Second Birthday Party

she ate the frosting

off of only three cupcakes

This year we opted for a combo party with all of our rodeo crew. Last year we had four separate birthday parties on two weekends. This year we went in together to rent out a place on a Sunday morning, have them cook for, and clean up after, us. This year's planning (in large part thanks to Valerie and Dallas) definitely wins. I think all of the kiddos had a good time, as did the other kiddos in attendance. And thanks to mimosas and beer available, I'm pretty sure all the parents did as well.

most of the kiddos in attendance

balloons are so pretty

wait, they float?

bring them baaaaack!

This group of babies
and this group of toddlers
are now this group of two year olds.
Wow.

Oh. I nearly forgot to mention - we had karaoke. With this footage, how could I forget?

Pre-Construction

good bye spa
you were great except for that whole
harboring-dead-animals thing

This post is longer overdue.

cutting sheet rock to install piping for the new water heater -
you really don't want to know what's in a plumbing wall from the '50s

This summer we started our 'pre-construction' phase on the house. In part this was jump-started by the Texas Trade Up appliance rebate program (which ended up being this total debacle for the state in terms of organization, which was eventually all blamed on the consulting company they/we hired). I sat in front of the computer for hours while various websites crashed, all while continuously re-dialing two different phone numbers (yes, this was the strategy for a state with nearly 25 million residents) until I reached a live person. I did this twice so we could get some rebate money back on 'trading up' our water heater to a tankless unit

sayonara, you old clunker

and our a/c unit to one that wasn't 15 to 20 years old.

there was barely enough space in the attic for the ultra-efficient a/c unit,
that there are actually two guys standing on this ladder

Both are so much more efficient than our old units, are sized for the square footage of the 'new' house, and our utility usage has gone down. We also took advantage of rebates provided through the City of Austin for the a/c and the Texas Gas Service for the tankless. We are so thankful for all of the rebates. But really, I'm especially thankful for instant hot showers and the extra 16 sf in our (soon to be old) laundry room.

look! actual side-by-side machines!
and space for a person to stand in front of them!

look what fits in our car!
(child not included)

At this time we also went ahead and changed our den (back) into a bedroom, so currently we technically have a 3-1. Zoe's old room (yes, the one we labored over) was turned into storage + some friends have temporary custody of a single bed and living room chairs + the den received some flowers courtesy of Dr. Seuss = Zoe has a new room.

funky flowers where French doors once were

And so it begins....

!!

Look who's two!

Two years ago:

One year ago:

Today:
That first year seemed to go by very slowly, but this second year has gone by at the speed of light.

2 year stats
weight: 28 lbs, 4 oz - 75%
height: 34.75" - 75%
head circumference - 48.75 cm - 85%

celebratory frozen yogurt

How I spent my summer vacation, video edition

It's often times hard to fit a baby in a shopping cart - that head is just too big.
Cars, though? No problem.

Say 'Goodnight,' Swiffer...

You can't fool me - I know there's a box
over there full of more cupcakes

How I spent my summer vacation

So, can you tell, I'm back at work? This here chronicle of our lives (let's be honest, Zoe's life, because you know that baby book? yeah, still working on it...) took back seat to every other daily occurrence that seemed more important at the time, such as dinner. So, for all of those far-away relatives out there, here is a short chronicle of how we spent our summer vacation.

hanging with friends at the park

even at Grandma & Grandpa's house
Zoe has to keep up with work

catching some zzzzzs

Grandpa, Martha and Matt brew-tasting

Grandma and Zoe watching the beer tasters

no, this is not the reason our flight was delayed for 3 hours
and yes, we're thankful some airports provide play areas

showing off our house-making skills to friends

stopping to smell the flowers

We all had a great summer - the heat was bearable until August, which is conveniently when it stopped raining as well. Thankfully, splash parks were readily available. And, we continued to enjoy our rodeo friends - hard to believe they are all starting to turn two.

So, videos in the next post.