Our 3 year old

Our sweet girl is now 3 years old.  It snuck up on us with everything else going on right now, but it came.  We spent her actual birthday with just the four of us and hit up the Dallas Aquarium.  I've always wanted to go there and since our days are numbered up here, I thought it was the perfect chance.  We had a lot of fun and Mady really enjoyed it.  Amid all the animals we saw, her favorite ones were the duckies!

This past weekend we threw her a birthday party at the park.  Of course it was a Frozen party!  Saying this is her favorite movie is an understatement.  She knows the words to all the songs and is memorizing lines from the movie.  She would watch this movie everyday, several times a day,  if she could.  Our family came in town and all her friends were there, so we had a great time.  I'm so glad we had a reason to get them all together before we leave.  She had a blast!

The weeks leading up to her birthday, she was insistent that she wanted a cupcake and cake for her birthday, so that's what she got!

It's Olaf! Thanks Kindel for the idea!

Owen had a blast too ;)

Pin the nose on Olaf game:

She refused to wear a blindfold, and you can't say no to the birthday girl

 Even adults got in on action!

Cousins ending the day with some sno-cones

What a difference a year makes!  When she turned two she was still a baby to me.  Now, I look at her and see a little girl.  She is loving, silly, outgoing, and strong-willed.  I never imagined this when she was a one year old and constantly clinging to me, but she will talk to anybody, and loves to meet new people.  She will talk your ear off, and her vocabulary grows everyday.  

She loves princesses, jewelry, and playing outside on her tricycle, or bike, because she doesn't like when I call it a tricycle, haha.  She is also getting really good at puzzles.  She is putting together 48 piece puzzles now, and we worked on a 96 piece puzzle together the other day and she surprised me with how well she was doing.  She still loves her books, and of course her baby brother.  My heart overflows watching her with him.  She will play with him on the playmat, and talk to him, and help him with his tummy time and holding things in his hand.  Mady gives him big hugs everyday, and at first Owen would push away and start crying, but now he has gotten use to it and just takes it.  I think he loves it now :)

Our girl has big changes ahead of her and we are trying to prepare her as much as we can.  She has always done way better than I think she will with change.  From potty training, to moving to a big girl room, to having a baby brother.  She has handled them beautifully, and I pray this will be the same. 

Mady, we love you so much and feel so fortunate to be chosen as your parents.  Watching you grow is such a privilege and I can't wait to see what this year has in store!

3 Months

Time flies, and little O is 3 months old now.   No doctor appointment this month but he has been healthy, and still our little chunk.  He is starting to fit into some 6 month clothing and the 3 month are getting a bit snug.  So unlike Mady, who started wearing 3 month clothing when she hit 3 months.  He's getting stronger by the day and has really good head control.  He still hasn't done much rolling over again since that one day, but he did do it once today out of nowhere.  He looked so shocked that he did it, haha.

He is a water baby and LOVES his bath.  It may just be his favorite part of the day.  He can be screaming and crying but when he hears that water turn on, he calms down and gets so excited.  In the bath he will kick and splash like crazy.  So, so cute.  He is also a fan of singing.  More and more lately, he will fall asleep to us singing, or if he's up he will just smile and watch as you sing to him.  He doesn't seem to mind that singing is not one of my many talents ;)

He is sort of settling into a schedule.  When we're home he will take two short naps in the morning, a longer nap in the afternoon, and then another short nap in the evening.  He then is in bed for the night around 8.  He was sleeping great at night and only waking up once, but he's had a regression and has started waking up 2-3 times again.  I'm hoping this is a phase that ends soon!

He took his first road trip this week as we headed to New Braunfels to start (and end as it turns out) house hunting.  Considering his car seat is not his favorite place to be, he did great.  We were constantly on the move while we were there and the kids were such troopers.

Our sweet girl turns 3 next week, and I cannot believe it.  Between the move and planning a party, time is flying.  With just a a little over 3 weeks left until the move, we are trying to keep up with all the moving parts while also enjoying our last weeks here.

My little helper

She loves holding her little brother and taking a picture

Why are we doing this again Mom?

First time in the Bumbo!

First road trip!

Exhausted from our house hunting

What's a road trip without Frozen on the iPad

Easter

We had a great time celebrating Easter this year.  We've been really busy getting ready for our big move, and getting this house ready to sell, so it was so nice to have a day focused on something different.  Mady had not one, not two, not three, but four Easter egg hunts this year.  She definitely racked up on the eggs, and the candy!  Looks like Easter has become the Halloween in Spring, candy speaking of course.

Happy girls after getting their eggs

He had no idea he was at his first Easter egg hunt

Seriously, how cute is this?!

This girl was on a mission

Mady with her besties!

On Easter we kicked it off in the morning with an awesome service at our church.  Seriously, if you are looking for a church home, check out 121 Community Church.  I am going to miss this place so much.  We then stopped for a milkshake, and headed to the Airport park to kill time before heading to see one of Mady's favorite people lately, Uncle John.  We had such a nice time having lunch and visiting with the family, and Mady had a blast hunting for more eggs!

Some happy kids

We have been quite busy, but this past Sunday was a sweet time with family, and remembering how fortunate we are for what was sacrificed for us, and the good news that came after.  What an amazing gift we are given, if we choose to take it.  God's plan for us has been so evident lately, and I'm excited to see how it unfolds.

Now, I did fail as a mother because the only good shot I got of my two little ones on Easter was this one.  Not exactly photo frame worthy.  Maybe next year!

Annual Bluebonnet Pictures

Yes, we are those people that go out every year when the bluebonnets are blooming to take pictures.  We found a field of them close by that we have gone to the past few years.  There was nobody else out there so, unfortunately, we couldn't get a family picture.  We need to get a tripod.  Anyways, I think we still got some pretty cute ones!

This should belong on the "Pooping on Bluebonnets" Tumblr  I saw, haha

2 Months Old

We have hit the two month mark now with our little guy.  He had his two month appointment on Thursday and he is doing great.  He got his shots, which he was not a fan of, but he was a champ and did not have any negative reactions to them.  He got extra cuddling time too!  Here are his stats:

Head size: 15.75 inches (75th percentile)

Weight: 13lbs 10 oz (90th percentile)

Height: 23.5 inches (50% percentile)

He's our little chunk!  He's in 3 month and 3-6 month clothing right now, although they are starting to fit a little snug. Owen is smiling quite a bit and we haven't gotten a laugh yet, but I feel its close because he will give us this little laugh/grunt sometimes.  He is not a fan at all of tummy time, but he is doing great at holding his head up and he is starting to lift up more on his arms when he is on his tummy.  He is a fan of movement and when you're holding him he wants you up and walking.  The minute we sit down with him, he starts crying.  High maintenance!  This does mean that he is starting to like the swing more and more.

As far as sleeping goes, we can't complain.  I put him to sleep after Mady goes to bed, so he is asleep by 8:30.  He usually wakes up between 2-3, eats, and then goes back to sleep until around 6.  We are still working on naps and getting a regular routine set up there, but he does get a good nap in the afternoon for about 2-3 hours.  It's nice because Mady is napping too, which gives me some time to get things done.

Mady is the best big sister.  She is still super sweet with him and loves him so much.  She loves talking to him when he is awake and "playing" with him on his playmat.  It's so cute listening to her talk to him when they are on the playmat.  A few of the things she will say to him:

"I love you Owen"

"I always be here for you Owen"

"It's ok, Mommy will pick you up" followed by "Mommy, come get Owen"

"You hungry Owen?"

One day she told me "Mommy, you are the best toy ever!".  I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult because she thinks of me as her toy, haha.  Now that the weather is getting nicer, we have been spending a lot of time outside.  She has finally mastered her tricycle (now that her feet can finally reach the pedals) and loves it!  

This is the sad lip I get when he is about to start crying :(

She loves playing in these trees in our neighborhood

I can't get over how much they look alike

Spring Break and First Haircut

Both kids are sleeping, and because that is a very rare event, I am taking the time to write a blog  We had a great Spring Break.  The grandparents came in town to see us, which meant the kiddos got lots of attention and grandparent spoiling :)

Owen was having a rough time with his reflux while my parents were here.  My dad had the magic touch though, and could calm him down almost every time.  Thankfully, we are now on Prevacid and it has made quite a difference.  You can see the change in his mood and we get a lot more smiles now :)

Lita and Mady doing one of their favorite things...baking cookies

While Mimi was here, she and Aunt Ellyn took Mady to the zoo and the Botanical Gardens.  She loves the zoo and, as always, had a blast.  She came back with this cute little penguin, who we now call Bubby.

                          

Mady's hair was getting pretty long and the ends were getting a bit frayed, so I decided it was time for her first haircut.  We went to a kids place and she did great!  She got to sit in a firetruck, and they had her favorite movie on, Frozen, so she didn't move one bit.  Everything is now evened out and her hair looks thicker and healthier.  It makes her look older too, which I'm not quite sure I like ;)

Before

After

 Now that the weather is getting warmer, we are starting to take walks again.  Mady insists that I take a picture of her every time we go, so here are a couple of the latest, and one cute one of Owen.  Well, I hear crying, so gotta go!