The Bain Babble

Happy holidays!

2011-12-23T05:55:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been several months & so much has happened. Reese is 5 1/2 & in kindergarten, which she is loving! Weston turned 2 recently & is in an MDO program that is great. Life at the end of 2011 for us. Wishing everyone wonderful holidays & a fabulous 2012!

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Summer is here!

2011-06-01T17:41:00.001-07:00

And I'm still reeling from the end of school festivities...

Which included crazy mixed up day for R's last (!!!) day of preschool...kinder here we come!!!

Weston is always into something. Literally!

Reese is excited for summer y'all! Yeehaw!

And Weston is growing up to be such a little boy. And you'd never guess he's anemic now, would you?! That's the latest in our health woes saga....at least he's a sturdy thing!!

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Shiver me timbers!

2011-05-06T06:50:00.001-07:00

Ahoy mateys! "Pirate princess" Reese is ready to head to her class pirate party. Greta is bummed she can't go. Aaargh!

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Easter celebrations, part 1

2011-04-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Easter is going to be broken into two posts. Mainly because I don't have our Easter morning pics downloaded yet, but soon! I hope...

We had a FABULOUS Easter weekend!

It started off on Thursday, when the kids and I went to the ADPi house for an egg hunt. So fun!

We got in the spirit before we left...

We got to see our friends...

Quinn & Reese

The Kitchen kids (Kellen & Quinn) and Bain babes (Reese & Weston)...Nico had already left and we didn't get a pic with her....next year!

Reese met the Easter Bunny. And liked her. Weston did not care for the opportunity, thank you very much. I have the pinch marks to prove it....

Then, we went to the farm for our first night at the amazing expanded Party Barn! It is fabulous!!! We don't have any pictures of it, but next time we go, we'll make sure to pose all throughout it. :)

We did get lots of canoeing pics...

...which the dogs did not want to miss!

David, with kids and doodles in tow!

Christine, Michelle and David ham it up!

The next day, Gigi set up a wonderful egg hunt.

Weston picked up a few but was mainly there to charm his admirers.

The egg hunting crew!

Stayed tuned for more Easter pics....

Quick update

2011-03-14T10:24:00.001-07:00

Weston is much better, thanks to meds, treatments & plenty of rest. We were even able to run 2 errands this morning.

Reese & Weston hold on during the ride!

Feeling better....

Sweet big sis!

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Weston's week

2011-03-09T12:23:00.001-08:00

Here's how the week started:

At the doctors office after 24 hour vomit fest & 103 fever....

Two pediatricians visits on Monday, 2 xrays, 3 shots & a diagnosis of an ear infection & bronchial virus (like RSV).

Here's where we are on wednesday:

At Dell (after another long doctor visit), trying to stabilize breathing.

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Poor baby is so exhausted, he's sleeping through most of it. Hoping we will get some answers....

Did I mention Reese had the flu all last week?

When is cold & flu season over?!?!

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A boy & a dog

2011-02-24T09:41:00.001-08:00

Well, hello! It's been awhile, huh?
Before I start playing catch up, I wanted to post pics of the world's most tolerant dog...Weston lays full body hugs on Greta all day long, which she accepts as part of her canine duties...

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Happy birthday, dear Weston!

2010-12-31T21:07:00.000-08:00

Time has gotten away from me, and I have so much to cover for the months of November and December, but I absolutely wanted to post about our sweet boy's 1st birthday before the year ended.

He turned 1 on December 8th. We had a very small family gathering (us and one set of grands) the night of his b-day and a slightly larger family gathering later that weekend.

His first cake, made by our phenomenal housekeeper, Esmeralda.

Help blowing out the candles.

Lots of pics of cake eating! He loved it!

And he got some help opening presents and playing with his new toys as well.

Happy birthday, sweet boy! We love you so much!

Many blessings

2010-11-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

We've joined a wonderful church this year and have truly enjoyed attending and getting to know everyone there. It's the perfect fit for our family and has added so much to our lives, in so many ways.

So, last weekend, the kids and I were baptized. It was a really wonderful day. Beautiful service and ceremony, lots of dear family and friends attending. And one uninvited guest: the seriously aggressive stomach virus that the kids passed along to a lot of our group.

I wish we had more pictures; I am relying on the ones my FIL sent. I spent most of the day busy and also worrying about Reese since she wasn't well. Here's what we've got!

Thank you to everyone who travelled near and far to be with us. And my apologies for any illnesses brought home with you. We love you all!

Cool school party

2010-10-31T09:37:00.001-07:00

Super Reesie!

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Halloween fests, part 2

2010-10-29T06:43:00.001-07:00

R on her way to school. Fall festival today! So fun.

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Trick or treat, part 1

2010-10-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

I love this annual tradition! It is so much fun to meet up with dear friends and their kids at the sorority house and take our kids trick-or-treating from door-to-door. Let's face it, the actual trick-or-treating lasts about 10 minutes tops--they're getting pretty fast at this! But then they always have cookies and candy apples to decorate and lots of the girls come down in costume and are so cute with the kids.

We got there and immediately met up with Monique and Nico. The beautiful ballerina and the sassy Strawberry Shortcake say hello...
(all photos courtesy of Monique--thank you!!!!)

Weston tolerated his cow costume...

Nice cow! love the patting!

The kids are ready to go!

One of the girls brought a cat dressed up as a clown downstairs. Am I remembering incorrectly that we weren't allowed to have pets? Anyway--generally kind of an odd sitch--but awesome when Nico started carrying her around!

Happy Halloween! The holiday weekend begins....

Gymnastic super heroines!

2010-10-28T11:48:00.001-07:00

Mommy misunderstood instructions & brought R to class in character. Oops! Oh well. Fun times!

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Snippy milestone

2010-10-27T18:34:00.001-07:00

First haircut for our boy! Like the "stylist" said, it's a "little man cut"! He looks so grown up. Sigh.

As you can tell, help was needed....he loved the whole experience. Probably because there was a train table, a Lego table, lots of big boys to marvel at & a car to sit in during the cut!

And the finished product....a freshly groomed little boy!

He looks so adorable but it's making me a little sad that he's starting to look more little boy than baby boy. Again: sigh.

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Halloween jammies

2010-10-27T06:17:00.001-07:00

Getting ready for the week's festivities!

Can you tell W's jams are R's hand me downs? Do they look too girly for my sturdy little guy?

Thank goodness for blogpress & my iPhone. I don't even know where the regular camera is these days....

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Picture day!

2010-10-14T06:26:00.001-07:00

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Them woofing vultures

2010-09-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

We've been invaded by vultures lately.

They're not very subtle in stalking their prey. Which is usually waffles, scrambled eggs or pasta.

Here's one of them, moving in.

At least we aren't overly worried.

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Get up stand up

2010-09-10T13:43:00.001-07:00

Guess who figured out that standing up in the crib is so much fun?

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Hard, easy

2010-09-08T18:23:00.001-07:00

Weston is 9 months old today & so I am doing some navel gazing & contemplating the past several months. My how things change!

Some things are much easier. Being able to feed everyone basically the same foods, giving the kids a bath together, watching them play & genuinely enjoy each other. Setting Weston down & knowing he can sit & crawl on his own. Asking Reese to help, having her entertain her brother (a task where she excels).

Some things are hard. Weston has 8 teeth. Sharp little razors embedded in his mouth, making nursing almost impossible (I'd love any advice on weening an older baby; do I start in with the yogurt/whole milk mix or do I have to push formula, which he hates? I'm pumping again but don't want to do this pump-bottle process for 3 months even though it's so much fun). Putting him down & realizing he's shot halfway across the room and is trying to shove fistfuls of dog food in his piehole. Still not sleeping through the night. Dealing with Reese & her outbursts, which I know mean she feels like she isn't getting enough attention.

It's such a balance. A constant wave of shifts & changes. Harder & easier all at once.

And then I look over & they're sitting together on the floor, belly laughing at the Backyardigans, and I think: when did that happen?

How & when did they get so big? And of course it takes my breath away, makes me laugh all at once....and I feel the very slightest twinge of sadness as they pass into the next phase together....

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Out of control!

2010-09-08T11:02:00.001-07:00

Reese jamming out to Under the Sea in the car yesterday.

We were rushing through the pouring rain yesterday, trying to get to the car. I was barking orders to run, run, we had to hurry & get inside. Meanwhile, Reese's rainboots kept slipping off & she was generally having trouble rushing. When she got in the car, she announced, "Well, you were a little bit out of control.". Oops! Patience, Mama....

In the meantime, here's what little Weston has been up to lately:

He is mobile! Crawling, cruising, contemplating steps. It's exhausting! And hard to keep up with him! You'd never know he was sick, he's so busy...

Crappy croup

2010-09-06T05:40:00.001-07:00

Whew. What a crazy holiday weekend! The kids were sick at the end of last week, but Weston got especially ill overnight on Friday and we ended up at the ER for his severe croup. The stridor was freaking me out, he was gasping so hard. They gave us some medicine that really helped him, thank goodness.
Throughout our 4 hours there, he was amazingly good despite a lack of sleep & being so sick.

In fact, the hospital staff even commented that he was one of the happiest, sweetest kids they'd seen. Guess most patients aren't in the best of spirits (understandably)!

He's definitely on the mend & we've had 2 decent nights since then. Big thanks to my aunts Kathy, Becky & Janise for all of the help (David was out of town).

Goodbye croup! Don't come back!

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MDO, day 1

2010-09-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Guess who started Mother's Day Out today? (Hint: it's not me)

We weren't planning to start him until next year, but he was accepted into a program about which I have heard numerous rave reviews. To hold our spot, we had to enroll...so Weston will be going once or twice a week for a couple of hours at a time (luckily they are very flexible on scheduling the infants). He is with 4 other babies and did great today, by all accounts! What a sweet boy!

Flip out!

2010-08-31T13:55:00.001-07:00

Reese & sweet bud Ainsley after their first gymnastics class together last week! Needless to say, R loves it & cannot wait to go back! Yea for fun activities with great friends!

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Pre-K girl!

2010-08-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Back to school has been a breeze for R this year! She returned to the same program she was in last year, which we all love! She knows the routine there and almost all of the kids in her class returned, which is fun for her.

First day of school? No problem!

She's also taking dance and gymnastics lessons this year. I am actually shuttling two other friends from school over to dance lessons, which is a blast for the girls. They are so cute getting ready and chattering in the car on the way over. Pics will come, someday!

Summer recap

2010-08-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's a blog back-log! Or a smorgasbord of blogging! Or a mishmash of procrastination! Whatever, I'm finally getting around to recounting our summer adventures. Let me tell you, we have had a fine time this summer. Perhaps a little crazed and overscheduled, but fun times all around. Let's relive it, shall we?

First trip was to the Bahamas.

We had a jolly good time, as evidenced by our little Weston man.

Lots of water play: Reesie on a slide...

...and Weston in a makeshift tub.

We loved every minute of that trip!

The view from our room!!! Um, when are we going back??!!

Reese turned 4 this summer!

We started the celebration with a Disneyland/California trip! Thanks, Ma Pam and Papa!

Sunny, warm...er, rainy, cold California (which was a lovely break from TX heat)

At DL, R met royalty:

And we rode SO many rides! Including her fave, It's a Small World...

Disney was a blast! Can't wait to go back!

And I made everyone get in a planned family pic right at Weston's naptime, which of course went oh-so-well. I mainly succeeded at making everyone crazed, except for W, who was disgusted and refused to play along.

The only halfway decent one...

Thanks, Ma Pam and Papa! We had so much fun!

Then, we got home and had R's ballerina birthday party.
The birthday girl, taking it all in.

Lots of sweet friends came for the party, which included a dance lesson, a pinata, playing and cake. So much fun!

On our final trip, we visited David's folks in Cashiers, NC!
While we were there, we got to visit with David's aunt & uncle and his cousin & his family. I'd say that Reese and her second cousin Melinda got together quite well! Like peas in a pod, running around shrieking, dressing up and playing princess. they were so cute!

We hiked up to a zip line one afternoon for a quick zip through the woods and also climbing on the rock wall.

Such a fun time! We also spent time at the ranch and farm. Here are a couple of pics of R & daddy SUPing and Weston contemplating olive growth....

What a wonderful busy summer we had! Reese went to five different camps and so now I have some good ideas on future summer activities. She loved them all! We had wonderful trips and kept super busy, to the point where I honestly feel like I am still catching my breath....but all worth it for the great memories!

Teaser....

2010-08-03T21:17:00.001-07:00

A few pics of the little guy!

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I am way overdue on many many posts. I know this & will get to it (them). In the meantime, these will have to tide you over....

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Two-fer toofers, part 2 of ?

2010-07-10T13:13:00.001-07:00

Weston must be finding some great BOGO deal on chompers somehow. Because he's getting another two in at the same time.

Top right in the pic. Quite a changing smile.
I'm blogging from the parked rental car at Fashion Island in Newport beach. A much longer post about our day yesterday at Disneyland will be coming soon...

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Going fourth

2010-07-04T13:26:00.001-07:00

We have had a wonderful, exhausting, fun-filled holiday weekend thus far. And it's not over yet!

Leaving the farm, post Round Top parade & swimming at the farm:

My lap, jam-packed with racked out 'doodles.

Weston is also asleep. It's a nice quiet drive back in preparation for lake time & fireworks viewing in honor of Dad's birthday, in addition to that of the USA!

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Oink oink

2010-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Who's the slumber party bed hog at the farm this weekend? (Hint: that's Reese in the center, arms sprawled open, and her cousin Mary Blake, pushed to the edge)

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Don't be fooled....

2010-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

By his cute face,

His precious baby physique,

His excellent nutritional habits (kid will chow on anything & everything, raw broccoli included).

The kid is seemingly perfect. But, he's in the middle of a long-running sleep strike. I'm teetering on the edge and realizing just how fragile my sanity truly is. He was sleeping 8-9 hours a few months ago (swaddled). A few sicknesses & the doctors orders to drop the swaddle, and here we are waking up every 1-2 hours every freaking night. I need coffee and sleep, not in that order.

Good thing they're both so stinking cute & that Reese is a great sleeper....

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(Anything but) blah-hamas

2010-06-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

I just asked Reese: "What's your very favorite place is the entire world?"
Without missing a beat, the answer was: "The Blah-hamas!"

We spent 5 days at the amazing Atlantis resort last week.

Sigh.

We did so much!
Water slide fun galore!

But R's favorite part of the trip, she told us, was playing with Tatum and Tinsley.

Everyone got in on the water fun!

Reese and Tatum, heading to the pool.

Parents night out! We ate at the amazing GrayCliff Restaurant. So delicious! Such an interesting place!

Crazy signs there in the caribe...

Anne and David took the girls to swim with the dolphins--they had a blast!

Cord took some wonderful family shots of us on the beach the last night we were there.

And we got a few with our much-loved sitter, Krista. She was an enormous help throughout the trip!

The cuties got to go see Taylor Swift at our resort....

Mommy was happy to escort!

Waiting for the concert to begin...

Well, hello Miss Swift! Reese came home and told daddy, "Taylor Swift is a REAL princess!"

What a perfect end to a fabulous trip!

Memorable Memorial Day

2010-06-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

This year, we went to Utah for memorial Day weekend. Wow, they really celebrate Memorial Day up there--in a very different way than we do, too. In Utah, the weekend is spent visiting all of your relatives and ancestors graves and placing flowers on them. And not just military men and women killed in combat (although those most definitely), but any and all family members. Families pack up their cars and head to the breathtakingly beautiful cemeteries for an afternoon picnic. Everyone hangs out and plays games. It's really something else. And we ran into relatives, both close and more distant, at both of the cemeteries we visited. The following pictures are from the Logan, Utah cemetery where my grandmother was recently buried.

Reese placed a rose on Granny's grave.

My aunts Kathy, Lissa and Becky and my mom brought pictures, jewelry, dolls, handiwork and other mementos to remember Granny.

Both of my kids visited their great-grandmother's spot. We hung out there, sang songs, and then strolled around the grounds. it was lovely, despite what it looks like with these pictures--the kids really had a nice time.

This is the only one of the two of them where Weston doesn't look completely terrified.

Papa and Weston explore.

Reese poses with me by Granny's grave. I'm holding a quilted block she made for me.

Such a beautiful spot.

Then, we also ventured to the The Bluebird for lunch.

Reese enjoyed a milkshake at their cool ice cream bar.

And Lissa ignited a new obsession for Reese: Cousin It and The Addams Family. Girl can't stop talking about the show!

Two-fer toofers!

2010-06-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

Big boy is busting out his pearly whites! We noticed his first tooth poking through on Daddy's b-day, May 16th. The next day I realized that Weston was in fact cutting two teeth at once. Ouch!

But apparently, this is the general reaction to teething at our house:

What a boy!

There they are, both coming in at once!

He wasn't exactly cooperating by posing with his teeth showing, but these turned out so cute I couldn't not post them!

Most of the up close pics show various stages of Weston trying to eat the camera. For example:

But you also get a clear idea of the toofers! And the changes in nursing that it brings--yikes!
He's growing up so quickly...

Fancy friends!

2010-06-02T12:56:00.001-07:00

Running a little behind on the blog...yet again...

We had our sweet friends Ainsley and Miss Shannon over to play last week. It had been way too long! And the girls had a blast running around in tutus and dress up shoes.

How cute are they?!

Come play anytime ladies!

Spring 2010 wrap-up

2010-05-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

Posting some randoms because it's the last full week of Reese's school (typed as I am gasping and grabbing onto the nearest chair for support). We have some fun stuff planned--trips, camps, lessons, etc. But it's going to be a challenge to entertain two kiddos this summer!

I forgot to post these pics of the finished Roxanne Swentzel piece. We saw this last fall as she was sculpting it and arranging it on her studio floor. Here's the finished product, on the wall at the Santa Fe convention center. Amazing!
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Here are a couple of images for scale (which makes it even more impressive):

A couple of weeks ago, I walked into the living room, and noticed that the Greta was lying on the couch (naughty) in the only sunbeam coming into the room. It was like she was the "chosen dog" or something.

I can't forget Roscoe. He wasn't highlighted quite as interestingly. :)

My cousin Tessa graduated from the McCombs School last weekend. None of the family pics turned out great on my cam, but here's one. We are so proud of her!

The graduate received roses from a special admirer. :)

Then we celebrated at Green Pastures afterward. Reese and Dylan played like crazy--you can tell she's been running around by looking at her cheeks. She's also hanging on Dylan's every last word. She adores him and announced, "I have 4 cousins! Georgia, Bain, Mary Blake and Dylan!" Here she is, waiting for him to speak...

Then we went out to the farm for some fun in the sun with the fam! Bain and Reese rafting...

Weston loved watching everyone swimming--I know he cannot wait to join in soon!

Reese and Mary Blake, two peas in a pod.

Big smiles!

Two cuties!

Bain belly flops!

The kids and Blake splashing around.

Four dogs at the farm (Greta, Roscoe, Bingo and Sam)! They were all following D around. Check out Greta's acceleration to fetch--WOW! She's fast. And a fetching maniac.

So, I've been passively concerned about W's lack of interest in rolling. He's rolled back-->front a few times but never the other way around (weird because it's supposed to be easier). Tummy time has become all about scooting and inching forward and around, not rolling. So, of course I put him down and he immediately went into a tripod on his own. Who needs rolling when you can tripod-sit and scoot around? He will show me!!

Checking out his stuff.

So proud of himself!

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Toes have also been recently located, and they are fabulous.

Jumpin' away in the jumparoo!

He'll do what he wants to on his own time, I guess. Sitting is coming soon!

Whew!

2010-05-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile! Let's get back to blogging.

So, Weston loves avocados. Which is a very good thing. He dove right into them--couldn't get them in his mouth fast enough!

Yummy!

Sister mashes them up...

Loves us some avocados! Luckily it's good for the skin too.

Last week we went to Santa Fe for a few nights.
Yea, we LOVE Santa Fe!!!!

That's some serious happy. We got home in time to cheer Daddy on in his SUP race (he's in striped shorts).

And Reese won a 2010 American Stratocaster guitar in the raffle--thanks Ma Pam and Papa!!

Today was R's class's Mom's Day party. It was a blast! They sang us songs.

Looks like the girls are gonna carry this one.... :)

It was a great time. I love my R-girl so much and it's amazing to be able to celebrate that! How lucky am I!

Calm after the storm

2010-04-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

Y'all. I'm exhausted. We had a whirlwind of a weekend. The Rollingwood 5K was Friday night (Laila and I teamed up on race course logistics again--which went very smoothly and was a lot of fun), and I spent all day Saturday prepping the silent auction for the Seton Board gala Saturday night. That was a lot of work, but well worth it. I have no pictures of either of these things at the moment though...
I do have documentation of David being a kick-a daddy. He is way more brave than I am--he had both kids solo all day Saturday and loaded them up and took them out to a festival at the Hill Country Galleria. There were bounce houses, dunking stations, face painting, cotton candy and kettle corn. Oh, and a certain princess that Reese was just slightly jazzed to meet. Seriously! I got this pic as a text while I was working at the Polo Fields and was momentarily stunned. ("How did he do that?")

I guess I need to try getting out with them a little bit more! I get so overwhelmed thinking about corralling them both, and what if one has to nurse and the other use the potty? Oy vey! It seriously makes me all twitchy just thinking about it. But apparently if you don't overthink it, you can be a very cool, awesome parent. Not nervous nelly Shelly.

David got Weston dressed, ready to score a gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal.

I'm taking it SUPER easy for the next few days. I am still wiped. But I did decide we need to start switching it up a little for Mr. W. First time in the Bumbo!

Which went well. And apparently the hands are quite delicious, thank you very much!

And that's all, folks! I'll check back in this week but I am not anticipating having a whole lot to say. :)

Happy IWotYC

2010-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

What did you do last week to celebrate the International Week of the Young Child? What, didn't you know? Honestly, I think R's preschool made this one up. Anyway.

So, Monday was supposed to be "hat day." Check out our precious girl! We got into it. But we got to school and she was the only one wearing a hat. Poor thing--"Mommy? Why aren't the other kids wearing hats?" Bummer. :(

Then, Tuesday was "crazy clothes day," and a few more participated. At least, I think they were participating...possibly unintentionally...R picked out her ensemble of polka dot pants, unicorn shirt and leopard sweater. Nice!

The grand finale was a mini-carnival at Valley View. All the CDC programs joined up for pony rides, train rides, face painting, bounce houses, etc. A great time was had by all!

Reese and her friend Iman.

A new playground to explore! Daddy joins in on the fun.

With Ms. Esparza and Evelyn.

The class was so cute in their hand-painted tees.

Why was I the only parent conned into riding the train? Oh well, it was fun. And really bumpy.

Happy belated International Week of the Young Child, BTW!!!!

Mixed results

2010-04-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

We started Weston on solids last week. We're easing into these strange new foods. Sometimes he likes them, most times he doesn't. Pics from the first go at rice cereal:

Please, no pictures. I'm trying to consume this strange plastic sheet around my neck and would like to do so in privacy.

Getting a bite from Daddy.

OMG, it's poison! Stop!

Wait. It's not so bad after all.

Big sis helps out.

So he ate the whole thing that time. But hasn't really since. And thought pears were most offensive. So, we'll see....

Rainy race

2010-04-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

I love that the Capital 10K has become a family tradition! And apparently, it is a "rain or shine" tradition at that. We braved the less than ideal conditions to complete the 10K route. Okay, it was actually really nice to have cool, misty weather and not so bad that the rain knocked some of the pollen out of the trees. Seems like we're stuck with this rain for the foreseeable future, so may as well be positive about it right?

The Bains before the big race.

Gigi, Georgia and me on our way (G's first Cap 10K)!

Walking along...

She did it!

Such a fun tradition!

Fancy preview

2010-04-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

Reese picked up her costume for her dance recital yesterday, and suffice it to say, it is FANCY. Big-time fancy, with a stiff tutu skirt and a big bow in front. And apparently, such fanciness calls for very somber posing. Yes, indeed.

We are looking forward to the performance in late May!

Pool practice

2010-04-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Summer's around the corner! So exciting! Also, if you are in the ATX and have any good leads on camps, please let me know...bonus points if your kids want to sign up for one with Reese! We have 2 dance camps lined up, and I am working on getting one w/ her current preschool teacher, but we are open to more options--activity, sports, VBS, whatnot...

Because, although this is fun:

(Brrrrrrr, still so chilly!)

We want to mix things up a bit too, ya know? Send me your camps/classes and let's make some fun plans! :)

50-50-50

2010-04-08T10:45:00.001-07:00

W's four-month check-up was today. He is right where he is supposed to be size-wise:

Weight: 15 lbs., 2 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 25 inches (50th percentile)
Can't remember head circumference (not so interesting anyway), but also 50th percentile.

Healthy boy! Not too shabby for a guy who started in the tenth percentile!

He is such a happy boy. And getting so big! We tried out R's old exersaucer today and I'd say it was a HIT! But you don't have to take my word for it, judge for yourself:

I love the pics with his dangling legs (they don't quite reach) and his proud expression ("I'm so BIG!"). But the sweetest moment happened tonight. I didn't take a picture because it was one of those in-the-moment experiences. Reese played with Weston in the exersaucer for a good 30 minutes, and at one point, he looked at her and was just beaming! That boy loves his amazing big sis and was absolutely thrilled that she was playing with him. My heart just swelled! And I can't tell you how wonderful it is for them to be able to "play" on some level now, too--makes it so much more fun for Reesie. :)

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Easter weekend! Reese, Weston and I went to a fabulous egg hunt yesterday at our friends' ranch. I did not get any pics because I was watching Miss R and juggling the baby, but you'll just have to take my word for it--a fun time all around on a perfect spring day!
This morning the weather did not cooperate as much, and the pics I took of R's egg hunt weren't great. But we went out to the ranch after church and the weather was a bit better, so we got some good bluebonnet pics.

Adorable siblings! Of course, Weston won't look where you want him to yet. And the lure of the tasty hand is too much to resist.

My gorgeous girl!

My beautiful boy!

And a costume change, natch.

We got a few group pics that turned out fairly decent (this one, minus awkward posing, oddly red hair and the aforementioned hand snacking).

And got to have some great QT with my folks, as well as a delicious Easter meal.

Happy Easter, everybody!

Hopping to it

2010-03-30T19:02:00.001-07:00

What a fun early Easter celebration we had this past weekend! We met up with everyone at UHF for a lovely spring weekend...all photos courtesy of my fabulous SIL Christine! Thank you!

Mary Blake, Bain and Reese decorated an Easter cake. Let's just say the icing was, um, sufficient. And then some. Look how proud they are of it! So cute!

Then there was an egg hunt eggs-travaganza with the cousins--Gigi went all out with dozens and dozens of eggs hidden all over the place. The girls before the excitement begins. You can tell they are working on their strategies of attack!

And she's off!

Georgia helps Reese "find" the golden egg....

Impressive haul!

So many eggs. Some were even pink!

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Next year, Weston, you will partake in the fun, I promise!

The happy egg hunters!

(Some of) the guys (minus Bain & Uncle Victor)

So much fun!

Better late than never!

2010-03-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a mishmash of pics from the past few weeks!

Over Spring Break, we went to Houston for the Buffalo Bayou Regatta, in which David and Jason raced. And came in top 10 in their division! We had a great time watching them race and cheering them on. We spent some wonderful time with Gigi, Poppy and Christine and Blake's family, as well as some family friends. We also visited the Aquarium (awesome).

Here is the start of the race. Apparently, they don't usually want you to paddle on the bayou and access is limited...

Half of Team B&W

The finish was downtown, by the Wortham.

Reese riding the Ferris Wheel at the Aquarium--beautiful view of Houston!

Me and the kiddos, trekking around the Aquarium (we really did see fish, just no pics to prove it).

Reese got her face painted with a My Little Pony.

Then we went to the ranch for a few days. One day, we went over to some new property my parents have purchased--there are a few amazing swimming holes! We visited the largest one, Emerald Hole, with aunt Janise, the Priours and the Mahagans. So much fun having a picnic, hiking around and fishing! And we can't wait until it's warm enough to swim--I see lots of lazy summer afternoons out here.

Series of baby smiles! Weston is the happiest 3 1/2 month old of all time, I swear. We spend large parts of the day saying hi and smiling at each other. It's so wonderful!

Reese performs plays, dances and songs all the time for us! Here she is at Ma Pam and Papa's, giving us another fabulous production....

More smiles from the boy!

The whole fam damily! For those who think R is my mini-me (which she *usually* is!), look at this pic: spitting image of David, no?

Whoa, Blogger is sloooow for me lately. This is all for now--will post more soon!

Quick pix

2010-03-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Days are practically whizzing by these days!
Last weekend, we went to Emmylou's super fun bday. The rain held off long enough for R to ride several rides. Then we celebrated and had the cutest cupcakes known to man. I didn't get a picture (because it would seriously shame my mommy skillz) but maybe there's one on Becca's blog. The fest was held at Kiddie ACres, a great spot to take the wee ones in N. Austin.
Reese picked the pink car (shocking!!!) to "drive"...

She was thrilled to be at the top of the ferris wheel: "Mommy, we are REALLY REALLY high!"

And drove the boat. Fun times and happy 4th, Emmylou!

Then, there's this guy. He's super happy 99% of the time, even when he's sick--he's been so congested, with a rattling chest and runny nose. Poor guy. You wouldn't know from these pics from last night though. Little trooper!

I'm curious if any of you have had a super congested infant (W is 3 mos old now). If so, what worked for you? We are taking him into steam showers, running the humidifier and using saline/suction on his nose. What else?

Frou frou doodles

2010-03-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

The pooches were pampered today with a little grooming.

Greta's fancy in her highlighter-pink bows....and wow, how her fur poofs when the pros do it!

Roscoe says, "See, I really do have eyes and nose!"

These two are a constant blur of orange and black, so pics of both are tough. David was a little embarrassed to walk out into the parking lot with such fussy pets. He literally ran into oncoming traffic to get to the car! I guess they aren't the most manly pets ever!

But they sure are sweet animals, and really amazing with both of the kids. Roscoe is not one bit fazed by a crazy preschooler or a crying baby. Greta is so amazingly protective of Weston--she always puts herself between West and the puppy and has even gone so far as to put her head on top of West's so Roscoe wouldn't sniff him. I seriously doubt Roscoe would hurt him, he's just kind of goofy and awkward still--he might trip on him or something.
Anyway, this is kind of a boring post. Sorry! Blogging is just a fun way for me to pass nursing time these days! :)

Sometimes wonderful, sometimes wacky weather

2010-02-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely family outing at Zilker today. Two parents, two kids, two dogs. Perfect 60 degree, sunny weather. A game of "Duck Duck Goose," although apparently "goose" is replaced by "pink mermaid"--who knew? Lots of fetching for Greta. Roscoe preferred to lounge with me and Weston. All in all, a perfect outing thoroughly enjoyed by all....

David was tapped "pink mermaid" several times...and Roscoe did join in the fun some of the time!

Our spot on the blanket...

...and we learned that a small blanket quickly fills up with our crew nowadays!

So. Is there really a 50 percent chance of snow again tomorrow??? Say it ain't so!

Cuties (the pups, too)!

2010-02-27T20:47:00.001-08:00

Some friends stopped by to meet Roscoe today--he was very glad to make their acquaintance--especially since they were 4 darling neighborhood girls who were happy to play with him (and Greta)!

Clara, Reese, Avery (w/ Roscoe) and Grace (sister Ellie took the photo)

Clara, Ellie & Grace's pup, Fish, joins the fun. The girls tried to get Greta in but she was too ball-obsessed to pose.

Reese was very inspired to get on her scooter after the girls left today, since most of them rode over that way. She asked David to help her practice and as soon as they got outside, she said, "We need to catch up to the girls!!!" I'd venture to say she was much more excited than Roscoe. :)

Insanity, confirmed

2010-02-26T10:58:00.001-08:00

"Your Honor, the defendant pleads not guilty by reason of sleep-deprived insanity."

But actually....

From definition.com:
"Insanity is a grave, often prolonged condition that prevents a person from being held legally responsible for his or her actions: was judged not guilty for reasons of insanity.
Lunacy often denotes derangement relieved intermittently by periods of clear-mindedness: yelled wildly in a moment of utter lunacy."

I'm afraid lunacy is more accurate in our case. The "yelling wildly" example really hits a little too close to home.

We must hate sleep and rest, and our general well-being. Really, that's the only answer. Because yesterday? We got a new puppy. A 12-wk-old mini (? GvG is 13 pounds at 16 months; he's already 9.5 at 3 months--so the question remains: is he really a mini? Only time will tell...) black Labradoodle named Roscoe. He came crate-trained (ish) and potty trained (so far). He has been deemed the "little brother" and Greta's now "big sister." Guess who came up with that. Hint: not Greta! She's having some adjustment moments, for lack of a better description.

Dueling 'doodles!

Roscoe taking it all in.

Nice to meet you, how do you do?

Roscoe thought highly of his new home until we almost immediately threw him in the bath.

Seriously, humans, why?!

Reesie likes him. And for the record, she does have other nighties.

He's a ball of fur.

Sometimes it's hard to see his face. Also, we're kind of worried we might step on him in the dark at some point--he's such a little ball of black.

Although that "little" part may be changing...
So here we are, with Weston finally sleeping 5 hours stretches the first part of the night. And we go and throw a new pup into the mix. We all slept pretty well until about 3, then Weston was up, the dogs both started whining, and general mayhem (or what seemed like mayhem at 3 a.m.) ensued. It really wasn't all that bad though. And Roscoe seems to have adapted pretty well--he doesn't seem at all stressed and Greta is mainly happy about having a new friend/sibling to play with. And I keep telling myself that someday, someday very soon, we will all be sleeping soundly through the night again....

Smiles & snow

2010-02-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Who's a happy baby?

Seriously--could he be any sweeter? This is when he's not feeling well. He went to see the pediatrician yesterday for congestion he's been experiencing for awhile (that moved into his chest and caused a cough) and hoarseness, and the doctor was amazed at what a sweet disposition Weston has. He didn't cry and sat there smiling for the exam, even though he felt bad. What a boy! He was certainly smiley for us this morning...

Okay, that's enough with the pictures, Mom.

We got a little bit of snow today! There were actually some beautiful snow storms throughout the day, with huge wet snowflakes. It was exciting to see, but maybe not as exciting in a picture! This is as it was beginning...

And then we got a trace of accumulation. Enough to call off school for the rest of today and tomorrow morning. Now it's melting but it's supposed to freeze tonight, so it will be icy again.

We got home and I asked R to put on her jacket so we could get some pictures of her playing in the snow. She told me she didn't want to and that I could "just take some pictures out the window." So maybe the snow isn't as thrilling to some of us as it is to others! The question is: how much more winter weather will we get? It's been a particularly cold winter...the snow is pretty but I'm really ready for spring!

My heart belongs to...

2010-02-14T10:57:00.001-08:00

...these two!

Showing off those pearly whites...

2010-02-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

Reese has been such a huge help to me lately. She runs all over the house doing small chores and getting things for me or Weston. She & Greta are best buds, too--they are both so sweet to each other.

Of course, R also takes it upon herself to do a few unrequested "chores"....like pulling the barstool into the pantry to help herself to some powdered donuts!

And on that note...R had her first dentist visit (I know, I know, super late) last week. If you're in ATX and need a pediatric dentist, you really ought to check out Dr. Collins at Smiles of Austin. I cannot recommend this office highly enough--what a great first dental experience! Wish there had been a place like this when I was young!

Reese opted to sit on Daddy's lap for her first cleaning.

The water squirter was a little odd. It still is, Reese, it still is....

But she did great, they were all so kind and totally in tune with the needs of a 3-year-old patient. And she got accolades on her oral hygiene thus far (I'll go ahead and accept those, thank you very much).

The office was really great: kids' door, extremely cute "theme" room (we were in the fire truck room, for the record), huge toy area/toy vending machines, nicest staff ever...the list goes on....A+ dental experience!

And in other news...

Weston is giving me some good grins and giving Reese some HUGE smiles now!

Even though she wasn't feeling great yesterday (left school early) and today (stayed home entirely), R has made a great recovery and is doing much better. She was having her usual respiratory problems, along with a cough and runny nose. But now, much better! We had a nice day at home, relaxing, doing some laid back crafts and napping. And here she is a few minute ago in the bath...where she was "burping" her "labradoodles" (which were actually Barbies). What an imagination!

Going back to what I said at the beginning: Reese gave herself a bath (all I had to do was pour the water and shampoo her hair), drained it, got herself out and dried off and changed into her nightie, all on her own. What a huge help that was! Sometimes it shocks me how grown up she is, all the things she can do herself and all of the things we're doing with her now. And how she handles everything--she did better at the dentist than I do! I'm always so proud of her. :)

Aw shucks!

2010-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all of the sweet comments on the pictures--you should have seen me after that photo session, y'all. Weston pooped on me 3 times, peed on me twice and spit up on me thrice. Seriously, all I was missing was snot. I'm never sure how the session goes with Christi but she always busts out the most amazing pictures--she's really talented.

So...we went to the doc today for a the 2 month check up (happy 2 months, little guy!)...and Weston is:
11 lbs, 11 oz (50%)
22 1/2 inches (30%0
head is 39.5 cm (40%)

That's obviously up from the last visit, but his % all went up as well--BIG BOY! He's doing really well--still congested but everything else is okay.

Will post pics soon....

Preview of coming attractions...

2010-02-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

While we are waiting on someone to come out and fix our computer that has decided to randomly stop connecting to the internet (I've been using my work laptop & don't want to download tons of personal pics on it), I wanted to share a link from our portrait session a couple of weeks ago. The pics of the kiddos turned out so incredibly well, we are just thrilled! We love our photographer, Christi from Candid Chic! Enjoy...

Follow this link (may have to copy & paste into your browser: http://ccosper.photobiz.com/viewing/?slideshowID=9057) to see a slideshow of images. Turn music on for added fun :)
Password: weston

Wow!

2010-02-03T05:23:00.000-08:00

When did she get to be so big and grown up?! I can't believe it's time for my baby girl to learn to ride a bike!

Snack attack!

2010-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that Weston is a good eater?
Yes, indeed. Such a healthy boy!

Ahem.

Reese loves to "snack." Matter of fact, we call some meals "snacks" to make them more appealing. Here's today's after-school snack (even though she had just had post-nap snack at school). When we got home and she was finished with her smoothie, she asked us for a snack. I'm not kidding.

Snacking with flair!

My good little eater and my precious snacker....

(Aren't they just the cutest?!)

The many faces of Weston

2010-02-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Can't resist sharing--he's such a cute little guy! And getting so expressive these days.... as you can see....

Weston continues to be a great little cuddler, warm and cozy. This is a little difficult during the 2 and 3 a.m. feedings....or really anytime these days, since we're pretty exhausted. David and I joke that he's like a horse tranquilizer--you put him on your chest and BOOM! You're out.

I had both kids on my own this past weekend. Big thanks to my aunts for helping me out. The nights were tiring and the days a little harder but we all managed just fine.
Weston is changing so much every day--so attentive and alert, so expressive. We are getting a few small smiles here and there--but I'm ready for the big gummy grins and belly laughs--they can't be far away. And those will be the ultimate reward for the continuous lack of sleep!

Sleepy days, restless nights

2010-01-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

Coming up for air and to post a few recent pics. We're doing well, but I have to be honest: days are really blurring together right now. Some nights we get decent-ish sleep, some nights we don't. But overall, we're doing well and adjusting to life as a family of four.

Reese is teaching Weston to chill out and watch some TV....

Reese had pajama day at school--she was excited to wear her ballerina jammies out and about (pink slippers too)!

Reese is such a sweet and loving big sis. There have been no "when is he going back in your tummy" comments (yet) and she's always wanting to love on him.

Which Weston seems to appreciate. We're enjoying all of his new expressions and the awareness that comes with more awake time.

Now we are going to have to work on fine-tuning our nighttime schedule....

Baby stats!

2010-01-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

We had Weston's 1 month check up today and our big boy weighs a whopping 9 lbs., 6 oz.! He's also grown to 20 3/4 inches! Our pediatrician was visibly tickled by how much he has grown and how quickly it's happened! He told us that in his first month, Weston has gained about as much as you'd expect in 3 months...wow!!! Obviously, he's an enthusiastic eater!

Littlest Longhorns

2010-01-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Alas, it wasn't meant to be...but we were certainly in the proper spirit for the championship game. What a heartbreaker it was!

Weston had his horns up, with a little help...

Mid-burp

Mid-yawn

Smiling in his sleep...and yes, it is a sweat suit!

Big sis, lil bro

Reese made a Longhorn collage at school and wanted to hang it on her bro's bassinet...

Cutest Horn fans! Hook 'em!

Yelling goat

2010-01-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

We sometimes refer to Weston as "the goat" because of the little bleating noises he makes. Here's the opposite: a goat that yells like a man! Just try not to laugh....I dare you...

Taking the plunge

2010-01-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

So, on January 1, we headed over to the Shiflets house for their annual polar bear plunge into their unheated pool. David, Cord and one other guy (not sure of his name?) were the brave souls who jumped in the freezing water...and got back out into the freezing air. It's been really cold here, folks! Anyway, I am not cleared for swimming yet post-delivery, or else I totally would(n't) have done it....

The few, the brave, lined up before the jump.

David jumped in!

And he quickly exited...

to find a dry towel.

Cord & his friend also cannon-balled

And also scurried out quickly.

And they all deserved the post-plunge hot tub...

Thanks, Shiflets! Such a fun tradition!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

I realize I am waaaay behind on getting up a Christmas post, but rather than start the new year by looking back to '09 (which was a pretty good year, all in all, for us), I'd start with a new post about the new year....or at least NYE! Also, we're nowhere near finished downloading Christmas '09, so this will suffice for now! Thanks to Monique & Erin for the pics....

What else is waaay overdue? Updated Weston pics, of course! Here he is, sleeping away....

Reese and Kellen were enthusiastic about the party favors.

R and Quinn played together. R also gave Q tips on perfecting the "sorority girl photo pose"....I can almost hear it now: "PHOTOTECH!!!!!!!" (Wonder if that place even still exists?)

More sleeping baby pics: Monique holds Baby W....

Neal holds Baby W...

And a rare pic of me, this time with M and W...

Thanks to the Kitchens for having us over, and happy new year to all! xoxo

Family tree

2009-12-21T13:23:00.001-08:00

By the way (and in case you haven't seen these on FB)--how cute are my cousins?! These pics were taken after Granny's service on Saturday....

The girls (Brett's sweet wife Beth, Tessa, Lissa, Jenny & Chesley--the last three are sisters who are all pregnant and due within 2 months of each other!)

The guys (Dylan, Jared, Jake, Lissa's sweet husband Eric and Brett)

I loved seeing everyone--it would have made Granny so happy that we were all together. :)

Heart hugs

2009-12-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

To say the past two weeks have been an emotional roller coaster would be putting things lightly. Weston is such a blessing, such a wonderful and sweet baby, the best gift we could receive during the holidays. His birth and first 11 days have been amazing--he has won the hearts of everyone completely and totally. He even got to visit Granny two times this week--she smiled and tried to hold him and pat him when she saw him, which meant so much to me.

Losing my grandmother has been sad and hard. The past few days have been trying and difficult in many ways. But there are also so many bright spots as a result. Our large family gathered in Austin over the past two days for the viewing Friday night and the memorial service today. Many of my cousins attended, and all of my aunts and uncles came. So everyone has had a chance to meet Weston at a really young age and to see/meet Reese. It's been wonderful catching up with everyone. It was really amazing to have such a great turnout at the memorial today--so many family members travelled from near and far to be there. Some friends and neighbors also showed up, which was lovely. The service was emotional, sad and touching. My cousins sang and led prayers, my uncle ran the service and many of my aunts and cousins got up and shared memories. I had the enormous honor of delivering the eulogy. While it was a little nerve-wracking to have such a large responsibility, it was also very humbling to have the chance to speak about Granny, whom I loved so dearly and who meant so much to me. I am so thankful that I was able to participate in the service in such a way.

Not to get all introspective and cliche, but naturally the cycle of life came to mind several times. Most clearly when Granny and Weston interacted, but in smaller ways as well. I'm very aware that I am enormously lucky to have had 3 living grandparents at the age of 34--that is quite rare. And for my children to know or have met three great-grandparents.

I have spent a lot of time just staring at our sweet new baby. He amazes me, the same way Reese amazed me--but you tend to get caught up in things and life gets loud and fast and you forget about these sweet quiet moments.
We are also very lucky that we have a remarkably relaxed and laid back little fellow. This is mainly what he does (as seen through my poor quality iphone images):
Resting on Daddy

Taking a midday rest

From a different angle

Taken about 5 minutes ago

So, you see, it's pretty easy to sit and stare at him. At least at this point in the game. He doesn't do much but sleep or eat (to Reese's great disappointment), but he excels at those two things. (Last week he weighed 5lbs 9oz when we were discharged from the hospital; exactly one week later, he weighed 6lbs, 10oz!) (warning: this blog might soon digress into the realm of regurgitating all the measurement stats from the many upcoming pediatrician visits)
Getting back to the point (maybe?): David and I faced the very confusing task of explaining the death of a loved one to a 3 1/2 year old. We debated what to do and ultimately decided to just tell her in a very simple and matter of fact way and let her guide the conversation. I think it was a good tactic, and she asked a lot of very astute questions. She also completely caught us off guard when she told us, "Granny's in my heart. She's giving my heart a hug." What a wonderful way to express the way you feel about someone who isn't with you for whatever reason. It was one of those comments that I'll never forget--a "wow" moment when she made that observation. And of course, the perfect way to end a eulogy...and a rambling blog entry....

Afton Hall Ward, 1923-2009

2009-12-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

Remembering my wonderful and sweet grandmother, who passed away yesterday morning. Granny was much loved and will be missed greatly.

Quick updatezzzzzzzzzz

2009-12-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

We're pushing through the early haziness of sleep deprivation now--last night went well, but we were up taking turns with diapers, nursing (well, that was mainly me) and formula feeding. Little guy has jaundice and my supply has not come in yet, so we are trying to push it through with a little formula. Also, he seems pretty hungry and gulps it down, so hopefully it will help with sleeping, etc. Anyway, we did formula a couple of times last night but got the pediatrician's go ahead to try it after every nursing session until the milk comes in. Also, no one warned me how awful the post circumcision diapers can be--now he's healing up, but WOW--that was stressful there for a day or two.
Anyway, I am nodding off while nursing, addressing cards, typing, talking--pretty much any given time now--so I better sign off before this post drifts off into some undecipherable territory...but here are a few recent pics, courtesy of my FIL.

Reese with her very own special tree--pink natch! We've decorated it up some more since this was taken--but it does look awfully cute in her room!

Weston wearing his skull cap (get it?!) from the Mehtas...

It works really well with his laid back personality! He's been very chilled out so far. We are so fortunate to have such a relaxed and calm little man...

Who is also a wonderful nap-time snuggler...and on that note, I am going to try to catch up on some rest! xxoo

Quick pics of the little man

2009-12-09T04:57:00.001-08:00

Most of you have probably seen the pics via Facebook or email at this point, but he's so freaking cute, I can't stand to not post! (Okay, I'm biased...)
A lot of people are remarking how much he looks like Reese. I agree with this completely--it's almost uncanny-- but he also looks A LOT like David did as a baby. It will be really interesting to see how he changes over the next few days/weeks (well, months/years also!)....
So far, he has been a completely chilled out little guy. He's a super-snuggler and has been nursing, sleeping and "eliminating" like a total champ.
We have loved having so many family and friends to visit and will be here until tomorrow (Thursday), so please stop by if you would like to come visit!

Weston McKay!

2009-12-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

Born at 10:57 am on Dec. 8, 2009
5 lbs 15 oz
19.25 in
We are all doing great!
Pics coming soon!

Obla-di, obla-da

2009-12-06T08:22:00.001-08:00

Enough about being home-bound! I sound like broken record these days. Truth is, family and friends have been enormously helpful in making this a fun time for Reese and helping us get ready and settled. My family in Austin helped us set up the kitchen/pantry and make other key rooms livable the day after TG: we had an army of 10 at one point plugging away! My parents have helped unpack the house and have been key in setting up the baby's nursery and pretty much every other room. They have also taken R out and about almost every day--a true life saver. David's parents have come in a couple of times and helped us get closets and the playroom set up; last night, they cooked us a lovely dinner and set up our beautiful Christmas tree, which is helping everyone get into the holiday spirit. Last weekend, the Shiflets took R for a few hours for a wonderful playdate at their house. It involved princess dress-up, cookie decorating, and off road driving. Yesterday, the Kitchens took R for yet another fab outing: gingerbread house construction at Lowe's (where they often have great kid-friendly building activities--how cool!), then bouncing and more dress-up at their house. Needless to say, R is getting spoiled by these super-special outings! I am so impressed that everyone is so creative and energetic! Monique brought me lunch, and I had a chance to visit with both Monique and Erin for awhile yesterday--let me tell you, the day practically sailed by!

So, without further adieu, here are some pics of R's recent outings...
Cord's a prince of a friend (and Anne a princess) for having R over to play!

Pretty in pink!

These two are darling together...

..and are obviously great buddies! Cuties!

R chatted away

And apparently is a little scary behind the wheel. Fast forward 13 years and this may still be the case!

Thank you, Shiflet fam!

Yesterday, R loaded into the Kitchen's car and headed out. I love K's expression here. Also, R is in fact wearing an enormous tutu to Lowe's. That's just how she rolls.

Making the cute little houses...

The brave Kitchens loaded them all into the cart for some shopping! Love this pic!

Is there anything better than bouncing?

Clearly a happy girl!

I think maybe steam was running out at this point--they all look a little peaked....

I really love this pic--some SERIOUS dressing up going on!

Thank you, Kitchens for another super fun play date!

So, not much else to report since I haven't left the house or a two-room radius in 4 days. BP is still high but we're hoping to hold out for the Wednesday induction. It's driving me a little crazy not to be able "nest" and finish unpacking. But I am so very grateful for all of the help we are getting every single day. I am loving getting emails and checking in with everyone's blogs and FB--helps pass the time. So, signing off from bed for now....I will try to post at least once more before Wednesday but I guess anything could happen at any time now...so....TTFN!

Bun's still in the oven; the oven's now in bed

2009-12-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

After two trips to the hospital in as many days, I am now officially on strict bed rest at home. Yesterday, we were being overly cautious about whether things were "starting"; they weren't, so we were sent home. Today, Mom went with me to my weekly doctor's appointment and my old reliable, high blood pressure, was rearing its ugly head. So, she sent us to L&D again. I actually was prepping myself for induction today, but after awhile (and laying on my side), BP went down. Since I was responding to lying down, I am now on strict bed rest (potty breaks only, the rest of the time in bed). We'll do this for a week and go in for induction at 37 weeks....hoping to keep him in as long as possible! Also, we're tired of false alarms and sitting around the hospital!

So. I'd love to hear about anyone else's bed rest experiences. Besides movies, books, TV, and potty breaks....any advice on fun things to do?

Dropped, locked and loaded!

2009-11-25T12:33:00.001-08:00

Getting closer, in so many ways! So many things to be thankful for this year!

The house has been mainly moved over....now we just need to unpack. Thank goodness we can stay with my parents for a few nights. Thank goodness we have so many wonderful friends and family who are helping us in every way imaginable right now.

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and we got some unexpected and exciting news! The baby is FULLY dropped into my pelvis (nowhere to go but out), I am 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She said if I was 2 weeks further along, she would have broken my water and we would have had a baby today. As it is, we have very strict instructions to follow and things to watch--she's concerned that it's going to be a *VERYFAST* labor when I do start up due to his position and how I'm progressing, and she wants me to be able to get an epidural. I could have the baby anytime from tonight until two weeks from now. If we do end up inducing, she is very pleased that my body is starting things naturally--apparently it's much better that way. It was such an encouraging appointment and I am truly overjoyed to make it to 35 weeks with everyone healthy and happy so far.

I'm going to try to relax as much as possible and keep him in a little longer (wimpy white boys and all that), and also try to enjoy my last few moments/days of being pregnant for what is most likely the very last time.

Everyone have a wonderful holiday tomorrow and I will keep you updated as soon as I can. There will be news soon, that's for certain!

Holding pattern

2009-11-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

We are prepping to move on Wednesday--we've packed up a lot and the movers come in and do the rest starting tomorrow. We're spending a couple of nights with my parents and then settling in over the weekend. I will not be online (as) much or blogging in the meantime, but hope to update early next week....when I might have a LOT of time to be online, considering how high the BP has shot up in the past couple of days. We went in today and confirmed our home kit isn't "off," that my BP was really skyrocketing. My OB wasn't in, but we talked with the nurse at length (after 2 tests) and she said to take it really, really easy (no more packing or moving for me) and also has me doing some, ahem, additional monitoring that isn't particularly pleasant, so I'll spare you the details. We go in and meet w/ our OB on Wednesday--I have a feeling she'll officially put me on bed rest at that point. But I'm going to go ahead and mainly do just that anyway. The numbers we're getting coupled with my all-night -long headaches are convincing me that I need to slow it down.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

Update: no news is good news!

2009-11-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here we are, trucking through week 33....we had a little scare at the doc's office this week--I thought we might be heading off to the hospital for a short while and then was pretty sure she'd put me on bed rest, which didn't end up happening. Yet. But the BP is creeping back up, so we're keeping an eye on it. I am officially off all carbs so we can monitor my "puffiness" (technical, eh?) and have been to ordered to slow down and rest more. Which is only kinda sorta happening. Except for today--R got sick overnight and coughing turned into vomiting, so we are laying very low today. Poor girl!

Before all this, we went to Kiddie Acres park for a spur-of-the-moment visit last weekend with the Shiflets. I didn't snap any pics, so I'm stealing Cord's. Also, our camera officially kicked the bucket, so we don't really have any recent pics....hopefully we'll get a new one soon. Anyway, Kiddie Acres = awesome old school fun. And you can do all the rides (which basically all consist of some version of going around and around in a circle) in about 45 minutes.

The carousel!

The airplane (R's favorite)!

Wind in their hair....

The pony ride!

The boats!

(Check out the equipment! David asked if they got their tetanus shots after their visit...)

Otherwise, we have been busy worker bees trying to prepare for the move--overseeing the few changes we are having done, buying new furniture and other items, etc. Just not packing yet. And we move next week. Oh well! It'll happen!
At this point, we are really feeling like we are into a week-to-week schedule as far as the baby's arrival goes. We are very hopeful we can make it past TG, which will mean he's 35 weeks along and we're in the new house.
Will keep everyone posted as to any new developments that happen at this week's appointment--I'm really hoping I don't have to go to bed just yet....

The Thoughtful Thief?

2009-11-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well.....someone returned Halloween cat! Wonders never cease! It would have been nice to have had the cat for HW festivities, but at least we have it for next year. So, thank you for that, high school pranksters or frat boys!!! We're glad to have the cat back. :)

Halloween '09 celebrations

2009-11-01T08:55:00.001-08:00

Halloween 2009: let the parties begin!

Wow, this has been an eventful week!
On Thursday, Reese and I went up to the Pi house for some trick-or-treating and fun. It was wonderful: the girls had set up cookie decorating, candy apple stations, and they were all so sweet to hand out candy from their rooms. Three of my pledge sisters were there with their kiddos (plus other alums I didn't know), and it was such fun to see them and catch up!

Reese and Nico meet Ford.

Reese exuberantly loves on Nico.

No, really, Reese, you can take those hands off my adorable face now! (some of these photos courtesy of Monique--thank you!)

Making the rounds and scoring some candy...are they not the cutest cheerleader and Sleeping Beauty you have ever seen? Also, do those horizontal stripes make me look fat?

And following Ford around...

This was excellent trick-or-treating practice--R totally knew what to do last night!

Nico and her hot mama! Must say, being at the Pi house brought back memories--but so different to be there with our little ones! It was really fun.

Nico wants to interact with her paparazzi.

On Friday, R's preschool class hosted a party for the parents. David and I had a total blast! The kids were all in costume...

They sang 5 songs for us and did some dancing.

Then we ate lunch, had story time and went outside to watch them attack the pinata. What a fun party! And so wonderful to have a little glimpse into R's day at school. They are learning so much, and she seems to be having a terrific time in the process...

Which leads us to last night, the big All Hallow's Eve itself!
Reese was Sleeping Beauty again, for about 15 minutes. Then she had a change of heart, tore off her clothes and decided she wanted to be something else.

Thank goodness we had Mary Blake's darling witch costume!

Daddy had already prepared to be SB's prince, so he stuck with it. But Greta was ready to go in her coordinating witch's costume...

Here's a family shot. I am emphasizing the Buddha belly with an aptly placed pumpkin face (thank you for creating it, Becky!)....

We had the BEST time trick-or-treating...we went over to our neighbor friend's house and met up with about 3 or 4 families...then we hit the streets of RW as a big group. It was great to move as a huge group. There were 10 kids, and the big girls took the lead with R, holding her hand and ushering her from house to house as the parents just trailed along. This, my friends, is the way to trick-or-treat! It was pretty dark and my camera is crap, so my pics didn't turn out great.
Here's the group, heading out after a pizza dinner...

Reese, joining in the haunting fun!

Did you know it's not very much fun to have gestational diabetes while all this delicious HW candy is lying around? Oh, the guilt every time it passes the lips! And the annoying need for enough self-restraint to select just one (or two) pieces of chocolate at a time...
And next up, moving houses and Thanksgiving! Not sure how much I'll be blogging (and when on earth do we have a triple posting day on the Babble?? Woot woot!), but I will check back in as the big things happen!

Home Sweet (New) Home

2009-11-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

We did it! We closed! And finally, we took R over to see the new digs.

She was so excited! We've been driving past it, wondering aloud if that house just might have a pink room in it. Finally, she started saying, "Let's go drive by our new house." I guess our subtlety isn't what we thought it was...

Walking up with Daddy. First time in the house!

Walking into the great room.

She found it! The much-discussed pink room! Can you tell she likes it?!

Trying out her new room...it passes the test!

Somersaults in the playroom!

Running around the back yard.

Playing on the swing in the front yard.

The house definitely got the Reese seal of approval. She's had a ball showing her new room and playroom to family visitors! Come by and visit us soon--we should be moving within a few weeks!

Do you believe in MAGIC?

2009-11-01T05:20:00.000-08:00

Here it is....the long-awaited Disney World post!

Are you ready for some pictures?! I'll break it down by day...

Day 1: we arrive, spend part of the evening at Epcot.

Reese is beyond ecstatic to see her cousins. Georgia and Mary Blake watch out for her in the crowd.

The daddies get conned into shoulder rides! Posing with the kids.

Bain makes faces on the monorail.

R and MB model the beautiful new dresses Poppy got them in "France" at Epcot, G joins in the fun in a pre-dinner pic.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom! We rode SO MANY fun rides this day, can't even list them all. I was extremely impressed that there were so many things for R to ride and do at MK--plenty of stuff for the 4 and under set. And also third trimester visitors.

Posing on Main St. in front of Cinderella's castle.

R & me in front of the mosaic murals inside the castle.

We rode the tea cups!

R met princesses! We got lots of pics of her with Cinderella, but none of her with Belle or Sleeping Beauty...will have to wait on the Disney professional pics on that one.

Sporting the Minnie ears! And the ridiculous Sleeping Beauty bling!

Preparing for It's a Small World, which turned out to be R's very favorite ride. Also, the world's most unflattering angle from which to shoot a photograph.

The girls, regrouping over lunch...

Gigi and Poppy, on the jungle boat ride.

Day 3: Hollywood Studios: we rode a few rides here but the highlights for us were some of the shows. Particularly, the Muppets 3D movie.

Reese tries out Minnie's footprints.

And meets Donald Duck!

That night, we got all dolled up for a big dinner with Prince Charming, Cinderella, and crew, then went off to Mickey's Not-So-Scary HW party.
G as a super cute kitty...

MB, too!

Bain, the tiger Jedi warrior. (Cousins had a really cool feline theme going on)

R, aka Sleeping Beauty, trying not to be late for the big dinner!

Making P-Charming's acquaintance.

A pic with the man of the hour.

And Cinderella, too.

The wicked-stepwomen made an appearance. First, the step-mother with the kids.

then, the guys. (Watch out, D--she's got her eyes on you!)

And one of the step-sisters with G. R refused not only their photograph, but also their autograph!

She seemed a little worried about them coming around to our table, frankly.

After dinner, back to Magic Kingdom for Mickey's par-tay! MK stayed open from 7pm til midnight just for the party. So we rode lots of rides, new ones and favorites. Plus, there was trick-or-treating at various points--lots of fun for the kiddos.
Reese and David rode the race cars--R drove and D worked the pedals--the car was on a track so there was little damage to be done!

R, D and B rode Dumbo's flying ride!

Day 4: Animal Kingdom (aka Mommy stayed at the hotel and got a massage): can't really report much since I wasn't there, just passing along a few cute pics

Daddy and Reese met Pocahontas--a real highlight, according to Daddy. Ahem. I'm surprised there wasn't a pic of the him with P on the camera....

On the safari ride with Gigi and Poppy.

Bain's excited!

The process of meeting Minnie....

Thoroughly Disney-fied....

And darn happy about it!

What a great trip! We had an amazing, fun, fabulous time--almost as much fun as R had! She keeps telling us, "I want to go back to Disney!" Some day, my dear...and last night at bedtime, she told me she was going to have dreams about Disney.
I feel like I'm leaving out so many details, but loading and sorting through those pics wore me out for now. We made so many wonderful memories and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! The Disney experience sure is a wonderful one....

Cat burglar!

2009-10-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

If you see anyone suspicious (probably HS kids...or some JERKHEAD somewhere) driving around with this cat, just let me know....

..because someone stole it from our front yard last night! We made such a production of putting it out yesterday. We had specifically ordered it after I saw one just like it over by my parents' house. It was awesome; its head turned and its eyes glowed at night. Then when D and R went to check on it this morning--poof! Gone! First night out. I am so mad!

In other news, yes, I will get the Disney post up soon. It will be a looooong one. We had a fabulous time--totally exhausting but an absolute blast! We have been going nonstop since we got back, so I can't promise exactly when the post will be completed--just that it will....
R is set to get her H1N1 vaccine next week--whew! Apparently, I will not be receiving one due to such limited supplies & where I am in the pregnancy (far enough along to deliver if need be), but we are able to get her one, so that is going to be such a HUGE relief to me. I will do a happy dance after she gets that shot!
We close on our casa tomorrow. We have a few repairs and things lined up and then we will be moving. We are enjoying the process of figuring out what goes where and what we need to get, but it will be so helpful to get back in the space and envision the furniture we have and have found in the actual house. I can't wait to be there and can't wait for R to see it!

Sorry for the catty post, just had to blow off some steam. I'm not the only angry one though. I'll leave you with D's hand crafted sign for the cat-napper:

A lesson from the animal kingdom...

2009-10-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

...I should also add that I was crying by the end of this CBS news segment, but I've been doing that ALL. DAY. LONG. About everything. Damn hormones.
Especially at this point:

Sweet, sweet Bella and Tara....

Just a friendly reminder

2009-10-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Getting into the spirit of the weekend! Hook 'em horns!

Craziness, continued...

2009-10-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am currently buried somewhere between living in a listed house (don't recommend it), trudging into the third trimester (yippee! and OMG really?!), getting through an option period (see responses for 3rd trimester), completely ignoring an impending move (whaaa?), and dealing with some really annoying students this semester (whine-gauge going off nonstop). Oh, and tackling gestational diabetes. I miss you desperately, carbs. And chocolate milkshakes. Sniff, sniff.
I just can't seem to keep up with the regular stuff right now, email and blogs and bills (just kidding on the last one). Mainly because of this pesky complete-and-total-lack-of-time thing that seems to be going on right now.
Oh, and guess what else is rocking my world at the moment? Utter and morbid fear of damn H1N1. WHERE OH WHERE are the *$^&*%^*& vaccinations??!!! The news about how the swine flu is affecting small children with respiratory issues and pregnant women is horrifying. And let's see...check and check, we've got both of those in this household.
I should actually be back on the blog with some fun pics next week. We've got a special trip planned! Details to follow!
In other crazy news, we took Reese to see an IMAX. She had no problem with the 3D aspect but a lot of issues with the underwater violence of large fish viciously attacking smaller fish and so on.

In an effort to spread crazy to other folks around town, a group of friends from last year's preschool class met up at Red Robin tonight for dinner. Oh yeah, the kids came too. :)
Reese "styles" Alaina's (already beautifully braided) hair, while Hailey doesn't veil her feelings toward the paparazzi.

Audrey, just being super cutie.

Leiton and Sadie waiting for dinner.

Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh, it's Red Robin himself! The girls "flocking" to the restaurant rock star.

Leiton takes the ladies for a spin....

I'm not sure the restaurant patrons will ever be the same, but it was tons of fun for the kids as well as the moms. Reese was pleased as punch to play with her buddies from Noah's Ark.

And now if someone could pass the sanitizer along with a little sanity, that would be much appreciated....xoxo

One wild & crazy week

2009-10-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. I don't learn from my mistakes. Because it was so much fun to move when I was 7+ months preggers with Reese, we've decided to do it again.
We weren't exactly actively looking for a house, but we do call on our good friend Cord from time to time to show us houses that interest us. As most of you know, we also own a lot on our neighborhood, and we were really starting to think about building a home. In a completely dragging our feet kind of way. Anyway, Cord emailed us on Monday with this house (went on the market that day):

It's around the corner from where we are now, but on a considerably less busy road. We've always admired the house from the outside so we decided to give it a look-see, and we fell in love immediately....and long story short, we're in the option period, inspection looked pretty good so it looks like we are moving forward, and if you know anyone interested in buying a house and/or lot in our neck of the woods, please feel free to send me a message. It's been an eventful week, to say the least.

We're fleeing the ACL insanity (we decided not to take part this year for various reasons) & heading to the beach. For those fest-goers, have a great festival! Say hello to BC for us! And see you on the flip side.

Twist and shout

2009-09-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

We went out to the Brenham area this weekend to drop off the Trans Am (YAY) for some work and had a great lunch with Gigi and Poppy at the fun Brenham airport. The diner there is adorable and all the waitresses wear poodle skirts. Gigi bought an entire ensemble for our girl, and they put her pics up on their page! Here's the link.
If that doesn't work, go to www.southernflyer.com, then click on "Diner," and scroll down to Pink Cadillac Future Poodle Girl Page. She's in a pink skirt with one of the servers squatting next to her. Possible HW costume????

Blog backlog

2009-09-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Let's attribute it to blogger's block. Or maybe a general apathy and lack of energy lately. Or just forgetfulness? Whatever it is, it's been pretty clear the blog has been out of sight, out of mind. It certainly hasn't been for want of fun stuff going on. As tempting as it sometimes sounds, I have not been lounging and eating bon bons. Although you wouldn't know that from the sight of me--big and bigger! To be clear, I am not complaining, just stating simple fact. I am all for getting big and growing a healthy baby...it just sometimes boggles my mind that I have another 2-3ish months to go.
Anyway, let's review a few of the many highlights of the past month or so...

We went on a family trip to Santa Fe. We crammed a lot of fun activities into the Labor day weekend, all things considered. Including...a trip to Shidoni, where Reese and Kathy played amongst the sculptures...

Reese loved on a giraffe.

And found the longhorn, which she called "the hook-em-horn-y!"

Go Horns!

We visited sculptor Roxanne Swentzel's studio. This is a piece she is working on for the SF Chamber of Commerce--amazing!

David stood in front of a lot of dumb stuff. Caliente!

Giddyup!

Well, the mystery staircase at the Loretto Chapel isn't dumb. Just a silly pose, I guess.

And we wished Ma Pam a very happy birthday!

We also squeezed in a quick family trip to Fredericksburg.

We helped celebrate Gigi's birthday and her amazing surprise: a fabulous car!

Reese, she isn't going to let you borrow it. I'm sorry to break the news to you.

It's convertible and also comes with a hard top--gorgeous!

We visited the farm and R got to fish with her cousins, aunt Teeno and uncle Blake.

We attended Cole's construction theme party--very well done! R was a little lost in boy-land, but she'll get used to it. (Also, the only belly pic of the bunch. That's me, mid-waddle, in the green dress behind R.)

We also went to Simone's 1st b-day party, where I managed to catch some more pics!
Wow, that's a LOT of kids!

R got love from the b-day girl, Simone, and Nico.

Posing with Nico.

Playing with Quinn in the ball pit...

..and the hammock.

Whew! Now, I'm tired, reading all of that. Pass me the bon-bons, will you?

What we've been up to...

2009-08-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

...is more of the same stuff. More or less, anyway. We had a lovely picnic at Zilker, on the new and vastly improved grass. We lucked out and had a cool breeze and no crowd, despite being a Saturday night.

We did, however, attract some new friends.

And the very strange owner basically demanded our camera to take a picture. He suggested we tell everyone that this wolf is our new dog. Um, okay? And can you tell how comfortable and relaxed we are in this picture??

Reese also ran around barefoot like a total maniac. All around the park, even down the big hill. All that was missing was the Star Wars theme song....

David has formed a meet-up group for stand up paddlers here in Austin. The group has over 30 members and is steadily growing. Their first meet-up was over the weekend and 16 paddlers showed up!

It was a big success and the feedback was outstanding. People from the hike and bike trail stopped to watch, and a few even kicked off their shoes and hopped on a board to try it out! Can't wait to try this sport out next spring!

We went to David's grad school orientation. It was really informative, and I left so impressed with what SEU has to offer their students. And no, we can't take a normal picture together. There were several taken and they were all varying levels of fugly.

And finally, Reese is back for her second full week of school! There has been a little bit more resistance in the morning--basically she has woken up twice saying she didn't want to go, but by the time we are heading out the door, she's fine. Mainly, she's still pretty excited.

As you can tell!

And we love dropping her off and picking her up. She's napping there almost daily and buying her lunch in the cafeteria some days. What a big girl!

And amazingly, we've been able to convince her to wear pants every day! It's no small feat to convince the pink dress queen to change her ways, but I guess playing on three different playgrounds throughout the day is good incentive. You've got to be able to slide!

Dare I say?

2009-08-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

I certainly don't want to jinx anything, but....
I think the new school situation is a HUGE SUCCESS!!!!!
Pick-up yesterday went great. MOF, R didn't want to leave because they were about to have popcorn for a snack. So, we had to micro some kernels at home, just so she didn't feel like she was completely missing out. The teacher said they had a fantastic day, and R even napped for a little while.
This morning, she eagerly got ready. Once we were on our way, she starts yelling "Hip-hip-hooray" out of the blue! Then, as I was getting all her things situated (my, there is a lot of stuff that preschoolers need), she went off to play with the other kids and would barely even take a moment to say 'bye to me--she was so engrossed. I'd say she loves her new school! Yippee!!!

New school is cool!

2009-08-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

Just dropped off R at her new school! She certainly understood the implications of school this year: that I would be dropping her, she'd be staying there, and then I'd come back to pick her up after a myriad of other activities. So, she was clued in about the first day this time, unlike last year. We talked about it a lot, she was very excited this morning, and helped me load all of her stuff in the car.
Here's the pupil, ready to learn!

We waltzed right into the classroom, and R was the second one from her class there. They are combining two classes this week, so there was one older girl already there too. This worked out GREAT, because this little girl had already had R's teachers and knew all the activities; she took her hand and started showing her all the fun stuff to play with and I had to go track R down to say goodbye to her. As I was leaving, one of the little girls we met on Friday was coming in, so R already had a little friend there. So, after a quick goodbye and reassurance that I'd be back after nap time, I was on my way (with 6 glorious, luxurious hours to myself ahead of me! Okay, I have lots of work to do, but still...). And I am proud to report there was nary a tear in sight--not from Reese, nor from mommy.
Going into the classroom.

The crazy thing: R's preschool class is in the same quad-pod where my kindergarten class was located! So, it's kind of coming full circle! And makes me realize: she's such a big girl these days!
I'll update after the first day is complete. Until then, send her happy prayers and good thoughts today. It's an adjustment and a new chapter, but it's going to be great, I can already tell.

Blogging, sans visuals

2009-08-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

David went off this weekend with my digital camera, so I am limited to words without images with this entry. Although I need to figure out something before tomorrow--R's first day at her new preschool. That will require documentation.
We've been having a lovely time. D is off enjoying VT and upstate NY with a good friend. I'm getting great updates and it sounds like a blast--so much so, that I think we'll plan a family trip to VT sometime late next summer.
We had a wonderful anatomy scan last week--I am officially 20+ weeks pregnant--past the halfway mark! The baby looked great, all the measurements and organs looked right on target and he weighs approximately 13 oz., which is exactly where he should be and then some. We'll have to monitor his growth and make sure he continues to grow as he should--one drawback of the PAPP-A numbers we got back at 12 weeks, but so far, so good.
I'm not sure I've blogged about this yet--D got accepted in to the Project Management graduate program at St. Ed's! He starts in a couple of weeks! We are so excited--the program really sounds like a perfect fit for him. He's also started a SUP meet-up group here in town and has about 25 members. They are planning their first outing next week. He's been really into SUP'ing and can now boast SUP experiences in CA, TX, and VT. I can't wait until next summer, when I can try it out--it seems like a blast.
Friday, R and I went to her preschool open house and stayed the entire time! We were literally the first ones there and next to last to leave. And she wanted to go back immediately--even talking about it as she was drifting off to sleep that night! The classroom is wonderful--loads of fun lessons and toy centers to play with, the teachers have tremendous amounts of experience and are as kind as you would expect seasoned preschool teachers to be (they read books to R at the OH, and one even told her she'd make her some crowns over the weekend!), and the other students seem sweet (mainly). We'll see how drop-off/first day/enforced nap goes tomorrow, but I have high hopes. I am crazy about the program and just know that R is going to benefit from it tremendously. I won't forget Bunny this time, either.
Yesterday, Erin and I went to an alum luncheon at the ADPi house. It was part of their rush week festivities, and we had fun seeing all the changes to the house (looks a lot better!), chatting with some really cute and friendly girls, and catching up w/ our favorite sitter, Krista. K emailed me to tell me we were the "cutest alums there," but we were really the only ones under the age of 75, so I'm taking that with a grain of salt. It was kind of random (appetizers billed as lunch, which does NOT fly w/ the pg lady, a few shopping booths set up, and a slide show of rush from last week), but we enjoyed spending time there and also getting a chance to hang out together. Afterwards, R played with Kellen and Quinn and had a lovely time.
We're new members of our community library and have been loving our trips there. We checked out the Lady & the Tramp book last week. R was so taken with it, we went back yesterday and checked out the DVD. Last night,we watched L&T and ate spaghetti, fittingly enough. R was so funny slurping it up just like the dogs do!
Today, we've had a lazy morning, eating a big brekkie and getting ready to head over to Tatum's 3rd b-day party. I'm going to spend some time making sure we have everything completely together for school tomorrow, then we'll probably watch another movie and have a relaxed evening.
It should be noted that this morning, R told me, "You're the Queen of Monaco." That's quite an improvement, since I usually spend a good chunk of my day as either Prince Philip or Maleficent. I'll take the promotion.
Please send Reese prayers and good thoughts tomorrow as she begins the new school program. It will be a transition, surely, but will hopefully go as smoothly as possible.
Grace Kelly, signing off....

SoCal and Pacific NW recap

2009-08-11T13:31:00.001-07:00

Just a few (ha!) more pics from our trip to Coronado and then Seattle!
Lots of beach time in CA....Reese adored it.

She loved making "sand angels" and getting as dirty as possible!

On our last day in Cali, we met up with the M's and spent a day at the pool and beach. Here's sweet Cassidy taking in the sights. Love her hat!

Reese is exactly halfway between Caitlin and Cassidy, age-wise, which was so much fun for her.

Our hotel was right next to a huge naval base, so...

you know....

um, lots of eye candy! And SWAT training on the beach in front of our hotel at night.

Cass and David share a moment.

Next stop: Seattle! Kelly, I was having trouble responding to your comment using my phone. I'm kind of a technological dinosaur, I hate to admit. We had a blast and squeezed everything we wanted to see downtown into less than 24 hours. Pike's Place, Seattle Art Museum, Monorail, Space Needle, Experience Music/SciFi Museum....in less than one day. We weren't wild about staying downtown (or our hotel, for that matter), so we made the switch to Bellevue after the first night. Much more our speed!
R, taking in the Needle. Notice that we were wearing sweaters there!!! Sigh.

At the top of the Needle!

Experience Music/SciFi--very cool spot!

They had MJ's sequin jacket and glove...

In Bellevue, we ate at Blue C Sushi--they load up all the sushi onto a conveyor belt and you just grab whichever dishes you want. We thought this was so very cool! This place would do gang-busters in ATX.

Reese enjoyed some of the "slushi," but obviously not all of it.

On our last day in Washington, we visited Snoqualmie Falls. Reese was extremely excited that it was not one waterfall, but two waterfalls!

And decided to strike a few poses for me outside the Falls....

It was a wonderful trip and a welcome escape from the heat, but we were happy to be back home with Greta. And now, I am scrambling to get ready for R's first week of school--starts next Monday! Who knew preschool preparations could be so harried??

California bloggin'

2009-08-02T20:49:00.001-07:00

Greetings from beautiful Coronado, California! We are having such a blast here on our vacation. The weather has been great--foggy and cool until about 10 a.m. and then beautiful, warm and sunny. We have done loads of stuff so far--beginning with a thorough investigation of hotel furniture:

On Friday, we visited the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, about an hour east of Coronado. 1800 acres of amazing enclosures for animals to roam freely. Here we are in front of part of the African enclosure. Any and all animals you might spot will be far off in the distance.

We got to see lots of animals, but rather than post endless pics of animals in the distance, I'll show you one of the highlights (because there are more shots from Saturday coming...): behind the scenes at the elephant enclosure. We were in the back with the keepers, who were working with these two beauties, a mother and son. The cutest! They were having a blast taking big gulps of water and then spraying all over themselves (and the keepers, as you can sort of see here)--really funny creatures!

Great pic of David and Reese on the merry-go-round.

Yesterday, we went on another behind the scenes tour, this time at San Diego Zoo (similar to the tour we went on about a year ago). Once again, we fed the Okapi (check out the tongue on this gal)...

They are such cool animals.

We saw this panda baby--she turns two this week! She was enjoying a long lunch of bamboo and was really fun to watch.

Toward the end, we fed the giraffes. Here we are, with Silver, the 16-foot, 2500 pound male. He was a GIANT!

Sweet Abby is a 25-year-old giraffe (quite elderly in giraffe years) who has to be sequestered because the arthritis in her hips is so bad. Poor baby. We went around the side and got to feed her.

Abby's really tame and let us pet her, so not only did Reese get to feed a giraffe, she got to pet one as well. I didn't get any pictures because I wasn't about to pass up that opportunity!

David has been very excited about coming to Cali and doing his SUP (stand up paddleboarding). He sought out a specialty shop yesterday, got a new paddle, and rented a board. This morning, he hit the surf!

He caught some waves--apparently, it's quite different to SUP in the ocean surf versus the TX lakes....

And, we spent some QT at the beach by our hotel today. Reese is like a crazed animal when we get down to the beach. Despite her normal uber-cleanly ways, she immediately drops down into the sand and rolls when we get out there. She is literally coated in sand particles from her hair and face down to between her toes after we've been on the beach. Crazy girl!

And, she always wants to bury her daddy....and he obliges....

Our friends happen to be visiting the area at the same time, so we're getting together with the M fam on Tuesday. Reese is super psyched to play with Caitlin and Cassidy! I'll update either later from CA or when we get up to Seattle....

Blog break

2009-07-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

I've already been off on vacation in mind and spirit, but today we are actually physically heading out as well. We are off on a 10-day west coast sojourn, where we are planning beach time, lots of tourist-y activities and a break from the heat, unless this continues to happen. Grrrr. That's actually the second half of our trip, so maybe everything will settle down before we get there. I think we've already put in our quota of sweltering 100+ days this summer.
I am going to attempt blog entries (maybe, kinda sorta) while we're away, but if not, I'll just do an update when we return.
See you on the flip side!

Paddle boards and princesses

2009-07-25T13:11:00.001-07:00

Aunt Teeno, Bain and Mary Blake came to visit last weekend and we had so much fun with them! In the process of having fun, I managed not to take many pics....
But I did get some of David and Bain paddle boarding, and the rest of being spectators while they were out on Lady Bird Lake.

We went to a fun birthday party at Circle C pool today (what a great pool!) and R scored a late b-day gift from her friend Cayden. He knows what makes R tick, obviously! Reese is pretty thrilled with her new Ariel costume and crown/earring set.

She is her father's daughter! How much of David comes through in this picture???

And then she goes back to being a proper little princess....

Health update: My OB is really worried about swine flu hitting pretty hard, and fairly soon. She told us to wash our hands as much as possible this summer and fall, and to report any flu-like symptoms immediately. Apparently, there's a 21-yr-old girl who is struggling to survive here in town after coming down with an especially bad case. Our doc told us that she's getting tons of emails from the CDC and the like, and oddly enough, our local paper ran an interesting article about the resurgence of the swine flu pandemic the day after our doctors appointment. Since it didn't ever "go away" like a normal flu does during the summer, they are bracing for the worst this fall. Anyway, do what you will with this info, but I know that I will be carrying some hand sanitizer and using it liberally after going to Target and HEB....

Updates

2009-07-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I am experiencing HUGE waves of relief this morning! We opted to have an amniocentesis test last week, due to an increased risk of Down Syndrome (my PAPP-A level came back really low at .23) (that measures protein in the placenta--still something we need to keep an eye on). We finally got our results back and the baby has no chromosomal problems, no spina bifida and is definitely a BOY! Thank God. Waiting for news like that can be excruciating, especially when you realize the office closes at noon today and doesn't re-open til Monday--but we did hear back from them, 10 days after the test. WHEW! I think we'll have to keep an eye on the PAPP-A situation throughout the pregnancy and we'll follow our OB's guidance on that, but for the time being, I am going to relax and enjoy the reassuring news!
In other medical news, R had her 3-year well-check. She's doing great on all fronts, is right on target with everything, and is "socially mature," according to our doc. She weighs 27 pounds (25%) and is 37 inches tall (50%), so her proportions are evening out from the days when she was 5% weight and 75% height.
Here's a pic of R at ballet class on her b-day. We gave her that beautiful ballet costume. She looked FABULOUS, if maybe a little over the top...and was quite proud of herself!

Beautiful birthday girl!

2009-07-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

Our precious daughter turns THREE today! I can't believe she's a 3-year-old! Yippee!
To celebrate, we had a birthday bash this past weekend. It was a ball! We had a great time seeing so many fun people--we have such great family and friends--and it seemed like the kids were having a blast. It was pretty hot by the end of it, and I definitely needed some rest the day(s) afterward, but all in all, I'd say: SUCCESS!
(Photography credit goes to Cord Shiflet and Mark Kitchen--thanks SO MUCH y'all!)

Cord caught an overview of the party. We had a big pink princess/castle bounce house, a new playscape (gift from Ma Pam and Papa), a bubble machine, bubble pools, a misting fan and of course, cake! Here, you can see a bit of the bounce castle and some of the guests...

Mark snapped buddies Reese, Kellen and (I think) Emmylou in action, bouncing away!

Reese at the top of her the slide on her new play set (Cord's pic). Wearing a princess crown, natch. Tatum and Kellen waiting their turn behind her!

Sharing the crown with sweet friend Tatum.

A truly happy child!

Daddy and Reese preparing for the big blow-out!

Check out the look of concentration.

Preparing mentally...

Blowing out candles!

Wishes will come true!

Now let's eat it!

I forgot to take a pic of the cake (OOOOPS), so here's a close up...

We have been continuing the celebration by doing a delayed gift unwrap. I highly recommend this approach (which I am guessing most parents opt for after seeing a massive mountain of gifts). Each day, we have opened a gift or two every few hours or so. Reese then plays with the new toys for awhile, Mommy writes appropriate thank you notes, and we are all happy. This way, she opened gifts on the party day, yesterday, and we just finished up opening our last party gift this afternoon. It has been really fun and made all the gifts more special. And the process more sane.
For the rest of the big birth-day, we are going to dance class and then out to the ranch for a very small family dinner and swimming. And then we will have sufficiently celebrated the passing of this milestone--our little girl turning 3!

The constant is change

2009-07-07T17:33:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about how there is such a rhythm, a true daily pattern, to our lives so much of the time. But then I stop and consider all of the things that have changed lately and it always surprises me. It's really a lot! While our family has settled into a lovely, comfortable daily existence, there are some major shifts that pop into my head.
And of course, everything that I reflect upon ultimately comes back to Reese and what she's been doing.
We've added preschool (which will be changing yet again this fall), dance lessons and swim lessons into the mix during the last year. She's transitioned into her big girl bed, and while there was an adjustment period, she's doing a truly amazing job of falling asleep on her own at night (after stories, songs, hugs and kisses) and staying there until a very, very reasonable hour in the morning. We've mainly lost a reliable daily nap (parents everywhere flinch at that bit of news). But it really isn't all bad, it turns out--we can run errands in the afternoon, or swim, or just relax. And she doesn't get overly tired by evening, but she is ready for sleep, which comes to her pretty quickly once she's tucked in.
She decided she was ready to be potty-trained last month and rather than a weeks-long battle (which I half expected as inevitable), she was doing it like a pro off the bat, a few scattered accidents aside.
She really amazes me, not only with the precocious things she says and the unexpected things she does, but with her willingness to adapt and try new things. She's such a sweet little girl, she loves her family and friends tremendously and cares about everyone in her life in a way that I didn't realize was possible at the age of (almost) 3. And she's so caring in her interactions with her sweet little friends, her relatives, even friends' younger siblings. It fills my heart and makes me so proud to watch her interact and be such a delightful and conscientious little human being.
Which is so reassuring, because we will be adding a little boy to the family come December. I'm 15 weeks pregnant! And Reese truly could not be more excited--she's almost been visibly aching for a younger sibling for some time now. I have no doubt she will be caring, careful, nurturing and attuned to the new guy once he arrives--she already talks to him, hugs and kisses him and "feels his hands" (not really, but I'm not correcting, and I cannot wait until she really can!).
I took this photo literally the moment we told her she was going to be a big sister:

I can't really write anything that expands upon the enthusiasm, excitement and curiosity you see there. She's going to be a natural, wonderful big sister. I can't help but think: "What a lucky little boy, having such a fun and smart big sis!"
Since we told her the news, she's going around, and lieu of introduction, telling people, "My mommy has a baby in her belly. A little brother!"
I figured since the world was finding out, one introduction at a time, I could help out a super-proud big-sis-to-be by spreading the news a little bit more about another change, but this one much larger--the blessing of a baby on the way.