January

for some reason it feels like january has lasted forever!  maybe it's just me.  we've been having fun around these parts.  and have been loving the warmer weather we've had.  my kids are just so much happier when they can go outside.

this is what happens when mae gets a hold of stickers.  what you can't see are the ones that are all down izzy's legs, and the ones i later found in her mouth.  but, i can't get mad.  she listened when i said you can't put them on any furniture or walls.  i need to learn to be more specific.

we go on afternoon walks almost every day if the weather is nice.  2 weeks ago, a princess dress was required attire.  total meltdown ensued when it got caught in her wheel and i had to cut part of it.

we love the library.  story time is awesome, and they always have great crafts afterwards.  mae still wears this one

i started a fitness instagram account, and have been recording part of my workouts sometimes.  (i'm having so much fun doing it.  it's been really great for me!)  mae joins me a lot when i workout, and a few weeks ago she got out my mat so she could do some 'loga'.  and of course, whatever mae does izzy has to do too!

or wherever mae is, izzy has to make sure she can see her.  not even the strap can contain this kid.

big news in the pflug...circle k is finally open!! woohoo.  love me some polar pops.  especially because every size is only $.89!  how can i pass up a 44oz when it's only $.89?  these always remind me of reid, so mae and i took pictures and sent them to him.

this kid.  is climbing up, around, on, over everything.  and is very proud of herself!  mae was never much of a climber.  she just wanted to walk and run everywhere.  but this kid.  i gotta watch my back!  the best part is, when she pulls herself up, she hasn't figured out how to drop back to the ground.  so she just stands there holding onto stuff crying until someone comes to help her down.  i've let her cry quite a while to see if she can figure it out...close to 10 minutes.  but still, nothin.

and apparently i dont have to worry about just my 11 month old climbing things.  but my three year old as well.  she was real proud of herself after this one.

i wish i knew what was going on in that head of hers.  the things she does or says when she's playing are so weird and hilarious.  why we had to play soccer in her gladiator costume is beyond me...but, we did.  and she had a blast.

workin on some planks with me in the backyard.  love my workout buddy

i dont know how in the world this kid got on the couch...but she did.  and she loved it.

not too much excitement around these parts.  but, these two keep me busy.  and i wouldnt have it any other way.

Trip to Utah

for christmas this past year all i asked for was a ticket to Utah to see Mattie and Erich's new baby girl Chloe.  and i got it! woohoo.  izzy and i were able to fly to Utah for a few days to visit them and see their sweet baby girl.  that's right, mae got left behind!  i think mae was more nervous about being alone with daddy all weekend than he was.  but, they had a great time.  trips to buc-ees and chuck e cheese.  play dates with friends and chick a lay.  what more could a girl ask for from a weekend with dad?

izzy isn't the best traveling child.  aka, she gets mad on a 20 minute car ride.  so i was a little nervous about the two flights i had to make with her.  but, on the way out there she was a total champ.  bless you child.  she made lots of new friends along the way.

 sweet little chloe!  i love her so much, it was so so wonderful to be able to hold her and see her.  and to see mattie and erich as parents.  it took a lot to get this little lady here, and she is amazing.  and they are such awesome parents!  lucky little girl right there. 

so weird to see my brother become such a softy with her. but these little creatures can do that!

for izzy, it was love at first sight when she saw chloe.  izzy absolutely LOVES other little people and babies.  and to have one constantly around she was beyond thrilled.

rufus on the other hand...took some getting used to.  she was so scared of him at first.  but by the end she was crawling around after him and petting him.

love love love

sometimes it took a lot of strength to keep this kid away from her cousin.  apparently, they had a lot of catching up to do.  it's really amazing how izzy interacted with chloe.  i could tell these little girls knew each other from before they came here! 

also, there's no better way to make your baby look like a total giant then to put them next to a newborn!!  holy cow izzy looked HUGE compared to chloe.

i'm so grateful i was able to go and meet chloe and see lots of family while i was in utah!  it's hard not seeing them all the time, so it was so special for me to be able to spend time with them.

Ringing in the New Year

happy new year!  mae got to do some sparklers on new years eve and i think the look on her face sums up how she felt about that.  thanks to netflix for putting those countdowns on that you can play anytime.  ours was at 7pm.

well, 2016 came with a bang around here...and not in a good way.  mae got pink eye and a bad cold/flu.  fevers, coughing, snot everywhere.  and of course, izzy got it as well. luckily cody and i didnt get pink eye, we did however get colds/sinus infections, bleh.  i was confined to my house for so long, i thought i was going to go crazy.  not only that, the whining was out of control. 
she would be up coughing all night, so during the day this would happen...

 we're on the mend, and for the most part we are all better.  except little miss mae has gotten so used to mommy coming in during the night to try to soothe her when she was sick, that now she expects it all the time.  it has become a real problem in the baldwin household.  if i don't lay down with her or sing with her when i walk her back to her room every time she comes to our room (which has pretty much always been at least once a night, but recently has become 4 or 5), she is a screaming, crying, throwing herself on the floor, clawing at your arms, holding on to your leg while you try to walk away nutcase. but, we've decided we aren't going to soothe her everytime she gets up.  and it has been a STRUGGLE. i ended up crying this morning it was so awful.  we've started to give her warnings and chances to calm down, and if she doesn't there are consequences.  like, last night, if she didn't calm down bunny would get taken away.  well, bunny got taken away and this is what happened when she tried to grab him from cody...

 seriously?! what am i going to do???  we bought a night light, and we've had a couple of talks today.  hopefully it will start to get better?  i already went through sleep training with this kid when she was a baby and it was awful.  never thought i would be doing it when she was almost 3 and a half. love her though.

anyways, enough of my complaining.

another exciting event happened last week.  cody turned 30!! 3-0, where the heck has the time gone?  i still can't believe that's how old we are...well, how old he is.  i've still got a couple of months.  so, we decided to make sure his day was extra special.  the girls and i went out early and got donuts for him for breakfast.  and after he left for work, we went to the store to get balloons to put in his car while he was in the office.

 mae loved it.  she got to pick out the ballooons, and had a blast doing it.  izzy was terrified of them!  she cried just looking at them.  so i had to put them in the front next to me so she couldnt see them.

 cody got a cool new saw from me and my parents, and i picked up this selfie stick randomly at the store for him.  and i'm pretty sure he and mae have had more fun with the selfie stick. i have to get his phone and download some of the selfies he and mae took.  hilarious.

 cody's favorite cake is german chocolate.  now, the last time i made the amazing homemade icing was for uncle david's birthday when i was living in las vegas.  and it was a disaster.  the icing didnt set, and it just ran all over and off the cake...it was however quite delicious.  you just had to like scoop some up and put it on your bite of cake.  so, needless to say i was a little nervous about making it again.  but, it turned out amazing.  i don't really even like german chocolate cake that much and i'm pretty sure i ate half of the cake.

 mae loved singing happy birthday to daddy and helping him blow out the candles.  what a special guy we are so blessed to have.  love this man so much!

 and it has begun.  mae has been wanting to take a dance class. so i signed her up for one at our local rec center.  she is in heaven.  it's a tap/ballet class.  it's adorable to watch.  she likes the tap, but loves the ballet even more.  i'm so glad that we're able to sign her up for these classes and she can have these experiences.

2015

what a roller coaster of a year for us!  here are the highlights:

reid left for his mission in Phoenix

our sweet Izzy Jo was born 2/9/15

 we bought a new car!

 went on our first cross country trip with kiddos...and survived!

 got to see Kasee and Seth married in DC

 went to the X Games

 did lots of projects around the house

celebrated 5 years of being married

 ...and going on our first trip ever without kids!

 munchkin turned 3!!

lost an amazing grandfather

 flew across country by myself with the girls

 mae went trick or treating for the first time!

 

a new scholz grandbaby was born!

 

and my amazing parents received a call to be mission presidents for three years in the Ribeirao Preto, Brazil mission. 

 it's been a year of challenges, learning, growth, blessings, love and joy.  things won't ever be the same, especially with pop gone, and my parents leaving, but exciting times lie ahead!

Gram & Gramps

we were so lucky to have gram and gramps come to visit us of the holiday break!  they flew in the day after christmas, so the girls got to open more presents when they came.

and of course to go with mae's stage, there was a microphone.  

 that lights up and plays music...on repeat.  this girl was and still is in heaven.  if i work out when she's awake, she's up there singing and dancing.

 oma and opa got the girls a cool car track.  gramps spent lots of time playing with it.

 oh this girl.  class act.  she has her moments (some days more than others), but for the most part, we got really lucky with her.  she's a loving, sweet, excited, observant kid. 

 little miss iz.  she spends most of her life chasing after her big sister.  and by the time she finally gets there, mae is on to something else.  one day you'll be able to stand on those skinny little legs and run after her!

 one day while my parents were here we headed over to the childrens museum.  (along with the rest of austin).  the girls had a good time.  i love the childrens museum!

 mae's favorite was the painting.  she even remembered it from the last time i brought her here a few months ago!

 she and gram and gramps has a great time with all of the cool exhibits.

 i'm not sure who loved launching the airplanes more, mae or gramps.  when i finally caught up with them, gramps gave us some pointers on how to make sure the airplane shoots all the way to the back wall.

we spent lots of time just hanging around watching football.  gram and gramps got lots of cuddles from these sweet girls.

 my awesome parents also drove to san antonio with us and watched the girls so cody and i could go to the temple together.  we haven't been together in months, so it was so wonderful to be able to go together.

 i might be biased, but i think i have pretty awesome parents.  i'm so blessed that even though we don't live near them anymore, we still get to see them a few times a year...okay more than a few times.  they are such wonderful examples to me and my girls.

 izzy has started giving kisses.  slobbery ones.  love it

 my parents got cody tickets to a couple of UT basketball games.  the first one was this week, and we had a blast!  they're actually really good seats.  even though they lost this game, it was so much fun.  i miss going to basketball games.  an awesome christmas gift!

 #hookemhorns.  they dont mess around in texas!