Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A Trip to the Zoo

Happy Springtime! Well it may not be officially Spring, but it sure has felt like it here in Dallas lately. James had Monday off for President's Day so we enjoyed the long weekend by going on lots of family outings. We went to this cute park up in Highland Village, fed the ducks, and had a picnic. Sunday, we decided we would head out to the Ft Worth Zoo for the first time. We went with some friends, and we had a great time! Spring time was rampant at the zoo, and we had some close encounters with the wildlife that took some explaining for the kids. It seemed that all of the animals were in the mood for love which was pretty much hilarious for all of us!Greyson pet his first snake, and he took the biggest interest in all things amphibian. I think we usually skip this part of the zoo, becuase we figure that Hannah won't sit still for it or Greyson was too young. Boy were we wrong. Greyson had to show Daddy every single animal in every single aquarium before we could leave the exhibit. Hannah was interested in the big stuff, but then she was ready to move on. Greyson could have spent the whole day there. It would make Grandpa pretty proud since he loves lizards and snakes. Hannah told us that her favorite animal was the tiger or the crocodile, and I guess that pretty much sums up her personality :-). She's feisty!A look at the wildlife


We finished off the weekend by taking the kids to see Gnomeo and Juliet at Studio Movie Grill. I swear I don't think they care what we do if there is an endless supply of popcorn available. We had a great weekend, and we are looking forward to our next adventure!

Cousin Fun

There is one thing Greyson and Hannah love, and that's spending time with their Cousin Cody! The weather has continued to stay perfect so we decided to bask in the sunshine together. We had a great time going to the park, digging in the dirt, and going to lunch before they headed out of town this past weekend. Greyson informed me that Cody is his "best buddy!" This is no huge surprise, but it's still so cute to hear him talk about it :-). Here are some highlights from our outing!

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Check Ups

Since James and I decide to have our kids so close together (totally on purpose ;-)), they both get their special annual check ups with the pediatrician around the same time. AND, since I am awful about updating the baby book I decided I would post the progress here.

Greyson had his 4 year check up a few weeks ago, and he was the model patient as usual. We did a Denver developmental screening, and he was on track with the average 5 yr 2 mo old so that was pretty exciting to hear. He continues to grow and stay at the top of the curve (no surprise there). He was 46.3lbs (95th perc), and he was 42.5" tall (90th perc). I don't think he was standing up perfectly straight for the height measurement, but it doesn't really matter. We know he's a big boy, and we love him! The sad part of the appointment came when they went to do his shots (he got THREE). He has not received any vaccines (other than the flu shot) since he was 2, and he really wasn't all that vocal then. He was very aware of everything that was going on, and when it happened he was heartbroken. After the first one, our nurse Barb rushes in with the 2nd. I don't know if I can adequately describe the look on his face when she gave him the 3rd :-(. He was just crying and asking me why they were hurting him. It just broke my heart, and I was ECSTATIC to know that he will not need anymore shots (again, other than the flu shot) until he is 11 years old. That is just crazy to me to think that he is now officially ready to enter the school system *tear*. I'm not ready to have a kindergartner so it's a good thing I have Pre-K next year to prepare him (and me) for the next step in his educational journey.

Hannah just had her appointment yesterday, and it always surprises me how well she does for Dr. Kaplan. It's like she's going nuts one minute running around and acting crazy, and then she's suddenly this calm, well-behaved child that I don't even recognize. It's SO not fair :-). We also completed a Denver developmental screening for her, and she was on track with most 3 yr 1 mo olds. She's an over-achiever like her mother I think, and I know that chasing and trying to keep up with her smart big brother keeps her moving along. She weighed 27.6lbs (60th perc), 35" tall (80th perc), and her head circumference was 19 1/2" (90th perc). The doctor did ask some questions about her weight gain since she dropped 15 percentage points since her 18 month checkup. They assured me that she was developing perfectly normally and all but that I just need to make sure to keep up with her ever increasing calorie needs. I can switch to 2% milk, but I can't put her on skim milk with the rest of the family. This is a different conversation than we had at Greyson's 2 year check up where they said that he was welcome to switch to skim milk lol. I think it's really just because she is so active and always trying to be like Greyson. She is a great eater, and I think she's just becoming more tall and slender like a big girl instead of my little chubby toddler. I miss having a baby around, but it's so fun to watch them each changing and surprising us every day. They are a wonder, and I feel so blessed to have them.

An Afternoon at the Park

It's Spring time in Texas -- well, not really, but it sure feels like it. The weather has taken a turn for the BEST so we have been outdoors every chance we get. With both kids napped and rested when I pick up Greyson from school, the afternoons are a perfect time to get outside and play. We ended up heading to the Grapevine Botanical Gardens for the first time with our friends Chalna and Kim one afternoon. The kids had a fabulous time climbing, sliding, feeding the fish, and being crazy together! We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Kim's baby girl, Ruthie (who is now here YEAH!).

Colin and Greyson were working this drive thru window like professionals! They were taking orders and whipping up "pies"! They were super cute!


They had a small fish pond with the biggest gold fish.
Hannah might have had a few issues with running off. She is clearly testing her limits, and she is doing a good job of being a 2 year-old ;-).
They had this "stage" in the middle of the gardens where the kids proceeded to put on quite the show. We were trying to get them to sing the ABC's or something together, but they were happy to just go NUTS!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Oh sunshine, glorious sunshine!


We went on an impromptu park picnic with friends this morning (Sunday) to bask in the gorgeous weather. Last week we had a snow day where the roads were covered with ice, and today it was sunny and 70. I do love Texas :-). It was the best day for it, and we enjoyed playing, eating a picnic, and flying a kite. It makes me long for the Spring, and I hope the weather continues to stay so beautiful for as long as possible. Here are some pics from the day!

Of all of slides and swings available this dirt pile proved to be the best toy out there. Greyson, Jack, and Hayden kept climbing to the top and declaring themselves "King of the Dirt Pile."Maybe even Daddy did it a few times ;-)
Brooke and PJ enjoying the swings together...aren't they just the sweetest :-).
Greyson was pretty proud of himself for climbing to the top by himself with no help!
The Princess LOVES to swing!

Super Bowl Half Time Injury

So we went to Tammy & Toby's house to catch the Super Bowl this year, and we had a blast. We made chicken enchiladas and mexican cornbread and stuffed ourselves thoroughly. The sad part came during the halftime show while the Black Eyed Peas were performing. The kids absolutely LOVE them, and they were all enjoying some dancing and goofing around. The adults were busy eating on TV trays in the living room watching the mahem unfold. Hannah decided that she would give "Rody" a try which is this cute bouncing horse/donkey type thing. She usually does fine on it, but she attempted to mount and ride Rody ridiculously close to the brick fireplace. Oops! She bounced right over the front of Rody and went face first into the corner of the fire place. Needless to say there was a lot of blood, tears, and ruined clothes for all of us, but she's healing up great. Here's a pic to commemorate the occasion.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Snow in Texas

We have had an awful lot of snow here lately in Texas which is completely uncharacteristic and getting pretty old if I do say so myself. The kids had FOUR snow days last week, and we had another one today. I am SO ready for the Spring and Summer to arrive so we can enjoy some more outdoor activities as a family.Hannah was not into the snow so we let her stay inside while we explored the winter wonderland :-). Enjoy!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Mommy & Greyson Birthday Date Night

As though his super mega ultra birthday party wasn't enough, I decided to take Greyson out for a special Mommy/Son birthday night with his cousin Cody and Aunt Tammy. It seems as though James is usually the one taking him on special outings while Hannah and I do something else so it was nice to get a turn.

We took them to the Main Event for some bowling, munching, and games. They were SO goofy, and they could NOT stop hugging each other all night long. These boys missed each other a bunch :-). They had the best time playing this projection soccer game that you played on the floor. You stomped on the ball to try and make a goal on the other player and then stomped the ball to block the goal. Greyson really got into it, and he proceeded to develop his new signature competitive "I won" face (as shown in the upper left hand corner). It was hilarious, and I was glad to see the competitive spirit come out since he is usually not that way, and we all remember how much fun soccer was when we played last Spring ;-). The night was a smashing success, and we can't wait to do it again soon!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Super Mega Ultra Double Birthday Party

We celebrated the kids' birthdays this past weekend with a big bash! I had this great idea of having a dual bounce party right between their two actual birthdays. Unfortunately, there were a LOT of bumps and turns in the road before we actually got to party. Our party place closed after we sent out the invites so we had to change the date, location, and time of the party. Despite all of the mix ups, the party was a HUGE success, and I think everyone would agree that it was a great time!



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Our Big Boy Turns 4!

Our little boy turned 4 on Sunday! I can't believe we are the parents of a 2 and 4 year-old. Where did the time go?

In honor of that, here is a photo trip through the first 2 years (before I was blogging). I pieced together pictures from different people to come up with this, but I wish I had even more. I am still working on trying to collect more of what I lost. Greyson is such a sweet and caring boy, and we are so proud of him. His imagination is going crazy, and he loves to play!

January - March 2007


April - June 2007



July - September 2007



October - December 2007


January - June 2008



July - December 2008



2009