Two for the road

Daddy got a new bike and with that new toy came a seat attached for Reese. I have fond childhood memories of riding behind my mom's bike, all over Tarrytown, but especially to Deep Eddy. This contraption isn't all that different, really. And R seemed equally excited about it.

She was fascinated by the handle bar to hold.



And once we got her situated, we put on the new princess helmet--already being put to good use!

I am "steadying" the bike but also not wanting to let go! It seemed like the new seat was throwing the bike way off balance, but D assured me it was just fine.

There they go...and I start holding my breath!....


...and here they come! Whew, I finally exhaled!


Fun times ahead!

Pigtails and helmets

Big milestone today...piggies! Reese's hair in pigtails for school! Clearly, she's been able to have pigtails for awhile but we just haven't been able to wear them (read: keep the child still enough to put them in and convince her not to rip them out immediately afterward). Last night, I laid the groundwork and we both put our hair in piggies today. Obviosuly, someone was delighted with the result!



I'm soooo good with hair. Poor Reese.




We caved and got R a full set of princess safety gear. The helmet, the elbow and knee pads. This, ahem, might have something to do with a gift she'll be receiving in the near future. Act surprised in July, 'kay? ;) That is, unless we change our minds.

The safety gear does look best when modeled with pull-ups, yes?


In motion....

...and no longer in motion.

And we live in a freaking shoe, folks

Normally, Reese comes home with something cutesy and fun and artsy-craftsy each time she goes to preschool. I wouldn't be surprised if we get get another snowman or heart to add to our collection before the end of winter. However, here is today's craft:

In case you can't read it, the title is "Happy Endings" (problematic from the get-go), and then it goes on to say:

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To fetch her poor dog a bone;
But when she came there..
the cupboard was not bare... (exciting twist!)
she found a potato
and ice cream.

Hunh?
If you look closely, you can see the sad little potato and ice cream stickers. Sheesh, the teachers are probably worried about little R's sustenance at home. Or at least wary of what we feed her. And now I feel like I need to take these in as proof that we do in fact have food--lots of it, and healthy stuff to boot:


Nary a potato nor an ice cream in sight, may I add.

In other news, we went to San Francisco for the most whirlwind two day trip ever! We seemed to be going at break-neck speed the entire time, which may (??) explain why I only took these amazing shots.
Reese and Daddy, sitting there watching TV in the room. Okay, not break-neck the entire time. You can definitely tell these two are related.

We went to a couple of aquariums. Here's the one at Fisherman's Wharf--Reese was back and forth on wanting to touch the shark. She's say she wanted to, then someone would come over to help her reach it and it was immediate denial.

Luckily, Daddy didn't waver.

And that concludes the San Francisco photographs. I'm serious. Those are the only ones I took. Score: F on that one. But to be fair, we really were running all over town to cram in as much as possible because that is what makes a truly enjoyable, quality vacation, right? Also, it was mainly pouring buckets and buckets of freezing cold rain. Have I mentioned that I'm ready for spring yet??

Sunny day

Double posting day! Woot!
We went to see the Sesame Street Live "Elmo's Green Thumb" performance today. We didn't tell R what we were up to until we were on our way. She was really curious as to why on Earth Elmo's thumb would be green, since he is in fact red.
We got there as hundreds of kids and their families were streaming in. I thought R would be one of the youngest, but not at all. We got all ready for the show--popcorn, cotton candy, the works. And wouldn't you know it--a friend from HS and college sat directly next to me. Austin is still a somewhat small town...
So anyway, R watched the beginning of the show, completely enthralled. By the second act, we couldn't keep her in her seat--she was ready to boogie!
On our way, we posed next to one of the 3500 merch stands. There was even next to the stage! Sheesh.

The headliners....

Munching away...

But totally concentrating...

Jamming out on Daddy's shoulders as we exit.


You don't really need to see, do you, Daddy?

The show was about planting a sunflower, without giving away too much of the plot. Wouldn't want to spoil it for some of you out there. And as we were on our way home, R says, "But Elmo's thumbs weren't really green!!!" So I guess that explanation was buried a little too deep in the dialogue for our girl. Oh well, it was a cute show and so fun to see her enjoy herself!

God Bless Texas

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's celebration! We most certainly did. It started with R's preschool party, during which she got copious amounts of candy and lots of little trinkets. None of which I provided for the kids (just cards). Ooops, times have changed! The next day, we dashed around town to deliver a few V-day goodies. Then we headed out to the ranch for a glorious afternoon and a (mainly) chill evening. It was a perfect, warm afternoon in Texas. Sunny, 80 degrees and just wonderful. Of course, Valentine's Day itself was a totally different story as we woke up to 40 degrees. But hey, enjoy it while you can. I actually have very clear memories of laying out on V Day as a preteen. So after a long walk with Papa Mike, we all changed into our suits and pretended it was springtime.
Reese actually got into the pool. Trust me, that water was FREEZING!!!


Lots of goofin' around....

The view from the pool. So relaxing....

Greta chilling out after a very long and hot walk. She was pretty exhausted. Later in the evening, she wandered into the garage and stepped on some of that sticky mousetrap paper. That was the only non-chill moment of the evening. That dog can screech like you wouldn't believe! But Papa cut it off of her and she is just fine. Lesson learned. Maybe.

Two buddies playing.

Happy, happy, happy!


Along with the amazing unseasonably warm delightful weather, we got to see a really beautiful sunset. I think the most amazing sunsets are in Texas, no contest. The sky is so big, the weather changes so frequently, and the lighting is amazing. But don't take my word for it. These pics are from my really basic digital camera, too--WOW!

Aaaaah. The perfect end to a great day.

Let them eat (cup)cake

We are deep in the midst of preparing for the big preschool Valentine's Day par-tay tomorrow. And by "we," I mean ME, naturally! Somehow, I ended up volunteering (actually, being volunteered by R's teachers) to bring the cupcakes. All the paper goods were spoken for! So I have been baking, frosting and attempting to form M&M hearts on the cupcakes this evening. So here are the cupcakes--you can tell they are hearts, yes? Yes?--plus the two extra ccs that don't fit in there, and R's cards. This does not include her backpack and lunchbox, plus other various accoutrements that she takes on a daily basis. I have already told D that I will be needing his assistance in hauling all of this tomorrow.

In the meantime, R has been lounging in front of a movie, licking the bowl....

Ah, the lazy days of youth....

And since she refuses to relinquish said bowl, Greta has been banished to her pin.

PLEASE SET ME FREE!!! :)


I am doing much, much better than I was last week. I didn't mean to be overly dramatic--it was all just really raw then. It's been amazing to find out how many of you have been through this (almost everyone!) and also has been really helpful to hear kind words and some stories. Thank you to everyone.
So here are a few pics from the past two or so weeks...
My parents returned from Hawaii and brought us leis. This one was hung on the door and ended up resembling a heart....and made the house smell amazing for a few days as well.

Reese got some gifts from Hawaii...a grass skirt...

And a swimsuit that was clearly one of those vacay impulse buys that you regret...my parents were telling us to get rid of it almost as soon as they gave it to her. I think we will do just that.

Reese really enjoyed Gigi's visit two weeks ago, and so did we. Gigi and my aunts helped us out so much, and it was really nice to have Gigi in town.

But at some point, a girl has had enough. No more paparazzi, please!


So we are prepared for the school festivities tomorrow. If I remember, I will post a pic of her all dolled up for V-Day. Hope everyone is having a great week!