Bailey had a cupcake with 3 inches of frosting. Can you tell what color it was?
If we're running late or if it's raining I drive Andrew to the bus stop. It's a 5-6 minute walk from our house and if we're late I can't run with him. One morning we had a minute to spare so we took some silly photos in the car on my phone. He has to be at the bus stop at 6:55am so it's usually a little dark still.
Here's our new car. So purdy!
The lot next to our house is open so the kids go out there to play soccer or baseball. It's nice because we live at the end of a court so there isn't much traffic. Only our house and the one across the street are actually in the court so we have lots of space to play.
27 weeks. First baby bump photos.
My beautiful Bailey Boo.
Andrew reads a page out of The Book of Mormon each night with either me or Ryan. He does a really really good job.
Reading with Daddy.
Tackles! But it's all in fun!
Andrew still loves playing with his Magformers!
I love catching Andrew doing something quiet on his own. I think he was doing math here.
Bailey's stats from her 4 year check up. Tall and skinny.
My crazy little girl.
This was the only artwork I found for March. I'm sure I'll find more. This is Andrew's dragon.
On March 24, we packed up and headed to the airport. It was so nice to spend so much time with my parents.
We again had to take 2 flights home. Our first flight flew us to LA and from there we flew to Houston. The first flight was pretty short. The planes were smaller and had two seats on each side of the isle. Andrew volunteered to sit by himself across from us. The first flight he sat next to a nice lady and the second flight he sat next to a really nice man from Africa. He and Andrew talked and colored for a good portion of the trip. I am so grateful he had nice people sitting next to him!
We saw some cool things from the sky like this lake in the mountains of Southern California and the Hollywood sign!!!
As we got closer to home I started looking for things I could recognize form the air. Here is Lake Conroe. This is about 30 minutes north of us.
I found our neighborhood!
There's our house!!!! Last one on the end!
I was so tired when we got home and grateful for a boring trip. Ryan met us at the airport with this huge Welcome Home sign, red roses and tears in his eyes. I think he missed us :) I wish I had gotten a photo of him. It was so wonderful.
Ryan said, "With the wife and kids gone for 2 weeks, I got my grocery shopping done."
Before we left for Nevada, Ryan and I had been looking around for new cars to replace his 2004 Civic. It has served us well, but Ryan was ready for a "Big boy car". Ryan never complained but I know that car was pretty small for him. He also never buys himself anything nice. He spoils me and the kids and he works so hard to be able to provide for us. We had been looking at the Camrys and Accords before we left. He found the model Camry he wanted and was ready to wait for it. We heard that cars are cheaper at the end of the year or during certain holidays. I thought we would have months before getting a new car.
This car took us many places. We got it in California and drove it to Utah and back many times. We went from Utah, to Houston, to California and back to Utah and then finally drove it home to Houston. Ryan said, "11 years. 96,411 miles. A wedding. Law school. Countless road trips
from Utah to California and back. Texas. Bringing my newborn son home
from the Hospital. A little princess. And now it is time, my faithful
little car, for you to go on. May someone else have a lifetime of
memories with you."
When I came home I found this beautiful Lexus ES 350 sitting in our garage. He had talked to me about it briefly, but Ryan bought it so quickly I didn't get to think too much about it. Ryan always talks himself out of buying nice things. I was certain he'd talk himself out of this. I'm glad he spoiled himself a bit. He works so hard and asks for so little. I personally thought a Lexus was for old people, but man I love this car now! It drives so smooth and has a lot of nice features and Ryan seems to really enjoy it!
It was nice to be home with Ryan and back in our own bed. The kids had school early the next day and it was back to reality real quick.
We had so much fun in Nevada. I'm so glad we were finally able to visit my parents and see their new house. They really seem to be happier and enjoy where they are. They have a great group of friends close by that I was able to meet.
Mr. Kitty. He is as real to me as any human is. I love this little guy and it shows.
My brother, Davy and nephew Devin came out for a day and a half. It really means a lot to me that he took the time out of his (super) busy schedule to visit me and the kids. He has always been someone I look up to and I loved talking with him about life and kids and family. We stayed up late playing games and talking. It reminded me of when we'd stay up playing games while camping at Hermit Valley, but with a lot less bugs. It was a great visit. (He was showing me how to take photos on my phone using voice commands hence the non smiling faces in this photo)
The kids enjoyed having their cousin there to play with. Devin was patient and fun and has grown up a lot since I saw him last. I'm glad he came with Davy for the visit.
My Dad has a little bit of everything in his office. Literally. He had a little space on his wall and wanted a photo of me swimming. I didn't have any recent ones of me actually swimming, but I had one of myself when I won the Tour de la Pool last summer. He blew it up, found a frame and put it up on his wall of glory like one proud Papa.
The kids made sure Mr. Kitty was well loved and fed while we were there. They would bring him bowls of "food" each day.
One afternoon Bailey, Andrew, Grandpa and I were sitting in the living room and Bailey started saying "check" or "x" to us. I think it means yes or no, or something like that, but she went around checking us or x-ing us for quite a while. It's surprising how easily they can be entertained sometimes.
Night walk with Grandpa and flashlights.
It got a little chilly in the evenings, but we found a solution. The two headed monster!
Helping Grandpa in the kitchen.
Of course we had to go to In N Out while we were in Nevada. This restaurant didn't have the crossed palm trees! If it didn't taste the same I'd think it was not the real deal.
Andrew got some stickers from In N Out. Notice anything funny about where he randomly put the stickers?
Take a closer look...
We got a lot of books from the library because the kids love reading. Grandma had a good time reading an Elephant and Piggie book. This particular one was pretty entertaining.
I caught Grandpa reading the books too.
We tried out this new Mexican restaurant and it was YUMMY!
My parents had some landscapers working on their yard many of the days we were there. Andrew loved sitting on the porch and watching them. He would talk to them every no and then and ask questions, but mostly he just watched. Bailey joined him a few times. It was pretty cute to watch the kids.
Bailey made a self portrait out of Jenga pieces. Notice the number 4? "Because I'm four years old!"
Look at this sad little face! Andrew did not enjoy practicing the piano there. He wanted to play. This photo almost makes me cry. Almost. But then I remember how stubborn he is. :)
Why do I take 20 photos trying to get both my kids to look at the camera and have an actual smile on their face? It never works.
The one time they are both smiling it's blurry! But at least it's evident that they were both looking at the camera and both giving a good smile at the same time. Close enough!
Mr. Kitty slept on Bailey's bed on his own blanket next to her other friends. Bailey was kind and gentle to Mr. Kitty. The pink bear is another of my childhood loves, Orchid. The pink unicorn was Bailey's friend from home.
Andrew, Bailey and I all stayed in the same room. It actually worked out pretty well. The kids shared a bunk bed my dad made for my brothers decades ago. I was surprised how well they got along. Bailey wanted the top bunk and Andrew wanted the bottom. Great. They didn't jump off or play on the top bunk, which was a worry for me. They went to bed pretty soon after I tucked them in. All in all it worked out pretty well. By the time I went to bed (in my own bed) they were both fast asleep. I did learn that Andrew is still a loud sleeper. I remember this from when he was a baby and slept in our room. He breathes loud. Bailey would wake me up with her thumb sucking. I'd walk over to her and pop it out. She'd usually put it back in a few minutes later. I don't like being such a light sleeper, but I did like having this little time to appreciate and have a sleep over with my kids. They would wake me up in the morning usually around 6. I made them play upstairs until they knew someone was awake downstairs. I've also learned it's hard to make the bed on the top bunk.
Grandpa and Grandson bonding time.
I love these sweet moments.
Here's a little video of some of the fun we had with Grandma and Grandpa.
