Baylor Game

We made a last minute trip to Waco this weekend for the Baylor game. The game was fantastic and so was the weather. We won! Ending score was 68-13. Unbelievable! Benjamin only made it through the first quarter so he went back home with Grandma Nancy and Granddaddy while David and I stayed for the rest of the game.

David and Benjamin on the way to the game. Benjamin was really excited!

Savannah's 6 Month Checkup

Savannah had her 6 month checkup on Thursday. She's 16 pounds 10 ounces and 25 1/4 inches long. The picture below makes me laugh...where's her neck?

David was in Nashville from Sunday to Wednesday and got sick while he was there. Every symptom you can imagine, he had it. We were worried that it was the Swine flu. Poor guy. When he flew home on Wednesday he stayed in a hotel for a couple of days so he wouldn't get us sick. He's finally feeling better and came home yesterday afternoon. We're so glad he's feeling better and VERY glad to have him back home with us.

Grapefest

One of my favorite places to go each year is Grapevine's Grapefest. There's lots of things to see and do and it's not so big that it's over whelming. Anyone who knows me well knows that crowded hot places with lots of activity can make me lose my mind. I tend to navigate towards places that are more low key. I guess you could say that I'm one of those people who has a hard time chewing gum and walking at the same time (in other words, I'm a HORRIBLE multi-tasker) but for some reason the Grapefest is really fun for me (well, as long as the kids are behaving). We met up with my cousin Alyssa and her husband. Wow, what an experience for them. Alyssa is 4 months pregnant with her first child and she got to see first-hand how chaotic things can get with a 2 year old and a 5 month old. I sure hope we didn't scare them silly about having kids.

Plano Balloon Festival

We met our Gymboree group at the Plano Balloon Festival last Friday night and had a super good time. Thanks Tina for arranging it! It was wet out due to all the rain but totally worth it. The balloons were supposed to set sail at 6pm but because of the weather it was delayed. We were able to stay long enough to see some of the balloons filled but didn't get to see them take off. Once the band started Benjamin got scared because of the loud music so we had to leave. But up until that point he had an absolute blast! Looking forward to next year's balloon launch.

Benjamin playing in the kid area. He had so much fun walking around barefoot in all the mud!












Savannah slept through some of it (no surprise there) but she seemed to really like it as well.












Some of the balloons.

No Playing in the Potty

We couldn't figure out how Benjamin's hair go so wet the other morning. Didn't take long to figure out that he'd been playing in the toilet. Geez, thank goodness it had recently been cleaned. I'm guessing he stuck his head in the water because I don't see how it could've gotten that wet any other way. Silly kid.

Benjamin's New Room

Benjamin spent the weekend with Grandma Nancy and Granddaddy while David and I gave Benjamin's room a makeover. He's grown out of his baby room so we graduated him to a big boy room. It's going to be a cowboy/western theme. Cow print on the walls, cowboy bedding, rustic wall hangings, etc. There's a picture of his freshly painted walls below. Pay no attention to the other accessories because those will all be replaced with western ones. But so far the walls are complete. When he walked in his room on Sunday and he said "oh wow, it's boootiful". Then as we were saying our prayers in his crib that night he stopped and said "Momma, I like my new room". Whew, I'm so glad. We were set back an evening because a gallon of paint was spilled on the carpet. We had no idea how to begin to clean it up. But a couple of hours later we had it all out. The carpet was very wet, but the paint was out. Wow, it was brutal trying to clean that all up. So glad that part is over.

This first picture below is a before picture. Yes, that says Alex on the wall. This is the only picture I could find and it was taken before he was born. We thought we were going to name him Alex, but obviously we changed our minds. That name actually stayed above his crib until he was about 2 months old - until I finally replaced it with Benjamin.













After

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Savannah has started making shrieking high-pitched dinosaur pterodactyl sounds. Benjamin started doing it around her same age. She woke up last night around 2:30am and practiced these sounds for 45 minutes in her crib before she went back to sleep. So not only is she making these sounds, Benjamin feels he has to mimic her when she does it. Obviously, things get pretty loud around here. Throw a barking dog on top of that and enters my favorite word recently, "chaos". So David and I got tickets to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra last night. What a breath of fresh air - we went from a house full of barking dogs and screaming kids to a few precious moments of heavenly music. Ahhhh. Much needed.

Miss Rollie Pollie (I have no idea how that's correctly spelled)

Thursday we woke up to Savannah crying. That's not typical of her. Instead of crying in the mornings she always just babbles until one of us goes in and gets her. So I knew something must be wrong if she's crying. Something wasn't wrong but something was definitely different - she had rolled over for the first time and couldn't figure out how to roll back to her starting position.

The picture below is from that morning right after she got up. She had a bit of a stuffy nose. Even though she's smiling we could still tell she had that "sick, just woke up" look. However, about an hour later the stuffy nose was gone and she was back to her cute self.

First Day of School

Benjamin started school on Tuesday. He's so excited about his "Cars" backpack and his nap mat. I think it makes him feel like a big boy. He only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so all I heard on Wednesday morning from him was "I want my backpack Momma and put Savannah in her carseat so I can go to school". I think he said that 100 times that morning. Do you suppose he likes school?

This picture is on our way out the door - Benjamin with his backpack and nap mat. Look at the grin! Can you tell he's excited!












His backpack. Right before we were walking out the door Benjamin peeled off his name on his backpack. Since everything has to be labeled that set us back a few minutes in order for me to dig through 100 letters to find matching ones. It was a sticky mess - typical of our days lately.

Labor Day

We packed up the kids and took off to the Dallas Arboretum on Monday. Benjamin had a great time. They currently have a "Storybook" exhibit and a couple of the exhibits are pirate ships. For some reason Benjamin is really into pirates lately so he got a big kick out of the ships! We weren't able to stay too long because it was so hot out. We were all drenched by the time we left. Is it Fall yet?????

Benjamin playing in the pirate ship.















Driving the ship!













Savannah had fun too!

What Every Mom Needs

I'm currently reading a book given to me by my favorite sister-in-law, Laura. The title of today's blog is the name of the book. It's a Christian book about motherhood. There's a poem in it that pulls at my heart strings. I get so caught up in the chaos around here that I don't stop enough to really look at the big picture. I seriously need an attitude adjustment most days. I don't like my children seeing me stressed and certainly don't like David coming home to an exhausted, irritable, just plain ol' mean wife. Even if it's just for a few moments, this poem helps (sometimes) to set me straight.

For life is short, the years rush past.
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at your side,
His precious secrets to confide.
The picture books are put away.
There are no more games to play.
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear -
That all belongs to yesteryear.
My hands once busy now lie still.
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I might go back and do
The little things you asked me to.

If the poem doesn't work, Savannah's smile below will work like a charm!

The Case of the Missing Diaper

This morning Benjamin walked up to me diaperless. The diaper and the surprise inside is still yet to be found....the joys of motherhood.

Update - the diaper was found tucked in between the ottoman and couch. However, in between getting Benjamin dressed and other duties I put the diaper down somewhere and can't find it. Wow. Looks like it's going to be one of those days.