Slip n Slide

So Trace decided to take a ridiculously long 4 hour nap on Monday! That is after he got up at 9 for the day. I guess the beach wore him out. Gene had to run to the field to do some work so it was just Trenton & I at home. All of his buddies were gone so we busted out the slip n slide while I cleaned the garage and my car out. Having 2 boys in my car at all times makes for one nasty vehicle within a week or so! Once the “fun” of the slip n slide wore off we washed my car. I wanted to head to the pool to meet a couple of the neighbors, but I never wake a sleeping Trace!

Trenton got this for his b-day and has been waiting to get it out. It’s actually one of the better ones we have owned!

I love that my sweet little man can make the most out of playing by himself!

Sand and Seaweed (Memorial Day 2012)

Memorial Day weekend was so relaxing. We were soaking up the sun from Saturday to Monday! We slept in all weekend and the boys had no set bed time. We usually try to go to Del Rio for the Lake this time of year, but we are not traveling since I am only 8 weeks out from delivering this sweet baby girl! Friday night we met up with our friends The Jefferies and The Fontenots for dinner at BJs. The boys did great and it is nice to get out and eat dinner with friends every now and then.

Saturday our neighborhood had their Annual Memorial Day Celebration. We don’t usually make this, but I was excited that we did. They cook hamburgers, hotdogs, desserts & drinks. They also have the pool open, water slides and bounce houses! I didn’t take my camera with me, but I assure you both boys (& Gene) had a blast! Trace has so much confidence in the water it’s amazing! It makes it easier on both of us because we still have to work with Trenton a lot in the water.

Sunday we headed to Galveston for some fun in the sun (& seaweed). During a holiday weekend we don’t care to hang out on the beaches closest to Galveston because they are over crowded. We like to go further down where apparently the sand has been replaced with seaweed. It’s so gross, but we made the most of the day. Trace would climb over the HUGE mountains of seaweed to get to the water. It was quite the site to see.  Our good buddies The Jefferies, The Williamsons & The Cooley’s all enjoyed this lovely holiday together!

Trace has a lot of trust for his Daddy. Trace would only go into the water if Gene took him. Otherwise he was perfectly content sitting in his chair away from the water and floating seaweed!

My world! These faces just show how crazy these boys really are!

My sweet little Gilligan!

Coming back in from a quick swim with Daddy!

Landry! She LOVED the water, sand and seaweed! She is by far the sweetest and prettiest little girl I have ever met. I can’t wait for her and baby girl to be good friends!

Trace cracked me up. He sat in the only chair that did not get much water on him. I don’t know that he was scared of the water as much as he was the seaweed.

My how Trenton has grown. He was running and diving into the waves this year. He even went out pretty far in the water without getting scared! I knew he would grow to love the water.

My sweet Trenton!

Brothers enjoying a quick snack before heading back out to the water.

I cannot even believe I would put a picture of me in a bathing suit on here, but I need the memory. I am 31 weeks pregnant with 2 incredible little boys who I adore more than life itself.

Trace found some sand up by the cars and had a blast!

Loving me some little beach bum!

I love these girls and I am so lucky to have them as friends. Our families are close and enjoying hanging out whenever we can!

Gretchen, Me & Hollie

 

The boys!

Joe, Gene & Brett

Gene, Gretchen & Joe!

The Williamsons

Trenton & Chase are so much alike. They are both sweet, kind little boys that have mean younger siblings! They had a blast catching shrimp and crabs in their dump truck. Trenton kept asking if we could cook the shrimp to which I said NO. I mean they were microscopic size!!

I was trying so hard to get a picture of these cuties Ally & Trace, but Trace kept trying to kiss her! This boy is such a mess.

We were winding down our day at this point. I had to confine Trace to the bed of the truck so we could pack everything up!

Trace relaxing in Ms. Hollie’s chair showing us his belly button.

This is a sign that we had a great day! He was asleep before we could get 5 minutes off the beach! 

This one here didn’t crash for a little while later.

By far one of the best weekends we have had as a family in a while. Both boys did awesome on the water and it was so stress free. We needed a mini getaway since have been sick for the last couple of weeks. Next summer we will have 2 boys and a little princess to enjoy! Hopefully it will be just as stress free!

Baby Girl – 31 Weeks

Well sweet baby girl is growing right along. I am measuring at 30 weeks and 3 days! She is weighing in around 4 lbs! Dr. LeBlanc estimates her to be a bit bigger than her brothers at around 8 lbs! I didn’t get an ultra sound with the boys at this late in my pregnancy so it’s exciting to see her sweet face! She is very active and has the sweetest pouty lips! I am over the moon in love with her already and cannot wait to meet her!

I think this is a foot

Sweet chubby face. We saw several shots with her eyes open and sticking her tongue out!

Sweet kissable lips!

She was waiving to me and blowing me kisses. She loves me so much already!

So far I am checking out good. I have not gained any weight since my last visit, but since she is growing it’s no big deal. My platelets are still dropping, but my doctor isn’t concerned at this time. I am having a rough week. I guess the HFM virus Trace gave me ends with a nice asthmatic cough. I am now on cough medicine, inhaler and antibiotic. I just want to feel better so we can enjoy our weekend!

Pre-School Graduation (Lil Texans 2012)

Well Trenton has officially graduated from Pre-School and will entering the wonderful world of public kindergarten! We are so proud of our little guy. The day before his graduation we received his Pre-K evaluation and he MASTERED EVERYTHING! Gene and I feel like he is a smart little guy, but this evaluation proved that he is absolutely ready for kinder!

Walking into the ceremony!

His pre-school class sang several of their favorite songs and both teachers read very sweet poems.

He was super excited to graduate. He kept asking all week about it!

Ms. Diana was Trenton’s teacher for the past year. She has done such an amazing job in getting the kids ready for kinder and I have really appreciated all that Trenton has learned from her this year.

Ms. Stacy was never his teacher, but she was the director when we started and the reason we chose this pre-school! Her sweet little twin boys are in Trace’s class.

Trenton singing songs with his friend Skylar.

Each graduate got a trophy, certificate of completion and snack cup. Trenton was very excited over the trophy.

So proud!

My little guy and me (disregard my horrific look since I am feeling a lot under weather that day)

Daddy and Trenton

Trenton and his little friend Skylar – She gives me a full report on Trenton’s behavior daily and also expresses how Trenton will not hug her any more (which secretly makes me smile)

Oh Trace

Trace has been feeling a little under the weather the last couple of weeks and has since kindly passed it on to me. He has had ulcers in his mouth and hasn’t been interested in eating much. I have been saving this cupcake for him since we all got to enjoy one from the MMM Cupcake Truck that comes to my office every other week. I guess he was feeling better this weekend, found the cupcake and decided to climb on the table to enjoy it! This boy is so brave it’s a little scary for this Mama!

What? This is for me right?

After one lick of the incredible icing this is the cheesy smile he gave me!

Mother’s Day 2012

I have been overly blessed with 2 of the most amazing little boys. They each have taught me so much about life and living that I honestly do feel privileged that God chose me to be their Mommy. They are both so different, but then at the same time so much the same. I honestly never thought I wanted kids (you know those young naive days!), but being a Mom is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. Not everyday is easy or perfect. I have my weak moments where I lose my cool and may raise my voice, but my boys love me unconditionally. When we just had Trenton my fear was always “Am I doing everything right to raise this child” and my fear now as a parent of almost 3 is “Am I doing everything I can to keep these children safe, happy and healthy” I have learned over the last 5 years of being a Mom that there is no right way to raise a child. You teach them to respect themselves and others. You teach them to be kind and have manners. You learn to let them make their own choices even though you know the end result will not be good. I have learned to not sweat the small stuff when it comes to my kids. They are going to be messy, loud, throw fits and scream in public. They are going to not listen when I say NO and tell me "I make them angry" or “I don’t like you right now”. I would rather my kids not like me for a moment because I made a decision based on their safety and well being than the latter.

As a Mom of boys I just want them to grow up to love life. I want them to be responsible for their own actions. I want them to know how to take care of themselves and especially to respect women. I want them to always try new things and never let fear hold them back. I want them to know that we are here for them no matter what bad decisions they make as long as they are safe. We will be adding a sweet little princess to the mix in 2 short months. I hope that by the time she gets here I am even more confident in myself as a parent and that she will grow up to be a best friend to me, always be able to tell me anything, but respect me as her Mom. I am truly blessed that I will have 3 children to call me Mom.

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We spent Mother’s Day 2012 traveling back from our awesome trip to Corpus. Trace may have cried most of the trip, Trenton may have felt sick midway home, we may have been exhausted when we got home, but we were together as a family. What more could a Mom ask for on Mother’s Day. Gene made some incredible shrimp kabobs for dinner. We unpacked and enjoyed an evening on the couch together! It’s not about fancy gifts or a fancy meal. It’s about spending time with the people that love you the most!

Corpus Trip – Day 2 (Hooks Game)

After the graduation celebrations we headed back to the hotel so that Trace could take a nap and Trenton could go swimming. That evening we had already planned to go to the Hooks Game! Minor League Games are so much more fun, cheaper and entertaining than MLB games. We were a little bummed the water park wasn’t open yet, but there is always next time! I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share with the boys for the first time seeing as we will not be traveling much more until after sweet girl gets here!

Trenton was so pumped over this giant baseball player statue. He immediately wanted to take a picture with him!

 

Enjoying some cotton candy at the game

My sweet little OCD child wiping his hands off after sharing some of brothers cotton candy!

In between innings they always have some sort of entertainment and this is Rusty the Hook. He was throwing baseballs! I was sure with Gene and Trenton in front of me that they would catch one. Well not so much, but guess who did ME!!

He kept telling everyone “My Mom caught me this ball” MELT MY HEART! It’s moments like this that just make me so grateful to be a parent!

Trace thought Rusty was hilarious!