Lincoln's First Beach Trip

After all of the craziness of Christmas, we loaded up the Durango and headed out to the beach one blistery winter day.  The sun was shining, but the wind was also blowing.  So while, it was a beautiful day, we weren't going anywhere near the water!

Our trip was spurred on by the fact that Andrew said he had never been to the Gulf of Mexico.  Since it is all of 45 minutes from our house, we knew that a trip was a must.

Look at my beautiful baby all bundled up in a hodge-podge mix of clothes.  We call this style "put on as many layers as possible so you don't freeze."



The boys wanted to stroll down the beach and look for shells and driftwood.  Kari and I set up shop near the pier, and made a camp for the babies and ourselves.  Can you tell we were cold?  Look at poor Lincoln's cheeks!



He wasn't scared of the grand expanse of water.  All he wanted to do was crawl around the blanket and play with the toys we brought.  The only problem was that I just wanted him to stay under the blankets where it was warm.



Emmy convinced Kari to walk around with her so she could look for shells.



They came back pretty quickly so they could burrow back under the covers.



We did enjoy listening to the waves roll in and taking in all the beauty that comes with being at the beach.



Emmy decided that a dance and gymnastic performance was on our agenda.  We buy so much stuff to make them happy, but I don't think anything we bought made her as happy as having our undivided attention while she performed and played.  Food for thought next year when I am trying to decide what to buy for Christmas.



After a while, we decided to go and explore on the jetties.  Kari found a walking stick and proceeded to start climbing and jumping way farther than she had any right to.  She made some comment about needing to put her yoga pants to work...or something to that effect.



Before we knew it, we were chilled to the bone, and Dad called and said he was making chili at his house.  That was all of the incentive we needed to pack our stuff up and head back to EC.



Lincoln's first beach trip was a success.  Maybe next time he will actually get to go in the water.  ;)

Henry's 5th Birthday Party

In the heart of December, we traveled to College Station for Henry's 5th birthday part at the College Station Museum of Science.  They had an adorable party room set up and ready for fun.  The kids entertained themselves by playing with plush snakes and frogs while they waited to eat snacks.



Next, they traveled to a room where museum employees brought out real animals for them to touch and learn about.  They were a rapt audience!



Henry was so brave and said that yes he would pet the snake.  When they got to Emmy, she gave them a you-are-freaking-crazy look and said, "No thanks."



Lincoln entertained himself by crawling around on the floor looking for pieces of lint to put in his mouth. Oh the joys of having tiny humans.  It was super exciting to get to see Avery!!



The next station was in another room where the children got to decorate foam snakes.  Emmy showed off her mad penmanship skills and wrote her name on her snake.  Thanks Methodist for making me look like a rock star at the party!



We went back to the party room and had cake.  It was adorable, and Henry seemed to think it tasted pretty good too!



After they finished cake, the kids went on a scavenger hunt in the museum, and I stayed in the main room to hang out and talk to Lauren.  Can you believe that no so long ago, we were high school kids trying to decide if we wanted Taco Bell or McDonald's for lunch?  Now we both have two babies and we are throwing birthday parties and doing our best to adult.  Time is crazy!





We had a great time at the party, and we sure are going to miss these guys while they venture off to Oklahoma for a new adventure.  I'm betting they will come back to visit though!

The Nutcracker 2015

This year, we were invited to attend The Nutcracker with the ladies from our church.  Kari was supposed to come down and go with us, but she had to study for a final.  Bradley and Lincoln were going to have a Daddy-Baby date, but he had to go to San Antonio for a family member's graduation, so we all headed out for an afternoon at the ballet.  I was very nervous about how my very active little boy was going to do.



Our seats were amazing.  We were five rows back, and we were almost dead center.  If you are in Houston and planning on going to The Nutcracker, I high recommend attending a performance at the Stafford Center.  It is a smaller production, but it was so convenient and affordable.  Mom and Brit went the year before at the Wortham, and they could hardly see what was happening on stage.  We were definitely not going to have that issue!



They chose a special princess to come on stage and meet the principle ballerina.  I snapped this photo before the little lady made it there because I thought the dancer looked so regal--like a real princess.  Lincoln slept through the first half of the show, and after intermission he started to stir.  I pulled out the snacks and silently gave him puffs while he watched the mice running around on the stage.  Such a champ!



Emmarie LOVED the show.  She kept going on and on about how she wanted to be a dancer and how pretty all the dancers were.



Another benefit to attending a smaller show is that the cast members come out and take photos!  We were of course all about that, and Emmy was not shy about jumping in.



Before we left the theater, we put my phone on a brick in the wall and snapped a photo.  We had such an amazing time, and I cannot wait to make this into an annual tradition.

Lincoln- Month Seven

You wear six-nine month clothes.  You wear size two diapers, but when this box runs out, we are moving to threes.  You weigh 18.13 pounds.You are a little over 26 inches.

You are MOBILE!!  You are crawling everywhere and getting into everything!  Nothing that is within your grasp is safe.  You are super curious, and you will not be deterred.  When we are holding you, you immediately grab for hair like it is your safety preserver.  You don't let go once you have  it within your grasp either.  I am constantly pulling strands of my hair out of your fingers.

If for some reason we don't immediately do what you want to do, you have a new trick that you pull out.  YOU SHRIEK LIKE A BANSHEE.  I'm not talking about a regular cry or a yell.  This is full out what are they doing to that baby; is he dying?  I thought that maybe you saved all of that awesomeness for us at home, but your daycare teachers have confirmed that you do it there.  In fact, your cries once drew the daycare director down to the nursery to investigate.  You are smart though.  You know we are no match for that cry; once you start, we all do whatever you want.

You are eating so many new things these days, which is building other skills as well.  You are honing the "crab pinch" to pick up small items with your fingers and thumb.  You tried the Gerber puffs (that your sister adored) and you gagged as soon as we put them in your mouth.  You hated them.  We have found a new use for them though.  If you are fussy when I am cooking dinner, I like to put you in your high chair and give you puffs.  You practice picking them up and throwing them on the floor.  I know that it is wrong to waste food, but sometimes moms just have to do what they need to do to get dinner on the table.  I know that your aversion to puffs is only temporary, and I'm sure you will like them soon.

While we are on the subject of trying new things, let's talk about grandparents.  You got to try two new things over the Thanksgiving holidays thanks to your grandparents.  Pappy Barnes gave you whipped cream (Mommy and Daddy did not react well) and GiGi fed you a container of baby food that wasn't labeled out of my bag.  It turned out that it was a container of apples that I brought for you to try.  You loved them of course, but you thought they were a little tart from the description of your reaction that GiGi shared.  I'm sure this is only the beginning of the things you will try without our permission.  You are reaching for people's plates now and sampling when they aren't looking if you can get your little fingers on stuff. 

You are sitting up like a champ now.  if we help you get up, you can sit there forever playing with toys or watching us.  You can't quite get to a sitting position by yourself, but I know by next month that skill will be under your belt--no problem.

You traveled to: a Ricebird football game, Atascocita for photos, Cedar Park to visit family, to Pearland for Ollie's party, Milam to visit GiGi, and to Tyler to see Uncle Bill.

You like: doing what you want to do, crawling around, looking at and exploring new things (we need to make sure all of our baby proofing is still in tact), playing with the piano bouncer,your Sophie giraffe, the steering wheel toy, being swaddled, your pacifier, snuggling (more so in the evening), and giving big kisses ( you still try to eat/suck on our faces).

You dislike:Sitting in your car seat if we arent in the car, the word no, mommy walking out of the room at home, not being allowed to crawl wherever, bumping your head, sitting up, puffs, and loud noises.

You Eat: Green beans, peas, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, apples, puffs, water, and milk.

Here are your photos from this month. You are just adorable if I do say so myself.









By the week, here are some photos of you from this month!

Thanksgiving 2015

We did two Thanksgiving celebrations this year- one in Cedar Park and one in Milam.

The weekend before THanksgiving, we traveled out to the Austin area to see Bradley's family.  Lincoln loved crawling around on their area rug.  It was a warm day, so we let this guy craw around in just his diaper for a little while.  I think he enjoyed it.



Brad's brother is always happy to see the little people, and they were glad to see him too.



Grandma Susan does such a great job of taking time to do things with the grand babies.  In the midst of getting Thanksgiving dinner ready, she took time to stop and have  a tea party with Emmy.  It's those kinds of moments that my baby girl will treasure forever.



Before we knew it, it was time to eat.  The food was delicious!





These little cuties weren't hard on the eyes either!





Aunt Jessica and Uncle Dan came by to meet Lincoln.  Dan even had a spot of tea with Emmy as well.  When in doubt pinkies out!



The next week, we drove up to my grandmother's house in Milam.  As soon as we got there, Emmy started asking my uncle to take her fishing.  I guess the time payed off.  She caught one of the biggest bass that they've ever caught off the pier in a matter of minutes!  She was on cloud nine and walked around telling everyone about her fish the rest of the weekend.





The next day, we prepared and devoured our Thanksgiving day meal.  It was delicious and so special since I got to see a lot of my relatives that I only see at Christmas.







We went fishing again and Bradley got lucky this time.  He was so lucky that I made him throw all that luck back in the lake for someone else to enjoy!


We left on Saturday and traveled over to see my Uncle Bill in the hospital.  He was not doing well, and my aunt thought that getting to see the babies might cheer him up.  She was pretty excited to meet Lincoln as well.



It was a great holiday, and we enjoyed getting to spend time with so many people that we love and care about.

Our Little Cheerleader

Our local high school cheerleaders held a cheer camp for the little girls of our community.  Emmy had been asking me for months when she would get to cheer with the Ricebirds again, so she was really excited when it was finally the big night.



You can see that they were all a little nervous when it was time to stand in front of the packed stands.

But it didn't take long for them to warm up! 

This is her favorite cheer where they got to yell out one line and the crowd yelled back.  She still says it when we go to the track to walk. 

I sure do love that big smile!

She was a lot more excited to be on top of the pyramid this year.  Now we just need to practice keeping that chin high.  :)

The birds scored a touchdown during their quarter so they got to cheer and yell with the band.

The girls were divided into age groups and her group was all smiles.

And as quickly as it started, it was time to head off the track and back into mom's arms...but not before a few pictures with some of our cheerleaders!

We had to get pictures with her adoring supporters too.  They stayed to watch her cheer before leaving to go to East Texas for opening weekend. 

Keep doing what you enjoy Emmy!  We will always be around to "cheer" you on. ;)