How does your garden grow?

Hannah asked for and received a cute little "garden" for her 3rd birthday from Mike's parents, thanks Grandma and Granddad Pillsbury! Boy has it grown - I guess the rainy summer has a lot to do with the success of Hannah's plants! She does a great job watering her garden & checking on her tomatoes every time we play outside in the backyard and was thrilled to collect the first ripe grape tomatoes! I have used the fresh basil, parsley and rosemary as well - and love to send Hannah out to pick fresh herbs! Growing up - my mom always had a garden (be it small or big) - and I think it is so important for children to know exactly where their food comes from, and to watch how it grows! Maybe we can even get Hannah to EAT a tomato - here's hoping!





Mike's sister Katherine gave Hannah some cute gardening tools that she uses - both for her garden and when she helps me in the flowerbeds! Here is Hannah opening up her garden - sadly, it did not come assembled but it didn't take Mike very long to build it! He is getting really good with a drill and directions - I see many more toys/projects in his future as a dad of two!

Under the Sea Party!

We finally had a tiny bit of sunshine and a break from the rain - just in time for Annabelle's 5th Birthday Party! An afternoon spent at the pool with friends was just what we needed! Hannah had a blast in the water & Luke behaved perfectly - sleeping of course! Happy Happy Birthday!

Hannah's First Movie

We have had a rainy and I mean rainy summer! Rained through the Fourth of July so on Saturday we decided to brave the rain and head to the movie theater! Not really knowing how Hannah would do...we chose an early matinee, and with baby Luke in tow, managed to buy tickets to a packed movie theater (seems like everyone was ready to get out of their houses, especially those with kids!) Hannah did awesome at the movie! Even though she wasn't quite heavy enough for the seat to stay down (I wedged my diaper bag behind her so she could lean back and sit comfortably) she ate her popcorn like a champ, and aside from not liking the "dark", enjoyed her very first trip to the movies! Despicable Me 2 was hilarious and the whole family laughed and had a great time (Luke slept in his car seat the entire movie under a blanket). What a fun day & family outing we had - we made the best of our rainy weather and have a sweet family memory!

Happy 4th!

While daddy headed out to play golf in the rain...the kids and I headed to lunch (were supposed to spend the morning at the pool but were rained out) at the country club with the rest of the mommas & kiddos whose daddies were playing in the tourney too (although I am pretty sure the tournament was cancelled and they just played anyway :-). After a week of rainy days, the kids were restless all day, and after very short lived naps we then headed to a birthday dinner for my father-in-law. All of us were stir crazy and rain crazy! Pics were priceless! Top it off with non-stop fireworks for 7 days (afternoon, nighttime, ANYtime) - and this was one holiday I was happy to see end! Hahaha...what a day! Happy 4th everybody!

2 Months Old Luke!

Luke is growing, growing, growing...12 lbs 2 oz! I looked back in my records and found Hannah's stats: she was only 9 lbs 8 oz at 2 months - what a big boy we have! HAPPY is how I would describe Luke in one word. He is a smiley little guy, especially in the mornings. Luke wakes up happy & hungry - ready for whatever the day brings! While he does follow a pretty tight schedule - Luke is pretty much ok with any schedule changes. He happily naps in his car seat, stroller or sling and calmly takes a pacifier to wait out meals (not that long, but still nice!).



He adores his big sister! Luke follows her voice all day long, smiles at her when she talks to him, and doesn't seem to mind her tight "hugs", kisses and "pats" on the back (she loves to help burp him). He has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks (5+ hrs of sleep) hooray! and continues to be very alert and aware of his surrounding sounds & voices. Luke is tall! He is already wearing 3-6 month size clothes for the length - 75% percentile for height! We braved the neighboring Limestone County Health Department for his 2 month shots - our pediatricians office was closed the week he was eligible for shots and we wanted to receive them before our TX trip. Luke did awesome and came away with some pretty cool blue camo band-aides! Love my sweet boy so much!

Great Grandpa Visit

Most children grow up with grandparents, but only a small few it seems get to experience a relationship with a great grandparent! Hannah still talks about Granny Dee (my grandmother who passed away last October)and always remembers her "Papa Carlitos" too! We had a chance to visit my Grandpa while we were down in Texas, and introduce him to baby Luke. He was thrilled we made the trip - and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my children! He loves music & dancing and Hannah put on quite the show, showing off her dance moves! Grandpa even let her play one of his old guitars - she was beyond excited! Sweet baby Luke just smiled and cooed, what more could a proud great grandpa want! Love you Grandpa - Hannah and Luke do too!

Back at the Ranch

Wouldn't be a trip to Texas without a visit to the RANCH! Spending a day with Aunt Carla & Uncle Joey included everything from eating Cooper's BBQ, riding the mule & feeding the cows/horses, feeding the fish, visiting the barn & pool, and of course sitting on the porch catching a breeze! Luke loved his first visit to the ranch - and who could blame him? Life is good when you are at the ranch!