Good Ol' Wimberley Texas

I'm jumping back to August in an attempt to catch up... plus I figured I'd draw out the suspense even more from my pumpkin patch teaser (over a month ago!  gasp!).  Anyway, we were OVERJOYED in August to have two of our precious friends from France visit for a few days.  Katy (originally from Alabama) and Cami (from the Loire valley, about two hours south of Paris) and their daughter Julia Kate (almost exactly one year younger than Oliver) and their little boy on the way came to Houston for an evening and then drove to Wimberley for the weekend with us.

Yes.  Four adults. One of whom was very pregnant. Two toddlers.  One infant.  One suburban.  And a 3+ hour car ride each way.  So. fun.

Cami, who loves everything American and Southern, had never been to Texas, so we wanted to give him a real taste...  Therefore, we had to stop at Luling City BBQ on the way:

In Wimberley, we stayed at Sabino Ranch, home of my grandparents dear friends.  [Quick history - my grandparents lived in Wimberley the whole time I was growing up.  I visited every summer, and Chris and I were actually married there.  Recently, my grandmother sold her house there and moved to Houston to be closer to family.  We're glad to have her here but so sad to be separated from Wimberley.  I count myself so blessed to have family friends like the Johnsons who welcomed us onto their ranch and into their guest house for the weekend!]  Oliver absolutely ate. it. up.  Climbing fences:

Drooling over the motor pool:

And wanting to test drive each vehicle:



We walked down to Blue Hole (which, for those of you familiar with it and Wimberley, happens to be on the Johnson's land, just a three minute walk from the guest house):

And enjoyed the gorgeous cypress-lined swimming hole:


The next morning, Oliver requested another trip to the motor pool:

And we dragged Katy and Cami along to take in the Texas ranch experience:

We, of course, paid another visit to the water:

And enjoyed the gorgeous weather by eating outside:

That afternoon, we drove to one of the Texas Hill Country's little vineyards and basked in the view:

We sat for an hour or so under the trees:
And played with the kids:

Oliver actually took this picture - talented, huh?

And don't I just have the most handsome husband ever?

Julia Kate, true to her half-French heritage, was enjoying the empty bouteille de vin (and I had to get a pic!):

That evening, we visited the hill-country staple, the Salt Lick.  We enjoyed the live music (Oli is a good tipper):

Cami and Julia Kate danced the night away:

Oliver threw rocks (and thoroughly enjoyed himself!):

And I even got a pic with my sweet husband - a rarity!

We had SO much fun with these friends, and we only look forward to more memories.  Love and miss you guys!!!

Hey there, Punkin!

Just a little preview of what's to come...

"I'm a real boy!"

I keep hearing those words of Pinocchio playing over and over in my head when I look at Oliver...  He truly is no longer a baby or even a toddler, really.  He is a little boy.  Crazy.

This summer was filled with activity.  Playing in the rain:

Dressing up:

Getting free food at Chickfila:

Acting cool:

Talking to Momma Joy and Pop on Skype:

Swimming  (and sporting the goggles in the house):

Going to the zoo:

Where he also played at the splash pad with his friend, Caden:

How cute are they?!?!

We visited Chickfila a few times (to say the least) when trying to find an indoor place to play...  One time Oliver put on some girls pink and white sparkly crocs and climbed into the playplace with them.  Me, being the responsible mother that I am, took a picture and laughed. ;)

In my defense, I did make sure the girl could find her shoes later.  We also spent some time at the Children's Museum, another great place to beat the heat.  It was especially fun when Oli's cousin Leighton joined us:

Oliver even dressed as a policeman that day:

All this activity wore him out from time to time:

But he was always ready to go again.  Although Elliot is the baby in the house, Oliver is one with all the "firsts" this summer...  We left him with the grandparents for the first time.  For 10 days.  Talk about trial by fire.  But he was awesome.  He also had his first Rice Football Game:

And his first big boy bed (and yes, he was actually asleep when I took this picture):

One thing has certainly been confirmed: Oliver is Mr. Social.  He would play with friends every second of every day if he could.  And everyone under the age of 12 is his friend.  He regularly asks me, "Mommy, what that friend's name?" as we pass people in the grocery store or anywhere else, for that matter.  Because he's Mr. Social, he LOVES his Mother's Day Out.  And here is his first day at his new school:

SO grown up!  Best part of all, he's still the same "silly Oli" (as he calls himself), and I love him!

Elliot: 3-5 Months

Yes, I realize that Oliver got monthly posts.  Late sometimes, but monthly nonetheless.  And yes, I realize that I am treating poor Elliot like a stereotypical second child and short-changing him.  Poor thing.  But he is getting posts, at least, and that counts for something, right?

Actually, funny story.  Just the other day I was confessing to a friend my neglect of my second child, who has about 1/10 the amount of photos of my first... and I said it reminded me of a book I read once where a girl thought she might be adopted because she found books and books of baby pictures of her older sister, but almost none of her.  When I mentioned it, I purposefully left out the fact that it was from one of The Babysitters' Club books because, well, I was honestly a bit embarrassed to admit that I used to read that series.  Voraciously.  To my pleasant surprise, the friend replied, "Oh, I think I've read that book.  Wasn't it Claudia from The Babysitters' Club?"  If only I'd get over myself...

Anyway, Elliot has got to be the happiest baby ever.  So happy and easy that he often gets forgotten.  And, as you'll probably notice, most of the photos taken in the last few months are from my iphone.  3G.  Not the best quality... but better than nothing.  Here's my angel back when he was still sleeping swaddled:

And a few pics of his smiles from the airplane and train ride, respectively, while in Europe:


Of course he was happy in the arms of Aunt Megan:

And he even stayed happy while Oliver "shared" his animals with "Baby":

One of about three pictures taken with the real camera while he was still three months old is fuzzy because I was laughing so hard, but I love the authenticity of the moment:

Oliver requested a picture of their matching pj's one night:

And we even got some photos of the boys sitting on the couch together... Could they possibly be any more different in their builds?

I did get one sweet, impromptu photo session while he was four moths old:



And I love this one while he's rolling around on the new carpet in the living room:

As with Oliver, I began encouraging him to hold his own bottle as early as he seemed capable.  He has trouble with the last ounce or so, but otherwise he's got it!

I love this picture of him and his Uncle John:

And the pouty lip on this one kills me:

Probably the best, though, is this moment with his brother and Uncle Rhys:

He loves to have his tummy tickled:

And he still looks like an angel when sleeping:

Just last week we took a little trip to the Children's Museum:


And Oliver was so sweet:

I especially love this (though not the best quality picture) - I can't wait for all those moments where Oliver teaches Elliot how to play:

In fact, just last week the boys really started playing together.  Oliver got upset every few minutes because Elliot wouldn't "chase" him (I tried to explain that Baby can't crawl yet, but Oliver took it personally...), but they laughed and squealed and warmed this mommy's heart. :)