Ten Months

Three

Blue Bonnets and Kids

Because if you live in Texas, it's just what you do every spring...

(And by the way, today is the last day for us to have three kids under the age of three.  I'm not ready to think about my big boy turning three tomorrow, though, so I'll save that for later).

'Tis the Season

Once late winter/early spring arrives, it's birthday season at the Bushwar house.  Jon's birthday is in March,  Liam and I were both born in April, and the girls in June.  On top of family birthdays, lots of Liam's friends were also born during this time, so we've been to some pretty fun, creative birthdays over the past couple of months...

Three of Liam's friends did a combo birthday swimming party.  Each boy had a different themed birthday cake, favors, etc.  Very smart!

Saylor's was an Asian-themed party at the Irving Gymnastic Club.  He loved it!



At Brady's creative super hero themed party, and all the kids designed their own capes.  Too cute!



Liam tries out his super hero powers.



Shawn had an adorable Thomas the Tank Engine party.  Give the kids a pinata stocked with good candy and prizes and let them run around outside, and you've got a great party.  Fun night!

Now it's time for Liam to have his very first birthday party on Friday night.  I was trying to hold out on the big friend parties until five, but he sees all these cool birthday parties and really wants one of his very own.  And who can really blame him...they're fun.  His theme?  Not Mickey Mouse or baseball or cars .  His theme is orange.  Nothing else, just orange, by his request.  The.Boy.Loves.Orange. 

Similarities

Can you see the resemblance?

9.5 Month Stats

We were a little late on the 9 month exam, but we  went to the doctor in last week, so it was more like a nine-and-a-half-month check-up .  The doctor said the girls are doing great and right where they need to be in all areas.  Ellery weighs 20 pounds, 8 ounces and is 27 inches long.  Marin weighs 20 pounds, 13 ounces and is 27.5 inches long.  They are both crawling and pulling-up.  Marin started a little earlier than Ellery, so she's mastered both.  Ellery crawls with the best of them, but she's still perfecting the fine art of the pull-up.  Marin likes to play peek-a-boo and wave bye-bye, and Ellery "dances" to music.  They both give kisses and patty-cake and love being serenaded.  By her blood-curdling screams the amount of drool she's producing, it looks like Ellery is about to welcome her bottom two teeth.  Marin already has two on the bottom and two on the top.  The girls have found their voices, and along withe a talkative brother, our house is filled with plenty of chatter....and toys...and piles of laundry...and sloppy smooches.

Little Boy

When did this little boy start saying things like “Nevermind,” and “Hey, guys…” in everyday conversation?

When did he learn to lick an ice cream from the bottom-up so that it doesn’t drip all over his hands?

When did WE stop feeling butterflies in our stomach each time he totters down the stairs by himself?

When did he learn to really spit when brushing his teeth?

When did this guy start saying his own genuine and sincere little prayers at night?

When did he start requesting specific snacks like pretzels with mustard and strawberry yogurt?

When did our baby boy start cracking himself up with his own jokes?

When did he begin cleaning up his own messes good enough so that we don’t have to follow behind him to really clean them up?

When did he start "reading" his bedtime stories to us?

When did he get a new pair of tennis shoes and had them looking all broken-in and beat-up the next week?

When did our little boy become such a big little boy?

Grandma Cuddles

(I meant to post this last week, but last week was a crazy week.) 

Grandma came to visit during Spring Break, and that means all the grandkid had a week full of cuddles!

The girls...

Avonlea

Ellery



Marin



 And, the boy...

Grandma and Liam have naptime sing-a-longs.



Day Out with Thomas

On Saturday, Thomas the Tank Engine came to Grapevine.  Pretty big deal if you're a little boy who likes Thomas.  And Nana and Papa came, too, so that was made it especially fun.  And the weather was perfect.  It was quite an event, complete with bounce houses, live entertainment, a tattoo station (I guess you're never too young), and a petting zoo. 

Here's Liam getting all tatted-up with Thomas and Percy ink.  

Getting ready for Thomas to give us a ride.

All aboard!



Inside the boxcar.



Even though the girls weren't exactly into Thomas, it was a fun family activity!

Cowboy Up!

The Houston Rodeo part of our spring break really deserves its own post.  We had such a fun time, and Liam loved every second.  He was definitely in his glory.  The Quad Squad, our wonderful group of Houston baby whisperers, along with Grandma stayed home with the three little ladies, while Debby, Jeff, Jon, Liam, and I headed out to lasso us up some fun .  It was our first time there, and we soon discovered that it wasn't just a rodeo, it was an entire western experience .  Liam was captivated by the actual rodeo, but he also loved the petting zoo beforehand and feeding the animals.  So did Jon.  In fact, I do believe Jon enjoyed feeding the animals more than almost as much as  Liam.  We definitely want to go back again with our little buckaroo, and maybe next time his sisters will be big enough to come, too.



Debby and her turkey leg.

 


Jon and Liam feeding the sheep.



Very sweet animals to allow hundreds of people to get up close and personal.



I like this one.




Jeff found a friend, too.




Liam basically had this expression on his face the entire time we were in the stadium.




We may need to get him some cowboy boots.




This ain't our last rodeo!