June 2010

June was a super busy and awesome month for us! Allan was home for his 2-week visit and got to meet Colin for the first time and see how much Daniel has grown. Colin started laughing this month and - yes - we did go to Joe T. Garcia's that many times! Here are a couple random pictures from June. Click here to see all the pictures and videos from June.

Colin with our friend Kacie

Colin in the Bumbo Chair

Mom & Daniel at Choo Choo Creamery - Two of Daniel's Favorite Things!

Daniel watching the overhead train

Colin holding a toy!

Daniel playing with his new car ramp

Colin's Superman Pose

Allan at Joe T. Garcia's the night he flew in

Allan & Daniel

Cousin Aidan & Daniel after playing in the fountain

Slip 'N Slide - Didn't really get that whole concept!

One of Daniel's current "smile" poses

My Boys!

Colin Laughing

Father's Day Dinner at Joe T. Garcia's

Allan & Daniel at Going Bonkers

Allan & Lou at Joe T. Garcia's

Jennifer, Melissa & Kim at Joe T. Garcia's

Daniel Playing with Colin

Daniel & Colin with Mimi

Port Aransas, TX

We took a wonderful family trip down to Port Aransas, TX with Allan's parents. There is a group of family from Allan's Mom's side of the family that meets up there every year. They all go to the same hotel/resort and just spend time hanging out together and catching up. Dan & Mary Ann have been going down for the last few years and this was our first time to join them. On the first day, we spent most of the day at the pool. The resort has a huge pool area with shallower and deeper parts. We mostly stayed in the shallowest area where Daniel could reach the ground. He was a little afraid at the beginning, but got more and more comfortable over the weekend.

On the second day we went to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. It was a nice aquarium - just about the right size to keep Daniel's attention. We especially liked the otters and sea turtles and they had a dolphin show. We also went on a boat ride around the harbor.

The next morning, Allan and I took Daniel out to the beach. The beach wasn't very nice there this year. There was a big mound of seaweed all across the beach where you couldn't even really get to the water. Some people were climbing over it, but we decided to spend most of our time at the pool. However, I didn't think we should take Daniel's first trip to the Gulf without even playing in the sand! So we went down to the beach for a little bit and Daniel played in the sand. We built some sand trains from a little sand mold we brought. Of course, as soon as it was made, Daniel would poke his fingers through it!

We had a great time on our trip and hope to be able to come back in the future (depending on where we are at)! Enjoy the slideshow of our trip!

Slideshow made with Smilebox

Mom & Dad Get Away!

While Allan was visiting, we went on a little Parent's Night Out! We went and stayed at the Historic Belmont Hotel in Dallas, TX. The Belmont is a 1940s motor inn that was famous for its views of the downtown Dallas skyline. The hotel was restored in 2005. We had a lovely suite with a living area, bedroom, two bathrooms, covered patio and a balcony with a great view of downtown. There was a private hot tub on the balcony as well. We spent some time in the afternoon just hanging out at the pool with a couple of great margaritas from the hotel bar. Then we had dinner at the hotel restaurant Smoke (think upscale BBQ and smokehouse). I had the BBQed Salmon and it was delicious! It was great to have a little night away for just us. Thanks to the grandparents for watching the kids!

Belmont Hotel Historic Sign

Living Room

Bedroom

Bathroom

Allan on the Balcony

Hot Tub

Daytime View of Downtown Dallas

Melissa by a Fountain on the Hotel Property

Smoke

Night View of Downtown Dallas

Welcome Home Dad!

Allan came home today for his two-week R&R. He was scheduled to come in on the 8PM flight, which bummed me out because I wanted Daniel to be at the airport, but that might have been pretty late to keep him up and he would just be grumpy. But there was an earlier connection from NC (he flew through London to Charlotte, NC to DFW) that he was hoping to make and get in at 4:30ish. However, he would only have 1 hour to make the connection in Charlotte, including clearing US customs! So it was a long shot. Also, he wouldn't have enough time to call me and let me know that he made the earlier flight. So the plan was that if I didn't hear from him, he was on the earlier flight and he would call me if he didn't make it. Early in the morning, I checked his flight from London. It left almost an hour late. So he would have about 20 minutes to try to make the earlier connection in Charlotte. At this point, I just assumed he wouldn't be in until the late flight. We had agreed to just let Daniel go to bed at his normal time and he could see Allan in the morning. All day long I just poked along assuming he would be on the late flight. Then around 2PM I started wondering why he hadn't called yet. Then I started thinking "Maybe he somehow made the earlier flight. Guess I better take a shower just in case." I knew I needed to leave the house around 3:30 to make it to the airport for the early flight. Around 3PM I decided he wasn't calling and was on the early flight. I frantically finished getting ready, woke up BOTH boys from naps, got them ready, called my mom to go to the airport with me to help with the boys, called Allan's parents to meet at the airport and rushed to the airport. We got there a few minutes before the flight was to arrive, hoping he would really show up! I didn't even tell Daniel that Dad was coming home, because I didn't want to disappoint if he wasn't on the flight. Luckily, a few minutes after the plane landed, Allan walked out of the terminal - yeah! It was so great to see him and Daniel was so happy. Allan got to see and hold Colin for the first time! Here are a couple of pics from the airport. Enjoy!

Daniel finishing up the Welcome Home sign

Daniel with the sign

The happy family

Allan & Daniel

Allan & Colin

Mother's Day Locket

For Mother's Day, Allan bought me a beautiful locket with the boys pictures engraved on the inside. It is laser-etched in color onto the locket. It also has their names and birthdates on the back. It is really pretty and special. I have been meaning to get pictures of it posted, so I am finally getting around to it.

Colin is Three Months Old!

I can't believe that Colin is already three months old! Tomorrow he will see his Dad for the first time! He is growing so much and getting so strong. He really wants to sit up and move around and loves to watch his big brother Daniel play. He can now grab and hold a toy. I got some cute pictures of him in an adorable little outfit and took pictures with his newborn outfit to show how much he has grown (although he wouldn't quite stay still for that). Also today I got a nice new surprise - Colin rolled over for the first time! I had changed him into jammies and left him in his crib while I went to let the dog in. When got back to his room, I found him almost all the way onto his tummy. Of course I quickly went to get the camera to capture the moment! After a little bit of trying, he got all the way over and got the arm out. Go Colin! Here are a couple of pictures from his three-month birthday!

Colin with his newborn outfit

Holding the bee rattle

How I found him in the crib...

A few minutes later... Almost there...

All the way over!