Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, Bobby got something everyone could enjoy:  an edible arrangement!  Everything was so tasty and fresh.  I lifted my no dairy ban and indulged on the chocolate dipped strawberries and apples.  Bobby polished off the pineapple.  Pippy ate  a bit of everything.

Piper's preschool party!  The kids were so cute with their Valentine's.  They were so excited to open the cards and then proceeded to thank the giver repeatedly for the beautiful valentine.  

So happy to have mommy come and join the party!

My Funny Valentines

7 Months!

Oh dear, I fear that my little Baby B is growing too fast! I'd like to keep her my teeny tiny baby forever, but I can't.  *sigh* 7 months marks the end of infanthood and the entrance into full blown babyhood. You know- that time period where they are no longer these observant, tiny little newborns but actively engaged babies.  One thing that typically happens around this time is weaning.  Pip weaned herself starting at 7 months and completely stopped nursing by 9.  I can already feel Baby B starting to tire of nursing.  She's not satisfied by my milk alone and needs more food.  She does like to nurse in the morning and evenings, but I can tell it's mostly for comfort than for food.  Another thing that happens around 7 months is teething.  I don't feel anything in her mouth...yet.  But I know it's coming. 

What is Brynnie up to now?

*B is on the fast track to solids!  She loves eating her food:  peas, greenbeans, sweet potatoes, bananas, and rice cereal.  So far I've discovered that she is not a fan of peaches or me eating anything in the citrus family.

*Along with eating her solids, B has started taking a bottle of formula!  We tried several different bottles/methods to get her to drink from something other than mommy.  I finally got her to take a bottle a few weeks ago when she was super sick.  She's getting very good at it and quite enjoys being able to bite the rubber nipple without someone bopping her on the nose.

*Rolls, grabs, kicks, sits-up, and is extremely active.  With this new found mobility, comes some bumps and bruises.  The other day, she got herself out of her Bumbo and hit her head.  She's also gotten stuck in some precarious positions.  I wish they made a bigger crib too!  B loves having space to move.

*Takes a bath with big sister Pip.  We've been putting the 2 of them in the tub for about 2 weeks now.  Brynnie LOVES the big tub.  She splashes and squeals with delight.  She also loves to reach for the bath toys and put them in her mouth (much to Pip's chagrin)

*Brynnie has a BIG, broad mischievous grin! Pippy would smile like she was squealing with joy, Brynn grins like a "cat that got the canary". 

*Our sleeping patterns are still very crazy and unpredictable.  We've adopted the saying, "If B's not crying, it's all good!"

*Is incredibly attached to mommy.  I got a new calling in the youth program at our church.  It's a pretty busy calling so Bobby has to take care of B a lot more than he had to before.  He's very patient with Brynn.  On several occasions I've come home to a crying screaming baby.  As soon as I walk in the door, she's all smiles and looking at Bob like he's Enemy #1.  It's laughable (once she's asleep).

*Despite being more attached to me than I would appreciate, she's becoming a more content baby.  We've been able to take her to more places and stay out for longer stretches of time.  Last week Friday, we took her to a basketball game.  She was wonderful!

* Everyone says how much Brynn looks like Piper.  I, however, am seeing that she looks nothing like her big sis and more like her daddy everyday!  I think it's her eyebrows.

So fresh and so clean, clean

I love me some bottle

chillaxin, getting ready for my mid-morning siesta

Gotta get my yoga in

I'm ready for my close-up



Hey, how you doin?

Options

Here are our choices.  We couldn't change the cabinet color since they're already ordered, but we would've chosen the dark espresso cabinets anyway.  The carpet is: autumn glow (frieze), the granite:  santa rita, the tile:  bianco, and wood:  java (hand scraped).  I think it'll look nice- what do you think?

From the Ground Up

You know that feeling you get when you see the little pink lines on a pregnancy test and you want to announce it to the world, but it still feels like it's not for real and you're all worried and excited and scared and downright giddy- all wrapped into one?  Well, that's how I feel right now. 

I've been given the greenlight to announce that we will be proud homeowners in April!

More details to come, but we are really excited to finally be under contract.  Bobby and I have been house hunting for a while.  We started looking on the local real estate website about a year ago and just sort of daydreamed about the houses.  Once we were in Houston, we started physically looking at houses in October.  After losing out on a house that I truly felt was ours, we took a break to reevaluate our "house must-haves" and budget.  In January, we started looking again and found a few homes we liked, but didn't feel strongly enough about putting in an offer.  On Thursday, I went with our realtor to look at a few homes in Bob's target neighborhood.

The 4th house of the day was still in-construction, but there was a finished one we could look at.  I walked in and I knew it- Bam! this is it.  The home ticked off every single box of our "Must-Have" and "Like-to-Have" lists and even had some bonuses to it:

*4 bedrooms (this home has 5, but the 5th is more of a study/den and the rooms aren't gigantic)
* 3 full baths
*comes with a fridge and washer/dryer (stainless steel appliances, gas stove, granite, pedestal w/d)
*new construction
*bedrooms/game room upstairs
*storage space in garage
*park within a stones throw and a brand new elementary school within walking distance
*our target neighborhood
*instant equity and greatest growth potential for resale
*large kitchen with plenty of counter space and an island with nice storage (I wanted a space where I could cook with the kids)
*open yard
*covered patio
*and we even got to pick out the flooring

I am super excited.  I looked at a lot of homes. I've dreamed about a lot of homes.  I can't wait to finally be settled and put some roots down in Texas! It's been something both Bobby and I have worked really hard to achieve and it feels really good. 

"Look at the light baby and say 'Cheese"

Piper has taken quite the liking to my old camera.  The other day, she and Baby B were sitting together and all I could hear was Piper saying, "Look at the light baby and say 'Cheese" followed by a flash and a snap.  I quickly grabbed my camera to shoot this tender exchange between siblings and this is what I got!





Say Cheese baby!  Brynn would look at the camera but she wouldn't smile for Piper.  Pippy was getting very frustrated at her subject



Here's Piper telling me how frustrated she is that Brynn isn't smiling.  Jokes on Pip!  Look at that mischievous little grin on Brynn's face.  Is this a sign of things to come?!?

We've been getting this face a lot...

and this face!

Houston Rockets

Last week, my friend asked my husband and I if we wanted to go to a Houston Rockets game with them.  I immediately jumped on it and told her "of course!  We'd love to go!"  (One little unknown fact about me is that I love sporting events and I love sporting events where the tickets are FREE!)

After agreeing to go, I had to find a sitter for the kids.  Thankfully, I had a babysitting swap with a friend who has a daughter Pip's age.  We dropped off Piper at her friend's house and took Brynn with us to the game.  Baby B is still extremely attached and we knew she'd be happier in my arms than anywhere else.

Our seats were AWESOME!  We were center court and in a premium section







We left before the game ended, but we were up by like 50points.  The Rockets won!

Date Night with the hubs and baby

Baby B dancing and watching the cheerleaders

For the most part, Baby B was extremely good.  She got fussy towards the end and the music made her uncomfortable.

We had so much fun at the game!  Bobby and I never get to go out anymore so it was really nice to spend some time with him and some really great friends.  With the exception of the baby, it felt like we were on a double date.

Sisters

February 3, 2008  4 years

Every year I write a post about this date and every year I delete it.  I don't have many words for how I feel...except-I hate February.

PHOTOS. By: Pip

I have a budding photographer on my hands.

My Blanket

A Mommy's Work

HORSE 

Up Close and Personal

January

Wow- I've been a blogging bum. January is my least favorite month- it always feels super long and typically it's cold and dreary.  However, this January (despite a week's worth of sickness) has been much better than all previous Januaries.

We started up our housing search again- enter more stress into our life. I think this time around we're more confident in our budget, but our house/neighborhood wish list is still a spot of great confusion. I'm not entirely ready to leave "the Loop" and Bob is ready for a piece of suburbia. See, the weird thing about Houston is that everyone moved as far away from the city as possible and then complained about the commute. One suburb we're looking at is nearly an hour away-without traffic! It's insane, but it's also a highly desirable community.  We plan on looking at more houses and then timing it just right so we don't have to pay double rent.  This means that we could easily make an offer on a home by mid-February.  Wish us luck this time around!

Last week, the entire house was super sick.  On Monday, I started feeling like I had the flu so I went to bed early.  By Tuesday morning B was up coughing and crying.  She had a fever and couldn't /wouldn't sleep at all.  P- the child with the immune system of a horse- started saying how she didn't feel well either.  By Wednesday, everyone was sick and I had a small pharmacy in my home.  Poor Baby B didn't eat for 2 days.  I was extremely concerned about her getting dehydrated.  Thankfully, she took about 2 ounces from a bottle on Wednesday.  By Thursday, I was able to get her to nurse for longer than 5 minutes.  I started feeling better by Wednesday and Pip was off and on with coughing over the weekend.  Fortunately, we are all better and  Pip was able to go to school this week.  I hate being sick, but having a house full of sick people for entire week...really stinks! 

And I can't end a post titled "January" without at least mentioning the weather- it's been BEAUTIFUL! I've never enjoyed a January as much as I've enjoyed this one. I keep thinking I should be out collecting Easter eggs because it feels like Spring. On the downside: I have no idea how to dress for this weather since it feels weird to wear "spring-ish" clothes in January.

Lastly,  (this deserves a drumroll) I have officially lost ALL baby weight (Pip's and B's) AND I'm 5 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Pip AND I've broken the "10's" weight number I've been in for the last 5 years! AND I am 5 pounds away from my goal weight (which I hope to meet by my 8th wedding anniversary in April).   I feel amazing and incredible.  My clothes fit so nicely.  I love it.  I'm really proud of myself.

Sisters

 

6 months!

 

Okay, okay I get it- at some point they have to grow up, but why so fast?  Baby B just hit her 1/2 birthday mark this past week and we celebrated with rice cereal.  I'm having a hard time believing she's 6 months.  Maybe it's me or maybe other moms do this too, but I keep thinking that she's younger than her age.  For example, I have to remind myself that at this point Pip wore outfits not footie pajamas you insist B wear, or Pip was already eating fruits and veggies and you're just barely starting B on rice cereal (more on that later), you were already shoving teeny 6 month old Pip into a swing at the park and Baby B still has to watch from the sidelines.  The list goes on.  Maybe I don't want B to grow up or perhaps I was in too much of hurry to reach the milestones with Pip.  Either way, time continues to zip by and before I know it...B will be in college. *sigh*

What is Baby B up to now?

*For starters, check out my little Yoga baby.  B is incredibly strong.  I know I've said this before, but it is so true.  If you lay her on her back she'll lift her head up like she wants to do a sit-up.  She does yoga with me- she's a very centered baby.

Cobra pose

Superman (not exactly a yoga pose, but still a great strengthening exercise)

*Still smiling it's an infectious grin.  Her entire face lights up- we love it

*Baby B can sit up- I still put pillows around her for her safety in case she falls forward or off to the side.  Most of the time, she's leaned away from the pillows and they act more like a nuisance than a help

*Loves to look around at everything.  She is very engaged.  I commented to Bobby that it's like she soaks everything in, she really looks at her surroundings (it's not that zoned out stare) and is very aware.  For example, whenever Pippy is talking or doing something Pippish, Brynn is glued to her every move.  Or in the car, we'll hear Pip say, "Brynnie is looking at me!"  Sure enough, I'll glance in my rearview mirror and see Brynn craning her neck to see Pip.  The other day, my friend said "mommy" and Brynn looked at me.  It's pretty cool.

*Baby B has earned a new nickname:  Brynnie. 

*B blows raspberries, coos, ahhs, giggles, squeals, and her first word will probably be "hi".  She's starting to communicate.

*She's playing with objects and reaches for toys.  She doesn't pass them between her hands yet, but I've seen her hold onto a toy and roll/pivot towards a toy. 

*Speaking of rolling and pivoting, we are a super duper roly poly.  She's moves around everywhere- lunges, thrusts, rolls, turns.  Before I know it, she'll be crawling.  As great as it is that she moves around, we have run into some problems with our newly mobile baby.  For example, sleeping through the night ceased because she would roll over and get stuck or hit her head on the crib rails or the little music/light toy we got her for Christmas to help her sleep (the irony of it).  She would wake up all through the night. Finally, we lowered the mattress and that has helped and I'm going to the fabric store to make this:

it's called a "wonder bumper".  I made one for Pip out of foam pipe insulators you buy at Lowe's.  I didnt' cover them with fabric or anything.  These are obviously cuter and more labor intensive.

*Speaking of sleeping through the night...yep we're back to waking up at least 2x a night.  It's pretty frustrating.  We are, however, doing really well on taking 2 naps a day.  I can't complain.

*If Brynn had teeth she would eat anything and everything in sight.  However, we have a bit of a dairy/soy intolerance.  We started rice cereal at 5 months and B did great!  Her stomach...not so much.  She would throw up, have gas, her tummy would sound like Godzilla.  It was terrible. So I stopped- figured she wasn't ready yet.  Well, I started back up again last week.  Same thing.  So I read the ingredients:  a bazillion hard scientific names to pronounce and then the deadly duo milk and soy   Shouldn't rice cereal just be (hmmm, I don't know)  RICE!  Needless to say, I spent more money and bought organic.  The ingredients read like this:  rice.  Eureka!  I fed some to her yesterday and today.  100% improvement. 

STATS:

Height:  25.5in (38th percentile)

Weight:  14.2lbs  (13th percentile)

Eye color:  Hazel- more on the green side than brown.  They are NOT brown.  I have a side by side comparison with Pip who clearly has brown eyes and B's look nothing like Pip's. 

Hair color:  dark brown.  She has a little mohawk, it's so cute!

Texas A&M Game

I LOVE football!  So when my friend, Kelley, told me she had 2 extra tickets to the Texas A&M Bowl game, I didn't hesitate to tell her we'd love to join her and her son, Sebastian.  Now, I am still  a Bama girl and will forever bleed crimson, but I needed to see this team play since they will be infiltrating the SEC next season.  This was Pippy's first football game.  Bobby joked that he always thought he'd be the one to take her to her first game, instead it was the mom.  I reassured him that there would be plenty of opportunities to educate her in all things football.   
 So while the dads stayed home and tended the babies (Kelley has a little girl one month younger than B), the moms took their kids to a football game.

We upgraded our tickets to field level.  Originally, we had the cheap nosebleed seats on level 600.  I guess they wanted to fill up the seats that would be seen on television. 

Football moms and their kids!  Pip wanted a hot dog and popcorn.  I love stadium hotdogs.  Unfortunately, that dog came barking later that evening.  Whew, not the way I wanted to spend my New Year's evening.

The kids were more entertained by the food. 

I was pretty impressed with Texas A&M's band.  Kelley graduated from there so she filled me in on all the traditions.  I told Bob that I was okay with their addition to the SEC since I know they are a school steeped in tradition.  It made me feel better about them coming to the SEC next season, even if they'll be the whipping boy for a few seasons. 

getting her to smile for the camera is getting harder and harder!



Pip and Sebastian outside of the stadium.