Zoo Day with KRae

John Thomas and Kennedy are the best of friends, so when we got a chance to take her to the zoo he was ready!  Aunt Dionne went with me to help, and I was grateful for an extra set of hands, especially with those two, they could not be held down when it was time to see the animals!

They were pretty good about staying in the wagon as long as we offered snacks and water! 

Climbing, they climbed on everything, ALL day!

 We ended our zoo day at the children's play area and petting zoo where we had to have another snack!

 After lunch, we ended our day with ice cream!  Notice how clean Kennedy is and how messy John Thomas is.  She was so gentle with her cone and he devoured his!  They get along so well, but are SO different!

When we got home Kennedy got some practice in for her new baby brother, Ace, due in September!  She loved holding Ruby!

New Glove

John Thomas' love of baseball continues, so we decided to take him to Dick's and let him pick out his very own glove and ball! He was ecstatic! We are pretty sure he is going to be right handed, but for some reason bats left handed.  Time will tell!

Wallace Family Reunion

Kris' grandmother's family had a big family reunion Mother's Day weekend, and we were able to go and eat a great lunch and see lots of family we don't always get to see!  John Thomas had so much fun running around with all the other kids and Ruby was able to meet a lot of family she hadn't got to meet yet!

These two were taking a break and enjoying a cold beverage!

 John Thomas and Kennedy were loving Meamaw's special punch!

 All the cousins!

 Love this curly headed kiddo!

Dallas Children's Theatre - Charlotte's Web

Monika took John Thomas to the Dallas Children's Theatre for the production of Charlotte's Web.  Neither of us knew if he would be interested or be able to sit through the two hour performance.  He surprised us both and loved every minute and since has been asking to go back to the "pig show!"  He also now "announces" all of our family members with a fake microphone, just like they did for the cast at the play.  He is so funny and really picks up and remembers things that I would likely forget or overlook!

Stuart Little is the production next month and we are already making plans to go back!

Muffins With Mom 2014

A couple of weeks ago, I went to John Thomas' school to celebrate Muffins with Mom!  He was so proud to show me what he had "made" me and we enjoyed some sweet treats, too!

Ruby Caroline 4 Months!

Our sweet baby girl is FOUR months old!  It seems like overnight you went from newborn to baby!

  

   Some new milestones this month:

• Started sleeping through the night consistently, typically from 8:30 or 9:00 pm until 7:00 am!!
• Laughed for the first time at Daddy
• We finally moved you to your room on 04.05.14 and you have slept great every night there since!
• Started taking consistent naps in your crib, you cry at first and spit your paci out, but usually we only have to put it back in once.
• Started playing with toys, especially those that hang above you on your playmat.
• You smile all the time and definitely recognize familiar faces! You light up when you see John Thomas.
• You can roll over from back to tummy and tummy to back with ease.
• You try really, really hard to sit up!
• For the first time, you stayed away from mama and took your bottles for Daddy great!
• You are still spitting up, cutting out dairy has helped some, but you still spit up quite a bit!
• You are eating every 3 hours and taking about 3 naps a day, sometimes with a short nap in the early evening after dinner.

For diapers, you still wear size 1 disposables, though you could probably move up to size 2, I have a few more size 1 to use.  In cloth you are still on the smallest rise setting and I need to start putting in a thicker insert, you are wetting through the newborn ones!  You wear 0-3 and some 3-6 month clothes, and your tiny feet are still too narrow for shoes!

 Your eye color remains blue, like mamas!  Your hair is still a light brown, and is starting to get much thicker!

We went for your 4 month checkup and you are perfectly healthy!  She was impressed at how strong you are, like your big brother!  You got mad again at your shots, but were over it after I nursed you and didn't have any reaction to them.

Your official 4 month stats are:

Weight - 12 lbs 8.5 oz (35%)

Height - 24" (50%)

Head - 15 3/4" (25%)

Ruby, 

You are growing too fast!  I want time to slow down so I can preserve each cuddle and grin you give us!  We love you more and more everyday!

Love, Mama and Daddy

Easter 2014

We had a wonderful Easter spent with family and friends!  Being in Chicago until late the Saturday night before, I was excited to get back and spend some time with my sweeties!

Three of our four, before church!

 Love these four!

 We celebrated our Risen Lord at early service and took a few pictures outside afterwards.

 Granna was home from Phoenix and came to church with us too!

 After church we raced home, did some last minute cooking and then headed to Sulphur Springs for a huge Easter lunch and egg hunt at Pa Pa and Gran Grans house.  Almost all the cousins were there and that makes for a lot of kids and craziness!

 These two always play so well together, have since day 1!

 We love Danielle, and miss her being closer!

John Thomas dyed Easter eggs for all of 3 minutes before he was over it.  Crafts are not his thing!  

 The older "kids" played their usual wiffle ball game, which I think only inspired John Thomas' love for ball even more!

 I love how John Thomas adores his Daddy!  He is constantly laughing and playing when Daddy is around!

 Our two littlest with their Easter buckets.

 Most of the grandkids and great-grandkids right before they were let loose for the hunt.

John Thomas said he wanted to get 8 eggs, and again, like at every hunt we have been to, he collected 8.  Coincidence, I am sure, but impressive nonetheless. 

 The three musketeers, love each other so much!

 Wild man decided to take a break on one of the "bases"

 Our last attempt at an Easter family photo!

 and to remember what this stage of our life TRULY looks like, here are a couple of outtakes!

Chi Town for a Mama's Night Out!

A few months back, Patrick, my best friend's husband text to tell us he was planning a surprise getaway for her thirtieth birthday.  Not thinking at all I could make this happen, with a newborn baby and two year old, my wonderful hubby encouraged me to go and leave the kids with him for the weekend.  I admit, I was REALLY nervous, not about leaving them with him, but because Ruby has not been a fan of the bottle.  After some thought, I decided to go and surprise her, and I am so glad I did!  

I took the first flight out on Friday morning and the late flight out Saturday night, but we packed as much as possible into my short 36 hour stay! 

We celebrated with champagne at the hotel before heading out to conquer the magnificent mile for some shopping and lunch!

 After a full day of shopping we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at RPM Italian.  Oh my goodness, the food was phenomenal!  Patrick had a preset menu so we could eat "family style" and try a wider range of their dishes, it was the best idea and I loved everything!

 The birthday girl and I - I miss her MORE than words!

 For dessert we had the cutest little individual gelato cones in several different flavors!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Heather, and I was reminded how out of tune I am with staying out late! 

The second day, I was up early and enjoyed some coffee and quiet time while I waited on everyone to get up, my family back home included! After face timing with them, Heather came to my room and we got ready for the day, just like our college days!

We headed out to find some traditional Chicago style pizza, which they warned us would take a minimum of an hour - but it was worth the wait!

 After lunch we did some more shopping and finished the day at Navy Pier, the weather was perfect and we had amazing views of the water!

Everyone else headed to the hotel to get ready for dinner, and I packed the rest of my things and took a cab to the airport.  I was sad my time with Heather had ended, but super excited to get back to these loves, who had a great Daddy weekend!