Costa Rica!

Last week Randy and I went to Costa Rica to see our good friends Chad and Hilari get married on a gorgeous beach at sunset. We needed that trip! Seeing 2 friends who are so perfect for each other get married in a beautiful ceremony plus an ATV tour, ziplining, lots of great seafood, laying by the pool, sleeping in, spending lots of time with good friends, beautiful sunsets, and I actually got to start and finish TWO books!

Nonni and Papa (my parents) stayed at our house to keep Blake. That was the first time I had ever spent a single night away from Blake, much less four. And let's not forget I left the country! I missed him a ton but did a lot better than I thought I would and Blake did great too. A Skype session and lots of emails and texts from Nonni and Rhonda so I knew exactly what he was wearing and doing throughout the day. I mademost of his food beforehand and put together an extensive Blake manual that included a menu, likes/dislikes, daily routine, and general safety tips that Nonni followed to a tee (I've never actually written that word out but it is "tee" and not "t" fyi). Blake had a great time with them and so did Nonni and Papa. I get the feeling they had a harder time leaving him this trip. Here's one of the pics I got during the trip of Blake filling up his cozy coupe:

Here's some of our pics from the trip (no Facebook account needed):

https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2115980&id=1390612057&l=9f2dd12e62

Boys Are Sweet Too...

Randy and I were really excited when we found out we were having a boy. I was glad Randy was going to get to experience that special father-son relationship. To be the mom of a boy though, what immediately came to mind was sports, dirt, trucks, and sweater vests (couldn’t wait to get him in those!). As I started telling my friends with sons that we were expecting a boy they all told me how wonderful boys were and how much they loved their moms. I never really understood what they were talking about but now I get it. We’ll be strolling the aisles of HEB or Target and Blake will just absentmindedly grab a finger or two and hold on for a little while. The last time he did it I had to snap a picture so I don’t forget what this sweet little hand looks like when it grabs onto mine, for no other reason than just because. Little boys really are sweet too.

"Hush Little Baby"

Randy was singing Hush Little Baby to Blake (when Blake wasn't crying I might add). He got to the verse about "if that diamond ring don't shine" and finished it up with "Daddy's gonna buy you a (pause) bottle of wine." Realizing those probably aren't the words, we got curious about how that song really goes and looked them up. Thought I'd share since I'd be surprised if anyone know all the words to this song:

Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover

And if that dog named Rover won't bark
Papa's gonna buy you a horse and cart

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

Late Pointer

So like any type A first-time mom, with each passing month I look at “the book” to see what Blake should be doing, what he’s probably doing and what he could possibly be doing. I go down the list, such the proud parent...playing peekabook-check, pulling up to standing-check, playing pattycake-check, cruising-check…..pointing to something to get needs met…hmm, Blake isn’t pointing to stuff. I start to worry..why isn’t he pointing at stuff? I make a mental note to start pointing at things in hopes that he’ll pick up on it. I think about it off and on for a few days and then mention to Randy while we’re en route to a Christmas party tonight, “The book says Blake should be pointing at things. He’s not pointing at things.” Randy pauses for a minute and then in typical Randy fashion says, “It’s okay, I was a late pointer too.” Okay, I get it. In the grand scheme of life, the fact that Blake isn’t pointing at things probably isn’t a big deal. Then I made a mental note to chill out a little bit. Thanks to my husband for balancing things out around here and keeping ME in check.

The Train to See Santa!

Yesterday we joined some little friends to ride the Polar Express to the North Pole to visit Santa. It was Blake's first time to see Santa and sit on his lap. Of course he pulled on his beard, but he didn't cry!

Blake sees the train pulling into the station:


One of Santa's special elves...he's going to drive the train to see Santa!


Woo hoo! We're ready to go!


Thanks to Bea for capturing the mad dash to get off the train to see Santa. Blake will surely be part of this crew next year!


Nice to meet you Santa:


A private conversation:


Mom, who is this guy?


Wh..what...what's under there?

Gotcha!

Playing in the winter wilderness:

Don't forget your jingle bell:

Bye Santa! See you at Christmas!

Football & Thanksgiving

We did something a little different this year and met Randy's parents and brothers in Dallas for Thanksgiving. Mamma (Randy's mom) and Blake enjoyed some one-on-one time while the rest of us went to watch the Saints beat the Cowboys 30-27! I'm not a huge fan of watching football on TV but watching this game in person was so much fun! I forgot how much energy there is at those games. Even though Blake couldn't go, he was still cheering on the Saints from the condo:

Blake & Uncle Michael

We were REALLY high:

For his first Thanksgiving, Blake enjoyed sweet potato fries, apples, and turkey meatballs. And he ate every last bite!

This is the best picture we can get of the 3 of us these days:

Another great part of the trip was getting to see James and Mendy for a little bit. They used to live one house over from us but moved to Missouri a couple of years ago. It worked out that they would be in Dallas visiting her family at the same time so we were able to meet up with them to see handsome Logan who is already 2 1/2 and meet adorable Kinsley who is just 4 1/2 months. We REALLY miss having them in Austin but one day we'll get them back to Texas!

Of course I missed seeing my family for Thanksgiving but Christmas will be here in 4 short weeks, which means Blake is turning 1 in just 6 weeks! So much to do before then!

First Haircut!

Mr. Blake was starting to get a little shaggy around the ears so we went in for his first haircut today and $19 later I regretted it. First of all he wasn't crazy about the experience. Thanks to the 2 head colds he's had and having to hold his head to use the suction on his nose, he's not a fan of having his head held so that didn't start things out very well. Plus the lady we got wasn't exactly the cream of the crop. The front looks okay but it's shorter behind his ears than I would like. Next time I think I'll attempt it myself or try somewhere new. I hope it grows back fast!

Something about the "first haircut" was kind of sad. I know he's only 10 months old and he's still a baby but every day he's looking more and more like a little boy. I love him so much!

Before:

Bringing in Daddy's BlackBerry to help things go smoothly:

Nope, that didn't work. Not a happy boy:

Whew, all done! So handsome!

We put him back in the chair for one last pic. I love how he's holding onto the sides and has this "no, not again" look on his face.