Red Ribbon Week

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Crazy Hair Day...check out the Alf-Alfa inspired pony tail.



Makki had to dress in orange for Kindergarten AND have crazy hair.



Wacky outfit day...this chick is pretty wacky without an outfit. :)

Lovely Lubbock Weather...

I love living in Lubbock for many reasons, but the dirt storms would definitely NOT be reason to love this place.  Monday, I left school and picked up a few groceries at United before heading home.  It was windy, and a bit dirty, but not like it can be in terms of dirt in Lubbock.  However, when I pulled into the driveway and proceeded to unload the back of the Yukon, I noticed THIS heading our way...

OMG...it's the end of the world!

I ran into the house to tell Donnie and the girls about the wall o' crap that was about to pummel our neighborhood.  Within seconds, our house was ensconced in dirt and debris. The sky darkened and the wind howled and beat nastiness against our windows.  It was so dang dark that the street lights came on! When it finally blew over, everything was covered in a layer of fine, red dirt. Lovely. The next day, Lubbock made the national news and below you can see an aerial view of the craziness:

Weeks 20 and 23

I've slacked on documenting my belly, but it seems to be around the same size as of late. Brinkli seems to just be filling up the cavernous bulge instead of the bulge itself growing. We have another sonogram on the 3rd, so I'm excited to see how she's measuring up. Makenzi, Donnie, and Granny Deb have all felt her kicking, but for some reason when Sydni tries to feel, Brinkli just lays there. I wonder if she's already antogonizing her sister? It's driving Sydni NUT-SO that she's out of the loop on feeling her sister wiggle and kick. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Brinkli relents and gives her a good kick, but it's funny to watch Sydni try to cajole her baby sister into messing with her.

Week 20 - I take the pictures in my classroom because when I'm home, I really have zero time to contemplate the size of my belly. At school, however, I'm acutely aware of my growing abdomen. When you are on your feet ALL DAY LONG, and you have lovely 7th graders pointing out how large you are becoming, it's hard NOT to notice you doubling in size. :)

Week 23 - My butt seems to be growing more than the belly. Notice how she is still directly under my chest.  I can't even walk to the copy room without breathing hard! I sound like a mouth-breather no matter what I do!

Raider Power!

Donnie and Syd had a great time at the Tech game last weekend. He decided to have a "Daddy-Daughter Day" with her, instead of asking a friend to take my place in the stands. She watched the entire game, and asked Donnie questions about football.  She particularly loved the announcer saying, "For another Red Raider FIRST DOWN!" and had a ball shouting "RAIDER POWER" with the other fans.  We both have agreed that we need to carve out alone time for both Syd and Mak, so while Dad and Syd were having fun at the game, Makenzi and I decorated the house with our Halloween stuff and watched Harry and the Hendersons with some yummy popcorn with parmesan (Mak's favorite). She also had to have her nails done, so we had a manicure session in between.  I hope we can keep up our special time with each of them after Brink arrives, because I know how important it is to them and to both Donnie and I!

Wreck 'EM Tech!

Sweet Sunflowers!

Granny Deb always claims that she's "not creative", but how many posts have involved something cool and crafty she's done for the girls? The evidence below negates that "I'm not crafty" comment I've repeatedly heard coming out of her mouth. I mean, really, we were tiger tamers and tigers for the last golf cart float she concocted for the Wolfforth parade! For the Fall Festival at Buffalo Springs Lake this year, Granny decided to enter the girls in the Golf Cart Parade.  She and Pop went as farmers, while the girls were sunflowers, and their buddy, Ellory, was a scarecrow. (And Ellory's costume was created on a whim by Deb...Ellory was over playing and the girls wanted to include her in the parade, so below is the costume that she "threw together" in a matter of minutes. Pretty dang cute for being thrown together, don't cha think?)  Deb MADE the sunflower faces and pulled the entire outfit for the girls' costume together, and had her cart decorated in fall theme for Saturday...all we had to do was show up!  The girls had a ball tossing candy and playing games at the festival afterwards.  It was such a fun day for them, and thanks to Granny Deb and Pop, we have some more great memories to add to our files.

Those are seeds on their faces, btw. They LOVE dressing up and doing stuff like this.

Their adorable friend, Ellory, in her scarecrow costume that Deb threw together. So cute!

They are so shy....

Ready to hit the streets.

How cute are they? Pop just goes with the flow and does what Granny says to do. Anything for the girls!

...and this is what resulted after a day of fun in the sun! One tired chick! (Notice that Syd is still going strong, and pestering Pop.)

One WEIRD Workout Group!

I don't even KNOW how to explain this post...

Makenzi took out my  yoga mats, yoga blocks and strength bands, and THIS is what resulted.

Never a dull moment...

GOALLLLLLLLL!

It was a week-long process, but Donnie, Bob (Pop) and our good friend, Jeff, finished putting up the girls' basketball goal today.  The girls were "supervising" most of the installation, and it was torture for them to wait on concrete to dry, and for Daddy to hang the goal.  Once it was up and ready to rock, the girls were STOKED.  We've already had neighborhood friends over to shoot some hoops, and played a few family games of knock-out.  The only thing I don't like - the girls tendency to chase balls into the street. I'm hoping Donnie constantly reminding them to look both ways will sink in, but our insanely busy street drives me nuts! I guess mommies always find something to worry about.  :) Here's to hoping this basketball goal results in improved bball skills in the upcoming months!

Taking their first shots on the new hoop.

Super-excited about the new addition!

Daddy lowers it for Doodle, but she soon decides she wants it "up high...like the big kids."

Thanks for working so hard on this goal, Pop! You and Granny spoil us!  The girls think you're the GREATEST!

Proof for Makki!

The girls share a bed because of things that go bump in the night. Up until this summer, they liked it and it was keeping both of them out of OUR BED, which is probably how baby girl came to be, but that's a little TMI for a family blog. Anywhoo, we've been a bit miffed at Mak for making 4am appearances in our room as of late, requesting space in our comfy bed. When asked the next morning why she's gracing us with her presence she replies, "Because Syd-ee is hoggin' the bed!"   I finally took a pic this morning of said hogging, and acquired visual confirmation of Makenzi's beliefs. It's true! Sydni is a bed hogger! This sharing the bed set-up might not last much longer...back to bunk beds!

Sydni is on the right...notice her sleeping mask above her head. Yes, she still wears one for those of you who remember that post a few years back. :)

Notice how Syd is basically diagonal across the entire bed. No wonder Mak gives up and crawls into our bed!

Our Singing Second Grader!

The second grade performed their music program at a recent PTA meeting.  Syd was nervous, but like always, did a great job performing.  I love the shade of pink she turns when she is in front of a crowd! It was an adorable performance, and I'll try to download some of the video from the performance as well. 

Nervously waiting for the second graders' turn to perform...I just noticed how many freckles she collected this summer! Holy Cow! LOL!

You try keeping the dork on the left quiet for half and hour...

Lookin' cute and sassy...I didn't get a shot of the black high heels Granny Deb bought her that Syd was sportin' for the big show.

The camera didn't really pick up on the several shades of pink and red she turns throughout the performance. Bless her heart!

Very cute songs and dances going on in this show.

I put Dad in charge of Wacky Makki. He seems to have a higher success rate when it comes to reigning her in....wonder why?

Poor Donnie...

I was convinced this would finally be Donnie's shot at evening up the hormone pool at the Hart house, but it seems that God has other plans for good ole' Don.  We had our final round of fetal testing in conjunction with a sonogram this week, and we were told at the 12 week sono that they would be able to tell the sex at this 16 week scan if we chose to know.  Deb, Syd and Mak came along for the appointment, because I don't think the girls could've waited an entire day at school to learn the news.  For some reason, as soon as she put the wand on my belly, I knew what she would say.  It took a few looks at our squirming little nugget to confirm my guess...WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER GIRL! We are a girl factory around here, and contrary to popular belief, Donnie wasn't the parent who had to take a "moment" to collect themselves.  I've been the one thinking this entire time that I was having a baby boy, but I'm always wrong about these things.  It was a shock initially, but both Donnie and I are VERY excited and blessed to know that we have a healthy baby girl on the way.  The sono tech didn't get a picture of her legs, but it was so sweet how she was already lounging in her Daddy's favorite position - feet stretched out and crossed a the ankles. Again, we were told by the tech that she was  "VERY ACTIVE BABY", which is par for the course with our little girls!  Here are a few pictures of our sweet little girl...

A sweet, little arm.

She's looking at you!

Pretty profile.

Tiny baby! Love the 3D shot. Ready to meet this pretty girl!

It will be six long years since I've held a newborn baby in my arms, but suddenly waiting until February after seeing her this week, seems like such a long time! Knowing that she is  "SHE" is making her impending arrival all the more real.  We spent last night going over furniture rearrangements and creating a list of baby names that we could both agree on...the only problem this time around is that we have two more opinions chiming in!  Here is the list of names that are our top contenders at the moment. (Morgan will be her middle name, more than likely, so try these names out with that to get the full effect.)
1. Brinkli (Brinkley...we are spelling everything with an "i" to match the girls' spellings)
2. Lilli
3. Hadli
4. Bayli
5. Perri
6. Jolie (not sure if I can spell this one ending in "i" and it not be mispronounced)

I put a poll on my facebook page where people would "Like" the name they favored, but it quickly turned into a forum for suggestions instead of LIKES! It was funny to see the MANY names people loved that weren't on our voting list.  We gained quite a few votes, and Aunt Hayli came up with "Brinkli" that is on our list and both Donnie and I's favorite.  The girls are already calling her "Lilli" and love that name the most.  I'm not sure how we will decide, but it should be a very "fun" process. :) Either way, we are so happy and eager to meet our Lilli Morgan or Brinkli Morgan Hart!

When the Girls Steal my Camera...

Try as I might, I can't seem to put my camera away before their little grubby hands locate it and take five hundred random, weird pictures. Here's a sampling of the plethora of crap that was on my camera when I downloaded pictures tonight:

Plenty of Self-Portraits...

Some pretty cute pictures taken by the other knuckle-head...

Super close-up shots...

Random shots of the bottom of their hamper...

Pic of a tiny letter that came with one of their American Girl dolls...

The over-stuffed book shelf...

The treadmill that will soon be moved to make room for Baby Hart...

The glass door has since been cleaned, but you can make out the dumb dogs napping on the back porch...

 

An episode of Sponge Bob...

Wasn't quite sure what was about to happen until I saw the next pic...

...and then a cartwheel! Action shots going on in the office, I guess. :)

I bet the dork eating the greasy Doritos put the smear spot on the lens.

And finally, a pic of a random toy on their dresser...with the egg whisker. Weirdos.

Seven Year Olds are Punks...

She used to be sweet...what happened?

Sydni is going through the "I"m a jerk" phase.  It all began when she turned seven and has been going strong ever since. Her father and I know absolutely NOTHING, and she knows everything. Turning seven bestows children with unlimited wisdom, apparently.  The picture above is what I call "the look", because I'd never seen it until AFTER she became this fountain of knowledge. This is the look I get when she needs to show me that I'm an idiot.  She's been in time out a lot, and may have had some other forms of discipline tossed her way. There are still moments of sweetness, but I'm hoping that this phase of being a jerk is temporary. Does turning eight humble you in anyway? Let's hope so...:)

The Toothless Wonder


I can't lie, I crack up everytime I look at this gap-toothed face! I love this dorky mug so much, and I'm going to be really sad when her big ole' chicklet replacements show up. She finally lost the other top tooth, and she now has a gap big enough to drive a Mack truck through, which is awesome. It seems like she has teeth falling out daily...she's our living jack-o-lantern!

We are officially without our front teeth!



Basketball Babe!

Syd is signed up to start basketball this week, so Donnie took her shopping today for some basketball shoes. Mak and I opted to stay home, due to the fact that Sydni is known for being extremely picky when it comes to fashion. According to Donnie, it was a painless task so I suppose she saves the arguing and negative opinions for her mother. ;) I'm also hoping she proves me wrong on her "coach-ability".  If she's like me, she might have a rough time letting someone tell her how to do, well, anything. Donnie is going to start working with her every night so she doesn't feel like a duck out of water during her first practice at the end of the week. If you hear yelling and crying during the evenings, rest assured, it is more than likely coming from our house! Prove me wrong, Syd-o!

Donnie makes sure she has them properly laced.

Check out the kicks! A new basketball, too.

We might not know how to run while dribbling or shoot, but we will look good learning how!