Lately

It is finally feeling like fall! The weather is staying a cool temp (which I love), the leaves are starting to change from green to all the vibrant colors of reds orange and yellows, and pumpkins are EVERYWHERE!

It feels so strange to say that I am now 26. I know it is still young but I can no longer say that I am in my lower 20's. I feel like I was just a little kid like yesterday. Sometimes I look at pictures from school and it feels like it was a million years ago and just like yesterday all wrapped into one. We went out to dinner for my birthday. It was fun and nice to have everyone together. Afterwards we got to go out as adults with no children for the first time in what feels like forever. I miss having date nights! Its something that I hate having to wait so long between them. We went and saw Gone Girl which was so good, as was the book!

And I am happy to say that I am an aunt again! Stella was born on Oct. 11th and is so beautiful! I am so excited that Aria has a girl cousin so close to her age. I was blessed to grow up so close to my cousins. Even though my cousins are growing up to be adults themselves (which totally freaks me out) I still see them as my baby cousins! We spent every holiday and so many summer days playing, bossing eachother around, fighting, running, jumping and making so many memories and I am so happy that Jax and Aria have so many cousins to share the same type of memories. I will say that I miss spending time with all my punk little cousins but they sure have made me proud!

I have to do a little shout out about my Aunt Rhonda. At a tender age of 14 when my mom had passed it was a rough time for the whole family. I felt like my whole world had been turned upside down. My dad was fading and my home felt like it wasnt the same anymore. I didnt know what my future was going to be. My aunt had asked if I wanted to move in with her next door while we took care of my dad. I did and she took care of me, she would listen to me, supported me financially and emotionally over my high school years. She stepped in when I needed someone the most. She never tried to replace my mom, instead she became a friend and a huge support system. I can never thank her enough for everything she has done for me!

Now as for the babies...

Aria is already 3 months old and I just can NOT believe it has been 3 months since she graced us with her beautiful self. She is getting so big and more gorgeous as the days go by. She is making bubbles with her mouth which is so cute. She also GIGGLED for the first time last week. I wont hold it against her that it was to her aunt candice!! I did get her to do it again yesterday and Im pretty sure that my heart melted. She is growing so so much and getting chunky! Her belly is huge and her thighs are getting thicker! Its just beyond adorable! She sat in her bumbo seat for the first time yesterday and she loved it. I just cant believe that my tiny baby girl is getting this big!
                                                                       

Already knows how to strike a pose and knows how to act like a diva during photo shoots :)

 Jax loves to talk to his baby sister and is always giving her love, even when she doesnt want it haha

Jax was getting jealous that Aria was getting her picture taken so he decied to join in!

Jax loves life as usual.If i could only have half the joy he has for life. Adults need to look to toddlers for motivation on there out look on life. He just loves life and shows it. Its something I hope he never grows out of.  On mondays we go to story time at the childrens library and he LOVES it. It is so fun. His favorite part is dancing and the craft. At times he acts like a little nutt during the actual stories but overall he does good. Each week is different theme and this week the craft was making an alligator! Jaxs alligator may need some braces hahah! He is doing so good at thursday bible school except he needs to work on sharing! He has decided though that napping and going to bed should be a long event usually ending in tears and stress.....not only does he need nap time but so does momma!

We did a fun pumpkin craft. He loved painting in and mixing all the paint together. It was fun to watch him and see how grown up he is getting!

               

                 He was pretty happy about using his hand as the paint brush! It was his favorite part!!!

                      And the finished product was pretty adorable and is a great fall decoration!


Life is so beautiful. I need to realize this more. I need to step back and realize that my life is so blessed. I get so stressed out about the house not being perfect all the time, and when things arent going exactly how I think they should go. Justin works so many hours and I am so blessed to have such a hardworking husband but sometimes I know I dont show how thankful I am. Its something I need to do more often. He provides for us and then some. Not only does he work so hard but he is the best dad. He plays when he is tired, "fights" when he would rather relax, and Aria already has him wrapped around her tiny finger.

 Life is beautiful. Life is beautiful. Life is beautiful. Its the truth. Its something we all need to wake up saying to ourselves. Its something we need to say when our kids are acting crazy and we are exhausted. Its something we need to say even when we may not believe it. Its something we need to live.

BBBQ

Bikes Blues and BBQ
A time in NWA where you can hear the roar of motorcycles all across Hog Nation. When you are the odd ball while driving a car. When Dickson goes from college aged hangout to full on biker. No matter what your opinion is of this rally it is so crucial to our economy. The money that businesses gain from these few days is huge! I personally love it. I love the sounds, the food, the music. I think it is great not only for the towns economy but its fun! It is great for families also. They had the train going to and from Baum stadium for kids to ride and of course the parade!! We are a parade going family. We love them. Jax gets so much joy from watching them and the candy is a plus!! This was Jaxs second Parade of Power and he loved it. We met Kristina and the girls, Justin got to work the parade and the rally so he had to miss out! The kids had so much fun!!! So just look at these sweet pictures and tell me that this rally isnt for families......

 

 

 

It was so fun!! The kids loved waving to all the bikers and the candy of course was a huge hit.

 

Summer Days End

As fall is coming and summer is ending it leaves me with the feeling of excitment and a bit of sadness. I have always held a special place for summer. The long days of outside play, of the lingering heat, the joy of swimming and the tan that comes with it. This summer is one for the books. My sugar Aria was born and Jax went from a baby to a toddler at the blink of an eye. Summer 2014 is one that will forever be in my heart.

Aria had her baby dedication at church and it was precious and a reminder of how important being a God loving parent really is. It was a very special moment for our family. 09/21/14

                   So blessed to have the church family and the Pastor that we have! God is good!

My whole life in one picture!

 

 

Jax had his first day of Thursday Bible school which he loved!! He is so full of life and such a boy!His smile melts my heart! The joy he has for the little things makes this momma so happy!

 

What a big boy!!!

 

We have discovered a new monday morning tradition. It includes Mock park which is Jaxs favorite park that we have visited so far! He loves to climb and explore and this park is perfect!! After playing at the park we go to story time at the Childrens Library and it is so much fun! They get to enjoy some stories, play and a craft! We had our second week today and it is so fun!!

So much fun with new friends!!

 

Now for some of Arias Firsts!!

Aria is getting way to big way to fast! She has starting grabbing her toy on her carseat and smile at it and talks to it! It is beyond cute!! She always holds her head up so much more and she interacts with her big brother more also. She loves to smile and watch his every move! They already share such a strong bond. The love they have for eachother is amazing. The way they look at eachother is so cute. Jax calls her Precious all the time! Aria has also started daycare. This was her second week and she seems to be fitting in just fine!!

Her fist day of Day Care at Aunt Candices House. She was pretty happy!

Jax reading to Aria. It was so cute!

 

Back to more summer memories....... this has been one amazing summer as I said earlier. I got the amazing privilege to have my maternity leave during most of the summer and with my sister in law and nieces home for the summer it was an easy assumption that we would spend a TON of time together...which we did. From just hanging out at the house, shopping, taking the kids to the park, and just driving around. It was so great to get this time with them. Kristina has become not only my sister but one of my best friends. We can talk for hours and be totally honest with eachother. From faith to motherhood to fashion we have talked about it all!  I am so thankful for her. Jax has loved having Mia and Harper here also. They have had a great time together...and some pretty great fights haha! I grew up so close to my cousins and I am so glad that Jax is close to his! We are so sad to see them leave soon but so happy that they get to be with Stephen and that they will get to live as a family! We are already looking forward to visiting them in NC!!! Beach here we come!!!

 

 

As this amazing summer comes to an end my favorite season is coming. Fall! I love fall. The leaves changing colors. My birthday. Halloween. The smell of fall candles. The food. Everything. I just love it. I love football games that need a blanket and hot coco, the window open and the comfort of my home on a chilly night. So until next time summer....even though it will be hard to top this one.

 

 

So much to say

It has been very hectic in the Thomas household. With a 2 year old and a 2 month old life is a little blurry. Lets see Some Firsts for Miss. Aria

She has started cooing a lot and it is beyond precious.
She went to her 2 month check up and saw Dr. Denton. She weighed 11lb 0.5 oz and was 22 inch long. 50% in all. She got her first set of shots and was pretty upset for a bout 30 seconds and all was right with the world again. She is such a sweetheart but so much a girl. When I took the bandaids off it was the end of the world.
We went and hung out at the park and she got to lay and watch the trees blow.
We have went on many trips with her cousins Mia and Harper. We are going to miss them so so much when they go.
We got a Moby wrap which she LOVES I have tried a few carriers but this is my favorite by far. She loves loves it and it makes my life so much easier. When grocery shopping with her and Jax I put her in the wrap and Jax in the cart and the basket is free for groceries.
She has discovered her love of laying on her back on the and watching the fan and jax playing.
Jax loves talking to his sister and watching him talk to her and hold her hand melts my heart. I love them both so so much.

We have all had a bit of the stomach bug this week and weekend. It started with Jax then me, then Justin and Aria hasnt fully gotten it but is not her happy self. It is a slow and painful process.....


Now on to Jax

I am so proud to say that Jax is talking so so much. Its crazy how it seems like the last couple of weeks his vocab has just grown so so much. He talks in complete sentences and asks questions. He tells us he loves us without us saying it first. He says "oh my gosh" which I dont know how to feel about..... Its crazy. He is a little boy now. He has a new found love for the power rangers and we got a bag of tiny toys at goodwill that had one in it and he has not let go since. His love for batman, hulk, iron man well actually any superhero. His grandma Peggy made him a batman cape and he flies around the house all the time now fighting off the evil of our couch and chairs.

These past 11 weeks has been truly amazing. Being a mom is such a gift and no one should take it for granted. Yes sometimes I may want to pull my hair out and sometimes I am beyond tired and when I look at my living room with toys literally everywhere I just shake my head. But these blue eyed babies have my heart and I am so blessed they call me Mom.
I am pretty proud of myself. I have really been praying for more patience with Jax and the ability to not let my exhaustion and sometimes anger out on him. And surprisingly not he has been such a good boy. He feeds off of me. If I am calm and relaxed he is also. I have always prayed for Jax to have a gentle heart, a humble soul. I have prayed he grows to be man of love and honesty. A man who puts God first. I realized that praying for these things is great but he has to learn these things from Justin and I. Its time that we do these things as parents so our babies will grow to be the adults I pray for them to be.
This morning at church we learned about Grace. That the sin we allow in our life is always growing and expanding but Grace grows beyond measure. Grows more than the sin in our life. If we accept it. We cant just live in the sin and expect that the sin will remain small. God gives so much grace. So much that when we receive it we should give others grace. The law of the church does not get people to grace. The love we give gets people to grace. When we receive grace we want to give grace and Justin and I as parents need to teach Jax and Aria the wonderful gift of giving not only love but grace to everyone. Simply Amazing.


 I have discovered over the last week if I just put my phone away and live life in the moment life is so beautiful. More beautiful then I realized. Everyone and I think most have this problem, should put the phone away and you will realize how much you  actual life you miss. I have been on a slow technology detox and it feels so good. Life is to precious and beautiful to view it from behind a screen all the time.

Going back to work this week will be so bittersweet. I am so thankful to have had the time off that I have had and to work at such a wonderful job to let me come back part time. I must say overall I should be thankful for everything and everyone in my life.

Labor Day weekend

This weekend brings back so many memories for me. Growing up in this sweet small town is such a blessing.
This is one of my favorite times of year.
We have the Clothesline Fair. Razorback football starts. Fall is beginning. I love everything about it.
The smell of the food trucks, funnel cakes, popcorn, the crafts, the rides,square dancing,  the joy of calling those hogs. I cant choose a favorite part.

This weekend was full of so much fun. Jax got to enjoy some of the best parts of this wonderful weekend.
There is no other joy than to see kids at at parade or riding a fair ride. I am so glad that Jax is growing up with these traditions from Justin and Is childhood. Although it is such a great weekend this small town that we love so much lost one of the reasons people love this town. Coach Mike Green bled black and gold, loved the students and the town and we loved him back. He will be greatly missed. Prayers to his family and to our small town!

He had a blast riding the rides, im pretty sure he could have rode them each a million times. Daddy even won him a stuffed frog!! Aria got to enjoy her first county fair sleeping in the carrier. I think its safe to say it was a hit for the whole family!

The parade was also a hit! All 3 kids got so much candy that Mia could hardly carry her bag! They had so much fun collecting it and waving to all the people riding by! I think we are good on candy until halloween :)

High Expectations

Growing up in the south I always pictured myself as a classic southern belle mom. I pictured myself with a perfectly clean house all the time. Cooking a full course dinner everynight. Children who listen without having to be told more than once. A perfect husband, a perfect family, a perfect life.

I always had this expectation of how my life would be. It would be like the shows of the 50s. The perfect American life. Boy was I off by a long shot.

Icant I tell you how much I have learned in the past 6 years of being a wife, and the 2 years of being a mother. Life will never be like it is on those classic 50's shows. Justin and I will not see eye to eye on everything. Sometimes my house will be a total mess. Sometimes a box of mac and cheese will be dinner. Sometimes I want to scream! This is ok. This is life. Life is never perfect for anyone. What we need to realize is to turn it over to God and let him be our guide in life.

I didnt get much sleep lastnight so obviously when Jax woke up at 6:30 this morning he woke up to one very grumpy mother. I was mad and frustrated because all I wanted was to sleep. I wanted to close my eyes and not open them for at least 2 more hours. But that didnt happen. I later felt bad about being mad at a 2 year old for waking up. As I was dozing off on the couch while Jax played and Aria napped I woke to Jax with his dirty diaper off and again I got mad. Why oh why would he do that. Again I was frustrated at my 2 year old for not being perfect. I got him cleaned off and realized that this mom needed some coffee to make it to nap time.

Sometimes I get so mad at Jax for not being perfect all the time. I have to step back sometimes and realize that he is only 2 and will NEVER be perfect. He will get into things he knows he shouldnt, he will destroy his pefectly clean room in a matter of minutes, he wont eat everything I sit in front of him, he wont sleep in most days and he will not listen on the first time most of the time. And even as he ages and becomes a man he wont be perfect. He isnt perfect....no one is. Somedays I will be so worn out from him that I go to bed right after I put him down.
His warm hugs, kisses and laugh make all of this worth it. It makes the short nights and long days worth it. The joy he has in life makes me have joy in life. He is so happy and so stubborn all wrapped into one  sweet Jax.  I still have so much to learn!

On the days I just want to scream because he isnt acting the way I expect him to act I have realized that as a Christian this frustration and love  I have as a mom must be what God feels towards me on most days. As a child of God we have expectations and I know that I dont always do what I should. That no matter how far off I get to meeting his expectations God still loves me even though we are not meeting them all the time. How should I as a mom expect so much from my own children when I am so far sometimes from meeting our heavenly fathers expectations as a christian. God doesnt yell and scream out of anger at me when I do wrong. He doesnt walk away from us. He reminds us how much he loves us and when we turn to Him he is there with open arms. I have realized that I need to have more patience as a mother. That when Jax and soon Aria have days that make me go crazy I need to take a step back and turn to God before I discipline or say something hurtful. I need to be more mindful of what I say and do out of anger and out of exhaustion. This doesnt mean Jax will never get spanking or never get a stern talking to but I need to do this out of love and not out of my anger at the moment. No one is perfect. No life is perfect. No marriage is perfect. Nothing on this earth is perfect. The more I grow the more I realize that this is ok. That God has my back and by giving him my everything blessings will follow.

7 weeks......what?

7 weeks today. My baby girl is already 7 weeks.
She has been growing so so much she currently weighs a tad over 10lbs. She is a great eater!
I am going to try and blog all of her firsts. I have a diary of all of Jaxs firsts so it only fits that she has hers documented also!

Many firsts this week!

She found her voice this morning! She has always been very active with her grunting since birth but now its actual coos! I love it.

This week she has started to smile more..not on purpose of course but still beyond adorable!

Justin and I went on our first night out with no children! It was a great time!

You met your uncle Stephen!! He came in as a surprise to everyone! And what a a great surprise it was!
 
You slept 7 hours straight this week!! It was pretty amazing! Although I know I will miss those 2am feedings with just the 2 of us....one day.

She has been staying awake more during the day. And Jax loves to talk to her and help with her. He is always trying to put her pacie in and put blanket on her. He has started to just talk to her and to see his melts my heart!

She went to the Gentry safari for the first time...even though she slept the entire time! A monkey did spit on use. Thankfully she was in the baby carrier and did not get any on her.

She went swimming for the first time....the water was not as warm as she would like. Once those toes hit the water.....she was no longer happy. We will try another time!

She has always loved bath time but now she is showing more facials in the water is kicks. Its pretty adorable.

And yesterday she got her first pedicure by mom. Pink toes on a baby is so cute but hard to achieve lol

She has been sleeping during church so thats really nice! We are now figuring out a date for her dedication!
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Becoming a parent a second time around has made me realize just how fast babies grow. I have held her a little more tightly and kissed her so many times i cant count. I have looked at Jaxs baby pictures and its crazy to remember that he was that little! Time goes too quickly. I have realized that patience is something I need more of! Being home during maternity leave with Jax home most days has taught me that I need to be more patient with him and to realize at times he is still only 2. I am so blessed to have not only 1 healthy baby but i have 2. I need to realize that having a perfectly clean house all the time is now going to have to wait. Life moves to quickly and sometimes playing batman or monster is more important.

Overall these past 7 weeks have been the best adventure so far. We have learned alot and loved more.

 I love this outfit, and I think she does also!

 

                                           Being a big brother is pretty fun for Jax. He likes to touch her, tickle her
                                          and give blow raspberries! They already have such a strong bond!