This Girl

What can I say about this girl?



I am so in love with her! She has brought so much joy into my life.



I could just stare at her all day long and never get bored.



My love for her is immeasurable.



P.S. The photos are from Aunt Amanda. Aren't they awesome?

Weekend Recap

This past weekend I took Connor and Kaitlynn to visit their MeMe and Granddaddy in East Texas. We had a full weekend planned to celebrate my Dad's birthday.



Unfortunately, my dad threw out his back and then I came down with a nasty stomach bug. I'm still recovering, but thankfully he seems to be much better. But none of that kept the kids from having fun.

MeMe recently converted one of her big bedrooms into the "cousins' bunkroom" with 2 sets of bunkbeds, a big queen bed, and a toddler bed. That's 6 beds in 1 room! Connor, Renee, and Ryah were so excited to try out the new room and they actually did great sleeping there unsupervised.



Kaitlynn and cousin Preslee enjoyed some cousin bonding time together at Dairy Queen. Who knew that the White Oak DQ was the largest in the world?? (in square footage)



Next door to my parents' house is a construction site for a beautiful Victorian home. Connor and cousin Makenna decided to go check it out with Granddaddy (before the back incident).



Finally, just a cute pic of Kaitlynn helping Mommy pack for the trip. We are all hoping that no one else around here gets sick!

9 Month Update

Kaitlynn had her 9 month doctor visit today. She weighed 21 lbs 12 oz and measured 27 3/4 inches long. Those measurements as well as her head circumference all came in at the 90th percentile. (Compare that to Connor at this age...he was 26 lbs and 29 inches which was off their standard charts, ha!)

I was recently feeling a little guilty about not scheduling 9 month pictures for Kaitlynn...not because I think we need them, but because I got them for Connor at this age. And it's a great age for some precious pics! But then we were so lucky to visit Aunt Amanda last week and she took so many pics of Kaitlynn. They turned out awesome! This was one of my favorite.



Just in the past week, Kaitlynn has been doing so many new things. She pulled up for the very first time right after we got back from our Virginia trip. I'm pretty sure she learned that trick from her buddy Alex because he's pulling up all the time. And then just this week she officially said her first word. She says "Buh Bye" as she waves when you enter or leave the room. At first I thought it was my imagination but then Jeff and I both noticed it on separate occasions. And one more thing, she has developed a new favorite food. Chicken! It started with Chick-fil-A nuggets last week, and then last night Jeff grilled some chicken breasts and she devoured that as well. At least it's something easy and readily available!

Bathtime Buddies

Why do Moms think it's so fun to bathe their kids together? OK, maybe that's just me. Connor has taken baths over the years with many of his cousins and buddies, and it just becomes a fun little bedtime tradition. So naturally during our recent trip to visit Aunt Amanda, we had to sneak in a little bathtime photo shoot fun for Alex and Kaitlynn.

Amanda had the ingenious idea to put a towel down in the bathtub for the kids to sit on so they wouldn't slip on their bottoms and fall. This was such a great idea that I'll probably do it at home now so I can finally get rid of Kaitlynn's baby bathtub.

Kaitlynn enjoyed the bath...



But I'm pretty sure Alex enjoyed it more. He was squealing and giggling the entire time. They were so cute together and emerged smelling yummy!



Here's my sweet girl with a bruise on her forehead from her crawling adventures. I'm sure it's the first of many to come.

Trip to Roanoke

Kaitlynn and I had such a great weekend in Roanoke, VA visiting my sweet friend Amanda! It was our first visit since our babies were born a few weeks apart last summer. We had such a wonderful time catching up!



As Amanda pointed out on her blog, we've been friends for over 2 decades! For some reason that is so hard for me to believe. I guess I'm in denial about how old I really am, ha!



I have a TON of photos to share so I just figured I'd post a few at a time. And Aunt Amanda has become quite the talented photographer, so most of my pictures pale (literally) in comparison. :-)



She was so kind to share so many of her pics with me. Look at these sweet babies playing. I think Alex wanted to test Kaitlynn's paci to see whether it was as good as his thumb!



Many more to come....

Dear Alex

Dear Alex,

Did you know I am coming to visit you tomorrow? I am super excited! I asked my Mommy to find my most special dress for the occasion. She picked out a little number with matching tights and bow. I told her that it would do just fine, so pack it up. But she said that it was a little fancy for our casual visit. Bummer, because I really wanted to make a great first impression! Oh well, I guess the picture will have to do for now.



Speaking of pictures, does your Mommy drive you crazy with incessant picture-taking like mine does? Surely they have enough photos of us by now!

Anywho, can't wait to meet ya and chill'ax during our visit this weekend. See you soon!

Love,
Kaitlynn

9 Months

Our little lady (as Connor calls her, ha!) is 9 months old today! Can you believe it? Often I think back to those days when she was a newborn. The days and nights seemed so long and I thought I'd never get through it. But here we are, 9 months later, and the days have just flown by. I always said I wanted a "Pause" button with Connor so that I could slow things down a bit, and I've definitely been wishing for that same button with Kaitlynn too.

When I wrote Kaitlynn's 8 month update, I remember thinking that there wasn't much new that she was doing at the time. But what a difference a month makes, because all of a sudden she has many new tricks.

• She has 4 teeth coming in on the top, all at the same time.



• She says "bah bah bah bah" all the time.



• She started crawling last week. I can set an object across the rug and she'll crawl for it every time.



• She can push herself up into a sitting position. She has gotten so good at this trick that she tends to do it in the middle of the night and then cries out because she apparently doesn't know how to lie back down!



• She can now feed herself with little pieces of food, and she LOVES it. I think it makes her feel independent, ha!



• She is a great napper during the day -- as long as we are at home. She'll nap from 9-11 and then again from 1:30-4 pm. But since we usually have activities or errands during the day, she often misses her naptime window which causes her to fight sleep big time.



• She is waving all the time these days. If anyone says "hi" to her she will stick out her hand and wave, although she waves with her hand facing herself!

I tell her all the time that she is "Mommy's sweet girl" but I think it's pretty clear who's girl she really is...



Look at this sweet baby. She actually looks like she's posing here.



Here is a video of Kaitlynn pushing herself back to sitting and then waving.



Last but not least, here is Kaitlynn crawling. The TV remote is a great incentive for her to crawl since she never gets to play with it!

Days

A couple weeks ago I was getting ready in the bathroom with both kids. Connor was having so much fun playing with his sister that he asked me to take their picture.

So I did.



And then I took another one.



And another one.



They were just so cute and sweet, I couldn't stop.



I've had a really good few weeks here at home, just being a Mom. Connor has been a true angel lately. We've been working on good table manners, being polite, being a good listener, and obeying Mom and Dad. And for some reason, he has been paying attention and is being so cooperative. Kaitlynn, too, has just been so precious and sweet and such an easy baby. It makes my days so much more enjoyable and really makes me appreciate the time I have with both of them.

Because I admit, there have been (and still are) days that I definitely don't appreciate it. Days when I daydream about returning to work. Days where I crumble in self-pity because I'm always on duty and never feel appreciated. And, I'm embarrassed to admit, days when I resent being a full-time Mom and wonder what it would feel like to take some time off.

So maybe that's why I can't stop snapping these pictures of my babies. Maybe a part of me realizes that more of the tough days are just around the corner, so I should soak in the good days while I can.



Hmmmm, did I say good days? I meant great.

Buckets, Baskets, and Boxes

One of Kaitlynn's new favorite activities involves buckets and baskets. Or in this case, boxes.



I had forgotten how much fun it could be for a little one to explore inside these containers.



But what's not to love? Who knows what fun little gem could be lurking inside?



Aha, an old pacifier! See, I knew there was something really cool in here!



Going, going....Gone! Hey Mom, come over here and refill my bucket please!



Now Kaitlynn, that basket is off limits.



Busted!

Rodeo Fun

As promised, here's a recap from our Rodeo visit yesterday. We were blessed with gorgeous weather, but the downside was that everyone in Houston seemed to have the same idea about getting outside and enjoying the festivities. It was so crowded! I think we spent longer in the car on the drive to/from the Rodeo than we did at the events. And we ended up missing the actual "Rodeo show" (as Connor calls it) but we still had a great time hanging with Connor's buddies Benjamin and Timothy and their parents.

Here's Timothy, Connor, and Benjamin dressed up in their cowboy gear.


Kaitlynn and Timothy flirting (as usual)!


The highlight of the evening - riding the ponies.


Connor was so much braver this year.


Our favorite thing about the Rodeo - the food! Connor had chicken strips on a stick.


The boys also enjoyed the indoor petting zoo. Some of the animals were a little aggressive but all 3 boys did great.


Just for fun, here's a photo of Connor on the pony this year...


And here's one from last year. He wasn't so sure then!

It's Rodeo Time

It's that time again in Houston...Rodeo time! Last year Connor had such fun at the rodeo that he talked about it for months afterwards. We plan to go this weekend so stay tuned for pics.

In the meantime, Connor's preschool hosted a Rodeo day this week where all the kids got to ride the ponies. They will be putting on a Rodeo show for the parents next week. Luckily we were able to round up some cowboy gear for Connor (Thanks, Aunt Michelle!) so he's been galloping all around the place these days. I attempted to get him some real cowboy boots -- my first trip to Cavender's in a long time! -- but poor kid has his Mom's wide feet and we just couldn't find any that fit. Connor seemed more disappointed about not having a rope. Go figure.



I left the room for a moment and came back to find this. Apparently Connor felt that Kaitlynn needed a cowboy hat, too, so he let her borrow his.

Missing

This morning I was changing Kaitlynn on my bed and she wormed herself away before I could get her diaper and pants back on.



Connor came in the room right about that time. I jokingly said to him, "Connor, something is missing here. What is Kaitlynn missing?"

He looked at her and pondered my question for a moment before responding in a serious tone, "Her bow."

Week of Birthdays

The last week of February is always a week of birthday celebrations in our family: Collin's on the 25th and mine on the 28th. Here's a recap of our fun birthday week.

We celebrated Collin's birthday last Wednesday night after school. He turned 17 this year...Crazy! We went to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants called Toro. It's a Japanese grill (like Benihana) where they cook the food at your table. Collin's girlfriend Jillian joined us and we kept joking that our family is so big we were able to sit at our own table by ourselves.

Here's Collin seeing his birthday cake for the first time. It always cracks me up when he makes this face.



There, that's better. Too bad the cake didn't turn out well. It was more like a cookie crisp than a cookie cake!



Our cook at Toro was very entertaining, especially for Connor. He threw some rice across the table for each of us to catch in our mouth. Here's a pic after Kevin caught his.



The whole gang before cake and ice cream.



And finally, blowing out the candles. Happy 17th, Collin!



For my birthday, I was so excited for my mom to drive down for the weekend. Jeff watched the kids (all 4 of them!) while my mom and I shopped most of the day. It was wonderful having all of that time to ourselves. One of the highlights was stopping at the Ulta store since both of us were running low on makeup. We got little mini-makeovers and lots of new makeup. Thanks, Mom!

And speaking of my Mom, she has lost over 70 pounds since August! Doesn't she look great?! Incredible!!



On Saturday evening, my Mom babysat Connor and Kaitlynn while Jeff and I went on a date. It was the first date for us in -- gasp! -- 9 months.



We went to Ikea and just browsed the store and then to The Melting Pot for our first fondue restaurant experience. And oh my, it was soooooo yummy. Our dinner lasted 2 1/2 hours! Needless to say, we were stuffed. It was so wonderful to spend time together uninterrupted. Here's a quick pic of our dessert that went with the chocolate fondue. I think I ate the entire plate myself! :-)