Cold snap!

I was upstairs getting the kids tucked in and heard the wind HOWLING outside.  Came downstairs to find the deck covered in ice.  Glad Wes isn't out on the road somewhere.

I've been on a mission to find the best indoor playground for cold/rainy days.  While the Burger King playground is huge, it had a rotten smell last time we were there.   Yesterday, we tried Chik-Fil-A.  Jackpot!  Super clean, the service is awesome (they bring your food to you at the table so I don't have to juggle kids and a tray), and the playground is perfect.  Half the size of Burger King, but Reese had a blast.  Drake was content to roam around the ground floor waiting for Reese to come down the slide.  Reese's static hair was another awesome bonus.

Doesn't it look like Reese has a berry on her nose in this picture?

Time to curl up by the fire with the hubs.

3-day weekend is over:(

Who doesn't love a 3 day weekend?  Sadly, it is over but we crammed a lot in.    We took our crew to Sunday morning meeting.  It was a circus.   Drake didn't want to sit in his stroller so that meant we were constantly shuffling kids as one would behave and the other two would be wiggle worms.  Reese is into singing so she's been getting some good use out of the hymn book she got from Grandma.  As soon as we start singing, she opens her book and starts pointing at words while singing la, la, laaaaaaa.  Pretty cute.  But she also knows that bible study ends with a hymn.  So after every single hymn, she announces, "ALL DONE!"  We shush her and say, "not yet!!"  We usually have around 5 hymns in a meeting so that gives our group 5 good chuckles. 

I'm happy to report that Reese is doing great in her big girl bed.  Two nights in a row, no wake-ups and she doesn't climb out of bed when she wakes up in the morning.  She's happy to lay there and read.  Awesome!!!  I'm excited to get a crib out of the house.  One down, two to go.  Stella has taken to falling asleep in her tee-pee.  Guess that's always an option.

So back to our weekend.  Our friends Brian and Kirsten ran the half marathon Sunday morning so we met up with them in the afternoon to celebrate their athleticism and our ability to go a little over 2 years without formal exercise.  Wes and I would like to thank our respective parents for the good genes - they are serving us well these days.   Although I'm a little nervous about getting into a bathing suit next month.  We are headed to Mexico and I think a one-piece will be my new best friend.  Time to get on Nordstrom.com so I can try them on in the privacy of my own home. 

I keep getting off track.  Monday was spent doing odd jobs around the house and sneaking in some playtime outdoors since the weather is gorgeous!!!  Brian and Kirsten stopped by since they hadn't seen our new digs yet, and Sara and sweet Julian made a visit.  Drake and Julian are just a few months apart and I'm excited for Drake to have a little buddy to play with.  Julian is about the cutest kid on the planet (more good genes at work).  Here are a few pics from today.

Reese was a pistol today.  I can't remember what set her off before taking this picture.  She is really testing the waters these days.  I think it's time for me to put a stool in the corner and send her to time-out when she throws these little fits. 

Turning in early tonight. 

XOXO

Fantastic Satur-date

Wes and I drove 90 miles west of Austin towards Fredericksburg to check out the Texas wine country.  We hit up two vineyards, Pedernales and Becker.  Becker had an awesome food truck serving crepes that paired nicely with a glass of red.

Then we parked the car and wandered the small town of Fredericksburg by foot.  Lots of cute shops to browse and munchies to eat.  The weather was gorgeous and it was a great outing.  We weren't very impressed with the wine we tasted - guess we might be Sonoma snobs.  But we will do it again and give it another shot.


When we got home, KK informed us that Reese crawled out of her crib several times at nap time so we are giving the big girl bed a try tonight.  Here she is reading a book.  So far, so good.  She went to bed an hour ago and we haven't seen any movement yet.  Wes thinks she might get scared in the middle of the night when she wakes up and doesn't recognize where she is.  Only time will tell.

Next is a funny video I took yesterday.  Whenever I back out of the garage, I have to make a 3 point turn since the Land Cruiser is parked behind me.  Every time I pull forward towards the fence, Reese tells me "Not that way!"  Wonder where she gets her awesome back-seat driving skills?  The video continues to prove my point that she never stops talking.  And she loves rocking her Burger King crown - she thinks she is a princess.  

The same day, I captured these two cuties holding hands in the back seat.  Awwwwwww!

We love hah-sicles!!

That's how Reese says popsicles.  I've been using the Vitamix to blend fruits and veggies to make popsicles.  Only way I can get Stella to eat veggies.  This last batch had pineapple, carrots, spinach, blackberries, blueberries, rasberries, bananas, and flax seed.  They were a huge hit.

Drake was a little upset when his was all gone.

Here's a video of the cuteness.

Today, I took Reese and Drake to Burger King while Stella was in therapy.  Reese had a blast on the indoor jungle gym.  Here she is playing peek-a-boo with us.

The day before, I took them to IKEA.  Good times:)

Here are some cute pics of Stella.  She loves sitting with her Daddy.

And I know she's getting tired when she crawls into her tent with a blanket, a pacifier and Big Bear.
I think she would sleep in there if I let her.

Some outdoor fun.

Drake cracks me up with how much he loves to laugh.  Here are a few clips:

He even laughs when I'm telling him no.

And another one.

Drake is already learning to drive.  He likes to go fast!!

Enough cuteness for one day.  Ciao!

Getting some sleep over here

I'm a little hesitant to brag about getting sleep - seems like every time I say it out loud, the next few nights are awful.  But here goes...Drake is sleeping great.  He goes down easy, except for the fact that it takes FOREVER to get a burp out of him after his evening bottle.  Seriously, it takes about 20 minutes to burp him.  He's frustrated, we are frustrated, no fun for anyone.  But once he goes down, he stays down.  Same with Reese.  She is a true "Reese."  This girl loves to sleep.  She lays flat on her back with arms and legs spread out, snores, talks in her sleep and doesn't wake up for anything.  Her and Drake are sharing a room right now and he can wake up wailing at 6 am and she doesn't move a muscle.  Nice!!!  Stella is doing much better.  (Knock on wood.)  The nightmares, night terrors and getting scared in the middle of the night have all stopped.  She still wakes up once a night but she sings herself back to sleep.  I can handle that.  Back to Reese.  One issue she is having is taking her clothes off at nap time.  She is super close to being potty trained but nap time is her downfall.  She keeps taking all her clothes off, sometimes her diaper.  Yesterday, she took her poopy diaper off (nice!) in her crib.  Luckily, it was firm (too much information?) and even luckier, my babysitter was here.  Ha!!  Sorry, KK!!!  Actually, I had just gotten home so I helped her out.  Reese got a BIG pop on her bottom and promised not to do it again.  Fast forward to today, where she took her clothes off and peed in her crib at nap time.  Another big POP and 30 minutes of timeout in her crib with no books.  Let's see what tomorrow brings!!  Wes suggested I put the video monitor in her room for nap time tomorrow.  Time to catch her in the act of taking her clothes off and stop her there.  Here are some pics from a few days ago.   When I got her out of bed at naptime, she assured me "no pants off, mama.  no pops."  I believed her for a second.  Then I set her down in the playroom and realized her shirt was on backwards.

And there was a mysterious bulge on her side.

Further investigation revealed that her pull-up diaper had been removed and put back on sideways.  Busted!!!!

Sadly, Reese still has no problem telling a lie straight to my face.  Not good.  But for the most part, she's a good listener.  Oh, except when she rides the dog when I take her to Old Navy.

Stella and I were watching a movie one afternoon and I took this picture of her holding my arm.  Such a sweetie.

All right.  Ready for a few videos?

Reese gets all her dancing moves from her mama.  That's not a good thing.

 Another video of Reese. Here she is singing her ABC's. She is enunciating strangely, maybe because she is watching herself sing as I record. Funny stuff.

 

Then she sang Twinkle, Twinkle.



That's all I have for today.

Not much news

Trying to think of some cute stories to share.  Drake is so happy to be walking.  He does laps around the house trying to keep up with the girls.  He's very interested in emptying the kitchen cabinets and climbing on the fireplace hearth.  He says mama, dada, up, and "gain goo" for thank you.  Reese continues to be a chatterbox.  I stood outside her door for a minute this morning listening to her talk to herself in her crib.  Sounded something like this..."Alligator!  Snap Snap Snap.  Uh-oh.  Trees.  Godhd dkfsdh sdhe odfi Swiper.  Swiper no swiping.  Glord skdfhsd ehios dhsa moooooooooooooo.  Cow goes mooooooooooooo."  Stella is very happy to be back to her normal routine.  Kari came today and Stella couldn't wait to drag her upstairs to get started.  

All 3 kids slept until 8:00 am this morning!!!!!!!!!!!  Well, actually 7:30 but I let them stay in bed and talk to themselves while I tried to recover from the shock of getting a full night's sleep!  Fingers crossed for two nights in a row.  

A few pictures from this week.

Having fun with our new elephant toy.

It doubles as a hair dryer.

Tent time

Daddy's shoes.

Football season is almost over:(

Slowly burning our scraps from the backyard.

Anadean came back to Austin for a restaurant grand opening (Gus's Famous Fried Chicken - it was delicious!!) and we enjoyed a fun Saturday together.

pictures from xmas week

Shopping with Drake. He was sleepy and popped his leg out to rest. Reminds me when Stella used to sit like that in her high chair.  Also, notice the upside down pacifier.  He always has it upside down.  If I give it to him right side up when he is sleeping, he reaches up and turns it around. 

Drake chilling with Joe.

And cuddling with Grandma.

 Playing with Pee-Paw.

The 3 amigos.  They loved all their toys but this train was a big hit.

Reese reading, Drake relaxing.

Reese loves apples.

So does Stella.

Our new tee-pee.  Someone is hiding in there!!

When Stella is sleepy, she grabs her blankets from her crib and heads for the tee-pee.  So cute!!

Mommy's xmas present - my shelves are DONE!!!!  Decorating still in progress.

 

Wes's xmas gift from his Mom.

Sunday morning.  Stella is thrilled!!

I have TONS of videos to sort through.  Here is one, I'll try to post more tomorrow.  Reese and Stella are opening a present from Jill and Byron.  Reese immediately asks for more presents.  So sweet.  (ha ha)