Bluebonnet's 2013

So, we have started a tradition of visiting my grandparent's in Ennis in April (Bluebonnet capital they say) and take some wonderful pictures.  This year they bloomed a little late and I don't think there were as much as last year but here is a few from this year. 

 
Last year we got a great family picture with the bluebonnet's and longhorn in the back ground.  This year they were up closer for people to see them.  The owner came out and offered some people to feed them.  Drew kept saying "cow".  He was in awe!

After taking some pictures we headed back to my grandparents for lunch and relaxing in their beautiful backyard.

 

 

My grandmother got a great picture of my dad, Drew, an my Pop.  If you look closely they all have their right hand pretty much in the same location.  :)

 





Easter

This year was Drew's first year to do an Easter egg hunt.  Our church holds a city wide hunt the Thursday before Easter.  We headed up there to enjoy the park, hot dogs, a great story about Jesus and what was suppose to be fun Easter egg hunting time.  A bunny rabbit showed up after the story time and scared Drew so he didn't get much hunting done but there is always next year!  He did get to run and play and hang out with some of his best friends!

 

This year we headed to San Antonio for Easter with Jason's family.  Jason's family brought there two labs and that was probably the best part of the weekend for Drew.  He first called them Sutton (our dog's name) but then soon learned that they were Molly and Belle.  He even let Molly out of her cage unexpectedly.  He kept talking to them and asking them if they wanted to go outside, bringing them food and snacks, and loving on them.  HE LOVES DOGS! 

Saturday afternoon Jason and his cousin Blake hid eggs for Drew to find.  We had practiced before the church hunt so he would knew what to do and this time he did great.  Everybody came outside and watched him find all his eggs.  He kept saying "where'd it go" and then go and find more!

 

 

Enjoying a cute cookie I had made for him...well I had one made for everybody but Drew's was special with his name on it!


Drew woke up Sunday morning to a surprise left from the Easter bunny.  He took the time to look at everything and enjoy them. 

After church and lunch we headed back.  It's hard not to stop in West to grab a yummy snack!  Drew got a huge sugar cookie.  He enjoyed the sprinkles and that's about it :)

 

We hope everybody had a great Easter!

Spring Break

This Spring Break we decided to head to San Antonio and visit Jason's grandmother.  We only had one thing planned this trip and that was to visit Sea World! 

 (On our way to San Antonio, we stopped for lunch at Burger King!)

 

We got San Antonio on Sunday afternoon and I wanted to get a much needed pedicure.  So, while I was getting a pedicure Jason, Drew, and Grandma headed to play at the park. 

That night we put Drew down early for a well rested night before a fun filled day at Sea World.  He woke up around 8:30 and took our time getting ready and headed towards the park. 

Our first show was the Sea Lions and Drew enjoyed the up close seats we had and some popcorn that his great grandma got for the two of them to snack on! 

After the Sea Lions we headed to Azul another great show.  Drew was walking with me and just looked up and gave me a great big smile.  I knew he was having fun! 

(This is the best pic we could get because Drew was amazed by the fountain behind us)

 

After Azul we headed back home for lunch and nap time!  Drew rested well and we headed back out to see the rest of Sea World.  Our first stop was the Shamu show and I think it was all our favorite show to see that day. 

After seeing Shamu and friends we headed to grab some dinner.  I changed Drew and let him run around the spray park.  The big spray pad was off...no clue why...but the toddler one was open.  We played and waited for Elmo and friends to come out and sing. 

After watching Elmo and friends and even giving Elmo a high five, we headed to see the sharks.  By then it was pretty dark and getting close to bed time so we headed home.

We are planning on making a few more visits to Sea World and can't wait.  There is so much we didn't get to and new things coming this summer!


The next day we went to Gymboree (being a member you can go to any gym when you are out of town so we took advantage of that!).  After gym we headed to show Drew the Alamo and grad some lunch on the river.  We ate right on the river so there were a few ducks hanging around waiting for food and Drew enjoyed watching the "quack quacks".

That afternoon Jason took Drew to Bass Pro.  I believe this is Drew (and Jason's) favorite store.  He loves looking at all the animals everywhere.

  We had a great time over all and I know Drew can't wait to go back!

18 months

Drew is now 18 months and on the go!  He practically runs everywhere, walking is rare. 

What's New:  More and more words.  His vocabulary is expanding and some words are becoming more clear.  He says "thank you" if you give him something or do something for him.  He also says it when he gives you something...we are working on that.  :)  He knows when we say go "night night" to go to his bedroom and when we say let's go "bye bye" to head towards the car.  He has known the word "outside" for awhile now because the kids loves to go outside.  No matter the weather.  He is also eating more out of bowls and off of plates with a spoon or a fork.  He also likes to throw things.  This is awesome when it comes to sports but not in everyday activities.  Long car rides are more pleasant because he will now watch the DVD player.  Now to get him to wear headphones so we don't have to hear his movies :)  He can point to his nose, ears, mouth, eyes, belly button and head!


Interests:  He still loves puppies.  Every time we see one, he gets so excited and loves our lab, Sutton.  He is also into cars and trucks.  When riding in the car he like to say car, truck, ect. to each car passing.  Food is another love for him!  He's always saying "cracker" and goes and brings us some crackers for him to eat.  (We redid our pantry a few months ago and he has his own little basket of snacks, this is where he pulls all snacks from).  He's also currently loving apple sauce.  He's always liked it but this is served everyday and he might enjoy it now because he can use a spoon to eat it. 

Food:  He is a great eater and will definitely let you know if he doesn't want it by pushing it away.  He loves most fruits and vegetables and is getting to where he will eat chicken more often.  Meats in general have been a battle in the past. 

Sleep:  His bedtime is between 7:30 - 8:30 (if we are out doing something) and he usually sleeps 12 to 13 hours.  His naps are usually 2-3 hours long.

Sizes:  He's wearing 18 month clothes (some are still a little to big, depending on the designer).  He wears a size 4.5 shoe and size 4 diaper.

What I love:  I love how loving he is.  He loves to give hugs (to anybody) and if I ask for a kiss, he will give it to me!  I love the random kisses he gives to me too.  I love how when I sit on the floor with him, he comes and sits in my lap.  He will bring me a book to read to him too.  He likes to sit in any body's lap.  I love his bright smile and personality.  I was told 15 - 24 months are the hardest but I believe every month is something different and brings different challenges but I honestly have loved every stage.  Some days are challenging, as they are for everybody, but most days are fun no matter what we are doing!

Lately

Life has been keeping us busy with an almost 2 year old.  Just a few days ago Jason was telling me how crazy it is that he is almost 2.  I on the other hand don't think it's crazy and much as it is fun!  Every day brings something fun or interesting to make me laugh at our little boy.  He is the sweetest, oh so sweetest boy ever!  I am loving the constant hugs, seriously 10 or more a day.  He loves giving them and I love getting them. 

 Play date with his friend Andy!  They were sharing ice.  It's so funny the things these boys like.  Ice, it's easy and they love it.  Yes it's messy but we just clean up and keep on playing.  It's so fun to see these two play together.

Drew was given this ball and glove as a shower gift.  He pulled it out recently and we tried it out.  Wearing a glove the correct way is hard to learn.  He usually puts it on the right way but sticks his little hand outside the hole and waves.  We are working on it and one day we will have it all mastered!

 

We took Drew to two Sidekicks games and he did really well.  I went to a ton of Sidekicks games growing up so this meant more to me then it did to Jason.  Things have changed but Drew enjoyed it.  He even got to share some Dippin' Dots ice cream with his cousin.  I am sure that was his favorite part!

 

We have tried to make weekly trip to the library to get some fun books to read and do an activity with it.  This is a picture of a little stop after the library for some fruit and water from Starbucks.  Such a cutie!

 

After each meal we of course wash our hands.  One time Drew got a little carried away with the water so I just let him sit in the sink and play with the water.  He loved it and I think would prefer it every time.  I let him play awhile and it gave me a few seconds to clean up the counter beside him.

 

See I told you the kid loves to give hugs.  Here he is hugging another good friend, Caleb.  I didn't get more pictures but they kept hugging throughout the night.  It was so cute!  They play so well together and make each other laugh like I have never heard Drew laugh before.  He loves Caleb.

 

Gym time!  We love gym time!  We go every Tuesday and Drew has really picked up on the routine.  The last few times he has helped teacher every time it's time to bring something out.  Oh and bubbles, he would rather them just blow bubbles at him the whole hour then anything else.  He gets so excited and knows where they keep the bubbles during class.  I have found him standing by them waiting. 

 

 This picture is from tonight.  He has his first brownie or from what we can remember.  So we had to take a picture.  I had told him he couldn't have one until he ate all his dinner.  I didn't think he ate much of it.  After looking in the bowl, I realized he did eat a lot so he got to eat the brownie.  No, we don't eat dinner on the floor.  He was already out of his seat and playing when I realized he could have the brownie.  So, as you can see the car beside him, he stopped playing and enjoyed his brownie! 

Until next time!
 

Christmas time craziness

We were nonstop from Friday around lunch time until Christmas evening.  We spent the weekend in San Antonio.  Drew did awesome traveling this time, thanks to our DVD player and I was sick with a cough and raspy voice. 

 Our little family at FBC San Antonio.  Drew was looking at a huge camel.

 

 

Christmas Eve we spend with Jason's family.  Between the three of us, we rotate who hosts Christmas.  This year it was Jason's sister's family.  



We left there and headed home to get cookies out for Santa. 

Santa must have enjoyed his cookies because he came and left some awesome gifts for Drew to play with.

After we saw what Santa brought and opened our gifts to each other, we headed to my parents house.  I had a TERRIBLE headache so we didn't get many pictures.  We planned on staying a lot longer but Drew was exhausted, I was miserable, along with the snow starting to fall, caused us to leave a little earlier then planned.

 When we got home, Drew was rested from the ride and was ready to play in the snow.  He didn't want to wait for us all to get bundled up to get outside and play.  It took him awhile to warm up to the idea of snow but he enjoyed it soon after!

 

We hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year!

NYC

Well, Jason finally made one of my dreams come true and took me to NYC for my birthday during Christmas time.  We have a few things we wanted to do but the rest of the time was just taking the city in and enjoying the sites.  I had major, I mean MAJOR anxiety about flying and leaving Drew.  We got there on a Thursday and went and ate lunch at the Time Warner building at Landmac after we checked in.  Leaving lunch, Jason saw David Hough, from Dancing with the Stars.  I just saw the back of him.  Jason didn't know who he was at the time just kept saying "you know the blonde guy on one of your reality shows you watch."  I couldn't think of anybody and I don't watch Dancing with the Stars all that much.  Maybe he does and I don't know it!  After googling blonde reality show guys he figured it out.  We walked across the street to Central Park which was having a little Christmas market.  They sale little odds and ends but it was fun to just look around.  We walked over to FAO Swartz to get little man something and then  headed back to our hotel and got ready for the Nutcracker!  It was hard to find a taxi at that time of day so we had a guy on a bicycle with a back seat take us to our destination (these guys are everywhere).  The Nutcracker was amazing as expected.  After the show we headed to dinner and came across a quaint Italian place.  I kept telling Jason that locals were eating here so it must be good and it was!  My main goal was to just walk up to places and eat on this trip.  We did get some recommendations but as always where we were and where the restaurants were, were no where close :(  So, we just guessed!  It was kind of fun!

Friday, we woke up and headed downtown to 34th street....MACY'S!  I heard to go there early and see Santa Land.  We walked right up and walked right throught with no trouble.  I did hear others say how crazy it gets and long lines.  Not for us!  We did see Santa and he did ask what we wanted.  I told him what Drew wanted and that he better take care of that.  To our surprise, he did!  Santa's great!  After Santa Land, we shopped around on all 9 floors.  Crazy!  We left Macy's and headed towards SPIN NYC. This is an indoor ping pong place. This was my surprise to Jason because I knew most of the things on this trip were for me but I wanted to do something for him. I told him on the subway where we were going and I think it threw him off guard. We got there a little early so we hung out at a Starbucks (these are EVERYWHERE). I skyped my class and showed them all the tall buildings, traffic, buses, taxi's, entry way to the subway, ect. I couldn't see them but I kept hearing them say "whoa".  We had recently talked about Rural, Urban, and Suburban areas.  I wanted to show them real life what Urban is.  They enjoyed it...I think!  We then grabbed lunch around the corner at a burger place and then headed across the street to get a Crumbs cupcake.  I wanted to do this last time we were there and ran out of time :(  Of course, we were full so we saved them for later!  We then took a subway all the way to the Bronx...long ride to the botanical gardens.  We took the wrong train and walked thru the Bronx a ways.  That was a little scary but thank goodness it was during the day.  At the botanical gardens they have some amazing sculptures of NYC and buildings around town in wood, flowers, ect.  It was really neat.  We then took the right train back!  We headed to our hotel to get ready for the Rockettes.  I wanted to walk 6th street, as told to see all the lights.  We also wanted to grab some pizza before the show, another thing we didn't do last time but wanted to (NYC pizza).  We stopped at a hole in the wall place but it was good.  We saw the Rockettes, which I have seen twice here, and I have to say of course they are 10 times better in New York.  We then walked around to see more lights.  We went to Rockafeller center and came across a light show on a building and it was really neat. 

Saturday,  we woke up and started downtown at Century 21.  This is like a TJ MAXX, Ross, Marshals, ect. but all name brand things.  It was huge, well organized, and a great place to shop.  I will be returning there next time.  Jason got a few things, I got some Hudson jeans, and of course little man got some camo house shoes that he loves.  We then slowly started heading uptown and stopped in NOLITA.  This is a neighborhood next to Little Italy and much nicer.  Quiet and upscale shopping.  We stopped in Tory Burch and I got to get a little something.  :)  We then came across what they proclaim as the first Pizza restaurant in NYC...maybe ever,  I can't remember.  Anyways, it was good...the sauce was a little different but still good.  There was a line so we knew it must be something to try!  We walked around NOLITA and over to SOHO.  We came across DASH.  They only allow 20 people in the store at a time.  We didn't go in.  I've heard it's expensive and I knew the Kardashians weren't in there by what the people around were saying.  Plus, there would've be a ton of security there.  We walked up to Washington Square Park and just took in the scenery.  We then headed back to the hotel to rest (a lot of walking going on).  We then headed to Central Park to rent some bikes.  I wanted to see a few things that I had seen in movies in the park so we rode around looking at all of them.  It was so pretty and fun.  I would recommend others to do this.  You can go anywhere and fast...well faster then walking for sure.  You are also giving your FEET a break!  We then went back to our hotel to rest before it got dark....I wanted to see the rest of the city at night so we waited.  We then started again at 34th street Macy's to see all the lights.  We had a plan (path up to Times Square) that I had written out.  We walked by the Empire State Building, Bloomingdales, stopped and did some shopping, and then over to Times Square.  This place was CRAZY.  We went into Toys R Us, M&M store, and then found some Chinese food.  Random but I smelt it in the airport and it just sounded good.  It was!  We then headed over to Dylan's Candy Shop (Ralph Lauren's daughter's store) it as a fun store and cute!  We bought a few things and walked a few blocks to Serendipity.  Well, I forgot to call ahead at at this time it was 10:00pm.  The guy said it was a 2.5hr to 3 hr. wait.  We did it.  We waited.  I told Jason that I have to keep moving or I will go to sleep.  We walked to city.  We ran into Peter Strauss and Jason got a picture with him.  He was really nice.   We stopped in Starbucks to rest our feet until we needed to head back.  We got to Serendipity at 12am and had dessert.  We both got Hot Fudge Sundaes and they were good!  We will go back again.  This too was another place I meant to go to last time and ran out of time. 

 

Here are a few pics from this amazing trip.  I can't wait to go back...Jason can.  :)