Wiggle, Wiggle...

For months now, Molly has been obsessed with losing a tooth. Several of her little boy friends and a few of her girl friends have already started losing teeth and she's been having a hard time understanding that it might be a year or more before she loses her first tooth...

Yesterday morning she got up with the biggest smile on her face and said, "Mommy! Guess what!?!??" and then she stuck her finger in her mouth and started wiggling her bottom left front tooth... I thought it was like all the other times she "thought" her tooth was wiggly, but as I put my finger in her mouth to check out what I thought was a firmly-planted tooth, her face lit up. Sure enough, it's LOOSE!

She was so excited that she went and dug this guy out of her drawer and put him on top of her dresser.

He's a glow-in-the-dark tooth holder to put under your pillow (it also has a little money clip inside). She got it in her stocking from Santa and has been anxiously waiting for a chance to use it!

Paul and I are heading to California for 4 days on Friday and I really, REALLY hope I don't miss her first tooth falling out!!!

Mother's Day

I had an awesome Mother's Day this year! The only thing that wasn't as awesome as usual was breakfast... normally Paul makes the most amazing french toast, but thanks to our new South Beach diet I had a yummy omelet instead, but sure did miss those delicious syrup-coated carbs!

Molly made me some adorable crafts. She packed up one gift and wrapped it all by herself... including a pretty red necklace and lots of her beautiful drawings. I also got a gorgeous plate with her handprint on it that she made at school, she even decorated the wrapping paper herself!

Paul also helped both kids make crafts for me. He helped Molly make a beautiful frame that matches the box I got for Mother's Day last year and he helped Marshall make a framed footprint/picture shadow box just like one he made with Molly when she was 2.

We spent the afternoon swimming... the big pool was too cold for Marshall and me so we stayed in the baby pool, but Molly had fun swimming in the icy-cold pool with Daddy!

Kindergarten Orientation

A few weeks ago I took Molly to Kindergarten orientation. I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Molly is starting REAL school in just 3 months. Before I know it, we will be waiting at the bus stop at 8am and she won't be home till 4:15... plus we'll have projects and homework once she finally gets home. It's also starting to sink in that we can no longer take vacations whenever we want, we will now be planning our lives around the Cy-Fair school district's calendar.

Molly and two of her Yeager buddies, Nicholas and Caden

She insisted I take a picture of the mat at the front door.

During orientation, they let the kids get a cookie and milk in the cafeteria so they could see what it was like to walk through the lunch line. After orientation we took pictures in front of the school sign.Molly took this picture:Caden took this one:

Molly really likes taking her own picture!And of course acting like a goof-ball in the parking lot before heading homeMolly is such a funny, intelligent and loving little girl. It's been amazing to watch her grow the last 5 and a half years, and I can't wait to see what kind of person she grows up to be... but at the same time I really do miss my chubby-cheeked baby girl!

A Young Boy's Discovery...

Marshall LOVES being in water, whether it's the big pool, the bathtub or his kiddie pool, he'll play until he gets nice and pruney...

Today was a normal day in the backyard splashing around in the kiddie pool...

until Marshall discovered something he'd never really noticed before... especially interesting from this unique angle....
He was quite enthralled and yelled at it for a few minutes before Mommy decided it was time to go inside and put on some pants!!!

Oh, Marshall Ben, I can already hear myself being one of "those" moms who yells at her kid in the Christmas program, "Son, get your hands OUT of your pants!"

Smoosh Face

The other day Marshall was having a blast standing at the kitchen door banging on the glass and screaming at the squirrels outside.

I sat behind him laughing and snapping a few pictures when I realized the best shots were to be had on the other side of the door...

9 Months Old

Marshall turned nine months old on April 29th. I was a little behind in taking his traditional pictures, but we did make it for his nine month check-up on time. Little man is border-line UNDER WEIGHT!!! Paul was thinking of demanding a paternity test upon hearing that news! He weighs 19.5lbs and is 29.5 inches long - 25th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. They told us to start bulking up his meals, no more empty calories like crackers, unless we put humus or cream cheese on them. The pedi also told us to start sprinkling Parmesan cheese on his veggies for extra calories. As Paul and I are starting South Beach to lose weight, we're having to help Little M. eat as many calories as possible... what strange timing! Luckily Marshall is loving all the hummus, cheese, avocados and other protein and calorie-rich goodies that we're putting in front of him, so I think he'll be bulked-up for his next check-up. Paul remembers his diet while training for two-a-days in high school, so maybe we'll start recreating that for Marshall.

As for his motor skills, Marshall seems to be right on track. He just started waving "hi" and "bye" and we think he's even trying to say, "hi". He's still crawling like an inch worm, but can get from our fireplace to the bookshelf in the kitchen in no-time flat (he loves pulling all my cookbooks to the floor - we're trying to teach him proper respect for books, but he's just not getting it!) He can crawl properly, but only does it when he's crawling towards something he's going to pull himself up on. Marshall still loves to walk holding our fingers, and it looks like it will be that way for a while. He's getting a lot better at feeding himself and has gotten the hang of his sippy cup. Although he's waking up twice a night to eat (we've had two consecutive nights of single feedings, but I am not about to jinx myself and say he's dropped a night feeding) he is always in the best mood when he wakes up. He absolutely adores Molly and loves watching her go about her business, whether she's playing, eating, drawing or watching TV, he just can't get enough of her. Peek a Boo is his absolute favorite game and he thinks it's especially funny when Molly dives in the pool and then pops up out of the water, that cracks him up every time! Lately he's started covering his face and waiting for us to say "Where's Marshall!?!?" Several times I've caught him with a blanket or stuffed animal over his eyes just waiting patiently for someone to notice... he lets out the biggest squeal when we play along. We're finally getting two top teeth and it looks like he's going to have the same spacing issue as his sister.

I also have to mention that Marshall is a total mama's-boy and I LOVE it. Molly is, and always has been, all about her daddy. This morning Paul tried to give Marshall a hug good-bye and as soon as he took him from me, Marshall leaned back towards me with his hands out. I took him from Paul and said, "HA! This one is MINE!" at which point Molly jumped into Paul's arms and said, "This one is YOURS, Daddy!"

What up, Dawg?Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!Right after the above 'pirate' picture was taken, Marshall did a header off of the chair and made a break for it...Gotta go, Mom - Quin, OUT!

Farewell Sweet Friends!

Our sweet friends and neighbors, the Heitzmanns, have moved to Australia. They lived on Apple Valley Lane, right down the street from Caden and Davis.... just two streets over from us. The neighborhood just isn't going to be the same without them. Paul and I always laughed at how you would drive past their house and nine times out of ten Cory would be in the front yard talking to someone... anyone who just happened to be passing by. As soon as the kids got wind of visitors in the front yard, all three of them would come boiling out of the house, running around in various states of undress, carrying light sabers and dragging blankies. A couple of times Cory told us that Jenn was in the kitchen making dinner and that we should come on in and join them. We always felt bad imposing, but we did it anyway - they're fun to be around and Jenn is an awesome cook!


Before the Heitz clan packed-up and moved to the Southern Hemisphere, we had a play date at Chuck E. Cheese... you know - the place where a kid can be a kid, and a perfectly sane mom can lose her ever-lovin' mind.Group shots like these always make me smile the same way crying kids on Santa's lap do.
There's just something so endearing in all that chaos!

A shot of the Apple Valley Gang.... it just won't be the same without Caden, Marin and Hallie!The youngest members of the AVG.
Late Friday night after Reed's baseball game I made Paul drive past the Heiztmann's house on our way home. They should have already left for Austin for the weekend, but I just had to drive by... luckily they were still in their driveway just about to leave. Little did I know this would be the last time I'd see them before they got on the plane bound for Australia. So sad. I sure am glad I made Paul drive by and it's a good thing I almost always have a camera with me!It just won't be the same without them. Their house seems so sad and lonely when I drive by now. No matter who moves in, it won't have the same happy, chaotic spirit of the Heitzmann clan (and no one will ever be able to make the inside of that house look as cute as Jen did).
I am so thankful that we got to be their neighbors for the last year and a half!