A new look, BRRRRR, and Yee Ha!

This week has been very exciting for us. First, we got the keys to our new house! Haley calls it her purple house, partly because of the street name and partly because she wants a purple room. The first thing Haley wanted to do when we got to the house was go swing. There is a toddler swing we asked the previous owners to leave and Haley went straight to it. We plan on putting a play set in the backyard so her and Jackson can both have swings sometime this summer but for now the lone swing will have to do. Luckily the previous owners remodeled the house so Matt and I can spend our weekends with the kids instead of working on the house. We do have plans for the kids rooms though. Haley's room is yellow right now and she wants a pink and purple "princess" room. We ordered her big girl bed last weekend and it should be delivered in a few weeks. During that time we'll be unpacking boxes and painting her room purple. Her last room was also purple because that is my favorite color. I remember Matt painting it the day we found out we were having a little girl. I'm excited she wants a purple room again!!! Jackson's room will be decked out in firemen stuff, imagine that :) We have the bedding but I need to find some accessories. We are officially moving on Saturday. I know it will be a very long weekend but we're thrilled.
This week was also a big week for Jackson. He finally beat his sister to a milestone, a haircut. Haley is two and a half and yet to have one. I had mentioned before that Jackson was losing hair and it was getting worse. He still has a case of cradle cap and it is causing his skin to peel on his head. The lotion the dr. recommended is helping but the damage was done. Poor Jackson had a soul patch above each ear and a strip of hair at the base of his skull and that was it. It was very goofy looking so off with the hair! I was a little shocked at first but after I got used to it I do agree he looks better. You can really see his birthmark at the base of his skull now. He has a port stain of sorts under his hairline and when he gets mad it turns bright red. Good thing it will be hidden once his hair grows back. It was pretty rough right after Matt shaved it but now it is already starting to grow back some and feels nice and fuzzy.

One Saturday morning laughing with mommy when he had hair...

Daddy starting to shave it. Jackson is not sure quite what is happening.

Hmmm, this isn't so bad. At least I can suck on Daddy's arm in this position

Wouldn't you know this crazy Texas weather would change as soon as Jackson is bald. As everyone has heard by now, we had snow on Tuesday. I was born and raised here in Houston and I honestly think my two kids have seen snow more times in Houston in their short lives then I ever remember seeing in my 30 years growing up here. It started snowing at Grandma's house early in the afternoon and continued until I got home from work. Haley went outside with Grandma to try to catch snowflakes on her tongue but thought it was too cold so she didn't last long outside. Pretty funny from a little girl who had a blast in the snow in Canada. And during the Olympics every day she points and says how she was there.

The snow stuck to the Altima as it sat in the driveway. (BTW, anyone looking for an Altima? We are getting ready to sell this car).

Grandma's house during the snow (and that minivan is my mom's, not mine!)

After the exciting snow on Tuesday, Haley had a big day at school on Wednesday. It was Cowboy Cookout day. They had lunch provided and sang campfire songs with a cowboy. It's to celebrate the start of the Rodeo and Go Texan Day, which is usually celebrated on Friday but she doesn't go to school on Friday's. Haley said she had a good time. Her cowgirl dress and hat don't fit anymore by her boots still do. Grandma got these boots for her first Christmas and they still fit! They were big at that time but Haley has small feet too (size 5). I'm pretty sure she has almost outgrown them though as her feet are starting to look bigger.

Cowgirl Haley at 2.5 years old

Cowgirl Haley at 7 months

Have a great week!

A Great Wolf Adventure & 4 Years Already?

Catching up on a few weeks activities. A couple of weeks ago we went up to Grapevine to celebrate my Aunt Jan's 70th birthday. My cousin arranged for a stay at The Great Wolf Lodge. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone with kids. I do have to say Haley was a little bit young to enjoy it to the fullest extent but she still had a blast. Everything is geared towards kids with an indoor water park, quest games and arcades. I felt like we were at a Disney Hotel. Haley had a great time playing with Sarah and Abby (or Babby as she calls her) and we had fun hanging out with the extended family. Jackson even got his first adventure in the water other then a bath!

Haley enjoying the toddler pool

Daddy took Haley and Jackson for a ride in the wave pool. They stayed in the shallow end for sure!

Jackson checking out the water. He looks so big trying to stand.

After a fun day of swimming we ate at the hotel. Haley is showing off her wand to Abby. You could point your wand at the bar and the lights would start dancing. It was cool.

And here is the lucky birthday girl. Happy 70th Aunt Jan.

After dinner we got together for a group picture that we had framed for my aunt. My mom and her sister posed for a picture with all their grandkids minus my nephew Matthew who lives in California.

Somehow Haley still had enough energy to go to the arcade. She likes to drive the bus with Jackson as her passenger.

The following morning we had a good breakfast and watched the storybook show in the lobby.

Every floor of the hotel had pictures and pieces of "treasure" that you would have to find to collect points for your ruins (not sure if I am explaining this correctly). It was a little over Haley's head but she had a good time pointing her wand at things and making it light up like the crystal below.

We wished we were able to stay longer but it just didn't work out with it being my first week back to work. Thanks Cousin Julie for putting the weekend together. We had a blast!

I'm already amazed at how big Jackson is getting. He has really started to put on the weight. The other day Buster decided he wanted to cuddle with Jackson. Buster is so good with Haley and Jackson. I'm pretty sure Jackson is going for a handful of hair so this cuddle session didn't last long.

On the hair front, he has really started to loose a lot. He had a pretty bad case of cradle cap that caused most of his top hair to fall out leaving him with a couple of patches on the sides and a little in the back. He looks like an old man trying hard to hang on to the few patches of hair he has left. I'm pretty sure judging from the smile on his face he thinks it's funny too!

On the house front, we are officially home owners again!!! We closed yesterday but leased it back to the previous owners for the weekend so we won't get the keys until Sunday. The house closing was just in time to celebrate our 4 year anniversary today. We have shared many memories in the 10 years we have been together but our wedding night is still the best night of my life (Haley and Jackson were both born in the morning). It was beautiful and we are so blessed to have shared the special moment with our family and friends. Here's a few pictures from that very special night.

Gosh we look so much younger (and thinner!)

Mr. and Mrs. Vara...finally

Saying our vows.