Visit from Nana and Papa

A couple of weekends ago, Thad's parents came to visit us! We had a wonderful visit with both of them, and Samuel was spoiled rotten. We spent Saturday going to lunch and doing a little bit of shopping. Sunday was spent going to church and the arboretum and having a little visit from the Bowers. It was a great time. Here is the weekend in pictures!

Here is Samuel's new favorite toy, and first car! Nana and Papa got it for him for his birthday but we picked it up that weekend here in Dallas instead of at his party in Arkansas. That way, we didn't have to drive back with it. Samuel has had so much fun with this thing. He primarily pushes it around or crawls in and out of it through the windows like he is on Dukes of Hazard. Very cute!



Just a little morning smile for the camera!

Thad and his mother before church on Sunday.

A little more Coup action..

Sunday after church we decided to brave the heat and head to the Arboretum. Obviously, we were the only people who thought that was a good idea, because the place was empty. We actually had a nice breeze and overcast skies, so it wasn't too bad.

This is the best one we could get with wiggle worm and Nana and Papa!

Love it!

This waterfall was great because the water splashed up on you as you stood close..it felt so good.

We also picked up Samuel's baby dinosaur pool that weekend. Samuel was excited to say the least...I actually think he liked it better in the living room with no water in it.

Happy Father's Day

Thad, you are quite possibly the best father ever!! I absolutely love watching you with Samuel and it warms my heart how he already looks up to you. He looks for you when you leave the room, and gives the biggest giggle and smile when you walk through the door every night. As the preacher said today, children spell "love" this way..T-I-M-E. It is so true, because Samuel already knows you love him because you spend so much of your time with him. You are such a huge help to me and I feel so lucky to be sharing in this experience with you. I know not all mom's get as much help as I do, and for that I am very grateful. Happy Father's Day to you!

Notice Thad in the top left of this picture. Love it!

Saturday morning Thad and Samuel made some pancakes and they were so good!

Lastly, to mine and Thad's dads....we LOVE you!! You mean so much to us and we know that Samuel is one lucky little boy to have you all in his life. You were wonderful to us and we are so excited to see our little man get to experience your love! Happy Father's Day!

13 months old

I'm a little late on this post..but my big boy turned 13 months old on the 12th. This pictures was taken exactly a year ago today, on 6/16/09. I remember this day like yesterday. I was so frazzled just from getting out of the house. We went to Valerie's house to have lunch and and it was great to visit with her but very stressful. I just couldn't get it together! Ha!! What a difference a year makes!

Samuel is quite a mover and a shaker these days..literally! He's ALL over the the place. He is walking now and is really enjoying his independence. He is a mess for sure!

He is wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diaper and always has to wear a belt. He wears size 3 or 4 shoe and really only likes shoes that go on fast. He loses his patience if we have to sit and tie a shoe.

He smiles ALL of the time and gives a smile to anyone. He is the most friendly child and I love that but I think we will have to do some serious "stranger" talks when he gets a little older. He will go to pretty much anyone and snuggle on their arm or neck.

He is eating pretty good and likes the same things everyday it seems like. His favorites right now are toast with butter, bananas, carrots, pasta rings, grilled cheese, blueberries, cereal bars, apples, applesauce, pizza(duh), turkey, ritz crackers, goldfish and nilla wafers.

He says dada, mama, uh-oh, baba, and something that sounds like the spanish word "si".

He only has one bottle per day and we are about to get rid of that one. He has a sippy of milk in the morning, a tiny bit with lunch and a bottle at bedtime. With his full mouth of teeth, we know the bottle needs to go!!

He LOVES swim class and just started going under water. He likes to go under and usually comes up smiling and clapping for himself. This is great until he barfs about 30 mins later due to all of the water he swallowed:)

He throws some pretty major tantrums when he is told no and usually just falls limp and bangs on the floor. It cracks me up right now but I know it will get totally annoying as time goes on. At least he doesn't laugh anymore when we say "no."

He smiles really big and shows his teeth when I have the camera and say "cheeeeesssee." See pics above...

Samuel is such a joy and life just keeps getting better and better. He is the light of our life and makes me smile all day. What more could anyone ask for?

The Natural State..and home to me

Last week, Samuel and I hopped a plane to Fayetteville to spend a week with family and friends. We missed Thad SO much and we were glad to get home but we had a wonderful visit!! My dearest friend Betsy was in town from NYC so we got to hook up with her and the family on Friday night for some good ole' walks down memory lane! Meghan and her husband Brian were there and their precious boy Bridger. This was also Betsy's first time to meet Samuel so it was very special!

Betsy, me and Meghan.....we missed you Laurelin!!


This is Grey! Isn't he a gorgeous horse? My stepdad was about to take him out on a walk in this pic.

On Saturday, we spent the entire day out at my mom's house. We had a lazy morning with breakfast and coffee and then hit the pool after lunch. My sister-in-law came out with the three girls and some of my cousins came out for a swim too!! After a lot of sun, we ordered Guido's Pizza for dinner..such a great day!

Amelia Brooke enjoying some sun

Samuel was spoiled at grandma's house. He spent most mornings crawling around, trying to get up the stairs without us catching him, swinging and crawling around the fireplace. Who needs toys, right?

Good morning swing with grandma Becky.

I could just see a cracked skull when he crawled around here..

but he tried anyway...

Grandma Becky and Samuel

It's really tough to have to stay here for a week!!

Enjoying my mom's butter and toast because his cereal bar, cheerios and yogurt weren't enough..

Hooray for Ketchup!

Lately Samuel has learned that he enjoys the taste of ketchup. It doesn't have to been on anything at all..he loves to lick it straight!! Ahh..the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..

Playdates galore!

I'm very behind on blogging..so here is my attempt to catch up!!

We had a play date at the Dallas Museum of Art a couple of weeks ago with Sandra and Rhodes, Chrissy and Ellie, and Jessica and Mason. It was crazy but lots of fun. Samuel and I decided to depart during the story time after he barfed all over my leg..good times!

Samuel, Mason, Rhodes and Ellie
Our next play date was at Chrissy's house. It was a pool party and this was Samuel's first time in a baby pool. Let's just say that he needs some more time to get used to the idea.

One HOT afternoon a few weeks ago, Chrissy and Elliana came over for some lunch and playtime. Aren't her and Samuel so cute?? We attempted the park after this but only lasted about 10 minutes due to the lovely Texas heat!!

Playdate at Arboretum

We had a play date today at the Arboretum. It was a really nice day in the shade, but pretty hot and sweaty in the sun. We met 4 other friends there and had a picnic lunch and let all of the kiddos crawl around and try to suck on each other's sippy cup. Just kidding..we had toys everywhere but the items of choice definitely had to be other sippy cups and food. Ellianna was hilarious! She wanted Samuel's goldfish instead of her own. I guess at this age they think everything is better than what their own momma brings! Ha!! They were SO cute!

After we had lunch, we walked around and found a petting zoo! They only had goats, chickens and 1 horse...but our little ones didn't care. The pic below is of Samuel and Ellianna. She is 9 months old but can definitely hold her own with all of the boys. She's tough!!

This goat came right up to Samuel and I swear he tried to eat his little nose off! Samuel thought this was hilarious..thank goodness! The last thing I want is for him to be scared of animals..yes..even goats.