In Memory of Uncle Dave

My uncle passed away on Monday morning and this week has been both horrible and wonderful at the same time. Uncle Dave was my mother's only sibling and he was 14 years her senior. The huge age gap between them made him more of a father figure than brother to her and I know the loss is exceptionally hard for her. He has been battling complications from emphasema for 12 years now and just recently had taken a turn for the worse. The news on Monday was therefore not a surprise, but shocking to fathom none the less. My aunt and uncle live in Boerne, just outside of San Antonio, and we packed up and headed out on Tuesday morning. The drive was 5 hours long, which was by far the longest car ride that Colin has ever been on. He was amazing and surpassed my wildest expectations. We stopped to eat in Temple, which was about half way, and he ran off some pent up energy in the Chick-Fil-A before we finished the drive in. My parents and sister Alieson has arrived on Monday afternoon, so they were waiting for us. Meredith, Cory and their kids were close behind us in arrival time, so we quickly had gathered my entire immediate family. Uncle Dave and Aunt Judith live in a stunning home nestled in the Hill Country of Texas, complete with deer hanging out in the backyard waiting to be fed. We all drove from the hotel out to the house to meet up with my aunt and all of my cousins, who had also all arrived from their various homes. We have never all been in one place at the same time, and it was so amazing to be together as a family, but sad that it was under such trying circumstances.

My uncle was a very special and interesting man whose last wishes were unique and wonderful. He asked that there be no funeral at all and that his family do one thing...gather in Luckenbach to drink a Lone Star beer in his honor. He hated the thought of a funeral and much preferred that there be a party instead. They live only about 30 minutes from Luckenbach and spent all of their free time there. It was his all-time favorite place to be on earth. Luckenbach is the stuff of Texas legend and I had never actually been and ALWAYS wanted to go. The town consists of a bar, and that is pretty much it. It is literally in the middle of nowhere, nestled in the hills and away from civilization. The back of the bar is surrounded by a huge old patio where various musicians play every single day. There are picnic tables, lights swinging from the trees, old beer signs, dust, rocks and roosters walking around. We brought a giant spread of food and the requested Lone Star beer. The entire night was like a dream...you could feel Uncle Dave around us. I have never been to a more wonderful place and we were all loathe to leave at all. The sounds of old country music wafting from the cowboys gathered on the patio and the distinct smell of beer and cigars made for a dreamy night etched in our memories forever. I can't do the night justice with simple words...it was a night filled with love and family and memories. I know that Uncle Dave was having the best time watching all of the people who loved him together in the middle of Texas celebrating the night away for him. It was, quite simply, perfect.


Here is Colin enjoying his HUGE cookie!

Duke helps the boys during the dinner...the weather was perfect.

Jer outside the bar/shop/post office...it was amazing!

Colin loved the giant front porch AND the scary scarecrow!

The closest that I got to a picture with Colin! :-)

Jer and Cory enjoy a cigar...they are members of the "I married crazy sisters" club. :-)


Hanging out with my sweet sisters...

My favorite picture that I have taken with Jer in a long time...you can just tell how much love was in the air.

All the cousins in one place for the first time ever! From left to right...Meredith and Cory, Kayla and her father Nick and his wife Suzanne (my cousin), me, Jer, Alieson, Steven and Amy (twins)

I love this picture...my precious cousin Suzanne. Everyone says that we favor each other a great deal.

Two Years Ago...

My little snuggle bear....two years ago. I remember that he had just starting losing his newborn hair and I was exhausted because I had just gone back to work that week. I can't believe that that was exactly two years ago. I am SO glad that I was able to stop working about 3 months later. The days when Colin was 3- 6 months old are a blur to me because I hardly saw him due to my work schedule. He spent almost all his waking hours at Miss Anne's house, who was thankfully the sweetest lady in the world, but I feel like I missed out on this stage. Colin is having a rough week with sleep and I have been feeling very tired and in need of a vacation...this reminds me how lucky I truly am to be taking care of him full time. Despite my current exhaustion, I would never trade this time in a million years.

A Very Good Boy!

It seems like forever ago, but there was a time when Enzo was our only baby. We purchased him just a few months after we moved to Dallas, in early 2004. I had been dying for a dog and we stumbled onto Enzo during a leisurely outing to a pet store. There was a woman holding our puppy in her hands...literally in the palm of her hands...and he looked like a baby deer. :-) We just knew; it was love at first sight. It was not long after that happened that I learned about puppy mills and the perils of buying from pet stores, so while we will only be adopting from now on, I still would not trade Enzo for the world! He quickly became our precious baby (along with Gretchen the cat, aka Mitts, who had been with me forever). In those early days, we were young and living in the city...I would drop Enzo off for "doggie daycare" every single day on my way to work. Yes, he was very spoiled. I also joined a meetup group of Italian Greyhound owners and we went to several meetups at swanky little dog friendly cafes across Dallas. Those were such fun days; utterly and completely different from our lifestyle now as suburban parents. I look back on those days and get a little melancholy...I would certainly not trade my life now, but it is fun to think back to the time when having Enzo was as much responsibility as we could muster. :-) Enzo has not been to doggie day camp since I left work and we have not been to a meetup in ages. There was an event scheduled in Denton yesterday, so we jumped at the chance to take Enzo for some fun with other Italian's. There is nothing cuter than a pack of Enzo's running around all over the place! Colin had a blast chasing everyone and Enzo was a little nervous, but seemed to have a good time seeing his peers. Times have certainly changed, but Enzo is still my baby and still sleeps under the covers with us every night. He may not have his own day care anymore, but he is very well loved!

Here is Enzo, hiding behind Colin and Daddy. You know Enzo is nervous when he chooses to huddle close to Colin. :-) I love how he is peering between them!

Colin LOVED chasing all the Iggies! Please note how small those two black ones are...Enzo is on the big side of the breed anyway, but with all the extra grilled cheese sandwiches these days...he was HUGE in comparison!

A Star is Born...

I seriously just entered this picture in the GapKids casting call contest. Am I a huge dork, or what?? ;-) I was shopping online for Colin and when I went to gap.com, the contest was the first thing on my screen. I thought, eh...why not!? I have NEVER entered something like this, nor do I think anything will come from it. First of all, they try to get you to send the link on your entry to friends so that they will "vote" for your child. I hate that kind of thing and refuse to do it, so if votes count, we are out. Second of all, the picture is just a poor quality shot from my camera. Third of all, there are something like 90 billion entries. Winners in the age groups apparently appear in a Gap ad and get a $1,000 gift card for the store. I could spend $1k in that store FAST. Anyway, I am still laughing at myself for actually entering Colin, but I figure that Gap would be very lucky to have those dimples showing off their clothes. I know that I would buy anything he is selling! :-)

We had a cold front move through last night during a giant storm, so our weather was actually chilly for the first time today. It never got out of the 50's, which felt frigid in comparison to the humid 85 degrees it was yesterday. Colin woke up in the middle of the night last night during the storm and was crying out, "Mommy! Thunder!", which I thought was both adorable and tiring. :-) I spent a couple of hours in his bed getting kicked all over the place (Colin is a wild sleeper!) and finally extricated myself at around 4:00am to head back to my bed. Sadly, I could not fall back asleep and finally dozed off at 7am...just moments before Colin was up for the day. Needless to say, I am running on empty today! Luckily, the cool weather kept my spirits up! After a long trip to Indoor Safari with Colin and a trip to JC Penny's and Wal-Mart, we came back home to cook a festive fall dinner. I made the first batch of my homemade chili and cornbread for the season and we had the inaugural lighting of our fireplace!! The food turned out great and the fire was WONDERFUL! We have not had it lit in two years...last season was just too scary with Colin so young, so we skipped it all together. This year is perfect; he listened to us explain about the fire and what it is and why we never touch it. We then lit the fire and put the screen up. He did not go near it one time! He pointed it out a few times from afar and we sat in front of it with him in our laps to "get warm". I can't believe how awesome he was...he is getting to be such a big boy! He is now fast asleep and after this post, I am going straight to bed to make up for last night. How did I stay up all night when I was in my twenties?!?! :-)

One last tidbit...I ordered Colin's Spiderman costume last night, so we are all set for Halloween! A couple of days ago, I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween and he immediately said, "Spiderman!". I don't have a clue where he got this from, as he does not even remember what Halloween is, but I asked him on several other occasions over 48 hours and got an emphatic "Spiderman!" every single time. Therefore, Spiderman it is! He is going to be so cute!

The Official Start to Halloween Season!

Yesterday was our first visit to the Pumpkin Patch for the season and we had a great time! This location is called "The Pumpkin Express" and is about 20 minutes from the house. Several of our friends and their kiddos met out there and the overcast day and cool temps made for the perfect atmosphere for a Halloween themed outing. They have an adorably decorated train station where you load up to ride the express over to the pumpkin patch, which is loaded with decorations, bounce houses, mazes and photo ops. Colin fervently refused to get on the train, which did not really surprise me. He LOVES playing with trains more than anything else, but for some reason he won't get on one. He actually does not like anything that resembles a "ride" of any sort, including the cars at places like Chuck E. Cheese. I am sure this is just a stage, but he was not having it AT ALL yesterday. Instead of riding, we walked over to the patch, which was just adorable. The pumpkin patch is one of my all time favorite places to go...nothing says fall like a field of orange pumpkins! Colin was in heaven getting to run wild around everything and check out all the goodies. The only down side was the mud...the constant rain that we have been getting left the fields in a gooey mess, so we were all pretty dirty once it was time to go home. On top of everything else, there were a couple of precious babies in our group, so Colin got to give out hugs to them the whole morning, which is still his favorite pastime.

In other news, Colin is STILL changing before my eyes and I seem to be blown away by something new every single day. His speech takes my breath away...he forms beautiful sentences right now and talks about everything he sees. Today was a BIG moment; he climbed up in my lap this morning and put his arms around me. He looked into my eyes and said, "I wuv you, Mommy". I started to cry and hugged him as hard as I could. He has said it once or twice with prompting, like he is repeating what you tell him to, but this was the first time that he told me completely unprovoked...like he knew what it meant and wanted to tell me. I just can't put into words how wonderful it was. He points out things he sees from the car window (Mommy! I see cows!) and acknowledges things that I did not realize he absorbed. At McDonald's today, he saw writing on the play area and said, "Look Mommy! Super letters!". He watches a show on PBS called "Super Why" and they look for letters in stories, calling them "super letters". I love seeing Colin pick up on things like that!! He has also started saying "Guess what?!" and when you guess, he says "NOOOO!" and starts rolling with laughter. He also has moved into the "what's that?" routine where he points at things endlessly and asks me what they are. This is one of his favorite games at the moment. He remembers his friends and asks about them, which really seems like a big boy thing to do. He uses the right words to ask for things and seems to laugh all day long. Overall, I love this new stage and am having a blast with him. I feel like I am watching him turn into his own little person before my eyes. He is joy, pure and simple.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Colin regarding the scarecrow...

Colin and his best buddy, Hayden. Colin LOVES Hayden and even gave him an unprompted hug while they were playing. It was so sweet!

On the move!!

At the train station, right before telling me that he was NOT getting on the train. :-)

Giant Weekend of Fun!!

Hello Fall!!!!!!!

giving some love to his Mommy at the Zoo


We have had a wonderful and very busy weekend! Jer was off work on Friday, so we headed over to Frank Buck Zoo in nearby Gainesville. It is a tiny little zoo that is absolutely ADORABLE and the perfect size for a toddler to explore. Colin loved the petting zoo and the chance to feed some very hungry goats. They also have a fantastic park and train ride, so Colin was in heaven. He zonked out the second we got back into the car and slept the whole way home. The weather was sunny and 70 degrees...I think we are officially done with screaming heat until next year, thank goodness!!

Saturday was a rainy mess of a day, but we had Aubrey's 2nd birthday party to attend and Colin had a blast. He has been doing really well lately with large groups of people and seems to have worked through a lot of his sensitivity to big group settings. Of course, it helps that he has known Aubrey since the day she was born. :-) He ate a ton of pizza and checked out all the awesome presents. There was no nap that day and he started to melt down pretty fast as it got later, so we headed home for some Chinese food and cozy time. In my opinion, any day that ends with good Chinese take-out is a winner. It was so great to spend time with Ellen and her family...I love them all so much. She is pregnant again and is just finishing up her first trimester. I am so happy for her and a little jealous; we were pregnant together with Colin and Aubrey and it feels strange not to be going through this with her again! However, I am so excited and can't wait to find out what she is having! My bet is another girl! I have had a good time looking at Aubrey's 1st birthday post...these two have grown up a LOT this year!!

Colin checking out Aubrey's loot

Aubrey and Colin while she opens her gifts

I love this...the face I got when I told Colin that he could not have her present.

Now, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! Our good friends The Roberts invited us over for a Cowboy's vs. Broncos party at their house and we had the best time, despite the Cowboy's losing the game in the last second and the fact that Jer had to work, so he missed out on the fun. Everyone brought appetizers and we munched all afternoon while the kids played and the men watched the game. The girls were busy chatting and taking care of the little ones, but I managed to watch a good deal of the action. :-) Colin and Hayden had on matching Romo jerseys and were absolutely adorable. They refused to both look at me for any sort of decent picture, but at least I got a couple. Colin thinks Hayden has the best toys ever and I had to bribe him with a cookie to even get him out the door to go home. All the kids had a great time and I love that they are finally old enough to play together. Colin was on his best behavior and I was SO PROUD of him!! He played quietly and nicely, he shared well, there was no throwing or tantrums and generally it was the perfect afternoon. He has been an excellent little boy all weekend and I kissed him extra hard tonight as I was tucking him into bed. I thanked him for being the best baby that any mama could ask for and he said, and very sincerely I might add, "You welcome Mommy". Love that boy.

Baby Pierce gives Colin a kiss! SO SWEET!

Two "romo" boys...they looked ADORABLE!!

sweet boys!!

Last, but not least, Colin shows off his awesome new long sleeved pj's for the cooler weather. It finally cooled way off here tonight, so we busted them out after bath time. Colin loves them and was more than happy to show off for a picture. It was the perfect end to a very busy and joyous weekend.

YEA FOR FALL!!!

365 Days Later...

It is really a coincidence that I even noticed this, but I unknowingly took pictures of Colin in the same park almost exactly one year apart...literally off by only a couple of days. I was saving this week's park pictures into the "September 2009" folder and saw the "September 2008" folder and took a peek. Sure enough...there are pictures of Jer and Colin walking around in the exact same place last year. I was delighted to notice this and had the best time looking at the pictures side by side. It is amazing how much Colin has changed in a year...I thought he was such a big boy last fall, but he looks like a baby in comparison to the little boy I see staring back at me in the recent shot. He is so much taller and slimmer, his cheeks are no longer so puffy and his stance is that of a boy, not a baby. Last year at this time, I was beside myself over the fact that Colin was completely mobile and running around without falling down. Now he spends his park visits digging for snails with his daddy, throwing rocks in the stream, and telling me that he sees birds or likes the scooters and bicycles he sees the kids riding. It makes me smile to think that I can't even imagine him next year at this time...probably wearing big boy underwear and riding his own scooter. I find myself trying to memorize him so that I won't forget each of these little stages. I love him SO.

Late September 2008:

Late September 2009: