Thursday, May 17, 2012

Happenings!

Here are some everyday pictures and videos so you can see what we have been up to over the past several weeks!
 First, you can view a video of Heather naming animal sounds and pointing to body parts at this link: http://youtu.be/xdFoOsi-lzY


Heather was making this silly face all day! I had to take a picture!


Fun times at the park!

Splashing away in our kiddie pool on the driveway!

A few weeks ago, our Sunday School class had a pool party. Brooke was introduced to goggles there and she loved wearing them. I finally bought her a pair and I just thought she looked so adorably goofy! :)

Our children's choir at church recently invited children 3 and up to participate in a special mother's day song. I took Brooke to 2 rehearsals and then she performed with the other kids on Mother's day. During the first rehearsal she didn't want to participate, but I think it was because she didn't know the songs. The next week she was right in the middle of it and loved it! She is in the green shirt standing on the platform in the picture above. Here is a link to the youtube video: http://youtu.be/Ocij5SSyJXE



On the Saturday before Mother's day, my parents and I took the girls to Alley fest! They loved it. The weather was great! Brooke did so well hand peddling the cars around the track that Heather didn't even have to do anything!


Both girls got their face painted at alley fest. Heather's heart only lasted about 15 seconds and this is the only picture of it! Brooke's owl lasted all day and she was sad when I washed it off during bath time.


They both got to make "mad hatter" hats at one exhibit!
 It was so much fun to take them to alley fest! I hope they keep it this same time of year because the weather was very pleasant! After alley fest, my dad watched the girls during nap time, while my mom and me enjoyed some time together going to the parade of homes! It was a great way to celebrate with my mom!

On Sunday, Ryan's sister had everyone over to her house for dinner. She is ready for summer and had her pool set up for the kids on the back porch. I couldn't get all 3 to look at me at the same time. We had yummy burgers and delicious homemade vanilla ice cream! It was a great way to end Mother's day!

 Today was Brooke's last day at MDO before summer break! Our room mom had a pizza and ice cream party! Brooke's eyes were definitely bigger than her stomach while making her ice cream sundae! We loved her teacher's Ms. Erika and Ms. Janey and we will be visiting them again in one more year when Heather will be in their class!

Brooke and Brinley were best friends during this year!



Houston visit!



 The weekend before last (I know, I know...I've been getting behind on posts! Sorry!!) I went to visit one of my best friends from high school! Kyla is one of those friends that I feel like I don't even have to explain myself, she knows what I'm thinking! It seems like every time we talk we can just pick up right where we left off! There are only a couple of people in my life I can say that about and I really treasure our friendship.

Kyla and her husband moved to Minnesota about 4 years ago and lived there for 3 years before moving back to Texas! I was dying to visit her ever since she came back and this past weekend worked for both our schedules, so I packed up the girls and we headed off to Houston! This was the longest road trip Heather has been on and I was worried how it would go. She did better than I expected, but I had plenty of treats and toys from the dollar store. (On a side note: never get an oreo milkshake for a car ride, unless you want to be picking or hearing about oreo stuck in a straw every 5 seconds!)

The visit itself was wonderful and much needed! I was so happy to finally meet her little man, Joseph! He was such a cutie and has the sweetest smile! When we arrived on Friday night, he was showing off his new walking moves and it was so cute! I really think he was wondering what's up with these new girls stealing all my toys and motivated to get them back. Michael grilled some good burgers and then we let the kids play until bath and bedtime. The girls did great sleeping in their overnight tents I brought.

On Saturday, we headed to a nearby mall to let the kids play inside. The kids got to ride on the carousel for the first time. Brooke was scared at first, but once it started going she liked it and even got a stamp afterwards. 



Joseph in the play area

Me and the girls before the carousel ride. Notice Brooke's enthusiasm...
Yeah! Its over and I got a stamp!

After a fun time at the mall we headed back to Kyla's house and had lunch then nap time! The girls were not going down easily so after 1 1/2 hrs of trying to get them to nap they finally fell asleep and during that time Kyla and me had some great one on one time! It was so nice to catch up and reminisce in person! 

The best group picture I got! It is really hard to get 3 kids under 3 to all look at the camera at the same time!



Walk to the park!

After nap time, we decided to take a walk to a nearby park and let the kids play. It was so hot that afternoon and there was zero shade that we only lasted about 15-20 minutes at the park. Then we decided to go to Cheesecake factory for dinner. The girls were wild! (mainly Heather would not stay in her seat) Luckily it is a loud restaurant, so I don't think anyone minded, but it has me concerned for our upcoming trip! I will never judge another mom who uses a leash harness for their kids! I am not forgetting that for our trip!! Anyway, we had a great dinner and despite my not-a-huge-fan of cheesecake attitude, I split a slice of chocolate peanut butter cheesecake with Kyla and it was very good!

We had another great day and the girls went down easily for bed. After going to church, Kyla and I took the kids to McD's to let the kids blow off some energy before the long ride home!

I had a wonderful visit and the girls did a lot better than I expected! I am truly blessed to have life long friends like Kyla! I can't wait for the next visit!


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Heather 18 months



Wow! It seems a lot has happened in the past few months! I think her baby facial features have started to disappear and she is starting to look like a toddler. I just compared her 15 month pics to her 18 month pics and there is a noticeable "grown up" appearance now.
 
15 months
18 months

She has had a growth spurt and her hair has lengthened and lightened in color. She has also grown some more teeth. She now has a total of 12 teeth including her 1st four molars. Heather weighs 21lbs and is 32 inches tall. She wears 18 month clothes, size 5 1/2 shoe, and wears size 4 diapers. She helps me undress her by taking off her socks. She helps me brush her teeth, but mostly just likes to lick the toothpaste.

As you can tell by the pictures, she is my silly girl. She always loves to laugh and try to make you smile. She is always doing silly things like putting baskets on her head, bending in half to look at you upside down, and making funny noises. She is very athletic. She can tumble, run, jump on the trampoline, and hang with her own weight on a bar. She loves for you to pull her up by her arms as she monkey walks up with her legs then she flips over while you hold onto her arms. She can do a wall hand stand with assistance. We have been going to a few gymnastics play times and the instructor is impressed with her strength for her age. I'm thinking about signing her up for gymnastics this summer.

She is also learning new words daily. She knows how to say everyone's name in our immediate and extended family. She loves to say, "Where Brooke?", when Brooke is not in the room and then go and look for her. She can moo like a cow, roar like a tiger/bear/lion, meow like a cat, woof like a dog, oink (or snort rather) like a pig, hiss like a snake, and bak like a chicken. She can say milk, which sounds more like a meow. I need to get these on video. I can't remember all the words she knows because it is changing everyday. Mommy, Daddy, Brooke, cat, Sam, shoe, cheese, egg, bath, teeth, hands, cup, seat, down, up, just to name a few words.

She loves to play with her baby dolls by feeding them, changing a poopy diaper, rocking them, and walking them in a stroller. She loves to play chase, hide-n-seek, paint/color, dig, ride toys, stack blocks, play with little people. She is getting better about sitting still in my lap to read a story. She trys to do anything Brooke does. She always wants to be in the action and gets her feeling hurt easily if she is not.

She can say/point to her nose, mouth, eyes, ears, hair, cheeks, belly, hands, fingers, knees, feet, and toes.

She is very friendly to everyone and loves to say "HI!" It is such a joy to see her develop and I look forward to many more years!