Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Happy Dad's Day!

I am blessed to have known my dad for 19 years. He was pretty incredible. Since he passed away, Father's Day has not exactly been the most fun of holidays for me. Now that Anna is in the picture, Father's Day is all about Casey! :) Anna has the best daddy! Casey thinks she is the absolute sweetest and cutest thing on this earth and would do anything for her. He is much more patient than I am with reading book after book, and she thinks anything he does is, of course, wonderful. And it is! Happy Father's Day, Casey! This past weekend, we went to College Station to see Casey's family. We had a blast! First of all, we got to meet Baby Emma. Anna also got to play with her cousin Coleman, and they had so much fun together running around. We very rarely all get to be together, so this was really special. It makes me sad that we can't see each other more often.
Papa introduces Anna to Legos. She actually really likes them!
Casey, Anna, Brother, and Coleman read Clifford. Anna was really into it, of course! :)
Anna and Coleman. They loved each other!
Anna attached herself to Aunt Lizzie....
while Coleman played Legos with Uncle Casey. I think Uncle Casey was teaching Coleman about what it means to be competitive. :)
Gigi and Papa with their three grandchildren- Coleman, Emma, and Anna
And here are the "kids". We missed you, Natalie!

We are so blessed to have a great family!

New Cousins!

Our family has had so much excitement lately! The two most exciting things that happened are that we have two new family members. Samuel Dawson Broyles was born on March 14th (I know, I am SO behind! Sorry, Dawson!) and Emma Grace Stephens was born on June 8th. Both are huge blessings to our family, and Anna is (will be) super excited to have cousins on both sides of the family.

Emma was born in College Station, so we were not able to be there when she made her big debut, but Dawson was born right here in town, so I was lucky enough to be at the hospital in the middle of the night for all the excitement. Here are a few shots of that night...
This is my brother, Sam, coming to tell the family the good news. Dawson is here!
Look at the expression on my mom's face. Do you think she's happy or what???
Here he is, weighing in at 8 pounds 1 ounce. Christina is a champ!
The whole family stares at him in the nursery as he gets his bath and is checked out.
He's perfect!
Sweet!
The next day- Isn't he adorable? Look at those cheeks!
Anna meets Dawson. She thinks she has a new toy.
The Broyles Family
Proud Aunt Carroll
Isn't this so sweet? I think he is 2 or 3 weeks old here.
Such a handsome little boy!

Last weekend we FINALLY got to meet sweet little Emma. When I say little, I really mean little! She is about 6 pounds and is SO beautiful and dainty. We were so glad we got to meet her while she was still a newborn.
Uncle Casey holds Emma. She is so tiny!
Anna meets her only girl cousin. Not sure she knew what to think of her!
Precious girl!
The Stephens Family :)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

My oldest brother, Ben, married Jen earlier this month. It was exciting enough that they were getting married (Hallelujah!), but even more exciting that it was going to be in Amelia Island, Florida! I love traveling, and I love weddings, but involving my 16 month old in the process actually made me a little bit nervous! I couldn't predict how Anna would do on the plane, how she would sleep in the condo, when she would nap, and most of all, what was I going to do with her during all the festivities?! I was also traveling with my mom, my brother and sister-in-law, and their new 2 1/2 month old baby, Dawson. (Casey just read this and wants to make sure everyone knows he was also on the trip. :) To sum it all up, we had so much fun! Anna loved the ocean (except the big gulp of saltwater she took), loved the pool, loved the people, and LOVED the parties! We are so happy for Ben and Jen, and we are all thrilled to welcome Jen into our family!
Here we go! I think Bebe is a little bit nervous about how this is going to play out.
Uncle Casey and Dawson do a little bonding before takeoff...
Success! We landed! Notice Dawson slept the whole flight and is now awake, and Anna never closed her eyes on the flight but is now sacked out.
Anna checks out the Chick Fil-A playground with Uncle Sam....
then passes out again in the car.
We got to our condo just in time for a little rain. Anna and Casey hung out on the porch.
Just a little light reading in her room. :)
Dawson chills on the couch.
Ready to hit the beach bright and early the next morning!
Not too sure about it- Hanging out on Bebe's shoulder
The Gurg Fam
The Broyles Fam
Cute girl! Thanks for the swimsuit, Betsy!
She discovers her shadow.

I love this picture!
Dawson hangs out at the pool. Isn't he the cutest???
Sweet cousins- all dressed up for the rehearsal dinner!
Anna checks out the water at Walker's Landing.
All the girl cousins
Somebody loves a good party.
Dancing with Aunt Jen :)
Uh-oh. I think she's had enough.
The next morning we left the guys with the babies and headed to the bridal luncheon. So much fun!
The Broyles girls :)
Anna hits the pool again...
then passes out on Daddy's shoulder before a good afternoon nap.
The ceremony begins- Dawson is passed out!
The boys
Becoming Mr. and Mrs. Ben Broyles :) Yea!!!
I love this picture! Look how happy they look!

Our little family
Bebe with her favorite two kiddos. We have been waiting to take a picture like this. So fun!
Christina and Dawson try and get cooled off...

The Broyles family
Ben and Jen with their niece and nephew :)
Anna's favorite part was all the rose petals.
The happy bride and groom. Aren't they so cute?
First dance
My brothers
Anna hangs out with Aunt Christina while she catches her second wind....
then hits the dance floor!
Dancing with Megan
Here is the line-up! We have pictures of us in order of age since we were babies!
Love this group!
Grandmama would be proud ;)
Anna contemplates getting out on the dance floor...
Then goes for it!
The guys
Jen and me
And here is the result of a baby who stays up until midnight.