Raisins and Burgers and Peas....Oh My!

We have two little pigs at our house...two cute little blonde-haired, blue-eyed pigs. LL has gotten into "baby" food, literally, with gusto over the last few months, and now that she has three (almost four!) teeth, I imagine that it won't take her long to get into the real stuff, too. Here's a picture of her showing off her teeth after enjoying some peas. The other day AG decided to help herself to some raisins...alot of raisins. Mommy was distracted when this self-serve operation began, so I don't know how much of the mountain she had done away with before I noticed. And then she had another culinary adventure, one she certainly had to have before we left Texas...her first Whataburger! Although she seemed to think the burger was OK, she was much more impressed with the fries, and her Daddy will probably remember to get his own next time! (Notice the ketchup pool she made for her fries on top of her hamburger?) LL watched patiently from a high chair, as you can see. Maybe next time we come to Austin she can have her own burger... (PS: You've probably noticed that the photos are usually out of the order referenced in my writings...I try to get them right, but it never works, and I'm trusting that you can figure out which is which!)

Seriously Silly

AG has come down with a case of the sillies over the last few months. It's always been one of our favorite pastimes to make her laugh, but more and more it seems she is the one making us laugh. For a few weeks she's been randomly taking off her shorts and I think she thinks it's fun to run around in her diaper whether Mommy notices or not, but the other day she came bopping into the room making sure I would take note... because she had her shorts on her head! Thankfully, the camera was handy, so you can see, too. Another example of her silliness is that for a few weeks each night when I ask her what story she wants to read, she'd say "green beans." I'd kind of laugh and was thinking, "OK, maybe there's something in one of her books about green beans...one day I'll figure it out." But tonight when I asked which book, she said, "Lima beans!" It is really fun to see what she will come up with next these days.

On the Move

It's been an eventful few weeks at our house...amidst all our prep to get the house "market-ready" and starting to plan for our move to BR, LL has found time to do some serious teething (see pic for just one of many examples!), become forwardly mobile in her own unique way (hands and knees are involved from time to time, as you can see), and even work on her balance while standing. She's developing a higher level of determination every day to reach her "goals"...which may be any toy, camera, ball, or shoe she thinks is accessible...her selection has narrowed since most of our "stuff" is neatly put away as we show the house, but she's pretty motivated anyway. She has a good cheerleader in AG, although AG has taken on a new level of vigilance about her own "stuff" now that LL is able to get to it!

Road Trip!

Seems like it's been a while...since I posted, but also since we made the 500+ mile drive to visit our families in MS. We caught up on the latter over a long holiday weekend and had a wonderful time seeing all the grandparents, friends, and other family members we could squeeze in while we were there. There were lots of memorable moments on this trip. A big highlight was the celebration of 35 years of marriage of my parents, Jim and Martha, aka "PopPop and Gran." We enjoyed a special dinner with them and some of their friends and family, at which the girls made a brief appearance before their bedtimes (see picture). AG got her first "up close and personal" view of a real live turtle at their house, also, as well as seeing and hearing lots of trains, which she always enjoys. Fun was also had with "Nana and Grandpa": AG got to help pick tomatoes and squash in the garden, went to a big park with Nana and Grandpa, and went swimming twice with her Daddy...she seemed to enjoy having an audience of other family members and neighbors watch her as she kicked, blew bubbles, and jumped off the side of the pool at least 2 dozen times. She also had fun modeling some of her Nana's mother's earrings...her first time to wear "earmeens," as she likes to call them. Doesn't she look lovely? LL, who had discovered how to clap just a few days before our trip, got lots of practice by playing pat-a-cake with Nana. She also started to get the hang of eating her first finger food...sweet potato "puffs" which were worth all the effort to get them from her tray to her little fist to her mouth, as you can see in the picture. LL also got to show off her first two teeth! We returned with a little less sleep but alot more memories to cherish.