we just got back from a whirlwind trip to the lake. i wish we had more time to stay, but it was fun! lily enjoyed the boat rides much more than last year and didn't try to eat her way out of her life vest, so that's improvement! :)

we were joined by our fun neighbors who graciously accepted a last minute invite to disappear for the weekend. i do love not being able to stress about laundry, cleaning, and errands on the weekend- it was a real treat!

here are just a few shots from the weekend...

ready to hit the water

first jet ski ride!

my big girl

sweet eve

my beauty

love relaxing in the afternoon

not sure she wants to go on a boat ride without mommy

lily isn't so subtle about loving erin's nose ring

eve couldn't be more excited :)

sometimes she's so precious it hurts

ready for her boat ride

such sweet trust

my hottie driving the boat

back at home- the girl knows how to relax! :)

you can see the whole set of images from the weekend on my flickr :)

it has been brought to my attention from a loyal reader and friend that i neglected to shout from my blog mountain top that my sister is PREGNANT with TWINS!! (thanks murff!!)

my sweet sister (also known as auntie e) and her husband mike have been blessed with twins that will rock their world this winter. her official due date is january 1st but anything post-thanksgiving would be a fabulous time to make their debut.

i posted a few pictures of her growing bump on my photography blog, but in case you missed them, here she is in all her twin pregnancy glory at 10 weeks. many many more updates to come!

lily's latest obsession is multiples. no, not twins like e is having, just multiples of anything she can get her hands on. if she gets more than one cup in her grubby little paws, she excitedly yells 'TWO CUPS!!!!!' then proceeds to look for another to add to her collection. today it was spoons. she opened the kitchen drawer and pulled out 5 spoons and carried them around all afternoon.

i had to take a few pics just to memorialize this (hopefully passing) phase. you'll note she put the spoons down long enough to build a tower and then quickly gathered them back up again :)

eve had her first big par-tay this weekend. auntie e, gaga, and aunt michelle hosted a sip n see in her honor. it was such a treat to celebrate sweet eve and get together with friends!

bonnie took adorable pictures as always. head to her blog for the rest!

a thunderstorm rolled through the other night and there was a huge cloud that kept illuminating in this gorgeous glow with lightening.

i thought it looked really amazing- these pics don't do it justice!

i was rocking eve to sleep earlier tonight listening to her steady sleepy breath, and kevin and lily's faint laughter from the room directly below me while he got her ready for bed. (i found out later some of those laughs were due to the fact that lily snuck her blankie into the shower with her- so blankie is squeaky clean now!).

from eve's rocker i could see across the hall into lily's room & from my vantage point i could see two cribs and suddenly i felt incredibly thankful for the two amazing, thriving girls that sleep in those cribs. thankful for the husband that works so hard to keep this roof over our heads. thankful for a moment of peace and quiet in a comfortable chair with my baby girl after a crazy day. i really should take a few steps back more often- its good for the soul!

also, by kevin's request, here is a side-by-side of eve's pic from a few days ago and a specific picture of me it brought to mind for him.

whaddya think babe? still think she reminds you of me? :)

the good news is, he makes both of us smile pretty darn big.

just a few pictures i managed to get while staci and i were dealing with two toddlers, two infants, a few tears, 1 scraped knee, some laughs, yummy pizza, and candy!

window shopping

strike a pose

stinker and grumpy face

petting the horse :)


the breeze feels great


waiting for homeslice pizza to open


metal tables make the best sounds! (i love her cheeks in this one)

wondering when the candy store opens

really wanting the candy store to open

seriously, when does the candy store open?

gorgeous, dahling

yay for the candy store! (love the identical poses)

only her daddy can get her to smile like this. i'm kinda jealous.

sometimes wisdom comes from some pretty unlikely places...

follow your intuition, be smart and be brave and tell the truth and don't take any shit.
-kelly cutrone, the hills finale

so there ya go, i watch reality tv and bring you the one smart word of advice from the entire series :)

we had such a fun time celebrating miss mary's bachelorette party last night. it was a great group of girls and a gorgeous day in austin!

here are a few pics from the evening...

baylor girls

katy & jill

toast to mary!


mary's on fire!

brooke & mary

me & katy

baby link's first (and probably last) bachelorette party :)

the combination of a new baby and a new camera = insane numbers of pictures taken in the past month. here are a few from today.

first miss eve and her new attempts at smiling...

lily and eve in the 'studio'...

(yes she is pushing eve in her baby stroller!)

and then lily played with blankie in the wind...

aaaah!!! eve has the most beautiful smile :) she was grinning at me just now and it made me smile SO big and in return she smiled as big as she could and her whole face truly lit up. it was absolutely beautiful!

i can't wait to share it all with you. this one was just for me. no camera necessary :)

like mother like daughter...

i have had a collection of antique cameras forever and since my decorating taste doesn't really lend itself super well to collections, i am never sure what to do with them so a few have made their way into the playroom as bookends.

lily has started using this kodak brownie as a modern camera- holding it up to her face and saying 'cheeeese' or 'picture!'. it cracks me up- and its a little scary to see her emulating me already. i had better get my act together :)

taking a 'picture' out the window

also, here are a few snaps of miss eve. she hasn't changed a ton, but i do think she's starting to look different. its funny, when i look back on pictures of lily around 3 months i can 'see' what lily looks like now in the baby's face already. we still have a while before we hit that milestone, but it will be interesting to see how they develop differently!

the donovans are in town again and lily could not be more thrilled. they had an absolute blast in the backyard this afternoon!

precious charlie

can you see lily behind the giant ball? :)

beautiful lucy

sprinkler madness

after bathtime they all pretended to sleep in lily's tent!