Laila Maxwell

Wow...I was just looking back and realized I haven't posted a blog since June! Summer seemed to fly by...good things and bad. Our main computer has also seen better days and is no longer in the working world, so for the most part, my pics as of late are still stored on the camera. Makes emailing, posting, blogging pics much more difficult! Excuses, excuses, I know... Well quick update on life in the Maxwell house the past 3 months. Here's what Cooter has been working on in the garage.

Wall of fame...

Right before our anniversary in June, we found out we were expecting a baby right around Valentine's Day. We waited until almost 8 weeks and finally told Mom, Dad, Jeremy and Nicole on Father's Day. Dad unwrapped a pack of Aggie onesies. We had planned on telling Cooter's family the good news 4th of July weekend when the family went to LaGrange. Unfortunately, I ended up having a miscarriage around that time and we lost the baby. After weeks of blood tests and doctor's visits, it was determined that I had a chemical pregnancy. Long story short, the baby never really developed much past 6 weeks and I slowly miscarried the embryo. My body continued producing pregnancy hormones though and the placenta continued to grow, leading us to all believe I was still pregnant. I had a few complications around 6-7 weeks, but the nurse told me it was probably okay and didn't want to see me before 8 weeks. At the 8 week ultrasound, they didn't see anything but an empty sac. We had already lost the baby. Needless to say...I will be seeing a new doctor next time around... We've had time to heal and deal with it all. We didn't talk about it much, but it was incredibly how sad we could both feel over something we had only known about for a matter of weeks. The positive side of the story is that God blessed us with the ability to get pregnant. We're looking down the road now and are ready to try again. Keep us in your prayers!

Summer came to a close and I went back to work. I LOVE my school, but the 80 miles a day (most of which is on 290) is really wearing me down already and we're only in the 5th week of school. I wasn't able to get a job closer to home. I only applied in Cy-Fair, not surrounding districts. When we found out I was pregnant in early June, I decided to stay put at JCE. I have enough leave saved up this year to cover 9 weeks of maternity leave if needed. Things are finally settling into a routine at school. I have a small class with only 16 kids this year, which is wonderful. I just need to adjust to schedule! Can't seem to do it!

Here's a pic of Grace helping me pack my school stuff up at the house.

We went to our friend Justin's surprise 30th birthday party in Austin back in August. Justin and his wife Emily were both in our wedding.

Cooter with the birthday boy.
Cooter, me, Charli, Matthew, Justin and Emily

To complicate matters a bit...with the whole lack of sleep thing and being gone long hours...we got ourselves a puppy! We picked up Laila Maxwell about 2 weeks ago on Labor Day weekend. She was almost 9 weeks old when we got her. She's an AKC female Boxer. From the looks of her paws and how big she is already, she's going to be a good sized dog. We chose a boxer because several of our friends have them...they have such a sweet disposition for a big dog and are wonderful with kids. So, for now, she's our baby. Grayce isn't too thrilled, but is tolerating the new addition to the family. She actually likes the dog being here better than Hobie's visits (Jeremy and Nicole's cat). Here's a few pics of her over the past couple weeks...

Laila - 9 weeks

Laila - 10 weeks

One year already!

On June 14, Cooter and I celebrated our one year anniversary! Can you believe its been a year already? We can't...time flies when you're having fun! So much has happened since last year. We have lived in 3 different places since the wedding (and are DONE moving...at least for now), bought a house, Cooter got a new job, Jeremy and Nicole got married, Lindsey is an RN and a homeowner herself and the Gonzalez family welcomed baby Emily. Never a dull moment...which makes us realize how truly blessed we are for everything and everyone we have in our lives.

As promised, here's a few pics of our anniversary trip. Cooter planned and organized it all himself, keeping it a secret from me until 2 days before the trip (...how romantic!). We went to a bed and breakfast called the Gruene Mansion on the Guadalupe River for the weekend (next door to the infamous Gruene Hall). It was nice to get out of town, just the two of us, with no specific agenda for a couple days.

Us in front of Gruene Hall before shopping in town.
Being artsy with my pic of the Gruene water tower.
Outside on our balcony.
Sitting outside the Gristmill listening to music. Cooter is our photographer...can you tell?

School's...Out for Summer!!!

Was anyone singing a little Alice Cooper along with me?!? Thanks to my brother's traditional tape playing (yes, I said tape) of the song in high school, I will forever mark the end of each school year with a little Alice Cooper tune. Thanks, Jeremy! =)

Well, I survived my sixth year of teaching. I cannot believe its been six years already! I had a pretty good class this year though. They were probably the lowest group of kiddos I've had to work with, but they were well-behaved, which goes a long way. I spent many hours tutoring some of the kids, but in the end they all passed the dreaded TAKS test and are headed to 4th grade! I'm so proud! Here's a pic of me with the kids at our annual field day. This year we had a kickball tournament (my team made it to the playoffs) and we were Maxwell's Meerkats...our class' favorite animal from our field trip to the zoo.
Now that summer is here, I have lots to finish on the house. We got enough painted to get furniture moved in, but I'm ready to be done with it all! Cooter and I have been working in the yard a lot...trying desperately to see if we inherited our mothers' green thumbs. Both of our parents yards are immaculate. We made a new flower bed in the backyard a couple weeks ago, which was way more work than either of us imagined. Luckily the neighbors next door saw our blood, sweat and tears (okay maybe not tears, but the other two were definitely present) and invited us over for hamburgers and a swim. We desperately want a pool of our own, but economic times have not made that possible right now, so we swim with the neighbors and their little girl Kaylee. Here's Cooter digging up the grass in the making of the flower bed. Notice Grayce came out to help as well (she's under the tree).
That's about all that's new right now. Cooter surprised me with a trip to Gruene Mansion for our anniversary on Sunday. Its a bed and breakfast on the Guadalupe in Gruene, Texas. I'm so excited to go! I'll post some pics from our trip when we get back. Here's a few more pics of our so-called life these days...

Cooter and I at a wedding Memorial Day Weekend
Its funny how the silly pics end up being the best ones taken...

Our favorite little man, Justinand his baby sister, Emily!

Aunt Cooter and Uncle Tip

We finally welcomed the newest member of our family, Emily Catherine Gonzalez, to the world on Sunday, May 17. After being 8 days overdue, we were all so axious for her to get here...especially Melissa! So, Cooter and I are aunt and uncle again.

The fam calls us Aunt Cooter and Uncle Tip...it will probably forever stick that way too. Our friend's little boy couldn't say my name when Cooter and I started dating, so he called me Tippany, which got shortened to Tip. Next thing you know, it caught on...and so I became Tip. Now we have a neice and a nephew! ...and talk about the baby pressure on us now!!! That's all anyone could talk about in the waiting room! Then I took pics to work and got comments like, "you look good with a baby..."

In due time people...we promise! =) Here's a few pics of us with baby Emily.

Uncle Tip

Aunt Cooter

Blogging behind...

So a good month or so later...and here we are. We have just lived through, quite possibly, the busiest month of our existence as a couple. Here's a quick run-down of our so-called life...

• closed on the house
• witnessed Jeremy and Nicole get married
• spent 2 solid weekends priming, painting and cleaning the house
• did some serious procrastination on the packing front at the apartment those 2 weeks
• hosted Easter for our families at the house (I say hosted...we basically provided the house and the food and beer miraculously showed up!)
• partial demo on the kitchen countertops and backsplash (which would remain unfinished until after we moved in, preventing any unpacking for another week)
• moving day came and went with drenching rain, but we finally got it done that Sunday
• Saturday TAKS test tutorials
• Completed the kitchen remodel (minus the paint)
• furniture delivery/cable techs/alarm instal, etc.

...just to name a few!!! And all the while I was TAKS tutoring my kiddos at 6:30a.m. daily. We made it though! We're finally in the house, unpacked a little more with each passing day and feeling amazing about it! And for my teacher friends who will understand...TAKS is done!!!

Here's a few pics of us working on the house...

Tricia and I priming the dining room. Cooter left his own special touches around the house.

Paint-taping...I taped the WHOLE house. Despite the look on my face in the picture, I now hate paint-taping if anyone asks.

Here's a few shot of our kitchen...

before

during
after

We stayed up this past Friday night grillin burgers and drinking a few beers with the neighbors. Saturday was spent unpacking and organizing. Things are finally falling into place. It really looks good in here...almost company ready! Can't wait for everyone to come over! For now, we're just in the midst of the daily grind, working on the yard when we can, unpacking here and there, and waiting for our new little neice to be born. More updates coming soon...this time it WILL be less than a month!!!

the new crib and wedding bells

We are officially homeowners!!!
Cooter and I closed on our first home last Friday. We ran to the house long enough to take a quick pic (didn't even go inside!) and then headed south for the weekend wedding festivities.

Jeremy and Nicole got married last weekend, March 28th. Can you believe my little brother is married?!?! We had the rehearsal dinner at the Spot...an infamous Edge family beach hang-out. It almost felt odd to be there without a swimsuit on. We woke up Saturday morning to a very windy and quite chilly morning, but the day turned out absolutely beautiful...chilly, but wonderful. The wedding was amazing...and I found myself way more emotional than I was at my own wedding. I was crying before Nicole even got down the aisle! I guess you get so wrapped up in the moment at your own wedding, you bypass all that mushy stuff. The night was quite the party...we had a great time! It was pretty neat...Shane and I were able to collect 29 Aggie rings (give or take a few that didn't trust us with them...haha) as well as Jeremy and Nicole's. The biggest Aggie wedding I've ever attended.

All in all, it was a very memorable weekend. We snuck back out to the house on Sunday, long enough to buy lawn equipment and a refrigerator (my credit card company is already calling about the excess charges!), mow the grass, then headed back to the apartment. I'll post more pics of the house later. We'll be working on it a bit over the next few weeks (painting, granite countertops, etc)...moving date April 18!!!

Long post...sorry, but I couldn't resist posting this last pic. My mom took a great pic of Cooter and I dancing along side Jeremy and Nicole at our wedding last June. He and I in white and Jeremy and Nicole in black. Friday night we realized that their wedding would have us matched just the opposite, so we made sure to get the pic. I think we make a cute family...what do you think? =)

Pack rats...

Well, here we go again...packing. The story of our lives...

We are packing for (what will hopefully be) our last move for quite a while. We close on our house in Cypress on March 27! I counted the other day...this will be my 11th move in the last 10 years...and Cooter has pretty much lived in and out of suitcases since he was 18. Needless to say, we are busting at the seams to get out of this apartment! Cooter started a new job in January, which has him home everynight. We actually get to live like a married couple now. However, the 600 square feet that we call home, does not accommodate the two of us, all of our stuff, and Grayce very well. I think my cat is the only one that gets overly excited when the moving boxes come out. This is where I found her this morning...

For those who know me well, know that I am quite possibly the world's worst packer. I think I just make more of a mess than actually any progress on the packing front. I definitely require motivation. A habitual pack rat as a child, I think I used up all my energy early on. Either that, or the 10 previous moves, or maybe even the fact that we rarely spend a weekend at home could have something to do with my lack of wanting to fill boxes yet again. At least this move involves a little more closure! We're going to be working on the house for the first several weeks in April...painting, etc. before moving anything in. I'll post pics of the house when I get them!