Friday Night Photo Dump | August & September 2014

August and September were super busy months, complete with a WINOS weekend, a week-long trip to Austin, Lauren's bridal shower in Fort Worth, Ava's first ballet class, the end of my maternity leave, and Lauren and Jake's wedding. Whew! 

We also had a lot of other random fun along the way...

Using Parqer, a super cool app developed by one of our friends, to pay for our valet parking after Ava's first mani/pedi. 

I don't know what Big Dog had to say, but he certainly had a captive audience.

During my maternity leave, Ava got in some quality time with her cousins. 

She loved making mini pizzas with them...a genius idea of Tori's.

The built-in playhouse under the stairs at their new house was also a huge hit. 

Silly Jack!

Spending the last day of my maternity leave snuggling (and crying).

My handsome dinner date being a little camera shy. 

My Mom found another (genius) use for the Boon grass drying rack. 

Just a silly Saturday morning. 

My new favorite treat. I could seriously eat the whole box.

Our little swimmer was so proud of her ribbon. 

 

Ava's first school supplies! I love that googly eyes were on the list. 

Another first for Ava...a JD's Chippery cookie. Seriously the best cookies ever. I think she liked it.

The little man napping on the couch. (Don't call CPS, he was supervised the whole time.)

Watching Disney's Bears, which Ava loved! 

P.S. This picture truly shows how much they look alike. 

Sharing a lollipop at Ollie's birthday party (that is a true friend!).

My Mom and Bonnie came in town for a weekend, so Josh and I got to enjoy a date night at The Capital Grille, one of our favorite spots for Restaurant Week. Their Generous Pour event is also amazing. 

They also helped us hang the giant chalkboard we got for the entryway. 

I love it! But I definitely need some practice at the whole chalkboard art thing. 

We transitioned Ava's crib into a toddler bed, which has gone as well as can be expected.

However, she has fallen out of bed a couple times. On one such occasion, we heard a huge thud, and then saw her asleep like this on the monitor after she had half climbed back in...

Rylan having fun at school.

 

Ava and one of her school friends.

Ava's Doodle Sketch art.



Thanks to John and Erin for the Spurs onesie. Unfortunately, I think he might be a Mavs fan ;).

Daddy-daughter French toast at IHOP.

Baby brother wished he could have some as well.

Ava dancing in puddles (to "Bang Bang").

Enjoying the cooler weather with my blue-eyed baby boy.

Fun at The Lot with Grammie, Papa, and the Lockwoods.

Rylan didn't get to play in the sand, but he still had fun.

Betsy clearly out-ordered all of us. I mean…it's a margarita with a sangria popsicle!

And finally, this series makes me completely melt.

Tiny Dancer

This fall, Ava started taking ballet class…a day I have been waiting for since the moment we found out we were having a girl (and something I have been dreaming about for waaay longer than that). 

We went a week before the class started to pick up her ballet shoes, and Ava kept telling me that she was "so essited!"

The morning of her first class, Ava couldn't get out the door fast enough.

Seeing her in the full ballerina get-up was almost too much for this momma to handle.

Her teacher was so sweet, and our tiny dancer loved every minute!

For posterity's sake, here are a couple videos of Ava's first class...

I foresee many more years of this to come.

Favorite Things: Kidecals

With Ava in preschool and Rylan in daycare, I have frantically been trying to figure out the best way to keep all their "school supplies" organized. (How is it possible that such tiny humans require so much stuff?!) And with two kids in school now, having everything labeled is one of the keys to my sanity staying intact. 

That is where Kidecals comes in to play. They offer a variety of waterproof labels that are perfect for labeling the multitude of things that your kids have to bring to school/daycare every day. 

Just as their tagline describes, the labels are both versatile and durable. They come in a wide range of sizes and styles, and the labels are also dishwasher and washing machine safe. Another bonus…shipping is always free! 

The labels are also super easy to customize with various designs, colors, and options.

I ordered "Mega Sets" of the Purple and Orange Chevron and Navy Chevron styles. For $28, a set comes with 24 two-inch labels and 48 one-inch labels. 

I was so excited when our package of labels arrived. They looked fantastic!

Once I was done admiring the pretty labels, it was time to get organized. 

They are wonderful for sippy cups, bottles, and water bottles. And because the labels hold up so well in the dishwasher, I also plan on using them for Rylan's baby food containers in a few months. 

Ry's swaddle blankets and WubbaNub are also ready to go. 

And because Ava now has to pack tennis shoes every day for PE class, I slapped some labels on those bad boys as well. They are perfect for the shoes and haven't budged!

In addition to the personalized name labels, Kidecals also offers allergy alert labels! 

Not only are Kidecals' labels super useful for school and daycare, they would also come in very handy for camps and extracurricular activities. In fact, I know one little ballerina who could use some on her shoes :). 

**I received these labels for free in exchange for my honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I truly think my readers would enjoy/find helpful, and the opinions in this post are completely my own.** 

Lauren and Jake's Wedding Weekend

At the end of September, we headed back down to Austin to celebrate Lauren and Jake's wedding. It was such a fun weekend, and I loved catching up with so many friends from high school and college.

 After the rehearsal at the church, everyone loaded up on a party bus and headed to Taylor to enjoy a fabulous dinner at Louie Mueller Barbecue. The bus was stocked with beer and wine to get the party started, and I loved the cute coozies.

My handsome date. 

The barbecue was some of the best I've ever had, and the brisket was ridiculously good. 

Pumping in the car amidst the festivities...the things I do for my sweet baby boy :). 

Saturday morning, the girls met for a delicious Bridal Brunch at Chez Zee. 

Their Creme Brûlée French Toast is amazing. 

Lauren gave us all hot pink Kendra Scott earrings as a gift. So fun!

Getting pretty for the big event. 

Our gorgeous flowers. 

The bridesmaids and house party all ready to go. 

After a wonderful ceremony, we headed to Austin Country Club for the reception. 

It was such a wonderful party (ummm…they served Amy's Ice Cream), and everything was gorgeous.  

Me and the beautiful bride.

The lovely TCU ladies. 

Obligatory wedding selfie.

As you can tell by the next two pictures (taken by the wedding photographer), we had quite a fun night!

Congratulations to the sweet couple! I was so honored to be a part of your big day. 

And in case you were wondering, Rylan and Ava had a fun weekend in Austin as well. Rylan spent most of his time at my Mom and Jimmy's house (shout out to Aunt Bee for babysitting Saturday night so Mom could attend the wedding for a bit), and Ava had a slumber party over at my Dad and Rhonda's house. 

Thanks to Hannah and Sara, Ava is now obsessed with dancing to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off." The girl definitely has some moves...