Dinosaurs at the Heard

With no impending baby action to keep us all occupied, our weekend was looking pretty bleak, so we decided to take the kids to see the dinosaurs at the Heard Museum on Saturday morning. They were excited to go, and had a great time!

We started the trail from the end, which may have been a mistake considering the first dinosaur we saw was a T-Rex. It moved and made noise, and it pretty much freaked Ella out to the point of tears. Even Carter wouldn't get too close. Probably would have been smarter to start small and work up to that, but oh well! HA!

Eric was the only one brave enough to walk up to him at first....

 Oh, the terror!!

 OK! Moving right along to something a little more approachable.....

 Still not feeling it and staying in her stroller.

 Liking them a little more now, but still in the stroller.

 It took these "baby ones" at the end of the trail (really, the beginning) to get her excited. Yep, we definitely should have started there.

 Back at the T-Rex and Carter decided to pose for a picture.

 They had a cute little village of wooden buildings set up, and the kids loved playing in each of them.

We spent quite a bit of time at the inside portion of the museum before heading out to lunch. It was a fun family day to keep my mind of baby, while still keeping me WALKING! Not sure how many more hours/days this baby is going to keep us all waiting, but we're all anxious and ready!!

Still Waiting on Baby

Yep, he/she is still in there cooking! We're still keeping busy, although I feel at any moment I'm going to pop! We're ready for you baby, come on!!

 Ella is loving her gymnastics, and getting better by the week! She has improved on so many skills since she started doing them independent of me! I love to watch her, especially becasue of how much fun she has! 

Doing her butterfly and touching her nose to her toes!

  Coach Bethany helping with a backward roll

A quiet moment after bath time one evening. The kids activity of choice lately is coloring or artwork of some kind. They love it!

 Happy girl after her first day of school

 Enjoying an after dinner treat.

Mine and Ella's last trip to the pool for a while. Our pool is open a few more weeks, but I just don't see us getting down there with the cooler temps and, oh yeah, with a newborn! Ha!

 

This boy is TIRED at the end of each day. He told me after his shower, "Mommy, I just want to rest in your bed for a while."

 Silly girl.

 Loving on baby Ariel

 Eric took Carter to the LA Tech vs. UNT game last week. Sounds like they had a great time!

Ella enjoying some delicious Bonnie Ruth's cake..... a yummy birthday treat to go along with a delicious birthday lunch with my mom.

I'm desperate to have this baby, so we started walking the neighborhood a lot last week. The cooler temps over the weekend were a nice change! 

Cuties in their hoodies!

Another day of perfect weather for Carter's soccer game on Saturday. Overcast and 70 degrees at 3:30 PM.... AWESOME!

These two had fun pulling each other in the wagon on another walk on Sunday (hence the Cowboy jerseys)

I wasn't sure if Ella would be able to do it, but she pulled her brother in that wagon, and RAN! 

Ella got creative while painting with watercolors one afternoon. Not sure if she was painting or doing her make-up? Nice!!

My birthday was on Friday and we all took it pretty easy. We enjoyed a casual dinner at a good local spot and birthday cake at home later that night. I was hoping for a late night gift of going into labor and delivering on the 13th, but that didn't happen. Oh well, the cool weather was good enough! 

I sure hope this is my final post before baby comes! Any minute now would be great!!

Ella's First Day of Pre-School

Ella has been waiting for this day for a long time! We've picked out her backpack and lunchbox together, talked about it all, met with her teachers last week, and she couldn't have been more excited this morning to get the show on the road! 

She asked me last night to paint her nails..... how could I tell her no?! Yellow for the first day of school! 

 

 Carter was really excited for Ella too. Over breakfast this morning he was telling her all about how her day would go. "You'll get to have a snack and you'll get to do centers, then you'll have lunch and play outside, and Mommy will come and get you after rest time!" He's an old, seasoned vet when it comes to preschool, and I thought it was so sweet that he was showing her the ropes and genuinely excited for her. I was a little sad that Carter wouldn't be around for 1st day pics like Ella always has been with him, but I was able to snap one after breakfast. Ella had already half-stripped down, and Carter was headed out the door, but we got one!

 Here are the rest I took of Ella a little later. 

She just looks so big!!

 Happy, happy!

 And there's my silly girl......

 She requested silly faces.

 So big waiting outside her classroom

 She went right in, sat down and got started playing. I snapped a few pictures, said my goodbyes to her, and slowly wandered out. She didn't even bat an eye, just sat and played and waited for the rest of the kids to come in. If there was ever a little girl ready for school, it was her!! She did flawless.

I told Eric I wasn't sure which was harder -- having your child cry for you not to leave (like Carter has), or having them be so big and confident and sure of themselves that they don't. I choked up a little walking to the car, and shed a few tears once I got there. It just hit me how big she has gotten. I guess it's a good thing I have another one coming soon, ha!! 

I've been thinking about her all morning, and can't wait to pick her up. I know she'll have a great day and love every minute, and can't wait to hear what kind of stuff she has to tell me later. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy my day to myself, get a few things done, then rest and relax knowing both my babies are in great hands. :)