Blake ~ 5 Months

Blake is the smiliest little baby ever. He can make any bad day better! In the past month he has started eating cereal....and seems to enjoy it, but likes finishing off his bottle afterwards a little better. He's our only baby to consistently take a pacifier and it's really been a blessing being the third child. He loves watching his sisters play with his toys. His favorite place to be besides in Mommy's arms is in his bouncer. He can really get that thing bouncing like crazy! He recently started to notice if he's with a stranger and not me......and when he does he cries big alligator tears. So sad! Blake hasn't really rolled over any since right before he turned 4 months....there was one night where we found him rolled over in his crib but that's been it. He can sit up pretty well but always falls forward eventually. He's constantly changing and we just love him so much!!!

Pillar Of Character

Allie's school, Kuentz Elementary, is BIG on Character. They have six assemblies throughout the year to honor one child from each class for a certain 'pillar of character' that they have exemplified in class. Last week I received an email from Allie's teacher telling me that she had nominated Allie for the upcoming assembly for her excellence in RESPONSIBILITY (scholarliness, self-control, perseverance). She told me not to tell Allie because she wanted to keep it a surprise.
Well, today was the assembly! It was so fun to see Allie get called up on stage and hear her fellow peers cheering for her. I know it made her day and I am SO proud of her!

We celebrated tonight by letting Allie pick out a place for dinner. Not sure what made her come up with it but she chose Arby's......I think for the potato cakes and shakes!

Sibling Love

VIDEO --- Allie reading to Blake

Eisenhower Park

Saturday we went on a little hike in a new park we found. We looked at the trail map and decided that the trail we picked had to meet 3 criteria: 1)easy for the kids to walk  2) not too long  3)  still have some decent views
We chose the trail called Cedar Flats. Guess what the entire pathway was lined with??? Mountain Cedar! I could feel something in the air as we were walking but it never really bothered me. And actually that night was the first night that I didn't have a sore throat! I guess the allergies aren't as bad as what the doctors thought (sinus infection was probably the main problem). It's nice to know I can actually still go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having without any worries.

Cedar Fever & Random Pictures

After being sick for nearly a month I finally broke down and went to the doctor. I eventually developed a severe sore throat which is what led me to my decision to go. I was tested for strep and it came back negative. The Dr. didn't seem to be too worried that I had been sick for so long and just advised me to gargle salt water, drink plenty of fluids and it should eventually go away. Well, the sore throat continued for 9 more days and I couldn't take it anymore. I switched doctors and went in for another appointment. Seems I've developed allergies.....specifically to Mountain Cedar. I don't just have the mild reaction I have one of the more severe reactions to it. Fun stuff! My sore throat hasn't gone away completely but it feels so much better and I'm finally starting to get my voice back. I'm taking an allergy pill and I'm also on a small course of antibiotics for fear of having some sort of bacterial infection with being sick for soooooo long. I'm pretty sure I did have a sinus infection so I was glad to get that.
Blake is sick once again as well. Supposedly he's too young to have allergies but his symptoms seem very similar to mine. I am starting to really look forward to getting out of Texas. I do love the warm winter weather but now we can't even go outside without hitting a wall of this Mountain Cedar.......and we've just been sick so much since we've been here. I don't think this is the place for us!

Here are a few pictures from the past week........

Avery with her favorite toys.....cars and calico critters. I tried to get a picture of her carrying this load down the stairs but wasn't quick enough!

Where's Avery??

Silly Rabbit!

Enjoying the gorgeous weather (before I knew about the allergies)

Mr. Handsome is trying to be goofy like his Sis

Allie is such a good big sister.

Getting some Daddy time

Happy boy

And a video of the girls on their bike and scooter

Camp Bullis Picnic, Riverwalk & Rainforest

Saturday we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed to Camp Bullis with some friends for a picnic and obstacle course fun. The Stagners brought their climbing gear and set up a zip line for the kids. Ethan went first to try it out and half way through bottomed out and skidded across the rough, dry ground! At that point, Allie was in line to go next. After she saw that she quickly moved to the back of the line saying, "I think I will go last and see how everyone else goes!"

Avery gearing up

Not so sure she wants to do this anymore

But musters up the courage to do so!

Being brave

And she's off....

great job keeping those legs up on the low spot!

Avery and her best little buds

onto the next obstacle the Log Hopper

now the rope swings

taking a break on the log balance to pose for the camera

Later that night we went to the Riverwalk. It was the last night for the lights to be on and  we still hadn't been yet this year. Last years were much better.

I enjoyed a little one on one time with Allie while Derek walked way ahead of us with  Avery and Blake

While we were at the Riverwalk we decided to stop by the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. We should know better to not eat at the Riverwalk on a weekend and we paid for it with an hour wait. We couldn't back out though because we had planned on taking them the night before and they were all excited about it but an emergency came up and we couldn't do it. The food wasn't really worth the wait either but it was worth seeing the excitement on the girls' faces.

We took a walk around the restaurant during our long wait

Blake slept during the entire wait but once it was time for food he was wide awake!

VOLCANO!!!!

And now for some videos......
Avery Ziplining
Allie Ziplining

Cousins

Derek's cousin and her family moved here while we were in Indiana. They stayed in our place until they were able to find a place of their own. They were able to sign a 6 month lease on a house......in hopes of eventually being able to get a house on base. They moved out January 1st. It was so funny the way the girls met each other. We got home late at night on the 29th and Lily was asleep on the floor in the girls' room. Our girls were just staring at this stranger on the floor in their room wondering who she was and what was going on. We told them her name was Lily and she was their cousin. The next morning we (the parents) woke up to find them all playing very well together. I would have loved to have been a little fly on the wall that morning to see how their exchange went.