Christmas Catch Up - SEA WORLD

For Christmas we went to San Antonio to meet my sister's fiance's family. We had such a great time and really enjoyed staying in a hotel for the holidays.

Our first day in the big city we met my college roomie, Samantha, and her family at Sea World. She has two boys, Tristan who is 3 months older than Clinton, and Parker who is 10 months older than Heidi Sage. (Somehow I only got one picture of Heidi Sage and no pictures of Parker!!)

The two who enjoyed the trip the most were Clinton and Tristan. They hadn't seen each other since they were babies, but they seemed to just pick up where they left off! They had so much fun playing together. Sam and I wished more than ever that we lived closer to each other!

Heidi Sage enjoying herself? She was actually a saint during our 5 hour tour of the park. She loved watching all the people and even took a good nap.

They had one of Clinton's favorite foods--POPCORN! This was a huge hit for our big guy.

The boys playing! They spent a lot of time like this--pushing each other around and wrestling. They really had the best time together.

The daddies with the big boys. (L - Victor with Tristan; R - Rodney with Clinton)

We all loved feeding the dolphins. Clinton was soaked when we got done and smelled like fish for the rest of the day.

We also really enjoyed the Shamu show. I even cried the first time Shamu jumped out of the water. I had never been to Sea World and had always wanted to see this American icon. It was a little more overwhelming than I thought.

We also saw a Sesame Street Live Christmas show that the boys enjoyed, but it still wasn't good enough to keep them in their seats! We spent a lot of time bribing them with Sam's homemade cookies to stay nearby.

Clinton STILL talks about the "skewy shish" (scary fish a.k.a. Shamu) and the "doppins" (dolphins). We hope to go back again soon!

Enjoying life through my kids' excitement,

Play Dates Are Awesome

At the request of our friend Tanya, we hosted a play group this week and it was such a great idea! We'll be doing it again very soon!

Clinton had a BIG time with all the big kids. Clinton, Anderson (Annie), Hutch (who I don't have a single picture of!), and Bek all played together in the back yard. For several days before, Clinton and I talked about how his friends were going to come over to play and how he needed to SHARE his toys.

I had no idea if he was grasping it or not, but when his friends got here he shared everything he had and did not have one meltdown!! I had to pinch myself!

Heidi Sage, on the other hand, missed her morning nap and was too busy with everyone around that she wouldn't go to sleep...so she was the one who ended up having the meltdown! I know, I know....I thought she was content all the time?? She is...except when I push her over the edge of hunger or exhaustion!

Below are the little kids. From left to right we have: Abby (Twin A), Lucy, Heidi Sage, and Norah (Twin B).


Sweet Anderson. She and Clinton see each other every week at Bible study. They're so funny. They are always SO excited to see each other, but they often fight like siblings. They're both quite feisty. Anderson is the youngest of four so she knows how to hold her own!


Darling Bek. This was Bek's first time to come over and play with us. He's another one of our friends who was adopted from Ethiopia. He's only about 15 months old, but like Clinton, he thinks he's about 10. He did such a good job keeping up with Clinton and Hutch who are both 2+.


I love this pic because you can see the size difference between Clinton and Bek, but like I said, Bek had no problems keeping up with the big boys. They ran up and down and up and down and up and down the back yard! It was so fun to watch!


Tanya with the twins who got pooped out with all the activity going on!


That afternoon Hutch and Bek's moms reported back that they both took 3 hour naps. And while Clinton didn't bless me with one of those, Heidi Sage took a 2 1/2 hour nap! That's her longest nap by about an hour and a half!! I guess she really was tired!

Clinton did impress me with a conversation we had later...it went something like this...

"Mommy! I pay!"

"Yes, you did play. Did you have fun with your friends today?"

"Jes. I shrrr."

"Huh?"

"I shrrr my toes."

Fighting back tears of joy, "Oh, you sure did share your toys! Mommy's so proud of you! Give me five!"

Big smiles all around.


Looking forward to next time,

Learning Life's Hardest Lessons...

...like--Not every birthday party is MY birthday party.

It's sad but true...and it was a lesson our little Clinton had to learn a couple of weeks ago.

This party was Jack's.



When we celebrated Clinton's birthday back in February, he still hadn't been to enough parties to really grasp what was going on. All he knew (or cared about) was that a choo-choo cake had sat on the table taunting him for 5 whole hours before the guests arrived. After a while he figured out the gifts were for him, but once he found one he loved he was done opening the rest.

NOW Clinton knows what a gift is and he knows he wants to open it. Because hidden beneath the beautiful, colorful paper begging to be ripped to shreds is a surprise toy. And lately Clinton is convinced someone is going to show up and give him a robot truck!? (Dang those Nickelodian commercials!)

He also knows when I tell him we're going to a party he is going to get cake. Since SWEETS is Clinton's favorite food group, he LOVES a party!

I made the mistake of thinking it would be really cute if Clinton decorated our gift for Jack. Actually, it may have been for the best. Clinton was able to learn before the party that it was JACK'S gift.

I wrapped the gift in brown craft paper. I then called Clinton inside to come and color it. He took his markers and carefully colored every side of the paper. As soon as I heard the last marker lid snap back on I also heard paper ripping. "Clinton, no!" A surprised look followed by a I'm-doing-it-anyway smile and then more ripping. "No, Clinton! This is for Jack, not Clinton." "Shack?" "Yes, Jack." This brought out the pitiful pouty lip and a few tears. I taped the paper back together, and then put the gift on top of the China cabinet. Tears, screaming, sobbing...he left nothing out and continued to cut his eyes back and forth between me and the floor as he checked to see the progress his fit was making.

I kid you not for 15 minutes this went on and on. He would follow me from room to room to let me know just how disgruntled he was. BUT as soon as Rodney walked in the door, Clinton ran to him SMILING, grabbed his hand, led him to the dining room, pointed to the gift and said, "Dad! Dat's Shack's!! Not Kenton's. I go Shack's poddy!"

So, lesson learned before we ever got there...but did it stick?

Clinton made sure to show everyone his handy work. And he even let Jack open most of his presents...


...but he couldn't help himself now and again. This face kept me on the edge of my seat wondering when the lesson we had learned was going to wear off. Luckily, Jack got enough toys that he was willing to share.


And truth be told, Jack wasn't nearly as interested in his gifts as he was little Hot Momma Heidi. They were having to force Jack back to the gifts because all he wanted to do was visit with his girl.


One part of the party Jack thoroughly enjoyed was the cake. And did I mention how much Clinton loves cake?


Only Clinton doesn't like to BE the mess! He ate his very carefully.


And while Jack and Clinton were each attacking their cake in very different ways, Heidi was on the prowl with another hunky baby (Michael). They "talked" and looked at each other sharing grins and occasionally reaching out to hold hands. So sweet...but it made Jack a little jealous that cousin Michael was going after his girl....on his Birthday!


I'm proud to say Clinton attended another birthday party this weekend and remembered the protocol. Whew!

Teaching the tough ones,

Welcome, Little Luke!

My dear friend Kelly delivered her second son today--Luke Walker. We are so excited for them and can't wait for future playdates!




No baby fever here (yet),

Texas Summer '09 - Picture Wrap Up

Clinton and Conley quickly became friends. In this pic you can see they even swapped their fave stuffed animals. Maybe Clinton is learning to share! ...or flirt!


Clinton was also big buds with Turtle. They spent more time chasing each other and playing with each other than anyone else. Chelsea said once they returned home, Turtle slept for two days. We failed to have such luck with Clinton.


This is the face I get when I tell him to do something he doesn't want to....or to stop doing something he does!


A sweet little girl who LOVES visiting with her Pop!


Everyone enjoyed Bebe's homemade ice cream...


...even Turtle. (The dog who is not allowed to have table food....oops!)


Missing Texas (but not the heat),