Mini Vacay in Houston

Bryan travels from time to time for work, but it is usually during the school year.  This time, he went during the summer, so the kids and I decided to tag along!  We had so much fun! 

I want to apologize in advance for the awful photos...they are all from our phones.

We kicked off the week by dining at one of our favorite Houston restaurants, Guadalajara!

Here is Gannon with his first attempt at a word search...He would have done better had the words been in English, ha!

While Bryan was cooped up in his meetings all day, we swam at the hotel pool!  Here is G-Man all ready to go!

Here, Gannon is holding Mia's float.  She had a blast!  I regret not having any pictures of her in the water, but obviously, since I was alone, that wasn't possible.

 After getting up early to bring Bryan to work, then spending the morning in the pool, everyone was pooped!  Poor, Gannon... He is going to have a hard time getting into "school mode!"

When Bryan goes on his trips, one of his favorite things to do is visit Guitar Center.  It's like 

Disney to him!  He was so excited to be able to finally share the experience with Gannon.  Gannon was in guitar heaven!  He was amazed at all the instruments, and wanted to play everything.  Don't worry, we didn't leave the girls out of the fun!

Then, we headed to the Galleria, where we found the Hello Kitty store!  Austyn was just beside herself.  She didn't even know where to start.  It was the cutest thing!

At the Galleria, there was a kiddie play land called Little Galleria.  It was made up of tiny versions of some of the stores in the Galleria like Macy's, Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, etc.  Gannon immediately saw the New York skyline and jumped to the rooftop.  He was Spiderman.  Several of the boys his age joined him in his super hero quest to fight the villains.  Austyn, of course, was the group leader.  She made sure everyone was assigned to a bad guy, ha!

I wanted to take the kids for ice cream, and since there was a Chick-Fil-A across the street from our hotel, I thought we'd go there.  After all, the ice cream is great, and there is an indoor play land!  BUT, with all the hoopla going on with them, the crowd was ridiculous!  So we headed to McDonald's.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one who wanted to bypass the CFA crowd by heading to McD's.  They were packed, too.  So, plan c.  We found a gas station and picked up Crunch Bars!  Austyn loved hers ;)

 Later, while getting ready Austyn chose to wear this dress.  I informed her that it was Mia's dress, but she insisted on wearing it anyway.  I let her put it on, and to her surprise, it was way too short!

"Oh, this must be Mia's dress," she concluded.

 I do, however, find it absolutely hilarious that Austyn could totally wear that as a shirt if she had some leggings!  Haha, chere, Mia!

Speaking of Mia, we didn't forget her!  She's here, too, she just isn't able to join in on all the big kid fun, yet.  She is getting big way too fast, though!  She has started rolling to sleep on her side and her tummy lately.  She even managed to roll all the way over from her back to her tummy!  Go, Mia!

She did it!

Sisters :)

Finally, Bryan was done with his meetings and it was time for family fun!  We took the kids to The Children's Museum of Houston.  They had a blast!  We were there for six hours, and they still weren't ready to leave!  They got to do all sorts of fun, scientific things!

Here they are driving a police car in Kidtropolis.  In Kidtropolis, the kids run the city.  They each have their own debit card, and there are ATMs throughout the city.  They earn money by "working" at the different places, like the police station!  As they leave a section, they receive a paycheck, which they can deposit into their accounts.

Here they are working at the veterinary clinic. 

My little scientists :) 

 I swear, this girl can find pigs anywhere we go!!

After lunch, we found the face-painting station.  Austyn chose to be a cat, while Gannon wanted to be Spiderman.  There was no red, so Bryan made him Super-Gannon.  Then, he drew the "S" on his other cheek.

I never knew how much I would miss our cloth diapers!  It is so nice to be back home and in cloth!  Mia had three "blow-outs" while we were in sposies.  I can honestly say that has never happened in cloth!

 While vacations are fun, it is always so nice to return home!  Until next time... :)

Happy Four Months, Mia-Girl!

Has it really been FOUR months?  I guess so!  You are becoming so much fun, and you are developing quite the personality!

You are playing more and more everyday!  You can hold toys, and you can even put them in your mouth (only with your left hand).  You hate to lay on your back and you are *this* close to rolling over!!  You just can't figure out what to do with your arm.  It frustrates you to no end and you scream until we help you over...then you laugh :) which is also new!

Not only do you smile all. the. time!  You are laughing now, too!  You love to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo.  You also love when we make silly faces and noises.  Gannon and Austyn are spending more time with you because you are interacting a lot more with them.

Eating is not the most important thing in the world to you anymore.  You still nurse every 2-3 hours when you are awake, but you aren't nursing nearly as long.  I used to be able to pump and bottle feed you from time to time, and you would usually take about five ounces.  Now, you are refusing bottles almost completely.  On the rare occasion I can get you to take one, you only take about three ounces.

You aren't really a "paci-baby."  You will take one for a few seconds here and there, but it's really not a big deal to you.

You love your swing.  Daddy was able to get it working again for you, and you just love it!  We found the tray that goes with it, and since you are beginning to hold on to things, we decided to go ahead and attach it for you.  You have so much fun!  We have also inclined your seat so that you are sitting up and can see everything.  You love it!

You are such a good sleeper! You have moved your bedtime up even more, falling asleep between 8 and 9. You wake between 2 and 3 to nurse and then again around 7:00.  Then you sleep until about 9:00.  You usually take several naps during the day.  Before we went to Lake Charles, you were waking for the day around 7:00, and napping from 8-12 and 2-6.  Our trip completely messed up your day time schedule, so you don't really have one.  I can just tell when you are sleepy, and as long as your night time routine stays in tact, you can sleep whenever you want during the day ;)

Bath time = fun time! You love it! There have been a few times, especially in Lake Charles, when you start crying and won't calm down.  The bath is an instant fix.  Not only do you stop crying immediately, but you even start to smile! 

You have started teething.  It is very sad to hear you cry, because we can tell it hurts you.  There were several nights when you would scream in pain, and teething tablets and Tylenol just weren't cutting it.  So we put your amber anklet on you, and it really seemed to help.  You seem much more comfortable and much calmer, now.  You haven't had a bad night since you started wearing it!

And, since lots of you are asking, cloth diapering is going really well!  I am really kind of sad I chickened-out with Austyn.  I should have just gone for it!  It is pretty exciting that something so, so cute is actually saving us money (for once)!  I mean, look at that guitar!  Ah-dorable!  And, hey, we are being green :)

You are so aware of everything around you, even when you sleep!  I am not exaggerating--you are the lightest sleeping baby I have ever seen!  We have to be so careful when you are asleep because the slightest little noises startle you and wake you up. 

You love fans! You can find it as soon as we walk into a room, no matter where we are. You find it, fixate on it, and smile.

Here we go:

Happy 4 month birthday, Baby-Girl!

Celebrating Baby M

We had a very busy and exciting weekend.  We traveled to Lake Charles to celebrate our sweet Baby M.  I can't express enough how thankful I am for the love and support we have been given by our family and friends.  It means so much to Bryan and me to see how much our little "caboose" is loved, and it isn't even here, yet!


We started the weekend with a diaper party for Baby M.  We have decided to continue to use cloth diapers on Baby M (we have been using them on Austyn for a year), so a traditional diaper party wasn't a good option for us.  There is a local store, eLeMeNO-Pee, that sells cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories.  I spoke with the owner about doing a cloth diaper party.  She was so excited!  She filled a tub with different types of cloth diapers (yes, there are different types--lots!) in all gender neutral colors and prints, and brought it to the party.  Instead of the guests bringing a package of disposable diapers, they just bought a diaper at the party.  It was so great to give our family the chance to learn about modern cloth, and to see just how easy it really is.  Everyone was impressed and on board with us!

Cloth diapers are no longer associated with diaper pins and "jiffy" pants (or those nasty plastic pants).  Modern cloth is great!  Just look at how cute they are!

The shower was absolutely perfect!  Instead of a traditional guest book, everyone signed a children's book for Baby M.  Everyone left the sweetest messages for Baby M, and I can't wait to share them :)

There were also cards with "Wishes for Baby M" printed on them.  Each guest took a card and filled out different wishes they have for the baby.  I had so much fun reading these!!

We had cupcakes by the fabulous Cupcake Crazy!  They were delish!  And yes, my friends love me so much, they got me two King Cakes, too!!

The cloth diaper representative explained a little bit about modern cloth diapers and how they work.  While she did this, the guests were able to pass around the diapers and then ask questions.  This part was hilarious!

After the Q & A, it was time to shop :)

Here are some of the party guests!

And here is the big sister with the greats!

I am so upset with myself for forgetting to take a picture with my hostesses.  I can't believe I did that!  I don't even have a picture of two of them or of myself.  I know, shame, shame.

After the party, Bryan and I were off to take maternity photos with the ever-so-talented, Ashley Wood.  Seriously, she is ah-maz-ing!!!  Those of you who know Bryan, know how much he hates taking pictures!  And what does he hate more than taking pictures?  Kissing in pictures ;)  I can't say how proud I am that he didn't complain at all.  Not once!  And we shot photos for two hours!  He loves me :)

These are just a few "sneek peaks" from the photo shoot.  Ashley did such a great job!  I love them all, and I can't wait to see the rest!!

I'll be sure to post the rest in a few weeks when they are ready!

While this weekend was great, it was very bittersweet.  We had so much fun with our family and friends, but it is going to be our last trip to Lake Charles until May.  This will by far be the longest we have ever gone without making a trip home.  We have decided that it is best for me not to travel anymore.  Austyn just came so fast, we feel that a four-hour drive (mostly though nowhere with no cell phone service) is just too risky.  I don't want to have this baby on the side of the road!  Ha ;)  We also don't plan to travel with a brand new baby.  We want to wait about a month or so. 

Those of you in Lake Charles, just remember--The road that brings us home will also take you here!  We would love to have visitors over the next couple of months!

I will continue to update everyone here, though, so stay tuned!