Greg celebrated his 28th birthday this year on 12-12-12. Since his birthday last year we knew we had to organize an actual birthday party for him and go all out. Well, we hadn't realized that his birthday would fall on a Wednesday, but that's alright. On his actual birthday my Aunt and Uncle wanted to treat him to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. A couple hours before his birthday dinner I received a text message from some of our good friends Dusty, Eddy, and Melissa, saying that they were going to drive out from Dallas to see Greg on his birthday. They joined us for dinner, and even though it was a quick visit it was so nice to see them!
I didn't realize how much I missed these three crazy guys when they're together
Best picture I could get of Dusty, Eddy, and Greg
With Melis
Alexis pretty much cried the entire time we were at the restaurant, but
once we made her sit down with us for a picture she completely lost it!
On Saturday, December 15th we truly celebrated Greg's birthday. We started out with dinner at North Dallas Bar and Grill where he used to work a few years ago.
Blowing out his candles on the German Chocolate cake my mom baked for him
Our friends Jeremy, Kira, and their daughter Pearl came to dinner
Our friends Matt and Alaina and Greg's brother Brandon also made it
My mother in law Mona and her husband Doug
Greg's younger brother Eric and our sister in law Nikki
My Uncle Dennis and Aunt Linda were driving through on their way home to Springfield so they stopped by for a bit as well
My father in law Kevin and his wife Tina got their grandparent time in
And my adorable parents drove all the way down to celebrate with us too
Once we got home after dinner people literally partied ALL night long. I put on Christmas movies in the living room and enjoyed hot chocolate with the ladies at the party while the guys hung out in the garage playing beer pong. Alexis and I finally headed upstairs at 2:30am. I was nervous that it would throw her off sleeping downstairs in people's arms for half the night before going to bed, but she did just fine.... she slept in our bed still, but she did fine. Greg said some people went home around 4am, he went to bed at 5am, and a couple others finally crashed at 6am. I am glad Greg had fun and enjoyed himself, but I don't know that I have many nights like that left in me! Especially when I have to care for a 2 month old. I'm sure his response to that would be, "Well, good thing Alexis will be over a year old for my birthday party next year!"
I have been so incredibly blessed by my church family lately - specifically our Pastor's wife and their family. Greg and I attended Faith Evangelical Free Church in Dallas while we lived in Independence and we were very sad to leave our Sunday School group and my Small Group when we moved. After a year of trying churches in Springfield and Eugene we were told that the youth pastor and his family from Faith were planting a church in Eugene. We were ecstatic! Not only were we relieved to have a church family and a pastor we already knew and loved, but we were looking forward to being involved with a church from the beginning stages. We have been meeting in their home in Eugene and there are about 20-30 of us on any given Sunday morning. The name of our church is Emmaus Life and our mission statement is "reaching real people in real life through Jesus." We are so excited to see how the church grows and the impact we can have on the community.
I wasn't sure how I would feel about having church in such a small setting. We have had to step out of our comfort zones which has been challenging and rewarding at the same time. I have already learned a lot from my church family in the short time we have been meeting. Even though church looks much different for me than it ever has, one thing remains the same, the intimate time of worship through song to the Lord.
Our pastor's wife Charissa has been such a blessing to me. Since I had Alexis, she has checked in on me and been a listening ear. Their two children Ellie and Ethan are sweethearts and have enjoyed spending time with Alexis when we visit them during the week. Charissa is expecting a baby girl and Alexis has been great preparation for the two kiddos!
Charissa got me involved with the local MOPS group in Springfield and these adorable reindeer shirts were the craft a couple of weeks ago. I am so thankful for more relationships in Springfield, especially relationships with moms and sisters in Christ.
Our Pastor Scott and Charissa blessed Greg and I with a night of free babysitting last night. We went to dinner and then finished up our Christmas shopping. It was nice to be out and about just the two of us, but I felt like something was missing... I can't believe that after only 2 months with Alexis I don't feel whole without her!
Hope you all are having a great week. We are gearing up for Greg's big 12-12-12 birthday bash tomorrow! Blog on the birthday sometime next week.
Alexis at 2 months: Alexis has been battling colic for the past month, but this last week has been SO much better! Her coos and smiles warm my heart. She has stopped sleeping in her bassinet, which is frustrating for Mommy and Daddy since the only place she does like to sleep is in our bed, but I know one day I will miss that. Alexis has tried out her crib a few times for naps and once for bedtime, but doesn't seem to like it yet. She does love her swing though and takes many naps in it. She enjoys laying on her play mat and looking at the toys hanging from above. She even rolled over from her tummy to back while on her play mat Thanksgiving morning. Her fist, hand, and sometimes thumb have become very soothing to her... future thumb sucker possibly? It's hard to believe Alexis has been a part of our lives for two months already. What an amazing blessing she has been so far :)
Well, my colicky baby is getting the best of me. By last Tuesday I realized I was beaten and needed help. My dad was AMAZING and drove all the way to Springfield on Tuesday afternoon to pick me and Alexis up to drive us to Colton and stay with my family for the week. Tuesday through Saturday I had help from Alexis' grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was wonderful to have help holding her, rocking her, and bouncing her (anything to help with the colic) but we were both very happy to be home with Daddy last night.
Here is a look at how our week was spent:
My parents both coach basketball so they were busy in the late afternoons and evenings, but were still a huge help with Alexis!
Somehow I got left watching Macie the first night I was there. Thank goodness she was good and Alexis slept most of the time. Macie LOVES watching videos of herself so I decided to record the little gem below to distract her.
Macie and Alexis had a lot of fun cousin time while we were there
Macie LOVED giving Alexis kisses...
Tyler and Katrina were very helpful while I was there too. They did a lot of baby holding and rocking. Tyler had "the touch" with Lex a few times and Katrina managed to get her to sleep and even get a nap in herself.
Alexis and I went to watch a couple of my mom's high school girls basketball games. Lex got to see the gym where I played high school volleyball and basketball. Many hours of my life were spent in that gym. I remember dad giving me the keys to the gym so I could shoot around while he worked on lesson plans in his classroom. Go Vikings!
The day we left I tried to get some some posed cousin pictures... it worked out super well... I'm sure it will only get more and more difficult to get them to sit still and smile for pictures.
It was so much fun watching Macie interact with Alexis. I can't wait to see them grow up together. I will leave you with a short video of Alexis from this week.
This past weekend Greg and I wrapped up our eighth and final wedding to attend in the year of 2012. My cousin Emily married her best friend Ben. It was a small family wedding and incredibly intimate, relaxing, and enjoyable.
Enjoyed a coffee while waiting for the wedding to begin. They had a coffee, hot chocolate, and hot cider bar.
The kiss!
Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey
Aunt Britt came into town the day of the wedding and got to meet Alexis for the first time.
The Adams, Teune, and Durant families (Unfortunately Kyle could not come and complete the picture!)
Grandma and Grandpa with their granddaughters
Katrina, Ty, and Macie
our little family
Sisters
A few of my amazing cousins
With most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins
Other than crying and interrupting the toasts, Alexis did quite well at her first wedding. She was so popular that I had my hands free most of the evening!
Alexis at one month: She unfortunately is a bit colicky, but we are doing all that we can to make her comfortable. When her gassy tummy isn't bothering her she is very alert (like in the pictures above). She will look around the room with pursed lips and looks as though she is in awe of all that she's seeing. Big yawns, grunts, squeals, and the occasional hiccups are normal noises that we hear from our little one. She has grown out of her newborn footy pajamas due to her length, but can still wear most newborn onesies and separates. Alexis found her hands and fingers this week and is able to soothe herself every so often by sucking on them. Today she showed us how strong she was. When I put her on her tummy she pushed herself up with her arms and held her head up high! I think she is going to be a mover much sooner than we'd thought. What a month it has been!
