My Little Puzzle

On Friday, January 13th Abby Grace lost one of her big top teeth! This tooth had been loose for a while and she had a fear of the pain of pulling it out, although she had pulled out her two bottom teeth by herself at school. Well, Ray is the one that usually handles these events in our house, but he was not home that night due to taking our nephew back to College Station. So... it went something like this:

Abby: Mom, my tooth is loose.
Me: Okay Honey, want me to take a look?
Abby: When's Daddy coming back?
Me: Well Daddy won't be back until after you fall asleep. Can I look at it?
Abby: Okay, but don't touch!
Me: Okay

Well at this point she opens her mouth and it is practically hanging out. So we talk about what I see and then she goes into the restroom to look in the mirror and sees what I described.

Me: Do you want me to pull it the rest of the way out?
Abby: No! I will do it.

She proceeded to pull on it with her little finders and they constantly slip off and she becomes frustrated and tears fall. So I pull up on our bed, huge and love on her and calm her down.

Me: Okay Abby can Mommy try this time?
Abby: Okay (sniffle) just be easy Mommy.

So I proceed to try and my finger slips... she starts crying again. I try with holding the teeth with Kleenex and it slips still. So at this point, I am emotional, she is emotional and we call Ray on speaker phone while he is stuck in really bad traffic. He calms us both down and reminds me that when he had to pull Emma's tooth he used dental floss and tied it like a shoe lace and then pulled it out. So after about a five-minute conversation Abby and I both build up our confidence to try it one last time.

So I get the dental floss and pull a long strip out and tie it like he said. As the floss glides up the tooth I swear I heard a little slicing sound and Abby jerks... we grab the floss together and pull! The floss falls out and I think for a moment that the tooth cut through the floss. Then she looks up and smiles and the tooth falls out : )

After this, she proceeds to look at the tooth and goes back into the restroom to look into the mirror.
She turns to me and tells me, Mommy, I look like a puzzle! It was one of the sweetest and funniest little moments that I will cherish.

Painting with Aunt Pat

Loved spending the time and relaxing with Aunt Pat as we painted snowmen!

Houston Zoo

We decided to take the girls to the Zoo for a much-needed visit and even Uncle Eric came along with us. We love riding the train through the park and eating some of the tasty treats to be found as we walked around. Their favorite part was getting to feed the giraffes, especially the baby giraffe.  Also hunting the Pokemon as we walked around the Zoo was a hoot for them. But one of the most memorable events for me was watching them ride the carousel with their Dad. Ray decided that he too would ride one of the animals on the carousel with the girls. We all had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back sometime soon.

My Little Mermaids

Emma and Abby have really enjoyed water since they were born. Over the years it has been one of my biggest pleasures watching the joy on their faces as they frolic in the water.

They love going to the beach and playing in the sand building sandcastles and motes. They enjoy running in the water splashing each other and their Dad. They scream in delight or fright depending on what touched them under the water... sometimes its scary as the parent but mostly hilarious, because Ray is always with them and guards them well. I on the other hand love watching them, but don't always enjoy the gritty sand between the toes.

Over this past summer the girls had a ton of fun with their Aunt Pat in her pool and they were very sad to see summer go because they had to stop their trips to Aunt Pat's pool. On those trips it was so much fun playing games in the water, diving off of Aunt Pat's shoulders, having the Dad and their Aunt instruct them on how to swim.

The girls started asking in December when would it be warm enough to start swimming.... it got to the point that one or both would ask on a weekly basis. So Ray and I signed our girls up for private swim lessons in an indoor facility with a heated pool and they love it! Their swim instructor has commented on how natural they are with the back stroke, even asking if they had previous lessons. They are gaining more confidence in their abilities. They are learning the different ways to swim and even talk about joining the local swim team!

We will post pictures and video soon.

Who Are We? DNA Results

Ray and I decided for Christmas gifts this year we could get our DNA tested. We went through Ancestry.com for the test and recently got our results.


Brandie
100% European

The breakdown:
76% Great Britain
8% Ireland
5% Italy,Greece
5% Spain, Portugal
4% Europe West - France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland
2% Scandinavian - Norway, Sweden, Finland - Land of the Vikings : )



Ray
45% Europe West
27% Ireland
28% Other Regions

The Breakdown
1% Africa North
2% American
27% Ireland
15% Great Britain
5% Finland, Northwest Russia
3% Scandinavian
1% Iberian Peninsula
1% Italy, Greece
1% West Asia - Caucasus


By doing this through the website it will match us up with any possible relatives who have done the same DNA testing through them. It has been awesome to see these results!!!

Happy Birthday Brandie

Today was Brandie's birthday ,and we pampered her like she deserves!  She enjoyed a day at the spa yesterday, and today she was treated to homemade meals she requested.  French toast with berry butter, hoemmade potato soup and grilled cheese, and rib eye steaks, mushrooms, and baked potatoes as well as a hoemmade chocolate cake.  The girls painted her a pencil holder, and I also got her tickets to see Reba McEntire.  She enjoyed her special day and looks forward to the new year.