Merry Christmas...a day late :-)

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas. We have been enjoying spending time with our family in Branson Missouri. We are staying at Big Cedar Lodge. We are lucky that my parents, Justin’s parents, my sister and Justin’s sister and brother-in-law have all been able to be here. We are missing having Jack’s other Aunt and Uncle, but we will hopefully have an opportunity to see them soon.

Jack has been staying up late and I think he will be off his usual schedule for a while when we do get back to Dallas. He is having a blast running around the condo and playing with all his relatives that he doesn’t get to see as often as he would like. He got some great new toys for Christmas and so did his parents 

Justin will have to be heading back to Dallas before us to get back to work, but Jack and I will be spending a few more days up here before heading back home on Thursday. We are going to spend our last few days before the New Year with Jack’s grandparents (both sets). This will probably be our last trip back up here to Springfield before the new baby arrives in March.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me when I get home to prepare for our little girl before she comes. Hope that everyone has a great New Year’s Eve and I will post again next year!

Preparing for our Christmas trip

I have been pretty busy the past week. I only have a few spare minutes today because Jack is sleeping next to me on our bed. I am actually hoping he wakes up soon. He fell asleep when we were on our way back from a playgroup this morning (at 1:00) and is still sleeping. I really though his hunger would get the best of him since he hasn’t had lunch yet, but I guess he played really hard and he needs the sleep. I just hope that he is still tired when it comes to bedtime...

This will be our last play date for a while since we will be back in Missouri spending time with our family over the holiday. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and I can’t believe that Christmas has arrived so quickly. I am not looking forward to the colder weather that awaits us in Springfield and Branson. We’ve been spoiled the past few days with really warm weather. Today it got up to 80 degrees :-) I am excited to have some time to relax and for Jack to spend some quality time with people he doesn’t get the opportunity to see very often.

I hope that everyone has a great Christmas!

Christmas is just around the corner...

It is hard to believe that in just one week we will be down in Springfield for Christmas. I think the month of December has gone even faster than I thought it would. We have been keeping busy with playgroups and Jack’s weekly therapy appointments but over all we have had a nice month (so far). I was able to get our Christmas cards out this week and I finished all our shopping, so all I have left to do is to wrap the presents.

Jack is constantly surprising us with new words he knows and he is doing a better job at following directions. He still wanted to spend a majority of his time playing outside; luckily, it hasn’t been to cold here with most days falling into the 50’s. Yesterday we had a pleasant surprise with a 75-degree day, which we took advantage of by going to the park. I know that my friends back in the St Louis area have been dealing with cold temperatures and ice storms so I am thankful for not having to deal with that type of weather :-)

I have recently taken over the organizer position for the playgroup we joined back in August. It was on the verge of shutting down, so I decided that I would keep it going. We have made some great new friends through it and I didn’t want to see it go away. Luckily, the group has quite a few members and there are several co-organizers and assistant organizers to help with the daily responsibilities.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just another Monday....

Today has been a busy day getting back into the swing of things. I was away for the weekend back in Springfield to visit my best friend Kristin and her daughter. We had a great time catching up and I miss her already. It has been to long since we had some time to hang out and I really hope I can keep it from being so long before the next time.

Jack and I have been busy running earns today. Once we got home, he has spent most of the time playing and tearing up the house. He finally got so tired he just passed out. He is still sleeping now, but unfortunately I will have to wake him up in about 20 minutes or he will never go to sleep tonight.

The weather here today isn’t very warm, but I must say it is warmer than it was while I was in Springfield. I am getting excited about our trip back up for Christmas but am a little scared of the weather we might face while we are there. My St. Louis friends got some snow and I know of several teacher friends who were luckily enough to have a snow day today. Those are always fun, especially before the holiday break.

I’m going to use the remainder of my free time to try to get some more Christmas cards addressed and written before I must attempt to wake Jack up. I am not looking forward to that task...I just hope he isn’t to upset with me :-)

Ready for the weekend.

Well, our busy week has finally ended and I am very excited to be heading off to Springfield tomorrow to have a fun weekend with my friend Kristin. I actually have my bag packed and the only things left I have to do is clean up the house and do a little laundry. December is almost half over and Christmas is approaching quickly. Jack enjoyed all his playgroups this week and last night I went with my friend Lindsey to see How the Grinch stole Christmas the musical. It was cute, but my luck of sitting next to a strange person reigns on. Luckily, this time it was just a loud/funny sounding laugh, but she did find practically everything they said funny. It was a fun girl’s night out.

I haven’t really written much about our newest addition who is on her way, but things there are coming along well. I am at 26 weeks now and it is hard to believe that in only about 3 months we will be a family of four. I don’t think it will sink in completely until she gets here, but we are going to start preparing more seriously after the holidays. I am looking forward to having another female in the house...now the teams will be even. :-)

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

Relaxing weekend...talking more!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend; our weekend was a big long lounge fest. We spend the weekend hanging out at home and doing a whole lot of nothing which was a great change of pace. We did have a monumental event happen (well monumental for us anyway). Justin was working on this all weekend and last night around 7 o’clock it finally happened. Justin got Jack to say “I Love You”!!! I know he doesn’t really understand the words he is saying, but it is still the best thing in the world to hear :-) He has started learning words by either hearing them spelled to him while looking at a book, or just verbally said to him (What can I say he loves letters). So now, when he hears the letters I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U spelled he says I love you. He then moves past the spelling stage, will repeat the phrase, and then eventually learns the name of an actual object/thing. He is making tremendous progress in the talking department. We are still working very hard at improving his receptive language (following directions and doing things upon request) and with him mimicking actions but we are moving in the right directions. He has come such a long way in the past year and I it seems that with everyday he is learning a new thing. So proud of my little man :-)

Today is our least busy day of the week and we are planning on getting out this morning, doing a little Christmas shopping, and hitting the grocery store, if he can stay awake for all that activity. Jack seems to enjoy getting up early on Monday mornings and really loves to fall asleep in the car, but we’ll see how far we get. The rest of the week, he has his usual appointments, along with a playgroup and I am going to be helping a new friend by watching her daughter one day. This little girl is riot and its fun to watch the two of them interact. I am going to have a mom’s night out with my friend Lindsey, we are going to go see The Grinch the musical in Dallas and I can’t wait I think it will be a great show.

The other thing I am looking forward to is my trip back to Springfield to see my best friend Kristin and her daughter Elise. We don’t get many opportunities to see each other since she lives in Florida and now we live in Texas. The last time I saw them was last Christmas, so I am so excited to get to spend the weekend hanging out with her and her daughter.
I hope to have a chance to post again before the weekend arrives, but this week’s schedule is full so we will have to wait and see. Hope everyone enjoys there week.

I want to wish my mother-in-law and father-in-law a Happy Anniversary today!

Happy it's Friday!

So glad that I can finally say its Friday, I am so ready for the weekend. We have had a great week but the second half of the week was pretty busy. Yesterday, Jack’s speech therapist came to work with him and right after that ended we hosted this week’s playgroup. It was fun we had eight moms and eight kids so it was a full house (felt really full since we have the Christmas tree up which takes up some of the living room space). Jack was not in the best mood when it started but by the end, he was better. We had one of the mom’s and her daughter stay after to have lunch and he was funny when it was just the two of them. She kept taking things from him and he would want them back, but as soon as he got it, he wanted to give them back. She kept telling him “no, I don’t want it anymore” and he just proceeded to chase her around the house trying to get her to take whatever it was he wanted her to finally have.

Today we met up with our friends Lindsey and Lila to do a little shopping at the outlet mall, but we didn’t really find anything we needed. Lindsey did get some cute things for Lila and for her nieces and nephews.

Justin has his work Christmas party that he will be going to later tonight and I am hoping that Jack goes to bed early (since he hasn’t napped). I plan on enjoying the evening with a little TV...I hope I have something DVR’ed to watch. I am sure I can find something to watch that Justin would not want to see.

Hope everyone gets to enjoy their weekend.

25 days till Christmas!

Today is the first day of December and I am really excited this year. I think last year with the house being completely in boxes and Justin already working here in Dallas made it a little hard to get into the holiday spirit, but this year I’m ready for Christmas! We have a busy month ahead of us already and we decorated the house the weekend before Thanksgiving (because we knew we were going to be out of town).

Today I am going to bake some cookies for our playgroup tomorrow and start cleaning up the house so it doesn’t look completely destroyed. Luckily, I got most of the laundry done yesterday so I can focus on the areas that people will actually see.

Jack is finally feeling back to normal after having a little touch of a stomach virus that reared its ugly head at the toys r us last weekend. However, he is back to his normal tricks of wanting to play outside, destroying the house and eat everything he can get his hands on. He is doing really well with learning new words and he likes to say the phrase “Elmo’s World” when you sing him the Elmo World song.

We have plans to have lunch with a friend from playgroup tomorrow afternoon (after playgroup ends) and we are looking forward to doing a little shopping with Lindsey and Lila Friday afternoon. This week started slow but it seems the second half is going to fly. Hope everyone else is ready to enjoy his or her December!

Back in town...

We made it back from Springfield, MO and we had a fun Thanksgiving weekend with our parents. Jack had a fun weekend too, and I think his favorite Thanksgiving food was the pumpkin pie. We were able to see my friend Haley and her son Eli, my sister and I ventured out on Friday afternoon to get a little Christmas shopping done, and Jack unfortunately had to experience his first time of getting sick in public.

Friday night we went out to dinner and decided to go to Toys R Us afterwards to see what they had on sale. Poor Jack looked and seemed to be feeling ok, but before we were ready to leave he just (out of now were) started to throw up...everywhere! Poor Justin though he was done and picked him up, but of course he wasn’t, and he continued to get sick all over him :-( Luckily, it only lasted until Jack went to bed and he woke up the next day feeling better and ready to eat again. This was really our first time dealing with him being sick like that; he has always been a really well kid. The worst it every got was a fever, runny nose, and cough.

I have posted some of the pictures we took this weekend and I really hope that everyone has enjoyed there Thanksgiving this year. Now it's time to get ready for Christmas!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving holiday. We have been enjoying the day and just finished eating our second round of turkey …yummy! Jack is still going strong and has had a fun day hanging out with his grandparents. Justin and I got to go out last night and see the new Harry Potter film and it was really good, can’t wait for the final installment of the Deathly Hallows this summer. I am not one of those people who enjoy Black Friday shopping, but might be persuaded to venture out later in the day tomorrow. For those of you who are, good luck!

I am always glad that Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday because it makes the rest of the weekend feel really long. Jack and I had a fun Wednesday afternoon over at my friend Haley’s house were Jack got to play with her son Eli. Their goal, I guess, was to play with every toy Eli owns and I think they succeeded by the look of the house before it was time to leave.

I will have pictures to put up of our weekend when we get back home, until then I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cleaning, Laundry and Rice Crispy Treats...

We are getting ready to spend the holiday weekend with our families so I have been getting ready for the trip. I have spent most of the day doing laundry and cleaning the house. Jack and I just got finished making some rice crispy treats for the trip tomorrow. He was very interested in watching the butter melt but doesn’t like touching the marshmallows, funny because he loves the finished product.

Jack has had a great weekend. We spend the majority of the weekend shopping and decorating our house for Christmas. It is Justin’s favorite holiday and I have to say the house is really looking festive. We got a new tree (our very first fake tree) and it looks pretty all decorated. Justin was not excited about getting an artificial tree but this way we can enjoy it for the entire month of December instead of just a couple of weeks. Jack learned the word for tree, and he has started to use more words to ask for things. When we were shopping at Target Justin asked him if he wanted a pretzel or popcorn for a snack and he said “popcorn.” He also requested Justin to turn on the kitchen light by dragging him over to the switch and saying “light.” I really feel like he is starting to understand that if he says something he gets it :-)

I am getting really excited about Thanksgiving and I can’t wait to eat all that yummy food on Thursday. Hope everyone has an enjoyable and relaxing holiday, and if you are going shopping on Friday, I wish “Good Luck!”

One week till Turkey Day!

I can’t believe that it is only one week until Thanksgiving. It seems like the month has gone by so fast and that before I know it Christmas will be here. I am getting excited for thanksgiving because we will be spending it back in my hometown with my parents and Justin’s parents too. It is so great that Jack gets to spend the holidays with both sets of grandparents. I will also be nice to get to see my friend Haley and her cute little guy Eli while we are in town.

Jack and I have had a busy week and I was somewhat sad when I realized that today wasn’t Friday :-( but we only have one day left and then the weekend will be here. We have been to two playgroups this week and he has enjoyed them both. He loves the chance to play with new toys and he is actually interacting with the other children really well, even if it is to fight over a toy. He continues to improve his vocabulary, has been copying many words, and has increased the number of independent word naming of objects and animals. He likes when I put words to music and enjoys singing songs.

Today has been a busy day of cleaning and once I found the motivation to get started, I actually made our bedroom livable again. Question: how can one house accumulate so much clutter? I have been sorting through weeks of junk mail and finally had to give our poor shredder a break in fear that it might stop working. The living room however is still not looking its best, but since that is where Jack spends a majority of his time, the only way for it to look good is to clean when he is sleeping.

Well it is time to start thinking about dinner. Hope everyone has a nice relaxing weekend!

Hello Monday

It has been a busy week and weekend. Jack was fighting off a cold the first part of last week but seems to be doing better. His cough went away and we were able to go to his new friend Cecily’s birthday party on Saturday. He had a good time playing with all the new toys she had at her house, and we had a nice time visiting with her parents and their friends.

Jack has been doing great with identifying animals and he is really enjoying learning his letters. His word of the day yesterday was “yo” he went around saying it all day. We have started to focus on learning a few simple commands that will be useful for him in the future, especially when he starts school. The four that we have chosen to start with are; look, give me, come here and stop (which I am finding to be the most difficult) but we will figure it out.

Today is actually our most uneventful day of the week and the rest of the week, we have activities and playgroups planned. We might try to venture out to the park if the weather warms up later this morning.

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving, which I can’t believe is only a week from Thursday. Hope everyone is having a nice November!

Weekend of visitors is over...

We had a great time spending a few days with Jack’s Uncle Michael. He and Jack got a chance to play and spend some quality time together. Jack especially loved it when Michael would push him around in his Tonka truck. It will be great when we get to see him and Jack’s Auntie Joyce over the Christmas holiday, which will be here before we know it.

I also had a great weekend hanging out with my friend Susan from St. Louis. We enjoyed doing girl things including registering for some cute little things for the new baby girl who will be joining us in a few months. I think I may have gone pink crazy, but there are just so many things out there for little girls. I was sad when she has to leave, but Jack was really cute and enjoyed showing off his new skills to Susan while she was here.

He has been talking and mimicking up a storm lately. He has a couple favorite books and we have been learning the names and sounds to quite a few different animals. We have also been teaching him that his belly button says, “Ding dong” and now he will run around saying that, which is just adorable.

We had a fun morning at the McKinney open gym and I am hoping that in a few minutes, he will be tired enough to take at least a short nap, but we will see.

Happy Friday!

Yeah, it’s FRIDAY! I am happy the weekend has arrived because it means that my good friend Susan is going to be here in only a few short hours. We have been enjoying the company of Jack’s Uncle Michael last night and this morning before he had to leave us to go to work. He will be back to spend some QT time with Jack for a few more hours before heading out. Mean while, Justin will be picking Susan up from the airport and I am looking forward to a fun fill weekend with my friend who I don’t get to see nearly as much as I would like too.

In other news, Jack has had a great week. He loves to go to the park and ride in the swing (which is where we just got back from this morning) The rain and cold weather have kept us from the park this week, but we managed one visit which is good. He had a playgroup this week that went great! He is getting use to going to playgroups and he does not have a melt down when we arrive, which I consider progress. Jack also got invite to a birthday park next weekend for a little girl we have met a few times at playgroup. This will be Jack’s first birthday party that he is going to a guest instead of the guest of honor :-) I know he will have a fun time, who doesn’t like a birthday party (especially the cake- oh wait that’s my favorite part :)

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend, I know I will!

Hello November!

Halloween was a huge success! Jack had a blast trick or treating with his friend Lila (who was the cutest little pumpkin). We actually had two trick or treating activities over the weekend. The first was on Friday at “Scare on the Square” in downtown McKinney and the second was on Halloween night around our neighborhood with the Smith’s. Jack had fun riding around the neighborhood in his wagon and he liked it when people would open the door. He wasn’t always excited about getting candy, but he loved getting and picking out suckers (if they had them).

It is hard to believe that it is already November. The holiday season is quickly approaching and I don’t know if I’m ready for it to be here. I am however every excited for the week ahead of us. We are going to be lucky enough to have two people visiting us this week. Jack’s uncle Michael is coming to stay with us for a few days starting on Wednesday. He is going to be town for work and we are looking forward to catching up with him. We haven’t seen him since Jack’s second birthday back in May. Then on Friday, my friend Susan from St. Louis is coming down for the weekend. I did get to see her more recently when I went back to St. Louis in August for a short weekend visit.

Well it’s time for me to get going Jack is wanting me to play with him now, enjoy November!

Ready for Halloween weekend!

We have had a busy week getting back into the swing of things since our trip. Jack is doing really well and having a blast playing outside, but since the weather is getting a little cooler, he does quite understand why he has to put on his shoes and coat before going outside. We had our regular playgroup this Wednesday and he has become more willing to go and is actually excited once we get there to play with all the cool toys. Still not taking much interest in the other children, but is slowly becoming aware of their existence, especially when they are playing with a toy he finds interesting.

We have a fun afternoon planned today. We are going to a make and playgroup were we are going to be making maracas out of house hold objects such as toilet paper rolls and plastic bottles. It will be fun to see how he responds to decorating and shaking his new toy. When we are done with that activity, we are going to “Scare on the Square” in downtown McKinney to do some pre-trick or treating :-) Our friends Lindsey and Lila will be joining us for that. Looking forward to a fun filled afternoon with friends!

It's a ....

GIRL!!!!!

We had our ultra sound this morning and were able to learn that come March we can expect, that in the future, Justin’s hair will start turning gray because we are having a little girl. We are very excited and could not wait to tell our parents the exciting news. Jack still doesn’t really understand that his world will be changing in a few short months, but I have faith that he will adjust well once the baby arrives. I have been on the phone most of the afternoon spreading the news.

On a different note, we have been keeping busy with all of Jack’s appointments and playgroups. He has been making improvements daily. He has started making the moo sound when he sees the picture of a cow and we are working on him making other animal sounds. He has been very good at copying words and sounds when Justin and I say them. He really enjoys saying “ooh ooh, ahh ahh” and “daddy do” which is really cute.

We are getting excited for Halloween weekend. McKinney has a cute downtown area and on Friday, they are closing off the street and letting kids go trick or treating around the square. We are planning to go with our friends Lindsey and her beautiful daughter Lila before our hubby’s get home from work. Then of course, we will be trick or treating on Sunday. Jack is going to be Super Why from the PBS show. That is one of his favorite shows right now. He will of course have to share his candy with his mama, but he will get to eat some of his candy...although he doesn’t really like candy (he must get that from his father).

I’m sure we will have some cute pictures of Jack in his costume next week. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!

Back from New York City!

Back from New York and after two days of being back home and I finally feel like I have recovered from the experience. We had a great time in the city and did a lot in the four days we were there. We got in Saturday night around six, had a nice Italian dinner, and walked around near our hotel, which was close to Rockefeller Center and Times Square.

Sunday was the busiest day of all (I think it’s because our legs were fresh that day). We took a cab to Brooklyn and started a walk that took us over the Brooklyn Bridges, past the 911 site, past the NY Stock Exchange and Wall Street, and down to Battery Park. We took the Staten Island Ferry and got to see the Statue of Liberty. We then went up and walked around China Town and into Little Italy. Later that evening we saw our first Broadway show called Rock of Ages and it was amazing. The only complaint I had was that the person sitting next to me and behind me thought they were in the show and were belting it out through almost the entire show. Luckily, I only heard them during the more mellow songs :-)

Monday, we went to the American Museum of Natural History and walked around Central Park. We then went shopping at Macy’s on 34th Street, walked around Herald Square and saw Madison Square Garden. We went out for a casual dinner and then went up in the Empire State Building around 9:30 at night. It was fun getting to see the city at night from atop the Empire State Building it was amazing!

Tuesday, we went to the Guggenheim Museum and the MET. We saw lots of great art and the buildings themselves were incredible. We then took a walk and headed up to the Upper West Side to check out Tom’s Restaurant AKA “Monks” on Seinfeld. It was really cool and the food was good too. We took the subway back to our hotel for a short rest before going out to see the Lion King (it was one of the coolest shows I’ve ever seen).

Wednesday was our last day in New York and before leaving for the airport, we walked down to see the New York City Library to say hi to the Lions. We then ate lunch at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americana Restaurant. We then walked up and had a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity :-) We then went back to our hotel to collect our bags and take a car back to the Airport.
I really enjoyed my first trip to New York and Justin was excited to be able to enjoy the city instead of just having to work. New York City is defiantly a place I would enjoy visiting again. There is so much to see and do. We did a good job of see as much as we could but I know we only scratched the surface of this influential city.

Jack had a great time with his grandparent and I know they had fun spending time with him too. They had to leave Thursday morning to get back to STL, but we will be seeing them and my family when we meet in Springfield for Thanksgiving.

Hard to believe that Halloween is in one week, we still need to go and buy Jack a Halloween costume. I’m sure we will find him something cute so he can go out and get some candy (which he will have to share with his mama of course :-)

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Getting ready to leave...

We are getting ready for our trip tomorrow. We will be leaving for New York City for the next few days while Jack spends some quality time with his grandma and grandpa Gindler. They flew in yesterday and I have been taking them around town showing them the nearest parks and shopping. I know they will have a blast taking care of Jack while we are gone, but I will miss my little man.

I am excited to visit NYC with Justin and am sure I will have a lot to write about when we get back and have tons of pictures.

Busy week

It has been a busy week so far and it is only Tuesday. Jack and I have had a fairly normal Monday, but today has already been full of activity. I started my day with my monthly Dr. Appointment (all is normal) and then came home to have Jack’s Occupational Therapy session. She has been coming once a month to check on his progress and to lend suggestions about things we can do with him on a daily basis. She said today that she is very impressed with his progress and that she felt we no longer needed her monthly consultations. We will still be working with Jack’s other two therapists weekly and if any questions should arise we can talk with her any time.

We got back not too long ago from going to the McKinney Community Center’s open gym that they have twice a month. We have had scheduling issues in the past so today was the first time we were able to go and check it out. It was really great! They have two jumpy houses set up and lots of toys and scooters all over the gymnasium for the kids to play with. Jack was not interested at first, but when he saw a little boy zoom by on a scooter, he got interested, and took off to check things out. We were able to stay for about an hour before he got tired and wanted to go home. We were able to invite our neighbor and her three-year-old son, whose name is also Jack, to meet us there and play. He was so tired that he fell asleep on the way home. Falling asleep in the car has become his new napping location. If I want him to nap I have to take him for a ride, otherwise I am usually out of luck.

Another new development for little man is that he decided, all on his own, that he no longer wanted to have his binky. It has been a little over two weeks now and things have been going working out well without it. He started one day pushing Justin’s hand away when he was trying to give it to him. I tried to give it to him on another occasion and he took it from me, looked me right in the eye with this very stern and serious look on his face, and then with great force threw it on the ground. He hasn’t had it since. I must say I am very happy about him breaking his own bad habits with such ease...maybe I will get this lucky when it comes to potty training. A mom can dream can’t she ;-)

We are looking forward to seeing Jack's grandma Jeanette and grandpa Glenn who will be flying in on Thursday to come and Jack-sit for us while we are out of town. So, plans for tomorrow are CLEAN!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a big Saturday this weekend. We took Jack to a pumpkin patch. He had a fun time; we fed the animals and went on a hayride. We even had a small lunch while we were there. The weather was great, especially in the shade. I was able to take quite a few pictures before my camera died. Jack had such an action packed morning that he fell asleep on the drive home.

When he woke up from his very short 30-minute nap, we went out and had an afternoon full of shopping. We are getting ready for our trip to New York, which we will be leaving for in less than a week. I was able to find many nice things that will work well in New York and I even found a cute dress that I can wear to go out, and to a wedding that we will be attending when we get back. It will be a little bit cooler in NYC than it is here, so I am happy that I have some new things to wear (including a new jacket). It is hard when the belly starts to grow and your clothes no longer fit.

Justin and Jack went to the grocery store this morning and we are looking forward to a nice relaxing day of football. I am planning to make a roast tonight for dinner and just relaxing from the very busy day we had yesterday.

PS: who knew vampire diaries was such a huge show (I don’t watch it). They were filming at the mall yesterday in Frisco and the line to meet the cast was crazy... teenagers ;-)

Playgroup Day!

I would like to start my post today by remembering my grandmother “Ma”. It has been three years since she had to leave us, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. She was lucky enough to know that Jack would be joining our family before she passed, and I know that she would have love to learn that we are now expecting out second. I am getting excited about finding out what we are having. We should be able to announce that information by Thanksgiving :-)

Today, Jack and I hosted our first playgroup at our house. It was lots fun. The house was full of moms and their little ones. I think the final head count was 8 moms and 11 children. Thanks to another mom’s great idea, we had the theme “Shape Caper” which included a read aloud and a cute craft project where the kids made pictures using shape stickers. All the pictures turned out really cute, and Jack had fun putting the stickers on the paper. He especially enjoyed cleaning up and putting the unused stickers back in the container. I made cookies and rice crispy treats, and we had a fun little snack time after the craft project. I think the kids had a good time playing and Jack warmed up to the idea when we started the craft project and of course, when he got his snack...the boy loves to eat :-)

I am happy that the week is ending; it felt like it would last forever. We have no plans for tomorrow but will probably swing by the library because I have a few movies I need to return and Jack likes to play and look at the books. If the weather is nice, we are hoping to take Jack to visit a pumpkin patch. In one week, Justin’s parents will be here and Justin and I will be taking off for our little get away to New York City :-) (so excited about that trip). I should probably start planning what we will be doing when we get there, luckily my sister lent me here NYC travel guide so I have the resource I need I just need to find the time to read it...we’ll see if that happens.

Isn't only Tuesday?

Happy that today is turning out to be the exact opposite of yesterday. Sunday night Jack decided that he didn’t want to sleep and was up half the night. He went to sleep just fine, but at 11:00 he was up, then down, then up again until 3:00 AM :-( It was a very long night and it was made even longer, when he decided to wake up at six in the morning. Luckily, for me he took an hour and a half nap later that morning so we both got a little rest. I was also very excited when Justin walked through the door almost three hours earlier than he usually does on a Monday to give me a chance to relax and chill from this crazy and unpredictable day. Since Jack’s day was full of mood swings and just general tired behavior, he slept well last night.

He is in a much better mood today and I am enjoying his happy go lucky attitude. After we have lunch, I think we may try to go to the park to play.

I very happy that Jack has had his developmental and speech therapy appointments for the week so the only thing we have to prepare for is the playgroup we are hosting on Thursday. Jack has been making excellent progress since he started therapy back in February. He is mimicking more and is starting to imitate more sounds that he hears, which occasionally sound like actual words. He is in a regular playgroup that meets at the YMCA every two weeks, and I have found a moms group online that has playgroups every Thursday that we have started to try and attended when we can. I am very excited because this will be our first time hosting the playgroup at our house. I will be excited to let everyone know how it goes.

Weekend with the Family and the Texas State Fair!

We had a fun weekend while my parents were in town. They arrived around lunchtime on Friday so that made for a nice long weekend. We took Jack out to lunch when they got here and then to the park. Jack was able to play on the playground equipment and we took out a paddleboat (a first for Jack) around the lake. Beside the fact that he didn’t really like wearing the lifejacket, he had a great time. All that afternoon activity tired the poor little guy out, and he fell asleep on our drive back home.

Saturday was a crazy but eventful day as well. We decided, despite all the warning we received from numerous people, to brave the crowds and go the Texas State Fair. I know that we were lost in a sea of people wearing orange and maroon clothing, but there were only two or three times were I had flashbacks to my trip to Beijing (during their National Holiday) of how busy a crowd can be. We got to the Fair early so we were able to miss some of the coming crowd, and left right as the game was starting so we didn’t have any trouble leaving. This was Jack’s first fair and my first State fair. Texas state fair is famous for the creating a new fried food each year. The new fried food this year was Fried Beer...Justin said that it sounded disgusting and didn’t really care to try it. I however have wanted to try a fried Twinkie since I hear that it existed, and I must say it was everything I thought it would be and more. I have a feeling it will be something I will be eating again next year :-)

We spend the rest of the weekend recovering from the Fair and my folks have taken headed back home. I am now looking forward to a quiet afternoon with Justin and Jack watching football. Make sure to check out the pictures I uploaded of our weekend :-)

What is a normal day?

It has been a few weeks since things have been quote, unquote, normal around here I have forgotten what it was like. Jack has typically not been taking naps during the day; he has been getting his 12 hours all at night, but for the last few days he has been a little out of sorts. So today after lunch, I was going to take him out to run a few errands and then take him to the park, but only 10 minutes down the street and he was out like a light. Since it has been rare for me to get a nice little break during the day, I just turned the car around and he is sleeping peacefully in our bed.

He probably could be in his own bed today, but the fire detector in his bedroom has decided to become a tweeting, annoying, distracting pain. One of the errands I had planned to accomplish this afternoon was to buy a new battery for the stupid thing, but I didn’t get to that yet. I am really hoping that will fix the problem because I cannot find the directions and after this trouble shooting idea, I don’t know what to try next. If anyone has, any suggestions please share :)

I cannot believe that September is officially over today. The months and day just keep passing us by so quickly. Before you know it, the holidays will be here and I know I am not ready for that yet...

Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe it has been 8 years since Justin and I said "I do" It has been a crazy and fun ride so far, and I'm sure we are in for more exciting times as time goes on.

I would like to say a big Happy Birthday to Justin's mom, Jack's grandma Jeanette! Her birthday was yesterday and we are very sorry we didn't get to spend the day with here celebrating this very special day. However, we are looking forward to seeing her in a few weeks when they come down to baby sit Jack for us while we take a little vacation to NYC!

Today has unfortunately been one of those days. It started this morning very early. Jack decided that his present to us for our anniversary was a wake-up call at 3:30 AM. I did however, get a couple more hours of sleep when he finally passed out on the couch around five and slept until seven.

Justin and I got a nice dinner out of the house without Jack, thanks to his sister Joyce who has been here visiting us since Saturday. We went out and had a nice steak dinner :-) We will be sad to have here leave us tomorrow, but I know all good things must end.

We had a great time playing at the park the other day and I have some cute pics of Jack playing on the slide. I am hoping that the second half of my day will be better than the first.

TTFN

Oktoberfest in September?

Well Jack's auntie Joyce finally arrived yesterday after a delayed flight out of St. Louis. We are having a great time with her and Jack is loving all the attention. We spend yesterday afternoon in downtown McKinney at their annual Oktoberfest celebration. It was fun! There was a petting zoo, but Jack wasn't to interested in the animals so maybe he can feed the animals another time.

The weather is actually very pleasant down here this weekend. It is 66 degrees right now and I guess I have become a real Texan because it is cold! Glad that it isn't the usual 90 degrees but I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the warmer temperatures (I'll take it for now).

..and so it begins

I would like to dedicate my first official blog post to my friend Gwyn. It was in a our recent phone conversation that she told me I needed to start a blog so that she could see what was going on with my family. So I thought about it for a minute and decided to give it a try. Now I must confess that my writing skills are usually below par, so don't judge me on a misspelled word or bad grammar every now and then.

We have been enjoying our time here in Texas and I believe that we are adapting to the heat (man it got hot this summer) pretty well. For those of you who don't know yet we are expecting our second child in the coming year. We are not far enough along yet to know the sex of the baby yet, but unlike with Jack we will be finding out that information before the baby arrives.

Jack is now two and had a great birthday party back at the end of May. He is doing really well and has recently started to talk. He has been a little behind in the talking department but we have been working with a few therapists and things have been coming along great.

I will post more about how things are going soon, but I believe that Jack will be waking up soon so I will sign off for now. I will return when I can, and hopefully so will you.