"Oh, It's a Jolly Holiday...

with Mary, no wonder that it's Mary that we love!" For those of you without kids who may not have seen a classic lately, be sure to check out Mary Poppins. Or, just take a look at these photos. There are certainly a lot of them! I was thinking recently about what movies I loved as a child, and Mary Poppins was at the top of the list. The music is GREAT and there aren't any scary flying monkeys to contend with. So, I bought it for Aubrey and she is hooked! When it came time to pick a halloween costume, naturally she picked Mary Poppins. I had to think long and hard about how to make this happen. There aren't any store bought MP costumes out there, unless you want to spend hundreds of dollars for a broadway replica. No thanks. I figured it would be easy enough to find an old white dress and transform her into the Mary from the "Jolly Holiday" scene. Well, to keep this short, it wasn't as easy as I thought... but the result is precious! And Henry, well he had to be one of the dancing penguins from that scene.

We had a great night of trick-or-treating. We got together with our neighbors again this year and it was so fun to see how much the kids have changed in a year. First of all, Aubrey didn't have a clue what was happening last year, and certainly didn't know what to do with the candy. This year, she came back with chocolate all over her face. Henry had a really long afternoon and fought his nap big time... so he was completely exhausted before we even started. I made it to the end of the street and then had to head home with him... and then listen to him scream for a good long time when I put him down.

Ok, enough talk. Here is Mary Poppins and her Penguin.

Our neighbor Kate, who Aubrey adores

Emily the Bee

What a difference a year makes.  

Aubrey on Halloween 2007.

Happy Halloween, part I

5 Months

Yep, you guessed it.  Henry is a month older and growing.  He is doing really well, considering his skin is like leather and must itch like crazy!  He just started to reach for and hold toys two days ago and really loves chewing on anything that comes near him.  He hasn't rolled over yet, but I'm certain that will happen, along with all the other milestones, when I'm not even paying attention. He still sleeps well most nights.  He woke up for the first time in a few months last week and has been doing it off and on since then.  Growth spurt?  Let's hope so.  His daytime sleep has gotten better, at least for now :).  I'm still dairy, nut and berry free. Not sure it's the source of his skin and reflux issues, but at least it seems to be helping me lose some of the baby weight!  He is quick to smile and I love that about him.  It took serious work to get smiles out of Aubrey, so I appreciate every one of them.

Henry is a joy... (pause, he just woke up).  Did I say joy?  Yes, I meant it, even when I want to pull my hair out.  

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The Littlest Longhorns

So Brian may be one of the oldest full time MBA students at UT, but at least he's not the only one with a wife and kids. Much like the good old wives club in the military, we have a group for those of us with mouths to feed while in school called Little Longhorns. It's been a great way to meet other moms and gets me out of the house every now and then.

Today I packed up the kids and headed to our LL playgroup at yet another pumpkin patch. (This time the weather was spectacular. Cool and humidity free!) Not really a patch per se. More like grass and landscaping store turned pseudo haunted house/ farm complete with a giant talking pumpkin and a haybale maze. I expect nightmares tonight.

Hello Mr. Blue Eyes

I melt...

A night away with the girls

When we moved to Austin last year, I was fortunate enough to join a play-group with some incredible women and their kids.   Although it's hard for us to all get together every week this year because of changing schedules, we make a point to organize nights out for just the girls.  This weekend, Christy was gracious enough to invite us to spend an entire night away at her family's lake house on Lake LBJ, without kiddos or husbands!  Unfortunately, not all of us could make it (we missed you girls).  However, 5 of us could sneak away and it was SO great.  

We left yesterday morning and drove to Marble Falls for lunch and some shopping.  Then we headed to the house and did a whole lot of relaxing.  We talked and talked, went for a boat ride, had some wine and cheese, watched the UT game (Hook 'Em), ate an awesome dinner, talked some more, and watched a movie.  We slept in (how sad is it that 8:15am is sleeping in to me) and had another great meal before taking a walk and heading home.  I have to admit, I was a little weary of leaving Henry for that long since he's still nursing exclusively.  It took me 15 months to leave Aubrey for a night!  Henry hasn't had many bottles, but when he does, he seems to take them just fine, so I felt OK about that.  I just pumped a lot to keep up my supply and hoped for the best.  I was a little nervous he would start to like the bottle too much and not want to nurse when I came home.  He did GREAT.  He was the angel baby for Brian, of course, and didn't miss a beat.  

What a great respite.  Thanks to Christy and her parents for sharing their amazing place with us.  I needed this time away so much, but I was also glad to come home to happy faces.  I missed those little toots, and Brian too.  Now, if Brian and I could only have a night away.  That hasn't happened since BEFORE Aubrey was born (unless you count two stays in the hospital with Henry, which clearly I don't).

Kathryn, Melissa, Shannon, and Christy enjoying the gorgeous weather and view from the porch.

Yummy cheese.  My first dairy indulgence in nearly a month!

Our tour guide, Christy.

Kathryn and Shannon on our evening cruise.

Captain Christy

Fall has arrived

Ok, well not really. It was still about 90 degrees this morning with a miserable amount of humidity, but for a little while we pretended it was fall. I met my friends Amy and Melissa at the pumpkin patch so we could get the requisite fall photos of our little chicks. 48 photos, all on super high 5mb quality, and not a single one of the two of them smiling together. Oh well. They were happy, so that is all that matters I suppose. I did get some great ones of just Aubrey, although the color really doesn't show through here since I can only upload jpgs to blogger. They look a little washed out here, but you get the idea.

Little Birdie

My first real project since Henry's birth. I stayed up way too late on Friday night making this shirt for Aubrey. I got a wild hair at 9pm to start it, and since Henry sleeps all night, I guess I figured why not.  Yes, a crazy Friday night.

Showing off her shirt and her fresh haircut.

This next one needs a little explaining.  Brian heard Aubrey in the kitchen and walked around to see what she was doing.  He then rushed to get the camera.  This is what he found.  Aubrey imitating mommy with the breast pump parts.

Getting a little exercise.

A few more photos from last week...

Headed to school with her "pack-pack"

Grandad comes to town

My dad was here last week and was able to spend some quality time with the kiddos despite getting pretty sick (he's on the mend now, thankfully).  

These first two photos crack me up.  Henry and Aubrey seem to have nearly the same expression in each one.

Even Grandad seems to have the same devilish grin

Thanks buddy, I love you too!

Yum yum

Henry had his first taste of "food" last week.  I'm not in any real hurry to start solids, even though the Dr. gave us the go ahead.  I know once I start down this road, there's no going back and it's just one more thing I'll have to do.  But one evening last week, I was looking for a way to occupy Henry before bath and bed, so I figured why not try a little rice cereal.  Doesn't he look shell-shocked?

Aubrey got in on the action too

Finger lickin' good

Rated "R" for repulsive!

Here's the scene...

It's an hour into Aubrey's nap today, and she still isn't asleep.  She is singing, talking, and generally avoiding closing her eyes at all costs.  Now Henry is awake from his nap, wanting to eat...pronto.  (So much for my quiet time).  I am heading to the living room to nurse him and maybe catch a few minutes of the news in the process.  Instead, I hear Aubrey yell "MOMMY, I went poopy!!!!"  

(OK, so a little background here. She is potty trained except for nap time and night time, when she wears a diaper. Sometimes she can't settle down for her nap because she has a dirty one.  I have told her she should yell and tell me so I can come change her and then she can sleep). 

I am so proud. She has listened to me.  I put Henry down and head in to change her.  OH MY GRACIOUS (a favorite Aubrey saying).  The smell hits me first, then my eyes see black...on her hands, on her bed, on her pillows, on her blankets.  Everywhere!  The dreaded day has arrived.  My child has taken off her diaper in bed and it's contents, I say again, are everywhere.  Henry pipes up with the FEED ME NOW cries.  I whisk Aubrey off to the tub for a super fast scrub down and then clean my hands like I'm prepping for surgery before feeding Henry.  Once his belly is full, I'm off to the garage to fetch gloves (no mask in sight or I would have taken that too).   The clean up is a pain, but it's done.  How on earth do people clean cloth diapers everyday?  I mean really.

So much for nap time.