Harvey

We saw the sun.


We are among the incredibly fortunate and are safe and dry.
Our home had no flooding.
Somehow we were lucky enough to have power the entire duration of the storm.
But we are surrounded by such devastation.
Our little community, located just southeast of Houston was hit hard.
One third of Friendswood, 3000 homes, experienced flooding.

Here are some photos of our neighborhood and community









We are looking forward to returning to some sense of normalcy in the coming days and helping those who need it the most to do the same.

Hurricane Harvey: Day 2

Safe and sound.
and stir crazy.

Evidenced by our play room


It rained off and on through the day and stopped long enough that we even got out of the house for a little walk.

Unfortunately it's not over.
The second band of Harvey is on the move and we've got more coming our way...
that's supposed to stay until Thursday!

So the playroom will probably get worse,
but we will stay safe & sound.
xoxo

twenty

This girl.
I've probably said this a million times but she is literally a bundle of joy.
She makes me laugh all the time and that smile,
Matt and I are doomed.

At 20 months, this little bundle...

... is hilarious. Her facial expressions. Those eyes. The way she runs into a room, giggling to announce herself. We can't handle it. At night, Matt and I trade stories and try to mimic her and nail the way she says cookies.

... she says cookies. About half way through dinner. With her head cocked to the side in a cute subtle way. And when Mom says no, she turns to dad and does it again. I can't. She also says ball, Bella, Lola, bow, owl, bye, duck, book, eyes, and several other words. And in case you're wondering her 'uh-huh & uh-uh' has moved on to 'yeah' and 'no'.

... she calls every Disney princess, Anna. Because that's her favorite... we think.

... has so much energy. She runs everywhere, keeps up with her sister, and has no fear. She has started animal sounds and the other day while running errands, I caught her singing Row Row Row your Boat. {which was basically sounded like 'row row row}

... has started to show some interest in the whole potty chair thing. You may remember my battle with Lauren, so by no means are we 'potty training'. But when she started taking off her dirty diaper and giving it to me, I thought we would at least give it a whirl. She nailed it. Again. And again. Hence her new word cookies.

... is the best snuggler. Like I cannot get enough of it. She will hug and kiss you at any given moments and her hugs are like squeezes of goodness. She also starts school in one week.

And just in case you thought I left out anything, we also have our share of this lately.


Whining.
She does plenty of it.

Hurricane Harvey - Day 1

We experienced a little bit of the hurricane prep when we lived in Beaumont.
Once we evacuated to Austin for a little weekend get away
and with Ike we left in the middle of the night and ended up taking a 2 week hurrication.

This time is a little different.
With 2 girls and 2 dogs
and a storm that went from a Tropical Storm status to a Cat 4 fairly quickly,
we decided to try the 'hunker down' method this time around.

We stocked up on water, food, and batteries
and made sure we had flashlights and candles ready to go.
Matt took care of the generator and a window A/C unit if necessary
and we filled all the bath tubs just in case.

And then we waited.

There was wind and rain and our lights flickered a few times,
but we had no real issues and are safe and sound.

the calm before the storm

We are continuing to watch the news and Harvey has made his way from Tropical Storm to Hurricane.

We've got a generator, water, ice, bread,

and a lot of bourbon and wine.

We've downloaded some things for the girls on the iPads,

and made sure that everything from the yard is safe in the garage.

But today was the calm before the storm.

My girls weren't calm,

but the weather was surprisingly nice.

We spent more than 10 minutes outside.

That hasn't happened in a while.

a sign of things to come

Today we went to the grocery store.
Our local store is under construction and the aisles change daily so I drove a little farther to a bigger newer store.
I didn't bring a list, just a couple snacks for the girls.
We shopped, trying to remember all the things we needed.
At the water aisle, I realized people were here stocking up for that Tropical Storm Harvey
that was on the horizon.
We were out of room in our cart for cases of water,
but I made a mental note to have Matt pick some up
and then I heard the rain start.
We left our umbrellas in the car,
but by the time we checked out surely it would die down.

It didn't.
This big store has a children's pony ride at the exit.
After I let both girls ride, surely the rain will die down by then.
It didn't.

Groups of people stood in the entrance,
waiting for the rain to stop.
I had two girls who were over being in a grocery cart
and were hungry for lunch.

So we ran.
I ran through the puddles and the pouring rain and the girls giggled their little faces off.
Of course I parked what felt like a mile away and when the girls realized they had to sit in their car seats in their soaking clothes, the giggles disappeared.




Harvey is coming.

it's still summer

while back to school seems to be the theme for most of our friends these days,
we don't start until after Labor Day.

So we've got a couple more weeks of staying in our pjs in the mornings, spending hours in the playroom, skipping naps and letting the day take us wherever it leads us.

Then it's back to school.
Back to reality.



But we will probably still eat popsicles.

eclipse

The eclipse glasses supply has been sold out locally for a while now,
so this morning we made our own eclipse viewer.

With a cheerios box.


this photo has nothing to do with the eclipse.
but it was taken today during afternoon snack of two girls who recently discovered a love for mom's granola bars.

soccer star

Lauren starts soccer this fall.
Her first practice is actually next Saturday.
Her uniform is ready.
She's #2,
she chose it herself.
But we needed to complete the look with some soccer cleats.

She chose the brighter option in the shoes we laid out for her
and when I said,  "Lauren, show me your shoes," I got this



I've never seen this pose before,
especially that toe point.
But I am not going to lie,
I like it.

drumroll please...

i know I've shared how big dress up and tea parties are at our house right now,

but this week, we stepped up our game...

We wear gloves now.

water play

It's another hot day in Houston, Texas
and if you're going to be outside,
water play is a necessity.

Today we took on a water wheel project from our Kiwi Crates outside.



Lauren was gifted a subscription to Kimi Crate, which is a hands on learning kit delivered monthly. The theme and projects change month to month and it has been a huge hit in our house. All the materials are included in the kit and it's perfect for those curious and busy little preschool age darlings and their busy mamas.
I love it so much it's been my new go-to gift for preschool age kiddos.

The water wheel was a hit,
for both girls,
for the 20 minutes we lasted outside.

love

I love how much they love their babies.



The rock them,
read to them,
feed them,
dress them,
and fight over them

They bring them to bed,
to the grocery store,
the library,
and on walks to the mailbox.

The pat them and talk to them in sweet little voices
and ask me to 'swaddle' them.

I can't get enough of it.
I love these little girls and their dollies.

Can this phase last forever?

days like these...

Well, this is the first day since I've started this picture a day game
that I didn't bring out the big camera.
Because that's real life,
and there will be days like these.

I still got a photo,
but it was with my phone.



We did the dentist this morning.
Successfully.

cauliflower & ice cream

Tonight finishing all your cauliflower tater-tots earned you a scoop of ice cream & sprinkles...


Apparently one is not enough.

Mondays are hard...

... have a tea party.

ice cream

Dad is back from his trip.
We spent the day swimming
and slip & sliding.
How do you end a day like today?

With homemade ice cream.
In a cone.
With sprinkles.

gonna bake a pie with a heart in the middle

Dad is in Galveston this weekend on a fishing work trip.
While he's busy catching sharks and stuff...

{literally, he sent us a picture bright and early this morning}



It's just us girls.
Since there's a heat advisory and AC is in our best interest,
we decided to stay in and bake a pie.



We also had a dance party,
organized the playroom,
watched Frozen,
and let Lauren wear her shirt backwards all day long.
Because...
girls just wanna have fun.

one summer afternoon

today was a busy day.
We went to the pool & splash pad.
Came home for lunch &
left for a painting playdate at our local Little Gym
with some open gym time immediately following.

Both girls fell asleep on the way home.
Because they were exhausted.

But they didn't stay asleep.
Neither one completed the transition from car to bed.

So, I did what any smart mother would do
on a hot day at the end of summer....

I put on Daniel Tiger's Family Trip.



Here's to an early bed time.

cheers.

goose egg

that child i wrote about yesterday...

She looks slightly different this morning.

Last night, while I was at the gym, at Matt was on solo duty at home,
Caroline made a dash after grabbing some toys from her sister,
tripping and falling into the chair,
just right,
that it left a big old swollen bruise,
with a nice little scratch,
right in the middle of her forehead.

Matt said there were a lot of tears,
but by the time I got home
she was playing
and climbing
like her normal happy self.
After a thorough assessment,
we concluded that there was no concussion
and made a rule that there was no more running in the house.

We shall see how long that one lasts...

this child

makes me laugh.
everyday.
multiple times a day.

Bella is 11

that's 77 in dog years.

Sometimes I can't believe she's in the double digits.

then i think of all the love she's brought to our lives,
the endless amount of boxer jowel kisses,
snuggles with her velvety soft ears,
and giggles with our girls.
Eleven boxer loving years.

Happy Birthday Bella.

dance. dance. dance.

There is a lot of dancing happening in the house.

It's mostly free style moves
to all different types of music,
but I can't get enough of it.

I know that when these little girls aren't so little anymore,
this will be one of the things I miss the most.

The twirls, the giggles, the dresses...

and that at any moment a dance party can end dressed like a bird.

Is it the pigtails?

I wish I could tell you how many times Matt and I have looked at one another this weekend in the
'what are we going to do with her?' way
or
how many times we've tried to keep a straight face when trying to redirect her from all the trouble she's getting in to.

She's busy,
and silly,
and daring,
and independent,
and oh so cute.

Maybe I need to stop putting her in pigtails...
then it might be easier for me to tell her no.

Probably not, though.

these two girls

❤️

days of summer

Our first letter from school arrived this week.

which is the first sign that summer is almost over.

While I love Back to School time,

the pencils & backpacks,

new crayons and apple themed decor 

that leads right into fall,

it also means the end of our summer days together.

I'm ready to get back to a 'stricter' routine,

and with both girls going to Mother's Day Out this year

we will need it.

But...

I also really like our lazy summer mornings together

where we stay in our pajamas playing until we decide it's time 

to put on our swimsuits and head to the splash pad.

Days like today.

big girl

Sometimes I can't believe how big this girl is getting.
And I think trying to keep up with her big sister
makes her seem even bigger.
But throughout the day during her many snuggle sessions,
I still feel baby soft skin and the faintest hint of baby scent.
I inhale and hang on,
scared that tomorrow it will be gone.
But for now,
it's here
and I can't get enough.

first day of ballet

another season of dance is upon us...

and our tiny dancer is ready.

she even brought out a pointed toe for our first day photo.


I'm not sure how little sister feels about it exactly.

But based on the her dance moves and a new shimmy move she's been showing off,
she can't wait to be the tiniest dancer.
Soon, dolly, soon.