New Favorite Restaurant

Last weekend, when my Mom was visiting, we snuck out on Sunday night to have dinner. I ate at Takoba on East 7th with friends and it was so good and unique that I really wanted to take Marcus.

The food is wonderful- pork tacos marinated in pineapples. It is sweet and nutty. I love them! We ate outside on the patio and both had an adult beverage. I might drink once a year- it just doesn't appeal to me. However, Sangria with a cinnamon stick sounded like something I would like. It was good!

We also splurged and had dessert. On the left is my Coconut Souffle with fresh pineapples. The right is Marcus' super rich chocolate cake.

I highly recommend visiting Takoba!

Flying with Daddy

Abby loves anything that lets her jump and fly in the air. Marcus found a new position to hold her in that allows him to really lift her high!

Her holds her like the cowboys do the small calves at the rodeo :)

She would just laugh the entire time she was flying.

Then, they would land in the big yellow chair and Abby would say, "one more time!"

Who needs a gym!

Dinner with Granpa and JaJa

After Billa's party on Saturday afternoon, we went to see Granpa and JaJa for dinner. We were on their side of town, so it made sense. We lucked out and they made us a nice dinner!

Abby had fun riding in the golf cart, playing peek-a-boo, seeing all the toys, and showing off.

We kept her out past her bedtime and luckily, she was a good girl for our visit and stayed awake all the way home and then went right to bed. We are so blessed!

Billa's Birthday Party

Our little friend Billa turned three recently and we celebrated her birthday on Saturday afternoon. Don't you just love her cheeks?

She had a Scooby Doo party and we spent most of the time playing outside with all the little people. It was such a pretty day to be outdoors! Abby got to practice being in the big girl swing. Daddy got to practice showing restraint!

While Billa was opening presents Abby started rolling a ball with one of the adults at the party. She has never met a stranger!

I think Abby has figured out that parties means yummy treats- she was so excited about having a cupcake and only ate the icing!

The oreo cake ball is another story. She ate that with the speed of a hot dog eating champion. Why is it when I introduce a new meat or vegetable to her for the first time she has such apprehension, but an oreo ball doesn't get a second glance?

Happy Birthday Billa! Thanks for having us over to celebrate with you.

16 Years Later

Marcus and I starting dating and shared our first kiss 16 years ago this past Saturday. We joked that Marcus still has a couple of shirts from before we met. I'm not even kidding. I don't know that I own any clothes from before 2005. We met September 25, 1994 and began dating February 26, 1995. I am so grateful for both of those days and the man behind them.

Mom was visiting so we celebrated with a nice dinner in the Domain and then a performance at our church by comedian/singer/songwriter Tim Hawkins. He was hilarious- we both really liked him. He is all over You Tube if you want to see some of his bits. He is most famous for the Chick-fil-A song.

I joked with Marcus on Facebook the day before that gifts were expected. He did a good job. When we were in college, on Friday nights, we would pick a random cheap item and go on a mission to find it. That was practically free fun for college students. So, we went on a mission and bought me all kinds of random things, silly things I like or even a few things we needed. We had just recently broken our small whisk for example!

I love you Mr. Jenk- thank you for filling my life with love, happiness, sillyness, and someone to share cake with.

Wacky Day for Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and Abby's school is celebrating with wacky clothes, bring in a fun hat and your favorite book.

We own a Dr. Seuss related shirt, but it was dirty, so we want wacky with over the top zebra and a tutu and lopsided piggies. Sure, that was intentional :)

She also packed her DJ Lance Rock orange hat and her favorite Yo Gabba Gabba book- Party in My Tummy. I hope she has a fun day with her friends and the "Doctor".

Unique Sense of Style

After pulling out the hats and glasses last week, you'll be hard pressed to show up at our house and not see Abby in something crazy. This was Saturday morning before story time. She looks like a little old bitty :)

The full ensemble... a little ole bitty who thinks she is a princess?

Her teacher at school yesterday made my day- she said, "if I have a girl one day, I want to dress her just like you dress Abby." Love it!

For the Wedding Slideshow...

Anytime we get funny pictures of Abby, Marcus and I always laugh that they will be perfect for her wedding slideshow. That slideshow will take hours at this rate! I hope her future husband's Momma is taking funny pictures at this stage, too!

Last night Abby tried on a bunch of Marcus' hats- these are silly hats he uses juggling with the kids at church or from Halloween's past. Abby thought it was so much fun- I have a feeling she will pull these out again!

Abby as Captain Jack Sparrow

Abby in her blond mullet- I swear Marcus has never worn this one!

Her clown wig that started this evening of fun

Abby the Viking- Marcus was a fan when Culpepper was the QB and I bought him this hat for Halloween that year.

Crabby Abby- I purchased this one in Boston visiting my friend Meg and it took on a whole new meaning with Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech football player)

Finally, playing peek-a-boo! We'll pull this one out again on St. Patrick's Day. Um, yea, I think I bought this one, too!

And our recent purchase and favorite- the DJ Lance Rock hat and glasses from Yo Gabba Gabba.

I love that God gave Abby a personality bigger than her body right now! She makes me excited to get her in the morning and with all that spunk and energy, excited to put her to bed!

President's Day Fun

Marcus and Abby both had the day off of work on Monday and spent the day doing fun stuff together. They had a late Starbucks, went to the gym to workout and play, and then came and picked me up for lunch! After a long nap, they met our friends Caroline and Madeline at the Big Bounce. It is an inflatable wonderland less than a mile from our house!

The girls had the place to themselves and minus a little drama from my child, ran around and had a great time.

Sweet Madeline is shy around new people and has warmed up to Marcus. It was so nice to see her let him hold her or for her to walk away from her Momma with him. She is the smartest child and to see that and her personality come out around us is just wonderful!

The girls on a little snack break from all the running and jumping and sliding fun!

They got down around 5:30 and I met them for dinner. Can you tell how much Abby wants to be like Madeline. In both these pictures she is watching her every move! Abby would not sit in a highchair since Madeline was in a big girl chair.

After dinner when saying goodbye the girls hugged and kissed like old friends.

Keeping It Real

I get these too.

Girls Night Out

Marcus had a work function on Friday night, so Abby and I made our own fun! I gave her the option of Chick-fil-a or Fuddrucker's for dinner. Those waffle fries will tell you what she picked! We had so much fun sitting at the table eating our dinner together. She ate chicken, fries, and the lettuce, cheese and croutons from my salad. She looked like such a big girl since I didn't have a diaper bag with me. She had no bib or sippy cup- so grown up!

After dinner we went to the pet store. I've wanted to take her in there for a long time- she loved seeing the mice, ferrets, fish, and birdies.

We then went next door to the Kid-to-Kid resale shop and I ended up buying her 2 headbands with bows. They help keep her hair out of her face and look so cute with her little bob haircut. I picked out pink for her and then asked her to pick orange or green. She was insistent on us buying baby blue. I am certain it is her favorite color.

We then ran to Barnes and Noble and let her read a few books and play with the trains. She loves getting on the story time stage and seeing everyone. We were home by 8 PM, just in time for Daddy to get home and put her to bed.

I am sad so much of the baby stages are behind us, but I love seeing her become more independent and thinking of the fun we can have!

Sesame Street Live

This afternoon Abby saw her 2nd live performance/concert and her first at the Frank Erwin Center.

We saw Sesame Street Live! This is one of those events I would hear about on the radio or see on a billboard and wish I had kids to take. It included new characters like Abby Cadabby and Zoe and oldies from when we watched the show like Oscar, Grover, Big Bird, etc. There was even Prairie Dawn from the 80's that I didn't remember!

Abby was great for the 1st hour and then the last 30 minutes were tough. She would point and call out their name, dance and clap along with the songs, and smiled the whole time. She got to try Kettle Korn for the first time and loved it.

The show ended about 6 PM and since we were in the UT area, we hoped over to Lamar to eat at Cafe Express. They are one of my Dallas-area favorites that came to Austin a few months ago. The Chicken Pesto Pasta Deli salad is wonderful!

Abby loved the free breadsticks (crunchy like a cracker) and her grilled cheese and fruit. I caught her starting to say, "cheese".

We had a fun-filled family day! I loved it!

Girls Day

My sister and I both drove to Fredericksburg to give our kids some time with Nana and to spend time without them. It was so nice to see, talk and shop with her without a little person around. We have to make it an annual tradition- everyone wins. Our husbands had alone time. Nana and the kids were happy to be together and we got to shop Main Street.

We both bought lots of fun things- shoes, belts, jewelry, home stuff, fabric, gifts for the kids, etc. I loved the fabric on embroidery hoops in this store. So cute and vintage. They had oil cloth galore including by the yard. My sister wanted to oil cloth the workout bench in their home gym. Lucky for her husband I convinced her not to.

Abby and Cohen had fun with Nana- playing, eating a yummy lunch (apparently my child likes black eyed peas!!!) and napping. We gave them giant marshmallows for being so good for Nana.

After an early dinner, Abby and I drove home to see Daddy! In total we spent 3.5 hours in the car today and this girl cracked me up. I don't want to forget how funny this age can be!

A few examples:

At one point in the car, Abby had been talking non-stop for a good 5 minutes and I looked back at her. She said, "I'm talking to myself."

We currently love to sing. While singing a sweet version of Jesus Loves Me, I was driving and thinking what a sweet good little girl I have. Then, the singing stopped for Abby to loudly proclaim, "Look Momma, I pick my nose."

Finally, Abby has picked up my habit of saying "how about" in a drawn out manner. When I am giving her options, I often ask how about blank or blank. So, she was talking to herself and would ask:

How About Twinkle Twinkle Little star?

Alright.

Alright.

... and then begin singing.

Hilarious!

Grateful

Look at these two happy little girls who share a unique journey and I know will live extraordinary lives.

We had dinner with Ellie and her parents on Wednesday night and had so much fun seeing the girls play together. We've done many dinners together with Mo and Jess and this had to be the happiest one yet! He really does answer prayers.

GIANT Marshmallow

Abby favorite treat is marshmallows. She will do most anything- eat her veggies, go to bed without crying, use the big girl potty for marshmallows.

Can you imagine her excitement when we bought her these HUGE marshmallows?

No telling what I will be able to get her to do for these!

Our First Snow Cone

Saturday after story time, Nana and I met Abby and Marcus at Moonie's for burgers. Abby's kids meal came with a snow cone and we let her enjoy her first one.

I picked banana since it was the lightest color. She did great- since she wanted it so badly she really focused her spoon to not lose any of her snow cone.

I ate so many snow cones while pregnant with her. It was my biggest craving. We drove around town to find snow cone stands open in the dead of winter. We had them daily while in Hawaii. Marcus even brought them to me at work many afternoons.

There was really no doubt she would like them.

Wordless Wednesday- Fashion Faux Pas