Lila's Nursery

The room is officially ready to welcome Baby Lila!

I'm so happy with how it all turned out & must give extra thanks to my mom for helping me put it all together.

I thought I was going to be ok with keeping the walls green, but then had a completely serious last-minute urge to "pink it out". I called the painter yesterday morning, and within 8 hours had a totally fantastic, totally girly nursery. Hooray!

Can't wait to bring Lila home!!

What in the World???!!!

I just had the CRAZIEST experience.

I went in for my last appointment before the baby comes--to have my eyebrows done.

The salon is very small, and I rarely see anyone else in the waiting room. Today when I walked in, 2 other ladies were there, checking out. One of the ladies was making a follow-up appointment & told the receptionist her name is "Lila". It caught my attention, because Lila is the name we've chosen for our baby.

Before the lady left, I decided to ask her whether she likes her name, just to get some last-minute reassurance (or warning!) about the name. She was super sweet & went on & on about how much she loves being Lila. I was so glad to hear it!

As we discussed the name, I mentioned that my 4-year-old daughter's name is Savannah, and that I thought Savannah & Lila sound sweet together. Immediately, the other woman in the room turned around in shock & told me she is Lila's sister, they are 4 years apart, and her name is Savannah.

We all laughed & just couldn't believe the crazy coincidence. Imagine, running into sisters named Savannah & Lila, the day before I'm going to have my own little Savannah & Lila duo.

Too weird!

I couldn't resist taking a picture...Here are the other Savannah & Lila sisters! (Can't wait to post pictures of my Savannah & my Lila together!!)

I'm Going to Miss You, Baby!

I'm counting down the hours now...so close to having this baby & so ready to hold her in my arms. I have to admit, however, that I'm going to miss carrying this little bug in my belly. I've grown so accustomed to having her with me all the time & to feeling her crazy movements (she's definitely been the busiest of my 3 babies). I just love it.

I've spent the last 2 weeks in crazy, crazy nesting mode--organizing closets, replacing shelf liner, washing everything--I think I'm almost ready.

Just a few more finishing touches for the nursery, and then I'll post pictures.

1 more day to prep!

Chuck E. Cheese

One of the things I love most about living close to downtown is all of the fantastic, "cultural/educational" activities available to my children...Zoo, Aquarium, Arboretum, Science Place, Various Museums, etc. etc.

That being said...

We totally love Chuck E. Cheese.

I recently took the kids on a weekday morning. There were about 10 other children there. I took a book & read while my kids ran wild. I spent $6 on the all-you-can eat salad bar, which completely & nutritiously satisfied 3 hungry tummies. I spent $5 on quarters. The kids tore through the money in less than an hour. I told them we could stay, but that we had no more tokens. They insisted on staying, completely token-less, for 3 more hours. I took the kids home & they both napped for 2 hours.

It was awesome. Totally relaxing, totally fun, and totally "un-urban"...

Too Cute

I don't have a whole lot to say about this picture...I just think it's really cute.

The kids & I went to the Arboretum last week for playgroup. We stayed for hours, just enjoying good friends & the beautiful gardens. We played in the water, and Will was so so so happy to run around like a crazy man.

Pure Happiness:

Post-Birthday Celebrations

Although the pool party was fantastic, we couldn't resist celebrating Savannah's birthday a couple more times with some very important people...

We held a special "Parfait Party" (homemade vanilla ice cream, sprinkles, cherries, whipped cream...the works!) with 5 of Savannah's closest friends, who were out of town earlier in August. We had a blast!

When Grandma came to Dallas, we just had to use Savannah's birthday as an excuse to devour our favorite cake from Stein's Bakery (unbelievably delicious!) We're so glad she's here with us!!!

AUGUST 31ST!!!!!

I am officially registered at the hospital & scheduled (I'll be induced) to deliver our baby on...

Sunday, August 31st!

My mom came into town today (hooray for help from Grandma!) & we're excited to spend these next few days preparing for this little one.

I'll post more pictures before then but, for now, wish us good luck!!!

Savannah's Crazy Idea...

Although I'm sure the baby-doll stroller was not built to carry 22-month-old children (and probably came with a specific warning against it), Savannah had the idea to push Will all over the house in it, at lightning-fast speeds.

Will agreed to go along with his sister's crazy idea, but he insisted that he be buckled up & that they both wear hats.

After almost an hour of crazy running, Savannah's sweaty body collapsed on the couch.

We were all laughing so hard, our stomachs hurt!

Super Daddy

Rod is just way too fun with the kids.

We are so blessed to have such a loving, attentive, super-cool Daddy in our family!

Family Night: Bike/Run The Rock

We live about 10 minutes away from White Rock Lake. It's a beautiful spot in Dallas, with a 9.5 mile-long paved trail that runs around the lake.

I've had a kid seat on the back of my bike since Savannah was very young, and Rod recently purchased a fantastic trailer that has seats for 2 more! So, we loaded up my bike & headed out for some fun.

Rod was in a hard-core mood, so he opted to run, rather than ride, the entire 9.5 miles. The weather was beautiful, the kids did great, & we just enjoyed a nice, long, family evening together.

Pulling my brood (We can't wait for the baby to get here to fill that vacant trailer seat!)

My studly husband (I made him pose for this one)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH!!!

Savannah officially turned 4 on Tuesday, August 12th!

It's hard to believe she is growing up so fast. But, we can all agree, she only gets better with age! We love you SO much, Savannah!!!



The BIG celebration was held at our neighborhood pool on Friday night.

The day of the party was very stormy, so we prepared to switch the venue to our house. However, we COMPLETELY lucked out. As the day progressed, the sky cleared up, and the weather was just perfect--one of the coolest, most pleasant evenings of the summer!

We had a fantastic turnout (30+ kids) & practically had the pool all to ourselves. We had so much fun eating pizza & treats, swimming, and enjoying the company of all of our wonderful, supportive friends. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by such great people here in Texas!

As always, I got a huge kick out of preparing for the party.

Some pictures of my home-made creations...

The flip flop birthday cake, complete with neon blue Twizzler straps:


Martha Stewart's recipe for "Sprinkles" Strawberry Cupcakes (SO delicious!!), adorned with hot pink flamingos:


Chocolate cupcakes, topped with blue "water" frosting, cookie crumble "beach", and paper umbrellas:


A sampling of the tote bags for the kids--each filled with color-coordinating flip-flops, hat, sunglasses, lei, and ring pop:


Our happy birthday beauty:


Enjoying attention from good friend, Stacey:


Blowing out the candles:


Showing off:





Little brother Will was patient, but not very happy, with the lack of attention sent his way. (he was easy to please with a few extra ring pops)


Posing in front of her loot:


Savannah, we look forward to SO many more fun birthday celebrations. There is just no way I can adequately describe the blessings you bring into the lives of your family & your friends. You are sweet, happy, crazy, adventurous, thoughtful, creative, smart, and SO MUCH FUN! Watching you grow brings me complete joy. Thank you for being you!

Safety Town

On Friday, the kids & I went to playgroup at "Safety Town".

Savannah, posing on the fire truck:

Will, completely fascinated:

Holding the firehose:

I wish I had more to say about Safety Town...but it was pretty random.
It's way out in Frisco (a suburb 30 minutes away) & we really didn't learn anything about safety. But, we had fun...so we're good!

Counting Down

Savannah & I made a chain the other day, to officially count down our days until the baby comes. She is SO excited to meet her little sister & I can hardly wait for that moment in the hospital, when Savannah & Will see the baby for the first time. SO EXCITING!!!

The Critter Man

Last weekend, after I thought we had "seen it all" with birthday parties, we went to the best one yet! The Critter Man came to host the party & he brought all of his Texas animal friends along. He was amazing--he not only entertained the children, but he also completely fascinated the adults. He brought a live snake, alligator, opossum, barn owl, ferret, and armadillo.

We all learned so much, and Savannah is still talking about it.

Will LOVES Gymnastics

Will is completely loving his gymnastics class.

He does a great job following the warm-up routine, and his VERY favorite is swinging on the bars (although the beam is a close second!)

Mark Your Calendars!!!

I just visited my doctor today. He plans to induce me on either...

Friday, August 29th or Thursday, September 4th

I'm hoping for the 29th, but will keep you posted!!!

Here I am today (35 Weeks Pregnant)

Check out Rod Wakeboarding!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbv290SkWpM

Shoe Obsession

Will is officially obsessed with shoes. Seriously, he LOVES shoes.

He wears his red crocs ALL the time & he even insists on sleeping with them. (He honestly won't go down for his nap unless they're both on his feet.)

When he's playing in the kitchen, he often heads over to our shoe bin to try on everyone else's shoes.

We recently went to the mall to buy Savannah some new shoes...but Will was more proud of them than she was!

My only real problem with the shoe obsession is that his other obsession is with juice...and at 20 months old, Will's pronunciation of "shoes" and "juice" are EXTREMELY hard to differentiate. So, I am constantly making sure he is equipped with both.

Dancing Angels Summer Camp

Savannah recently finished a week of Dancing Angels Summer Camp, where she was a ballerina for 3 hours every day.

I have to admit, she completely enjoyed it, but she is also completely "over" ballet. (She MUCH prefers gymnastics to ANY of her other activities & has asked to focus all extra time & effort in that direction...more pictures to come!)

Here she is, expertly performing her dance to "Jesus Loves Me"

Library in the Mall

Our closest mall just added a library, and our family is THRILLED about it.

Of course, the kids & I have always enjoyed going to the mall for the play area & food court, but it's just completely refreshing to now go & have some fun reading time too!