Fun Comparisons!

I haven't done a comparison of the girls in a while, so I thought it might be fun to compare the girls in the bluebonnets! Sometimes, I look at Natalie and totally see Avery when she was a baby... and other days, I look at her and don't think they look alike at all. Let's see what you think!

 Avery (above) at 8 months old.  She weighed about 18lbs with stunningly big blue eyes, dark brown almost reddish hair, pale porcelain like skin, and two bottom teeth with the biggest smile on her face all the time!  I dressed her in lots of blues all the time to bring out those beautiful blue eyes. 

Natalie at 9 1/2 months old.  She weighs 22+ lbs with pretty hazel/brown eyes, lighter brown hair, pale but slightly tanner skin, two bottom teeth with chubbier cheeks, and a happy sweet smile.  I seem to dress her in pinks more than blues. 

Our girls definitely look like sisters, but are unique in their own special ways.  I enjoy looking back at pictures of Avery when she was Natalie's age and seeing what she was doing and wearing.  It seems like yesterday that Avery was 9 months old, playing in my tupperwear drawers, pulling out ziplock bags, crawling through the doggie door, playing peek-a-boo, pulling up on furniture, and doing all the cute little things that Natalie is doing now!  These months just go by so fast! 

Bluebonnets 2012

The bluebonnets are in FULL bloom this year, so we definitely had to take advantage of the beautiful fields of blue and get some cute pictures of the kids....

 A few of the girls...

 Avery - 2 years 7 months

 Natalie - 9 1/2 months

 It was no easy task, but we managed to get some of all of the cousins...

Courtney, Garrett, Avery, Natalie, and Peyton

And a couple pictures of our family of 4!

Grandma's 86th Birthday Lunch

Grandma turns 86 this week, so we celebrated with a little family lunch today.  We are incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful Grandma in our lives, who is always so loving, so supportive, so giving, so thoughtful.  And it is really something special to have a Great-Grandmother... our kids have no idea how lucky they are.  We are so thankful for everything she is to us!  Happy Birthday Grandma!  We love you!!!

 We finally got a picture of the whole gang with their Grandparents and Great-Grandma!

 The 5 Grandkids with their NaNa and PaPa

 PaPa and the 2 little ones, who look like they could be twins! 

Natalie and Peyton had so much fun playing together!

Little things...

Cherish the little things... because one day you'll look back and realize that they were the BIG things!

We've had lots of  "little" things happening at our house this week.

 Natalie started crawling this week!  She'll be 9 months old on Tuesday.

 Sweet girl... she's been kind of sickly for the past month.  Hoping she gets to feeling better soon!

 Ted says that there are 2 people in Natalie's world right now... Mommy and someone that is NOT Mommy.  She loves her Mommy... she made my day this weekend by saying Momma!!!

 Avery has really grown up this week!  She is pretty much potty trained now and is able to climb out of her crib now... so, looks like we'll be turning it into a toddler bed really soon!!!

 We just love our silly girl!

 2 1/2 is such a great age!!!

I just love my sweet girls!!!  I just feel so lucky to be their Mommy and cherish all of these precious "little" moments.  I know that I will look back in several years and wish for anything to be back during these days when the girls just think the world of their Mommy and Daddy, and life is busy but simple, exhausting but fun. 

Cousins and a Big Birthday Party!

This week was a really fun week!  Tisha and Tanner visited from Montana, so that meant lots of cousin time, and we celebrated Ted's Dad's 60th Birthday with a suprise party on Saturday with all of us and his close friends.  Of course, we took lots and lots of pictures... so I'll just let them do the talking this week!

 Tanner (5 1/2 months) Natalie (8 1/2 months) and Peyton (nearly 4 months)

 Peyton came over for a little playdate with his cousins and cousin in-law.  It's so much fun getting the 3 little baby cousins together!!! 

 This was the 3 of them about 2-3 months ago... they've all gotten a little bigger and older looking!

 An attempt at getting a picture of all 4 of the kids together... always challenging! 

 They had so much fun together!

 Riding in the stroller together at our park... so cute!!

 Waiting at the park on Saturday in Houston before suprising Ted's Dad with a party!

Group shot at the party!

 Happy 60th Grandpa!

Loved getting the cousins together!!! 

Such great memories... until next time!!!

A little bit of this... and a little bit of that

It's been a busy couple of weeks with sick kids (3 calls from daycare in 2 weeks), a friend's wedding (fun times!), snow flakes, hanging out with family, Valentine's Day (romantic dinner for a family of 4!), and our usual day to day busy routine.  We are thankful for a quiet, rainy, lazy weekend to relax and recover. 
Here are a few pictures from the last week....

 Natalie's first snow!  (Although you can't really see the snow flakes in these pictures)

 Avery got to wear her winter coat for the first time this year... for a day, that is!

 Aren't these cousins so cute?!?!?  They are the same size and 4 months apart!  haha

 So fun!

 Natalie came home in pig tails twice this week... so cute!!!

Poor baby has had it pretty rough the past 2 weeks... but hopefully, she's on the mend today and will stay well for a while!

Avery is 2 and a half years old!

Avery is officially 2 1/2 years old today!  We look at her every day and are just so amazed at how much she has grown up since she turned 2.  She talks so well now, and is becoming more and more independent around the house.  She "doesn't miss a beat" according to her teachers at school.  She cracks us up, because she will now tell us things that we tell her all the time... like "Be careful Mommy, it's hot and it might burn you" or "Do not spill that" or "Do not wake up Natalie."  She likes to do everything by herself.  She LOVES watching Dora and snuggling with us on the couch with her blanky.  She is so good with Natalie now, they will just sit and play on the floor or watch Dora together, they take baths together... it is just so sweet!  We are really loving this age, and the sweet, smart, affectionate little girl that Avery is growing into!

 This is just such a funny, silly age!  She won't stop and pose for pictures, so we take what we can get!

 She still LOVES shoes and playing dress up!  She picked out this outfit for church last weekend!

Bubble Bath time!

 

Attempting a couple of pictures of the two of them... which wasn't very successful!  Ha!