Our New Backyard

The very best part of our new house is all the fun we are going to have in the backyard.  I am so excited for our girls to get out of the snow and have a blast outdoors!  We have so many things to look forward to: tricycles, sidewalk chalk, swinging, digging in the sand, sliding, jump-roping, and swimming in the pool and I can't wait!

We had hardwood floors put in the house while we were home and so we spent a lot of time over there.  Olivia got a head start on checking out ever square inch of the backyard!

 I convinced "Fancy Pants" that you had to wear shorts to play on her jungle gym...she wore them once!

 Playing with Uncle Matt

 "Making Foot Prints"

BRC

We had lunch at BRC (Big Red Cock!!) with Nonna and Papa.  There are giant red roosters all over in keeping with the name.  It was delicious and I highly recommend it!

 Eliza was so excited to see everyone

 Uncle Joel was in the neighborhood and popped in to say "hello".  Olivia told him on the phone to do something silly when he got there.  She almost died laughing when he got there and was hiding from her and being silly.

Dentist

Olivia had her first dentist visit and was such a brave patient.  Unfortunately, she had a cavity in between her molars and had to have it filled :(  We have now become extra vigilant about flossing in hopes this will be her last!  She also has a cross-bite that may resolve itself once her permanent teeth come in.  She was amazing during all of the x-rays, cleaning and the subsequent visit to fill the cavity.  The dentist was right next door to my dad's office and was FABULOUS!  So glad we found them.

Heading Home

We flew home for Easter and it always seems to work out that I fly home with the girls only a couple days before Mike.  Hopefully one day we will travel all together and this poor Mama can actually relax on a plane!  Luckily we had our own row.

 E's new favorite past time is playing with (sucking up water and then spitting it all out on herself) O's sippy cup...whatever it takes to keep her entertained on the plane.  I can't wait until she is two and can watch DVD's on the plane.

 HOORAY!!!

Olivia is fascinated by the safety cards on all planes.  She must take notes from her Dada, "Safety First"

10 Months Old!!

 How sweet is that smile? It melts me every time!  The biggest achievement of the past month, of course, was crawling!  It is amazing to me how quickly they go from not crawling at all to really going fast in just a short time.  She has also started pulling up onto her knees. The world is now her oyster.  She is finally getting to explore all of the places she has been watching big sister explore for so long.  This month also brought another tooth, bringing the count to four, and the cutest: rocking back and forth to music!

 Loves to clap

 Olivia demanded that we too participate in the monthly photo in the chair :)

Why Not?!

It is a great look...leggings, floral pattern shirt, dance recital tutu, and baby sister's sweater.

Seriously?!

This has been a really mild winter, unlike last year. All of the snow was almost gone and then this! Thank god we are headed to flip flop land tomorrow! O-V-E-R IT!

Yes, Olivia is wearing a Snuggie while having her oatmeal! Behind her, you can see how the snow was almost gone...we were so excited.

Then this happened (our backyard):

Gymnastics

I can do it too!

Our Third "Last Hurrah"

We have now officially taken 3 "Last Hurrah" trips to the mountains. Every time we get extended, we plan another trip. We shall see if this was really our last trip or not...
Eliza still won't take a bottle, so still no snowboarding for Mama. Mike hit the slopes one day and I went to the fabulous spa another. We left Eliza with a babysitter for the first time Saturday night! We put the girls down right after she got there and went out for a wonderful late dinner at the Maple Leaf. It was so nice to enjoy a non-rushed, quiet dinner. Our girls both did great with the babysitter! Fabulous weekend all around.

At our absolute favorite restaurant, probably in Canada, The Bison. We were introduced to honey and chili oil on pizza here--yummy!

We have a very similar picture of Olivia in Germany when she was about this age.

We spent a lot of the weekend in the fun pool at the hotel

Eliza does this funny planking/yoga move while crawling around

O latched on this purple ball the entire weekend

O insisted on having a highchair just like baby sister :)

Silly faces

Mango gelato, just like Olivia from "Olivia Goes to Venice"

Happy with a spoon

Just Another Day at the Mall

Waiting for the sea lion show to begin!

Olivia's first waffle cone--of course she chose the one with sprinkles.

Cutie Pie

We're Moving, We're NOT Moving, We're Moving, We're NOT Moving......

If you are keeping score at home, you know that we should be living in Houston now. Well, we aren't. We were given the green light for our move back to Houston for the beginning of March. We told our tenants in our new house that they could not renew until the end of May--like they were hoping, gave notice to our landlord here, cancelled all the utilities, gave notice at Olivia's school and activities, bought a car in Houston, set up the movers, and even sold my car in Canada! We found out less than a week before the movers came to pack that we were no longer moving in March. What a roller coaster, to say the least. Thankfully, Mike's company got me a rental car after being home bound and relying on Carolyn to be our taxi.

We still don't have a clear idea about when we might be moving for real. It could be May or June...maybe! Until the house here is packed, we get on a plane, land in Houston, and move in, I still won't be certain we are really out of here! We will keep you updated.

Watch Out World

Here I come!



Cutest baby phase, but also the trickiest! Here come baby gates and baby proofing.