Where does the time go?

So I know July 4th was forever ago, but I had to post some pictures. Our neighborhood had a little parade so I decorated the stroller and we paraded around that morning. It totally reminded me of decorating my bike and riding in the neighborhood parade when I was little. Of course, I was also dressed up as a pioneer because it was July 24th, but close enough! Then that night the golf course near our house had a firework show. It was a fun day (from what I can remember because it was so long ago!)
Kate turned 10 months last week. She is finally crawling around! It has been nice to have her be able to follow me around instead of sitting her down and then have her start crying because she can't follow me. But now I have to keep a close eye on her so she doesn't get into things or put everything in her mouth! She makes a really funny noise whenever we say "meow", like she is trying to copy us or something. But she only does it after "meow". She is eating lots of new things and likes most of them as long as she can feed herself. I can't believe she is almost a year old!

Memory Lane Tag

You're It!

Memory Lane.... the tag that gets everyone involved
Got this from a friend and I thought I would play the game.
Here's how you play
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and i had together. it doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory of you. it's actually pretty funny to the responses. if you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

A perspective on work

I have been working at a hospital near our new house (I'm an ultrasound tech for those that don't know) while one of their regular techs is on maternity leave. I have to say...working is so much easier than being a stay-at-home mom! It is really hard to leave Kate, but once I get to work, I have clear objectives and an immediate reward (in the form of a paycheck). At home, I have a child that can't tell me what she wants, a house that never seems to stay clean, and no paycheck! I can totally understand why some moms would choose to go back to work and respect even more the moms that decide to stay home. I remember my mom being there to greet us when we got home from school, and it meant so much to have her there. But I can see now why she went back to school as soon as Paul was in elementry! Anyway, my hat goes off to all you stay-at-home moms, the most difficult job on the planet!

Priceless

Baby oatmeal: $3.49

Baby applesauce: $1.09

Juice: $2.49



Letting the baby feed herself: Priceless

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

We're back! After a rough start (our plane was supposed to leave Houston at 1:10pm and didn't leave until almost 9pm getting us to our Orlando hotel after 1am) we woke up and reintroduced ourselves to nephews and nieces, some of whom I had never met! Then we got on a shuttle and headed to Port Canaveral where a ship was waiting. After getting on the ship and dropping off our bags, we immediately began eating which was a good example of how we would spend the majority of our time (either actually eating or thinking about it). There was a nusery that we dropped Kate off at so we could have dinner in peace. She cried at first but when I went back to check on her 15 minutes later she was almost asleep so I took that as a good sign. The next day we got to Castaway Cay which is an island that Disney bought. It was gorgeous and not at all too "Disney". They had the actual Flying Dutchman ship from Pirates of the Caribbean and you could get your picture taken with Captain Jack (I think this was Alicia's highlight). We spent the morning playing in the ocean and then after lunch we rented bikes and rode around. Poor Kate was so tired she feel asleep in the bike carrier! That night the theater put on Toy Story the Musical which was pretty cute and Kate seemed to enjoy it. The second island was Nassau which I was not at all impressed with. There was lots of shopping close to the dock, but it was mostly the same junk you can find in Mexico or the streets of New York. The beach was too far to walk to and we didn't want to get too far from the ship so we decided not to go (I heard from other people later that we didn't miss much). After walking around for a little while we went back to the ship and played in the pool. The fourth day we went back to Castaway Cay. Jason, Kate and I rode bikes around while Bev, my dad, Greg and Alicia went parasailing. Then Jason decided he was beached out so he took Kate to the ship for a nap and I went to the "adult" beach with my sibs. There was hardly anyone esle there and we swam and relaxed in hammocks and saw a (baby) shark and it was glorious! Before dinner we went to another show called Disney Dreams (I think). I wasn't expecting much but it was really fun! There were songs from lots of Disney movies and they threw confetti into the audience, blew bubbles (for the Little Mermaid song) and even made it snow on us (during the Beauty and the Beast song)! After that was our last supper, sniff, sniff. The next morning we disembarked and made our way as slowly as possible back to the real world. All in all, I think this was one of my favorite vacations. It was sort of hard with Kate, but it was so worth it and I can't wait to go again when she is a little older!

Happy Mother's Day!

The day started out great because Kate slept until almost 9:00!! And I woke up to a waffle breakfast, so that made things even better. And yes, that is a picture of a vacuum, which was my mother's day present. No, my husband is not a chauvinist pig, he gave me exactly what I asked for. I have been wanting the Bissell pet hair eraser for awhile but couldn't really justify the cost (since the old vacuum works just fine) so getting it as a gift seemed like a good solution. After church, I watched Masterpiece Theater's Jane Erye while Kate slept and then we had pasta for dinner, so the whole day was just perfect. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and future mothers!

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!

Last week my sisters came to Houston to save me from a week by myself. Jason had to go to Alabama for work and I was dreading being by myself for a whole week. Then it dawned on me...I have two awesome sisters who would love to come to Houston for a few days! I was amazed that Janelle and Alicia could both come on such short notice but I was so happy they both could! We had lots of fun hanging around the house watching What Not to Wear and playing with Kate (she warmed up to them eventually). We also went to a park downtown that just opened up and checked out some new outlets close to Houston. I was sad to see them go but will see them soon because we are all going on a Disney cruise next month, yea! I am so thankful to have such great sisters who honestly are my best friends. Thanks for keeping me sane guys!