Long Time, No Blog

A few weeks ago (just after Easter) we discovered that a massive leak from our air conditioner was wreaking havoc on the floors in our hallway. The leak was slow and the water gradually seeped under our laminate flooring until it began to buckle. It wasn't until we saw the boards popping up at the edges that we investigated. What seems like an eternity later, we've had the flooring removed, the floor dried, the carpet in Paige's closet repaired, and we're now waiting to have new flooring installed. While Kevin did all the installation the first time around, the demo alone would have broken his heart....and since we made a homeowners' insurance claim, why not reap the benefits of some hired labor in return for our deductible? All of this has kept me on the phone and dealing with repair people in and out of house almost daily...not a lot of time left over for blogging. So, in short here are some tidbits for posterity:

We attended cousin Claire's first birthday party the first weekend in May. Reese had a blast riding around in the new Cozy Coupe Grandma and Grandpa bought for the cousins to share.
The party was a family affair and Claire was a trooper considering she was rebelling against nap time the entire weekend. (We're no strangers to that phenomenon!)
Claire's cake was the most delicious piece of cake I've ever eaten (and that's saying something since I'm not a "cake person.") It was so delicious that Reese devoured a giant piece and felt sick to her stomach the rest of the day. I guess you've got to have your first eat-yourself-sick experience sometime. I doubt the experience will scare her away from cake for long.
I cursed myself by telling Aunt Kate that Paige is a great eater when it comes to solid foods. Within a week of making this ridiculous claim, Paige got really picky really fast. Now she prefers table food and will only eat a small variety of baby food---namely the most expensive, organic, and orange varieties. She's a huge fan of sweet potatoes, pumpkin, corn, and anything i can sprinkle cinnamon on. Her favorite brand is Ella's Kitchen, and I can't say I blame her because the stuff actually tastes really good. Eating table foods sounds like a great transition, and I would completely abandon feeding her baby food except for the small detail that she can't quite feed herself yet.

Reese's imagination continues to run wild. You can't talk to her about anything without her adding on that Ellie does it to. "Yeah, Ellie likes to unload the dishwasher sometimes too." or "Ellie wants to drive to San Antonio today." The line between real and make-believe is in constant flux around here.

Paige is ALMOST sleeping through the night. And as a result, I'm slowly starting to feel like less of a zombie. Still no teeth for Paige, although she's sucking and chewing on everything. Paige is also a enthusiastic hair-puller. I don't recall this hair-pulling phase lasting so long for Reese, but Paige is enamored with my hair and swats at it constantly in an effort to speed up the effects of any genetic predisposition I may have to hair loss.



Inspired by one of Claire's birthday presents, we picked up a water activity table from Toys R Us last weekend. Notice we declined the water/sand combo option. Our house is messy enough with two kids and two pets, we didn't need to add sand to the equation. Yeah, I know the sand table would stay outside, but the mile between our house and the park doesn't seem to keep pebbles from coming home with us. Why invite sand too? The water table is a total hit so far and is keeping Reese occupied long enough that I've managed to get a little yard work done in the back while Paige is napping.