And we're off...

Dan and I are on our way to the hospital--literally in the car--to c-section this baby boy out! We're ready and overjoyed with excitement, if not a bit nervous. 

But nothing is more comforting than this picture Sofia's teacher just texted us. It's Sofia holding a drawing of her new family and it warms my heart!

We're ALL excited for this little boy to join our family. And he has two big sisters who can't wait to welcome him into the world!

Love this kid!

The best way to describe her is that she loves to have fun. 

We love her when she's eating her "schmell my stinky feet!" feet. What I didn't capture is her licking the bottoms of them. And seriously, they smell. 

We love her when she's using daddy's shades to block the morning sun.

We love her at Menchies. This is what eating ice cream with Ana is like. Happy girl before:

Obsessed girl during:

And messy girl after: Here she is being dainty with that little pointer finger. I had to stop her when she was rubbing the leftover melted stuff on her arms like lotion. She thinks she's hilarious. Well, mostly she is. 

And we love her when she makes unusual discoveries. This photo doesn't quite capture how much fun she had when she discovered in the Wonderwild bathroom that maybe the hand dryer isn't only for hands. Feel the power, Ana B!

We're loving these days with our Crazy AB!

Nesting

We've been working hard getting this house ready for our new baby boy. The first thing we did was move the girls into the room that previously was the playroom. 

It was so fun for me to buy them new beds. But they each chose the bedding they wanted--Sofia wanted horses; Ana wanted owls. Luckily, they coordinated. All the pink furniture is the same we bought for Sofia's nursery back before she was even born. 

In order for their room to mot be overwhelmed with toys we thought hard about what their interests currently are. They both like to play dress up so they have a little corner of their closet where they can reach all their shoes, purses and princess dresses. They also both spend hours drawing, coloring and cutting and pasting, so they have their own little art station now with the beautiful painting Emi gave Sofia to serve as inspiration. We got them a new table to work on and chairs in Sofia's favorite color--green. 

Ana really enjoys playing with Little People, baby dolls and dressing up her Build-a-Bears, so we dedicated two lower shelves to those. And Sofia loves her toy horses and making Lego creations so she has dedicated shelves for those things. 

We also made them a little personal station for getting ready with a mirror, a coat rack for their sweaters, and a little chair next to a basket full of the shoes they wear most regularly. In order to build their independence it was important for us that everything they need for taking care of themselves is within their reach. 

I'm still on the lookout for some artwork above their beds and some wall shelves for their breakables and collectibles, but we're at a good stopping point until after the baby comes. 

I've been really proud of how clean they've kept it and it seems like the organizational aspects we put in place are functioning. We've also been pleasantly surprised with how well Ana transitioned into her "big girl bed". I think she was ready for the independence and she loves ushering Dan and I to the door after prayers and tucking herself in. "I do it myshelfs," she likes to say!

Nursery

After the girls were all settled it was time to get the baby's room ready. I've been collecting lots of things over the months so it was fun to finally put it all together. And on our last trip to the baby store to pick up the infant carseat Dan spotted the cutest airplane mobile and we had to get it. 

We love that this room has so much space for baby Mayor to move around in and play. And we're certain he'll be joined by his two doting sisters so all three will have lots of space. We already find Ana in there rummaging through baby toys and Sofia practicing her cartwheels so we're looking forward to the days when the baby boy will crawling around after his big sisters. 

Again, I'm still on the hunt for some artwork and decoration for the walls but all of the important pieces are in place and we're ready for him to come soon. 

We can't wait!

First Day of School

Here are some photos of Sofia's first day of kindergarten at Garden Oaks Montessori Magnet. I think kindergarten would be more monumental had she not been in the same classroom with Ms Kuhnen for the past two years--for PreK-3 and PreK-4. But since Montessori schools group their classrooms with three different age groups with the same teacher, this year didn't feel as new and exciting as it may have for other Kindergarteners. I have a feeling next year, when she gets a new teacher and joins a Lower Elementary classroom of 1st-3rd Graders, will be quite a big deal! But nonetheless we were all excited to see her start her new school year. We're so very proud of her and all she's learned so far. This year she tested into the Gifted & Talented program and she's an eager learner so we're excited to see what the year has in store for her!

Dinner with Grandma...in the bathtub?

The girls had one of their special overnight stays with Grandma last night. She kept them the whole day so Dan and I could visit and tour Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, the hospital where baby Mayor will be born in just a few short weeks. We also used the free time to have a quiet dinner and a movie out. It was so nice. When we got home we saw this sweet email from Grandma, recapping their night. How cool is Grandma!? It said...

New Book

I bought a new book, and we read it today.  First Sofia read it, then I read it, and then Ana did her best to read it too.  

Then we decided to do what they did in the book, so we ate dinner in the bathtub….hot dogs, mac and cheese, fruit.

Then the girls had dessert -- chocolate popsicles -- in the bathtub.

We decided that if we were going to eat dinner in the bathtub again we would bring in pillows first, and probably use the master bath's tub, for it's larger.

It was fun trying something new and different…….try it sometime yourself, for it's interesting……….a totally new experience.

Love, Grandma

These girls are so blessed to be able to have such a close relationship with a grandma who is nearby and loves to do fun and different things with them. You can see the joy in their faces! We're glad to be so close. I know they're growing up making wonderful memories at Grandma's house that they will keep with them forever. 

Last days of Summer

Ana is starting the day off this morning with two of her favorites--an "OP bar" and the "Elephant Monkey Hat" movie on the iPad. 

Her vocabulary is still developing so some days we're still at a loss figuring out what she's trying to say. She was persistent one day for a good twenty minutes or so asking for an "OP bah" I'm not sure how we eventually figured out that she meant a "protein bar"--"ahhhh! Duh." Sofia helped us out with "Elephant Monkey."

"She wants to watch Curious George, Mom!" 

Of course she does! The movie poster on Netflix shows an elephant, a monkey and the man with the yellow hat. So now she calls it "Elephant Monkey Hat." Makes sense to me. 

Dan and I can't get over how much she reminds us of Curious George. She has his energy, they sort of sound the same and they even kind of look alike--big eyes, button nose and that great big smile. If I'm honest I'm just happy that this summer we've managed to find something that keeps her still for more than 30 minutes, but the real truth is that the smile on her face while she's watching it melts my heart. 

Sweet Jaxy boy

We're so sad. We had to say goodbye to sweet Jaxy Boy, our Buddy. He was such a good, good, good dog. 

Unfortunately he was diagnosed with doggie dementia which wouldn't be such a bad thing if it wasn't causing him to be aggressive. He snapped at us and the girls a couple of times and we saw a decline in his general being: no longer enjoyed being in the backyard, peed in the house, spent awake time staring at walls, took little interest in us most of the time--he didn't even greet us at the door anymore. 

It was a really hard decision for us to make, but we felt like it was the right thing to do to protect the kids and to prevent something terrible from happening when he inevitably continued to decline cognitively. He lived a long life; almost ten years with us! And we'd guess him to be about 15 years old. So we take solace in his long, happy life. 

When we told Sofia lshe was very sad and cried, but she asked a lot of questions and has seen it coming since we had told her he'd likely be going to Heaven soon. She thinks the first person he'll run to is Grandpa!

We took him one last time to a big field off Allen Parkway to roam around in and fed him mini bagel dogs. It was a nice memory for us all and it's where I took this photo of him. 

Sofia sent along a stuffed animal to comfort him at the vet. Dan took him and he went peacefully. But it was admittedly one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. We definitely miss that sweet boy but feel some relief in the house now, not worrying about him or the kids, but we were heartbroken to let him go. He was there when we brought our babies home. His fluffy tail encouraged them both to crawl--they wanted to grab it. He would let Sofia hang on to his back while she learned to walk. And most importantly, he taught them how to love animals. 

Bye bye, Buddy Boy! We will miss you.