I really needed a Sonic

This morning our friends Marisa, Kellen and Thomsen came to play. Barrett and Kellen always have a blast when they get together. I always enjoy talking with Marisa. We used to teach together and now we both stay home with our 2 little ones. It was a fun morning.
After lunch, the kids and I headed to Home Depot. I needed to get a few plants and some mulch. Derek gets home tomorrow and we need to mulch out flower beds badly! All is going well at first, except I don't know what plants to get since they don't seem to have the ones I had on my list. Then Brooklyn cries because she wants to be held and Barrett runs off. I pick Brooklyn up and go get B. After getting Barrett back, I put him in the cart(nevermind, the cart is almost full with some bushes). I put Brooklyn in and immediately she cries. What has happened to my easy going girl this afternoon?
We head over to get the mulch. After looking at the bags and figuring out where I can put them, I attempt to lift a bag. And drop it. I try again and get it on to the bottom of the cart. I do this 2 more times. Anyone watching would probably die laughing. Thank goodness no one is around, though it might be nice for some help. I need to get 2 more bags. So, I move the plants around and tell Barrett to watch out. I practically throw the bags in the cart and Barrett is like "Get me out of here!"I am sweating! I get B out and we go check out.
A nice man sees me at my car and helps unload the mulch bags into the car. We all get in and I say" I really need a Sonic!" Barrett says "Me too." And we're off. We get our drinks- B a lemonade and me a LARGE vanilla Dr. Pepper (I usually only get a medium). Then when the girl comes with our drinks she says "Sorry it took so long, here is a coupon for a free burger." WOW. It really didn't take long. As we leave B says " Hey mom, this is a so, so fun day!" And so it is! Its the little things that bring such joy. Have a happy Friday everyone and treat yourself to something fun too!

Bathtime Fun

Since Derek has been out of town this week, that means I am charge of bathtime and bedtime. It is so nice that Derek usually takes care of the bath. The kids do seem to love the bath so that makes it better. Barrett loves it when Brooklyn takes a bath with him. He also likes that she is now out of her baby tub and he can swim around with her. I think both of them would stay in the bath for hours if I let them. I am looking forward to going to the pool this summer. Here are some pictures of them playing in the bath.

Chicago

We went to Chicago to see Kellee and Anthony for a long weekend. Nana(my mom)came to watch Brooklyn and we took Barrett with us. I was fun to hang out with just Barrett. Barrett got a kick out of watching all the bags get loaded on to the airplane. He was so excited to be flying in a big airplane.
When we got to Chicago, Kellee picked us up and we went to their apartment. Then we headed out to dinner at a Italian place. It was so yummy. We only had one little incident with Barrett when he pulled the curtain off the window. Anthony and Kellee were very patient with Barrett. Eating out with an almost 3 year old is always an experience.
Saturday, we got up and the boys headed to the Sears Tower and Kellee and I went shopping. We intended to go through a few shops, but only made it to H& M(my favorite Chicago store). Apparently, Barrett had no fear of being on top of such a tall building and leaned over as far as he could to see everything. He had fun hanging with the boys.




We met for lunch at a cafe in the visitor center and then zipped through the Hershey's store. Then Derek, Barrett and I took the train(another fun experience for Barrett- he was pumped!)up to Wrigley Field.


We saw the Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals. This was Barrett's first major league game. It was also a neat time for just the 3 of us to hang out. We bought tickets off the street there and it was funnu because we got them from a fellow Austinte with extra tickets. Barrett was just as interested in all the vendors and their food as he was in the game. He got to try some cotton candy and had a hot dog, of course. The weather was perfect and it was a great time for us. It was cool to see Wrigley and see a game in such an old ballpark.



After the game, Derek and Barrett went to a park while we relaxed in the apartment. There are so many cool parks in Chicago. We had a yummy dinner on Saturday night that Kellee made. She is such a good cook and they are great hosts. We stayed up talking and enjoying each others company. Barrett, thankfuly, went to sleep early.
Sunday, Kellee and Anthony took Barrett to Bible class while Derek and I had a Starbucks date. Kellee and Anthony teach the kids at their church and Barrett enjoyed going to class with them.

We all met up for church and then grabbed a quick bite at Potbelly's and then went to the Museum of Science and Industry.The Museum was great. Barrett was so excited to see the model train system and all the real trains. We also saw airplanes, the U-Boat, chickens hatching, a navy ship and lots of other cool things. Barrrett even got toy make a toy in the toy shop.



Sunday night we went to a place called Brasserie Jo. It was a French place with amazing food. Since the eather was nice, we got to eat outside. Barrett did amazingly well and the waiter was great with him. Anthony and Kellee always take us to such good places to eat.

On Monday, it was time to head home. Barrett kept asking when we were going to see Brooklyn. We grabbed breakfast at Medici(they have fabulous chocolate croissants and sour cream buns) and went to the airport. We were glad to be going to see Brooklyn and Nan but sad our time had ended. We had a great time. Thanks Kellee and Anthony for showing us a fun time and for letting us come visit. We really love Chicago! And it was extra nice that we happened to visit on the warmest weekend since September.

Brooklyn is 8 months

I can hardly believe that Brooklyn is 8 months old today. Time has gone by so quickly. She is a great baby and I am having more and more fun interacting with her. Here are some things about Brooklyn right now.
Food- She loves to eat baby food and rice cereal. We've also introduced peas, rice, bread and noodles a few times. It is quite funny to see her slurp up the noodles. Barrett has also given her his goldfish and cookies.
Crawling- Brooklyn is pretty much crawling. She's not too fast yet, but manages to get where she is going. Usually it is over to the toys that Barrett doesn't want her to get.
Mommy- She is into a "I want mommy" phase right now. It can be a little irritating when I am trying to get things done, but I do think it is kindof sweet.
Barrett- She loves her big brother! He makes her giggle and crack up. It is fun to watch them play together.
Talking- She is babbling all the time and acts like she is really trying to tell us something. She talks alot when she sees Derek. Brooklyn says "dadadadadadadadada". She clearly said "Daddy" the other day. I think it was a fluke, but Derek sure is proud.
We love our little girl. She is such a blessing to us. We are so lucky to be her parents. Happy 8 months Brooklyn!

Future Golfer?

Derek, David and one of David's co-workers went to play golf at our neighborhood golf course yesterday. Julie and me and all the kids met them up there for dinner. It was great to sit out under the trees and relax while Tate and Barrett ran all over the place. They especailly loved getting in the golf carts! One of the workers was smart enough to take the keys out. Everyone there is so nice and just let them play and have fun. Barrett also got some golf lessons from David and then took a few swings on his own. He had a great time. Notice the big bump on his head? He fell at Ladies class today. Poor guy!

Easter weekend

What a crazy weather weekend we had! It didn't snow here, but we got some sleet and we know of several people who did get snow. It is April- so weird. I got out on Saturday and got a pedicure(since I was going to be wearing sandals, which I did not!) And then I went to the mall, along with everyone else in Austin. On Saturday night, we went to take dinner to our friends David and Julie who just had baby Grant. We stayed and ate and Barrett and Tate had a great time playing. We(the adults) had a good time talking and eating.
Sunday, we got up and saw that the Easter Bunny had come. Barrett was so excited and jumped right out of bed. He had fun looking at what the Eater Bunny brought him and he also told Brooklyn about everything in her basket. We went to church and heard a wonderful message on what the death and resurrrection of Jesus mean for us today. And we sang some great songs!
After church, there was an Easter egg hunt and Barrett had a blast getting as many eggs as he could. There were tons of eggs and not too many kids, so we will have candy for a while. I was a wonderful time for him. We went to lunch at our friends Brent, Andrea and Blake's house. Andrea made such good food and it was fun to have a leisurely meal with them. We are so blessed to have many friends, who are like family, here in Austin. We even got in a nap and then woke up at 5:45 and needed to be to care group at 6 with buiscuits for the dinner we were having. We rushed around, but got there and had a great time chatting and seeing the kids all play together. What a fun group we are a part of. There are like 16 kids and more on the way! What a blessing our group is to us and our children.
I hope that all of you had time to reflect on what the death and ressurection of Jesus means for us. And how wonderful everything is because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. I hope you felt the love of God surround you today and everyday. Happy Easter.

In the Bluebonnets

Oh my! What a time we had trying to take some pictures in the bluebonnets. I always have such high expectations of my kids when it comes to picture taking. I just want one really good shot, but it turned out harder than I thought. For one, it is always a challenge when your 2 year old is holding his 7 month old sister on a hill that she can topple down. Brooklyn ususally has smiles for us all the time, but I think she is going to be a girly girl and was protesting sitting in the dirt.

Some things I said during this photo shoot-

"Barrett, I don't want to have to give you a spanking. This is supposed to be fun."

"Come on, we are making a memory!"

"Brooklyn, this is ridiculous. SMILE!"

" Finally, Barrett, great job!"

I got some good shots of Barrett, none really of Brooklyn and an ok one of the two of them. Here are some shots. I guess we will try again this weekend.

Just Like Daddy

Barrett just loves his daddy. He mimics him all of the time and he wants to do whatever Derek does. I think it is great that Barrett looks up to his daddy so much. Today Derek was planting a tree in our backyard and Barret twas right there helping him out. He was fired up to use his shovel to help dg te hole and then help plant the tree. Derek is a wonderful example for Barrett and will be for Brooklyn too.

Here are some pictures of Brooklyn wanting to be like her daddy too. She looks cool in Derek's Astros hat. She is really into chewing on everything. Some may say shes teething, but there is no sign of a tooth just yet. And thats fine with me. She is such a sweet little girl and we are truly blessed with both our kids.