Amazing dinner

Some might think the best dinner is at a fancy steak house...a wine list to kill for....and reservations that take months to get. At one time I would agree. However tonight, I had one of the best dinners that I can remember. I had chicken fajitas with my favorite wine, Robert Keenan, and my favorite people. The wine and food were amazing...but the best part was who I got to share it with and where.

You see, Chad and I just finished adding a "courtyard" to out backyard. We had a pergola and an outdoor kitchen/living area put in and we LOVE it. We just bought this new grill called the"Green EGG," it literally looks like a big green egg. But it grills, smokes, and cooks everything. Apparently I can even cook a cheesecake in it. Not that I would ever do that...but, good to know I can if I need to. We have now finally finished all of our remodel and our backyard is complete. Chad grilled chicken and we made the fajitas and we decided to eat outside. For us, nothing goes better with dinner than a good bottle of wine. One of our favorite wineries is Robert Keenan. We stumbled across the winery about nine years ago when we lived in California. Ironically, we were looking for some big conglomerate winery like Mondavi or KJ and we stumbled across this small windy road. It lead us to Robert Keeanan. We LOVE it. It is great wine at a great price.

So, here we are enjoying a beautiful evening...great weather, great food, great wine....but the evening just got better. Morgan started putting on a show. She wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary...but she was just "showing off". It was so much fun to just watch her. And I know she loved us watching her too. She was singing, hopping, laughing...her favorite saying of the moment is "Yep Yep." I have no idea where she learned that....but she kept on saying it. It was hilarious. Chad and I were in tears, not only because she was funny...just at the moment. It was one of those "Ahhhhhh" moments where you realize....this is why it is all worth it. The only thing better would have been to have Hattie with us. Unfortunately, by the time we were eating she was asleep.

I love my life. I am so lucky to be surrounded by the most amazing people. It is moments like these that I will always remember.

The Peters Easter

The Peters had a wonderful Easter. It wasn't the traditional Easter with the brunch, church and all the extended family around, but it was still wonderful. Morgan and I actually started the weekend just the two of us. We went up to OKC and had a little Morgan and Mommy time and we had so much fun. It was round two of bottle boot camp with Hattie....and this time Chad was taking it on all on his own. What a saint! And the outcome is success. Well, mostly success. The last time I breastfed Hattie was Thursday evening...here it is Wednesday and I still haven't given in. That is progress. Chad and Hattie had a wonderful weekend just the two of them. Since breastfeeding Hattie for eight months Chad really hasn't had the opportunity to bond with her during feedings. This past weekend was a great way for the two of them to have some quality some together. Morgan and I had a great time as well! It was fun for me to be able to put all of my focus on her for a few days. Of course my parents were helpful in taking care of her as well...Morgan sure loves her Grandparents!

Sunday morning the Easter bunny hid eggs at the Grandparents house and Morgan had a wonderful time finding all of them. After a wonderful breakfast with Grandmother and Granddad, Morgan and I were off to Texas to head home. Hattie and Chad were waiting for us with warm smiles and big hugs. After a little nap it was time for the Eater baskets. It was so much fun watching the girls opening their baskets together. And of course it wouldn't be Easter without dying Easter Eggs. Morgan really enjoyed it this year, I am sure she could of kept dying eggs all day. Next year Hattie will be able to join in on the fun!

My favorite part of the day was when we all went outside to get some pictures of the girls. Morgan sat so well next to Hattie and smiled so beautifully. She really is a wonderful big sister. Singing to her and tickling her helping to get her to smile. Hattie just looks at her with such awe...always wanting to be around her. I know Hattie really didn't know that it was her first Easter and she probably won't remember much....but, I am sure she will always know her sister was right beside her. I look forward to next Easter when the two of them are running around together hunting eggs...trying to get more than the other one.

This Easter brought many wonderful things to our family. Morgan and I had some wonderful time together just the two of us, Chad and Hattie enjoyed some bonding as well, Hattie is slowly becoming a formula baby (even if it isn't through a bottle), Peters Easter traditions were established, but most importantly we were all together as a family.

Morgan's Gymnastics

We just started Morgan in Gymnastics. She LOVES it. It is so funny how important timing is. I tried putting her in a class right after Hattie was born and Morgan wanted nothing to do with it. The classes are no longer Mommy and Me...so she is all alone with the kids and the teacher. No Mommy to protect her. We tried two classes last August and we decided it just wasn't the right time. Now, seven months later Morgan LOVES it. As we go to class she says things like...I am going to do it all by myself. She is a little timid in the beginning of class but, soon enough she is off running and having a blast. I am sure another reason why she loves it is because all her best friends are in her class. Riley, Ryleigh, Hallie and Sawyer will be joining in the summer. It is so fun to watch her develop as an individual and establish her confidence.

Here are a few pictures from her class!

Alike or different?

Does Hattie look like Morgan when she was her age? A question I hear quite often...the verdict is still out. It is so hard to tell what Hattie is going to look like or be like. Morgan has brown eyes and Hattie has blue. She definlty has Morgan's smile and they resemble each other, but who knows if they will look alike or if they will act alike.
What I do know is how they are different. Morgan loved her bottle and hated baby food. Every meal time was such a challenge, I could always get her to eat fruit...but veggies were another story. When Hattie started on baby food I was so nervous to see what we had in store. But to my surprise she LOVES it. She can't get enough of it. She loves oatmeal and veggies, and the funny thing is she does not like fruit that much. Complete opposites. As far as the bottle goes Hattie still wants nothing to do with it. She prefers me to anything else. Here we are seven months down the road and she has only taken a bottle once. As I said earlier, Morgan loved the bottle. I think if I had skipped food and just gave her a bottle she would have been in heaven.

Another way that they are different is how they express happiness. When Morgan was Hattie's age (around seven - eight months) she started twirling her tong. It was the funniest thing. We would be driving in the car and Morgan would be in the back trilling away. Hattie has started kicking her legs and rocking her body when she likes something. You know when she is happy when you see her rocking away...so precious.

As they develop I know there will be many times when they will do the same things and act the same way. But, I also know there will be many times when they are at complete different spectrum's. I just can't wait to see......