Since I last blogged, I've hosted a bridal shower, partied all night at a bachelorette party, and took the kids on vacation to San Antonio and Houston. While I don't have any pictures of the first 2 events - I was way too busy during the shower to take any pictures and, well, I don't think I want to share any pictures of the bachelorette party!!! - you'll have to settle for some standard family pics around the house and on vacation.
However, before I get to any of that, I have to announce that little Nolan is crawling! What started out a week ago as rocking back and forth on his hands and knees has now progressed to full-fledged crawling and pulling up on furniture. Fortunately, we had JUST lowered the crib mattress before all this started. I just can't believe that he's mobile. I don't think Bailey crawled until she was about 8 months. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep Bailey's stuff out of his mouth?? Before, I could just move the marbles or whatever deathly element Bailey left out on the floor, but now it's a little more difficult.
While I don't have a shot of him crawling (which, in reality, would really just look like him sitting still on his hands and knees, right?), here is his favorite new pose. It's how he gets stuck when he's been crawling and can't quite get himself back to a regular seated position. I call it the herkie....
Why herkie, you ask? Because it looks just like this:
And, yes, the balloon is his new obsession. While it's not the best item for a 7 month-old to play with, it's the only item I could dangle in front of him that he cared enough to try to crawl FOR. So, after all that work learning to crawl, I hate to take away his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
As I mentioned, we took a short trip down to San Antonio to see our friends. We stayed the first couple of nights in a hotel room and then with friends the last night. I don't think Bailey liked the "itty bitty bed" she slept in there. She was quite confused about why it was so little! We found her in the morning with the bed stripped of all the blankets and everything - I think she needed to stretch out as much as possible! She later said, "I miss my bed. It's big."
She did, however, love the hotel, as did little Nolan. Here are a few pics of both Nolan's first time in the big pool and some shots in the room.
He LOVES the water! Jason wore himself out juggling 2 kids who both wanted to swim around. I didn't know we were going to have any down time, so didn't bring my suit. I ended up throwing caution to the wind and going in a tank top and gym shorts. Lesson learned for the next trip - always bring a suit just in case.
Poor kid didn't really know the difference. I think this pic is funny because that was one of those big water bottles.
I guess you really can't tell but I was trying to capture Bailey's efforts to do her own hair. She doesn't like me to blow-dry it, so we always just let it air-dry. But, in this picture, she had put on both a head band, a rubber band (in the back) and a bow on top of the head band. She thought she looked pretty special. I somehow managed to convince her to choose just one accessory for the day.
Here are some pictures of all the kids. The clan is growing!! These are the children of Jason's childhood through h.s. friends Sergio, David, and Corey. His other friend Danny doesn't yet have any little ones, but we're all praying they have the success they desperately want soon!
I didn't get any pics of the fireworks display at Sea World, but here's a pic of the girls watching it. Truthfully, the one in good ole' Bethany, America is better!
This is Bailey trying to teach little Colin how to go potty like a big kid. She, for some reason, took it upon herself to try to potty train both Colin and Maddie, who are both about 2 1/2. What's funny about this (and probably not intentional on her part) is that this is exactly how Bailey became fully potty trained. Last year on our trip to SA, she was ALMOST there and we convinced Jackie (Maddie's older sister who is now 6) to take Bailey to the potty with her every time she went. Surprisingly, the day after our trip she said that pull-ups were no longer necessary.
Then we went over to Houston to spend a couple of days with Jason's brother's family. I don't have any good pictures from this leg of the trip. Bailey did get to pet a sting ray (gross) and we drove to the Boardwalk at Kemah. Next time, we'll actually make it to the beach.
