Family Happenings

Well, I'm back from my somewhat intentional blogging hiatus. Many things have been going on, but I'll give you the briefest version.

The Big Sis turned five and we had a great Barbie/Princess/everything pink birthday party for her with six friends. We just went swimming and had a pinata and played some games and it went over really well. The only unfortunate part was the renegade party guest who blew out the Big Sis's candles before she did. Oh well, we just lit them again and gave her a bonus candle blow-out. It was a fun time and we also celebrated later on in the day with some aunts and uncles and grandparents at Chuck E. Cheese, where the Princess really let loose dancing in front of the blue screen. I guess when you're five you lose all inhibition.





We went later that week to my cousin Carrie's wedding, which was really exciting! I wish we could have had more time together with our cousins, but you know how weddings are. It was sure fun to see everyone, including my sisters. We had a blast. And once again, the Princess and her grandpa made their mark on the dance floor, with a swing routine they'd been practicing. It was way cute!



We had some of my nieces and nephews visit from Dallas this past week, and that was a way fun time, going swimming with Grammie, and going to the Houston Children's Museum. The Princess's favorite part is always painting her own face. She and her cousin Ashley somehow created this make believe "sassy poodle puppy," that they were playing with all week long (Sometimes they took turns being the sassy poodle puppy, and so at the museum, they painted their faces to look like it). They were also very interested in these bendy straw-looking things at the museum that you could build just about anything with and we played there for quite a while.



And just in case you were wondering what the large structure in our backyard is, it's the Ark we're building, because at our house, we are about to float away. This picture actually is the front of our house. Last night, it rained hard and for a long time, and our street has never done this before, but it flooded. I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but it was up past the mailbox and even covering the sidewalk right up to the front of the lawn. And it was fairly deep. It drained off very quickly once the rain stopped, but it had been pouring, and our already water logged neighborhood was struggling to keep up with the rain.



Last but not least, don't let this innocent cute little face fool you. We have reached with Little Brother what I would like to call the "no-no" phase of his life. What I mean is, he is crawling, and we are having to tell him, "no no!" quite a bit lately. Actually, crawling is a generous word for what he is doing, which sort of resembles the breaststroke out of water. Swinging the arms around and pushing frog-like with the legs. But it works for him, and it has definitely increased his speed. And consequently, he is putting many different and many more things in his mouth than before. One time this week, while over at Grammie's house, I noticed an increased amount of drool, so I knew there was something in there. And I was surprised to find not one thing, but four different things he was working on, for who knows how long. The inventory went like this: a bead, a dried up grape stem, a sticker, and a bur. Where he found these things in the house is anyone's guess, but I guess when you're small and can reach tight spaces, the world opens up to you.



Two more things... I was slightly alarmed at my reaction yesterday when someone underestimated my age. This happens really frequently, and is often annoying, as when someone came through my wedding reception line and told me I looked like I was 14. But the reason why I was alarmed this time, was that when I told someone I was 25, and they were like, "no way!" I was actually kind of flattered. It's the beginning of the end. I'm getting older.

Tonight, Big Sis was picking who was going to put her to bed tonight using the riddle game that we play and she said, "it's someone who has curly hair... and someone who likes to sleep a lot!" It was funny in that way that kinda makes you feel bad, because it's true and I do like to sleep a lot and it's funny that she noticed. And anyway, the last time she picked her dad, she said something sweet, "Someone who... likes to brush my hair really soft!" So that's her dad. And then there's me, who just likes to sleep a lot. Oh well, I bet good night's rest will make me feel better about that comment. :)