Ice, Ice, Baby

Last month, we got "iced in". In Texas, we rarely get snow, just lots of ice that leads to horrible road conditions. What does that mean for us? Being iced in until it freezes…4 days in this case!

Since this was Ashlynn's first "ice/snow" experience, we got her bundled up during Bailey's nap time and went outside to play.

She LOVED it! She thought it was so much fun to walk on, and try and pick up with her hands.

Her favorite part was trying to eat the ice. Silly girl!

We spent the rest of the long weekend being lazy and eating yummy food.  Our friend Schmamy (Amy) was home alone, so Mark went and got her so that she could hang out with us!

Considering the cabin fever, Ashlynn did great. She developed a love for "tents" that weekend!

On Saturday, Amy and I braved the cold and walked to the store down the street. We were out of the necessities...

Aka, junk food!

On Sunday, our friends Chris & Hailey came over for lunch/dinner.

Our kiddos were glad to have friends to play with!

These sneaky girls even hid the oreos and snatched a few!

The younger siblings were much more innocent!

On Monday, it was still a little to cold to venture out. We passed the time by building tents in the bathroom!

All in all, it was a restful snow day. The girls especially enjoyed having their daddy at home for a few extra days!

Happy {Belated} 8 Months Bailey!

Bay-Bay,

This is a belated 8 month post for you! Christmas, New years and sickness have all made life beyond crazy lately! I can't believe that you are so big already. We love your sweet and spunky little personality, and your precious spirit!

We did not go to the doctor again this month.  You wore size 6 month, 6-9 month and 9 month clothing. You were in size 3 shoes and size 3 diapers.  You do not care for socks or shoes (which is a problem when it is 20 degrees outside!) You are a TALL girl.  

You ate bottles, baby food and table food.  You are not a fan of homemade baby food, and prefer to feed yourself.  Fruits,mashed potatoes and puffs are all favorite foods. You often took 6-7 oz, and had around 3-4 bottles a day. You are not a fan of the bottle, but we still make sure that is your main food source for now.  You slept ok. You often woke in the middle of the night with horrible gas pains  and could only sleep in mom's lap while she sat cross legged.  (thankfully this was resolved between turning 8 months and writing this post!) 

You learned to pull up this month! You were SO proud of yourself, and so was your big sister.  You are now a pro at rolling over, but are not quite to the crawling point. You are so close though!

Your favorite activities are:

Bathtime

Playing in the exersaucer

Bouncing/Being Bounced

Watching your sister

Playing with daddy

Cuddling

You have 2 bottom teeth, and are working on more! You still take a paci, but only at night when you go to sleep (You normally spit it out during the night). You still only take the 0-6 month paci, so we will be working on changing that soon!

You love to babble. You have quite a few syllables (Ma, Da, Ha, B, A, E) but no words yet! You have discovered the shrill screams that you can make, and you think it is HILARIOUS!

Your nicknames include:

Bay, Bay Bay, Bay Boo, Bailey Bear, Sister Sister and Half Pint

You are our emotional and tenderhearted girl.  You get your feelings hurt quite easy, and are quick to let us know if we have upset you. When you are hurt/mad you will put your fists up in the air and shake them, while grunting and crying at us.  You love to cuddle and show affection, and you have a smile just like your sisters-it lights up the room!

This month, you celebrated your 1st Thanksgiving, and enjoyed many Christmas activities!

 Our sweet girl, what a blessing you are! We pray that you continue to develop, grow and discover! It is such a joy to watch you experience life! 

We love you,

Mommy and Daddy

Prairie Lights

Last night, our little family headed out to see the drive through lights in Grand Prairie.

A posed "horrible parent" picture

Once we got inside of the gates, we let the girls sit up front with us.

Ashlynn loved to pretend to drive us!

She thought the lights were "tool!" (Cool)

Halfway through, we got to stop and have a little fun! We walked through the lit forest.

Well, the adults walked, and Ashlynn danced!

And climbed over the ropes and off of the "path"...

Next up, we rode the carosel!

Miss B and I got in on the fun too!

It was such a fun experience, and full of laughs for this mama and daddy! We are so thankful for the chances to make special memories with our girls.

A little Christmas fun!

Yesterday, my mom took off 1/2 a day of work, and we had a fun "Girls Christmas Day!"

We started out with a trip to meet "Mr. Clause". Mark got to swing by and join us for this, too! The way that they had Santa pictures set up was great. The girls sat in Mrs. Clause's lap and read a book, while Santa secretly posed behind them. He then came around and sat down with them. 

This worked well, because Ashlynn was not too sure about Santa sitting next to her! She started reaching out for me, and then burst into tears!

After Santa, Mark headed back to work, and us girls grabbed lunch and took a ride on the carousel!

Next up, we checked out a cute collection of shops. It is basically a building full of Pinterest-inspired cuteness!

And a few snowmen that were just A's size!

We shopped until sweet Bailey dropped!

Starbucks was across the street, so we decided to treat Ashlynn to her first hot chocolate and a cookie!

It was so sweet how much she enjoyed her treats!

We decided to try and get a little Christmas shopping done, so we headed to Target next. The girls were SUCH troopers, and even had a little fun together while we browsed.

We ended the day by meeting up with Mark at CiCi's to fuel our shopping induced hunger ;) It was SUCH a joy-filled day, and I love being able to great such special memories with the girls.

Thanks GaGa for such a fun day!

"Friendsgiving"

Our Thanksgiving season was beyond full of love, laughter and good food! 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had the chance to do Thanksgiving with our home group.  This was a bittersweet time, because it was also our last time with our group.  With the move {update coming soon!}, we are switching to the Fort Worth campus of our church, and therefore changing groups.

The makeup of our group has changed drastically in the 3 years that we have lived here. People have moved and leaders have changed. But regardless of location, age or stage in life, one thing remains: These are our people. The ones that we do life with, the people we grow and learn with.  These folks have walked along side us in the darkness, and rejoiced with us in the light.

Some of our current group members have seen our babies grow from teeny newborn. They are family to our girls. What a blessing from the Lord to place us in such a community. We.Are.Blessed.

Whew. Enough sap before I start crying…On to the fun!

Our Thanksgiving night was full of a potluck dinner, new friends and a game or 2 of Taboo.

There was also a lot of baby playing, 

baby cuddling, 

football watching,

and cheesy picture taking!

To our sweet group members(from past and present), we love you so much. Thank you for the honor of inviting us into your hearts and your homes. We hope to always be a part of your lives in one way or another!

We love you,

The Sangenitos