Just a Thursday

Sutton needed some photos of his messiness during lunch today.

"Cheese!" 

After we cleaned up, we decided to have a little impromptu dance party. Sutton was so excited about dancing that he got really upset when I sat down. Turned off the waterworks and started smiling as soon as I started dancing again.

Then Coldplay came on and he got so excited he started jumping and shaking. Then Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back came on and he sung YEAH on beat. I died laughing, so then he started singing "YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!" Crazy kid.

Chef Sutton

Look at me! Blogging three times in one week. It's a miracle. :)

Sutton got a fun little kitchen today thanks to my facebook friend Leslie, who let us pick it up for free! I love free things. We've found that Sutton loves playing with his friend Avery's kitchen while he's at her house on Thursdays, so I'd been kinda keeping an eye out for used one.

He immediately had to put his airplanes in the microwave...normal.

He got a big bruise on his cheek from falling into the corner of our coffee table. Poor little lamb.

He's been so sick the past few days, fever and no appetite and pain from teething...I was glad to see him out and playing and happy.

He sure can turn it on for the camera! He knows all about posing and saying "Cheese!"

Handsome little dude! I forgot how much I love taking random photos of him for no reason! Hopefully I can do this more often. Although my browser crashed and my kid keeps crying for me while I've been trying to do this. A little more challenging than it used to be. :)

Dallas {Spring Break 2012}

One of the {many} joys of being married to a teacher is that he gets a lot of days off that "normal" people don't get. Add in there that I can take off whenever I want (my boss can be mean, but as long as I don't have any shoots scheduled, she's pretty lenient), :) and we were able to take a mini vacation to Dallas this week.

Adam and I don't take a lot of BIG vacations. You know, like a lot of people go somewhere every year like Cancun or on a cruise (ha!). We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon and that was about it. So whenever we can go to Kansas City or Colorado or (in this case) Dallas, it's a big treat! Many of our friends are teachers, so we got to go down there with two other couples who are some of our best friends, it was a blast!

We drove down Sunday after church and with all our stops, ended up getting there around 7:30pm. We got settled into our rooms, and then the guys went out and got pizza that they brought back for us to eat. At one point I came out of the bathroom and Sutton had gotten up on the couch and just looked like he was ready for a business meeting.

After the boy was in bed, we played a rousing game of "Things" til the wee hours and then headed to bed. The next morning, we ate Texas-shaped waffles before taking a walk to the nearest Walmart to buy some essentials. Sutton was ready for a nap by the time we got back, so Adam stayed in our room with him and did homework while I headed out with the rest of the group.

We were actually in Addison, which is a suburb of Dallas. So we went to Addison Circle and ate lunch at a little sidewalk cafe. Then we walked around the circle and lounged at a pretty park with fountains. It was the perfect weather, so us girls just laid in the grass for awhile talking. So relaxing and fun! We took weird iPhone photos while we were there...

After Sutton woke up, we headed over to a flight museum to look at a bunch of airplanes. Sutton's favorite was the helicopter, but he kept saying "Whoa..." cause there were so many BIG planes. Usually he only sees them small in the sky or in his books.

 

I wanted Adam and Sutton to see the park we'd spent time at earlier that day, so we headed back over so Sutton could run around for awhile.

Then we went to Cantina Laredo for dinner, yum... It started raining as we were getting back to the hotel so we hung out there for the evening, Adam built Sutton a fort.

 

After Sutton was in bed, we played Pictionary all night. For awhile, all us girls were on our phones and Luis felt the need to document it...

 

I listen to the Kidd Kraddick morning radio show as often as I can, and I have since college. I randomly remembered that they're based in Dallas, so we did a little reconnaissance and figured out where they were located. We got up a little earlier on Tuesday morning and ended up being the only people there watching their show. Big Al came out and talked with us for awhile, and even ended up giving us a tour of the studio! It was so cool. We got to meet J-Si, Kellie Rasberry, Shannon, and Jenna as well as some of the behind-the-scenes people. They were all really nice! I totally felt like we were meeting celebrities. :) Us girls got our photo taken with Big Al and J-Si.

 

After that, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. Coolest place EVER! It was so neat to see the monkeys, otters, sharks, manatees, birds, snakes, lizards...all in really amazing environments. Sutton had fun until he peed his pants from drinking crazy amounts of apple juice. :)

Adam and Sutton and I headed back to the hotel so he could nap, and we both also got to take long naps. That was wonderful. When everyone was up, we headed to the mall of all malls...the Galleria. I'm not a huge shopping person, but the other girls were, and we had SO much fun shopping together. One of the best parts of the trip was spending time with my good friends Val and Melinda.

 

At one store, we all decided to try on something that we'd never wear. You can't really tell in the photo, but Val had on a strapless, shin-length romper, I was wearing suspenders that were attaching to high-waisted capris, and Melinda had on some short-shorts overalls. Sexy. :) 

Adam was great and took the kiddo the whole time so I could hang with my friends. They got a cinnamon-sugar pretzel from Auntie Anne's, and Sutton dipped it in cheese and loved it. Weirdo.

That evening, we headed back to the hotel to put Sutton to bed while Luis and Val, and Ryan and Melinda went to get take-out from the Cheesecake Factory. Luis and Val treated us all to dinner - they're so awesome! We ended up eating at like 8:30 in our PJs in the hotel, and it was so fun. Then we played more games before breaking out the cheesecake. Yummmmmmm.

Wednesday morning we packed up and checked out of the hotel. Sutton was complaining about his teeth, so we got him some pain medicine, and he did alright. We went back to the Galleria for more shopping. Sutton played in a little indoor play area.

Val and I waiting outside Banana Republic for Melinda. We ate lunch at Chic-fil-a, then Adam and Sutton and I got on the road to head home since it was his nap time. He slept for about 30 minutes and then woke up crying and wouldn't calm down. So we had to stop and get out for awhile. He was all congested and sounded terrible. After driving a bit more and him falling asleep again, he woke up and it happened all over again. So we got him some cold medicine that was supposed to make him sleep but it didn't really work. So we just took our time getting home and got back right before bedtime.

Sutton {21 months}

My sweet Sutton bear! You're 21 months old today. I suppose that means I should start planning the TWO YEAR birthday party. What?!

We didn't get very many photos today because you're sick and I didn't want to force it. I'm so glad we got some smiles though!

Seriously, you are the most awesome kid ever. I don't know how we got so lucky. Here are some things you've been up to lately.

*You weigh 30 pounds and are taking a toll on your mama. But I love holding you and carrying you and I will make it through. :)

*You're talking all the time now, and you understand so much! You put sentences together, and you greet us on your own without being asked. I love hearing "Hi Mommy!" when I get home. "Alright" is still your favorite word, you use it in the correct context all the time.

*You know all the parts on your body and will point to them on you and on us. You'll say "Mommy eye," and point to my eye; then you'll say "Baby eye," and point to yours. You also know all your animals and most of the sounds they make. Your favorite thing is to point out the eyes, ears, tail, mouth, etc. on the photos of animals in your books.

*You're starting to make associations...you'll see a photo of yourself and say "Baby!" and then you'll point to yourself and say "Baby." Sometimes your associations aren't right, but I'm still proud of you for trying. For example, if I say "I" in a sentence, you'll often point to your eye. The English language is confusing. :)

*You think your name is Baby even though you also know it's Sutton. But you can't say Sutton, so you say Baby. I guess that's what I get for constantly calling you Baby.

*Your daddy just taught you how to put your hands in your pockets so now you think you're pretty cool when you walk around like that, although it makes you walk real slow cause you have to think about it.

*You said "Thank you" to me for the very first time today when I got you some juice while you were having a coughing fit. Sweetest thing.

*You like to be bossy to the puppies. You're always saying "Go, Sadie!" when she gets too close to you or  your food. Our poor puppies. You like to give them hugs though too, so I guess it all evens out.

*You're pretty picky when it comes to eating. We usually have to bribe you with grapes or Cheetos to eat your other foods. You do like chocolate like your mama though.

*Sleeping has been great up until the past three nights. You got sick on our spring break trip to Dallas and since we've gotten home, you wake up several times each night and have to be rocked back to sleep. Yesterday during nap time, you slept for about 30 minutes on your own and then I had to hold you for the rest of your 2.5 hour nap. I really hope this is just a "sick" thing and not a new habit that you've realized you get attention if you cry during the night.

*You're still pretty affectionate. We love to hug and kiss you. If you get in trouble for hitting Daddy, after your timeout, you'll give Daddy a hug and say "Alright!" like it's all better now.

*You're in a size 4 diaper during the day and 5 at night. You wear 12-24 month clothes.

*We haven't done much with the potty training this month. We've just been focusing on talking about it so you know what it means. You tell me after you go #2 every time, and want me to change you, so that's a good start. Not much different than last month though.

*You really like to read books now, and watch Diego, and color. You're definitely right handed.

*You've mastered the jumper and now like to swing in it and spin in it. It's pretty funny to watch. You spin so fast I can't believe you don't get dizzy. Or maybe you do and that's why you laugh so hard.

*You recognize songs now. You like Coldplay's "Paradise" and most Adele songs. You also like Rihanna's "We Found Love." I think you and I have pretty similar taste in music. :)

*You're still very neat. If you get food on your hands while you're eating, you ask us to wipe it off. If you get markers on your hands while coloring you repeatedly say "Uh oh!" and have to show us.

*You'll have whole conversations on our phones with people. Sometimes you'll talk about Daddy, sometimes it's just babble.

*You love balloons. Probably your favorite toy.

*Pink is your favorite color. I'm sure you'll grow out of that one... :)

*We just took our first long-ish road trip since you've been at this level of cognizance (whoa, big word there), and it went really well! We tried to time it during your nap, but you were too distracted by people in the car (we went with friends) to nap much. But you didn't cry or complain at all on the way down to Dallas. On the way back you were sick, so that's a whole different story, but I don't think that was your fault.

*I've never really known what to do with your hair. It's fine and thick like mine, but wavy. I don't know what to do with wavy hair that gets curly when it's wet. For your most recent (third) haircut, I just put the 1-inch attachment on the clippers and shaped the back/bottom of your hair. I'm liking this - longer on top but short (not mullet-ish) in the back. Maybe I should become a hairdresser. KIDDING. :)

My handsome boy, you are growing up way too fast! I'm loving every minute of getting to know your budding personality. Mommy and Daddy love you!

Miss Me?

I used to be so good at blogging. Then my kid started walking and talking. Ah, well, it's okay. For now. :)

I haven't taken many photos of the kiddo lately besides with my phone. So that's what these are (except for the first one...I took it from my dad's blog). Just a bunch of random things going on in our lives.

Adam was out of town this past weekend, so Saturday afternoon, I loaded up the kid and the dogs and we went to stay overnight with my parents. We had lots of fun and were fed very well (the diet was pretty much out the window...). When we got there Saturday afternoon, Sutton wanted to play outside but it was a bit cold and I hadn't brought a jacket. So my mom scrounged this up for him and it was pretty darn cute and funny.

 

It was almost like a mini-vacation. We got to stay in the guest suite complete with a remodeled bathroom...I got to sit in their hot tub while my mom bathed my kid and put on his jammies...my dogs left me alone for once in their life because they had more interesting playmates (my parents dogs)...we were fed amazing food (turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and crescent rolls for dinner; pancakes for breakfast). I could do that again.

The kid and dogs were exhausted by the time we left late Sunday morning. I tried to keep them awake on the 30 minute drive home so they would sleep when we got here (and maybe I could get in a nap too?!) but it was hopeless. Just. So. Tired.

 

Friday afternoon before all the fun with my parents, we had a coffee date with our friend Jaclyn. Sutton decided to bring out his crazy side and we didn't last long in Mead's Corner before we had to get in the stroller and book it to a nearby park.

  

Sutton and I had an Orange Leaf and park date one afternoon. He's really into feeding himself now, and even though it's messy, it's fun that he's able to do it.

This is the photo we sent Daddy while he was away to tell him we missed him.

 Daddy's back! All is right with the world. Sutton loves to copy everything we do. For example, he has a splinter in his leg that we CANNOT get out, though we have tried and tried with a tweezers. He cries and wriggles when we try. But when we stop, he wants the tweezers, and he touches it to his leg in the same spot as if he's going to get it out. Example #2: I was rubbing lotion on certain spots on my feet one night, and he was playing in the medicine cabinet (closely supervised, of course). He found a tube of cream that looked similar to mine, so he got it out, touched his finger to the top, then touched his foot, as if he was rubbing it in. Then he had to do it to Daddy's feet. And mine.

Well, he also likes to "help" Adam airbrush his RC planes. He found an empty airbrush bottle and started touching it to the plane right where Adam was trying to paint. Super cute. After Adam cleaned out his airbrush, he let Sutton hold it and even press the button so he could hear air coming out.

And just a photo of my cute sweetie after his FOUR AND A HALF hour nap two days ago. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was glorious. :)