Springtime in Texas

Springtime = Outside time

Love it!

a little backyard playtime with cousins

Lainey climbing up the slide of our new fort/playset (SO FUN!)

Kate playing with Walker

a swinging Brooke :)

Wow...

Walker is 13 months old!

And he's SO excited to be walking!

Walker likes/loves:

-banging objects against each other. Or banging one object against a stationary object.

-pooping all day long (sorry if this is TMI, but seriously, folks...he poops so often!).

-putting items through slots, into boxes, inside trucks, in the laundry basket...you get the idea. Whenever something goes missing, I try to think like Walker to see where he might have stashed it.

-fruits, especially apples.

-remote controls.

-tools.

-pushing around chairs. (Lainey loved to do this, too.)

-pointing at an airplane when he hears one in the sky.

-carrying around things that are big - like plastic golf clubs, sticks, baseball bats...

-being carried on our hip through our master bedroom closet - he likes to put his hands out and touch all of the clothes! This is especially delightful when he's got a runny nose.

-meals. When he's hungry, he's hungry! There is no delaying mealtimes for him.

Crawling first with the remote...

and then crawling with the cup of yogurt. (This is a typical thing - he likes to crawl while holding onto something, either with an object in one hand or objects in both hands.)

He cannot stand it when:

-he has to have a diaper change. I feel like I'm changing a crying, wiggly, aggressive monkey.

-things don't come apart: the lid on the small trashcan won't come off the trashcan itself, the finger puppet in his book that won't come unattached from the book.

-he accidentally tried cilantro. Not a fan. At ALL. He absolutely hated it and cried and cried while trying to get it off of his tongue!

cute happy boy

Walker has learned how to:

-walk. Well, when he's up and able to. He still crawls a lot, too.

-say "dee," "dis," "aye," "ish," "iss," "baba," "dada," (not directed towards Ben) "itss," "mama" (not directed towards me). He loves to point at things and say "ish" or "itsss" or "iss."

-sleep all night long. (He will still wake up in the middle of the night. He stands at his crib railing and cries. However, I know that if we go in there it'll turn into a big scene so it's best if we just let him cry and put himself back to sleep (he always does). He usually cries anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes.)

-push the button on the TV to turn it on/off.

-get an ear infection...a raging one that left his right ear draining for a week and a half...and the doctor had even vacuumed it out the week before!

-eat so much food. He mows it down. He still eats like a little bird - if the piece is too big, he'll put it in his mouth anyway and then take it out and then put it back in...yummy.

-drink whole milk. He will even drink it cold!

-use a sippy cup at meals and for snacks...but he still drinks milk from his bottle

-get off of things. He backs up and puts his feet down on the ground first. It makes park experiences a little bit less stressful for me! Except he still loves to put those wood chips in his mouth...

Funny stuff:

-He still puts his little fists on his cheeks to communicate with us. It's to the point where others will ask what it means (like nursery care workers or the babysitters at the gym).

-He pats his tummy with both hands (randomly) and will swing his left arm forcefully when he's frustrated.

-Walker will sit in any available basket, box, doll bed...

-He likes stuffed animals (especially ones that talk/make noise). He'll carry them and walk around and give them hugs.

We love you, Pumpkins!

Park Adventures

I am so excited. I love this weather. I love being outside. I don't really even mind the time change even though my kids' internal clocks are completely confused. They'll get used to it, right? In their own time? It is not fun to wake up either of my kids before they're ready to get up. It just starts our day off on the wrong foot. Or our evening, as is the case after naps. So, for now, we're trying to adjust. I think Spring Break is the perfect time to do so!

Only after I uploaded these pictures did I notice that Lainey slid down the slide with sticks in her hands...nice. That probably wasn't the safest thing to do.

sweet Keagan

(I missed getting a picture of his little brother, Kohen!)

the fearless sliding wonder

Ready...

Set...

Go!

Keagan, Ainsley, and Lainey

Walker was a happy kid on this playscape. He's so ready to play with the big kids! Gage, Landry, and Liberty were also at the park today. I'm sorry I missed getting pictures of them. We wish that our other friends, Keegan and Audrey, were able to join us today. We miss you, Keegan. We pray that you get well and are able to come home from the hospital soon!

Happenings

What we've been up to lately...

laughing as Walker climbs in this baby crib to play whenever he's in Lainey's room,

applauding his graceful skills in dismounting,

and ever-so-patiently waiting for these babies to wake up. They've been sleeping for probably two months. Heaven help the person who tries to awaken even one of them. (This is just a small sampling. There are several more babies over by Bella, the unicorn.)

We have a walker! Literally!

This is becoming a common occurrence at our house... This weekend, our Walker has really started walking. :) He still can't get from a sitting position to standing position but once he's standing, he definitely will try to walk! It's hilarious to see him toddling around. He's so cute and so proud of himself!

Hands on Cheeks

Someone else has figured out Walker's signature "hands on cheeks" move. Lainey sees Walker do it whenever he wants something, needs something, or is frustrated. It's his move and his most effective way of communicating with us because we generally scramble to get him whatever it is that he needs. His smart big sister thought it might work for her, too. :)

Tubes in, adenoids out!

Lainey got her own set of titanium ear tubes this morning! Now she matches her brother. She had negative pressure inside her ears (due to the buildup of fluid) so a second set of tubes were recommended by our doctor to avoid future ear infections and possible hearing loss. She also had her infected adenoids removed; we hope that this, too, will make a positive difference in her overall health.

pre-surgery, with New Uniqua, Old Uniqua, and Tasha for moral support (and behind her, getting squished, is a cute little bear in a surgical mask and scrubs - a gift from the hospital - but she didn't like him and didn't even want to take him home)

Lainey was slightly apprehensive but didn't shed a single tear until she emerged from the cloud that is anesthesia. She was a full 33 pounds of mad. Crying, coughing, and a sound similar to growling. I remember this "growl" from the first time we did this; it just signals her extreme frustration and unhappiness. She is resting now, in her own bed at home, and I expect we'll see a happier Lainey when she wakes up from her nap!

Wolf Creek Ski Trip

Ahh...skiing. How I have missed skiing! Last week, we took a mini vacation to Colorado with our friends Kelley and Carl...and what a fun time we had. I am not that great of skier, so of course I had my fair share of wipeouts, but it was a great trip nonetheless. Ben, Kelley, and Carl were very patient instructors and helped me each day and on every trail. They were awesome...thanks, guys. :) Lainey and Walker stayed home with Bud and Yiyia. Before we left, Lainey told me that she was excited that Yiyia was going to wear "her jammies" and that Bud was going to wear his "blue jammies" when they stayed at her house. Sweet girl. She and Walker had a great time with their grandparents; I can thank Mary and Allyn for giving Lainey (and Reagan) lots of playtime and attention and for sleep-training Walker. (YAY! But more on that at another time.) While I was a bit sad about leaving peaceful Colorado, I was eager to get home and see my two little friends. I was so happy to hear their sweet voices and see their cute faces!

Day One

High: 18 degrees with strong winds and falling snow.

TONS of snow. TONS of fresh powder. A bit challenging for us non-locals!

ready to go :)

mid-morning break

(Notice the potted plant in the background, just above Carl's head. Somehow Carl and I managed to dump most of that plant's soil onto a family's table and into the hood of another guy's white coat. We never saw the family again (they probably ran the other way if they saw us coming) but we DID see that guy in the white coat TWO more times! On our final day of skiing, we saw him in the parking lot of the ski-rental shop and then again at a restaurant/bar that evening!)

Day Two

High: 18 degrees. Still snowing!

Kelley, Carl, and Ben are discussing the probability of the pass being closed (the pass is the road back to town...our way home). It never closed, but we headed home early anyway...I was a tad worried about getting stuck on the mountain! I know, I am a square.

zero visibility

I still can't believe we were skiing in this craziness!

heading home...

And...Day Three.

High: Not sure, but still cold. Deep powder. Not all the slopes had been groomed. Snowed in the morning, but finally, around lunchtime, the skies started to clear and we saw the stunning views that the mountains provided. Our last afternoon on the slopes was a good one!

Ben and his skis, buried in snow

me and my skis, struggling to get out of the snow

and get moving again

(This was a very common occurrence for me.)

Ben and me

Kelley and me

Where are my skis? Oh yes, that's right. Buried in the snow!

Kelley took this picture of me with her phone. I think I had given up on trying to ski down the mountain at this point; I just carried my skis and poles and marched the short distance down to the lift!

starting to clear...

I spy a mountain! (First time in two and a half days!)

a view from the lodge

Ben, Kelley, Carl

Hooray for beautiful, clear skies!

Carl, making his way through the snow after taking a cut-through from one trail to the next

beautiful

This is another picture from Kelley. I'm the one on the ground with my poles up in the air! I was pretty tired at this point!! Over the three days, I must have fallen and/or gotten stuck in the snow about a billion times.

And we're out!