February Memories

Here are a few more of our memories from February:

 Todd brought Leighton and Camden in for a basketball game in February and they got to come play and eat lunch first!

 This crew went to another game this month also!

 One morning Grace crawled into bed with Everly and they played and played for probably an hour! I am going to miss this sweet big sister so much when she goes to Kindergarten!

 I took Atticus to the Aggie Baseball Opening Day game and it turned cold really fast that night. We were not prepared AGAIN (like Leadoff). AND we just bought general admission tickets, but I didn't know those seats filled up so we didn't have a seat and the grassy area was full. I wasn't sure what we would do, but then Debbie and Scott (who have season tickets and know everyone around them with season tickets) invited us to sit in some vacant seats around them. AND they shared their blankets! It was a fun night, but by the end, Atticus was coughing and sick and it was kind of tough on him. I'll be better prepared next time!

 This little miss ALWAYS wants to sit in this stroller, but she is way too big. I can't help but love that squishy little body stuck in that stroller though.

 Atticus made us laugh with this random story he wrote to himself and then pretended to mail to himself!

It was a good month!

Sarah's 35th Birthday

I turned 35 this year and while we celebrated big the weekend before with DWTS and a weekend with Erwins, Vic and the kids still celebrated me on my day, Wednesday, the 28th. What started out as a great morning turned scary quick. We had MOPS that day and it was so fun to go and we had plans to meet Vic for lunch (girls were with me) and then come home for fun at home that evening. Well, during MOPS, we were playing Minute to Win It Games and although they are not hard or anything, I tripped while half running about 20 feet from one spot to another. Well, when I tripped, I fell. Hard. Right on my stomach. I did not catch myself with my hands and it happened so fast. I jumped up fast and said I was ok and smiled (because that is what I do) and then started thinking about how hard I hit my stomach. At 17 weeks pregnant. I went to the bathroom to get away for a minute and the tears started. And I was just worried. And then the girls and my mentors started coming in and I could NOT stop crying and that is not how I like to handle things. I like to handle things without freaking out. But, for some reason, my hormones and just being scared kept me from being able to not cry. One of the girls was a delivery nurse and she advised that I call my doctor and even go in for a heartbeat check. I did that and the doctor on call (mine was not in that day) said that at 17 weeks, to just watch for bleeding for 24 hours and any pains and to drink lots of water. And that was it. While I can follow instructions, it was just going to be a long 24 hours. And really, there was nothing that could be done at 17 weeks if I had hurt the baby. It was just scary. I wasn't feeling kicks yet to help me know that baby was moving around and it was just scary. I had never fallen during pregnancy and I felt SO DUMB being so clumsy, especially since I know I am clumsy. But, anyways, I called Vic bawling and decided I was in no form to go to lunch. We went home but then all I could do was think about it. And cry. I had so many MOPS girls calling and praying and just realized that a group of mamas like that are an army! And every one I talked to told me to go get the heartbeat checked, even though the doctor didn't say to come in. I called and the doctor's office said to come in and they would check. So, Vic came home early (poor guy - I was a mess and there wasn't much he could do) and I went in to wait to see a nurse. It took two nurse's to find the heartbeat, but my only hope was that it had taken Dr. Bertsch longer to find the heartbeat on this baby at every appointment. Then, all of a sudden they found the heartbeat. I was so thankful and so relieved. But, boy was I emotionally exhausted. I was so glad baby was ok and for the next 24 hours, I didn't have any symptoms to make me think anything was wrong. I was so thankful that God makes our bodies to carry our babies and protect them so well inside us.

Anyways, we ate a delicious dinner and had cake and relaxed the rest of the evening. What a scary day, but so thankful for my 35th birthday and that all was ok.

 I loved the sign Vic made - GOAT (Greatest of All Time)!

 My kids and me!

This is my favorite lemony shrimp pasta dish!

Nothing Bundt Cake for dessert!

Ana & Charley's Big Announcement

One thing I LOVE when we go to Sanger or Aubrey or Lewisville for events and trips is when we can all get together, even if just for a fast meal! To keep us from going all the way to Sanger to get kids and then get on the road again, the rest of the Erwins met us at Ana & Charley's house for brunch and to celebrate the February birthdays: me, Vic, and Melbo (88!). It was nice to sleep in and have our kids arrive dressed and packed! ah! So nice!

 Everyone watched Ana's dance from the night before!

And we got to eat birthday cake and sing!

We got to visit and eat and then Ana and Charley brought out these cool scratch off tickets for the kids to scratch and see if they won something...check out the video here:

https://youtu.be/HmEf0l9Eeqc

 

 Hooray! They are pregnant and having their first little bambino due on September 26th, 2018! Ana always said she would get pregnant when we were pregnant with our 4th baby - she was right!

 Everyone is pointing at Ana's tummy! There's a little baby in there! Oh we were so excited! Although, in the video, you could tell it took Melbo a little while...that was so funny!

It was a great way to finish celebrating the weekend before everyone went their separate ways (Dad headed to work!). So so thankful for so many blessings! A weekend I won't ever forget!

Dancing with the Stars Night

This was a big weekend! So, we found out in November or so that Ana was going to be in a Dancing With the Stars event to raise money for the Colleyville Rotary Club. It's an event they do every year and it raises a lot of money. They ask local celebrities, like Ana of course, to dance and to raise money for it. They partner every contestant with a professional ballroom dancer and then they perform at this fancy event! Originally, we were not sure Vic and I would make it, but then GG and Mom offered to buy our tickets as my 35th birthday present AND keep the kids the night of the event so we got to go! Oh my goodness - it was so fun! It was fun to dress up and go out to a fancy event; Vic even commented that he could totally get used to this lifestyle! So, we headed out Saturday morning, the 24th of February, dropped the kids in Sanger and stayed with Ana and Charley that night. It was great to also have a kid-free sleep night - we didn't have to put kids to bed! Thanks Mom, Dad & GG! You will see most of the details in my photos and video, but Ana BLEW everyone away with her dancing. I know it was tough, and she is naturally a great dancer having danced her entire life - although she had never done ballroom. She looked beautiful; we got to be with Charley too and then.....SHE WON! She won the entire dancing part of the event! And she should have - she was so amazing! So, here are the photos; we have the best time with Ana and Charley even when we do nothing, but this was a really special night to remember and I loved being able to celebrate my birthday this way! I won't forget when she told me that her mom (who is the sweetest lady) said "do Vic and Sarah WANT to celebrate their birthdays this way?" and Ana told something like "Yes! They love to be with us!" haha! It's so true!

 Brothers.

 Her dress was amazing!

 Introductions!

 She was so nervous, but thankfully she went first out of the gate and then she was done!

 All dressed up for a night!

Here's a video recap: https://youtu.be/kaGL5tZuUY4

 She got a real mirror ball trophy and everything! She honestly could compete on the real ABC show!

 Charley probably never knew (or he probably did!) how exciting every day would be with Ana when he married her! Good choice, Charley, good choice.

 So so proud of her!

We're touching the mirror ball trophy!! It was a birthday night to remember!

Everly Videos

Everly is just cute and I have videos to prove it!

Bathtub night - I love this video because she gives that little raised eyebrow and a confident "no" when I ask her to do something. https://youtu.be/bFlH0yL7eo0

I love this one of her talking - so many words! https://youtu.be/3RIn0zskoQs

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is always fun! This year, however, I didn't buy my kids one Valentine! Yikes! I love to do that stuff, but we have SO much going on all in a row after we get done with Christmas. All 5 birthdays, Valentines day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day all within 5 months and sometimes it is a lot. Thankfully, the kids didn't even notice that I didn't get them Valentines! They had plenty going on that day at school, so we were safe! But, here's some stuff we did:

 Grace and Vic went to Father/Daughter Valentine's Night at Chick-Fil-A. They went with her friend Dani and her dad, Darren. They dressed up in matching dresses and had a fun night! There were crafts, reserved tables, crowns, etc. for all of the little girls! Grace was so proud!

 The girls with the Chick-Fil-A Cow!

 Atticus had to make a Valentine's Box for school...surprise, surprise! He needed a football box and he hand picked certain mascots to put on the sides.

 And Grace made treats for her friends at school too!

 Daddy got BIG Valentine's Day hugs that morning!

 Atticus took homemade cookies to Mrs. Payne. Cutie patooties!

 Everly was cute as a love bug on Valentine's Day for MOPS and the preschool party! https://youtu.be/eE2BHRQr_Io

And Everly learned VERY quickly that Valentine's Day is all about candy! Oh and I don't think Vic and I did anything for Valentine's Day - it's one of those "we have birthdays this month so let's skip this holiday" holidays! But we love each other anyways!

Aggie Baseball Aggie Leadoff Day

So, with the sports addiction in our house, we just had to attend the Aggie Leadoff Day for Baseball on February 10th. I read that they served food, you could get autographs, and then watch the Aggies play one another. It was a really fun day! I only took Atticus and Grace (Vic stayed with Everly who had a little cold) and we arrived and ate and Atticus got some players autographs and then they played in the kid zone throwing lots of baseballs and on the bouncy slide. Grace even got brave and was so proud when Atticus awkwardly helped her up the bouncy slide. She loves that brother and he can make her entire day when he shows her affection too! He threw lots of balls and Grace entertained herself and then we went inside for the game. Well, it was fun, but all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the overcast atmosphere dropped to a LOW temperature and started off-an-on misting and we got cold! But, you know Atticus - he never wants to leave a game early, so we stuck it out as long as we could before Grace was basically a popsicle. Then, we headed home. I did NOT pack for cold weather, so I was pretty cold too. It was a fun day though and I have video and pictures below. Also, that night, at the end of the video, Atticus and Everly just played in bed and watched some sports and I just thought it was cute!

Here's a quick recap of our day: https://youtu.be/sBNMuRRkVyU