Cadence Has Cereal for the First TIme

We gave Cadence some cereal for the first time tonight. I don't think she liked it. But we will keep trying.

The Big Bad Rain Forest and Red Riding Hood

Lyric decided to write a book for Wesley for his birthday. It turned out pretty cute. She is very proud of it!

She told me the story and I typed it then she illustrated. Enjoy:

Red Riding Hood was walking through the forest she suddenly heard a big noise. She didn’t know what it was. She decided to look in the big bad rain forest. So she looked and looked and nobody ever answered. And there was a big bad wolf behind a bush with blueberries on top. She didn’t know what to do because it was a big bad wolf. She doesn’t know what to do because she thought the big bad wolf was going to eat her. Red Riding Hood did not know what to do because nobody knows what to do even her. Nobody else knows what to do. The big bad wolf did not know what to do either because when Riding Hood threw a ball at him he ran as fast as he can with his tail between his legs. They lived happily ever after.

Gardening

Today the girls and I decided to plant some plants. I had bought these a while back (well actually, I think it was this time last year) and we never planted them. The little pots came with a packet of seeds and a soil pellet. You had to soak the pellet in water for 5 minutes.

The girls then used forks to fluff up the soil.

I learned one thing about my girls today, they do not like dirty hands! They wanted nothing to do with carving the pumpkins at Halloween, but I didn't think they would mind a little dirt. Lyric wanted to use a fork the whole time because she didn't want to get her hands dirty. Story used used hers, wanted to go wash her hands in the middle of it. They did not get that from me!

Someone, Story, touched Cadence's head in the middle of our planting adventure. She didn't seem to mind it. I wonder if she will mind dirty hands?

An Apple A Day...

Cadence had her first food today, well kind of:-) I gave her a green apple to "chew" on. She was too cute! She has really been teething, so I thought the green apple might make her gums feel better. She really seemed to enjoy it.

Shower for Baby Zayden

Today we had a baby shower for Trent and Kristin. It was a lot of fun! They were "showered" with lots of gifts from their friends and family. Frogs is their theme; you would not believe all of the frog things they have for babies! They got frog clothes, a frog hamper, frog toys, frog shoes.... you name it they probably got it with a frog on it! Ashlee and I spent the entire day yesterday working on cakes. Yes, we really did spend the entire day! We started out with breakfast at Cracker Barrel (the girls were at Grammy's-- we just had to). The cake baking started about 9:30am. She had to pick her kiddos up from school at 3:30, so Cadence and I drove her to Liberty Hill to pick them up and back to my house to finish the cakes. She left last night at about 9:30. Everyone loved the cakes! They thought they were so cute! I was most proud of Trent's cake. He has been remodeling their house, so I made a special Daddy to Be cake for him. (Devon made the hat and the toliet... I think he likes working with fondant)The baby cake of Zayden turned out pretty cute, too! The frog cake was pretty cute in the end, but it gave us lots of trouble!!!! We made one frog, but his body was too small for his huge head, so we had to start over. I was working on Trent's cake, so Ashlee did the frog by herself. Devon says if she ever needs to make a monkey cake she now knows how. You be the judge, does it look like a green monkey?

Overall the shower was fun and I think everyone had a great time!

Bastrop/ Buescher State Parks

Sunday Feb. 3 We decided to take the girls hiking today. Story woke up at the crack of dawn, so she and Devon decided to wake Lyric and I up at like 6:30. We were not too happy, but we got up anyway. Everyone was dressed, fed and out of the house by 8:00. That is extremely early for a family of 5 to be up and out, but we were (thanks for the early start Story). We deciced we would head over to Bastrop have a snack and hike there and then find a restaurant before heading back home in the afternoon to get redy for the big Super Bowl party. We were in the car approximately 14 1/2 minutes when Story began demanding to , "Get me out of this old seat!" Needless to say it was a pretty long journey. Our little Story Bell is not much of a traveler and unfortunately for her she joined the wrong family because we like to get in the car and go. We finally arrived in Bastrop around 9:30. The girls decided we should have our snack before we headed out on the hike. Devon and the girls found a log to share the snack while I gave Cadence a snack in the car. After everyone had a full tummy Devon loaded Story in her backpack and I loaded Cadence in her front pack.

We hit the trail, but soon discovered we were not on the trail we wanted to be on. Daddy accidentally parked us in the wrong parking lot; to be on the trail we wanted to be on we had to get back in the car and drive to another parking lot. Daddy told everyone he was sorry for the mistake, but Lyric quickly informed him, "It's okay Daddy everybody makes mistakes sometimes, even Connie." We eventually made it to the trail and set out on our hike. Devon is getting surprisingly good at judging when we need to turn around before Lyric gets too tired. On our hike back up the trail she started to complain a little, but we started racing to each trail marker so that kept her momentum going. We had some water and another snack after the hike (yes, we like to eat). We then decided to drive over to Buescher State Park to check it out. The girls spotted a playground and played a while. I think Daddy enjoyed the slide as much as they did. We decided it was time to find some lunch (I told you we like to eat). Lyric wanted to go to a resturaunt with chips, we were all to happy to appease this request because she usually doesn't like Mexican food and Devon and I could eat it for every meal. We found a little place outside of Bastrop, I think it was called Tamaleo's (or something like that). If you are ever outside of Bastrop and you see a little place called Tamaleo's (or something like that)... keep driving! We went in and there were about 10 tables, two were occupied. Okay, no big deal so far, it's a little place, but were are going to get some chips and salsa a cold drink and realxe after our hike...NOT... A guy comes up gives us a menu and takes our drink order. Well the first problem was the menu, it had a total of about five things to choose from. What? I mean come on I know it is a small place, but can we get a little selection? He brought our drinks and I asked if they had anything for the kids, no kids plates, but they do have quesidillas and tostados. Okay, we can work with that. Devon asked if we could get some chips. No, we try not to be too unhealthy, so we don't serve chips and salsa. What... I mean come on you are a mexican food restaurant and you don't serve chips and salsa... CRAZY! Buddy, if we were looking to be healthy we wouldn't be eating mexican food... But, I do have to give Tamaleo's (or something like that) credit the food was really good. Devon had tamales and I had pork cooked in green sauce. So the next time you are traveling outside of Bastrop and you want not so unhealthy mexican food with no chips and five items on the menu you might try Tamelo's (or something like that). Oh and they do sell Bio Fuel if you are in need of a fill up. We had a very long ride home becsuse not only Story wanted out of that old seat, but Lyric did to! I found a bag of Cherrios and peanuts (one of the girls' snacks from the week before). We entertained ourselves by throwing them at Daddy. Yes, it wasn't very safe and yes the car is a mess now, but we made it home without anyone going too crazy. The night ended with cupcakes and our big Super Bowl party (yes, it was just the five of us). A great end to a great day!

Ride 'Em Cowgirl

The girls decided to dress up as cowgirls for Halloween. This was a very hard decision for both of them to make. Lyric wanted to be everything from a waitress to a princess, but eventually decided to be a cowgirl. Story wanted to be a fish for the longest time. This would have been okay with me, but I have never seen a fish costume and had no idea how to make one. We were out shopping for Lyric's cowgirl stuff and Story decided she also wanted to be a cowgirl. I actually thought this was a great idea because cowgirl attire can be worn all the time, not just Halloween. Shopping for the boots was fun and both girls were very excited to be cowgirls. Shortly after the boot purchase Story informed me she wanted to be an elephant...oh to be a one year old!

Everyone came over on Halloween and we had hamburgers. Devon and I took the girls to a few houses in the neighborhood. They were really cute saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You." We went next door for our first house. Our neighbor held the bowl out to the girls and they each got a piece of candy. He said, "Is that all you want? Get you some more." Lyric reached in and took one more piece. Story, the candy expert (NOT), searched through the bowl looking for that one special piece. After going to about five houses Devon and I told the girls we should go home and show everyone what they got. Lyric said, "Yea, let's go!" Story on the other hand was not quite ready to go back, "I don't want to go to my house!"

We made Halloween cupcakes for the party. Lyric really enjoyed the batter! Both girls enjoyed the decorating. Cadence enjoyed that her sisters were busy and she could catch a few zzzz's without being bothered!

Overall, Halloween was a lot of fun. The girls looked really cute and didn't eat too much candy.

Colorado Bend Camping Trip

Christy and I decided a few months ago that after Cadence’s birth I should take Lyric on a camping trip. We wanted to make sure she knows she is still just as special as ever, and we thought a solo trip with dad would be good for her. I finally got a break in my schedule and the heat let up, so we decided to take the trip last week. When I asked Lyric if the idea sounded fun to her, she said she did not want to leave Story behind because she “would miss her too much”. We asked Story if she would like to go and she said yes. I figured Christy could use a break anyway. Last Tuesday we bought a new tent- a small one for the three of us instead of the hotel we usually take- and a new bucket-potty. We had a great time at the store once we convinced Story that the bronze animals by the entrance would not hurt her. We spent Wednesday and Thursday getting our supplies ready and building up the excitement. I took the girls to the grocery store and they got to choose the food for the trip. We ended up with a lot of junk food, some orange juice, and stuff for hamburgers- Lyric’s choice for supper. Friday morning we loaded up in my car, which was cool because they never get to ride in my car, and we headed to Colorado Bend State Park. I had never been to the park, but I didn’t expect it to be full because it’s in the middle of nowhere, so I didn’t make reservations. The girls fell asleep 5 minutes into the trip. They woke up when we hit the ten mile long dirt road that leads into the park, and we rolled our windows down and looked at vultures and cows. We got to the park about 2:00, and just like I thought, it was empty. Looks are deceiving. We walked up to the headquarters and told the ranger we needed a tent site. She said, “Glad you got here early, I only have one site left!”

The site we got wouldn’t have been my first choice, because it was a walk-in. We had to carry all of our stuff down a hill and about 40 yards to the site. Then we had to move the car and park about another 50 yards away. This was an awful lot of work! My helpers did not want to wait at camp while I unloaded, but couldn’t carry anything down that steep hill, so it was slow going. After about an hour, we had everything down to the site. I set up the girl’s chairs and they ate a snack while I pitched the tents. We put our bags, baby dolls, backpacks, books, blankets, and a few rocks and sticks in the pink tent. Sleeping bags, pillows, and the bucket-potty went in the other tent. We decided to walk down to the river and look at the water. On the way, we came to a nice shady spot and I thought it would be fun to sit down and take in the surroundings. When I sat down I felt the sting of grass burrs all over my rear and hands. Luckily, I sat down before the girls did, so I was the only one who got ‘poked’. Lyric pulled grass burrs out of my backside and we decided to go back to camp before someone fell down and got a body full of stickers. Lyric found a stick and proclaimed she would kill any thorns we might come across. She started calling herself “Pirate Lyric”. We all wanted to go hiking, so we climbed the hill and made the trek to the car. We drove through the campground with our windows rolled down and saw a few deer grazing lazily along the road. We had to turn around and drive back by them so Story could see them through her window. They both thought the deer were pretty cool- even Story, who usually doesn’t like animals of any kind. We got to the trail and headed out with Pirate Lyric leading the way and me carrying Story. It wasn’t long before I heard something in the bushes. It was an armadillo! Lyric was a little scared at first, but got over her fear pretty quickly and started yelling, “Hey, Armadillo!” Her voice echoed through the canyon. Story was holding on to me for dear life. We moved on, stopping to look at tracks and scat, and to play games in the sand. We stopped at one point because Pirate Lyric wanted to play “The Rock Game”, but before she could explain the game to me and Story, I realized I was standing in a fire ant bed. Again, I was the only one affected. Eventually, we made it back to the car. We drove up the dirt road to a hill where my phone would work and called Mom. She informed me that the hamburger meat was still in the refrigerator. Lyric was disappointed, but I was secretly relieved that I would not be cooking. We went back to camp and ate ham sandwiches for supper. I built a fire and made the girls some hot chocolate. Around this time, the batteries went dead in the camera, so we didn’t get any more pictures of the trip. I took some video and we’ll try to get that uploaded soon. After a while, we put on pajamas and read books in the tent by the light of our lanterns. Because of our most recent camping experience (Davis Mountains State Park in July), Lyric was sure our camp would be invaded by skunks during the night. I assured her that that really doesn’t happen very often, and we would be safe inside our tent. The girls fell asleep before many stars were visible, so the stargazing was left to me. We slept pretty well, but we did get a little cold at times. Lyric and I did anyway, Story didn’t wake up a single time during the night. Lyric really only woke up once. She said, “Daddy, I hear something moving around outside!” I could hear it, too, and I hoped it wasn’t a raccoon getting into our camp box, but I wasn’t worried about it enough to check it out. I told Lyric we were safe, and she fell asleep. I got up shortly after that and could see the silhouettes of deer in the moon light all around our camp. It was cold, so I made a fire. Lyric woke up not long after, and I started getting her dressed in her pants and long sleeved shirt. Story lifted up from her sleeping bag and said, “Where’s my mommy?” Lyric and I laughed and Story started laughing, too. After they were dressed, the girls sat in their chairs by the fire and I made them some hot chocolate. They ate powdered doughnuts. They ate pop-tarts. They ate crackers. They ate Little Debbie Halloween Cakes. Lyric said, “We ate a lot for breakfast, Daddy.” We were camped under a huge pecan tree, and Lyric decided to gather some pecans to take home to Christy, since she is the only one in our family who likes ‘em. We spent an hour or so packing up our camp and then hauled it all back up the hill to the car. The girls were ready to see Mommy and Cadence, but we decided to go on one more hike before we left the park. Lyric wanted to go on a different trail, so we drove up the dirt road to the Windmill Trail. Again, Pirate Lyric led the way and I carried Story. Along the way, I saw some raccoon poop. I pointed it out to Lyric. She looked at it for maybe two seconds and said, “Don’t step in it.” We kept going. That turned out to be her favorite part of the whole trip. We made it back to the car and headed for home with Lyric and Story shouting, “Goodbye trees! Goodbye deer! Goodbye park!” The girls had a great time. As for me, it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I don’t know if they will remember our camping trip to Colorado Bend a year from now or even a week from now, but I will remember it for the rest of my life. Devon

The Pumpkin Patch

The girls and I visited the pumpkin patch in Marble Falls with our playgroup. We invited The Kessler's to join us. The morning started off kind of iffy because it looked like rain, but the weatherman said it wasn't going to rain until the afternoon, so we took a chance and headed to Marble Falls. When we arrived I needed to pee, so I looked around for a restroom. Ah, yes they have restrooms, but wait it is a Port A Potty. Okay, what will we do... There are no moms here from the playgroup yet and I have three children with me...Can three children fit in a Port A Potty?...Should I lock them in the van?...Can I hold it?...Why did I drink all that water on the way?...

Okay, let's see, "Miss L mommy really has to go potty. Can you stand outside of the potty and watch Baby C while SB and I go in the potty?" Miss L, "Yes."

Okay this is going to work; put Baby C in the stroller, drag three kids across the parking lot, take one in and hope the other two are okay outside... "Miss L, mommy is going in now you stand right here with Baby C." Miss L,"Okay."

While inside.."SB, don't touch anything! Miss L are you okay? SB, I said don't touch anything! Miss L, are you okay? SB, don't touch that! Miss L, we will be out in just a second. Okay? SB, don't open the door yet, mommy has to pull her pants up... Success, mommy used the Port A Potty with three children!

After our potty incident it was time for our tour to start. The Kesslers arrived along with the other people in our group. We started the morning off with a hay ride and going through the maize maze. This really gave me the heebie geebies, I would not want to be lost in there alone!

Next, the kiddos ran a relay race. They had to pull the wagon down to the pumpkins, pick out a pumpkin and run back to the start. The girls both did great! Miss L did it by herself, but our tour guide thought she needed to help SB because she was so little. Shockingly, SB let her help. Everyone then painted their pumpkin. They could have painted a face, but the girls chose to do something more abstract. Next, we fed the goats. Miss L loved this part; SB, not so much!

After we fed the goats we washed up and had some lunch. One of the moms from the playgroup sat with us. Miss L told her how SB likes to pick people's moles and last week she picked Miss L's nipple on her chin. I quickly explained how Miss L meant her pimple on her chin...kids say the craziest things!

When lunch was over we took some pictures with the pumpkins, had ice cream and headed home. We were going to buy a pumpkin, but I just didn't have it in me to lug the three children and a huge pumpkin, so we will be visiting another pumpkin patch with daddy to get our pumpkin for this year.

Fall Festival

Grammy came for a visit this weekend and we decided to visit a fall festival at a church here in Round Rock. The girls had a really good time! They had a petting zoo, a fishing game, a jumpy house, a pumpkin patch and the girls got their face painted.

The jumping was probably their favorite part; although Miss L really enjoyed petting the animals. SB wanted no part of the animals. We were standing outside the fence watching Miss L and Daddy with the animals and she was clutching her teddy bear saying he can't have my bear. The "he" being the horse. She kept repeating over and over how he couldn't have her bear and then she switched to Baby C. Saying he can't have "Tadence". I don't know if she has heard stories of horses eating bears and babies or if she just didn't like the looks of the horse, but she wanted us to know that he couldn't have her bear or her sister!

We had lunch while we were there and of course we had to contribute to the church by visiting their bake sale :) Grammy and I had a brownie, daddy had a pumpkin muffin that he really wants me to learn how to make, and the girls had cupcakes. You can't go to a festival and not have cotton candy, so each one of the girls had some. SB wanted to share with daddy, but he wasn't really up for it. Miss L apparently was saving some of hers for later.

Overall, we had a really good time!