I never thought I'd be the person that welcomes the END of summer, but it turns out living in Houston, that's exactly what is happening. A cold front that brings the temps into the 80's is definitely welcomed so we can start to go outside more frequently and with less sweat!
But, a lot happened at the end of the summer and I'll try to catch up. First, Adler got a final play day with the "MD Anderson triplets" Before they move to Arizona.
Tom and I celebrated our anniversary while I was post-call and exhausted, but the ice cream and good company made it sweeter.
Our little addie is seeming less and less "little" as the days go by, taking care of her brother and her "baby willow" with more and more autonomy.
And Riggs absolutely ADORES her. He gets this look on his face any time he even gets to glance at her!
I'm back to my "cafeteria lady" outfit at least twice per week (soon to be twice per day) as I start another mouse experiment that expands on my other one that I finished right before Riggs was born. This experiment will likely last until early November and will hopefully bring some good news/results for the women struggling with ovarian cancer. Ironically, being on-call helps me keep perspective about why I am doing this type of work that is so beyond what I ever thought I would be doing.
But this dress-loving', boot-wearin' girl helps me keep perspective too.
I got to sneak away for a special treat in August also, Riggs and I traveled back to Washignton for the wedding of my dear friend Hilary
He was the best wedding date ever!
We got to wander on a beautiful (and cool) sunny Saturday morning before the wedding
And then I got the honor of doing the brides hair for the occasion!
Part of the fun part was deciding among all the flowers in her mothers garden to adorn her hair.
Once the bride was ready, Riggs and I got dressed up too. Thanks Auntie Katie for the boots!
The weather was perfect. The setting was perfect. It was a truly wonderful day.
Me and my "girls" got to put together the flowers (again all from the bride's mom's garden!) and it was so much fun!
The cake was made by the grooms good friend and was stunning (and delicious!)
We danced the night away celebrating Hilary and Conner
And we all got a special treat-- Hilary playing on her fiddle with her blue grass band. It is something I never tire of hearing!
All too soon, we were back on a plane again and Riggs handled it like a champ
He's growing up so fast and is *almost* able to sit up totally on his own, but it's pretty hilarious to watching him sort of slowly fall down and bend in half in a seated position!
Me and my co-fellows also celebrated the end of summer which is typically the busiest/most stressful time of the year as new fellows start and everyone transitions to new roles.
And our little family has been trying to soak in the "normal" moments like swim class, music class, and library visits. Here you get a glimpse of this with Riggs and Tom listening in to the music class.
We're definitely raising a husky fan. Adler loves to don the jersey and cheer on the purple and gold!
Labor day weekend we sought some refuge from the harsh sun with some shade and water play in the front yard. Riggs made it look pretty glamorous.
And Adler LOVED her slip-n-slide
Next, Tom got his getaway for a football weekend with Dave. First up, the husky game vs Michigan. They flew out in the wee hours of 9/11 (a little surreal) for sure and had the day to explore Ann Arbor before the game.
Back at home, I tried my hardest to teach Adler the significance of the day. She brought me to tears when she said: "If daddy had been there, he would have stopped the bad guys from flying into the buildings." He is truly her hero.
But, after a life lesson, we had lots of playing to do! With Tom away, we had doughnuts, new parks, and new splash pads.
Anything train related is exciting to this girl
Unfortunately, Riggs had his first fever while Tom was away and we all didn't sleep very well and poor Riggs really didn't feel well. But, that didn't stop us from having a little fun.
The splash pad, in particular, was a HUGE hit with Adler "I want to go back to where the water shoots up out of the ground!"
And, of course, the bumpy slide was a hit too.
Riggs is getting big enough for us to test out the dual stroller.
With the start of fall, we also had another hurricane scare, but fortunately it brought just a little rain and some rainbows which Adler LOVED!
She is fascinated by umbrellas and can't get enough of them ;)
It's the little things. Like maps of the US on the back of RV's in our neighborhood, that fill our evenings with pleasant walks and discussions of what states we have visited and where we want to go next.
But, of course, one of her favorite activities is "smoothies and movies" nights. You can see from Tom's face he's particularly pleased to be watching another princess movie.
It turns out it was just the beginning of princess themed things this month. Adler went to her first in-person birthday party (ever!) and it happened to be a princess tea party and everyone got dressed up.
Tea, sandwiches, macaroons, hair pieces, and painting. What more could these little girls ask for?
It was amazing to see all the little Elsa's present at he party
But, the pinata was definitely a highlight for everyone!
Little did we know, at the party Adler was making her way into another ear infection. She had so much fun but clearly had toughed it out because as we got her down for a nap she said she wasn't feeling well and it turns out she had a fever and had just been putting on a good face! We were a little anxious that we had just exposed the whole party to covid, but it turns out, she was covid negative and just had (another) ear infection. It's only her second, but hopefully her last.
Poor thing was exhausted and under-the-weather for the next 2 days.
But nothing stopped this kid from his usual happy self!
And, once those antibiotics kicked in, she was back and running (and testing out some new rain boots thanks to some hand-me-downs from our landlords!)
She even discovered a gecko in our laundry room!
Most recently, we celebrated Tom's 37th birthday with my parents who are in town with us! We started the day with a little 5k to raise awareness/money for gynecologic cancers.
Then we enjoyed some amazing BBQ lunch and some football together
before we rounded it out with some birthday carrot cake!
Adler made sure that EVERYONE had their birthday hats on.
Tom and Addie and Papa have tons of fun together. But, let's be honest, it's usually in the form of Adler bossing them around (hmm...wonder where she gets that from!)
It is such a treat to have Nana and Papa here with us. The daily routines are just that much sweeter with them.
And, of course, with maggie too. Here's adler "drinking water too" as she pretends to also be a puppy...one of her favorite imaginative play activities.
Riggs has started solid foods and is crushing it (are we surprised) and loving most things. We're just offering up all the green veggies we can before he starts to favor only fruits like his sister ;)
Suffice it to say, it's been a busy summer, and shaping up to be a little more relaxed few weeks before it gets busy again.
These two keep us on our toes but are growing and teaching us every single day. Parenting is a trip, that's for sure. We're so grateful to share our little ones with you all and to have your help and input as we help bring them up in this world!
Whew! I think that's all for now. More photos to come as we go to our first ever baseball game with the kids and grandparents this weekend! Sending love from a sunny, and much cooler, Houston!
Our little addie is seeming less and less "little" as the days go by, taking care of her brother and her "baby willow" with more and more autonomy.
And Riggs absolutely ADORES her. He gets this look on his face any time he even gets to glance at her!
I'm back to my "cafeteria lady" outfit at least twice per week (soon to be twice per day) as I start another mouse experiment that expands on my other one that I finished right before Riggs was born. This experiment will likely last until early November and will hopefully bring some good news/results for the women struggling with ovarian cancer. Ironically, being on-call helps me keep perspective about why I am doing this type of work that is so beyond what I ever thought I would be doing.
But this dress-loving', boot-wearin' girl helps me keep perspective too.
I got to sneak away for a special treat in August also, Riggs and I traveled back to Washignton for the wedding of my dear friend Hilary
He was the best wedding date ever!
We got to wander on a beautiful (and cool) sunny Saturday morning before the wedding
And then I got the honor of doing the brides hair for the occasion!
Part of the fun part was deciding among all the flowers in her mothers garden to adorn her hair.
Once the bride was ready, Riggs and I got dressed up too. Thanks Auntie Katie for the boots!
The weather was perfect. The setting was perfect. It was a truly wonderful day.
Me and my "girls" got to put together the flowers (again all from the bride's mom's garden!) and it was so much fun!
The cake was made by the grooms good friend and was stunning (and delicious!)
We danced the night away celebrating Hilary and Conner
And we all got a special treat-- Hilary playing on her fiddle with her blue grass band. It is something I never tire of hearing!
All too soon, we were back on a plane again and Riggs handled it like a champ
He's growing up so fast and is *almost* able to sit up totally on his own, but it's pretty hilarious to watching him sort of slowly fall down and bend in half in a seated position!
Me and my co-fellows also celebrated the end of summer which is typically the busiest/most stressful time of the year as new fellows start and everyone transitions to new roles.
And our little family has been trying to soak in the "normal" moments like swim class, music class, and library visits. Here you get a glimpse of this with Riggs and Tom listening in to the music class.
We're definitely raising a husky fan. Adler loves to don the jersey and cheer on the purple and gold!
Labor day weekend we sought some refuge from the harsh sun with some shade and water play in the front yard. Riggs made it look pretty glamorous.
And Adler LOVED her slip-n-slide
Next, Tom got his getaway for a football weekend with Dave. First up, the husky game vs Michigan. They flew out in the wee hours of 9/11 (a little surreal) for sure and had the day to explore Ann Arbor before the game.
Back at home, I tried my hardest to teach Adler the significance of the day. She brought me to tears when she said: "If daddy had been there, he would have stopped the bad guys from flying into the buildings." He is truly her hero.
But, after a life lesson, we had lots of playing to do! With Tom away, we had doughnuts, new parks, and new splash pads.
Anything train related is exciting to this girl
Unfortunately, Riggs had his first fever while Tom was away and we all didn't sleep very well and poor Riggs really didn't feel well. But, that didn't stop us from having a little fun.
The splash pad, in particular, was a HUGE hit with Adler "I want to go back to where the water shoots up out of the ground!"
And, of course, the bumpy slide was a hit too.
Riggs is getting big enough for us to test out the dual stroller.
With the start of fall, we also had another hurricane scare, but fortunately it brought just a little rain and some rainbows which Adler LOVED!
She is fascinated by umbrellas and can't get enough of them ;)
It's the little things. Like maps of the US on the back of RV's in our neighborhood, that fill our evenings with pleasant walks and discussions of what states we have visited and where we want to go next.
But, of course, one of her favorite activities is "smoothies and movies" nights. You can see from Tom's face he's particularly pleased to be watching another princess movie.
It turns out it was just the beginning of princess themed things this month. Adler went to her first in-person birthday party (ever!) and it happened to be a princess tea party and everyone got dressed up.
Tea, sandwiches, macaroons, hair pieces, and painting. What more could these little girls ask for?
It was amazing to see all the little Elsa's present at he party
But, the pinata was definitely a highlight for everyone!
Little did we know, at the party Adler was making her way into another ear infection. She had so much fun but clearly had toughed it out because as we got her down for a nap she said she wasn't feeling well and it turns out she had a fever and had just been putting on a good face! We were a little anxious that we had just exposed the whole party to covid, but it turns out, she was covid negative and just had (another) ear infection. It's only her second, but hopefully her last.
Poor thing was exhausted and under-the-weather for the next 2 days.
But nothing stopped this kid from his usual happy self!
And, once those antibiotics kicked in, she was back and running (and testing out some new rain boots thanks to some hand-me-downs from our landlords!)
She even discovered a gecko in our laundry room!
Most recently, we celebrated Tom's 37th birthday with my parents who are in town with us! We started the day with a little 5k to raise awareness/money for gynecologic cancers.
Then we enjoyed some amazing BBQ lunch and some football together
before we rounded it out with some birthday carrot cake!
Adler made sure that EVERYONE had their birthday hats on.
Tom and Addie and Papa have tons of fun together. But, let's be honest, it's usually in the form of Adler bossing them around (hmm...wonder where she gets that from!)
It is such a treat to have Nana and Papa here with us. The daily routines are just that much sweeter with them.
And, of course, with maggie too. Here's adler "drinking water too" as she pretends to also be a puppy...one of her favorite imaginative play activities.
Riggs has started solid foods and is crushing it (are we surprised) and loving most things. We're just offering up all the green veggies we can before he starts to favor only fruits like his sister ;)
Suffice it to say, it's been a busy summer, and shaping up to be a little more relaxed few weeks before it gets busy again.
These two keep us on our toes but are growing and teaching us every single day. Parenting is a trip, that's for sure. We're so grateful to share our little ones with you all and to have your help and input as we help bring them up in this world!
Whew! I think that's all for now. More photos to come as we go to our first ever baseball game with the kids and grandparents this weekend! Sending love from a sunny, and much cooler, Houston!
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