It's officially official!

We are having a GIRL!!!!! Scottie and I cannot express how much God has blessed us. We are so lucky to be able to have kids in the first place and now we get to experience a little boy and a little girl! I cannot wait to meet our sweet little angel in October. We had an ultrasound on Tuesday (June 7th) and everything looked fantastic! It was amazing to see her wave her little arms and kick her little legs. I couldn't help but think back to when I would see Knox do the same thing and wonder what life was going to be like with him. Her hands were by her face pretty much the entire time, which is exactly what Knox used to do with his hands. . made me smile :) God is so good!




                      Introducing Miss Teagan Roe Shumsky :)

Peace&Happiness

Knox's hair cut. .

Hello Again! It's officially summertime here in Edmond, Ok. I think next week I saw the high on Monday is supposed to be 101. .  Knox and I will find a pool that day :) Summertime means hot temperatures, cookouts, lake time, and summer hair cuts! Being the DIY person that I am, I decided I would give Knox a haircut myself. I sat him down in his high chair, in the middle of the living room watching Yo GabaGaba with a popsicle in hand. . 

30 minutes later this much hair was on the ground. . . 

and the end result! 

Not too bad if I say so myself. . . It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I sure give props to people who do this everyday! I couldn't do it. .

                        It's hard to believe how big this little guy is getting. . Time really does fly!

                                                                   ~Peace&Happiness

.....I'm Back!!!

Once again, I have failed to keep up with my blog posts. . and once again I wish I had a good excuse! So here's to another big fat update :)


Knox is 1!!!!! This brings tears to my eyes as I type that our little angel turned 1 year old on March 23rd. When I was pregnant, people always told me to cherish every minute of when your child is a baby because they grow up so fast and time flies faster. I always just shook my head and smiled when I heard that, never realizing that it's completely true. It's something you never think about, until you are actually experiencing it. I think I cried every morning for a week before his birthday just thinking about how fast this year has come and gone. This year of motherhood has changed me forever, and I am so eternally thankful. Knox is such a ball of fun these days. On the day of his birthday, I wanted to make it special for him so I surprised him with special treats all day. For breakfast, he was served a blueberry muffin. I don't think I have ever seen my child eat something so fast. He LOVED it! 

We spent a lot of time outside that day, and he received a lot of yummy treats including a popsicle for the first time, a pickle (his favorite) and to top it all off he got to have his first taste of cake later that evening. . I'm sure he thought he won the lottery that day :)
For his birthday party that weekend we decided to have a good ol' fashion cookout at our house. I had been planning on an outdoor party in our backyard, but mother nature had other plans in mind. Wouldn't you know it had been in the 70's and sunny all week, and then the morning of his party it was drizzly and about 40 degrees. It was disappointing to say the least but we made the best of it. We still cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs and celebrated his birthday for about 3 hours with our closest friends and family. He didn't demolish his cake like I was hoping, but it was still fun to watch him eat it with excitement. Thanks to all who came and celebrated, it meant the world to us!

Soon after his first birthday Knox started showing signs of walking. . it took him a couple of weeks to get the hang of it but our "toddler" is now a walking man! It's so fun to watch him explore his new world now that he has learned to walk. It's definitely a lot scarier for me! He also one day woke up and started using his sippy cup all by himself. He is definitely Mr. Independent these days. . gone are the days when I get to sit down and feed him, carry him everywhere we go, and give him a drink when he wants it :( 

He had his one year check up last week and I'm happy to say he is growing exceptionally well. He now weighs 23 pounds and is 31 inches long. He has some allergy issues (something he inherited from me) so we put him on Zyrtec and it's made all the difference. . thank goodness! We start swim lessons in a few weeks with my niece. . I'm so excited to see how he does!

Now on to some more exciting news in the Shumsky household. Scottie recently got a new job as a landman. He seems to love learning about his new job and he seems very eager for the opportunities ahead of him. I am so grateful and thankful to him for working so hard to support our family so I can stay home and be with our children. . . Children, you ask? Thats right!!!! Last, but certainly not least. . Knox is going to be a big brother come October!  We are so lucky and blessed to be adding another member to our family. I can't thank God enough for blessing us so much. 

Baby Shumsky #2 due October 7th 

Until Next Time (which will be soon!)

Peace and Happiness 

:)

First time for everything

In my Christmas post below, I forgot to mention how our first meeting with Santa went. My sister and I took Knox and Kailea together to meet Santa for the first time. We had no idea what to expect so we expected the worst, at least I did. I thought for sure Knox would at least scream or "sing" as I like to call it. However, it went as smooth as possible. Kailea tried to cry a few times, but never fully shed a tear. Knox studied Santa, as he does with all new faces, and pulled at his beard out of curiosity. It's so funny to me that these two 9 month olds are already showing their "male" and "female" personalities. Here is the snapshot we got of these two sweeties. You better believe they will take their picture with Santa every year together :) 

So serious. . . 

Until Next Time, 

Peace and Happiness

All things Christmas

What an eventful first Christmas we had! Knox didn't get a single thing. . . . haha! We started our Christmas celebration early with Christmas at Grand Lake with my mom, dad, sister, brothers and their families. It's always a good time at the lake, but Christmas at the lake tops my list. . actually just getting to be with my entire family tops my list :) There's never a dull moment when ALL of us get together. I am looking forward to our new tradition of meeting together the weekend before Christmas every year. 

         Here's my dad with all of his grandkids

Our next stop on our Christmas celebration was Christmas at our house with my Mom and Dad. Knox scored a wonderful new red wagon and a riding bull along with some more toys. Thanks PaPa and Mamie!

The next stop was Dallas. It was our turn to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas with Scottie's family this year. I am so thankful to say, I love my extended family so much and I am so blessed to have them in my life. Like my family, there is never a dull moment with the Shumsky's. Scott's mom and sis planned tons of fun activities and games for us to play this year. They always come up with the most creative things for us to do. One of my favorites this year was Top Chef. Each couple had to cook a meal for everyone and we were graded on taste and presentation. Everyone did an awesome job, literally. In the end, we all walked away with a prize because the "judge" couldn't choose her favorite. I hope this is on the list next year because it was a lot of fun preparing for it! Anyways, they did a great job having fun stuff for us to do as a family. Christmas morning is one of my favorites with the Shumsky's. This year while reading the story of Christmas, Harper ran and got her version of baby Jesus in the Manger. . it melted my heart. . 

Another tradition we have on Christmas morning is opening matching pajamas, the girls have matching ones and the guys all have matching ones. We open them, put them on, and usually don't change out of them until the next day. . . Wish I would have gotten a picture but I forgot. . anyways, I love it and I LOVE THEM!

We got to spend 5 days in Dallas, with the entire family. . it was wonderful! 

Our last stop on our Christmas celebration was my Granny's house. As soon as we got back into town we headed over to celebrate my Aunt's 50th birthday and we celebrated Christmas with my Granny. 

Needless to say, Knox's first Christmas was a success. It's so much more fun when you have a kid. I can only imagine what next year will be like when he will be running around like a mad man. I am so thankful we got to celebrate with all of our families. The 3 of us are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives. God is Good!

Weekend with Kaile'a

This past weekend Scottie and I got to watch our sweet niece, Kaile'a Jane. As you know, she is a little over a week younger than Knox, so we got a teeny tiny taste of what life was like with twins :) I am so incredibly lucky to have such a fun, loving, and kind spirited niece. . not to mention son! They are seriously some of the easiest babies to take care of. It was a lot easier than what I anticipated it to be. By the end of the weekend they were "talking" back and forth with each other and getting jealous over each other's toys. Such a blast! I cannot wait to see what life with them is like in the next few months/years. Here are a few pictures and videos of these two sweeties. . 

Peace and Happiness :) 

big FAT update!

Has it really been almost 2 months since I have written a new post? I wish I had an excuse as to why I haven't kept up with my blog, but truthfully, instead of using my free time to keep up with my posts I have been using it to catch up on my t.v. shows. . . like I said, I wish I had a better excuse! So here's to a big fat update. A LOT has happened in these past two months with Knox and changes in my life as well. First we will start with me, as my changes aren't as big as Knox's accomplishments :) A few months ago my dear friend, Katie Christy, approached me to help her out with her growing photography business. She took on her own business and it grew faster than I think she knew it would, which is an awesome thing, but overwhelming for her. I felt really fortunate and honored that she asked me to be her assistant. I hope to help her out as much as possible. She's a great boss, awesome photographer, and more importantly, an awesome friend. I'm excited to help her with her business and watch it grow. There are exciting things happening! If you haven't seen her work, here are a few candid moments of our family captured by her amazing eye. . .

Anyways, as you can see, she is super talented! Click here to check out some more of her awesome work!

On to Knox. 

Can you believe our little guy is 8 months old! It's so hard to believe in 20 days he will be 9 months . . time truly does fly by in the blink of an eye. At his 7 month check up (yes, I said 7. . I'm a horrible mom and didn't schedule his 6 month check up until he was 7 months. . forgive me.) Anyways, at his well child check up his awesome doctor, Dr. Julie Morrow, said he is right on track and he looks/acts fantastic. Have I mentioned how much I love her? He weighed in at 20lbs and was 28 1/2 inches long! Our son has almost tripled his weight and almost grown 10 inches! I look at newborns now and find it hard to believe he was once that size.  He hasn't started crawling yet, but he "rocks" on all 4's constantly. . . so I'm guessing crawling will be any day now (which I am secretly dreading!) I would be perfectly fine if he didn't crawl or walk at all :) Not really, but I'm not ready to leave behind the days when I can walk out of the room knowing he is perfectly fine. . . and in the same place as I left him. He is showing signs of wanting to walk, so he could be one of those babies that never crawls and goes straight to walking. . we shall see! I just realized I haven't updated since Halloween so here's a recap of then until now:

For Halloween Knox was a big, bad, BAT :)

He hated every second of being in this costume :) Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, so hopefully he will be more excited to dress up next year!

This month was full of lots of new tricks. . 

and. . 

October was also a big month for words and expressions :)

"Hey"

I'm horrible, but I can't remember if Knox started feeding himself his bottle this month or 7 months. . . either way,  he can now feed him self which is like a whole new world to Scottie and me :)

7 months was a blast. . they seriously get more fun the older they get. Don't get me wrong, I do miss the newborn days of when he use to sleep on my chest. . 

Knox loves cows :)

Knox also found out in order to add a few inches to his "reach" lifting a leg in the air would help :)

And here we are at 8 months! My life with this little guy is so fulfilling! I honestly can say, I can't remember life without him in it. He's the best thing that has ever happened to Scottie and I. He continues to teach us something new about ourselves every single day. My favorite moments are watching my two boys play together. I love being in the other room listening to Scott teaching Knox new things. Knox has made Scott grow into a loving, responsible, Dad. It's incredible to watch, and I am so glad I can witness the love in Scottie's eyes grow day by day for this little guy :) God is good. 

Like I said, here we are at 8 months, and Christmas is approaching! Christmas is one of the best memories I have as a child. I remember getting home from my Granny's on Christmas Eve. . setting out cookies, milk, and carrots for the Reindeer of course, then going to bed anxiously peeking out my window looking for "Rudolph." I could hardly wait for Christmas morning. . and I don't think I missed a year that I didn't wake up in the middle of the night to get a peek at what Santa had brought me :) I can only hope Knox will have these same memories. . I am SO SO excited for Christmas with a kid! 

Peace, Happiness, and until next time. . . 

beyond thankful

My heart is heavy tonight as I came across a recent post on a friends blog. I truly hope she doesn't mind me sharing, but for some reason I feel the need to. . I guess to get the word out so all of you reading this can keep her and her family in your prayers.  Leslie was pregnant with twins. Her water broke when she was at 19 weeks. They were able to stabilize her and the babies up to 21 weeks. Then baby a, a girl was born stillborn this last Sunday. They tried to keep her from having baby b and she unfortunately did and that baby was unable to make it due to lack of lung function. Leslie, had an amniotic embolism which supposedly hasn't been heard of since the 40's and only one recorded time since this. But, she had a heart attack, and was without oxygen for 17 minutes, her kidneys have failed and she's been put on dialysis, she's been placed on a ventilator and started at 100% oxygen but has started breathing at 60% on her own, which is good. She was seizing but that has decreased, and her blood pressure was low, however, that has gone up to normal and meds have been reduced which is good. There is risk of brain damage, heart problems and other organ damage. EEG shows improvements and stabilization, Leslie hasn't responded to touch or sound but her pupil's dilate with light- which is good. Please join the Loving Leslie facebook page for complete updates and progress on her condition. . 


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106113632785516


It's stories like this that make me beyond thankful to have such a healthy son. . to see him grow and develop each and every day. . . to see the innocence and love in his beautiful blue eyes. To see how excited he gets at discovering and trying new things. Like today for instance, he had his first ride on a swing. . 

I don't know what I did to deserve such great joy, but I am beyond thankful to have so much love in my life. . and I am beyond thankful to be a mother. . 

My everything. . . 

Please continue to pray for Leslie and her family in this challenging time. Be thankful for what you have and don't take anything for granted. . 

1 year ago. .

Happy Anniversary to us! It is truly hard to believe I became Mrs. Shumsky one year ago yesterday, but I remember the night like it was last weekend. It was a perfect fall day, which is something I asked friends and family to pray for. October weather can be very tricky, especially for an outdoor wedding. Prayers were answered. It turned out to be a gorgeous sun shiny day, without a cloud in the sky. . temperature was in the upper 70's, my idea of perfect. I remember being amazed at how calm I was. I was pretty sure, up until the "big day" I would be a total nervous wreck. Come to find out, Scottie was the one who almost fainted minutes before we took the plunge :) Everything went the way I imagined. I walked down the isle at sunset to Coldplay, of course, to a teary eyed Groom. It was really sweet. We said our vows, shared some intimate moments with our family and friends, then danced the night away at our reception. We topped the night off with a limo ride to the Colcord. A special thanks to my mom and dad who took the "tab" that night. Without them, it wouldn't have been possible. Another thanks to all of our family and friends who shared our special night with us. People say your first year of marriage is the hardest. Try throwing a kid in the mix, then come talk to me :) No, really, marriage is nothing short of amazing. I cannot imagine life without Scottie. We have definitely had our trials and tribulations, but those challenges have only made us stronger. Scottie is my best friend, of course we don't always agree on everything, but the Lord brought us together 5 years ago for a reason. Marriage is a journey, something that you have to work at every single day. It is also the best journey I have been on so far. . . motherhood being the second best!


So here's to 10.2.2009! What a wonderful, crazy, hard, amazing, challenging, life changing year this has been. . I can only imagine what the future holds for us. Enjoy a few pics from our wedding night. .

who knew?

Who knew the sound of hocking a loogie could be so hilarious? *Please note no actual loogies were hocked during the making of this video :)

Gross? Maybe. But I have nothing to hide. . . . .