Fall Fun-Texas Style!

Is it really October? I think I am having Kentucky withdrawal! It is at least in the 80's here every day, no horse racing, no tailgating and we are still going to the swimming pool! The trees are palms not trees full of Fall color. BUT we are still having lots of Fall fun. Sidney LOVES pumpkins and get's so excited when she spots one. We have been able to get outside more since it has been cooler (maybe 75!) in the mornings. We found our Halloween costume and took our first trip to the Houston Zoo. We are looking forward to our trip home and our first Halloween here when we return.

Sidney loved the zoo!

Petting the animals was her favorite!

First week of October in Houston. Pretty but very different from KY!

Playing in the backyard. She loves bubbles!

Halloween sneak peak...not so fond of the little piggy...

GO CATS!!!

First home game today! I can't believe we are not there! Thinking of my boys in blue and wishing so badly I was at Commonwealth. I woke up this morning and had, "My Old Kentucky Home" in my head... here are some pics of a little CATS fan last year.

Sidney's 1st Birthday- 4 months late!

Sidney's birthday party was at our house in Lexington. It was so emotional because all of our friends and family came not only to celebrate Sidney but to tell us goodbye. We are so blessed by our KY friends and we miss them dearly. In spite of the rainy weather and our very crowded house, we had a blast. Such great memories. Sidney had just started her Elmo obsession so I went with the Elmo theme. I loved her dress! She had just started walking a few weeks before so it was hard to get a good picture!

Elmo dress!

My baby eating her 1st birthday cake

Sidney's fan club-our best friends

Adorable cake from Pattycakes. Not sure what I will do for cakes in Houston!

Favors-bubbles, goldfish and Elmo juice in a bucket

The stickers matched her invites and her thank you cards. I love Grey Ink! I am glad she ships to Houston and now has an Etsy store.

Banner I made of Sidney's pics from each month of her first year

Blind dates and birthday parties

This weekend we went to a birthday party for Charlotte and Carter. I met Jordan, their Mommy through JR League. We had a blind lunch date about a month ago. I know that sounds funny but we literally had never met before and had only spoken through email. I am so thankful the date went well ;) We have had fun meeting up at the Children's Museum and seeing, "The Help" kid free! I am looking forward to starting JR league together and more play dates. Charlotte turned 1 and Carter turned 3. Sidney had a great time at the party, which was at the Nature Discovery Center. She loved the bunny and of course the lemonade and cupcake! We realized it was her first time drinking lemonade. She slurped it down!

Sweet girls

Sidney moving in on more cupcake!

The girls look thrilled. This was our best attempt with both looking.

Tasty lemonade!

Happy birthday Charlotte and Carter! Thanks for having us.

15 Months

Now-15 months old!

then- August last year

My baby is so big! She is my little buddy and we have so much fun. She is more active than ever. She loves filling up her purses from anything she can find around the house. She is starting to dance and loves listening to music. She still LOVES books and has an amazing attention span when listening to them. She has taken an interest in her baby dolls but Elmo is still her fav. Her favorite food is now applesauce and grilled cheese sandwich. This month was exciting because we took her to the beach for the first time, which I will post about later.

We went to our new pediatrician for Sidney's 15 month old checkup. I wish I could tell you what the Dr said but I have no clue.I was deafened by Sidney's crying and could not focus on anything! As soon as we walked into the office she started clinging to me, grabbing my hair, holding on for dear life and screaming. It was as if she knew what was coming! She did not calm down until after the shots and blood work. I think she had worn herself out from the tantrum! Daddy was able to come at the end of the appointment and meet the Dr. She was calm by then of course. She never acts up for Daddy! We had a good report and are so thankful for a very healthy baby. She is still in the high percentile for height and low for weight. She is still only 22 pounds! Crazy for a 9 pounder at birth.

reading with Daddy

little grump

looking at her battle wounds

out cold before we pulled out of the parking lot

On a side note I get so excited to see all the Pi Phi stuff at Texas Children's. Every book in the HUGE hospital and all of the doctor's offices was donated by the Houston Alum Club and directly from links to literacy from various chapters. They have these cute little pi phi "book nooks" everywhere. I tried to take a picture of the book nook itself but I was wrestling a cranky toddler.

What's for Dinner?

I have a confession. I am addicted to the blog "Kelly's Korner."I love reading it and I especially love her "Show Us Your Life" section. I noticed that she used to have a recipe blog. I clicked on the link and found several great ideas to try. We tried this one last week and it was EASY and TASTY! Thank you Kelly and I wish you were still doing your recipe blog.

Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and New Potatoes

click here for recipe!

Back to School Idea-Gift for Teacher

I can't believe it's time for back to school already! For me this year nothing is changing, which I am very thankful for. Since Sidney has had separation anxiety lately I can't imagine having to leave her at a new place. I do plan to have more of a routine and schedule around our house though. We now have our set activities and are getting some what used to Craig's CRAZY hours. On Tuesday we have Bible Study. It's a group of mom's all with young children. Half of the time we end up just talking and it's great! Sidney goes into the Kingdom Kids Nursery and she is starting to enjoy it and play with the other kids. Wednesday we have our play group. There are about 12 girls and we take turns hosting. So far we are meeting lots of nice people! Thursday we have Song Play, which will be starting next month. It's at church also so Sidney is really starting to recognize some familiar faces. So, that leaves Monday and Friday open. Those days usually turn into pool days or play dates. So with all that business I guess that's why I can't believe it's mid August!

I saw this idea at Keeping Life Creative. Even though my little one is not in school yet, I thought this was adorable. Being a former teacher I would have really appreciated this cute gesture!

First Day of School Survival Kits