Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Grandpa & Allyson

So for some reason Allyson is not very fond of men.  It took her a good solid year to completely warm-up to Shawn, and I'm sure that was partially because he travelled so much.  But she is very hesitant around men for some reason. And I hate it because she will not let my dad nor Shawn's dad hold her without screaming.  :(  Hopefully she will grow out of it...and soon!!

Last night Shawn's dad came over for dinner because he is leaving for his annual NY trip this weekend and will be gone for a couple of weeks (Grandma is already there).  He picked her up and I was able to get a couple of good shots of them, which is rare.

 

 


Summertime Fun!!

We have really been enjoying the evenings lately.  When the sun starts to go down a little and it is below 100 degrees (not kidding) we have had some great family time outside together!!


Jase and Allyson enjoying the swings!!

The goal is for him to learn to swing himself this summer!!


And away they go!!
 
Practice, Practice, Practice!! He is finally getting comfortable!

She is pedal to the metal!!

There's my baby girl!!

Off roading at 1 year!! :)

She's checking out Jase's ride!

We've got a swimmer!!!

Last week Jase took swimming lessons M-F for an hour a day and oh my goodness...they sure paid off!! Before last week he could barely put his face in the water, now he can jump off the diving board and swim on his own for several seconds.  Soooo proud of him.  Tuesday and Wednesday were a little rough on him because they changed instructors and he was pushed a little harder, and he got so emotional, but he swam through the tears.  It was so hard for me to watch and not run out there and hug him!!

Here are some videos I took of him throughout the week!

Monday - http://youtu.be/uo22O3RyWOU

Wednesday - http://youtu.be/fnkpTLsaXd4

Thursday - http://youtu.be/cpnEXUDxKwE

Friday - http://youtu.be/MjqG3_Wasr8

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sunday Lunch with Best Friends!

Not only did Shawn and I have lunch with our best friends, but our kids did too!! Both of the kids just adore these two girls! And of course Allyson thought she was so big sitting up there!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Cars 2!!

We just bought our tickets for Cars 2 to watch later this afternoon when Daddy gets off work!!! It's going to be awesome!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

We had a great Father's Day! We spent the day with each other and had some much needed relaxing!! God knew exactly what kind of husband I would need...someone loving, gentle, funny, caring, strong, faithful, handsome...the list goes on and on.  I have no doubt that my special someone is definitely Shawn.  We are very different on certain levels, but we usually manage to see eye to eye on just about everything. And he is fabulous with the kids...our kiddos are so blessed to have him as a father.  We love him so much!!


French Family on Father's Day!
 Well, since I didn't get a picture of us at the wedding I was sure to get one the next day! :)

The Big Day - June 18, 2011

What an eventful day! I was at the nail salon at 9 am getting a manicure since I decided to put on $6 nails from Walgreen's with nail glue Friday afternoon...bad idea.  They were so long and I could barely take out my contacts.  After that I headed up to the church to set up the candy bar and help where needed.  I was back at the house by noon since Shawn and Jase were heading out at 12:30 for Jase's first basketball game at 1:00. 

Shawn and I both tried to get Ally to take a nap, but that did not work out as planned.  After an hour of laying with her and looking at 1:00 on the clock I needed to put make-up on.  Alisha was supposed to get her hair done at 2:00 so I wanted to be up there for that.  I finished my make-up, packed 3 bags (not kidding) and grabbed our dresses and headed up to the church.

While up at the church I did eye make for Joseph's mom and sister, my mom and Becca.  Allyson was pretty good while waiting.  She chewed on chapstick and paced the whole room while calling Joseph's niece's name, Layla or "Yaaya" as Ally pronounced it.  My hair appt was at 3:00 and I put all of it up per my husband's request!  Every one's hair looked beautiful, especially Alisha's.  At this point she was glowing and looked gorgeous!!
 
The Beautiful Bride!
 
My hair the next morning...still looks good!!
It was time for the ceremony to begin.  The ladies, along with Jase and Allyson, were in Welcome Center watching the slide show of the couple.  I started tearing up while watching it and had to look away.  Alisha was still in good spirits and was talking and laughing.  The bridesmaids starting walking down the aisle and my turn was getting closer and closer.  I decided to hold Ally's hand and walk with her down the aisle.  I thought it was fitting since she was my daughter and I knew if I walked with her she would make it up to the stage.  She did great walking and Jase followed behind us.  The wedding ring that Joseph was going to give Alisha was tied to Jase's pillow, so Shawn and Asa (Joseph's brother and Best Man) untied the ring upon his arrival.

"Hear Comes the Bride" began to play and Alisha and my step-dad walked down the aisle.  Emotions finally caught up with Alisha and she was bawling as she got closer to Joseph.  I'm not sure if there was a dry eye in the sanctuary.  When Alisha got on stage I remember straightening out her dress and telling her to take a deep breath.  I know her nerves were going 90 to nothing.

So, by this time Allyson was standing next to me, then she walked behind me and sat on the steps in the choir loft.  She walked behind the wedding set-up to Shawn then walked in front of the couple on the stage!!  I hurried and grabbed her and picked her up. She left me hold her for a second, then she wanted down and walked over to daddy behind the wedding set-up.  At this point her no nap was kicking in.  Luckily she went straight to Shawn, put her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.  You would think that was the end of it, but no we still had one more child on stage.  Our son begins to smell and (are you ready for this??) lick her feet!! She was not wearing shoes, so he was smelling and licking the bottom of her feet.  SICK!  Shawn was holding Ally on his shoulder and really couldn't see what was going on, and the bride and groom were in my view so I couldn't either.  I could see my brother giggling so I leaned over to Becca and asked her what was going on and she told me.  I could have died!!! All of those people watching and he was doing that.  I think he finally stopped, but what a mess!!!


You May Kiss the Bride!!
 Bro. Darren Dunn did a great job on the ceremony and was even a little emotional himself.  He was their youth pastor when they were in high school and is now the college sunday school teacher, so he has got to know them pretty well over the years.  After the ceremony we took pictures and little Ally was still out.  I'm a little bummed that I did not get a picture of the 4 of us in our wedding attire though.  It's not every day that your sister gets married and everyone is all dressed up.  Oh well, not much we can do now.

The reception was great.  The couple ate, mingled a little, cut cake, threw the bouquet/garter and made their grand exit to the limo.  Alisha texted me later that night and said that it was perfect, so that's all that matters!!  I'm so happy for them and glad that I got to be part of their special day!!


Couple cutting the cake...it was gorgeous!!

Alisha and Becca!
 

Speech time!!


Rehearsal Dinner - June 17, 2011

It's that time!! Alisha and Joseph are going to the chapel!! :) I can't believe that it is finally here and my little sister is about to be married.  All 4 of us are in the wedding: Jessica- Matron of Honor, Shawn- Groomsman, Jase- Ring Bearer, and Allyson- Flower Girl.  We took our places Friday night and practiced walking down the aisle.  Jase was so serious, he knew he had a job to do.  Allyson...not so much.  She is only 21 months, so I wasn't sure how she was going to do.  She didn't want to walk down with Jase nor throw flowers out.  As long as she walked peacefully down the aisle and did not make a huge scene on stage during the actual ceremony I would be pleased.

After rehearsing a few times we headed to Texas Land & Cattle for dinner. We have been eating low glycemic index foods (foods that take longer to process and do not spike up your blood sugar), so I have not had any white bread for nearly 3 weeks...the sour dough bread and butter was delish!!

While waiting on dinner, Alisha and Joseph gave the kids presents for being in the wedding.  They built Build-A-Bears for both of them: bride and groom.  They were so cute!! Ally's was a precious bride, with a veil, garter and all!!  Jase's had a cute tuxedo on and carried a guitar, since Jase has said from the beginning that he was going to be a "rock star" in their wedding! LOL!

Jase with Rock Star!
 
Allyson and her bear Princess!

Allyson after dinner and dessert!

 

Our little family! :)
 

French family with the married couple to be! :)
 

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Books, Books, Books!

Little Miss Allyson loves her books!! She frequently brings me books during the day to read...I love it.  And she sits so still when I read.  When Jase was her age he would sit long enough for me to read one page and then was up to getting into something else.  Now when I break a book out both kids are right in my lap following along as I read.  I hope this hobby sticks!! :)

Allyson reading Jase's Dinosaur book!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Time for some B-ball action!!

We signed Jase up for 3-4 year old basketball at the YMCA and practices and games have begun!! While we still have some work to do on dribbling and shooting, Jase is having a great time on the court!! I missed his first game this past Saturday with Aunt Alisha's wedding in full swing, but I cannot wait until this Saturday to watch him!!

First night of practice!

 
There was no way Ally was sitting on the side lines!!

 
First Game...kids are matching up their wrist bands!


Go #8!! Defense!! Defense!!

ROCKETS baby!!

VBS Time Baby!! June 5-9, 2011

As if things aren't busy enough around the French household, we signed Jase up for two Vacation Bible Schools during the same week! One was for 5 nights at our church and the other was 3 days during the morning where he attended school.  Shawn and I also taught the 5 year olds in the preschool department and really had a blast.  Our theme at church was Big Apple Adventure...where Faith and Life Connect!  Shawn and I drew a mural wall of things that can be found in NYC and each night our class decorated it; they really enjoyed it.

Our class working on the NYC mural
 
Had such a great time with this group!!


Caden smiling big for Mrs. Jessica! :)
 

Finished Product!! Great job kiddos!!
 

My little VBS Star!!
 

Uncle Sam...oh no, Mr. Shawn!

 
Statue of Liberty!! :)


Too funny!  He had to do it too!
 
VBS from his school - Shake it up
Where Kids Carry Out God's Recipe!!
What a great week we all had! And what a blessing to have Churches open up the doors to teach kids about Jesus!

Tuxedo Fitting - May 31, 2011

Shawn took Jase to get fitted for Aunt Alisha's wedding and said that he loved every minute of it!!

Getting measured for his tuxedo!!
 
So big!! My handsome little boy!
 
Look at his little chubby legs and feet...I love it!!
 Oh and for the record...I don't think we brushed his hair all day!! And with summer here...that is becoming more and more of the norm! But we are remembering to brush teeth...so that is a good thing! :)

Who Needs Dow Park?

For Jase's 4th birthday and a gift for Allyson too, Nanny and PawPaw bought the kids their very own playset for the backyard! Jase was so excited and Shawn and I were actually looking forward to putting it together as well. Side note: Bless Shawn's heart, but he has a pretty bad track record of putting things together...something ALWAYS goes wrong. lol! A crack in the wood, drilling too far, popping pegs out of the wood...you name it.  It's always a running joke when we go to put something together and he laughs about it too.  Here we go!

Beginning of the adventure!
 
All the wood is laid out and water seal is applied!


All hardware for the 32 phases are organized and ready to go!
So far, so good on organizing everything and getting prepped. We get through the first few phases and it is coming along.  We get to the left side where the sides supports are and run into a bit of trouble.  The metal brackets they sent did not line up correctly and to make a long story short one of the long boards got split...pretty bad.  A little wood glue and some screws fixed that right up.  Sheesh...it was time for me to go inside! 


Picture taken at the end of the 2nd full day...almost there!
 

Finished Product!! (and Hank too!)
  

Allyson and Jase enjoying the picnic area!!
  

Our first friends on our playset!!
  

Allyson and Jase helping Daddy out!!
  

Jase absolutely loves his new playset! And Ally too...she enjoys it!!
 Shawn has always been a "let's go to the park" type of guy, but I enjoy being at home. Now, it's a win-win because we have the park right in our backyard!! The kids play on it nearly everyday and Jase just LOVES to swing.  We are in the process of teaching him to swing himself because it is a fight (not kidding) when we have to go inside and the swinging has to stop.

Thanks again Nanny and PawPaw!!