Ice Storm of 2013

All accumulated ice. No snow! Frozen, but so beautiful.

The Munchkins

I captured these photos on a walk down our creek trail the other day...

This may never happen again...

Fairy Village

There's a fairy village in my boxwood <3 p="">

First Day of Homeschool Co-op

Baby Evlyn: 15 months

Fudgesicle aftermath! Definitely something to file under: things babies should do naked and outside.

 At 15 months, Evlyn is started to stretch her chubby little legs. She's spending less and less time in the baby carrier and more time RUNNING. FAST. She wants to try everything. The stairs, the slides, climbing in tight spots, getting out of them by herself. The playground is a little less peaceful this month for Mama ;)

As always, she brings laughter and joy...and mischief...but, it's hard to be irritated when she wakes me up at 3:30 in the morning yelling, "bee do, bee do, bee do". (The big kids taught her a great minion impression).

 

Evlyn in August

Hiding under the Nannie Blanket with my Evlyn one morning <3 p="">

Smart Alec

June 4, 2013:

Me: Jonah! It's time to go to bed!
Jonah: I can't hear you! I'm in the future!



July 11, 2013:

my laugh for the day...

Gracie: Mama, when I'na teenager, can I go on dates?
Me: Mmm, we'll have to talk to Daddy about that. I think it depends on the boy you choose. He should be kind, and good. We'll have to have Jonah spy on him before we decide.
Jonah: HO-HOHHHH! That's gonna be AWESOME!!! Um, I'm gonna need a grappling hook.


August 10, 2013:

I have a whole new respect for my 8 year old after playing Minecraft in survival mode with him. In less than 1 hour he tamed a wolf, had a thriving wheat crop, penned up cows, pigs, and chickens for bartering purposes, and built a mansion on a hill overlooking the water. Not to mention saving my rear a dozen times. The kid's got skills!



August 11, 2013:

my 8 year old freely admits he has selective hearing (in his own special way, our course): "sometimes I have a hard time wanting to remember things you say that I don't want to hear".

August 13, 2013:

Lego creation of the day...

Gracie: Birthday #5

My Gracie Girl. She loves water. She loves baths, and swimming pools, and lakes, and waterfalls, and showers, and...yeah.

Every time we go to the zoo, she gravitates toward the fish, so we decided to take her to the BIG aquarium in downtown Dallas for her birthday. Just Gracie, Daddy, and Mama. No siblings - just Gracie's special day. She *loved* it.

The aquarium is several stories tall. You start at the top and work your way down.

We saw otters, a sloth, monkeys, birds, turtles, sting rays...

...but the shark tunnel was everyone's favorite. It is stunning.

 

 

 

  

We topped off the day with Chickfila and cupcakes. HUMONGOUS cupcakes. Oh, and a tea party...

Baby Evlyn: 13 Months

This month, Evlyn started giving kisses to Daddy. He'll say, "kiss?", then she'll tip her chin up and sweetly kiss him right on the lips. Every once in a while, she'll give a kiss to me, but not often!

She also brings me every little thing she can find and hands it to me saying, "heeyah" (here), each time. My violin students get such a kick out of it.

She's sleeping pretty well at night, not too picky with her eating, and loves to waddle every where. Completely delightful.

Donut Date: Dallas Arboretum

 

^^^ Evlyn's first donut. It was goooooood. She even offered kisses in thanks.

Jonah's THIRD donut. (Maybe not as good.)

 

The spectacular tunnel of crepe myrtle trees...

I wasn't sure how Jonah would like the gardens. Turned out, he really enjoyed it! Being out in nature, the hidden gardens, the surprises around every corner, but especially the water falls. Can you find him in this picture?

Theses flowers will always remind me of my sweet boss at the violin shop, George. His wife, Anavern, called these Bachelor Buttons. They smell amazing...

  

The last photo I snapped before my battery died. I'm so glad I captured it. My almost five year old - achingly precious. She ran around the gardens barefoot most of the time, with her hair down, looking so much like a carefree butterfly, I had to stop and soak it all in. I love her so...

My BABY IS ONE!

We wanted to celebrate Evlyn's 1st birthday in Abilene so her name-sake could be there. Aunts, uncles, and cousins drove to Abilene too, all to party with our little munchkin.

 Nannie got upset with me for blowing out baby's candle, hahaha!

 We gave Baby a chance to "smash the cake", but she wanted nothing to do with that.

She would rather have Daddy feed her cake...

  YUMMY!!!!

Or that smile could be from someone playing peekaboo with her...

Cousins in da house!!!