Texas Bluebonnets

I LOVE the bluebonnets. They come out for just a few weeks at the beginning of spring in central Texas. They grow best along the highways where the water washes off the roads, and there is plenty of sunshine. Clayton was in no mood to cooperate for this photo shoot, but luckily my mom was able to get a couple pictures that turned out decently.

Below is a picture from the last time we were in the bluebonnets. This was taken two years ago, almost to the day. On a side note, while browsing through several of the pictures taken on this day, I noticed that Clayton is wearing a pair of jeans that Eli is now wearing. At this time Clayton was just a couple weeks from his first birthday, and Eli is now just a couple weeks from 4 months old. Poor Clayton, he really did wear 3-6 month clothes for almost an entire year.

March 2007

Lizzie's Baptism

Lizzie with Pastor Jerry

Clayton paying attention to the children's message

Clayton no longer paying attention to the children's message, heading off to investigate the tv behind the altar

Road Trip

The boys and I have just returned from a week down in College Station. We went primarily to attend my neice's baptism, but we turned it into a short little vacation and had a good time visiting with all our family.

Our trip was Eli's first extended car ride, and it was my first time on an extended trip with the two boys by myself. It usually takes about six hours to get to College Station, with one drive through stop and no kids. Well, with the two kids by myself, it took me almost nine hours to get down there. The two hour lunch stop really threw us back. First I had to feed Eli in the Chick-fil-A (of course) parking lot. Then we went inside, where I begged Clayton for a long time to eat just a few bites. Then I had to let him play in the playland because he'd been strapped in for over three hours. Then Eli needed a diaper change. Then Clayton had to go potty. All of a sudden we'd been there an hour and forty-five minutes. Oh dear. There was one more eating stop for Eli a few hours down the road, and nine hours later, we arrived.

On the way home we ate lunch before we left, a huge time saver. We only stopped once for dinner, and there wasn't a playland, sad for Clayton, but another time saver. Eli held off on a second feeding, and I squealed into our driveway seven hours later. Yes! I cut my time by two hours. Not bad.

There are lots of pictures from our trip, but since I forgot my camera, I'm waiting for people to e-mail me theirs. It's bluebonnet season in central Texas, and I can't wait to see the pictures my mom took of the boys in the bluebonnets. I'll post those and others in the next few days.

My Favorite Too!

I had to steal this from Emily's blog. Just last week our sadly deprived Las Vegas family was going on and on about how NOT special Chick-fil-A is. You know who you are. They don't have Chick-fil-A in Nevada, so they just don't know how good it is.

Las Vegas

We're home! We got home late on Tuesday night, and I'm happy to report that the traveling was so easy, both ways. The boys were so good. I couldn't believe it. When everyone stood up at the end of our first flight, a woman two rows in front of me looked back and said she hadn't even realized there were any babies behind her. I was so pleased. On the way home, Clayton had two very short outbursts, one when he couldn't watch the DVD player on take off, and the second when he couldn't watch the DVD player on landing. That said, the DVD player was our best friend on the plane.

We were so busy in Las Vegas. We arrived at Ryan's parents' house Thursday evening and had a big family dinner that night. On Friday morning, my good friend Laura, her baby Keaton, and her mother Ellie came over for a visit. These are two of the most laid back infants ever. They both slept, ate, and slept some more.

Ellie, Laura, Keaton, Wendy, Eli, Ginny (Ryan's Mom), and Clayton

On Friday evening Kristin, Ryan's sister, put together a big surprise party for Ryan's 30th birthday. Several of our high school friends and their families were there, along with a few Air Force friends that now live in that area. There were also some of Ryan's old family friends that he hadn't seen in many years. Thank you to Kristin for putting it all together and being the "hostess with the mostess" for the weekend.

Careful Kristin! That's a lot of candles!

The birthday boy... 30 years old!

On Saturday Kristin was at it again, as she, Ginny, and I put together a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Jayann. Her first baby, our niece, is due in early April. We had a really nice turn out, and Jayann got so many beautiful gifts. Jayann had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and from what I heard, we may not have to wait until April. We're so excited for her and Matt.

While all the women were at the baby shower, Ryan, his dad Jim, and our friend Dave took Clayton down to the Bellagio to see the spring garden display. It was three men and a toddler, so I'm sure it was a sight to see.

On Sunday we were able to have a "whole big family" picture made. We also had a little family picture and a picture of the boys made. I'll have to scan those in later.

On Monday we were able to visit Ginny's school. I wish I had my camera with me. We walked into the lunch room and the kids completely swamped Clayton. He was handing out high-fives left and right and was completely loving all the attention. After visiting the school, we headed down to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. The cousins had a good time seeing all the ocean life. It's pretty well done for a casino in Las Vegas. That night we were invited to Austin and Harmony's house for dinner. We had a really great time catching up with them and hanging out with their little Josiah.

On Tuesday Ryan went golfing with his dad and brother while Kristin, Ginny, and I took the kids to a playground. Then we had a little lunch, packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed off to the airport.

It felt like there wasn't a moment to spare in the whole trip, but that's the way it has to be when we go to Las Vegas. There's always so much to do and so many people to see in so little time.

Three Months Old

Eli will be three months tomorrow, well, actually today. It's really late now. Ryan and I are up packing for our trip tomorrow. We're flying home to Las Vegas in the morning (you always have to throw in that "home" or people have the wrong impression). Wish us luck. We only have 45 minutes in Phoenix. Yikes!

Back to Eli, he's really doing great. He's up to 12 pounds now, and it won't be long before he's out of all these 0-3 month clothes. I've already put him in a few 3-6 month things. Eli caught his first cold last week. I don't think there was anyway to avoid it, as the rest of us had already had it. He's done really well with it, and it's almost gone now, which will hopefully make flying a little more pleasant for him. It's so unusual to just watch a cold. Usually I'm so worried about oxygen saturations and skin coloring. I'm pleased to report that Eli has been pink and warm throughout his illness, and I never once considered taking him to the ER.

Clayton is great too these days. He's excited about flying on the airplane tomorrow. I don't think he quite understands what we're going to do, but everytime we talk about it, he signs to me that the airplane will fly in the sky. Yes, son, we will fly in the sky.

This morning as we were getting a few things organized around here, the boys were hanging out together in Clayton's room (under close supervision, of course), and I was able to catch a few sweet moments.



In the first picture, Clayton had pulled his chair up to the edge of the bed and was really keeping an eye on Eli. It was so sweet to see him babysitting his brother. He later climbed in bed with Eli and proceeded to give lots of his special "tough love" to his brother. Oh how I love these boys.

We'll let you know how all the travels go. Say a little prayer for us in the morning!

Baby Sling

My sister's sister-in-law, Lana, made this beautiful sling for me before Eli was born. We used it a lot when he first came home from the hospital, but then Eli decided he needed a little more space, and it hasn't gotten a lot of use since. Well, over the weekend, Eli really felt the need to be held, and I really felt the need to do other things. He hasn't been too fond of the Snugli carrier, so I pulled out the sling again, and voila! Perfect! I had to take a picture in the mirror because Ryan wasn't home, so you'll have to excuse the unquality, but here he is, snug as a bug, happy as can be. Thank you Lana!