Cheeeeeeeeessssseeeee!!!

H asked to have her picture taken after church so we grabbed the camera and obliged. Hopey, on the other hand, had no interest in the photo op! Love these girls!!

Back At 'Em

We are officially back in the swing of school and work. I had lots of meetings this week and the girls went to their new classes. It's very strange that we don't take either of them to the nursery side of RBS. Both of these cuties are on the "big kid" side.

This is what they do in the mornings while I finish getting dressed.

ACU Famous!!

This pic of baby Haelyn that my Mom took has been used a few times for various brochures. It reminds me of H being a baby, but also reminds me how much she has grown.

Sweet sweet future Wildcat!!!

Daddy Date

Mark took the girls to the park on Saturday to play and feed the ducks while I got my hair did. I also got to take a "quick" trip to Hobby Lobby sans kids!!! These girls love their Daddy time and he loves his daughter time. Too sweet!!!

Albany, TX

H jumping off the diving board!

Hopey running around.

All curled up and resting during the 15 minute pool break.

We went to a great pool/splash pad/ slide on Friday. The girls had a blast and so did we!! The place wasn't too crowded and it was very clean! A nice little trip to cute little Albany with my three favorite people.

Haelyn was very brave. She went to the edge of the diving board and jumped in to Mark with no floaties on. It was a proud moment. Mark thought there was no way she would do it. Hope did it too, but with floaties! It was a fun time and the perfect way to kick off our weekend.

Documentation

The girls have fallen asleep in the car a handful of times. Neither sleep very well in the car, if at all. When/if they do fall asleep its an hour max OR we are only going to be in the car for a few minutes. It's never something we can count on. Skipping a nap and hoping they will make it up in the car is NOT a great idea. I have the burst ear drums and frazzled nerves to prove it!

Aren't they cutie pie sleepers though. They both purse their lips. Precious little turkeys.

Don't feed the BEARS!

Just a little post nap snack party with our millions and billions of stuffed animals.

TOO QUIET

Races and Family

This past weekend we made a quick trip to Arlington. Uncle DeeDoo (Jeff) and Aunt Allison were in town from NYC, which made it a must to get all the brothers together. Mark had a race on Sunday. It was a sprint triathlon in Benbrook, TX. It was fun for him to have Allison and Jeff there this time!! He did great!! He was 3rd in his age bracket. I was pretty bummed that I missed seeing him stand on the platform, but that's okay...there will be more races...many, many more races! So, at 9:00 am he was standing on the platform getting an award and made it home just in time to leave with us for church. Oh happy day!

Sweet Cousins

These girls LOVE to be around each other. H asks for Annalyse daily and prays for her nightly. I balled in the car as we left Arlington this past weekend, because H was reaching out at the car window as we drove off saying "I don't wanna leave my Annawese". As a friend of mine said, and I agree, "they are so pretty...I can see this same pose in 10 years".

"Dear God,
Thank you for my cousin Annawese, and baby dolls, and long hair.
Amen" -HBug

ROCKER OUT, KITCHEN IN

We have been talking about moving the rocker recliner out of h's room for a while. She's hit and miss on whether she likes to be rocked to sleep. Usually she just points to her bed and says "night night, bed". In other words, the rocker we spent hours and hours in over the last 3 years was just taking up space. :(

The girls have a cute little kitchen that has been in the big kitchen since we moved in. It's fun in there but they need more room to spread out and "cooooooook". They like to pretend "picnic" and "ants marching". So, I decided to take the recliner apart (helps to watch movers work sometimes) and put the little kitchen on some towels and move it all "Mama Style" while MR was at work. The girls are already having too much fun closing me out of the room and playing.

I moved the recliner to our room. I think it will take A LOT for me to get rid of that chair. It's a special place where my babies were soothed to sleep, held when sick, and read to for the first time. However, I can realize when it's best to move some things around for functional reasons!!

NOT A BLUR AT ALL

This sweet baby girl turned 19 months old on July 27th. I cannot believe she is older than HBug was when we had her. Those early months were an amazing time. I find myself saying "they were all a blur", but they really weren't. I remember every second. I loved every second.

I remember...

• nursing, the best nurser-20 minutes flat, while H ran around screaming and playing and asking me to read books or play blocks. 
• reading those books and hoping I didn't fall asleep while I read them.
• putting Hopey down for naps ANYWHERE.
• dancing to Laurie Berkner while holding a newborn and holding an 18 month old's hand.
• wearing my pajamas a lot.
• all the amazing meals people brought us after Hopey was born.
• living in a duplex. It was a VERY simple life at just the right time.
• driving to look at our future home every night draped with blankets.
• holding Hopey a whole bunch...parenting books look a lot better at the bottom of a lake.
• letting my sweet Hopey girl sleep with me after 4am...it was best for all of us...she sleeps in her own bed now...no problem.
• doing bunches of puzzles with Haelyn.
• watching Dora.
• eating popcorn.
• eating oatmeal.
• giving H crushed ice from the new fridge.
• taking a shower before both girls woke up.
• hearing Mark and H in the kitchen in the mornings while I got one last feed and a few more minutes of shut eye in.
• texting other new mommas as a so called "experienced" mama.
• the sound of the wind in our bedroom.
• H getting both strands of flu...then Mark. 
• being quarantined to the back room for 5 days so Hopey wouldn't get the flu.
• SNOW!!
• our parents and friends helping us in any way possible. Bless them.
• having to leave the house so Hopey would take a bottle. She could smell me a mile away.
• visitors.
• napping on the couch.
• Rudy's bulging disc and needing to be in a crate at all times unless going out to potty.
• borrowing a crate big enough from the Lewis'. 
• being so happy it only took me 30 minutes to clean the duplex.
• drinking hot chocolate and eating frozen mango's for my night time snack.
• being absolutely taken with my two girls and thanking God everyday for the miracle of children.

Hopey is the funniest little ball of life. She will cuddle with the best of 'em and idealizes her "sissy". She has learned to say "I love you". She told our friend Stephen she loved him today as he left our house. I think it surprised him a little, but without missing a beat he said it back to her. She screams just for fun and can dance dance dance. She has blonde hair and GORGEOUS blues. I love her to the moon and back. I tell her everyday, "you are the best surprise I have ever gotten". 

TIME CAPSULE

I'm about to open the time capsule and let you have a look through some events of our year. Much more has happened than what you will see here, but you get the picture.

SEPTEMBER 2011

Mark's nasty wound and the biggest of his bruises from getting run over by a car while cycling.

 OCTOBER 2011

Pumpkin patch tradition!

Daddy and HBug go on a date to the bean while Mommy and Hope stay home and nap!

 NOVEMBER 2011

I took five of my students to present physics projects at a state conference (CAST/STAT).
They did wonderful!
I was a little proud...can you tell?!

DECEMBER 2011

White Rock Marathon. The rainiest race in our history of races. Mark did the half since he got hit by a car only a few months earlier. It was his first race post accident! He did AMAZING!

This sweet curly head turned ONE!

JANUARY 2012

My Mommy and Daddy left me for the first time to go to NYC!
I had more fun with Nana and Papa than I do with them anyway!

The NYC trip over NYE with Nick, D, Blake and Stephanie.

The guys plus Jeff. It was a bonus having Jeff and Allison to take us around NYC. It's super fun to have them living there, even though we miss more than they know. 

Brother's Camping Trip.
 A yearly tradition!

I'm pretty sure the brothers shared stories about their amazing wives over this beauty of a fire.

FEBRUARY 2012

Veggie Tales LIVE! It was so fun to watch HBug's little face take in all the excitement.

"Dis is big Mom, dose begtables aren't that big on the TV". -Haelyn

MARCH 2012

Packing up her paci's for the "Paci Fairy". She put them on the porch and got a pink Barbie car in return for being such a BIG girl!! 

BIG girl bed.
This was quite the month of transitions. We gave up the paci, moved to a toddler bed, AND potty trained all in a months time. It was fine, and we all made it out alive.

Mama got ALL FOUR wisdom teeth removed over spring break. It was not a great experience by any means, but I will NEVER have to do it again. Having babies was much easier. Much.

APRIL 2012

These cousins enjoyed Easter at Grandmama and Bear's new home in Arlington.
We are so glad they are closer!!

Easter 2012. 

 MAY 2012

Mark finished his first FULL IRONMAN in 11 hours and 30 minutes. His goal was 12 hours. It was such an amazing day for him and for our entire family.
We were so PROUD of him and his accomplishment. 

Ben, Holly, Stephen, and Hollie decorated our house with balloons and posters as a surprise to MR for when we got home from Houston. Best friends ever.

JUNE 2012

Mama gets braces. I got the top on first and the bottom 5 weeks later.
 I'll be a tooth model in about 18-20 months. Totally kidding.

Mark, my Dad and Ryan went to San Fran.
They choose a super cool ball park and try to catch the Rangers there once a year.

CrossFit in San Fran

Meanwhile, the girls and I went to Georgetown to hang with Nana.

Minnie Mouse Dance Camp 2012. Too cute for words!

Lake Times I with some amazing friends. Love these Frieda's. 

"The Group" minus SB. Someone had to take the picture. 

JULY 2012

This sweet turkey turned THREE. Time moves too fast.

4th of July parade in our neighborhood.

Summer fun hanging with Dawson and Liz in Arlington.

OK....there it was. Really really exciting, huh?!