Beau's Birthday

Ross and I went to the radio station to bring Beau lunch for his birthday. While we were there, I got some cute shots of my boys on the microphone.

Summer Fun!

Merritt and I are apart of the BEST play group ever! {Iam not biased... it's true!} When I set up the group, of current and former teachers, we had just begun having children and where looking for fun {and not expensive} acivities. The group has grown and we have met some of the BEST mommies and kiddos! Here are some pictures from the last couple of playdates - a REDicously fun and Something's Fishy playdates:

We were RED-y for a great day!

What cute cupcakes! And soooo yummy too!

Family Pictures

We recently went to get take Ross' newborn pictures with a very talented photographer, Abby Glenn. She was amazingly patient with Ross and took terrific pictures. Here are a few of my favorites... It is going to be very difficult to decide which ones I like best to order!

My Little Baker

Merritt went her friend Marin's Mermaid Birthday Party and had a splashing good time! Marin gave each guest a sand pail full of Sand Cookie Mix. Merritt was SO excited to get into the kitchen and start baking. I am not a cook, chef, or baker so Merritt has not had much experience in kitchen but seeing how excited she was and how well she did following the cookie directions we might have to venture into the kitchen more often.

Daddy even got into the baking and helped Merritt measure out all the extra ingredients.

The directions said to mix the dough with your hands but Merritt refused stating that would dirty and messy. So instead Merritt used her 'muscles' to mix all the ingredients together with a wisk.

After rolling the dough into little balls, Merritt used a shot glass dipped in sugar to flatten the cookies.

We helped her put the cookies into oven and sorry there are no pictures of us actually enjoying the cookies because they were all gone before I remembered the camera - next time!

So yummy! Happy Birthday Marin :)

Grandma's 60th Fiesta!

Our family and friends recently got together to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday! My sister-in-law, Shelli, did a fantastic job of hosting the fiesta in her backyard.

Merritt and her cousin Eliza got into the party mood with fun sombrero headbands, here is Merritt mid-dance {it wasn't disco despite what the picture looks like}.

Beau and our brother-in-law, John, cooked up the fajitas with all the fixins.

Ross enjoyed some Grandma time!

Merritt also provided the music for guests to enjoy with a trumpet she found. Ole!

Pink or Blue Party

We went to our first Baby Gender Reveal Party! Our friends, the Hobbies, decided to announce their first child's gender with the latest baby craze. Adrianne went to the doctor earlier in the day and had the doctor put the sonogram picture and gender in a sealed envelope. I don't know how she didn't peek! All the guests were asked to wear pink or blue to show what they guessed Baby Hobby's gender is. The Hobbies only have boys, so Ross and I went with the safe choice, BLUE, Beau went out on a limb and went with PINK. Here are Lori, Adrianne, Ross, and I showing off our BLUE!

Adrianne did a great job of decorating! I think she bought out the pink and blue sections of Party City and the candy store.

There was someone besides the doctor who knew what Baby Hobby's gender before the rest of us. Adrianne gave her good friend, Nikki, the sealed envelope and Nikki filled the inside of the cupcake with BLUE frosting!

Congratulations to Josh and Adrianne! We can't wait to meet Brooks! Ross is excited to have a Hobby as a best friend, just like his Dad.

Ross' Biggest Fans

Everyone asked while I was pregnant if Merritt was exicted about Ross and I would always answer, "Depends on the day..." Merritt is used to being the center of our attention and I have been concerned about the shift of attention going towards Ross. We have tried to make her as involved as possible and have gotten lots of advice on how to make the transition easier. Our nurse told us that when Merritt met Ross, that someone other than mom {me} be holding him. Check. We bought Merritt a gift from Ross, as a thank you for being a great big sister. She opened the present with Ross and I and immediately wanted to read Ross all the books. Check. One thing I hadn't expected was how quickly attached Merritt got with Ross. She didn't want anyone else to hold Ross except for herself and I. Nobody. I guess she likes him... for now. Beau loves his little man, I know he will continue being a fantastic father to Ross. He continues to joke {I hope} about tying Ross' right hand behind his back, so that we can produce a left-handed pitcher!

My mom, 'GG', andRoss. I think it pained her a little bit to take the picture with Ross wearing his Longhorn beanie, being a Rice Owl! My parents took Merritt to Houston for this past week so that we could get adjusted to life with Ross. She has truly enjoyed every moment with my parents and I am so thankful they were able to help us out this week!

{Please excuse the lack of clothing on my part.} Here is Grandma, Beau's mom, meeting Ross. Ross is named after Beau's dad that lost his life too early. No one is quite sure who Ross looks like yet, but hopefully he has a little of Beau's dad in him :)