My girl is so sweet (my first blog ever)

Renee and Aunt Amy decided to go looking through model homes in The Woodlands. This is something I sometimes fear b/c it further builds Renee's case for "all the great things in The Woodlands." But since Amy is in town, the girls went to do their thing and left Lydia and Cole with me and Uncle Jeremy. The playtime started by Lydia waking up 1 hour into her 2.5 hour nap and refusing to go back down b/c she heard her best friend Cole downstairs. Even I know that waking up 1 hour into a nap is a sign of bad things to come. But, aside from Lydia eating some of Cole's food, occasionally drinking his sippie (sp?) cup and taking a few toys here and there, they played really well together. Those two even put the toy rings on the post together-- great teamwork cousins! Cole is such an angel and a joy to play with.

The following melted my heart...Cole had strict instructions to drink a bottle at 3pm and then take a nap. When Uncle J grabbed the bottle from the frig and picked up Cole, Lydia wanted to go to join him. I told her "stay here please." 30 seconds later she walked over to me and gave me kiss. After walking away I asked if Daddy could have another kiss. She walked back over and did it again. To top it off, she then walked ~10 feet to pick up her favorite blanky. She then went to the stairs, waived goodbye to me, and pointed to the stairs. What can I say, even Dad knows what this means. I plopped her in her crib and that was that. What a sweetheart! I rarely have these responsibilities but I must say, my wife is a rockstar. I can't believe my 15-month old is such a good girl. Thanks be to God and thanks to Renee. Sorry for the lack of pics or anything fun, but I immediately felt that I needed to blog about this one. -- Dan

Dinner and Pool Time

The Houston, Seattle, and Corpus Christi area families gathered for dinner on Friday night to celebrate Mom's birthday. Here are a few shots from dinner.

Brian and Lauren (and baby boy due in August)

Emily and Lydia coloring (Lydia's first time coloring!)

Jon and Steph

Mom (Nana) and Cole

On Saturday, we hung out at the house, played in the pool, and ate a yummy dinner.

Dan with his friend, Cole.

Lydia and Cole playing at the window.

Mom and Lydia "talking" in the pool.

Mom and Lydia working out in the pool.

Lydia enjoying her favorite food.

Cole smiling (of course) for the camera with his corn.

Look who showed up?

Ta Dah! Amy and Cole arrived from Seattle this evening to spend a week with us! I am so excited to host my first real "company" ever. Usually when family comes in town they stay with my parents, but since I'm now living in their house I get to be the hostess. Here are the cousins ready to leave the airport. Cole seriously smiles whenever I pull out the camera. I have a feeling pictures from this week will be of Cole smiling and Lydia looking on with all seriousness.
Cole was happy to see Uncle Dan. Lydia was jealous so she got up in daddy's arms for the pictures. I'm just so happy that Lydia finally has more hair than Cole!

So long, farewell

We closed on the sale of our home today. As I was packing and moving for the last two months, I thought about the things I'd miss the least.

The view from my windows

(adios townhome community)...

...and my "backyard."

But I will dearly miss my fabric cornice...

...and my closet. I stored extra furniture in this closet it was so big.

And I had it all to myself.

Farewell first home.

Timmmmm-berrrrrr

Remember this? A picture of my house before the Tree Doctor came to take out trees and trim up the others. Voila! Now you can see the house from the curb. We still have so much landscaping to do, but at least we can see the house to make a plan for bushes, flowers, and grass!

Florida Pictures

We went to Grayton Beach with Dan's extended family last week. It was H-O-T, but we were blessed to have a house right on the beach with a pool!

It took Lydia a few days to warm up to the sand and waves, but she was really enjoying it by the end of the week. Other things she enjoyed were her Uncle Ben (she has a huge crush on him and preferred him to both me and dan!), ice cream sandwiches, and cousins Grant and Sydney.

Lydia wasn't really a water girl before we went to Florida. She didn't even really like bath time. But she saw this pool and had to jump in! By the second day she was jumping into daddy's arms, dunking her head, and flying up in the air. Dan is thrilled to have a pool lover!

As with most family gatherings, it was the food that brought us together! On the nights we ate it, Ben did all the cooking! We had spaghetti night, taco night, and seafood night. Ben doesn't do anything half way, all the meals were amazing...my favorite was the marinated grilled shrimp.

In a family picture attempt, we took some shots with the water in the background. Ladies, you know this means the wind was blowing my fair towards the front of my face. I wish it would have stopped for just one second! We did get some cute shots though!

Happy Father's Day