Weekend at G&P's and a Wedding!

Charlotte and I hit the road to head to my parent's house last Thursday. Charlotte must have been so excited to see her grandparents because she was a HAM that night! She was talking away at the dinner table, making goofy sounds and laughing so much. She even started saying her consonant p's and can now say "poppa!" It's so cute!

Lucy riding shotgun in the car

Charlotte and her Poppa

I love going to Grammy's!



On Friday we headed to one of our favorite places close to my parent's... the outlet malls in San Marcos. We got some super cute stuff for little C at Janie & Jack, Carter's, Hartstrings & Baby Gap.

Trying on shades at J&J

Grammy got her these floral ones... "hey guys!"

My little "movie star!"

shopping is one of our favorites!

love this little love bug

laughing with Grammy

cute as a button!

 

Drew had some work to do in San Antonio, so he met us back at my parent's later Friday night and we went to dinner. My parents got Charlotte this cute door jumper and we tried it out after dinner. She was a little unsure at first but she LOVED it! I think we have a new fun activity to do and maybe I need to go get one now for the house... :)

what do you mean I can jump?

This is FUN!



The next day we had a lazy morning while Drew and I got ready to go to the Deleon wedding in San Antonio. I was excited to see some friends at the wedding and have an afternoon/evening break away from C and my parents were excited to babysit for a few hours. Ryan Deleon is a good childhood friend of Drew's from Corpus so Drew's parents were going to be there along with some buddies from growing up. Drew is so blessed to still have such a good group of guy friends that he's known since he was 5 and the Padre Little League days :)

Love him

Love having a night out with this guy :)

"the real housewives of padre little league" thanks Elizabeth for the tag line! I'm cracking up!

Drew and some of his buddies

The wedding was so much fun! We enjoyed catching up with some friends and having a little break from being a full-time parent but I will say at 11 o'clock that evening when we got home, I sure was missing my little baby. She had so much fun with my parents though that I got these pictures while we were away... I think it's needless to say that at Grammy & Poppa's you sure must be having a good time because she's shirtless! Haha!

Having so much fun mom!

cheese!



This Thursday we are headed back to San Antonio for a little family getaway on the Riverwalk. Can't wait to spend 3 days with my little family. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

49th Annual Cousins by the Dozens Reunion- FIESTA Theme!

After our little vacation to Corpus we came home and then packed it back up again to head to Wimberley for the 49th Annual Cousins by the Dozens Reunion- FIESTA Theme!



My Grandmother was raised by her Aunts & Uncles because my Great-Grandmother died in childbirth and with the Spanish Flu (remember on Downton Abbey when Matthew's fiancé passed away... that was what my Great-Grandmother had). So family was also so important to my Mimi. Her cousins were more like her brothers and sisters. Our family is so unique because my 6th/7th cousins are more like 1st and 2nd cousins... Our family name is "Espy." These are the original family members of that family unit that would begin the family ties that we have today. This picture is from the 1800's.

They look so serious! The far left woman on the bottom is my Great-Great Grandmother, Henrietta Victoria Espy Jones.



From this family unit, my Great-Grandmother, Emma Angelina Jones Session would then have my Grandmother, Marietta Session Martin, and that was where the reunion was started. So, 49 years ago the very first reunion was held and it was tradition for all the women cousins on my mom's side to gather together for a WEEK and be together. They would eat, play games, pull pranks, and of course laugh. Every year there was a different theme... so we've kept up the tradition! Except now it's only for a weekend :) This year was especially unique because it was Charlotte's first time to go.

I had been anticipating bringing her because last year I was pregnant and didn't even know I was expecting a girl! I found out the day after we got home from the reunion that I was having a girl and at the reunion last year everyone kept making guesses on what I was having. With the wonderful invention of facebook, everyone has been able to see pictures of her but not actually meet her so we were thrilled to bring her and introduce her to all her crazy lovable cousins that love her so much already. Drew, my dad & brother-in-laws didn't go... so it was just the girls: my mom, sisters, niece and baby C.

We had so much fun dressing up for the theme for Friday & Saturday night! On Friday, we got in just in time for dinner. It was a short evening that night because everyone was pretty tired. On Saturday, we shopped around town, told stories, pulled pranks, ate delicious food, had a dance party and even did the Harlem Shake! Haha... you can find it on youtube :) We also took family pictures. Sadly, I didn't get one of all 53 of us dressed up but I did get some of our immediate family. On Sunday before everyone left, we worshipped together before saying our goodbyes until next year.

Can't wait till next year cousins for the 50th!!!

Ready to meet my cousins!

Her Aunts were so excited to see her! Aunt Amy

Aunt Katherine

Schedule of events for the weekend



Lunch at Marco's on Saturday... she's loving sitting up like a big girl :)



Me and my girl on Saturday night :)

Grammy & Charlotte

The girls! Best picture we could get... Katherine's eyes are closed!

Family Picture time outside

Charlotte & Me with our sweet cousin, Betty Jack

Hanging with Zane

My mom and her sister, my sweet little aunt :)

Kaitlyn and me

3 sisters... 3 mamacitas

Probably a favorite of me and my mom! Haha!

 

My cousin Matt leading worship when his precious little boy Samuel wanted to join him :)

Samuel and Charlotte playing at church... they are EXACTLY one year apart

Ready for next year cousins!



 



Mother's Day Weekend and My Birthday!

We started off Mother's Day weekend with my Grandmother's funeral and although it was a sad occasion my family was all together and we were celebrating her life.

After the funeral, we headed over to one of my family's favorite restaurants, Mamacita's in New Braunfels. The funeral had been in Seguin at my Dad's church so the drive to New Braunfels was quick. We had planned after dinner to all go back and stay the weekend at my parent's house in Seguin but my Mom got this great idea that since the cars were already packed with all of our stuff that we just head over to the ranch in Fredericksburg! I hadn't been to the ranch since I was pretty early on in my pregnancy... we just hadn't been able to go. We were supposed to have spent Christmas there with everyone, but Charlotte had RSV and I fractured my ankle... remember that?? (I sure will never forget it!) So everyone came to us in Katy :) We were all soooo excited to go and spend some quality time sitting on the front porch and being together as a family. There is nothing more wonderful to me than being at the ranch with my whole family. My parents had just finished building the barn and bunkhouse so my niece and nephews were super excited to stay in the barn! Fredericksburg is only an hour and a half from New Braunfels so we hopped in the car and got there really late Friday night.

the new barn next to the house (this is in the back of the house)

more of the house and part of barn



It was soooo nice to wake up to the sound of dew on the tinroof and to hear my mama downstairs making breakfast. Charlotte LOVED sleeping in her crib there and woke up super happy. We were going to have a great Saturday. My brother-in-laws and Drew helped my Dad with some things in the barn that he needed assembling and the kids ran off to find "forts" and explore the land... oh and harass the donkeys and cows :) My sisters, Mom and I sat around the kitchen table doing what we love to do... talk and talk and talk (Charlotte napped!). We also set the dates for our BIG Disney World trip that we are taking next summer... can you say F.U.N! I'm SOOOOO excited for that trip!

Dustin hauling some rocks... I can't BELIEVE he will be taking DRIVER'S ED this summer!

All the kids (minus little C).. Dustin (14 almost 15), Courtland (14), Kaitlyn (11 almost 12) and Tyler (11)

My niece and nephews with my parents... Grammy and Poppa.

 After lunch, Katherine, Charlotte and I headed in to town to get a few things and when we came back we were all set to make homemade ice cream on the front porch. My Dad grilled an amazing dinner that night and we ate our amazing homemade ice cream and told stories about Grandmother and talked and talked and talked.

Sunday rolled around and Drew and I had to get going pretty quickly before lunch since it was a 4 hour drive back to Katy. We ate breakfast with the family and watched the kids help my Dad build the fire pit. I loved being able to spend Mother's Day with my Mom on my FIRST official Mother's Day (last year I was 13 weeks pregnant and Mother's Day was on my actual birthday, 13th!). I also loved being able to spend it with my sister's whom I look up to as amazing mothers as well.

We were sad to say goodbye but Drew and I put Charlotte in the car and headed home. Since we had boarded Lucy for the weekend before we got home we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, Dekker's in Fulshear for Mother's Day. They were having live music on the patio so we ate outside and enjoyed it. I had some delicious shrimp and buttermilk pie for dessert, yum!

Happy Mother's Day!

Me and the little one who made me a Mama!

Love her so so so much!



The next day was my 27th birthday! How fun is it to have my birthday and Mother's day back to back?! Charlotte and I had our regular mommy and me swim class at the Y that morning and then my friends and I and our babies headed over to Red River BBQ to have lunch for my birthday! My sweet mother-in-law drove in from Corpus so that she could babysit Charlotte while Drew and I went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday that night. I'm sure spoiled to be going out to eat so much and eating such delicious food! We went to the Cheesecake Factory... and yes I've hit the gym almost every day since being home to work off all this good food I've eaten. Haha Drew gave me a beautiful ring with Charlotte's birthstone on it for my birthday and some beautiful earrings for Mother's Day. What a sweet man I married :)

My baby and me on my birthday (yes no makeup and hair not fixed... but we had just finished our swim class)

Charlotte and one of her besties, Julia

my gorgeous ring with Charlotte's birthstone, Citrine



We had such a wonderful weekend celebrating my sweet Grandmother, being together with family, my birthday and being a mama. What a weekend and special holiday to go down in the books!