Big 12 Babies

I know what you might be thinking...not another post of her kids in their UT attire! But this time there are other kids in the picture and they have on non-UT gear.

There are now 7 little ones in our church lifegroup and between them, 4 different Big 12 schools are represented. We've been wanting to do a little photoshoot for awhile now. Here are the best shots I could get out of the shoot that lasted for about 1 minute. It is fun having friends that went to rival schools...just one more reason for the Big 12 to stay together!

Haven started sitting up just in time to take this picture with Lily and Emilynn, both 7 months old.

Funny pic of Emilynn off to the side since her team is leaving the Big 12 next year. Lily's mom said she is upset because of how this season is going for Tech. Haven's expression looks like she is thinking "what are you looking at? I'm UT, we have the our own network and we might as well have our own conference".

I'm so thankful for this sweet community of friends and little ones.

5 Months!

Yes...just a few days before she turned 5 months, she started sitting up! She loves this new perspective of life and doesn't like to lay down unless she is sleeping. Lately she's been hanging out

in her exersaucer

up on daddy's shoulder's

and in her bouncy swing.
One minute, I find the girls having sweet moments like this one, and the next minute I turn around to see this.
I am still trying to get Anna to understand that this swing is not like the one hanging in the tree outside.Is there anything more peaceful and precious than a sleeping baby? We've discovered that unlike her sister and much like her mama, Haven is a pretty light sleeper. She wakes up each morning when the neighbor starts his car to go to work and the other day woke from her nap after only 20 minutes because Anna let out a single cough.

This is a pretty rare sight considering she has only had a bottle three times in her life. We are pretty attached...Dr. Sears would be proud. That's just how we roll and what works best for us.

Everything's Bigger in Texas

Including the state fair which is the biggest in the country! The girls and I made the trek to Dallas to meet up with some friends at the state fair and had so much fun. When I first moved to Dallas, I vowed to make it a tradition to go to the fair every year. Now that we are 45 minutes away and parking alone is $15!, I think we may go every couple of years.

Coming through! We each had a two year old and a baby rolling around in our big, wide strollers. (Before you start thinking we are BOB snobs, all of us got our strollers secondhand. Please note to my friends with new BOB strollers, I'm not implying that you are a snob.:)

These three little friends; Emery Kate, Anna, and Luke were so cute together.Clapping at the dog show.Children's Hospital sponsors an amazing petting zoo every year. I bought Anna a cup of feed and in the chaos of tons of little ones running around, keeping track of a 2 year old, bouncing a baby on my hip and attempting to document the with experience with photos, I didn't read the sign that said to use shovels to dispense feed to the animals.

Within seconds this goat gobbled up the feed, yanked the cup out of Anna's hand and ate the cup as well. Lesson learned.

The piggies were her favorite and she kept saying "oh, dear" like piglet from Winnie the Pooh.

We also got to see a kangaroo with a baby in its pouch! See the little legs sticking out?
These sweet baby girls, Haven and Molly, took cat naps while their big sisters were off being farmers.

I think it is the biologist in me that loves to see the bird show every year. They also have a great conservation program they raise money for. For the most part, Anna was more excited about the animal crackers she was eating than the falcon that flew from the top of the ferris wheel down to where we were. I'll give her a couple more years.

Horns Up, Horns Down

Horns UP: We got to hang out with our favorite Longhorn friends and watch the OU game.

Horns DOWN: We lost miserably.

Horns UP: It was a good photo op for our Little Longhorns.

2 Toddlers + 2 Babies = Take What You Can Get When it Comes to a Group Photo

Georgia and Haven - future roommates and members of UT Class of 2032.

Close up of the onesies I made. I really need to learn how to use a sewing machine...hand stitching takes forever!

Where did we get these blue-eyes babies?

P.S. Marci is wittier and a much more entertaining writer with a better camera :), so you should check out her version of the day here.

Easiest Pumpkin Recipe Ever

1 Box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
1 Can of Pumpkin

That's it! No eggs, no oil...it is just that simple...and lowfat. I know many of you have probably already heard this recipe, but I had to share in case you haven't yet.

Little Gym

I bought a Living Social deal for 1 month at Little Gym, so Anna got to take a class there last month. She got to do it with one of her best buddies, Andrew, making it even more fun. I was so thankful that my mom could watch Haven so Anna and I could do the class together.

They give all the little kids a stamp on their foot at the end of class. It is genius because it entices them away from all the gym activities and gets them out the door for the next class to come in. Anna would scream and try to avoid putting her foot in the bath on the days she got the stamp.

Sadly, we didn't continue the class after the month was over but who needs Little Gym when you have a balance beam in your front yard,

a trampoline in your mommy and daddy's room, and a tumbling mat in your bedroom?

Fall Favorites

Two things I love about fall are pumpkin patches and UT Game days!

I love these cute dresses! A friend found Anna's for supercheap and gave it to us and then I found Haven's on sale at a consignment store. :)

It was hard enough to get Haven propped up in the pumpkins so she wouldn't fall over. I gave up trying to get her to look up and smile, but she still looks pretty cute to me.

This child refused to put her feet down so I went with it. :)