Jo Jo and Cecilie

So this illustrates how far behind I am on life and blogging. My best friend, Jodi, and her daughter, Cecilie (15 mos), flew out to see us in April. We've been friends since birth (there are pictures to prove it) and I'm so happy we've been able to maintain that friendship across many years and miles. Maizie has recently shortened her prayers and now they go, "Mommy, Daddy, Anson-son, Jo Jo, Cecilie! Amen!" Needless to say, we all had a great time. We toured all the great Austin parks and got to catch up with each other when the girls were napping. She's due in July with a boy and we can't wait to meet him!

Jodi and Cecilie on Mt. Bonnell

 

Table dancing with Cecilie.

At the park on top of Whole Foods. Isn't she the cutest?

The Zilker train. So much fun and also Maizie's first time to wander away from me. She went straight for the drivers seat and stood there hoping someone would let her in to drive the train.

Last Day!

Today was the last day of preschool and they had splash day. Maizie had a blast (and her first sno cone). 

What a difference a school year makes. Here she was on the first day. Brings a tear to this old woman's eye.

Little Buddies

Here are Anderson's little friendships. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by friends with babies close in age to ours. It's fun to watch them grow up and figure things out together.

"High Five" Jake! Jake is 4 weeks younger than Anderson, but he's a tall little man! They had fun at the park a couple weeks ago.

Here is Jake, Anderson and baby Luke. Luke is 2 months younger than Anderson, but it doesn't show at all. 

Here Anderson told Luke a dirty joke and Luke is shocked. Already being a bad influence...

Our good friend Madi mentioned last Sunday that Anderson reminded her of the Rugrats. As soon as she said it, a lightbulb went off. I knew he reminded me of some cute animated something, but I couldn't figure it out until she said that. I love my little rugrat!

"My Boys" Come to Play

We've had the privelege of watching Luc and Ryan this month. When they leave, Maizie says, "Where did my boy go? I want to play with my boy!" They are both right between my two kids and it's fun to remember Maizie that age and anticipate Anderson in about a year. Thanks for sharing your boys with us, Kim and Noelle!

Luc was really interacting with Anderson here.

Luc loves to climb and run (and tan)!

If you've seen the British office, this reminds me of when Gareth calls the calculator company.

I guess this game was called "How much for this baby and 7 goldfish, Mr. Cashier?"

Girls Weekend

Mother's Day Weekend the George girls came to town and Jason watched Maizie all weekend and Anderson much of the time. We did lots of shopping, chatting, eating and girl-movie-watching. It was a really nice break, although I do feel a little naked walking through a store without a stroller. Thanks, babe, for a happy Mother's Day.

Here's what happens when your husband is in charge of the baby for a weekend.

It was great to catch up with our neices, Ensley and Cecily. They have grown up so quickly and I am amazed at how sweet, smart, fun and cool they are to hang out with. Here, Ensley is reading to Maizie. She read a LONG time to Maizie, so she won the patience award for the weekend.

Butler Park

We met some friends at Butler Park in downtown Austin. There are some fun fountains for the kids to play in. Maizie's much more adventurous this year, so it's fun to watch.

CHHEEEEEESSSEEE!

Uh, can anyone say "Frost smile"?!? Pretty much every picture of my brother and I growing up looks just like this. Good grief.

A woman scorned. Ally is definitely one big Anderson fan. Everytime we see her, she will not rest until she gets to greet him. She brings him blankets and toys and kisses him on the cheeks. Anderson really does love it, but the expression below cracks me up. Sweet, sweet Ally.

Taking Care of Anderson

I'm catching up today. Be forewarned. This was from 3 weeks ago.

So...I'm not really in a hurry to start Anderson on solid food, but I was trying to come up with something to keep Maizie occupied after lunch/before nap and said, "Why don't we feed Anderson. Wouldn't that be fun?" I went to the kitchen to get his rice cereal ready and I come back to the sandwich in his hands heading for his mouth. Thankfully, he didn't take a bite, but he sure loved squishing it. I can just see the headlines now, "Mom Feeds Infant PB&J as First Meal." I guess worse things have happened.

Here he is taking his real first meal. He did pretty good for a first attempt. In the weeks since, he's had a whole toddler package of applesauce, half a mushed up banana, and a bit of my mushroom stroganoff. Definitely not going by the "book" this time around...

After his first meal, Maizie decided that Anderson was sick and needed to see a doctor. Here, he's thinking, "Put down the scissors and step away from the baby".

Maizie's "Doctor Glasses" and a worn-out Anderson in the background.

5 Months

Our little man is 5 months old today and he is officially eating his toes. It's my absolute favorite thing. He's a champion sleeper at night, but has become a little cat-napper during the day (30 minutes here, 15 minutes there). He's ticklish and does the cutest cough-y laugh. I still think he should get an award for World's Happiest Baby. Enjoy these pics of our big boy. BTW, we took him in at 4.5 months and he weighed 14 lbs., 3 oz. and was 24.5" long.

Kiddie Acres

Inspiration

Earlier this week, Maizie was playing quietly for a nice amount of time. When I finally decided to inspect what was going on, I found this. Inspired by the rainbow she did awhile back in class, Maizie made her own out of crayons.

I love being inspired by things I see (in nature, in books, in stores, in museums) and creating my own version of them. I looks like this trait may run in the family.

Campin' it up

Here are some shots of our first camping trip as a family of four and Maizie's first experience sleeping in a sleeping bag and eating S'mores. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to do it again.

Easter Festivities

Here is the long past due Easter montage...two and a half minutes of cuteness if you've got the time.