October and November!

Hey everyone! So it's been a few months since I posted anything. October started off with a very sweet and fun baby shower for our little Noah Paul, hosted by both my mom and my sweet friend Kristin Lebon. I have such sweet friends and family that celebrated with me and got some great baby gifts! About a week or so later, we met with our friends Ana and Jason for brunch at La Madeleine after Sunday morning Mass. She was also pregnant at the time, expecting a little boy too! The following weekend one of my best friends and cousin Jacque came to visit with her husband Phillip! It was great to see them, Jacque also took our cute family fall pictures for us! Fun fun . : )  Towards the very end of this month, I thought I was going into early labor, so I was rushed to the hospital. Weird thing was all the pain was in my side. My contractions eventually stopped but I still had a lot of pain in my side and was put on bed rest and medications.

At first they thought it may have been a kidney stone, but turns out it was just some kidney pressure and sore muscle from doing too much. I just had extra pain with it because of my pregnancy, so it felt a lot worse. Once the word got out, we had some very sweet friends, including my moms group and Nathan's co-workers and their wives, bringing us meals, driving me to my appointments, and other generous ways of helping! We were very blessed. Genevieve had her first Halloween trick or treating! She was a very cute Belle princess and had tons of fun. : ) here comes November! November 5th, I had my hair done, then just 2 days later little Noah Paul arrived!

It was a super fast labor,  just felt contractions a few hours at home and on the way to the hospital. By the time they got me in the hospital bed, I had the epidural within 15-20 minutes, then pushed for literally 2 mins and our little boy made his appearance. Crazy but glad it was fast and didn't have to feel pain for too long. He was born 2 weeks early on Nov. 7, 7 lbs 14 oz, 19.49 inches. Noah is a cutie and so far very sweet, just sleeps and eats. Then of course just a few weeks later was Thanksgiving. We spent here at our house with my family. My parents, George, Sam, and Chelsea were here. It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone! We missed Abe, but we will see him Christmas. : )

Guess that's really it until I post the December blog! Hope everyone has a wonderful day and is enjoying the Christmas season! Happy Advent. : )

-The Entsmingers-

Sweet September

Hello! This month started off with my mom's arrival to Texas, yay! Now both parents are here together. : ) We celebrated my dad's birthday on September 2nd, by eating out at his favorite restaraunt, Chuy's! And of course he got his fill of their green chiles! Genevieve and I had a play date the next day with my good friend Kristin and her little boy Jack, which was very fun! We spent the next Saturday at my parents house in Richland Hills. Nathan helped my dad with some things around the house, while my mom and I played with Genevieve and went through some jewelry and clothes. My mom gave me some cute maternity clothes and some of her cute necklaces, yay! The following week we started our trip to Kansas City for my brother's wedding. We stopped in Wichita on Thursday, so we could visit Mum and Bub (my grandparents), Aunt Amy, Jonas, and my brother George. 

We arrived in Kansas City Friday around lunchtime, got Genevieve down for a nap, then got ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Fortunately we had a babysitter for Genevieve during the rehearsal dinner, so we could enjoy the evening without having to worry about chasing her around, etc... Poor Nathan spent most of the night in pain from his eye, where Genevieve accidentally jabbed him pretty hard. He wasn't able to enjoy the dinner as much as everyone else. All the family and friends gave some wonderful toasts and there was a very cute slideshow with all of Sam and Chelsea's pictures with each other, family, and friends. The next day was the wedding day! 

The bridal party spent the day getting hair and makeup done and taking pictures. Meanwhile the fits spent the day at Soul Patch,  having their faces shaved. The wedding ceremony was beautiful, held at The Visitation Parish.  Once it was over, we took some family pictures, then handed Genevieve over to the babysitter for the night. The reception was held afterwards at The Carriage Club. It was a very pretty and fun reception with an awesome band that played. Even my pregnant self got out there and danced! Nathan sang a beautiful song for Sam and Chelsea at the reception, was very sweet! 

The next morning we headed back to Dallas. It was a very fun weekend and great to be with family. We are so happy for Sam and Chelsea and blessed we were a part of their special day! A few days later I met my friends Ashley, Allison, and Joanna for frozen yogurt. It was fun to catch up with the girls, but also sad to say goodbye to my dear friend Ashley. She and her husband Michael will be moving to Africa for a few years to do Catholic missionary work for a non-profit organization. very excited for them, but will also miss them very much! Nathan and I recently had a double date with our sweet friends Kristin and Justin, which was tons of fun! 

This past weekend we did the Hike For Life, Genevieve even walked with us for a little bit! She loves to walk and had a blast! I think she was the littlest person there haha. later on that say my patents came over to help us with a few things around the house. It was great to see them and have their help!  My mom and I started organizing both Genevieve's and Noah's rooms, so we can decorating them soon! Almost time for nesting. : ) My baby shower for Noah is this weekend. Will be a small, but sweet shower, thrown by both my dear friend Kristin and my mom. Can't wait to start collecting little boy items! Well guess that's it for this month, more to come in October! Love to all. : ) 

The Entsmingers

August-End of Summer

It's August and summer is about over, but sure doesn't feel like it in this Texas heat. The first exciting thing that happened this month, was that we asked my brother Sam and his fiancee Chelsea to be the godparents of our new baby boy to come, Noah Paul! They seem pretty excited and so are we. : ) My dad got settled into their house at the end of July, so we went to go visit him and have dinner. Genevieve was very excited to see Pa! One of my friends I know from Fort Worth area (she also now lives in Plano) has a 15 year old daughter named Jade who is very sweet. She watched Genevieve for me one afternoon, so I could start registering for baby boy stuff. She was so great with Genevieve, so yay! New babysitter. : ) Nathan's mom and brother came to visit us, which was a lot of fun. We spend a few days swimming at the pool, showed them Nathan's office. then their last day here, Nathan took them to the mall to do some shopping. It was so great to see and spend time with them.

My mom came in town this same weekend for an interview at the church connected with my dad's school, so she and Dad came by for an afternoon visit, which was fun! One of my friend's Ana had her baby shower, she is also having a boy and due in October, so that was fun to see her again and see all the cute baby boy gifts! I have also started potty training Genevieve. She is pretty good during the week with using the potty seat, but weekends are another story. Since Daddy is home, she thinks its playtime haha! We recently went to a Newcomers Dinner at St. Mark's to learn more about our parish and what they have to offer. That was good to meet new people and find out a little more about the church. Turns out the mom of one of my friend's from Dallas is the assisant to the Pastor. So that was pretty neat! My brother's wedding is just a few weeks away, so I will be picking up mine and Genevieve's dresses from the alteration shop next week.I can't believe Sam is getting married, crazy, but so exciting! Should be a super fun weekend. : ) 

Nathan had his one year performance review and got a wonderful raise! So yay, so proud of him and all of his hard work! Now we can start gradually doing some things to the house. We ended this month with a fun a little visit from my cousin Jacque and her husband Phillip. It was so great to see them, I have really missed them since they moved to Laredo. Jacque is like a sister to me. It was fun to show them to our new house. Jacque painted Genevieve's nails haha! Genevieve was fascinated by the whole thing, haha too cute! They treated us to dinner, which was too nice of them. Then Jacque and I watched Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, and old family favorite! Meanwhile, Nathan and Phillip went to the pub for a drink. But they returned just in time to end the movie with us. They left the next morning, was sad to see them go. But we were happy to have spent time with them! Another exciting note, my mom made it to Fort Worth yesterday with all of her things. so she and my dad have been busy unpacking everything. We will be seeing them tomorrow to celebrate my dad's birthday, yay!

Well, I guess that's it for this month! More to come in September. : ) xoxo

     -The Entsmingers-

June and July-Sweet Summertime!

Hello! Well it has been about 2 months since I last posted, wow. Sorry about that, seems that time just got away from me. This may be a long one...so bear with me! The first big event in June was Sam and Chelsea's couples shower. Nathan was unable to go, due to work, and it would have been a little more difficult to have Genevieve a long for the ride. So I just went myself and made it a pretty quick trip. It was fun and great to have time with my family, alhough it went by quickly! Everyone was disappointed that Nathan didn't go, especially Sam. It's just hard to do everything financially, especially with kids and us just getting this new house. Plus Nathan has been pretty swamped at work. Anyways, we will all be there for the big wedding weekend, the most important time of all! : )

In the middle of June, my parents came down for a very quick weekend trip. It was mainly because my dad had an interview in Ft. Worth. Yes that's right-they are moving back this summer! More details on that later on in the blog. It was great to have them and they loved spending time with Genevieve. : ) Genevieve's birthday party was July 2nd, but we had her birthday party the very last weekend in June. It was on a Saturday afternoon. It was fun and laid back. Just had a kiddy pool in the backyard with pizza, cake, and ice cream. We had some good friends and family come, it was lots of fun! She had a wonderful party and received some great gifts. Everyone was too sweet to get her such nice things.

My cousin Bonnie came to Dallas with her baby girl Olivia, who I hadn't met yet. They stayed with my Uncle Chris. Neanie, (Bonnie's sister) also came in town and stayed with Nathan and Cathy and their kids. It was so fun, all my Dixon cousins together for some family fun! They were here for the July 4th weekend. We had a fish fry on the 4th and swam at my Uncle's pool. The rest of the weekend, Genevieve and I would go over there in the afternoon to spend more time with Bons and the baby and of course Neanie and everyone else too. It was a blast! We need to get Neanie and Bons to move here, then we can be together all the time. : )

My parents were hoping to have come in town for the July 4th weekend to see us and have a little belated birthday celebration with Genevieve. But they said a bunch of stuff came up with the school my dad works for in Louisiana and my mom was caught up in work stuff, so they couldn't make it. Well, turns out the real reason they couldn't come up, was because....well first of all, the previous priest Father Cleo just got transferred to a new parish. The new priest had just taken Father Cleo's place at my parents church and was getting acquainted with the school also. (My mom is DRE for the church in Plaquemine, LA and my dad is the Administrator for the school connected to the church, St.  John the Evangelist).

Turns out my dad got the job for St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Richland Hills. It is the same position he has had in Louisiana! So exciting!! But this new priest in Louisiana said he really needs their help before they leave town, since it was such a last minute ordeal and poor guy just started getting acquainted with the parish/school. My parents also wanted to keep it on the downlow until they were ready to announce it.  The word is pretty much out now. They are excited to come back but they are also sad I think. They got pretty attached to the people in Plaquemine and did so much for the church and school community while they were there. It has been a very emotional time for them. The people of Plaquemine will sure miss them!

I think once they are settled back in their old stomping grounds here in Texas, they will be good to go. The main reason they left Plaquemine was to be closer to family, especially since I am having all the babies now! Plus two of my brothers are in Kansas and Kansas City. The youngest is at Ole Miss, but I am sure he will make his way back to Texas sooner or later, as will the other brothers. We have all had this connection to Texas. Even though we moved around a lot growing up, we have lived in Texas the longest, since we were pretty little. : ) We just love it here!

Also, here is some crazy news. Turns out my friend Ana from MSU. We had orignally met at the Catholic Campus Center there. Well, her mother-in-law lives just a few blocks from us. We ran into Ana and her husband while they were house-sitting and taking the dogs for a walk. Small world! It was great to catch up and visit with them and are looking forward to seeing them again soon. : ) Genevieve just ended her 2 week swim lessons and loved it! She now wants to go to the pool all the time haha so cute, so I take her a few days a week. She is quite the little fish. : ) Love our little munchkin!

One last thing and is not the happiest, so I hate to end it on a sad note, but Nathan's Grandpa Charlie Entsminger passed away just about a week ago. He was 90 years old and had been sick for a while. Before this, he was so active and with it for his age. I feel like it all happened so fast, so sad for everyone. Nathan went to the funeral while Genevieve and I stayed behind. West Virginia was a little far and unfortunately too espensive for us all to go. Happy Nathan was ast least able to go and be with family.

On a happier note, I did have my friend Molly (Genevieve's godmother) stay the night with me over the weekend for a girls night, so that was fun! Then last night I met my friends Ashley and Allison for frozen yogurt to catch up and have girl time. We try to do this at least once a month, or every few months. Our lives are so crazy, but they are two great friends I like to spend time with when possible.  Oh and I can't remember if I mentioned this in my last blog, but we are having a boy! Due Nov. 20th. Right now name picked out is Noah Paul. Nathan's grandfather who just passed away was Charles, nickname Charlie which I also think is cute! Especially the name Charlie. So we will see what we end up choosing, : )

Well I guess that's it for now! Until next time. : ) xoxo

            -The Entsmingers-

April and May : )

ALooks like it has been about 2 months since I last blogged, wow! Guess I became busier than I thought. : ) Where to begin...my birthday was April 3rd. We were going to have dinner with friends, but not many were able to come. So we just ended up doing a little family dinner at Chuy's in Plano. It actually turned out perfect, because we also had our house inspection on that same day. Thats right, at the time we were in the process of closing on what's now our new home! Our 5th wedding anniversary was April 12. : ) Nathan had sold one of his electric guitars that he does not play much anymore. Instead of putting that money towards himself or something for the house, he very sweetly used it for a nice anniversary dinner.

Nathan took us out to dinner at The Place at Perry's in Uptown Dallas. After dinner, we walked around Highland Park Village, had some gelato, then drove around George Bush's neighborhood, just for fun! Then we headed back home. Thank you again to Michele Walker for watching our little one! Just about a week later, was my precious goddaughter Giuliana's baptism and 1st birthday party in Fort Worth. (at All Saints Catholic Church). This was lots of fun and so great to see my best friends from high school. This same day we went looking at furniture for our new home, ended up getting a great couch on sale!

We offically closed and signed papers declaring ownership of our new home on April 30th! We then moved in that following Saturday, May 4th! Crazy but so exciting. : ) Then a week after that was my dear friend Katy Blackwood's baby shower, which was wonderful. She is blessed with such sweet and caring friends and family. Can't wait to meet her baby girl Gemma Kate! The rest of this month of May, we have just been settling into our new home. We are having a few things repaired, decorating, etc...on top of all that, we have managed to have a few play dates and see a few friends, aka Molly Naaden, Genevieve's godmother. She and her husband Doug (Genevieve's godfather) just moved back to the DFW themselves!

We feel incredibly blessed to be in our new home and to another piece of news (if you haven't heard already)! We are expecting our 2nd baby, due date November 20th. So yay! More on that and the month of June in the next blog. Until next time, have a fabulous day and hope you are enjoying the beginning of summer!

 -The Entsmingers- xoxo-

March-Spring has Sprung!

Hello again! As usual, I am late on doing my March blog, but here it goes. The very beginning of March was my brother Sam's birthday. He turned 25 years old, wow-crazy! Time sure does fly. Wish he lived closer so we could have celebrated together, but I will hopefully be seeing this summer, than again in September for his wedding day! Yay : ) This was also the month when Nathan and I had our getaway night at the Gaylord Texan, a gift from Nathan's firm. We never get to do things like this, so it was wonderful! We had dinner at The Old Hickory Steakhouse, walked around a little bit, then went back to the room, where we had champagne and cake balls waiting for us. Before we left in the morning, we had breakfast at the Riverwalk Cafe. We had such a great time, and our dear friend Mrs. Walker stayed with Genevieve. She is such a blessing to us, one the sweetest people I know and so good with our little girl.


A few days later, Genevieve and I went to an Easter playdate at my sweet friend Melanie's house. Her friend Amanda was also there with her kids. It was lots of fun, the kids made Easter baskets, hunted for eggs, and had pizza for lunch! It was Genevieve's very first Easter egg hunt. We had a great time with good friends. We also went to my friend Kristin's new home in Irving a few weeks later, for another playdate with her and her cute little boy Jack. The kids had a great time playing outside while us Moms were able to visit for a little while. It has been so fun to reunite with my sweet friend I have known since I was just a little one myself. : ) I can't believe we are both married and have kids of our own now, crazy but super fun!

Then of course, there was Easter weekend! We were so blessed to have my parents come in town and visit. Seeing that Holy Thursday Mass was during Genevieve's bedtime, I sent Nathan by himself. The past few years while taking evening law classes, he had always missed out. Now was his chance to go! We all  took turns going to the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, since I also had a hair appointment that day. It was unfortunately the only day they could schedule me in. My parents arrived in town, just in time to make the afternoon Stations. : ) Saturday we just spent the day doing a little shopping and playing with Genevieve. Of course Sunday morning we went to Easter Mass, then brunch afterwards at The Broken Egg Cafe. My mom put on a little egg hunt for Genevieve, then cooked a great Easter dinner!

After dinner, my parents surprised me with an early birthday cake and ice cream, yum! So sweet of them to think of me. Oh and earlier on in the day, we also went and looked at homes for sale-seeing that Nathan and I are looking forward to moving soon into our first house-but more on that later!! : )

My parents left Monday morning. : ( It went by too fast and was of course sad to see them go. I am so glad they were here to see us and Genevieve. She is getting so big-as of now she is 21 months old. She is saying about 20 words and can say a few phrases. She loves to read, do puzzles, listen to music, and playing outside. She is learning so much and growing up so fast-makes me sad! Love our precious litttle girl.

I guess those are pretty much the main events for March. Of course I will write more later, once April has come and gone. : ) Hope everyone has been having a blessed Easter season and enjoying the spring weather-despite the past few crazy weather days! Until next time, TTFN! xoxo and God Bless : )

Cecilia, Nathan, and Genevieve

Rest of February

Hello again! Well, doesn't seem like we had too much going on the rest of February. Nathan and I did have a nice Valentine's date, My best friend's mom watched Genevieve for us. She is such a great babysitter! We went to Prego Pasta House for dinner. The deacon from our church was there and he recognized us and came over and said hi to us. We thought it was so sweet he remembered us, becaues our parish St. Thomas Aquinas is pretty big. After dinner, we went to Barnes and Noble and walked around and had some coffee. It was so nice for just the two of us to get out. : )

Genevieve and I also went to a Valentines playdate with some friends at church. That was a alot of fun. We said a Valentine prayer. Then the kids had some Valentine snacks and decorated their Valentine bags. We put little heart shaped Bible verses inside them. Such a cute idea! About a week or two after that, I met up with two of my sweet friends, Ashley and Allison for some frozen yogurt at Yummilicious. It was nice to get out and have some girl time! I need to do that more often.

My sweet friend Katy B is about 26 weeks pregnant, she is having a girl-so exciting! Our friend Summer and me, and a few of other friends will be throwing her a baby shower, so I can't wait for that. Love baby showers!

Nathan is doing very well at his job and they seem to like him too. He went to one of his first client meetings with the partner he works under. They think he did a great job and want him to help draft a partnership for this client, which I guess is a big deal, so yay! Genevieve is saying about 10 words now, so that is exciting. It is so much fun to interact with her at this age. I can't believe she is 20 months already!

Guess that's it for this month, will post a March blog at the end of the month! Ta Ta for now!

-Cece and Clan- : )

January-Part of February Blog

Hello everyone! As usual I am late in posting my monthly blog, hope you all have been doing well. Doesn't seem to have been too much going on this month. Genevieve finally recovered from all of her sickness. She seemed to catch virus after virus, whether it was tummy or cold issues. Nathan's birthday was the 29th. We celebrated the weekend before, by going out to dinner at Grimaldi's pizzeria with our good friends. Was great to see everyone, we haven't gotten out much lately. Also earlier this January, the partners at Nathan's firm took him out to lunch. They thanked him for all of his hard work and told him how much they appreciate him. They also gave him one free night's stay at the Gaylord Hotel a long with a dinner for two or three at their restaraunt, The Old Hickory Steakhouse, fun fun! We will definitely be taking advantage of that.

We finally got Nathan's office all decorated with his diplomas and pictures, so that is good! It was looking pretty dull in there. My good friend from college, Katy Blackwood has moved back to Dallas. She is expecting a baby girl. : ) We met for lunch not too long ago, and it was great to catch up with her, so happy she is back in the big D! Nathan's grandfather turned 90 this month, wow-he sure looks great and is very active and with it. Genevieve and I also met up with my friend Kristin and her youngest little boy Jack for a playdate at their place, that was a lot of fun! Had not seen her in forever. My brother Sam received a big promotion at Commerce Bank, so that is awesome. We are all very excited for him! His fiancee Chelsea was in Dallas for work, so we are able to have dinner with her, her mom, and her mom's boyfriend's sister. So that was great to see them again too!

Genevieve is now down to one nap a day, so we are finally able to attend our Play and Pray playdates! We went to one about a week or two ago, and had a great time. Was nice to get out and mingle. My cousin Jacque who is also one of my best friends is moving from Graham to Laredo at the beginning of March. I spent this past Saturday night with her in Graham for a girls night. We went to dinner and a movie, then watched a family video, that our grandmother Mum had made for us last Christmas. Then we had breakfast in the morning and I headed back to Dallas. It was a lot of fun, but also sad to know that she is leaving soon. At least she will still be in Texas.

My good friend Nicole, (who passed away about a year ago from brain cancer), her 30th birthday was just last week. Sad that she isn't here to celebrate, but I am sure she had her own little party up in Heaven. I went to Midweek Mass that Wednesday before her birthday and said a special prayer for her and her family. I miss her so much and always think about her. I know she is in a happier place, without any more suffering.

This morning I had breakfast with my sweet cousins Nathan and Cathy at Cafe Brazil. It was delish! And their coffee is so good! Oh one other thing, I finally got my first fancy phone, an iPhone! I love it, especially taking pictures of Genevieve and being able to send them to my family. Genevieve sure is growing fast, she has gotten taller and bigger! She is finally starting to say a few words, we were a little worried about her verbal skills. She also loves to go outside and play. She just lights up when she gets to go outside. So cute! She does need a sibling, so I think we may be trying for our 2nd little one soon! Keep us in your prayers.

I guess that's it for now, I will post more later on the rest of the happenings of this month! Ta ta for now!

xoxo

Cece, Nathan, and Genevieve : )

Christmas-New Years Blog

Hello! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year : ) The month of December was very busy for us. Getting ready for the holidays and Nathan working away at his new attorney job. We were able to celebrate my sweet friend Melanie's 30th birthday with her sweet family and other friends and their kiddos. Lots of babies and kids running around! But great fun with sweet friends and good food : )  Genevieve saw Santa for the first time up at Nathan's firm. It was a lot of fun, she got to meet everyone else's kids, got a Dream Willow Pet from Santa, and had cookies and cake! She did fuss a little in Santa's lap, but overall wasn't too bad. It was so sweet of the firm to do this for everyone, seeing that it was their first year to have this. Then just one day later, we were headed to Wichita for Christmas. It honestly wasn't the best Christmas we have had, due to some personal circumstances. But at least we got to see my family and grandparents, Aunt Sherie, Aunt Amy, and cousins, etc... Genevieve saved the day-she was a good distraction for everyone!

After our time in Wichita, the baby and I headed to Kansas City with my parents for my brother's engagement party. My Aunt Sherie and brother George joined us the next day. : )  Nathan wasn't able to attend due to a busy time of work at the firm, but hopefully he can make the next event with us. It was definitely the highlight of our Christmas vacation. We stayed with Chelsea's (Sam's fiancee) grandma in her beautiful big home. Chelsea's family is so sweet and just love Sam. We feel the same way about Chelsea. The first night there we had a little mini Christmas with her family, which was fun! Then the next night was the big engagement party. This was held at the grandma's house. We were all dressed in our cocktail attire, including sweet Genevieve. Her little party dress was too cute, wish I had a picture! Darn. There were yummy appetizers, open bar, family toasts, and lots of fun mingling.

It was one of the most fun parties I have been too. Lots of laughs, and sweet, fun, friends and family! It was so great to see how many people think so fondly of Sam and Chelsea and what great friendships they have. They are such a neat couple with wonderful people in their lives. I really wish Nathan could have been there to enjoy it too. Genevieve was quite the trooper when traveling over the holidays. (especially with this month long virus -possible infection she is still battling) She slept and napped great and is quite the social butterfly. She loves people and is definitely the extrovert in the family. She had her first plane ride ever back to Dallas, and she was perfect! It was like she had flown a million times before, we were all amazed!

We didn't really do much for New Years. Our little family just hung out here and took it easy. Once the baby was in bed, Nathan and I drank some wine and watched a movie. Once midnight hit, we said Happy New Year and were off to bed. It was actually pretty nice and laid back, we always thought New Years was a little overrated anyways. Genevieve has her 18 month appointment on Thursday-hopefully that goes well, considering all she's been through the past month or so. Our sweet little pumpkin! Guess that's all for now. Nathan and I are so grateful for all of God's blessing on us this past year, and look forward to what's in store for us this year of 2013! We wish the same for all of you. : )

TTFN until the next blog!