On the mend

I took Reese to the doctor yesterday.  No ear infection but her throat had puss (yummy) and the doctor declared it a viral infection.   She was awesome at the doctors office.  I gave her a heads up (remember when the doctor looked in Drake's ears and mouth?  Can you say ahhhhhh?) so she was ready to perform.

Reese earned a bracelet (wacelet) for letting the doctor swab her throat to check for strep.  Here she is professing her"lub" for the "wacelet."

When we got home, she wanted some Daddy time.  Drake has decided that if Daddy is holding anyone else, then he needs to be held right that second.  He is currently obsessed with Daddy and Daddy only.

No idea if Stella and Drake battled this same virus over the last week.  They were both pretty grouchy, even without a fever.  Reese had a temperature of 102 until this morning!!  We went shopping for Dora pull-ups (I lub 'em!) and Easter trinkets for the eggs.  Fingers crossed that no-one else comes down with the virus and we can head to Nana and Pops this weekend to celebrate Easter.  


I grabbed some quality time with Stella yesterday afternoon.  She finished school at 1:45 and Reese and Drake were napping.  We went outside and had some fun.  First, we had some swing time.

Then to the backyard.

She found a spot to sit halfway down the hill.  She was looking at the trees and the birds.

 I could hear her singing softly so I turned on my video and snuck down the hill.  She doesn't see me until the very end of this video when I call her name.  The tune she is singing is "One little, two little, three little indians..."

Spring has sprung and even though we had a weird cold snap a few nights ago (down to 39 degrees) things are starting to bloom.  These beautiful flowers cascade over one side of our deck.  I started with a picture up close, then backed away.  Hundreds of flowers!!!

 It reminds me of the Secret Garden!  You can walk through it at the bottom and there is a little workshop under the deck where I keep some of our outdoor toys.

Our garden has survived thus far.

Both of our cucumber plants look a little sickly - we will see if they make it.

Any advice, Grandma or Nana?  It looks like it might have a little fungus or wilt - white powdery stuff.  Maybe I should toss it and grab two more?

That's it for today. 

Fever, Fever, Go Away

Reese came down with a fever on Monday morning.  It's Tuesday night and it's still going strong.  Poor baby.  She switches between being the worst patient ever and the best patient ever.

Worst patient ever: 

Best patient ever - this girl will read books for hours.

Drake has taken over Reese's green purse and claimed it as his own.  He fills, dumps and refills toys for hours. 

I took a video of Drake laughing and realized he's a snorter.

Home again

We had a great time in NOLA.  The weather was perfect, the food was phenomenal and the music was awesome.   Jill joined us and we hooked up with Brian and Kirsten for a few meals.   First, the food -  Wes picked his faves and we tagged along.  They include Couchon, Mr. B's, Boucherie, La Boca, Peche and some crawfish here and there.   So many good dishes but my personal fave was the Barbecued Shrimp from Mr. B's.  It was cooked perfectly and the sauce was good enough to drink.  I seriously considered taking a to-go cup of the sauce to dip in french bread later but decided against it.

I didn't take a lot of pictures.  I was too busy enjoying the festival!!!!  A big thank you to Lynda, Pop and Kaitlyn for holding down the fort so we could get away. Here's a picture of the kids with Nana before we left.

And everyone was happy to see Daddy when we got home.  They were fighting for his attention.

I see some little strawberries growing!!!

There is a post going around that shows some awful haircuts from back in the day.  This one reminds me of Reese:)  Makes me laugh every time I see it.

Here's a video of Reese while we are out shopping.  This is how she walks wherever we go.  I think she is a future mall-walker. 

You're only a day away...

Tomorrow Wes and I are going to NOLA!!!  I'm so excited - French Quarter Fest is my favorite NOLA festival and this girl is ready to EAT.  Wes has been researching our plan of attack so we hit all our favorite spots in two and a half days.  Lynda is coming in to watch the kids (THANK YOU!) so we can rest easy knowing they are in good hands.

Here's a video of my drama queen.  Her latest saying is, "It's not funny!"  Whenever she gets in trouble, this is her response.  Even if I'm not laughing.  Don't let those tears fool you - this is all fake crying.  I know the difference!!  I wrote the book:)

I probably won't be updating the blog until next week.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Taking selfies

Captured a selfie with each of my girls.

We played with bubbles on the deck today.

And here is my little running man.

Stella loves to swing!

Reese asked where her daddy was this morning.  I asked her, "Where do you think he is?"  She said, "He's hiding in the potty."  So she went to check the half bath to see if he was there.  No luck.  Then she started yelling, "WES!  WES!"  I told her he would be home tomorrow and she hopped in her chair for breakfast.  Funny girl.  She said a few words today that I didn't teach her.  Must have been KK or the tv.  I told her to put her shoes on and she said, "No - they aren't shoes, they are sandals."   And in the car, she said "Crescendo!!!"  That was definitely from Little Einsteins.

Birthday talk

Can't believe the girls turn 3 this month!!!  Reese understands what a birthday party is, having watched one on Little Einsteins.  Here is her list of must-haves:

Here's another video of her non-stop chattering. She is discussing Drake's ear infection on the way to the doctor. And learns how to whistle at the end.

Stella's favorite video is an alphabet song. At the very end, it shows all the objects and she likes to name them. I wish I had videoed our first attempt at this. She named about half of them. She was tired by the time I got my phone out and we only got a few. Listen for - apple, ball, cat, dog, fish and hat. Whenever she is frustrated, she starts saying, "ok, ok, ok." We see steady improvements with her language. She is counting to six, but of course I can never catch it on film.

While Stella was at therapy today, I took Reese and Drake to an outdoor shopping mall.   The weather is PERFECT right now.

My evening project was to clear another shelf in the pantry.  It is so crowded and I finally found some skinny shelves to hang our spices.

We had our last session with one of Stella's favorite teachers.  Luckily, Kari will still be living in Austin so we will find a way to hang out with her again.

KK is here so this momma is going to go enjoy some retail therapy.  Wes is in Costa Rica until Sunday so it will be a long weekend without him:(

Debris and Fatigue

Reese has a few words she can't quite pronounce.  Here is a list of the ones that make me smile.

Chicken muggets (nuggets)
ginger  (finger)
i lub it (i love it)
gank you  (thank you)
pish (fish) - I tell her "f, f, fish" and she replies "f, f, pish" every time:)
i gosh you (i got you)
antsy antsy (Fancy Nancy, her current favorite book)

Here's a little video of her chatting -

 Drake has been talking up a storm, too.  Here's a list of words he can say - more, up, no, thank you, kick, dada, mama, uh-oh, go, open, berries, all done.  Here's a video of him playing with the ball, which he pronounces "bah-ull."

All three kids are into "Ring around the Rosie" especially Drake.  He loves being a part of the action.

Wes has been traveling a bit and when he gets home, there is always a lot of excitement.

Cuteness:)