Shaking off some dust

So it's been a while, huh? This two-kid thing has been no joke. And it turns out... we're just crazy enough to make it three! Get ready for a full on circus.

Just to keep things interesting, I thought I might pull out the old-blog and try to pick it up again. Stay tuned...

Bapa's visit and a Dallas trip

My sweet college roommate got married in Dallas on April 9 and we knew we couldn't miss it. When my dad mentioned he had a business meeting in Dallas on April 10, we asked if he could please come a little earlier to hang out with Em while we went to the wedding. It was perfect! He actually came in to Austin a few days early and spent some extra time with us. Perfect.

Birthday dinner for Bapa and Uncle Josh

Little piggy!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Gallo! What a beautiful bride.

James was not entertained by the photo booth

He's spent. Ready to go. We tried. Seriously, such a gorgeous wedding!

The next day, we took Bapa to the Dallas World Aquarium as his birthday gift. Man, that place is cool! It was a little crowded (and slightly expensive) but we LOVED it and are so glad we went.

I think this was my favorite part. This guy was just too cool.

Bapa always gets the smiles

I feel like this is an accurate depiction of our daughter - just a blur.

The penguins were one of the only exhibits that she didn't want to move on from. She actually sat down and watched them for a long time.

My boys

Goofs

She's now obsessed with flamingoes.

Also of note: this little sweetheart picked our night in the hotel to sleep the whole night through for the first time! 11 pm to 9 am. We woke up so confused and well rested. It was awesome.

Easter Sunday

After the rodeo, Em got sick. Like... up all night with a bucket sick. I had to wash three sets of sheets! Not fun. So we spent the next week recovering, only for her to come down sick the next Saturday. Are you kidding me?!  She had no symptoms at all and didn't seem to feel badly, but she had a decently high fever that we couldn't kick. So Easter Sunday was a little anti-climatic around here. Still, we managed to have a small little celebration and at least attend sacrament (don't worry, we sat in the back away from everyone and then went home).

Checkin' out her Easter Basket!

She very rarely gets candy, so the few little things we put in her basket were a big treat for her (I should add, she STILL hasn't eaten most of them haha) 

We mostly tried to find some fun non-candy items - water colors, an art notepad, chalk, bath crayons, and a book

All dressed up in the darling Easter dress Grandma sent her

My handsome boys in bowties

We did a little egg hunt in the backyard

I thought it would seem a little silly to her, but she was smiling and giggling the whole time

So proud of all the eggs she got 

So it doesn't look like much because I couldn't find my triffle dish, but we had this cute and yummy dessert. It's chocolate pudding layered with brownies and topped with dirt (crushed oreos) and carrots (frosting and edible grass). Em was excited about it and we all loved how tasty it was.

Happy Easter from our little family!

Cutest little cowgirl

And baby's first rodeo!

Em loved the rodeo so much last year we knew we had to go back. We only had one free weekend and it turned out to be COLD. What the heck, Texas? Nevertheless, we still had a fantastic time. Love our little Texas kiddos.

This girlie LOVES horse rides. She would have stayed on all day if we let her

The more serious her face is, the more fun she's having

James got hungry. I found the only place I could to sit down and nurse him. Ten minutes later we noticed that the sign behind me says "Next milking demonstration 12:30" and started cracking up.

Not sure the kangaroo is indigenous to Texas...

So her "eat the food" face was killing me. Too funny!

Where'd she get the brush?

He slept through most of it, but at least he was all snuggly warm on me!

We went with some of our best friends who recently returned from a year in Asia. Em is so happy to have her smiley BFF back. This was them patiently waiting for the pig races

And they're off! 

"oooOOOoooo"

She loves her buddy B so much!

Got to have rodeo food. The corn dogs weren't half bad

But of course the funnel cake is where it's at! 

Sweet little cowgirl