Happy Birthday Joshie Poo!

It's been almost a month since Josh's birthday! I guess my afternoon naps have been cutting into my blogging time. So I am here to say Happy Belated Birthday to my hubby. You've come a long way, baby!

We had a Friday night celebration with a nice dinner out. We were wanting to go to Red Lobster, but darn it, it's Lobster Fest and the line was really long. Luckily next door was Pasados so we opted for Mexican food instead. Joseph had the best time making eyes with the waitress and making new friends around us. I love it when we go out to eat and get a really good table...like the kind where we have our own little nook...and that's what we got at Pasados. Joseph could wander around and let us have a margarita and dinner in peace. Then we headed back to the house for cupcakes and presents.

Joseph was having the hardest time accepting that it wasn't HIS birthday. At one point he started crying and pointing at himself saying "my birthday...my birthday". Poor little guy. But he came around and was willing to share the day with his daddy too. Although he has us wrapped around his little finger pretty tightly so I don't think we would have fought him too much on it!

The celebration continues.....Sunday Josh's mom and sister came over for dinner and ice cream cake!! Can you say yum?! This time we headed for Red Lobster again and were seated right away. Success! Those lobster never saw us coming. I do love me some Lobster Fest, y'all.

Joseph is really getting the hang of this birthday thang. At two years old, he is an old pro!

I wasn't sure whether to say Josh's name or Joseph's name when we sang...


Happy Birthday, sweetie! Love you more than words! Can't wait for next year!

Dallas Blooms!

We've been dying to get out to the Arboretum this spring. Mondays are Mommy and Me days so we decided to head out with Casey, Kristen and Summer and get some fresh air. I love this place. I only wish we didn't have to head home for nap time cause I'd love to stay out there all day.

On Mondays they have activities for the kids, like a petting zoo, face painted and all that jazz...but we actually had the most fun just setting up in a beautiful field and letting the boys run free. They had a silhouette artist there so I got a silhouette cut of Joseph's profile and the other girls got pictures taken by a great photographer with a bunny. It was such a beautiful day!



We also celebrated Casey's "30th" birthday! She may not actually be 30 anymore but we decided we'll be 30 forever from now on. ;)

It was certainly a day to be bare foot and fancy free! Love baby toesies! And Miss Ada-Grace always has her feet crossed! Such the little lady!

As we were walking around people (sans children in strollers!) kept commenting on how many kids were there and wondered why - as if we were intruding on their day. Finally as we passed some folks in a trolley I overheard an employee telling a guest "because it's a beautiful day and we love to have them come!" Thank you and we're glad to be here!

I mean, just look at this face...how can you not want these little guys to enjoy the flowers as much as possible?!

...and sometimes you just want to sit around and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I'm right there with you guys, Ethan and Ada-Grace! Let's go back SOON!

I had to show you the sweet little onesies I (kinda) sewed up for a baby shower I attended awhile back. Allison is a friend from high school and with the miracle of the internet we've reconnected over the past few years. It's pretty fun to be able to keep up with old pals and be able to celebrate these fun times with each other. She is having a baby girl in a few weeks and I can't wait for Kate Margaret to make her entrance!


I had really wanted to make something because handmade is so special, but I ran out of time. The night before the shower I sat sulking wishing I had planned my week better. On a whim I decided to rummage through my craft room, and as luck would have it I had two newborn onesies just begging to be made pretty!

This was my favorite! I made baby Abby a similar one when she was born and goodness gracious did she look cute wearing it. Now, a straight line is about all I've really mastered, but as you just give me some time. I'll be curving, darting, basting, hemming and doing all sorts of magical techniques before you know it!

Congratulations Allison and Matt! I can't wait to meet Baby Kate!

Happy Easter Egg!

We had a great get together at Casey's house for a little spring fun! She had an egg hunt planned and a whole spread for the kiddos to make their own Easter baskets. Joseph likes stickers so it was right up his alley. Plus there were cookies so that was really right up his alley!



Summer was working double time! But at least everyone seems happy at this point! ;)

We headed outside for a beautiful day of playing in the yard. It was perfect out and the forecast of rain decided to hold off.

Joseph got the hang of it right off the bat. He kinda was an egg hog, in fact. Once his bucket was full to the brim, the eggs started falling out. He was walking in circles picking them back up and didn't notice that they were his eggs!






Joseph! No fork lifting little the babies! There were a couple of unhappy campers in this shot, and Blake didn't want to hop in, but that's the way we roll. If you can't beat 'em...take their picture anyway. Or something. Happy Easter!

We got to visit Connor at school the other day! That was really fun for me. Tammy and I had planned to go to the park after she had lunch with Connor at school, but there was a torrential downpour so we had to regroup. I decided to try to make it meet them at the school and check out Connor's classroom. We made it just in time for the last bit of lunch.

In the cafeteria there is a big stop light that measures the noise decibel while they are eating. It was pretty cool! It starts flashing yellow when the kids are getting too loud, then goes to red when they hit the "too loud" mark. They all know to stop talking and wait for the light to turn green again! Of course as soon as it turns green the decibel level goes straight up and the light turns red again. I thought it was a pretty good idea to have something like that. It was cute watching the kids closest to the stop light. They kept their eye on it and would try to shush everyone when it turned yellow.

Here's sweet Connor sporting his fabulous Cub Scout shirt. He is apparently head over heels for Cub Scouts (although it sounds like the WHOLE family is too) and loves to wear his uniform. Connor's latest and greatest with the auditory nerve tumor is that the Docs think what appeared to be another tumor is actually scaring from the last surgery. They are going to watch it and make sure, but his hearing hasn't changed from the last test 6 months ago and continues to be stable. They are continuing to monitor the tumor behind his eye but even that seems stable for now. I've shared the link to Connor's Caring Bridge Journal before but here it is again if you're interested. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/connorobrien/journals

Ha! Cayden - the King of Sillyness! After lunch we headed to Connor's class room and I got to meet his teacher. She seems SUPER sweet and great for Connor. They had papers out on their desks and I got a peek at Connor's school work. Let me tell you, he has FABULOUS handwriting. It was really great for a first grader! I know he is still adjusting to school, but this is one smart kid and once he finds his grove, he is going to really excel in school.

Lastly we checked out one of their little garden areas and turtle habitat. I love a school that allows kids to think and explore outside of the classroom. The school, Hillside Academy for Excellence, is a TAG school and the students are tested to gain entry. Many of the students, like Connor, go there to receive the benefits of a TAG school, but many are "regular" neighborhood children. Interestingly, these children do as well as the TAG students when given the challenge of a more advanced ciriculum. It goes to show that if you give children a chance and a challenge they can and will rise to it!

Excuse Me, But I Think You Have My Chair...

What's this all about?! Upside down sunglasses? Standing on a chair to check out the inner workings of the door? I know I am in trouble when he learns how to unlock the door.



Superman watches TV the best while standing on a chair, I think!


The car seat was a great hangout spot for a couple of days. But he had to be all the way belted in, of course!


Boys will be boys, eh?! Anytime there is something to climb on it doesn't take long before Joseph finds out that it works as well as a chair. This is Auntie Rachel's old play house that we dusted off from the attic. Thought he might like it...and apparently he does!

My, My, What Nice Shoes You Have...

Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine

Man did we have a great time weekend before last! We got to see Thomas up close and personal and take a super fun train ride on him too....well, at least Josh and I certainly thought it was fun. Joseph may not actually have cared anymore than he would about an everyday car ride. He managed to pull his thumb out of his mouth for a few smiles now and again.

The train took off and crept slowly, slowly down the track and back for about a 25 minute ride. I thought we were going to cross gullies and go through tunnels and over rickety bridges. While it wasn't very scenic or adventurous on the outside, inside we sang songs, clapped and stomped to music on the PA speakers. Joseph even got a certificate for.....um, something or other. I don't think I actually read it. Bad mommy. I'll say it was for completing passenger riding class with flying colors!

Casey was in charge of rallying the troops for this event and I am so glad she invited us to join them. There were a few activities for the kids like a tattoo tent, model train tent, petting zoo, a blacksmith, bounce house and slide. She took a bunch of these really great pictures so I credit her for the best ones. One of my favorites is this first one.

It was tight! HA! Love those knees all knocking together!

Showing off their tattoos. I'm pretty sure they didn't know what to think about that!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

We celebrated our third anniversary February 27! We were planning on a nice evening out when Josh said jokingly that it was too bad we couldn't go to Vegas to celebrate. So that got our wheels turning. We started looking into a night in Oklahoma at one of the casinos there but there were some things we didn't like about it. There were fees per hand at the table games in addition to the bet you place. Most casinos don't charge a fee per hand! That was a little crazy. Then when we started reading more reviews they all were saying the slots were pretty tight. Soooo...

...we decided to book a room at the Eldorado in Shreveport. The drive was great, only a little over three hours. We were hoping we had picked the nicest one because we have never been before and it was kinda hard to tell from the websites. It turned out awesome! It was big and grand and beautiful! Real Vegas style with lots of big statues, pillars of marble and fancy decorations. And a fantastic casino. Law says the casinos have to be on water so some are in river boats, but the Eldorado built a building on the water so it had normal height ceilings and all the ambiance of Vegas. There is nothing like the flashing lights and constant simultaneous ringing of the slots!

We had appointments for massages as soon as we got there so we threw our bags down and headed to the super nice, cushy spa on the third floor. It was spectacular sitting in my fluffy robe waiting for my massage....letting the anxiety of leaving Joseph at home float away. It's hard leaving him, but it got better as the day went on. It's like leaving behind your third arm; I felt like something was really missing. But then after a cocktail and massage, I'd have to say it was a-ok. ;) Although I booked a regular swedish massage, my gal surprised me at the end with a little hot stone treatment. It was the first time I'd experienced that and I loved it! I'd certainly book one of those in the future!

Everything was a Hollywood Art Deco style and really detailed. This medallion-thingie was what greeted guests when they pulled in front of the hotel. And the parking sign below was pretty cool looking too.

After our massages we went to a lounge to have a drink and before dinner and people-watch. The bartender was making a frozen drink and the nicely dressed gentlemen next to us at the bar were laughing at how loud it was. One of them promptly made a call and stated "get a new blender up here please...I don't care, just get one that doesn't sound like a 747 taking off" and snapped his phone closed. Josh and I laughed that we must be in the presence of some big wigs when one of the guys said our drinks were on him!! We introduced ourselves and he was the General Manager of the place! It was really fun talking to him (and the guy that made the call was the president) and so of course we had to drop that it was our anniversary. He told us we had to go to the restaurant downstairs, that it was really nice, and dinner was on him! Yahoo! Score! So off we headed to get ready for dinner.

It was fun to see the Matre'de and hostess straighten up and tell us Mike was taking care of dinner and they would take good care of us. We actually already had reservations there and I'm sure we would have had great service anyway, but this sure did make me feel special! Ha. The restaraunt was fabulous and we really splurged. I had lobster and steak and Josh had two stinking pounds of king crab legs! We spotted Mike the GM come in and walk straight to our table to shake our hands again and ask how everything was. I can tell he really values his customers and enjoys his job too. Then he walked straight back out. It was a beautiful restaurant with waiters in tuxes and low lighting. The cesar was excellent, the wine was superb, the steak was the best melt-in-your-mouth and it all made for a very special weekend away.

Our view out the hotel window was nice with the cute bridge and river...not that we were in the room much, but it was still nice to have a good view. We played slots and blackjack for awhile, lost a bunch of money, and had a great time doing it! As we left the blackjack table our dealer wished us a happy anniversary....BUT we hadn't told her it was our anniversary! It was pretty cool and kinda creepy! Like they had an APB out on us or something. If we were there just for that, I can't imagine the kind of service the really big gamblers get!

So we packed up and headed home the next day. Joseph had been running fever so we were checking in frequently on him. He did great and had a wonderful time with Josh's mom but I needed to call the Dr. on Monday. They wanted me to bring him in and we found out he had double ear infections and slight bronchitis. I felt bad for being gone that weekend but I know his Bobe took good care of him. I imagine she's taken care of her share of sick kiddos, right?!

The Wednesday before we went to Shreveport was our actual anniversary and I got the best surprise! After a knock at the front door I found my sweet hubby standing with a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers. These lilies were outstanding. So we had lunch together at home before he had to go back to work. It was perfect! I think we'll have to make a tradition of this for sure!