First half of May

 The monthly panda pictures are almost impossible now.  She is so busy!

 And has to stand up.

And tackle the panda.

 I even tried two times.

She loves her new high chair toy.

I got to go as a chaperone to Moody Gardens Rainforest with Samantha's class.

It was so chaotic.

 And I had an amazing Mother's Day!  Nick tried to let me sleep in and made me breakfast.  I got some really sweet gifts.  And then we went to the zoo, which was wonderful.

I was worried about Fiona needing a nap, but she loved watching everything and did so well skipping nap.

The big girls rode the carousel and Fiona waved at them.

 They waved back, of course.

 Not sure what was said, but love their faces here.

We saw a neat tiger demo.  They were squirting goats milk as a treat.

 

And then Nick took the girls to the grocery store to pick out my "favorite" foods and since my favorite foods are those I do not have to cook, they nailed it.  They had Nick grill steak.  Samantha helped make mashed potatoes.

 

  

Zoey picked zucchini, so she and Nick made fried zucchini.  Zoey also picked cherries.  She said, "Ooooh, I love cherries!"  Nick said, "Yes, but this is supposed to be about what Mama loves."  She said, "Mama likes cherries."  Silly girl!

 

I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful mothers day!

Spring flies by!

 I tried to get a good photo of Samantha's eyes recently.  I tried some tips from a friends online photo class to get a genuine smile, but I overshot the mark.  She laughed too hard, but it was a great shot and I love it.

 

Then, when I tried to get her to open her eyes, she did the same face Nick does when I fuss at him for closing his eyes in a photo.

 

Fiona loves food!  But she is not neat.

She loves to play peek-a-boo, or "Where's Fiona".

She does not like to sit still for monthly panda pictures.

 

 Zoey loves to dance.

 She got doll and me dresses for her birthday and was thrilled to wear them to church.

Part of first communion prep was an event Nick and Sam went to that involved making bread.  Nick made this.

Fiona loves to stand now.  This is how I tend to find her after a too short nap.

She got a cake/muffin treat at her friends first birthday.

Zoey is learning so much.  She reads so well for her age.  Such an impressive kid.

A silly shot.

Early cruising shots.  She is a pro at it now.

 

We rejoined Space Center Houston and went to see the new exhibit.

 

 

Blue eyes!

They can be sweet!

 The girls got to go to a horseback rising party.  Such fun!

 

Zoey's hair was long and beautiful, but it was time for a trim to make it easier upkeep.  When wet, it was so long and it tangled a lot.

 

The after.

 All this rain calls for puddle jumping!

A weekend to celebrate Samantha.  She got her state level recognition for her reflections photograph.

And she had her first communion!  We are so proud of her creativity and her work to prepare for this ceremony.

Fiona loves to swing.

Happy Spring, although it feels more summer a lot of days.  I hope everyone is doing well.  More soon!

The Renovation

This post has been a long time coming! Nick finally organized all the renovation pictures and made a video.  So most of this happened when Fiona was a newborn.  They took the fence and deck out early (meaning we had to walk the dogs for ages!), but the wall was not taken down until she was a few weeks old and then everything was completed by September.  We are loving all the changes, but it was a crazy time for sure. 

 

We had to sacrifice a nice deck and a lot of yard.

 

 

Nick and my dad did a lot of the work.  They did all the painting and staining.  They also did a lot of the demo.  Nick got to drive our contractors bobcat.

  

Massive amounts of rain and slow permitting held us up.  Mud pit yard.

 

 

 We were so excited on cement day!

The framing was insane.  And before the bathroom skylight was taken out, we could see the new roof from our bathroom.  And below is with the windows and bricks.  They matched them very well.

 

Our kitchen before.

 

With the framing of the kitchen expansion and laundry room.

 

 Our kitchen now.  Expanded and new cork floors.  I love them!

 The laundry room.  Nick built the basket storage shelf for the washer dryer and the one beside the dryer.  We have a place for all 5 baskets!

 
The living room before was our den/playroom.  It had 3 huge windows looking out on the deck.

 The windows were taken out to add the playroom.

We put double doors between.  It is now our Living room, but not formal since it has our bigger tv and is where we watch tv and do work in the evening.  We took out the old nasty carpet and put in engineered wood. 

The new playroom with the built in.  It is a huge, amazing room.

 We are still slowly putting things on the wall and figuring out how best to store everything.  Of course, some aspects are changing as Fiona ages out of things.  We are very pleased, but also so glad to be done!