to the beach!!

I see you... overlooking the bay in Corpus Christi atop the Aquarium look-out

I don't know if it was more fun for Dan and I or for Grace but the aquarium is always a good time. This one was especially fun for the dolphin show and to see the otters diving and swimming

little sand crab

Funny girl, at first Grace was leery of the sand, didn't want to walk in it or anything- yet she had no problem walking through the seaweed that had washed up on the beach. As soon as we showed Grace the concept of digging in the sand though, she took off with it! We would fill the bucket and flip it over to make a sand castle; Grace was mimicking us but would only put one scoop of sand in the bucket, flip it over to see a tiny pile of loose sand and applaud herself, 'yeah!!' and clap her hands. Its the thought that counts, not the end result :)

Quite possibly the highlight of the trip for Dan and I was the last day as we were walking down the beach... The funny thing is, you can drive your car and park on the beach here in Texas. We were strolling looking for shells and an older Mexican couple had their camp set up out the back of their truck and were playing your stereotypical Mexican restaurant music really loud. Grace couldn't resist and began to shake her tooshie on the beach. The older couple was cracking up and so were we! She stopped to wave at them, they waved back, and then she resumed the tooshie shake. I don't ask for much in life anymore I guess, but that definitely capped off a great weekend of fun at the beach in a different fashion than the usual veg. and bake. A little more chase and play, cringe over sand going in and on things I just assume avoid. Oh well!! I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I see you... I'm going to get you!!!
Every time we were leaving the beach, it was a long farewell process, bidding the ocean bye-bye, 'bye-bye birds', 'bye-bye sand', 'bye-bye water'. Grace was in heaven as water and birds are two of her favorite things to talk about these days

A pearl of wisdom if you're raising a just under 2 year old... if she's in the bathtub and begins talking about diapers, you might want to end the bath at that time. Otherwise it results in wrapping up your dripping wet munchkin only to catch a stinky whiff, hear her say the words 'bye-bye poop' and lift her up only to find a chocolate truffle lying on the bathmat.
(I sincerely hope you're at least smiling, if not bent over in laughter like we were last night!)

love the spring

Bathing beauty, little girl after my own heart. (I swear I did not stage this but I sure couldn't resist capturing it!)

The truck, Grace, wash the truck... such a good little helper...

Proud Indiana roots showing through

pretty...

Bye-bye
(anything and everything must be told bye-bye each time as we're leaving)

and we are having...

...a modest child... the bean actually had a hand in the way protecting certain vital parts. Most important is that all major organs look great. I couldn't help but be a little paranoid while waiting since I work at a pediatric cardiology office...
I guess we will find out at the time of arrival. If this had happened the first time around, I think I would have been pretty upset or persistent to still find out, but I am actually glad to have this be a surprise. Back before I was ever pregnant the first time, I was always disappointed when everyone was finding out the sex of their baby. Then I became pregnant and I understood. Its not a bad thing to be forced into waiting for the surprise, one with knowing, one as a surprise. On that note, as we contemplate names for both, maybe we'll actually share that with you all in advance since that won't be our only secret.

'Mom, why do you make me stand in these flowers every week??' Or it could be that she's just plain mischievous? The joys of approaching 2 years old. Grace's personality is so strong, which most of the time results in hilarious moments, but it can also be incredibly challenging. Especially when she begins to combust spontaneously before our eyes and nothing gets her to calm down. Holding on to our discipline principles.... And then she's so darn cute when she's sound asleep, and the moment the food kicks in and she goes from monster to butterfly in 0.7 seconds... ah yes...more spring wildflowers... am I obsessed?- yes.

Happy Easter

Vinegar anyone? Mmmmm....Gremlin hand...

After a little coaxing, Grace had tons of fun hunting for Easter eggs. There was a little hoarding...Bluebonnets on Easter- beautiful!

it's spring!!!!!

The beautiful bluebonnets are everywhere! Along the side of the interstate, in fields, along country roads. And apparently I am prematurely excited- they'll be even more beautiful and dense in the next few weeks. All of the small towns will be having their bluebonnet festivals, each boasting they are the 'bluebonnet capital of Texas'. I don't care, I just love the pretty flowers!

At the rodeo, Grace had fun petting the goats, deer, llama & sheep. She didn't enjoy the pony ride so much... I thought surely she'd have a blast and only cry because she had to get off the pony....

Bevo!!! Texas Longhorn

I've almost turned every page of every book, says the rapid page-turner. Forget relaxing storytime right now. We're lucky to get one or two words read before someone is moving on :)

Flip me again, Dad!!
After an afternoon of walking on the greenway in Georgetown, someone just had to have Mexican food (ok, ok, it was me). We weren't exactly prepared with anything for Grace but the little Texican made the most of it. We already knew she liked the tortilla chips, but this time she insisted on dipping her chips in the salsa. It was all fine and good for a bit and then the heat hit her and she started crying and licking her fingers. We had to order her a milk to put the fire out. Later, she still wanted to dip her chips in the salsa. Parental judgement said, fake dip it, she'll never know. I did not have any utensils for her but little make shift girl used the chips as a spoon for her refried beans, quite resourceful. She was also caught groovin' to the Mexican music :)
We spent Sunday afternoon at one of the huge playgrounds in the nieghborhood. Baxter got to swim in the pond, we flew a kite, and Grace romped on the playground. Oh ya, and Dan and I got a good workout, walking 25 minutes each way to the park. It was a gorgeous day! Later we grilled out some Texas-sized burgers... if only every day could be like today...

big news....

'The Unseen Bean' has been revealed (its a funny coffee shop name in Boulder, CO)... We are excited to announce the future member of our family coming this sumer. Grace will actually be receiving a very special birthday present- this baby is due on her second birthday, August 26th. We are officially very excited, especially now that the first trimester is over. This time around was not as pleasant and easy as it was the first time, lots of bowing to the porcelain unfortunately.... A switch flipped at the beginning of week 14 and I am SOOOO grateful!


In other news... the photos above and below were taken 2 days apart. Sunday we were outside playing, tank top and shorts kind of weather and then.... white matter was falling from the sky on Tuesday and actually sticking to the ground. Crazy!!

This is only the third time the Texan has seen snow :)