Easter 2013

 

Once again, our Easter was fantastic!  We started off dyeing eggs.
We let the little girls dye eggs using colored shaving cream.   They loved it, and the eggs turned out so pretty.  Lila is now old enough to dye eggs by herself, and she did a great job.  She measured out her own water for the cups, and took great care in "checking" her eggs to see the color progression

Lila found the golden Easter egg at her school party.

Friday evening we went over to visit everyone at Gran's house.  Easter is a BIG deal because my sister-in-law and her family ALWAYS come here for Easter...Aiden had been counting down for weeks, and Lila loves her cousins.  Oh, and of course, Ginger comes and brings a ton of treats.  The girls enjoyed a practice egg hunt, and we all enjoyed the great weather.

On Saturday, everyone got to go to Lila's t-ball game.

and then we went to Gran's for the annual cookout.  Ginger brought a pinata and it was entertaining for everyone.

Sunday, we woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had filled our baskets to capacity with Bible story DVDs, snack size Nutella, floaties and sunglasses.  Then it was off to church.  I have to admit that other than their Baptism, this was the first time the little girls have been to Mass.  They did great.  It's like they knew what to do; they never made peep (There was a curtain that was accidentally pulled down).  Then it was off to Pappasito's followed by egg hunting

another attempt at getting all three of my girls in a picture was made, and failed...looked something like this

So I settled for individual candid shots

The Oscars

  I love the Oscars...I love the fashion and the glamour, and yes I sit and watch the Red Carpet for hours.  This year, I put Lila's creativity and energy to good use.  We talked about having an Oscar "party", which turned out to be just us...and we had a great time.  Earlier that week, Lila asked me when I was going to take her shopping for an Oscar dress.  I happened to have about 3 yards of sparkly fabric and an idea popped into my head of how to make a simple dress for her, and our "party" just took on a life of it's own

We came up with a menu: white cheese which Lila cut into "party squares" all by herself, and grapes

Rolled out the Red Carpet, and made some decorations

Did make-up...she already figured out that sitting in front of the windows gives the best light for make-up

had a photo shoot

Dad even got in on the action.  Lila really wanted me to put on a dress, but her Dad sprung into action and went and put on one of his blazers and even found and Oscar for her

by the time the Oscars actually came on, Lila was asleep on the couch and this guy had taken over

In some ways, the past year has flown by, but in some ways I can't believe it has only been a year.  A year ago, I never would have imagined that we would be able to incorporate 2 babies into our family with such ease.  Of course we had a couple rough patches, but for the most part having these girls has been so much easier than I even could have imagined.  These girls were an answered prayer, and I give thanks to God everyday for my 3 healthy, happy girls. 

Both little girls are walking, and we do not have bottles anymore.  They have started to eat their yogurt with a spoon, love to be outside, and love bath time.

Audrey Lane

(aka Audi Bear, Boo, Needy Smurf)

1 yr

19 lbs, 3 oz

29 inches

Audrey Echols how did I get a blonde, blue-eyed kid?  You are extremely social, and do not like to be left alone.  Most kids your age play by themselves, but not you.  You like to interact and play with someone...mostly Lila.  You are a great eater; haven't met anything yet you don't like.  You are so predictable.  Everyday at 11:30 and 5:30 you get hangry and if you don't have food, you throw a fit so intense that I have gotten called from daycare and they thought you were in pain.  I said "no, just give her something to eat"  Works like magic.  You love to climb and are smart; you know when you are doing something wrong and you will glance back to see if anyone is watching you.  I will watch you on the cameras at school and you are always front and center, you already know your body parts. Favorite toy right now is blocks and bowls.  You are a little needy, however that has gotten a little better now that we can communicate a little more.  You are also a good little dramatic actress.  You will come up and sit behind me and pretend to cry so I will pick you up.  I will say, "Oh, now, come on Drama" and you will start to laugh...and you like to fake sneeze, and of course you like to blow kisses just to melt our hearts.  You also love to go anywhere.  The minute you see your shoes, you start waving, and when we open the door you get so excited and squeal. 

Landry Cate

(aka Lu Lu, nugget)

1 yr

20 lbs, 10 oz

29 inches

My little nugget.  Oh, how I love that expressive little face of yours, and that big tummy.  You are such a happy baby.  You are a good self entertainer, and are very low maintenance.  You love to "talk", and speak something that resembles Japanese.  Any object becomes your phone and you walk around jabbering, and will stop and laugh and throw your head back, and then come hand me the phone.  I could watch you for hours.  I don't think it is fair that you eat about half of what your sister does, but you weigh more.  You are trying to run and jump.  I have caught you twice jumping in your bed.  Your favorite toy right now is the phone, and the kitchen.  You seem to like shoes.  I have noticed you trying to put on my shoes and Lila's shoes.  You can blow kisses, but you will also give big hugs.  And, if I tell you no, you burst into tears. You have already been caught pulling hair and pushing your sister, but beware, she is starting to push back, and I think she may be a biter, so look out.  At home you are so independent, but when we go somewhere you become shy and want to be held.

Audrey and Landry's 1st Birthday

Audrey and Landry turned 1 on January 11th.  Unfortunately, Audrey was not feeling good at all and actually went to the doctor 3 times that week, so there was not much celebrating.  

 Aunt Natalie came over and helped me do a little decorating, and we dressed them up in their sp.ecial birthday outfits that Aunt Jana had bought them hoping to get a couple of cute pictures, at least

Natalie made them cupcakes.

 Landry loved hers...I knew Audrey was sick when she wouldn't even eat her cupcake.

On the weekend, we went to Hallettsville, and we attempted another small party there.  The Great-Grannies and Papa came over, and Carol and Jeanette and Zozo.  The girls were still not feeling great but they did enjoy their cupcakes.

Lila's 5th Birthday

My little Lila Bug turned 5 in grand style.  She has never really had a big birthday party, so this was her year.  She knew exactly what she wanted right down to cake flavor and napkin color.  So we had a peace sign themed party at the Big Bounce, and I think it was everything she dreamed it would be.  Lila is not a kid who demands attention, and I was glad to do something for her where she got to be the star.

The following Monday, which was Lila's actual birthday, we decorated her door.  I couldn't wait for her to wake up.  She was pretty impressed with the glittery "5".  We all wore party hats at breakfast and the birthday girl got to start off the day with a big piece of cake. 

It is cliche', but I can't believe Lila is already 5.  I can still remember every detail of the day she was born like it happened yesterday.  She was and still is our miracle baby.  She has grown into quite a creative, independent and articulate little girl.  She is small but fierce.  When she makes up her mind to do something, there is no stopping her.  She fixes her own ponytails in the morning and dresses herself for school.  She loves to play restaurant, and loves to help cook and do crafts, and she loves to watch Duck Dynasty.  Lila transitioned into being a Big Sister better than I ever could have imagined, and like her Aunt Jana and Nanny, she seems to be a baby person. She has natural instincts about babies.  She talks calmly to them when they are crying, and if she sees they are playing with something that they shouldn't have she will offer them another toy.  She is quite a thinker, and makes me laugh all the time.  This is a conversation we had the other day.

Lila:  Thank you, Mommy, for helping me clean my room.  I will pay you.

Me:  Lila, I'm your Mom.  You don't have to pay me.  I help you and you help me.  That's the way it works.

Lila:  But...I want to be paid.  

I call her "the negotiator".  It is really hard for her to take "no" for an answer, and she always has a counter offer (which really gets on my nerves).  She has a reward chart that she puts stickers on and when she gets 25 stickers she can pick something from the dollar section at Target.  The other day she comes up and says, "I only need 6 more stickers, but can I just have the cash?"

Christmas 2012

I was very much looking forward to Christmas this past year.  Probably because last year I was very pregnant, and spent Christmas on my couch trying not to go into labor, and my participation in Christmas activities was minimal.  I knew it would be a crazy whirlwind, but I was determined to enjoy every bit of it.  

We woke up on Christmas Eve with a big surprise...Santa had come early!!!  He left a note saying he knew we would be getting up early on Christmas Day to leave town, so after the Trail of Lights closed the night before, he brought over our gifts, so we would have time to enjoy them.  

The little girls got Pillow Racers, and Crayola Wonder markers, and Lila got a pink "wild style" scooter, but I think her favorite gift was...

Furball the Furby.  In fact, I think the quote was, "your the best Mommy in the whole world".  That made standing in line (at HEB:  they ran them on sale for $20) for the annoying little thing worth it.

Also a favorite was her very own Guy Harvey fishing t-shirt

 The little girls loved their new smart phones,

and Landry had the best time putting this bow on the tree and then taking it off.

We had a great day relaxing at home and then it was off to Church and then to Gran's.

We were very excited because we got to meet our cousin Gracie for the first time.  Lila had been talking about playing with Gracie for days, and tracking their journey from Colorado to Texas.

Gran liked her wreath.  I was thrilled to give this to her.  I really like to give gifts; I totally look forward to seeing people open what I give them.  I was so excited to give that Furby and this wreath.

These guys had a great time handing out gifts, and they did a pretty good job reading the names on the tags.  I remember when I was a kid how thrilled I was to pass out the gifts

 A highlight was this Duck Dynasty wig that Scott gave Jai.  Everyone had a good time trying it on

Christmas morning we were on the road to Hallettsville.  I missed not being with family at all for any holidays last year.  Our holidays are so laid back; there is not one ounce of formality and anything/everything goes

 There was pyramid building...

 napping...

and skeet shooting (also some side betting on the skeet shooting).

Next, it was on to Nana's house for more opening

So, Natalie got a daschund necklace, a daschund Christmas tree skirt and a daschund golf club cover.  She's really young to be compared to the old crazy cat ladies, but just sayin' I think I know what her future holds.

So, it was a crazy whirlwind, but we are so blessed to have so much family to celebrate with.