Filling the House

Windows and Accessories

2012-01-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

We finally broke down and did some window treatments and accessories in the living room/kitchen and shutters in our master bedroom.

Here is the "before" in the living room/kitchen

And the after pictures...

And the bedroom windows with a little help from Mr and Mrs Claus (aka Ryan's parents)... all nice and covered just in time to get lots of mornings of sleeping in when Claire arrives. Ha.

38 Weeks

2012-01-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here we are... 38 weeks. Still pregnant. I guess those shots did their job. I'm tired, anxious, scared, excited, uncomfortable, in pain sometimes, trying not to complain, etc, etc.

In case I don't make another week, here's a photo recap of this belly's growth.

Legos

2012-01-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

Both Ryan and I have lots of history with Legos. They were and still are favorite toys in our families.

My brother and I used to build cities in the hallway, he has passed his love of Legos to his daughter and they spend hours building new things whenever they can. James love's Legos so much I made him a Lego Belt for Christmas. James and I both have big boxes of our original Legos that Mom saved for us... which is a good thing since most everything these days is themed/branded Lego sets.

Ryan and his brothers, too, loved Legos and his Mom has a huge bin of them waiting for the kids to get a little older. I've given Ryan Lego's as gifts on several occasions since we've been married. Lego race cars, construction vehicles, etc. We've also given sets to his brothers and last Christmas the boys had races on Christmas day with their Lego Race Cars. And of course, any kind of building runs in the family! :)

We got a small set of Duplo blocks for Cason's first birthday and have periodically brought it out for him to play with since then. We also have a couple of big bags of MegaBlocks. He was mainly just interested in the Lego "Man Man" that were in the set for a while. In the past couple of months, he really got interested in both kinds of blocks and we noticed he'd sit longer and longer building them without us having to help. I think it just took him figuring out how to put the blocks together and he was hooked.

We found a great deal on a bigger set of Duplos at Kroger (of all places) right after Christmas so Neanie got it for him. Best $15 ever spent. Cason comes in from school most nights and will go straight to his cabinet and pull out his box of blocks. He'll sit the whole time I'm cooking dinner and build, build, build!

He built this "tower" all by himself the other night... Ryan just sat, watched and supplied more blocks and I just came back for progress pictures.

It's so great to watch him find things he LOVES... especially things we love too.

Now if he'd just learn how to SHOOT the basketball, not just DUNK, Ryan would be one happy Daddy!!! :)

Bike Trailer

2012-01-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I used to ride our bikes a lot back before kids. We bought them right after we got Admiral and used them all the time to take Admiral for runs since neither one of us are big runners. Admiral LOVES to run with the bike and I need to get back in the habit after this baby comes.

For some time now, we've been talking about getting a bike seat or trailer so we could all go out for a ride. Since we have #2 on the way we decided getting a trailer was the better option so that one of us can pull the kids and the other can take Admiral. Ryan's parents gave us the trailer for Christmas and Ryan put it together a couple of weekends ago so we could take it for a spin. Yes, I rode my bike alongside Ryan and Cason... 36 weeks pregnant.

Cason LOVED the ride. Oh my goodness, he started giggling as soon as Ryan started moving. He kicked and giggled the whole way. I only made one lap with the boys. Ryan and Cason went around our street a couple of more times while I waited to catch a little video. Enjoy the slow-mo at the end to see the happy rider.

Now we get lots of "Bike" when we go in the garage. I think we'll be going on lots of rides soon!

Cason's other favorite thing to do in the garage is climb in or pull out then climb in the wagon. These pictures are so bad because they show me letting him monkey around i.e. not sit down safely, but they are too cute. He thought I was being so funny.

And I just like this picture...

37 Weeks and Thoughts

2012-01-22T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm 37 weeks (tomorrow).

Regular clothes (I wear the same 5 shirts everyday I feel like)

Nighttime clothes like all my other pictures.

Obviously there are no more comparison pictures from Cason's pregnancy. My doctor and I are now "joking" that I'll be begging her for an induction at 39 weeks. I've said all along that I'll be prepared for 35 but will go 41 and be the most miserable, complainy second-time mom ever. And this is pretty much how it's shaping up.

Ryan and I both have bags packed. The infant seat is installed in the car. I have everything I need for the first days home... the bottles and pumps are out of their boxes, newborn and 0-3 clothes are washed, swings and bouncy seats are ready. I'm READY... but I guess Claire is not. Keep on cooking.

***Warning, post gets really long now and I don't have the energy to proofread tonight :) ***

I realized I haven't really done a good job of keeping up with the "feelings" and other details of this pregnancy like I did with Cason. I don't feel "guilty" about it like you sometimes here people say about their second and thirds but I do realize I wish I'd written more down about this pregnancy. So, here are a few things I want to remember.

Like with Cason, I was sick for all of the first trimester and into the second. With this pregnancy, the sickness wore off about 4 weeks sooner and I was able to eat most things a good two months sooner. And once I started feeling better, I ate... which means I gained weight. This was new for me since I didn't eat much until about 25 weeks and still never really ate a ton with Cason. I only gained 17 pounds the entire pregnancy. For record keeping purposes, I've gained almost 40 pounds with Claire... and I guess there is more to go.

I haven't "enjoyed" being pregnant... it's just not my thing I guess. I don't know if I really ever want to do it again. But, I don't think that takes anything away from my excitement about this little girl that is about to join our family.

I'm tired, a lot. I don't remember being this tired and exhausted with Cason but Ryan says that I was. I'm sure chasing Cason around has a lot to do with it this time too.

Ryan also tells me that I really don't complain more this time than I did last time... which is really sweet of him. I think he's lying! :) I'm uncomfortable and FEEL huge but when I look at myself in the mirror I don't feel like I look huge. But, it's funny because I'll be out and one person will say "Oh, you are the cutest thing, there is no way you are that far along" then another person will say "Oh my, you are about to pop". Ha. Then, I took this picture for this week and I realized... I do look like I'm about to pop... I look as big as I feel... I guess the mirrors in our house are the skinny kind! :) Must be the awesome builder!

Claire is a very active little girl. I mostly remember with Cason that he was kicking me in my ribs... ALL.THE.TIME... he just hung out with his feet up in my ribs. Claire has never made it up to my ribs but she is all over the place. She's "head down" but man, she can still get some good kicks and jabs and rolls all over the place. And, they hurt! I do love feeling her move but sometimes I wish she'd just lay off a little! :) At any given time, you could probably put your hand on the side of my belly and feel her foot (or hand or knee or elbow) pushing out. But you don't even have to feel it... my belly just looks like a rolling ocean most of the time. It's cool and freaky all at the same time.

The other big part of this pregnancy has been the anxiety. I'm sure that sounds very dramatic, but I feel that the anxiety of #2 is way worse than #1. Maybe with #1 there is so much new, so much to figure out, so much to do that I didn't have time to worry about life after baby. Maybe because my world revolves around Cason now, I realize how challenging things will be with him and Claire to provide for. I don't know what all the factors are but I feel like I think about the "how am I going to do this???" questions a whole lot more. I know we'll survive... we aren't the first people to have 2 kids, in diapers, ha. But it's hard to just let go and know it will be okay... especially when you add in the anxiety of "when's she going to arrive" that I probably would not have had Cason not come so early.

I guess the last thing to document is how Cason is doing with this. He really doesn't "get it" but then I think he sort of does. Up until very recently, if you ask him to say "Claire" he would look you straight in the face and say "No". Now, Cason does say "No" to everything (Me: "Do you want a cookie?"; C: "No"; Me: "Okay, fine"; C: "Coooooookie!!!!"; Me: "Yeah, that's what I thought") but the no in response to "Can you say Claire" had its own special inflection. But, despite that, he learned about a month ago to point at my belly when you say "Where's Baby Claire?". And finally yesterday he started to say Claire. He would previously say "C-C" and sometimes we could get "sister" but that was it. He knows what a baby is and has been around babies at school so I know it won't be a total shock to him. But, who knows what he'll think when the baby comes home with him every day???

Famous?

2012-01-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

Well, at least temporarily.

Cason and I (and I guess Claire too) are currently ON A BILLBOARD! What?!!?? That's right. We helped out with a photoshoot for the neighborhood a couple of months ago. We thought we MIGHT end up in some print materials but never imagined we'd be on a real life billboard. Pretty cool!

Updates

2012-01-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

Two new posts to check out... from November. I'm trying to catch up.

And a more recent one...

Making Mommy Proud

Making Mommy Proud!

2012-01-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Cason is always pulling out my cookbooks since the shelves in the island are so low. As his love of books has grown so has the frequency of him pulling out my cookbooks and saying "book" and now "cookbook". I've tried to stop him and direct him to his own books in his cabinet but despite the casualty of one of my brothers very early pieces of pottery, I've pretty much given up the battle.

Recently, I wasn't paying attention and looked over to find this:

He'd pulled out 4 of my Rachel Ray cookbooks and was flipping through one of them. I love that it was just the RR books, that he spread them on his table, sat in his chair and started "reading". I hope this means I'll have a good little kitchen helper on my hands!

Since I snapped several pictures in a row I decided to try out the slideshow feature in iPhoto (I'm still learning all the fun Mac apps).

Handmade Holiday

2012-01-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

The Handmade/DIY Holiday started with this idea I saw on Pinterest for a Snowman Wreath. Ryan and I went down to Houston one weekend to see Kevin and Steph. The boys went to some beerfest thing... they had a good time, I think. Ha. Steph and I went to Michaels then did some crafting while Cason napped, then we picked the boys up. What started as three little cheap wreaths and some yarn...

Ended up this cute guy on my door! Thanks for helping me wrap the wreaths, Steph. It was way more time consuming than we though, but a perfect task to sit, chat, eat cookies, and craft. Very mindless.

Then, Whit, Steph and I decided we'd do a handmade holiday theme for our gifts to each other... we all have a crafty side and with the help of Pinterest, I think our "to do" lists have gotten really long. I was excited to try some of the things I had pinned.

I started with these necklaces made using Mod Podge Dimensional, scrapbook paper and little pearls. It took me a couple of tries (you can soak the Mod Podge off and start over) but finally got it right.

Then I added these dishtowel aprons... mainly because I found the super cute black, yellow and white fabric and wanted to use it. The inspiration was from this blog. I loved the idea of using a dishtowel because you can just wipe your hands right on your apron. This should be an easy project... just add some trim and a waistband... but it was not as easy as I hoped. Mainly because dishtowels are not perfectly made... the edges aren't straight. It wasn't difficult but it wasn't a 30 minute project like I hoped. I never got a picture of the apron on because, well, I'm pregnant and it didn't fit. Ryan's mom got one too!

I also made these, but forgot to take pictures.

Then, the theme continued with the men in Ryan's family. I'd seen the idea of a "Year of Yum" on Pinterest and knew Ryan's dad and brothers would appreciate some of my baked treats. I found these cute tins at Container Store and added the foam scrapbook letters. We gave the boys a note with the "rules"... essentially they could get unlimited refills all year by returning the tin to one of us... Of course, Ryan's dad had a special rule that he couldn't return it to Ryan at work because, well, that could get out of hand! :) I filled the tins the first time with iced sugar cookies, chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint bark.

My brother also got in on the handmade holiday... again thanks to Pinterest. I guess I never saved the idea, but it was for a Lego belt. Lego's have a deep history in my family. I have lots of memories of me and James building whole cities in the hall of my parents house. He still, to this day, LOVES Lego's and has shared that love with my niece. Ryan loves Lego's too and Cason is falling in love himself. We are a Lego Family. I knew, of all the men in my life, James would appreciate and wear this belt. I just got a basic canvas belt from Target and spruced it up with some of our childhood Lego's, dirt and all! Ha. James recognized the pieces as part of my old Hospital set. He's correct.

And last, I was at a loss for what to get my Mom. She likes to knit but I know nothing about knitting. After some suggestions from some knitter friends, I found the idea of a case for her needles... and all the ones I saw I thought "I could do that". So I started searching for tutorials. I didn't find anything exactly what I wanted so I just took a few different ones and made it on my own. Again, with that super cute yellow, black and white fabric that I'd found at Wal-mart of all places. This project was super easy, a variation of the crayon roll I've made before. Mom loved it!

Okay... one more... And not necessarily part of Holiday gifts, but I wrapped up my season of sewing with Curtains and Baskets in Claire's room and these fun aprons for my "sprinkle" hostesses... made using this tutorial (minus the pocket because I don't really ever use a pocket on an apron). I bought three coordinating fabrics and mixed and matched, using muslin for the back side. After the 3rd one, I had the process down pretty good and can see myself making these again in the future. It was a fun, not too difficult project with good results.

Whew... now I know why I've been so tired... between Cason, Claire, Work and all these projects... I've been busy.

Claire's Nursery Coming Together

2012-01-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a process... feels like a long process... but Claire's room is starting to come together. We had the room painted and got all the furniture some time ago. But then there has been this list of projects to complete. I guess I got into the DIY mode and thought I could do everything myself. Well, not everything.

Several weeks ago, I made a bow board out of a cheap frame, some ribbon and the Owl fabric the coordinates with the bedding.

I also found these iron decor pieces at Hobby Lobby and bought the letters to spell her name. Ryan did all the painting and hung them over the bed. We LOVE the way it turned out.

A couple of weekends ago, I started making her curtains. This is the same fabric as the bumper. Mom went to the Premier Fabrics store in Jackson and bought the last 7 yards, much to the sadness of another pregnant lady using it in her nursery. I got blackout fabric for a great price at Hobby Lobby and Hancock (had to get it in two cuts... HL didn't have enough). After inspecting how Cason's curtains were made, I realized I could do it myself. Just a simple curtain made like a pillow cover... sew the two pieces of fabric right sides facing each other on 3 sides, turn inside out, top stitch the 4th side. The hardest part was ironing, pinning, lining everything up, etc. I was actually sweating while making the curtains... so much fabric to deal with.

I got one panel done the first night...

Then switched gears to recover some baskets we found at Hobby Lobby. I didn't love the original covers so I just cut them apart and used the pieces as my pattern.

I made 3 new covers out of scraps of bedding fabric and a yellow remnant that coordinates with the bedding.

Things were coming together nicely...

And I finally got the second panel done this weekend. I got smart and used the hardwood floor in the loft instead of the carpeted game room to lay everything out and measure. And moved my sewing machine to the air hockey table where there was more space to put the extra fabric. The hard part of panel #2 was trying to line up the fabric so that the print "matched". It was lots of iron, measure, remeasure, pin, measure, laser level (that's right, I used Ryan's laser level to cut my curtains), measure and then finally cut and sew. Oh and iron some more. I think making curtains is more about ironing than anything else. Anyway, the second curtain is done and up.

Oh, and we got a bookcase too.

What's left? I'm still waiting on the bedding and still need to hang this painting that my friend Margaret made.

35 Weeks

2012-01-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow is the day... the day that I enter uncharted territory. Tomorrow I am 35weeks, 1day. This is the day I went into labor with Cason. He was born in the early hours of 35weeks, 2days. Today, I'm 35 weeks pregnant with Claire. Wonder when she'll arrive?

I've stopped commuting to work and do have some form of a bag packed... it has clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner... I dunno what else to pack. I need to pack a bag for Cason and a bag for Ryan. Maybe this week. I also need to get the infant seat installed in my car. Probably should have done that tonight instead of update the blog.

Cason is finally responding to the "where's Baby Claire" questions and usually points to my belly. Sometimes he points to his belly, or Ryan's belly, but normally its mine. Until last week, if you asked him to say "Claire" he'd look at you very direct and say "No". He finally said it, once, last week. I've been unsuccessful since but he no longer says "No", he just ignores me. Luckily he's been around babies at the babysitter so I don't think it will be a complete shock to him when she arrives but I'm still a little anxious about how he'll react to her being here ALL.THE.TIME.

34 Weeks and Ultrasound

2012-01-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

We went for an ultrasound at the high risk doctor today and everything looked great. She is head down! They said she is measuring 5 pounds, 10 ounces. According to the baby tracker websites, this is about a pound more than average for 34 weeks. Yikes. Claire was very active until right when the tech turned the machine to 3D. She then decided to take a nap with her hand covering half her face. Ryan and I were disappointed we couldn't see her whole face but we still think she looks a lot like Cason if these pictures mean anything.

And for fun, here is a comparison of my 34 week belly and 33 weeks with Cason in the same shirt. I appear to have carried him much lower than Claire, though I feel exactly opposite.

Family Pictures

2011-12-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

Back in early November we had family pictures made at Hermann Park and Cason had his first ride on the train. Here are the best of the pictures (taken by Fleurish Imagery)

This one is my absolute favorite. Love this little guy.

31 Weeks

2011-12-12T19:18:00.000-08:00

Nothing exciting to say about this. 31 Weeks, non-maternity shirt getting really short.

Holiday in The Forest

2011-12-08T19:09:00.001-08:00

Tonight was the second annual Holiday In The Forest event in our neighborhood. This is where Santa and one of his reindeer come and they have the big lighting of the neighborhood tree.

This was the first time Cason saw Santa last year and he wasn't really wild about him. We've been talking about Santa a lot this year and he can say "Santa" and likes him from a distance... but up close and personal, he's not into it. This was the second time we saw Santa this year and he wanted nothing to do with us leaving him alone with Santa.

Here we are last year...

And this year...

Cason still really likes the lights... this year he can SAY "light" and can stand up (and run around like a crazy person... he's non-stop action these days)

Last year...

This year...

We might see Santa a couple of more times before Christmas... more pictures to come.

Santa (Take 1)

2011-12-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, during the Junior League Holiday Market, I worked at the Cocoa and Cookies with the Clauses event. Ryan brought Cason up at the end to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus. It did not go as planned but the pictures are funny:

We also had a fun photo booth at the event so we snuck in a quick picture before they closed down.

Yogurt Mess

2011-12-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to let go of the "that is going to make a mess" attitude and let Cason feed himself all the messy stuff like yogurt, chili, applesauce, etc. This weekend we gave him a cup of yogurt and let him go to town. He does really good for the most part, he probably got 1/2 the cup in his mouth, 1/4 all over him, and then I helped with the last 1/4.

He was a mess but he was so happy. I snapped all these pictures on my iPhone as he was finishing and starting to play with the cup... which he was trying to wear as a hat. He even got it balanced up there for a few seconds.

And the best part... I was leaving and Ryan was left to clean up the mess. :)

Morning and Night

2011-12-06T19:45:00.001-08:00

I've been telling people how I'm so much bigger at night than in the morning and during the day. I don't know what causes this phenomenon but several of my pregnant friends have said the same thing. Anyway, I finally documented the difference. These days, not only am I bigger at night but I feel like I have a torpedo sticking out of my belly... I look pretty funny.

So, here are the very glamorous pictures... one take right before bed, one taken right when I woke up... before I even brushed my hair. I hope I never become famous because these will for sure be used against me.

Before bed torpedo belly

Cute little morning belly

Play Day with Daddy

2011-11-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

I don't work on Fridays so Cason and I get lots of play time. Sometime we run errands (he doesn't love those days), some days we meet up with friends, sometimes we just play at home. Wonderwild is one of our favorite places to go and I've been really wanting Ryan to go with us to see how fun it is. Luckily they were open the Friday after Thanksgiving and since we were both off work, we made the trip.

The best thing was that it was not crowded at all so Cason and Ryan got to run all over and not worry about many other kids. Playing with Daddy is just so much more fun than playing with Mommy.

I only had my phone camera but still got some fun pictures.

We finished the morning with lunch at Fuddrucker's and he was passed out by the time we hit Woodlands Parkway!

And here is a video of a little of the action!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I'm so behind. Its January 19, 2012 and I'm just posting Thanksgiving pictures. As usual, I'm back dating this post for "historical" purposes.

We hosted a Thanksgiving Brunch at our house this year with Ryan's family. It was nice for us to not have to pack Cason up and I always enjoy having family at the house. The puppies enjoyed themselves too... Admiral and Clive wrestled for a good 4 hours straight.

Here are the highlights!

Thanksgiving Jammies... Cason learned to say "Gobble, Gobble" and thought it was really fun to say.

The spread... yum!

Family picture!

Post brunch play time... the hat I bought for my snowman wreath was the source of a lot of entertainment before I cut it in half.

Watching Football

Playing on computers and iPads

After the brothers left to celebrate with their other families, we prepared a small, traditional dinner with just Ryan's parents. Cason took a god nap and woke up ready to eat!

He's sucking his thumb while showing off how he can cross his fingers... I think I had told him to get his fingers out of his mouth and this is what he did. If you ask him "Cason, where are your fingers?" he crosses his fingers but only on his left hand.

He ate most everything on his plate. The Jello was probably his favorite!

Climbing and Sliding

2011-11-19T15:31:00.001-08:00

After breakfast, we went out to play on this ~~lovely fall day~~ muggy November morning that could easily have been August. Cason was still in his pj's... paired with his crocks... he's so stylish!

I'm not going to give any play by play on these pictures. He was going up the stairs and down the slide on his belly over and over and over and over again. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Sliding down the normal way

Sliding down on his tummy

Climbing

I guess his big gift from Santa last year is finally

Green Onions Day 5

2011-11-19T15:29:00.001-08:00

Well, I guess the green onions really do regrow themselves. Wonder how long they'll last. Ryan had some on his eggs this morning. So far so good on this project!

Growing Green Onions - Day 2

2011-11-14T19:43:00.001-08:00

Green Onions are Ryan's favorite "garnish" I guess you'd say. Between Green Onions, Cholula, and Crushed Red Pepper he can make any meal that much better. :)

The problem is that I always forget to buy Green Onions and when I do, I forget I have them and Ryan will miss them under other things in the fridge and ultimately they go bad.

Then, I saw this on Pinterest recently and really got excited that my attempts at being the best wife ever would take a giant leap forward. Really?!? You can just take the root ends, stick them in some water and the Green Onions start regrowing? No Way!

So we had Cajun Chicken Pasta on Friday night and Steak and Baked Potatoes on Sunday night and I actually remembered to buy Green Onions for Ryan. After I chopped off the last good parts on Sunday, I put the ends in a small cup of water. Ryan saw it a little later and wondered if I was crazy.

Then, I checked them out today... just day 2... and the roots are longer and there is new growth popping out. This might really work???

The original blogger said she'd gone through about 4 rounds on the same set of onions... as Ryan said tonight "how come everyone doesn't know this?"

I guess I'll add this to my reasons to love Pinterest and Blogging!

27 Weeks -- 6 Months

2011-11-14T19:08:00.001-08:00

I am officially in the Third Trimester. The due date is (less than) 3 months away now!

I went back to see what corresponding pictures I had for this point in Cason's pregnancy and found pictures we took at the exact same time. For a true comparison, I put on the same shirt I was wearing then and took a photo. I had some trouble with my self time pictures focusing properly so the only one that came out I'm faced the opposite direction. I definitely think I'm bigger this time around.

And here is one to match the rest of my belly pics from this pregnancy... in my evening clothes.

Not Just “Baby Girl” Anymore…

2011-11-13T20:22:00.001-08:00

After much deliberation, we finally gave this baby girl a name.

Claire Caitlyn

Claire is my mom’s first name and we just really liked Caitlyn. We also liked the option of a nickname “CeeCee”… which we’ve already found is much easier for Cason to say!

So, that’s one more thing off the list as we prepare for her arrival. Furniture is all here and in her room. Bedding is ordered. Room is being painted next weekend. I’ve pulled out all the neutral baby clothes to see what we’ll need. I have a feeling the Holidays are going to make the next couple of months zoom by.

First Train Ride - Hermann Park

2011-11-13T19:02:00.001-08:00

We made our first trip to Hermann Park this weekend to take family pictures. I can't believe I've never been there, it's an awesome park. After pictures, we took a ride on the train... Cason's first train ride. He was super tired but did seem to enjoy it. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the trip around the park too. Hopefully we'll make it back this year for a trip to the Zoo.

Daddy looks really comfortable :)

Christmas in November

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

I don't normally get into Christmas this early but the bug got me this weekend at the Junior League Holiday Market. I was working at our new Cookies and Cocoa with the Clauses event and called Ryan to bring Cason up for pictures. I'd made him this shirt in my "gained" hour this morning and thought it would be cute in pictures.

Cason was not really excited about the pictures and just wait till you see Santa attempt #1. Haha.

I promise no more Christmas clothes until after Thanksgiving.

25 Weeks

2011-11-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

I had a follow up ultrasound at 25 weeks with the High Risk OB and everything looked good. They said she’s measuring 2lb, 2oz though I don’t know how accurate those measurements are. Here are the two pictures we got to take home. In the first one I think she looks like Cason.

And here is a picture of me at 25 weeks.

I’ve been feeling pretty good after finally starting to go to the chiropractor. I was so stiff and uncomfortable and after a couple of adjustments, I am much less whiney! I’m also packing on the pounds… at 25 weeks I had officially equaled my total 35 weeks of weight gain with Cason. I guess that’s good?

Glucose Test is right before Thanksgiving and then I start my every 2 week appointments. I go back to the High Risk OB for growth check ultrasound at 35 weeks.

18 Month Updates

2011-11-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

Cason's 18 Month stats per the doctor were 26 pounds (50%) and 34.5 inches (95%).

We decided that we thought the height measurement might be wrong so we remeasured ourselves and got 33 inches so who knows how tall he really is!

The past few weeks have seemed like "explosion" weeks. Cason's vocabulary has really been expanding and his direction following is getting really good (when he wants it to be). It's very obvious that he really understand what we are saying and that he is trying very hard to communicate with us more.

New Words:

Cookie -- he starts saying it when he sees cookies or cupcakes, smart boy.
Football -- "boo" and "ba-boo"
Mommy -- normally its "Mama... Ma-meeee"
Daddy -- same thing "Dada... Da-deeee"
Happy
Monkey
Tree
Sky -- sort of sounds like "guys"
Juice -- this is not "new" but now he says it when he wants his cup which is a nice change to the previous whining!
Apple
Banana -- "nana", still his favorite fruit
Boo Boo -- as in a cut or scrape, which he gets lots of because he runs everywhere he goes
Mo-Mo -- his cousin Modi
MiMi -- his cousin Helmi
Go -- most often said toward the TV when football is on but also if he knows we are getting in the car
Baaa -- sheep noise
Outside -- "Ow-side" (he understands "inside" but doesn't ever say it)
Cheese

New Actions and Loves

LOVES, I mean LOVES the football. He knows when football is on TV, can spot one from miles away.
Puts things in the trash can when we ask him to
Puts things back in drawers, cabinets, on tables, etc when we ask him to... we are working on putting his toys away.
Often makes sure things, like his cup, are sitting right side up on the floor, table, counter.
Likes to close doors -- he prefers certain doors in the house, like the guest room bathroom, to be closed. (He will always close that door if he sees its open.)
Spins in circles when you sing Ring Around the Rosey
Likes to help load the washing machine (and close the door)
His favorite book is Daddy Cuddles followed by Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Tries to blow his nose when he gets a kleenex or napkin
Proficient with a fork but prefers his hands
Doing better with a spoon but still a mess
His favorite foods have not changed much... bananas, tomatoes, grapes, avocado, scrambled eggs, and pasta.
Still loves sleep, his bed and his snuggle giraffe.

And so this post has a picture, a couple playing in the driveway after dinner pictures.

Halloween Recap

2011-11-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

We had a week of Halloween at our house. We started with the Woodforest Monster Dash events. We took a few pictures of Cason in his costume.

Halloween Weekend started with pictures at the barn. Remember these from last year?

Here is a sneak peak of this year:

The group shot is sure to be as entertaining as last year, there were definitely some tears.

But the highlight of our trip to the barn for Cason was the Longhorns. He immediately started saying "Mooo" when he saw them and was pretty much attached to the fence line all morning.

And finally, on Monday night was the big day of Trick or Treating. We hit a few houses and Cason did really well. He only tried to walk into a couple of people's houses and loved getting to pick his own pieces of candy out of the buckets.

First stop was to see our friend Brody... and to play in his golf cart.

Then off to a few more houses to get some loot :)

It was so fun to see how many more kids were out in "The Forest" as compared to last year. Our little community is really growing. After trick or treating, we went to some neighbors for dinner and ended up staying until after 9:30! Our little Monkey was such a trooper and had so much fun. But he was tired today... he asked to go "night night" before his normal nap time this morning and took 2 good naps.

Here's a link to last year's Halloween post. Things sure have changed.

Fall Fun

2011-10-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Woodforest Monster Dash 5k Obstacle course. We didn't run but we did go out and support the event.

This is the first wave of runners hitting the first obstacle, the "Witches Ditch". Many of the runners ran in costume!

And then heading into the tunnel (I didn't get the name on that obstacle)

Cason decided to do a little running of his own

Then took a little break while we waited on the runners to hit the last obstacle...

...the hot sauce eyeball shot... gross. The runners were not very happy about this one but I've heard some of these types of events have even worse food items.

There were all kinds of fun activities at the lodge after the race... face painting, snow cones, rock climbing, inflatables, and of course a pumpkin patch. Cason was pretty tired at this point since we skipped the morning nap. And, he doesn't like to stay still. This is the best shot we got IN the pumpkins.

We put him and a pumpkin in the rocking chair on the porch and finally got some smiles when Ryan got the chair rocking. You can see in the video below that he looked a little spaced out in the first pictures in the chair. But this picture was all worth it!

Posing as Frankenstein

Ava and her parents met us out there for some pictures. Cason was definitely flirting with the "bay-bee". And how cute is that tutu??? I can't believe I'm gonna have a little girl to put in tutu's this time next year!

It was a nice morning! As usual, the Woodforest team put on an awesome event! Here is a slideshow of an edited set of the rest of the pictures (there may have been 200+ pictures... I was just click, click, clicking hoping to get that ONE good picture).

(Slideshow is high-def... click it to view larger or full screen)

Starting the girly nursery

2011-10-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

We started crib shopping right after we found out we were having a girl. We had sticker shock all over again and went home depressed. I got an email from USA Baby about their coupon sale over Columbus day weekend so we went back to look at our original choices and then also went to Babys First Furniture to compare prices. When it came down to it, USA Baby was cheaper and we had a great experience with them for Cason's furniture so I called that Sunday and placed the order over the phone.

They told me it would be 8-12 weeks.

This is what I have in Baby Girl's room right this very moment, I give you the Munire Bristol

And there is a really big dresser in a really big box in the dining room. Waiting on some more muscle to help it up the stairs (any takers?)

We got the call on Wednesday, after the Sunday order, that everything but the toddler rail was in.

We were in that part of town on Saturday so we went and picked it all up. We were able to get everything out of the truck without me doing anything except coming up with a brilliant use of one of our wagons as a dolly!

The fabric in the picture will be the bumper and possibly some curtains. The skirt will be this stripe:

Both from Premier Prints Fabrics, same company as with Cason's.

We plan to paint the walls lavender.

A little of this and that

2011-10-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures that I realized were still on the camera.

Playing with the kid sized wheel barrel

Vacuuming!

Styling in his Adiddas basketball suit.

First "Dough Ball" at Pappasito's

Cason loves Football?

2011-10-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

Recently Cason found the football that was in the shelf in the garage. I'm not really sure when he first noticed it but for the past couple of weeks, every time we drive into the garage he starts pointing at it and saying "Boo, Boo". If we get it down and let him play, he gets crazy excited. If we don't get it down and make him go inside, there is often a little meltdown to follow. He also gets excited when he see's football on the TV.

We aren't really sure why he calls it a "boo". He can say "ball" and calls most round objects balls. Our only guess is that he's trying to combine Foot and Ball and its coming out as "boo". Every now and then there is an attempt at two syllables, but it still comes out as "fa-boo" or "ah-boo".

The weather has been so nice lately and Ryan and I have had a few days that we both got off work "early" (as in not getting home at 7) so we've had a few afternoons playing with the "Boo" in the driveway. Here are a few shots from this week:

And a video that maybe captures more of the excitement.

Tonight we stopped at Target after dinner to pick him up youth size set... a football, basketball and soccer ball. Ryan is loving every minute of this!

Halloween Shirt

2011-10-16T22:02:00.001-07:00

I haven't been able to find a good, basic Halloween shirt for Cason so I just made him one. I'm getting a little better at my zigzag sewing. Just don't ask how many times I sewed the front and back of the shirt together.

To make the pumpkin, I just used the Google Image search and found a pumpkin outline I liked, then scaled it on my printer's copy machine features. The rest is just another example of the "Sort of Applique".

Climbing

2011-10-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

Cason got up on the chair by himself today. He's been trying very hard and was successful at the babysitter this week but hadn't made it at home yet until tonight. Game over!

22 Week Bump

2011-10-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Not much new to report. I'm getting bigger. This little girl seems to be much lower than Cason and seems to really love using my bladder as a pillow or a punching bag. She moves all the time and is starting to follow Cason's pattern of being very active while I'm sitting at my desk working.


22 Weeks Baby #2	23 Weeks Cason

I edited this to add a comparison to 23 weeks with Cason. I definitely think I'm carrying this baby lower.

DIY Lacing Toy

2011-10-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

The ladies of A Teacher at Heart are three of the dearest people to me, Ryan and Cason. I'm sure you are wondering why, so let me tell you. :)

You know how as a kid, you have that "other Mom" or "second Mom"... you know, your best friend's Mom that loved you like her own, fed you, disciplined you, called your real Mom and tattled on you. I think we all had them. They don't, in any way, replace our real Moms but they are important people in our lives. So, for Ryan... that was A Teacher at Heart's Rita... Ryan's best friend Brandon's mom. And then along with the second Mom is the second Family and that's where A Teacher at Heart's Sarah comes in. Sarah is Brandon's little sister and in turn was like Ryan's little sister.

But see, these two aren't just special to Ryan, they are special to me too. Because the first time I came to visit THE Woodlands with Ryan, I know I met Rita and Sarah and they treated me like family too. Then I went to graduate school at A&M and Sarah took me in... literally. After a semester on my own, she asked me to be her roommate. We worked out together, watched girly TV together, went to Breakaway together... in general, did the roommate thing. So not only did I inherit the second family when Ryan and I got married, but really, they already felt that way.

But there are THREE ladies of A Teacher at Heart. There is one more fabulous lady that I adore... Brandon met Suzie the year Ryan and I were planning the wedding. I really do think it was love at first sight for them (if they don't mind me putting words in their mouths)... at the least, we all knew very early on that Brandon was smitten with Suz and when I met her the first time, I knew why. We became fast friends and today, I don't know what I'd do without her. You've seen me talk about her and her boys on the blog all the time. She was my go to while pregnant, is my go to now when I have a baby, I mean toddler, question. She's the one I call when I need to vent or laugh about something. She plans Friday play dates for me... really, she's the best and I am so lucky to call her my friend.

I'm pretty sure Cason will grow up thinking Hudson, Luke and Carter are like brothers to him... we just have to get Sarah back to Texas first!

So all this is to say, I love these three ladies... they are like having another family away from home. And between them there is a wealth of teacher knowledge that I love to steal... like this super easy project!

Here are a couple of pictures of Cason trying out his Lacing Toy from A Teacher at Heart.

I threw it together last night in 5 minutes. Ryan said he was pretty sure it would be more of a pull toy (a souped up version of that measuring tape Cason likes to pull around, seen in a previous video). Well, he was half right. I sat with him for a few minutes and showed him how to lace it. He really liked to pull the thread and did try to put the string in and out of the holes. But then, as Ryan predicted, he picked up the long piece of string and started walking around the room with the can behind him. Ha, Daddy just knew it. I will say, later tonight he went back to the toy and tried to put the string into one of the holes. He got upset when he couldn't do it and needed my help, so I think he's into it. We'll keep trying.

Thanks Rita, Sarah and Suz for loving us and for inspiring me to bring out my inner teacher!

Say Cheese!

2011-10-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

Today at lunch, I gave Cason some cheese and turkey and told him what both were. Well, he wouldn't stop saying "Cheese". So when he started playing after lunch I told him to "Say Cheese" so I could take a picture... and he did! Here are his first "Say Cheese" pictures.

10 Minute Onesie Dress, Take 2

2011-10-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post sometime last year when I first attempted the onesie dress. I don't remember that process as fondly as I wrote about it and I know for a fact I ended up taking the whole thing apart later and using the fabric on something else.

Now that I am having a girl, I decided to try again. This time, the final result was much better but it's no 10 minutes... it still takes me that long to do the simple hem and to pin the fabric to the onesie. Both times I've gotten stuck on the same part of the process so I finally decided to just change it and do it the way that made sense to me and it worked.

This is a recycled onesie of Cason's. I think I'll probably need to hem it again once I know how long Baby Girl is.

I'm going to try to recycle a few of his neutral printed ones with coordinating fabrics and maybe some ruffle-butts too!

Words and Video Updates!

2011-09-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Cason is so fun to be around and is always making us laugh. He’s also learning all kinds of new things and likes to say them a lot. Since my last post, here are a few:

Words

Baby – he learned this at the babysitter since she has a baby
Layla – babysitter’s dog
Buttons – unfortunately this comes out as “butts”
Keys
Neanie – we are working on the other grandparents but the “grand” part is hard
Bye, Bye

Animal Noises

Monkey – “ah, ah, ah”
Lion – “rooooar”
Cow – “moooo”

Actions

Spinning in Circles
Walking backwards
Better dance moves :)
Waving hi/bye at the right time without being prompted
Blowing Kisses
We had to raise his basketball goal… and he can still dunk on the new level. He’s getting so tall.

And some video’s to document these things.

First, the words. Some new, some just his favorites. And some kisses too.

Then some silly time over the weekend. The first few clips are from way past his bedtime. He get silly crazy when he’s up late, but its so cute and he’s so happy that we can’t put him to bed. Too bad he won’t sleep in the next day when we let him stay up.

And last, dancing to his current favorite band/commercial. This is Foster The People in the Nissan Commercial. He stops whatever he is doing when he hears this come on… and he also dances to these songs in the car when Ryan plays the CD. (You might need to turn it up for the first part to hear the music, I guess the TV wasn’t very loud. It gets louder toward the end.) Thank goodness for DVR so I could just keep replaying it. You’ll see he doesn’t like it when the guy starts talking…. kills the mood, ha.

Team Pink!

2011-09-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

Thursday was a big day in our house. 10 weeks without seeing a picture of the baby we finally got our chance. After my last appointment, I thought I’d have about 2 weeks before my anatomy scan ultrasound. But, the office called on Monday and wanted me to come on Thursday so I said YES!

The doctors office had a huge TV screen on the wall where I could see everything and Ryan could watch the actual monitor on the machine or the TV. Within the first seconds of the ultrasound the technician asked if we had any guesses and I said “Not really, we just think boy since that’s what we have now.” He immediately said “Oh, its a girl” but in a very non-chalant way. We weren’t sure if he was serious because he’d really only had the machine on for 5 seconds. He kept scanning taking all the measurements and saying “she” and “her” and I finally said “Wait, so you are serious, it’s a GIRL?”. He said, oh yes, it’s a girl. And showed us again. No boy parts. Ryan asked “Are you sure?” and again he said, “Yes, 100% sure. You don’t want a boy with these parts!” Ha, funny. The doctor came in and looked and definitely agreed that there were no little boy parts, only girl parts.

So yes, that’s right, it’s a GIRL!!!

Here are two “spread eagle” pictures, with a comparison to our ultrasound with Cason. It’s quite obvious that there’s something different this time! :)

We had not told our parents that our ultrasound was that morning so we could really surprise them. Wednesday afternoon I called a bakery in Jackson and got them on board to fix up some Petite Fours for my parents and got my friend Ashley on board to pick up and deliver. Wednesday night I baked cookies and iced them in half pink and half blue for Ryan’s parents. Once the doctors appointment was over, I filled a little box with pink cookies and off to the office Ryan went to surprise his parents. I then called the bakery and Jackson and told them PINK and started making calls to Ashley to arrange the delivery!!!

I had to do some maneuvering to make sure my parents were both together for the delivery. I was so anxious I didn’t want to wait until 5 so I tried to get Dad to go to her office. Mom ended up being off work early due to the MSU game being on TV that night so I told my Dad… “You and Mom need to be home at 3 pm, don’t ask questions, just be there.” He was a good boy and didn’t ask questions and didn’t tell mom anything… until 2:45 when she tried to leave the house. He vaguely told her she just couldn’t leave and she was all a mess trying to figure out what was going on. At 3, Ashley showed up at my parent’s house and Dad told Mom to call me. He still didn’t know what I was up to, just up to something. Mom called, so confused, and I said “Mom, just open the box”. She did and there was lots of squealing on the other end of the phone. Ha! I wish I could have seen her face but there was no way I could keep this news until the next time we are together.

Ryan reports that there was an equal amount of squealing in his office. He called his parents to the conference room and they just thought he wanted to show him something on the most recent house they are pricing. Then he gave them the box and they were a little confused since they weren’t expecting this kind of news and super excited when they saw the pink cookies inside. After three boys of their own and the one grandson, Ryan’s mom is just a little excited about finally having a girl. I just can’t wait to see what this little girl does to Ryan and his Dad. They don’t know what is about to happen to them.

The only updates from my appointment are that I’ve started weekly Progesterone injections to try to prevent another preterm labor. I’m in the “gray area” of it being a no brainer to elect for the injections. I delivered at 35 weeks and Cason never had to go to the NICU but the doctor can’t guarantee that I’ll make it that long this time. Maybe I would, maybe I’d go further, maybe I’d make it less. So, we all decided taking the injections to try to reduce the chance of baby girl being in the NICU was the best choice.

So… a shot in my hip every week until 35 weeks (right now a home health nurse will come to give me the shot unless I can convince Ryan to do it and save us LOTS of money) and then we’ll probably pay extra attention to my blood pressure until I go into labor. The High Risk doctor also agreed with my old OB and my current OB that when I have any indication that I’m in labor that I should not take my time getting to the hospital. When I started having active labor with Cason, I progressed FAST and second babies are often even faster.

I go to my OB in 3 weeks (22 weeks) and back to the High Risk OB for an ultrasound at 24 weeks, then back to my doctor at 26 weeks (glucose test) so I’ll have lots of doctors appointments in the next couple of months.

17 Months Old

2011-09-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Cason will be 17 months this week. Hard to believe. I didn't do a good enough recap of all the things he says and does in my last post so here is some more:

More words:

"Chooch" -- Choo Choo (Train)
Clock
Eyes
Moooo
No
Teeth
"Wass-ah"/"Wass-is" -- What's that/What's this -- This is a pretty constant phrase, even the things he knows, like clocks.
Girl -- we think he said this tonight a couple of times after he asked us "what's that" to one of the "Little People" girls
Ball -- this is the most recent and is normally said in repetition... "Bah, bah, bah, bah"

Thing he does:

Walks up the stairs using the banister spindles. Pretty good about walking down the stairs too, just VERY SLOW and easily distracted
In addition to knowing what "night night" means and running to the stairs, when he gets to the top, he goes through his room right to the bathroom saying "teeth". He knows its time to brush his teeth which to him means he gets to play with the water in the sink.
Is and has been for a while completely obsessed with clocks and watches. He can find the smallest clock in any room or book. Sometimes he'll say clock but normally its an excited "Wass-ah" with a point.
Can identify his hair or your hair and then will pet your head for a while. Cute!
Getting really good at throwing things... which is cute when its a soft ball or when we are outside playing with Admiral. Not cute when its a phone, heavy toy, etc. I guess this falls under "all boy".
Can almost climb into his playset himself. Has figured out how to get in the right position to slide down the slide but with a little help getting setup, can slide by himself.
He likes to play peek a boo. This has actually be something he can do for a while. We used to say "Where's Cason" when we covered his face with a towel, shirt, blanket, etc. Then we'd pull it down and say, in a sort of high voice, "There he is". While we were in Jackson in July, on his own he grabbed the menu at a restaurant and started covering his face then moving the menu while making this high pitched noise in the same inflection we always say "There he is". We did the same thing when teaching him where his belly button. He still does this today, mainly with his belly button or covering his face and he still wont say "There he is", just makes the high pitched sound with the right inflections. Cracks us up every time.
Runs, not walks, most places
Has a mission in life to pull every toy out of the toy cabinet before playing with anything twice.
Loves technology -- computers, ipads, remote controls, phones... anything with a button.
Dances to the Foster the People Nissan Commercials -- When these come on the TV, he stops what he's doing and starts dancing, runs to the TV to watch. He and Daddy listen to this CD in Daddy's car so he knows (and loves) the music.

As before, I'm sure I've missed so many things. I wish I could just keep a video camera on him all the time.

Sick Cuddle Baby

2011-09-13T20:49:00.001-07:00

Cason spent part of Labor Day weekend with a bit of a stomach bug. He never ran fever and only threw up a couple of times so I think we had it easy, but he was pretty pathetic for about 18 hours as Mommy got lots of cuddles.

By Monday, he was pretty much back to normal and enjoyed playing with his brother in the backyard.

Woodlands Children's Museum

2011-09-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

Cason and I really enjoy Mommy Fridays when I'm not dragging him to run errands. Actually, even when we run lots of errands, we still have fun and we normally end up with a great lunch date named Daddy.

A couple of weeks ago, Suz invited us to go to the Children's Museum. We'd never been and I knew Cason was finally mobile enough to enjoy it. Unfortunately we were already out and about when we made the plans so I didn't have a camera, just the not so great one on my phone.

Making some music

Playing in the sand

"Chooch" Trains

Turning the gears. This was a favorite, they look like clocks.

Checking out the "Shishies"

Go Texans!

2011-09-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

Today was the first Texan’s game so he wore his jersey all day. It must have been good luck because we kicked some Indianapolis Colts booty (we’ll pretend Peyton Manning wasn’t on the injured list).

It’s pretty much impossible to get a picture of Cason standing still… because he doesn’t stand still. He might SIT still for 5 seconds but only if food is involved. He is on the move. Here’s the best I could do.

He can pretty much always be found here until every toy is removed from the cabinet. I’m working on teaching him how to put the toys back but its not going so well. He must get that from Mommy.

I hope Uncle Eric appreciates the fact that Cason is wearing a football (not basketball) jersey and that it’s the jersey of a wide receiver. I’d say you have some hope but the first thing he did after getting dressed today was go get Daddy’s basketball from the closet. :)

18 Week Belly

2011-09-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

I’m 18 weeks pregnant with baby #2 and feeling better, eating better, etc. I’ve finally started gaining weight which is definitely sooner than with Cason.
We heard the heartbeat last week at our check up and hopefully will find out the gender in 2 weeks. I have to see a different doctor for the gender ultrasound so I’m waiting on them to call and schedule the appointment.
I’m feeling lots of little movements during the day along with parts of days where this baby decides that my bladder is a comfortable pillow. I don’t remember having to pee all.the.time with Cason until much later on. But some days, I’m going every hour while others I’m back to the bladder of steel I’ve always been so proud of! (TMI?)
Anyway, here is a picture of my me at 19 weeks with Cason.

And at 18 weeks with #2, looks about the same?

My belly is not this big all day… I think I wake up with practically no belly and this is what I look like by bedtime. I have to be careful how I dress or I’m super uncomfortable by the end of the day.

I felt like a gourmet chef

2011-09-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

I got the itch to try a new recipe last week. When I was planning my menu for the week, I knew I wanted to do something with the pork loin that was in the freezer from a recent sale so I started searching some of my favorite food bloggers. I always love to try the Foodie Bride's recipes so I tried there first. She normally doesn't steer me wrong. I love her Enchiladas, French Dip Sandwiches, Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches, to name a few.

Pork Tenderloin with Peach-de-Gallo came up in her list of pork dishes. The peach pico de gallo sounded like something we'd like and I knew I was going to buy some peaches anyway. The pork was delicious and we liked the concept of the peach pico de gallo but both agreed we'd like it more as a salsa. Next time I'll puree some of the peaches/peppers and leave some chunky.

I'd planned on making potato salad as the side because I'm more of a potato-a-holic than ever these days. My normal potato salad is very simple... potatoes, diced boiled eggs, enough mayo to hold the potatoes together, a squirt of yellow mustard and a couple of spoonfuls of pickle juice, and maybe some salt and pepper, garlic pepper, etc. But I wanted to try something different and started looking for recipes. Then I remembered how much I'd been craving the potato salad at Jasper's so I thought I'd Google to see if anyone had a replica recipe. I was not expecting to find the recipe on Kent Rathbun's website. Jasper is HIS restaurant so this is THE recipe. Talk about exited. I had to try it and it was really good. It wasn't AS good as when I've gotten it at Jasper's but I don't think anything is as good as when someone else is preparing it for you... and when served with a plate of amazing ribs and a nice glass of wine. But, it was yummy.

Jasper's Potato Salad. The only change I'd make is that I don't think all that butter is required, probably half would have been enough. And, it probably would have been best to put the cheese, sour cream and butter in the bowl, then start adding the warm, cubed potatoes on top to get it all melted before mixing. I left the cheese butter and sour cream to the end and I had to put it back in the oven to get it all melted.

The whole meal felt fancy compared to what we'd been eating. With Ryan's "diet" where I've tried to cook a little less fatty and the pregnancy and my lack of appetite, our meals have been pretty much in a rut. This was a nice change of pace.

Corn on the Cob

2011-09-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Cason has always loved corn. From the purees he ate as his first foods, to kernels of corn in the frozen mixed veggies he'd eat when he first started table food. Now, he'll just eat it right off the cob and he LOVES it.

When the little corn holder would come out of one end and he couldn't get it back in, he'd cry until I fixed it so he could keep eating. He hasn't quite figured out how to turn the cob, he'll twist his hands forward and backwards but doesn't actually move the position of the corn so I have to help a little. This was his first time so I only gave him half an ear. He demolished it. I think he'd have eaten a whole ear if I'd cooked him one.

August Updates - Busy summer part 2

2011-08-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Just a recap of the last month since some of the posts have been out of order. This wraps up our busy busy July and August. It's been record breaking hot and dry in Houston this summer with no end in sight.

15 month stats and 16 month milestones

2011-08-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

I'm very behind on all the things Cason is saying and doing these days. I need to get these written down before I forget and regret it later.

15 Month Stats (he was about 15.5 months at his appt)

Weight: 26lb, 2oz

Height: 33inches (90th percentile)

What's he doing at 16 months?

Walking, or running everywhere
Crawls up and down the stairs, trying to learn to walk up them
Can reach all the lever handles on the doors... meaning he can escape if the deadbolts aren't locked
Can go down the slide by himself
Can climb on and off his ride on toys
Still loves his bed and his bedtime giraffe (we had to buy a couple of extra for travel)
Saying lots of words, the ones I can think of are

Shoes - "Shoos"
Fishies - "Shishes" (in reference to Goldfish crackers)
Dog
Cracker - "Crack"
Grapes - "Gops"
Hi! - if we give him our cell phones or anything that resembles a phone, he puts it to his ear and says "Hi!"
Bye
"Ooooo", "Mmmmm", "Wow", "Whoa". The cutest is when I put down one of his favorite foods and he says "Mmmm".
"Ma", "Mama", "Da", "Dada"-- on occasion. Dada more than Mama that's for sure.
Dance - "Dunce"

Understands everything we say:

Go find your shoes
Where's your milk, ball, giraffe, etc?
Let's go upstairs (he RUNS to the stairs)
Time to go Night Night (also RUNS to the stairs)
Lets eat Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner (runs to his high chair and starts grabbing at the tray)
Want to feed your brother/Admiral? (runs to the food container, waits for us to scoop the food, runs to the door and opens it... I think he mainly just likes opening the door)
Dunk it (takes whatever toy and dunks it in the basketball goal)
Where's your ears, eyes, belly button, nose, mouth, feet, etc. He'll point at them all except mouth, in which he just opens and closes his mouth a bunch of times. He can also identify all these things on other people.
Cason, Dance -- starts bouncing and moving his arms
Bounce, Bounce/Jump Jump -- he bends his knees, bouncing up and down, tries to jump then sort of falls on his bottom and laughs his head off.
Give Mommy/Daddy a Kiss/Hug -- the favorite part of my day, oh, I love his hugs and kisses, especially the unprompted ones.

His favorite things:

Eggs
Corn
Grapes
Tomatoes
Being Outside
Pulling all of his toys out of the cabinet
Opening and closing doors, especially the ones to the pantry and our closets that have light switches in the door jams. He likes to close himself in our closets where it gets really dark, then he just opens the door back up.
Bath Time and Bed Time
His stuffed giraffe
Stairs
Daddy, Grandpa and Granpoo -- he loves the men in his life. I know he loves us girls too, but the men, oh, they have a special place.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things... Ryan will probably have more to add to this list, but at least I finally have it written down so I can look back on it later. I love this little guy.

First Sneakers

2011-08-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Since Cason is pretty much always running, we decided he needed some shoes with a rubber sole. After not finding much we liked at Target, we broke down and just got the cute Puma's I'd been coveting online. Ryan wears Puma's, I couldn't resist.

Cason loves them! If I say "go get your shoes" he'll always come back with these over any other pair.

Typical Weekend Morning

2011-08-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Cason trying to steal Mommy's drink

Playing with blocks

First Haircut

2011-08-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

After much disagreement, Ryan finally consented to let me cut Cason's hair. I mean, really, we were starting to get quite the mullet, at least on one side. It was time.

Before

Yay, almost done!

Need a little water

All done, look how grown up!

And a little fun before it dried.

Look at all that hair!!

Our big boy with his big boy haircut.

He did really well, the worst part was getting his hair to actually cut. It was such fine baby hair that it just slipped through the clippers. We can definitely tell that the texture is different but there is still a little wave.

Wonderwild

2011-08-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

I go through waves of being a Groupon/Living Social Addict. I recently bought a deal to the new Wonderwild that opened in the Woodlands so that Cason could play for 1/2 price. We invited our friend McCarthy and his mommy Kristin to come play with us Friday morning. Cason had a blast and I know he'd have even much more fun if he were a little older.

Playing on the big inflatable obstacle course.

Then we explored... we weren't quite ready for the big slides but it didn't stop Cason from doing a little dance.

And trying to crawl UP the slide...

He climbed on this little radio flyer and scooted around

And finally found a slide his size.

And we wrapped it up with some playtime in the toy pit.

Cason’s Big Announcement

2011-08-20T12:16:00.001-07:00

Yes, that’s right, I’m pregnant. Due Feb 13. We’ll see if Baby #2 decides to come as early as Big Brother.

I’m going to save these two pictures for later in life, I’m sure some good jokes will be had with them.

But really, Cason is super excited…he totally understands what’s about to happen and all. :)

I’ve added a few posts from the past couple of months. For the most part I’ve had a similar pregnancy, though maybe not AS bad as last time. I’ve been a different kind of sick, less throwing up, more nausea, same extreme exhaustion the first 12 weeks. I feel like its ending sooner though, starting to feel good most days now so hopefully I won’t still be puking at 20 weeks. I’ve not gained any weight as of my appt at 13 weeks (actually lost 2 lbs at my 9 week appt and had not lost or gained any at my 13 week.) I’m able to eat more now and am showing just a bit in the evenings.

Napa 2011

2011-08-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

We rounded out our summer of travel with a kid-free trip to Napa, CA with Brandon and Suzie, Scott and Amy, and Ben (minus Katie who had a work conflict, missed you!). I’d been dreaming of this trip since probably our Honeymoon. I did not expect to be pregnant while I was there but I still had a fabulous time!

We arrived late on Wednesday night and met up with the rest of the crew in San Francisco where we stayed the night. Thursday morning we headed north to Napa, making a pit stop at the Muirwoods.

Then we arrived in Napa and settled into our amazing house before heading out to a few wineries.

Merryvale

Del Dotto Cave Tour

We also made a stop at Cosentino then picked up dinner at Mustards and took it home to eat on our amazing patio

We started day 2 in style for our Limo Tour.

Stag’s Leap, winner of the Red’s competition at the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris

Lunch at V. Sattui

Duckhorn Vineyards was one of our favorites, mainly for the feel… it was a beautiful building and we had a nice big table to enjoy our time.

We also saw the awesemeness (I know it’s not a word) of Wine Away when a glass of red spilled on someone’s clothes.

Then on to Chateau Montelena, winner of the Whites at the Judgment of Paris and stage of the movie Bottle Shock.

And ending the day at Elizabeth Spencer, definitely at the top of the list for both the wines and the atmosphere. We will definitely go back here on a future trip!

That night we cooked out at home and enjoyed a major feast thanks to chef Ben. I could get used to eating with these views

Day 3 was more of the same but a little more laid back. Ben started the boys off with a morning cocktail and then we made the 1/4 mile drive down from our house to Robert Biale for our first stop of the day.

Biale was also at the top of our list. Very laid back, good wine (they make Zins which are one of our favs). We decided to join this wine club so I’m excited to have it delivered to my door once I can drink again! Our tasting guide was awesome, sat with us on the back porch, told us the history and then stole my camera and took some awesome pictures for us!

Next stop was Cakebread, which is know for having more white wines (most Napa wineries are mostly red). We were underwhelmed by the wine and the atmosphere. It was the only place we went that not one of us bought something.

Next up was Peju.

And finally Turnbull before we headed home to enjoy our backyard in the sunlight!

The boys had been dying to play some bocce ball so a tournament ensued. In the end, Brandon won after some very close and exciting matches :)

Ryan’s *almost* (but not) touching throw!

Amy and Suz got in on the action too and lookie-there, Amy got a toucher!

This is the life!

That night, we got all dolled up to head to dinner at Brix. I used the timer on the camera to get a group shot

Then Ben took the camera and obviously something was funny!

The boys

The girls

Sure wouldn’t complain if this was my backyard.

Delicious Dinner at Brix.

We left early the next morning to head to the airport and get home to our baby. It was fantastic vacation with awesome friends. Looking forward to the next time!

Off Roading

2011-08-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Luke and Hudson invited some of us over to swim. After we were all water logged, the boys moved to the grass and Cason found a toy he's never played with before... a motorized four wheeler. Oh man, he figured out how to make it go quick and just LOVED it. I think his face in these pictures says it all.

Then we switched to the Cozy Coupe, always a favorite. Its like each time, he's into something different about it. This time was climbing in and out and opening and shutting the door.

And since they were such great hosts (as always), a picture of Hudson and Luke. I hope their mommy doesn't mind me stealing her cuteness for my blog. We love these boys. Thanks for inviting us over and sharing your pool and your toys!

Market Street Fountains

2011-08-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Cason took me on a date recently... Okay, I took them on a date with a Groupon, I mean TWO Groupons I'd purchased and were about to expire. We went to dinner at Palotta's then to Market Street for Ice Cream. Since it has been sooo hot and sooo dry, I took Cason's swimsuit so he could splash in the fountains. He really liked it and loved watching the bigger kids. He's definitely not afraid of a little water in his face.

Destin, FL 2011

2011-08-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ryan’s parents took the whole family on a trip to Blue Mountain Beach, Florida at the very end of July, beginning of August. We had a great weather and got lots of sun. Cason enjoyed his first trip to the beach. I fear Galveston is going to be a let down when we ever go down there. You can’t compete with the white sandy beaches of Northwest Florida!
First encounter with the sand…

Checking out the water with Daddy, Uncle Eric and Uncle Kevin. Cason loved the waves!

Playing with Granpoo’s hat

Ryan missed the memo on scratching his head…

Day Two at the beach

Dressing like Daddy Night 1 (and a little like Uncle Kev too!)

Eating at Acme Oyster House

Waiting our turn for the Carousel

First Carousel ride … big success!

Having fun spending quality time with the fam, even if we kept Cason up WAY past bedtime. He was such a trooper

Especially once we found the slide and swing!

And finishing out night two with Cason’s first fireworks show.

Day 3 at the beach, more fun in the sun.

And our crabby friend that was hanging by our chairs.

Watching the storm roll in

Dress like Daddy night 2

Dinner at Red Bar!

And wrapping up the trip with family pictures at Grayton Beach and ice cream on the way back to the condo!

Kevin taking a solo shot since Steph had to stay home to start her new job. We missed you, Steph!

Uncle Eric and Uncle Kevin being silly

MMM, Ice Cream!

Thanks to Granmoo and Granpoo for a great vacation!

Busy Summer 2011 – Part 1 – July

2011-08-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

We have had a crazy, fun, busy summer. Here is a recap of the recently posted blogs:
1. 4th of July Weekend
2. Walking Shoes (contributes to the “crazy” and the “busy” since Cason never sits down!)
3. Visiting Jackson
4. Chef Boyardee (does not contribute to the “crazy” or the “busy”, but it was funny!)
5. Anniversary Trip to Austin
And there is more to come in August… a trip to Destin, FL and Napa, CA!

5 Years – Celebrate in Austin

2011-07-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

5 years ago (July 22, 2006), we were sweating it out in a very hot church after over an hour with no power in late July. Despite the heat and the sweat, we had a beautiful wedding, made even more perfect by the lights coming on as I was about to walk down the aisle. The party to follow was more than we can ever imagine… we look back on it often and have so many fun memories. A big thanks to everyone who made that day so awesome!

And wow, what an amazing 5 years. We got married, made Ryan’s bachelor pad our “home”, adopted our dog Admiral, watched our friends and family get married, bought a boat, bought a lot for a new home, sold our boat (sad), started building our “dream home”, sold our first home, got pregnant, moved in our new home, welcomed home our little boy Cason, have watched him grow into a toddler… and oh so much more!

To celebrate our 5 year anniversary, we took a weekend trip to Austin. We ate some awesome food, saw parts of the city we’d never seen, relaxed by the pool and had more awesome food! Our favorites were Shady Grove for Lunch and Moonshine Grill for Dinner (possibly the best steak I’ve ever had).

On our way we stopped at the Blue Bell Factory in Brenham and did the tour

Then each got our free cup of ice cream at the end… plus another cup for $1. (I’m wearing a necklace I bought on our honeymoon.)

We had a fancy dinner at Carmelo’s before the comedy show at Ester Follies on Friday night. (I’m wearing the dress I wore to our rehearsal dinner.)

On Saturday we went to Zilker Park. First stop was the Botanical Gardens. I think the drought has caused the gardens some trouble, while still beautiful, there was not much color.

Then we went to Barton Springs and put our feet in the water. Such a cool park, cool city.

The pictures stopped here, not sure why. We had lunch at Shady Grove, relaxed by the pool, and dinner at Moonshine Grill. Sunday morning we slept in then headed home to see our little munchkin!

Happy Anniversary, Ryan. I love you and look forward to many, many more amazing years!

More Birthday Wishes

2011-07-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Granmoo! See you next weekend!

Chef Boyardee

2011-07-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve never been a big fan of Chef Boyardee but Ryan loves the stuff. I try not to think about how bad it is for him but I think about it enough to rarely give it to Cason. But, I was low on time and low on fresh foods so I gave him a can of beef ravioli.

You be the judge on what he thought about it…

This was not a fun clean up. We went straight to the bath for an afternoon clean up.

Visit to Jackson

2011-07-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

To continue our busy July, we took a quick trip to Jackson to see my family while Helmi was in town. It was the first time we’d all been together since Thanksgiving.

We ate our favorite foods (Keifers, OEC) and saw some friends. But mostly we just enjoyed time with the family! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Eating breakfast in the high chair, Mommy, Uncle James and Helmi all ate in. I love how relaxed and comfy he is!

Of course he found the phone! (he had one in each hand prior to this and actually called Aunt Dee at some point)

The most beautiful little girl in the world!

Boys!

Kisses from Aunt Taylor and Uncle James

Me and James and our babies!

Modi is such a cutie and has some awesome facial expressions!

LOVE!

Neanie, Grandpa and their grandbabies. There is something funny about most pictures, here are a few of the best!

And a few pictures of the cousins… trying to get 3 kids to cooperate at the same time is a challenge!

And finally, a few snuggles from Grandpa before heading to the airport. Cason doesn’t cuddle much at all, but he walked right over to Grandpa and put his arms in the air. I think he’s in love (and the feeling is mutual!)

Walking Shoes

2011-07-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and bought Cason some “real” shoes. What do I mean by “real”? I mean expensive. I’d previously bought cute and cheap “decorative” shoes at Target but nothing that he really could walk in. And the only pair I still had that fit him he could easily take off. For the most part, he’s been a barefoot baby.

By the time we were about to leave for Jackson, he was really walking well and I knew the airport was going to be a challenge. He just couldn’t be barefoot in the airport. So, in my search to find a shoe that he could walk in and wouldn’t be able to take off, I went to a local children’s boutique and they suggested two kinds – a pair of sandals (that were just too girly for my taste) or a pair of “PediPeds”. At this point, I went into sticker shock. $35 for 1 pair of shoes! OMG. The lady assured me he would love them, he wouldn’t be able to get them off and another lady was in there buy a new pair (next size up) for her son that was a master shoe remover until she switched to this brand.

I gave in as it was the day before our trip and spent the big bucks. I just kept telling myself that sometimes, with some things, you can’t go cheap. I really am glad I splurged. Cason loves the shoes and as soon as I put them on, he went roaming all over the house, walking more than he ever had before. He CAN undo the velcro but he can’t get the shoe off. They are even a little hard for me to remove, which is fine. I’m very happy with the purchase, but hope that when he outgrows these, I can go back to Target $12 shoes! :)

Ultrasound, 8w3d

2011-07-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first ultrasound of Baby #2. Everything was perfect, heartbeat good, one baby. :)

I've been pretty sick since about 6w3d. It started on a Thursday night and I battled sickness off and on all weekend. Last Tuesday morning I got sick before work but thought I could go in after that. Big mistake. I got all the way there (1 hour) and had to go right back home. The doctors office called me in the drugs and things have been better. I'm very dependent on the drugs most days... every 8 hours. If I forget or try to skip, I start to regret it. Like last time, I'm still getting sick some days even with medication but unlike last time, the nausea can hit at any time, not just the morning.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy 4th of July Weekend, though we didn’t plan on it being so action packed. We loved seeing lots of friends!

First off was a play date with our “Chinese Cousin”, Carter! What? You don’t believe he’s Chinese? Well, he was born in China, does that count?? :) Carter and his mommy, Sarah, were home for a couple of weeks between homes… China to Canada! We sure wish Carter’s Daddy’s job would move him back to Texas but North America is a big improvement. Since I don’t work on Friday’s, we went to visit them so the red-heads could play. They had so much fun and I had a great time catching up with my old roommate from A&M.

Saturday was the neighborhood 4th of July celebration at the splash pad. Cason is finally starting to love the splash pad! I think walking is what did the trick! Carter came to play too and, as you can see from his soaking wet clothes, he had a blast!

Sunday we had some friends over to cook out. Cason and Michael had not seen each other since Michael was an itty bitty baby. They had so much fun! Cason loved teaching him how to go through the tunnel! And of course we loved seeing sweet little Ava!!

And Monday, actual 4th of July, our neighbors invited us over to their awesome pool. We had a blast and Cason even learned to go under water and loved it!

Swimming with Daddy!

Tooting His Own Horn

2011-07-03T09:41:00.001-07:00

This is 1 minute and 30 seconds of about 20 minutes of Cason walking around the house blowing into this heavy cardboard tube. We couldn’t get him to realized he didn’t have to put it IN his mouth to make noise but he loved it regardless.

Walking Wounded

2011-06-30T19:03:00.001-07:00

We had our first walking accident on Saturday. Cason was coming for the guacamole and lost his balance, hitting his head right on the edge of our friends raised hot tub. He had a pretty good goose egg for most of the night but no blood! He calmed down pretty quick, especially after he got a sip of juice and the guacamole he was after! These pictures are from a couple of days later when the swelling was gone and the bruising was at its worst.

I’m sure there are many more of these to come.

Big Shoes to Fill

2011-06-26T14:05:00.001-07:00

I think these pictures speak for themselves! The love affair with basketball is starting.

Daddy has always been #50 (with a few exceptions). It was David Robinson’s number… “The Admiral”: Ryan’s basketball idol and our first child’s namesake.

I sure wish Ryan had a The Woodlands High School or Millsaps jersey but the pictures are still pretty cute in his church league gear!

It feels like a weekend of basketball… we had so much fun yesterday watching Luke and Hudson play basketball too! We were very impressed by their shooting skills!

Cuddle Baby

2011-06-26T13:51:00.001-07:00

We don’t get much cuddling from Cason these days though he is starting to learn to Hug. I took this picture on my phone a few days ago. He’s become very attached to this giraffe for sleeping.

And I always put him in his crib the other way, so that he has lots of room left and right, top and bottom. Most days and nights, he rotates himself to sleep like this. I guess he likes the snuggle factor of his head and bottom both touching the bumper.

Sickness Starting

2011-06-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday the sickness started. That was 6 weeks, 3 days, pretty much the same time it hit me with Cason. This time it is different though. So far, it is the worst at night though if I don't get some sort of food in me first thing in the morning I can feel it coming. I threw up Thursday night and so far that's the only time. I've had to eat often to make the nausea go away which is also so different than last time. I could not eat whe pregnant with Cason. And eating DID NOT help my morning sickness. Throwing up was just something I had to do most mornings those first 20 weeks. We'll see how this progresses. Right now its small meals, lots of fluids, lots of crackers and Goldfish (having a toddler in the house = having Goldfish!)

Late Night Silliness

2011-06-25T10:18:00.001-07:00

We were out past bedtime last night. When we got home, Cason had fallen asleep in the car so we were trying to take advantage of a little cuddle time before we put him to bed. It didn’t last long.

He went from this….

To this…

To full on goofy… (but a great picture of his teeth!)

To a little roaring lion…

Our form of Baby Proofing

2011-06-25T10:04:00.001-07:00

We haven't done much baby Proofing other than gates on the stairs and moving some dangerous/valuables from low places. But today, we did have to do some work.

Our nice big pantry got a little smaller today. Had to move everything off the floor and bottom shelf now that someone is so mobile. He's also getting pretty smart at trying to open doors.

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Father’s Day 2011

2011-06-20T19:18:00.001-07:00

We had a nice Father’s Day at home this year. I made omelet's for breakfast… my two boys favorite! Then we went to Ryan’s parent’s for lunch and a little swimming before Ryan’s basketball game. Since it was Father’s Day, Cason and I went to watch. We don’t do this often… game time is usually either grocery or nap time for me and Cason.

Ryan’s first Father’s Day…

And this year’s photo recap!

Building Lego’s with Daddy

Family lunch and pool time

The boys (minus Fievel, he had no interest in the water!)

Three generations (they are trying to get Cason to wave and take his fingers out of his mouth, it didn’t work)

Since the boys couldn’t play basketball with the dogs in the pool, they made do with Cason!

Baby Hot Potato

Cason’s gift to his Daddy that we made at our play date on Friday (thanks Suz!)

Hope all the dad’s out there had as nice of a day as we did. Happy Father’s Day to my dad too! See you soon!

Dancing Baby

2011-06-20T18:45:00.001-07:00

Ryan and I will have to work on his dance skills and rhythm before he heads off to college but he does love to dance. This started without encouragement. There was a commercial on the TV with a bit of a beat and he started dancing.

Dancing Baby

More Walking, Longer Distance

2011-06-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

It didn’t take Cason long to start walking longer distances. Last night he shocked me as I was counting his steps and went to 18. Then he walked across the carpet and when we went upstairs for bedtime would walk back and forth across the room.

Surprise!

2011-06-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

After Cason was born and we got settled into the world of parenthood, we started talking about the next baby. It's hard not to do this when you baby is so fun, so easy (relatively speaking), and growing so fast. At first we said we'd talk about it after I turned 30. I didn't want to be pregnant on my 30th birthday.

I stopped nursing in December and since May wasn't far away, I decided not to get on birth control and we'd just be "careful" for a few months.

Then we planned a trip to Napa with friends for August 2011 so we decided we'd wait until after then but by then, I didn't want to get on BC for just a couple of months so we continued with our "careful" plan.

Right before we booked our trip to Napa, I was 2 days late. I tested, it was negative, I started that afternoon. We booked our flights and I vowed to be "careful". I thought I was.

Thursday I was "late" again and just decided I'd test since I had them at the house from last month. Ryan was still in bed when I walked over and stuck this in his face.

We are both still in shock. I'll be the pregnant lady in Napa. I know I'll still have fun... as long as the puking doesn't keep me sick like it did last time.

After last time, I've decided to change doctors. While I loved my doctor, she is too busy and I don't love the other doctors in her practice. There were just too many little things combined that made me decide to change. I'm a little nervous about doing this again with a new doctor. I just met her a week before my positive test for my annual exam. I like her. She's young and had a good bedside manner. I go back on July 7 for my ultrasound and I'll be discussing my previous experience to try to feel her out about how she and her colleagues might be different or better.

Internet Due Date: Feb 13, 2012! Valentines Baby!

Family Time at Lake Conroe

2011-06-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I both have been very busy at work but especially Ryan. We decided to take a weekend getaway with just the 3 of us. So that we didn’t have to spend a lot of time driving, we rented a condo at Lake Conroe. It was a nice weekend of doing a lot of nothing. We played in the pool, sat on the porch, played in the pool and sat on the porch some more. We were very rested when by the time we returned to the real world on Sunday afternoon.
Checking out the sunset on Friday night

A little fun with the iPad before bedtime

The view at night and the same view in the morning.

The Southern Empress parks at the condo resort.

Saturday morning swim time

Saturday afternoon swim time. Cason loved playing on the waterfall.
After dinner on Saturday night we made sure to get back in time to watch the sunset. It was beautiful.
Then we decided to take a stroll on the piers before the sun was all the way down.
Saturday night there was a wedding on the Southern Empress. We missed the boat leaving but go to watch it as it came back in. Seemed like the guests were having a good time.

Standing and First Steps

2011-06-08T21:06:00.001-07:00

Tonight, Cason took his first steps. There have been a step here or a step there, but tonight was the first multiple step action! YAY!

For a month and a half now, Cason has gotten really good at walking behind his train. We do laps in the empty dining room – the train has wheels that turn so we set the steering wheel all the way in one direction and it makes Cason go in circles. He’s got pretty good balance and we’ve known for some time that he could stand on his own if he really wanted to. We’d even caught him a couple of times, when very distracted by something, let go of our hands, our legs, the table etc. But as soon as he realized what he was doing, he would sit down. Then we realized how much he likes to clap for himself when we say “yay” or “good job” so we started cheering him on while walking so he’d let go of the toy and stand up. It worked! He’s still very reluctant to let go of things… sometimes he’s so cautious, other times (like stairs, couches, beds) he’s not. Always keeps us guessing!

This video was from a week or so ago… its long… there is walking… there is one wipe out… there is standing… there is backwards train riding… just some Case-dog fun.

And here is the video we got of him “walking” tonight. He was tired and would only “perform” for so long so this is short and sweet!

First Steps

More Memorial Day Fun

2011-06-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot in my last post that we did a little water table play at the house the morning before we went to Dana and Kristin’s. We were trying to keep Cason up an extra hour to time his nap correctly so this was a good distraction. He thought it was so funny when we poured water on him so we did a little video. Of course he wasn’t as animated for the camera as he was before we got it but it’s still cute…long, unedited, but cute.

Water Giggles

The video camera automatically created these still shots while we were filming. I wish I could bottle him up and take him with me every where I go. I’d always be in a good mood!