Sunny Sunday Afternoons . . .

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon here in TX yesterday. We spent most of the afternoon outside enjoying the nice weather. Daddy and Dallas had fun with sidewalk chalk. Dallas asks over and over for you to draw him cars and buses. He also did a bit of drawing himself. If we don't watch him he will draw all over the cars and the walls of the house. Dallas loved riding around on his bike and Phoebe and I just relaxed. She slept most of the time. She seems to love to be outside in the nice weather. After being outside for hours Dallas didn't want to come in for bathtime. He was pretty messy with chalk and dirt all over his face.

Daddy showing Dallas a spider

My little artist

My bathing beauty

Mommy and Daddy

Dallas on his bike. He is pretty speedy and if you listen closely at the end of the video he says I love you.

A little inspiration . . .

At the park . . .

The weather has been so beautiful the past few days. It is sunny and gorgeous so I have been trying to get us out of the house as much as possible. Yesterday we went to the park with Dallas' bestest friend Gracie. I had meant to get a few pictures of them toghether but like most toddler's they were too busy exploring that I didn't get one. We had a great time being outside. It is amazing to my how much Dallas has changed since last fall/summer. This was the first time we have been to this part since then and he is so much more agile on all the toys. He has no problem climbing on things that he used to need my help with. He has just grown so much.

Playing on the toys.

What it looks like when I am wearing my sling with Phoebe in it. This is seriously the best invention ever!! I don't know how people survive having kids without this. I must thank my awesome friend Dana that made it for me, she is so great!

Phoebe asleep in my sling. Just snug as a bug!

Spaghetti Face . . .

Dallas isn't a very good eater. I struggle constantly to get him to eat anything. He hardly ever tries anything new. Sometimes he will eat something and then the next time I offer it he won't even try it. That has been our battle with spaghetti. Everytime I make it I give him some. There have been times where he will gobble it up and others that he won't even touch it. Today I offered it again and it was a success. He ate it up and kept asking for more. I thought it was so funny to watch him eat it because he wouldn't let me help him so he was shoving the noodles in his mouth with his hands and it resulted in a pretty messy face. I didn't mind because at least he was eating it.

Guess What?

I bought plane tickets yesterday for me and the kids to go visit everyone in Washington. We will be there 5/29-6/12. I can't wait to show everyone my super amazing children and catch up!! Mark you calendar and save a spot open for us!

Easter . . .

Was a hit at our house. We celebrated on Saturday at my in-laws house. They have a beautiful property and I knew it would be perfect for hiding easter eggs. This was the first year that we had Dallas search for eggs and he loved it. We actually hid them again once he was done so he could keep finding them. The weather was beautiful out and it was a great family day. Phoebe was an angel traveling again. She is so different from Dallas at this age. She sleeps more and doesn't scream in the car and that makes our life so much easier.

The kids Easter Baskets. I splurged and got them at Pottery Barn because they were so cute. I ordered Dallas' last year on clearance and paid full price for Phoebe's. It was worth it because they are so cute and we can use them again next year.

Opening the baskets up. Dallas got some Cars bubble bath, a dump truck, a new toothbrush and a coloring book. Phoebe got a cute Easter Bonnet, a pink bear and a new toy to hang on her carseat.

Searching for eggs. He loved this so much and we just used the plastic eggs with nothing in them. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Daddy and Phoebe

Our Family Picture

Oma and Opa's Family Picture

Phoebe Video . . .

My first attempt at loading a video. This isn't anything special, just Phoebe laying around being cute.

What do you think . . .

I think that Phoebe looks a lot like Dallas did as a baby. Of course she has a bit more of a girly look to her. Do you see it too?

Dallas as a baby . . .

Phoebe as a baby . . .

Brother and Sister Love . . .

What can I say, there is nothing that melts my heart more than seeing Dallas being sweet to Phoebe. He is coming around more and more to her. The other day she was in her bouncy seat and he went up to her and kissed her. I was in the kitchen and he was in the living room with her and he did it all on his own. It was so sweet and if I didn't happen to glance up when I did I would have missed his spontaneous sweetness. I was able to get a few more pics of them together this morning.

One Month Old . . .

Phoebe is one month old today. I can't even believe it because it seems like she was just born yesterday. Time is going by way too fast. I want it to slow down so I can treasure every second. Here are some recent pics of my sweet baby girl.

My little trooper . . .

I had to take Phoebe to the lab today to get a blood test done. The one she had done at 2weeks had some issues with it so they needed more blood to do some more tests. I took Dallas with me because I didn't have anyone to watch him. I was dreading going because I know how he can be when we have to wait long times. Well, he did pretty good. He only started to freak when they called us back to get the test done. I think he thought it was him having something done and not her. Well, they take us to a room and there is a bed table thing and they want me to lay her down. I try and get Dallas to sit in a chair and the nurses are getting the stuff ready for Phoebe. They then tell me that they have to draw the blood from her tiny arm because a heal prick won't yeild enough blood. I couldn't believe it because her arm is so tiny and I just felt so awful. So as they are trying to find a vein I am trying to keep Dallas out of all the stuff that he is getting into and still trying to pay attention to what they are doing to Phoebe. It doesn't take them long to find a vein and they prick her and start to draw this huge vile. She fusses a bit when they prick her and then she is okay. It about broke my heart to see her laying they are they were doing it but she is some trooper to take it as well as she did.

Visit with Grammy . . .

My mom came into town on the 11th and stayed for a weeks. It was so nice having her here. She cooked and cleaned for us and of course enjoyed her two grandbabies. It is so hard for me that she lives so far away but it was so nice having her here. We shopped and laughed and had a great time. I only wish it would have been for longer.

Dandelion Bubbles . . .

Dallas was having a rough day today. He was acting out a bunch and getting in trouble for things he knows better one. For the last few days I have been running around all over the place and daddy has been watching him. I think he just wanted my attention, which is hard to give 100% with another child here. After he woke up from his nap I decided that we needed some 1 on 1 time and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. He really loves to explore and check everything out. As we were walking he discovered the dandelions that you blow and he kept picking them up and brining them to me and saying "Flower bubbles, blow mommy" It was so cute. He wanted me to blow them so the little pieces would fly all over the place. I must have blown the buds off of 15 flowers while we were walking. It was so nice to have some time together where he could have 100% of my attention. We walked and held hands and he chatted with me and pointed out all sorts of things around the neighborhood. The whole time we were gone I kept thinking to myself that it really doesn't get any better than this. Walking around and exploring and seeing the world through a child's eye is priceless. I know that I might not get all the time to spend 1 on 1 with Dallas that I want but it was so nice to enjoy him this afternoon.

First Shopping Trip . . .

My mom is in town and it is awesome. One of our favorite things to do together is shop. We make a great shopping duo and it seems like I only really buy stuff when we are together. I love to have her help picking stuff out. And with 25+ years with Nordstroms she has all the knowledge I need to help me find the right stuff. Well, we just added a new member to our shopping team, Miss Phoebe Joy. Yup, that is right we are starting her out young and I have to say she makes a great shopper already. We left Dallas with Big D yesterday and headed out at 9:30 for a shopping adventure. Phoebe did great! We drove about 40 minutes away to a Nordstroms so I could get a nursing bra and then we went about a bit further to another outlet mall. We shopped and shopped and she was happy as clam. I wore her in my sling and she slept. She rode in her stroller and did great too. I nursed her when she needed it in various dressing rooms. We headed home at about 2:30 and even hit some traffic and she hardly fussed at all. We stopped at Kohls and Walmart on the way home and she still did great. I was truly amazed at how well she did being carted in and out of her carseat all day. Her she is in all her cuteness while I was wearing her in my sling.

I think it is so funny that she has her hands over her eyes. It is almost as if she has had enough shopping, but that can't be the case. She has my blood running through her and I am a true blue shop-a-holic!

First Bath . . .

We gave Phoebe her first bath on Sunday and she didn't like it one bit. I can't say I blame her because she was hungry and a bit chilly. I tried to make it as speedy as possible. There isn't anything better than a fresh clean baby. She smelled so sweet when she was done. I nursed her and put her to bed and I don't know if it was all the crying or what but she slept for about 3.5 hourse before she woke up to eat. I kept waking up to check on her to make sure she was alright because she is normally up every 2 hours.

Her first reaction to the water. Not pretty.

Everything is okay as long as she has her paci.

Just out of the bath.All dressed and lotioned up. I think she hated the rub down with the lotion more than the actual bath.