Beginning to Feel the Thrill of Early Fall

Gig 'Em Aggies!

Lately we have been enjoying the slight, shy onset of Fall.  This is my absolute favorite time of year!  I revel in those first few cool fronts, football, and of course, our family's birthday season.  Though we still hide out inside during the day to avoid the heat, we have been able to enjoy many cool evenings in our own backyard.  David and I sit and enjoy the view of Nueces Bay (or I sit while he waters the yard...go away drought!) while the kids eat popsicles, dig in the sand box and climb around on the playhouse.  Cooper's current favorite backyard activity involves two-fisting dirt from under the deck to the playhouse, where he then spreads it around.  Penny thinks this is hilarious, so her favorite activity involves following Cooper around and seeing what funny thing he is going to do next.

Popsicles!

Yum!

Down in the Dirt.

 We have taken the idea that Fall means change to heart by hitting a new wave of home improvement.  The noisiest and most obvious change is the new metal roof being constructed on our house as I type.  We have also been updating our master bathroom and kitchen with paint and new hardware and fixtures.  David is also in the process of building a fence in the front yard so the kids have a shady place to play during the day.  Once those projects are complete, I suppose we will paint the breakfast room and clean out and organize the garage.  (During roof construction, our garage ceiling inadvertently collapsed, blanketing EVERYTHING with insulation and dust.)  I suppose once some projects fall into the "completed" category, I can post some before and after pictures.

The dogs have been enjoying some indoor time, while our roof is under construction.

Happy Fall, everyone!  I'll try to keep the blog posts rolling through birthdays, Aggie Football, Halloween, and of course the holidays!

A Little Dirt Never Hurt!

This past weekend we made a quick trip up to Fredericksburg to attend Grandma's family reunion.  We got to visit with some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins while the kids played until they just couldn't play anymore.  Cooper loved playing in the dirt with his new train we bought him from Dooley's (a dime store we go to EVERY time we go to Fredericksburg) and going for a long walk (ahem, run) with Grandma.  Penny had a blast just running every where she could.  They were so tired, we didn't even make them take a bath back at the hotel room, despite the layer of dirt coating four little feet.  Neither kid took a good nap on the way up, but both kids slept like rocks on the way home.  And both parents slept like rocks that night!

The Stats are In

Penny had her one year checkup this week with the pediatrician.  She is 21 pounds (50th percentile) and 30.5 inches long (90th percentile!).  The doctor was pleased with her growth both physically and cognitively, calling her "opinionated" when she cried throughout the checkup. (It is nearing lunch and nap time and Penny was soooo over the doctor's office.) Penny received four shots and got a clean bill of health.  We are both glad that's over!

Also, Penny has chosen "hi" as her current favorite word.  While she has been waving for a while now, she has recently added saying "hi" with a big, open-mouthed grin to that wave.  Penny also loves songs!  Every time I lay her down on the changing table now, she starts singing (saying), " Wo, Wo, Wo!" which I have taken to mean "Row, Row, Row" as in Row, Row, Row Your Boat, which is one of  my typical distraction songs whilst I change her.  When we start singing the ABC song, Penny starts clapping along, again, with that patented open-mouthed grin of hers.  We love that grin...it is especially cute when she starts smiling at her brother.  When he notices her smiling at him, he starts purposely trying to make her laugh, which is hilarious.  Or Coop will start running off, and Penny goes running (YES, running) after him with her mouth wide open in that sweet grin.

The Epitome of Cuteness

Santa Coop!

Sweet Penny!