Sky High

This was the weekend of visitors.  First off was Aunt Mo and the boys and Sarah A. and the girls, along with other friends from LA.  There was tons of fun to be had in Houston for the kids ages 6-16, and it all started at Sky High Sports.  It was our first time visiting too, and Noah had a blast.  After 2.5 full hours of running and jumping with only a couple brief water breaks, he walked off the mats, and said, "Momma, let's go get food."  The boy knows what he wants.  Here are my favorite pictures from afternoon of bouncing. 

For the party, our group had the dodgeball court reserved.  Noah did lots of running from tramps to mats and lots of dodging of big kids and balls.  He only got trampled about 1.5 times. 

All the kids ran out on the tramps and after about 2 minutes were dripping with sweat.  There was a lot of bouncing going on.  Noah played so hard and was totally pooped by the time we left. 

I'm pretty sure he had a blast though. 

One of his water breaks.

Seth getting air.

High five.

Mad skills.

Great party Zack!

And by special request, here is Z doing his back flip. 

What Up Cuz?

Emma and Noah finally got to meet their new baby cousin, Peyton. 

Fun times with her cousin Peyton.  When Noah saw the girls together on the bed, he said, "Look.  Another Emma."

Loved seeing Uncle PNut be a Daddy.  What an awesome little family!

Group shot!

Home

It's not very often our whole family makes the trip to Louisiana together. This trip had a rocky start.  A massive rainstorm in Thursday rush hour traffic delayed us getting out of Houston and a hazmat incident on I-10 added another two hours of delay to our already longer than usual drive. We ended up stopping for the night and started our Friday morning with a fresh perspective and ready for the weekend. And, what a fun weekend it turned out to be. It reminded us how much we miss our families. And, although we've made our home in Texas, Louisiana is still home too. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Emma came home with a definite case of arm-itis.

There is never a shortage of arms wanting to hold her.

Noah completely crashed one afternoon after spending the day at Grandma and Grandpas's house. The couch in Grammy's sun room seemed a most cozy spot.

Uncle D showing off his baby whispering skills while watching LSU football on Saturday.

 

Daddy took Noah swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Um... no he can't touch or swim, and Daddy was the only person in the pool.

And, then more swimming with the girls at Grammy's house. Floaties required this time.

There is always someone willing to go outside and play.  Momma surely appreciates all the extra hands willing to give Noah a push on the swing. 

There is always lots of fun and laughing.  Here is Brooke showing off her 80's punk look.

Noah dug this wig out of one of the girl's rooms.  Silly Noah.

And, we got to visit with some cousins from out of town.

Awwhh...sha.

Emma is Laughing

Tired. That's what everyone in our whole family is. Well, except for Emma who amazingly slept a seven hour stretch last night. Noah must have sensed that Momma had the potential for a full nights sleep because he was up from 3:30-4:30AM. Ouch! Thanks buddy.

Anyway, we carried on with our regular Friday. I was tired with way less patience than usual. Noah was overly tired and way more distracted than usual.  Dinnertime finally arrived, and I fixed Noah a bowl of Gumbo. I put Emma in her yellow Boppy on the counter. I set her right in front of her brother. Noah, upon seeing the bowl of Gumbo, started yelling for a "HOT DOG!"

Emma started cracking up laughing. I looked at Emma then Noah. I started laughing. Noah looked at Emma then me and smiled. Amazing. Noah looked at me and then looked at Emma again and laughed. Totally amazing. Then he said, "Hi Emma." Then he looked at me, "Emma is laughing." Totally spontaneous and completely original language.

What an absolutely amazing moment to start our weekend. Great job, Noah. And, sweet baby Emma, thank you for being such a wonderful edition to this family.

Cousins

Noah loves his cousins.  It's not very often that we are there to complete the cousin photo.  I didn't want to miss the opportunity.  Special thanks to Morgan for the body hold keeping Noah in the picture!

Surprise... It's a Girl!

Dean has one cousin on his mother's side, who we lovingly refer to as Uncle PNut. Through the years, I have heard many a tale of all the shenanigans Dean and Uncle PNut have gotten into.  Well, surprise surprise... Uncle PNut is now a dad. And, there are two little second cousins all ready to make some memories of their own.

Welcome to the world, Peyton Olivia. Born exactly two months behind her cousin Emma. How fun is that!  Congratulations Uncle PNut and Aunt Christine! We are so happy for you both, and we know you will make awesome parents.

Easter on the Island

My Louisiana family spent the Easter holidays "down at the camp."  I heard it was a great trip, and I can't wait until our family can go down for a visit.  We spent every summer there as a child, and I have so many great memories.  I love this picture of my oldest nephew Blake throwing a cast net off the dock.  My sister captured it with my dad's camera.  Strong work, Mo!

Testing the Waters

On our recent trip to Louisiana, Noah took his first swim of the year.  Blake offered to take him.  PaPa had heated the pool, so it was nice and cozy for a late afternoon in March.

Thanks Blake!

Noah had a blast.  Grammy had picked up a pair of floaties for Noah to try.  He really liked them and was able to float around the pool solo.  He didn't need them for the shallow end since all of his 45+ inches could touch the bottom. 

Blake definitely added to the fun with a few games of motor boat...

And lots of tossing him in the air.  Speaking of tall kids, it's hard to believe my sweet little nephew Blake is well on his way to six feet tall. 

Thanks for a super fun afternoon, Blake!!  You can take Noah swimming anytime.

There Once Was a Doodlebug Whose Name was Seth

This week we had a last minute visit from Noah's youngest boy cousin, Seth.  Also known as, Seffie, Seffie-Do, Doodlebug.  Noah loved having Seth at our house evidenced by the fact how bright and early he woke him up every morning.  (Sorry about that Seth.)  And, Noah was really, really sad to see him go.  "Nooo... not Seffie." he cried as Seth's drove away.

Here are a some pictures from the visit.

We hit a couple neighborhood pools trying to beat the heat.  Seth was so sweet hanging out with Noah and me in the baby pools.

Here Noah and Seth are enjoying some snacks during a pool break.

We spent some time indoors and broke out RockBand.  Noah loved dancing along, and Noah's friend Henry is so ready to be a rockstar.

Rock on, Henry.

During Noah's naptime, Seth asked me if we could do something "not electronic."  So, I pulled out a game of Scattergories.  Seth did a really good job.  Insect that starts with G?  Grasshopper.  Famous Female that starts with H?  Hilary Duff.  Strong work Seffie Do. 

We also spent some time in the backyard.  Luckily, there were no injuries involved during the use of the bonzai slide, but it was not because of lack of trying. 

Seth told me his number one favorite part of the trip was Rainforest Cafe.  Noah calls it the jungle, and I think he sort of has a love/hate relationship with it.  The thunderstorms ever 20 or so minutes... he definitely doesn't love.

This yummy volcano may have something to do with Seth choosing Rainforest as his favorite activity. 

Thanks for coming to visit us, Seth.  We can't wait for the next time.

Our Beach Vacation (Or the Week I Unglued My IPhone From My Hand)

Our family needed a vacation in the worst way. The two weeks leading up to us boarding a flight to Florida were long and stressful. Dean was on call 24 days straight. Noah decided to try tantrums out as a way to communicate his needs. And, between a screaming child and a missing husband, I was just trying to hold it all together.

A vacation was just what the doctor ordered. Noah was so good on the flight to Florida. At the last minute, I decided to try out a picture schedule, and I really think it made all the difference. I printed pictures of the plane and the beach house and everyone we were going to see there. It let him know what to expect, and it is definitely something I'll be using again in the future.

So, hmmm... who did Noah see?  All his cousins for one thing.

What a great looking bunch of kiddoes!

Aside from the sand, the sun, the sunscreen and his bathing suit, Noah loved our vacation. Daddy didn't seem to mind that Noah was lukewarm on the beach. He was feeling a little oil wary.  For the record, we did not spy any oil, but we did spy a ton of oil workers.  Noah tolerated the beach for the first couple days.

Noah searched for seashells.

And did some running (away).

Luckily, Daddy and Uncle D were close by.  Speaking of Uncle D...

Thanks for letting us have the big room.  I probably should have taken this picture before we made a mess of the place, but the room was great.

Which was a good thing because Noah spent a lot of time up there.  He also slept in the closet, but in our defense it was almost as big as his room in our Miami apartment.  He liked it in there... honestly!

Noah spent so much time upstairs that finally his cousins had to start hanging out there too.

We had an awesome beach vacation with the family.  And, I think everyone is back home relaxed and rested.  I know I am ready to be a better Mom.  Motherly duty number one... put the kibosh on these tantrums.  Just a little forewarning my sweet baby boy.