At least I'm getting it done before the end of the year...

I would have liked to have done this post on Ava & Drew's actual birthday, but since we were in the middle of moving, it just didn't happen.


Ava, at 3 years, you:
*Are a little bit taller than Drew(probably still 90%, but we haven’t had your 3yo appt yet)
*Wear mostly 4T(I hate that they cut girl’s shirt smaller than boys)
*Can be quite picky about what you eat: ‘breakfast bar’ for breakfast, pbj for lunch
*Are more likely to try new foods than Drew…..unless he tells you that you don’t like it!
*Have curly, curly hair—in the back. In the front it is straight as a board!
*NEVER stop moving. You run most everywhere & bounce when you are seated
*Don’t talk quite as much as Drew, but close. Though you tend to mumble a lot, so I’m not quite as good at translating you.
*Are hilarious….and know it. You love to make us all laugh, but especially Drew. When the 2 of you get going, it is hard to stop it.
*can have quite a temper…..and tend to scream & bite when you get mad
*don’t get mad TOO often
*are tolerating Presley more & more & even *want* to play with her sometimes!
My dear, sweet firstborn,
3 years old already. Sometimes it seems like you just started walking. The time has flown & sometimes I worry that that means I’m not giving you enough of me. But, you are so sweet & take what I can give you & still love me as much as you can. I love that you are now spontaneously telling me “I love you”. While you are often my crazy, excitable, shrieking child, you can also be a sweet little cuddlebug, who is quiet & a little bit shy around strangers. I love all sides of you….I even love your scary mad side!  Watching you grow up & learn about the world around you is so much fun. I love you so much sweetheart!

Drew, at 3 years, you:
*Are slightly shorter than Ava
*Wearing mostly 3T
*are a VERY picky eater. The most common thing we hear from you at the table it I DON’T LIKE THIS---before you ever try it! Cinnamon waffles, pbj & pretzels are your staples….it’s very seldom we can get you to try something new
*NEVER stop talking. Questions, answers, discussions…..you are so very inquisitive. I feel like I’ll be catching up to you forever. It’s wonderful
*LOVE to learn. Doing ‘letters’ (starfall.com) is your favorite thing
*Are still a bit whiny. But I think it’s getting better as you get older!
*Can be very bossy … especially to Ava. But, she doesn’t seem to mind it..for the most part
*Love to play with Presley. Lately you’ve been wanting to hold her—not a great idea since she weighs almost as much as you. But I love that you love her!
My sweet little boy,
I am amazed that 3 years have already passed. My time & attention is so divided, yet somehow you make me feel like I’m doing a wonderful job. You are so sweet & silly. I love listening to you sing….especially when you make up your own songs. You are so much fun & love to play. I look forward to watching you grow & learn…..I just hope I can keep up with you. I love you.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ava & Drew

Ava & Drew have had quite a birthday celebration this year. It all started with their birthday party on Dec 4 at The Big Bounce. This place opened last spring & since the beginning of fall, the kids & I have gone about once a week to play. All 3 of them LOVE it, so I knew it would be a great place to have their birthday party--especially since we would be leaving soon after.
Everyone had a blast and the Lightning McQueen & Dinoco Lightning McQueen cakes were a big hit, too. )If you're in the Austin area & need a cake that looks great & tastes any better, call Emily at Emily's Cakes !)

Birthday boy enjoying the icing on his cake:

Pretty birthday girl....also only eating the icing!

They continued the celebration with Noni & Dandy on their actual birthday(Jeremy & I were finishing up packing for the big move). They had yummy cupcakes this time.

And, today, finally birthday presents with us. Unfortunately I don't have pictures, but we had fun!

November from my phone

Since our house has been on the market, our camera has been packed away in the back of the closet & we kind of keep forgetting to get it out. So, most of our memories from the last month are on our phones. Fortunately, they take fairly good pics....at least for blogging purposes! We've had a good month. The kids & I spent a weekend in Lindale to give Jeremy some quiet time to work & I went to a good friend's baby shower. We rode the train at the mall. On Thanksgiving day, we went to Seguin to Jeremy's parent's house. We had a good time, but (of course) forgot our camera! In the midst, I've been packing up the house.

These are in reverse order. It's much too difficult & time consuming to rearrange them.

This past weekend, Ava & Drew spent in Lindale so I would have lots of time to pack & Jeremy could work. Saturday morning we had a showing, so Jeremy, Pres & I went to Kirby Lane for breakfast. Pres was pretty patient during the 30 minute wait. Here she is looking outside while playing with her phone:

Ava & Drew have found a new love for their megablocks & ask for them almost daily. Here is a superfort that they(with a little help) put together.

Cheering on the Aggies! What a great year!

Ava finally agreed to wear boots. My mom has been trying to get her some for a year & Ava has refused to put them on. I think Drew having his cowboy boots swayed her opinion of them!

Drew tried to throw one of his cars up in the tree....it fell & cut him between his lip & nose. Very sad. (a day later, while pitching a fit, he threw himself at the stairs & busted his top lip. he really looked pretty pitiful for a while!)

All 3 kids love to be outside. Before Pres was really walking, I would put her in the wagon & we'd either follow Ava & Drew while they rode their trycycles, or she'd just hang out while they played. Now that she's walking, she'll only consent to being in the wagon if we're going to check the mail. She loves to 'chase' Ava & Drew!

We made a fort & everyone played HAPPILY together.

We try to get out of the house at least 3 mornings a week. Usually, we do the bounce house one day, a playdate somewhere another day & go to HEB(or sometimes Target) the last. Most of the time when we go to HEB(the grocery store), we just go to look at toys & get 1 or 2 items. When we do that, we just get a regular cart; Drew & Pres ride in the top & Ava rides in the big part(her preference). They get to walk up & down the toy aisles, then ride for the rest of the trip. On this day, we actually had to buy our groceries for the week, so we got the BIG cart. It was the 1st time we used this one & they got a kick out of it...for a little while! Then they wanted to walk. But, we got everything we needed!

And Pres in her costume

Even though she didn't get to trick or treat, she still looked adorable.

The rest of October

October has been a busy month for us. Between Pres' birthday celebrations, playdates & travelling(among other things), we've not had a minute to spare around here. These are a few of the things that have kept us busy.

A couple weekends ago, Jeremy took Ava & Drew to get pumpkins so they could color on them & then make jack-o-lanterns. They got a kick out of writing on them:

After they were finished, we put them on the back porch & every morning (&several times throughout the day) they would go to the back door & talk to them. Very cute!


I love pumpkin bread & had been wanting a recipe for a while, so I asked my friend Vanessa @ Feed My Monkeys for one. She shared hers & I asked Ava & Drew for help. Here they are greasing the bread pans. (We LOVE our Learning Tower, by the way!) The 1st batch didn't turn out great because I over cooked them, but we will try again soon!

Here's Pres watching the baking from the doorway. She stayed pretty happy for the time it took.

Last week, I decided it was time to try *real* fingerpaints. We tried it a few months ago with pudding & they seemed to enjoy that. Ava was even more into it this time.

We have been 'storing' Raffi the Rocking Giraffe in Presley's room. A week or so ago, I was playing with her in her room (one of the mornings she decided to get up at 5:30am) & she took an interest in it. So, I brought it downstairs & she's had a blast with it! She learned very quickly how to get on & off all by herself! :)

Ava & Drew are also enjoying having 'him' out again!

Last picture & I KNOW someday Drew will not be happy with me for sharing this, but right now he thinks it's funny ! Ava & Drew have started wanting to sleep together. I don't mind & so they've been hanging out in each other's rooms for a while after bedtime(for the record, they have yet to *actually* sleep in the same room--they always get in trouble for being too loud or start fighting!). One night they decided to raid Ava's drawers & change pants. Hilariously, the 'pants' that they picked out were actually TIGHTS! I'm just surprised they were able to get them on by themselves!

Trick or Treat

Halloween was spent with my family this year. We had a great time & the kids experienced a few 'firsts'.

First cookout:


Pres really seemed to enjoy it. She was not at all distracted by being outside!

Ava & Drew enjoyed it, too. Though they probably didn't eat as much as Pres.

Drew mostly focused on the buns:

After our cookout, we got ready for their First trick or treating. Drew & Ava had decided they would go as Woody & Buzz from Toy Story.

A shy Buzz Lightyear:

res was supposed to be a giraffe, but she fell asleep on the way, so we left her in the car.

I wasn't sure how they'd do, walking up to strange houses(we knew the people) & asking for candy. But, they had no problem with it. They were even pretty good to say thank you everytime! :)

Pouring out the candy after:

We had a great time & I'm so glad we decided to go this year. Ava & Drew really enjoyed it & it's always fun to see them having fun! :)

What's going on...

Well, apparently we got past Presley's birthday & (as far as the blog goes)time stopped. Then I checked the calendar & 2 weeks have gone by with no posts. I don't know where the time went.

We celebrated Pres' birthday with Jeremy's family the following weekend. I know I have pics...but, the camera has been put away & I have not found the motivation to dig it out. I'll get to it....someday! ;)

We took Presley's 1 yr/A&D's 3 yr/family pictures last Wednesday. Instead of doing them at a studio like we always have, we decided to find a photographer(Neely Brook Photography) who would take them outside. She suggested a local park & we met there at 9:00am(VERY crazy morning trying to get all 5 of us in picture-ready condition AND leave the house BY 8:00am--but we made it! And I think we all look good! :)). We really had a good time taking the pictures. When she was doing individuals of one child, the other 2 could roam around & look at the flowers/water/peacocks & they stayed HAPPY!! And I think they turned out pretty well, too. (If you go to her website, you can look at some of our pics on her blog)

Ava & Drew spent the following weekend at my parent's house. Drew had decided that he needed some cowboy boots like Dandy, so Friday they went shopping for boots.

You can kind of see them in this picure of them at the Pumpkin patch. He has worn them at every opportunity since & LOVES them(& looks adorable, too!).

While they played in Lindale, Pres & I ran errands here. I have to keep her busy when A&D aren't here, because she gets SO grumpy--I guess it's because she misses them ... which is sweet, but it also makes for a very tired mommy at the end of each day! :)

And here's a bunch of random pics (taken with my phone) from the last couple of weeks:

I'm not exactly sure...but, it was SO funny(if the hysterical laughter under there was any indication)

Pres has started giving(slobbery, open mouth) kisses:

We've been going to the bounce house almost weekly. All 3 of the kids LOVE it & for only $10, it's a great way to run off A LOT of energy. Last week, there was a new HUGE inflatable this is only about 1/4 of it. It's great b/c I can get in one corner with Pres(yes, I have to get in sometimes) & A&D can play on the big slide & other fun things.

Ava & Drew have always loved puzzles, but have been getting bored with the big wooden puzzles for a while. My mom got them a small(10ish) pc jigsaw a month ago & they loved it & figured it out quickly. So, when we were at Target early last week, I saw these 24 pc jigsaw puzzles. They got them(for good behavior) & did great at putting them together. They're already almost too easy for them. Guess we have to go bigger!

Well, that pretty much catches us up. I need to do better at taking pics(& then downloading them).....but we seem to keep pretty busy around here(maybe it's the 3 kids...who knows! :)).

Happy Happy Birthday Presley!

Ok, yes, her birthday was Wednesday...but, 2 days late is better than nothing, right!?

We didn't do much for her birthday. Just our normal Wednesday stuff(Bible study, lunch, naps, play outside), then had a couple gifts for her that evening.

Here's our birthday girl all dressed up & ready to head to the church:

Yay! Daddy's home & it's time to celebrate! :)

Where's the food?!

They come bearing gifts! (I decided not to bother wrapping them. We didn't have a lot of time before Pres needed to go to bed, so it was quicker this way!)

They're a hit! (& of course, Ava & Drew love the new toys, too!)

Presley, at 1 year old you:

*are 25 lbs(>95%) & 31 1/2 in(>95%)

*wearing 18-24mos clothes (& some 2T)

*still nursing 3-4x/day(and at least once at night!)

*trying to walk....you'll take a couple steps & get so excited you lose your balance & fall over

*say dada, momma & drew...uhoh, hi & byby.

*"talk" ALL the time...

*make us laugh all the time....from your dancing to music no one else hears, to pulling up your shirt & grabbing your rolls & giggling...you are hilarious!

*LOVE Ava & Drew. When they 'let' you play with them, you are SO happy!
*are generally happy...as long as you're getting your way & are right in the middle of whatever is going on ;)

My sweet baby girl, I cannot believe you are already ONE! Time as just flown by & we have loved every minute. I'm so glad you & Ava are becoming friends & that you are big enough to withstand Drew's hugs! :) Hearing the 3 of you laughing together just swells my heart & brings joyful tears to my eyes! I love how your face lights up & you crawl as fast as you can to the door when I say daddy's home. You make me feel so special when I get home after being away from you for a bit & you get so excited that you can't hold still. How I wish you could stay little forever, but I know that we're going to have even more fun as you grow up. I love you P! :)

Party #1 of the Birthday Festival

On Saturday we had party #1 of Presley's 'Birthday Festival'. We celebrated with Noni, Dandy & Aunt Jess & had a great time.

Here's the birthday girl cheesing for the camera:


Checking out the cupcake:

A little dancing before tasting:

1st taste:

That's my girl! :)

Time for gifts. Had to lose the shirt because it was covered in icing! Drew helping, of course.

'I did it!'

Ava came to help at the end.

Also, want to mention that Pres is really starting to walk now. Today she took about 10 steps. She gets so excited that she often trips herself, but doesn't get discouraged. I guess it helps to have Ava & Drew cheering her on! :)