Saturday, July 31, 2010

Summer Fun

July was a little crazy for us so here's an update on what we've been up to the past month.

Trip to the Dallas Zoo
The playgroup took a trip to the Dallas zoo and my sister & Austin got to join us as well! Their new Safari exhibit is AMAZING! As you can see below, we were eye to eye with the giraffes...I got to pet its head! And there's a little cafe where the lions were leaning against the glass so the kids got to be extremely close. Very cool! Since we have a zoo membership we will definitely be heading back in the fall when it's a little cooler.

L to R: Caleb, Marshall, Egan, Mia, Peyton and Preston


Swimming Lessons
A short clip from swimming lessons with Miss Margaret and the playgroup swim team! :) And yes, he graduated with flying colors...kinda.





Pump it Up Jr.
Our playgroup found out about this great indoor bounce house "park" that's just for toddlers called Pump it Up Jr. Organized chaos is the name of the game here and Marshall just loved it...until he got "lost" in the maze! (Meaning, "I couldn't find my mommy in the maze.") Before "the maze incident," he was climbing up and sliding down the big slide all by himself. I was just amazed at how active and independent he has become, what joy to see his little personality blossom!


L to R: Marshall & I, Egan & Whitney, Mia & Jennifer, Camryn & Amanda, Piper & Michele, Jake & Kristen, Zane & Sandra, Jack & Lisa

Friday, July 9, 2010

15 Months


Our little boy is 15 months old! We've been extremely fortunate that Marshall has yet to be truly sick in his short lifetime, just some little sniffles along the way. Well, all that changed when our little guy got croup last week. Thankfully it was a mild case and was gone in a day. It was our first trip to the Dr. for something other than a well-baby apt. (He gets that hearty stock from my side of the family!) But we got an official weight when we were there and our string bean is only 21lb 11 oz. His weight has taken a gigantic halt since his height is leading the way! He also has four teeth, 2 top and 2 bottom.

He's still a babbler with lots of things to say, of which we don't have a clue. But he has officially said his first two words, dog and cat, other than Da-da and Ya-ya. He goes between dog and "oggie," so it could be an attempt at Maggie but you can't really tell. You can add another torchered dog soul to his list...poor Tikka (my sister's dog) stayed with us a couple days and she got so fed up with his constant in-your-face harassment that she barked at him, just once. Of course he wasn't a fan, but he got the picture...dogs like personal space too!

There's also been a bit of a change in his appetite recently, he actually doesn't eat everything I put in front of him...the nerve! It's been an interesting struggle to scramble and find something he will eat besides fruit. If I gave him bananas, blueberries, blackberries or strawberries with milk everyday, he would be in heaven! We've had to get creative with the veggies and proteins but I'm determined and there's nothing a little ranch dressing or cheese can't liven up! :)

The most exciting news this month is that Marshall's learning to swim. Miss Margaret is the swim instructor that taught Creighton to swim but don't let her age fool you, (we think she's in her late 70's, early 80's) she's feisty! There are 4 other playgroup friends taking the class with us: Mia, Jack, Piper and Hudson. We are having a blast and the kids have learned so much in such a short period of time. We start our second and final week of classes next week. Now he's no Mia "the fish" Thomas but by the end of this first week he can get out of the edge of the pool by himself with a little nudge from mom and "swim/glide" under water for a couple of seconds covering about a foot of water from Miss Margaret to me. He's not a fan of kicking or lying on his back but if you ever need some "entertainment" ask one of the moms to sing the kickety-kick song for ya...it's pretty catchy!

When we're not swimming Marshall's busy stacking his stacking cups (his new favorite activity) and still playing chase, but now it's fun to run under the dining room table. Yep, we're running now...oh goody!?! We love you little man! We thank the Lord daily that he has entrusted you to us.


15 Months with Gordo the Gorilla