Pint Sized Painter

Tatum has been LOVING her water colors lately.  I don't know why I waited so long to get some for her.  

She is so deep in concentration when she paints... just look at that tongue!

My sweet girly...

She's also been using her art table/easel a  lot more lately.  She LOVES markers.  

Thank you Lord for washable markers.

Some of her "masterpieces":

Ready for AMI

We are SO READY for Florida in June.  

What's that?  Like 4 months.  I don't know if we can make it...

This is the tube we used at the beach last year and Tatum wanted to have some extra fun in the tubby.  So cute!

Sweet German

There's a love affair going on in our house...

Life Lately

Never a dull moment in the Zeller Zoo!

The animals are enjoying the unseasonable weather lately...

I finally made a place to display Tatum's artwork.  I bought some cute curtain rods and hook/loop things to make a more permanent display.  I'll get to that... at some point.

2 weeks and counting of COOKING.  Yep, you read that right.  COOKING.

Please ignore the scribbling and finger prints... 

Here's Tatum's new routine.  It's not clock-based, but more of an order of things we do each day.  Nothing fancy, just something to keep me more accountable with playing one on one while R is sleeping and it helps when Tatum is bored and wandering around.  

So far she loves it and runs to "check her 'tine" randomly through the day.  It helps to stem spontaneous TV watching and I've noticed she plays more independently, more often.

Positive reminders in the kitchen.  I love them.

I've been simplifying and love our new mantle.

My happy boy... he makes every day brighter!

The Nichols

 

We love Mark and Laura!

Zach ran track at UT with Mark and we are so glad to have kept in touch all these years since the track days.  

They live in San Francisco and got married last September.  We unfortunately couldn't attend thanks to Mr. Raleigh Bear's pending arrival.  

No matter how little their time in Austin is, they always call us up and we get together.  Usually at The Salt Lick.  Yum!

We wish we lived closer!

Deer Lease

Zach has a deer lease at the Freeman Ranch just a few miles down the road from us, between here and San Marcos.

He joined just before Raleigh was born, so between that and the cold weather, Tatum, Raleigh, and I hadn't had a chance to get out there and take a look.

The ranch is part of Texas State and there is no hunting Monday-Thursday.  We went out with Zach to fill his feeders and take in the surroundings.

We look forward to camping and hiking as the weather warms up this spring!

Raleigh loved riding in the Ranger.  He didn't make and peep and even fell asleep near the end of our ride.  He was right at home bumping along the trails.

Tatum was Daddy's helper.

She's also a pretty good "driver"!

Checking out the deer blind.

I'm gonna just pretend and block out what this is actually used for and just think of it as a "fort", OK? :)

 

We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place like Wimberley.  I am looking so forward to watching my babies grow up here.  They have no idea how good they've got it!

Big Sister

I am so proud of my Tatum Bug.

She is the best sister Raleigh could ever ask for.

She entertains him, brings him a binky when he's crying, rocks his car seat when he is upset, and will offer he own (very beloved) blankie if she thinks it will make him feel better.

She asks to hug and kiss him every morning when she gets up and every night before she goes to bed.

She makes silly faces and noises to get him to smile or laugh.

She asks to have him take a tubby with her.

(She's really good at washing his feet-- her job.)

I can not wait to see their relationship grow!

Chubby Bubbers

I just had to capture some more sweet smiles and my favorite outfit before he puked all over it, as usual.

 I can't express how much I love this little man.

Daddy's Girl

Who has her Daddy wrapped around her finger?

THIS girly!

 

(And if you can't tell, Zach is painting her toenails!)

BIG Boy

A little baby boy is liking his Bumbo...

and fitting into the adorable sweater and booties his Great Aunt Margaret made for him.

BUT, this smiley, happy boy does NOT like tummy time.

(And in all honesty... we've done it twice.  Twice.  Sorry buddy.)