Quinn's Third Birthday

If you know Q you can probably guess what kind of party she requested. Yup. Disney Princess. I didn't go crazy with decor or anything, but I have to say the princess bouncy house was a huge hit. For a while I kept saying I didn't want the party at our house, but I realized it really is the perfect place for a party while Q is still little. We have a HUGE yard and the weather is always so pretty in November. We asked guests not to bring gifts, but if they wanted to contribute to Q's library they could bring a book. She did get one toy (which is a payback toy from Uncle Brad since Jeremy got their little boy the same thing), but she also got some awesome new books! Tons of family got to come in town...Q is one spoiled and blessed little girl!

I can't believe our baby is three now. Such a little lady!

Here are a few pics from the party...

Payback toy.

Some 2014 Fall Happenings

I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd catch up with a recap of the last few months (and by few I mean six-ish). 

Q's New School

I was taking Quinn to a Mother's Day Out at our church and we loved it. But, it was a 45 minute round trip drive three days a week and it didn't feel much like a mother's day out...it was more like a mother's day on the road. So, we moved her to a MDO at a church in our neighborhood and she absolutely loves it! Lots of her neighborhood friends are there and some are even in her class. Plus, we walk to school (about a three mile round trip) a lot and she gets to play after school lots of days while I catch up with my mom friends. Here she is starting the 2yr. old MDO class. So big (and as you can see by the headband, independent). 

Dude Trip - Mom/Girls Weekend

Our group of friends in Austin is pretty awesome. They are really like family. The guys decided they needed a weekend away, so all the girls planned a fun weekend at home. We met up at Phil's Icehouse for burgers and playing outside and then several of us tapped our inner artist and did some paintings. This was the first weekend we left Q with a babysitter other than family. We are lucky to have a sweet high schooler in our neighborhood whose dad is a minister at our church. Q loved her time with the sitter and Mama loved her time with girlfriends. Daddy had an awesome time golfing and bonding with the dudes...although I think they kept some of their stories to themselves. Let's hope the girls can come up with their girls weekend soon! 

First Experiences - Art Gallery

Jeremy and I have a friend from church who is an incredible artist. She also happens to be the executive director of the nonprofit, Hopefully Sow, that we helped to start in the fall (more on that in a later post). Anyway, Ash did a live painting that was sold to benefit Hopefully Sow. We took Q for her first fancy art gallery experience and she was mesmerized by the live painting. I love introducing her to cultural experience like that! Next up: the symphony! :) 

Football

Q had her fill of football this season. She got to go to two big Baylor games (our favorite being the TCU game) and a UT game with her dad and grandparents. She looks cute in both team's colors but let's hope she goes with green and gold in the end! (I think...then again, her college fund might only cover a year there once she's old enough...yikes!)

The TCU game was a bit of a nail-biter!

Beauty and the Beast

Well we've officially begun the Broadway obsession I've always dreamed my little girl would have. We got to take Q to Beauty and the Beast (the Broadway Across America version) and she LOVED it. She sat completely mesmerized through the whole thing and we still "read" the fancy program that we bought all the time. I see lots of fun NYC trips in our future!!

Halloween

Q told me for a while she wanted to be a butterfly for Halloween. No clue why, but I was just happy it wasn't one of the Disney princesses. I was actually pretty surprised. We found a cheap costume at Savers (love me some bargain shopping) and she looked precious! Since BU Homecoming was the weekend of Halloween, we got to have some fun beforehand. Our neighborhood has a great festival and we all dressed up as a family. Jeremy and I actually won in the adult costume contest (let's be honest, there wasn't really any other competition) and we had a blast with our neighbors and their kids. Q also had a precious costume parade at school that I got to see. There were so many cute kids!!

Baylor Homecoming - My 10-Year Reunion

I am old. I can't believe it has been 10 years since I graduated from undergrad! There were lots of activities for the reunion but honestly I just wanted to see some of my friends I hadn't seen in forever. Some of my faves, Kristen and Matt and their precious boys got to come all the way from CO. They were both in BRH with me and I love them dearly! Q had so much fun playing with their boys and we all decided one of them can marry her (they'll have to fight over it). :) Another friend from BRH was ironically staying at our hotel, so her daughter and Q got to play together as well. We had a blast catching up with Anne at the parade and of course singing/worshiping at Singspiration. We also got to spend some time with Auntie Em and Taylor and of course Nannie Mae and Papa D. I love that BU Homecoming is a tradition for our family! 

Big Girl Bed

Q was getting pretty crowded in her toddler bed so we decided to finally make the move into her big girl room and her big girl bed. I had fun painting her walls a light plum purple but I still haven't found the perfect bedding to go with it. I'll find some eventually...the old guest room quilt is working well for now. The furniture in her big girl room is really special. It's beautiful, well-made French Provincial furniture that was actually my mom's when she was a little girl. My sister used it growing up and then I snagged it before my mom sold it in a garage sale. Painting it was a bit of a beast, but it was totally worth it...I'm loving it!! I realized when I was sanding that there were probably all sorts of 1960 toxins in the paint dust, so I made sure to cover my mouth and nose. Below are a couple of pics of the furniture...I'll post a pic of the completed room when it's done. 

A bit crowded with all her friends in the toddler bed. 

Fall is definitely my favorite season, but when you have kids, it becomes so much busier (a wonderful thing). I savor every moment we get to be outside (the leaves were ridiculously gorgeous this year) and all the fun we have with our family, friends and community.