spring break

the round rock library had a little petting zoo a few weeks ago, so we decided to give a whirl with some friends.  the last few times we've taken mae to things like this she doesn't go anywhere near the animals, so i was prepared to basically walk in and walk out.  but, she did great!

she was a little nervous about the baby chicks, so i held that one. (which, i'm glad because as the lady was passing them out she was like, if you hold them wrong or squeeze them too tight they'll be dead in the morning.)  but, she sat right next to me and pet the chick.  izzy wasn't really into it.

she went into the little pen with the goats and pet the goat.  there were also bunnies and ducks, and she pet all of those as well.  i was really proud of her!

they had some cute little games, and photo props after.  she was most excited about taking her picture.

and of course, you can't go into downtown round rock without getting a round rock donut!  this place is always busy.  and it's delicious.  mae without fail no matter what donut place we go to, will get a pink frosted donut with sprinkles on it.  

and my human garbage disposal will eat anything.  the donut holes were perfect izzy sized bites.  

spring in texas means the blue bonnets are out.  i feel like they aren't as good this year as they have been in the past.  but, we still found some to take our picture with.  this is in front of the grocery store.  i love driving down roads and seeing fields of them.

 mae loves them.  she picked a bunch and we came home and put them in water.  and when those died, we had to go pick more.

 a girl in her element.

family visits and spring in texas

we have not been very good about seeing cody's family in houston this year!  we've been pretty good about it, but this year started off so lousy and busy we haven't made it down there.  lucky for us breann, joseph, lucy and blake came up to see us last weekend.  we had such a great time!

mae was so excited to get to play with lucy.  i'm so grateful that she has cousins close in age that she can visit and play with. 

 of course mae and izzy had to introduce lucy to the blanket ride.  they got rides from mom, dad and uncle joseph!  the giggles were so hilarious and wonderful.  they're the reason i keep pulling those kids around on a blanket.  but when mae had a friend to do it with, it was even more fun!

 i just love the way mae is looking at lucy in this picture.  so cute!

we've got some tall girls in our family!  i'm glad mae won't be the only giant walking around at family reunions.  izzy loved blake, just like she loves all babies.  but, she only made him cry a minimal amount. 

i'm so glad that we live close to family and can have fun days like these.

it has been HOTTTT.  yes it requires four T's.  because it was in the 90s this week people.  it's march and it's already in the 90s?!  it was not that warm the last two years i was here.  oh well.  bring it on.

so we've spent a lot of time outside this week.  one of the parks that we go to sometimes has a volleyball court with sand.  so i thought it would be fun to bring the sand toys with us one day.

these girlies had a great time.  especially izzy.  she played there longer than mae.  i'm hoping she's getting closer to walking.  because really, kids crawling at the park and in the sand is not fun.  she's starting to walk on all fours whenever there's mulch, sand or concrete.  but then she stops after a few feet and just cries for me to pick her up.  

tuesday was free cones at Dairy Queen.  they were celebrating they're 75th anniversary.  and of course we had to hit that up!  this girl cracks me up.  she had to eat hers with a spoon.  but, she loved every bite of it.  izzy did as well.  but, it's harder to get a picture of a baby when you're feeding them.

we also went down to the lake one afternoon.  and it was bumpin.  i forgot it was spring break, so there were tons of people there.  

this was izzy's favorite spot.  with a snack of course.

mae had a blast swimming.  last summer it took a lot of time and coaxing to get her into the water, but this year she walked right in.  

 this kiddo loved the water too.  she splashed and played for a long time.

 but, then she started eating the rocks and sand so, we had to go play on the blanket.  and she must have eaten way more than i thought she did.  because the next day she had a TON of sand in her diapers.  so much that i had to put her in the bath to wash it.  crazy kid.

this was basically all i saw of mae for the most part.  she was just floating around out there.

rain, rain go away

it has been a rainy week in austin.  we've needed the rain, but i've decided rain for 5 days straight and active little kids don't mix.  but, the rain is supposed to clear out today, so we will be spending some much needed time at the park next week for sure!

 the results of major humidity on homegirl's hair is unreal.  i should just give up trying to tame it, let it go free.  that's how she usually wants to wear it anyways.

this one is something else for sure.  she's made quite a few kids cry.  it's not malicious, she just wants to know what they're doing, and loves babies and poking their faces and pulling their ears for some reason.

she is most commonly found crawling around without a shirt, especially at the end of the day.  she won't keep a bib on, so she just eats without a shirt.  and being the lazy mom that i am, i usually don't put it back on her after dinner.  this is her new favorite perch.

one morning whilst trying to entertain my kids i put them on a blanket and pulled them all around.  they thought it was hilarious, especially when one of them falls off.  mae literally laughs the entire time she's being pulled.  and these two are NOT light.  that's 60+ pounds that we're pulling.  that's an awesome workout for sure.  so, when daddy gets home, it's his turn to pull those beasts (i mean beautiful girls) around.

 i started my instagram fitness page, just mostly workouts and things, but every once and a while one of these munchkins creeps in for the photo bomb.  i'm really loving it.  it's my creative outlet.  i might not be able to craft all that well, but dang it i can create a workout!

izzy's bunny had some trouble during naptime.  when i go get her when she wakes up she always hands me her bunny, and yesterday after nap she handed me two pieces.  she ripped that thing right off.  this kid is a crawling destructress (that's what gram calls her).  luckily these bunnies came in a two pack!

and this one.  lately she has been playing airplane.  she even goes through security.  but sometimes the trips are longer and we have to bring EVERYTHING.  some of her bags still have junk in them.  i need to go through them and clean stuff out, but i'm a little scared of what i might find.  yesterday one of her bags dropped and something fell out that looked like a huge bug and she started freaking out.  i went over and it turned out to be just a shriveled up dandelion from TWO WEEKS ago.  can we say hoarder?  yikes. but, she has a great time and for the most part entertains herself.  so i can't complain too much.

February

february went by in a blur.  mae spent a good portion of it sick. she was not listening and saying what all the time.  and it was so frustrating. finally at izzy's one year appointment i asked the dr about it and she wanted to check her ears, sure enough she had a double ear infection, and there was so much drainage in one that she couldn't hear.  i felt like the worst mom ever for getting so frustrated with her.  at least i know she couldn't hear when i said some not so pleasant things while i thought she just wasn't listening.  she also had to have two rounds of antibiotics because towards the end of the first round her eardrum ruptured and the antibiotics weren't clearing up her infection.  she had an appointment this week and we got the all clear.

gram was so sweet and sent mae some "get better rain boots".  because what girl doesn't love bright rain boots. 

mae has started wearing izzy's clothes.  mostly her pants.  and they are so incredibly short and tight on her it's surprising to me that she continues to put them on.

izzy was a fan of baby Einstein for a little while.  but, not so much anymore.  she realized that i turn it on when i need to walk away and do something, and she does not like when i do that.  so, she won't really sit and watch anymore.

it's a little crazy how attached this girl is.  if i try to hand her off to cody she cries.  if i set her down and walk to the kitchen she cries, or the bathroom she cries.  she'll be great and play by herself when cody watches her, and then the minute i get back she's crying because i'm not holding her.  yikes! 

 still doing our letter of the week.  although, not quite as avidly as in the beginning.  but we are powering through these bad boys!

seriously, the winters in texas are superb.  we've had a few chilly days.  but honestly we've been able to play outside almost every single day.  last week it was so warm that we went down to the lake and played for a while.  well, mae played.  izzy ate rocks.

 and then mae went too far in the water and got soaked.  but, she had a blast.

 sometimes these two can love each other.  but it turns very quickly to wrestling, hair pulling, crying. 

mae usually screams bloody murder whenever the dr checks her ears.  so i told her that if she did well and listened to the dr, and answered her questions, she could pick a treat after her appointment.  i thought she was going to pick a slurpee or cookie.  nope. at 3:30 in the afternoon this kid wanted a donut.  lucky for us HEB always has them!

 took my little entourage to vote the other day.  they were awesome.  mae was a little bummed when she figured out i said Vote and not Boat.  she kept wondering where the water was.  when i explained voting, it wasn't as cool to her.  but then she got a sticker and all was right in the world.

these two play well together sometimes.  which i love.  izzy absolutely LOVES when mae pushes her in the baby doll stroller.  she laughs the whole time.  that stroller has seen some better days.  the wheels are bent because of that chubby belly.  but, it has brought some good times for these two.

aaaannnd this is when the hugs turn to wrestling.  hope it toughens them up!