Memorial Day Weekend 2014

Memorial Day weekend was sort of our last, full weekend in Austin before our move.  The next weekend we were in DFW for Ellis' Sip & See and a birthday party, and the next weekend was spent frantically packing before the move-out.  We planned a big garage sale for that Saturday to purge some of the things we just didn't need anymore.  It is amazing how much can be accumulated in just 2 years!  Prepping for the garage sale was torturous, but we got everything outside and ready bright and early that morning.  Before Kyle even finished putting the signs out, we had about 5 cars unloading and playing let's make a deal.  

Luckily, Ellis and Lane slept late, and when E woke up, I quickly fed her inside and headed back out to help Kyle.  She slept the whole rest of the time in my arms.  Lane had fun playing with the neighbor kids outside while we worked.

How many people do you think asked "How much for the baby?"  Answer:  Almost all of them.

We finished up pretty early and headed inside.  Lane's friend Breck from next door came over for a while to play.  Lane LOVES Breck.  He is a couple years older than Lane, so Lane thinks he is pretty cool.  They enjoyed some mac n' cheese for lunch and headed back upstairs to play in the playroom for the rest of the afternoon.

 

We stayed home and took it easy Saturday night, and Sunday we went out for a family dinner at a restaurant we had been wanting to try before we moved.  Since it was Memorial Day Weekend, I dressed the kids in red/white/blue.  I just love a kiddo dressed in patriotic colors!

Daddy didn't get the patriotic memo, so he snapped a picture of his 3 loves who were sporting red, white, and blue!  I love how Lane is holding Ellis' foot!

 

Lane agreed to the picture, but only with his microphone and microscope in his pocket.

 

Some snapshots of the little lady in her patriotic attire.

 

We went to dinner at Salty Sow, and we both loved it!  I have really branched out on my food preferences and will try new things way more than I ever used to.  We got some special deviled eggs and duck fat fries with an egg on top.  These were the 2 recommended appetizers that the restaurant was well known for.  If you would have asked me to try this 10 years ago I would probably have gagged just thinking about it.  I have to say, both were really, really good!  Our meals were really good too, and the presentation was unique.  I got braised short ribs with potatoes and carrots that came in a little skillet.  I didn't take a picture, but ate every bite!

Salty Sow gets 2 thumbs up!  (Even though Lane took his own little dinner in his lunchbox.)

Monday was Memorial Day, and also my Mom's birthday!  We hated to miss it, but planned to celebrate it the next weekend when we would be in town.  I apologize for the alarming number of pictures of Ellis following this paragraph.  We got dressed in our red, white and blue again and headed to Kyle's boss, Dave's house for a going away dinner.  Ellis' outfit was so simple, but paired with her tiny flag bow, I thought she looked adorable!  She was so alert and happy, so I just kept snapping pictures like crazy!  I still think these are some of the cutest pictures she has ever taken, and most of them are from my iphone!

My favorite...

  

The first of many "twin" outfits for Mommy and Ellis!  Navy tops with red skinnies for the win!

 

We had a great time at Dave and his wife Allie's house.  Dave did the same exact MBA program at Kellogg as Kyle did, so Allie had lots of tips and recommendations for me!

Cuddling a bit in Lane's bed before calling it a night.

 

And I will leave you with a  little entertainment.  Since we couldn't be with Mums on her birthday, Lane serenaded her on his new guitar.  My very own little Blake and Miranda!   :)

Week in Pictures {May 19 - May 23, 2014}

This was a busy, fun week!  Lane had his very last day at Noah's Ark Preschool on Tuesday, May 20th.  They had "Splash Day" that day, so he got to wear his swim suit to school.  We took our last day of school pictures when we got there that morning.

 

Here he is on the first day of school and his last day.  He grew a whole brick!  It's amazing how much he changes each year.  From a baby face to a big boy!

 

Ellis and I played together at home while Lane was at school.  I got some cute pics of her in the swing!

Lane had a great last day!  They splashed outside all morning and then changed into dry clothes and had pizza and dessert inside.  Last year, the parents were always invited to their holiday parties, but this year we never were.  I hated to miss out on events, but his teachers were good about posting pictures on the class website!  Overall, Lane had a great year!  I was so happy with his teachers, Ms. Michelle and Ms. Leticia.  They were patient but firm, and very loving and complimentary of Lane!  We will miss them! 

I had my 6 week post partum checkup that week and both kids had to come along.  Lane was really well behaved and Ellis slept!  It was a long, long wait to see the Dr., but thankfully they were well behaved!

Lane drew this picture while we waited.  That's Ellis on the left and me on the right.  He said she was crying and I was running to get her!  A pretty accurate description of what I have been up to lately!  He even added a bow on Ellis' head.  (See the two circles??)

 

Ellis with Dr. Schneider, who delivered her.  After she was born, Dr. S had to rush to another patient, so I never got to take a pic with her!

Since Lane was so well behaved at the appointment, we went to lunch at one of his favorite Austin restaurants, Mama Fu's.  This kid can scarf some Ninja Noodles with carrots!

Another day that week, we were running some errands near Firehouse Subs, and I took Lane there thinking he would love it!!  He loved the decor and free hat, but didn't like his sandwich.  (Of course...)

Popsicles on a hot day!  Kicking off his summer right!

Ellis getting in a little tummy time.  We finally got out some of Lane's old toys for her to look at!  He always loved this rainforest crib toy!

Trying to make sister smile!

Looking super cute after her bath!

We met Kyle for lunch downtown one day this week.  We sure ate out a lot this week!  I blame it on my lack of time with two kiddos.  It gets better, right??

Lunch at Wahoo's.  I love this place!

He actually begged to take a picture!  Wanted to stand next to this huge surf board.

He sure loves his Daddy!

 

After lunch, we drove to North Austin to a camera store to get a replacement lens for the one I broke the week before.  There was a really cool toy store next door that I never knew about.  Lane had birthday money left over from Paw and Nonna and decided to make a big purchase.  A real guitar!!  He was so excited when he saw the sample one and kept strumming it and saying "It's just perfect!"  Mommy chipped in a little extra cash to get a carrying case for it, and he went home a very happy little boy!

Ellis is growing, growing, growing!

We were planning on having a garage sale that weekend, so we spent all day Friday preparing for it.  Since the move to Chicago required a significant down sizing in home size, we had to get rid of quite a bit of our belongings!  It was a CHORE getting things organized and ready to sell!  Lane and I took a break from sorting to play in the garage.  He kept finding things he forgot he had and would say "WE CAN'T GET RID OF THIS!!!"  He found a Santa hat that provided hours of fun.  He told me to wear the bucket on his head so I could be his elf!  We sat on my third row seat of my Tahoe, which he said was our sleigh.  Such an imagination, this one!