Ali and Ben visit, part 2

The rest of our time with Ali and Ben was very fun and very busy!
We went downtown on Thursday, March 4 and met Dan for lunch at a park there. After lunch we drove to the Galleria and saw the WaterWall (a Houston landmark that I hadn't been to since Dan and I were dating) and walked around the mall a little.
Friday, March 5 we headed to the coast to see the Kemah Boardwalk and ride the little train there. We then headed over to Galveston to ride the ferry--we had a great time feeding the seagulls and seeing dolphins in the wake of the boat. And of course we stopped along the Seawall to test the water and put our toes in the sand. Dan and I are definitely doing a beach trip this summer--Megan and Brooke LOVED the sand.
Saturday, March 6 we went to a movie and lounged in the hot tub at my parents' house after dinner with the kids--it was so nice after such a busy week!
Sunday we went to church--our first week in our new building--and drove out to the temple in the afternoon.
Ali, Ben, and Alonzo (Megan's new best friend) left Monday, March 8--we all missed them when they left, but Megan especially missed seeing Alonzo all day. For the next week or so she would ask where Alonzo was when she woke up and she still LOVES to see him on Skype. Thanks for coming guys! Come again anytime.

Megan and Lon-o playing in the park downtown


Checking out the sculptures on one side of the park


The Waterwall



Kemah








The Galveston Ferry


The Beach


Church girls



The Temple

Rodeo Time

March in Houston means Rodeo time. We were so excited this year to have Dan's sister Ali, her husband Ben, and their little boy Alonzo come to visit for a week right during rodeo season. They own livestock and horses and while almost anyone would enjoy the rodeo, we thought it was especially appropriate for them.
We went on opening day (March 2) and the place was empty! It was perfect (although Ali and Ben aren't quite convinced that Houston really is a big city--lots of the places we visited were really quiet).
We had a great time taking the kids around the exhibits at the livestock show during the day and then we went to see the rodeo itself and Alan Jackson perform that night. Megan LOVED the baby chickens (they have these glass enclosed warm pens where you can watch the chicks hatch and dry off) and looking at all the other animals. She was a little timid in the petting zoo though. Thanks Mom for watching the kids (and Ali and Ben for treating us to such a fun double date!).

Megan and Alonzo watching horse cutting (and that doesn't mean horse hair-cuts--it's a horse trying to separate one cow from a herd and keep it separate for a certain amount of time)


Barbecue, anyone?


That's right, Megan passed out walking from the horse arena to the main exhibit hall (where all the kids stuff is). So, I had to WAKE HER UP to let her see it. I was so torn doing this--I try VERY hard not to wake up a sleeping child. But she loved the animals, so it was worth it...and I wasn't putting her to bed that night :)






Oh by the way, Brooke had her first case of hives from Feb. 28 to Mar. 4--and it was a doozy! She looked like that scene from Hitch where his ear gets huge and his eye swells shut--so, so sad. And the best part is, we have no idea what caused them! Thankfully they haven't returned yet (knock on wood).


The day after the rodeo (March 3), Ali and I took the kids to the children's museum here. It was packed with field trip kids and was a little overwhelming for Megan (and thus, crazy for me dragging my timid, near-tears 2 year old from exhibit to exhibit while toting my baby in a front pack). But we bought a season pass and we both liked it more when we went back on a less crowded day.

Megan's favorite part--the grocery store


See, I was there!


Ali and Alonzo

Scooting

Watch out! Brookie is on the move. She has been mastering sitting up on her own and scooting backwards. She's getting to be a pro...except when she gets stuck in corners!
Seeing her on her hands and knees or toes is getting to be a more common occurrence. And I love setting her down and knowing she'll sit there and play. What a cutie.

2/27/10


2/26/10


2/20/10


2/18/10


2/16/10

Little moments

Time keeps slipping by. The kids are growing faster than I ever imagined possible and I know I'll blink and this time of life will be over.
Some things I want to remember...
-family dancing in the kitchen--Megan was dancing with Dan and Brooke with me when Megan wanted Dan and I to dance. Dan started to put her down to oblige, but she couldn't stand not being part of the party so Dan got to dance with 3 girls all at once.
-listening to Brooke and Megan giggle at each other in the back seat
-watching Megan give Brooke "kisses" when really she is just bonking her head into Brooke's
-the way Brooke goes crazy kicking when she hears the water filling the tub before bath time
-the way Megan says "Pred-nint Monzon" when she blesses the prophet in her prayers
-watching movies with Megan--she has to sit right by you and have a blanket covering both of you before she is happy
This is only the tip of the iceberg, but I love these girls and feel so blessed to be their mother. Some days are long and sometimes I want to pull my hair out, but there are also many days that fly by and are fun and peace-filled.

2/21/10

I shouldn't be surprised...

that a little girl whose birthday is Halloween would love to wear her Halloween shirt all year long. She saw it at the bottom of her drawer a few days ago and wore it for three days straight. She calls it "witch" shirt and loves to sing "I'm a mean old witch" when she's wearing it. She often requests it when we are getting dressed in the morning and I pretend not to find it. I've hidden it in the back of her drawer. Maybe that's why she empties her drawers when she decides not to nap--it's not just to be naughty, she's looking for "witch"!

Feb. 17

Be Mine...

A little Valentine's sweetness for you. Here are our two girls on Valentine's Day--we were home sick from church (with pink-eye and coughs) but still managed to get in the spirit of things. We had a fun Valentine's party during the week for the kids at a neighbor's house and had a yummy steak dinner to celebrate the day. Happy V-Day!

the "before" (she may not have much hair, but it can get a little crazy in the morning!)


the "after"


Brooke's hair was a little easier :)

Family Time

We enjoyed a visit from my Dad's mom (Baba) AND my sister Jamie at the end of January. Baba was here for 10 days and Jamie was here just for the weekend. I just love to talk to my Baba. She has led an amazing life and always had great advice and stories to share. Her visits never seem long enough. This was the first time Jamie was back in the Lone Star State since their move to CT and it was great to have all the siblings together for the first time in nearly a year. We had a great time playing games, talking, laughing, and eating.

My parents, siblings, and Baba on Jan. 31


Four generations on Jan. 29



Walking through Mercer Arboretum (unfortunately not much was blooming, but it was a nice day) on Jan. 27


Mom, Baba, and my girls on Jan. 27


Brooke's become quite the Mama's girl lately--but she slowly warmed up to her Baba (Jan. 27)

Jan. 29

Swapping

My friend Ashley and I both go grocery shopping on Mondays. She agreed to try swapping kids with me on Mondays so we could each do our grocery shopping alone and have a little time after to do WHATEVER WE WANT.
It is heavenly to be alone for a few hours in the middle of the day during the week. And then we get to play with Ashley's kids (Megan and Maddy). The Megans are only 3 months apart in age and boy are they BUSY girls--they can be a little crazy. But, they get along pretty well for 2 year olds and love to play together. Maddy (13 months) and Brooke are cut from similar easy-going molds and have fun watching the older girls run around.
Here are some shots from a few weeks ago. So to all of you other stay-at-homers out there--find a swapping friend--it's a party.

Jan. 25

Jan. 21

6 months...

Brooke on Jan 21

As of January 13, Brooke is closer to turning one than to her birth! Wow, time flies.
At 6 months, Brooke can roll over and over and over, any-which way. She can also turn in circles. She loves to smile and laugh (but her best giggles are still only for Megan). She loves to hang out in the exersaucer. She's getting close to sitting on her own. She is a great sleeper (11 hours at night, one 3 hour nap and one 1 1/2 hour nap in the day, sometimes a 3rd catnap before dinner). She is so interactive and lights up when you talk to her. She can say "bababa". She loves bath time and eating "real" food (is rice cereal real food?).

6 month stats:
Length: 26 3/4 in (85th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds, 5 ounces (58th percentile--"thinning out" a little)

New Camera

Nikon D3000.
We LOVE it.
It takes awesome pictures (and we don't even know what we're doing with it yet!)
The best part is that it takes pictures FAST--no more missing those smiles from our kids. Yessssssss.
It arrived Jan. 12. Last year we took about 60 pictures a month. We took 396 in January. Here's a few favorites (I had such a hard time narrowing these down!)

Jan. 17

Jan. 20
Jan. 18

Jan. 15
Jan. 16

Jan. 13
Jan. 13

Jan. 13

Jan. 12

Jan. 12

Happy New Year--2010!

Brooke rang in the New Year with her first tastes of solid food on Dec. 30! Unlike Megan's shaky first attempt, Brooke took to this eating thing like a champ. She has yet to not finish a helping of anything we've given her!

New Year's Eve is a fun anniversary day for our family--this year it marked the 5 year anniversary of getting engaged and the 1 year anniversary of closing on our house. Dan had a day off he needed to use so he was home that day. We spent the day checking out bikes for Dan and I (we didn't purchase any though), getting an estimate on some car damage (someone hit us while we were in Utah--minor damage but now we have a nice car repair fund) and enjoying games and fun at my parents' house. We almost made it to midnight (we left my parents' for home after celebrating with NYC at 11)--we're old, we know.

New Year's Day we went and looked at cameras (and did decide to buy one!--but online so we had to wait a week or so). We were back at my parents' that night for a big dinner with my friends from growing up (Kat and Jenn's family). It was so fun to be together with everyone--we wish it happened more often!

Enjoying the swing set, New Year's Weekend


The next week we set some New Year's Resolutions for family night--mine included starting a playgroup and having planned learning activities with Megan on weekdays, but those were promptly set aside when we all spent a week or so being sick. Brooke had RSV and the rest of us felt terrible. Thankfully we recovered and I did start a playgroup (it's well-attended and I love it) and while I don't do activities with Megan EVERY weekday, we do them often and it's helped both Megan and I to enjoy each other more.

Poor sick baby--but I love how snuggly kids are when they don't feel good. (Jan. 10)

The girls, Jan 11