Jordan's Day with Aunt Jamie

Jamie picked Jordan up from school last Friday and took him to see Night at the Museum. They invited my friend, Brian, and his son Aiden, who is Jordan's age, to come along too. After the movie they went to Putt-Putt to play some miniature golf.



Here's Aiden lining up his shot. He actually got a hole-in-one that day! He must take after his daddy in that regard. I remember Brian was always good at miniature golf too (especially when we played golf in the long hallways at the Worthington Hotel downtown!)

And Jordan takes his shot.

AJ on the bumper boats. Why do boys get so much entertainment out of shooting each other with water guns?

Jordan takes aim at Jamie. Better not get her camera wet!



Jamie said there was some creepy guy by himself in the bumper boats. He seemed to really enjoy himself when AJ and Jordan ganged up on him with the water guns. Guys like this one are the reason we can't let our kids go anywhere without supervision. But Jamie and Brian were there to ensure the kids were safe, so no worries this time.

Now, on to the go-carts. Jordan grins as he makes his way around the turn.

Aiden zipping around the corner to pass Jordan.

The two boys after a great day of movies, golf, bumper boats and go-carts. Of course, they had to spend some money in the arcade before leaving.

I'm so glad that Jordan was able to spend some time with Jamie while she was in town. And he got to make a new friend at the same time. Brian and I were such good friends growing up and it's neat to see our kids having just as much fun together as we did. Thanks Jamie and Brian for giving Jordan a wonderful afternoon!

A Boy in my Bathtub

A couple weeks ago, the Bailey's were visiting us at our house. Julia, who insists on feeding herself nowadays, managed to cover herself with yogurt. Since it's so much easier to just put her in the tub to clean her off, we decided a bath was in order. We got the crazy idea to put Kade in the bathtub with her, thinking that they would have fun splashing each other. Boy were we wrong! Julia didn't want to have anything to do with that boy in her bathtub! She started crying hysterically as soon as Heather put Kade in the water. Well, her terror set Kade off too, so we had both babies crying in fear. We quickly rinsed the kids off and got them out of the bathtub as quickly as we could. I hope the trauma they experienced doesn't require too much time in therapy when they are older.

Kade: "What are you doing mommy? Why are you putting me in the bath with this screaming baby?"

Kade: "Oh no, something must be really wrong. I guess I better get upset too!"

Julia: "Grandma, there was a boy in my bathtub."

Kade: "Why do you keep taking pictures? Can't you see we are upset here?"

Kade: "Promise you won't ever tell anyone what just happened."

Julia: "I promise."

Patriotic American

Mattie gave me this picture of Julia and I thought Memorial Day would be an appropriate day to share it. Every morning at Mrs. Mattie's daycare they say the Pledge of Allegiance and the kids take turns holding the flag. Mattie said that Julia babbles through the whole pledge as if she knows every word.  Check out my little Patriotic American!

Live Concert

Keith and I went to see Live at the House of Blues in Dallas last week and it was a great show. We have seen them several times before, but we couldn't resist buying tickets when we heard they were coming to Dallas again. They played at the House of Blues several years ago when I was pregnant. That show was our first at the HOB and since we'd heard it was standing room only, we went early so we could get close to the stage. Well, after an hour of standing in line to get into the venue and standing for two opening bands, my feet and back were killing me. By the time Live took the stage I was so exhausted that I couldn't enjoy the show. We ended up leaving about half way through Live's performance. This time, we decided to get tickets in the balcony so that we could sit down. (yes, we are getting old!). We timed it perfectly. We had dinner at the HOB restaurant and got to our seats in time to hear about 3 songs from the opening band, which was enough for me! Live took the stage and rocked the House of Blues. Although the sound wasn't mixed very well and you could barely hear the low end, the band still put on an awesome show. Ed has a lot of energy and puts on a great performance.

Keith and I before the show. Despite our expressions in this picture, neither of us had a drop of alcohol.

Close-up of Ed Kowalczyk, front man for the band

Ed rockin' out with some signature dance moves

Chad Gracey, one of Keith's favorite drummers. Unfortunately, we could hardly hear him because of the sound problems. Not to mention the fact that they barely shined a light on the guy the entire show. But we know he's awesome anyway.

Shot of the entire stage

Chad Taylor, the guitar player

And it's just not a Live show until Ed takes his shirt off.

Final Bow.

Day at Mrs. Mattie's

Mrs. Mattie gave me a handful of pictures that she had taken of Julia over the past couple months. it's neat to see the things that Julia does at daycare when she's around all her friends. I thought the pictures were cute and wanted to share.

Apparently this one was taken on St. Patrick's day.

Julia loves to pretend she is cooking. She has a play kitchen at home that Philly and Papa Jerry gave her for Christmas. I have no idea where she gets this behavior because she certainly never sees me cooking! Of course, it does appear that she is making hot dogs, which is one of the few 'dishes' I can pull off!

Boy, does Julia have a sweet tooth! I wonder where she gets it. . . .

Hunting Easter eggs.

And my favorite one . . . Julia dancing with Avery. Aren't they just adorable? And look at Klein rockin' out behind them in her little mini skirt! Klein is Julia's friend that lives in our neighborhood. She has an older brother that is in Jordan's class.

Before I was a Mom . . .

Before I was a Mom

I made and ate hot meals.

I had unstained clothing.

I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom . . .

I slept as late as I wanted

and never worried about how late I got into bed.

I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was Mom . . .

I cleaned my house each day.

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom . . .

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom . . .

I had never been puked on

Pooped on

Spit on

Chewed on

Peed on

Or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom . . .

I had complete control of my mind

My thoughts

My body

And my life.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom . . .

I never held down a screaming child

so that doctors could do tests

or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom . . . 

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn’t want to put it down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn’t stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom . . .

I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn’t know that bond between a Mother and her child.

I didn’t know that something so small

could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom . . . 

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth

The joy

The love

The heartache

Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much.

Before I was a Mom.

Author Unknown

San Antonio - Day 3

Our first stop on Saturday morning was the Alamo.  I remember reading about the Alamo in our Texas History classes as an elementary school student.  I was in 7th grade when I made my first trip to San Antonio and I remember being so disappointed when I saw the Alamo.  I had imagined it to be this giant historical monument and in reality, it is quite small.  Several years ago, Jamie gave Jordan a book about the Alamo, so he was thrilled to finally be seeing it in real life.  He did not experience the same disappointment that I did the first time I saw the Alamo.  He was quite impressed with the Alamo and the historic artifacts on the grounds.

This walkway was on the Alamo grounds and I really thought it was cool with the stone walls and covered roof.  I was hoping to get a good picture of the family standing in the walkway.  It's too bad Julia was not cooperating.

It was a cold, drizzly day, so we decided to go indoors for a couple hours and walk around the Riverside Mall.  Julia loves horses and we stopped for a quick picture with one of the horse-drawn carriages. 

Julia had fun at the Mexican restaurant we ate at.  She got to sit (more like stand) in a big girl seat.  She loves cheese dip!

Jordan, on the other hand, was NOT a fan of the Mexican restaurant - or any Mexican restaurant for that matter.  But he was a good sport.

We walked through the historic section of San Antonio and visited the Little Church of La Villita where my parents were married.  I had seen it in pictures so many times throughout my life, but it was really neat to finally see it in person and stand on the same steps where they stood so many years ago when they first fell in love.

Jordan was impressed by the wax figures outside of the Ripley's Believe it or Not and Wax Museums along one of the main strips downtown.  Here's a picture of him posing with Tom Landry (I think!)

And Jordan's favorite - a T-Rex!

One last shot of the Alamo at night.

San Antonio - Day 2

We woke up Friday morning ready for a big day at Sea World. Before we headed to the park, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast where Julia was terribly uncooperative. She absolutely, positively would NOT sit at the table. After taking turns with Julia in the gift shop while the other ate breakfast, we were finally on our way to Sea World hoping that the rest of the day would go much smoother. Surprisingly, it did, despite the fact that Julia did not take a nap. For anyone who plans on making a trip to Sea World with your little ones, I highly recommend taking your own stroller. We made the mistake of renting one at the park, which turned out to be terribly uncomfortable for Julia. We basically carried her the whole day, which I didn't mind too much, but she does get quite heavy after a while.

We started the day at the Dolphin Cove where you get up close and personal with bottlenose dolphins. You get to lean right over the tank of dolphins. The water is pretty shallow and the dolphins almost come close enough to touch.

Next was the indoor aquarium (forgive me, I don't remember the official Sea World name for it.) The pictures we took in here didn't come out very well, but Julia had a great time inside the aquarium. She was able to get close to the glass and experience the underwater exhibit. The fish in the pictures are teeny tiny, but they also had sting rays, sharks, jelly fish, eels, coral reefs, etc, so it was definitely more impressive than the pictures would suggest.

Julia would just squeal with delight when a fish came close to her.
Then we headed on over to to the Beluga Theater to see the dolphin & acrobat show. I have always had mixed feelings about zoos, circuses, etc because I feel like wild animals should not be kept in captivity, but without them we wouldn't get to experience these amazing animals in real life. Being able to have the opportunity to see these animals in an environment like Sea World makes the experience so much more memorable and amazing that just watching them on TV or reading about them in a book.

I knew the kids would be in awe at the sight of the animals, but I have to admit, that I had a difficult time containing myself each time one of the animals jumped out of the water. What amazing power they have.

It wasn't just the dolphins that made the show incredible. The show also had professional high divers and synchronized swimmers that performed alongside the acrobats of the sea. They would dive into the water from the rafters of the building, performing flips and twirls with ease before plunging into the water without the faintest splash. Amazing athletes.

The acrobats scared Julia a little bit because I think she thought that the people were falling. She did enjoy the Butterfly Lady that floated above the pool, occasionally dipping into the water. It was a beautiful image.

Jordan posing with one of the acrobats after the show.

We wanted to make sure we saw all the shows first before wasting spending any time at the water and amusement parks. Of course, we had to pass ride after ride on our walk to the Killer Whale show, and Jordan pouted and whined asked us politely if we could skip the shows and go to the amusement park. I had to snap a picture of Jordan looking angrily at me longingly at the water rides so that you too could enjoy the look of disappointment from a child that had to spend almost the 'whole day' at Sea World looking at. . .uh. . . sea animals. Imagine that.

Well, sometimes wishes really do come true. The Shamu show was too crowded, so Keith took Jordan to the amusement park while Julia and I strolled through the gift shops. I wish I had been able to see Jordan's face on the rollercoasters, but we will just have to imagine what that was like for him.

Julia loved the Shamu stuffed animals and I had to get her picture with one of the displays. I wanted to set her right in the middle of the display and take her picture but I was too afraid that she would tumble off, so we just took a picture of her standing in front of it. Rest assured, Daddy ended up buying sweet Julia one of these Shamu dolls to take home with her!
And then we had a quick chocolate milk break while we waited for the next Shamu show. This was Julia's first taste of chocolate milk. Yum!

We finally made it to the show we had been waiting for all day - Shamu!! What breathtaking displays of power and beauty.
So cool. Wouldn't you just love to do that??

Jordan is sitting on the front row right in front of the spot where Shamu is in this picture. He didn't want to sit with us because he thought we were sitting too far away from the tank and he wanted to be close enough to get splashed. And "did he get splashed?" you ask. He was drenched from head to toe!

SPLASH!!

How can something so enormous be so graceful?

Julia was very tired at this point in the day because she didn't take her afternoon nap. But she still enjoyed watching Shamu!


Julia stops to smell the flowers!

And the moment we have all been waiting for . . . . well, at least the moment JORDAN had been waiting for . . . . . the WATER PARK!! The frigid water in the wave pool gave him quite a chill. He was able to get a new beach towel out of the deal.

And one last look at the dolphins before we head out for the day. Look at Julia leaning as far over the wall to get a closer look at the dolphins.

What an incredible day! Boy, am I exhausted. Time for a nap!