Sunday, September 26, 2010

Chicago Day 2:Part 1

Day 1 of Chicago was a take it easy and rest kinda day. On day 2 we were ready to go, see, and do. As we were walking to the bus stop, we discovered quite a sight.


How could we not take a picture of this eye-catching sight? This 30-foot eyeball sculpture, "EYE," By Tony Tasset can be found at Pritzker Park.

We started Friday with a trip to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. http://www.msichicago.org/ this place has a little bit of everything that young and old can enjoy. I think we spent about 3 hours walking around this incredible place. The first exhibit we visited was the Idea Factory. This really cool exhibit was only for Babies-10year olds and parents. The interactive activities, encourage scientific exploration,which allow them to discover scientific principles for themselves. Both of my boys had a blast here.

Farm Tech was the second exhibited we saw. Hendrix was very excited to see a tractor up close. It was at that point that I went snap happy with the camera.

There was way more than just the tractor at the Farm Tech exhibit but apparently not worthy enough for me to take more pictures.
Last but not least, a picture of David and Hendrix with one of Jeff Gordon's fire suits.
While that was a ton of pictures, there were so many things that were really cool that I didn't get a picture of. At the Science Storms exhibit we saw an indoor tornado, lightning, and mud slide. The museum also has a Transportation Gallery where, among other planes, there is a real full size United 727 hanging from the balcony, that you can actually walk through!
As much fun as the museum was, Friday evening was the real highlight of our week in Chicago. More to come in Day 2: Part 2.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Chicago!

David, Hendrix, and I just returned home from a WONDERFULLY FANTASTIC trip to Chicago for a 2nd year meetup of the Jan09Mamas. We went, we saw, we did, we ATE. The day before we left, Hendrix helped me pack:
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Hendrix did wonderful on the plane, and was less than enthused with the train ride.
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I personally found the public transportation to be very convinient! Turns out he just needed a snack to return to my happy boy again.
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We soon arrived to our hotel, where all 17 of the babies/mamas (and some husbands and siblings) stayed.
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We decided since there wasn't a whole lot of day left, and we were pretty exhausted from traveling that we would just grab an early dinner and walk around a bit. David was excited to eat at one of the three places that Man V. Food had visited in Chicago..so off we went to Gino's East Pizza. I just realized that we ate TONS of pizza but took no pictures of it! Regardless, the pizza was amazing, AND they let you write on their walls to commemorate your visit. Here is David leaving our mark.
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Whew, all that was JUST Thursday, more of the weekend later.

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Thursday, July 1, 2010

Father's Day

I'm a bit behind with this post but I wanted to share. I'm pretty sure I can never top this years' Father's Day gift..I'm not one to brag..but it was pretty awesome. I (I mean Hendrix) came up with a very creative gift.

Back story:


David and I love watching this show called "Chopped" on Food Network. Four chefs are given baskets filled with crazy ingredients that make no sense and are required to make a meal using everything in the basket. Read more here.


Here is the basket I made David.






Inside the basket I included:


Bison chuck roast

Pink Peppercorns

Balsamic Vinegar

Purple Potatoes








Here is what my AMAZING husband chef cooked up!








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You & Me Going Fishin' in the Dark!

The past 2 Friday nights my parents, David, Hendrix, and I have packed up a cooler and spent the evening at Benbrook Lake. Last Friday I caught *drumroll please* 6 perch! My dad then took them as bait Saturday morning. Each time we've gone Hendrix has nearly given my mom a heart attack because he likes to run straight into the water. This boy has no fear. Here is a great (albeit not great quality) picture that my mom took of Hendrix and Grandpa talking about fishing.



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Thursday, June 24, 2010

17 Months Old

My sweet boy is 17 months old today. He's growing up so fast! I can barely remember him as a baby. I look back at pictures and wonder if that time really existed. I know everyone thinks their kid is a genius...but really I do. We made a list of all the sign language signs that Hendrix knows and we came up with 19!!!! That is amazing to me. Even though he doesn't SAY a ton of words, he KNOWS what a ton of words mean. Just the other day we were in the bedroom and I told him we needed to take a shower. I look up and he's running to the bathroom and starts banging on the shower door. Harvard material I tell you. No wait, that's too far away!

I tried snapping a few pictures of H today, but if you've ever tried to make a toddler sit still, you know it's a losing battle. Here's the best I could do.



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Saturday, May 29, 2010

These Words Speak To Me

Kelle Hampton is one of my favorite bloggers. I actually had no idea who she was until one my friends (Melissa I think) posted a FB link to her blog. Her 2nd daughter was born with Down Syndrome and she had no idea until delivery.

Today she said the words that my heart have felt ever since my first pregnancy complication (subchorionic hematoma) and I felt it again at our 20week appt when we found out Hendrix had a CCAM on his right lung....and kept feeling this all throughout the many high risk dr appts and pediatric surgeon appts. I still thank God for healing my sweet boy and surgery was never needed.

RAMBLING SORRY!!

So here is what she said today:"Nella had her four month appointment yesterday.And, amid most of the time where I honestly forget she's different, I am reminded every once and awhile. Like getting ready to go to the doctor and feeling a little flutter inside. Like what if they tell me something. Like what if they rock my world again. Like what if one of those "increased likelihoods" that happen to attach themselves to that sweet little chromosome comes true. But, here's the thing. Once you become a parent...once you start feeling a little funny and you buy that pregnancy test...once you see a pink plus sign...once you know it's not just you anymore...well, you automatically carry around, for the rest of your life, an increased likelihood. To have your heart broken. And it's a constant fear that we struggle to put to rest.And we can choose to be afraid or we can choose to live. And I choose to live. Because an "increased likelihood of having your heart broken" also carries with it an increased likelihood to find yourself the happiest you've ever been in life."

If that doesn't put things into perspective I don't know what does. Her attitude SINGS TO ME!!!

Thank you. Ramble over.

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Thursday, May 27, 2010

Coming to an End

This morning may have been H's last time to nurse. It's getting less and less common. I cherished every moment. I sat up in bed (as opposed to my laying-down-half-asleep position) and I held his long body that no longer fits in my cradled arms. Here lately he has only been nursing a few minutes on each side, but this morning was different. It was as if he was cherishing it too. While nursing he signed dad, so I said "dad" followed by "mom". He stopped nursing just long enough to say "mama" which brought me to tears because he very rarely says mama. I made sure to sing him the "mommy's milk is so good" little jingle I made up and have been singing him since the very beginning. I also tickled him just to see his silly I'm-trying-so-hard-not-to-laugh-while-nursing face he does that I adore so much. Ahhh...I love this kid. A lot.

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Friday, May 14, 2010

Updates

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So my two prayer requests have wonderful updates:
Lizzie is home from the hospital and recovery is going slow and steady. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/elizabethschemerhorn

Maxwell is proving to be a tough little boy and is growing stronger every day! His mommy and daddy get to hold him more now which was a big prayer I've been praying. http://maxwellallenparker.blogspot.com/

As for my sweet Hendrix- HE WALKS, HE RUNS, he falls down, HE GETS BACK UP! I had no idea how cute he would be as a true toddler. He looks like a drunk midget. Here is a video that includes most of his new tricks.




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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Rainy Day Blues and Prayer Requests

So after a week of B-E-A-UTIFUL weather, it rained all day yesterday. The morning at our house wasn't so bad. David made breakfast, we played, had bathtime, played more....then the fun ran out. We sat and wondered..what do we normally do on days we can't go outside? We have been outside for at least an hour every day this week, and now to be shut indoors AGH! After listening to Hendrix whine for 30 minutes straight we decided we HAD to get out of the house. For lack of a better idea, we headed to the mall. When we couldn't put up with the crazy middle and high schoolers running around like idiots, we went and grabbed dinner at Potbelly's..YUM!
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Movie Review- On the way home we stopped by Redbox and grabbed The Hangover. I was really excited to watch it after EVERYONE said it was just hysterically funny. Ehh..I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong it was funny, but overall just a good movie, nothing great by any means.

Prayer Request- There are two babies on my mind constantly the past week or more, Lizzie and Maxwell. Please say a prayer for them.

Maxwell is a little boy that belongs to a friend of a friend. He was born 16 weeks premature and is dealing with all the hardships of a micro preemie.

Lizzie is the little girl of one of my January Mama friends. She was diagnosed with pneumonia with pleural effusion. She was in critical condition (now stable) in the hospital for 2 weeks now. She has had her ups and downs and still continues to fight.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010

!!First Steps!!



Hendrix took his first steps Tuesday at 14.5 months old! I emailed David the video and he left work early to come and see for himself!

On a slightly different note, Hendrix will be getting ear tubes put in on Tuesday the 20th. The ENT said that Hendrix has so much fluid in there that he couldn't even move his eardrum during the exam. Hopefully after the surgery (outpatient) his balance will be 100% and he will be running by next weekend.

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Thursday, April 8, 2010

I Should Have Known Better

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So in an attempt to get Hendrix to eat more I thought I'd do what my cool mama friend Katie does and sit out some snacks for H to graze on while playing. I put the crazy dogs up, got out some snacks, put them in a tupperware container, and set them down. Hendrix crawled over, ate a piece of cheese and then proceeded to dump everything out. What? Five second rule you say? Oh no, my kitchen floor has a zero second rule. I Should Have Known Better.

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Sunday, April 4, 2010

A Man on the Move!

Hendrix has been a busy man lately...nope still not walking. He now has learned how to climb up slides, and how to skateboard. Who needs to walk when you've got a set of wheels? Have fun watching these:




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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Tada!

Hendrix does something new every day, and never ceases to amaze me, but Thursday was above and beyond. In one day, he signed 3 new words: dad, mom, and grandma. My mom was the first one to notice that he was signing "grandma" and as we started paying more attention, we figured out the other 2 new words he was signing. We seriously have a baby genius on our hands here;.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Only a Mother can Understand

Stolen from a friend...you truly cannot understand until you become a mother.

"I was sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking."Do you think I should have a baby?" "It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral."I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations"

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood.

She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish his or hers.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would not now find very romantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice, and drunk driving. prejudice, and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Good Day-Sunshine!

Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful day! We had very warm weather that made my soul smile. There's just something about feeling the sun shining down and warming your body that really does your heart good. I knew that they way our crazy Texas weather has been lately that I should take advantage of the sun, because who knows when we may see it again. Hendrix LOVES to be outside, so I grabbed our play blanket and outside we went. He was much smaller the last time we were able to get out and play in the backyard, and I was actually surprised he stayed on the blanket. Here is Hendrix this past September enjoying himself in our backyard. I can't believe how much he has grown. Look at him now.

My sweet boy is so happy when he is outside:



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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Just Between Friends Sale

Twice a year Fort Worth has an AMAZING consignment sale called Just Between Friends. It could possibly be the highlight of my shopping year. This is the third time that I have been to this sale, the first time being the day after we found out that we were having a boy. I can't tell you all the amazing deals I have found at this sale, so instead I will show you my loot from this sale!




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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ear Infection Day 2

Hendrix is feeling much better today, but not because of the meds. Oh and my carpet's ear infection is clearing up nicely! Can't say the same for the pink stain.



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