this was our dallas home.

this was our dallas home.

this is where we learned to love tex-mex, blue-bell, and blue bonnets; say y'all, and made and strengthened dear friendships.  this is where we brought baby cora home, and where hazel learned to talk.  we are excited for the new adventure ahead, but are fully aware that part of us will always love this wonderful city.  i finally understand why native texans have so much "texas pride".

the dallas children's aquarium.

yesterday we went to meet john for lunch at one of the places on "the list" - meaning, a place we have to eat at one last time before we move on thursday.  eeek!

so since we were close to the children's aquarium, i decided on a whim to take the girls to it after lunch.  i am so glad i made the effort.  hazel is obsessed with animals and particularly loves things in water.  plus, she is repeating everything i say these days so i can teach her the names of things!  hurray!  we came home and watched finding nemo to solidify my teachings ;)

so i made a quick video of our little adventure.  it's not professional or even well-done, but it took me 20 minutes to make and i'll get to have our day recorded in a special way.  plus, hazel will watch it on repeat for an hour on my phone so i can get things done around the house ;)

The Children's Aquarium from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

on your mark... get set... go!

Untitled from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

cora's blessing day pictures:

a couple weeks ago when we went to utah we took the opportunity to bless cora while we were in town.  so much of our family got to be there for the blessing and it was really, really special.  john gave our little cora mae a beautiful blessing.  it's amazing how your heart just grows and grows to accommodate another tiny human being in our lives.  gosh, we love our girls so much.

cora mae is two months!

our little Mae Mae is two months old already! she is such an easygoing baby. she tolerates tummy time much easier than hazel ever did, she always looks sleepy even if she just woke up, and she loves to snuggle. we are loving getting to know her. 

a weekend in corsicana, tx.

we spent a fun few days with our friends this weekend at a little lake house in corsicana. hazel loved playing, swimming, swinging, exploring, and riding in the paddle boat with friends. we did an amazing crawfish boil which i can take zero credit for, and had a wonderful time. if there weren't so many dang bugs in that swampy place, it would have been pretty much perfect. 

things 26-month-old hazel loves:

26 months is kind of a random time to do this post.  but the other day i was thinking about all the fun little things she loves right now and it's too funny to not record.  hopefully some day we will look back at these posts and really miss having a toddler ;)

things 26-month-old hazel loves:

postponing diaper changes

"popcorn popping on the apricot tree" - complete with actions!

being able to communicate a little better about what she wants

fishy crackers and apple juice (STILL)

comforting her little sister when she is crying

"surprise egg" videos on youtube -which by the way, i kind of despise!

using her growling voice to sing the ABC's

crab-walking

Untitled from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

utah!

we had a blast being in utah the past week and a half. it was a good friend's wedding that drove us out there- but we were also doubly motivated to go so out families could meet cora and be there for her blessing. we tried (as always) to make the most of our time. we spent lots of quality time with many of the brunts and the neffs, i got to picnic with some good friends, hazel got to play nonstop with a very patient uncle jack, and we ate out at (almost) every restaurant we love dearly in utah. it's always too short of a time with family- and hazel has been asking for honey and papa ever since we left! so grateful for wonderful family that love our girls! we all had such an amazing time. 

1. crown that came with our chicken nuggets. we LOVE hats!

2. cinderella park

3. hazel hangin with her cousins after bombay house! (we don't hold hands apparently)

4. happy mae mae

1&2: ryan's b-day party, where i re-discovered chilli burritos

3. cora honing in on her smiling skills

4. sam's b-day party

action shot: 

(this girl would play outside all day every day if she could.)

and finally, wedding pics!