Spring Break 2011

What a wonderful Spring Break we've had!!

Monday was awesome.  We did NOTHING.  Never even got out of our PJ's.  I may or may not have sat on the couch the entire day.  :)

Tuesday was a busy day.  We went and paid the water bill and to the Post Office to send off all our other fun payments (yeah, right).  After that we headed into Austin to drop some stuff of for Danny. Then it was Stockshow time!  I have so many fun memories of being at the rodeo when I was younger.  I can't wait for Ruston to be able to enjoy all of that.

We started out looking at all the show animals they had in the show barn.  Cows, horses, pigs, goats, rabbits. And you know what his favorites were? The turkeys and chickens! Gah, they stunk. haha

Next we went into the Kiddy Town and played on the tractors.  They had a cute little set up where the kids could get fake eggs from the chicken pens, pick apples from the trees, and pull potatoes from the dirt mounds.  He cared about nothing but the tractors. :)  

Next was the pig races.  He thought it was pretty funny seeing those little pigs race for an Oreo.  He liked the area better when there weren't so many people crowded around.  He wanted to crawl over the little gate onto the race track.

Petting zoo was next on the list.  I'm afraid they might have to change the name for Ruston.  He definitely doesn't understand "pet."  He acted more like he was in a "Slapping Zoo."  He would run up to a goat, slap it on the back, then run back to me laughing.  Yes, I attempted to correct him and show him how to nicely stroke the goats back.  He responded by slapping, running, and laughing.  Awesome. :)

We had lunch outside in front of the concert stage.  He did a little dancing and a lot of running.

We attempted to do a pony ride, but that didn't last more than 10 seconds.  Not a fan.  He was exhausted by this time, so we headed home.

Adam and Saoirse came over and we made breakfast for dinner. Yummy! We watched Life as we Know it and they spent the night.  It was nice to have some company.

Wednesday started out with a haircut.  He was looking a little mop toppy.

He threw an absolute fit during the hair cut, so no picture.  I was busy trying to hold him down. :)

So cute afterwards....

Then we drove into Pflugerville and met Saoirse and Zarah at the Texas Jumping Bean.  It's this big warehouse that has multiple Bounce Houses set up.  It was crazy fun!! And so tiring! Ruston absolutely loved it and I had such a good time chasing him around and watching him play.

He even went down the slide by himself!

My Dad and Benda came over and watched Ruston for a while that night so Amy and I could go to Costco.  I'd never been before and man, is it awesome! She's definitely converted me and I will be purchasing a membership soon. :)

After our shopping trip, we stopped at Pei Wei.  Good gracious, did we order a lot of food. Look at this!!

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and Ruston's 18 month birthday! We stayed home during the day and played outside and with all his many toys.

We baked some special St. Patty's cookies! They are just regular sugar cookies with green food coloring.

Then we added some vanilla icing and green sprinkles. Yum!

Ruston enjoyed his birthday cookie. :)

Thursday night we headed to the rodeo!

Ruston loved it.  He watched every single event and never got bored or fidgety.  He would point to the horses or cows and "tell me" all about what was going on.

Easton Corbin played that night! I love his songs and was so excited when I found out he was going to be at the rodeo this year.  I wanted Ruston to stay for at least one song, but it was just too loud.  It didn't seem to bother him at all, but I just didn't want to hurt his little ears.  Dad and Benda were out on the grounds, so I took him out to them and they took him home.

Friday was all about Dr. appts.  Boo! Not a fun way to end our break.  Both Ruston and Diesel had to get 2 shots.  Poor guys.

Ruston is a small little guy and only weighs 24 pounds.  Dr gave him some vitamins to help make sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs.

Diesel is a massive guy and weighed in at 113 pounds!! Good gravy, how did I let that happen?!?  Vet suggested that he lose 30 pounds.  Sheesh.

I thoroughly enjoyed every day of my Spring Break this year.  Ruston is such a blessing and I'm so glad I was able to spend so much quality time with him.  And I'm sure Diesel enjoyed being out of his kennel a little more!

A year and a half

has passed since I had my sweet baby boy! He's not a baby anymore. :(  Ruston is such a big boy and is turning out to have a very strong personality.

We went to the doctor today and everything checked out well.  Ruston weighs 24 pounds, which keeps him in the 25th percentile and was 32.5 inches long, sticking him in the 50th percentile.

He is all boy.  Rough. Rowdy. All over the place. He doesn't sit still for a minute.  He LOVES his cars, trucks, and tractors.  He still spends tons of time lining them up perfectly and then moving them one at a time to another part of the table.

This past month he's really started to play with balls more. He'd grab them and drop them every once in a while before, but it's become more frequent and intentional.  He loves to play "fetch." haha.  He'll throw the ball to me and chase it when I throw it back to him.

Blocks and stuffed animals have come into play the past month.  He's always had them and acknowledged them, but now he'll actually play with them.  He stacks his blocks and then knocks them over.  He carries around his stuffed animals and gives them big hugs.  Sometimes I get kicked out of the recliner because he wants to sit there with his 5 stuffed toys. :)

Ruston is still very much into books and magazines.  He loves to be read to and really like to read to himself as well!

He hits EVERYTHING.  He is constantly banging, throwing, pushing, or slapping something.  It's definitely something we're going to have to start working on.

Ruston LOVES shoes!! He gets so excited when it's time to put them on.  And it doesn't matter which ones it is...he loves his tennis shoes, boots, and sandals all the same.  He's recently started trying to put them on himself and gets quite angry when he can't.  He also likes to step into our shoes and try to walk in them. :)

His talking is really starting to improve.  He still speaks his own language 90% of the time, but he's getting a little more English in there. :)  He says Dada, Mom, and Diesel pretty consistently now.  He says ball and car constantly.  He says "track" for tractor and "pap" for pappy. He can make animal sounds for a lion, dog, cow, cat, duck and sometimes a horse and pig.  He's got to be in the mood for those. :)  He also likes to show you his tongue and his "nelly nutton."

Ruston's eating hasn't been as great as it has been in the past.  He doesn't eat nearly as much volume wise or selection wise.  Kind of frustrating. :/  He has 7 teeth now.... 4 on bottom and 3 on top.

Sleeping is very hit or miss.  He'll have 1 awesome night, then an awful night, then an OK night.  His schedule is pretty darn consistent with only a few minor changes on Wednesdays, so I'm not really sure what it is thats making the difference.

One super cute action he's learned very recently is to pat my back when he gives me a hug.  It's so sweet and makes me just want to hold him forever.

But of course, he's got some not so cute behaviors as well! Temper tantrums are starting and are NO FUN for mom at all! haha! This child flaps, kicks, screams, squirms, and bangs his head on anything in sight.  My mom says she's pretty sure she knows where he gets that, but I have no idea what she's talking about. :)

Speaking of these tempter tantrums, he had a doozy of one in Petsmart the other day.  To celebrate his half birthday, we got him an aquarium to keep in his room.   I took him to Petsmart to pick out his fish.  He loves fish and was running up and down the aquarium aisle looking and talking into all of the different tanks.  Well, after getting his fish, I attempted to escort him to the check out line.  He flipped!! He DID NOT want to leave those tanks!  He screamed, hit, cried, and twisted trying to get away from me.  I had to strap him into a basket just to pay! Lordy was that embarrassing! :)  But, we both survived and made it home with 3 new neon tetras.

It's been a wonderful 18 months with this special boy and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, crazy, loving kiddo. :)

It's that time of year...

...the time for weddings and babies galore! With those special occasions come showers, parties, and lots of booked up weekends. :) 

The Saturday before last, I helped throw a shower for my cousin's fiance.  Clay and Ally are getting married mid-April.  The shower was at Chad and Kristen's house and it was honestly the easiest shower.  It was small, simple, and absolutely perfect.

Ally got some really useful gifts.  Can't wait for the wedding!

The next day we threw a shower for Rebekah.  Baby Blythe will be here before we know it! It was a pretty large baby shower, but everything worked out well.  

The cake was delicious and Stacey's diaper cake was too cute.

Bek and Baby Blythe got so many cute things! Lots of ooohing and aahhing from the guests. :)

Last Saturday, I went to a baby shower for my good friend, Megan and little baby Braelynn.  Megan and I have gotten pretty close the past couple years.  She was actually in the room with Danny and I when Ruston was born.

Miss Kenzie helped Mama open baby sister's gifts.  I'm really excited to see if Braelynn is just like Kenzie or if she'll have a totally different personality. :)

Poor Ruston is so completely outnumbered.  Everywhere he goes, he is surrounded by girls! haha

All you friends of mine, get to making some boy babies!! He decided he wanted to get up on stage and have some of the attention too. :)

March is just the beginning of this crazy shower/wedding/baby season.  I'm so thankful to have so many great friends to experience these events with!!

1st Beach Vacay of the Year

Danny, Ruston and I went down the last weekend in February and had a nice, relaxing time.  We got up Saturday and had breakfast on the balcony.

It was rainy and all around yucky during the day, so we went to the aquarium in Corpus.  Ruston LOVED it!  I told Danny, we're going to have to get "season passes" this summer! A lot of the tanks are really low, so he was able to walk right up to them and get face to face with the animals.

Dillon and I have a picture in this same bowl the first time I went to the beach with their family!

Ruston and Daddy in front of the fish tank

trying to give the turtle a kiss

this crocodile was huge!!

The otters were one of Ruston's favorite animals.  It kept diving down and swimming right in front of us.

The dolphins were another hit.  He just kept oohing and aahing. :)

keeping an eye on that dolphin!

sticking his tongue out like the fish

My little family :)

We had dinner at Virginia's on the Bay and then called it a night.  Sunday we woke up with wind advisory warnings. :(  We decided to brave the beach anyway.  Poor guy was not a fan!!

He was much happier inside the condo, playing with the cute boy in the mirror. :)