Bouncy House at Nana's

We spent yesterday and today at my mom's house. It's always a blast! We put up the bouncy house for Derek to play in and he had fun... but it's only so much fun with one.... so my mom got in with him! I didn't take any pictures of them (I'm pretty sure none of them would have been approved for the blog) ;) but I'm so glad Nana can make this kinds of memories with Derek. Isaac and Andrew were here last time we had the bouncy house out and all three boys spent a good solid half hour bouncing around. Boy, did they sleep well! Derek loves to be active and he's always more obedient after he's able to let off some energy. 

He was spying on the neighbors while I set up the bouncy house - double-O Derek at your service!

 Bounces so high he can touch the sky!

 He had fun bouncing himself down the slide

 He's always enjoyed physical activities

 I sure do love my boy!

 Gotta get this kid in soccer

Does he ever stop running?!

These Boys...

...are so stinking CUTE!! Derek and I spent the better part of the morning reading books (finally!), playing with Bryce and just generally goofing off. Chores were entirely forgotten today and it was wonderful.

Recognize this playmat? Used to be Derek's. :) Bryce was fascinated with this bird.

Derek wanted to play too!

Almost a peace sign, Chunk! And a perfect smile from Derek!

Mid-sneeze. Apparently he's allergic to Derek. ;)

Tick-a-tick-a!

Buttpaste is NOT Lotion (Or Carpet Cleaner)

 Ugh. This was funny two days later.

He made his own hand-print art

Bryce is 3 Months Old!

Bryce is already three months old! I can't believe it's been three months already. The holiday season seemed unusually long this year - probably because I lived out of a suitcase for about a month. It was a blast though! Bryce is SUCH an easy baby. Other than his back-to-back rounds of RSV last month, he's been pretty healthy and not a huge stress on my nerves. He only cries when he's hungry, tired or wants to be held. Sometimes he fusses when his diaper is dirty, but not often. He's had no colic at all. If this is what the rest of my kids will be like, I could totally have ten. He's starting to laugh at anyone who makes eye contact but Derek gets him especially giggly. He ADORES his older brother and Derek adores him back. I love watching these two interact. Bryce loves to have his kidneys tickled. I'll get a video of that soon, I promise. He wants to be held about 90% of the time. Sometimes he's content to sit in his swing and stare at the owls or Derek will come over and talk to him in a high falsetto. 

He's a total cuddle-bug, or cling-on as I often refer to him

He's learning to scootch himself down when he's propped up, so we have to strap him into every bouncer or he ends up half on, half off

He is SO laid back! 

Haircut!!

 Liz and I were brave AND spontaneous this Martin Luther King Day Weekend. We got our hair cut! AHHHH!! We were planning on getting our hair cut at the same time on Saturday, but the hairstylists ended up only cutting my hair. The girl they referred Liz to ended up not being able to use the razor Liz needed for her radical new hair cut. So.... we came back Monday to watch Liz take the plunge with a more qualified hairstylist. I also found some AMAZING olive oil shampoo and conditioner. This haircut, shampoo/conditioner and an awesome makeup set were my Christmas presents from my Dad. Thanks Dad!!

 BEFORE: Mostly one length with chin-length swoop bangs. Very few layers.

 

AFTER!! Swoop bangs down to my eyebrow line and TONS of layers! LOVE IT!!

BEFORE: All those flowing locks! Roughly 16 inches from scalp to tip. Lots of layers.

AFTER!! Four-inch hair and TONS of layers! Isn't she adorable?! I'm a huge fan of her new haircut (and her natural hair color). :D Way to be brave, Liz!

Park

Liz suggested taking the boys to the town park today. It would've been perfect if the wind-chill factor didn't make it feel like 25 degrees outside... so we only stayed for 10 minutes or so. BRRRRR!!! At least we all got out of the house though! Woohoo! Even for such a short stay, the boys managed to be incredibly cute and excited about all the different things to do.

Sunshine Face

Almost there!

 

Superman can scale the net bridge with (several) single bound(s). :)

 This was a cool rotating toy kind of like a stand-up merry-go-round. 

 Farmer Brown (with the blond boy) and Farmer Blondie (with the brunette boy). 

Derek wasn't fazed by the cold at all. He's one tough cookie!

Craft Time

I found a couple paint-able cars at Walmart for a dollar and couldn't resist. :) Derek begged all day to paint his cars and, after using them to shamelessly bribe good behavior out of him all morning, I stripped him down to his unders and set him up to paint. He LOVED it! He's such a creative kid. I also found a paint-your-own-zebra-and-cheetah kit. I've been saving that one for a rainy day though. 

 Fine, Mom. I'll "cheese" for you. 

 Great smile!

So intent on getting the colors layered just right

Hanging Out with Lanae

Lanae, Logan and Savanna stayed an extra week to soak up civilization before returning to the border. :) David unfortunately had to go back to Del Rio but we're grateful for the loan of his wife and kids. We had so much fun this week... or we were planning to. All the kids and most of the adults got sick so we just sent the big boys out in the yard to play (when they stopped coughing) and the rest of us stayed inside. Poor lambs. Bryce is finally starting to get over his RSV!! YAY!! We did manage to get Lanae, Logan and Savanna to the SeaLife Aquarium in Grapevine though. I'll spare you the details because I didn't take any pictures (lol) but we had a great time! We also got to meet Amy's new boyfriend. He's pretty cool. :) Derek breaks out into his crazy acrobatics trying to show off around him. Hope we get to see him again soon!

Love Savvie's shirt! Her matching pants are the wildest shade of green. I bet she'll be spunky.

When you lay on the ground, all bets are off

Check out this multi-tasker! Jungle gym for Isaac, arm chair for Derek and Emeri, reading a story AND pacifying a 5 month old! GOLD STAR!!

BWAAAAAAAAINS!!!

Poor kid walked around in a fever-induced daze for a couple days.

What cute CHEEKS!! NOM NOM NOM!!!

He's so freaking cute! I can't wait to watch him grow.

Freshly washed curls

Being adorable!

Who's that sweet face peeping out of the blankets?

Savanna!!

I had to add this one - Isaac was tossing his blanket in the air and trying to catch it. Wrong way, dude.

Triple Date!

My mom offered to take Mitchell, myself, Liz and Austin on a triple date with her and Rick. Liz and I were so excited to dress up, do hair and makeup and go out. Mitchell and Austin went upstairs to play video games while Liz and I made our transformations. ;) We spent a lot of time trying on different outfits: Liz had bought a new pair of nude pumps and I had a pretty new shirt from Ross! Amy was so sweet and did my makeup with her brand new AMAZING makeup she got for Christmas. I loved it so much I went out and found the same kit a few days later for a massive discount and bought it. Best deal and investment ever! I love putting makeup on now. Mitchell loves seeing me doll myself up more frequently. :) My mom curled our hair and taught us a lot about styling and caring for our hair. I felt like I stepped out of a magazine with my pretty hair and makeup! Thanks Mom! Thanks Amy! Mom and Rick took us to Brio's - a super nice restaurant in Southlake, TX. I don't know what was wrong with my tastebuds that day (and maybe it was just the initial first impression of my first dish) but I had to send back my first plate. My fault for being too adventurous with sweet potato and asparagus something, but the chicken pasta dish I ordered the second time around was absolutely divine! Thank you so much for a fantastic evening Mom!

We had so much fun getting all dolled up! 

Emeri's favorite person is Mirror-Emeri :)

My gorgeous sisters tackled all the kids! Way to go girls! MAJOR thanks and props to Val and Amy.

Aren't we cute?! I love our curly hair and I looove seeing Mitchell dressed up! Austin cleans up nice, too. ;)

The whole party!

We look hot!

We had non-alchoholic drinks that were deeeeelicious!

The flash was really bright in the dark car, but I had to add this one. I look so much like Amy! It's kind of freaky.

Let's go duck huntin'!

We are CRAZY!!

Liz, I love it when your eyes scrunch up because it always means you're so happy. You're adorable!