Grandma & G-Daddy-O in Texas

My parents were able to come for a visit in March, and it was so wonderful having them here!  We went to UTA baseball games, played board games, read books, celebrated Kae's birthday, shopped, visited for hours, blessed Makiyah, cuddled a sick toddler.....so much to do in so little time!  Mostly, though, me and my kids simply enjoyed having Grandma and G-Daddy-O here with us!  Thanks for coming!

My girls couldn't get enough of their grandparents, a rocking chair, and books.

UTA's baseball team had home games, so we caught as many as we could.

 We blessed baby Makiyah.  We were at church for about 15 minutes total....walked in, listened to opening announcements, blessed the baby, and left.  Why??  Because my 2-year-old woke up that morning with the stomach bug.  We were lucky to get in as much of church as we did...she spend the rest of the day (and many days to come) in complete misery.  

The blessing was wonderful, and it meant a lot to have my parents here for the occasion.  Makiyah was a perfect participant.  We gave her a binkie and she sucked the life out of it the whole time.  Dad said she reminded him of the baby on Simpsons...lol.

 The baby of the hour, getting all her time in with my parents.

Celebrating Kae's birthday in the 30 total minutes she felt good that day.

We had many plans for the week mom and dad were here.  Most of that fell apart, however, when Kae woke up one morning feeling like this:

So, instead, we spent much of our time like this:

Mom and dad still got our of the house a little to see Cowboy Stadium, 

 Go to the UTA baseball game that was held at Ranger Ballpark, 

 and go shopping to spoil us rotten.  

 And, of course, we all spent a lot of time behind cameras to capture all the wonderful memories.

My heart was so full during their visit, and continues to be.  I'm so very grateful for wonderful parents and an incredible family.  I truly have been so blessed in my life to be surrounded by such incredible people.  Thanks for coming to visit, Mom and Dad.  We love you and wish we were all closer.  Weeks like this give us such great memories!

One Month Old

Makiyah is already over 1 month old.  It's always incredible how fast the time goes by, and how much these little ones learn, grow, and change.  Makiyah is a joyful addition to our little family.  She is mellow and content most of the time.  She loves to sleep, often choosing that over eating.  She seems to be fairly expressive already.  She is my first child to really like using a binkie.  After a few weeks of little/no weight gain, she finally surpassed her birth weight at her 4-week checkup.  Love you little one!

 This expression is a common one, and I think it's very adorable!

 Love her beautiful blue (for now) eyes.

We're all crazy about her HAIR!  I can't believe how long and thick it is, and how much it sticks straight up.  I thought I would have a little fun with it for these pictures...who knows how long she'll get to keep it!

Entertainer of the Year

Our little Kaelisse is an entertainer at heart.  She thrives on attention, and demands it with every gesture and noise.  I have always been especially enthralled with her many facial expressions, and many people have commented about them as well.  These are from a series of pictures I took within about 5 minutes, and give you just a small taste of what she is capable of:

Haha!  Love this girl!

Louisiana, Christmas, and Family Time - Part 3

A little late on this post, but I still find the events note-worthy.

While we were in Louisiana, Brent and his dad jumped at the chance to help Angie out with a project.  They used a couple power saws to remove the obnoxious cupboards dividing the kitchen from the rest of the house.  They don't look quite as annoying here because the bottom half have already been removed.  Taking them down really opened up the house.

This is how the girls felt about the project and the way it interfered with their show.

For Christmas the girls got sun catchers in their stockings.  Painting them was a perfect afternoon craft activity on one of the following days.

The long-awaited day finally arrived....we were off to ride the horses!  It was all Tylie could talk about when she found out she was going to ride them, and the rain had delayed it longer than planned.  Here they are hanging out with Brennon's dad, Tony, while Angie and Brennon got the horses ready to ride.

These two pictures crack me up...those girls are two peas in a pod!

Chilling with daddy while they wait.

When Tylie first got on the horse, it freaked out because it was too close to the fence.  Luckily, Tylie was completely unaware that the horse was upset.  She was just enjoying the ride.  I think it scared Angie more than Tylie!

A couple of very happy girls.  I'm sure they walked away thinking we need to get them a pony---not going to happen for a very long time!

Brent taking his turn.  The only one in the whole group who didn't get to ride....?  Me!  Apparently pregnancy impedes on more aspects of life than I originally realized.

After dad and Bonnie had gone back to Idaho, there was a quiet day that just Brent, me, and the girls had some time to spend together.  We decided to use it wandering around the state park up the street from us.
One of the first things we saw when we got into the park was this little group of deer, so we sat and enjoyed them for a while.

With all three of my girls...

Tylie and Kaelisse just couldn't bear to save all that popcorn for the ducks we planned to see.  They snacked on it the whole time they watched the squirrels run around.

Checking out the water.

Pouting defiantly like only a trained three-year-old knows how.  I'm sure we asked her to step one inch to the left, or something equally inconvenient...

My FAVORITE face, and I can't believe I caught it on camera!!  Man, this little girl is expressive.  This is the face she puts on when she uses the word "yucky."

Kaelisse was highly entertained by sweet Quigley while we were there, and she played with (tortured?) him constantly.  She also spent a lot of time laying snuggled up with him on his doggy bed.  I really do think he enjoyed the company.  He probably had flashbacks, however, because I think we have an exact replica picture from two summers ago with Tylie in the cage.  

What a fantastic trip!  Hope we get to do it again sometime soon...it's so nice to spend the holidays with family!

Introducing...

Makiyah Josie Duke

Born February 7, 2013

8 lbs. 4 oz. - 19.5 in.