One Month with Rory

We have been loving on Rory for one month now and we all agree she is the absolute sweetest! We are all madly in love with this girl. Everett and Haven can hardly go 10 minutes without coming over to give her kisses. Haven only refers to Rory as "baby Rory" and Everett greets her every day with "Hello Beautiful Baby."

Rory is my snuggliest baby yet, she prefers to spend her time wrapped up in my arms or snuggled up to me in the Moby wrap. Throughout my pregnancy with every sonogram appointment the tech would remark on how snuggled up to me you were in the womb and you have kept this trend up and I must admit I absolutely love it!

With our second night in the hospital we noticed that Rory was having some gas pains and these only continued to worsen once we got home. After two weeks of being more and more "unsettled" the Dr. diagnosed her as colic. Thankfully from experience with our family we knew it was a very mild case but nothing seemed to help give her relief. Rory had been my best baby at breastfeeding from the beginning but we discovered she was suffering from a milk allergy that has resulted in us switching from breastmilk to a specialized hypo-allerginic formula. I was really hoping to nurse for a lot longer but Rory has already been very responsive to the formula that I know this was just what she needed to feel better. However as of now she is still not a fan at all of her carseat and finds the most comfort in being held. Her favorite position is snuggled up in a ball laying on my chest. I cherish all these moments of getting to keep you snuggled up to me though and hoping we are setting a trend for the future when you are a toddler!

Rory has already rolled from her front to back a few times while trying to get some tummy time in. I was shocked to see her do this so early following in her sister's footsteps! She has given us lots of sweet smiles and is focusing more clearly on the world around her. She recognizes voices of people around her and tries to follow them with her eyes and head which she has been lifting since day 2 of life. Rory is a strong girl who will push away anything she doesn't want with her arms and legs. Her favorite thing is still keeping her hands up by her face like she did in the womb. People seem to remark that as of now she looks more like her brother right off the bat but those who know you well think you are a perfect combination of both your siblings looks. When we took Rory to her two week checkup she weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches long.

Rory you are pure perfection! We are so thankful for the gift of getting to be your parents and can't imagine our lives without you!

Rory Ashton has arrived

Our family was abundantly blessed on Monday June 11, 2018 at 2:47 PM when Rory Ashton Neal made her debut into the world! She is perfect in every way weighing 8 lbs. 13 oz., 19 inches long, with a 13 inch head circumference. We are all head over heels in complete love with our sweet baby girl! Welcome to our family Rory we are so glad God gave us you! 

Prince Everett and Princess Norah

Way back in March Everett and Norah got to be ringbearer and flower girl in Tenell’s wedding. Leading up to the wedding I kept talking to Everett about what he would be doing and of course he wasn’t interested until I mentioned he would be walking down the aisle with his bestest bud Norah! I told him Norah would be like a princess and he would be a prince and that is precisely how he referred to them the rest of the time! 

Upon entering the church for rehearsal Everett told me this was his and Norah’s castle! They were the most precious, adorable little attendants any wedding has ever seen! I am so thankful for the love they have for one another as cousins and how much they enjoy each other! 

At the reception they tore the dance floor down! Norah wanted to dance to every song and quickly wore down her little dance partner. However it took her no time to going up to her uncles or other around her to get them on the dance floor with her. After Everett got his feet rested for a bit he hit the floor again where he started his own form of breakdancing and tore a hole in his sock. I later found the two of them following the bride around the reception trying to sneak under her huge train! They were by far the cutest part of the wedding! 

Sissy spent the evening hanging out with our friends Scott and Beverly’s house but Dad picked her up and brought her to the end of the reception. She made her debut to the wedding in her pajamas with little pigtail knots on her head. She was quickly swept away by her Mimi and given a doughnut from the doughnut bar where the photographer snapped the most adorable picture! 

I am most grateful for these sweet little pics of my handsome boy and I to cherish forever! 

Easter 2018

Easter this year was fun because both the kids could hunt eggs on their own and Everett was particularly excited about the Easter bunny coming! 

We continued our tradition of going to Grandma White and Mimi Susie’s house the day before Easter for lunch and our first egg hunt. It took a minute for Haven to catch on to putting the eggs in her basket when she found them vs opening each one as she got it but we eventually got the hang of it. Everett’s basket got so full he needed help carrying it around and then he loved opening each egg to find what was inside! It was also the kids first experience with confetti eggs thanks to Aunt Carrie and they loved it! 

Drew grew up dying eggs and each Easter and has been shocked that I didn’t do that every year. This year he got the kits and spent Saturday morning dying eggs with the kids before we went to Grandmas! Everett was very proud of the eggs he got to put dinosaur stickers on and Sissy excitedly followed his pride with her own when they showed me the eggs! 

Easter morning the kids woke up to fun surprises from the Easter Bunny before going to church. They both looked adorable in their Easter outfits and Everett got sit through big church with Mom and Dad. We finished up our chilly Easter Sunday with a quick egg hunt at Gran-Nana’s and a Sunday dinner with her and Aunt Cindy! 

Haven's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Haven's actual 2nd birthday party with our favorite cousins in Midland! Drew somehow happened again to have to be on a work trip over her actual birth day so I decided to take the kids and escape for a few days to be with our people in Midland!


Aunt Nene started the morning off right with doughnuts for the birthday girl and we ended it with a cookie cake! In between we had lots of play time with Everett, Norah, Merritt and Emma overall it was a pretty spectacular way to spend a 2nd birthday for our happy girl!





For Haven's birthday party I wanted something she would recognize and love and settled on one of her favorite foods, Strawberries! The ironic thing is that about the week before her strawberry party she decided she didn't like them anymore! 

I decorated with a Strawberry Birthday Banner, lots of red white pink and green pinwheels and some other coordinating fun decor. My favorite thing about her party though was the food. I did white chocolate covered strawberries, thumbprint cookies, and the most delicious strawberry scones that I found a recipe for on Pinterest! Mini made Haven’s personal sized strawberry cake and mini cupcakes because nothing can compare to Mimi’s homemade strawberry cake!

I came across the most adorable smocked Strawberry Gingham dress that I knew Haven would look ridiculously adorable in for her party and had to order for her to wear! 

We celebrated Sissy’s second party surrounded by some of our most favorite people! Everett took over as party etiquette leader telling Haven when to open her next present and who she needed to thank and hug when she opened one. It was such a special day celebrating our precious girl who I still can not believe Is already 2! 

Haven you are such a sweet girl and never stop going for long! You absolutely adore your brother asking every morning when I come into your room where Bubba is? You have recently gotten back into wanting to be rocked and held by me at bedtime and I love it! You are a huge fan of your blanket, your babies and your Bobbie’s! We often find you walking around the house with your little arms piled high full of those favorite things of yours! You love to wear hats and your rain boots and would every single day if I let you!  Haven you are already fiercely independent, you want to do everything yourself and insist on picking out the clothes you wear each day and pajamas you put on each night! Thankfully you continue to be our good eater and love to try everything! Most nights after eating your dinner you come and eat off Mom and Dad’s plates. 

Haven you are so excited about being a big sister and have taken to calling your baby “Rory” just like Mom’s baby! You love to come talk to your sister through my stomach and give her sugars. You are well practiced in singing Rock a Bye Baby to the bed Rory will sleep in and I know you will want to spend every moment with your new baby sister! Haven you are such a dream come true to your Dad and I and we absolutely adore you! You are such a bright light in our days and keep us on our toes always! Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter! I am so proud and grateful for you every single day! 

Everett's 4th Birthday

Everett's 4th birthday hit me like a ton of bricks... I am dumbfounded how my chubby faced first born has turned into the most adorable toddler boy who looks like he could already be a teenager at times. I am devastated at how quickly time is flying by with my babies.






Everett woke up 4 on a Tuesday morning. Drew and I had spent time the night before blowing up 40 or so balloons for him to wake up to, the only problem was Everett is in a stage of waking up in the middle of the night and coming to sleep in our room. So what I had envisioned as a fun birthday surprise turned out to be a middle of the night surprise. I woke up to Everett tapping me and whispering "Mom, Mom come here, come out here!" He dragged me by the hand back to his room and said simply "balloons for me!" I had to convince him to go back to bed and not play with them immediately. Drew was scheduled to fly out on a business trip the afternoon of Everett's birthday but he first treated the birthday boy to doughnuts and a few presents before leaving. That night we celebrated with family at Rosa's where Mimi surprised Everett with a Lion faced cookie cake that he loved!





For Everett's birthday party my idea was to keep it small as compared to previous years. However I found a theme and ran with it so small really just meant our guest list was limited but we decorated to the fullest! I had asked Everett what he wanted for his birthday party this year and it went from "Gorillas" to "Gorillas, tigers, & lions" at some point he added in "Pigs and Frogs" but we ultimately settled on a Safari theme with all the animals.



We celebrated on a Saturday afternoon surrounded by all of Everett's favorite people! We had jungle vines hung around and all of Everett's animals joined with their party hats on.

I am so proud of the sweet tender hearted 4 year old Everett has grown into. His favorite things are animals, dinosaurs and more animals. He has mastered the growl of his favorites and is most ferocious as a tiger! Everett, you are so protective of your sister and are the first to alert when she is upset or translate when someone hasn't figured out what she is telling them. You insist on being there every time to get her out of her crib from naps or bed and usually greet her with "Good Morning our pretty girl!" It is the sweetest thing ever! You are also the very first to push her buttons and pester her usually with a good growl or roar in the face when she is not in the mood for it. Everett you love your Daddy so much and when he leaves for work in the mornings you watch as he drives away and within two minutes come to tell me "you already miss your daddy!" When Dad comes home from work each day you love to wrestle with him. Oh, but Everett you are a Mama's Boy and I am 100% ok with it! You are so protective of me, you want me with you all the time, and love to hold hands with me. You give the sweetest sugars and close your eyes with big puckered lips. You adore your Gran-Nana and want to go visit her everyday.





I have most enjoyed watching you prepare to become a big brother again to Rory! You ask me every morning or after your naps "Mama, how is Rory? Is she sleeping?" You are especially excited to hold her and rock her in her chair in Mom and Dad's room. You did tell me though that she can have your room and you would move into our room with us.

There is a million little things you do every day that I want to remember forever! I am madly in love with you Everett Tristan Neal and so proud to be your Mom! Really though time can slow down just a bit now so you don't grow up too quickly!