6 months!!

Wowzers! I'm absolutely amazed, flabbergasted, thrilled, and a little sad that we're here at 6 months already! What an incredible half-a-year it's been. Without a doubt, I have experienced the most blissfully happy and most exhausted moments in my life- Sierra could probably say the same! Haha. Our days together have been flying past. It's so hard to believe that an equally short period of time will slip past before we're chasing a 1 year old toddler around. Again, WOWZERS!

Anyways, before I get ahead of myself, here are Sierra's official stats per the pediatricians office today:

Weight: 16 lbs 5 oz (25-50%)
Length: 26 inches (50-75%)
Head circumference: 16.5 inches (<25%)

Still a little girl, right?!?!

We had barely scraped the house back together again after returning (soggy) from our camping trip, when we headed out of town again! This time to Austin to attend cousin Caroline's senior recital. She dazzled us with 30 minutes of Mozart, Bartok, and Granados on piano.

I'd like to say Sierra was entranced the whole time, but I CAN honestly say she loved the Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy trio Caroline sang with her roommates at the end of the recital. Her brain was probably jumping- people actually singing on pitch! (Her parents fail at this.)
We brought cookies for a reception afterwards- Travis decorated a custom giant cookie for her:

While we had Sierra in Austin (and she can't argue yet), we grabbed her orange and white tutu and headed over to the tower for some pictures. Should she ever stray and decide to go to A&M, her punishment will be copies of this picture printed everywhere....

Next weekend's travels: Dallas!!!

The Pichots go camping

First, and completely unrelated to camping, Sierra has big news: a tooth! Little Mr. Bottom Tooth FINALLY broke through (could it have been any slower?!?!) and Little Ms. Bottom Tooth (she lives next door) is right behind. Hopefully this means a reprieve from the crankiness we've enjoyed the last few weeks- the next tooth doesn't come in for another year, right??? :) Little Mr. Tooth actually made his appearance in the produce section while we were shopping for our camping trip. Is there an emoticon for a mother pulling her hair out??  :$ 

Yep! The Pichot circus made another road trip, this time we headed to Lake Texana State Park, about 90 miles from Houston- actually half-way between us and Beeville! Our trusty tent-camping book (Texas-edition, we have about 4 other states also) assured us this was a great place to escape RVs and enjoy some birds, so we loaded up the Subie with baby stuff and camera gear and headed out.

Sierra even had her own little tent with her own little thermarest. It was a great place to hang out while the parents set-up or cooked or whatever around camp. Don't worry, she wasn't banished out on her own at night. Her tent got shoved inside our slightly larger tent, which is beginning to get a little crowded with 2 adults, a baby, and a dog (who also has her own bed, of course!).

And Zoe earns her bed too as our resident waste disposal system. Scrambled eggs, tofu, whatever- there will be no raccoons in our camp tonight!

It turned out to actually be a bit cooler than we expected, thanks to the strong wind coming across the lake. Sierra got to shop for a new jacket and shoes at Wal-Mart, but Mama just used little bodies to stay warm.

Father & daughter, protected from the sun:

My favorite: Daddy Diaper Change: Wilderness Edition!! I doubt Travis ever considered this skill in his many years of scouting.

My parents drove down to enjoy the campfire and some dinner. And s'mores- of course!!

This little guy taunted Travis all weekend. He was very brazen and had no problem flying into camp and landing a few feet away- unless Travis had his camera. But Travis finally caught a few pictures.

Also, a red-shouldered hawk. (Travis is enjoying his new super-lens).

Travis also had fun with lighting and flashes while Mama snuggled up with a sleeping Sierra (you can see her jammie-clad hiney) and an exhausted Zoe around the campfire.

Unfortunately, we woke up to thunderstorms about 4am on Sunday morning- which means a panicking dog in our tent. Once the sun was up, we broke camp in the rain and headed to McDonalds. Ironically, they had lost power in the storm and couldn't take orders. So much for the "civilized" life! Haha! But all-in-all, we had a great weekend and even Sierra enjoyed her first camping experience!

Baby in the Bluebonnets

Travis and I have fulfilled our duty as parents of a Texas baby (a 7th generation one, too!) and acquired the required "Baby in Bluebonnets" pictures. On Sunday we drove up to Brenham and Independence and the wildflowers were fantastic! Whole fields were solid with yellow, orange, pink, and blue- definitely a banner year. Travis took some great pictures- I had so many favorites, I couldn't narrow them down! So, here's an obnoxious number of shots:

We started with a few practice shots in our play-clothes. Look... she sits up now!!

After changing into our "pretty" clothes, she was sick of sitting up. So Mama got to join in the fun. Papa was there, really! Just behind the camera.

 
"But I don't want to sit by myself, Mama"

F

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it...."

"Hmm... these look yummy!"

W

"Wheeeee!!!"

I

"I saw a bluebonnet THIS big!!"

Easter!

Another fantastic Easter in Beeville with the Riggle family (Cherry's clan). We moved venues across the street to Claude & Cherry's new house- about 6 days after the moving van dropped them off! The kitchen was tested to the max and everything was wonderful! I'll let the pictures do the talking:
Well, first I'll let Paul do some singing (Sierra's song from our annual family sing-along)

And now pictures...
Granddady (James Riggle) looking like the quintessential cowboy

 















What's Easter without a little crawdad tormenting? 

 Movie star Uncle Travis came to visit- along with Aunt Ashley, GrandDoug, & Gigi!

Sierra helping Uncle Austin read the greeting at "Tank Church"

In case you were wondering what "Tank Church" is, it's what happens when you have a big family, gorgeous Easter morning views, lots of talented musicians, and resident preachers! (Yes, that's a trailer with haybales in the back- what kid doesn't want to go to church on a hayride?!?)

The whole crowd:

 Trying to walk off a little of that dessert... and using our new carrier! (Beco Butterfly 2)

Sierra achieved what we all wanted- sweat pants and a rocking chair on the porch. Easter bliss!