A Conversation

In the car last week, Maizie says out of the blue:

Maizie: "I want to be born again."

Pause. Pause. Pause. What?

Me: "Ok. Well thanks to Jesus we can always get a fresh start. Isn't that great?"

Maizie: "Yes, I love Jesus and his babies. I want to drive them around and show them directions on how to get to my house."

Me: "That sounds nice."

Maizie: "I'm going to need a smaller car so my feet can touch."

1. She means born again literally. Jason tells me she first brought it up after seeing a picture of me pregnant with Anderson. She was jealous that he was in my belly.

2. She often refers to "Jesus and his babies" because her favorite story is Jesus welcoming the little children.

3. I can't get the image out of my head--Maizie, Jesus and Jesus' babies in a tiny, tiny car.

Phone Pics

My phone recently was on the fritz, meaning I could only talk to people on speaker phone. I was "that" girl in the supermarket. Only once, but it had to be done. Anyway, new phone came and my IT guy (Jason T. George) helped me transfer 6 months worth of phone photos. Most are pictures taken by Maizie of her toys, the TV, her parents at awkward angles and our messy house. Here are some of the good ones (aka. not taken by the girl). Enjoy.


This pair really love each other.

Did I mention it was 6 months worth of pictures. Ah, snowhats. Sigh.

Yes, she's wearing a bunny/mermaid outfit. Yes, this is in public. No, I didn't want a wardrobe fight that day. Yes, we're proud to keep Austin weird.

Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding. It was a joy to have a date night and meet some fun, new people. Mommy is wearing a Hilltribe necklace. Product testing is fun!

My little fireman.

Anderson and I hang out on Thursdays while Maizie's at gymnastics. I usually run errands and get him a little something for being such a good companion. This day, he wouldn't relent until I took a photo and sent it to Kim to show Ryan. Anderson is obsessed with two things: Buzz Lightyear and Ryan Pollard!

Easter Monday

We didn't get around to dying Easter eggs until Easter Monday. That's ok. I think Easter Monday is a day to celebrate.
I've always wanted to be one of those cool moms who posted artsy shots of craft projects. So here you go.

Anderson reciting his colors: "Ed, onge, lellow, geen, boo, puhpuh"

All done! Love the rainbow!

Maizie couldn't wait to crack one open.

Easter Morn

Maizie thought it was funny that the Bunny who knows how to do the robot came to her house and left some treats.

The hit of the basket were these bunny teeth (candy pacifiers).



Hope you had a Happy Easter, too!

'Twas the week before Easter

And Maizie earned a special date with Mom and Dad. We went to Main Event and ate and talked and played video games while Anderson played with Luc and Evan. Maizie ate up all the attention and Anderson enjoyed splashing with Luc at the water table.

Here he is accessorizing for Easter.

I 'tawt i 'taw a tweety bird. One bite, one peep gone.

Mueller had an Easter Egg hunt in our park. Here's Maizie sad and egg-less before it started.

And Jason posing with the Easter Bunny, who apparently had incredible robot dance moves, according to Maizie.

Serious Business

Last month, Maizie had her first public performance as the color green in a rainbow of other preschoolers. I was really looking forward to it. She's such a ham at home, I was expecting some looney tune moves. Apparently, performing is serious business for Maizie. She stood attentively and sang exactly (and perhaps informed some nearby kids on how to do the same). They sang the "Lord, you are my rainbow" song for those of you familiar with it. When practicing at home, these were her lyrics:
You are the blue in the sky,
You are the purple in my eye,
You are the pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty butterfly.
You are the brown in the sky when I am playing football.
Oh Lord, I think you are a good idea.
So she takes after me in the lyric comprehension (and creative rewriting of lyrics) department.
And she takes after my dad in hand guestures. I watched him preach for 18 years and he holds his hands like that, oh, say 80% of the time. Love to see him in her.

The after party with friend and neighbor, Mia.

A budding architect like Daddy showing off her city.

Here she is with her teachers, Miss Mary and Miss Teri. Miss Mary received an award for 25 years of service that night. Amazing.

Keeping Austin Weird

Our kids are wonderfully weird. Growing up, I thought weird was a compliment. Still do. Serendipitous then that we came to live in Austin to raise a family that can help keep it weird.

Keepin' it weird (and cowgirl princess chic) on the pot.

Keepin' time out weird.

Arm movements that are definitely keepin' it weird. This is how he starts his superhero run. Every time. Capes courtesy of my friend Jodi. No, you can't steal her.

Ok, this isn't a weird shot, but I had one left and it was too cute to keep from you.