Memorial Day at The Waterway

A big group of us got together at The Waterway for Memorial Day.  We picked up pizza and camped out until the fireworks show.

Claire playing

She likes to roll on her side and really enjoys some time to stretch out while Cason is napping and not wanting to "lay down" with her (meaning smother her).

Mother's Day 2012

Dynamo Game

Uncle Kevin got tickets to the Dynamo's first game in their new stadium.  He invited Ryan to go.  I spent the afternoon running errands with the kids and sitting in the car while they napped.  Then we met back up with Aunt Steph and our friends Adrian and Veronica after the game.  Yes, I had my toddler and baby at a bar.

Updates

Be sure to keep scrolling, there are 8 new updates tonight.  I wonder why I stay so tired... :)

And because I'm not so good at keeping the blog updated these days, I've been loading all my pictures to a Shutterfly Share Site.  I tend to be able to find the time to get the pictures off the camera but picking my favorites and writing the story isn't happening most nights.

So, for photo overload... http://fillingthehouse.shutterfly.com/

Saying Goodbye to Good Friends

There are so many ways that you see that only God could have brought two people together and so many ways that you see why and so many ways that you are thankful.

I KNOW that God had a hand in Ryan choosing to go to Millsaps, the school in my own backyard.  He had a plan for Ryan and He had a plan for me to go there too.  We made great friends and we met each other.   I left home and followed Ryan and but my faith in knowing that God had this plan.

And in another time and place, Ryan's best friend (of 20 years) Brandon met Suzie.  And Suz and I became fast friends... dear friends.  I just know that God put Suz in my life and I'm so thankful for it.  We enjoyed our years before kids then Suz had the twins, I had Cason and Claire.  Cason, Luke and Hudson became buds and we all had dreams of soccer, T-ball, basketball, etc. Ryan and Brandon would make an intense coaching combo, for sure!  Suz and I would be fantastic team moms!  Oh, the dreams... big dreams!  :)

But here we are... Brandon's job is moving him to the Dallas area so our dear friends are heading North.  I'm so excited for their new adventure and for a reason for a road trip, but I'm oh so sad at the same time.  Tears have been shed on several occasions (a few might be dropping now) and I know there will be more. Thank goodness for all the modern technology (blogs, Facebook, Skype, etc) so we can stay in touch.

Suz and I snuck in one last playdate before they make the move.  The boys had so much fun and I'm glad I was able to get a pretty cute picture of our four kids.  

And a quick little video of their first band :)

We'll miss you guys tons but promise to come visit soon!  

Admiral Love

Admiral doesn't get as much attention on the blog as he deserves... so here he is!

And one of his most recent accomplishments... destroying the soccer ball (and the football and the basketball, but those were already put in the trash).  This is his main goal in life, to destroy toys.  He's pretty good at it too.

Claire - Thumb sucker

She'll still take a pacifier at bed time but she's a thumb sucker too!

Lady Man-Man

Several months ago, Cason first learned the word "man" at the doctors office... There were several posters with babies, kids and adults. He kept pointing to everyone calling them babies. I tried teaching him "boy" and "man". He didn't really catch on until we started playing with his Lego man, and called him a "Man-Man".

The man-man was his favorite toy for a while... There was also a female Lego person that he called man-man. I decided to teach him that she was a "Lady". It finally caught on and he started sometimes recognizing people as Man-Man or Lady.

We never specifically pointed out differences between a man and a women, I guess he was just observant and noticed his Lego Lady had a pony tail and the Man-Man did not.

Earlier this week we were watching basketball (go figure) and the bulls were playing. All the sudden Cason started yelling "LADY, LADY". We were confused until we looked up and saw this...

That is Joakim Noah from the Chicago Bulls.  The rest of the night, Cason would say "Lady" or "Lady Man-Man" whenever he was on the screen and if he wasn't playing, Cason would say "Where Lady go?" I guess I have to teach him that Man-Man's can have ponytails too!

Sharing his favorite Toy

If we ever wonder if Cason likes Claire or not, these pictures prove that he, deep down, he loves his little sister. This Giraffe is Cason's lovey... we have several of them, this one stays downstairs.  He has another one (really two) in his crib too.  The other day, he shared his giraffe with Claire.  One day she'll know how special it was for Cason to share his giraffe with her.

Similarly, I gave Cason his gummy vitamins the other day and thought he'd eaten them.  A few minutes later he climbed up on the couch and then said "Claire eat it".  PANIC.  I started digging in her mouth and sure enough, found a vitamin.  Not as cute as the giraffe because it was scary.  But to him, he was sharing one of his other favorite things... food/candy.  It was hard to correct him because he was being sweet, but I did correct him, and myself for leaving them slightly unattended for 20 seconds.

Claire - 12 Weeks

Claire is 12 Weeks old... whew, that flew by!

She still looks so much like Cason but so much of her own little person too.

At 12 weeks, Claire is:

• Holding her head up very well -- you can lift her up from laying flat with very little sagging of the head
• Pushing up/Putting weight in her legs
• Sitting in her Bumbo for short periods
• Smiling and Laughing
• Smiles when she sees or hears Cason
• Sleeping 9 hours at night (sometimes 10)
• Takes 5 or 6, 6oz bottles (breastmilk) per day
• Still burps like a man

I go back to work on Monday and will be working from home every day.  I'm not as anxious as I was last time to go back... probably because I've done it before and I trust our babysitter.  I will miss my little munchkins though.

More pictures HERE

Cason - "Ride Bike"

Cason got his first bike for his 2nd birthday.  It's a balance bike... the kind with no pedals.  He was not wild about the helmet or the bike the first few days.  Ryan got him liking the helmet but he was still unsure of the bike and kept dropping it.

Finally, he's started to get the hang of it and now, when he asks to "ride bike" he's not asking for us to take him for a ride in the bike trailer.  He wants to ride his own bike.

He still just walks with it, but you can see in this video that he's getting some concept of the balance and putting his feet down when he's starting to fall.  I think he'll be really riding good by mid summer.

Claire - Bath tub

Claire is finally big enough to take baths sitting up in her tub.  She seems to like it.