spring is in the air!

I love my yard in the spring time.  When we were browsing around for a home to buy, this yard is what caught my attention and lead us inside to take a peek.  It's  a big part of why I love my home so much.  I take pride and enjoy(I guess Matt gets a little credit too) keeping it maintained and flourishing.  You could call it a hobby (except in the fall when the leaves are just HATEFUL).

 I cannot wait until my Crepe Myrtle Tree (yes, that's how you spell it, I googled it) blooms.  And yes, it's the huge tree in the picture.  There's and even bigger one in the backyard.  They make beautiful trees!

Lyla @ 11 Months

Yesterday was Lyla's 11 month birthday.  To me this is the last month of her being a baby and it is so bittersweet.  I love watching her grow into her own little person but will very much miss her needing me to fulfill her every need.
This month I noticed so many changes in Lyla.  She's become a lot more verbal--she says "mama, baba, b-b-b (which means book I think), bye-bye (according to her babysitter), hi, and all kinds of jibberish which is pretty hilarious.  She is standing on her own and claps for herself while doing so.  She tries to feed herself with a spoon.  Her appetite is still the same--she will eat almost anything at any given time.  She thinks it's funny to take everything out of every drawer, cabinet, toy tote--she does this by throwing things over her shoulder in a very fast manner.  Lyla likes to give high fives and cover her eyes and ears with her hands.  She thinks shaking her head "no" is hilarious (great!).
 As far as her personality goes, she will laugh at ANYTHING, she gets her feelings hurt easily, for instance, when we tell her "no,no", she bursts out into tears, she plays pretty independently after she warms up to her environment, and she's somewhat of a bookworm--she loves to sit and read her books in her own language.

I'm praying this month will move a little bit slower than the rest have so I can savor those last moments of babyhood.

Free Time

Though it's scarce, free time is a blessing.  I try not to glue myself to a TV during this time but I'm not going to lie and say that doesn't happen.  When I'm feeling a bit more energetic, photography and editing is something I enjoy dabbling in.  Now, I'm not saying I'm good at it by any means--it's just therapeutic for me.  Plus, nowadays I have a cute little subject. 

Since it was so nice out a few weekends ago, I snapped a few pictures of Lyla outside before we made a trip to Austin.  All I can say is, thank God for Picassa.  These pictures were pretty awful (not the subjects but the lighting).  I just updated Picassa on my computer and they have so many cool tools to utilize.  After tampering with them a while, some of them were worth saving.  Photoshop who? 

I wanted to try out the new tricks so the picture styles are kind of random.  Don't judge.

Here is the newest little member of the Rackel Family.  Chase is such a doll!

Looks so much like Caleb....

Expecting one of her own...

Chase's Mommy...

Man to Man talk with Mr. Jiggles...

Sneaking a snack to Buster.  Classic.

Avery and her "fraayand" Caleb...

Caleb showing Lyla and Livvy how it's done...