Olivia Meets Aunt Katy and the Carolina Cousins

July 2012

The month of July began and I was about halfway through my maternity leave. I was so fortunate that my little sis took the time and braved a flight halfway across the country with two toddler boys to meet her new niece and give her sister some very welcome company.

After a very eventful plain flight, involving a motion sick 4-year-old, among other adventures, they the Davis crew minus Ian made it safely to Dallas and we somehow managed to cram 2 adults, 4 carseats and lots of luggage in the MDX and headed home. The cousins, especially Evan, immediately fell in love with their little girl cousin and couldn't get enough of cuddling her and trying to make her smile. I think Aunt Katy was pretty smitten also!

We had lots of adventures while they were in town, including several trips to the neighborhood pool - we had quite the crew in the little red wagon, plus the stroller.

Unfortunately, Katy had stitches and wasn't able to get in the water, which left Aunt Audra chasing after three shaky swimming little toddlers when no one else could join us. We're all still here, so everything went well. We were lucky we had enough pool noodles for each boy because those were the instant favorite.

Of course, Olivia wasn't quite up to swimming yet, but she tool some great naps in her strawberry swimsuit in the shade while the boys played!

We also tried out a new hand-dipped ice cream bar store that had just opened up near the house. You picked your own ice cream type and toppings and they dipped the bars while you wait. Not exactly a tidy toddler snack, but they were delicious.

We had to get a picture of Katy and Olivia in her "I love my Auntie" shirt from her Aunt Brandi:

As we all know, July in Texas borders on unbearably hot, so we had to find activities that were either indoors, or involved water. One day while they were visiting, we packed up and headed to the splash park:

By the time we got out of the house, it was late morning and already really hot. Katy and I spent much of our time there trying to keep Miss Olivia cool and shaded, despite the lack of shady areas:

Since everyone would soon be headed to Aunt Karen's wedding in Kansas, we had to make sure all the boys had suitable attire. A trip to the mall with three excited little boys and a newborn is definitely not the most relaxing trip, but somehow we managed to find shirts and shoes for everyone - and even got some Chick-Fil-A for munch and a charm for each of the boys Crocs. Aren't they a motley crew?

While we both love our kids dearly, sometimes it is nice to have some sister time to be together, just the two of us and catch up. We don't get to do this nearly often enough! On one of their last nights in town, my amazing husband agreed to watch the kids so Katy and I could head to a nearby wine bar for some dinner, drinks and great conversation on the patio. Love you, Katy!

Of course, I took a picture of the wine and, of course it was a flight of Sauvingnon Blanc. Anyone who knows me would expect nothing else!

While they were in town, I celebrated my 34th birthday. The boys helped Aunt Katy decorate a delicious cake:

And everyone sang a beautiful version of Happy Birthday. It was wonderful having Katy and her kiddos there to celebrate and I absolutely adore the locket that they gave me for my birthday.

Stay tuned for more adventures!