iPhone Fair

We headed to the fair this afternoon! As we were leaving, it started raining. So, I left my camera at home and depended on my iPhone to capture or fair memories. We didn't stay long...just long enough to spend a whole lot of money and realize that the fair really does bring people out of the woodwork! Ha!

When we got there, we headed straight to the Ferris wheel. It is by far Hallie's favorite thing about the fair. I must admit, it's my favorite thing, too! It rained on us while we were on the Ferris wheel. Thankfully it was a quick shower and didn't rain again until we got home. I attribute the lack of rain to the fact that we carried umbrellas into the fair with us to have to lug around for 3 hours. ;o)

We had a great time--we all got our fair fix. Hallie got a wristband this year and rode lots of rides and even won a fish! And by "won a fish" I mean we spent $4 trying to win a 10 cent fish and the lady gave one to Hallie for "free". She also talked us into a little home for said fish. Hallie was quite upset when she handed over her goldfish (which was brown) and watched the lady put it under the counter and get a new fish. She was comforted by the fact that the lady tossed in a friend for the new fish. Jonathan got his funnel cake (whih he generously shared with all). And I got my very large bag of cotton candy (which I also shared). :o)

Hallie was SO excited to ride the Ferris wheel!

So proud to have a wristband (meaning she could ride any ride as many times as she wanted)!

Yummy funnel cake. :o)

Hallie ran into a friend from last year's school--Malachi!  They had lots of fun!

The beginning of trying to win a fish...

$4 goldfish

$9 later (and we stopped at Target for $5 fish food later!)

Heading home

Daddy bought me cotton candy!  Yummy!

Sweet Smiles

My sweet girls have THE sweetest smiles.  Hallie has always had an infectious smile from her very first grin.  I anticipate Harper having the same!  I haven't been able to catch one of Harper's full-gum grins completely yet, though.  Hallie has a VERY loose tooth!  And it hit me that I always capture "firsts"...but rarely the "lasts".  While we were outside playing, I snapped a few pictures of her sweet baby-teeth smile thinking that this might be the last time all those pearly baby whites are in her sweet head!

The loose tooth...I think most kids are extremely excited about their first loose tooth.  Hallie has been a little worried about it and hasn't wanted us to mess with it much.  Today it is literally hanging on by a thread.  Looking at Hallie, it's the bottom left of the two center teeth.

And this sweet face just wonders when she'll have some teeth! :o)

Harper is smiling at her Big Sister.

Hallie can almost always get a gummy grin from the littlest munchkin!

Harper tolerates a lot from her Big Sister!  Ha!

**The VERY loose tooth came out at the hand of Daddy!  More on that to come!**

Two Little Monkeys

As yesterday was Columbus Day, and a gorgeous day to be outside, we headed to the zoo to do a little exploring and discovering ourselves.  We have an incredible zoo here in Waco...it is truly a hidden gem in the city.  This was Hallie's hundredth trip to the zoo and Harper's first! :o) Harper was unimpressed by most of her zoo surroundings and slept her way through a bear, leopards, birds, meerkats, orangutans, a variety of fish, and many other wild animals.  It was a fun little outing on a beautiful day!

The awesome little treehouse playground.

Giraffes in the bright Texas sun!

My silly little monkey!

Tuckered out!

Two Months

Happy two months, Little One. You have no idea how you have made my heart grow bigger than I could have imagined. You are so precious. And I do believe you're getting used to this thing called life. You are technically two months and one day. I didn't snap your picture before your well-child visit yesterday and you weren't feeling quite yourself after three shots and an oral dosage of a vaccination.

What's going on with your two month self...you are holding your head like a champ, but you're not out of the bobble head woods yet. You aren't a huge fan of tummy time, but we are working on it. You hold onto our hands, and have started holding on a little bit to our shirts when we are carrying you around. You eat like a champ nursing 8-12 times a day, and I love that time with you. You take many naps throughout the day. You wake up around 7:30 and take your first nap around 9:30-10. Then you take another good nap around 1:00. And another in the evening. And you take several cat naps in between. It won't be long before you're on an actual schedule. For now, you eat on demand nap when you want. You are smiling more every day and love to "talk" to me. You coo and have the sweetest high pitched squeal. A lot of mornings, you enjoy a little chat with your Nonna over FaceTime. Thank goodness for modern day technology! You're pushing up with your legs, batting and kicking at objects on your playmat, and are turning into a happy little baby. The best is yet to come! There for a little while, you were very "opinionated" about most everything. But like I said before, you're getting used to this thing called life. You are incredibly loved by your big sister...and she often thinks she is the mommy. You've given her a few smiles...and I know she will more than likely be the one to get your first laugh out!

Oh, you are so precious to us. We are thankful beyond words for your precious little life! Having you here is such a blessing...even as I continue to adjust to being a mommy of two.

Happy two months (9 weeks old tomorrow!), Little One! I love you so so much.

Our Girls

As I have said countless times...we are incredibly blessed.  We have a beautiful family.  We have two beautiful girls...and after 8 years of marriage, Jonathan and I still like each other!  Ha!  Being honest (and human), there are times when I think things might be better "if only"..."if only my house were cleaner...if only the kitchen were bigger...if only we lived in Alabama...if only I could stay home...if only, if only, if only."  But I know in my head and my heart that these are THE BEST days right now, where we are...with the galley kitchen and the messy house...with the constant loads of laundry and the countless dishes in the sink.  I'm thankful for the roof over our head, even if I'm not in love with our house.  I'm thankful for that we have an abundance of clothes to cover us and keep us comfortable, even if that means the laundry will never end.  I'm thankful for the dishes in the sink (and the paper plates in the trash can) because that means that we aren't going hungry.  And I'm thankful to be right where I am in Waco, Texas because I know this is where God has us right now to grow as a family...and learn to be more thankful.  I'm thankful for a husband who loves me even during my most unlovable times.  Boy am I thankful for him!  I am thankful God knew exactly what I needed when He put us in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  God always knows what I need...even when I think He doesn't.

And boy am I thankful for our precious little girls.  Whew.  God knew exactly what we needed when He placed them in our lives.

Hallie is so spunky, independent, opinionated...and right now thinks she's the boss. While she is crazy about Harper, she is also learning to adjust to having a baby around.  And I believe she's trying to have me committed during her adjustment period...so she can be the boss.  Ha!  Seriously, it's an adjustment for her.  And that means it's an adjustment for us.  I need to be more patient.  More loving.  More understanding.  Her little "Hallie World" has been rocked to the core with the welcoming of Harper.  And she has had a lot of changes in the past couple of months...a new baby, starting kindergarten, Mommy staying home with Harper.  Hallie is counting down the days until I go back to work...she is SO excited about me being at school with her.  I'm thrilled to know that I'll get that time with her; simply being in the same place...bumping into her on occasion. And I know her comfort level will rise greatly.  But, I'm not thrilled about going back to work.  Ha.  Two more weeks.  With that said, Hallie is thriving in kindergarten and absolutely loves it.

Harper is so precious.  Babies are just sweet.  And snuggly.  And boy is she snuggly.  Talking about adjusting.  We have had to adjust to having two blessings vying for our attention.  And as the saying goes "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", in our case, the crying baby gets the attention.  I'm guessing that our future is going to hold a lot of drama. :o)  Throughout my pregnancy, I prayed for an easy baby.  Hallie was not the easiest of babies...until about 3 months.  I'm not sure if Hallie cried as often as Harper does, but I'm betting she did and I just forgot.  Otherwise there probably wouldn't be a Harper. :o)  While Harper isn't a super easy baby, she's also not a super hard baby either.  She is very sweet.  The morning time with her is my absolute favorite...especially now that she is becoming more interactive.  If she is hungry or uncomfortable, she lets you know.  Loudly. :o)  Already taking after her big sister!  Ha!  But her sweet smiles (which she is starting to offer more frequently) and her precious coos and little noises completely make me fall in love with her over and over again.  She has had some tummy troubles, so we have had to try to adjust to that with trial and error involving my diet and nursing.  Either we are on the upside of Harper simply adjusting to life outside the womb or we're beginning to figure out what I can and cannot eat (dairy is a no-no).

Hallie and Harper.  Harper and Hallie.  Hx2.  Goodness gracious, I love those two girls.  I am so eager to see how they are going to be alike and how they are going to be different.  So far Hallie loves wearing bows and Harper hates them.  Ha!  They look very much alike...Harper's cheeks are a little fluffier than Hallie's were.  And Harper has blue eyes to Hallie's brown.  And it seems that Harper has a little more hair than Hallie at this age.  Regardless of their similarities and differences, they are my babies.  Blessings.  My loves.

Love these two.

Harper got in on the bedtime reading!

Harper got her first Nonna box...and slept right through it!

 First bath!

Hallie being a little mommy.

Reading to her baby.

Love her!

Sweet.

Baby Legs

Love these three!

Sweet baby girl.

Love.

Blessed.