Our FIRST family vacation!

So it is no secret these days that my wonderful loving husband is a hero and will be deploying soon. Its a subject we don't talk about too much because it makes us sad when we do...SO we decided we should go on a real, relaxing, FUN, family trip. We found out that Galveston Island is only 4 ours away so we booked a hotel room at La Quinta 10 miles away and where able to stay for 5 whole nights! We where sooo ecstatic! We drove out Wednesday around one and arrived at 6...Houston traffic is awful!! we where wiped so we went out to dinner and just drove around that night.


The next day was fabulous! We headed out in our beach attire:) Bellsie was just excited to spend so much time with us and when we got to the sand, water, and sunlight! There where a few dead jelly fish so i was paranoid about them the first day with Bella walking around even though she was wearing water shoes. After we walked around the strip and went in and out of fun touristy stores:)
yes we are tourist and cannot help it lol.


Our week flew by! We found Stewert Beach which was much cleaner but our favorite spot was off Jamaica Beach. It was completely quiet and only 2 other families there. Doug got an awesome kite and we flew it which was a BLAST! Bella especially loved it there. She was able to run freely since we didn't have to worry about her running into anyone or taking any ones things. She found a Board and had a funny fascination to it. She kept running into the water and then run back to the board and when Doug sat on it she'd tell him all about the water:)

We also went to Moody Gardens which was such a blast!!!

It has an Aquarium Pyramid, Discovery Museum, A 3D theatre, The Colonel Paddle boat, and we got to watch a 15 min 4D Dora movie! We spend the whole day there. Our skin needed a Little break anyways and we couldn't have picked a better day.

Bella had such a wonderful time, every night on our drive to the hotel she was soo tired. She was a little grumpy sometimes but she was just so happy to be able to spend so much time with us and Doug and I where equally as happy. Trips with kids will always be a little stressful but we still had a wonderful time. Just having "us" time was wonderful. We didn't have any place we had to be, we didn't have to meet anyone, we just did what we wanted, when we wanted, and with each other. Life was so sweet those days and when we came home we where still happy and relaxed.

I think sometimes we take life for granted and the people in it. Being a parent especially we as a couple at least i do forget how important it is to find time for each other during the day. To treat ourselves. I've been so worried about being a good mom and helping Doug be a dad that i didn't realize i need to worry just as much to be a great wife too. This trip together reminded me how lucky i was to have such a wonderful man and little girl in my life and when I'm not worried about dishes, dinner, bath times, naps, etc i was able to enjoy them like I'm suppose to=]

Dinner at The Simpsons.

I LOVE nights like tonight! The day did start pretty slow for me since i didn't feel very good and Doug had to work on his jeep all day but around dinner i started feeling better and Doug finished up for the day. I decided to make homemade pizza today! It ended up being super delicious and easy! We had such a fun dinner and as you can tell by the pictures below Bella LOVED it too:)

She was SO messy but she was eating, so we couldn't complain. After dinner Doug put the pizza away and Bella sat up on the table and we played the "yayayaya" game. We just yell it back and forth but her facial expressions are soo funny. She gets right in your face nose to nose and we just laugh and laugh while Doug says "oh my goodness, my girls are crazzyy!" I love dinners like these! After as you can tell Bella was in very much need of a good bath...

While we where getting her ready for bed after her bath i decided to try to french braid Bella's hair just to see if she would let me and she did! I was SO thrilled i asked Doug to hurry and get the camera and we took these adorable pictures! I was super proud of myself and she looked super cute...hopefully it stays in tomorrow.

I love my family. I love having dinners together, and i LOVE being able to lay Bella down with Doug. She even learned how to fold her arms when we pray and she says amen at the end...she's learning and Doug and i are so proud of her and of ourselves:) life is good.

Good Ol' Texas!

So Bella and I are finally back home and starting to get back in our routine. Its been pretty busy day, i cleaned and did laundry pretty much all day, made some pot roast for dinner and then I took Bella to dairy queen for french fries and ice cream! She was sooo excited it was adorable:) she kept saying YUMMM after every bite. She really is adorable. We came home i gave her a much needed bath, read her a book and put her to sleep. It's been nice being home. she loves all her toys, its like they are brand new to her again. Routine is wonderful!!

Look at how much she's grown! These are size 2T, my mom got these p.j's for Christmas (3 weeks ago) and they where swallowing her and now they almost fit her! crazy she has grown so much in such a short time. They are still a little big on her but not compared to 3 weeks ago...my baby is getting so big:(

but just to catch up on some of her recent achievements!

she now says TONS of words and copies everything you say (at least really tries) and she can mix 2-3 words together to make her own little sentences its super cute! so she says things like

"mas please"

"mom please"

"hi mom (dada)"

"bye, muah!"

"no buck!"

she can also say grandma now and grandpa

she runs everywhere

she points to what she wants

she loves food! her favorites are still chocolate but she is expanding more to her food selection so its easier to get her to eat healthier foods.

she knows what besos are and gives me plenty of them!

she can follow instructions now for example she pulled down all her DVDs again and i told her to put every single one back and she did! a little messier but still she understood the concept.

Also i say sientate (sit down) and she does.

lets go and she follows.

some of the silly things she's starting to do now is she pulls her diaper off every chance she gets that darn kid! This morning i went to get her from her crib and her diaper was completely off! or last night she was walking around the house pulling it off. I'm not sure why she does it, maybe because she can so its fun and new but its so funny. i might start duck taping her diapers on lol.

All in all she's growing like a leaf and she's still such a fun little girl. I cant believe how much she has grown but i love love love that she knows that I'm her momma and that she loves me so much. She needs me so much, whether its playing, cuddling, or just kissing her. She loves me and i love her<3

Jabbers!

While we where home visiting family Bella and I planned a fun play date with Blanca and miss olivi to Jabbers! my sister had told me all about it and it sounded to fun to pass up so we went and it really was great! We let the girls loose and they had an absolute blast! So did Blanca and I just watching and playing along with them. I really cant wait to go again next time with doug though because i know he'd love it too! I highly recomend it as a family date:)
Here are just a few snapshots that i took. Enjoy:)

if you want anymore information just click here and be their friend on facebook! They have all of the information you need. Enjoy:)

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

I think every mom should watch this when they are feeling overwhelmed...
made me tear up a bit:)

Day 31 - A picture of yourself.

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

Doug is in pre deployment training right now, he's been gone for almost three weeks and  i miss him dearly! I Miss snuggling with him, holding his hand, kissing him, lauging with him, talking to him, making funny faces with him, making him roll his eyes, EVERYTHING! he's my best friend and i cant wait to be with my love bug again:)