March 21, 2007

Trip to Austin





Thank You, PaPa!!

My Dad has develolped the best little tradition with Savannah.
Every time we visit California, he takes her to the local Hallmark store to pick out a special stuffed toy. The store has quite an impressive selection, and they enjoy taking a lot of time to look through the entire inventory & choosing the one that is JUST right. This time, Savannah chose 3 flowers--red, white & blue--to take back to Texas.
Thank you, PaPa!!!!

Good Friends...

So, I did make it to California, and I had SUCH a fun trip. It was nice to spend the week relaxing, enjoying California weather, and spending time with my family. One of the best parts of the trip was lunch with my mom, Dianne, Liz & Katie Kroutil & Lynne French. They're all wonderful friends from my childhood, and it was just so great to catch up with them. I'm so glad we had a chance to visit.

The Flying Fish

We recently had quite the entertaining evening eating dinner at "The Flying Fish." It's a very kid-friendly spot with a great covered patio. Savannah got a big kick out of the restaurant's "Singing Fish Adoption Wall". The kids were both in especially good moods, the weather was really nice, and we just enjoyed being out together.

Happy Spring!

Several weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, Rod & Savannah took a trip to the local nursery to buy a few flats of flowers to plant in our front yard! It was a beautiful day & just a perfect time for us to make our first attempt at planting flowers. Savannah enjoyed digging in the dirt & worked so hard she had to take a long, relaxing break in the swing.


February 25, 2007

False Start!

I had the craziest day yesterday!
The kids & I have been planning a trip to California, to visit my parents. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 11:20am on Saturday. Of course, I stayed up WAY too late on Friday night packing & making sure everything was JUST RIGHT for my first flight alone, with the 2 kids.
We left the house Saturday morning at 9:30am. Everything went our way—no traffic, no line at the ticket counter, a smooth passage through security, and a pretty graceful entrance onto the airplane (of course, I had my hands & mind VERY full, but the kids & other passengers were very cooperative).
After the plane drove out to the runway, the pilot announced that, due to high winds, we would have to wait for take-off. Luckily, a rule was just put in place that limits passenger “entrapment” on an airplane to 3 hours. So, after 3 hours on a completely full plane, in a middle seat, with an infant in my arms (who eats & poops a LOT!) and a very busy toddler by my side (thank goodness for snacks, books & the dvd player!) we returned to the gate. We then stood in line for another 2 hours to re-book our trip. Rod came to pick us up, gather our luggage & bring us home. By then, it was 5:30pm.
So, we’re going to try again on Tuesday morning—I’m leaving our bags packed & anticipating a better day.
Wish us luck!!
(Special thanks to Rod--he gets the "Super Dad/Husband Award" for giving Will his bottles last night & for taking both kids to church this morning while I slept & slept & slept...)

February 18, 2007

The Dallas Zoo with Dad!

We recently spent a cold Saturday morning introducing Rod to the Dallas Zoo.
Savannah was pretty fired up when Daddy agreed to ride the wooden horses with her (she is yelling, "yee haw!")Will took a break in the animal-shaped bean bags.
Savannah got to hold & play with the mice--she loved it.

February 17, 2007

Trip to Arizona

Rod & I took the kids to Arizona 2 weeks ago. It was Will's first visit with the Hinze family. We had such a nice time (Arizona is a GREAT place to be in January!)
Will & Savannah with Grandma & Grandpa Hinze
Hinze Girls' Night Out!
My special & wonderful visit with Christie!

Arizona Trip--Makutu's Island

One of the highlights of our Arizona Trip was our visit to Makutu's Island--a 20,000 square foot indoor playground! We spent HOURS running, climbing, sliding, and having an unbelievable time. Savannah was truly in her "happy place." She is such a dare devil--she'll climb anything & she even ended up going down the slides backwards & head first. Rod was dripping with sweat from playing so hard. What fun!



My Boys

I couldn't resist posting this picture of my boys.
Rod is such an amazing father. He loves his babies so much (too much?!) You can just see it in his eyes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a great Valentine's Day.
Savannah goes to the BEST little preschool. One of the mothers volunteered to host a special Valentine's Day celebration. Savannah's FABULOUS teacher, Miss Amie, offered to hold Will (in the background of this picture) so I could spend time helping Savannah make her Valentine Bag.
Savannah loved using the glitter glue--she was very focused.
Rod gave me beautiful roses (purchased from the young women as a camp fundraiser!) & arranged for a babysitter for both kids while we went out. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner, gelato & a bit of shopping. It was so nice to get away! I made this fresh loaf of whole wheat oatmeal bread for Rod & prepared a special dinner the day after Valentine's Day.

Will's New Spot!

We recently got this fabulous little infant chair for Will & he LOVES it!
He is SUCH a happy little dude & he just loves getting lots of attention from his mommy. So, I can just plop him in this chair & set it on the kitchen counter while I cook, next to my bathroom sink while I'm doing my hair & make-up, or on the table while I'm working on a project. Will just hangs out & stares, laughs, and smiles at me while I get my day done!

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

Today, we went to our first Mardi Gras party! Our neighbors across the street moved here about 6 months ago from Louisiana & they put on quite the shin-dig.

Savannah was queen of the beads & spent a LOT of time choosing her customized collection!

The food was unbelievable--we had etouffee, seafood gumbo, shrimp, king cake & more!

Rod & I stopped to pose with our crawfish before throwing them into the boiler!

The kids gathered around the driveway for crawfish races--so funny!!

January 24, 2007

2 Month Check Up

I recently took Will to his 2 month check up. He had such a fun time laying on the exam table—kicking & stretching & hearing the paper crinkle underneath him.
He weighs 11 lb. 10 oz., is in the 50th percentile for weight, 25th for length, and 30th for head.
I can’t believe how fast he is growing!!

 
  Posted by Picasa

Working Out

Savannah is having such a fun time teaching Will how to play!
When I do my pilates video, I pull out this play mat & the three of us all get a little floor workout together. The other day, while the video was on, Savannah ran over to Will & started lifting his legs while saying, “up and down, up and down.” She’s already helping him develop some serious core strength!
 
  Posted by Picasa

January 12, 2007

Shopping at the Science Place

A few days ago, we went to play at the Science Place.
Savannah's favorite exhibit was the mini grocery store, where she was able to fill up her own cart & run her items through the scanner. She's already a shopping pro!


Story Time!

The kids & I headed downtown today for Story Time at the Dallas Public Library. Savannah had a complete blast! However, for Savannah, the real fun didn't come from the actual STORY part of Story Time.

She LOVED dancing to the crazy music...

She enjoyed working on her snowman craft...

And who knew that Hide & Seek can actually be played by 3 kids in a completely empty room? (Not much hiding, but lots of seeking & lots of fun!)

January 04, 2007

Bath Time!

Since she is such a pro in the tub, I thought Savannah would enjoy teaching her brother a thing or two about bath time.
She loved climbing into the tub to wash him and even made up a song about cleaning Baby Will. Savannah is such a great helper & Will LOVES the water!!

 
  Posted by Picasa

January 03, 2007

Brother & Sister

All I can say is, "so far, so good." I'm sure they'll have their moments, but at this moment, Savannah & Will love each other very much!

The Dallas Zoo!

Today I took the kids, along with our friends, Carrie & Maren, to the Dallas Zoo. We had a complete blast.
It was a pretty chilly day (as you can see by the color of Jen & Savannah's noses!) & the zoo was practically empty. So, we all had a fabulous time on our exclusive tour! Will was a total trooper, staying quietly snuggled in his Bjorn the entire time.

I enjoyed feeding the birds. Savannah, however, was a bit cautious. She practically lost it when one of the birds landed on her head!

Standing at the monkey exhibit, while holding my own little monkeys!!

Savannah's face to face encounter with the gorilla. (She wanted to share her carrot with him!)

The highlight of the trip: The carousel! The operator let us go around two times. Savannah chose to ride on the black panther the first time around, and on the flying eagle the second time around. Her buddy, Maren, stuck with the beautiful white horses! The girls had a blast while the moms & Will got nice & dizzy!