Texas, We've Missed You

Clinton and I are now chillin' in Texas and enjoying Bebe and Pop. Clinton is enjoying all the attention and I'm enjoying the free hands. We arrived yesterday and today just took advantage of a free day with nothing to do!

Yesterday Clinton was a perfect traveler. He slept through most of the first flight, which I suspected he would since I booked a 6.30a flight, and he slept through part of the second flight. My friend Holly picked us up at the airport and we had lunch with her, her baby Hudson, and her sister Tyler. We also took some pictures of Clinton and Hudson together, which they may not appreciate later, but Holly and I decided that we went through enough to get them here so we can play with them a little if we want.

Check out our pictures below.

This is Hudson just after a long nap...oh, how I miss those days! Hudson is just over 2 months old, so he's still a big sleeper...during the day.

Clinton and Hudson posing together, but not doing a very good job of looking in the same direction.


Clinton in his Texas-sized floatie, but not so much a Texas-sized pool.

We're Off to Texas...

Sorry for the long blogging drought...we've been busy! Clinton and I are leaving tomorrow for Texas...Rodney will be joining us next weekend. Here are a few pictures of Clinton.

Moron Mommy

Well, Clinton and I had an adventurous day...thanks to me and the mind I seem to have lost. We had just run some errands for Rodney and were headed to the grocery store to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables to make Clinton's food--he has really taken a liking to solid food now. So, I did my usual laps around the parking lot looking for the perfect space right next to one of the cart corrals. And there it was...a spot on the very front row, right next to a cart corral, and one perfectly lovely cart waiting just for me. Now that Clinton is 20lbs. (plus the 8-10 pounds from the carseat), I bring the cart to us rather than us to the cart. I got my bag ready and set it beside Clinton. I locked the doors and tucked my keys into the side pocket, as I always do, so I won't have to fiddle with the keys after we're out of the car. I then realized I needed to retrieve that lovely cart. I started around the truck to grab the cart, but noticed a car was trying to pull into the space next to me. I quickly stepped back and shut the door to allow the car into the space. As soon as I did it, I realized the doors were locked and my keys sat in the bag in the back seat next to Clinton. I panicked. Usually a quiet person, wanting no attention on myself, I stepped out of my comfort zone and greeted the lady getting out of the car next to me with tears and the humiliating question..."May I please borrow your cell phone? I've locked my baby in the car." She, of course, had no problems with this. Never having locked a living being in the car, I didn't really know who to call. I began by trying the neighbor who has a key to our house and could retrieve the spare key to my car and bring it to me...not home. As I muttered the words, "Crap, they're not home." The lady looked at me very sweetly and said, "Ma'am, you need to call 911...it's hot out here." Of course, 911. So I called and gave them all the necessary information...location, "crime", name, etc. It wasn't long before all these men in red shirts started pouring out of the grocery. About the same time I could hear over the phone the page 911 was sending out...while also hearing the same thing in parking lot. The men in red shirts were firemen!! Trying to gather some composure, I looked away from the men coming towards me (with the store manager) and noticed just six spaces over sat a very large fire truck...I guess I had failed to notice it through the tears and panick. So, in less than 5 minutes my heroes were there. But wait...what's that I hear?? Oh, just another large fire truck and an ambulance coming up the road with sirens blaring. Isn't it bad enough that the people within earshot know I'm a bad mom? But now the whole parking lot and the whole town has to know?? Anyway, as the entire rescue squad approached my car, they parked (with the lights still flashing) and surrounded my car. I kid you not, I counted 8 firemen surrounding the truck. Meanwhile, Clinton thought there was a party going on. His music was still playing on his Baby Einstein thingy and he was just kicking his feet and talking to all the firemen through the glass. I cried everytime I looked at him, because I felt so bad. With a few firemen tricks, they finally unlocked the doors. From start to finish, my crime lasted less than 10 minutes...in fact, the air was still cold in the truck. So a big THANKS to the Spring Hill Fire Department (who I'm sure doesn't read my blog)....you saved my little prince!

The pictures of Clinton below are mostly of him trying to crawl, but one of him all passed out after his big rescue...he was worn out!

Roly Poly

Since the last post Clinton has started rolling over from his stomach to his back. So now, he can roll across the floor to get somewhere. While this is exciting, Rodney and I now realize we've lost another piece of our freedom. Clinton needs to be watched much more closely when being changed, laying on the bed, even just laying on the floor.

I'd also like to note what a good dog Gracie Mae is. She stood very still and quiet yesterday as Clinton reached up and grabbed two fists full of hair on her face. As soon as I saw what Clinton was doing, I immediately went to work on freeing the poor dog...but she never growled, barked, snapped, or even whimpered. She loves this little boy as much as we do...maybe more, we whimper when he pulls our hair!

Clinton tried a banana today. The pictures are a bit deceiving because you would think by the look on his face he didn't like it, but he kept reaching for more...so I kept putting it in his mouth. Anything's got to taste better than that formula and rice!

You also might notice I put Clinton through another round of pictures today....I know, poor kid.

A Little More Cowboy

Another photo shoot...I wish I could promise to pull myself together and stop doing this, but I can't...or won't.

I forgot to mention on the last post that Clinton has achieved a couple of milestones recently. During the monkey photo shoot, he finally discovered his thumb. I have seen him sucking on it just a time or two, though. He still seems to prefer chewing on his left pointer finger. And on June 27, Clinton rolled over! We were so excited because we had been told he could be a bit delayed due to his larger size...but no real delays here. Rodney and I were both sitting there watching when he did it...and it was precious. First he would lift his feet high in the air, then drop them over to his right side. There he laid for a few minutes pondering what to do next. It's a bit tricky for a baby because that right arm is laying between their body and the floor just getting in the way. He tried a couple of times to just roll easily as if the arm wasn't there, but each time the arm rolled him back to his side where he would sigh a little and then ponder again. After a few tries, Clinton threw his left leg back to the floor behind him and then threw it back across his body. Enough momentum was created to pull his entire body over his arm and he was on his stomach. You would have thought he had just scored the winning touchdown of a National Championship game (like Vince Young did) the way Rodney and I went to cheering him on. Clinton was so happy. He pushed up as high as he could on his arms and just grinned from ear to ear. Then he began working on his next feat...crawling. This resulted in about 90 seconds of swimming motion and then wailing. Now, everytime we lay him down he rolls over, swims and then screams...but I'm still proud of him. A couple of things I should note...if Gracie is around Clinton loves laying on his stomach watching her....and Clinton can't roll from his stomach to his back (which is supposed to be easier), but we'll continue to work on it.

Cowboy Clinton

Well, it's possible that Clinton is going to grow up thinking he is a model like his Aunt Zsazsie, because he has to endure so many photo shoots. Of course, if he's as pretty as his dad (which he's sure to be), he just might be a real model. Clinton, please sign a deal with Mr. Lauren--and see if you can get me a discount! Anyway, below are a number of pictures of Clinton in his cowboy jeans and his pearl snap shirt. He is accompanied by his horse, Pinto, that Bebe and Pop brought him from Houston. A real Texas horse for a "real" Texas boy. See if you can find the picture where Clinton is signaling for me to stop and just let him be??

I've also included one of our four 4-generation pictures. The one below is Clinton, Rodney, Rodney's mom Cathy, and her mother Emma.

Hope everyone has a happy 4th! Believe it or not, Clinton has a new outfit for our party this evening!