Just catching up

Gosh, I didn't realize it had been so long since I last blogged. So I'm going to try and catch up as much as possible. In early October we visited our friends, Matt and Tanya in Houston for their daughter Bentley's 3rd birthday. We always have so much fun when we go to visit them even if we don't do anything! Bentley and Bexley get along pretty well, as well as two three year olds can. Here's a few pictures of them "cruisin" in Bentely's new Escalade!

Beau is growing up so fast. I realized not too long ago that it was time to start practicing with him sitting up. It took only one day and he was a pro. He can sit up for many minutes and plays with his toys well. Once he is down that kid can roll all over the house; but only in one direction! It is so funny when he gets up against a solid surface and can't get out. It makes him so mad. He is a great kid; now if only I could get him to sleep through the night. He is still waking up once sometimes twice a night. For no reason other than to get his pacifier back and for mom to pat his bottom.

He now has his two bottom teeth! With that said, I have officially stopped breastfeeding. It's been pretty depressing, but Beau seems to have adjusted very well. He is eating his rice cereal like a champ and gets very excited when he sees his bottle coming. Now daddy can have more bonding time with him and Bexley also loves to help feed him. He's becoming a great big brother.

Our friends, Angie and Maddie invited us over one day for pumpkin painting. It was a lot of fun and got us all into the spirit of Halloween!

Before,

During,

After: notice there is more paint on the table than on the pumpkin.

Bexley got to wear his Halloween costume to school this morning. I've had this costume for two years now because when I saw it I had to buy it and he hasn't been able to wear it until this year. They also had a "Science Fair" at school today. They had three projects to show us. The first one was dropping water on a penny. They were to count how many drops they could put on the penny until the water rolled off the edge. Then they were to drop soapy water on the penny and count how many drops of the soapy water they could put on until it ran off the edge. They could get more of the regular water than the soapy water. This was Bexley's favorite project. Secondly, they took a ball of clay and dropped it in water. It sank right to the bottom. Then they took the clay and rolled it out flat and dropped it into the water and it floated! Lastly, they dropped paper clips and squares of paper towels into water. The paper clips would sink to the bottom "unless" they were dropped on the floated paper towels! It was fun. Here' as few pics of Bex and his friends this morning.

Bexley the Alligator!

Bex concentrating very hard on his water dropping.

Dropping the water again. That's Bella in the back, they are good friends!!

Korbin, Bexley and Dalton AKA Tony Romo, Alligator and Spiderman

Bex and Korb

Friends, Fun, and Food

We have had a most productive and fun filled weekend. Brye actually said, "I wish every weekend could be like this!" It started off Friday evening. Our good friends Dan, Susie, Alan and Suzy (it gets complicated) had a Beatles Rockband Party. We were each to bring an English dish to share. Brye and I made Bangers and Mash with Sweet Onion Gravy and I made Cranberry Scones as well. It was so good, thanks to our good friend Jamie Oliver or The Naked Chef as some of you may know him. I bought a couple of his cookbooks when we were living in the UK but had never actually used them. The Bangers and Mash were delicious. Oh and for those of you who don't know, Bangers are Cumberland Sausages; Mash is of course mashed potatoes. The Scones recipe I got from my dear friend Sharon. She is a Scottish native and one of the best cooks I know. I also know she'll read this soon so I'm publicly thanking you Sharon for the recipe, it was delicious; and easy. Dan and his Susie made a Steak and Guinness Stew that was equally as yummy. Alan and his Suzy brought appetizers, Double Glouster (i know i spelled that wrong) Cheeses and such. We had a delicious dinner. Then the fun began. . . . The Beatles Rockband!!! All Beatles songs performed as well as you can. I of course, was on the microphone almost the entire night. I felt like a mic hog, but it was too much fun. Dan was best on the drums and Brye on the guitar. However, I have to sadly admit my husband, as much as I love him, does not have much musical talent. He tried singing; I don't think we'll ever have us a karoake date. Alan did some guitaring and Suzy some singing as well. It was great fun and we have decided we are having a "theme" party once a month. We'll see if it actually works out.

Saturday began bright and early at 8:00 am, thank you Bexley. I did laundry most of the day and Brye powerwashed the driveway, sidewalks and fence! CASA of Collin County had a Rummage Sale that I went to for a little while Saturday morning. Beau got some clothes and Bex got a remote control helicopter that he and his daddy are thoroughly enjoying. I'm not sure what the grand total of money collected was but around 4:00 pm CASA had made around $1500!! Great Job everyone. Saturday night Holly and Zac hosted dinner for us. They made a wonderful lasagna with garlic bread and salad. Zac had made a homemade Vinegrette dressing that was AWESOME. Then for dessert, coffee with homemade whipped cream, again made by Zac. It was the best whipped cream I'd ever eaten. I think we had more whipped cream than coffee! The guys ventured off into the living room to watch the football game (Tech vs. UH). So us girls just talked and laughed til we cried. Angie's mom graciously watched Bexley and Maddie for us and it was so nice and quiet!! Of course, I forgot my camera to both occasions.

Sunday continued with church and a wonderful two hour nap for ALL FOUR of us. Brye finished powerwashing, I finished laundry and we had a great day.

Now on to a completely different note. Brye and I have been asked along with five other couples to be New Member Ambassadors at the country club. It's a new program they've started where current members like ourselves are assigned to new members to mentor them, introduce them to the club and others and get them involved. It's kind of a big deal and an honor to be asked to do this. We were surprised but thrilled to do it. We haven't yet been assigned a new member but hope to soon.

I've also joined a bookclub with some of my former colleages including two judges, several attorneys and friends. We have been given our first book and our first meeting is October 28th. I'm really excited to be a part of it and hope I don't look silly amongst all the brilliant people who are in the group!

Bexley is doing really good in "preschool". His teachers told me on Monday he was so smart and asked if I worked with him at home!! HA, that's the exact reason I sent him to preschool. Because I DON"T work with him at home and was afraid he'd be behind. They said that when they read and ask questions most of the kids give them blank stares, but Bexley always speaks up. I'm so proud of him.

We Did It!!!

It has been one busy week for us. First things first, I can now say Bexley is officially potty trained. It only took us a couple of weeks, but today he proved himself. We were running errands and while at the post office Bexley said, I'm tee teeing, which means he has to tee tee. There was only one restroom at the post office and someone was in it so Bex had to hold it and he did! I am so proud of him. We did it! Here's a picture I captured that he'll hate me for someday!



On top of this Bexley started preschool this week. He is going two days a week at our church. He has been excited to go but since I started staying home he has become quite clingy and doesn't want mommy to leave him. When we were discussing school the night before he asked, "Mommy are you going to stay with me?" I said no and he said, "is daddy gonna stay with me?", I said no and he said, "is Kyle (our good friend and Bex's bff''s dad) gonna stay with me?", I said no and he didn't like that he was going to be by himself. When I dropped him off he pouted his bottom lip but didn't cry. I couldn't get any really good pictures in his classroom because I didn't want him to get upset. He had a great day at school and his teacher said he was quiet!! WHAT? If only he'd be quiet at home.



After Bexley's first day of school I made a very quick road trip to Childress/Amarillo to pick up our new car! We have a good friend who is a car salesman in Amarillo that got us a great deal on a used Escalade. It was a quick trip and an 8 hour car ride on Thursday for me and the boys. I will not do that again, however I LOVE my new car. It is really nice and BIG. Thanks Brye for working this deal out for us. Bexley however, misses the blue car. He threw a tantrum once when he realized the blue car was gone. H swears it was bigger, HA it was a Civic! I do miss my Civic too, but I don't think I'll miss it much longer.

Beau is just doing great. He is growing so fast. He had his four month well check and is 15 pounds now. He is rolling over like crazy but refuses to sleep through the night still. He still wakes up a few times a night, just because. Not becuase he's hungry, just because. The pediatrican says to let him cry it out, so we'll be trying that now. He is eating rice cereal and doing really well with that. He seems to like it and has no problem eating it. He smiles all the time especially when you play with his arms and hands. I just love him to death.

Potty Training. . . UGH!!

I've decided it's time for hard core potty training. Bexley has been randomly going to the potty for quite some time but everytime we try underwear he always has an accident. So this week is the week. Bex and I made a trip to the Dollar Store and bought $15 worth of toys that he picked out. We are calling these his "Potty Prizes" and if he goes to the potty all day, he gets a prize. I added suckers, too and he can have those whenever. We started with Pull-Ups over the weekend and besides bed time and nap time he is doing good as long as I keep making him go every hour or so. That seems to be the hardest part; reminding myself to remind him to go. We've had one true accident because he fell asleep in his underwear before I knew it and wet the bed. Then at the swimming pool, literally less than five minutes after he went to the potty he wet his pants while waiting in line for the diving board. We've had no poo poo accidents, thank you, Lord! Today is our first official day in underwear. I have to admit he is the cutest thing ever in his little undies. I'm still nervous about going out in public in underwear. Bex hasn't yet made the initiative to go to the potty himself, it's always me. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of him so far. Our goal is to be finished by the time he starts preschool on Sept. 9. We still have a long way to go.

Bex opening his first package of big boy underwear!!

Great Summer Day. . .Or maybe not

We had such a great day last Friday. Julie had received three free Jump'n Land tickets from her school so we had to use them up before summer ended. Jump'n Land is an indoor play area full of bounce houses and those huge inflatable slides.

It was a lot of fun, Bexley ran all over the place. We were just about to leave and I heard Bex screaming and thought for sure he and Case were fighting again (as they always do). So I go over to referee and notice a kid who looks about 5 or 6 laying ON TOP of my little 2 year old trying to get a basketball away from him. This was the first time I have ever gotten on to a kid that I wasn't related to. He was giving me one of those grins like, "you're not the boss of me". Well, when I got the ball and gave it back to Bexley he tried to take it away from him again right in front of me!! Finally Grandma came over and I explained to her that this kid was laying on top of my two year old and that Bex checked the ball out from the front desk and has had the ball for over an hour. She said "I'm sorry". I was so angry I was shaking for about 30 minutes! I cannot believe a kid that old would think it was okay to do that to a toddler. But just look at the smile on his face!!

Later that day we went to a Frisco Rough Riders game. We got the cheap seats in the grass so Bex could run around, we could take Beau in the stroller and not have a care in the world. You can see in the pictures below how the kids like to be right up agains the fence. Well, Bexley and this one little boy were both on the fence and both wanted to go past each other but neither one would move. So, the other little boy reared back and punched Bexley right in the stomach. His mother came flying down to him and he really got in trouble and was made to apologize to Bexley. His mother turned around and she was a lady I had worked with about six years ago at CPS!! She was so embarassed. Bexley wasn't hurt, didn't cry or care for that matter. I guess this is not going to be the last time he gets bullied, is it? In spite of all of that we had a really great day.

Growing UP

Can you believe my baby is already three months old? I can't believe it's been that long already. Beau is doing great. He is eating great and sleeping great, only getting up once during the night, and is just a joy to be around. He is "talking" a lot and has recently started giggling. He also likes to blow spit bubbles!! He follows mommy around the room with his eyes and his new favorite spot is the Bumbo! Just Monday, I cleaned out the newborn clothes and replaced them with the 3-6 month clothes. Thankfully Bexley was a pretty neat kid and I still have a lot of really good clothes for Beau. It's so weird to see Beau in Bexley's old clothes; it sure brings back memories of when Bex was a baby. In just one short month Beau will be eating that yummy rice cereal!! Can't wait to capture those pictures.

Above: Bexley at three months old (Bex has always been Mr. Photogenic)

Below: Beau at three months old (that's the best smile I could get)
They look nothing alike!

Your Weekend Play by Play

Brye and I have not had a weekend alone without our boys EVER! So when we got the wedding invitation we jumped at the chance to get away. My good friend Niki from college got married in Atlanta, GA on August 1, 2009, so Brye and I made a weekend getaway out of the event. Thankfully, Brye's parents jumped at the opportunity to spend the weekend with the boys and I cannot thank them enough for taking such great care of them while we were gone.

FRIDAY, JULY 31. 2009

When we booked our flight there were no seats together so we were scheduled to sit one in front of the other on the plane. We got to the airport and Brye kindly asked the gate check in lady if there was any way she could put us together. She said she was busy and that she would hold on to our boarding passes and see what she could do. We went and got coffee and when we came back she handed us two FIRST CLASS boarding passes! FREE UPGRADES! It was so nice. We had lots of space and free lunch. And I have to admit the lunch was really good. Barbeque Chicken Pizza! We did however sit on the tarmack for an hour due to the weather in Atlanta, but it went by really fast. We got to Atlanta and our lugguge was the first one the conveyor belt, how cool is that?! We got our rental car and headed to the hotel. We got checked in, changed clothes, and headed to the Braves vs. Dodgers game! We rode the Atlanta MARTA, which is their subway/train. It took us to the Atlanta Underground and WOW, what a place. Not in a good way either. It was a whole other culture. It's a small mall under the ground with locals just hanging out doing nothing. You basically have to go through the underground to get to the stadium shuttle buses that take you to the front gate of Turner Field. We had awesome seats. Seventh row behind the home dugout. It did rain on us a little, but thanks to the $3.00 emergency ponchos we remained dry. The Braves lost 5 to 0 but it was a lot of fun!

I can't figure out how to caption my photos! So from top to bottom: Turner Field, Our Aisle Guy Andy, Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, Brye and I, Brye eating a wonderful Ball Park hotdog, Atlanta Braves Friday Night Fireworks.

SATURDAY AUGUST 1, 2009

We didn't have any plans for the day except for the wedding that night so we slept in and decided to just do a little shopping around. We went to Lenox Square which is a ritzy little shopping mall. We ate at the California Pizza Company then did a little shopping. The mall had a Bloomingdale's, Nieman Marcus, etc. We bought a few things but when Brye couldn't find a tie under $40 we decided to go to TJ Maxx! Can't beat a bargain, plus it was tax free weekend! After shopping we went back to the hotel and got ready for the wedding!!

The wedding was really nice. My friend Niki grew up Catholic so Brye and I were prepared for a very lengthy ceremony and crazy reception. I haven't spoken to Niki in about a year so when we got to the wedding we found out she and her husband were no longer Catholic. They have joined this very quaint little non denominational church and are very involved. The ceremony lasted about 20 minutes and the reception was very nice. We had wonderful food and danced a lot. It was a great time!

SUNDAY AUGUST 2, 2009

Today we decided to do the touristy thing and went to the Georgia Aquarium. We looked up Spa's and seriously considered a couple's massage, but it was a little pricey. The Aquarium was really nice. It was very big and had huge whale sharks and beluga whales! After the Aquarium we ironically had seafood at Legal's Seafood. It is famous for serving its clam chowder at every Presidential Inauguration since Reagan! From here we went to a movie, something we hadn't done in about two years! We saw Funny People with Adam Sandler and sadly I would not recommend this movie. It did have some funny scenes and had a really good story line but the language was really terrible and offensive. After the movie we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with the bride and groom. We had the most wonderful dinner with Niki and Brent. We got caught up on the past few years and of course reminisced on the old college days. It was a blast.

MONDAY AUGUST 3, 2009

Happy Birthday Brye!! Today Brye turned 31 years old. We had a late morning flight so we headed out pretty early for the airport. We had breakfast at the airport and got checked in. While at the gate there were two separate families with small and loud children. We have a running joke around here that everyone is always out to get Brye. He says he has a "black cloud" hanging over him and that people target him. Jokingly, I told Brye the little boy crying at the gate was going to be sitting behind him. Funny enough that little kid was in front of us and the other family was behind us. We were sandwiched between flying hell. Even the 13 year old kid sitting beside me said, "that's going to be annoying after a while". It was the only thing he said for the entire two hours!! Well it was worse than we expected. The kids behind us were not bad, they were just loud. They were playing video games and laughing and having a good time; too good of a time. The kids in front of us did great until landing time when the four year old who was separated from her mom by the aisle began to scream bloody murder. She was getting scared and wanted her mother and couldn't get up beause we were landing. I wasn't annoyed so much with the little girl as I was the adults on either side of the child and her mother that wouldn't trade places so they could sit together! She finally calmed down and the remainder of the flight was fine.

We finally made it home and having Bexley run to me in the airport was the most amazing feeling in the world! We had a great time, but I am so glad to be home with my boys. Jo, Brye's mom had made Brye a birthday cake so Bexley and I got to light candles and sing Happy Birthday to Brye after dinner and presents. Bex thought it was the funnest thing, but wondered where his birthday cake was. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so glad we got to go. Thanks Brye!