Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails . . .

That's what little BOYS are made of!

well, and they are made of these too

Side profile, upside down

I had my sonogram this morning, and we packed the house. Justin and Carlyle were there to watch baby boy in action. He is pretty chill in there, comfy and compact as you can see. We were so excited to find out the news! Besides having a feeling from the beginning, our doctor had given us a 98% guess at our 13 week appointment, and it looks like he was correct!

Carlyle behaved and chatted with the technicians. She even got her very own photo of baby brother!

Easter

Our first official Easter Egg Hunt was Saturday. Rebecca invited us to come along to a neighborhood hunt in the park.

Meme (Momo, as Carlyle has fondly renamed her) and Paw Paw Clovis drove to Dallas to spend the weekend with us. We had a great time!

Avery helping Carlyle pick up eggs, and Rebecca & Barron in the background.

I was pretty sure Carlyle would not catch on to the idea of gathering eggs in her basket, but Avery assured me when we arrived, "I am going to show Carlyle how to hunt for Easter Eggs." And she did...!

However, she was more interested in quality, not quantity. She was happy with her two bunny straws and a bottle of bubbles. I rounded a few extra eggs up for her as we went along.

Complete with a bunny pinata, and we were seated front and center for the bashing. Probably not the smartest location as the kids were only as old as 4/5 and were swinging a miniature golf club only a few feet away. Maybe next year, Carlyle.

Looks like the Easter Bunny came!

Its a beautiful morning!

Having fun with the camera AND fun with the sweet girl... who could ask for a better morning at the Arboretum. She had a blast exploring the grounds, and the weather was a perfect 65/70. The place was packed with kids in their Easter best getting their photos taken, brides with their entourage and photographers, teenage girls decked in their colorful Barbie-like Quinceanera gowns, and high school seniors leaning on trees (TG McCarey style) for their portraits. We just happened to pick a popular photography day in the park. That being said, we swore we were there for FUN and not a photo shoot, but she gave us a lot of good material to work with . . .

Baby Barnes coming in June!

We are awaiting the arrival of Carlyle's first cousin, Conrad Clement Barnes IV (Emmet), in early June! We are so lucky to have them here in Dallas, and it will be amazing raising our children together. So far, the cousins will be spaced apart so perfectly in age.

Chad and Shauna are getting ready for parenthood, and we are doing our best to help out! Check out some photos from Shauna's shower at our house, click here.

French Quarter Festival

Laurel already summed up what an amazing weekend we had with them here on their family blog. I wanted to post some additional photos and add that we had an amazing weekend with the Jenkins. Thank you for having us and going through Carlyle's ups and downs all weekend!

One more high to add to Laurel's: After a trying walk back to the car with a very defiant toddler named Carlyle, Laurel and I stopped in the lobby of The Iberville Suites to let the girls out of the stroller while the Justin and Phillips walked the rest of the way to get the car. Carlyle and Isabel ran wild, squealing after each other, climbing the stairs and chasing each other in circles, hyper and happy. Their sweet little girl screams were filled with so much excitement and energy, I wish I had it on a recording. Laurel and I singing over the top of them only added to the ambiance of the hotel lobby.

mmmm, beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

These two girls ran through this tunnel over and over again. The thrill of the day!

The mommies, Laurel and Lauren.

Carlyle loves to give purposeful kisses.

She is doing so well in the water! We've been in swim classes since last summer, and Carlyle is up to 10 seconds swimming under water. She loves it!

Associations

This post is more for me, as a way to jot down and remember some of Carlyle's daily wow-moments. We are currently in a stage where my jaw drops at least once a day in disbelief of something new she is doing. Her most notable and entertaining development is her speech and associations.

• Upon meeting someone, she will know their name and point to them. She will then followup the conversation by taking roll of everyone in the room. I feel like its her way of making sure we are all there.

• Azza - Her new friend Alexandra. She says "Azza" from her carseat when we pull up to school, the arboretum, and Whole Foods. We have been to all of those places with Azza in the past, and she remembers!

• Go Go - Go Diego Go runs a close second to her favorite show, Dora the Explorer. She literally can't contain herself when it comes on. She's so involved in the show, that she is beginning to participate by singing along and answering questions.

• Zuzu - After a week visit from Zuzu, Carlyle remembered and pointed out everything that was Zuzu's... her room, her seat in the car, and a Diet Dr Pepper. This past weekend, we went to New Orleans. As soon as we pulled up to visit Aunt Gammy and Uncle Big Bird, without prompting, she started saying "Zuzu?". She continued to search the inside of the house for Zuzu during our visit. The last time we were there was February!

• Dach - Uncle Chad is one of her favorite people. She talks about him all the time and fondly remembers the things they do together. She points at certain toys and games like Coco, Winnie the Pooh, her Firetruck blocks, and the outside gate and says "Dach" repeatedly.

• Suze - Shoes are a new obsession as well. She likes to bring everyone their shoes and have them put them on.

• Monsieur - She is fascinated with Mercer. She can't stop saying his name when we talk about him or we are around him. After his birthday party, if she sees a present, she says his name. He is also in the swim class before ours, and as we pull up to the swim school, she says his name as well as Momo's name (there is a fish on the building).

• Classmates - Not only does she know everyone's name in her class, she has also started associating the coordinating parent with their child.

• Bilingual - I can't take credit for this one either, but she has started referring to water as "wawa, agua"

Just a phase?

I really debated on whether to post this or not. Do I REALLY want to remember this moment? Well, I thought it may give the other mommies a peace of mind knowing that its not all smiles and dancing....

How many excuses have I come up with as to why she is doing this?

• oh, she's teething
• she didn't get enough to eat
• she didn't get enough sleep
• well this is just a phase she is going through, very age appropriate
• she really didn't want to be in the carseat
• she can't be confined because she likes to explore
• we have been weening from the daytime paci, and she saw it and was told she couldn't have it
• she's hard-headed
• she's strong-willed
• she's independent

A tantrum captured via iphone in the car on the way to school. It lasted 20 minutes, and I had to hold back my own tears.

Everyone goes through this, RIGHT............?

(just say yes)