18 months and summer break

INeither of those two things have much to do with each other except that Merritt just turned 18 months old and Lauren starts school on Monday! This summer has been so full of camps, play dates, slumber parties and adventures. We've had so much fun. Lauren has decided that her two favorite things are cheerleading and swimming, so we'll take those two activities in to the fall. Looking forward to her year of first grade to begin!

Miss Merritt is doing great. She's such a sweet little girl. She's very shy and observant, and a little weary of walking in front of strangers and being held by most people, but we've seen progress in those things lately! She still adores her big sister, and seems to love music above all other activities. She's sleeping like a champ (12 hours at night and 2 naps that vary from 45 mins to 1.5 hours each). She's a decent eater, but not a big fan of meat (like her momma!). She gets insistent on feeding her self with a fork or spoon--it's very cute. She's big in terms of height/weight for her age in the 90th  percentile for both. But she's just as cute as can be. Here's a fun pic of her getting filthy in the rain today! 

A mommy sandwich

This picture makes me laugh. In the rare moment that I actually sit down during the day, both girls pile on top of me in 2 seconds. The literally pile on top of each other and then on top of me. It's cute, adorable, and oh so sweet (just not very comfy). Little turkeys. 

4th of July

This 4th of July was the most fun yet! We started out the day with a neighborhood parade where everyone from the neighborhood decorated bikes, scooters, strollers and wagons and walked the streets with a fire truck. Lauren and Merritt won a first place ribbon for their wagon decorations! After the parade, everyone socialized, ate snow cones, and  Lauren helped to read part of the Declaration of Independence with 12 other kids over a microphone! She did awesome. 

When the neighborhood festivities were over, we went home to change in to bathing suits, met some friends, and spent the day at the lake on a boat and swimming and floating in tubes. Both girls loved it (even though Merritt had to skip her nap!). 

When it got dark, we headed home to play with sparklers and watch fireworks. It was a long, fun day. Happy 4th of July! 

Standing and walking and climbing...oh my!

Merritt has finally decided to put her feet to work! Little miss has been on her OWN schedule with milestones this past year, and we like it just fine that way. She's such a silly little girl...and a remarkable climber! She's always climbing up to the highest point in any room (top of couch, top of table....). She keeps me on my toes! 

Cousins and X-Games

On Lauren's first day of summer break, X-Games started in Austin. And, even better, the girls' cousin Jack came to visit from Virginia too! They had a blast seeing the sights of Austin and going to the X-Games. Fun way to kick off summer!

Last day of Kindergarten

Lauren's last day of kindergarten was on June 4th. Can't believe she'll be a 1st grader! For kindergarten this past year, I was her classroom's event/party planner. On the last day of school, her teacher let me plan the whole day! We played board games and card games, had an ice cream sundae station, created a photo booth and memory/autograph books, and did all kinds of other fun things throughout the day. It was fun to be a part of her special day! 

Kindergarten Rodeo!

On Friday, Lauren had the best day of school ever! Each year, the school puts on a rodeo for the Kindergarteners. The day starts with a huge parade where the kindergarteners parade through the school on homemade stick horses and every classroom in the school comes out to cheer them on. Then, real ponies are brought in for pony rides, pigs, sheep, chicken, bunnies, and goats are brought in for a petting zoo, ranchers do branding on wood, and there are about 10 other activities including diving in to hay bales, 3-legged races, and more. At the end, all the kindergarteners dance to the "Cotton Eyed Joe" and other country dances they have been practicing. It was an amazing day!

Happy Spring!

I have neglected this blog lately...sorry! The past few weeks have been filled with spring break, Scott's birthday, Easter, and all kinds of school activities. We went to Hyatt Lost Pines for a couple of days over spring break with the Russells and the girls got to ride horses, swim in the pool, sit on a longhorn, brush ponies and more--super fun. For Easter we had a bunch of friends over to the house for an egg hunt, dying, and lots of food. I started a part-time job and I'm also getting ready for an art show! But enough about me. What else have the girls been up to?

Lauren is her usual busy, social self. She had "Olympics" at her school last week and was the 2nd fastest girl runner in all of kindergarten! We thought she actually won, but she slowed down at the end, I think? It was so fun. She's also staying busy with her dance class, gymnastics, swimming, and golf lessons. We went on a huge neighborhood Easter egg hunt last weekend and she found the golden egg--lucky girl!

Merritt is growing and glowing! She's a happy little baby girl. Already so different than Lauren though. She's very observant, a bit more quiet, and slow to take on new things. She such a sweet girl. As far as talking, she says: dada, bye, hi, doggie, bottle, and up. She is a bit of a pickier eater than Lauren was too (which I expected because Lauren always ate everything). As for sleeping, she's still doing great. She goes down at 6:45pm and is up around 7:45-8:00am. No walking yet, but I'm sure that will come fast!

Here's a few photos from lately: 

One year pediatrician appointment

Merritt had her one-year pediatrician appointment this morning. Poor thing got 3 shots....it's the worst! Here's how she's stacking up (almost the exact same as Lauren at 12 months!):

Weight: 23.6 lbs (83%)

Height: 30.25 (84%)

Merritt is ONE.

How is it possible that our little baby girl is one? Miss Merritt is the sweetest little baby girl that we could have ever asked for. Here's an update on what she's been up to:

- She's crawling, pulling up, occasionally standing without holding on to anything, and taking a few steps when she is holding on. I'm guessing we'll see some real first steps in the next month or two?

- She is still "sleeping" through the night! She's up anywhere from 1-4 times crying, but she's able to put herself back to sleep withing 5-10 minutes of waking up. Yay!

- She waves goodbye and says "buh" for bye. She also says dah (dad), and bah (bottle).

- She loves to clap and will give you a high-five 

- Her favorite person on the planet is still her big sister Lauren. She never stops watching her.

- Music fasinates her. She plays her instruments, "dances" when music is on, and crawls over to reach up for the piano all the time. 

Where did January go?

Somehow it's February! Little M turns one in less than 2 weeks. How is this even possible? She's such an amazingly good baby...I feel like I hit the baby jackpot. 

And, guess what else? She is finally *sleeping* through the night! She still wakes up a couple of times, but she is able to put herself back to sleep. This is so huge for us! I'm super excited. 

As far as everything else, she's not walking yet. She will stand and hold on to something with just one hand, and take a step or two if she's holding on to something, but I still think we have another month or two until we get some walking out of this one. Take your time, baby girl! 

Lauren continues to be a huge help for us while daddy has been traveling so much. She has such incredible patience and maturity with Merritt...I just love watching them together!

Updates on Merr Bear!

I realized I haven't properly updated you on what's been happening with Merritt! So, here goes. 

 - She's fully crawling - and rather quickly. She's constantly getting in to things she's not supposed to & keeps us on our toes any time we set her down.

 - She pulls up to stand on everything (tables, chairs, her crib...you name it)

 - She has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)

 - She's still not sleeping through the night (up once for a bottle, and 1-2 additional times)

 - She says "da-da" 

 - Her favorite person in the world is her big sister!

 - She loves to play Peek-a-Boo

 - She also loves her toys, especially her board books and anything that she can press buttons on

- She is such a chill baby! She barely fusses, eats great, and never objects to strollers, car seats, or anything else. She is always quick to give a smile!

Ski trip!

The day after Christmas we loaded up the car (literally every inch of it) and headed to Colorado for a week of skiing and snow fun in Beaver Creek. It's about an 18-hour drive, plus stops for bathroom breaks, gas, and food. Our friends, the Russells, made the trek with us (their daughter, Sadie, is Lauren's BFF). We rented a big ski-in, ski-out condo right in the heart of Beaver Creek--it was an amazing place.

Sadie and Lauren did 2 days of ski school and did awesome. We also did ice skating, New Years firework celebrations, sledding, hot tubbing, and lots more. It's been an amazing trip! Here's a few photos from our adventures.