What Kid Doesn't Love the Zoo?

Most kids LOVE zoos... and my little people are no exception.  Grandma Paula was in town and treated the kids to a day at Houston Zoo.  It was a beautiful day, and by the early afternoon it wasn't very crowded so we got a good look at things. 

 Even Miss Vivian spent a lot of time out of her stroller exploring.

 Grandma walking hand in hand with her grand babies.

 Playing drums in the Africa exhibit

 Braden got to feed the giraffes!!!  He was so excited, very cool experience.

Together at the petting zoo, brushing a goat.

With my baby girl... who isn't so much a baby anymore.

Thank you Grandma for taking us to the zoo!

Best Friends

It's finally happened... Braden and Vivian are best friends.  Sure, Vivian lets out a loud screech when Brady takes a toy from her, and Big B gets annoyed when she tries to help him put a puzzle together (I don't know how many more times I can explain to him that if he doesn't want her to touch it... then do it on the table and not the floor).  But for the most part, they are best buddies.  She adores him, and he's very sweet with her.  He "reads" to her, he knows that how he acts and how he talks to her sets and example for her (but before you think it means he's a total angel all the time... he still will act up, he's four, it's what they do).  However, when he does need a talking to, he recalls on his own that it's important he try harder to show her the right way to act.  They love to color together, jump on the trampoline together, play in the sandbox, chase each other around... it's really nice to see them communicate and care about each other.  While I know that not all days in the future will be perfect, and that they will have many sibling arguments along the way... I don't want that to take away from the beautiful blossoming of their life long friendship. 

February Funk

A whole month went by and no new posts... I'm calling it the February Funk.  I am not sure why I was feeling blah, but it's a fact.  I was unmotivated... and not just about the blog.  I took the kids to the park on nice days, but failed to head out for major outings, I didn't tackle any major projects and even noticed I let too much time go by without talking to my friends and family.  I wasn't sleeping well at night, and exhausted all day long.  But... I'm happy to say that the cloud has lifted and I'm feeling a better energy.   And can finally catch up on what has been going on with us here in Texas!
 

We did have a big event in February.  After 8 ear infections in 12 months, we took Vivian in to get tubes in her ears.  There was so much fluid trapped in her ears that she had some hearing loss.  Her surgery was two weeks ago and she did great.  We had our follow up appointment today and I'm thrilled to report that her hearing is better and within normal range, and she's sleeping solid through the night!  She's been much happier.  My only regret is I waited as long as I did to get it done. 

Happy Girl now that her ears don't hurt anymore!