On the Market

On Monday night, we drove home to find a "For Sale" sign in our front yard. Yes, it is official we are on the market. We are excited, nervous, happy.....you know everything that goes with selling a house. After meeting with our realtor in January, we decided to wait, but not that the market has picked up in our area and the deadline for the new homeowners incentive is coming near, there is no better time than now. So we need to sell this house and find a new house. Send all the good vibes are way! :)

For some reason, when Kaylee saw the sign in the yard she started saying "Chhheeeessseeee" like she does for a picture. Have I really brainwashed the kid that much? So this picture is not for me, not for Eric, but for Kaylee who forced me take a picture of her cute smiling face. :)

Labor Day in Chicago

Over Labor Day, we flew to Chicago to visit Greg & Emily. Kaylee did great on the flight, but most definitely our last "free child" flight...as she told the lady next to her it was "her seat". Of course, the weather was beyond perfect. Every time I've ever been....it has been beautiful and I would like to keep it that way. Kaylee's highlights were Baby Monkeys at Lincoln Pak Zoo, walking Frodo, and playing on every corner playground. Eric's highlights were Goose Island Brewery Tour, Lou's pizza, neighborhood bars, and UT's win. And my highlights were resting my biceps from holding Kaylee, trip around Frank Lloyd Wright's Houses, not getting thrown up on by Kaylee, dirty martinis, and hanging with Greg & Em. It was a short, but relaxing vacation before we head into Fall Mayhem. Thanks for the great hospitality!

So you went to Chicago to go to a Texas Bar? Heck Yes.

Ernst Girls

Best Dog Walker in Lincoln Park

Kaylee & Frodo

Lincoln Park Zoo

Flamingos!!!

Ernest Hemingway's Birthplace

One of the many Frank Lloyd Wright's Houses

Cousin Noah Christopher

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Angleton to meet our very first nephew and Kaylee's first cousin....Noah Christopher. He is precious with a full set of hair. He resembles his beautiful mama and acts likes his daddy.....that is sleeps and drinks all day. :) Kaylee was very gentle with Baby Noah and very persistent on he had to have his bottles, burp cloths, blankets, swing, and any other belonging of his at all time. She was quite the helper. Few times she would rush over to make sure we didn't forget about her. Can't wait to see what kind of trouble these 2 Cousins will get into!

"Shhh....Baby Night Night"

So...this is how you hold 2 kiddos.

Up to no good...the usual

Grandpa Ernst and the Kiddos

Ernst Boys

Kaylee Kisses

"My Baby, My Baby...over and over again"

Baby Fever, if I ever seen it! Want to take him home!!

Miss K, 21 Months

Grabs Mom's Purse, Dad's Keys, Gives Kisses Goodbye, and Kaylee rides away in her car!

Her 1st Backpack....thanks to Dora!

Taking care of "My Baby"

Guitar Hero...Kaylee!

Mischievous Smile...lil Kristen!

Baby Noah has Arrived!

Noah Christopher Ernst has arrived! The little guy was born on August 12th at 9:57pm weighing 8lbs 7oz and was 20.5 inches long! The whole fam is doing well and we will get to see them this weekend. Can't wait!!

Discovery his little hands....I miss newborns!

The handsome lil guy! I mostly see Dana and hints of Brian!

Kaylee at the Hospital...do I see a Cousin resemblance?

Got my Napa on!

Two weeks ago, I enjoyed the abnormally cool summer weather in Sacramento for training. On Friday, I spent the afternoon winning a work Scavenger Hunt while Eric hit up the breweries. We met at Pyramid Brewery, which has one of my all time faves....Apricot Hefeweizen. After we checked that off the "To-Do" List, we were off to Napa! The first night, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Mustards.....for all you Top Chef fans. The food was simple, but tasted so fresh...straight from the garden. We are still talking about the Blackberry Margarita, Peach Salad, and the TOMATOES. We both aren't die hard Tomato Fans, but after eating them I could bite into a tomato just like an Apple. To die for. Saturday was jammed packed.....1st stop Cakebread, which is Cakebread so it had to be good. Thought it would be overrated, but it exceeded our expectations. My goal in life is to be a Cakebread Club Member. Not too far out of reach. Then, we headed to our most anticipated winery...Plumpjack. If Austin was a winery, it would be Plumpjack. It was hip, hidden, and damn good. Next stop was Robert Mondavi, which was not part of the plan, but we had time and had to go.....like Disneyworld....you have to go. It was pretty, packed, just like Disneyworld. Then, we headed to Elizabeth Spencer, a boutique winery recommended by Plumpjack. It was fabulous, could have spent our life savings there, and we met incredible people there. At this point, we needed FOOD. So we had an AMAZING lunch at V.Sattui. Anyone that knows me, knows I love cheese and crackers. It would be my last meal. So that is what we did, ate great cheeses, meats, and crackers...oh and more wine. Afterwards we headed to our hotel to unpack the wine, before the.....Cave Tour! The Del Dotto Wine Cave Tour was a blast. We were surrounded by barrels with candlelight and the wine was phenomenal. It was a great, great experience. And we did spend our life savings there. Napa was a great quick parents getaway! If only ALL 13 bottles made it back safety.....

Anxiously Awaiting August

Not going to lie, August is my 12th Favorite Month. It always has been. Why? It is the hottest month in Texas, summer camps/swimming is over, school started, and it was BOTH my sisters birthdays...no gifts for me (middle child)! I have a feeling this August will be different. I will spend the first week in Sacramento to train for the position I'm covering for a woman on maternity leave. Although I'm nervous to be away from my baby girl and favorite man, I'm very very excited for the opportunity. At the end of the week, Eric will fly up and we will spend the weekend in Napa. Hello, Romantic Getaway! We got our Top Chef Dinner Reservations and expert winery tastings set up. Once we get back, we will be anxiously awaiting our FIRST baby nephew, Noah, to come! So so so excited! Between travels, jobs, and baby, we will be celebrating FIVE family birthdays....yes five. Not to mention BIG birthdays, Eric's dad's 60th and brother's 30th. Once we finish out August, we will celebrate 1 more family birthday and head to Chicago for Labor Day. So basically, I am blogging now if you don't hear from us in awhile. :) No, I will try.....too many exciting things happening!

Dora The Explorer, Scratch That, Kaylee The Explorer

Kaylee doesn't have too much time to watch TV, but when she does she watches Dora The Explorer. At this point, I would say Dora is one of her BFFs. She speaks of "Dora", responds to Backpack & Map, and does the Dora "We Did It" Dance. The video touches on her dancing, but it really doesn't do it justice. We also got the Old McDonald had a "Turtle" on video. A Kaylee Classic. Enjoy!

20 Months Old

Kaylee turned 20 Months Old this past week! Eric and I definitely feel a big change in her maturity level. I would describe her as a very sweet, responsible (borderline ocd), cautious (in a smart thinker way), and very witty little girl.

What Kaylee is doing now:

-Saids too many words for us to list, but she is moving in to 3-4 word sentences/questions.

-Very Sweet and Loving.....gives kisses to us, stuffed animals, pictures of Blake on Facebook, and of course her Baby Doll.

-Very responsible and has taken ownership of her possessions. She is in love with her Baby Doll....feeds, bathes, travels, put to sleep, plays with, sings to, claps hands, kisses....you name it she does it. She adores her "Baby".

-Very interested in ABCs and Counting. She will stop be in a middle of song and make me sing ABCs.

-Still on track to being Potty Trained. Traveling made it difficult, but she is definitely still successfully going in the potty!

-She tells what she doesn't wants. This is good and bad.

-Her attention span is longer.....so eating out, watching movies, traveling is much more relaxed for us.

-She always has been a cautious kid, but it has become more apparent on the playground. You will see kids go face forward, flying off things, etc.....where Kaylee always thinks before she does something. This obviously comes from Eric, my methodical thinker.

-She enjoys making us laugh....making silly faces and dances. I'm not sure where she gets that from. ;)

We wanted to record a video of her Dancing and this is what we got. Our Big Cheese! Haha! :)

Iowa Fourth of July

For the Fourth of July this year, we headed up to Iowa for Eric's Cousin's Wedding as well as the Ernst Family Reunion. Either Kaylee is getting used to flying or Eric & I are better prepared, because the flights to and from were rather smooth. However, Kaylee was a bit clinging due to being out of her comfort zone. Away from home with lots of new faces took a toll on her as well as my arms! I think if we had a few more days there or weren't going city to city, she would have been all over the place. The first night, we spent it with Eric's Grandparents in Ames. The weather was in the 70s and everything was green...a nice change from the miserable Texas heat! Kaylee loved being outside and checking out their gorgeous flowers....especially the "purple flowers". Next day, we headed to Des Moines for Tim & Kristen's Rehearsal Picnic. We had to wake Kaylee up from her overdue nap, but she was in a better mood once she saw the playground. When she goes down the slide we count 1, 2, 3. She surprised us when we said 1, she finished 2 and 3! When did you learn to count little girl?! Next day, we headed downtown Des Moines to eat a Brewery. Of course Eric sampled ALL the beers and feasted on a true "Iowa" Pork Sandwich. Then, that night we went to Kristen & Tim's beautiful wedding! It was great to see the whole Bachman Family and meet some new faces! Then on the Fourth of July, we headed to Prairie City for Eric's Dad's side of the family's reunion...The Ernsts! And I thought I came from a big family? There was a lot of people and kids, Kaylee seemed comfortable to run/dance around. Finally I got to put some faces with some names....it was great to meet/see everyone! We headed back to Austin on the night of the Fourth, so we got to see Fireworks from Dallas to Austin. It was really awesome. Kaylee kept saying...."Whoa!".

Eric looks like a little kid at a Candy Store!

Ernst Family at the Wedding (Minus Dana & Noah)

Ernst Invasion!

Kaylee giving her "Cheese"

Insisted on pushing Bunny around the Airport

Yay! June 19th!

So if you think we have fallen off the earth, one word.....iphone 3GS. Today is the day it is released to the consumer. I have been working rather long stressful hours and have had quite a ride for the past couple weeks. The iphone is awesome and is quite the front-runner. I am amazed by technology these days....I really am. Meanwhile Eric & I have celebrate our 3rd Anniversary, of course we celebrated with out signature Take-Out, but more importantly our marriage just keeps on getting better and better. He has been so supportive and Mr. Mom, as I am a part of a big tech launch of the year. It is great to have a supportive partner! :) We knew the month of June was going to be a crazy busy time, but will touch base with all of you soon.

South Padre or Bust

Last weekend, we headed down to South Padre Island with the May Fam. I have gone down to S. Padre since I was little and we stayed at the same condo.....oh, the memories. I was rather excited to show Eric AND K the Texas beaches. Although I am was in the mist of the iphone launch, we were able to have some good beach fun. Kaylee loved the huge sandbox, but was afraid of the roaring ocean. We think if we stayed ONE more day, we could have gotten her to like the ocean water. However, she absolutely loved picking seashells! It was nice spending time with the fam, as I always enjoyed the stupid games we play. Not to mention, Kaylee loved the attention. Good Times.....

Old El Paso Wedding

Over Memorial Weekend, we headed to El Paso for Eric's Father's Wedding! It was about time for Glen & Julia to get married after 10 years! We are so happy for them. The flight to El Paso went well up until our decedent. The pilot went to land and due to weather had to go back up. At this point, Kaylee was exhausted and needed to get off the plane. She was "that" crying child for the last 15 minutes of the flight, of course I walked off with asleep child. Oh, the joys. It had been since October since it last rain in EP, it had to be good luck for a wedding. Once we got settled in, we headed off to the Justice of Peace for the wedding. It was lovely and we really enjoyed the thoughtfulness of the judge. Did I mention I made Kaylee the flower-girl, she successfully smashed the little daisies. Afterwards, it was time to par-tay! Glen & Julia had quite the spread of amazing steak and sides and not to mention tequila, cognac, and of course wine! It was great night with good company, not to mention the amazing cool California weather. The next day, we enjoyed the day with them. We headed to New Mexico to see their farm, which we had an amazing lunch with their okra and corn. Nothing beats "Farm to Table". Then at night, we headed to Julia's brother's house for her niece's graduation party. She has a VERY large family and they all so nice and welcoming. Kaylee enjoyed playing with the "big" kids and learning Ring Around the Rosy. The flight back was smooth sailing. It was great weekend and we are so very happy for them!

The Wedding

The Entertainment

The Cake

(This Picture Cracks Me Up!)

Ernst Fam on the Farm

We are getting a nice collection of these!

You can't get this man off the farm!