Well for those of you who may have seen the news lately it has been raining here...like crazy. But for a brief evening the clouds were away and so we had a little BBQ and pool party with the Frost's. The girls found the volleyball court which was mostly mud, and had a great time sloshing around until we were ready to eat. Megan is stuck in a puddle here, and Gwen didn't even care that the camera was out...That is how much fun wet sand can be. Who knew?
The other day it was time to clean and Gwen was up to the challenge. Here she is with her own vacuum, and look at her little hand in the air.
heading down the hall...
Make sure to get the corners...
She is happy to help.
All finished! And ready for more. What a great helper she is. Look how great that hall way looks. I think that we will have to start a cleaning chart for her quite soon.
...you mix Mac and Cheese and an Oreo for dessert. It looks like she was just outside eating a mud cake. I remember Oreo's being tricky to wash of anyway, but cake a layer of sticky cheese on there before and well it is basically time to bring out the hose. Mind you this little masterpiece may be messy but it was also highly entertaining...you don't see tears anywhere around here. Only a little wiggle dance to show that she ate the whole thing. Mmm!
I happened to be in the store the other day and I was glancing down the toy isles as we were shopping and there was a end isle display of Barbie's. But not just any Barbie's...Island Princess Barbie's. I took this picture to show James that the whole time that I have been telling him that I was an Island Princess I was not lying, there really is such a thing, and here is my proof.
This is the dangerous twist that we have put on the game of peek-a-boo. I throw a little blanket on Gwen's head and she thinks it is so funny, so she attempts to run away (that is the dangerous part) So then I call out "Where is Gwen?"
"Has anyone see Gwen?' She stops turns and giggles...
And then reveals that she was hiding under the blanket the whole time. Then she brings it back to me, or more times than not she drops it and runs until I pick it up and throw it back on her. In which this vicious cycle starts again. But I do it every single time because I am a sucker for a good out burst of little laughs. This will be a downfall for me in the future and I am prepared to face that...but as for today I will give in to the giggles because they crack me up.
Alright I am sure that you are all wondering why there is a silly picture of me for this post. Well let me explain. I am not into having my picture taken. And I will be the first to point out how uncomfortable I look and feel while having my picture taken. So with that in mind I made James take this picture for all of you who have been asking me what I look like now. (translation: How fat I have been getting.) So here you are, This is just a little bit after I stuffed myself with dinner at Mesa Rosa. Mmmmm you can't beat a good Mexican dinner. So I am stuffed to the gills, and I don't think I can eat another thing for at least 10 more minutes.
I have never actually given Gwen the chance to drink out of the juice box by herself because she tends to squeeze the box. However tonight we went to dinner at Chili's and she was sitting by James so I had no over the table control, but what to my surprise and delight she grabbed and drank it oh so well. I know that you are all thinking that this is a silly thing to be so proud of, but you have no idea how many times I have been sprayed by the box juice.
In this little picture the juicebox kid is showing us how to hold the straw in your mouth...
And here when you have finished off the inside contents make sure to chew on the straw. Then later the straw and the box become fantastic toys just for her enjoyment. She was so good through all of dinner that we even had dessert!! That never happens. Thanks juicebox kid.
What a great summertime treat...Oreo's. I love them, and apparently so does Gwen. She was holding one side of the cookie in each hand and scraping the middle out with her teeth. I asked James to take a picture of her eating the cookies, and what I didn't realize is that I was in the photos too. This is probably a good indication why I am not allowed in the films. I guess next time I have someone else take the picture I will try to be more dazzling and less unaware. Next time we do Oreo's I should also prepare Gwen with some sort of a bib...I tell you what, black cookie crumbs are tricky to clean up.
Gwen has practically worn right through her little mary jane shoes and so the other night when we were not welcome in an editing session Kim and I went shopping. We found these little sneaks that Gwen really likes. So today she was asking for her shoes and I pulled these ones out, she was so excited to put them on and she marched all around in them so James could see. Here is Gwen doing a little catching up on the Adams' blog. And modeling her new find for all to see. The soles make a new noise on the tile so she is big into marching in the kitchen and by the fireplace too. March on Gwen, march on.
On Thursday night Kim put together a little dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with a whole lot of fun and great friends. We celebrated my birthday and we had some great conversation and a ton of food. I have to say that the award of the night goes to Paige for getting the most out of a $2.25 Diet Coke! That was fantastic. I am so glad that everyone was able to get together I do hope that we can do it again soon, we really don't even need a great cause, just that we want to be entertained by each other and catch up on life. I had such a great evening and I just wanted to say thanks. Oh and every time I have some random stranger take the picture something is always wrong. So sorry about the flash.
On Wednesday night it was once again time for Blues on the Green, so we packed up the cooler with lots of drinks (because it is so HOT) and some snacks. We met the Frost's at P. Terry's for some dinner (and some really yummy lemonade) and then it was off to get a sno cone before heading to the show.
Here we are at sno beach and Gwen is doing a little construction so that we got a good parking spot.
Now doesn't this picture with Gwen eying Megan's sno cone look like it is going to be dangerous? There is cause for caution when these two get together.
While we were having a little treat, the traffic was so bad that we decided to let the kids run around in the little field behind us, and run around they did. We talked and talked and ran around after the kids, and missed the majority of the concert, so we decided that next week we will be more prepared and on time. Over all I do have to say that it was a lot of fun to just be outside and running around for a while, and who doesn't love a little family time in the mix of all that?
For my birthday this year we took the laid back approach. James got me a new camera and surprised me with it when he came home from work. And after dinner we went for ice cream at Amy's ( an Austin classic) and strolled around the Arboretum looking at the ducks and the pond. It was really nice and stress free. On the way home James had Gwen saying cow the whole time, and whenever we tried to get her to sing a song or say something else she put her finger to her mouth and said Shhh. What can you do? I forgot my camera in the car while we were walking around so we took this one when we got home. So birthdays come and go but to get James to go on a walk with us...now that is something special.
Here are a few little friends that we made on our outings. Interesting and odd at the same time. never a dull moment around here that is for sure.
On Friday night we went to see the movie Transformers...I know what you are thinking how long has it been since we went to a movie kid free...well it was when I was pregnant with Gwen. That was a while ago. It was nice to pretend that we had that lifestyle again for a moment, but I was glad to get back to our little sleeping beauty after it was over.
Then on Saturday we took the Barlow's to Ski Shores for lunch, and the weather was pretty much perefct. The water was so high I could hardly believe that none of the homes on the shores were flooded. While we were waiting there was a loud duck that Gwen was chasing around, quite amusing really.
Here she thought that she had it trapped, but unlike Gwen it fit under the tables. So she continued to chase it around until lunch was ready. We enjoyed our burgers and the really great view and after we ate we went to the bookstore and then decided it was time for naps.
Later that night we had some really great breakfast at Kirby Lane Cafe and then played some games. I have to say that it was really a great day. And the weather held out just great.
On Thursday we went to the Botanical Gardens and Gwen wanted to walk with her Grandpa.
He showed her all the neat trees, flowers, fish, and whatever other animals we came across. Gwen was loving it. She touched everything that she could. Including water and spider webs.
She had to stand on her tippy toes to see into the water, but by jove she did it.
Here is James' mom Sylvia and her sister Tricia, patiently waiting for us on the other side of the bridge.
We saw a lot of coy fish, and some of them were bigger than Gwen. I think that even though it was really muggy outside it was a very successful outing. Not to mention that we ate at the Hula Hut afterwards. Now that is a good time. And after lunch and playing with Grandma and Grandpa Gwen could hardly keep her eyes open. I think that she lasted maybe a good three minutes in the car before she was down for the count. It makes me a little tired just thinking about it.
Today we went to Tricia and Allen Romriell's home to celebrate the day, and they had a pool party and all the kids were completely pooped by the time we were finished. So it was raining pretty hard earlier today, but cleared up just in time for the fireworks. So I bet you are wondering why I have a picture of the fireworks from my t.v. posted...well it is because we didn't attend the actual fireworks due to a few different things, but I did like seeing them from the comfort of my couch and in my pajamas. I have to say it was really comfy, and air conditioned, and much shorter than I remember it being. Oh well. I do love fireworks no matter how they come. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable day.
Naturally Gwen has a little thing for shoes, and I don't think that it is going away anytime soon. So this morning she was wandering around the house in a pair of my shoes and she made sure that she had the keys in hand. Who ever said that you can't wear leopard and pajamas at the same time?
James' parents just came into town, and I have to say that Gwen was more than ready to see them. We have been playing the sing-along video for a few weeks now and it worked like a charm. She woke up and they had brought her books (one of her favorite things) and she was a little shy for a few minutes then she let them have the best of Gwen. They sang songs and read stories and we went to IKEA, and Gwen wanted to stay and play at the store with Grandpa all day. We have had some pretty icky weather here and Brent and Sylvia went through quite an ordeal with flight cancellations and delays to get here, but we are sure glad that they still wanted to come, and that they got here safe.
We have a little hand puppet and its name is Leo the Lion. We even have a song that we sing about him. This morning I found Gwen putting him on her hand and waving him around. I had no idea that she even knew how to do this little trick. So it was a fun surprise for me. And I have no idea what the pink stripe is at the bottom of the picture, just a random camera addition I guess.