Christmas...Part 2

On Friday, we spent most of the day and evening at Michael's moms. She lives next door to Garvan Gardens, in Hot Springs and it was so much fun to go there and see all the lights! The kids loved it and the weather was perfect!

When we got back, we opened gifts, ate dinner and visited! It was great to have a low key evening and be able to enjoy family!

Grams got Gage a farm set and he was thrilled with it! It is crazy how much he loves farms and farm animals!

Our nephew Colson loves trains and dinosaurs and the boys had tons of fun playing together with all their toys!

Thank You Grams, for a wonderful Christmas and we can't wait to do it again! Stay tuned for Part 3...

Christmas...Part 1

If you have been a follower of my blog for any amount of time, you know that the Holidays are crazy for us. We have several places to be so we try to split the, all up within a few days. For that reason, I'm going to post about Christmas by the day.

Michael and I decided that since we had so many places to be on the weekend, that we would go ahead and open our gifts from each other on Thursday night. I am seriously, the most impatient person EVER and knowing that I have gifts to open gets the best of me. I think Michael just gave in because I begged for them very single day until he did ;) 

Gage opened a few of his too! He was SO much fun this year and SO different from the years in the past. The excitement in his eyes, as he opened each gift, made my heart melt every time!

I loved having our Christmas together, just the 3 of us, and I can't wait until next year when we will celebrate Jesus' Birthday as a family of 4!!

Stay tuned for Part 2...

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011

Now that all my cards have been sent out for a couple weeks, I feel like everyone already has theirs and I can post them on here. I didn't want to ruin the big surprise for anyone who would be getting one in the mail ;) Typically, when I design our cards, I try to do something very non-traditional. I like for ours to be completely different from any card I've ever seen or designed! I was THRILLED with how ours turned out this year!! What do you think?

If you like what you see, feel free to visit me at 

www.asimplysassydesign.com

I'd love to design something special for you!!

Until next time,

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

FROM THE WILLIAMS FAMILY

35 weeks...

It seems crazy, I know! I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You see, I don't do well with the whole pregnancy thing. I actually have great pregnancies (so I shouldn't complain) but I tend to be a little on the thick side, as it is, and 30 pounds doesn't help much. And to be honest, the constant "you look like you're about to pop" comments that i hear nonstop, wear me out. However, I love feeling her move around and it has been neat to see the difference from this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Gage. I cant wait to see how different (or similar) they are when she gets here! I have less than 4 weeks until my scheduled c-section and I CANNOT WAIT!!! I have been horrible about taking pictures this time and this one is far from great, but here it is! The 35 week belly picture. And before you say it, I already know, I look like I'm about to pop ;)

Family Pictures 2011...

I think maybe, since September was the last time I blogged, I should probably do a little catching up and get back on my blog game. I was 23 weeks pregnant then and had recently found out that we were expecting a little GIRL! Now, I am almost 35 weeks pregnant and have never been more ready to meet her! I am feeling great, and for the most part I have had an awesome pregnancy. I have only had a few days when I thought I might not make it through these 9 months ;) I have been terrible about taking belly pictures this time, so I thought I would share some professional pictures we had made a few weeks ago! I am beyond thrilled with how they turned out and so glad I went ahead and had them made. For some reason, when you weigh 25 more than usual and your belly sticks out a foot from the rest of your body, you just don't feel great about having your pictures made ;)

Gage is so ready for his little sister to get here! He talks about her all the time and always asks when we are going to get her. I cannot wait to see the look on his face when he finally gets to meet her!

Halloween 2011

This was Gage's 3rd Halloween and completely different from the years in the past. We are always so run down by dark, because we have so many people that want to see gage dressed up in his costume. This year we decided to have chili at our house for everyone in hopes that we could see everyone and still have time for trick or treating. Our plan worked out perfectly and Gage enjoyed having everyone here! This year, he decided on his own costume. For those of you who know him want be a but surprised...he was a Bull Rider!

And a cute one, if I do say so myself ;)

Emerson Kate Williams

Ok, so I've come to realize that my days of blogging every day are probably about over. I am always busy lately and when I have time to sit down at the computer, I don't actually have time to blog. Maybe an iPad would come in handy here ;) Anyway, last time I blogged I was 14 weeks pregnant and still very nervous about the next few weeks. Back in the Winter, I lost a baby at 12 weeks, so at 14 weeks I still wasn't in the clear.

I am now 23 weeks pregnant with a sweet little GIRL!!! So far everything is going well and the pregnancy has been great! I was very nauseous the first few weeks but never sick...THANK GOODNESS! I am not a good patient ;) I am feeling great now and looking forward to the next 16 weeks passing by QUICKLY!! I'm so excited for the Holidays to come. This time of year always seems to fly by for me!

Gage is beyond excited about having a "stister"! He talks about her often and asks about her every single day! I think he will be such a great big brother!

I would like to introduce to you...Emerson Kate Williams!!!

I have a scheduled c-section date for Jan. 11, 2012 and I can't wait to meet her!!

How Far Along: 14 weeks, believe it or not ;) They say the belly comes faster the second time...they were right! 

Weight gain: 2 pounds...I realize I look like I've gained much more, but I wasn't able to eat much for the first 12 weeks, so I actually lost a few during that time. I feel quite sure I'll make up for it ;)

Maternity Clothes: I wear my normal Summer clothes from last year for the most part. It won't be long and I'll be having to move on, I'm sure! 

Gender: Don't know yet!

Movement: None so far. Sometimes I think I feel flutters, but it could be wishful thinking!

Sleep: I had a few sleepless nights, but nothing like when I was pregnant with Gage. Hopefully I continue to sleep well!

Symptoms: For the first 12 weeks, I was extremely nauseous, but I never got sick. I feel much better now!

What I miss: Nothing so far! 

Cravings: Anything salty or sour. Absolutely nothing sweet!

Best Moment this week: To be honest, this week hasn't been the best for us. We have had the stomach virus. That, on top of being pregnant, wasn't so fun! This week should be better!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we are having in a few short weeks! We should find out the 2nd week in August!

Well, I have been scolded, by my Mother, that I need to start blogging again. To be honest, I have been wanting to get back to it anyway, but it just isn't the most convenient thing ever. I seem to never find the time.

In other news, Michael and I are expecting a baby in early January!!! We are beyond excited and thrilled to have another baby to love on soon! Gage isn't too sure what to think yet, but I'm sure he will come around. He loves babies and I know he will be the BEST Big Brother! We should find out what we are having sometime around the first of August and I can't wait to share the news!

The Summer has been so hot here that it really isn't even enjoyable. I'm not fan of warm weather and certainly not a fan of 100+ weather. However, we have managed to take Gage to Big Daddy's to go swimming several times already. He loves the water!

His favorite thing to do is jump off the "dina cord". I think these pictures of him jumping are just priceless!

Hopefully I will be able to get back to my regular blogging and I'll be talking to you soon! I'm going to do my best!

Gage is really into "Shoo Shoo Shrains" lately! He carries them around with him everywhere he goes!

He loves this cute little hat too! I think it is so funny to see him wearing a hat that is obviously WAY too big for him! I usually covers the tip of one ear! SO CUTE, I tell ya!

 The last couple weeks have been pretty nasty here, but before that, the weather was perfect for playing outside. I was able to get some really cute pictures of Gage on his play set!

 He's such a little monkey!!

Last Thursday, Kristi and I took the kids to the Little Rock Zoo. If you've ever been there, you know that it really isn't that great, but the kids like it anyway. I really wish our zoo was a little better :(  Anyway, I had my doubts that the day would be incredibly enjoyable with 4 kids, but I was wrong! They were all 4 perfect that day! We couldn't have asked for better kids!

As you can imagine, we didn't have much time to take pictures. We were both pushing a double stroller and the kiddos were constantly yelling, "wanna see a-nuder one". However, we did get a couple right before we left. Here are all of the kids together!

And this is Gage holding "Baby Kin", otherwise known as Kinlynn ;)

We had a great day and I can't wait to do it again!

I'm back...again!

This month has been very crazy for us (hence the absence of my posts)! The past few months have been, actually. We have decided to sell our house, Gage turned 2, Michael has been playing lots of softball, and I've been crazy busy designing things for some very special customers! As a result of all this, I haven't had any time to blog! I guess I'll start by posting some pictures from Gage's Birthday Party...

To begin with, I went to pick up Gage's cake on the morning of the party. Leaving the cake lady's house, I had to hit the brakes and the rest was history. The cake went flying into the floor of my car and pretty much destroyed all the icing. I went back to Nikki and she did her best to fix what I had messed up. This would be the reason the cake is covered in cracks and the orange icing doesn't exactly match! Oh well, it was still delicious! 

Gage opened lots of gifts from lots of sweet friends! I have had to put some of them away in the closet to bring out as the year goes on. There was absolutely no way we would have a place for all of them if they were all opened. This child is WAY too spoiled! 

After opening gifts, Gage blew out his candles. He thought that was pretty neat!

Here is our only family picture from the day! I think he was enjoyed eating his cake way too much to mess with us!

I ordered these cupcakes to give to Gage's little friends and made the labels for them! I thought they turned out really cute!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my little man! I cannot believe he is already 2 years old! He is such a joy in our lives and we love him so much!!

My Angel...

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you probably knew that Michael and I were expecting a baby in August. As of last Tuesday, I was 12 weeks pregnant and feeling great! I had no complications, very few days of sickness, and I was looking forward to seeing the changes in my ever-growing belly. Unfortunately, on Thursday, our lives were turned upside down.

Michael and I went to the doctor on Thursday morning for our regular pre-natal check up. We went through the normal things you do there and headed to the ultrasound room. I had a terrible knot in my stomach and I had a feeling something wasn't right. As soon as the doctor started the ultrasound, I knew my feelings were correct. The baby had no heartbeat and measured to be about 7 weeks. My heart completely sunk, as I knew my Angel had gone to Heaven.

My days are really tough and my nights are even tougher. Often times I find comfort in knowing that my Granny Lou is spending her days rocking my sweet baby, until I'm there to take her place! God is good and I know eventually I'll see his blessings in this tough situation! Thankfully, I have another little Angel keeping me pretty busy and my mind (somewhat) off of things!

Thanks so much for listening and please keep us in your prayers!

Snow Day...

If you are one of the 3 followers of my blog, I'm sorry I've betrayed you. Last time I got on here to blog, I could not upload pictures and I just got fed up with it! I'm going to try again, but I'm not going to backtrack any. Let's just start on what's new. What do you say?

On Sunday, our local meteorologist had been calling for snow for several days. To be honest, normally when they call for snow, we never see it. I figured this time would be no different! To my surprise, I took a nap with Gage at 1:30 on Sunday and when we woke up at 3 it had started to snow and it was coming down quickly!! Shortly after, this is what we saw...

you got it! 6 inches of snow and it was still falling! This wasn't Gage's first snow, but it was the first one he was really able to enjoy! He had so much fun playing and all he could do was scream!

We didn't have any gloves for him to wear and the snow was still coming down pretty hard, so we decided we would go back in and wait until Monday morning to make a snowman. Little Man wasn't too happy about going in, but we promised to take him out again and he was fine!

Monday afternoon we went back out to play! He and Daddy threw snowballs for a while and I worked on his first Snowman. I knew he'd be so excited when it was finally done! He LOVES snowmen!!

He wasn't too sure about the snowman wearing his hat at first. It took him a minute to decide he was ok with it!

We made the mouth out of life savers that ended up falling off as soon as we put them there. Gage found them and couldn't let them go to waste. Oh the joy of being a child. I could never get away with that ;)

Apparently blogger is going to act right now! I hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse into Gage's Snow Day! Be back soon...