Fairpark Aquarium & Butterfly House

We had so much fun spending the day as a family discovering the Fairpark Children's Aquarium and Butterfly House in Dallas. I think the kids favored the Aquarium, but I'll be honest, I thought the butterfly house was AMAZING! If you've never been you should definitely go, it's pretty incredible. The ground of the gardens are very nice as well.

Happy St. Pattys Day!

I made rainbow color pancakes for breakfast in celebration for St. Patricks Day for the kids, Abbey LOVES pancakes. I also made an attempt at appliqueing each of the kids t-shirts. They came out ok. Anyways, Luke ended up taking the kids to Ft. Worth to spend with his family, since I has a prior engagement (consignment sale shopping, woowoo!). From what I hear, they had a great time and Abbey enjoyed her Corned Beef & Cabbage!

Abbey & her Pops:

River Legacy Park with our Cousins

As you can tell, the weather has been unbelievable here. Really we had no winter, which was great, since Summer was absolutely brutal and we weren't able to go outside much then (with the heat and Abbey being so little). Now that the weather is REALLY getting nice we are thoroughly enjoying spending our time outdoors. One of our favorite places to meet Abbey & Dylan's cousins (Max & Miles) and aunt Tracy, is the River Legacy Nature Park in Arlington. It's awesome! It's a great meeting ground in between Dallas & Ft. Worth and it has a nature center w/ pond, and great walking trails that lead to huge grassy fields with pavilions and a playground. Besides Abbey trying to eat grass the whole time and Dylan peeing right in the middle of the playground, it was a fun day!

Arboretum with our friends!

Spring is here at the Dallas Arboretum, and we love that place! It's only $68 a year for a membership and we tend to go a lot in the spring/fall so we take full advantage of it. On Mondays & Tuesdays they have toddler activities such as kindermusic, face painting, puppet show, and a petting zoo. We love to bring our lunch & picnic blanket and hang out! Check out the post I did on Dylan's blog when I took him at 6 months old. He was about the same size as Abbey at 9 months(and definitely chunkier!) http://www.babydylanhalliday.blogspot.com/2010/03/playgroup-at-arboretum.html

Anyways, here are some pictures of Dylan & Abbey with their friends Morgan & Owen:

Happy 9 Month Birthday Abbey!

Another month has gone by....how do they pass so quickly?!? Not too much has changed since the last month, other than she's definitely getting more mobile! Loves going up the stairs and then playing right next to them but not able to go down! Keeps us on our toes making sure she doesn't fall down them! She loves to wave hello and mimic what you say like crazy. It's fun to try and translate what she's saying. She is finally sleeping through the night I THINK and napping better. Either a long one in the middle of the day (same time as Dylan) or two naps. She nurses (or takes a bottle) about 5 times a day now, and eats 3 solid meals plus a snack here and there. It's so nice to not have a picky eater, she eats pretty much everything! She is still wearing 9 months clothes but really fits better in 12 months! I think since eating so many more solids these days, she's starting to chunk up! She is the sweetest little baby and so forgiving of her brother. He loves playing with her and helping to take care of her, but definitely can get a little too rough or stubborn with his toys. He's so lucky she loves him so much that she always forgives him! It's so funny when we are out, if I have to yell (or call out for) Dylan and I am holding her, she yells for him after I do. It's really cute. At her 9 month pedi apt she weighed 17lbs 10oz (25 percentile) and is 28" long (60 percentile). Anyways, I didn't get a chance to take her bear photos this month, hopefully I can get them on her 10 month!

Valentines Day fun!!

We had TWO playgroup Valentines Day parties and they were so much fun. Abbey is really enjoying being around others and interacting/watching other kids/babies. It's neat to observe her learning from others. For actual Valentines Day we decided to avoid the crowds at any restaurant and decided to stay home and make good old homeade pizza! I thought Dylan was going to really enjoy making it but he turned out to be super cranky that night. However, Abbey did enjoy eating it!
Playgroup #1 Party:


Abbey and her buddy Owen:

Valentine's Day Craft:

Playgroup #2 Party:

Abbey with her friend Ava:

The boys (Cooper & Conner) hanging out with Abbey:

Happy 8 Month Birthday Abbey!

Baby girl has been busy!! She is fully crawling and pulling up on everything. She doesn't venture far and stays pretty close though. It's so sweet, she likes to follow me where ever I go. She's figured out how to crawl up the two stairs in the living room pretty well, we haven't attempted going down much though! She is a BIG talker. Almost more than Dylan was at this age. Of course I think she's repeating things I'm saying, at least it sounds like it! She definitely says "mama" and "daddy." It's so cute to hear her call out for us in her crib when she wakes up. "Nana" is a big word/syllable she says a lot. I think because it's one of her favorite foods right now!

Abbeys new nickname is "miss piggy." The girl could eat all day long! When most babies get full, they sit there and play with there food, she doesn't. It ALL goes in her mouth, and it can't get there fast enough! She is still nursing well (and incredibly quick, like a few minutes!) but will also get a bottle of formula when we are out or in the evening. She also pretty much eats anything we eat, as long as it's in diced pieces or think slivers.

She hasn't been sleeping as well. I'm not sure if it's the new development of crawling/pulling up, but she will barely nap! Only 3 30 minute naps during the day and she is waking up multiple times at night. I really hope this is a quick phase and she returns to her good sleeping habits soon! I know her noisy brother doesn't always help as well.

She's wearing 9 month clothes mostly but a few 12 months and size 3 diapers.

I think we've finally turned the corner with the stranger anxiety! She is finally letting others (including her maw maw & pops) hold her without crying out for her mommy the second they take her. It makes me so happy because I want them (and everyone else) to get to experience what a fun and happy baby she really is!

I love seeing her love for Luke grow as well, she just lights up when he gets home from work. Dylan is of course her favorite as well. She not only tries to copy everything he does, and play with everything he's playing with, she just really loves being with him.

She is super ticklish and loves being tickled! She has also learned how to wave hello. She's trying REALLY hard to clap, but keeps getting it mixed up with waving. It's pretty cute.

It was hard to get her "bear" photos because she kept leaning forward to fall off the couch! She wants to be on the move! Anyways, enjoy!

So see what dylan was doing at this age feel free to visit his blog at http://www.babydylanhalliday.blogspot.com/ and check out the month of May.