2-year-old Photo Shoot

Since we hadn't taken real professional photos of the kids and family since their 1st birthday, I decided the 2nd birthday would be worth the effort.  As luck would have it, my talented neighbor friend Lisa Holloway offered to do the shoot for us!  She picked a great location at a local park.  We attempted the group shots first before they completely lost interest.  We plopped them in their chairs, handed out blocks and cookies, ran out of view, and Lisa snapped and clicked as fast as the camera could go!  Somehow we ended up with some great shots!

Ben, Leah, Levi, Alli, Andrew, Caroline

Alli, Levi, Leah, Ben, Caroline, Andrew

Best Family Shot

Best Family Outtake

Dave and Andrew

Next up were the individual shots.  I stayed with each kiddo to entertain them as she tried to take their picture while the other adults chased around the rest of the kids.  After the outfit change, Lisa chased after the kids with her camera.  One time she just grabbed an arm and clicked away when they looked at her!

Andrew

Allison

Caroline

Leah

Benjamin

Levi

Benjamin

Serious Leah

Allison

Happy Leah

Giggly Girl Alli

Caroline

I want a cookie! 

Thanks- Levi

Andrew

I am just in love with the pictures!  There are so many good ones it's hard to pick my favorites (obviously).  And we had a blast at the shoot!  If you're in the Houston area, please check out Lisa for your photography needs- if she can handle our crew, she can do any family!

Events in April

San Jacinto Day Parade
For the 2nd year in a row, we participated in West Columbia's San Jacinto Day Parade!  West Columbia is the teeny town my grandparents live in.  I think they might be the only town to really do up San Jacinto Day-considering I had never heard of it until last year.  But, I also took Louisiana history and missed out on all things Texas.  Any who, back to the parade.  This year we increased our walking group size by quite a few!  We had the 8 of us, my grandmother, great aunt, mom, brother, future sister-in-law, 2 cousins, fabulous friend, and the kiddos' ECI teacher who happens to be from West Columbia.  We were decked out in our red, white, and blue for Texas and the old ladies decorated the stroller up all fancy.  We had a great time walking and waving and even earned the "Best Walking Group" award!  Not sure who our competition was in the small parade, but we'll take it :)  We have determined that next year we'll have to outdo ourselves with candy and maybe even t-shirts.

Leah ready for the parade!

Easter
This year Easter happened to fall on the same weekend as the San Jacinto Day festivities.  So, we combined the celebrations into one momentous occasion.  Following the parade, we headed back to my grandmother's house for egg hunts and good eats.  I had to have an annoying mom moment and make the kids change from their parade outfits (red, white, and blue) to their Easter outfits.  I just really wanted the Easter pictures to be in their Easter outfits.  I mean, that's totally understandable right?

Once everyone was changed we headed out to the backyard to find eggs.  The kids really enjoyed it!  They liked picking them up and putting them in baskets (didn't matter whose was whose) and opening them.  We did not fill them with anything this year.  Maybe next year the Easter Bunny will be nicer :)  After most of the eggs were collected and we attempted some crazy family photos, we went inside to eat.  The kids gobbled up lunch while the adults ate in shifts.  We played a little bit then headed back home as the exhausted toddler meltdowns started in.  All in all a very busy day but also great fun!

Andrew helping Leah fill her basket

The winning family picture

Outtakes!

Levi stuck in his basket

Allison and her great grandmother

Caroline and her great grandpa

I totally love their Easter baskets!!  I took the plain white baskets we received after they were born (Easter themed gift baskets), gave them to my aunt, and she worked her magic to create these Pottery Barn-like masterpieces.  Brilliant!

March for Babies
At the end of April we participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies.  Last year it was rained out, so I wanted us to complete it this year.  We walked as part of a subgroup for Texas Children's Hospital along with my mom and some good friends.  The walk is 5 miles long.  The kids started getting restless past the half way point (no surprise there), but luckily all the snacks I packed kept them occupied enough to cross the finish line.  We only lost one shoe and one straw along the way.  Not too shabby.

Following the walk, the TCH tent had a hot dog/hamburger lunch for team members.  It's the closest we've come to restaurant style eating.  They really didn't do too bad!  The bigs were able to sit in chairs and eat off the table, but the little ones had to sit in someone's lap to reach the food.  I was impressed for a first time experience.

Although it was a tiring event, it was well worth it to raise money (THANK YOU to those who donated!) and awareness for such a wonderful organization!  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of us, but all those random strangers walking by us did- maybe one good pic will pop up online somewhere :)

A Weekend of Celebrations

I know it's been over a month since I've posted.  In my defense, April and beginning of May had all sorts of events going on and I was barely keeping up!  I probably said the same thing about March.  It was true then too.  We are finally getting to a slower pace for the summer and I'm ready to catch up on a few things- like this blog!  Let's get to it...

A Baby Shower

My oldest friend (as in we've been friends since 4th grade) Lacie is expecting a precious baby girl this July!!  I had the honor of co-hosting a baby shower for her Houston area friends.  The other hostess also has small children at home and neither one of us wanted to have guests over, so we opted to host at a local tea room.  Why have I not hosted showers at restaurants before?!  It was so much easier!!  Other hostess handled invites and our joint gift.  I handled decorations, reservations, and cake.  We agreed that favors and games were not necessary as we were paying for everyone's meal and the restaurant limited us to 1 1/2 hours.  Since the tea room already had cute table decor, I didn't have to do much :)  Really this was the easiest shower to host.  It made it that much less stressful, so I got to enjoy time with my friend.  Ms. Lacie had a wonderful time visiting everyone, eating yummy food, and racking up on some great stuff for the baby girl!  I say it was a successful shower!

Lacie's gift from the hostesses

The table 

In addition to balloons, I made tutus for these animals to complete the purple ballerina animal theme

Me, Lacie, and the other hostess

A 25th Anniversary Celebration

Our church here in Pearland celebrated its 25th Anniversary in April!  To commemorate such an event, we held one service for the weekend at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston.  Our church typically has 5 services a weekend and the other 2 campuses have 3 services each; so, there was quite the crowd as we all went in together.  One of the amazing things about our church is that they have a ministry for children with special needs.  They even had suites reserved at the Toyota Center for families with special needs children.  I got us on that list as fast I could and it paid off!  We were even allowed to bring our entourage with us.

The actual service was awesome!  The music was phenomenal and my kiddos even got into it (especially Levi).  Willie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) was the speaker.  I didn't hear everything he said while I was chasing and feeding kids, but from what I did hear, he had some great things to say.  The kids had a blast running around the suite and snacking.  I'm thankful our church makes such considerations for families and that our friends volunteered to join our entourage!

Family time in the suite

A suite view!

Filling in the Gaps

Yes I am WAY overdue for a nice big blog dump update.  But the time has come!  Mainly I realized it's almost time for me to start writing about them turning 2 (!) and I couldn't do that without filling in a little bit.  So, here come the bullets...

Outings

• Zoo!  We've been taking advantage of our zoo membership and the lovely weather lately.  The kids are more and more interested in the animals each time.  And I was brave and let them in the petting zoo.  The dirt and climbing areas were more fun than the goats and I was a little stressed keeping track of them, but it was worth it.  Latest trip they were loving the monkeys and, of course, the ducks.  There's even a lake right outside the zoo with tons of ducks we like to picnic at!  

• Moody Gardens Aquarium!  Totally worth the hour drive.  The kids LOVED it and had a blast running around looking at everything- especially the penguins and seals.  There were even divers feeding the fish while we were there and they waved to the kids- so cute!

• Duck feedings- this is now a daily occurrence.  There are lots of ducks around our neighborhood and we start off each walk by checking out the closest fake lake for ducks.  

Penguins!

Sweet Sisters in the car

All these outings are exhausting!

The Kiddos

• Andrew: completely into trucks, construction, tools, and airplanes.  Loves playing outside and looking for planes.  Points out everything.  Our puzzle whiz.  Still the bully toy stealer.  Quite the dramatic cryer if he doesn't get his way.  

• Benjamin: super stacker!  Stacks anything and everything and sometimes it works in my favor when cleaning up.  Loves his food- play and real.  Still savoring every. last. bite.  Mr. Stubborn especially when I'm trying to make him talk.  

• Caroline: no longer failure to thrive!  She's held steady at the 50th percentile for several months now.  She loves to shake her booty and copy dance moves and read.  She's my little caretaker often seen wiping off Leah when she's crying or "dusting" the toys.  She can have some mega mood swings.  Definitely a mama's girl.

• Leah: Can flip from back to tummy, stand supported for up to 19 sec, hold onto toys for minutes, reach for toys, and push up on her arms when on all 4s!  Has eaten and kept down  minuscule amounts of graham cracker, goldfish, and animal crackers.  Loves Larry the Cucumber and VeggieTales.  Doing awesome with her vision apps on the iPad.  Always surprising us. 

• Allison: The tattle tale.  Ms. "uh oh" uses the phrase as a warning or to point out what her siblings have done.  Owns her little cuteness with her shoulder shrugs to avoid tasks and giggles.  Loves to dance and copy dance moves.  Enjoys puzzles and coloring and being the center of attention.

• Levi: completely obsessed with guitars and cleaning tools (mops, swiffers, vacuums...).  We hide them from him most of the time.  He does give us a little musical performance each morning.  Loves hugs and kisses.  Not afraid to hold his own against his bigger siblings. Loves to imitate- especially silly faces. 

• Overall: We've been working on increasing words and reducing the straw cup fun of dripping milk everywhere.  My "straw cup boot camp" has improved the behavior, but we still need to get extra tough to eliminate it.  Words are slowly, but surely increasing.  They have been signing more, legitimately answering yes/no questions, and learning many animal sounds.

• With the awesome weather lately we have been outside every afternoon with a picnic snack and just plain playing in the backyard.  One of my favorite activities is to have races across the yard- especially when I take turns running like a different kid.  They each have their own unique run- cute and funny at the same time.  It has been wonderful for all of us!  And it totally wears the kids out :)

backyard picnic

The Rest of Us

• Maggie was attacked by another dog a month or so ago.  She's fine but we had to call animal control when the dog followed her home and would not leave.  Keep dogs on a leash!

• Dave had a birthday quite awhile ago now.  He enjoyed sleeping in, eating favorite foods, and a surprise guys night out I coordinated :)  And now he's older than me for a couple of months.

• Dave went to Thailand for work at the end of March.  The trip was 2 weeks long and thankfully my parents stayed with me to help out.  He really enjoyed it there.  His workshops went well and he loved the food and the scenery and all the touristy things he was able to fit in.

• Dave also went to Disney World for his brother's wedding.  I stayed home with the kiddos.  Of course he had a great time at Disney!  The wedding was beautiful and the time spent with family and old friends at Magic Kingdom was really great for him.  

• I was proud of myself/exhausted for handling the house (+ some usual helpers) during the Disney trip.

• In between the NYC trip and the Thailand we went to Austin for 2 days to visit old friends and family.  Although it was stressful to unpack and repack in such a short time, the break away was much needed!  Everyone had a great time and the kiddos were perfect in the car.  Just what I needed after a rough flight home.

And I leave you with these two cute guys...

Unstoppable Mom Experience

I think a post is due to sum up the whirlwind adventure of the Unstoppable Mom contest!  To refresh the background information, my aunt's friend saw the contest on TV and suggested I be nominated.  My aunt and cousin got Dave and I's approval and hit the ground running!  Since they live in different cities than we do, they contacted regular volunteers and Leah's therapists to get material for the submission letter.  I have since seen everyone's submission material and it literally brought me to tears.  They were so nice and heartfelt and I couldn't believe everyone noticed all the little things I do and would take the time to write about it.  Also, they made me tired because I really don't think about things I do, I just do them!  You can read the letter here.

Well, that letter got me into the top 100 moms!  They called to tell my cousin and I the news on a Sunday night. The next day I was doing a phone interview with a producer to fact check/make sure I'm a real person/see if I pass on to the next round.  I passed!  Next up was the day of filming.  A small crew (1 camera guy and 1 producer) were flown here 2 days later to film a day in my life.  Eek!  I was so nervous my stomach hurt.  They filmed from 5am (to get me running- embarrassing!) to 8pm and really got a typical day in my life.  They were nice and did not intrude on our routine.  My cousin, Dave, and I were all interviewed separately.  Dave said he "rocked" his interview.  I suffered through mine.  The kids were curious about the cameras but did really well that day.  The camera hog was definitely Allison. She showed off new words and animal sounds and dance moves we've never seen!  Really, I've never seen her act like she did for that camera.  We had to wait 2 weeks to see if I made the top 15 semi-finalists.  I found out like everyone else- watching it on TV.  

Once named a semi-finalists, the show was calling everyday to set up travel arrangements just in case.  Of course, I had many concerns and questions about bringing our whole crew to NYC.  Dave and I decided then that he and Leah would stay home no matter what.  Her doctors agreed that was best as well.  3 days after being named a semi-finalist, the finalists were announced on air.  My surprise was spoiled by the producers calling me too early (they forgot I was in a different time zone), but it was still exciting!!  I won't lie, that was an intense day.  I thought my phone was going to explode with the texts, calls, emails, etc.  Between the notifications and trying to negotiate the trip and set up fill in help, I was so overwhelmed.  That night my mom and I went out to find  matching outfits for the kids (as requested by the show) and to go "shop" through my friend's closet for my TV wardrobe.  Luckily, both ventures were successful!

I had one day to pack and prep (which I insisted on) then my mom and I were off to NYC.  I will say it was fun to have drivers pick us up and not worry about making any arrangements.  We got to our hotel at 11pm Sunday night.  Monday morning we were picked up at 7am and off to the show.  I went to hair and make up (which was AMAZING) and had a quick coaching session.  I was very glad I had the coaching!  I got to practice my whole segment a few times which helped me because I was SO nervous.  My legs were literally shaking.  They kept everyone separate, so I did not get to meet anyone famous- what you saw on TV was what I saw.  The interview was over before I knew it!  As soon as they cut to commercial, we took pictures with the trophy and I was whisked away back to the hotel.  My mom and I had 2 hours of down time, so we walked around Times Square (where we stayed) and grabbed a quick lunch.  Then it was back to Houston! 

I still can't believe this is a real picture!

The Unstoppable Mom Team- they made me look good!

Had to grab a slice during our quick down time

 I had Tuesday to pack up everyone and mentally prepare for the next leg of the adventure.  The mini bus picked us up at 5am Wednesday morning.  "Us" included me, my parents, my cousin Holly, and all the kids except Leah.  The kids traveled in their jammies which was much easier than messing with complete outfits.  I was able to borrow 2 double strollers and use my single umbrella stroller.  The hotel had 4 pack n plays so I only had to bring one of those.  The worst part was the car seats!  Each kid had their own seat on the airplane and required a car seat.  Lugging those things around was awful- between finding a cart to carry them to figuring out how to properly install them on the airplane and buses to storing them in the hotel room- pain.in.the.butt.  But, of course we absolutely needed them.  The crews on our Southwest Airlines flights were wonderful!  So helpful.  Actually the passengers were all nice too!  In the Houston airport the kids were easily entertained by watching planes through the windows.  On the flight they weren't that bad- definitely some fussiness off and on throughout the flight, but nothing horrible.  I had packed books and snacks for entertainment.  I had 2 kids in my row and the other adults had one kid plus a brave stranger.  On the way back they were much worse.  The boys cried the entire flight and Caroline got airsick a few times.  A few of the passengers offered to walk them up and down the aisle, but that doesn't work well once the other kids see the one getting walked.  I felt bad for everyone around us, but we all survived.

While the family was in NYC, my cousin Heather (the official submitter) met us there so we did have an adult per child :)  Unfortunately, the weather was awful so we stayed in the hotel the entire time.  But the kids didn't mind!  They loved being in their jammies, looking out the window or mirror, jumping on the bed, sitting in suitcases, and watching TV.  We even had a play date in our room with a family friend who lives in NYC now- so fun!  The hotel room situation was: my cousins in a room and me, my parents, and my kids all in one room.  We had to stack furniture to fit 5 pack n plays.  The kids could see us at all times, so the sleeping was hit-or-miss to put it nicely.    That Friday morning we were picked up bright and early for the show.  I had hair and make up again (yea!!) and we all hung out in the green room where they had plenty of food for us and even a bubble gun for the kids!  I had a chance to meet the other finalists and they were all wonderful!  Honestly some of the nicest people I've ever met.  As with Monday, the actual show part was super quick.  We all went out there and they announced the winner and took some group pictures and it was over.  I was not surprised I did not win, but I was surprised by the consolation prize!  As soon as the show was over we were whisked back to the hotel, had an hour to pack up, then off to the airport.  The NYC airport was trickier to navigate with our massive amount of stuff and harder to find helpful people, but we eventually made it to the gate.  With plenty of time to kill and no good plane viewing windows, we were singing, walking, reading, and snacking until flight time.  Luckily the people around us found us entertaining and even joined in on the kid songs and games :)  And as I mentioned before, it just went downhill once we were on the plane.  Exhaustion definitely set in for all of us.  We were all glad to be back home that night and say we successfully got 5 toddlers to and from NYC!  And now that I have my trophy at home I am officially an Unstoppable Mom :)

Hotel room fun with Caroline

How the kiddos ate in the hotel room

Voting time for the adults and Mickey Mouse time for kids

Leah and Dave watching from home

Me and my real trophy

I would like to end with sincerely thanking everyone who voted and spread the word about the contest.  Overwhelming would be an understatement.  I thought my phone and facebook would just shut down with the amount of traffic on voting day.  I never dreamed so many people would be so supportive of me and my family.  I am one very blessed lady and I have no doubt about that :)