Oscar the IRONMAN

What a whirlwind of four days in Texas!!  The kids and I arrived on Thursday and Grams and Granddad picked us up at the airport to take us out to the farm for the night.  Savannah had soooo many things to do and not a lot of time to do them all but that didn't stop her from trying.  We visited relatives, she fed the fish in the pond, painted flower pots, planted flowers, jumped on the trampoline, rode the motorcycle, performed puppet shows, introduced Granddaddy to Frozen, had a sleepover, and even slept about 8 hours.  Considering we were only on the farm for less than 24 hours, that's quite a lot of things to get done.
Friday afternoon, Grams and Granddad drove us to the Woodlands where we met up with Oscar, Dania, and Harlan Jr for dinner.  Our hotel was centrally located for great food, shopping, and of course the race.

planting flowers

ready for a motorcycle ride

off they go

jumping with Grams

S needed to cool off after dinner

sibling selfie

the day before the race

Saturday morning, Oscar and Dania woke up before dawn to head to the swim start.  The kids and I woke a few hours later and after a quick Starbucks breakfast we went to T1 in hopes of seeing Oscar off on the bike.  Fortunately for him but unfortunately for us he swam faster than expected so we missed seeing him by 2 minutes.  So off the pool we went to hang out until time to see him start the marathon.  Obie and Tracy flew in around noon to surprise Oscar and motivate him during the run.

almost race time

waiting at T1 but no sign of Daddy

O dancing through the first mile 

Moxie cheering section

the surprise spectators

pool time with Harlan

S and Aunt Dania

After dinner and a bath, it was time to head to the finish line and see Oscar complete this overwhelming feat.  Words cannot express the emotions we all felt while watching him come through the finishers chute and cross the finish line.  

waiting at the finish 

coming down the finishers chute

he did it!!!!!

congratulatory hugs

O with Tracy and Obie

What an amazing day!!  A wonderfully exhausting day for all of us.  We all headed our separate ways Sunday morning but the memories we made during that brief, special trip will stay with us always.  We couldn't be prouder of you, Oscar, the Ironman!!

WEA 17 Months

Wow, this past month has flown by!!!  I can't believe our little man is just one month shy of being a year and a half.  I am constantly amazed at how quickly time passes once you have children.  

Walker is still the sweetest, cuddliest, most lovable little boy.  I can't seem to get enough of all his kisses and hugs so lucky for me he is always giving them out.  Every day he is becoming a little more independent and a little more mischievous.  He is constantly getting into trouble by destroying the house, picking on his sister, attacking the dogs, and just generally making a mess.  I guess that makes him 100% boy.  And we wouldn't have it any other way  :)

my sweet boy

"there's that sticker again!"

"I must get it off!"

"What do you mean I was supposed to leave it on?!"

oh well, he's so cute it's hard to fight with him

WEA's 17 Month Milestones/Achievements/Random tidbits:

~biting and hair pulling are still a major problem.  I'm really at a loss of what to do next.  I'm hoping this is just a phase that he's nearing the end of.  

~he is becoming quite the picky eater.  Mealtimes are especially difficult because all he wants to eat are snack items: yogurt, applesauce, cheddar bunnies, dried fruit strips, Cliff bars.  Pizza and corn dogs are about the only meal items that he'll actually sit down to eat.  Ugh! Hopefully this, too, is another phase.  

~he is extremely possessive of his mama.  Poor Savannah can't even hold my hand without him throwing a fit.  And I do mean a fit.  It's amazing that my sweet girl has any hair left.  

~when he gets upset, he lets out a really loud, high-pitched squeal.  This sound has become a regular thing around these parts.  

~he's a lot like his sister in the speaking department.  I can still only make out the words "mama", "dada", "hot", and "step".  Even though he can't verbally tell you what he wants, he manages to show you what he wants by grabbing your hand and directing you to the desired object.  

~he LOVES to be in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking.  He will put the step stool up to the stove and grab a pot and spatula and "cook" right beside me.  He's the cutest little sous chef I've ever worked with.  

~he's figured out how to take his diaper off which has led to a few naked afternoons in the backyard while playing in the sprinklers.  

~he LOVES to play in the sandbox, in the pool, with the water hose, with any ball, with trains, and with anything Savannah is currently playing with.  

~he's very good at following simple directions.  When asked "where is your milk/lovie/shoes", he will immediately go retrieve them.  At music class he is always the first to clean up when his teacher begins to sing the clean up song; unfortunately, the clean up song only works during music class.  

~he still has a major obsession with balloons.  There's always a couple floating around the house.  

naked play time

ice cream face

sous chef in action

my littlest trainer

first day at the pool this year

I can't believe he's almost 18 months old!!  The summer months always fly by which means I'll be planning his second birthday before I know it.  Please slow down, little man!!  This mama isn't ready to be done with the baby stage yet!!

Mother's Day 2014

Ahhhhh, Mother's Day.....it's one of my top 5 favorite days of the year.  This year Savannah was soooo looking forward to giving me my special gift that she made at school and every day she would ask "how many more days til Mother's Day??".  When the day finally arrived, she awoke earlier than usual and came running downstairs yelling "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!!".  I sure love that little girl and her generous, enthusiastic, loving self.  

my gifts--the banner is actually a cozy blanket

sweet Savannah hugs

opening my gift from S---a beautifully decorated picture frame with a  pic of Savannah

snuggling with my blanket

After opening up my gifts from Savannah, Walker, and Oscar we all took a walk around the neighborhood.  Then we quickly showered and dressed to attend brunch at The Carolina Inn.  We were seated in our favorite blue room and enjoyed a delicious, peaceful (as peaceful as it can be with a 4 year old and a 16 month old) meal.  The rest of the day was spent like most normal Sundays and finished up with dinner at Jason's Deli........a whole day of no cooking for me---yipee!!  

love my sweet babies

brunch time

I could not be any more blessed than I am right now.  I have two beautiful and healthy children and a super wonderful hubby.  Happy Mother's Day to me!!

Easter Weekend 2014

This year our Easter festivities kicked off on Friday.  Savannah had been on Spring Break all week and she used every ounce of patience she possessed to hold off until then for dyeing eggs.  We bought an egg spinner that was supposed to create a tie dyed effect on the eggs and amazingly it somewhat worked.  Plus this was a lot less smelly than the traditional vinegar bath that we normally do with the eggs.

our new technique for dyeing eggs in a spinner--tie dye effect

S teaching Walker

"back off Sis, I got this!"

We woke up Saturday morning to a steady rainfall which meant both the church and the country club would hold their egg hunts inside.  I say "hunt" in the loosest sense of the word because really it was a competition to see who could pick up the most eggs that had been thrown all over the floor.  If only the excitement of this game transferred to picking up toys all over the house then my house would always be tidy.  

The first "hunt" was at church and each child was able to pick up 15 eggs.  Walker got the hang of this game really quickly.  After we collected our eggs we headed to the fellowship hall for a few snacks before we left for the country club "hunt".  There Savannah and Walker were split into two different rooms so unfortunately I missed out on watching Savannah pick up eggs.  Walker's room was a bit chaotic due to the fact that there were too many toddlers, too many parents, and too many eggs to slip and fall over.  I imagine Savannah's room wasn't any better especially since there were more kids and bigger kids fighting over the eggs.  There definitely wasn't a battle in W's room.  In fact, he would pick up eggs and put them in other kid's baskets.  We managed to find the golden egg for Walker but unfortunately Savannah's two year streak came to an end.  Oh well, there's always next year.

Church egg hunt

W only went after the blue eggs

country club egg hunt

let's see how these taste

W's new best friend, the Easter Bunny

his first golden egg

After the "hunt", we went upstairs for lunch, face painting, balloon animals, crafts, and time for Walker to stalk the Bunny.  He absolutely LOVED the Easter Bunny.  Every chance he got he would make a beeline for the bunny and we would have to pull him off.  It really was quite comical.

corn dog lunch afterwards

Sunday morning everyone (except Michael) was up bright and early.  Savannah was ready to rush downstairs to see what all was in the basket.  This year she got her favorite plush My Little Pony, the Frozen character set, a couple coloring books, dress up magnet dolls, and of course a couple of chocolate bunnies.  Walker got a personalized book, an airplane, a blue ride-on car, and chocolate bunnies.  Both my children inherited my sweet tooth so they were more than ready to break into the chocolate but I managed to hold them off until after lunch.  

We all got dressed in our Sunday best and attended the early Easter service at church followed by brunch at the club.  Michael spent most of the weekend sick but his appetite came back in full force at brunch.......talk about someone who gets their moneys worth at buffets :)  My favorite part of brunch is always the petting zoo that visits with bunnies, chicks, baby ducks, guinea pigs, and a baby sheep.  I think Savannah could have sat there all afternoon holding her bunny.  Walker on the other hand started terrorizing the critters after about two minutes.  

checking out the Easter Bunny gifts

W was a big fan of the Frozen toy

checking out his new ride

petting zoo after brunch

W preferred the baby sheep

the best family pic of the day

my two sweet babies

MJ is looking HUGE compared to us!

After brunch we returned home and got ready for our backyard egg hunt.  By this point Walker was done with the whole egg hunt thing and he just wanted to swing and play in the sand box.  Savannah took her time and managed to drag out the hunt for about 10 minutes.  It was definitely the longest egg hunt I've ever witnessed.  I think without Walker's interest/competition it wasn't as much fun for her.  I'm sure next year will be another story.

ready for the backyard egg hunt

W found a couple before he lost interest

Such a fun family weekend!  I really love any occasion to celebrate and pass along traditions to my family.  Enjoying these times through Walker and Savannah helps to make me feel like a kid all over again.