20 Months Old!

Oh Katherine Anne... no one is sassier than you! You're growing up so fast. Just a year ago, your spunk was just emerging... 

Today? FULL-THROTTLE SASS. I'm not going to pretend that you don't wear me out, but I know this much: things sure are fun with you around, and I wouldn't trade you for anything! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 

18 Months Old

Oh Katherine Anne... how in the world are you already 18 months old? You're growing up way too fast! 

You are all sass. It is adorable and terrifying all at the same time. 

If you like to talk to tomatoes...

...if a squash can make you smile...

Hayride and Picnic and Bee Sting - Oh My!

We just wrapped up a rough week at the Roberts' household. Luke was under the weather Tuesday through Thursday and missed a day and a half of school. We were so happy he was feeling better by Friday since it was the day of the kindergarten field trip! Luke and his friends rode the bus to the Green Meadows petting farm and pumpkin patch, and Jeremy and I met him there. We figured if he started to feel sick or lose interest to the point of being problematic, we could sign him out and bring him home, but we were hoping for the best.  

We were a little worried when the first thing he said to us was, "Daddy's car" - Luke code for "let's get out of here." Over time we got him to warm up to the place, first by petting some animals, including this friendly fellow...

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch

Earlier this week we took a trip to a huge pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. We didn't realize when we headed there that our Luke wasn't feeling so well, so our visit was briefer than we hoped, but of course I still snagged some pics. Luke wasn't too cooperative, but Kate was ALL OVER the fall fun! 

Itz Luke's Birthday

Luke officially turns 6 this week, but yesterday, we went ahead and celebrated with our immediate families. After such a hectic week of starting kindergarten, we wanted to keep the celebration smaller... which, for our big bunch, is an intimate gathering of 15 people. :) We decided on Itz arcade in Euless because Luke just loves it! 

Kindergarten Begins!

As much as I still feel like he's still this small and we were at Baylor Grapevine just a week ago...

...Luke is eight days away from turning six years old, and oh yeah - YESTERDAY HE STARTED KINDERGARTEN! 

Summer Synopsis: Kate

Kitty Kate, it's been a busy June and July! You've kept me on my toes, for sure!

We've spent a lot of time together, and you keep me busy! Here you are early in the summer after removing paper from your wall-mount entertainment center and making confetti. Sometimes, the endless supply of toys purchased for your enjoyment don't make the cut, and you want to mess with home appliances. Awesome! :)

What all have you done this summer? Well, you have...

Summer Synopsis: Luke

June began with the end of Pre-K for Luke. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I just cannot believe my baby will be a Kindergartener! 

I dressed you in the same shirt on the last day as I did the first... it amazes me how much older you look! Sweet, sweet boy! 

For Students: Recommendation Letter Request Information

[Forgive the interruption to the regularly scheduled, Roberts-family programming, but I need to get some information out to my former students, and my school website will be defunct any day now, I suspect.]

Happy Summer, dear students! Whether you're about to be a senior or a junior, I hope you're resting up and having fun, because next year will be busy! 

(Womp womp, huh? Sorry to be a downer.)

A New Chapter

The past several days have been very, very big for Team Roberts. Let's get one thing out of the way immediately... 

NO, I am NOT pregnant. :)

However, come this August, things will be very different for our family, because not only will Luke be starting kindergarten, I will be starting a new job of stay-at-home mom. 

Luke's Pre-K Graduation

The unthinkable has happened... Luke is old enough to start Kindergarten in August. I think my heart will never live inside my body again, as I just have an enormous case of TSUNAMI FEELINGS at the thought of this prospect. Throw in that he's starting a school year this August but I am not*, and boy do my emotions bubble over even more. 

*Confession time: though I've dated this post May 31, I'm actually writing it on August 2. In 23 days from this time, Luke will have been home for about an hour after his first day of Kindergarten. It is just more than my mama heart can handle!!!! 

Easter Fun

Easter was so late this year - it didn't seem like it would ever get here. We had school on Good Friday because of all of our inclement weather this year, so the kids' amazing, incredible, awesome preschool had plenty of festivities, including egg hunts! 

Take me out to the ball game...

Since Kate was born, Jeremy and I have really seen the importance of having time with our kids individually. When we saw that the Texas Rangers and Autism Speaks were pairing up to do a fundraiser, we bought tickets to the game and left Kate with a babysitter! 

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Time flies when you're having fun... I just can't believe that Kitty Kate is 1! 

Thomas and Friends

Since we knew the weekend ahead would be very Kate-centered, we wanted to be sure little Luke got some extra attention and TLC. I was driving down Main Street in Grapevine a month ago, and when I saw the Day Out with Thomas banner, I knew where we would be spending Luke's day! Luke has been so into all things Thomas lately, and we hoped the visit would be a hit... 

Kate's First Haircut

Kate's hair has grown so much over the past few weeks. Her emerging curls have MELTED OUR HEARTS, but she's gotten a little fluffy around the bangs and sideburns. With her first birthday party and Easter not too far away, I wanted to get her hair trimmed and needed someone I could trust. Thankfully Taylor, who works at a salon with my stylist and has a young girl of her own, agreed to give Kate her first hair cut.

I can't believe how well Kate did! She was very alert - she studied Taylor really carefully, but she was nice and still. I'm amazed!

Mom came with me to keep an eye on Luke since I was sitting in the chair with Kate. (Mom also said that if Taylor cut off any of the curls in the back, she would kill her. =| Not kidding, y'all. We take curls quite seriously! :D) Luke was so busy that Mom wasn't able to get a ton of pictures, but at the very least she got a before shot... 

...and an after! 

Sweet Kate is growing up way too quickly! 

Playroom

I'm going to do my best to write this while Kate climbs all over me. :)

Our big project for Christmas 2013 was to convert our office (or, as I affectionately called it, our in-home landfill) into a playroom for the kids. We work best with a deadline and pressure, so once we decided to do this around October, we had many busy weekends! 

Luke News

Baby sister gets so many posts that I want to give some props to my favorite boy! 

Luke has had a great few months. Aside from three days where he didn't earn a sticker at school*, he has gotten one every day of the 2013-14 school year! 

Spring Break Fun

In a wonderful change of pace from what has been a brutal winter, we had a day with perfect weather. Jackie came up with the idea to visit Casey's Clubhouse, a new park in Grapevine. Behold...

Here's Luke's face as we pulled up to it. 

Kate is 11 Months Old!

I cannot BELIEVE how quickly time flies. I'm sure that's cliche at this point, since I imagine I write that in each post. But I feel like I blinked at the hospital last April, and now we are less than a month away from this little doll turning 1!

Poor little kitty Kate had a double ear infection last week, so we were able to find out that she weighs 21 lbs and 8 oz. She is a healthy girl! 

Our Funny Valentine

Kate rocked a fabulous new black tutu with pink and red hearts for her first Valentine's Day. Her Honey sure does keep her spoiled and wearing all the cutest clothes! 

I decided that if the sweet girl has to wear an eye patch every day, then by gosh, we will liven the patch up with heart stickers. 

Love this sweet little Valentine! :)

8- and 9-Months Old

So here's the deal: in case you haven't already figured this out, I often write these posts a little (okay, usually A LOT) after they occurred. I wish I could have done separate posts about Kate turning 8-months old and 9-months old, but the old to do list isn't getting any shorter! So... Here we go!

One thing I have learned is that monthly photo shoots are becoming increasingly difficult because of how much little miss is on the move! 

Christmas: The Finale!

To close out our Christmas celebrations, we hosted the Roberts family on the 26th to exchange gifts and spend time together. Because it had been a whirlwind of a week preceding our event, I decided it would be an Italian Christmas. We ordered iFratellis, everyone brought appetizers and/or desserts, and we stuffed ourselves and had a fantastic time. :)



My attempt at a crafty centerpiece. :)

One of my students got me these beautiful cookies as a gift - I had to share!

Gifts under the tree for one final "big rip!"

Brent and Audra's sweet boy, Parker

 Pretty nieces: Alex, Alyssa, and Halle

Luke enjoying some awesome presents - how great are his aunts, uncles, and grandparents?

Audra, Brent, and Parker

Kudos to Lori for coordinating our first white elephant exchange - it was a hoot, and it's going to be fun to continue! 

Luke had fun sharing the chocolates from the advent calendar my friend Kim got him. (These were a huge hit last year since Mr. Man looooves him some numbers.) He would find a chocolate... 

...and share with his family.

A great get-together marked the end of a fantastic holiday season! Jeremy and I were able to enjoy a nice New Year's Eve dinner together - and alone - to commemorate a wonderful year in which we added our sweet little Kitty Kate to join our Monkey Luke in our little family zoo. (Hmmm... what does that make Jeremy and me? He's a giraffe, obviously... because of the height... I'll have to think on what animal I am. =D)

2013 was such a great year for Team Roberts - can't wait to see what 2014 has in store!