These shoes are made for walking...

Over the past month or so I've invested in some shoes for the baby boy in hopes they would help him get up and at 'em and start walking. Not so much. However, one day last week Gaines randomly grabbed his little push cart we got him for his birthday and started walking across the room. We went nuts! Up until that point, he has shown absolutely NO interest in walking. The days following this excitement he actually took one step when he was trying to get from the coffee table to me on the couch. I thought we were on our way to walking but now Gainesy boy has decided he's not very interested in the whole walking thing after all. I mean...he won't even stand on his own. Although he could if he wanted to, he prefers to squat and get into the crawl position. I guess I don't blame him because he is a mover and a groover when it comes to crawling. So here's how it normally goes...

He's standing and kind of liking it...

He's decided to go for it and take a step...

And he's done! Time to get down in the comfortable position...the crawl!

BTW...Are you loving the Toms or what?!?!?!?

I also have Gaines some white converse that I love pairing with bright colored striped socks. And, here's another one I couldn't resist.

You seriously have never seen something quite as cute as these little Natives on Gaines. L-O-V-E! These are actually his favorite scoots. As you can tell, I'm pretty much obsessed with shoes...whether it be for me, Lo or Gaines and I have a REAL hard time resisting all shoes, boots, flip-flops, etc. A vice I have I guess. Speaking of vice...I'm also dying to get this Puma for Gaines...


I'm going to wait until he's officially walking before I invest in this one. You know how fast their little feet grow so I can't get too out of control. Plus, as much as I love shoes, I still LOVE a barefooted baby!

What I'm reading...

It took me longer than normal to finish my last book which was The Help. I've had so many people tell me how much they loved it and some even say it was their "all time favorite book". But, for me, it was a tough read. Not because it wasn't good...because it was....mainly because it was super depressing. A story that needed to be told no doubt but it was very heartbreaking from my standpoint. And, to be honest, in parts of the South, things haven't changed just a whole lot which makes it even more depressing. Over the weekend, a girlfriend told me since I've finished the book I have to go see the movie but I'm not sure I can put myself through that. I find myself avoiding any movie that can bring a tear to my eye! I know I'm missing out on a lot by taking this approach but I just can't help it.

With this, I had to lighten things up. So I started reading Are You There, Vodka? IT'S ME, CHELSEA by Chelsea Handler.

Let me just tell you...this book is a COMPLETE riot. I mean the title alone...HIL-ARIOUS! I'm not necessarily a huge Chelsea Handler fan but I'm still loving the book and will likely be a huge fan from here on out. To be honest, she reminds me of me just a bit (minus her laugh-out-loud humor)...I think it's her thought process when she gets herself in a "pickle"...I seem to always get myself in some sort of "pickle" (like Chelsea) and when I do I have a similar thought process as Chelsea. Anyway, this book is fabulous and worth reading if you want to have a good laugh.

One Charming Party

I love to check in on the One Charming Party blog! Two moms who love crafts and party planning started this blog a few years back. There are so many fun projects I'm dying to do with the kids and so many great party ideas. Here is a project I want to partake in with the kiddos asap.

Water Party: Sponge Ball

How cute are these sponge balls?!?!? I just think this is such a great /easy project to do with the kids then run outside to play in the pool. I know Lo will enjoy making them and Gaines will love playing with these sponge balls in the pool as he's all about balls right now. Absolutely can't wait to give it a whirl! Will post pictures once we do.

We went to the lake this past weekend to hang with friends. Lola has really become super confident with her new swimming skills. By yesterday afternoon, she was jumping off the doc into the lake and swimming around all without a life jacket. Gaines also LOVES water. We have him a little infant jacket and he dives in and tries to swim like the big kids. He loves putting his head under water and all. I think we have another little swimmer in the works as we speak.

Lo in Rag

I don't believe I've told yall the story of Lo's most recent hair cut. I was getting real tired of her long stringy hair mainly because she would never let us brush it. Every morning it was a screaming fight to try to get her hair to a presentable point. By the end I said "screw it" she can go to school with a rats nest on her head for all I care. With this, I've been DYING to get it cut but daddy bear loved it and didn't want to get it cut (let the debate begin!). He says "Some people pay money to try to get their hair to look like this." Meaning, un-brushed kind of wavy hair. I'm not so sure about the paying money part but I get what he's saying...people try to get the whole "natural" look I guess.

Anyway, I got to the point where I was fed up and one day I decided to get the scissors out. Lo said she wanted it as short as Gaines. Luckily, since I'm not Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and I don't take a comment like this to heart as she's only 3 1/2 and doesn't really know how she wants her hair I don't think (If you remember, when Shiloh Pitt wanted her hair short like her brothers, they cut it). So one day when Lo got out of the bath, we sat there and cut her hair. I was trying to get it to where it was all one length not realizing how much I was cutting it. I chopped away and once I was done I went into PANIC mode because I really chopped it and didn't realize how much until it was a done deal.

It may be hard to tell from the pic but this is a few inches of hair. Although I miss her "long beautiful hair", I'm getting used to the new cut now and kind of like it. I also know it will grow better now. Lola loves it and will now let me brush it which is nice. I'll have to post a pic of the "new do" soon!

On another note, Lola recently moved up to a new "big girl" classroom at school and I've never seen a little girl happier. She wakes up ready to walk out the door immediately to head to school. This morning she said "Mommy, I'm going to smile all the way to school today because I'm so excited!" How cute it this! She's always loved school but this move has taken it to another level. She can't wait to get there and doesn't want to leave. She also asked me this morning if "Madison could come over this weekend to play?" so it looks like we'll have to get a play-date in the works. After only a week in this class, she's already learned so much. It's actually amazing! She can now identify most of her numbers and is almost there with her letters. She's also learning to write which is all new to us so we had to get the tracing paper out last night like they do at school. Love seeing Lola so happy and learning so much!

Everyone have a fab weekend! We're off to the lake for hopefully a relaxing weekend with friends.

Toodaloo!

It's all about the Texas tuxedo!

I'm dying to pull off the "Texas tuxedo" look this fall and winter. Bring on the cool weather because here I come. Now...when I say "Texas tuxedo", I'm not referring to this kind...


But, something more like this from The Satorialist.

Or, these looks from Free People.

I've also been on a hunt for the perfect fun ankle boot to spice up the good ol' Texas tuxedo and I'm loving these two options...actually obsessed with both of them....

I saw these Sam Edelman Petty animal print boot in the August issue of Lucky mag and fell in love with them.

Or, I'm also loving this stripe Jeffrey Campbell boot...literally LOVE!

Tough call on this one! And, my boot obsession continues....

On another note, if you're reading this blog, you know I've been in NYC this week. And, if you watch any TV, you know there was an earthquake on the East Coast this week. Yep! I experienced an earthquake....ABSOLUTE CRAZINESS!!!

This trip my client was on Wall Street right across from the Stock Exchange. We were on the 10th floor and all the sudden felt the building shake and keep shaking and keep shaking. I locked my eyes on my work colleague across the table and was thinking "OMG....is this normal?" Then I realized it wasn't normal and my first thought was "It's a terrorist attack." I didn't think it was our building being attacked but I thought it may be a building close and we were feeling it but then my mind kept spinning..."What will happen next? What floor are we on? What do we do? Do we run downstairs? If we're not able, can we jump out the window if it is an attack? Not an option as we're on the 10th floor...WHAT DO WE DO???" After what seemed to be 20 + minutes but was probably only 20 seconds, my colleague said to me "This is not normal!". I just sat in silence thinking of my kids and family. We quickly found out it was an earthquake. Although I was relieved it wasn't a terrorist attack, I still was thinking I would rather be on floor 1 rather than floor 10 just in case there were aftershocks. I toughed it out and stayed but it took my heart about 1 hour to slow down and stop bouncing out of my chest. THIS my friends is an experience/feeling I will never forget!

Oh how I miss you...

NYC

I'm here...in NYC and here are just a few things I miss:

• The people.
  
• The cultural diversity.
• The style. Everyone has style regardless if they have a "fashion sense" because in NYC, every one's personal style is considered "a style" without even trying. I love this!
• The food. I'm even super excited about getting a bagel with creme cheese from one of the local street vendors tomorrow morning.
  
• The smell of the subways. Weird I know. But, as I jumped on the 1 train and switched over to the express 2, I felt like I never left...like I still live here and am a true part of the City. For a moment, I wished we still lived here...I wished I was heading home to our walk-up apartment....until I saw a mother carrying her infant stroller up the subway steps...yep...that all went away and I'm happy we're in Austin!
  
• The buildings.
• The architecture.
• The history.
  
• The crisp blue skies.
• The flowers. I love that all the flowers at all the local markets. I wanted to grab a bundle for my hotel room when I was walking back last night. I stopped myself as I realized this may be a little much!
  
• The weather. When I landed in NYC at 2:15 p.m., it was 77 degrees. It was 78 degrees in Austin when I left my house at 5:00 a.m. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. In Texas, you would not consider walking out of the house without shorts or a sundress on only...in NYC, everyone is in jeans and cardigans. Oh so nice!
  
• The shopping.
• The friends. Looking forward to dinner with them tomorrow night.
  
• The feeling you have when you're here. Indescribable!
• The hustle and bustle.
• The sounds. I slept with my window open last night and it was amazing! The sounds of the breeze between the buildings, the cars, the people talking/walking...I'm way up on the 16th floor and felt like I could hear it all....like I was in the moment with all the sounds in the City.
  
• The energy. This city makes me feel like there is still hope for this country....for this world.
  

I decided to do something different this trip. I'm staying at the World Trade Center. I've never stayed downtown but I'm absolutely enamored by it! As we are coming up on the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, I feel so much staying here....being here! I think of all those lost and where we are today. How it's changed all of us who watched it on TV and those who lived through it. For the good....for the bad...I don't know...but we've all changed.


I truly love NYC!

The bane of my existence AGAIN!

Gosh...I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted a blog. Needless to say last week was insane. And the bad news is this week will not be any better. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting at the airport right now waiting for a flight. My 7:00 a.m. flight was canceled, I had to switch airlines and now I don't leave until 9:30 a.m. Unfortunately, this will really set me back this week as I won't get to my audit until much later than anticipated. At least this gives me time to post a blog and then I'll get an hour or two of work in before it's time to board. Oh the life of a traveling Mama...

Guess what's back?!?!?!? The bane of my existence...THE BOTTLE! If you don't remember this from child #1, see The Bane of My Existence Part I and Part II. Yes, there were two parts. Looking back at those postings, I couldn't help but giggle. Boy how I've changed. I was so obsessed with the whole "cut your baby off the bottle at 12 months because that's what "they" say to do" thing. It's funny seeing my obsession over it. Now I can think clearly and know that my children will not walk into kindergarten with a bottle in hand so it's not such a big deal if Gaines doesn't want to let go of his bottle at 12 months. PHEW...one thing less to stress about!

Even though I'm not obsessing about this particular issue, I can already tell you this will once again be "the bane of my existence" because, like Lola, Gaines is super attached to his bottle. Both my kids never took to a pacifier, blanket, doll, etc. I tried hard with both of them with a blanket and/or doll by rocking them with it, putting it in their crib, etc but neither one of them were interested. But, the bottle....oh the bottle they love oh so much!

Angle 1

Angle 2

It doesn't matter which angle you look at the baby boy...both ways it's VERY clear he loves his bottle. Gaines will take a sippy cup but they are not his preference when he wants to get serious with his la-la-la leche....only the bottle works in these serious situations! My plan is to start weaning him over the next 6 weeks. After trying several different sippy cups from Target and HEB, I've finally invested in the Think Baby and Born Free cups. I figure since these are his favorite bottles, maybe it will make the transition a little easier.

Definitely will need him weaned by October 26th as that's when his new baby cousin (Porter Davis Rope) is due to arrive and I will need to hand the bottles back over to Aunt Beans and Uncle Adam for the new addition. As usual, I'll keep ya posted!

So many updates for you but not sure if I'll get to them this week due to the hectic work schedule. We just got back from a long weekend with the family down in New Braunfels. Floating that river is my idea of heaven...SO much fun! Lola, Gaines and Curry are all "river rats". They loved it! Lola was able to put her new swimming skills to use and is already drastically improving. We'll continue to practice as we're heading to a swim party then the lake this coming weekend. I'm telling you...it's NONSTOP around here! It seems we never stop blowin' and a goin'....

Enamored by....

Today I'm enamored by the fact that I went to the doctor earlier this week for my much dreaded annual obgyn visit and an appointment that should have taken one hour took three hours. First off, I've been rescheduling this appointment since January. I know this because the last time I went for my regular post-having baby 6 month check-up, my doctor (whom I LOVE) basically DEMANDED that I stop breastfeeding as it was causing too much stress (if you remember, Gaines never latched so I was spending half my days pumping...going insane). She also demanded I come back in two weeks to confirm I had in fact stopped breastfeeding and for my annual. Since I didn't stop as ordered I continued to delay that appointment. Then, when I did stop (VERY hard decision and only stopped because my pump died and I thought it was a sign...even though I don't really believe in signs...I cried and cried), I continued to reschedule due to my busy work schedule. Little did I know it would only get worse!

So come Tuesday when I had an appointment scheduled, I yet again called to reschedule but they wouldn't let me. Yep! Basically, demanded I come in so I was forced to go....ARGH! The appointment was interesting to say the least. My blood pressure was so high that my doc walked in saying "What in the world is going on?" So I let it all out....works insane, still no sleep, screaming kids, traveling constantly for work, traveling every weekend due to non-stop plans, etc. She spent the next hour lecturing me and telling me I have to get some things under control. She also confirmed that the light headed/nauseous feeling I get everyday is likely due to the high blood pressure. In addition to all this, I confessed that I was having baby fever....her eyes opened up very wide and she DEMANDED that I absolutely could not have another baby right now until something gives in my life and then DEMANDED I get on a birth control (I'm thinking she didn't trust me). Of course, since my blood pressure is so high, I can't be on a birth control so she is using another method. I'm telling you...she wasn't letting me walk out of that office without some sort of birth control! Finally, I had to get blood work done to see if something else is going on causing this blood pressure issue, fatigue and all the other.

So, that's what I'm enamored by this week...the fact that my health is now officially being affected (Or is it effected??? Never have been able to get this one straight.) by my very stressful life. Yet, I still have to go on with this life and meet the deadlines, wake up with the kids, etc...it's not like I can just run away from all of it to take a sabbatical. BTW....when I was pushing for the 3rd child thing I told her..."Think about it...if I get pregnant then I know I have a 3 month sabbatical just around the corner (a.k.a - maternity leave) ...maybe that will help my stress"...she did not fall for that one. As a matter of fact, she looked at me like I was completely insane...frankly, I probably am!

Now, on a good note, I'm also enamored by this dollhouse...

Is this 1970s dollhouse rockin' or what?!?!?!? The artists/maker is Christopher Cole.

Lola is all about dollhouses right now. I'm dying to get her a fabulous house she can use to play with her Erikas. Lo has three dolls she named Erika. She's always looking for them saying "Where are my Erikas?". She also sleeps with them every night. The current dollhouse she has was a Christmas gift from her Tia Molly, Tio Ben and cousin Doss. I love this one because she was able to color and paint it to make it her own. However, the Erikas don't fit in this house.

By Kidsonroof

I've been scoping this dollhouse from PlanToys for a while. Every time we go to my favorite baby/kid store in Austin, GaGa, Lola plays with it the whole time so I know she loves it too.

Now, what I would really love is for Clay to design and build her a groovy dollhouse but I'm not sure he has time on his hands to dedicate to this! In the meantime, I'll keep searching for the perfect dollhouse for Lo Bear!

Who knew the "enamored by..." theme could go in so many different directions!?!?!? I'M LLOOOVING IT!

A Must Have!

It's been a while since I've posted anything fashion related. It's probably because at this point, I'm only throwing on the same dresses over and over and rarely even add accessories due to the extreme heat. To be honest, until yesterday (I had a lunch meeting), it had been weeks since I even put on make-up. I guess I'm going with the "all natural" look this summer...is this still a trend??? If so, I'm right on!

Earlier this week my two favorite catalogs and favorite fashion magazine came in...Free People, Anthropologie and Elle. I still had a hard time really getting excited over anything (although it is all fabulous) as it's all Fall stuff and I just can't bring myself to get even remotely excited and inspired by Fall wear....maybe it's because it will be at least November before we can start wearing any of it?!?!?! The good news about my daily dresses I'm wearing now is they're all dresses I love and I want to transition them into the Fall. So when I came across this pair of boots, they immediately caught my eye and I thought "I MUST HAVE!".

Ancient Inklings Boots

I was absolutely obsessed with boots last Fall/Winter and feel I will be obsessed again this year. Even when I think of the dresses I'm throwing on every day....These boots would be great with all of them. So, although we'll likely still be dealing with very warm weather in October, they could help me transition some of my Summer dresses into Fall wear. SO EXCITED!!! Oh, but wait....I first have to figure out how to afford them...hmmmm!!!! Maybe an early Christmas gift??!?!?

Speaking of boots....

I got these last year from Anthro (an early Christmas gift) and literally wore them EVERY DAY last Fall/Winter and through the Spring. I was heartbroken when I finally had to put them away in late May. I'm still loving them and they will absolutely be in the mix again for this Fall/Winter. You can tell I wore the hell out of them and their also nice and dusty...must have been a concert or something...I'm kind of liking the dusty look...blends in perfectly with my dusty floor!

Anyway, hopefully I can start getting inspired by Fall looks soon but if not, I guess I have my boots!

P.S. It's only 6:15 a.m. and I've already received a Instant Message and a phone call for work...craziness!!!

Play Me, I'm Yours

Back in April, when you went around town, you would notice pianos placed randomly on the streets of Austin. This was a public art display which was part of the “Play Me, I’m Yours” exhibition by artist Luke Jerram which was sponsored by the Art Alliance Austin. It's an international tour which started 2008 (ends September 2011 in Tilburg Netherlands) where 400 pianos were installed in cities across the globe, from New York to Sydney. There was nothing better than taking a jog across the pedestrian bridge at the lake at 6:30 a.m. and coming across someone playing the piano. I loved it and wish it was back. There is a new art exhibit out there now for us Austinites which I'll post shortly but in the meantime, here are some pics from around town of the fabulous "Play Me, I'm Yours" exhibit:

Photography by Peter Tsai.

Gotta love Austin! REALLY....you gotta!

Welcome Elsley!

This is Elsley! The newest member of the Odom household. Lola picked Elsley out all on her own after visiting two pet stores....she was very particular about exactly which fish she wanted. Elsley was a reward for completing swim lessons last week. Granted, he's not the parrot she originally wanted but he'll do. We actually like him a lot! Lola feeds him every morning and evening and is constantly going to check on the little guy. For a fish, he's quite social which is nice and he's very pretty. Lo also picked out all the decorations for his little tank. He has a pretty cool pad I must say!

Now on to the swim lessons.... I struggled with when and if I should do the swim lessons this year. I finally decided if I was able to get into Gwen a.k.a "The Swim Whisperer", that I would do it. Miraculously, she just so happened to have a cancellation and one last open spot in August.

Going into to the lessons I wondered how in the world Lola would learn to swim over a four day period with only 15 minute lessons a day. The friend who recommended her swore by it so we thought we'd give it a shot. The first day was pretty torturous for all of us. It was basically filled with screams...NON-STOP blood curdling screams. I must preface, Lola LOVES water and always has....she will swim away with her floaties on but typically doesn't swim with her head under water. The first day was filled with Lo being dunked...not fun! Come day two, Lola was screaming that she didn't want to go to swim lessons and continued to scream all the way into "The Swim Whisperers" arms but within minutes she stopped and she was swimming on her own. I have no idea what Gwen was saying to her but whatever it was, it was truly amazing to see Lola swimming like a fish after only 20 minutes of lessons. By day four, Lola was jumping into the pool and swimming to the side. I'm telling you...absolutely amazing!

Now Lola LOVES to go under water. She has to have her goggles on of course. I'm going to make sure to take Lo to the pool at least once a week if not more to practice the new swim moves. I'll also take Lola back to Gwen next summer to learn technique and I think I'll go ahead and start Gaines. Here's some pics from last weekend in Baird of Lola using her new swim skills...
BTW...if you want to get into "The Swim Whisperer", she opens her schedule up on January 1st and by January 15th, she's booked for the entire summer. So, it's really miraculous that we just so happened to get in this summer. YEA! It was well worth it.

It's Monday...NEED MUSIC NOW!!!

Well, it's Monday and it's beyond INSANE over here! I have mass amounts of tension in my shoulders/neck (really can't explain the tension I'm feeling right now) and I've already almost hyperventilated no less than two times due to the stress at work....literally my head starts spinning and I feel like I can't breathe...NICE!! After this happened the first time, I took it upon myself to scarf down four brownies in hopes this would help me feel better (as if I'm diabetic having some sort of attack or something). Instead, I'm now on a sugar high...HELP!

Oh, did I mention on top of everything else going on today, I also accidentally called 911 this morning?!?!?!? Yes. Here I am sitting on a conference call with my BOSS and see a policeman cruising up to my front door. I quickly prefaced to my boss "A cop is at my door...if I'm arrested, it's only for an outstanding ticket I forgot to pay (note: forgot to pay due to the mass amount of work which allows me no time to take care of things in my personal life) and not for anything else". Luckily, I wasn't arrested...just accidentally called 911 when trying to call Clay's 917 # dialed too quick and pushed 911...Yep!

Anyway, THANK GOODNESS I have something to look forward to tonight...MUSIC MONDAY! Clay and I are heading to The Decemberist show tonight at Stubbs. SUPER PUMPED! Oh do I need a couple hours to decompress with one of my favorite bands.

Here they are (some of my fave men and woman) playing Don't Carry It All (note to self) from The Kind Is Dead album.



Say what you will about The Decemberist (I know there are a lot of haters out there...can't quite figure out why...I personally think it's a "trend" to hate them...), but their new album is phenomenal!

Enamored by...

So, one of my favorite blogs has a "Loving..." day. Basically, she posts things that she's "Loving..." that particular week. I too am constantly coming across things that I'm "Loving". Most recently, when I was on a search for Gainesy a birthday gift, I found so many toys, books, etc for both babies and toddlers that I was absolutely "loving". But, since my fellow blog friend already uses the "Loving..." title, I figured I shouldn't be a copy cat and decided to change it up a bit. So, I'm going with "Enamored by...". Granted, not as good as "Loving..." but I'm still "Loving" "Enamored by..." too.

Here are some of the things I'm "Enamored by..." when it comes to the kiddos.

Animal Masks - There are so many reasons why I'm Loving...oh wait...enamored by these masks. One, their adorable and two, you can also get creative with them in so many ways. You can keep them as is or have the kids paint or color them to make them their own.

Animal Alphabet Wooden Puzzle - Again, these are great for so many reasons and are good for a 1 yr old or 3 1/2 year old or older. All kids love to play with wooden things (Gaines specifically would love them because of this). Toddlers love puzzles (Lola specifically would love them because of this). And, they're also perfect for Lola as we're working on learning her letters now. This is a fun creative way to learn the letters!

Double Rainbow Maker - This is my FAVE!!! It uses two crystals that spin in opposite directions and makes a multi-rainbow display of dancing colors around a room. It has a suction cup so you can stick it on the window. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! And I know Lola would be absolutely fascinated by this. She just recently asked how rainbows were made...I let Clay answer this one. Santa Claus will definitely be bringing this one to her this year (Yes. Already planning ahead for Christmas...craziness!).

Playshapes Building Blocks - Lola loves playing with blocks. I specifically love these blocks because they're a little more unique and allow any toddler to use their imaginations and be creative with the shapes.

Tegu Discovery Set - We got these last year for my 2 yr old nephew for Christmas. This will be on the Christmas gift for Gainesy this year. I think they are great for any age but probably perfect for those little guys who are still trying to develop motor skills. The blocks magnetically connect and inspire creative play.

Wooden Fishing Play Set - How cute is this! Enough said right?!?!?!


I could go on and on but I must stop now. All of these fab items above are from the MoMA Store which I'm obsessed with....check it out!

Hope to have more blog time next week. We had a huge week. Lola completed swim lessons...YEA!!! More on this to come...

Have a fab weekend all!

Happy Birthday to Gaines!

Guess what today is???? GAINESY's BIRTHDAY (...and President Obama's)!!!


I can hardly believe our little baby boy is 1 yrs old today! Un-believable...REALLY!!! Wow how he's changed our lives (all in a good way of course)! Over the past year, we've been confronted with many challenges (two vs one child (Yikes!), no sleep (again), endless ear infections and visits to the doctor (painful for all of us), picky eater (hard to get this child to eat anything other than cheerios, feta cheese (no this is not a typo) and pizza), jealous sister (Oh Lord!), losing baby weight (leave weight...LEAVE!!!), etc) but there have also been countless happy times that have come along with the challenges. And boy how much our little guy has changed. They really do grow up way too fast. Before we know it, he'll be too old to rock to sleep...NO!!! I'm sure that's when I'll insist on another one (wink, wink)! As Tina Fey would say "I have a top notch baby with whom I am in love. It's head-over-heels "first love" kind of thing because I pay for everything and all we do is hold hands." I laughed out loud at this one! Think about it...this statement is SO TRUE!!!

Happy Birthday Gaines! We love you more than anything in the whole wide world!

A visit to the museum...

We went to Dallas last weekend to hang with friends and family. On Sunday, Clay took Lo to the Kimbell Art Museum to see the Picasso and Braque exhibit. Lola absolutely loved it and had strong opinions on which pieces of art she preferred. I'm not surprised as this child has strong opinions on everything these days! Here are some pics from their visit.

Lola loved the sculptures. I'm not quite sure what this pose is she's busting out with?!?!?!

Absolutely love the simplicity of these photos.

The museum visit and Picasso exhibit was perfect timing as Lo's favorite book right now is When Pigasso met Mootisse.

Since grabbing this book at my fave book store Book People, Lola and Clay have also been looking at one of his Picasso books every evening and talking about the pieces in great detail. This little girl really seems to love art which is great. I hope it sticks with her!