Kisses from Apache

Apache's Lolly and Pop (My parents) came to visit us this weekend and she had so much fun!  She is exausted today!  Friday night when they got here we went to eat dinner.  Apache was out WAY past her bedtime, but she was a trooper!  She sat at the table dancing in her high chair and eating whatever we put in her mouth.  Saturday Lolly, Apache and I did some shopping and bought Miss Thing some new PJs.  She is now in 12 MONTH PJs!  I cannot believe how fast she is growing!  Lolly and Pop headed home after church this morning and Apache is beat!  She is working on her 2nd 2 hour nap of the day...

Pop was lucky enough to get some Apache Kisses while he was here!

On a different note...My good friend Alison and I are starting a new adventure!  Since we both enjoy being crafty and such we are lauching a Sewing, Cooking, anything Do It Yourself (DIY) thing you can think of YouTube Channel/Blog!  We put up our first video tutorial and blogpost last week!  So check us out at http://www.youtube.com/user/SewSweetTV or http://sewsweettv.blogspot.com/ !! If you enjoy all things crafty, subscribe and get excited about all the fabulous things to come! Once we get things up and going, we plan to have some give aways! :)

I spent my free time this afternoon (while Apache is recovering from the weekend) sewing a little skirt for her!  It turned out so cute - and will be our next tutorial! :) 

Oh the projects to come!

I got a sewing machine!!  I've wanted one for a really long time and Matt bought me one for our anniversary!  I love doing crafty things, so every spare moment I got this weekend was spent playing with my new toy.  My sweet friend Alison has been teaching me to sew on her machine, so this was my first attempt all by myself.  SO FUN.  Here is a little look at my first project! 

I made it from an old t-shirt and some ribbon I saved from my baby shower! I always seem to under estimate the size of Apache's Buddha belly, so I need to go back and add a bit more elastic in the waist so it's not so tight on her belly.  Overall though, I have to say I was pretty impressed with myself! :)
There will be many more projects coming!  And some more pics of Apache!

It's been a while!

So, Its been a while since I updated!  Things have been crazy around here.  Matt has started his 4th year rotations and we have been all over the place on the weekends.  We made a trip to the lake, went to Boerne to see Matt's sister, Ali, graduate from high school (#14 in her class - Yay!), then another trip to Boerne for Father's day weekend! 

 

Anyway...Apache is growing like a little weed!  Can you believe that in 7.5 (almost) short months we have gone from this....

 

 

To this..

 

She is just way too cute for her own good these days!  And always SO happy!  Here's a little summary of her accomplishments so far:

• 6 weeks - First smiles
• 2 months - Started following people/things with her eyes
• 4 months - Started sitting (very bobbily)

• 5 months - Rolled from back to belly, then a few days later belly to back
• 5.5 months - can REALLY sit by herself
• 5.5 months - first belly laughs
• 5.5 months - had her first baby food
• 6 months - went swimming for the first time
• 6.5 months - started REALLY jabbering
• 6.5 months - First trip to the lake

• 6.5 months - First stay with the grandparents without Mommy & Daddy (she did great - Me, not so much)
• 6.5 months - started getting on her hands & knees and rocking
• 7 months CRAWLING

• 7 months 1 week - HER FIRST HANDSTAND!!

  

This girl will laugh like crazy at her Daddy and eat just about everything you put in her mouth (except pears..)  She doesn't use a paci anymore except for when we are trying to keep her quiet (like church) or when she is having trouble getting to sleep - a big change from 4 months ago when we had at least 4 on us at all times! And two of her most favorite things in the world are our pups and her Uncle Drew.  Both can make her smile and laugh no matter how upset she is!

And just to end the post in EXTRA cuteness - Here is my tiny dancer the day of her first school program! They had a Grease theme for her class and she did have a onesie that said pink ladies on it, but it didn't last long before she dirtied it!

Happy Mothers Day!

I consider myself a lucky girl. I have the most amazing family in the world.  One that is there  for each other through hard times. One that celebrates each others achievements together.  One that can have a great night full of laughter just hanging out at the house and cooking dinner together.  Our family has a special bond - in large part thanks to my Mom.

Being a new Mom, I feel that I have HUGE shoes to fill.  I often find myself praying that I can be as good of a mother as my own was/is.  My brother, sister and I learned so much from our Mom.  She always encouraged and expected us to be the best person we could be.  She taught us the value of hard work.  She taught us that it is ok to make mistakes, and how to learn from those mistakes, ask for forgiveness and to strive to do better next time.  She taught us how to have fun, encouraged us to be creative and showed us the importance of family.  And over the years, my Mom has become my best friend - someone I can talk to about anything.  I pray that one day my daughter can say the same about me!  I love you, Mom!  Thanks for being you - and the most amazing Mom in the world.

I also feel very lucky to have married into the family that I did.  My mother-in-law has raised 4 wonderful, caring kids.  My husband is a true testimate to the kind of mother she has been.  I know that the way he loves and cares for our daughter is exactly how his mother cared for him, and it's an amazing, beautiful love.  I have never met someone that so selflessly serves her family, expecting absolutely nothing in return.  In the 7 years that I have been around their family, she has welcomed me with open arms.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law!  Thank you for accepting me into your family and for everything you do!

Happy Mother's Day to you both!  We Love You!

A long year ahead...

Matt will start HIS LAST ROUND OF FINALS EVER tomorrow.  He has been studying like a crazy man this weekend and will continue to do so until he offically becomes a 4th year vet student on Thursday!  Normally we push through these tough weeks of studying and exams by looking forward to the break ahead. "2 more weeks till Christmas break - and we'll have a whole month to spend together without worrying about school" or "3 more exams THEN SUMMER! We'll spend every weekend in the sun at the lake!"  However, this year, there will be no break.  He will get a 3 day weekend and go straight into 4th year next Monday.  Matt is excited because he won't have to sit in a classroom from 8am to 5pm everyday and spend countless hours at the library every week.  He will be working with patients and clients in the hospital and probably learning more in one year than he has in the last 7 years combined.  As exciting as the next year will be, we are both a little anxious about it.  We've been told for the last three years that the 4th year is crazy and that vet school owns your life (As if it didn't already).  We've been told that typical hours are 6:30 am to 8pm, plus on-call, plus going to treat patients on the weekend - almost every weekend. Sigh...No getting off at 5pm on Friday and heading to the lake?!

I know that as hard as keeping up with the schedule is for me, its much harder on Matt.  I try my best to support him in everyway I can and to be his cheerleader because I know that he needs it - 7, going on 8 years of school is a LONG TIME, people! I am so proud of him and so thankful that he is pushing through these - sometimes, not so fun - years of school so that he can have a career that he loves to support our family.  We have met some amazing people in the last three years and made tons of memories that we will cherish forever. We plan to  make the most of our final year as "college kids" and to have the video camera rolling non-stop so Matt won't miss a single move Apache makes - even during the most demanding weeks!

Matt, Apache and I love you so much - you're the best husband and Dad in the world and we're so proud of you!

And last but not least...Here is the video of the day. Featuring my crazy awesome husband! =)
Dancing in Wal-mart

Why oh Why Apache?

So, I know the question burning in everyone's mind is: WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU CALL HER APACHE?! 

First, Let's clear one thing up...Apache is NOT her real name.  Just a nickname that we use for her when she's on camera.

When I was in the early stages of my pregnancy, Matt and I were trying to decide what to call the baby until we knew the gender and decided on a real name.  Most people use things like "peanut" "blueberry" , etc.  But of course - Matt can't just go with the norm.  My due date was Nov. 21 - the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Our conversation went something like this....

Mere: Well, it will be close to Thanksgiving.  How about pumpkin?
Matt: No, that's lame
Mere:Ok, How about Turkey?
Matt: No, these are stupid names. We might as well call it cornucopia!  We need something awesome
Mere:  I like Turkey, but ok...
Matt: Its gonna be a boy, so we need something manly and cool
Mere:I'm pretty sure its a girl, but whatever.  How about this - Thanksgiving ---> Pilgrims and Indians ---->Indians---->  What do you think about Apache?
Matt: PERFECT...Apache TEXAS RANGER it is..Apache TR for short.

And that is the story of how the name Apache came to be.  Our family and friends also loved it, so the name really stuck.  My poor sweet girl will probably be called Apache for the rest of her life. Sigh...

Anyway, We went to Mark and Jaci's house last night for dinner and Apache got to play with a cat for the first time.  Here is the video for the day (a day late)!
Apache play with Tracks

Moving Day...

Well, today was kind of a sad day for us.  My best friend, Amy, is moving 5 hours away and we spent the evening packing all her furniture onto a U-Haul.  Amy has been my best friend since, oh...Forever.  You can go back to our 4th grade class picture and there is Amy in a crayola hat and me in a big straw hat with a giant orange bow on the front.  We went to our 7th grade dance together (we weren't cool enough to have real dates yet).  In middle school we spent about every waking moment together in a dance studio or at cheerleading practice.  We gushed over first kisses and cried over first break ups.  We had only skittles and a coke for lunch every day in the 8th grade (Sh! Don't tell our Moms!)

In the 9th grade my family moved from Arkansas to San Antonio, Texas.  It was devastating.  But several times a year our moms would meet each other half way and we would get to spend a week together, either in Texarkana or San Antonio. I don't even want to know what our parent's phone bills were like when we were in high school.  Even though we were 8 hours away, we stayed best friends and were there for each other through thick and thin. 

Amy got a job in College Station in Feb. 2009. And for the last 2.5 years we have enjoyed being right down the road from one another again.  It has been an awesome couple of years and I'm so thankful that we have gotten to spend so much time together.  Recently Amy decided that it was time for her to move back home closer to her family.  I understand, because I can't wait for Matt to be done with school so that we can be closer to our family, but I am sad that she won't be right down the road anymore.

I know that no matter the distance between us, we will alway be best friends.  I know that we will always be there for each other no matter what happens.  I am so thankful that I was blessed with a life-long friend and sister.  I love you so much Aimes!

Enjoy today's video!

Moving Day