Kids at Play

These are just some leftover, random pics from August that hadn't made a blog post yet.

The kids love to take food from their kitchen into their room so they can "eat" at the table. They get very into their pretending, & it's fun to listen to their conversations when they think I'm not paying attention.
Mal often refuses to look at me when I'm trying to take her picture, so sometimes I ask her "Where's Mommy's hair?" so she'll look. In this one, she's saying, "There it is!"
Jake demonstrating how to eat corn on the cob, Cookie Monster style
When all the kids' bedding arrived from Amazon, they had a great time using the boxes as reading spots.


Most of the play equipment at Chick fil-A is still a bit big for the kids since they're shorties, but we had the area to ourselves one evening when we stopped in for ice cream. Daddy helped Jake climb up to the top, & then he crawled through the tunnels & down the slide like a pro.
"Hello, Mommy!"
Mal preferred to stay on solid ground & play in the toddler area.

One of the things that I love most about kids is their ability to find pure joy in the simplest things. Watching them play just makes me happy!

Flying Solo

As I mentioned earlier, the reason for J having the kids on his own last weekend was that I flew to Atlanta to meet our newest nephew, Jackson. I got lots of baby cuddle time in on Saturday!
Isn't he precious!
Jackson was born in June, seven weeks ahead of schedule, so I didn't get to see him when he was brand new, but he still feels tiny to me since I'm used to toddlers.
The rest of my time there was spent being pampered by my in-laws, having girl time with Karen, Rachel & Amy & laughing at the antics of my nieces. Ella decided she was up for tennis. She might need some smaller shoes, though.
After lunch on Sunday, I grabbed a quick pic with these sweeties, Ella & Belle, & then headed back to the airport. It was a fast weekend but so much fun! Thanks for making time to hang out, everyone!

Daddy Days: Dallas Zoo

Jake & Mal's fun weekend with Daddy continued Saturday morning with a trip to the donut shop. Donuts have become a frequent weekend treat at our house, but usually we just eat them at home, so this was their first time to actually go there. J informed me before the day even began that he would not be putting a bow in Mal's hair but he'd at least put her in a dress so she looked like a girl. The man knows my priorities!
After donuts, they headed to the Dallas Zoo for a morning with "my animals," as Jake had been calling them. J was busy chasing kids & didn't get too many pictures, but here are a few.

Mal saying hi to a gorilla
"Wow, that thing is big!" Can you see Jake's little head over its shoulder?
J said Jake loved watching the fish.
Two curious little curly heads in the petting zoo. Mallory apparently loved petting the goats & ran right up to them. Jake, on the other hand, despite loving goats in books or on TV, was absolutely terrified.
After the zoo, they picked up Chick fil-A, the kids' favorite, & headed home.

Mal woke up in a terrible mood on Sunday & didn't care for Daddy's hard work to fix her hair. Didn't he do a good job, though!
My friends all know me so well & know that Mallory does not go to church, or hardly anywhere else, without a bow in her hair. Sharon texted me this pic as proof that J got the job done. Looks like Mal's mood had only improved slightly.
Since there wasn't a picture of the three of them from the weekend, I took this yesterday at J's office when we joined him for lunch. Thanks for being such a great Daddy!

Daddy Days: Hot Air Balloon Festival

While I was in Atlanta meeting my nephew & spending time with the fam this weekend, Jake & Mallory had tons of fun hanging out with Daddy. After dropping me off at the airport on Friday, they headed to the Plano Hot Air Balloon Festival with our friends, the Fowlers.

Enjoying a pizza picnic
Blowing bubbles & burning off some energy
Running wild
They both got stickers & decided that their heads were the best place to put them. Jake went for the hair...
& Mal decided to keep hers right where she could see it!
Mark, Hattie & Charlotte
Pausing in the fun for some sibling love
Anything can be fun when you're two - even running around a table.
Settling in for the show
Wow!
I put this one on here specifically for Aunt Amy, who finds clowns extremely disturbing!

The kids told me excitedly all about the balloons they saw, but the fun weekend didn't stop there! Next up - Daddy takes the twins to the zoo!

Multitasker

Do you ever get sleepy while eating a meal? No problem! Just do what Jake does: sleep & eat at the same time! Our friend, Mark, took this video during lunch at Mi Cocina on Sunday, but it's a common occurrence for Jake at home.

Field Trip to Daddy's Office

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to let Jake & Mal see just where it is that Daddy disappears to each day. It may sound funny that this was their first time there, but it's usually just J in the office, so there isn't anyone to whom we need to show them off. Anyway, our trip to "Daddy's work," as Jake kept saying, was a big hit.

He showed them the pictures of themselves that sit on his desk...
showed them the view from his window...

& let them have a ball running around like crazy!We picked up Sonic on the way, so they quickly enjoyed their cheeseburgers & then hit the ground running, literally. The office is one big loop around the center conference room, which was perfect for my little track stars.

J, we're so thankful that you work so hard each day to provide for our family!

2 Year Stats

We went to the pediatrician on Friday for the kids' two-year well visit. It's a little weird (but nice) that they won't have another check-up until they're three.

Miss Mallory now weighs 23 lbs & is holding steady at 8%, which was her percentage at 21 months as well. It may not sound like a big number, but that's the highest she's ever been! She is 32.5 inches tall, which moved her up to 20% for height.

Jake now weighs 26 lb 2 oz (30%) & is 33.25 inches tall (18%). He's still on the short side, but we're thankful for his little growth spurt! Dr. Denison was very impressed that Jake looked at the word "turtles" on the wall of the exam room & spelled it correctly without being asked. Our little boy loves his letters!Since both kids are doing so well with their weight, we were able to switch them from whole milk to 2%. Overall, the doctor said they're happy, healthy kids!These two continue to melt my heart & try my patience on a daily basis. We're having lots of fun! I caught them holding hands when we went for a morning stroll a couple of weeks ago. I'm looking forward to cooler days so we can do things like this more often.

We Love Our Grandparents!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all the grandparents in Jake & Mallory's lives a Happy Grandparents' Day! We love you all & are so thankful that our kids get to grow up knowing you. Thank you for loving them so well!

Jake & Mal with Nana & Papa on Easter
Pops & Mimi with their crew (which has now grown again) last Thanksgiving
Pa & Gigi with all of their great grandchildren last Thanksgiving

First Trimester: Check!

Tomorrow marks 13 weeks for this pregnancy, so we're a third of the way there! I seem to have gotten my energy back in the last couple of weeks, so that has been nice. I feel great & am ready to get to the fun stuff like feeling this little one move. Second pregnancies are notorious for a big belly appearing faster than it did the first time, so I was very interested to see what mine would do. I really don't think it's humanly possible to get bigger faster than I did with the twins!

Here's 6 weeks
8 weeks
& 12 weeks.
We got to see Baby Chams on Tuesday when we had our nucletranslucency test. Legs were crossed, so the sonographer couldn't predict gender, but we'll get to find out when we go back on October 4th.Sweet little profileFor some reason, I have a hunch lately that it's a girl, but there are really lots of different things that would make me excited for either a boy or girl since we already have one of each. Maybe I'll put up a gender poll & let you sway my opinion.