Thursday, February 23, 2012

I have been meaning to post this video for awhile... especially for the grandparents because I know they will love it!  It is a sweet video of the girls at the park, and I am glad I captured it on film, because God knows I pull it out and watch it whenever I am ready to pull my hair out over bad behavior, etc. 


This was taken right before little Reese got sick.  She has been sick for exactly a week now, with 104 degree fevers, cough, and rash... :(

The next one is a video of Reese's new favorite trick


She is such a funny little booger! 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

B's Nursery

When I started working on Bryce's nursery, I hadn't planned on finding out the sex of the baby, so I was going for "gender neutral."  I was going to paint the walls blue "just in case..." and decided on classic winnie-the-pooh... what is more gender neutral than pooh bear??? Well, we all know that I found out the sex... so the nursery wound of being part pooh bear, part baseball.  I love the way it turned out, and how bright and colorful it is.

Color!  Same nursery furniture used in both girls room.  I love it with the blue:)

There is actually a white vinyl wall art over the crib with a winnie-the-pooh quote "sometimes the smallest things in life take up the most room in your heart."  I was so dissapointed it didn't show up on the blue walls...I may re-order it in a navy...

Love this mirror I got from Tuesday Morning

Night stands from IKEA

Scrapbook paper in IKEA frames...cheap and cute! 

Aunt Denise made my seat cushion, and I love it! Hi Pooh and friends!

Baseball + Pooh

I cut these pictures out of an old Winnie-the-Pooh book I got at the used bookstore for $3!  Score!

Alphabet print is from an Etsy shop... the quote on the right is Christopher Robin to Pooh ( <3), and I found it for free on a blog! 

Another Etsy purchase...

Beautiful quilt my MIL made for Bryce...she hadn't even seen the nursery, but colors turned out perfect!

I joke with Jay that it is a good thing Bryce FINALLY got here, b/c I pretty much spent the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy online buying things for Bryce and Reese's room!  Now that he is here I may have saved myself from bankruptcy;)  Reese's room is adorable, and I can't wait to post pics, but I still need to get a few things... right now Reese is still sleeping in the crib (which is now in Bryce's room)... b/c that wild child is just not ready to be realeased from behind bars.  B is in our room.

A FEW OTHER THINGS:

Little man


At his one month checkup, B was 9 pounds 13 ounces, and 22 inches long...His pediatrician was super impressed that he was smiling and cooing already...baby genius! 



Monday, February 6, 2012

Party of Five

Well, tomorrow Bryce will be one month old, and yes, time has flown.  Adjusting hasn't been as hard as I expected it to be, but that's not to say it hasn't been hard at all!  The hardest part about having multiple children is having to share your attention.  I am not able to give Bryce nearly as much attention as the girls got as infants (*tear*), poor Reesie is stuck right in the middle (and only a tender 20 months old herself~ still a baby!), and Zoe is often left playing by herself (or fighting and screaming with Reese...)  If only there was three of me!!!!!!!!  I am sure you can imagine how much time this gives me for attention to myself... let's just say I haven't looked or smelled my prettiest this past month.  I am excited to get back in shape though... the new Spring styles look so cute! 
Luckily, people have been so thoughtful.  We have had tons of dinners brought to the house by my MOPS group, church, and friends.  I have TONS of thank you cards to get out ( I promise I will!), not to mention the birth announcements... oh, now I just stressed myself out:/
The second hardest part has been going ANYWHERE that involves a vehicle.  Getting 3 kids 4 and under in and out of a car is a challenge!  I have been using Jay's Tahoe b/c it has third row seating, and the car seats are too big for my Fusion (Love that car!  Reccomend to anyone!)... but I don't like using it... it is a pain to get the girls out of the very back.  Luckily, we will be replacing Reese's giant Britax car seat with a cheaper/smaller one, so they can all fit in the back of my car. 

We kept B in for 4 weeks, just like the pediatrician said, and finally made a trip out to Target the other night with our whole crew.  Oh Lord, it was a sight.  First of all, it was a bad idea to go so close to dinner/bed time.  Reese was IN. A. MOOD.  We had the girls in a double stroller, and B was strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn (I love keeping my babies close in that thing...so snuggly!  Def the best baby invention ever!)  Reese had a giant melt down about 5 minutes into the store, and there is nothing more embarassing than having a toddler scream, while a 4 year old yells her requests out to be heard over the screaming, and a brand new infant is strapped to your chest... I felt like the entire store was looking at me and thinking, "Oh my God, look at that young girl and all her kids!  She needs that many kids like she needs a whole in her head!  Someone sterilize her!!"  Jay assures me that this is not true, but I am pretty sure he is wrong.  (Also, I hope they were referring to me as "young," but that may just be a fantasy now...)  Still not 30 until August!

Now it is Monday (sigh)... I am back on my own again...  I took Zoe to preschool this morning, and we passed a little girl wearing a fancy red dress and sparkly red shoes:
Zoe, "Mommy!  That girls looks even prettier than I do!!"
Me (whispering) "She is very pretty, but not as pretty as you!"

I can't imagine where she gets her vanity  killer confidence from...;)

Such a handsome little fellow...

Sports Center with Dad...

About to head to PNO (YEAH!) ;)
My days tend to look a lot less like this...

...and a lot more like this! haha... Oh, Reese...
Hanging with Grandpa



Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Meet Bryce!

Well, I haven't blogged in awhile...1. because I am just really bad at keeping up with this, and 2. because I spent most of December laid up in bed pregnant, sick, and miserable (bronchitis, the flu, AND bilateral pink eye all in a row, spanning about a 20 day period).  It.Was.Miserable.  Making matters worse, was the fact that I had to cancel a previously scheduled induction on December 29, b/c my OB just didn't think I was ready. I was okay with this, b/c honestly I did not want to be induced. I wasn't induced with Zoe or Reese, and I really like the idea of babies coming when they are ready.  The only reason it was scheduled is so I would have him this calander year, saving myself an expensive 2012 deductible, when my 2011 was already met.  That being said, I was CONVINCED he would still make an appearance in December. After all, my due date was January 6, and both my girls were a week early.  I mean this was my third baby... aren't they supposed to come super early and just walk out by now??? Nope, I was wrong.  My due date nearly came and went... but finally on the night of January 6, I started having regular contractions at about 7 pm.  Bryce was born January 7 at 11:56 am... I will spare the rest of the details... but a third baby and a 17 hour labor???  Really?!?  Let's just say it wasn't fun... but he was worth all the pain, and every dollar of my deductable... look how cute he is!! I have to say, Jay and I make some cute babies :)  When I get a chance, I will have to post newborn pics of all the kiddos to see how much they look alike.  Bryce definately looks  more like Zoe than Reese, but he also has a look all his own (and that look is super handsome!) ;)

BRYCE JAY ALSUP
JANUARY 7, 2012
11:56 AM
8 pounds 1 ounce

That face!!!!!!!!

Future baseball star...or quarterback...or NBA player ;)

Bryce!


6 days after Bryce's birth was Zoe's 4th birthday.  Me, being the all-knowing mom that I am had sent out birthday invitations for a party on Friday the 13th, thinking B would be weeks old by then!  HA!  None the less, we decided to go on with the party.  Luckily my in-laws were in town and were a HUGE help.  Could not have done it without them.  They took turns watching Bryce in the car while we had Zoe's party at Gatti Town Frisco (which I would highly reccomend, btw).  Here are some shots from that...

 First family photo with the 5 of us

 Dora theme!  (and I hate Dora...)

 Reese was kind of in a mood, but she looked awesome in her new aviators!

 Waiting for the guests

 It wouldn't be a party without Ella!

Zoe with her buddies... and she wore that party hat the whole time.


I really wanted a Christmas baby... thought that would be so cool!  But, obviously that didn't happen.  Here is a shot from Christmas morning though.  We had an awesome Christmas just the 4 of us at home in McKinney.  Nice and "quiet."
Jay is so lucky to have such a sexy wife ;)

Now that B is here it is time to swing into a new routine.  Today is my 2nd day alone at home with the 3 of them... so far so good.  Jay took Zoe to gymnastics this morning, which was great b/c she really needed to get out of the house.  We really haven't left since we got home from the hospital because Bryce is supposed to stay out of the public for at least 4 weeks.  This is killing me b/c I get cabin fever real fast.  The girls are so great with him though, they are absolutely obsessed with him. 

Of note, Zoe just walked up to me with her shirt off and a baby doll on her breast that she informed me is "eating"... monkey see, monkey do! hahaha.  

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Stationery card

Dancing Tree Christmas Card
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Monday, November 7, 2011

Alsup Halloween

Well, after 2 weeks of being too lazy to call ATT Uverse and having the WiFi fixed in my house, I finally got it fixed! (Well, Jay did)... so now I can finally show everyone some pics from our Halloween this year.  We love Halloween, and had lots of fun this year, but next year I may have to tone it down a little... the girls have WAY too much candy, and they think they can have some whenever they want!  I just want to thow it all in the trash!  But, they make for good bribes, so I will keep it around a little longer...

This year we went to Tucker Hill's "Ghouls on the Lawn" again, and it didn't dissapoint.  Tucker Hill is a really nice neighborhood in McKinney, and for Halloween the whole neighborhood has a little party/trick or treating for the kids.  The whole community gets into it, the houses are all spooked out, and everyone dresses it up.  It is so much fun!! However, it is not such a secret anymore, and this year the place was PACKED. 

Zoe was a bee this year

My little bee and butterfly
Tucker Hill

Reese really got into trick or treating

...she took it VERY seriously

Trick or Treating at Tucker Hill

Jay and his girls

Worn out and time to go home!


The Tuesday before Halloween I had a little early afternoon Halloween party for the girls and some of their friends.  I had these grand plans of a super cute and crafty party (like something from the TomKat Studio)... but I found TONS of cute decorations (cute enough, anyways) at the Dollar Tree and my frugality won out! I was so excited almost everyone I invited showed up, and everyone had a great time! 


 Hooray for Dollar Tree!! They had a ton of great Halloween party goodies!



Claire, Presley, and Zoe.  They all go to preschool together.  Zoe was so depressed until they showed up!! Poor baby.  Everyone at the party was about Reese's age for the first hour... I was so worried her friends weren't coming!!  She was just sitting around looking sad:(  She even made me take her Halloween costume off.  Finally  her friends showed up at about 3, and she got so EXCITED!  She immediatley had to take them upstairs to show off her room... and she had to put a "princess" dress on, just like Presley ;)  Girls!

 Reese just wanted to eat cupcakes...

If there had been a costume contest, Ella the little lamb would have won for sure!!

 These 2 are going to be trouble...

Reese, Gavin, and Finn playing in the car

I do have to mention, however, that about 5 minutes before the party was supposed to start my I tried to burn my house down.  My oven caught on fire, and I had to call 911!  3 fire trucks, and a police car showed up!!  So embarassing!  I am sure the 911 operator thought I was nuts b/c my phone call went a little like this, "Um... yes, my oven is on fire, and I know not to put water on it, but I need to know what I can put it out with?? I feel comfortable doing it myself!"  Oh Lord.  I think it is baking soda???? Needless to say, she sent the fire trucks!

Here are some photos from Halloween day:

 Jay went to work as "the most interesting man in the world."  He got 2nd place in their costume contest, and won $50!!

Ready to go trick or treating!!!  Again!

 My spooky house...