Love This Life

Our Christmas Card 2011

December 22, 2011 by hibnerfamily

Christmas is this weekend and it’s such a fun time with the girls. Avery really has grasped the spirit of Christmas this year. This morning St. Nick filled the girls stockings with goodies. He came about two weeks late so he must have been really, really busy making his rounds this year.

I acquired a new business on Monday so I’m feeling the pressure of trying to tackle everything right before Christmas. However, I did manage to take off (somewhat) on Tuesday to join my Mom and sisters on a mini-trip to Fredericksburg. That was fun! I especially enjoyed the pineapple jalepeno Margaritas that I’ve been craving all year from Clear Creek. Thank goodness for iphones and really late nights so I could make the trip.

Posted in Family | 1 Comment »

Visiting with Santa

December 19, 2011 by hibnerfamily

We took the girls Friday to see Santa. As you can see, Olivia thought Santa was pretty scary. Avery was excited but also a little unsure. We’ve been asking her what she wants Santa to bring her for Christmas and she tells us the exact same thing she told Santa: a purple present and a hippopotamus! I told her I’m not sure Santa can fit a hippo in his sleigh. She said, “Yes, he can!” She also tells me everyday that she wants to go to the North Pole. I’m not sure when or why she decided she wanted a hippo.

These are the pictures the company took. They didn’t turn out great but they are funny!

Posted in Baby & Child | 4 Comments »

Lyla Bee

December 10, 2011 by hibnerfamily

This past weekend was cold and rainy but we had two family Christmas parties which sure did brighten things up. Matt and Dawn had a professional shoot scheduled for this weekend but had to cancel due to weather so they asked me to do their Christmas pictures for them. I was excited to do them! This was my first photo shoot ever for someone other than my own kids. We did it on a very, very windy day while it was drizzling outside because there was no other time to do it. I think they turned out really cute. Of course, Lyla is very easy to shoot!

Lyla Bee (love this pic):

Posted in Baby & Child, Family, Photography | 2 Comments »

Tree Star

December 5, 2011 by hibnerfamily

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we gathered all our energy and decorated our home with Christmas pretties. Our outdoor lights were already up thanks to someone we hired but we turned on some Christmas tunes and decked out our tree and house. I didn’t put out my village this year because I don’t have anywhere to put it right now. I love it but lacked the energy to find a place for it. Avery helped put ornaments on the tree (and we had a few casualties that crashed to the floor) but she was most interested in the Tree Star! Her interest is due to Land Before Time where Little Foot carries a Tree Star that his mother gave him through his journey to find his grandparents. All she wanted me to do the entire time was to put the Tree Star on the tree despite me reminding her that it goes on last. That reminds me that I need to pull out her book, “The Christmas Star” so she understands the true meaning of it.

We also started Elf on the Shelf. That little Timmy the Elf seems to like hiding in the same place over and over again . He is supposed to find a new spot every night when he comes back from giving his daily report to Santa. I guess I need to help him find some new hiding places!

Eating a puff and giving me those eyes:

On another note, we’ve been shopping for a new baby monitor. I came across a new monitor that I wish we had when Olivia and Avery were newborns. It’s the Angelcare AC1100 and it has a sensor that detects if the baby stops breathing. According to a lot of reviews I’ve read, it is extraordinarily accurate in detecting this. It also has other features along with video and digital sound.

Posted in Baby & Child, Family | Tagged christmas tree, tree star, elf on the shelf | 1 Comment »

Thankful!

November 29, 2011 by hibnerfamily

Thanksgiving 2011 was really special because we celebrated with our growing family! This year, our family grew by 2 with Olivia and Lyla being born. I’m so thankful for my family and our health and well-being! We also got some Facetime with Scott’s family whom were dearly missed.

I love this time of year! We went to the farm to my parents for the holiday weekend and there was no shortage of traditional Thanksgiving deliciousness. We had two Thanksgivings with a Black Friday shopping spree sandwiched in between. On the day of shopping, we took the babies (bless their little hearts but they were troopers) and Avery stayed behind with Daddy and had the time of her life riding tractors and going to Dairy Queen.

Before I get to the pictures, I’m also thankful that the Longhorns WON. We are a family divided so it makes for extra fun when we beat those Aggies.

Mom whipped up this yummy Banana Pudding Pie:

and this Broccoli and Rice among about 20 other things (not kidding…she was a cooking machine):

I just like this centerpiece:

The weather was gorgeous:

Cousins….Lyla is trying to get away from an excited Livy:

We did a mini photo session trying to get the girls to take a picture together because all my cute pictures are of them apart(IMPOSSIBLE to get them together both smiling and looking)!! Our Christmas card this year is going to have to be pictures of them separately.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

This picture says it all..one is working with me (and I mean she is putting on a show) while the other is turned completely around:

Posted in Baby & Child, Family, Living | 3 Comments »

Kitchen Play

November 20, 2011 by hibnerfamily

We hang out in the kitchen a lot and Olivia’s favorite thing is to pull out all the cups and bowls in her cabinet. It was Avery’s favorite as well. I have one cabinet that I keep all their supplies and I give her free reign. I’m always amazed out how non-toy toys seem to provide the most entertainment.

Posted in Baby & Child | Tagged free reign, favorite thing, avery, olivia, and bowls. | Leave a Comment »

Weekends at Home

November 15, 2011 by hibnerfamily

With Scott traveling so much recently during the week, we have been staying at home quite a bit on the weekends. We really like going to Central Market to find lots of great food for the weekend and Avery loves it! She calls it the park with a store and she never forgets about getting a balloon. Olivia just enjoys coming along and soaking it all in! She doesn’t like balloons though and constantly blinks her eyes when Avery’s balloon comes near her.

Blurry but still love:

Watching her sister climb up the playscape and probably thinking…I can do that!:

On Saturday, Avery’s friend had a birthday party at Gymboree. She talked about going every single day last week. She wasn’t disappointed! She had so much fun and Livy did too!

One thing I’ve noticed is that with moving children, I have a hard time getting my pictures in focus with the 50mm though I love it. Do I need to up my aperture or is there something else I need to do?

Posted in Baby & Child, Photography | 11 Comments »

Architecture Wrap Up

November 11, 2011 by hibnerfamily

We are moving on to a new phase as we start wrapping up the architecture of our new home. We had to make some changes due to the elevation and slopes of our lot and we are really happy with the new design. My goal was to keep the look and feel of our last home but add some details to give it more of a symmetrical feel. I love symmetry and oversized windows and doors. Scott likes when I’m happy so that worked out well! The lot lent itself nicely for steps going up to a semi-enclosed courtyard. Scott loves courtyards and I like open so it is a great marriage of the two. Like last time, everything has to be submitted before a design committee and I’m glad to be moving past this first stage.

Posted in Our Home | 5 Comments »

Happy 9 Month Birthday, Olivia Paige!

November 10, 2011 by hibnerfamily

Dear Olivia,
I want to tell you how special you are to me. You bring so much happiness to our lives and you can truly light up a room when you enter. I’m so glad to have you back home with me during the day but your teachers miss you and ask about you always though you were only at daycare a short while. You leave lasting impressions. I love seeing your smiles all day and being able to give you lots of kisses.

What are you up to these days?
- You love babbling and making sounds, saying mama and dada, and mo (I think with intention)
- You definitely sign with intention and this morning clicked with your tongue ( a trick I taught you but you think it means eat), signed milk, and then signed eat with your hands to let me know you were hungry. I laughed so hard because you wanted to make sure I didn’t miss it!
-You want to walk so badly and get SO proud of yourself when you stand on your own. Don’t rush it, my dear! You already crawl so fast and we’ll definitely have our work cut out for us when you start walking.

- You smile so big it takes over your entire face! I love your smiles.
- You still sleep beautifully, napping, and through the night.
- Only 2 bottom teeth so far. Those top two want to come out but still haven’t.
- You love Plain Yogurt the most out of all foods. You are just like your big sister in this way. You both love it like it’s ice cream.
- You think your sister is so cool and are always following her around.

I love you so much Livy Lu!
Love,
Mommy

Posted in Baby & Child | Tagged 9 months old | 5 Comments »

Trick or Treat

November 2, 2011 by hibnerfamily

This neighborhood ROCKS when it comes to family fun! Apparently, every year, all the neighbors get together for a party and go trick or treating as one large group. We went to the pizza party and Avery met some of the neighborhood kiddos her age. She loved it! They had a minimum of 30 pizzas so they sent one home with us because we had to leave a bit early for Olivia. We made our rounds through the neighborhood and large groups of parents (with treats of their own in hand) and costumed kids were going door to door getting lots of treats. Avery was so excited seeing all these children in her neighborhood. At one point, we were leaving a house after she got candy and about 8 girls a few years older than her started running up the street and she yelled “Hey Guys, Wait for me!!” and started running to join them. She is not shy and loves friends.

Getting princess ready:

Eating pizza with all the kids:

After trick or treating, Avery and I sat out front handing out candy while Daddy put Livy nighty night:

She loved giving candy:

Waiting for more trick or treaters to come: