the ice cream man came early this year!

while i realize it's january and still chilly (some of the time), you can't deny a child a visit to the ice cream man when they hear the music. you just can't. ellis heard the music while heading into the house after running errands...i heard it first and tried my best to get the kids out of the car seats and into the house at lightning speed. i wasn't quick enough. i didn't mind her having the ice cream...the problem was that i knew i had no cash...shocking i know. it took me forever to dig up $2 in basically pennies and nickels to overpay the man. oh well, it was worth it :)

she didn't actually get ice cream- she got the above nastiness. cotton candy twirl! GROSS!

boys will be boys

back to dallas...while the kids were crawling around @ the arboretum, beckett and luke found the only two sticks in the entire area i think. it's like boys are magnets for things like that. if it's yucky or dangerous, a boy will find it. luke and beckett also had a little wrestling match and played king of the mountain on this one square of rubber...i know that doesn't make any sense...hopefully the pictures will help! kate couldn't be bothered with any of this boy stuff...she was too busy perfecting her walk :) yay kate!

look what i found...

he was so proud of himself...here is luke w/ his too...

and above is the rubber spot...very odd. but they were fascinated...

and finally, miss kate, a walker!

couldn't help myself

drink till you pass out**

**yes- i realize this is a really nerdy thing to say

sh*t dammit

ellis just recently started going to sunday school...and she seems to LOVE it. she walks around the house singing "thank you for my blessings, amen, amen"...so cute right? this sunday, my mom and i picked her up from her classroom after church and walked to the car...we get in and are about to head out of the parking lot when we hear her sweet voice "sh*t dammit bebe can you reach my headphones please"? my mom quickly said "ellis, ladies don't talk like that"...and ellis replied "oh, yes, you are right...daddies talk like that". nice. 3 days with dad and she is up to her old tricks.  she had a bad case of potty mouth when she was around 18 months old...let's just hope she doesn't bust this language out DURING sunday school...or regular school for that matter :)

this pic is from her first day of sunday school...

p.s.- i have heard her say sh*t dammit a couple times since then to beckett...i guess she thinks the two words go well together?? 

babies can be political too

beckett and i were actually in the car on the way to dallas during the inaugural ceremony.  i think i recorded it...but who knows if i will ever get around to watching.  i have a long backlog of tv to get thru first...important shows like the bachelor, american idol, top chef, oprah...oooh, oprah- she was actually in DC for the week i think...maybe she can give me a quick recap of all that i missed on that historic day...perfect! 

so back to beckett...his shirt says it all.  each of us are supposed to make a pledge to help our country in whatever way we can right?  USE LESS.  so profound.  

the big d

the little one and i survived our road trip to dallas...not only did we make it back in one piece, we had the best time! like i said in a previous post, tiffany and kate were our traveling partners...kate and beckett are 10 months old- and exactly 1 week apart. they are bffs for sure. we stayed for 2 nights with the lesher fam...elizabeth has a 3 yr old (allen) and a 14 month old (luke)...you now understand why ellis stayed home. 4 kids were enough!! crazy times...but if you are all raising babies, why not do it together for a few days...misery loves company ya know?? i am only kidding...they all did great and played together so good!! we pulled into dallas around noon on tuesday...next thing we know, it's 6:30 and time for bath, bottle & bed. after a triple sigh of relief (babies are down), we opened the wine...okay... maybe that was our second bottle :) and after staying up way too late and drinking more than anyone who has a kid to take care of the next day should, we were down too. the next morning, we couldn't figure out where the case of beer went. we were in denial.

here is kate- do you like the fancy sun shade tiffany rigged up for our road trip?

here is allen talking to beckett and kate...i am pretty sure he was thinking "as long as neither of you touch any of my sh*t, we will get along just fine" :) not really...he was great w/ them...

and here is luke...so cute and so sweet...beckett LOVED him! 

the weather the was beautiful on wednesday...after a cheeseburger and big diet cokes, we were off to the arboretum. SUCH a pretty place. the kids were so happy just playing in the grass...we played in the grass too...or maybe more like laid in the grass...wishing we could take naps. i want to go back in the spring when all the flowers and trees are in full bloom...

rolling in the maclarens...pls, don't tell ellis that beckett was in her pink stroller...

free at last! c'mon babies...let's go eat grass...

when they finally got bored, a shoe became the best toy ever...thanks pediped :)


we finally decided it was time to head home for naps...somebody got a head start :)

after all babies awoke, we headed to mi cocina for margaritas...we needed a little something to get us through the evening :)  there's a reason they call it happy hour!...the kids ate dinner there and i am pretty sure the waitstaff is still picking rice up off the ground...fun times. thanks again elizabeth (and clay, luke, & allen)...we loved every minute! 

tiny dancers

ellis started ballet & tap class on friday...needless to say, it was hilarious. the ENTIRE classroom is pink...right down to the ballet bar. and it gets better...they can wear whatever they want to class. the teacher said some girls even dress like princesses. ellis is a big fan of the princess thing...but no surprise there...

she is for sure a standout in the class- but not in a good way...it is a 3 & 4 year old class...ellis won't be 3 for another few months...she has a long way to go before the recital in may...but practice makes perfect right? somehow i don't think so :)

look at that form...

these are just a few of the outfits ellis has to choose from for class...she also keeps princess "tings" (things) at bebe's and in austin. you have to be prepared when she decides she wants to dress up. in addition, she has a tutu for most holidays and a texas longhorn tutu...that's right- burnt orange and white baby! and i made it myself :)

i wonder what the teacher would say about this one?? overkill? ...NEVER!

beckett (yes, i do have another child) and i are off on a road trip to dallas tomorrow...we will be joining his girlfriend, kate, and her mom. should be a fabulous time! ellis will stay home and play princess with brandon...you should see him with a crown on :)

Purple is NOT the new pink!

one of ellis' bff's, ainsley, turned 3 this month...she is crazy about purple...like ellis is crazy about pink. ainsley decided she wanted a purple party to celebrate. such a cute idea, huh? everything @ the party was purple obviously...and all of the guests were instructed to wear purple. well, this didn't go over well with ellis...you see, she is literally OBSESSED with the color pink. she doesn't understand why everything can't be pink. when beckett got a toy tractor for christmas, there were a number of animals that came with it...one being a pink pig. she immediatley took the pig to her room. we have a toy that came with 5 balls, one ball was pink...it is now in her room and she sleeps with it at night...you see where i am going with this. we got her ice cream (strawberry) at the mall one day because she was a trooper. i had the guy add sprinkles to it thinking she would be thrilled...quite the opposite- she threw a fit because there were other colors on her pink ice cream. we had to throw that one away and get a new one. psycho. anyways- back to the purple party...ahh...the things you do for friends :)

even beckett got in on the action...purple camo is a great look

seems she doesn't discriminate against purple cupcakes...this picture was after i told her one was all she was getting...life is tough...

ellis should get extra credit for purple nails...so white trash...but just for fun :)

who's that girl?

when things get slow around the house, ellis and i play beauty shop...while beckett destroys her room. beauty shop can consist of fake blow drying, pretend make up, tiara w/ an "up" do...you get the picture. well, one day i took it to a new level...i decided to straighten her VERY curly hair with my CHI. hilarious...i don't think i would have recognized her on the street...

i also noticed something very peculiar when her hair was straight- it has one section that is so much longer than the rest of her hair...so weird...i guess i need to get that taken care of. see third picture below...

here is a picture of her hair when we aren't playing beauty shop...notice the "spring" curl (as we call it)...now i know where it comes from- the strange growth pattern of her hair...the curls are too cute...i know she will hate them one day, but for now- i am in love w/ the curls..."spring" and all :)