dallas zoo

Our play group hasn't been meeting for the past few months, but my friend Rachel invited the group to join her at the Dallas Zoo in the middle of March.  It was a beautiful day, but since it was also Spring Break for most of the schools around here, it was super crowded.  I have been telling Brooke that I would let her ride the pony at the zoo, so that was on our agenda for the day.  We went to the children's area first, and Brooke just played while I nursed Colby.  When I went to buy tickets for the pony ride, nobody was at the booth.  I found a zoo employee, who told me that they are gone from 12-1.  We went back a little after 2 as we were getting ready to leave the zoo, and although there was someone at the booth, they told me that pony rides end at noon.  What the heck?? Brooke was so disappointed and I was annoyed that the first lady didn't tell me that crucial piece of information.  There's always next time I guess.  

It was still nice to go on an adventure with these cuties and my good friend Rachel.

tea party

Brooke attended her first "big girl" birthday party for our friend Eva Crumpton, who turned 10.  It was really sweet that they invited her, and Brooke was really looking forward to attending a tea party.  Brooke is all about dresses these days, so she was happy to get dress the part.

When we arrived at the party (with Colby), she was a little hesitant to even go inside.  Kevin said that she had a really hard time at Kinley's party last month, but I wasn't there to observe the disaster.  She knows these girls really well though, so I was a little surprised by her reaction.  She wanted me to hold her, which is not really like her either.  Colby was asleep in his car seat, so I did hold her for a bit until she felt more comfortable.  She wanted to go upstairs with the girls, but she wanted me to be right beside her.  I had to remind myself that she is only 2.5, so it's okay if she needed her Mama.  Right??

When it was time to start the activities, Brooke was already seeming more comfortable.  They decorated these adorable hats with silk flowers.  Lainey was so sweet and kept offering flowers to Brooke.

When they finished the hats, we sat down for the tea party.  Everything was super adorable, and Brooke loved the tea cups filled with lemonade.  I think she felt like such a big girl sitting there with everyone.  It was fun for me too since I got to see my friends.  Danielle took this sweet picture...

They finished the party by making little necklaces.  Brooke wore that necklace around for 2 days straight.  I would say that she liked it :)

springtime in texas

I seriously love Spring in Texas.  I love the 70 degree weather, walks outside, playing at the park without sweating to death, and the occasional rainstorms.  Call me crazy, but I love me some thunder and lightening.  When I am in the comfort and protection of my home, of course :)

We spent time outside trimming bushes and shrubs, and planting flowers.  I really don't know what I am doing in terms of pruning, but I pretended like I knew what I was doing. Some of our annual plants didn't come in very full last Spring, and I think it was because I didn't prune them back adequately.  This year, I pruned them WAY back, so we'll see if that makes a difference.

I even found some kid-sized gardening gloves for Brooke, which was the finishing touch that my little helper needed.  As I was cutting branches off the trees, Brooke was gathering them up and saying "Thanks so much for helping me."  I love her perspective.

This is what Colby thought of the outdoor work...

We made a Costco run on one of those rainy days.  Thankfully, we both were wearing hoodies because I left my umbrella in my car.  Oops!

Colby's looked like a stud in his first pair of shorts for the season.  Chubby baby legs are oh so wonderful :)

And I wish I had a video of me trying to fly Brooke's kite, because it was hysterical.  More like an EPIC FAIL!  Either it was a crazy day for flying a kite, or I am just really bad at flying a kite.  We had a lot of wind, but it would come in gusts, so maybe the conditions were not that great.  Well, I ran all over that field by our house, with Brooke on my heels encouraging me.  Then getting pretty discouraged because I couldn't get it to fly.  She finally said, "Maybe Daddy can help us.", haha.

We ended the ordeal with popsicles, so the afternoon wasn't a total bust.

I cannot believe that my baby can almost sit in this chair!  I only left him there for a moment to snap the picture, but I know that before long, he will be sitting there enjoying a popsicle with his sister.

like father, like son

You cannot deny that Colby looks exactly like his Daddy in this picture, haha.  When Brooke was a baby, I felt like she looked exactly like Kevin.  That was the first thing people told me when they saw her.  With Colby, I didn't get that reaction.  I mean, he looks like a Meador, but it wasn't as strong as with Brooke.  When I look at Colby's baby pictures next to Brooke's, I think they look a lot alike, but in general, I just feel like he has his own look.  Not sure if that makes sense.  Anyway, one day I put this BYU shirt on him (a gift from Aunt Shelly), and the baby staring back at me was totally a mini-Kevin. I went downstairs to get a baby picture of Kevin, and couldn't believe how much they looked alike.   Kevin couldn't believe it either! Like father, like son :)

singing in the sun :)

Who says that you need rain to enjoy a new umbrella??  Grandma Meador bought all the girls these cute umbrellas, and they seriously kept them occupied for hours. 

They played in the front and backyards, and then Melanie and I took the girls on a walk over to the park.  It was a perfect Spring day in Texas, and it was nice to see the girls playing so well together. I love listening to their little conversations, and seeing them excited to play together.  Any time we do something fun, Brooke will ask if Kinley and Aubrey are coming too.  I really wish we lived near Ellie as well so Brooke could play with ALL of her cousins.

We finished the afternoon with a little Beauty and the Beast.  I had recently read the story to Brooke, and she was excited to watch the movie.  The beast was a little scary though!

march with the littles

March seems like an eternity ago, so I am so thankful for these phone pictures.  Colby is the sweetest little guy, and we get smiles out of him all the time :)  Brooke really loves to have a little playmate, and for now, he is a good sport!  He has got to the be the healthiest baby on the block because he is constantly having check-ups from Dr Brooke.

Brooke continued to sleep like a champ, and even when she would wake up in the morning, she would entertain herself with books and toys for 30-40 minutes before calling for me.  On several occasions, I went into her room before she called for me because I could see on the monitor that she was awake.  Her response to seeing me:  "I didn't call for you."  Haha.  She really likes to have some quiet time to herself in the morning.  This normally means that I can sleep in, so I am all for it!  I was always interested to see what she had "set-up" though.  Sometimes it was a tea party, other times a random collection of toys stacked up.

Colby had some CRAZY blow-outs, and I had to take a picture of this one.  SO MUCH POOOP!

Maybe he secretly just wanted a bath (he's a big fan), because the only way to really clean off after a blow-out like that is to soak in the tub.

On one of our outings to Target, I bought Brooke this little CareBear, which she was totally in love with.  I find it funny how kids can be attached to the silliest things.  It was all about "Secret Bear" for a week.

Nothing is sweeter than a sleeping baby.  I generally spend the second hour of church in the mother's lounge nursing Colby and allowing him to take a nap before I have to go off to Young Women's.

Since my people don't love Sunday pictures, I take what I can get...

This was one of the last nights I think Colby slept in the bassinet.  It seems like he outgrew it so darn quickly!  His expression cracks me up, like he's skeptical of whatever it is Brooke is saying to him, haha.  She loved to be the first person to "check on him" when he would cry.

We transitioned him to the pack-n-play (still in our room), which Brooke loved because she could climb in there with him.

I don't think her love of princesses is dying out any time soon.  It's a good thing her dress-up clothes are all machine washable, because they have all been washed MANY times.

This picture was taken after mutual one night.  Kevin normally was working late, so the kids had to tag along with me.  With her new pattern of skipping naps, this meant she was extremely tired by 9 pm.

Brooke has been patient as I have honed my braiding skills :)  Lucky for me, Princess Anna and Rapunzel both rock braids...so she is more willing to let me style her hair in similar fashion.

I get the best smiles from my little man in front of the mirror, so I was doing my best to capture one!

This may be a favorite memory from March.  Every morning, we read books while Brooke drinks her milk.  She always wants Colby to lay next to her, and as I was reading, I saw that she had linked arms with him.  Moments like this make me so grateful to be a mother.

Colby's deer in the headlights expression, haha.

This sweet girl loves her Daddy, and she was so excited to wear her special necklace from Eva's birthday tea party.

The weather this Spring was so amazingly perfect, so we spent a lot of time at the park.  And I know this sounds silly, but I really wish I had a matching outfit with Brooke.  Comfortable, yet chic :)

Sometimes you just can't play a moment longer...

I introduced Brooke to the joy of chores/helping Mama.  I want her to be a good helper, so I have tried to give her little tasks that she can be successful at.  One such duty:  helping me load the dryer...

and setting the table for dinner...

I finally started exercising again, and mid-workout, Brooke brought me a necklace "so that I could be glamorous while I was exercising".  She cracks me up!  I took a pic and sent it to Kevin :)

She wanted to join in on the workouts.

This no-nap business was rough on all of us!  I stopped putting her down for naps at the end of February because it was taking her forever to fall asleep at night.  Most nights she wasn't out until close to 11.  That wasn't working well for us, so we had to cut the nap.  She was pretty moody by early evening though, and several times she went upstairs and put herself to sleep before we even ate dinner.

Sometimes even before we put on her pajamas...

Kevin worked some really long hours in March, but he tried his best to be home in time to kiss the kids goodnight.  Brooke would snuggle up to him and promptly fall asleep.  One night, when we came downstairs, I saw Kevin walk over to a sleeping Colby and just stare at him.  He then said, "I feel like I don't even know I have a son".  He was working so much, he hardly got to see him during the week.  That comment really broke my heart and made me grateful for every moment I had with our babies during the day.

We did matching manicures one afternoon, which was a lot of fun.  I did gel nails on Brooke, hoping that it would last longer, which it did!

Poor Colby, haha.  He has lots of dressing up in his future, I think.  Brooke thought my necklace made the "perfect crown for King Colby."

 Like I said, no naps equals a tired girl!  I feel somewhat guilty when I see these pictures of her with her pacifier...but it really was such a comfort thing for her, and I hated taking that away from her.  She only was allowed to have it when she slept, so I felt justified in allowing it to continue.

 Love my blue-eyed boy!  And he loved that camp chair...

colby-4 months

These 4 month pics may be my favorite by far!  I know that I am super biased, but I think that he looks so handsome in his little plaid shirt, jeggings, and soft boots.  My heart melter...

Brooke continues to be my helper/distractor...

Things to note this month: I started putting those no-scratch mittens on his hands again because he was constantly getting little cuts on his head.  No matter how much I trimmed or filed his nails, little sharp corners remained.  On the 11th, he pivoted 360 degrees on the floor trying to roll over. Mid February, he had a few nights of waking up every 2 hours, then slept 8 hours the next night.  I also stopped swaddling him because he was just fighting to get out of it.  Instead, I used the sleep sacks I loved with Brooke. And by the end of the month, he was trying to power-crunch to sit upright.  The moving begins!!  

 Four month stats: 15 pounds 14.5 ounces, and 26 inches long. He's growing like a weed :)  And his ear infection from a few weeks ago had cleared, so hooray for that!

We fall more and more in love with the little guy everyday.  He really is so super happy, and gives the best smiles and laughs ALL THE TIME!  He is also so patient with all the smothering from Brooke. I hope that one day they really will be best friends. I had a wonderful relationship with my little brother growing up, and I hope that they will enjoy playing together as well. Brooke and I talk a lot about all the fun things she can do when Colby gets bigger :)