Hello Again!

I'm so disappointed in myself for taking such a long sabbatical, but things have been a whirlwind around here since Christmas.  Remember, that's back when we were in between houses living in an apartment. And the ONLY nice thing about apartment living is you tend to have more free time because you aren't keeping up with a house :)

So, here we are in late April, all moved in and  thoroughly enjoying the new casa.  We've done a lot, but there are still many details undone.  We'll get there though, slowly making it ours and gathering those details that truly make it OUR home.

Along with the move came a new school for Reese.  We loved her previous location, it just wasn't going to be very convenient anymore, so we decided to simply transfer to another of the same school location.  Reese adapted well and moved into the 3-4 year old class.  She continues to LOVE her school days and we are thrilled to be living near such great public schools--Kindergarten will be here before we know it :)

Today marks 38 weeks in my pregnancy and boy am I ready for this little one to come out.  We had planned on not finding out the baby's gender beforehand, but JP and I both saw the same thing on an early sonogram to which we decided to confirm several weeks later.  Reese was thrilled when we let her know that she was going to have a baby sister and has really embraced it throughout the pregnancy.  Here's to hoping she continues to "embrace" all that comes with bringing a new sibling into the family.  I have a feeling she's not going to make it as easy as I'd like her to :)  Feel free to leave any advice on making the transition an easy one on the older siblings without completely making them rotten.

Baby Girl Parker #2, dubbed Cleopatra by my parents since her name has not been disclosed yet, could be making her appearance any day now.  She's measuring a bit bigger than Miss Reese and has been quite the mover and shaker in my ever growing belly.  Overall though, it's been another enjoyable pregnancy that I can't complain about.

Now we just sit and wait, which by the way has been kinda nice.  Our calendar is usually filled with work travel, weekend travel, events, projects, etc, etc. and I guess you can call it the calm before the storm, but we've enjoyed some fairly low key weeks and weekends lately.

Here is a quick catch up in pics:

At the neighborhood Easter egg hunt

Loving her new sunglasses

Before church yesterday--the sun's all over the place, but we're all smiling :)

Texas Spring

What would Spring be in Texas without a climb into patches of our native flower, posing for the parentals in hopes of that perfect photograph being snapped, all while praying there are no snakes hiding out in the same patch?  Well, I guess last year we didn't succumb to the typical Texas spring because I did not get any pics of the little lady.  So this year, I tried to make up for it--and it was worth it!  It's amazing to see her growth in 2 years from this.  And quite frankly, we just didn't have the crop of bluebonnets last year compared to this year.

These are from the ranch of Easter and I just LOVE how they turned out.  Hat's off to JP!  And thank you, Reese, for taking my bribe to smile and look at the camera!

An Egg-cellent Weekend

We enjoyed another lovely Easter at the ranch this year.  We love that place, and Reese does too.  She's been asking this week if we are going there again this weekend.  The answer is no, but I can tell it is becoming one of those places she is giddy about, just like I was when I was a kid.  Oh wait, I still get giddy about going to the ranch--it's just that kind of place.

Because at the ranch you get to drink ice cream from the bowl at 10:15 pm with Uncle Mike

It was nice to sit back, relax, enjoy some great food and wine and watch take it all in.  We've been talking about Easter for a few months now and the children's book "All About Easter" gives a really good glimpse of what this great holiday is all about for a 2 year old.  She understands that it really is all about Jesus, and that's what is important.  Several weeks ago I asked her "Reese, where are we going for Easter?"  Waiting for her to say "the ranch", she quickly replied "church".  She.gets.it.

She also gets the Easter bunny and all he does.  She has hunting eggs down pat.  And eating candy, too.  I think there was one day over the weekend that the only thing wholesome she ate was a few bites of fruit for breakfast and a bowl of beans at 8pm.  Thankfully, we're back to a normal eating routine.

A little bit of chocolate on the face for the first of many times that day

And, if you're gonna live in Texas, you gotta break a pinata for Easter.  (make sure you sing that to the tune...If you're gonna play in Texas...it makes it that much better).  It's always a hit with the kids and there is no shortage of roadside vendors making a buck from them.

I hope you and your family enjoyed a blessed Easter and remember that HE died and rose for US.  Hallelujah!

Happy Easter

Egg Huntin'

We are just in from Reese's first egg hunt at school.  It was fun to be there with her and show her what to do, but all she really cared about was the contents of the eggs.  I can't say that I blame her, but isn't the point to get as many in your basket as you can? (at least that's how I grew up doing it)  Well, she would pick up an egg, and immediately open it and want to eat what was inside before even thinking of moving on to the next one.  Fine, whatever, but you know when it comes to games, I'm a little competitive, and I guess I just need to sit back and let her own personality and wants shine through.  So, that's what I did.  She didn't come home with a ton of eggs, but she sure enjoyed the ones she did get!

Can you tell how much she is lovin' that marshmellow bunny!?