The Year of the Graham

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T16:27:00.001-06:00

May our love (and sugar rush) come your way!

Sassy

2012-01-29T14:46:00.001-06:00

I should have known this day was coming when she gave me The Eyebrow on the day she was born. Our sweet Laurel has learned some sassy ways including, but not limited to: hitting, biting, and running from time out with a big grin on her face. A few phrases we hear often these days are, "I don' yunt to." and "I don' yike that."

Thankfully we see the sweet Laurel more often than the naughty, but oh man am I worried about thirteen!

A new accomplishment

2012-01-27T16:59:00.001-06:00

Can someone please make him stop growing?

Independence

2012-01-25T22:38:00.001-06:00

...sometimes means not admitting you're uncomfortable all evening.

Dance Class

2012-01-24T21:49:00.001-06:00

Texas Winter

2012-01-21T22:02:00.001-06:00

We have been loving this beautiful Texas winter weather and have played outside more than we ever do in the summer. Kinda wish we lived somewhere that had summers like this, but then we'd be buried in snow right now, and that's something I could not handle.

Orange Crush

2012-01-13T19:49:00.001-06:00

There is nothing better than a soda from a glass bottle, especially if it's your first one ever!

Itty Bitty Dancer

2012-01-02T21:48:00.000-06:00

One of Laurel's Christmas presents was to begin going to dance class and to receive all of the stuff that she needed to begin. We chose a ballet/tap combo class at a local company, and she began today! I cannot even explain how excited she was to go to "dan tass" and wear her new tap shoes. Maybe this picture will help illustrate it...

Nanny says that she loved it, and did really well following directions even though she was definitely the smallest and youngest in the 2 year old class. She took a lot of videos on her brand new iphone so that I could feel like I was there!

Because I couldn't attend the first dance class, I played dress up with Lo this past week and took a few pictures. I never asked her to pose, but she really hammed it up for me! Her darling ruffled legwarmers were handmade by a friend!

Give me back my dance bag, Graham!!

We are so excited for Lo, that she gets to do something fun with other little girls once a week. It makes me so happy that she enjoyed herself so much today, and has talked non-stop about "dan tass" all night. I am also so thankful to Nanny for being able to take her each week.

Happy 2012!

2011-12-31T20:22:00.001-06:00

We hope you are toasting with friends tonight!

Christmas 2011, Part 1

2011-12-30T19:23:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Miller house filled with family, food, and lots of fun. We always start Christmas morning at our house with just the four of us. This year Graham woke up about 7, and then we had to wake Laurel up- so typical! We raced downstairs to see if Santa had come, and he had! (Whew! I know Graham was a little nervous!) There were a few things under the tree, but the most interesting thing was a note with a picture and a ribbon attached. We read the little note from Fred, our elf, saying that he had made sure that Santa left something nice. Then we followed the ribbon all the way to the garage where we found a trampoline!

The kids were so excited and of course immediately wanted to jump! Thank goodness Santa knew to set up the trampoline in the garage where it wasn't as cold and wet as the backyard. They had a great time together!

After jumping for awhile we went in and finished opening our presents. Santa knew just what we all wanted!

After a little bit of playing, and a small breakfast we got cleaned up and ready for my parents and sister to come over for our annual brunch. I tried to take a few pictures of the Christmas clothes before destruction.

Next, Round 2 of present opening began when my family arrived!

We had a wonderfully yummy brunch thanks to my mom and Kevin, and had a great time eating, talking, and drinking mimosas. The kids got in a little play time before we headed to Round Rock for Round 3 and then 4!

to be continued...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T15:20:00.001-06:00

This is us

2011-12-23T09:50:00.000-06:00

The other day we had pictures taken by my sweet friend, who is the photographer of Sans Souci Photography. When I saw the finished product, I was blown away by how well she had captured our family. This one has to be my all-time favorite...

This is SO our family right now- Lo being cute, and a bit of a show-off; Graham scowling at her cuteness and probably plotting something naughty directed at her, haha!

But she also captured Graham, as his silly, hilarious self, which we see all the time, but is so rarely caught on film...

It's not hard to get Laurel to cooperate for pictures, but this particular picture melts my heart...

Oh, that sweet face!

She snapped several family shots, and even some great ones of Kevin and I...

You can see more at the website, including our Christmas card!

Thank you friend, for an amazing session, for your ultimate patience, and for the perfectly captured memories of this moment in time.

If you want to take a walk down memory lane, check out our 2010 family pictures/Lo's 1 year pictures or the kids' wildflower pictures, both with Sans Souci Photography.

Holiday Fun

2011-12-11T20:33:00.001-06:00

We are really enjoying the holiday season this year, with both kids really into all of it. In the past week or two we have had quite a bit of holiday fun!

We kicked off our holidays by attending the Heritage Oak Tree lighting ceremony here in Cedar Park. The weather was wet and crummy, and we didn't stay for long, but it is always so beautiful to watch the lights come on for the first time. We are so lucky to live right by this tree and are able to see it every night!

not my picture, but oh so beautiful!

The next night I took the kids, along with my mom and sister, to take a carriage ride at the Domain. The short wait was somewhat painful, but the ride itself was a lot of fun! I totally recommend this free (plus tip) fun!

The next day I took Lo to a cookie decorating party. She had a great time, and I guess I did too, because I have hardly any pictures! It was fun to catch up with our good friends.

This morning our Elf of the Shelf, Fred, brought the kids a gingerbread house to decorate. The were ecstatic at the sight of all of the candy, and had a lot of fun piling in on the house, plus eating just a *few* pieces.

This weekend we finally got a somewhat positive-ish response to the question, "Do you want to sit with Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas?", so we headed to the Hill Country Galleria to visit the Santa there. I love that there is no pressure from a photographer and that you can take your time with Santa. When it was our turn Laurel was actually a little excited to sit with Santa, but Graham backed out at the last minute and desperately yelled out, "I just want a trash truck!" He finally ventured over with Kevin at his side and chatted with Santa about how Fred is doing.

The outdoor mall has a beautiful tree just behind Santa, so after our visit we tried a few pictures.

We hope you are having a fun time with your family this year! We are looking forward to a bit more before Christmas is here!

Sweet Moment

2011-12-01T21:21:00.001-06:00

It is a rare moment at our house when no one is pushing, yelling, hitting, stealing toys, crying, or just creating complete mayhem. To be honest, it is a rare moment when our two kids are at peace with each other so completely. This picture melts my heart because it shows little sister's complete adoration of her brother, and him (even if just for a moment) allowing it.

Happy Birthday Laurel!

2011-11-28T20:56:00.000-06:00

This past week was our sweet baby girl's 2nd birthday! I just cannot believe that she is already 2. I know that all parents feel like time goes too fast, but it is especially true with your second (and I can only assume that time continues to speed up with your third, fourth, etc...).

Laurel is the sweetest little girl and has changed so much in the last 6 months. The biggest change is her speech and vocabulary. It seems that there is nothing that she cannot say or repeat. She can easily hold conversations with you, ask questions, sing songs, and most recently repeat knock-knock jokes. She can be sweet, loving, bossy, and sometimes just a plain know-it-all. She loves to argue about silly things. Like, Lo: Where's Pappy? Me: Pappy is at home. Lo: No, Pappy's at work. Me: No, Pappy is at home with Nanny. Lo: NO, Pappy's at WORK! Umm, OK.

Laurel has not done much growing in the past 6 months, just a pound and a half and an inch and a half since her 18 month well-check. She still mostly wears 12-18 month clothes, while most of her new 24 month cold weather clothes are big and baggy. I was feeling super concerned about this, but the doctor wasn't, so I guess she has just leveled off a bit. It's just funny to have a 2 year old in the 30th% for height and weight when she was so huge at birth! Laurel is not a terrific eater, which probably contributes to the lack of growth. She will hardly take bites at most meals, loves to snack, and is totally inconsistent in what she likes. Frustrating! The girl does love her sweets, though! A few sometime favorites are pizza, spaghetti, yogurt, and blackberries.

Laurel is a climber. The girl just loves to climb! Heights do not scare her and after she climbs to the top of something she loves to jump off. Picture her hurling herself off of the ottoman, side of the couch, and the arms of the Adirondack chairs in the backyard. There is no stopping her! She has not, however, ever climbed out of her crib, and I plan to keep her there as long as possible!

Laurel is in the process of potty training herself. She does not like to have a wet diaper, and has amazing control in holding it all in. She is very rarely wet, and it is typically in the morning after waking up. Ree bought Lo some cute panties and some plastic training pants to go over for her birthday, it is just Momma that has to make the leap now. I just don't look forward to spending most of my time at Target or HEB in the nasty public restroom instead of actually shopping!

And that's our girl! We love her to pieces and enjoy her sweet self so much!

Thankful

2011-11-24T11:13:00.001-06:00

for these little turkeys today!

Blogger app trial

2011-11-23T22:34:00.001-06:00

Just giving the new blogger app a little trial run!

Last Game

2011-11-07T21:51:00.002-06:00

Tonight was the Cougar's last football game. Because Kevin is in grad school and may be switching jobs next school year, it was possibly his last football game. Ever. As much as I may complain about the time that football takes Kevin away from us, I was feeling really sentimental about tonight's game. I think that Kevin is an amazing coach and teacher, and I am always proud to tell someone in the stands that Coach Miller is my husband (unless, of course, my children are misbehaving and then I just say we're here to watch number whatever).

Here are a few pics from tonight...

We are so proud of you Kevin, and have never cared much what the score was, only that we got to see you in action. Congratulations on another great season! We can't wait to see what our next season holds.

Halloween Fun 2011

2011-10-31T22:57:00.003-05:00

We have had an excellent October/Halloween season! Graham was so into it this year and has loved all of the decorations, spooky stuff, costumes, Halloween specials, and especially the anticipation of trick-or-treating. Laurel had a great time just watching Graham.

This past Friday Graham's school had a Monster Mash Pajama Party. I had fun making (and messing up, and then fixing) my first pair of pants for the occasion.

This weekend we carved our pumpkin. Graham had a great time and took his job as seen scooper and assistant carver very seriously. Laurel wanted nothing to do with any pumpkin goo. Graham picked a scary face for the pumpkin!

Tonight was the night we had all been waiting for- Halloween and trick-or-treating! We had already worn our costumes a few times before at a few carnivals and a party, but tonight was the real deal. Both kids loved going door to door, saying "Trick-or-treat!" and then watching the candy pour in. We learned some etiquette along the way, such as: don't open people's front doors, you must wait for them; it's not polite to trample through gardens; and it's not super nice to point out people's baldness, especially when they are giving you free treats. Graham wanted to run as fast as he could to every house, and Lo wanted to eat every piece of candy immediately. Overall a fun and successful night!

our Superman

Olivia the Pig as a ballerina

Lovin' the candy!

oh, the loot!

Hope you had a wonderful Halloween!!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-27T16:14:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since my last post, but a combination of technical issues with our laptop and just overall busy-ness has kept me away from keeping up. However, I know there are quite a few people out there (well, probably just the grandparents) who want to see our pumpkin pictures, so I tried to get them up quickly!

Like last year, Kevin and I took the day off to take the kids to the pumpkin patch. The farm is so much more enjoyable without the lines and weekend crowds. Today was made even more enjoyable by the cool, fall weather that blew in as we were making the drive to Marble Falls! It felt amazing at the farm, and all of the fun activities did not disapoint! Enough with the words, here are the pictures Ree and Nanny...

We had a great time today and can't wait to return in the spring for strawberries!

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather, too!

Cougar Football

2011-09-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight we officially started our seventh football season at Running Brushy. We had fun proudly wearing our colors, watching the cheerleaders, eating a hot dog, and yelling "Go Cougars!" at the tops our our lungs.

Our team did awesome, sweeping the other school completely, and the kids and I did ok considering the games are right after a full day of work and preschool.

This is the first year that Graham kind of understands that a competition of sorts is going on and he kept yelling, "Papa won! Papa won!" every time the crowd would cheer.

Here's to an awesome season.

Go Cougars!

Pee-pee-a-potty

2011-09-10T15:09:00.000-05:00

After potty training Graham, and well let's be honest we are still potty training Graham, I swore that I would approach Laurel's potty training in a much more relaxed way.

Like, wait for her to drive to Target, buy her own panties, and potty train herself whenever she was ready.

However, Laurel has decided to take matters into her own hands. She has always been very curious about Graham using the potty, and has always tried to help out in her little motherly way. (I have to stop her daily from trying to wipe Graham and zip up his pants for him.) And now she requests several times a day to pee-pee-a-potty (that's one word) and she actually does it! Because of my relaxed attitude towards this there is no prompting from us, no baby potties sitting around, and no rewards (except, of course, cheering). But most days she is keeping her diaper dry, waking up from naps dry, and even waking up most mornings dry, and she continuously asks to "pee-pee-a-potty".

I did finally break down and buy one of those seats that fits on top of the toilet because she was balancing so precariously up there. She has her own little routine: run in to the bathroom, place the stool at the potty, place the seat on the toilet, sit down and go, then move the stool to the flush handle, flush, then request help to wash her hands. She is so darn independent!

I am floored by this because she isn't even two yet, and Graham doesn't even do these things at three and a half!

I really can't explain the difference between our two potty training experiences, but that our children have extremely different personalities and that Kevin and I are different parents this time around, even though only 19 months separate the two.

Despite Laurel's apparent aptitude for potty training, I am still not rushing out to buy supplies or getting too excited. Because to be honest, having a child in diapers is sooo much easier than one in undies, and I just don't want to get my hopes up. It all seems too good to be true.

"Pee-pee-a-potty, Momma!"

Tales From Preschool

2011-09-09T22:52:00.002-05:00

So we have just wrapped up our first month of preschool, and while Graham doesn't tell me volumes about school like I would like, every once and a while a little gem of a story comes out. Here are a few tales from preschool.

As told by Graham while riding in the car...
G: Today I was playing in the block center with Ava and we were saying, "Butthead, butthead, butthead!"
Me: What?! That is not good. What did your teacher say?!
G: She asked us to stop, but we kept saying butthead. Isn't that funny Momma?

As told by Ms. Maggie...
Today I was groaning when I got up from the ground, and I told the children that I was in some pain. Graham told me that it was because I was old.

As told to the pediatrician...
G: Dr. Cardwell, guess what? Today at the playground I opened my cup and put dirt inside to make mud. Isn't that funny??
Me: The cup that Momma sent to school with you?
G: Yes!!
Dr. Cardwell: That is awesome! (while laughing)

Taken from an email from the school nurse...
Thank you for your note. Please let me know if you need anything...Your son is soooo cute and sweet! I just love his little frown face :o)

As told by Graham...
G: Momma, sometimes kids go to the Thinking Spot when they do bad things.
Me: Do you ever go to the Thinking Spot?
G: Nope!

Oh school, I love you so much. And not just for putting up with my stinker, but also for teaching him so much already. Our little sponge has already developed a love of learning.

Just a lil' bit...

2011-08-28T20:00:00.001-05:00

Laurel, where are you?

Laurel?

Are you in Momma's drawer?

What do you have?

Chaptick, Momma.

Just a lil' bit.

OK, just a little bit.

Keep it on the lips, Lo.

There you go pretty girl.

Just a little bit.

Wow, you're really putting a lot on!

You look so pretty!

Lips, Lo. Lips!

Whoa, girly.

Let Momma have it.

OK, just a little bit more.

OK, we're done here.

Silly girl.

You crack me up.

Can I have the chapstick now?

Oh, right, rub it in.

Can I have it now?

WhoaWhoa do it, Momma.

I love you, silly girl.

Thomas Day

2011-08-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago one of our favorite toy stores had Thomas Day where kids were invited to come and paint and create their own train engine to keep. This sounded right up Graham's alley and it was a completely free event! Graham invited his friend, Taylor, and let me and Taylor's mom tag along as well.

Playing while we waited for our train to be dried.

I am pretty sure Graham named his train something odd like Pinko-chinko.

painting trains can be hazardous

silly boys!

the first place G headed with his finished train was the in-store train table, of course!

The event was fun (although I think both boys probably had more fun playing in the toy store than the actual painting of the trains), air conditioned (an absolute must these days), and Graham loves playing with the train that he created.

Laurel's 1st Haircut

2011-08-27T21:43:00.000-05:00

Before school started we took Lo to get her first haircut. I thought that I might hold out until her second birthday, but with all of the summer swimming it was looking a bit straggly. Plus the hair in front drove me nuts because it grows straight forward and the girl will not leave a bow or ponytail in lately! Since Kevin refused to even attempt girl hair, we had to head into the salon.

She was a bit apprehensive to go and kept asking, "WhoaWhoa hairtut, Momma?" in this little worried voice. I was really afraid that once we got there she would not let the lady cut her hair, but when her name was called she eagerly trotted over to the yellow taxi and let the stylist put on the cape.

She was so good throughout the entire haircut, which literally took about a minute and a half. I guess it helps that the shop has TVs, huge mirrors, and cars to drive! When it was done she was so pleased to receive a lollipop.

The final look isn't much different, but the back is evened up and the front isn't as shaggy looking. I am hoping that the haircut is the magic touch to get her hair growing a little faster and thicker. I am so glad that our first experience was a positive one!

Lo Reading

2011-08-23T06:13:00.000-05:00

One of Laurel's favorite things to do is read. She loves to be read to and equally loves to sit and read on her own. She definitely has some favorites that get read over, and over, and over. This has led to some "reading" of her favorites! Here she is reading Peekalove...

I am so thankful that both of my children love to read so much at such a young age and I am hopeful that it leads to a life long love of books.

First Day of Preschool

2011-08-15T23:19:00.000-05:00

Graham started preschool today. It was a day filled with mixed emotions, excitement, and apprehension. Here are some snipits from the day...

When we dropped him off he ran to his teacher and gave her a big hug.
He had fun unpacking his backpack and putting everything where it belonged.
He was the first one there and chose the blue star as his symbol which is on his locker, carpet spot, and line spot.
He cried when it was time for us to leave and had to be peeled off of his tearing up Momma.
When I called at lunch he was doing well, but had had a "leaky accident".
When I left school to pick him up I was shocked to find him asleep on his new little nap mat.
When I woke him up he said, "Momma, I'm so happy to see you!"
He was so excited about the "special" snacks that were uneaten in his lunch box that he devoured them on the way home.
He was very tired all evening, until Papa came home from football practice and he was able to tell him all about school.

He told us...
He cried when we left.
He has a trampoline in his room that they got to jump on.
Miss Maggie read a book called 'Up, Up, Up' about a dog in a tree.
When he was playing on the playground he got to watch diggers (from the street construction across the street) and a train pass on the nearby tracks.
Wyatt was silly on the playground, yelling "Help me!", but he was just kidding.
He got to play with trucks and cars.
He didn't like Miss Maggie's naptime music and asked her to turn it off.
He saw Kate, our neighbor, at school.

It took me ALL night to get this much information from him. Little bits would just pop out with a, "dess what, Momma?!".

Here is to a school year filled with fun, friends, and learning!

Water Babies

2011-08-10T00:42:00.000-05:00

We have done a TON of swimming this summer. Not a week has gone by that we haven't hit the pool and/or sprinkler park at least 2-3 times. Our kids have really enjoyed the water this year, and with the help of Graham's puddle jumper floaties I was able to manage the pool with them both by myself quite easily. We have visited every pool in the Cedar Park area several times, a couple in Steiner Ranch, a friend's pool, my sister's apartment pool, and a few city pools in the Austin area. However, with all that swimming I don't have a ton of pictures to show for it because my two munchkins kept me pretty busy. Here is a collection of swimming pictures from the summer...

with cousins Jason and Joseph

sweet cousins!

Graham was a wild man in the water this year. After a very brief period of apprehension about the water he decided he loved it! This summer he would... blow bubbles from his mouth and nose, put his face and head completely under water and look around, jump from the edge with his floaties, swim around using his arms and legs in unison while his face was in the water with his floaties, attempt some smaller water slides at the local pools.

Laurel was super independent in the water this year. She did not want help or to be held and would often keep me on edge watching her toddle and float about in the water by herself. This summer she would... blow bubbles from her mouth, put her face and head in the water (unless it was my idea), and jump from the edge holding onto someone's fingers. Her favorite part of the pool was the steps and shallow end where she could be in complete control. She despised the deep end, not because she was scared, but because she didn't like to be held and was consantly trying to wriggle out of my arms. She often got mad that I wouldn't let her go down water slides that her brother was going on. She totally didn't understand how little she was!

I am really sad that our swimming season is coming to an end for the year. I have had so much fun spending time at the pool with my water babies.

Time Out

2011-07-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

Lately, our little lady is letting her feisty side show a bit more often. She has put up with a lot from her brother these past 20 months, and now she is ready to fight back. If she feels like there has been an injustice, she does not hesitate to hit, kick, screech, or bite. Of course, these infractions will earn you a time out at our house. Funny enough, she is perfectly happy to trot off to the time out mat and for the most part enjoys passing out hugs and a 'sorry'. I'm hoping that at some point the time out actually has an effect on her, but for now we are just going through the motions.

The Lake

2011-07-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Recently we went swimming as a family at a park that has lake access. We thought, after having just been to the beach, that the kids would really like the sand, the waves (from passing boats), and the water. Graham had a blast! He and Kevin spent most of the time out in the water swimming, splashing, and waving to boaters, and collecting shells.

Laurel, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the lake. She dipped a few toes in, looked disgusted, and chose to spend her time lounging, snacking, and waving at Graham from the shore.

Despite differing views about what makes a fun day, we all had a good time being outdoors together and enjoying the big shady trees and cool-ish lake breeze.

Gymnastics

2011-07-21T20:55:00.000-05:00

Graham has just started going to a gymnastics class once a week and he LOVES it! It is hilarious watching his teacher (coach?) try to keep the 3 year olds all together and listening in a gym filled with super interesting and fun things, but he manages to do it, and with infinite patience and a smile. The forty-five minute class is filled with jumping, running, excercises, stretching, trampolines, bars, balance beams, a foam pit, flips, and more. Perfect for our VERY active guy.

This video was taken with a cell phone through the viewing window from the lobby where all of the parents sit and watch. It's not the best qualitly and the audio is from the lobby. Graham's class was playing some sort of freeze game as a warm-up.

What'd You Say?!

2011-07-20T23:49:00.000-05:00

Our kids have a quite a bit to say lately, and I don't want to forget what some of their most common sayings are, so for my memory's sake and your enjoyment here are a few. Sprinkled in are random pictures from our cell phones.

Lo's favorite people...
Whoa Whoa (Lo Lo)
Momma/Mom
Papa
Dah (Graham)
Djeh Djeh (Major)
Nana (Nanny)
Papa (Pappy)
Zee (Ree, Graham's version of Granny which stuck)
Dad Dad (Grandad)
TuTu (Tommy, Ree and Grandad's dog)
Bop (Beth)
TohToh (CoCo, Beth's dog)
Doh (Dawn)
Drmkn...? (Danielle always sounds different)

Lo is constantly checking in on all of these people, wanting to know where they are and what they are doing. She now mostly wants to confirm, "Zee home? TohToh home? Nana home?"...and the list continues. Forever.

Quite a bit of what she has to say lately are demands, of us, her brother, and our dog Major...
'Nnnt dat! (I want that)
Geh dow! (Get down, to Major)
Whoa Whoa's tur! (Lo Lo's turn)
Les doh! (Let's go)
Whoa Whoa too! (Lo Lo too)
Bowww! (Bow, now!)

Some things are just cute and funny...
Yuh-oo (I love you.)
Ehr-ee-is! (There s/he is)
Djeh Djeh ee it. (Major eat it. She uses this anytime she doesn't want her food.)
Doo Momma. (Doo is like a toddler curse word that Graham created, and now they both use. Lucky us. It's kinda like saying, "Poo on you, Momma." Nice, huh?)

Graham has his fair share of signature talk...
He calls himself...Wham
He still calls his sister...LoLo (which has stuck for everyone, poor girl!)
His favorite color and the name of his blanket...lieu (blue)

Most of his sentences start with... Dess what?! Dess what?! (Guess what)
His favorite new food is a...swam-itch (sandwich)
Most mornings for breakfast he eats...yo-grit (yogurt)

When he is super excited he yells...Yakooo!
Lately he likes to talk about being... in lub (in love). He will say...Momma, we are in lub.
With a new interest in pirates he will sometimes answer us...Aye, aye captain of a sailor!

Anytime Graham doesn't quite understand something we said he will say...What'd you say?! (which means explain that)

Florida or Bust, Days 1-4

2011-07-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

It has been two years since our family took a beach trip, and this year we were so excited to be returning to the Beaches of South Walton area (Santa Rosa Beach, to be exact) and this time with our friends, the Lowreys! We had a great time in Florida last week. Here is a little recap of days 1-4 with lots o' pictures! The rest to follow soon.

Day 1

We drove down to Katy, stopping "on our way" to visit Sea World. We stayed with Alison, Matt, and Owen our first night so that we could load up their car the night before and then wake up nice and early for a head start on our 12 hour drive.

We were so happy that our first night accommodations were so award winning! * Rub-a-dub-dub three babies in the tub

Day 2

We woke up at 3am and tried to slip sleeping babies into the car without waking them. Lo is the only one that transitioned still sleeping. Graham, on the other hand, was bright-eyed and kept asking if we could watch a movie. No matter how many times we tried telling him that it was time to sleep he kept at it. We finally put in Lady and the Tramp and literally watched it three times in a row as Graham proceeded to stay up for the next 10 hours without sleeping a single minute. He finally drifted off about an hour and a half away from our condo. Fun times.

G and Lo staying busy, and Owen doing what he did best- awesome travel buddy!

a very celebrated moment!!

When we got to the condo we suited up the kids and hit the pool! I don't remember why we didn't go straight to the beach...too hot? too grouchy? too complicated with three kids? Probably all of the above. We also went grocery shopping, which we probably should have avoided for all of the same reasons that we didn't go to the beach, but I guess we had babies to feed.

Day 3

We woke up refreshed, excited, and ready to hit the beach!

This was Laurel's very first beach experience, and she really wasn't that keen on the big waves, the water that was hard to stand up in by yourself, and the messy sand that stuck to your hands at all times. Graham, on the other hand, loved the waves, the wild water, and the messy sand. He ran around like a puppy that first day! Because the waves are pretty strong we spent a lot of time eating snacks and playing in the sand.

On this day we also swam in the pool and cooked hamburgers out on the grill. After a day at the beach and the pool we all declared that meal the best we'd had in a long time!

Day 4

On this day we decided to drive into town to go to a little sprinkler park and playground we had passed on our way into Santa Rosa. It was a little further than we had remembered, but very fun once we got there! All of the kids had a great time and it was really cool to play and swing on sand right by the water.

After playing our plan was to cross the bridge, eat our picnic lunch, and try out the beach in Navarre, but as we were eating a big, dark storm began rolling in and we decided against setting up on the beach. We ate our lunch and then headed back through Destin. As we were driving the sun began to come back out so we stopped at the beach in Destin and had fun wadding in the calmer water and catching hermit crabs.

After returning to the condo we swam in the pool again and then decided to rent bikes for the rest of our trip. Everyone in the Beaches of South Walton area rides bikes and there are nice, wide bike lanes to make it easy and safe. For our first excursion we rode into the little neighboring town of Seaside and cooled off with some frozen yogurt.

Happy Fourth!

2011-07-04T22:36:00.000-05:00

We had a great Fourth with family and friends despite grouchy faces in pictures and watching fireworks on the TV. Hope you had a wonderful day, too!

A Little Bit of Sea World

2011-07-02T15:41:00.000-05:00

As part of a teacher appreciation promotion that Sea World San Antonio was doing this summer Kevin and I both signed up for free summer passes. The passes had to be redeemed for the first time before the end of June, but because of Kevin's grad school schedule we just never made it down in time for the day. So last Saturday, before heading to Katy, to then head to Florida for vacation, we stopped in at Sea World for a short visit. The line to get tickets was soooo long that we really didn't have time to do much before it was time to leave, but it got Graham so excited about Sea World and roller coasters that he has been talking about it non-stop since we left! Now that we all have summer passes, and the grad school load will be a bit lighter I am hoping we can make it down a few more times!

watching the dolphins!

the kids loved the shark and aquarium house!!

Too short of a visit, but next time there will be no lines for tickets and a lot more fun!

Big Boy Date

2011-07-02T15:21:00.000-05:00

Last Friday Kevin and I took Graham on a big boy date to see Cars 2. It took him awhile to understand that just he was going, and Laurel was not. We often take one child with us out to run errands by ourselves, but never both of us with one child! We were all excited to see the movie because we have seen the first one no less than a million times!

Our first stop was "Rice Pack" (Panda Express) for dinner- Graham's choice. When we told him that he didn't have to share his dinner he shouted, "Yakooo!!", his version of yahoo!

After dinner we headed to the theater and got popcorn and drinks to watch our movie. Graham was so excited that the kid's meal included candy and that, once again, he didn't have to share anything!

Graham did great at the later showing and I think he enjoyed the movie. No bathroom breaks at all for him! Kevin and I were not crazy about the new spy theme and the guns and shooting throughout the film; this Cars is very different from the first one. As we were walking through the parking lot after the movie was over Graham said, "I miss my LoLo." Melt my heart! I am so glad that we were able to take our big boy out by himself, and I really enjoyed the special time with him, but I am so glad that it is possible he actually missed his little sister.

And speaking of the little miss, just in case you were feeling sorry for her because she didn't get to go on the movie date, rest assured that she had a fun night with Aunt Beth going to McDonald's, swimming, and picking up a few lessons only Aunt Beth can pass out...

Family Walk

2011-06-21T20:40:00.000-05:00

I'm so glad that we decided to get that double stroller.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T08:00:00.005-05:00

to a man who is never too busy to play, tickle, wrestle, or be silly.
to a man who changes diapers and wipes hineys without blinking an eye.
to a man who has never been too manly to put in bows and attempt pony tails.
to a man who reads stories with excellent voices and sound effects.
to a man who lavishes hugs and kisses.
to a man who teaches about good manners and Star Wars.
to a man who misses his kids when he's gone.
to a man who can laugh at 3 year old jokes and mishaps.
to a man who is my perfect partner in all that is parenthood.

We love you Papa!

Love,

Graham, Laurel, and Momma

5 Years

2011-06-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

On June 17th Kevin and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! Five years doesn't seem very long, but I feel like we have grown and accomplished so much! We took our kids for a little trip down memory lane yesterday afternoon, just for fun.

First stop was Umlauf Sculpture Garden where we said our vows and partied with friends and family on the absolute hottest and most humid day I can remember!

Same arbor, just plus two!

After we drove away from our reception, we realized we were starving because neither of us had really eaten, so we stopped at Roppolo's pizza downtown. At the time we thought it was hilarious to be getting pizza in our wedding clothes!

This place is kinda gross when you visit in the daytime with your kids who want to touch everything!

Our last stop of the night was the Driskill Hotel. We had always wanted to stay there, and were both so excited to be there for our wedding night.

On this visit we just had chocolate cake in the bakery.

Thanks Graham and Laurel for being troopers while your sappy and silly parents drug you through 105 degree heat to visit all of the places that made our wedding day special. Thank you Kevin for the past 5 (or 12) years. They have been amazing, and there is absolutely no one else I'd rather be doing this with than you!

Worn Out

2011-06-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

I love when the grandparents wear out our children so much that they fall asleep in the car at 6pm and transition seamlessly into their beds...

Bed Head

2011-06-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

I don't want to forget what my morning girl looks like when she first wakes up. Her usually pony-tailed and bowed hair looks like this when I go to get my cheerful baby girl in the mornings...

Truck Petting Zoo

2011-06-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

This morning I took the kids to the kick-off of the Round Rock Library summer reading program because I read here that they were having a Truck Petting Zoo. This sounded right up Graham's alley, and checking out a new library sounded fun too. The library was great- huge, with the entire first floor geared towards kids. We will definitely be checking out some of their regular story times and special events this summer! In the back, parked in the shade (thank goodness), the library had a bulldozer and a digger that kids could climb in, use the controls, and honk the horns. The kids had a great time, even though Graham got a little nervous of the digger and its loud horn.

Is it summer yet?!

2011-05-25T22:42:00.001-05:00

Only 5 1/2 days left, but whose counting? Oh yeah, ME! Every last single second!!

Can't wait for summer!

18 months!

2011-05-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

Our sweet baby girl is 18 months this week! Her first birthday feels like it was just yesterday (not to mention when she was born). She has changed so much in the last six months and is such a little person, with a sweet and spunky personality. We are certainly in the toddler stage with Lo, but it all seems much easier this time around. This is probably a combination of being slightly more experienced as parents, and some personality differences between our two children. Here is what she has been up to lately...

-She is a champion walker, runner, and climber. She loves to dance and climb and is learning to jump. Her favorite activity is climbing anything and everything and this is probably the only thing she gets "in trouble" for.

-Her language has just exploded and she wants to know the name of everything. She will point, we will name it, and she will try her best to copy. She is doing SO well and has too many understandable words to count. Her favorites are peoples names and "no, no, no". She has started putting a few 2-word sentences together, usually "hi", "bye-bye", or "no, no, no" plus some one's name. ("No, no, no momma") She also says "get down" to Major.

-She still loves to read and has many favorite books. She is very particular about what she wants to read and makes her own selections at bedtime. If she is talking too long, and I make a suggestion, she usually says, "No", with an emphatic shake of her head. A few of her favorites are Cookie's Week, Where is My Cat, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and I Went Walking.

-She is not a terrific eater and is already very picky. She will decide not to eat something just by the way it looks and often refuses to try new things on her plate. She will always eat any fruit, crackers, fruit bars, yogurt, spaghetti, and sweets. She almost always refuses meat and veggies.

-She loves, loves, loves her brother. EVERYthing he does, she MUST do. Their favorite games are chase, wrestling, jumping on the bed, and racing. Laurel loves to catch her brother laying on the floor so that she can do a surprise raspberry attack. Their least favorite thing to do is share anything. Sharing is the biggest challenge in our house these days. Laurel often gets toys ripped out of her hands, and her response is this new high pitched scream.

-Lo is very affectionate and likes to hug and kiss. She also has a bit of a feisty side and has tried out hitting and biting lately. She is always quick with a hug or kiss to say sorry.

-We took away Lo's pacifier about 2 months ago, and to say she was mad about it is an understatement. It took almost 2 weeks for her to fall asleep without crying, but now it is all going much smoother. Most nights she sits in her bed talking and singing to herself until she falls asleep- the sweetest sound ever!

-Our Lo is a girly girl! She loves trying on pretty clothes, requests bows as soon as I get her dressed, enjoys Momma putting her hair up, and loves shoes!! She loves to watch herself in the mirror and wants to talk on the phone all of the time. I'm not sure where this all comes from, but I know that her Aunt Beth and Aunt Alison are so proud to hear this. I am personally terrified of her teenage years!

And that's our Laurel! We love her beyond belief and just can't imagine life without her sweet little self. I can't wait to see what the next six months have to hold, and can only hope that they go a little slower than these past six months! Here are a few pictures to show how much she has changed...

12 month picture by San Souci Photography

Faster than Fast, Quicker than Quick

2011-05-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

Graham learned to ride his tricycle several months ago, and has now moved on to his new Lightning McQueen scooter. He looks so cute crouched down, scooting along. (Notice the entourage behind Graham- Laurel and Stevie, with Major up ahead of us.)

Pickup Truck

2011-05-08T22:24:00.000-05:00

I used to look forward to Saturdays
When me and my grandpa'd get away

We'd hop in his pickup truck and we'd go to town

We had a couple chores that we had to do

It didn't take long before we were through

Then we'd let the pickup truck just wander around

We'd take a run to the county dump

We'd always wave when we saw someone

Grandpa make up a song as we rolled along

To the post office without fail

We'd get some feed and we'd check out the mail

We never took the same road twice on the way back home

Half the fun's gettin' lost on the way back home!

-Pickup Truck Song, Jerry Jeff Walker

Love you, and your "new-old" truck, Dad!

April Recap

2011-05-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

A combination of party planning, celebrations, Kevin commandeering the computer for school, and just regular busy-ness has made me so far behind in blogging that I am overwhelmed by all that we have been up to. Instead of detailed posts of everything, here is an overview of the past month!

We celebrated Granny-Granny's 87th birthday

We celebrated Graham turning 3 with a super fun, and super windy, party at the train park with friends and family.

After a serious talk between Graham and Dr. Cardwell Graham is finally potty trained at age 3. I worked on it for almost a year, Graham spent one day in denial, and then just did it. There should be a picture of me doing the happy dance, but Graham looks cuter in undies than me.

We celebrated Easter with lots of family, eggs, and sugar!

A few unpictured events include Kevin finishing his first semester in grad school with a 4.0, and the complete redo of our backyard, still in progress. (pictures to come when it is all done)

Whew! I feel a little better getting some of that documented! Now I will feel free to keep up with the little moments, which is what a greatly prefer!!

The Best Gift

2011-05-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

photos via

I love these two more than words can ever express, and motherhood is the best thing in my life. I am so thankful to have the chance to be a part of their lives, along with the best partner in the world.

Happy Mother's Day!

Capturing the Good Moments

2011-04-12T22:27:00.000-05:00

You know those moments/hours/days with your kids when you feel like everyone is in a crabby mood and misbehaving? When no one is listening or doing what you would like for them to do? When one is running away while the other is crying to be picked up? I know all moms have experienced this.

I had an evening like this the other day during a photo shoot with a wonderful friend. However, despite the mayhem of the night, and the potty accident in the middle of a wildflower field, she captured this photograph of my little ones...

via

This picture melts my heart. I could absolutely stare at it all day. I love the protecting arms of big brother, the gentle kiss on the head, and her nestled against him. This picture perfectly captures the growing love between our two children and the sweet moments that they now share.

The sad thing is that I barely remember this moment happening that night because I was so caught up in the less than perfect behavior and the wet undies. I was fussing and chasing and was totally unaware of any of the good moments taking place. Thank goodness someone was aware enough to capture them for me, so that years from now I will only remember this.

Thank you friend for another beautiful session with amazing pictures of Graham and Laurel. You have a wonderful talent and amazing patience!

You can check out a few more of the pictures from Sans Souci Photography here.

Wowzy Whiskers it was windy!!

2011-04-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

I have a long post about Graham's birthday party and turning 3 ahead, but tonight I'm too tired. So, I leave you with a picture that sums up the weather today for our outside birthday party...

...frosting literally being blown off of the cupcakes.

Strawberry Fields Forever

2011-04-07T17:00:00.001-05:00

This past weekend my mom, the kids, and I made the beautiful drive out the Marble Falls to pick strawberries! We had a great time and picked lots of the yummy berries (we at a few too!). My camera mysteriously disapeared from our bag and was found under the ottoman when we got home, so I had to reley on my phone for pics. All of them have been "touched up" to make them blog-worthy!

My Guys

2011-03-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

Could they be any more alike?

Summer Preview

2011-03-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

We are really enjoying this warm spring and the preview of the summer ahead, minus the profuse sweating.

Katy Buddies

2011-03-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

While we were in Katy we also got to spend some quality time with Lo's future man, Owen. He is so easy going and didn't mind sharing toys, popsicles, and his backyard with us at all.

While Alison and I were at the baby shower the dads took the kids to the Houston Zoo (brave men). They captured this picture of all three kids together. At age 2 Graham already looks a little annoyed that he has to hold the babies hands.

We miss you Lowreys and can't wait until we get to hang together again!

Double the Fun

2011-03-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we headed to Katy so that I could help host a baby shower for Alison's sister, Christine. Christine is having twins, a boy and a girl, and will be having them any day now! Alison and I had a lot of fun planning and creating things for the shower.

I love hosting a party with her!

The shower was a success and Christine is more than ready to meet those babies!

Growing Up

2011-03-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

Lately Graham's wild and crazy ways are taking a turn, and a gentler side is starting to show itself in our sweet guy. Recently, at a carnival petting zoo, he was able to show off this new, gentle self.

Graham and Major still have some relationship mending to do, but I'm sure they'll get there.

Sometimes you just need to get in touch with your feminine side

2011-03-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

One night, while visiting our besties in Katy, it got reeeeeealy quiet in Graham's neck of the woods. When I went searching I found him hiding behind a chair, and he had done this...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T21:27:00.001-05:00

We had a fun time today listening to the pipes and drums at Opal Divine's (despite some crankyness).

Yes, Lo is wearing a Guinness necklace.

Here's hoping something got your feet tapping and moving this St. Patrick's Day!

A few 15 month old tricks

2011-03-06T20:00:00.001-06:00

Potty Progress

2011-03-05T22:11:00.001-06:00

Last summer we gave potty training with Graham a try and when he put on the breaks and shut down completely we decided to back off 100% until he was showing more signs that he was ready. Well, several months down the road (and only about a month until his 3rd birthday) we were no closer than we were last summer and it was time for some "encouragement". This week we put up a sticker chart that earns little prizes for filling up rows and a trip to Jamba Juice for filling up the whole thing, and lo and behold Graham decided the potty wasn't that bad. We are still not trained, or even wearing undies yet, but I am celebrating the baby steps!

With his potty chart, looking at some cheerleaders that were talking about how cute he was

Do you think Jamba Juice will still make him this happy when he is 16?

Friday Fun Day!

2011-03-04T16:41:00.000-06:00

Fridays at our house have become field trip days. Our super fabulous nanny, Kelsey, will take the kids somewhere outside of the house to shake things up a bit. They have visited the Big Bounce a few times, a music class, a gymnastics free play, and have picnicked at Twin Lakes park. Today they got a bit more adventuresome and took the Metro Rail downtown to the Austin Children's museum, played, lunched, and then rode the train back! Talk about Graham heaven! She said they had a great time. Since I wasn't there, I will let the pictures do the talking...

Who on earth is this big boy and what happened to my baby?

Kelsey's sweet sister, Halley, who came along for the adventure

Here is a little interview Kelsey and Halley tried to get Graham to do about the day. He is just a bit distracted by the water fountain!

Happy Haircut

2011-03-02T21:48:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it takes a straight up bribe to get things done around here.

lollipop + hair gel = successful haircut

? + ? = successful potty training

He's Going Places

2011-03-01T16:20:00.000-06:00

My big boy just recently got over his fears and anxieties (and hard headedness) and learned to ride his tricycle. He absolutely loves being able to go! Other than the occasionally scary ant pile in the sidewalk crack to pass or the "practice" fall into the neighbor's yard he is doing really well and can ride all the way to the park. Our warm afternoons are now spent in a parade of Graham on his bike, Lo toddling behind, one or all of the animals following too, and Momma bringing up the rear to make sure no one is left behind.

14 Reasons

2011-02-14T00:29:00.000-06:00

14 Reasons why I love you Graham...
1. You are my first born and my biggest experiment. You are very forgiving about this.
2. You still love to snuggle. A lot.
3. You are going through this super affectionate phase and tell me all of the time, "I lub you, Mom. I really, really, lub you." Melts my heart.
4. You are super silly, just like your Papa and Momma.
5. You have an amazing imagination, and I love to sit and listen to the conversations you make your trains and cars have with each other.
6. You love to play outside.
7. You question everything. You really want to know about everything and I can see your mind working as we explain things to you.
8. You come to our bed every single morning (be it 2am or 6am) and snuggle in with us.
9. You are so proud of yourself for learning to ride your tricycle.
10. You make your sister laugh more than Papa and I combined.
11. You try really hard to be helpful and like to throw away trash and feed Major his breakfast.
12. You love to read, and your favorite reader is your Papa at bedtime.
13. You get excited about the little things like seeing working bulldozers, going through a car wash, or watching a fire truck go by.
14. You are so much like your Papa, it's crazy!

14 Reasons why I love you Laurel...
1. You are my baby who has taught me to slow down and cherish every moment of your babyhood.
2. You are infinitely cheerful in the morning.
3. You love books, and are very specific about your favorites (Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? right now)
4. You have brought out my girly side and I love picking out your clothes and bows.
5. You are fiercely independent. (I can already hear you saying, "I can do it by myself!" even though you don't talk yet)
6. You don't let your brother walk all over you, or anyone for that matter, and will shoot The Eyebrow whenever needed.
7. You are super easy going and love to tag along anywhere.
8. You are a late sleeper and typically don't wake up until 8:30 or 9.
9. You are so sinking cute. Everytime I see your face scrunch into a smile I have to smile too.
10. You are the perfect partner for girl time at Hobby Lobby, Target, or anyplace else the boys don't want to go.
1l. You already love girly stuff like jewelry and shoes, playing tea party and babies, and getting dressed up.
12. You lean in for kisses at the most random times.
13. You actually usually listen when I say "no" or ask you to put something back. This is amazing to me.
14. You are so much like me, it's crazy!

I love you sweet boy and girl! Happy Valentine's Day!

Snow Day 2011

2011-02-04T14:16:00.000-06:00

Our snow watch began last night when Kevin came home from a late basketball game and said that he had seen a few flakes. Graham was SO excited about the prospect of snow, so we bundled up in our jammies and went outside to take a look around. There were indeed some flakes on the cold sidewalks and cars, but the best was waiting for us in the morning!

This morning the first thing we said to Graham when he came into our room was, "Look out the window." He ran to the window and was so amazed to see snow everywhere. We immediately bundled up and went outside to play. I had to wake up my late sleeper, Laurel, to come out and join us.

Everybody liked the snow and Graham would not stop eating it (same as last year!). Our sweet neighbor was outside too and helped with some snowball making. When the sun came out and the streets began to melt we decided to go to a nearby park to check out the snow and ice. It was fun to get out and was so beautiful!

What a fun day! And oh my goodness, look how much everyone has changed since last year...

Tackling Sewing

2011-01-31T21:56:00.000-06:00

Lately I have really been enjoying trying out different craft projects I see as I browse the many, many, many craft blogs out there. My experimenting has ranged from girly hair clips to paper crafts with my new Cricut, various felt crafts, and valentine ideas. My biggest accomplishment thus far has been tackling the intimidation I have always felt about my sewing machine. I have my mom's old machine and it has created so many handmade projects it would make your head spin, including my sister's wedding dress. You would think having watched my mom sew all of those years that I would have a little more knowledge about the whole process, but I am clueless. (Kinda reminds me of asking my mom how to get to my high school the day I got my driver's license. But I digress.) I have decided that the best thing to do is just to throw myself into projects and doggy paddle until I learn to swim.

The baby girl dresses out there are really what lured me into dragging out the sewing maching. Adorable ideas are out there with free patterns and beautiful step-by-step directions to lead the newbies through. My first project was this dress from Lil Blue Boo. I loved that all you had to do was measure your girl and cut out rectangles acordingly. This was my first attempt at something wearable, first time to make gathers, and first time to ~~fight with~~ create straps. I have to say I was pretty darn proud of the outcome.

pardon the cell phone pic, it's the only one I have of her in it!

I definitely plan on making this dress again. An idea I have seen out there in bloggy land is "upcycling" old clothes to new ones. It seems so Little House on the Prarie to me, but it makes perfect sense. I have already found several old shirts that would make super cute dresses for Lo, and I can't wait to upcycle them!

My next sewing project was to make these hooded towels from The Cottage Home. I absolutely love a baby (or big boy) in a hooded towel right after the bath, but they are often so thin and small. This tutorial uses one full sized towel and one hand towel to create a hooded towel that grows with your little one. I found the brightly colored towels on sale at Target in the dorm room section and had a lot of fun picking fabric to match. This project was my first time to use ricrac and I loved how cute it turned out. I loved how simple this project was (despite the fact that I broke a sewing machine needle for the first time) and I plan on making a million more!

Three cheers for figuring out the sewing maching, and for the many projects that hopefully follow!

I told you, we love our spaghetti

2011-01-21T21:06:00.000-06:00

When I posted pics of the kids digging into their spaghetti, my mom immediately said she had some pictures she had to send me. Apparently, the love of spaghetti is timeless!

We like to start the addiction early

2011-01-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

Ice Ornament

2011-01-16T12:00:00.002-06:00

During this week's cold spell our super nanny, Kelsey, made an ice ornanment with Graham. The results were so beautiful and naturally led to discussions about freezing and melting.

They started with a round aluminum pan and placed various leaves in it from outside. (There was also some blue sparkly ribbon in there.) The filled the pan with water and before placing it in the freezer put a piece of twine at the top with both ends sticking out. After nap time they checked on the pan and found that it was frozen solid. We popped out the block of ice and tied it up outside on the back porch. We watched it swaying in the wind (from inside our warm house) for a day and a half before it even began to melt, it was that cold this week! I love how simple the activity was, how Graham was able to be involved in every step, and how we could talk about what was happening to the ice as it melted.

Spaghetti Night

2011-01-15T20:09:00.001-06:00

"Tuh-bhetti", as Graham calls it, is a favorite meal at my house. Making spaghetti guarantees that both of my kids will eat their dinner without any protests and often with requests for more. Our spaghetti is not fancy and is a quick meal that I always have the ingredients for. I always make extra so that there are leftovers because, in our non-sophisticated tastebuds' opinion, cold spaghetti the next day tastes even better than the first night. We love tuh-bhetti!! What is the meal your kids are guaranteed to eat every time?

BTW, I do realize that at almost 3 Graham should be using utensils just a bit more, but it was tuh-bhetti night and really, you can't get fussy on tuh-bhetti night.

My Little Book Worm

2011-01-07T21:08:00.001-06:00

Our Lo is in love with books right now and you can constantly find her sitting next to the various book baskets flipping through her favorites. She will be very insistent about reading certain ones, holding them up to you so that you will pull her into your lap and read to her.

Her favorites right now are I Went Walking, Dear Zoo, all of the Karen Katz lift the flap books, and Goodnight Moon. It makes me so happy to see that she loves books and reading so much. There is nothing better than snuggling into the couch with a good book!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T21:10:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of family time. Here is a run down of all we did...

We picked out our tree at the traditional Ol' Home Depot.

We took it home to decorate with help from everyone. Both kids were very good about the tree this year. Lo would just go up and point and say, "Ooooooh!" Graham, for the most part, stayed away. This was a huge and pleasant change from last year!!

We visited the Zilker Tree, which was a little sad without the Trail of Lights, but pretty all the same. The kids had a great time and both really like spinning, LOVED kettle corn (which, let's face it, is the only reason we really go each year), and fought all the way home of the light up thingy we bought.

The kids visited Santa at the library with Nanny. Graham was still totally afraid and wouldn't go near him.

We took our annual family picture in Santa's sleigh under the Heritage Oak tree.

We celebrated Nanny's birthday on Christmas Eve with a family lunch at Z Tejas.

We had an amazing Christmas morning (it is awesome being Santa!), a wonderful brunch with my family, and a terrific dinner with Kevin's family. I am totally lacking in pictures of most of the day because when it comes to major events I might want to someday remember I usually completely forget to take any pictures!

After Christmas we had fun with our besties, the Lowreys, for New Years. All of the pictures from the week are on Alison's awesome new camera!

On New Years Day we lunched with the whole Antichevich family and then had dinner with the Millers.

Antichevich great grand kids

My Family

Lo graduated to the "big kid" table!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T23:23:00.002-06:00

Flower Fun!

2010-12-22T00:32:00.000-06:00

Ever since Lo was born I have had more than a little fun putting pretty clips in her hair. I have never been a big fan of huge bows and headbands on babies, but have always loved the simple little touches of color I can add to match her outfit. Lately, I have fallen in love with flowers! I love how simple and girly they look. Buying bows can really add up (especially if you have as many as Lo does), but there are so many tutorials online that show how to make them, if you feel like being crafty. Here are a few of my favorites...

The Crochet Flower

A while back a friend posted a picture of her daughter on her blog wearing a clip similar to this one. When I asked her where she had bought it she said our mutual friend, Wendy, had made them! Wendy sent me to this tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets where I learned that I am either one, really bad at following directions, or two, not quite ready for this level of crocheting (I'm going to go with number two seeing as I had never crocheted before trying this flower). My mom ended up helping me out on this one and made me several little flowers that I added ribbon and buttons to to create some super cute clips! Imagine how excited I was when Lo also received some of her very own flower clips for her birthday from Wendy! I love how different the two clips look using the same crochet flower technique, just by changing the size of the yarn used.

The Rolled-Fabric Flower

The next flower I attempted was this rolled fabric flower that I found while browsing around Little Birdie Secrets. I loved how simple it looked and that you truly just need your hot glue gun and scrap fabric to make them (no trip to the craft store just to try out something new!). It really was easy and I have made these into clips for Lo and friends, but also into simple little flower pins for myself to girly-fy boring sweaters and shirts. My sister has made a few and hot glued them to a headband for a super cute accessory! So cute and easy!

The Felt Rosette

My love for felt began when I stumbled across this tutorial at The Purl Bee through this really fun and crafty blog called Homemade by Jill. (Did you know that felt is only 25 cents?!) I thought this flower was sooo pretty and was sure that mine would not turn out as nice, but it did! The printable pattern and picture tutorial lead you through it beautifully! It took a little time, but was really easy. I also loved the way they used felt to cover a clip and have used this technique on other clips as well!

The Felt Pom-Pom Flower

This is by far the easiest flower I have done and I love it! I found this one here. This flower can be made with just felt and a hot glue gun and it is so stinkin' easy! I splurged on felt at the HobLob and bought 12 different colors when I saw this tutorial. (That's a whole 3 dollars, folks.) So far I have made Lo (several) clips and a few super cute headbands for my sister with this one. A few notes on this flower: when the tutorial says to cut 4-5 flowers to make it, always go with 5. And when I made the flowers for my sisters' headbands I went with 6 because they were a little bigger and I wanted them to look even fuller.

So there are a few flower ideas to have fun with! The best thing about them is that they are all so versatile and don't just have to be added to a baby clip. I have seen so many awesome ideas like adding them to a simple bag to dress it up, or making small ones to add to a homemade card. Feeling crafty yet?

Family Pictures

2010-12-21T16:58:00.000-06:00

My Christmas cards were finally placed the mail, and maybe a few of you have already received them, so I can now share our recent family pictures! They were taken by a dear friend and I love, love, LOVE all of them, but here are a few of my favorite...

The session was also a time to get some one year old shots of Lo. These pictures were taken on her actual birthday! There are so many amazing ones, I am not even going to pretend that I can choose only a few to share...

oh my goodness, I love everything about this picture- the chubby leg rolls and the wrinkly tights, the foot coming out of the shoe, the skirt hiked up because she is so curious about the inside of the fountain. I need it blown up so that I can keep her this age forever!

A huge thank you to Sans Souci Photography for such wonderful photos. They are the perfect way to preserve our memories of this wonderful stage of babyhood.

Holiday Fun

2010-12-05T22:52:00.000-06:00

This weekend we had fun kicking off the holidays with with lots of Christma-fun!

On Friday we went to the lighting of the Heritage Oak Tree. We have gone every year since we moved here and it was so fun to watch Graham and Laurel see all of the lights get turned on for the first time this year. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and bought a glow bracelet, but it was really crowded this year so we decided to drive around and look at some Christmas lights instead of fight all of the people.

The Miller Fam

Kristina joined us with her little guy, Madden

Graham's favorite song right now is Jingle Bells and he would not let go of this singing toothbrush I randomly picked up at Walgreens. I think he pressed the button in Kevin's ear no less than 100 times.

There are so many amazing lights here in town and we had a great time. Graham LOVES Christmas lights and especially loved one house with a train in the front yard and another house where the lights dance to the music.

One culdesac that really goes all out!

Both Graham and Laurel were really amazed by the lights and could have watched them all night.

On Saturday we decorated the house (a really interesting feat with a 2 year-old and a 1 year-old who were VERY curious about everything coming out of the storage boxes). My absolute best investment ever is non-breakable ornaments. I don't really care if they look slightly tacky, they kept Graham and Laurel busy for a whole 20 minutes and I never once had to say, "No!"

One of our holiday additions this year is our Elf on the Shelf named "Ped" (Fred). Fred stays at our house during the day and then reports back to Santa each night about Graham and Lo's behavior. Each morning he is in a new place watching, and we have to find him. Graham likes to occasionally talk to him and has mentioned a few times that he would like a new cup (??) for Christmas.

This morning Fred was hanging out in Graham's stocking. "Oh Ped, you sih-yee!"

That afternoon we met up with our playdate group for a cookie decorating party. It was so much fun watching the kids pile their cookies with frosting and sprinkles! We had 10 kids there total and they had a lot of fun burning off their sugar highs in the back yard together after eating all of those cookies. I had fun trying to catch up with all of the grown ups. Thanks Lareina for hosting such a fun party!

scary sugar face!

Running, running, running. Burn that sugar off!!!

Lo had fun trying to keep up with the big kids and playing on the slide.

On Sunday we decided to try and see Santa. Graham is pretty apprehensive about the big guy, and so we really didn't have our hearts set on him actually sitting in Santa's lap, but decided to just check him out and see how it went. We headed out to the Hill Country Galleria and were pleasantly surprised that sitting with Santa is free and you can use your own camera for pictures! The line was very short and Santa was very friendly. As we were waiting we asked Graham what he was going to ask Santa for and he said a new sink. What?! We really need to show this kid a toy catalogue! We plopped Lo down for a quick picture and then I sat with Graham and we tried to talk to Santa. He clammed up, but didn't run away, so I'm calling it a success! As it was time to walk away he gave Santa a high five and picked up a candy cane to go. He even said later that he wanted to talk to Santa again.

Who is this guy again?!

Not really feeling it.

A family Santa picture. (Poor Lo still looks like she doesn't really know what in the heck is going on!)

Later, Santa led a story time right there from his chair. So cool! He read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, of course!

Family pic in front of the beautiful tree!

I have always loved Christmas, but this holiday season is ten times more amazing with a two and a half-year old! Graham is so in to everything and it is super fun feeding into his excitement! I actually don't want Christmas to get here because then it will all be over. We are still looking forward to getting our own tree, visiting the Zilker tree, doing some holiday baking ourselves, and of course the big day itself!

1 Year Old!

2010-11-24T22:12:00.000-06:00

Photo by Sans Souci Photography

Not sure how it all happened in the blink of an eye, but our baby girl is now 1 year old. This year has most definitely been the fastest of my life and I find myself pleading with time to slow down so that I can enjoy all of the little moments that pass too quickly. This past year has been an amazing ride, with all of the ups and downs that come with learning to juggle two little ones, but Laurel's addition to our family has been nothing but an extra ray of sunshine on our lives. Man, I love that sweet little girl! And so, to finish her monthly posts, this is how Laurel has finished her first 12 months...

-She weighs 20pounds 11ounces (50%) and is 29.5 inches long (50%).

-She is a walker and is now practically running all over our house keeping up with Graham and Major (Those two are best friends. You won't find Lo without Major by her side or outside her bedroom door.) She can also stand up without needing something to pull up on, so even the occasional fall doesn't really slow her down.

-She loves to climb the stairs and will try to get up them whenever you turn your back. When you get there to pull her down she smiles and laughs like it's the funniest thing.

-She can say "uh-oh", "ma-ma", "pa-pa", "ha" (hi with a hand wave), and just today started repeating "wow" in this funny, growly sort of voice. She can also tell you the sounds of a horse (tongue click), dog (woof, woof), cat (wow), and duck (wak, wak). Her "uh"s are quite expressive these days as well and my favorite is the "uh?!" with the hands out like she's saying, "What's going on?!"

-She can show you where her head and tummy are.

-She is still a great eater, but is definitely starting to show some preferences. Bananas are out and blueberries are a new favorite. She will pick through a baby trail mix to look for what she likes (yogurt melts and gold fish) and toss out the other stuff.

-She is completely off the bottle and drinks whole milk and water in cups. She is better with a straw than a sippy cup and is a major drink stealer around our house.

-She has four teeth (the top two are ginormous and remind me of chicklets) and one on the way

-She has become so independent this past month. She only wants to walk and does not want to be held and does not want help walking. She will push helpful hands away and shoot you The Eyebrow.

-We've seen a bit of drama queen behavior begin this month. She can definitely play up a fall or shove from her brother, and when her Papa comes to see what happened the tears and wails kick up about seven notches as compared to when Momma comes to check on her! She is standing up for herself more and more and will let her brother know if she did not want to give up that toy or wants what he has.

-Despite the new dramatics, she is still such an even keeled ~~baby~~ toddler. She goes with the flow, loves new situations, smiles all of the time, is sooo happy, lavishes kisses on all (especially on her buddy Major), and makes us smile all of the time. She has been a wonderfully easy baby and if I could guarantee that every baby would be just like her I would have ten more!

We love you Lo! Happy first birthday!

We celebrated Lo's birthday party this past Sunday and I will post those pictures soon.

Also, the amazing picture above was taken by a good friend and I will have more of those soon as well!

Shutterfly is Helping Bloggers!

2010-11-22T22:06:00.001-06:00

With Christmas just around the corner my mind is already on what we will be doing for our holiday card. I have always loved sending out a picture card (and I love receiving them just as much), and this year we are picking a card from Shutterfly, which makes my life a lot easier than last year. (Hand-making 50 cards with a newborn...whose idea was that??). Thanks to Shutterfly for offering bloggers 50 free cards this holiday season! They have so many picture card designs to choose from that range from cute to classic, and I know it will be hard to decide on just one to feature my cutie patooties...

I love how simple and pretty these are. Perfect to feature that one perfect picture.

I love the blues in these two. The don't scream Christmas, but are still so pretty and festive.

I always have trouble choosing just one picture, or even a few, so this one would be perfect for me!

My favorite thing that Shutterfly is doing this year is combining the picture card with space for updates about the family. No need to add in a little newsletter with these cute cards!

How perfect is this for my kids?!

While I am at Shutterfly designing our card I will definitely be picking up a few gifts as well. What grandmother would not love a picture calendar of the grand kids or a picture blown up on a canvas? (Ok, that might be on my Christmas list as well.) You can never go wrong when making gifts with pictures!

Shutterfly is offering bloggers 50 free cards this holiday season! Click here if you want to get in on the fun!

A Hard-Earned Reward

2010-11-17T23:24:00.000-06:00

This week Graham finally (and we won't say how long he worked on it) earned his reward for filling up his Heart Chart! His Heart Chart was a place that we kept track and celebrated moments when Graham was 'kind and loving with his words and his body' (especially to his sister or the animals). Some days passed without a single heart being added, and I thought it would never be filled, even when we were looking for the smallest of moments. But, eventually he began to catch on. One day he even suggested, after petting Stevie oh-so-gently, "Maybe I could get a heart for my Heart Chart!" Since the start of the Heart Chart we have really noticed a change in our guy. We have more good moments than naughty. There are times when he is nice to his sister spontaneously. I have even caught him sharing! He is definitely gentler with the animals, and he and Major are in talks about possibly repairing their relationship. I'm not sure if it was the chart, or just gaining some months towards three, but we are so grateful at our house for the improvements.

Proud Big Boy! (He was so proud that he took his chart into Jamba Juice and showed it to the cashier!)

On a Jamba Juice date with Momma and Papa- he loves his smoothies!

A Family Reunion

2010-11-15T22:28:00.000-06:00

A Family Reunion means...

...seeing five sisters reunited after 25 years apart.

...sharing Austin's beautiful views and weather with some from much colder climates.

...getting extra loving from all sorts of family.

...getting to know family you don't see often or have never even met.

...digging into some awesome grub.

...sharing some Texas traditions with those from out of state or country.

...getting in some extra walking practice.

...catching up on some overdue group pictures.

...or some REALLY, REALLY overdue group pictures.

...talking and catching up with loved ones.

...playing fun games.

...witnessing the love and support of family.

Here's to the next Family Reunion...let's hope it's not 25 years in the making!

She's Walking!

2010-11-01T21:46:00.000-05:00

She took her first, tentative steps three weeks ago.

She has since taken a few here and there.

Now, she knows it will take her places!