Thursday, June 17, 2010

MG

wanted to give a little shout out to my sister, Mary Grace... you can read all about her on the cool website she created! She is an ambitious, talented, and sweet young lady, and it makes me feel old that I can remember giving her bottles and changing those awful cloth diapers :) I love you MG and love watching you learn and grow...

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

looking forward to..

my little bean is sleeping in his swing right now, compliments of Daddy, who brought home new batteries last night. James LOVES that swing, and likes to spend a little time in it every day if he can. We were having dinner with friends the other day and talking about how much James does really love his swing... And I said I don't know what we'll do when he gets too big for it! And Ron says that we'll just build a bigger swing :)

I have a few things to get done and wrap up here before my two and half weeks in Wisconsin... Ah, Wisconsin in July sounds so refreshing! I hope that it's very mild temperatures (80s? 70s would be better...) so that I really get to enjoy it! Of course what I'll enjoy most is seeing family. Here's a few things I'm looking forward to:

• making fondant with the kids and then making all kinds of fondant sculptures
• seeing the look on Grandma and Grandpa Goodman's faces when they see James for the first time...
• Riding home from the airport with dad :)
• finger painting with the kids
• playing games galore with the kids!
• helping Ruth make candles :)
• planning Ron's birthday party
• seeing Nate and Joie and Will and Annie... yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• going to Jason and Dana's wedding, seeing old friends :)
• enjoying vacation time with Ron
• showing James off, watching him learn new things and see new things...

Something I think I'll have a hard time with at times... sharing James! I'll try to be good about it, but I may at times be one of those annoyingly overprotective parents. Didn't think I would... Being around family will be the best, though. Can't wait! So I must go get some things done here that need doing :)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Galveston, part 3

Well, we couldn't leave without seeing the sandcastles and the Gulf of Mexico! So this is on Sunday, when we went to the beach. I didn't photograph the four hour car ride or the time Ron got lost in Houston (precious sleeping baby time!)... Actually, we both handled ourselves very well at that time, too! I was proud of us. This weekend helped to rejuvenate us. We used to have so much time for each other, now we share a lot. Of course it's wonderful having a baby. You all understand, I'm sure.

James and Ron at the beach. James was upset. only at first :) We later found out he had bronchitis at this time (the worst of it was when we took him into the hospital Monday and Monday night)... oops! As Ron said, we couldn't have known, and besides being a little lethargic, which we attributed to the heat, he was really pretty good... even for that car ride!

I thought this was a clever idea...

Ford propaganda :)

Dr. Suess. Some of was destroyed, since we came a day late, but you got the idea... plus, so worth it by avoiding the crowd we witnessed heading to the beach the day before!

more legos for Justin :)


big boats!! I had never seen a boat this big in person, I don't think...

Ron and the boy, chillin' out.

my boys.

we love his little sunhat :)

I just thought this picture was funny because you can't see either of their eyes... I also feel bad because I'm obviously focusing on James here :) poor Ron! Kind of like I mentioned above, I guess we share now, though so much of my attention has to be on James a lot of the time. But we're figuring out how to thrive as a family, and finally getting more couple time, too. I LOVE YOU, RON!!

too precious. waiting for the water...

and there it is! The first time, James screamed, so we said... Let's try that again! He didn't scream again, though :)



i love this one :)

We thought the seagulls there looked funny because they have black heads! We watched them fight over a piece of bread, quite entertaining...

though you can't tell from this picture, I think James did enjoy his time at the beach, though not as thoroughly as he would have without bronchitis. Ron and I agreed that wading in the water it was quite pleasant, and it would have been great swimming in the surf. We didn't stay but an hour or so at the beach, but if we had been swimming I could have been there all day... Someday James will want to do that, and we'll stay all day. For now, we enjoy the little bean just as he is :)

Galveston, part 2

After shopping we were going to try to go see the Sandcastle competition, one of the reasons we chose this weekend in Galveston. But we were all tired and James was hungry again, and it was INSANELY packed with cars on one whole side of the island... Everyone and their brother went to the beach that day. So we went back to our hotel! Off the island for a better rate, but only a 15 minute drive or so :) We were so glad we did! We were able to cool off and just laid on the bed for a few hours, feeding and playing with James, and taking naps. So restful. At night we ate our picnic lunch we had packed and watched a little tv while James slept some more...

We just had to show you some of our pictures playing with James! I wonder if he's turning into a little ham, or just always really happy to see us! I love that he really likes us! I used to see those people that always showed everyone tons of photos of their kids and (unless I was related to them, I guess...) I thought... ok, we get it, you have a kid... But now I understand! I have a kid! The cutest little thing that means the world to us! And now that I have a digital camera, as well, watch out :) So... if you ever think I go overboard, at least remember that I could have posted more. I just snap these like mad with digital, and they're all so cute. I'm learning how to use my camera better, so hopefully I get some good shots in the process. Enjoy :)

camera happy??








melts my heart.

Galveston, part 1

Taking our time on "the Strand", a fun little shopping district. It felt very much like a mini vacation (which I used to think was impossible to feel on a short weekend trip :) Of course, it's a vacationer's town, and you could tell it here... We took it slow, and it wasn't as hot out as we thought it might be, plus we were popping into the air conditioned shops along the way...
Ron and the boy, at the beginning of shopping.

I thought Justin would appreciate this. A good beer to sip while you tourist :)

I couldn't get over the drinks everywhere!

I just liked this building a lot...

This is for Gracie :)

This is the little cafe we ate at, which was VERY good! I like the old guy out front, definitely on vacation!
at the restaurant, me and my James :)

James really liked all the bright colors that were here! Also... great food!

Ron and the big trumpet.
Ron playing the big trumpet. There were also some people around that looked scared...

big chess game!

local starving artist...

us!

We really enjoyed our time in Galveston. We had been needing some family time, and this was wonderful. We just kicked back and relaxed. James was an excellent traveler, which was even more amazing considering we found out he was sick on Monday. Saturday James was all smiles and had a great time. Sunday he still smiled but was a bit more lethargic... He didn't like the four hour car ride home, but only cried a tiny bit. He resigned himself to the fact that we weren't going to get him out of that seat and he fell asleep for most of it. All in all, though, it was just a great weekend! We love seeing new places, and all of us had never been to the Gulf before. Figured we'd better go before we leave Texas! Hopefully we can get back sometime, though we are thinking about seeing what Corpus Christi is like next.

Friday, June 4, 2010

James and his lion :)



Remember that Lion I got for James? We tried out his crib for the first time the other day and let him play with the lion. He enjoyed hitting it and smiling at it! yay!

latest cake



The best thing about this cake is that I am actually learning how to make a good tasting cake! I don't mean to brag, they aren't my own recipes so I feel like it's ok to say that :) This one was a vanilla/chocolate marble cake with maple filling. I feel like I'm getting fancy. But... just to keep me in my place, God let one side of the cake frosting fall off on our way to a get together that I made it for... It was hot, and the frosting was thick, I don't know... but it was still good :)