Wildfire and Texas History

Branyon had Labor Day off and we wanted to take advantage of the day by having a family outing. Our original plan was to go to Brenham and tour the Blue Bell factory. However, we began to hear more and more about the wildfires that were effecting the Bastrop area and decided to stay closer to home. We'd never been to the Bob Bullock Museum and thought that would make for a fun afternoon.

As we got going on the road, we realized that the fire was much closer to our house. We pulled over at the nearby county annex and after talking to other there, decided we had better go home and pack a bag, just in case.

Taken from our car window about 3 miles from our subdivision

That turned out to be a good idea, because as soon as we opened the door, we got a phone call from the emergency management services telling us to evacuate. The fire was still a good distance from our house, but it was still a nerve-wracking experience.

So after we gathered up our things, we decided to continue on with our original plan of the Bob Bullock Museum. It was quite a bit later in the day by now, so we didn't get to go into the actual museum part, but we still had an enjoyable time... except for the Star of Destiny show. Neither of the girls liked it and saying that is an understatement. I guess it had something to do with the lightning, thunder and 4D effects.

I would really like to go back when we have more time to enjoy the exhibits. Hopefully next time it will be a less eventful day!

Daddy and the girls with the "cow-marro"

Underneath the star of Texas

Branna standing with Bob Bullock's statue

The girls making their way across Texas!

We've landed on the moon!

Daddy and Branna way down

Free Color E-Book (Limited Time)

As you may know, we are in the beginning stages of homeschooling. Branna is not officially in kindergarten yet, but last September, we started a home-preschool. We are continuing that this year with what looks like a great curriculum through Confessions of a Homeschooler. I'm excited to share our journey this year on the blog!

There are so many great resources out there and one that I recently came across is a link to a colorful E-book for you and your kids to explore our planet and its many cultures. The link is only good for a short amount of time, so make sure to get your copy!

Atlie at 10 Months (August 27)

This month you have really started to understand things that are going on around you. You're signing more things like "where", "baby", and "all done" and are starting to apply "more" and "milk" by yourself.

You have your favorite toys (Snoopy and Baby) and when someone asks you to find them, you can locate it. When you find them, you get so excited and start squealing. Even when I'm a different room, I can tell have them by the way you "talk" to them.

You love to mimic sounds. Some of your favorites are growling and "whistling". (Branna has a fake whistle that she does by making a high pitch squeal. Atlie has caught to this.) You also pretend to be a tiger and sheep by roaring or baa-ing.

You've started giving kisses this month, too, but only Daddy gets them (unless you're blowing them).

You're walking has picked back up and you are really getting confident with it. There's been several times that you'll walk to something without being prompted. You're still much more comfortable crawling, but I think it won't be long before walking is you locomotion of choice.

You love to get your pusher and get in on the action with Daddy and Branna. One of your favorite things is to be chased! It is so funny to see you get so excited about it. Although this video is cute, it doesn't give justice to how fast you can go. You can really get moving!

A few other milestones this month are:

Can put blocks into block sorter

"Dances" to music

Says "Ba" for Branna (used to be "Nana")... she calls for her this way

Cross the t's and Dot the i's

A sample of Branna's "cursive":

as well as a drawing of her feet...

Atlie at 9 months (July 27)

It seems like there has been an explosion of development for you this month! You are so active and can do so many things, it can be hard to keep track of your accomplishments.

Your motor skills are really developing. You've started clapping, which you really like to do when you think you've done something praise-worthy. Of course, I join in with you! You've also starting to point with your finger and your pincer grasp is getting more accurate every day.

One of your biggest accomplishments this month is that you took your first step... and right now it seems to be your only one. I think I got over-excited about it and pushed you too much because now you refuse. As soon as you think I'm going to let you go, you get noodle legs and plop to the floor. But, you've gotten really confident with your pusher and can really get going!

You've also started signing a little bit this month. It's not all the time, but so far you've signed milk and more. I think by the time 10 months rolls around, you'll have gotten them down consistently.

Last month, I thought you were getting top 2 teeth, but actually it was 3! (front 2 and a canine) And as of today, you're getting the second canine. In just a few days, you'll have 6 teeth!

101 Reasons I love You

Recently, when Branna is describing something really big or really long, she'll say "it's one hundred and one". In her mind, that's a huge number. Each day, I look at her and realize how grown up she's getting. I know she's still just four years old, but I see more and more of a "kid" and less of a young child. I love watching her grow physically, mentally and spiritually. Somethings are trivial and some are profound, but they all make me love her more and more each day.

While I could write 101 lists with 101 reasons why I love Branna, I thought I'd share some highlights for this post.

I love:

your imagination

your innocent questions

your curiosity

the way you can tell it like you see it

how much you love Atlie

that you still talk about Saige

your made up Spanish words

that you still want me to hold you in my lap

Branna the bird hunter. Notice her outfit is complete with salt shaker net.

Branna the princely ant hunter. (The socks are on her hands, not her feet. She couldn't find her gloves and didn't want the ants to bite her.)

Branna is one-of-a-kind and I am so glad that God chose me to be her mom!

The Jury's Still Out

When Atlie was first born, I thought she looked completely different than Branna. As Atlie has gotten older, I think I see more similarities... but then I put there pictures side by side and I still don't know. They are definitely sisters, but I'm not sure it's quite the look-a-likes that some same sex siblings are.

Atlie is the top picture and Branna is the bottom picture.

It has been fun to do these comparison takes and I'm curious to see what traits they share and which will be different!

Atlie at 8 months old (June 27)

This month has been a super-busy one. Because of that as I was preparing to write this blog, I realized I have no pictures for the month of June (and it's also the reason for the tardiness of the post). I can't believe that I didn't take any pictures... I feel a bit guilty. Hopefully next month will less hectic.

Here are a few things that Atlie has accomplished this month:

• Perfected hands and knees crawl
• Eating chunkier food (Like banana and sweet potato chunks. We started puffs and mum-mums, too)
• Loves animals and gets so excited when she's sees dogs and cats
• More interaction and mimicking Branna. She loves to watch Branna play and run around.
• Says bye-bye and waves
• Has started getting some separation anxiety and cries when I leave the room
• She's getting her top 2 teeth
• Starting to cruise with walker

Going Out

Branna has always been very independent and now that she's older, she has gotten really good about getting herself dressed. I keep enough clothes in a cabinet that she can get into so that when I say, "Go get your clothes on." she can do it all on her own.

This was the senario played out for one of our weekly grocery shopping trips.... except that it backfired on me! This is what she came out in:

She was so proud of herself for getting it done fast and finding all the right "royal" attire... I just couldn't tell her to go change!

Pool Time!

With 100+ degree already, we decided it was time to hit the pool! Unlike other first-time-in-the-pool experiences, Branna was instantly swimming around, with the help of her swim tube.

This was also Atlie's first time in the water. She was a little tentative at first, but after a few minutes, she was enjoying it as much as the rest of the kids.

She especially loved splashing her hands in the little waterfall.

We're looking forward to lots more trips to the pool and good times with friends!