It's been awhile since our Cupcake has had a play date with pictures with her sweet friend Josh-y (how cupcake says it). We go to the little gym every Tuesday together so we get to see them a lot but we don't exactly bring the camera each week.
Today however, we headed to the Austin Nature center for a play date...and pictures! We dug up dinosaur bones in the dino pit, explored in the amphibian center, saw some awesome Texas mammals, and ended with a yummy picnic lunch. It was a super fun afternoon of exploring and playing with our sweet friends.
I'm late on this post and Gigi has reminded me of that almost every other day since May 11th. I'm sure I'll be thankful one day when I can't remember what 14 months was like....
So our cupcake is now 14 months! Wow! Here is what she is up to these days: -Sign language, sign language sign language! She learns it faster than me now and really does lots of communicating via signs. I really love that days go by with out a single tear because she can sign what she wants and we can communicate to avoid frustration. My favorite sign that she is doing right now is help. She can't do the sign perfectly but she's getting better and it's sooooo sweet for her to ask me for help. - New words - Ball, bow, hat, watch, berry (for strawberry), Gigi, Papa, beep-beep (for car), hot, and hug. - New favorite foods - baba ganoush, blackberries, lamb, artichoke hummus, and black beans - Foods she has turned away lately - eggs (used to love them), kiwi, watermelon, beets, and carrots - She knows several body parts - eyes, ears, mouth, nose, belly, hair, hands, and toes. She likes to point out most of these on other people but her tummy she wants to point to on herself. It's precious! - She is making a few animal noises and attempting some of her abc's. She really likes the vowels so often times sings A,E, O, O, U (ewww) over and over again. - She likes to twirl around in dresses. Her favorite morning routine is to get dressed with one of us and them come show the other one what she is wearing. She comes in soooo proud and ready for us to tell her how pretty she is. It's really sweet. - She kisses and hugs me all the time. I LOVE that she does it on her own accord these days. We'll be playing and she will stop, kiss me, and stroke my face for a second....and then go back to playing. So sweet! - She still loves the outdoors and now loves wearing sunglasses! We're protecting those eyes! - She also loves to clean up (yay for me!). At The Little Gym she runs to be first to put her bells or ball away.
I'm sure I am forgetting something but since her 15 month is only a few weeks away I can always add it in there! We love you cupcake and you continue to amaze us!!
The hubs took the day off it was our first day in our new home and my first day in a new decade so he figured it was worth a day with us. We woke up early (because of a certain cupcake) and walked to Waterloo for breakfast. Yum! Most of our day was spent unpacking but every thirty minutes cupcake and the hubs brought out another gift...until I had 30!!!! It was such a sweet and thoughtful idea. I was completely overwhelmed. Even better though was that all of the gifts were things I would have bought for myself. While the gifts themselves were amazing the feeling that I am "known and loved" by the hubs...30 times was the real gift. I love you hubs! It's going to be a great decade!
I have several things to post soon. We're surrounded by boxes with only a POD more on the way. Soooo picture taking and blogging have been a bit on the back burner. I'll get caught up soon, promise.
In the meantime, this was an easy quick update. A few months ago Brudder, Sissy, and Pax sent along this video:
We were thrilled and watched it several times. Then, because I always tease my Brudder about how he is meat and potatoes (plain, predictable, and safe) I loosely mentioned that they were sans emotion. If you watch it again they barely crack a smile.
Flash forward to yesterday. I got this:
Needless to say, the hubs and I were rolling laughing over here.
This was King Ranch Chicken with habaneros, bro. Thank you! We loved it and love you guys!
Our sweet cupcake has been sleeping until 6:30 or 7:00 in the mornings. This is a HUGE improvement from 5:30am. However, it's still a little earlier than we like to get up. So, our new routine is that Daddy goes and changes her diaper and then brings her in for cuddle time in our bed. Like most things with a 13 month old it lasts about 5 minutes, sometimes 10 on a good day. So rather than some extra sleep, she's more like a snooze button. Recently though she learned how to climb down from our big bed by herself and waddle around and explore. In the morning when she first wakes up she walks more like E.T. - a cute waddle. Her normal routine is this:
Climb down. Peak behind the curtains allowing blinding sun into the eyes of her lazy parents. Waddle into the bathroom.Attempt to flush toilet (no success yet). Open Daddy's bathroom drawer (Mommy's is too high, thank goodness!) Dig around. (Sometime we laugh from the bed at how busy she is)Grabs Dadda's toothbrush. Brushes hair while saying "Pretty, Pretty"Then decides to brush teeth too. Comes back to the bed room to see if we've gotten up. Keeps brushing. We have perfect teeth around here for a reason. Decides to pick out an outfit for Dad.More brushing. Drooling.Ok....one of us gets up. Then she shows us the mess she's made in the bathroom.She's proud. We're groggy. But at least we got to hit snooze. Once.
I haven't been the best blogger lately. But, we've been cleaning, purging, goodwill giving, packing, PODing, househunting, housebuying, houseclosing, staging, on-the-market, and so on... We're moving. So blogging has been on the back burner, a bit. But for memories sake here's a look at how we took the bachelor pad and made it our home.... Farewell P-rock. I'll always love you. He bought you before he knew me, before he thought of me. Others lived here, had fun here, and kept him company before he had me. While we were dating you were an occasional location for a Friday night date. I burned some popcorn in your kitchen. I never thought you'd loose that smell. One night he proposed to me on your back porch. Later he carried me over your door step as his Mrs. Admittedly I wouldn't take my shoes off in the grossness. But we scrubbed, cleaned, and re-did you. Then you were beautiful! Pretty enough to bring a baby home to. We traveled far and near but always loved coming home to you. We grew food in your gardens. We killed some food too. We roasted marshmellows and grilled out on your porch. We hosted parties here, hosted family here, and even had Thanksgiving here. We were Thankful for you. Then we did bring that baby home to you. You've been good to her, even when she dings your walls with her toys. We've laughed, loved, cried, lost, celebrated, and even had a fight or two under your roof. Our cupcake rolled over, sat up, crawled, and took her first steps here. We put scripture on the cement in each room under the carpet to claim you as the Lord's. You were a beautiful blessing that we could only thank Him for. Next Monday I'll wake up here for the last time. Tuesday I'll open my eyes in a new home, on my 30th birthday. It's the end of a chapter, a decade, a home...all at once. If your walls could talk, they'd share some of my favorite memories. I'll never forget you P-rock. Thank you for being our home. Our first home. The home where our story began...
Hay sólo un pequeño problema. Hoy es 10 de mayo. Chloe y yo arreglaron por el día especial. Chris y yo nos cerramos en nuestra nueva casa en la última hora de la tarde. Entonces todos comimos alimento mexicano y bebimos margaritas en nuestro restaurante predilecto de vecindario. ¡Bien, Chloe no tuvo margaritas! Comió muchos frijoles aunque. Y adora pastillas y salsa. ¡Esperamos que tuviera un cinco festivo de mayo también!
¡Vea a Padre, ésos estudian en el extranjero dólares de enseñanza no fueron perdidos todo!
Our sweet little cupcake rarely cries anymore. It's so strange to think that a year ago it was such a HUGE part of her day and now I can count on my hands how many times she cries in a week. I have to say I love that the tears have been replaced with sign language or just calling our name when she wakes up and so on. Communicating with her is so much sweeter then the crying/guessing game.
That said, one time that she cries EVERY week is Sunday morning. When we drop her off at church in her room, Heavenly Haven, she ALWAYS cries. It makes it sooooo hard for me to leave her. Since the rest of her cries during the week are for getting hurt or the occasional misunderstanding it's hard to know that this one is because she is sad. However, I do want her to know and love Jesus. I also believe that in her room they are focused at teaching about Him at a level that she can grasp. So, tears or not this is something we will do. It's best for all of us.
The picture was taken by her sweet teacher who volunteers every Sunday. Shout out of big THANKS to all the volunteers that make Sunday special for our Cupcake. During the service they play, they snack, and then they have a song time and learn one verse (a condensed and simple version of a longer one!). During the song time Chloe put this bucket on her head and started to dance! Isn't she a doll? So, picture proof that once we are gone she is having fun! Not to mention we really do appreciate the sweet teachers in her room. We are so thankful to have people willing to give up an extra hour of their Sunday mornings to share about Jesus with our Cupcake while we go to church and learn too.
