Pretend

I can't really tell what is going on today in Dean's car world. From what I can gather the cars were all waiting in line for something. Then the green car got ahead of the pack & collided with a red eighteen-wheeler. Then the yellow car was stranded with no roadside assistance. Alas, the yellow car somehow found his way back to the others and the green car escaped his previous run-in with the big rig completely unharmed. Incredible.

I'm sure Dean's version is much more interesting than mine.

Baylor

When the weather is perfect like it is today I tend to miss Baylor, and wish I could time travel back a few years and go walk the bear trail with my best friends. Now that we are all married, two of us have little ones and one is back in school it's difficult to sync our schedules up for some quality time. When I think about it now, we walked and talked for HOURS and hours on that trail. So instead of wishing the day away I'll head out for another walk this afternoon once Dean wakes up. And, maybe I'll be able to catch Jess or Marlo on the phone while I'm walking.

Swimming

Today was Dean's first swim lesson and I wanted to post a video (mostly for our family). He did great and loved the water. I am SO grateful that Michael was able to pop over on his lunch hour to video a bit and watch him in action! He went under water without protest and was a wild man for the remainder of the thirty minute class. Needless to say, Mommy is heading straight to bed.

Old Friends

We spent part of last week in Austin getting to catch up with my very best college friends/partners in crime, Jess & Marlo. At our last get-together in January 2010 Jess told us she was pregnant. So, this year she brought her sweet baby girl, Charlotte, with her. It was a really big weekend for Dean because he got to meet his future wife, Charlotte. With the exception of poking her the eye a couple of times & trying to bash her over the head with the Bumbo tray, I'd say he was successful in making an OK impression. Despite the slightly chaotic couple of days with two little ones on completely different schedules we did manage to catch up between crying fits, feedings, spit ups and naps. 3 days out of 365 is just not enough. Marlo, who hasn't yet fallen victim to parenthood, was a trooper and a big help - thank you, Marlo! I'm pretty sure that after spending a few days with two kids has rid her of any desire to procreate in the near future. Which is why next year the rule is, no kids! (for Marlo's sake, of course)

Charlotte is such a doll and a very good natured baby.

Char & Jess. Jess is also very good natured despite the lack of sleep. :)

Lounging around with Marlo.

The lone boy on the trip.

This is a pretty accurate snapshot of the trip. Now if you can also picture me gasping, throwing the camera down, grabbing his well-meaning little finger and saying, "be GENTLE."

My bouncing baby boy at 16 mos. I adore him.

Side note: Dean is beginning to talk! To say that I've been concerned about his lack of verbal communication is a severe understatement. I know, I know boys are slower to develop verbal skills. But, when it's YOUR little boy you tend to freak out a bit. So, I'm so happy to report that the verbal wheels in his head ARE turning and churning out new words like:

- banana (he actually doesn't like eating bananas but, hey I'm not going to question it - it's a word!)

- Dean (turn up the volume and watch the video of him saying his name)

- Mom

- Dad

- No (he adds a little German accent to "No!" I believe it's for extra emphasis. I'm trying to get this one of video)

- Door

- Tree

- Baba (bottle)

- He also attempts to sing the Bob the Builder theme song along with Dad. Which really just sounds like he's trying to sing the word Bob.

iphone pictures

I'm finally ready to upgrade to the iPhone 4. So, I've been making sure all my precious pictures have been safely retrieved from my current iPhone. I've had this phone for a long time! Here are some of the places we've been together.

NYC with the hubby.

An amazing trip to Italy - so glad we did this together before we had a baby.

A trip to Las Ventanas with some family & friends. Still my favorite place on the earth.

A work trip to Taiwan...

...and Xiamen...

..and Hong Kong...

...I really loved Hong Kong.

Another trip to see and work with one of our factories in El Salvador.

A trip to the hospital. (the most important picture on my phone)

A trip to Michigan.

A fun trip to the Dallas Aquarium with friends.

A day trip to Lubbock for a body scan - for fit model work.

And a memorable trip to get D's hair cut...more like chopped off.

Even though we've been together for a while, I'm not sad to trade it in for the newer model. I can't wait for flash photography & video! Plus, Dean splattered ranch dressing on it today at lunch and I can't seem to get it completely clean. So, now I get a wiff of ranch when I hold it up to my ear.

better late than never

Here's our Christmas update....(late, I know.)

Dean's early Christmas gift was his own little chair. He really loves it and looks so adorable sitting in it!

The only photo I got to be in this year. Please notice the sugar cookie he's shoving in his mouth. This is what happens when you go to grandma & grandpa's!

Christmas morning at our house consisted of Dean dumping out his stocking and discovering his new love....his off-road school bus. Who knew a school bus could be SO COOL!

This year Peach and Big got D his own iPod Touch loaded with Elmo apps, Elmo songs, Disney movies & pictures. It's pretty trippy to watch him "slide to open" like a pro. Needless to say, D scored big this year. (Disclaimer: Don't worry folks, we don't let his brain go to mush by playing on electronics all day. He also got puzzles, blocks, books and other things that don't require batteries and an iTunes account this year.)

Oh the Baylor game. After sprinting through torrential rain, lighting & thunder to see our beloved bears they lost. It was a gigantic disappointment. However, we got to see some good ole Baylor friends and introduce them to our little bear! D couldn't get over the size of the TV in that place!