Sweetness...

Nothing melts my heart faster than seeing my kids play together and love on each other. Now, it doesn't really happen that frequently yet as Gabby is only 3 months old and Oliver is usually too busy to even notice her. But when it does happen, it is precious. Those of you that know my son well, know that he has a certain "puppy" that is his favorite comfort object. Puppy is needed for naptime and bedtime... and any crisis moments in between. Seeing how much he loved his puppy inspired us to purchase a similar blankie/stuffed animal for Gabriella. Matt pulled it out of the closet the other day and showed it to her and we explained to Oliver that it was Gabby's "puppy." Well, the other day Oliver was having a "puppy" moment and was snuggling up with his beloved blankie when he saw Gabriella's bear laying nearby. He decided if he needed to have puppy, then Gabby needed to have her bear. I walked onto the scene just as he was handing her the bear. It was so sweet. I had to run and grab the camera and snap a few pictures of Oliver being a loving big brother!

It's Fun Having a Girl...

Matt and I took Gabriella out yesterday to get her 3 month pictures made. It is hard to believe that she is already that old... but when I think back, it seems like quite a while ago that I was pregnant with her. I took the opportunity to dress her up in the laciest and frilliest dress that she has (thanks mom)! I totally felt like I was dressing up my Cabbage Patch doll :) But I definitely enjoyed doing it... and picking out the socks, shoes and headband that would match the best. And Matt didn't even tease me about it! We had a fun time out with her and of course made complete fools of ourselves as we tried to make her smile her beautiful smile for the camera. But I think that just comes with the territory when it comes to professional photo sessions.

Here is a sample picture of our little "doll."


Click here to see the rest of the pictures!

Two More...

Two more books... and two more pictures of my cute kiddos!

As I was sitting up feeding Gabriella at 5:45am this morning, I had nothing better to do but sit and think. My mind wandered back to the list of books I recommended and low and behold, I had forgotten to list some of my favorite ones. It has been so long since I've read them so they weren't fresh on my mind. But I do highly recommend them and will definitely read them again myself.

• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

As I sat here typing on my computer, Oliver was going through my desk drawers next to me as he often does. I looked down to see the following and hear him say "computer"... he was typing on his "computer" too :) He even knows how to clear the numbers and start over again. Very precious!


Also, we put Gabriella in her "Bumbo" chair for the first time the other day. She looks like such a big girl sitting in it all by herself. Here's my baby girl posing for the camera:

Good Books to Read

A friend was asking me if I had any recommendations on some good books to read, so I thought I would post my selections here for others to enjoy as well. So here you go Jennifer :)

The list is in no particular order - I have a hard time ranking things. I am a fan of fiction books, so that's the genre I focused on here. Let me know your thoughts on these books if you have read them. If you decide any of them sound interesting and you think you would like to pick one up, I would be glad to give you a further review.

Fiction

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
• Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark
• Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  
• A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  

New Videos

I have posted some new videos of my cute kiddos on our family's website. To check them out, visit the "Oliver" and "Gabriella" pages of our site! Sure to bring a smile to your face...

http://adillard.googlepages.com/

Family!

I love my family! We have such awesome times together - and talking with them and spending time with them always leaves me feeling filled up and loved. Here we are on our trip to Hawaii over New Years. Oliver is less than thrilled about being near the ever-changing ocean waves as I'm sure you can tell by his face. He was not a fan of the beach :) Gabriella was touchy too - as you can tell by looking closely at the pacifier I tried to hide behind my back for the picture! Ah the joys of taking pictures with little kids...

I feel so blessed to have so many people that I love so dearly. And now that we are back in Texas, I get to see them so much more often than I did when we lived in Arizona! Yay! Love you guys...

3 Months Old

My little baby is growing by leaps and bounds! She's already 3 months old. She is such a sweet and easy baby - usually just crying when she's hungry or sleepy. She is super smiley right now and will smile at the drop of a hat. What a doll! She loves it most when people put their faces up close to hers and talk to her - that will almost guarantee a smile. She also does quite a bit of cooing... precious baby noises! I could just sit and look at her smiling and listening to her coo all day long!

A Love of Reading

This is often how I will find my little boy... sitting on the floor with all of the books he's read lined up beside him. It is a precious sight and I love to peek at him secretly while he's doing it so he won't notice me and stop. Notice the books are ALL turned over on their fronts... he likes to have order! I wonder where he gets that from... :)

It's a sweet glimpse into his personality and it warms my heart to watch him!

Turning the pages

Smiling for the Camera

A Cold Week

We are freezing here in Dallas! Forty degrees for a high and 25 for a low is cold to us Texans! I have turned the heater up and lit the fire in the fireplace... and I'm still cold. I'm trying to appreciate the cold and having seasons and all of that since I do remember the miserable days of summer. But right now, I can't... I'm just cold. I really wish I could be sitting in the hot tub at my parent's house in Houston. It's hard to feel motivated to do anything when it's gray and dreary outside. Anyone else have that problem?

I miss the warm Hawaii weather...