Dancing Queen!

Amelia's teacher sent this to me today. She's dancing with her best buddy, Miles. She is so much braver (standing up on her own) when Mommy and Daddy aren't around.

Look Who's Almost Walking!

I just told Alex last night that I didn't think Amelia was interested in walking becasue she's the fastest crawler that I've ever seen. Well, today I walked into the daycare at lunch only to see Amelia walking/pushing around the room. Apparently she started doing this on the playground today and hasn't stopped since. She's so proud and so am I! Big Sister better watch out because Little Sister is going to be chasing her before long!

Two February Videos

Here is one video from the beginning of February at Ceci's birthday party at the Little Gym. Caroline was SO excited to be there that she had a hard time listening. Unfortunately, this led to Ceci not listening. We're working on it! The second video is of the girls crawling away from the bath. Another example of nobody listening to Mommy!!

Spring Break!

Playdate with school friends at Amy's Icecream and Phil's Icehouse (Caroline, Ceci, Nik, and Austin)


Here she's doing her evil smile- this is an improvement because she usually hides from the camera(Caroline, Ceci, Austin, Nik, Miles)





Today is our first day back at school after a great week off! We drove up to Athens the first weekend of the break. The girls are amazing travelers. Caroline talked the WHOLE time, but she didn't whine or need any other entertainment. Amelia slept a lot or just listened to her sister in awe of her endless chatter. Saturday, we went to the fish hatchery. We fed the fgiant catfish, visited the alligators and attempted to catch a fish. After that, we had lunch at the marina. It has a big porch and grassy lawn that's next to the lake that's perfect for kids. After nap, we took a couple cane poles and blanket down to the pond behind Nana and Pa's house. We still didn't catch anything, but it was fun. Alex and I went on a date that night to the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. We ate at the bar- something we used to do back in the day. The rest of the weekend we played and relaxed and let Caroline get her dog fix. Nana and Pa have FIVE dogs and the girls love them.

We drove back to Austin Monday, just in time for pizza and a movie. Daddy went back to work Tuesday and the girls and I met Ceci and Nicole at Zilker park for a playdate. The girls played on the playground and we rode the train. Ceci and Caroline sat by themselves and we sat behind them. They are growing up! Grandaddy drove down for a visit that afternoon. We love it when he comes to visit because he insists on ordering takeout and giving me a break! Wednesday, Grandaddy joined the girls and I on another playdate. We met several of Caroline's friends at Phil's Icehouse/Amy's Icecream. Another amazing place in Austin that has great food AND a playground. Thursday, we said goodbye to Grandaddy and we met Ceci and Nicole at The Austin Children's Museum. The girls had fun "building" things and then we met the Daddy's for lunch. It's so great that Caroline's bestfriend's Daddy works with Alex and her mommy and I work together too. This provides lots of opportunities for us to get them together. Friday, we took the day off of playdates and went to one of our favorite places, The Natural Gardener. Caroline loves to visit the donkeys, chickens, goats, play in the teepee, and pick out plants. I try to take her every couple weeks to pick out three plants to add to the yard/pots and I have to say that she's got a great eye!

Saturday, the famous Uncle Paul flew into town. We took him to lunch at the County Line- great view and great BBQ- Amelia's favorite. We had aspirations of going out to see some live music, but the crowds were huge so we grilled burgers and watched Sleeping Beauty. He got a full taste of a Mathes Saturday night! Sunday, Paul came with Caroline and I to Powell's, our neighbor's, birthday party. He's headed to San Antonio today for work and will be back Thursday for more family fun =)

It was a great Spring Break in Austin!!

Spring is Right Around the Corner!

Drawing with Powell, Caroline's best neighborhood friend. He's the third son...therefore clothing is optional =)

I've got to get this girl back to GA. She's become a "cow" fan aka longhorn.


Amelia LOVES BBQ and ribs from the County Line!!!

Happy Hour with Ceci and Taelyn. The girls loved dancing with the band. Freddy's Place has a playground and live music Friday's. Caroline has been begging to go back!

Amelia celebrated Valentine's Day with some tasty leaves!

Happy Valentine's Day!!


Baking Mommy's birthday cake!!

Amelia LOVES to pull everything out of the kitchen. Who knew that this was such a great baby toy!













Wow! January and February were a blur. They are probably my least favorite months. Work has been quite stressful and we have been battling endless colds. Thank goodness Spring Break is next week!!

A couple good things happened in February. I celebrated my birthday and Baby Brinson arrived! My birthday was on a Friday this year and I had not planned to take the day off. Well, mother nature arranged for me to have a snow day that Friday! We woke up to a beautiful blanket of white with a thin layer of ice underneath. It was such a rare treat for Austin!! Alex took me to dinner Saturday night to La Contessa, an amazing gourmet Mexican restaurant next to the new Austin City Limits theatre. Caroline helped make me an amazing chocolate cake with lots of sprinkles and she went shopping with her daddy for my present. She kept the secret for about an hour. We were in the kitchen cooking together when all of the sudden she looked up and said, "You need to go get your present out of Daddy's car. It's a red, sparkly necklace." Well, it was a beautiful turquoise necklace so she was half right =) Baby Brinson was a bit of a surprise coming a few weeks early, but he is doing great! He and Cat were able to leave the hospital right away and he's growing like a weed. Cat and Wes seem to be doing great. I just wish I lived closer to help! We cannot wait to meet the little man.

Caroline is growing up so quickly. Her favorite thing to do after school is to dress up as a teacher and "teach" Amelia and I. She can be very bossy =) Caroline and Powell, a boy her age that lives next door, have been playing together almost every day. They are constantly running back and forth between our houses. We celebrated her bestfriend Ceci's birthday in February at the Little Gym. Caroline told everyone that it was Ceci's birthday. She really honored her friend.

Caroline's really into Peter Pan and Cinderella. I used to dream and talk about Peter Pan when I was little and I love the fact that she has fallen in love with the story too. She is constantly asking about Captain Hook and the tic-tocking crocodile. She also seems to have a little crush on Micheal. I'm interested to see if she's going to bring home a tall, skinny, boy that wears thick glasses and a top hat. Last week, Caroline spilled a cup of water all over the kitchen floor and I made her get a towel and clean it up. She told me that she was just like Cinderella. Does that make me an evil stepmother/stepsister???

Amelia is still our little sweet pea. She is a super fast crawler and she's starting to travel on her feet by holding onto things. Unfortunately, our little Mia is still putting everything in her mouth. Caroline and I were planting last week and Amelia crawled over to us and the next thing I knew, she had a mouth full of mud! It's pay back for Alex and I laughing at other kids eating sand when Caroline was a baby.

We have gone into full spring gear with lots of planting projects. Caroline is an avid gardener. We went to the kite festival in Zilker Park yesterday and had a lot of fun. I had no idea that there could be so many kites in one place! Amazing! Caroline talked to everyone and asked to pet every dog she could find. She doesn't have a shy bone in her body or any fear of dogs. We've got some work to do about strangers and unfriendly dogs!

We're headed to Athens this weekend for some family time on the farm and then back home for a relaxing week off. I can't wait!

Amelia's Baptism

Amelia was supposed to the baptised on the 26th of December, but mother nature had other plans. There was still snow on the ground and it was freezing cold so we decided to postpone until the 30th. It was just family instead and very special. Amelia was the perfect angel and Caroline was impressed that she liked the water on her head! Amelia made quite a face when Terry put salt in her mouth, but she still didn't fuss. It was a nice close to our trip to Georgia.

Goats on the Roof and Tallulah Gorge

We drove up to the mountains after Christmas to take a quick hike and see some goats. The gorge was beautiful as always and Caroline loved the visitor's center. The goats on the roof was the big hit. We will definitely make the drive to see that again!