Playtime at Mimi and PawPaw's

Mimi reading AG a Curious George book...
LL mailing a letter with PawPaw...
LL taking a little break to ponder how she can get her hands on...
the "FLAG!" she discovered in Mimi's laundry room, which is now at our house. If I haven't mentioned it before, LL is quite taken with "FLAG!"(s)
and patrols for them everywhere we go, happily announcing everytime her amazing flag-radar spots one. And then it usually takes me several minutes to find it... Anyway, this was her first hands-on experience with one and, even though we need a few more lessons in "flag safety" (or "how to not put your or your sister's eye out with a stick that's fun to wave"), I am sure it will not be her last!
AG helped Mimi get the rice cooking, then stood at the counter and read her mail (one "letter" said, "Cook some rice." Seems like we were right on schedule!) and talked on the "phone" (which looked suspiciously like an unplugged, unattached electrical cord, but it seemed to get good reception!). We also got to visit with the girls' Grandpa and Aunt Nanoo while we were there, which was lots of fun. This day trip to Lafayette on Friday was the start of a busy weekend, so we'll post more pics and news of the rest of the fun soon!

Say Cheese!

Here are some views of LL's first ponytails. She was pretty patient with my attempt to wrestle with her wisps!

AG and LL love their time with their Daddy...and it's mutual!
AG, the happy hugger!

Spring Fever

We've loved the warm, sunny days this week! I took these Monday afternoon in our backyard. The girls have gotten interested in exploring the "outer limits," as you can see.
Big smiles for spring-like weather!
Our mischievious little elf...
Going up...
Success!!

LL is a little parrot...she has been imitating so much of what we say for several weeks now and adding so quickly to her vocabulary that I can't keep up. Some additions: plane, monkey (added at the zoo), nose, eyes, cheeks (said while pinching the cheeks of whoever's holding her), ears, flag (she patrols the neighborhood/city for these in the stroller or van), tiger (OK, only a few times, but at least she's acknowledging that not everything is a puppy or bunny now!), bunta (belly button), nightnight!! (said with a smile while waving with her arm stretched all the way up by her ear), and Blankie (finally her other lovie gets some respect after being called "Ellie" for months!).

Waking up with the Birds

This morning I had one of those moments when I knew before I even opened my eyes that it was a beautiful day. First of all, I'd slept in after T left for work, and felt rested when I woke up on my own (!!!). With my eyes still closed, I could tell that the sunlight was already streaming in the windows. But the most notable part of the experience as I took my time "waking up" was the overwhelming sound of birds... a veritable chorus of the most beautiful birdsongs I ever remembered hearing. "Wow, that's amazing," I thought..."Spring must really be on the way! Those birds are going nuts!" I must say it was quite a relaxing sound, and I enjoyed listening from my cozy haven. A while later, when AG awoke and came into my room, I realized there was something I didn't hear... the "waterfall" of the noise machine T always turns on in the hallway when he gets up to get ready for work. "Maybe it's drowned out by the birds..." It was only after getting out of bed and having trouble finding a working clock that I realized the power had gone out briefly...just long enough for the noise machine to reset itself from "waterfall" to "rainforest"...apparently a rainforest with plenty of birds. No wonder I'd never heard such amazing birdcalls outside my windows before! Oh well, it was a beautiful day anyway, and Spring is still on the way!

Good Times

Is this a yawn, a high note, or is LL just showing off her new teeth?

Playtime at the zoo last Saturday: The biggest frog we've ever seen...and ever hope to!

LL is more interested in going up the slide than down these days...

AG in the belly of a hippo...looks like fun, huh?

LL sits down, but her hair stands up!!

The World as AG Sees It

AG is such a little thinker, planner, and explainer...I guess all almost-three-year olds have these characteristics, but I can't help but be amazed and often amused when those little wheels are spinning in her head and I get to witness the gestures, facial expressions, and articulations that go along with them! It seems she is constantly figuring out what needs to happen, why it should happen, and how it can best happen (from her perspective!). I know the whole process is going on, even when I only catch fragments of it...like yesterday, as we drove to the store, she said, "And when the new baby comes it can ride in Laura's seat and she can ride in my lap."

A while back, we were on our way to take a pair of tennis shoes to Trey at work so he could play tennis with a coworker later that day. I told her we were taking him his shoes, and she said, "Is Daddy walking tippy-toes?" like she does sometimes when she is shoeless outside the house.

Because so much of what she says these days makes perfect sense and she knows so much, it's even funnier when things happen that make us realize there's still SO much to learn... Last week Trey's parents came to stay with the girls while we traveled and the night before we left, I was in LL's room doing something when I overheard "Nana" telling AG about cherry blossoms (a conversation brought about by a tube of cherry blossom hand cream AG'd just discovered and, of course, the fact that we just happened to be heading to DC the next morning). I even heard her tell AG, "Go tell your mom that cherry blossoms come from Washington DC" so, needless to say, I thought I knew what to expect when AG bopped into the room with her announcement: "Mommy, cherry blossoms come from washing machines!" I still wonder if she thinks I just went away and did laundry somewhere else for a few days...:)

Celebrating Our 6th!

Finding a warm refuge in the National Botanical Gardens orchid room
On the Capitol terrace overlooking the Mall and Washington Monument, after a tour of the Capitol.
T and I had a chance to go away for a few days to celebrate our 6th anniversary. His parents came to take care of the girls, which they did beautifully and to the enjoyment of us all, and we headed to DC for a little sight-seeing and a lot of rest. The rest part became even more important than we expected, as both of us felt pretty icky most of the time...possibly a milder but longer-lasting version of the bug that hit AG earlier that week. But even with the ickiness and some pretty low windchill factors, we were able to get out and enjoy otherwise beautiful weather and visit quite a few museums, monuments, and go to a jazz show at the Kennedy Center. It was a fun trip all in all and a nice way to start off our 7th year of marriage!

Our Little Entertainer

OK, my sincere apologies for forgetting to rotate the above shot...but now that it's loaded, and since I don't really know how to change it, I'll just go ahead and leave it as is...cute, anyway, don't you think?

LL loves to go to the hair accessory drawer and try things on...lately headbands have been her favorite, probably because they are one of the few things she can make stay on by herself. So this day she put on two! Above, her own styling, below, mine, after she pulled them off. Notice the puppy she's holding above; this is one of her favorite new words and many times when I get her out of her bed it's the first thing she says to me. She also says "plane" everytime she hears one, whether we're inside or outside and calls cows "moo." She has almost worn out the Maisy books from carrying them all over the house; next to her two "lovies" they are her "go to" items for sure.
Above: While LL modeled her new 'do, poor AG models the only mismatched set of pj's left after her middle-of-the-night bout with a stomach bug (her first one ever, thankfully!). Happily it did not last long, did not get passed to her sister, and was gone before her Nana and Grandpa came to stay with the girls during our trip.
Above: Early this morning...What better to adorn herself with for a phone call to Barney (on the toy phone we borrowed from the church nursery!) than a purple headband??
And finally, this pefectly captures our little daredevil. LL has a fondness for climbing up on random items...a boardgame box, little rocking chair, this truck...and takes delight in standing tall once she gets there, if possible and seeing our response. So far, since she's not gotten too high and since this is a total novelty for our family (AG NEVER climbed on anything like this...), I can't help but be amused at her little antics, and she likes being an entertainer.

Go State!

LL claps along with the band... and AG also hangs out with Gran.

We went to the LSU vs. MSU basketball game (our first trip to campus since our move) when my parents came to town yesterday. This was our girls' first basketball game, which I think was impressive to them, because even though the "marching band" wasn't very big (and didn't march...), inside an arena it's still pretty loud. AG had fun looking for the Tiger mascot (unfortunately Bully wasn't there), and LL liked the music and flags hanging around the ceiling. The game was kind of an aside for them, I think, but for the four MSU alumni in our party, it was the main event (other than wrangling the girls, of course)...and happily for us, the Dawgs held on for an on-the-road victory!

Accessories, Anyone?

LL's new favorite...she's put these beads on (every strand we have) first thing every morning since we got them, and they only come off when we take them off!

She put this pink hat on this morning before we went to church (notice the beads peeking out by her collar...)

Here she is modeling a vest her Mommy wore when she was a toddler.

LL has gotten really into accessorizing this week. We got a few strands of beads at a little Mardi Gras parade (aside: not a real, downtown parade I mentioned we may go to in a previous post...this was at a preschool where the kids decorated their wagons and parents pulled them around a gym! Just our speed!), and she is hooked! She also loves to put on AG's headbands, hats, and sunglasses, which inevitably go on upside down. It's a hoot to watch her walk around all decked out carrying the fridge-farm barn like her own little boom box!

Happy Valentine's Day!

These two little sweet hearts are here to say....
To our family and friends...
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
Hope you have a delightful day!
Love from our family!

Welcome to our Island!

Our own private island, in the making! T's been working on it and it's coming along well, but AG will probably actually be disappointed when it's done since she's had fun playing in it as is!
LL inspects what's going on in the island after helping herself to some graham crackers.


Here are a few new pictures from the last week. As you can see, T's gotten back into his woodworking and has overcome the obstacle of having no shop and almost finished an island for our kitchen. The girls have had fun climbing in and out of it since it doesn't have doors or a top yet. We're still considering how to top it off, but AG has suggested a "blue top." Although tonight she told me, "I don't love blue anymore, I love red" and this morning she'd said orange was her favorite color!

Also, this morning I had my 12 week appt and heard that little heartbeat. It sounded great and everything seems to be going well. Thanks to all for your prayers for us!

Piccadilly Circus

Tonight we went out for a good "homecooked" meal...yes, out. I've realized over the last week that, while food is more appealing to me now (than in the previous few weeks of the first trimester:), this is not so true of food that I've prepared. So Trey graciously took us all out to a place we were reintroduced to when his parents came to town...that staple of families everywhere: Piccadilly (Texans, think Luby's). I don't even remember my last visit there until a few weekends ago when a set of smart grandparents suggested it as a possibility for a rainy day lunch, but it was an immediate hit with the girls, so we decided to go back tonight, which happened to be Kid's Night. Who knew it was the hottest spot in town (at least for the under 10 crowd and those responsible for feeding them!)? We navigated the line with ease, since the girls were fascinated with the balloons tied to the backs of their rolling high chairs, with AG repeatedly reminding us that she wanted a corn dog. I really don't think she knew what a corn dog was, but she knew she wanted one. And of course she loved it, and the blue jello (another first!). LL happily gobbled up everything I put on her tray, then decided she was "done" and started making rounds to neighboring tables of friendly-looking older couples who appreciated her sociability and commented about their own grandchildren. We all came home happy and chased balloons around the family room til baths and bedtime called. It's such fun to see how much joy simple things like a helium balloon or jello bring to a toddler...not to mention how much good a night out of the kitchen does for a mommy every now and then!

Beary Good Friends

AG takes "Claire(andKatie)Bear" grocery shopping

LL pals around with Pooh

The girls have been hanging in there on these chilly, damp days, and thankfully, we've had more opportunities (ie Mommy's had more energy) to get out and go lately. They each have their favorites when we are playing at home. AG has started carrying her beloved bear, given to her by two of my dear friends and previously firmly planted in the corner of her bed 99% of the time, around on her household errands, which include frequent trips to Wal-Mart, Target, the grocery store, the mall... where does she get these ideas, I wonder? She makes all sorts of concoctions with her play food and puts them out on the dining table most evenings for us to enjoy with dinner, and she always warns us when something is hot or tangy. Just a few minutes ago, after being left in bed for her usual afternoon "resttime," she got out of bed and, in that painfully obvious stalling sort of way told me she needed to go to the potty. After a few minutes of privacy, I went in and was treated to this conversation:
AG: Mommy, my mouth doesn't feel good.
Me: What does it feel like?
AG: It feels like I don't need to sleep right now.

I had to laugh, and then I had to get her right back to bed...there are some parts of our routine that are just not up for debate right now, no matter how her mouth feels about it.

LL loves her Pooh bear and has taken a liking to the couple of Maisy books we have, which she prefers for Trey to read to her. It's so fun to watch her get a book, come toward us with it, then turn around a few feet away and back up until she gets to us and plops down in our lap. This is also her method for sitting in the little white rocker...although sometimes her backing radar is more accurate than others. She also has cut a couple of new teeth over the last few days...I just saw a new one sparkling at me this a.m. while she ate breakfast. After cutting her first 8 within a few weeks around 6 months, I guess it's been time for another round of teething, so thankfully she seems to have made it through fairly smoothly so far. She and AG have been having lots of fun together playing in their kitchen and pushing each other around on the little riding truck. It is truly a delightful blessing to hear them laughing together. Of course, having a toddling sister who loves to get into things also gives AG plenty of challenges, so we are all figuring out how to manage those situations day by day.

So all is well here, thankfully, in the land of king cakes and Mardi Gras decor. We may be brave (or crazy?) and take the girls to a parade over the weekend. Hope each of you is having a great week where you are!

Long Time No Blog

Hey friends and family! We're still around...just haven't been snapping too many pictures lately or taking time to record our daily events, largely because there's not been much excitement in that department over the last few weeks. Like many of you, we've been having lots of wet, cold weather, without the added interest of ice like you Austinites! So we've been staying in, taking it easy, mostly. Thankfully the sun's come out the last few days, so maybe we will venture out and have more activities on the horizon soon.

We did go out for a few shopping stops last Friday, and as we tromped across the department store with me carrying LL and a large bag, with AG tagging along, I prodded AG to keep up. She said, "My feet are just not really running very much right now." She's gotten to be such a clear communicator, and it's always fun to hear her take on things. She likes to sing songs she makes up, often to the tune of "Holy Holy Holy," and lately she "reads" stories to her dolls that rhyme and have a definite metered rhythm, though they are kind of like word salad! She's very fond of "treats" (mostly cookies) and asks for one after most meals. Several times lately I've answered her by saying, "We only have those sometimes," or "We'll have one later" to which she immediately asks, "Is it sometimes/later?" She also loves to "write letters" which she folds, puts in envelopes, and seals with stickers. We have quite a stack of outgoing mail at this point!

LL is also doing well and keeping us on our toes. I've been wondering why, over the last month, the floor seems to constantly look like a tornado came through, despite my efforts to keep it from looking that way. It finally hit me that it's because we have a little toddler tornado on our hands. She is into everything and we finally (thanks to Trey's clear thinking) took measures to keep her out of the kitchen cabinets which she loved to raid constantly.

And finally, some more exciting news: We are thankful to be expecting a third baby on our about Aug. 28! We'll be at 10 weeks tomorrow, and all seems to be going well. We'll post updates as we have them and appreciate everyone's prayers and encouragement!

Some New Shots...

AG gets comfy watching her favorite purple dinosaur...
LL helps her Daddy rake and bag the last (we hope) of the leaves...
Our perky princess!
AG now loves to brush our hair...but LL is a moving target!
Suppertime!

All is well here, thankfully. The girls have been having fun playing together and enjoying their neat new toys and books. LL loves to bring books to her Daddy for him to read to her. She is adding more words to her vocabulary daily..."bunny" is one of the newest, but the one we hear the most (other than Mommy and Daddy!) is "Ellie," her best stuffed friend. She cracks us up during meals by snapping food off the spoons we offer her with such speed and gusto that I can only compare it to the video footage I've seen of big fish jumping up out of the water to grab some bait! We are having lots of fun with them these days.

The Adventures of AG

We just got back today from another trip to visit our family, and AG got to do lots of fun things. Above, she made brownies with her Nana. Yum!
Here she is with her Gran on Saturday night during our post-Christmas Christmas celebration with Gran's family.
A rare photo of all four of us! This was taken before we went to church with Nana, Grandpa, and Uncle Matthew.
Getting artsy at Gran and PopPop's house on New Year's Eve...
and being supremely silly in the turban Gran put on her after her bath. She was absolutely giddy...she could not stop giggling and checking herself out in the mirror!

We hope you all have had a great first day of '07 and that many more happy days will follow!