Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2014

With Christmas coming tomorrow, it is about time that I posted the pictures from our Thanksgiving trip down to Austin. 

Ava went down a few days early so she could spend some more time with my family. Since she was just getting over a lovely stomach bug, they spent most of the time lounging around watching a plethora of Disney movies. Ava was in heaven.

We joined the fun on Wednesday, and Rylan was so happy to see his Aunt Charlotte. 

He also got to meet his pajama twin, Bru's nephew, which was an adorable encounter.

The weekend was filled with food and family...just as it should be.

Maybe you can have some pecan pie next year, buddy. 

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a little football, so Josh and I topped off the trip with a fun outing to watch the TCU-UT game.

Bunny and Nello babysat so we could enjoy the game as well as tailgate with friends.

And only at a tailgate would you attempt to warm a baby bottle on the grill :).

The weather was perfect, and my beloved Horned Frogs completely crushed the Longhorns, which made for quite a wonderful evening.

If only the playoff selection had gone a little better...womp, womp. Maybe my dream of meeting LT and getting his extra tickets to watch the Frogs in the national championship game will come true next year. 

Ava's First Haircut

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, we took Ava to get her first haircut. While I love her long hair, it was getting a bit too long…like, borderline comes-from-a-family-of-sister-wives long.

So Josh's hairdresser, Niki, graciously offered to trim it up a bit. 

Ava was so excited and looked like such a big girl siting in the chair. 

All done!

The before and after shot (her hair had been braided in the before pic and is wet in the after pic, but you get the idea)...

And per my Mom's insistence, I did save a lock :).

Rylan - Five Months

Another month has flown by, and our little guy is now closing in on his half-birthday (how is that possible?!). 

While Rylan has continued to struggle in the sleep department (all I want for Christmas is eight consecutive hours of sleep...I'd even take six), he is truly the happiest, sweetest baby. He smiles constantly and reserves the biggest grins for his older sister. She seriously rocks his world. In fact, Ava is the only one who can make Ry laugh, which kills me every time.

Rylan is the wiggliest baby ever, and loves kicking his legs. I think he may have a future as a swimmer. And speaking of moving around, he is now a master at rolling over. However, Rylan has a love-hate relationship with this skill...he will immediately roll over upon being placed on the floor and then get pissed once he is on his stomach. Babies are weird.

Rylan is also at the stage where he likes to put everything in his mouth. (I have a feeling his bottom teeth will make an appearance soon.) And on a somewhat related note, we are still chugging along in the breastfeeding department, but I can tell he is starting to prefer the bottles and is more focused on eating quickly rather than on comfort nursing. So, while we are going to reach my six-month goal, we will make the full switch to bottles shortly thereafter. I'm both sad and happy about this development, but it was bound to come eventually (and I am downright giddy thinking about the fact that this will mean no more pumping sessions at work).

It is amazing how different Rylan looks after just five months. He has started packing on the pounds, and lost most of his hair over the course of the last month. It also appears to be coming back in blonde! 

He wasn't very cooperative this time around, and just wanted to eat his sticker, but here are the five-month pics of our bald little baby...

Mmmm...stickers are delicious.

Stats:

• No official stats this month, but he weighed 14 pounds, 10 ounces according to the infant scale we have at home.

Milestones/Firsts:

• First Halloween.
• Rolling all over the place.
• First real laugh. 
• Loves grabbing (and eating) anything he can get his hands on.

Likes:

• Laughing at Ava.
• His playmat. 
• Chewing on his hands.
• Looking in the mirror.
• Laying on the changing table.
• Taking baths. Particularly splashing around...

Dislikes:

• Sleeping.

And finally, some of my favorite pictures from Rylan's fifth month.

Second Sunday Brunch Bunch | Henry's Majestic

At the end of October, we met for our monthly brunch outing at Henry's Majestic. 

It was a gorgeous day, so we sat on their huge patio. 

While a bit pricey ($10/glass), one of the best parts of the brunch at Henry's Majestic is their sparkling wine bar. First, you pick the sparking wine of your choice, and then you add whatever you want from the lovely bar...

I went with blood orange puree, oranges, and bourbon brown sugar strawberries. It was delightful. 

Reports were that the Garden Bloody Mary and Fords Cooler (gin, grapefruit liquor, cucumber water, and lemon sugar) were also delicious.

We split the chicken and waffles appetizer. Because...obviously. 

I greatly appreciated that they were came with boneless fried chicken as well as both syrup and gravy. Worth every calorie.

And then it was time to sample the entrees.

Laura ordered the Black Cherry French Toast (shocker!), which she really liked despite the fact that she normally doesn't love cherries. The French Toast was served with a Cabernet black cherry compote, sliced almonds, and a cardamom cream.

Jill and I both ordered the Al Pastor Pork Benedict served on crispy arepas. It was amazing. 

It was so beautiful as well. I had to take a close-up...

My only complaint was that it didn't have more of a sauce....but overall a dish I would definitely order again. 

I also got a side of Stone Mill Grits. They were good, but nothing to write home about.

And finally, Sarah ordered the Texas Pho. She had consumed one (or maybe five) too many adult beverages the day before and was desperately trying to cure her hangover. 

Her verdict: it cured the hangover but not the "regret and embarrassment" of getting drunk in front of her co-workers. Unfortunately, a good bowl of Pho can only do so much :).

Somewhere Over The Rainbow | Halloween 2014

Seeing as how today is December 1, it is about time that I post the pictures from Halloween. I knew it would be downright impossible to top Ava's costume from last year, but it was fun coming up with coordinating costumes this time around. 

Ava has been obsessed with the red, sparkly shoes that were handed down from her cousins, so they inspired this year's Wizard of Oz theme. 

I had so much fun putting together the outfits for my little Lollipop Guild munchkin and Dorothy. 

I had to bribe Ava with chocolate to get these pics :). 

Sources:

Dress and Tutu: Etsy

Basket: Amazon

Toto Dog: Amazon

Hair Bows: Amazon

White T-Shirt: Carter's

Shoes: Target

I made most of Rylan's costume by altering store-bought clothes (from Carter's and Old Navy), but I did make the shoes from scratch (using this pattern on a smaller scale). 

The fact that I didn't get a single hot glue burn is shocking. 

It would have been worth it though for this adorable little munchkin.

He even had the fist pump down. 

Bunny and Aunt Bee came in town that weekend, so they were able to join us for the trick-or-treating.

Rylan slept through it all (Thanks, Aunt Bee)…

But Ava had so much fun collecting candy and, thanks to our wonderful neighbors, books. 

Ava enjoyed herself so much that she has asked on several occasions if it is time to go trick-or-treating again :). 

Here's to hoping that I can still pick her costume next year!