Bluebonnets 2014

Every spring, Texas gets gorgeous wildflowers.  The bluebonnets are especially beautiful and an annual picture in them is almost a Texan requirement.  So far, I have managed to get pictures of my kids in the bluebonnets every year.  Sometimes the pictures aren't very good, but nevertheless, I try.  This year was harder to find time since Evan is now in school all week.  I took Ryan one morning for a few and then another day took all 3 kids.  These were some of the better ones.  

Enjoy our Texas Spring!

Picture of just Ryan one morning. it was very sunny which made it hard to photograph (with my limited ability too).

Second attempt! Much better. This field was actually right next to Bryce's Dell office! It was a great field of bluebonnets.

Probably the best of all 3 of the kids...

Evan - love this picture even though he has some crazy hair going on...

Evan's pic in the bluebonnets. That hair! What was I thinking not fixing it?

My sweet girl. She loves to take pictures now, especially when she gets to dress up!

Ryan gave me some good smiles that day.

My boys - probably the only time they've worn matching shirts!

Trying to get some of all 3 walking... not very successful!

But they had fun!

So that's our annual bluebonnet pics. Great flowers this year too. They were so lovely all around town. Late March/April is one of the best times to come and visit us so everyone plan your visits for next year.

Ryan - One Year

I know we already had quite a few posts since Ryan turned 1 but I wanted to do a summary of him at the one year mark so I wouldn't forget.

Ryan's stats are kind of a mix... we went twice for his well check in March and both times he was sick so his actual well check wasn't until the first week in April!

Weight: 19.8 lbs (it was 20.5 lbs by April)

Height: 29.5 inches

Ryan is on the small side for weight which is surprising because he sure eats a lot! He must just burn a lot of calories.  Since his one year birthday, he's been on whole milk and drinks only from a sippy. He is eating all finger foods and so far seems to like most foods we give him.  

Sleeping wise - the one year mark was a great improvement. He generally takes one nap a day (1-3:30/4) and at night we start bedtime at 8pm and he usually sleeps until at least 7am.  Prior to his birthday, he was usually up by 6:30am but now, he often sleeps until 7:30am or later and even if he does wake up in the mornings, he is content to just stay in his crib, very quiet!  Thank you Ryan!

Ryan has gotten 8 teeth (top 4, bottom 4).  He signs more, all done, eat, and milk (although MORE is his favorite sign).  He loves to walk between things and can take quite a few steps in a row by himself but he still prefers to crawl most places. He LOVES to climb. He will often push our big soft blocks over to the fireplace, window, couch, etc. and then try to climb up onto them!  He likes to make a break for the stairs and climb those as well.  He loves it when we chase him and say, "I'm gonna get you!".

He likes to play hide and seek with Caitlin and Evan.  He loves to take showers! He is a very happy, content boy who will still sit in my lap or in the stroller and not fuss too much for now.  I very much appreciate it when we have to go to things like soccer practice, gymnastics, ballet class, etc. 

Ryan, we are so blessed to have you in our family.  You are very loved by all of us and we are so thankful for you every day. Happy First Birthday sweet baby boy!

Our own Kite Festival

The day after the party, we decided to take the kids to a local park to fly some kites. This year, the Zilker Kite Festival was cancelled due to weather. We wanted to enjoy the nicer weather with our family so we headed to the park with our kites. It was a very windy day (great for kite flying).

Daddy helping Caitlin with her kite

The scene...

Caitlin retrieving the kite for Oma

Evan doing a great job with his kite!

Mema and Evan

Baba and Chelsea enjoying the day

Keeping Jake up in the air

And Ryan was there too!

It was a gorgeous day (minus a little cold due to so much wind) - better than the freezing temps in the Midwest! We had a great time flying kites and spending time together before everyone had to head back to their homes.  We look forward to when all the grandparents will get to stay for much longer!

Ryan's First Birthday Party!

For Ryan's first birthday, we decided to do a joint party with his cousin Allie.  She is just 2 weeks younger and Bryce's parents were coming in for just the weekend so we didn't want to take all that extra time/expense to have 2 parties! 

We had originally planned to have the party at a local park - unfortunately, the weather had different ideas and so we ended up just at the last minute having it at our house.. worked out just fine!

First everyone had some yummy lunch.

We invited just a few friends to join us so it wasn't a huge party.

I think Ryan is having a good time!

Family pic with the birthday boy

Couldn't resist my two boys :)

Singing happy birthday to the two one year olds!

We got each of them an individual smash cake...

And then one big cake to share with everyone!

Ryan checking it out...

Oh yeah, I remember this stuff...

And he wastes no time digging in...

It was a great day for celebrating these two very special people.  Thanks everyone for helping and celebrating with us!  Happy First Birthday Ryan!

Zilker Botanical Garden

Another day of our spring break, we took a trip to the Zilker Botanical Gardens. They have a special exhibit this spring which is all about Faerie Houses!  My kids are kind of obsessed with Jake and the Neverland Pirates. They actual have been really into making little Faerie Houses with our nanny out of cardboard so I thought they would love this.

The Faerie Houses are all along this trail. Some of them are kind of hidden so it was an adventure to find them!  Each house was made by an artist and they were all so different.

After walking the trail, we went over to see some of the rest of the botanical gardens. I've only been once or twice before and we had family visiting so we wanted to make the most of our visit.

Aunt Shell and the kiddos

Standing in front of the waterfall.

One of the best parts of the botanical gardens is the Japanese Garden.  It's so beautiful and interesting. I love it. The kids LOVED walking through the pond on the walks. I have to say I was really nervous about it... I mean, I knew they wouldn't drown but I really didn't want them getting soaked.

But they both proved I had no reason to worry! They each went with an adult the first time but they really didn't need the help.  They later went back and each did it all by themselves.

It turned out to be a great day for visiting, and everyone had a lot of fun!

Spring Break - Cameron Park Zoo

Another thing we seem to do every Spring Break is head to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco.  This year, my mom and Becca joined us! 

Ready for some adventure!

First stop was the otter slide! This is always a favorite with my kids.

This time, we went the opposite way so that we hit the slide first (before all the crowds arrived). It was perfect as the kids got to do it probably 20 times!

We enjoyed seeing the fish and turtles. I had printed out a ZOO BINGO card for each of the kids to mark off animals as we saw them. Turtles made the list!

Pic of my two older ones on our journey. It was a little chilly in the morning but turned out to be a great day. We beat most of the crowds too by arriving early.

Family pic - too bad Daddy had to work

Giraffes! This is one of my favorite spots because you are right at the height of the giraffes.

Say Cheese!

Caitlin loved watching the elephants

Sitting on the komodo dragon (statue)

This is another of my favorite places... it's right by the orangutan exhibit but it has some great things for the kids (like this musical plates you step on)

Ryan enjoyed hanging on the orangutan.

And our last stop of the day was the playground!  Even the babies enjoyed themselves.

Big bro taking little bro for a ride on the dolphin.

Caitlin wanted a turn too!

Baba, Chelsea, Oma, and Ryan hanging out

After that, we exited the park and ate our picnic lunch before heading home. What a great day! So glad we decided to go.