A Day At The Fire Station With MOPS

Our MOPS group was able to score us a trip to one of the local fire stations. I intentionally failed to tell Gregory where we were going that morning just in case something happened and we weren't able to go- plus, who doesn't love a surprise?!?! Once he saw the fire truck and fire man, he was so stoked! You can tell from the first picture, the fireman has Gregory's attention! :) What a fun day! It was so hot though. We were all supposed to head to the park afterwards to play and have lunch, but I decided we'd had too much heat for one day. An hour outside and in a garage mid-summer in the south. Yup, that's enough. So glad we headed home too. Gregory got a nice little heat rash as a souvenir. I'm sure he thought it was worth it though. BTW, notice how it looks like Gregory is the only kid on this tour- in some of the pictures anyway. I think he thought this trip was just for him. ;)

G got to "drive" this truck TWICE and the green truck. Lucky! ;)

He wanted to play IN the water.

Wow! Wook at dat!

Stop Drop and Roll. So stinkin' hilarious!

I own this joint!

Birthday Celebration at Isle Of Hope Marina

First, I have to say, I'm not sure what is up with this camera. It's so hard to get some decent pictures with it. Most of the pictures for this post are so gray and fuzzy, which makes me sad. Anyway...

This marina is beautiful! We were there on a rainy day to celebrate my friend, Kim's, birthday. I think we were all a little disappointed at first that it wasn't sunny out, but then the breeze started blowing and it felt absolutely amazing outside. The boys (and there were lots of little boys ♥ ) got drenched! They hung out the entire time close to the periphery of the pavilion. I don't get the opportunity to bake as often as I'd like, but I did get to bake the birthday cake. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. It was so yummy!!! You've gotta try it!

Here's the link for the cake Too Much Chocolate Cake I mostly followed the recipe, except that I only put a cup of "mini" chocolate chips in and I baked it in two 8" cake pans and kept an eye on it starting at 30 min. Took a little longer, but not sure how long exactly. If you are craving a real chocolaty cake, this is your cake- for sure! :)

ATTN: Houston Homeschoolers!!

I just found out that a former co-worker and friend of mine has started her own tutoring services- Shining Stars Tutoring! I'm extremely excited for her! If you are a homeschooler in the Sugar Land, Houston, Katy, or Pearland area, please check out Becky's website and give her a call! Of course, this isn't just for homeschoolers though, so if your kids need tutoring in any area and attend private or public school- give her a call too! ;)

POW!!!

Okay, so there are several things I want to post on and I'm getting further and further behind... but I'll get to them- really, I will! This was just one that has to be done before I for sure forget. So when my parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago, one of the things we went to do was have lunch at The Lady and Sons. In case you live under a rock or are just a very healthy person, you have to know that this is Paula Deen's restaurant. She is the kind of cook who's food comes to mind when you think of cuisine from the deep south. Rich in butter, cream, cheese, fried, more butter. You get the idea... and I love it! Some will say it's over priced for what you get and maybe that is true, but it's Paula Deen! Anyway, we went. We ate. Gregory got fidgety. That's putting it nicely. I had to take him outside for time out twice. Then my dad came out and said he was done eating and he would watch him. Then I felt terrible. I knew my dad couldn't have been finished and I didn't want him being punished, so I went and got them both and hoped Gregory would make it through the end of the meal and some dessert. Knowing we would be walking around some more, I headed to the restrooms, and when I came back, my mom was apologizing to the waiter. "HUH?" "What happened?" is what I asked her as I looked at her and then at the waiter. She just said, "well, just about the mess." I thought that was reasonable. Toddlers make messes, but you still feel bad for what gets left behind. Then we pay and leave.

Before we walked around dowtown a little more, we stopped off at Paula Deen's store and found this t-shirt that said, "POW" with a drumstick flying through the air. I thought it was cute and chuckled and showed it to my mom. She died laughing. Okay, it's cute, but was it really that funny?? She then said, "well, I guess now I can tell you what happened." "When you left to go to the restroom, Gregory threw a drumstick!" To say that I was mortified would be an understatement. I was so embarrassed and yet I wanted to laugh too. I could not believe he did that! People come in droves to this place! It's three stories tall and I think they have another eating area down stairs. The buffet is $13.99! The retirees that were coming in by the bus loads did not come to have memories of a toddler throwing a drumstick their way. So there you go. My son threw a drumstick in one of my favorite Food Network star's restaurant. And may I just add... the fried chicken rocks- what a waste.

Isn't he cute? Little Booger! ♥

Family Visit

We haven't seen any of our family since Christmas time, so it's time for some love and hugs from our loved ones. My parents are coming on Saturday- YAY!!! I can't wait! I've got some ideas rolled around in my head for things to do while they're here. They're pretty low-key, so if the schedule isn't packed, they're okay with it- actually, I think my mom would be happier that way. ;) They came to visit back in August for my birthday, when we'd only lived here for a month. I think a month was way too long for all of us, so it was good to see them. That was really nice. We went to Forsyth Park and walked around River Street. We also did a trolly tour. Then on my birthday, they babysat so that Wes and I could go to dinner at Love's Seafood (had we known there was a Bonefish Grill here, I think we would've gone there instead) :). While we did get to do some stuff, I think I know a little bit more of what the area has to offer and I definitely feel more comfortable with driving around here. The only downer is that it looks like my camera is about to die. I can't seem to upload our Easter pictures. I may have to buy a "cheaper" camera until I can afford something nicer... well, one day anyway. I'm really okay with a point-and-click, it's the memories I need! :)

Gregory's 1st Prayer

Gregory just went down for nap, but as I started to rock him to sleep, he said, "Thank you, trucks. Amen." "Thank you, Jesus... thank you, trucks. Amen." Then when I started singing, "Jesus Loves Me," and he sang his best with me. Have I mentioned how adorable he is and how I love him so! ♥

Elmo Comes To Town!

Elmo came to Beef O'Brady's last week. So me and the other mommas from my neighborhood playgroup took our kids to see the big red guy! Gregory loves Elmo and he had so much fun following him around for an hour. I wonder if he'll remember this at all?
This is the shirt I made for Gregory, since believe it or not, he doesn't have any Elmo gear! Not too bad for making it the night before.

Gregory with his favorite celebrity!

THE Guiness Cake

Wow! So I haven't been on here in forever! I guess I've become more of a Facebook girl, but I would like to pick up blogging again, since it's the closest thing to keeping a diary that I actually do. It also just so happens that Gregory is happily watching Arthur and not coming to the computer room yelling, "Momma! Momma! Momma!" So I thought I'd take advantage of the moment. ;) Anyway, this is one of the things I wanted to document, Wes' birthday Chocolate Guiness Cake that I made for him a couple of weeks ago. I haven't done a lot of cake decorating lately, so I think it's time I get my feet wet again. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and he loved it! So much so, that he didn't want to cut into it. The look on his face actually brought me to tears- silly? Well, I this was seriously made with lots of love and completely worth it!


**Note: I'd intended to change the year on the logo to Wes' birth year, but forgot to change the "17" to a "19." Good grief.

Welcoming The Terrible (?) Twos... Let's Shoot for Wonderful Twos ♥

Gregory today at almost 23 months old ♥

I can't believe it's almost been a year since we celebrated Gregory's 1st birthday. Our big little boy. These milestones make me feel so bitter-sweet. I wish I could just enjoy them, but why does he have to grow up so quickly. I've been working on another year book for him, like I did last year. Here are a few pictures that made the book. I tried to post more pictures, but Blogger just doesn't seem to want to cooperate today.

Toddler Tidbits

Gregory seems to be growing so much lately. Even though he still fits into the same clothes, he seems taller and more toddler-like these days. He can now reach the water lever on the refridgerator and give himself a good sprinkling, so I have to keep it "locked" all the time. Just yesterday, I was trying to pull up some maps on Mapquest, so I turned Sesame Street on to occupy him. The next thing I know, I can hear that one of his Elmo DVD's was on. Somehow he managed to switch the tv from cable to his movie and turn it on! WHAT?!?! This is all happening way too quickly for me!

Well, with him maturing so quickly, it's a good thing we have child-proof covers on the door knob, right? HA! He managed to get the cover on the front door off today! It's a good thing we keep that locked too. It scares me, the stuff he's able to figure out. But I am loving how much of a boy he is. No fear (okay, that's kinda scary too). He loves trucks and balls. Today when I got home from the grocery store, he got to my grapefruit before I did and threw it like a ball. *sigh* So, as I was putting it away, I see him carrying the tomatoes! Thankfully, I got to those before he could chunk them into the air.

I love him so much! I know he misses Elena and his little friends so much. I can't wait until we find some friends out here for him to play with. He's so much more out-going than I ever was and I hope he never changes. ♥

No Turning Back

Where has the time gone? It seems like it just a few months ago that I had a new born baby sleeping in my arms and now I have a big boy- he's 18 months now! Letting go has probably been one of the hardest things for me. Knowing that he may be our only baby has kept me clinging to his baby days and it's taken forever for me to mutter the word, "toddler" (and even longer to say definitively that he'll be our only- oh, right, I still haven't said that). I don't like that word. I'm torn. I am so grateful that Gregory is meeting his milestones and is happy and healthy, but I've struggled with the idea of him leaving his baby-hood behind.

On the flip side, I absolutely love and adore all the new things he is doing! He talks up a storm and follows me around the kitchen saying, "sheeze... sheeze... sheeze.... sheeze." Anything and everything that has wheels is a car. We can correct him til we're blue in the face, but it's still a "kaw." Ipods are phones, don't you know??? He loves waving "hi!" to those that pass by at the park and he has a hug-radar, meaning he seems to know the people he can walk up to and will give him a hug- strangers, total strangers. It makes me happy to see him make their day. He sends Daddy to work with "gifts" in his boots. They're usually legos or "kaw(s)." Right now he most loves cars, agua, and he just discovered Elmo. He loves going bye-bye, playing outside (especially in agua), cows, ruff-ruffs, and "K!" (snack)

He just had his 18 month appointment today. It went really well, but I couldn't help but get emotional. I don't like that about myself... why do I have to cry so easily? I think it was not only because my baby is 18 months now, but also because we're moving soon and that was one of our last visits to his pedi. He's been with Gregory since he came home from the hospital. He *knows* him. He adores him. I know he's protective of him. Now I have to look for someone new that will take great care of Gregory in Georgia. Oh, I wish we could stay... but then again, I wish my baby didn't have to grow so fast either.
All ready to go bye-bye!!!

Gregory full-force! Yes, that's laundry on the floor...


He's such a big boy, I let him hold the banana and he got so excited!

Sweet cousins! This was on Mother's Day after Elena's baby dedication.

Baby Steps

Gregory started taking his first real steps last week and now he loves to walk. He loves to make laps around the couches, ottoman, the different rooms of the house... it's so much fun to watch!

Gregory's First Hair Cut

We finally took Gregory to get his hair cut today. Both Gregory and Wes got their hair cut together. I was so proud of him, he didn't even shed a single tear! Maybe the fact that daddy was sitting right across from him having the very same thing done helped. I wasn't really thinking about that as a strategy. Just thought it would be a nice moment. I brought a long a lollipop and some other treats just in case and turns out, he didn't even *need* them. Wes has been going to Sugar Creek Barber Shop since we moved here. We didn't even realize it the first time we walked in, but my cousin's best friend (Victor) from way back, owns the place! He collected some of Gregory's hair and attached it to a certificate that had his name, date, and location of his first hair cut. I think Alexandra did a great job and I'm just so proud of my big boy! **I have to apologize for my squealing. You just don't think about what you're doing when you make a video. I was just so excited at how well he was doing. LOL

A Visual Catch-Up

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't been so good about posting on here lately. Probably because I've been spending more time on Facebook, but I really need to get back to capturing thoughts and memories. After all, this is kinda like a journal for me and I can go back to a period of time and remember what was going on in my life. So, here's a little review of some of the things that have gone on this month...

I just thought this was funny... Gregory is always taking off one sock while he cruises around wearing the other. For some reason, this day he decided the sock was better off in his mouth. He even dropped it and put it back- Love him!

My best friend and I decided on her last visit that we'd both been wanting to make pralines for forever and spontaneously decided that day was as good as any other. So that's what we did during Gregory's nap. She took her share to school with her to share with the other Texas History teachers to celebrate Texas' Independence Day and I gave some to my parents and ...er... um... I ate the rest. LOL *note: if you decide to make pralines, use buttered foil rather than wax paper. We "teachers" decided not to follow directions (on some of them) and go with wax paper... yeah, it didn't work so well. LOL

Here's Gregory "helping" Abuelo assemble his new toy shelving system. We got a kick just how into it he was. Maybe he'll be a jack-of-all-trades just like his grandpa. :)

This is probably the biggest disaster of a cake I've ever made! I wanted to make a German Chocolate Cake for my dad's 60th birthday and it didn't go so well. First, I got impatient and cracked one layer in half while turning it out of the pan! Turns out, that isn't that big of a deal. That can be repaired easily. However, I also failed to level it correctly, which is usually an eye-sore and not much more, but in this case... it was really bad news. You see, I'd never made German Chocolate frosting before and this recipe was very soupy (will never use it again). And even though I created a well for it on the top of the cake, it still broke the "dam" and kept seeping over the edge. I was crying over cake at 11:00pm the night before the party. So Wes stuck a wad of paper towels underneath it and we put it in the fridge to set up... added *more* frosting on the border and it held. Not too pretty, but it was tasty!

My Daddy with my Grandma on his 60th birthday... he loves his momma! :)

My parents on their new rockers that my brother and SIL got them for their 60th birthdays. They love their new rockers!

While we were all on the porch at my dad's party, my niece started petting this stone rabbit. We all thought it was pretty funny and sad. Sad in that, with all the land my parents have, they only have a stone rabbit. I wouldn't be surprised if we find a cage outside their house with a rabbit inside pretty soon! LOL

This was just taken today. Wes stayed home this morning because Gregory had to have an evaluation done with ECI today. We are very proud to say that it went very well. There are two specific skills that I need to work on with him. But I believe it's completely my fault because they're things he hasn't been exposed to and not that he's behind in those areas. And actually, he excelled in social skills. He needed 34 points to pass and he got 40! My sweet baby boy! ♥

Picture Tag!

This is the 4th picture in the 4th folder on my computer (er... Kodak folder):

I can't even tell you how old Gregory was here. But this is not an unusual scene around here. He *loves* to play with my cell phone... and in all honesty, I let him. oops. I do look to see what he's doing and it cracks me up because he'll pull up options I didn't know existed. He's managed to call Wes and my mom by speed dial, call a good friend of mine that isn't on speed dial and has taken two pictures of the ceiling fan!

Now it is your turn. Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
Select your 4th picture
Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger.
Tag 4 people (or as many as you want) to do the same!!

I'm changing the rules a little... play if you want! ...but please let me know, I'd love to see it. I rarely blog anymore, so I don't even know if I have 4 readers out there. :)

March For Babies

This year I will be participating in the March Of Dimes, March For Babies, which falls on April 26th this year. If you've been reading my blog for the last 15 months, you are already aware that our son was born two months premature. Knowing from personal experience how prematurity affects a baby, as well as the entire family, this organization and cause is precious to me. The money raised from this walk will help:

-support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects

- educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby

- provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care

- push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I'd love to ask for your consideration in sponsoring me. You can click on the icon to left (on the sidebar) or click here. It will take you to my personal page where it is safe and secure to make a donation.

Gregory ♥ Reading

Okay, I've done enough complaining about things going wrong here. I've also not posted anything about my little man lately, so just for fun and also because he's just so darn *cute,* here's a little video I took of him this week. :)

Bye-Bye, Mr. Squirrel!

Well, looky here... It's been about a month since my last post and complaint about something going wrong in this house and now, here we go again! Actually, this has been an ongoing problem, it's just taken a while to remedy. We caught a mouse in our attic about 3 weeks ago and after that, we kept hearing noises in our attic, which absolutely sent me into a tizzy because I thought we had a whole family of mice. Thankfully, we didn't, but what we did have was a squirrel that was calling our attic "home." Sorry, but a scratching, nibbling, clawing squirrel is no longer cute- it's a nuisance. After trying to find a solution ourselves, we decided we needed to call in a professional, so we called in my friend Jen's step-dad, Perry with Absolute Termite & Pest Control. He came out yesterday afternoon, checked out the house for other possible entries and discovered that the squirrel didn't even need to do much work to get in because there was a nice size hole already there from shoddy construction work- nice. So he set the trap and I prepared a gourmet open-faced peanut butter and honey-roasted sunflower seed sandwich as the bait. Well, this squirrel is pretty punctual, as I always heard it in the mornings while preparing Gregory's breakfast. Like clock work, I heard it this morning as it tried to decide whether it should step into the trap. Then it would go half-way in and lick the cage (I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it was doing). Finally, I guess the sandwich enticed him enough to go all the way in and BAM! Yep, it's over. Done. YAY!!! Perry left the trap up just to make sure there are no other squirrels in there. I am so happy, it's so nice not to hear scratching over-head.