Strawberry patch

Today our playgroup traveled to Rockdale for lunch and to visit a strawberry patch! They grow a wide variety of fruits and veggies and even have a pumpkin patch in the Fall. They expect peaches and blackberries to be ready in about four weeks so we look forward to going again soon! The kiddos (and mamas) had a wonderful time picking our own strawberries to take home!

I even made a cobbler this evening...yum! Because there are so many different fresh fruits in season this time of year, I want to share a quick cobbler recipe I make:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup milk

2t veg oil

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup Bisquick

2 cups fruit
2/3 cup sugar

1 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the first four ingredients and pour into 2 qt dish. Combine the last three ingredients and pour over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. ENJOY!!

Just another T-ball practice

There are just over 24 hours left until Emma's first pre T-ball game! She looks forward to practice all week long and I don't know that she fully understands that they are practicing for games!

She is a great asset to the team. She may be the youngest but she is definitely not the smallest!

The uniforms are red, white and blue so I figured why not throw a pink helmet into the mix?! It's important to keep something prissy AND it will be much easier to keep hers seperate (okay, and there was no way E would let me exit Target with any other color)! I'm afraid that a hair bow might not fit under that large apparatus!

The kiddos have lots of fun out there! About half of them are in our playgroup, too! It's so cute and comical to watch the practices and I'm sure the games will be even better!


Coach Smith is very hopeful and anticipates the Cubs going undefeated this season (thankfully we don't keep score at this age)!

If you are in the area on one of the next six Saturdays we would love for you to join us for a game!

Baby bird update

At just ten days old our sweet baby birds are leaving the nest. We have really enjoyed checking on them and hearing them chirp through the window. Emma has recently been asking to see the baby birds as soon as she wakes up in the mornings!

At some point this afternoon baby bird #1 flapped his/her wings and flew into the great big world. When we checked on them this evening baby bird #2 was perched on the edge of the nest as pictured here. It looked like he was trying to find the courage to flap those wings and fly! I'm sure he is gone by now.

Maybe next Spring this mama bird will make another nest so we can watch (probably not because of the papparazi)!

Party at my crib!

Reading and playing in his crib is much more fun for Owen than sleeping or being alone in there!!!

Dewberry festival

Today we attended our very first Dewberry festival! It is an annual event in Cameron and is highly anticipated by the locals :) We always jump at the opportunity for free local entertainment (we usually have to drive)! Our first activity was fishing. It was Emma's first time and she had a blast! She is already asking to go fishing tomorrow.

She even got this cool free t shirt to take home....

Next, we browsed through the many vendors. There were plants, jewelry, puppies for sale, crafts galore and much more! For lunch we enjoyed bbq chicken sandwiches and freshly squeezed lemonade under a shade tree.

Emma had fun on the giant inflatbale slide and kiddy train. I must admit that it was rather strange letting her ride something without a parental unit. I'm pretty sure it was a first! Strangers even buckled her seat belt! J & E also toured antique remodled cars.

I was totally expecting dewberry cobbler and a farmers market on site but was a litte disappointed not to find either :/ Nonetheless, we enjoyed some quality family time and discovered a beautiful park and fishing pond in our community! We will be back soon.

My guys both wore plaid short today. I just had to get a photo:

Happy half birthday Owen!

Owen turned 6 months old this week!

Some new things he can do include roll from tummy to back AND back to tummy, hold his own bottle, reach and grab objects, pull his sisters hair and play with his toes. It won't be long until he can sit up on his own. His two bottom teeth are giving him fits and I expect to see them any day now! He seems to be getting more hair but still has very little and might not need a first hair cut until after he starts kindergarden (haha)!

He is an overly messy eater and food gets everywhere during meal time. He seems to love veggies but makes a sour face at fruits. He has sampled refried beans, mashed potatoes and rainbow sherbet. It's funny how much more relaxed we are as parents the second time around :)

Owen has recently started flipping over his right shoulder. Once he gets from his back to his tummy it makes him really mad. He is also able to flip over while swaddled. Sometimes he will fall asleep on his right side. The swaddle weaning process is going to be a challenge....but we're about to get serious about the sleep training process ~ wish us luck :/

He did so well at his check up. He weighs 16 lbs 6 oz (25th percentile) and measures 25 in long (5th percentile). Huge blessings come in small packages! His head size is still just above the 97th percentile (just like his big sister)! He handles immunization shots like a champ and barely fussed!

He loves to be held, spend time in the outdoor swing, look at himself in the mirror, veggies (esp. squash), play with a cell phone, bath time, being on the changing table, Roxie and Emma.

He dislikes the indoor swing, tummy time, fruits, the car seat, high chair and bedtime/naptime.

We are having lots of fun with our six month old and know that we have so much more to look forward to over the next six months!

Baby birds

We have been spending a lot more time outdoors recently. Here is what I found in a small tree outside our bedroom window about ten days ago...

The mama bird used part of a newspaper to make her nest! I guess she wanted some reading material for the countless hours she spent sitting on her eggs. There were three to start with but somehow one disappeared. Mama bird has a bright orange beak with a long pointy tail feather. Some have guessed that she is a robin. We checked on the eggs twice a day for over a week and on Monday evening I must have checked right after the first egg had hatched! By Tuesday morning the other one had hatched and here is what they looked like....

I know it won't be long before our baby birds will open their eyes, learn to fly, and leave the nest. We have enjoyed witnessing the mirale of life in our own yard! Welcome Spring :)

40 months

"A mother's treasure is her daughter." -Catherine Pulsifer

Emma is 40 months old! Haha, really she is just over 3 1/4 years old :) She is the BEST big sister and daughter and is a friend to many! She is very strong willed, creative and playful and never meets a stranger. Her vocabulary is abunant and she talks in paragraphs all day long. She has given up naps and sleeps about ten hours straight at night. She enjoys the outdoors and strongly dislikes bed time. She surprises us with her knowledge and delights us with her sweet spirit.

She is already totally confused about where to go to college - but she knows it won't be to UT :) She is very active and is looking forward to performing in her second dance recital next month. She is also playing pre t ball for the first time this year. She will be taking swimming lessons in June and starts preschool this Fall. Potty training has been an ongoing saga for awhile now but fortunately has improved drastically over the past week (it has by far been the biggest parenting challenge yet)! She is not quite there yet but we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel :)

Emma is not at all a picky eater and we are sooo thankful! The only thing she occasionally fights us about is broccoli. We have encouaged her to at least try everything on her plate since she was itty bitty...and we have never prepared her something different than what we eat. I truly think that plays a part in her willingness to eat a wide variety of foods :) Just a tip for all of you with young babies who like advice ;)

Emma could spend hours playing with her Little People, Strawberry shortcake and My Little Ponies. She conducts pretend conversations and names each one :) She knows how to say her ABC's and can count up to 14. She can identify shapes and points them out everywhere! Did I mention she is brilliant?

Each Wednesday morning we drive 35 minutes into Temple. She dances to the radio, talks to Owen, requests to listen to her cd with "Lou lou skip to my lou" on it (and sings at the top of her lungs), and sometimes chit chats with me. Sometimes I reach my hand back to hold hers. Upon doing so she was admiring a gold ring Jarrod gave me during our dating years. She immediately infromed me that when she gets a little bigger she is going to get her own ring, marry a boy and have babies. A little later we pulled up beside a church. She made sure I knew that Jesus died on a cross :)

Her favorite TV shows include Phenias and Ferb, Martha Speaks and Curious George. She has finally outgrown her Sesame Street phase (which is a little sad but I need a break from that Elmo fellow)! Her favorite restaurants are McDonald's and Chick fil A. I craved CFA like crazy while I was pregnant with her :) Her beverages of choice are chocolate milk and 7Up. She must have pop corn when watching a movie and she could never get enough string cheese.

Here are some photos of Emma enjoying the beautiful weather at the city park this afternoon:

Growing Owen

2 weeks old:

Can you believe Owen will be 6 months old tomorrow?!?

Emma is such a sweet big sister and officially handed over her Elmo chair to Owen this weekend. She says "he will fit into it one day when he gets a little bigger"! I think he fits into it already :) She has finally outgrown her Elmo era and I'm sure another member of our household will enter it soon!

Bath time boy

Splish splash Owen loves taking a bath! Tonight Emma overloaded him with toys but he didn't seem to mind a bit :)

Beautiful Bluebonnets

Our little athlete

Yesterday was the first practice for Emma's pre T-ball team! Jarrod is one of the coaches and does a great job with all nine little tots! There are 6 rowdy boys and 3 darling girls :) J&E had been practicing in the backyard for weeks and she did very well at practice. Only 22 days until our first game and we couldn't be more proud of her!

Easter weekend

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...." 1 Peter 1:3

We had an EGGcellent extended Easter weekend. On Thursday evening we introduced Emma to egg dying. She had a blast and enjoyed decorating them princess style. On Good Friday we loaded the truck with two cute kids, one large dog, numerous bags, baskets/goodies and baby gear and we were on our way to Rochester. We stopped in Temple for lunch and a hunting license. Approximately four hours later we reached our destination!


While in Rochester we were kindly allowed to stay in a large home occasinally used as a bed and breakfast. My parents had the downstairs and we had the upstairs. It was located just two doors down from the church and parsonage where Joseph and Natalie live. On Friday night the guys went hunting with a local seasoned guide. After 5+ hours they only spotted a single pig!! I sent the camera along for the adventure but no photos were taken :(

On Saturday morning we wandered over to Throckmorton to visit our good friend Trent. He and Emma got along very well. They took turns making funny faces and practiced the alphabet. Emma liked his sense of decor....especially the saddle, bear and many other mounted animal heads.

On our way back we met the rest of the family in Haskell for lunch and shopping. There is a cute square around the courthouse with shops including a used book store, gift shop, dress boutique and ammo/tackle store.

On Saturday evening we enjoyed hamburgers for dinner. Uncle Joseph & Aunt Natalie did a great job hosting us :)

The Easter bunny hopped through on Saturday night and left some special goodies for the little somebunnies!!

On Easter morning we enjoyed donuts for breakfast (how appropriate since we could finally have sweets!) I also had a sugar cookie at 6:45am but who is keeping track?! It was great getting to see Joseph preach on Easter. Emma and Owen had coordinating Easter outfits and looked as cute as buttons, if I might say so myself!

After lunch and a quick egg hunt we were homeward bound. We enjoyed the visit. Hopefully you all had a blessed Easter surrounded by family and friends.