NC trip - Part 1

Thursday afternoon we left to visit family in North Carolina. Grant missed his nap so we could get to the airport on time. No one was happy about that. Abby slept the first 45 minutes of the flight. She did pretty good- got antsy a few times but very good. We started introducing the kids by saying "This is Abby. She's our good one. And this is Grant."

The Mitts picked us up and we ate chicken burgers (yum), then played Sketch Party on the iPad using AppleTV. So fun!

Friday the Mitt girls went to school and the rest of us went to the Life Science Museum. Grant did great! He loved running around.

We had lunch at Elmos Diner, then came home for naps.

Marlene, Laura and Rudy came by and the Holloway clan joined for dinner. We played more Sketch Party. The kids loved playing together!

Fall feels like...

THIS!!!
Well - it doesn't really feel like 97 degrees like it was today. But we're still doing our best to soak up fall. Pumpkins outside and in our bellies!!

We had a full weekend. On Saturday, Grant got new shoes (size 9W!!), and I cooked up some pumpkin cupcakes. We joined the Sellerses for dinner at their new place. We met them in our child birth class. Our kids are just over 2 weeks apart - both with blond hair and blue eyes. They play SO WELL together!


We left with full bellies, but instead of going home as planned, we had to sneak in some cuddles with Daxon.

Sunday Derek made pancakes, then we packed up to go to the Arboretum for a picnic brunch. The Sheps picked up Taco Joint. We took plenty of photos with the kiddos in the pumpkin village.

After naps, the Hoffmans joined us for a play date. The kids get SO EXCITED to see each other!
And as an added bonus, Gloria & Matthew stopped in after dinner.

So, yeah - it was a full weekend. We can't wait for more fun-filled fall weekends.

Houston, we have a curl

Abby had a mini photo shoot last night. I noticed that she had one single little curl and became obsessed with trying to capture it.
That's what Derek calls her "Rose face". He says that when she looks like her grandma. Did you see the curl on the left?! Check it out again.

But then I couldn't resist photos of the rest of my crew.
Yeah - he had some M&Ms on his chin.
And how about a little SHARING!
An iPhone photo of the crew crawling. Grant was the leader and Derek was the caboose.

And last Friday, we had an impromptu meet up with the Motos for pizza & dessert. Abby liked the dessert place. For like 10 seconds. Then she got too tired and wanted to go home and go to bed.

Things I Love - Soup

I found a new love today. Nordstrom Cafe's Roma Tomato Soup. I'd never had it before, but now I'm part of the club. Nom, nom, nom.

Big Girls Don't Cry

Ms. D at daycare informed me today that this is Abby's favorite song. Every time it comes on, she shakes her head and crawls to the radio.

Frankie Valli's song... not Fergie's. The girl's got taste! I was beaming with pride at my little dancer. I think I actually jumped up and down.

On a related note, I've just added a song to my music collection. Can you guess which song?!

twenty9freckles

My friend Rachel will be selling her clothing this weekend at Dallas Flea! Please go by and show her some love at her booth for her business, twenty9 freckles!

Here is Abby modeling one of the onesies:

Weekend update

Friday after work, Grant and I skinny dipped in the pool. Well - one of us anyway. The forecast called for cooler weather, so I wanted to make sure we got in some good pool time!

On Saturday we met up with Lorena for brunch. But we were early, so we POPPED in on Wild Bill. Bill was holding Abby and I said "You look so much like your dad." Everyone was confused since Abby is not a mini-me of Derek, but I was actually talking to Billy! 4 seconds later, Abby was basically leaping back into my arms... apparently so she could throw up on me.

We had a great time catching up with Lolo! I love that she always make time to see my family (even when she doesn't have much time). After brunch, I stayed home with napping babies and Derek went to pick up Kennedy.

Kennedy baby sat while we went to see Baby Daxon! He is precious! Then we had some time before meeting up for Erin's birthday dinner! So we pre-partied with Bill at Chill.

Erin's birthday dinner was perfect! I loved catching up with family. Unfortunately, while I was catching up, I was overserved. I may have had the most fun!

So Sunday, I figured "hair of the dog" and I joined my girlfriends at DISH for bottomless mimosas at our Second Sunday Brunch Bunch! Not that we haven't seen each other often, but I still felt like I had a lot to catch up on with them too!

Sunday evening we grilled chicken and I made some stuffed grilled bell peppers that were SO good! Something I'd never done before. So of course my excellent eater (Grant) ate nothing.

After dinner Grant entertained himself (and us) by putting on Derek's boots, walking around to show us, then taking them off and putting on Derek's flip flops. And on and on.

I decided to try to lay Abby down while she's still awake. I figure it's about time she put herself to bed. She didn't make a peep. I tried again tonight - same thing. My baby is getting so big! (I say that with a pout).

Red Oak

We took a quick trip to Red Oak yesterday. Mom had spaghetti, Grant played with his bike and we (of course) took a ride on the Ranger to feed the fish. It was my first time to feed the fish since my parents restocked the pond.
Back in my day, we would throw food into the ring and a few fish would come up and we'd be amazed. But nowadays, the fish are TRAINED to come up when they hear the sound of the food on the water. About a hundred come up at once. They fight for one little nugget. It's AMAZING. I think I hadn't been down to see the fish feed yet because from what I remember, it was not that remarkable. But these new fish - WOW!

Pics from the day:
Dada and Abby -
Grant playing:
Grant cooling off (his face was red from heat, not the sun)
And Grant "driving" Abby in the Ranger. With spaghetti sauce all over him.

Abby is 9 months!

My girl is 9 months. Here's what she's up to:
Height: 28 inches (70th percentile)

Weight: 20 lbs, 1oz at the doctor's office when she was halfway through a bottle, although the Wii says 20 lbs, 10 oz. = 80th percentile

Head: 46 cm (90th percentile)

Diaper: 4's

Eating: 7-8 ounces every 3 hours. She is eating about 6 oz. of baby food each day and sampling from our plates! I'm SO ready for table food! Like I said last month, she is a good eater, but nothing like her brother. He would cry between bites, and she waits patiently (or gets distracted by Lola).

Clothing: 12 month clothes. I'm looking for a new source for 12-18 month old girl clothes if you know of anyone!

Sleeping: 11-12 hours. 3 naps... but at daycare, she only fits in 2 short naps.

Talking: She talks a lot. Mama, Dada, and I think she even says Bubba. Not really at anyone just yet.

Teeth: Her top right is cutting through. It'll be here any day now!

Milestones: She's officially a CRAWLER. Sometimes on all 4s, and sometimes with her right leg sticking out. She LOVES to stand up! That's when she's the most lively. She can also PULL UP unassisted, but prefers to do it assisted! And one other milestone - she's in a NEW CAR SEAT! The infant carrier just became too much. And Carrie was getting rid of 2 seats, so the timing was just right!

The doc also confirmed that the rash on her cheek is eczema. We had diagnosed her ourselves, so it was good to know it wasn't something more serious. And he said treating with Vasoline is good (which we've been doing), so we get another star.

Guaranteed Smiles: Watching Lola and Grant. She's still a mama's girl - reaches for me all the time. She also LOVES the activity table or just pulling up with a little assistance.

Guaranteed Crying: Getting into PJs or generally being on the changing table.

And here are Grant's stats from his 9 month check up.

Potty Training

Up until now, we have always done something fun for Labor Day. But now that we're 30, the fun has ended.

We start potty training this weekend. I have no idea how this will work. I definitely haven't read enough about it. I'm expecting total disaster day 1, and only small improvements Sunday and Monday.

I need to stock up on more wine for this weekend. Don't worry though - I've got PLENTY of M&M's and carpet cleaner on hand.

For a little fun, check out the Squatty Potty. I was trying to find a bigger stool for Grant because it's hard for him to turn around on a small step stool.