A Family Date!!!

Our lives have been so crazy lately, and B is so busy with school when he is not working, that we have had zero good family time as of late. So, B took Monday morning off of work and school, and we headed to the Fort Worth Zoo! It was 77 degrees that morning and overcast, so we thought it would be perfect for the girls! It did warm up fairly quickly, but we managed to stay out of direct sun, and both girls were champs! It was Felicity's first trip to the zoo, and though Avaree has been to the zoo many times, this was only her 2nd trip to the Fort Worth Zoo (and last time she was only 11 months old)! One reason that we really wanted to go was to see the new baby elephant that was born at the beginning of July! Her name is Belle, so Ave was SUPER excited to see her. She thought that she would be wearing a yellow dress, but that's beside the point! ;) We brought the double stroller that has lots of shade, and I wore Felicity in the Baby Bjorne most of the time. 
Brandon and I had fun taking turns taking pictures! :)  The Cheetahs were lounging!

 Felicity and I listened to a presentation from the zoo keeper on one of the species of monkeys. (Clearly, I didn't know that Brandon and Ave had snuck up from behind with the camera!!) The zoo keeper told us that this particular species (started with a B--but I can't remember the exact name) was a female dominated hierarchy, and the Mommies carried their babies NON-STOP (while eating, sleeping, pooping, etc.) for the first four months. I was astonished! That would mean that I would have yet to put Felicity down! Craziness! :)

 ...a male! hehe

 The zeebras were as beautiful as usual! :)

 Here is the baby!!!!!!!!!!

She was born on July 6th, 2013.

She weighed 330 lbs at BIRTH!!!!!!! Her Mommy's name is Rasha, and her name is Belle! :) Her only sibling was born in 1998! Can you imagine having baby's that far apart? I was enthralled watching her stay right underneath her Mommy! So sweet.

 Love this sweet baby elephant!!!!!!

I could have watched Belle and her Mommy all day, but we moved on! The giraffe's were up next! :)

 She was sad that she had to wait a few more minutes for lunch instead of getting a snack! hehe! Beautiful face anyway!

 Mommy and her girls with happy faces!!!! :) :)

 The rhinos were cracking me up! They were all three on their backs in the water and not moving!!!

 The white tiger was beautiful!!!

 This bear was dancing! :)

 Daddy and sissy! :)

 ...and somebody was happy that we all got to share an icee for our zoo treat! :)

 Beautiful Felicity :)

 I named her Nala. I wish they posted the names of all the animals. She was beautiful!

 Guess who we ran into at lunch????????? We happened to sit down right next to Josie and Phillip!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were so excited to see them, and we have a little girl that was beyond excited to play with her friend! :) We got to walk through a few exhibits together, and they were so happy! :) 

 Avaree loved the otter! :) 

 Sweet friends!!!!!

 Ave kept wanting to kiss sissy's little legs and feet! :) so sweet!

 Daddy was enamored with the wing span display! ;)

 Phillip and Avaree using the "bat phones!" ;)

 Penguins!!!!

Later that night, I asked Avaree what her favorite part of the zoo was, and she said, "Phillip and the penguins!!!" ;) 

 Daddy and his girls with the penguins photo-bombing! ;)

 Family shot!

 Josie and Pip! The kids were ready for naps at this point!!!

Love my family, and I am so thankful for our few hours together! 

It was a great morning with my family, and it was just what all of our hearts needed!!!! :)

My Sweet Girls

My girls have been so sweet to each other lately. I just love capturing them together. :) Enjoy.

 In the picture below, Ave is signing "Jesus Loves Me" for sissy. Last night before bed, Avaree kissed her hand and then touched her heart. Then she kissed her hand again and touched my heart. Finally, she kissed her hand again and put it over sissy's heart and grinned. I just watched her, and then I told her how sweet the kisses were, and she said, "Oh, they weren't for you, Mommy. They were for Jesus. I blew him a kiss in my heart, and your heart, and sissy's heart." #meltmetothecore 

She is so sweet. 

 Sissy love!

 Sweet loves.

 Love Ave's smile here! :) I can't remember what I did that made her laugh, but she was belly laughing. The other day we were out a restaurant, and several people came by complimenting us on how good the girls were. My heart was already swelling, and then we had the following conversation:

Ave: Mommy, do all of these people have Jesus in their hearts?

Me: Well, we just don't know, baby. That's why we have to shine Jesus' light wherever we go. 

Ave: Well, let's go tell them about Jesus. 

#outofthemouthsofbabes

 I think they are so beautiful.

 Love this belly laugh, and I love that sissy is just completely chill in her big sister's arms. Ave asks to hold her at least once or twice every day. :)

 Sometimes she gives me the "oh, help me" look, but usually she is happy as a clam! :)

 my beauties

 ...and we snuggle EVERY morning! :) Love them so much!!!!!

 Felicity is the strongest three month old that I've ever met. She can already sit up in the bumbo, she keeps her head up all by herself, and she can put all of her weight on her legs and stand for extended periods of time (with me holding her hands, of course)! :)

 I love their different personalities! :) It's only hard at bed time! ;)

 God made this one a fighter! :) She is amazing--just like her big sister! 

My prayer is that my girls will grow to learn the depth of God's love for them. We pray every night that the Lord would steal their hearts from this world. Oh how I love them. 
3.5 years and 3.5 months. My heart is full.