Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

Genevieve is turning two and still has only a wisp of hair. She had more when she was born than she does now, but it all fell out a few weeks later. To soothe herself when she is tired, she twirls the little hair she does have, so most of it ends up getting combed out with the knots she creates. She would love to have more hair, and every morning when I brush Olivia's hair into a ponytail, she asks for one also. Well, I found these tiny rubberbands the other day, and put her hair into pigtails for the first time. She went to the mirror to see, and started making buzzing noises. I asked her what she was doing, and she said "Genevieve Bumblebee!" So I guess instead of her first pigtails, these were her first antennae!

Home Sweet Home

Well, it's been two months since I've posted, and believe me, life for the Banisters hasn't stood still since Feb. 4, 2009. "Free time" has been put towards updating and cleaning our house in preparation for selling it. Now, we sit and wait....well, we clean and wait is more like it. We've only had it on the market for two weeks, and it's still ours, but it doesn't feel like ours anymore. Most of the girls' toys have been sold or put into storage; we've had to hide anything remotely religious, and we're lucky if we can find a pen to write with. Our junk drawer isn't even "junky" anymore; now that's a first!

It is nice to live simply again. When I left for college, I had some pots and pans from my Grandma, some clothes, and a couple of towels. My parents went and bought me a desk at Walmart once we got to Austin. I'm sure it was pretty much the same for Brian. How did we collect so much stuff over the last 17 years?

With this move, I'm really not missing the stuff, and haven't even felt the need to go and get anything from the storage unit, but what I do miss is the comfort of having a home. We are keeping it straight, nice and neat for someone else, not for ourselves. I like that it's clean, but I don't like having to put out a set of "show" towels, instead of the ones we really use. I don't like telling the girls we can't play with the playdough in the fear that it will be too messy, or telling them that we can't play in the sandbox because sand always tracks its way back to the house. Sometimes the best learning takes place while making a mess! I don't like having to hide my rosary. I'm not complaining, just biding my time until we can live in our home again, whether that home is here, in an apartment, or at our future house.

The bluebonnets in our yard which Brian and I planted from our wedding favors are just blossoming all over, and even though we're enjoying them, it's bittersweet knowing we're leaving them behind when we move. We are happy that someone else will enjoy them. We have awesome neighbors. It's hard to leave the Surles and Green families, knowing that we won't be as close and we won't share in the happenings of their lives like we do now; they are like family. We are excited about our new place, but we will miss this house because it was our first real home together as a family. It's the only home our girls have ever known.

Congratulations, Geff and Tina!

My older brother, Geff, and his girlfriend, Tina, are recently engaged to be married, and we are excited for them! They are so happy, and we wish them many years of love and joy. Congrats, you two!

Girls in Motion

Genevieve caught a stomach virus last week, and two days later, Olivia caught it. Fun! Fun! Fun! I'm still amazed at how quickly kids get over viruses and common colds. After being up for several hours during the night and feeling pretty puny most of the morning, Olivia was ready to do a painting project in the afternoon. Nothing keeps these girls still for long! As you can see, Eve enjoyed painting her hands and face much more than the paper.

Howdy-do?

Howdy, Partner! Olivia's Kindergarten class studied Texas last week, learning about the state bird, state flower, etc. On the final day of the week, the kiddos came to class dressed in cowboy apparel, and here are a couple of photos I took of Olivia that morning.

Welcome back, Brad and Nicole!

Brian's brother, Brad, his wife, Nicole, and their daughter, Celeste, have moved back to Austin from Columbia, Maryland. We are so happy to have them back in Texas, and we look forward to seeing a lot more of them now that they will be living so close. We were recently able to meet Celeste, our niece, for the first time, and here are some pictures of our get-together. She is a cutey!

Texas State Aquarium Camp-In

Olivia and Brian went to the Texas State Aquarium for a camp - in. They arrived on a Saturday afternoon, played a little bit at the beach near the USS Lexington, and then attended several behind-the-scenes tours at the aquarium. They saw sea turtles, sting rays, sharks, jellyfish, coral and all kinds of interesting sea life. After a pizza dinner and a bedtime story, they headed off to sleep near a tank of fish. Brian shined his flashlight on the fish during the middle of the night, and they awoke and started zooming around the tank in fright. Livy thought this was very funny! Good thing none of the fish were "floating" in the morning! Olivia and Brian came home early Sunday morning, tired and happy.

Genevieve and I stayed home and played lots of her favorite games, like Ms. Genevieve Potato Head!