Slow Down!...

I know it's been a while since I posted. But I refuse to give myself guilt for not keeping up with this blog -- I'm just reminding myself that it's really just my own diary and memory keeper and hopefully the few people (hi mom!) that actually read this thing and keep up with it will stay loyal! ;)


So remember these two babies?

Well, now they are big kids! Oh goodness - Look how big they have gotten! I just can't even! How and why is this happening?

These two are now 3.5yrs and 8mo old! It's been a busy and fun summer - and they have both just grown up so much! So how about a little summer recap?

These two kids turned the big 3-0 over the summer! I don't even know how that happened... Wasn't it just a little while ago we were 21 and getting married!? We sure are blessed!

We also got to take a trip to Illinois for "Aunt Eesha"'s wedding. It was our first family of four trip -- also the first time we drove it, instead of flew.... I don't recommend it!

While there we got the cousins together (my sister had a baby just 3 weeks after O was born!) for a little photo shoot and playtime!





And Olivia got to meet her great-grandmas!

Grayson was the Sign Bearer in the wedding! He did SUCH a good job - he was SO proud of himself walking down the aisle. And why does that tux make him look so grown up!?

The wedding was SO much fun! G flirted with ALL the bridesmaids! And thought Aunt 'Eesha" was a princess. (We had to do silly faces before/after EVERY posed picture!)

We are SO excited to have Uncle Brendan in the family!

Soon after we got home from Illinois - my big kid started Preschool!

Look. At. Him! What!? I catch myself just staring at him or pictures of him and not understanding where the time has flown for him to be this big. My momma heart has gotten so soft!

This sweet boy is doing SO good in preschool. He loves his teacher (so do I!), and mostly loves learning and all his friends.

We are still going through the horrible "threenager" phase -- Ya'll.... I just don't even know what to do some days... But even on the really bad days - his sweet teacher messages me how well-behaved, disciplined and a big helper he is being in his class. So at least he's good at school and church (most the time).

And these two together....

My heart. They are so precious to watch sometimes! I like to steal sweet moments like these and just freeze them! He still adores her - and she is so in love with her big brother! She wants to be near him anytime he's in the same room. He is the only one that can make her laugh and smile on cue. He is her entertainer - and he doesn't mind it one bit. Every day he sits on the floor to watch tv or eat she crawls to him (oh yea, did I mention she full on crawls now!?). She cannot get close enough -- crawls all over him, tries to get in his lap, pulls up and stands holding on to him, pulls his hair, tries to take his food.... constantly.

She is a handful!

Speaking of which -- This girl is growing TOO fast! She is just 8 months old... Crawling, standing and getting into EVERYTHING! Her personality is so different than G's. You tell her "No!" or "Ouch!" and she gets the sneakiest grin and will just laugh at you! I'm already praying for us when she is the "threenager"! She's got such spunk! She is doing everything about 2-3 months sooner than Grayson did, so I'm just not even prepared! Last weekend she tried to climb the first step of our stairs! But that smile.... You can't escape it and you can't not be moved by it. 

(4mo - 7mo)

It was a tough summer with Tony's schedule - So I'm pretty thankful for Fall. (Still wishing Houston had Fall) We are getting excited for all the Fall activities and holidays and family visits! But most of our weeknights end like this.. Feeling pretty blessed.

Snow & Thanksgiving

We went to Illinois for the week of Thanksgiving - Usually we go for Christmas, but I will be far too pregnant to travel then. It was so good to get away from everything and relax with family! It was especially sweet because it SNOWED! My two little snow buddies (Tony and Grayson) were completely thrilled! We got to see both of Tony's grandmas, got lots of cousins time and lots of food.

I think the sweetest and newest thing about this trip from all the others was Grayson's obsession and adoration for his older cousin, Koen. Koen is my first and only nephew and Grayson absolutely adored him and asked to see and play with him everyday we were in Illinois!

I will let the pictures speak mostly for themselves....

Above: the flight there he was happy, awake and excited...

Below: the flight home he was wiped out!

One of our favorite things to do when we lived in Illinois during the holidays was going to the Festival of Trees. We were so excited that the dates worked out to get to go while we were there - and we got to go with all of our family.

Cousins.... See how Grayson looks at Koen!? He did that all week - copied everything he did and said.... it was precious!

 

SO much fun in the SNOW!!!

 

Those last two pics.... my little snow buddy! :)

Of course in making sure to capture every new moment of Grayson, we didn't get any good pics of us or grandparents or aunts/uncles.... Typical first child problem ;) (Many more pics on Facebook soon!)

We had a great time! And as much as I'm going to miss them all at Christmas, we are getting really excited about having our very first ever Christmas at home! It's the first time we are home all December and the first Christmas home to start new family traditions and the last Christmas as a family of three. I'm going to soak up this month and make lots of memories! 

Off the grid

Summer time for a family in student ministry is super busy! Tony has been crazy busy with student events, camps, retreats and meetings. So over fourth of July weekend we went off the grid for a much needed family getaway!

It was so nice to get away just the three of us and not check in on our phones or email and just be together! We saved a lot of money and rented a little VRBO (vacation rentals by owner) cabin with a pool and playground in San Antonio and relaxed and played all weekend! I had never been to San Antonio before, so it was fun to go there and see the Riverwalk. Just far enough to get away, but not too long of a road trip. :) We swam every day (Grayson is getting so good at swimming and being confident in the water!), we napped and ate lots of not good for us food, we ate on the Riverwalk, took a boat ride and watched the fireworks from the car as it began to rain. ;) But it was such a great weekend together. So thankful!

Because we rarely had our phones on us or on at all... we didn't get many pics to document the trip - but here are a few attempts at some family selfies. ;)

 On the riverwalk

On the boat - it's really hot!

 Quick attempt at family selfie before it started raining right before the fireworks...

 

 

Let's Get Real Thursday

Remember this post about toddlers in public restrooms? Let's take that a step further and talk about toddlers in airport restrooms... or really airports/planes in general, shall we? :)

So last week I took Grayson by myself to Illinois via airplane. Which means lots and lots of time in the airport, the airport restrooms and the airplane. First, let me jump on my small soapbox to say that airports need indoor play places! Malls have them, why not airports? It's genius - let the kids run all their energy out before jumping on a plane... That would have been helpful to me. Otherwise you will find me "racing" up and down the airport repeatedly trying to run off some of Grayson's energy... and I was not the only parent doing so. Okay, stepping off the soapbox.

Then when either of you need to "go potty", it's a hot mess! Why aren't airport bathroom stalls larger than the average stall? I mean, you literally have baggage to take with you - you need more room! So I'm trying to shimmy myself and Grayson and both our carry-ons into this little bitty stall and attempt to finagle it all onto one hook (and that's if your lucky enough to have a hook in your stall, most have broken off), trying to sit myself onto the "potty" and watch that Grayson doesn't drop his bear (that he just had to hold onto and not pack into some bag) onto the gross bathroom floor. And then the same goes for when we tumble out of the stall to change his diaper.... Where is a mom to put all the bags and bears hanging off her shoulders and arms to do a diaper change!? Why aren't there hooks or a shelf or something!? A. Hot. Mess.

Running after my energetic two-year-old, because he is SO excited about getting on the airplane, I am wiped out from the bathroom experience and having a hard time keeping up with him! I even bribe him with a new toy from one of the shops if we can just sit down for a minute! Then we finally get to board .... Thank God for family boarding! Really, I appreciate it, however, why does it have to be after the A group when half the plane is full already? You get on and get situated - paci or sucker in mouth for take off, ipad/dvd player on the ready... just to wait a half hour before we actually start moving... and toddler just love that! ;)

Also, what in the world did I pack in my carry-on before I was a mom!? Because now I have Grayson's little backpack (which I imagined him holding himself... NOT) filled to the brim with diapers and wipes and then my backpack filled with toys, books, dvd player, dvds and snacks.

Grayson eating peanuts and enjoying some cars. He loved having his own seat!

 

What would we do without video entertainment?

 This is back in December when we flew for Christmas

And when waiting in the airport, never forget the stickers! 

Anyone else have some fun stories of toddlers and airports? Let's get real, we have all been there or will be there one day... Let's share the tips... and the recovery chocolate! ;)

Illinois Getaway

For my birthday, Tony surprised me with a flight to Illinois for Grayson and I! It was perfectly timed during one of Tony's trips and I could not have been more thrilled to get to go see family and relax a little in Illinois.

I was a little nervous flying alone with Grayson for the first time (expect a Get Real post soon!), but it went mostly well and we had a great time!

Grayson got to ride the "tractor" with Papa

 

He was definitely never short on attention

 

 

We had a play date with our favorite Illinois buddies, Ellis and Olive

 

 

 

The best part was watching Grayson and his cousin, Koen, play together! It made my heart so happy to see them play and have fun and see Grayson look up to his big cousin!

 

We went to a park and splash pad one morning.

 

 

 

And we got to be there to celebrate Koen graduating Kindergarten!!

 

 

While celebrating, the boys made a fort... Grayson loves his cousin!

We had such a great time and our visits are never long enough... But we definitely missed daddy and were both wiped out!

And somehow we never seem to get a picture of Grayson with his Nana or Gigi on these trips!! Sorry moms, we'll have to make sure to get better at capturing moments with you too! Grayson did have lots of fun and love from his Nana and Gigi!

Be looking for the next few Get Real posts - I've accumulated quite a few from this trip! ;)