gabby girls

Brynley and Bailey in thier coordinating church dresses.

No one can get Bryn to 'talk' quite like Bay. They love each other so much. I love how they just gaze at each other.

mother gooney bird

Last Thursday was Mom's Day at Bailey's preschool. This is one of the songs they performed for us. It was really fun to go see her at school. After, her and I went to lunch (just the two of us, "like a date."), and then brought lunch home to Guh and Benson. It was fun to have some time alone with her.

Bailey and Miss Lindsay (her 'favorite' teacher).

rodeo round-up

"R-O-U-N-D--U-P THE ROUND UP IS THE PLACE TO BE..."

I'll have to get a video of Bailey singing that song she learned at preschool...it's hilarious.

It's that time again....Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (check it out, www.hlsr.com). We went last Monday (3-9-09) and had a blast. All of us Wallace ladies, and friend, Charlotte (the pregnant one, holding Isaac, Brianne's baby) went this year. It was quite the adventure. Becky and I went last year with the kids (what were we thinking...Laynie was only 3 weeks old, and Benson had just had surgery?!?!), and we talked Bri and Guh W. into it this time. It's a definite must. It is so huge, we could go every day for 3 weeks (the length of it) and not see everything.

Here are the highlights:

Pony rides. Two times.

Benson LOVED the pony rides and had to be pulled off, kicking and screaming on his last ride. He screamed for about 15 minutes straight.

Feeding the baby lambs in the petting zoo. Thank-you Guh for taking my kids into this because...

...baby girls also need to eat.

We thought of you, Guh Leseberg, when we saw this quilt. It was SO cute, and reasonably priced. I seriously considered buying it for you.

Once the boys spotted the TRUCKS they were a little disinterested in the animals. They had a huge John Deer display that the kids could climb on and try out, and Gavin and Benson were in heaven.

Benson was a little too little to sit in the tractor...he kept slipping off the seat and bonking his head on the steering wheel.

And of course...the highlight of any festival/carnival/etc. is the FOOD. If you love BBQ, they have every kind. The kids, of course, wanted chicken nuggets. Benson tried Dippin' Dots ice-cream for the first time and LOVED it. Just look at my stroller now, and you can tell.

Bailey really wanted to ride the carnival rides, but she was the only one of the kids big enough, and it was TOO HOT outside (yes, it's only March). So as a consolation, the kids 'rode' the vibrating 'foot massagers.' They vibrate so much it tickles, and it made everyone, even Aunt Becky laugh.

strike a pose

Bryn strikes a pose, looking oh-so-pretty in MY blessing dress!

When my mom sent it to me, I couldn't believe what great condition it was in. It looked brand-new. (oh, by the way...once upon a time, I was tiny...I wore this until I was 1!)

Reverently now.

I love my big sister!

Tummy time....

Bryn HATES tummy time. This is a rare picture of her having tummy time and not screaming.

Do you like my BUMblebee?

yard boy

We've been having a debate in our house since Brandon started school...should we hire someone to mow the yard every week? It's pretty inexpensive here, but Brandon is sure he has the time to do it (he really doesn't). But I got one anyway...:)

Benson got this bubble mower for his birthday, and he L-O-V-E's it! He 'mows' the grass for hours while we play outside. If anyone even dares touch his mower, he'll scream at them. When I got it out of the box, he watched our neighbor across the street mowing his lawn. Then he got the mower and did the exact same thing...followed the outline of the yard, and pivoted at the corners. It is the funniest/cutest thing to watch.

See how Bryn "hangs out" outside, and more cuteness from Benson...

3 months old

Brynley is 3 months old! She smiles, she coos, she takes big long naps during the day and sleeps all thru the night...what more could we ask for?! She is such a wonderful baby! She's still pretty little...still wearing her 0-3 mos. clothes, although she's finally out grown her NB size onesies! She's starting to laugh out loud now (while she's awake...she's always laughed out loud during her sleep...so funny!)

happy birthday, guh leseberg!

Happy Birthday, Guh Leseberg! We miss and love you lots!

btw: it took a little long to post this because we had to run outside and watch the trash truck go by! We heard it early enough that we got to watch it do the ENTIRE street. Good times had by all! So next time you see a trash truck...think of Benson! (Maybe on Thursday I'll take my camera out for the excitement!)

totally two

My baby boy turned two today! He's very good at being two.

(hence the finger in the nose)

SIZE: about 29lbs!!! He's gained over TEN POUNDS in the last year!! He's not our 'small fry' anymore. I'm not sure on the height...will find out on Friday at his last 'well-baby' check-up.

LIKES: Balls and trucks and trains and everything that goes along with it. Loves to play outside. Loves to watch the trash truck/men every Monday and Thursday mornings, coloring (especially if you draw him footballs/basketballs, etc).

Favorite Books: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Wheels on the Truck, Good Night Moon, I Love Cats, The Fire Engine Book

FAVORITE FOODS: Scrambled Eggs, Hot Dogs, Nuggets, Noodles (of any kind), Oranges, "Roo-Roo" (rootbeer or any soda, BAD MOM!), fruit snacks, just about everything but oatmeal and milk.

Benson is very busy these days and into everything. But he is such a SWEETHEART and so lovey. He's our cute little goon. (derived from his made up song of 'goon-gahs') This last year has been such a blur. I can't believe Benson is two. He's growing up way too fast. He's such a talkative little goon now.

Benson got REALLY spoiled for his birthday. It pays to have a birthday not long after Christmas...Wal-Mart had GREAT clearances on their overstocks of toys, and Benson made out like a bandit. After cleaning up from the presents and trying to find a place for everything, I mean it this time when I say, I'm not getting anymore toys! and the kids don't need any more toys! The deals were just too good to pass up this time!

A ball shirt, which he tried to put on right away!

A very cool TRUCK book! He got so wrapped up in it that he didn't want to open any other presents.

My very own flashlight (no more stealing Bubba's!)!

Getting my geek on, with a new laptop (baby version)

Super cool Trash Truck! (actually to be P.C. it's a Recycling Truck)

Other presents: cute clothes, a car map, shopping cart (which he calls a truck), a train table, coloring books, ball books, Handy Manny Fix-It Truck, baseball tee (baby size) and Bubble Mower. Like I said, a BANDIT!

All six Wallace grandkids...this is rare that they are all holding still long enough to be in a picture together. So what if you can't see some of their faces. It's what you get when there are 6 kids under 6!

Party pooped-out!

Football cake. I "got my Duff on" as Brandon says (Duff Goldman, from Ace of Cakes), and made this cake. Benson was pretty excited about this. His two favorite things, a treat and a football, combined into one. Also because he got cake twice on his birthday...

...he and Bailey got to eat the cake scraps (from carving the football) after breakfast.

Ooops!, I didn't start recording until we finished the song. Benson did a good job of blowing out the candle and a good job of leaving a puddle of drool on the cake. Teething is hard!

coo-coo

Listen carefully amidst all the other noise and you can hear Bryn 'talking' to her fish. She loves this chair, which we have dubbed, THE MAGICAL POOPING CHAIR. Anytime I put her in it, she immediately poops...and I mean POOPS! It goes everywhere! We've had this chair for the other two kids and it's never quite had this effect on them. But it works great for Bryn. If she's fussy and has a tummy ache I put her in the chair and she'll poop and feel instantly better. She quiets right down as soon as I put her in the chair. If we don't hear the explosion, she'll let us know when she's done by crying.

update

ugh. I'm such a slacker. I just can find the time to blog anymore. I love to do it, and I know some of you (Leseberg's!) look forward to it. So for tonight, the 3 loads of laundry will go another day without being folded, the toys will stay scattered across the family room(it will give me something to dodge in the middle of the night), the birthday cake mess will crust onto my table and the dishes can ferment in the sink. Because the mess isn't going anywhere (unfortunately), but my memory may... so I'd better blog while I can still remember.

Here's the last two weeks in a nutshell...

Benson got Strep throat and two new teeth...which meant we didn't' get a lot of sleep, and he was really cranky (and so was I, from lack of sleep)...

...so he wanted to be held a lot. But at least every two hours my lap is occupied by Bryn. So big sister stepped up and held Benz while I was holding Bryn...

...and then held Bryn while I held Benson. (Musical laps) She's such a good sister and I'm SO glad that she LOVES to hold the baby!

...Bailey's not the only one who loves to love on the baby. Anytime I set Brynley down Benson 'shares' his lovies (ah-ah's and B's) with her and any other toys he thinks she might like. If she's in her crib, he just throws them in there...

...speaking of Brynley....check out the beautiful, long and CURLY lashes she has. They naturally curl up (or as Bailey says, "She has Aunt Becky eyes!"). Oh, she's going to be a heart breaker!

...speaking of heart breaker...

It was "Rodeo" week at preschool and pretty much everywhere else in Houston (This weekend kicks off the nearly month-long Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo...one of the biggest in the world, and a REALLY BIG deal here. All the schools and even ExxonMobil have dress-up days. And boy do they dress-up!) Is she a stinkin' cute cowgirl or what!! She loved it, too! Thanks for the boots, Guh W!! and the shirt, Gavin!! She even wore her Great-Grandfather's bolero necktie (or 'cowboy necklace' as Bailey called it!).

...Also at school...

Bailey's "Thursday Uniform."

...and we have to have MATCHING WILDCAT HAIR BOWS! I made these and some for all the girls in our ward that go to preschool with Bailey. Bow making is like therapy for me. I also learned how to make hooded bath towels a few weeks ago and that is my new craft baby. I'll post pictures of that another time.

...and finally... A Man Bag!

Benson loves to carry around this bag for his lovies and trucks and any other interesting treasures he may find(like rocks, goldfish snacks, small balls, sippy cups etc). (It's an upgrade from the red patent leather purse that he stole from Bailey and used as his man-bag.) He's not supposed to take his lovies outside because they get too dirty, so he puts the ah-ah's and B's in the bag and sets the bag on the driveway while we play outside. He even puts it over his shoulder like a purse. Even Dad has a 'purse'! Benson calls Brandon's brief case "Dada purse!" hahaha!!