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Home again

We went and picked up Emily in Buffalo on Saturday, which was the half way meeting spot between Dallas and Houston. Emily was super excited to see us and we were more excited to see her. It was a fun week of life with one kid but I missed her way too much. Our house was super quiet. I had a great time going to the grocery store and running a few other errands without becoming totally exhausted. Ally enjoyed one-on-one attention and getting to play with all of the toys but I think she missed Emily as well. It didn't take Emily too long to get adjusted back to life at home and I think she welcomed the routine and comfort of home life. Here are a couple of pictures of the weekend.

Ally in her new "big girl" car seat.

She is growing so quickly!

Ally with gloved feet. She thought it was funny (guess whose idea it was to put them on her).

Ally and Emily playing.

Everyone tackling daddy!

While Emily is away, Ally will play

Emily's baby doll and stroller.

Emily's doctor toys.

Emily's horse and cowgirl hat.

Yeehaw!

Emily's aquarium.

This used to be on Emily's crib and we never ended up putting it on Ally's. One night about 6 months ago, Emily found it and has insisted on playing it when she goes to bed at night. Recently, Emily has started getting up to turn it on again and so we took it out of her room. Ally was happy to get to play with it.

Emily's Dora castle.
In case you are wondering how she got up on the table, she used the Dora chair.

Emily's carriage.

When Emily is here, she usually hides all of her toys or puts them out of Ally's reach. I think Ally was really excited to be able to get into Emily's things and play with them.

At long last

Well Grandma and Grandpa left this morning and we decided to let them take Emily back to Dallas for the week. I have really wanted Emily to be able to do something outside of our home this summer, and the situation just worked itself out. Grandma Weir has had the month off of work. I also wanted my sister Jennifer to be able to keep Emily for a night or two because she lives in Dallas and when I called her, she had a couple of days off and said she would love to keep Emily. So Emily will be spending tonight at the grandparents house, tomorrow and Wednesday at Jennifer's and then Thursday and Friday back at the grandparents. We are going to meet them half way on Saturday to get Emily back.
I wasn't sure how I was going to react to Emily leaving. It hit me really hard right when she was leaving. I miss her so much already! I am trying to enjoy having some freedom, but it is definitely a little too quiet around the house. I took Ally to the store this morning and it was one of the easiest trip I have had in a while. I wasn't completely worn out by the time I got there, and we sailed through all of the aisle and didn't end up with any unnecessary foods.
I also wasn't sure how Ally was going to react and I must admit, she has not even noticed. She loves having all of my attention. I did mention Emily's name to her and she recognized what I said because she looked around for her, but other than that, I think Ally will enjoy being an only child for a week.

Children's Museum

Grandma Weir has been in town since Wednesday and today we decided to take the girls to the Houston Children's Museum. We had a great time, and I think Emily and Ally enjoyed themselves as well.

Emily milking a cow.

Face painting.

Ally with her face painted.

Emily driving a Mustang.

Trying to get a good picture.

Emily grocery shopping.

At the cash register.

Emily was so proud of herself for getting groceries, taking them to the check out lane and paying money for them.

Update

Ally:
Ally is about to be 11 months old. She has two teeth now! She is trying to walk on her own, but for now she loves having us hold her hands to walk her. She is a pro at standing up. She loves when we sing Old MacDonald had a farm because she know the "Ee I Ee I O" part. She loves eating cheerios and she doesn't choke on them now. She loves going in circles and dancing when she hears music. She is addicted to her silky blanket and she looks for it when she gets upset. As soon as she touches it, her thumb goes into her mouth.

Emily:
I cannot believe that next month, Em will be 3! She is so talkative and is full of questions. She is potty trained and for the most part, has on big girl panties. She is a huge helper to me when she wants to be. She still hates anything I cook that is not mac and cheese or peanut butter and jelly but she knows she has to at least try it. Her diaper rash seems to be doing a lot better now that she is not wearing diapers anymore. She seems to find it funny doing things right after I just finished telling Ally not to do it. I guess she is just trying to get my attention.

Emily says...

After I finish my cheesecake, can I have a doughnut?

Emily: "I have a boo boo! I want a band aid!"
Me: "I have to see blood first."
Emily: "Daddy says, 'No blood no band aid!"

Emily's prayer: "Please don't let Ally pull my hair. Amen."

Beach Fun

Over the weekend, my parents had invited us to go back to Port Aransas with them. This time, almost my entire family was there including Grace and Eric, Jennifer, and Andrew who did not come last time. Johannah also brought along a friend. It was a great weekend spending time with my family and hanging out at the beach. The weather was perfect and nobody got too sunburned. We had a BBQ one night and the other night, we made pizzas. Emily and Ally had a blast playing at the beach. Emily started out with a fever before we left town but she didn't let that stop her from having fun. She had a fever for half the time we were there, but no other symptoms. Monday morning at breakfast, she threw up on my mom's lap. It was weird because she was acting fine. She is all better now so I have no idea what was wrong.
Since we have been back, I have been getting the house in order for Dave's mom who is coming to stay with us for the rest of the week. We also got a note from our landlord saying we needed to weed our flower beds and yard, so I spent a good deal of time trying to get that done. Dave and I decided it was time to move the girls together into the same room. Now we have an actual guest room and the girls love being together. Their room looks like a pink explosion. The first night, they were so exhausted, I don't even think they knew they were in the same room.

For Amy

Thanks Amy for the cute outfits for the girls. Ally's finally fits! I did my best to get the two of them together. Here are the results.

Here is Ally showing off her brand new tooth (and incredibly cute smile)!

4th of July fun

We had a very low-key 4th of July. We had planned to go downtown for the big Houston fireworks extravaganza but it was supposed to rain and at the last minute, we pulled out. We went and bought some fireworks and decided to hang out at home. It turned out to be a really good decision because Dave got really sick and had to go to bed early. He stayed up long enough to shoot off our fireworks, and then went and crashed. Emily and I stayed out and watched all of our neighbors shoot off fireworks. It was a lot of fun because everyone had really good fireworks and they shot them off in the streets so everyone could see (and probably because it is safer than in the driveways or grass).

Here is Dave's solution for Emily being scared of the noise. It was funny because I kept trying to point out different fireworks going off and she had trouble hearing me.

Emily and I enjoying the show.

These pictures are not meant to be "artsy". I was experimenting with the fireworks setting on our camera and this is how it turned out.

Emily and her sparkler.

Regular camera setting.

Dave being safe.

One of our fireworks going off in the street.

It was so much fun experiencing this time with Emily. We missed having Dave hang out with us, but we tried to make the most of it anyways.