Friday, March 27, 2015

Friday Night Photo Dump | January and February 2015

January

Saturday morning fun (also: saving all those old cell phones was an excellent idea). 


Ava loves the sleeping bag she got for Christmas from Grampsie and Nana.


I promised Josh that our second child wouldn't get the short end of the homemade baby food stick. So, cook and blend I did.


Hugs.


Comfortable, Louie? 


Silly girl.


Finally trying to nail down the fun idea that has been floating around in my head.


Such a good dad. 


Not sure exactly what was going on here, but my best guess is that Elsa was not happy with Anna's announcement that she is now a vegan and thus refuses to help cook the steak. 


Park weather in January? Yes, please.



Ava loves to draw on her new easel from Bunny and Nello. I was super impressed with this duck!


And these "sad faces" crack me up. Pretty sure she was using Charlie Brown as her muse.


Another favorite activity of Ava's is dressing up for bed. She adds most of the pieces after we say goodnight, so I don't see the full effect until going back in later to tuck her in. 

Pajamas. Fuzzy socks. Dorothy shoes. Princess nightgown. Tutu. Wand. Witch hat. Check!

Off to dreamland.


My friend Neil nailed it on the head when he said that this picture is reminiscent of a Katy Perry video. 


Ava even makes sure that the stuffed animals' dress-up game is on point.


Daddy-daughter basketball lesson.


Yolk finally opened up in my building, and the coffee is legit! It helped me get through the last month of Rylan's refusal to sleep through the night.


"I'm the mommy leopard, and this is my baby."


Ava loves her some birthday parties!


February

My Mom sent me this picture of them holding hands on a walk. Be still my heart.


Post-three-year-check-up popsicle at Steel City. 


After Ava's birthday, it was officially time to put an end to all pacifier use (we had a slight regression after Rylan was born, and Ava continued to use them to fall asleep at night). For weeks we discussed how she couldn't use a pacifier once she turned three, and that she could exchange them for whatever toy she wanted at the store. 

This is the sweet lady who took our pacifier payment. 


Despite saying for weeks that she was going to buy a "soft elephant," Ava went with the unicorn :). She did great that night and only asked for her paci one time after that. Done and done!


Ava took this shot of Josh, and I kind of love it. 


In addition to finding her in all kinds of outfits, Ava also falls asleep in very funny positions. This may be my favorite.


An early Valentine's dinner with my love at Public School 214.
I love how the Valentines for the kids' teachers turned out, and they totally deserved it. 


And the Olaf-themed Valentines for Ava's class were adorable (and delicious). 


But Valentine's Day took a turn for the worse when I got a call from Ava's school that her stomach hurt. Normally, I wouldn't have been too worried, but she didn't want to eat or drink anything during the party. Saying no to cupcakes and juice is a huge red flag.

Sure enough, the stomach bug showed up in full effect a couple hours later.


And literally as I was camped out in the bathroom with Pukey McPukerson, Rylan's school called to let me know that he had caught the rash/fever virus that was going around. All I could do was laugh. 

Luckily, he didn't feel too bad, so the next day was a pretty calm day at home with my sick babies.


Ava was back to 100% by Saturday, so we were able to make it to Aunt Tori's mother-daughter Valentine's tea party. She was in snack heaven.


We had so much fun!
I also managed to capture a few pictures of my little valentines. This one is everything.


My Valentine's gift for Josh. 


And our dinner…Chuy's delivery and lots of wine. Mmmmmm.


After the weekend, I thought we had escaped any threat of the stomach bug spreading…until Rylan was sent home on Tuesday. Womp womp. 

My poor little guy was miserable for several days, and I had to work crazy hours at night to stay on top of everything. But: snuggles. 



Luckily, everyone was feeling better in time for Jack's "glow" birthday party.
Hamburger date with the Hubbards.


I love our neighborhood and the fun "little free library" down the street. It has become a mandatory stop on our walks. 


#keepeastdallasweird


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Second Sunday Brunch Bunch (and Jill's Bachelorette Brunch): LARK on the Park

Our February meeting of the Second Sunday Brunch Bunch was extra special because it doubled as Jill's bachelorette celebration. 

For this fun occasion, we chose LARK on the Park as our brunch location. It is a cool restaurant right across the street from Klyde Warren Park that features unique blackboard art in addition to tasty food. 


(Not pictured above: Rachel. Sorry we didn't manage to get any pictures before you had to leave!)

We made Jill wear a crazy hat (at least for a few minutes).


And Erin provided the table with hilarious dinosaur-themed goody bags...in honor of the bride-to-be's childhood (and ongoing) love for the creatures. 


The dinosaurs loved hanging out on the table. Bonus points if you can spot them all throughout this post :).


We tried two different kinds of mimosas, the original and their daily special that contained some sort of fruit juice that I can't remember as well as hibiscus beer. We all agreed that the special mimosa was really good because the beer cut the sweetness a bit. 


We started with two orders of the Assorted Pastries Board for the table. The sticky bun was clearly the winner of the bunch. 


Jill ordered the Lark Benedict, which was a pretty standard eggs benedict but very good nonetheless. And the potatoes were deliciously crispy.


Sarah chose the Rajas omelet. It looks a little plain from the outside, but it contained poblano chiles, caramelized onion, and Oaxaca cheese. 


Andrea, Erin, and I all ordered the Steak and Eggs Frites. Mmmmmm. 


However, Andrea was crazy and got hers with scrambled eggs…even though she really wanted to order a Rooty Tooty Fresh N' Fruity ;). 


Laura ordered the Fried Egg sandwich with bacon and Gruyere, which was my second choice, and she totally won. I scored a little bite, and it was amazing. I am totally a sucker for extra carbs with my eggs. Next time this sandwich will be mine. 


Jill opened a few little gifts during brunch as well. 


Including a velociraptor wine bottle stopper (how could I not get the for her?!). 


The Fifty Shades of Chicken cookbook. Hilarious!


Some adorable Anthropologie goodies. 


And some granny panties, which according to Sarah were perfect for the girl who was about to be a stepmom living in the suburbs. 


It was such a fun brunch…filled with lots of mimosas :).



We love you, Jill!

About Me

My name is Catherine, but most of my friends call me Cat. I was born and raised in Austin, went to TCU, and ended up in Dallas for law school (where Josh and I met). I decided that being an attorney was not my cup of tea and pursued a career in legal marketing. I am now a mother of two attempting to balance family with a full-time job, which is always an adventure. I love: my sweet babies, handsome husband, very large family, and fabulous friends; trying new restaurants; wine; TCU football; holidays; cooking; The Bar Method; pajamas; Topo Chico; reading; coffee; Central Market; carbs; the beach; mani/pedis; Anthropologie; binge-worthy TV shows and podcasts; trivia; French 75s; Pinterest; cheese boards; The Ticket; dancing; Sprinkles cupcakes; The Texas Rangers; fresh flowers; thunderstorms; naps; Tex-Mex; the Texas Hill Country; porch-sitting; ranch dressing; throwing parties; and my job. I hate: working-mom guilt; snakes; heights; waking up early; ignorant people; stomach bugs; paper cuts; green fruit; snoring; bad hair days; the sound of people eating (Misophonia); scary movies; bad drivers; pulpy OJ; trimming baby fingernails; and Miracle Whip. That pretty much sums it up.

Instagram

E-mail Me

Followers

Blog Archive