Happy (FIRST) Father's Day

HAPPY (FIRST) FATHERS DAY to a man who was MADE to be a Daddy!!!

I love watching you love on our little girl and my heart explodes every time she lights up when you walk into the room. I can already tell she's going to be Daddy's Little Girl.

Thank you for loving her (and me) so well and for leading our family in such a sweet, honorable, and loving way. Here's a look back at some precious moments of you and the one who made you a Daddy... 
















We love you so much!

XO,
Your girls

If you asked me...

I did this post one time in France and it was really well received and therapeutic for me, so I thought I would do it again. 

If you and I were to hang out this morning and I could share what's on my heart, this is what our day would look like.  You would come in and Stella would be on my hip probably sucking on her hands and drooling all over the place.  I would ask you if you wanted anything to drink and join you on the living room floor where we could sit and talk while Stella plays on her play mat, batting at all her toys and making funny bird noises.

I would tell you that this transition has been and still IS very, very difficult.  I would probably start tearing up as I shared how I am fighting the "glass half empty" mentality every single day.  I would try to smile about living at my Mom's house and not having our own space to "nest", about sharing a car between 3 people, about how guilty we feel and how hard it is to be 29 years old with a baby and not have the means to be independent adults.  It is humbling... and humiliating...but it is where we are at right now and thank God we have family that has stepped in to help provide for us during this transitional time in our lives. I would also add in that in NO way do we regret our decision to move to France, even if we've had to "start over" as a result.  It was the best adventure and we will treasure those memories forever. 

I would light up when I talked about Stella because our girl has now been named our "Sunshine girl" because that is what she brings to life right now... Amidst disappointments, challenges, frustrations, and financial woes.  We have a healthy, BEAUTIFUL, baby girl who is just as happy as can be and we thank God every day that she cannot feel our stress and anxiety.

I would tell you that we still daydream about opening a B&B in the Hill Country right outside of Austin but that we stop there... It's not a reality. Not yet. We have to find that money tree first or at least get Logan a great job so we can start saving up.  But sometimes on long drives or walks, we daydream about it and life is lovely...

I would tell you our hearts want to be right outside of Austin amidst the lakes, wildflowers, and beautiful rolling hills. We desire that beauty...that pace of life... a place we can call uniquely OURS.

I would update you on my job and how much I love it.  I have grown from it already... I have learned to develop thick skin, been let down SEVERAL times, worked on my self confidence, and had to put myself out there in completely vulnerable situations. I have stretched and learned and benefited from it all and I am grateful.  I am grateful that we at least have 1 source of income coming in each month that will only build over time; I am grateful for the amazing girls I get to work with every day;AND I am the most grateful that I get to work from home so I can be with my precious little sunshine girl.

I would then pat my eyes dry, smile at Stella, and say "Enough about me... tell me EVERYTHING about you..."

I had a great morning with you... let's do it again soon!

XO
Abby

Month in Review: MAY

Some pictures showcasing what all we were up to in MAY.  It flew by because we were so very busy... something tells me we won't be slowing down anytime soon now that summer has arrived! 

1. Meeting Cousin Laine for the first time... She calls Stella, "Tetta" - its SO cute! 

2. Baby Cochran's BABY SHOWER! 


3. Meeting Baby Shep! 


4. My first Mother's Day :) 

5. Stella's new nursery is slowly coming together... I love it! 

6. Testing out the new 50mm lense for some cute Stella close-ups! 






7. Meeting Grandpa and Marilyn for the first time. 

8. Auntie Jayne came in town to visit!!! And she's expecting her own lil one this FALL :) 

9. Memorial Day service at Wallace



10. Several Rodan + Fields Business Launches! (I really am loving my new job!!! It has been such a blessing to our family during this transitional phase!) 

I am sorry my blog posts have been sporadic lately... We are still very much in transition over here living with my Mom, launching my businesses, and still searching for the perfect job for Logan.  At this point, we still don't know if we will end up in Dallas or Austin...just praying God provides clear direction for our family.  I am hopeful I will have a good rhythm established over here in the near future.  Thank you for your patience!

XO,
Abby 

Stella Rose: First Doctor's Appointment!

Last week we had Little Miss Frenchy's FIRST AMERICAN doctor's appointment. (Logan was so happy he didn't have to translate for the first time EVER! haha)  We are going to the Pediatric Associates of Dallas, ironically in the same exact office where I grew up going! It brought back lots of memories and flashbacks... The neon lights, the fish tank, the rocking horse that is actually a hippopotamus... It was surreal and so neat all at the same time. We have truly come full circle. 


We met with Doctor Waters and she was AMAZING! Stella really liked her too. The tough part was that between the translations and metric system dosage of French to American shots, we got a bit nervous that Stella may not have all the vaccinations she needed.  The doctor told us if it were her daughter, she would just start over and that the risk would be greater to guess and her get sick with one of the illnesses than for us to just start over and vaccinate her from the beginning.  (This is what they do with babies that are adopted or situations like ours with babies born overseas)  We were sad for Stella, but it seemed like the best decision so she had her 2 month shots at the appointment, we will go back this month for her 4 month shots, and be on track in July for her 6 month appointment and shots. She just has to play catch up, poor girl! 


Her 4.5 month stats are:
Weight: 16.9 pounds (95%) 
Length: 26.5 inches (ABOVE 95%) 
Head Circumference: 16.75 inches (85%) 
Looks like our girl is thriving and growing FAST!!! She basically went from newborn clothes to 6 month clothes in a span of a few weeks... that formula sure does a baby good :) 






Little one was EXHAUSTED after the appointment and even had a little fever that lasted almost 48 hours... my heart broke for her and her cute little baby thighs.  On the upside, she was EXTRA cuddly which is always a bonus for our "busy" girl! 

Family Pictures

Over Memorial Day weekend, my Mom's friend Angela took some wonderful family pictures of us out in McKinney. We wanted to get some professional pictures done before the Texas heat settled in.  I think they turned out wonderful! We weren't sure what kind of mood little Stella was going to be in considering we took them around 7:30pm when the sun was going down, but she did great!

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! THANK YOU ANGELA!!! We will treasure these forever :)