Miscellaneous

I realized that there are several pictures that, for one reason or another, never made it to the blog. So here are a bunch of random pictures from March through July of this year. Enjoy! :)
We'll start with some art projects. Delilah's two favorite things are reading and crafts, so I've been trying to come up with some creative art projects appropriate for a 2 year old's limited manual dexterity. :)

A bowl of water, a sponge brush, and a wooden deck...voila!: water painting

Washable markers + water = easy watercolors
Art playdate at our house. The moms were a little shocked that I didn't care if the kids got paint everywhere...that's why it's washable paint and why we kept it on the tile! :) We had markers, giant pieces of paper, a chalkboard, a dry erase board, sponges, finger paints, crayons--and everyone had lots of fun! (Note: Delilah was the only kid who ended the day covered in paint. I was quite proud; I mean, isn't that how you should look after 2 hours of painting?)
This next series shows Red playing with a corn starch mixture. I started off by giving her a tray of corn starch and some cooking utensils and letting her play in it. Then I added water and let her discover how the mixture resists when you push on it, but can also drip freely. Then I let her add food coloring for the final hurrah!

Pictures from a couple playdates at friends' houses:

Randomly trying on mommy's socks and shoes
After a trip to Rockport, we stopped at the Shiner Brewery on our way home. Little munchkin was tired.
Sleepy time on Daddy at the beach
And here are a few pics from a Rockport trip with Mimi, PopPop, Uncle Cannon & Aunt Amy

Wordy Wednesday

Delilah is napping and my 6 month pregnant self should be doing the same. And, yet, I am here. I am here because while I love each and every one of you who take the time to read this, I really keep this blog for my children to read one day. These posts are being formatted into books and printed out to be kept as photo albums/journals and I guess right now I just want my girls to know what was on my heart this day.
I feel...fluttery. I suppose it is the sense of all the imminent changes and the unrest that goes with it. I was a little surprised by the reaction of most family and friends when they heard that we might be moving to Iowa. Almost every single person said, "I can not picture you in Iowa, Rachael. You will be MISERABLE". At first I was offended, but then I realized that if that is what others thought, then that must be all I've shown them, so who is to blame? I think the idea of me in Iowa just didn't gel with the NYC/LA girl that everyone has known. But the reason I loved and thrived in those cities wasn't b/c they were big cities...it was b/c I love a good adventure. I love the challenge of a new place with no friends but a ton of opportunity. So I thought Iowa didn't sound so crazy...it was just going to be a new challenge. The Huntley Plan was to live in a house for a few years to get acclimated and let the girls grow a little older, then buy a farm and a few acres and see what happened.
Because the further I go down this road of motherhood, the more I feel the cliched pull to 'get back to nature'. Crowded, modern places are starting to make me feel claustraphobic and invisible. My family loves to tease me about my political views, but the fact is that I've started to just not care anymore. Not because it doesn't matter, but because I feel like the world is just spinning in a direction that I don't particularly care for. So the idea of moving to Iowa and to a slower pace of life was actually pretty appealing. I follow blogs written by bohemian mothers who live in the woods of Canada and, while I know the grass is always greener and that they edit the heck out of their posts, I also see the truth behind what was a real lifestyle choice. A choice to make their kids' clothes, grow their own gardens, and homeschool their kids. And while I don't want to go that route 100%, there is nothing wrong with wanting to do it 50%.
So I will try to relax and not put so much pressure on myself because I look at Delilah and constantly think that I am not doing enough for her, for this precious child.
This sweet little girl who pats the pillow next to her on her big girl bed and whispers, "mommy, lay down. Mommy, sleep too" because she doesn't want me to leave.
This sweet little girl who always asks to 'baby monkey' b/c it means a full body hug where she wraps her legs and arms around me as tightly as she can.
This sweet little girl who strokes my face and says "mommy is beautiful' b/c she doesn't know what beautiful means, but she knows that I say it to her all the time and she sees the love in my eyes when I say it.
We'll see where this move (which is to Houston and not Iowa!) and where this new baby girl take us. When you get down to it, there's not much more to life than a strong marriage, healthy children, and good friends & family to share it with. And I think we've got that covered...

Homemade Fashion Friday: Catching Up

These are a few things I've made in the last couple months but never posted about. They will be the last for awhile b/c I've had to pack up all my sewing/knitting stuff while we're showing the house...to potential buyers my supplies look less like creative inspiration and more like a cluttered mess.

Delilah's Big Sister dress that I made from yellow and white knit fabrics, and an iron-on transfer.

Here's our birthday present to our goddaughter, Avari, for her 3rd birthday. It's my version of the game "Memory". White flannel sewed between two sheets of pink felt, with little openings cut out for the felt hearts. There are two of every color...just find the match! And the hearts attach with velcro...I figured even if the game's concept was a little much for a 3 yr old, at least she would love detaching and reattaching the hearts. According to her parents, I was correct! :)

And, finally, my favorite thing I've made to date. It was a surprise dress that I made for Father's Day. White knit fabric, blue knit fabric from an old T-shirt, blue/white polka dotted fabric for the tie and the straps, and iron-on letters. Both Chris and Delilah loved the dress.

Big Girl Bed!!!

We had planned on switching Delilah from a crib to a big girl bed whenever we moved to Houston. But we woke up Monday morning to our daughter standing in our doorway saying, "Good Morning!" and looking quite proud of herself for climbing out of her crib. We went out that day and bought a twin bed, but it was too late to put it together, so we waited until yesterday (Tuesday). We thought it would be best for Delilah to watch/help us take down her crib and put up her bed so that she wouldn't just walk into a room with her crib missing and a new bed in its place.

I didn't get a whole lot of pictures b/c we were too busy doing stuff, but here are the two I did take.

Using the wrench to help Daddy.

New bed!

Since I don't think her new room will be pink, I didn't want to buy all new bedding yet. I figured the pink and blue shams would match well enough for now, and I would just use neutral white. One big problem: All white sheets + white blanket + safety rail = Hospital Bed. I don't know if it looks as bad in the picture, but when we put it all together and stepped back, Chris and I couldn't stop laughing. Let's hope potential buyers aren't put off!!!

Delilah's first night in her big girl bed went about how we expected...which is to say, not great. She wasn't trying to be bad, she just couldn't understand why anyone would stay in a bed that was so easy to get out of. So we followed the experts' advice and just marched her back in to her room every time she got out. We would lay her down and then leave without saying a word. This went on for about 2 hours but she didn't get up once in the middle of the night. Chris found her happily and quietly coloring at 7:30 am this morning. And she's currently napping in her bed, so we'll see how this transition goes!!

So proud of you, Delilah...you're such a big girl!!!

4th of July

I'm a little late posting this, but I had to wait until I could steal pics from my friend, Laura. We spent most of the 3 day weekend getting our house ready to put on the market, but we took a break on Sunday evening to celebrate with the Bighams. They had a delicious cookout and a birthday celebration for Scott's mom. Chris & I didn't know it was her birthday, so when a cake was brought out and everyone started singing, we seriously thought we were singing Happy Birthday to America. Luckily we paused when it was time to sing the name, so when everyone sang "Elaine", we joined in with the last syllable like we knew what we were doing the whole time. :)

Makinley and Delilah jumping on Laura and Scott's bed. Delilah has borrowed a tutu for the occasion and Makinley is uncharacteristically accoutrement-free.

When it got dark, we headed to Scott's office downtown to watch the city fireworks display from his floor-to-ceiling windows. When the fireworks started going off, Red started naming the colors, "Red one! Blue one! Purple one! Mommy...it's ALL the colors!!!"

Wordless Wednesdays: Most little girls try on Daddy's cowboy boots...Red prefers motorcycle boots

Where I've Been...

I haven't been posting as often lately b/c the Huntleys are having a big summer. Chris's company offered him a fantastic position in Houston and we've decided to accept, so we are moving in August!!! Before the Houston offer came, there was about a month long period where it looked like we were moving to Iowa...nothing against Iowa, but we are very happy to be staying in Texas!!!
So I've been missing from the blog b/c we had to get our house ready to put on the market, and it is now officially for sale. Lots of mixed feelings...so happy to be moving to Houston where Chris and I grew up and where we'll be closer to a lot of my family...but sad to be leaving the nice little life we've created for ourselves here in Austin.
I'm also a bit stressed, which is an unusual feeling for me. Do I often over-react to things, and get emotional about little things? Yes...all the time. But very rarely do I truly get stressed out. I always know that everything will work out in the end. And I know everything will work out this time but thinking about the upcoming months of selling our house, buying a new house, potty training Delilah, transitioning Delilah to a big girl bed, finding a new obstetrician, finding a new pediatrician, and, of course, having a BABY...well, let's just say I'm not having the most sound nights of sleeping as of late.
But it helps when I remind myself that these are, as they say, "champagne problems". We are fortunate enough to have a house to sell, to have a job to move for, to have a healthy happy toddler and another healthy baby on the way. And this new job means that Chris will no longer have a crazy travel schedule, and that means the world to me.
So I will try to post regularly, but if more time passes than usual, now you know why. :)