Neigh! Neigh!

Those were the first words out of Noah's mouth when we told him we were going to a picnic and he would get to ride a pony. We had a great time at Brandon's company picnic on Saturday. It was at The Gordon Ranch and there was so much for the little ones to do.

Our first stop was a mini version of the amusement park swings that take you WAY up high and spin you around. The thing took off so fast that I think it gave Noah whiplash. Noah loves to swing, but he did not care for a motorized swing that went 'round and 'round. In the picture below, he is giving us the sign for all finished (as in, get me off of this thing!).

Here we are waiting for the much anticipated pony ride. Noah was SO excited, but still kept one hand on daddy at all times.


Noah had to try out the E-I-E-I. Can you hear him making tractor sounds? I know my Grandpa Mc. would have loved this picture.

"What does this thing do?"
Workin' hard
We got to pet and feed goats and sheep. They thought my camera looked mighty tasty. I kept having to "shoo" them away.
The ranch had a fun playground. I think I remember swinging on horse swings like this when I was little! Here's Noah practicing his wild bronc riding skills. Notice he HAD to swing on the boo one.

After trying out every attraction at the ranch, we finally headed in for some much needed AC (as shown by my baby's bright red cheeks). There we had BBQ, sweet tea and cookies. Noah almost passed out on the drive home from all the excitement. We were able to keep him awake long enough to let him play in the bath and wash the little-boy-smell off of him.

The Shanes

While Noah was being happily entertained (or vice versa) by his new babysitter, Brandon and I were at church listening to some GREAT music.

Shane & Shane rank right up there with Watermark in my book and they were in concert at our church! They are Brandon's absolute favorites! Talk about crazy-mad guitar skillz. We got free Chick-Fil-A and had second row seats thanks to our awesome friends, Brad and Erin. Can't beat that for a great date night! :)

The Babysitter's Club

Saturday night was a big event in our lives (well, mine and Brandon's anyway). We left Noah with a real babysitter (like the kind you pay, other than family) for the first time! :) My great friend Erin recommended one of her former students. The girl was great! So sweet and Noah took right to her. He was ready for us to get out the door so he could start showing off. I was so pleased! He'd never seen this person in his life, he's around her for three minutes and he's like, "bye! bye!"

Well, ok, we'll see ya in a few hours. Piece a cake. What a sweet boy.

Called on Account of Rain

There was a high chance of rain today so playgroup took a break from the pool circuit and found something to do indoors. The mall playground, oh boy, my favorite. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) I willingly went though, because this boy has energy to burn!Sliding down the slide. Suzuki sponsors the playground so it has a car theme. You can climb up the hoods and slide down the back of the cars.Noah spent most of his time spinning this wheel (and trying to ward off any other toddlers who might want to have a turn).

After a lonnnnng wait, Noah finally got to take his turn in this little blue car. It was the only car you could actually sit in and roll the steering wheel so it was a popular attraction. :) He was not about to give up his spot, not even to someone three times his size! He was guarding that driver's seat with all 26 pounds.

We Needed the Rain, Not the Hail

Houston was facing drought-like conditions so we were happy to see storm clouds roll in Wednesday evening. We were not happy that they brought hail with them (I guess beggars can't be choosers, right?). Lightening, thunder, rain and BIG hail rolled in just as we were putting Noah to bed. You can imagine the look on his face when he heard the hail hitting the house. He had never experienced such a thing.Yes, that's Brandon's truck in the driveway taking a beating from the hail.

MeMow and BaBah's Visit

Well, I guess we're gonna have two BaBah's. Noah couldn't pronounce pappaw so BaBah it is. My parents came to stay with us and keep Noah while I worked at VBS last week. I'm sure he would've enjoyed VBS, but it would've been a really long day for him. Plus, I don't think I could've gotten out of the house on time trying to get both of us ready!

He was such a good sport and practically pushed me out the door every morning saying, "bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye!!" He had so much fun with memow and babah. They went to the grocery store, the park, the neighborhood pool, read books and raced cars.

Pappaw installed a pool for us. :) We made the mistake of showing it to Noah right before dinner and he HAD to get in right then! He kept saying, "poo! poo! poo! poo!" He was trying to get his leg over the edge of the pool with his clothes on.

When Noah first got in, he would just splash the water and throw his arms out behind him.

Here he is giving us the sign for cold:He had a blast and loves his little pool! It was hard for me to choose just a few pictures out of the 30 that I took.

You can see the sheer excitement in his expression.He stayed in well past dinnertime and did not seem to care. We had a hard time getting him to come inside. I think we'll be livin' in our little backyard pool this summer.

Happy Father's Day

Noah and his awesome daddy.Noah and his sweet pappaw and daddy.Noah, mommy, and my awesome daddy. We had a nice Father's Day. My parents were still in town so it was nice to be able to celebrate with all the men in my life! After church, we ate at Guayaba (they had a Latin brunch buffet - very different, but very good). I think my dad was just humoring me by eating there...he's not much for trying new things. :) I got Brandon some shirts, a book, and a framed collage of Noah pictures. I got my dad a golf shirt and the Tony Dungy book.

Father's Day is bittersweet because we all miss my grandpa so much. My mom especially has a rough day. He was a precious man. Father's Day was the last time we saw him before his accident. Here is the picture we took together. My heart aches that Noah never got to meet him.

Unshakeable

I helped out at VBS at our church last week. We had such a good time teaching the kids about God's Unshakeable truth! Our theme was Outrigger Island so we got to decorate using tropical themed items and the music had an island feel.

I co-taught kids entering 1st grade with my sweet friend, Erin. Our class was SO well-behaved and so sweet. We had about 18 kids every day. It was truly a blessing to be able to spend time with these little ones, watch their minds at work, and hear what they had to say. They kept me smiling!

Here's a video of our kiddos during worship rally. We had the front row every day. What lucky kids! Look at all of the energy and excitement in this room!

One Year

It is hard to believe it was one year ago today that we said our tearful goodbyes at my parent's house and headed to southeast Texas. We left our families, our familiar surroundings, our friends, our church, and the home we loved. I had never lived farther than an hour and a half from my parents so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The first couple of months were rough as I was adjusting to being a full-time stay at home mom in a new city and state, I didn't know anyone yet and my "social outings" consisted of H-E-B and Target.

The Lord has truly blessed our time here. I have enjoyed it more than I ever thought possible. We found a church that we absolutely LOVE. Through our Sunday School class, we have gained some precious friendships. I love being a full-time stay at home mommy (the pools, parks and other family friendly activities make my job a little easier).

Noah was a little, chubby 7 1/2 month old when we loaded his infant car seat in the back. It's amazing to look at our pictures from a year ago and see how much he has grown and changed and learned since we've been here. Now he's a walkin', talkin', runnin', squealin' all-out-boy, riding face forward in a big boy seat!

I can't believe one year has gone by so fast and I can't believe I will probably sob when we leave.

How to Stay Cool on a Hot Summer Day

Step 1: Wear bathing suit (and Lil' Swimmers).

Step 2: Fill pitchers and pails with water.

Step 3: Stay in the shade!

Nana and baBAH

Nana and pawpaw (which Noah pronounces more like ba BAH) came to visit us the first week of June. We had so much fun. Noah enjoyed being spoiled. He took to them right away and didn't miss a beat.

Aunt Beth sent some hand-me-downs that Noah absolutely LOVED. He has already logged many a mile with this grocery cart.
Every time Nana tried to take a picture of Noah, he ran over to her to see the screen. Here he is watching one of the videos she took of him (for the hundreth time).
The busy horse popper? I don't think that's gonna fit.
I did not get very many pictures! Hopefully when Nana has a chance to send me a few, I can post some more. They had a good trip, we enjoyed relaxing, going to the pool and the park and being entertained by Noah.