Hank's 4th

(Went Bonkers on Friday, remembering sweet Anne being pregnant with Millicent the last time we were there. Oh how I never would have guessed the next time, I'd be the one pregnant. My gals could tell I wasn't feeling well, as I just wasn't my chatty self. The kids had fun, though, and both Reece and I napped afterward.)

Saturday was Hank's 4th at Pump It Up.
Reece didn't know any of Hank's friends so he kept following Hank around.Henry insisted on getting a picture of me. For some reason, the bounce houses don't bother my nausea.In a room of giant bounce houses, the boys fought to play air hockey, Reece included. Miles was pretty excited about his goal.

Reece tried to play Hank, but the puck was out of his reach often and he didn't guard his goal well. I think that makes him a pretty fun opponent. ; )Not a big fan of the giant boxing gloves and ring, and despite the picture, neither was Hank. He's more a lover than a fighter I think. The older boys got pretty rough in there, and those that didn't have gloves used their hands. So...we kept our distance.Time for pizza, cake and ice cream. Despite those yummy delights, Reece liked the lemonade the best. Here's he's holding his glass for a refill...quite serious about it I might add.The dinosaur cake and theme were absolutely something to roar about. The cake was so detailed, and the volcano pretty stinkin' cool. Oooh, but the inside was so moist and yummalicious! The Double Dave's pizza, ice cream and cake were the favorites for this pregnant lady.The present opening was pretty hilar. The kids sat INTENTLY on the floor waiting for the next thing to be opened. Some would exclaim with delight while others would say that they have that one at home. Pretty funny. Tons of stuff.Hank, you are an absolute doll. You are a kind boy, a more reserved boy, and I like that about you. And we love you too.

Thank you for letting us be part of your birthday celebration.
We hope to come over for movie night soon.

Happy, Happy, Birthday Hank!

homemade pb&j

Haircut

No Mustang Barber, no trip to see Wes. But, clearly Wes isn't out of a job yet.

As I was doing my morning SinuCleans, Reece came in proudly exclaiming his mess.
He cut his own hair, with his craft scissors no less.

He said 'it was too long and didn't look good'.
So he took it upon himself to make it look like it should.

It was just a small clip from the back,
but nearly caused me a heart attack.While the pile was small and the hack well disguised,
the craft scissors need a new home, I surmised.

In addition, a trip to the barber shop fast.
In hopes his first self haircut would be his very last.

Bed Jumping

They'd plop down when one song ended and jump right back up when the next came on.Boys. They absolutely had a blast together this week, spending Wednesday at Kirsten's and Thursday over here. I had to get out of the house after not getting one breath of fresh air Monday and Tuesday.

They played soooo well together, it was such a pleasure.
And, we even let them be boys...after all, they will be. ; )

Bubble blowing

Surfin' w/ Sophie

Sweet Sophie got this cool long skateboard for Christmas.
It looks like a surfboard w/ wheels to me.
Sometimes she gets to ride it around the neighborhood (like when the kids are napping).Otherwise, she takes the kids for a ride.

Striding

A quick video of Reece on the Strider bike he got for his birthday. He's getting really good at it, and I can really see now how it helps with balance and coordination.

What I failed to capture is how much he's putting his feet up when he's riding now, just gliding and steering. Pretty fun. I LOVE the look on his face at the end...soooo cute.

Garden Cafe

Been meaning to go here a million times. Seems like I always think of the Garden Cafe on a Monday, the day they are closed. Made it today, and I think I will be back the million times I had thought to come previously.Seasonal, healthy, fresh food much straight from the garden in the back. The garden is large with the quaint patio smack in the middle. On one end past the garden is an enclosed play area for the kids.
If that's not enough, there's a playground across the street.

The location is residential. I love the surrounded houses and warm feel. If I lived within walking distance, I would be there dangerously often. Had a great meal with Reece, Kirsten, and Grayson, and even more fun playing afterward as you will see. ; )A simple round half circle on a pole - it looked harmless.
It was quite the opposite. As soon as you sit, you spin around and around. Reece liked it, but called for help when he'd had enough.Then, Kirsten and I both tried it. It caught us by surprise how quickly it whirled us around with out doing anything at all to propel it. You couldn't help but giggle on it.I'm thankful Kir insisted on taking a picture, since there are so few of me. I kept it together pretty well, but by the time she got the camera, got the lens cap off, and got the distance right, I was getting SOOOO DIZZY and kept telling her to hurry!Thank goodness that delicious lunch stayed in my belly.
And that belly quite enjoyed our outing today, both the food and the giggles. : )

Stop, Drop, and Go

Decluttering around here lately. The garage is a new quest. Sunday I straighted and reorganized, Monday and Tuesday I cleaned stuff, Wednesday I dropped at the consignment store, and today I recycled 2 old, old tvs. (hmmm...maybe I accomplished more than I realized.)

The city of Dallas held a tv recycling event: Stop, Drop and Go.
The timing was perfectly aligned with my mad decluttering. Reece and I drove downtown and we did stop, drop, and go. The people were so friendly and I didn't even have to get out of the car. They plan to host another free recycling event in late February which I think will include electronics and lots of other items.

As we drove downtown, Reece spied his favorite Dallas landmark: Reunion Tower. Although he prefers it lit at night, it was still a pretty cool sight to be so close to it. I snapped a couple from my car window before we headed on.

A stroll to the park

Mel, Kiley, and Cole came over this morning and we walked to the park. What a beautiful day.

I would never have taken that stroll by myself for the first time, and was so glad Mel was up for it. Exercise isn't something I'm getting a lot of these days. I used to play tennis at least once a week, but I missed so many times before I found out I was pregnant, that I thought I should wait a while until I pick it up again. Pregnant with Reece, I played to 6 or 7 months.

The day was gorgeous, the exercise was nice, and the company even better...After swinging, Kirsten, Grayson, and Foster arrived in time for lunch and then more play time together.

Reece rode his tricycle the ENTIRE way, there and back.
I was very surprised he made it the full way back.
And yep, he took a goooood nap that day.
I hope we can do it again soon. <3

Lunch with Daddy

After Reece's dr appointment, we dropped off a bunch of stuff at the consignment store. I got turned around a bit when leaving the store and then realized how close we were to downtown. We don't do it nearly enough, and as a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time we did. Today, we had lunch w/ Daddy.He can push the revolving door all by himself now. If we could have had lunch in there, I think he would have. ; )Ms. Marsha joined us too. I'm not sure what was in that shot Reece got, but I've never seen him as chatty as he was at lunch. Ms. Marsha invited him to come over sometime, and showed a genuine interest in watching Cars with him. She knows the key to his heart. ; ) Needless to say, he asked about going over there right after his nap. We may have a new babysitter! ; )Tucked back in the car, it was time to head back to work for one guy and a nap for the other. A great lunch break it was.

Annual

Reece's annual exam was today. It's always in January, b/c who wants to stop for the doctor around Christmas time.

He's a big boy now standing on the scale and getting measured.Weight: 32 lbs (30%)
Height: 36 3/4" (25%)Blind shot. Must work on my accuracy. : )
He looked great and the dr commented on how chatty he was. We talked about getting shots before hand and he wasn't too excited, but understood it would be short. When it was time for his shots and we were waiting for the nurse to come in, he was yelling, "I'm ready for my shot!"

It didn't take long after she came in before he changed his mind.

He also got to pee in a cup for the first time, which likely doesn't sound that interesting to any of us, but it was a big boy thing to him.
He complained about his leg hurting and wanted me to hold him for a while. Of course I did. The big purple lollipop helped, and after a while he said it didn't hurt anymore.
You're getting to be such a big boy, Reece. Slow down a little, would ya? A whole year until we do it all again...it'll be here all too soon.

Smoothie Queen

We began a new morning routine this week involving my once dusty blender, fresh and frozen fruit, and some protein powder.

I frequented Smoothie Factory when I was pregnant with Reece, so my version of the Strawberry Patch is really hitting the spot. It helps so much with the morning blahs.

Plus, the fruit with a splash of fresh juice is absolutely sweet enough. I always had them leave out the honey and sugar anyway.

It's not just a hit with me either.
Someone else seems to like our new morning routine...Next, I may try adding some carrots or sneak in other veggies.
For now, I think it's fair we can call me the Smoothie Queen.

A day (& night) at the museum

Haven't been to the museum of Nature and Science since they renovated it. It was a mess before then, but after today, we'll definitely be back.Foster got to experience sand for the first time. Kir was worried he'd try to eat it, but he actually wasn't too fond of it at first. After a few minutes, he seemed fascinated and kept putting his head down close to the granules.Grayson uncovering dinosaur bones also can roar like one.So we really didn't spend the night at the museum, but spent some time under the stars at the Planetarium.Although this picture isn't a good example, it was cool to watch the Dallas sky change from 6:30-9:30pm. You can pretty much always see Venus, but for a view of Saturn, wait until around 9:30.

Reece is not much of a planetarium fan just yet. It was dark. He kept saying he was ready to go and that it was scary. Grayson, whom I thought was enjoying it, overheard Reece and said "You're right, Reece. It IS scary."Possibly to show his displeasure with the planetarium, the walk back to the museum including getting sprayed with invisible SpiderMan webs. Thanks, sweetie.Dinosaur bone digging, bubble blowing, fire truck rescuing, constellation seeking, cow milking, and rock climbing - now that's a fun packed day at the museum.