Tweetie Bird

The girls found their own Tweetie bird in our front yard that we decided to take under our wing so to speak so she could get strong enough to make it. You see, when we found her she was being pummeled out of her nest by a mean old bluejay. She got thrown 30 feet to the ground from her nest and he was literally pecking her to death. So we rescued the cute little thing. Emmaline in particular has a thing for birds. She loves them and loves to look at her bird book from my parents and discuss them. So I thought it would be fun to take her in for a few days. She couldn't fly and wasn't going to live if we left her there..so what was the harm!?!We found a box, a small towel, bird seed and some water for her. The girls named her Tweetie, we discovered she is a mourning dove and the rest is history..or not..Daniel calls me the next morning and asked me how my baby bird was doing..oh, oops.. I totally forgot about her and actually thought he was talking about Hayes. So we headed outside and opened her box and the girls giggled, laughed, oohed and aahed at her. When Daniel got home we let her out of the box in the yard to walk around and peck the ground. She loved the girls and would walk on their laps and peck seeds out of their palms. It was fun to watch them be so in love with this tiny thing. When we were outside playing with her, E would say, "I know what birds like. I am a bird expert cause I got a bird book!" - wanting to be so sure of herself! Georgia was really comfortable with the bird and tried to carry her around. She would tell everyone we met in those days, "We have a bird and a bluejay was mean and hurt her." People would get this horrified look on their face and then look to me for clarification. Fun times explaning that!
We kept her for 4 days in the box and would let her out to walk around and get strong in the back yard. She seemed to be gaining strength, and almost flying out of the box, so we were hopeful she would make it. The girls went to school on Thursday, and when they came home Tweetie was gone. She must have flown away to her Mommy the girls guessed. They saw a little older bird in the front the next day and exclaimed that must be Tweetie's brother! So it was a happy ending to our bird keeping days for the girls.And well, HB just enjoyed sitting in the grass munching on leaves and whatever new he could find.

Backyard Bums

a new baby pool for Hayesman!
but he wasn't the only one who loved it! Luckily, he is still into sharing!Hayes spends lots of his backyard time jumping & bouncing & smiling!There is also lots of eating going on out there..
watermelon and other sweet stuff go down just fineHayes' loves watching the dogs, just like his sisters did at this age! They like him too, but let's not pretend that is why Dixie is laying so close to him..she lives for the chance to catch a fallen Cheerio!and lucky us, we even got to suck some heads not long ago in a fun backyard crawfish party!these two boys make my day..at least when they are smiling like this! ;)

New friends & old friends

We spent last weekend in CS. We had lots on our list to do..mainly we had Michael & Rachel's housewarming party/birthday party. It was so much fun and a sneak peek into our river trip which is fast approaching! Sadly, I don't have any pics but you can just imagine hours of a pool party, fajitas, dominoes & a heated debate about our government..not to mention some jager barrels. We got to see our old friends, the Krolls, and see Mr. Brody! So cute..He and Hayes are just 6 weeks apart. It was great to catch up with them and we hope to do it again soon!
Meet Ms. Laynie Brooklyn...isn't she precious...we finally got to love on her and let HB steal the paci of his possible future girlfriend..maybe he wanted to see how much of a drama queen she can be!I would say she passed his test! ;)And these two..they are thick as thieves. They always have a smile for eachotherI love seeing them interact..she is a great big sister to HB and I can tell he thinks she hung the moon. So sweet!

Sink Bathing Babe

Oh, I love this little sweetie. I love that he fits perfectly in our kitchen sink and gets so excited that he practically jumps out of my arms to get in there. He is the star of the show as the girls gather around and laugh and clap for him while he splashes.He is squeaky clean and smells so good..I just love happy babies in hooded towels!Trying to seize these moments while they last..boy, do they go by too fast!

Blackberry Pickin'

We headed out last week with Carrie and Jackson to our favorite farm to pick some blackberries. They were more sparse than last year but we were still able to get plenty and have fun doing it! The girls were not as helpful because there was thorns but still enjoyed eating plenty of them. G would not let anyone else carry her box and I was so afraid she was going to trip and they would all roll everywhere, but we made it safely! We also picked some strawberries..they were pitiful and tiny but that didn't stop the girls from eating and picking those too. Emmaline definitely prefers strawberries and G was game for both! After we left the farm we headed back home for lunch. We decided on the Boardwalk on Bulverde..it is a group of airstream trailers that sell different foods. It is BYOB and has a sandbox and playset for kids. They have a movie night and live music on others. It was fun, but definitely warm with the sun...we can't wait to go back! I was bent on surprising my dad with something blackberry related..one of his favorites, so after discussion and circumstance, I decided on jelly! Get all those pesky seeds out of there, you know?! I had one morning to finish a batch and thought it would be a cinch..after all I can make jelly easily! Well, these little berries gave me a run for my money..I didn't have the proper utensils for the job and it took me forever squishing those berries. The girls helped and had fun tasting their hard work. I had to borrow a mesh strainer from a neighbor which happened to be a whole 2 inches in diameter. Eventually, I got a whopping 2 jars out of our pickings and got to surprise my dad with them! I think it actually turned out really yummy..tart but just sweet enough!
So, next time I know to pick a lot of berries and have the right strainer to use! But it was a fun learning experience and I hope my dad gets to enjoy the jelly!

Park it, sister!

Landa Park in New Braunfels!

Park on Mother's Day

Sea World Park!! It was perfect weather and so much fun!



and a lot more in between!!

Hayes Bryant is 8 months

Things are moving around here..and HB is one of those things now! He is quickly catching on to crawling or probably more appropriately called scooching. He is rocking on all 4s and goes backwards easily. So that is lots of fun and the girls get more giddy by the moment when they see him going after toys! His preferred place to hang out is on Mommy's hip but when that isn't available he likes to be outside in his jumper or in the stroller.
*He had a really fun 1st on Mother's Day..he WAVED at me! It was the sweetest thing ever..he was sitting on Daddy's lap and me and HB were flirting with big smiles and I waved at him. He started to mimic my waving then I got so excited for him. He glanced over at his hand and just stared at it! It was too hilarious! Me and girls were cheering for him and saying what a big boy he was. He hasn't done it since but we are trying! I know this month is going to be a big one of change for him.
*He is wearing size 3 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.*Hayes still nurses and went through a biting phase which was not fun for either one of us - reasons for me are obvious, for him are because I told him "NO" one time and it scared the pitiful thing and he cried! :( He is teething right now and is miserable when he is sleepy or hungry. Poor thing..I even dreamed he got his bottom teeth, but no such luck!
*I have also noticed he is by far the pickiest eater I've had..he actually clamps him mouth shut when he doesn't like something. He is not eating as many table foods as the girls did at this point, so slow and steady it is for now. He isn't hurting for calories, though! He has now recently tried strawberries, watermelon, beans, spinach, and some others. He is eating Cheerios and Goldfish well and likes to use a straw. *He is definitely at the clingy age and doesn't like to see me leave a room or set him down and try and do things around him. So far I can sneak away without many issues..out of sight out of mind for HB!
*He likes to swing at the park, does well in shopping carts, at restaurants and in the stroller. He still loves his paci but has mastered the art of crying with it still in his mouth, so that is annoying. He lets out this high-pitched squeal and it is hard to ignore.
*His stats for 8 months (according to our measuring) almost 22 lbs. and 29 inches. We'll see how close we are at 9 month dr. visit.
*He still gets up some nights and I guess I need to work on that. It is hard to let him cry because I know it wakes up Daniel. He typically sleeps from 8pm-8am and if in the middle of the night will wake for a short time around 4:30. He is napping in his crib when we are home from noon-2ish..really just varies daily and then a cat nap in the late afternoon. He still likes to sleep in the car but usually will wake up if anyone is around.*He is also quite the talker..he makes the B, D, G, M sounds and loves to blow raspberries and spit. He loves to be thrown in the air and tickled too! His laugh is too sweet to hear! He has said MaMa and DaDa but not knowing what he really said, still it was fun to hear. Emmaline likes to call out all the new words she thinks he says! Then she dies laughing!
Hayes Bryant, you are a sweet little thing and we love you so much. We are so blessed you are in this family and thank God everyday for you. I can't wait to see what you learn next!

Georgia's 1st Haircut

We finally got G a haircut. It was definitely pass due but I always hate doing that first one. She had a little bit of curl on the ends and that is gone now..we got a good trim of at least 5 inches (more than I wanted) but it looks so healthy and is much easier to brush out.. that is a huge relief for her and I! It is still long enough for pigtails or a braid or ponytail, so it works! She was such a big girl and sat there silently as the lady snipped away. That is how she does things, just sits back and takes it all in before she decides how she will react. Right now, G doesn't like for us to call her a Big girl, she says, "I not Big, I little!" I don't think she likes for Hayes to get all the baby attention.As you can see, she still has plenty of wild, blonde hair flying around!