15 months

What a handsome little fella, don't ya think?  I know the baby is fading, but I'm holding on to it as long as I can. Henry is definitely growing up a little too fast for me right now. But he is still my sweet little baby. I love that he will snuggle with me, and with his little "lovie."  I love watching him learn to walk. It's still a game to him and he loves to fall into our arms after a few steps.  He is completely smitten with his big sister.  He wants to be where she is, play with what she has, and do what she does.  We have our challenges right now too, including his strong desire to throw EVERYTHING, and changing his diaper is still a nightmare. Agh!  But then he laughs or smiles, and I melt. I can't believe in less than two weeks he'll start attending "pre-school."  (Mother's Day Out, really).  Bye bye baby, hello toddler!

And that's all I have to say about that. Henry has the last word, and it's loud.

Ballet, tap, tumbling... oh my.

I can't believe I forgot to post these photos last week.  Aubrey had her very first dance class on Friday and was over the moon!  She had been so worked up over starting that she woke up one morning at 4:30am, dressed herself in full ballet regalia, and didn't go back to sleep.  She said "Mommy, I was just so excited for ballet." I'm probably just as excited for her.  Dance was such a huge part of my life growing up, so I'm happy to see her finding enjoyment in it as well.  It is a daily chore to keep her out of her ballet clothes. She would wear them all day if I let her.  Instead, she settles for her swimsuit most of the time. Speaking of that, she woke another day recently at 5:30am to go potty, and instead of going back to sleep, she dressed in full swim regalia... including her floaties.  "Mommy, I was just so excited about swimming today." Note to self... don't tell Aubrey anything ahead of time, or she, and I, will never sleep again. The end.

All spiffed-up.

What do you do on another 100 degree + day in Austin (by the way, today marked our 60th 100+ day this year)? You load the kids up and take them for a haircut, of course. I decided it was time for Henry to have a "real" cut and Aubrey's hair was looking a little shaggy too. Initially, I was just going to do Henry's, but Aubrey would have none of that. She loves getting hers cut, probably because she gets to watch a movie while she sits in the chair. I wasn't sure how Henry would react, but I figured he would try to climb out of the chair, since it seems his goal in life is to climb up or out of things. A little Elmo video and a cool car chair, and he sat perfectly still. These aren't the greatest photos since I just threw in our old point and shoot at the last minute, but you get the idea.

Story time with Aubrey

Before you get too excited, notice she is barely even looking at the page.  She has memorized the book, word for word, after hearing it a few times.  Brian and I were shocked the other night when she said "no, I can read the whole book," and she pretty much did. I love that she loves books.  We are certainly a long way off from her actually reading them, but she could spend hours looking at them or hearing them read aloud.  I do believe she has Brian's knack for words.  If you know him, you know he can bust out with the lyrics to most songs and TV jingles after only hearing them a few times.  Just ask him to sing you the Mon-chi-chi song the next time you see him. You will not be disappointed. 

You can't, and can go home again.

We took the kids on their first "camping" trip this weekend. Where did we camp, you might ask? In "our house," of course. The house we don't live in. The house that hasn't sold yet. Our empty house in Fort Worth. We needed to do some dusting and change some light bulbs, so we made a trip of it this weekend. The best part of it all was visiting with our old neighbors, having dinner with my super-cool friend Maridon and her family (Aubrey and her girls were buds and Maridon was my saving grace in a new city) and taking the kids to the amazing Ft. Worth Zoo. 

It was a nice little escape, although I'm not sure I would call it relaxing. Spending the night in a big empty house you once called home, a house that hasn't sold (did I mention that yet?), can cause of range of emotions to surface. Anxiety and stress. Will it ever sell??? Sadness. It's a great house. I could have done a lot with that house (and so could someone else, hint hint).  I can't live there, and we can't buy a comparable house, in a comparable neighborhood in Austin, for anywhere near the same price. Happiness. I smiled pointing out the exact spot where Aubrey took her first step. She went from zero to full-on walking. She waited a long time to take that first step, but once she did, she proceeded to walk around the entire first floor of the house without falling. Gratefulness. I am so grateful for what we have now, here in Austin. I would not trade living in this rental house for "our house" if it meant giving up the life and friends we have here in Austin. It is true what they say... a house does not make a home. It was nice to come "home" tonight. To our small, crammed, old, dusty house. This is our home. (But you know what, I'm pretty sure I could make a different house here in Austin feel like an even better home :)).

I ask you...

was this necessary?

According to Aubrey, yes it was. The girl loves "paskghetti."

and we're walking...

we're walking...

we're falling...

we're falling...

and we're getting up again...

and we're walking...

Hey, this is fun. Look at me, I can get up without holding on to anything.

and we're walking...

we're falling...

we're up again...

and we're done. (and would someone cut that boy's hair already?)

"Blaster" from the past.

We had a really fun weekend with a great friend of ours from the Navy. Brian, Tony and I were all in the same squadron (VFA-34 Blue Blasters) for a short period.  Tony lives in VA, but was in TX on business last week and managed to fit in a trip to Austin over the weekend.  We're so glad he did. Not only was it fun to catch up and reminisce, but it gave us an excuse to explore our own city.  We hit Barton Springs pool, Deep Eddy Pool, and even had a night out without kids on South Congress. Thanks again for coming "Latka."  It was so great to see you!

Look who's walking, sort of.

Summer blockbusters.

Starring stinker no. 1 and stinker no. 2.  Here is a small glimpse into how we are entertaining ourselves during this long hot summer.  Just a little background, the music you will hear is the CD from Aubrey's vacation bible school program, which was titled Crocodile Dock.  She would listen to it all day if I let her.  And Henry... notice his obsession with the coffee table. So there you have it. Our days in a nutshell.

This next one cracks me up.  This is what I heard coming from Aubrey's room today. I missed the best parts, but you get the idea.  She was praying. A very long, drawn out prayer. She had the inflection of a minister!  And shocker... she started talking about Crocodile Dock. She still remembers the bible stories she learned that week. And when I say learned, she heard them once. Amazing, but then again, I'm biased. 

First Steps.

Henry took his first steps on Thursday afternoon! He walked right into the arms of my sweet friend Amy.  3 whole steps.  Not much action since then. He thinks it's a game of falling into the person, not walking to them.  Too bad I don't have any photos. He was pretty darn proud of himself.