Big Girl Sara

Guess who thinks she's a big girl!

I remember when David thought he was such a big boy!

That baby loved the ExerSaucer.  It would entertain him for minutes at a time!!  (Which was a real miracle and blessing.  I was relieved when he was happy for seconds at a time.)
 
Ah, look at these two now.

Oh, and look at this big girl.  Though she was usually too interested in her binkie and watching David to concern herself with much else.

Mary and David thought they were big kids then ... and they still do ... maybe a little too big.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter celebration at Grammy's house.  Because we would be spending most of Easter Sunday in the car, our celebrations took place on "Easter Eve," as Mary called it.  Tio Dave and Tia Ale drove up from San Antonio that day to join us!  (Ale is an RN, and she had worked a 12 hour shift the night before.  Plus, she is pregnant, people! She is such a trooper!  But we are so so so grateful we got to see them! And we are grateful to Greg's parents for not hesitating for one second about opening their home to Dave and Ale.)

There was egg-dying, of course.

And Easter baskets filled with goodies and the exciting requisite Easter egg hunt!

There was also playing in the kayak.

Don't you kayak in your swimming pool on Easter too?

 Easter morning we had a delicious breakfast, talked about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and attended sacrament meeting before heading back north.  We also tried (tried) to take some "official" Easter pictures.

It was a very happy Easter.

Gone to the grandparents ...

We listed our house right before spring break.  A recipe for disaster:  All the kids home from school that week plus multiple showings nearly every day.  Ugh!  So we decided to make our house perfect.  PERFECT.  Then abandon ship and take our mess to Texas.  We figured it would be better to trash the grandparents' houses than our own.  Plus, it would be nice to experience a little spring, seeing as how it was still the dead of winter here.

Going to Texas was a great decision!  It was so wonderful to feel a little sunshine and have some extra helping hands.

First we made a mess at my mom's house.  It was great fun.

Little Sara on her first walk ever!   She was like, "Air? Wind? Sun? What is all this?" Surprisingly, it was only in the 50's and 60's when we first got there.  But that was probably a good thing because when it finally reached 75 we Wisconsinite folks were MELTING, baby included. 

Mary wore her Easter dress to church at my mom's house.

Sara wore hers too!  First time in a dress.  (Besides her blessing gown.)

I love this picture of Mary and my mom.  Grandma Evie took us all to the Barnes and Noble  in Highland Village so the kids could pick out books.  Then we went outside to enjoy the books in the sunshine.  Here is Mary reading Amelia Bedilia to my mom.  My favorite detail is the Sea Life Aquarium medal around Mary's neck.  One morning my mom took David and Mary to the aquarium while Greg and I went to the temple together.  Greg's mom met us at the temple to take care of Sara while Greg and I were inside.  (Thank  you, Moms, for making it possible for Greg and me to attend the temple!)  Mary worked hard for her medal at the aquarium, and she was quite proud of it!  (By the way, David was running around reading his new book outside Barnes and Noble too.)

Grandpa Mike was prepared for chess matches with David, which he got.  But somebody else wanted to learn!

So now Grandpa Mike has a new opponent.

She's a tough one!

As usual, the kids loved playing with dogs and helping to take care of them.

We enjoyed being in Flower Mound.  David and Mary were so happy to be outside a lot.  And I appreciated the extra help.  (And I think we all liked my dad's really big new TV Greg helped pick out and set up.  New TVs don't happen often in my family.)  It was great to see my parents!  I loved visiting with them, and I am so grateful for their love and support.  (Hey, Mom and Dad, because I love you so much I will not write about the Great Water Heater Debacle of 2013.)

Soon it was time to take our mess up the road to Greg's parents' house.  We had a great time there, too.

Mary helped Grammy clean and arrange her fairy gardens.  Mary loves working with Grammy on projects.

Our big outing was to the Dallas Arboretum (which I love!).  It was the perfect day to go--so perfect, in fact, that everyone else in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex decided to go too!  As a result, we had to park in the overflow lot a mile or two away and ride a big huge bus to the arboretum entrance.  The bus was a big hit with David and Mary!  After enjoying the flowers, we all met Greg (who had stayed home to work) for some amazing pizza at Grimaldi's.  It made for a lovely day.

David on the bus!

David and Mary were excited that it was Sara's first time ever on a bus.

Beautiful blooms; beautiful girl.

A big grassy area just begs to be cartwheeled on.

David and Mary.  There were lots of flowers...and lots of people.

The Texas Pioneer Adventure area is always a big hit.

David and the plow.  I have so many pictures of him doing this--it's always his favorite thing.

David relaxing on the porch of his favorite pioneer house.

Sara took a little nap in her grammy's arms.

It was such a pleasure to visit with Greg's parents.  It is always a blessing to be in their home.

When Greg and I got married my parents lived in California.  It was a year or so later that they happened to move to Dallas, where Greg's parents were.  It has been such a blessing for us in so many ways to have them close together.  Like being able to take our mess to Texas to spring break!

Baby love

There was lots of baby love going on in Texas.  At almost 3 months old, Sara was becoming a bundle of smiles and giggles and cuteness in general.

Sara and her Grammy

Sara with Grandma Evie

Sara with Grandpa Mike

Sara got to meet Tio Dave and Tia Ale.  Just as with David and Mary, they won her over in about 2 seconds.  (How do I not have a picture of Ale and Sara??  Oh well--this fall they will have their own baby to cuddle!  Woo hoo!!)

Unfortunately these pictures were accidentally taken in 3-D mode.  Tragic.
 (What is up  3-D camera phones??  Really, is that necessary?)

Despite the blur, I think you get the gist of the love going on (without having to put on some 3-D glasses).

Though Greg spent the time in Texas working on his dissertation, he had to steal Sara now and then for a little baby time.

Do you see the love going on here?

This baby adores her daddy.

Speaking of baby love, there was some serious adoration going on in Ohio a few weeks ago.  My sister-in-law Leslie convinced me to stay an extra day so I could rest from driving before heading back.  (It was such a quick trip!)  It was good advice.  Having a little time to hang out with them was awesome.  And they got to meet sweet Sara.

Sara and her cousin Eliza.

Cousin Evan holding Sara.  Very sweet.  (Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Luke and Sara.  Sara ADORED Luke!)

On the topic of adoration, Mary basically worships Eliza.  Mary was so excited to see her.  And Eliza was wonderful!  She patiently cared for and played with Mary all weekend.  They were like best friends!  (I am so deeply grateful for Eliza.  Sara was kind of fussy that weekend, and, except for our visit to the Montessori school, I hardly saw Mary at all, which made things much easier for me.)

Cousins!

Sara wasn't the only one who got to be doted on over spring break.  David and Mary had a great time too!  Pictures coming...

Three clues

Want to know where we went for spring break?  I'll give you three clues.

1.  A Hummer parked in a compact car only parking spot

2.  An armadillo tearing up the neighbor's yard at night--nothing to do but get out your gun and shoot it

3.  Grandparents

Pictures to come.  (Of my kids mostly.  And possibly their grandparents.  But not Hummers or armadillos or guns.)

P.S.  If you guessed Texas, give yourself a real big pat on the back and drink a Dr. Pepper.

Big brother love

David, too, adores his baby sister.  And she adores him.  Sara's face lights up whenever she sees him.  He speaks to her so sweetly, and she can't take her eyes off him.  Just look at the way they adore each other ...

David and Sara.  Those two definitely share something special.