have made it. God works in mysterious ways!

Trying to walk

Go to our dropshots page (link from the left) and see the two new videos of her trying to walk with her toy. She mostly puts her head down and just stomps until she runs into something :)

Happy Birthday Shannon!

Hope your day is great as busy season comes to an end!
Love,

Eric, Misty & Cara (& Gweny and Riley too!)

PS...

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

I have posted tons of new photos on flickr in the past week or so, go check them all out!!

Happy Easter!

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Originally uploaded by mistylnewsome.

Happy Easter everyone! God is Risen!

We went to Easter service tonight instead of tomorrow. Our church had 5 services...5 and 7 pm tonight and 8:15, 9:40 and 11:05 tomorrow. Problem is, Eric has to play trombone in all 5, so we figured we'd go tonight. Also, tomorrow as soon as he gets back from playing, we are driving to Splendora to visit all his aunts/uncles/cousins for Easter. If it's not too cold/rainy I'm sure there will be some sort of easter egg hunt. Here is a not very good collage I made of Cara's monthly pictures to date. It's amazing to see her grow every day! I really don't notice the difference in weight/height when I'm with her all day every day, I mostly notice her accomplishments, but looking at the photos all together, it's so cute to see how little she was and how pretty she has become!

Benny's married off - Lubbock trip a success!

Hi All,
We got back yesterday from a quick trip to Lubbock for Benny and Alexis' wedding. We flew up Friday morning and back yesterday. Cara did awesome on the plane. She slept through both take offs, and the landings didn't bother her ears. She was a little fussy in the middle of the flight home, but once we gave her some more star puffs, she was good to go. I think she's going through a growth spurt because she is eating more and more at each meal. Ok, so I haven't uploaded the pictures yet, but will today--check back at flickr later. We stayed with my cousin Ashley and her husband Eddie, and we had a great time. Not only did Cara sleep well, but Eric and I got to play with Eddie's Wii, which was a lot of fun.

Tonight is the Astros' opening day, which Cara and I are attending with Bailey, Matt, Deanna, Chad and Adrienne. Eric can't go because they have pre-UIL competition, and his school is hosting it. Also, pray for our car situation. Eric got rear ended a week ago Thursday in the 1996 jeep grand cherokee that my parents were letting us borrow. Well, the lady that hit him busted the rear frame, and they totalled it (it would be more to fix it than what the car was worth). So we are going to be down to 1 car for awhile. Only 2 months until summer, so no big deal, but it will be an adjustment for Cara and I to be at home all day most days. No errands for awhile. We're trying to figure out if Eric can carpool one or 2 days a week with someone from work. Anyways, keep that situation in your prayers as we save up for a new car. Also keep the house situation in your prayers, we are looking to relist in May, if not sooner, and we would like for a quick sale. Anyways, that's all for now!

9 months (a little late)

It's amazing how fast my little girl is developing. I mean, it was amazing when she was tiny and held that head up and pushed off the floor for the first time, but I just can't get over how fast everything happens. 3 weeks ago when we were up in Dallas, she wasn't even crawling. 3 weeks ago tomorrow she crawled for the first time. She went from barely crawling, and then within like 4 days she crawls, pulls up on everything and is walking around the ottoman, and will walk everywhere if she can hold your fingers.

At her 9 month checkup, she was 20 pounds, 3 ounces, 74% in weight.
29 inches, 90% still in heigh.
17.25 inches head - 45%.

She is still on the Super Baby Food diet, and loving it. She eats everything. Now that she is 9 months she can have the 'high protein' super porridge, which she likes. Ground up brown rice, and lentils or green split peas, or other grains/beans. I can't believe how easy it is to make, instead of using those flaky processed 'infant' cereals (and CHEAP!). She has had avocados, bananas, apples, pears, peaches, mangos, papaya, plums, kiwi (fave!), asparagus, green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, kale, yogurt, squash, etc. She is a great eater, and an even better sleeper. She has really settled well into a schedule, taking 2 naps a day, usually 1.5 hours long each (sometimes 2 hours in the afternoon). She goes to bed between 7-7:30 and wakes up around 7. Tonight however we are going to the Rockets game (we sit right behind the Rocket's bench) so look for us on tv!! Next Monday we are going to the Astros opener (a yearly tradition), we are super excited. I will post a link to her 9 month photos once JC Penney emails them to me, they are PRECIOUS! God Bless all, keep in touch!

Houston Zoo and Angry Easter Bunny!

Hi! Our playgroup visited the zoo yesterday, and we had a great time. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and all the kids had fun seeing all the animals and running around (the ones that can run). You can click here to see the set on flickr. Then, this morning I was pulling out some 12 month clothes, to see what all we have for the summer, and I came across this dog costume that had been donated by one of my mom's friends. Well, I put it on Cara, along with the bunny ears I bought her, and tried to get a cute shot. Out of 37, I think I got one or 2, max! Anyways, thought you'd like to see what fun it is sometimes torturing your daughter into taking pictures!

Love,
Misty

Let the crawling (and babyproofing) begin

We had a great time up in Dallas this weekend visiting Nathan, Shannon and Garrett, and Justin and Ashley for Justin's 30th birthday party! I have uploaded new pictures to flickr and 2 web videos to dropshots.

No, while we were there, Cara made the slightest move to crawl one day, but then didn't do it again. Well, this morning, I caught her doing it, with much coaxing of course. However, she usually takes a few moves forward, then goes backwards to sit down! Anyways, they are online if you'd like to see them. You can click here or on the dropshots sidebar.

George Strait

Well, we went last night, and it was a lot of fun. Eric, Bailey, Matt, Deanna, Chad and I had a good time catching up, watching the rodeo and of course watching George. This was Eric and my about 5th time to see him. He has such a great collection of songs that the concert is always good, however last night he played like 3 NEW songs that no one has heard in a row, TWICE. Not that I didn't like them, but I go to concerts to sing along! haha. Sorry to the people around me. That wasn't as fun, but we still had a great time, and Cara was amazing this morning. Slept till 7, nursed, fussed a little as I tried to have her play in my room. So I laid her back down and she slept till 9:45, thank GOD because mommy needed it!

PS, her first official word was Mama about 2 weeks ago!

Congrats to Dave & Jen Barnes

Little Lowell Xavier Barnes was born 2/22/07 at 6:04 pm. You can get the scoop at their website: http://www.davejenbarnes.com/wordpress/ Here is a picture I downloaded from her flickr stream of the new family of 4!

Congratulations to the happy family!

8 months, I can't believe it!

Cara was 8 months old yesterday! I cannot believe how fast it went. We went yesterday and registered her for preschool starting in September at our church. It's Fridays only from 9-2:30, which will allow me to do some bookeeping, and get some rest if I'm pregnant, like we hope! She has really started being a big girl lately. In the past few weeks, her favorite things to do are say "babababa" and "mamamama" although Eric doesn't believe me that she's calling ME. She also is pulling up on stuff, and if I stand her up and put her on her table play thing, or in her crib, she'll hold on and play. Although, she doesn't like it when she falls. She still isn't crawling, which I think is frustrating her. She has all the motions, the getting up, the rocking, but then she usually ends up on her belly which she doesn't like as much! She also is starting to have a little separation anxiety I think from me, which makes me feel loved, but I'm sure it's not nice for the nursery folks at church, or others that come to visit and all she wants is me. She is the sweetest little girl though, very affectionate. She LOVES her daddy, and loves watching the puppies play. She was pretty good at TMEA once we got past the first night. She loves drinking water, and is eating like a big girl. To date she has had homemade: apples, bananas, pears, peaches, avocado, asparagus, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, yellow squash, I think that's it. I went to the store yesterday and got her kale, plums, kiwi and more bananas and avocados. So I'll have to make those soon. She is a great poser for pictures, which is good for me! She still only has the 2 teeth, which I finally zoomed in and got a picture of :) She loves when we walk outside, it's her favorite place to be, thank goodnes it has started warming up. She's a great car rider. We've been to Georgetown, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Santa Fe (TX), etc without a hitch. She loves being read to. She's starting to wave, which is too cute. We have been teaching her baby signs, and although she can't sign back yet, she understands the few regarding food. If we show her time to eat, she gets excited. And when we say all done, adn she's still hungry, she LETS US KNOW! Well, she's in a falling down phase, I have to go. Love to all, check out the new pictures!

Off to TMEA & Happy Valentine's Day!

Eric, Cara and I are off to TMEA this week. Eric's really excited. I'm glad to get out of Houston for awhile, I just hope Cara sleeps well in the hotel. Cara and I are off to our playgroup's valentines exchange at 10, which should be cute! Then we're leaving for San Antonio around noon today. We look forward to seeing all our old BU friends. Cara and I have some plans to go see the Alamo and Children's Museum during the day while Eric is in conference. I'm going to try to hook up with my cousin Ben who's attending UTSA to take him for a good meal, I just need to get his phone #! :)

Be sure to check flickr often, I've uploaded a couple new and a couple old pictures.

Super Baby Food!

Lots have happened since my last update. Cara busted through with her first tooth on her 7 month 'birthday.' Then the second tooth broke through within 3 days. So, she now has 2 pearly (stubby, still not all the way out of the gum) whites. I have yet to get a good picture, will post one soon. Here is one of her in the tubs as we were packing up our Christmas decorations (yes, not until like January 13th!!). Also, I have found she has two favorite things to do now. One is play in the jumper that our friend from Michigan got her (Denise--THANKS!). It hangs from the doorjam, and she just JUMP, JUMP, JUMPS! Her 2nd favorite thing to do is sit in front of the window with the 2 puppies and look out the front porch. This is great because it give me a quick minute to email (or update my blog). Plus, she just looks so cute doing it!

We've got a pretty good schedule down. She's sleeping from about 7 pm till 7:30 am, with 2 naps during the day. We usually grocery shop on Mondays. Go to our playgroup with all of our friends from church Wednesdays at 10, and to library time on Thursdays. She is such a good baby, we have been so blessed! I have started making all of her own baby food, to save some money, and because it's so easy and I know exactly what she's eating. It's been great being able to nurse her for so long and now make all her other foods. Wish us safe travel as Cara and I are off to visit Mawmaw and Pawpaw tomorrow in Georgetown. Love to all!

Happy Birthday Ella!

One of Cara's first friends is having her 1st birthday today. Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy New Year!!

Can you believe it is 2007? It still feels like 2005 to me, 2006 went by WAY to fast! We hope everyone had a great Christmas season, we sure did. We got to visit with our families, and see some of our friends that came into town. Eric's two best friends from high school, Ronnie and Benny, were both in town for almost a week so we got to spend some fun time with them. I've been scrapbooking like crazy trying to get Cara's album up to date (I'm only like 4 months behind ;) !). Eric has really enjoyed his 2 weeks off, but the end tomorrow :(. I think maybe the whole 'no job' thing will kick in once he's back at work. I feel like I quit, but I've been doing CPE and lots of bookkeeping trying to get year end caught up, that I feel like I only had a one week break with Eric. I still have to go in this week as well, but then it should die down. I'm not complaining, God has granted me such a great balance that I wouldn't trade it for the world!

So, for our 'new year's resolutions' which we don't usually do, we've decided we have 2 main goals: 1) to grow spiritually as a couple, as parents, and as individuals, and 2) to make another baby towards the 2nd half of the year ;) We'd like our next child (God willing of course!) to be born in May or June of 2008! So we'll see how that goes. Also, we both want to lose weight, so we'll see if we can make that happen. Anyways, hope that catches you up on our life. Gotta Run!