Happy birthday, Sophie!

Catching my breath while E takes a little nap. It's been a whirlwind last few weeks with no signs of stopping till 2031 or so (when baby #2 turns 18 and we kick her out of the house...). Mr Leaven is in Seattle this weekend. E and I planned to go with him but E was running a fever Thursday night and we decided it was best if we stayed home. He's been in great spirits this weekend, with a few moments of pathetic-ness and some unusual sleep patterns, so I'm glad we opted to stay back. Mr Leaven is having a wonderful time with the boys, if Instagram is any indication.

Last month we got to go to Wonderwild to celebrate cousin Sophie's third birthday! The kids had a blast running, jumping, sliding, and climbing. E wasn't yet pulling himself up on everything like he is today, but he got to crawl around the toy area and gnaw on quite a few balls and dinosaurs. His cousin Jack was there too, so we got a few moments of cousin bonding time. 9-month-olds are not that interesting to 3-year-old toddlers, but when chocolate cake is involved they can usually be motivated to sit and pose for a photo or two.

That slide was faster than expected! E isn't sure what to think!

Dinosaurs, Mom!

Cousin Jack and Uncle Kevin catching some air

Levi is one day younger than E and was teaching E a thing or 2 about pulling up and crawling (and sharing).

Love this photo of Aunt Jess with the birthday girl. And her dinosaur. 

Yum. Fruit salad.

Jack posing for the camera.

Sophie is probably looking for her dinosaur here.

I love that grin.

Sophie with her mom and dad

Cutie patootie.

Sophie and, you guessed it, a dinosaur.

You boys better keep your hands off T-Rex.

Double yum. Chocolate cake.

Uncle Kev with a baby boy who skipped his morning nap.

I love trying to take pictures of multiple kids together.

Happy birthday, Princess Sophie! We're so glad we got to share the day with you! I promise E will be more of a playmate one of these days!!!

Bluebonnets

It had to be done. Bluebonnet season in Texas, beautiful baby boy...

However, beautiful baby boy, who's never grumpy, had a 30-minute grump session in the flowers. He's still pretty cute when he's pouting.

just before we got arrested for illegally picking a protected species

Utah ski trip

Last month E got to see snow for the first time when we headed to Utah for a little skiing, shopping, and relaxing with friends. We spent a day in Deer Valley, in the lap of luxury at the St Regis (hooray for Starwood points!!), and then headed down the mountain to enjoy 4 more days in Park City. We met up with our friends Shazia & Ehfad and their lovely children Zara and Zain, and they invited another couple, Mashal and Sonny and their cute kids Aliya and Rohan.

I have virtually no pics of the kids playing together, as they rarely sat still, but take my word that they were adorable. Aliya was in love with E and showered him with hugs, kisses, and toys whenever she wasn't out tackling the slopes. The three older kids took ski lessons and Ethan and Rohan stayed back at the house with me and Rohan's nanny. I was so happy that Joe was able to hit the slopes with our friends, since I'm not really ski/snowboard material (and this didn't seem like the season to start, given the gestating person hanging around with me).

There was a really nice snowfall one evening, and we woke to a thick layer of snow for skiing and playing. E and I headed out in our new snow gear and played in a field nearby. He was mostly fascinated by my pink hat, but he allowed me to make snow angels with his squishy little body.

At Deer Valley, we enjoyed the apres-ski at the resort, where they sabre a bottle of champagne every night, as well as their daily hot cocoa service. E and his dad also got a kick out of the TV in the bathroom mirror - Mr Leaven wants one for our master bath!

We had a late afternoon flight on our last day, so we headed to Salt Lake City and visited the Mormon tabernacle then had a nice brunch. We're already looking forward to another cold-climate vacation next year!