the relatives came. part two: food and f-u-n.

Okay, so we really like food.  Of course we had to get in as many food experiences as possible when my family was here.

I had my first true Texas BBQ with them and I was pleasantly surprised;  not being a huge meat girl with an added pretty strong dislike for all things BBQ, I was shocked to genuinely like a lot of what we tried at Rudy's BBQ. (it doubles as a gas station)
*note: I'm not a hater, red meat usually makes me feeling pretty sick and I just don't love that BBQ flavor.

matty obviously can't get enough.

 

Blue Bell has long been a favorite of my Dad's. (we lived outside of Houston for about four years when I was young.) And he was quick to load up on as many varieties as suited his fancy when they came so we could sample them all. 

well hello heaven...

here's dad trying my personal favorite: cotton candy.

Such incredible deliciousness. I think my new tied-for-first-place flavor is actually Neapolitan.  It's definitely a flavor I usually pass up but, oh my goodnight, from Blue Bell every flavor tastes like homemade.  Makes me crave it just thinking about it.  

We also had good home cooked meals as well and, as always, breakfast was my FAVORITE. It's probably a good thing we never make "real" breakfast like this.

Kevin is always looking for an adventure so, he took the boys to a spot he goes fishing and they  "skim-boarded" on a boogie board on a sandbar and had a riot, of course.  

Have you noticed that people who make fun for themselves are generally pretty happy? Me too.

 

This is a hilarious video clip Kevin caught of Dave the first time he inadvertently ventured into the murky "unknown", man, we sure miss this kid.

One of my favorite twiner pictures of all time:
 

Lee's face KILLS me.

We had SUCH a good time, man, it went by way too quickly. Good thing there are many good and beautiful days ahead, here's to a "Tuesday Monday". (much better than a "Monday Monday", right?)

the relatives came.

Can't believe it's already been a month since my family, or what's left of them at home, came to visit and meet baby Drew.
My Momma came for two weeks and it was ....heaven....

She even stashed some of my all-time favorite Dick's Bakery doughnuts in her carry-on for me.


As most children do, I can't help but see my Momma as one of the best I know.  She is SO good with kids, somehow manages to answer all my mom-hood questions, is such a good playmate for the boys and somehow manages to get an assortment of things done on the side.  And babies love her, she couldn't keep baby Drew from grinning at her. (yep, pretty jealous.)
 

Lee was so ridiculously happy having so much attention. (He'd just had two weeks with Kevin's mom too.)

Halfway through my mom's visit my Dad and two youngest brothers joined us too.  It was especially nice since David was just weeks away from leaving to serve an LDS mission in Oklahoma City. (he just flew into OKC today!) 

I love having my boys be able to spend time with such good uncles. They are both pretty big suckers for my babies too...which we are a-okay with around here. 

matty.

dave's favorite baby activity.

My Dad even got some baby Drew time in between my mom and brothers.

home sweet home. ^part.one^

As promised, here is a peek into part of our first home.  I haven't been able to take pictures of the whole thing yet.

We are loving being here, this house, neighborhood, church congregation and city just felt right and we are feeling more *at home* every day. woot. We feel so blessed to be here.


our house.

front room.

family room.

(the shelves you can see here are a DIY we did after we moved in. I'll post before and after pics.)

kitchen.

our bathroom.

welcome to the world.

We welcomed baby ^Drew Michael^ to our world.

Born: June 29, 2013

Weight: 7 lbs. 4 ounces

Height: 20 inches

Baby Drew surprised us by coming a little over 2 weeks early and consequently, the morning after we moved into our house. 

Kevin was already on his way to go fishing early that Saturday morning before we attended the 9 am baptism of an incredible woman joining our church congregation.  I had to call him back when my water broke soon after he left.  After waiting to see if I was really in active labor for quite a while and finding someone to watch Lee boy, we got to the hospital a little before 9 am. Drew was born almost exactly 2 hours later. 

And as an added surprise, I got to have a natural birth. My epidural never caused any numbing or pain relief.  In fact they had removed the epidural and were about to do a spinal block instead when Drew decided he wasn’t going to wait for that. He didn’t even wait for the doctor to deliver him.  Without going into lots of detail, it was a horrible, horrible experience for me to have an unplanned natural birth.  Awful. 

But our miracle baby Drew is here and even now the exact feelings of my birthing experience are fading. (also a miracle)

Drew has been such a good baby, especially compared to how difficult Lee boy was. He eats well, sleeps well, and is generally happy.

Though, just this week he has officially cut back on his time in-between eating and seems to be experiencing pain after eating because he cries for usually about an hour, off and on, after eating.  Hopefully not a trend…

Also, Lee has been getting up ready for the day or just plain sobbing in the middle of the night too. Party at the McGuire house.  I tell you what.  But that’s all part of this stage of life I suppose and this post was not intended to be a rant session.  (another time…)

Mostly, we are thrilled to be a family of four and I am loving my house full of boys.