The Uphues Update

Fall Fun Times - Part 1

2011-11-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

I love me some fall, and as a parent it's an awesome time of year that's full of fun and festivities! Here's a glimpse of some of the good times we had this month. Man, 2.5 year olds are some kind of fun!!!

TEXAS STATE FAIR

This was Marshall's first trip to the State Fair and he was in awe of everything. We had a great day of fried food, petting zoos and glorious people watching!

Marshall on his first ever carnival type ride - the 4-wheelers!

He wasn't quite ready for the initial blast-off

On the Ferris Wheel, the only ride at the fair mom was allowed to ride!

No fear...he would have hung half of his body outside the bucket if we let him.

Look Mom, no hands!

Sorry Big Tex, maybe next year you'll get a smile.

DALLAS ARBORETUM
Our annual playgroup trip to see the pumpkin patch never disappoints! Now, trying to find an orange fish amongst a sea of pumpkins brings a whole new level to the term...Finding Nemo!

NEMO!!!

Our little playgroup friends - Jake, Mia, Hudson, Camryn and Marshall

A little huggin' in the punkin house never hurt nobody!

The three amigos - Jake, Camryn and Marshall

I thought we'd end with a pumpkin squat!

JDRF Walk 2011

2011-10-31T15:02:00.000-05:00

This post is crazy late since we had the joy and pleasure of participating in our 3rd JDRF Walk back in September! We raise money and walk for my adorable 8-year old niece Elizabeth who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 3 years ago. We are her Texas team on a mission for a cure! With the tremendous help from family and friends, the Sugar Shakers raised $1,000 this year and had a wonderful team of walkers...we could not have done it without your help, truly means so much to our family!

Elizabeth's Sugar Shakers 2011: left to right - Susan, Barbara, Casey, Creighton with Marshall, Vann with Charlie & Ella, Papa, Gana, Katy and Shayla

Someone was in love with the JDRF Bear!

Marshall taking a swing

A conversation with Marshall...

2011-09-29T16:23:00.000-05:00

Marshall is a pretty entertaining guy...he makes us laugh constantly and I know all the playgroup moms like to watch him run, because he even runs funny. He just oozes tomfoolery! So in an effort to capture my 2 year old son at this fabulous stage, I shot a video. Probably more entertaining for family and close friends, but you be the judge...

PS - I apologize for talking so loudly. :(

1st Day of School

2011-09-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

Today was Marshall's first day of Mother's Day Out at Woodcreek church and I'm happy to report, he did fabulous! I know this will come as a shocker to most of you, but I'm not a sappy mom so I was thrilled when he walked right in the classroom and never looked back. Ahhh, sweet independence for the both of us!

When I went to pick him up, he was still laying on his nap pad trying to wake up. Miss Jackie said that he was the only one sleeping while everyone was crying or talking during nap time. Our little bear cub still takes a 3 hour nap each day so an hour and a half isn't very long. He's like his daddy...he needs his sleep!

Miss Jackie said he did really well and Marshall gets a little "progress report" so we know what they did that day. Here were her comments..."Had a good day. Had lots of fun with Graham. Enjoyed the playground. He turned aside from playing to listen to a little bit of the story. He talks, I like that!"

He'll only be going one day a week this year and I think it will be good for our little pistol! I'm excited to see what the year holds for him and his little mind...and we're off to a good start!

The traditional "standing in the front yard, first day of school picture." Please note, he did not wear those boots to school although he really wanted to!

A true Southern gentleman in seersucker and cowboy boots!?!

Marshall with Allie (one of his community group girls) he was SO happy to see her there! When Camryn gets to start school in his room, he's going to be beside himself!

Our baby news!!

2011-09-01T17:45:00.000-05:00

We're extremely happy to announce we're bringing another Uphues into the world! I'm 16 weeks tomorrow, a month into my 2nd trimester and so far this pregnancy has been similar to Marshall's...easy going but sleepy. The due date is February 17th so hopefully there aren't any major ice storms like this year!?! We find out the sex of baby in 2 weeks and I can't wait! Neither of us are leaning one way or the other, but it seems like everyone wants us to have a girl. I'm honestly happy either way...it's out of my control!

We'll be keeping the name a secret until the birth like we did with Marshall, which just gives me a reason to procrastinate and drive Creighton crazy. We didn't decide on Marshall until 2 weeks before he was born, and he was late! (We called him Ulysses until then, sweet memories!)

Since I was the baby of my family, I swore I would NEVER let me 2nd born play 2nd fiddle...but unfortunately my plans are failing me already!!! Although this blog post is slightly delayed, I pray it isn't an indication of my future actions.

Our prayer is for a healthy and happy baby with a specific list of: good eater and sleeper, loves and adores his brother and grows to be a Godly man with discernment and a heart for Christ!

We'll keep you posted along the way. Right now, Marshall's not quite sure what being a brother entails, but he absolutely believes he has a baby in his tummy too! Love it!

Frontiers of Flight Museum

2011-08-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

In an effort to beat the heat, our weekly playgroup outings have been indoors for quite some time. We went to the Frontiers of Flight museum by Dallas Love Field last week and Marshall was in aircraft heaven! Here are a couple of pictures from the trip.

First time sitting in an airplane seat

Hanging out by an A-7 with Egan - sorry, horrible lighting

Marshall checking out the A-10 Warthog, like Uncle Andy's!

Oh my, an ejection seat!!!

They had a great play area where the kids could fly a plane, too fun!

Summer Fun

2011-08-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

Since I've been a MIA blogger lately, I wanted to post a couple of pictures of our recent adventures this summer.

For Father's Day we took a trip to the Automobile Museum at Fair Park. Marshall & Austin had a blast!

July 4th Family Reunion in Tyler, it was a small group this year since we were missing the purple and yellow families.
(I'm in the red family...it's like Where's Waldo!?!)

We found a new favorite indoor safari park with trains, jungle gyms and ball bits, oh my!

We learned that Marshall doesn't like to wear pants with his rain boots...truly the coolest kid ever!

Chowing down on some watermelon...one of his favorites!

Me and Betsy at our high school band reunion...once a band nerd, always a band nerd!

Marshall taking an impromptu nap at 10:30am, while I was taking a shower. Boots, trucks, pacis, monkey lovie and all!

Nothing like snuggling with a monster bus!

Just got back from a fabulous weekend in Bryan, TX with some of my favorite DG sisters! Just like old times!

San Antonio Trip

2011-06-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh, the Texas Hill Country...one of our favorite places in The Lone Star State. We thought it was only fitting to take Marshall to San Antonio for a little family vacation to begin his love affair of these beautiful hills...and cedar trees!?! We stayed at the beautiful La Cantera Resort and loved every minute of it...such a fabulous hotel with such nice people. The kiddie pool was perfect for hours of fun and mommy enjoyed the outdoor yoga classes.

Marshall enjoying the view from our hotel

We planned a nice mixture of seeing the sights and relaxing so our first outing was a day downtown at the Riverwalk, El Mercado and the Alamo...or as Marshall likes to say, "Aa-dee-mo." The riverwalk was the perfect place for a professional boat and duck spotter...and weren't we lucky to have one with us! He just thought it was the coolest, as did I when I was younger and I'm happy to say it hasn't lost its charm.

No time for smiling when there's boats and ducks around!

So many friendly people offered to take our picture at the Riverwalk, but you can't be picky in haste...hence, the closed eyes!

Creighton & Marshall on the bridge (don't know why blogger flips the pic, sorry)

At the Aa-dee-mo!!!

We enjoyed tons of great Tex-Mex when we were there, but there was one place I had my sights on the entire time and that's Po-Po's! It's in Welfare, TX outside of Boerne and it has some of the best chicken fried steak I've ever eaten! Not only is their food awesome, but the building itself has tons of history and it's literally oozing with "decor."

I feel as though Dixie should be playing in the background as you read this. :)

Did I mention decor...good thing there are no earthquakes in Welfare, TX!?!

If you ask Marshall what his favorite part of San Antonio was, he'll tell you the zoo! It was a wonderful end to our trip and we can't wait to go back in years to come!

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...

2011-06-06T22:30:00.003-05:00

For Memorial Day my family decided to enjoy a Rough Riders baseball game in Frisco...it seemed like the all-American thing to do! We weren't quite sure how our toddler would do, but it turns out watching baseball puts our son in a trance. He absolutely LOVES to play baseball at home, but seeing the big boys play just took it to another level.

Top 3 highlights of our experience were...
1) Austin getting picked to run in a little relay race on the field. (video below)
2) Meeting the mascots Deuce and Daisy....Marshall still talks about them dancing and being funny.
3) Marshall almost caught his first fly ball*
*Read as, we almost had a near death experience when a fly ball landed a foot away from his head, as the adults were scrambling to try and catch it from it's crazy high drop from the sky.

Marshall had such a blast that we'll definitely be heading back there more often!

The Fam

He came up with a couple of different seating arrangements.

Watching baseball with Papa

SO excited to give Daisy a high-five. We met Deuce on our way out.

This is a video of Austin's relay race...probably not too exciting for anyone to watch other than family! :)

Easter 2011

2011-05-03T12:38:00.000-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend this year! Besides the joy of celebrating our Risen Saviour, this holiday has become somewhat sentimental for me, since we brought Marshall home from the hospital on Easter Sunday. What a great reminder of God's promises!

We started our weekend by dyeing eggs with Vicki and the kids. Marshall did okay, but honestly he was more interested in eating his snack...too many rules associated with dyeing eggs, like the fact you can't throw them.

We went to church on Saturday night so we could spend Easter morning with Marshall's great-grandparents, Gigi and G-pa. Marshall hunted for eggs at their house and it was fun to see him more excited about the actual hunting part this year. Another great Easter with our little bunny!

The final product...just a little sweaty from the hunt.

Checking out his basket...he's already holding his new football, you just can't see it.

Always a toss up between cars and football!

The hunt is ON!

Love the expression on his face here!

Scoping out his loot with Gigi!

Goin' Campin'

2011-04-28T14:27:00.051-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

The Uphues family got a wild hair and decided to go camping with a couple of other playgroup families! Needless to say, it did not disappoint! We had a blast and were extremely happy that Marshall did too...because we all knew we were setting ourselves up for a potentially HUGE outdoor disaster! We ventured down to Meridian State Park, which is about 2.5 hrs south of Dallas. Here's a recap of the ups and downs of the trip.

UPs:
1) We spent an afternoon at Fossil Rim and it was fabulous! So many cool exotic animals that eat from your hand...mind blowingly cool! (Thanks Whitney for letting us use your Mom's membership!)
2) Such great camping company! Three equally brave families made our camping experience so much fun! They taught me I could successfully exist without electricity for 2 days, sleep in a tent with a toddler and smores are better with peanut butter cups! Thanks Miller's, Sawyer's and Aldredge's!
3) Marshall would say that 2 things were his favorites: being outside 24/7 and the amusement park of unlimited dirt, rocks sticks with 3 boys to share it with....well, we're working on the sharing part!?!
DOWNs:
1) Unfortunately due to all the wild fires, there was a burn ban, which meant no campfires to keep us warm at night.
2) It was unseasonably cold at night, like in the 30's...so it wasn't the most enjoyable temperatures for sleeping outside. Hence, the hats and jackets in all the morning pictures.
3) Marshall got his hand "caught" in a zebra's mouth...meaning, a zebra wrapped his big lips around M's hand, but didn't bite him. He was a little upset, but once we got to the giraffe's he forgot all about it!

I think we've started a new family tradition!!!

Get Your Motors Runnin'

2011-04-27T15:56:00.000-05:00

It wasn't very hard to pick a theme for Marshall's 2nd birthday, since all he does is play with cars! I found tons of super fun ideas online and decided to embark on a craft palooza: traffic light centerpieces, car crayon molds and the most fun of all, wearable box cars for each child! The celebration was in the gazebo at Breckenridge Park with plenty of room for kids to room, if not for the not-so toddler friendly pond near by. But it sure was pretty!?! We had such a fun time and are SO thankful to all our family and friends that were able to join us...we couldn't have raised this spunky boy without such a wonderful group of people surrounding us for the past 2 years. We feel so blessed!

Decorating a license plate for his box car

The fleet - all 22 of them!

Yummy cupcakes from Creighton's co-worker, Lisa!

The birthday boy enjoying all the attention

The kids gearing up for their box cars...some definitely favored them more than others!?!

Hudson testing out his new wheels

Jake hoping this is a golf cart

Egan's zooming to a Rangers game!

Wouldn't you know, Marshall's favorite party spot was this patch of dirt...gotta love it!

Mia and Egan

The wagon made the rounds around the gazebo many, many times.

My two favorite boys, makes my heart melt!

Happy 2nd Birthday Marshall!!!

2011-04-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Marshall,
What an absolute joy and blessing you are to us! These last two years have been mind-blowing...every day a new adventure and every adventure, better than the one before. Your spunk is contagious and your sweet, friendly spirit is refreshing. Happiness just explodes from your heart and it's truly an answer to prayer...I hope it never fades with age. What an honor to be your parents! You remind us everyday that God is bigger and greater than anything we can imagine and the depth of responsibility we have to guard and protect that little heart and mind of yours inspires us to be better parents. We are in no way perfect at the job, but we serve a perfect God, so I'm thrilled that he can heal you from any of the hurts we accidentally give you.

This verse is a new favorite of mine, because there's nothing I want for you to know more than there's nothing to fear, because although we love you...there's a God that loves you even more than we ever could...you are His!

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:1b-2

Happy Birthday Marshall, we love you to the moon and back and although we're really quite anxious about you as a 2-yr old, we're hopeful you will use your spunk for good and not evil! :)

Love,
Mom & Dad

We had Marshall's two-year pictures taken last weekend and as always, Miss Whitney did an outstanding job!!! She is always perfect at capturing Marshall's hilarity at this stage, which is what I've provided below...these are the bloopers. I'll save the winners for another post. Enjoy!

March Madness

2011-04-04T10:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a little recap of all our happenings in March. Spring is here, so we definitely sprung into action with more outings and fun adventures with our little toddler.

Our playgroup braved the DART Rail and took a little trip down to Mockingbird Station to enjoy a bite to eat. The kids were in heaven and there has been much train talk ever since!

The DART passengers didn't quite know what to do with all of us and our 8 toddlers!

Some of the boys: Zane, Egan, Caleb & Marshall

A man's work is never done

My brother-in-law, Andy, also came in from Afghanistan for his two-week leave and we were SO excited to see him. We are so thankful the Lord has kept him safe the last 8 months and continue to pray for safety and strength during his last 4 months there. We are so proud of him!!!

We took a trip to Tyler to visit Gana & Papa and we went to a cool playground that had an old fire engine, tractor and caboose. Unfortunately Marshall suffered his first major boo-boo when a swing ran into his face...which resulted in a very minor black eye. It's that awful feeling of watching something in slow motion that you know isn't going to go well, but you just can't get there in time to save them. In typical Marshall form, he was happy to point it out to anyone he met...anything for attention!

Driving the fire truck with Gana

Driving a tractor is serious business!

Marshall's first bubble bath, EVER! Even though he looks pleasant here, it took us 10 minutes to even get him to stay in the tub on his knees. He refused to sit on his bottom, WAY to freaked out about drowning, poor baby!

Marshall went to his first birthday party of the season for Miss Lily! It's next to impossible to take any pictures of a bouncing boy, which means he had a blast! Such a fun party for a sweet little girl.

Finally, we headed down to the Arboretum for our annual Dallas Blooms trip and it did not disappoint! So beautiful and so much space to run...the boys were in heaven and Mia did a good job of holding her own. Grandma got to join us and I was so thankful for the extra hands for our little busy bee!

Grandma & Marshall

Marshall & Hudson: our little strawberry blond buddies...they are just too cute together!

Running ahead to check out the toad water fountain

Runnnnnnnnning!!!

Only time he was still was when he was playing with the dirt.

Sweet Mia, she knows how to pose!

Peek-a-boo!

Happy Friday!!!

2011-03-25T15:02:00.000-05:00

Cheerful Banter

2011-03-15T12:06:00.000-05:00

I hadn't uploaded any videos of Marshall recently so here's a little one that just captures his sweet 23 month old personality and lots of cheerful banter! Enjoy!

Boots

2011-03-03T15:47:00.000-06:00

Daddy got some new boots for Valentine's Day, but Mr. I Heart Shoes had his eyes on them. I think a little boot purchase might be in our future for this little buckaroo!

22 Months

2011-02-08T14:02:00.000-06:00

Our little boy just continues to grow into a fun little kid with lots of energy and tons of laughs! I can't believe there are only 2 more months until he's two!?! Here are a couple of things he's up to these days...

Talking - still not putting two words together, but his vocabulary has recently exploded and he adds new words each day like: various numbers and letters, "hewwoah" aka hello, "odee" aka open, car, hiding, color, paint, spoon, fork, eat, sit, show and see. He does a great job of accenting the "t" for words that end in "t", very cute!

Getting into Trouble - I always know Marshall's up to something when it gets too quiet. It usually means he's hiding with an item he's not supposed to have. I need to take a picture of him because he does the same thing every time...laying flat on the floor with the object tucked under his body. He's either in dad's side of the closet or in the front living room wedged behind the chair and the wall. Which is why he knows the word "hiding"...it happens a lot!

Love for all things with wheels - When we go to get him out of bed every morning, the 3rd word out of his mouth every time (after "momma" and "dada") is cars...like clockwork! It's all he thinks about and typically he's always holding at least one at all times, most of the time it's up to 4. Currently he's fond of the matchbox blue bus (which is actually a police inmate transport vehicle, it says so on the side, we can thank Aunt Betsy for that one!)

The twos are quickly approaching and he shows us a glimpse of that little 2-year old will every now and then, it ain't pretty folks...should be fun! We love you boo-boo!

Playing in the first snow of 2011 - more pics to come of the 2nd snow of 2011, sigh.

Don't tell his Dr., it was only a matter of time before Mr. Potato Head's ears made it into Marshall's!

We took at family trip to the Dallas World Aquarium and it was fabulous! Marshall had a great time and didn't have time for looking at camera's...too much to see!

A day in the life...the car in hand, goggles, beads and bear slippers are a daily accessory around here.

Feeling Fenced In...

2011-02-02T18:00:00.000-06:00

Everyone in our house is feeling a little fenced in with all this ice...literally! Thankfully we haven't experienced any power outages, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-13T15:10:00.000-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year, nothing too crazy, just a nice time with family, friends and especially food! We went to the Christmas Eve service at Watermark with my family and enjoyed a relaxing evening at our house afterwards with my parents, Vicki and the kids. We opened our Stocking "bags!" (You have to get creative when you have little ones around that ask why the adults still get stockings from Santa, so my sister and mom sewed special bags for us to use to continue our family tradition of giving stocking gifts.) But this was our first time to open them on Christmas Eve and it worked out really well. My sad confession is that I didn't take many pictures this year of our families, we were too busy trying to wrangle Marshall and get some decent shots of him. But we did take TONS of video footage, which I will spare everyone of, but it will be fun to enjoy when he's older.

Christmas Eve with the cousins

My sister hosted a brunch on Christmas day so we had plenty of time to enjoy all of Santa's bounty before we headed to her house, here's the goods from Santa!!! Now, I'm coming to realize that evidently Santa doesn't "display" his gifts out like this for everyone. He wraps gifts for some people, gasp! What's this about wrapping!?! The joy of Christmas morning was running out to see what Santa had brought and to play with it immediately! None of this waiting until everyone opens presents and then happen upon a Santa gift. Next year I'm going to take a pole in my facebook status to see who he wrapped for and who received the display, because this wrapping stuff is for the birds! (BTW, evidently he wrapped for my husband and Betsy...it makes me sad for them...)

The Santa spread...Maggie was obviously not startled by Santa when he came down the chimney!?!

Like I said, more excitement in the video, but he was just taking it all in!

Christmas morning

We took a couple of pictures when we were opening gifts with my family, but blogger wouldn't let me rotate them so I'm sparing you from the neck strain. We had a fabulous brunch, Vicki did a great job and we even got to skype with Andy in Afghanistan a couple times. Marshall did really well with opening the gifts, he just didn't understand why we wanted him to keep going when he just wanted to play with the one he had just opened. Sweet boy!

After Marshall's nap we headed to Creighton's parents for more Christmas day celebrations. Jack made some delicious osso bucco with risotto and it was divine! I made a Mocha Mousse Torte for dessert that was so yummy, I still think about it now and how I should make it more often! I'm all about non-traditional food on holidays so dinner was perfect! While opening presents, the craziness of the day finally set in and Marshall was in rare form...time for bed. It was a beautiful day with family to celebrate a beautiful baby...our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Sitting on Thomas, a fabulous chest that holds a train set! Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!

Reading Ranger Rick with Gigi

First Hair Cut...Ever!

2010-12-23T13:40:00.000-06:00

I finally had to admit that my son's adorable little duck tail curl in the back of his head was officially turning into a rat tail, sigh. So we were off to our first hair cut at Cool Cuts 4 Kids in an attempt to set ourselves up for success. Since he'll endure a lifetime of these things we didn't want him to be terrified after his first experience. Not to mention his dad was not a fan of his first hair cut and we have miserable pictures to prove it, I'm still looking for those to scan in.

This place was awesome, fixed with every distraction device you could think of to get any kid to sit still. Marshall was strapped into a fire truck chair with Elmo playing on a TV in front of him. Truly the only distraction was the movie Cars playing in the chair behind him, not the scissors or trimmer cutting around his ears...these people are genius! Marguita did a great job and we left with all smiles, a cute little certificate and a small baggie of hair. Now Marshall looks like a little boy, sniff, sniff....

Before...with the duck tail

After...adios ducky.

Fall Festivities and Halloween

2010-12-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

We had a very busy October this year...lots of festivals and parties, so here's a recap of them all!

Marshall with his cousins at the local pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Don't they look excited!?!

Miss Mia hosted a super fun Halloween themed playgroup and her mom Jennifer did a ridiculously adorable job on the food and decor. We even made a paper bag pumpkin craft, and by "we" I mean, mom did the craft while Marshall ran a muck.

Marshall sporting his Halloween apparel. (BTW, the new blogger format isn't compatible with my Cannon camera so it won't let me flip the pic...annoying!)

Another futile attempt at a group picture

The city of Richardson hosted a "Lil Punkins Fall Festival" in one of their Rec Centers. It was super fun for the kids with a petting zoo, bounce house, hay bale maze and other games. Our playgroup made an outing out of it and it did not disappoint!

Poor bunny was so patient with all those kids invading it's personal space.

Marshall got the pleasure of going Trick or Treating for the first time with his cousins, aka Darth and Birthday Present. He had a blast although the overall concept wasn't quite grasped. He had more fun walking up to each house and saying hi, then actually getting any candy.

Again, sorry about the picture orientation, this was his 1st house to visit, he did great!

He wasn't scared of any of the decorations, and his "trick or treat" was more like "trweee"

The zoo keepers with their little elephant

20 Months Old

2010-12-08T23:02:00.000-06:00

Seriously, he CANNOT be two yrs old in four months...how is this possible!?! It's been a fun month watching him become more aware of all the holiday festivities surrounding him. We attempted to take some Christmas pictures and as you can see, there wasn't a lot to work with in the end! :)

I would describe Marshall these days as busy...very busy! He is a snugly little bear in the morning (which is oh, so sweet) and a wild man by night, especially when daddy gets home. Running, wrestling, dancing, pushing toys, throwing balls, annoying Maggie...you name it, he's into it. He keeps us on our toes and we wouldn't have it any other way.

He did get a new tooth (bottom front) so now we're up to 7 teeth, poor guy can gum through a cheeseburger without skipping a beat! He's added a couple of new words to his vocabulary but we still can't understand a large majority of his speech...thank goodness for sign language, it's a life saver for all involved!

He continues to steal our hearts with his sweet spirit, love for others and constant shenanigans. It is such an honor to watch him grow into the little boy that God so fearfully and wonderfully made. These blessings are most definitely not lost on us!

The tongue seemed to make a frequent appearance during the many photo attempts.

Naughty or Nice!?!

Watching the Wylie Christmas Parade, while enjoying a banana and strapped to daddy's back! Making memories people, making memories!

Although it may not look like it, Marshall really did enjoy the NorthPark Train Exhibit!

Really cool Texas State Fair section of the train exhibit

Playgroup shot at the Trains

Kitchen Remodel

2010-12-01T20:56:00.000-06:00

This October we celebrated our 4th year of living in our home! We just love it here and although it's not our forever home, it has been such a wonderful blessing and we are so thankful for all the memories we have made here and all the more to come. Our house is 14 years old and although she's really good about not showing her age...there are some dead giveaways, like all her brass accessories and most obvious...the kitchen. That's always been on the top of our "need to remodel" list after we took care of all the wallpaper when we first moved in. So this was our first major remodel and I couldn't have been more pleased!!!

Creighton and I learned early on that the Lord didn't bless either of us with the DIY spirit so for the sake of our marriage we hire those that have been gifted in such areas to tackle said projects. In this case, we have Tristan at Lowe's to thank! We kept the cabinets and floor as is, so it was more of a face lift. The countertop is Autumn Harmony granite and the backsplash is Indian Autumn slate with travertine accent tiles. We updated our appliances and sink to stainless steel...the sea of white is no longer! My favorite part is the backsplash above the stovetop, the slate tiles they used there are so unique and colorful, it's exactly the look I was going for. We are so happy about how everything turned out and can't wait to have everyone over! Below are a couple of before and after shots...enjoy!

Before:

After:

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After:

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After:

Dallas Arboretum - October 2010

2010-11-21T15:38:00.000-06:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Before Halloween, our playgroup made it's annual trip to the Dallas Arboretum to let our little punkins explore the thousands of pumpkins there...or balls, as Marshall is determined to believe. As always it did not disappoint, but this year it was a little more challenging to get the group shot now that everyone's on the move. Marshall was an elephant for Halloween since he makes a fabulous elephant sound, with a trunk hand gesture to boot! (I'm trying out a new Shutterfly album since I had so many pictures to share, so please let me know if it doesn't work.) Halloween night pics soon to follow!

Like spoon feeding a baby...

2010-11-05T07:21:00.000-05:00

Marshall's been practicing his feeding skills lately, so I shot this video a couple of weeks ago when he was in the beginning phases of figuring this whole "feeding yourself" thing out...enjoy!

Toddler Tornado Class

2010-10-27T16:32:00.000-05:00

My gym offered a "Toddler Tornado" class this fall and the name is spot on! Because when you put toddlers in an open gym, with balls...a tornado ensues. Miss Regina did such a wonderful job with the kids, but I now know that my child has zero concept of waiting in line for your turn and following instructions for an obstacle course or any other course for that matter. Sigh...we'll get there some day but that won't stop me from trying! Enjoy!

Dancing with streamers

Nothing says fun like a streamer hat!

How Marshall spent a majority of the classes...chasing balls.

Pure unadulterated joy

Going through the obstacle course tunnel

These two videos do a perfect job of capturing Marshall at this age, just living the dream and dancing!

18 Months

2010-10-25T13:29:00.000-05:00

Our little guy is 1.5 years old and we just can't believe it! He continues to make us laugh and keep us on our toes. He still gravitates to animals more than anything else and loves to make their sounds...but if there's uncertainty about the sound it makes, a growl usually suffices. We took a trip to the zoo last week with Creighton's family and he had a great time, although the squirrels running around and all the acorns on the ground were maybe a little more exciting to him. More pictures from that trip to come later.

His vocabulary is growing with each day, I admit I probably understand him more since I'm around him the most. But the constant jabbering is just classic and hilarious to listen to, such inflection and passion...if only we knew what he was saying! I think the funniest is when he says a "p" word he says it in a whisper...because he thinks it's funny and he knows he'll get a laugh. Every time he says Papa or Piper it has to be quiet enough to hear him...just adorable!

Dislikes...first, the boy that would eat anything is getting a little pickier these days. It's any one's guess which vegetable he'll eat each day. I think it's part age and part boredom, but it's keeping me on my toes. Second, not getting picked up from the church nursery first. He really gets beside himself if we're delayed and other kids leave before him, poor guy. Third is hitting...this is more of a mommy dislike, but Marshall's hitting problem is rearing it's ugly head again. Because his vocabulary is limited I think he feels like hitting will help get his point across that he no longer wants to do something or doesn't want to do what you're asking him to do and it's little bit of a temper tantrum. Regardless, it's not fun and I've really been struggling with how to react properly when a child's slapping hand is coming at your face. Lots of prayer, scripture memory, patience and discipline have been my go to's. But I'm hoping this phase is short lived.

Likes...first, shoes! He loves to say and wear shoes, he's like his Papa and Grandpa and likes to wear shoes when he's inside the house. He gets very mad when you try and take them off. Second, is dancing...this boy can boogie! I have tons of video I need to post of Marshall cutting a rug...the slightest music anywhere, even in a commercial on TV will send him into a dancing bounce. You cannot help but smile when you're watching him and he has no shame...the world is his dance floor! Third, is throwing...anything he can get his hands on. We're working real hard to teach him that he can only throw balls...but that rule is often broken. The baseball park across the street just opened and we went to watch a game and he's been imitating the pitcher ever since. He's got a pretty good arm...but beware he doesn't always throw straight. Aim is always TBD!

We love you little man, you mean the world to us!

18Mo Stats: (he's still a bean pole with a pea head!) :)
Height: 32-7/8" - 75%
Weight: 23lb14oz - 25%
Head: 18-1/4" - 15%

Hangin' with cousin Austin

Too busy playing around to pose

Can we talk about how tall he's getting!?!

Playing around at the park

Gana and Papa with the grand kids

Wrestling with Papa

16 & 17 Months

2010-09-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't been the best about sending monthly updates on Marshall lately. Since his 1-1/2 year "birthday" is a week or so away I think I'll save the actual update for that one. But here are a couple of fun pictures of our little man...he's just getting so tall, growing more "auburn" hair and saying more words every day...but the tooth count is still at 6, so hopefully more chompers start coming in!

Excited about Fall & Halloween pillows!

Bear Down Chicago Bears!

Wearing Daddy's tie

Papa with his grand kids

In other news, we're about to start our kitchen "face lift" project, so the month of October should be interesting! I'll post some before and after picks and update on the process as we go along. We've been in this house for 4 years so we're very excited about having an updated kitchen...but not necessarily stoked about all the dust and living out of sorts but it will be worth it in the end! :)

American Girl Outing

2010-09-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

I should have titled this post, "A Fish Out of Water" since that's what Marshall looked like when we visited the American Girl store with my niece Elizabeth. For her 7th birthday we gave her a trip to the store to get her doll's hair done, eat at the cafe and do a little shopping. If you haven't been to one of these stores, it's like Dorothy stepping into Oz, except every thing's pink!

We got there early to get the lay of the land. We made our way upstairs to the hair salon to get an "up-do" for her doll, which just happens to be named Elizabeth as well! (And the stylist's name was Elizabeth too!)

After she got her hair "did" we went shopping, which was more like narrowing down and teaching a 7-yr old that money doesn't grow on trees, but the fruit of the spirit, self-control does! :)

We ended our pink adventure in their cafe which actually serves really good food, like adult type meals. But the highlight was when they serve your doll pink lemonade in her own little cup while she sits next to you in her booster seat, precious. Elizabeth just thought it was the coolest!

Marshall would endure any amount of pink for his cousin!

Seriously don't you just want to sop this up with a biscuit, ADORABLE! I like to call it Marshall's affectionate head butt! He simply adores his "Sissy" and you can tell from that sweet little face...sigh.

One Nap a Day

2010-08-10T15:51:00.009-05:00

Last week we (Marshall & mommy) made the official transition to one nap a day! In an effort to make the transition a little less bumpy we filled our week with an outing every morning. Busy babies don't realize they're sleepy...or at least Marshall doesn't. So trips to the gym, the mat room at church with Amanda B. and the pool with Amanda M. and sister helped to make the time pass. He seems to have taken to the change and typically sleeps for about 3 hours. Believe me, I am loving this!!!

Longer mornings have made for some funny and creative activities around the house and here are a couple to show all the "excitement" when we're at home.

Playing with boxes

Eating with his pet mouse

Rockin' the day away

Trip to CA

2010-08-02T16:29:00.016-05:00

In July, Creighton and I took our first vacation sans Marshall to California with our friends Aaron and Mandy. Unlike our last trip to CA, I did not do a good job of taking pictures...quite pitiful really. But I think it's because I was trying to relax and enjoy the moment, rather than capture it. So here are a couple that we did capture!

We started our trip with an afternoon in San Francisco, then headed up to Sonoma for dinner at our favorite restaurant, El Dorado Kitchen. We fell in love with this place on our last trip and as usual, it did not disappoint! Thankfully they still had my fav dessert, homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches with a chocolate and caramel dipping sauce - YUMM-EY!

We spent the next day in Napa and enjoyed some tastings at a couple of different wineries. Below is a picture of us in front of Darioush, one of our favorites! This place is over the top (as you can tell by the decor) the owner's Persian so he wanted to bring his "home" to Napa.

After Napa, we headed down the famous Hwy 1, Pacific Coast Hwy for a very long and picturesque drive down to Paso Robles, our next stop. The views are just breathtaking and an absolute testament to the glory and greatness of God's creation. We made a stop in Santa Cruz to enjoy a walk on the beach. Then off to Monterrey and the 17-mile Drive at Pebble Beach.

On the boardwalk in Santa Cruz

At Pebble Beach, the self-named "log of love" since it seemed to be the photo op location for all the couples...even for Mandy and I!

This picture doesn't really capture the wicked view of the trees along the coastline. You see them a little better, along with all those seals in the next picture.

The famous "Lone Cypress" it's the one in the background growing all by itself out on that rock.
I didn't take a single picture the entire time we were in Paso Robles, but I did whip out the camera at Hearst Castle, owned by the famous media mogul William Randolph Hearst. This place is huge and beautiful! These are just a few pics from the tour.

Main House

Outdoor Swimming Pool

Dining Hall - he wanted a narrow table so that people had to talk to each other, love it!

Indoor Swimming Pool with real gold tiles!

After Paso Robles, we headed back north and stayed the night in Half Moon Bay before heading to the airport in the morning. Half Moon Bay is a lazy little surfing town and our hotel was right on the beach. Although it was in the 50's it was still nice to be by the ocean, ahhhh...miss it already!

Summer Fun

2010-07-31T16:08:00.017-05:00

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

15 Months

2010-07-09T21:24:00.008-05:00

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

Wordless Wednesday - Nudie Bootie!

2010-07-07T12:32:00.002-05:00

I Heart the Pool!

2010-06-26T16:11:00.008-05:00

We've had a fun summer so far since Marshall is all about water these days. We've visited my sister's and Grandma's pool, as well as a local spray park with the playgroup. We start swim lessons next week so I can't wait to see how our little fish does. Here are a couple of pictures of our past water outings.

Playing in Mia's frog pool with Raylee and Piper in the back. Mia was feeling a little cramped. :)

In the kiddie pool at Grandma's community pool!

His favorite spot was standing by the edge so he could play with his toys.

At the Spray Park with Playgroup (I was too busy chasing him to get more pictures!)

Playing with cups that he had absconded from some helpless children...sigh.

You wanna do what!?!

2010-06-17T16:26:00.012-05:00

So for those of you that don't know...my husband is a powerlifter. Meaning he doesn't just lift heavy things like furniture...no, he competitively lifts a bar with heavy weights for the pure enjoyment of it all. I often feel like I'm having an out of body experience when I tell others about his new hobby. Because most people ask me to repeat my statement knowing my tall, lanky husband doesn't fit the type.

I feel like I must explain a little about my sweet husband Creighton in order for you to truly understand this powerlifting decision. Don't let the quiet, funny type fool you...Creighton is all boy in his desire to compete and conquer. He's passionate like no one I've ever met and is "all in" when he commits to something. Which is something I love about him!

The good news is I knew this going into the relationship since he boxed in college and did jiu-jitsu early in our marriage. Most men run marathons, my husband likes to get a little rowdy when he's burning off steam. I think it helps keep him balanced since he's a much happier man when he's training for something.

So when he told me he wanted to compete in a powerlifting competition in Tyler, I knew things would get interesting. Hours upon hours of researching online and reading books titled, The Strongest Shall Survive, Starting Strength (sixty, yes sixty stimulating pages on proper squatting) and Practical Programming for Strength Training over and over again. Sigh.

It wasn't even all the gallons of milk he was drinking, daily. It was the attire that threw me over the edge! Ladies, you've never lived until you've seen the love of your life in a singlet, weight lifting belt, lifting shoes and tube socks....be still my heart. (Please note, there is a HUGE difference between powerlifting and body building...think more Olympic weightlifters less Arnold Schwarzenegger striking a pose.)

Last weekend was the big meet in Tyler and I could not have been more proud of Creighton, he did amazingly well! He competed in 3 events: squats, deadlift and bench press. I've included 2 short videos of his final squat and deadlift for your viewing pleasure! (The meet was held in the Quality Inn ballroom, hence the fancy lighting...I couldn't make this stuff up!)

Creighton's best lifts...

Squats - 402 lbs

Bench Press - 265 lbs

Deadlift - 435 lbs

Squats

Deadlift

Jeff and Molly from our Community Group came from Dallas to cheer him on and even made T-shirts! Thanks guys!!!

That's C.U. Smile! (I love a good double entendre!)

The Farm - 5/13

2010-06-13T17:12:00.009-05:00

In May the playgroup took at trip to the Owen's Farm here in Richardson. Back in the day it was a real working farm where the Owen's family (as in Owen's sausage) started their business of raising pigs etc. There's still a working plant there, so the farm is more for show. We met our lovely tour guide Joe who is the main worker on the farm and was less than excited about his job of touring around moms and their kiddos, but he warmed up to us in the end!

The trip started with some goat feeding...and those billies are rather snarky when it comes to sharing feed. It's definitely survival of the fittest and you learn real quick the bullies in the pin. But they were all very sweet with the kids and with this being their first experience with goats, they didn't quite know what to think of those bearded 4-legged creatures.

Okay...Marshall's hat is a little too big, so it has affectionately been named "the sombrero" by his playgroup friends.

This is what it looked like when your hand was full of feed.

Sweet Mia was dressed in her farm attire...jeans, bandanna top and daisy headband! But she wasn't afraid of those goats, like her mom! ;)

I promise there's a child underneath that hat!

Next was the hay ride around the pond to see the geese and mini ponies!

Crikey, are we in the outback!?! (Or as Creighton would say, "A dingo ate my baby!")

The infamous "group shot"

We ended with a tour of the farm and some lunch by the stables. We saw their famous antique Owen's carriages, horses, lots of chickens and mini ponies. We even got to plant some pumpkin seeds and see one of the goose eggs hatch! Gotta love a day at the farm!

(A BIG thanks to Whitney and Michele for all the pictures...momma forget her camera, ugh!)

14 Months

2010-06-09T11:21:00.007-05:00

Marshall's 14 months old and just continues to melt our hearts with his spunk and tenacity! There's one thing for sure...he's not a shy child. When people come by to visit, he instantly throws his arms up to be held by them, even total strangers! Last month we had a short stint of separation anxiety when we would drop him off at the church nursery, but that seems to have passed.

Marshall is a busy boy with lots of places to go and a dog to torment. He's taken to reclining on Maggie and she's not a fan...but he's as persistent to sit on her as she is to change locations so it can be entertaining to watch. He also thinks it's fun to give and receive kisses from her. Since he's an open mouth kisser, Maggie thinks he wants to eat her nose...so she nervously licks his face and the cycle of hilarity begins!

He's not quite running, but has mastered his speed walking technique (pumping or throwing up the arms is essential to increasing his speed.) Everything is a game of chase with this guy...so if you convince him to come to you he gets close enough to do a fake out right before you can grab him. If he already gets this concept now, I'm not looking forward to the future! Last week he started scooting this big truck around the living room, it's a jerky scoot but it gets him where he needs to go.

It's such a joy to see his little spongy mind taking everything in. He still only says Da-da and Ya-ya (which is his version of mom), but can bark when we ask what a dog says and we're working on uh-ooh. He can point out his head, ears and sometimes nose. But one day that spongy mind is going to release vocabulary like a flood and we can't wait!

Marshall still LOVES books, balls, dancing, eating and sleeping. (We're still taking 2 naps a day.) Being outside is quickly rising to the top...loves him some dirt! We're taking swim lessons next month so that should be entertaining. My sister moved in down the street and they have a pool, so we'll be practicing the back stroke in no time! ;)

My dear playgroup friend, Whitney, took these pictures for his 1st birthday. They are fabulous! She captured his personality at this stage perfectly. Thanks Whitney!

Tiny Dancer

2010-05-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

Marshall has recently become the little dancer. If you start clapping or if there's music on he gets the urge to "drop it like it's hot." He likes the squat move, but it's a deep squat which sometimes gets him into trouble in the balance area. It's no coincidence his shirt says, "Say hello to Mr. Wonderful!" Watch out ladies...

Classic!

2010-05-13T09:55:00.002-05:00

One afternoon our little sleepy bear took a 2.5 hour nap...needless to say it took him a bit to shake the sleep out of his system. His hair was the main reason for the picture but as you can see, we got "the look" as a bonus! Love it!

Marshall's 1st Birthday Party - 4/3

2010-05-06T16:04:00.022-05:00

Marshall's birthday was the week after Easter, so we decided to have his party Easter weekend and celebrate with an Easter egg hunt. We had a great time with family and friends from playgroup!

(Let's just ignore this post is about 2 months late!?!)

The spread...

Marshall with Auntie Vicki and her beautiful cake creations. Thank you Vicki for all your hard work!

Future BFFs Marshall and Brady with mom Mandy

Let the chaos, I mean, Egg Hunt begin! I'll be honest, I knew the kids were too young to actually appreciate an egg hunt. But this was every one's first Easter so it was more of an experience for the parents...like everything their 1st year.

Peyton and Mia, pretty in pink!

Cousin Austin helping Marshall with his eggs

Camryn won the prize for biggest stash!
The famous and elusive playgroup group shot
Top: Egan, Jake, Mia & Zane; Bottom: Marshall, Camryn & Peyton

Time for some cake!!! Naked and ready to eat!

A job well done...

Marshall didn't quite attack the cake like we thought, since he's such a big eater and often double-fists his food. He played with the cake more than ate it...regardless, he loved all the attention!

Some of his favorite gifts...

Stacking blocks from Mia

Some new wheels from Grandpa & Grandma

Rocking Chair from Gana & Papa

Thanks to everyone for such a fun and memorable birthday!

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

2010-04-30T09:21:00.011-05:00

Today we celebrate our 5th Anniversary! For those of you that know our crazy story, you know the Lord had everything to do with our reconnection after many years. Some day I'll post our story for Marshall to look back on, but for now I thought some pictures would be fun to walk down memory lane. To quote a line from Rascal Flats, "God blessed the broken road that lead me straight to you." Love you Creighton...here's to a lifetime of love and laughter!

Early in our dating relationship, young love!

The Big Day!

Honeymooning in the British Virgin Islands

Vacationing in San Fran

Our first baby, Maggie!

Christmas '07

My reality ;)

Days before Marshall was born

Happy Birthday Creighton! - 4/25

2010-04-26T11:41:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Creighton's birthday, so we had a fun weekend of spending time with family and friends. Saturday we had a wonderful dinner with our dear friends Aaron, Mandy and their son Brady. (Sorry, I forgot to take pictures.) Sunday we had a family brunch at Bread Winners with Creighton's parents and grandparents. Their food is so yummy, I had banana bread french toast and it was fabulous! We had a relaxing afternoon with some shopping at Kohl's, we watched Crazy Heart, (which is really good) and spent time in the yard.

Creighton grilled some very yummy steaks, I made a tasty Bobby Flay recipe for Smoked Chile Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and the 3 of us enjoyed dinner out on the patio! A wonderful relaxing evening to celebrate my fabulous husband. I can't tell you how lucky I am to be married to Creighton...the Lord definitely found me my perfect match! He's such a loving and attentive father and one of the funniest and goofiest guys I know. I can't believe we're celebrating our 5th anniversary this Friday. I love you Creighton, you are the calm in my storm and the love of my life!

Since Marshall refused to look at the camera, we had to take drastic measures...but we got what we needed!

The birthday dinner spread!

Watching the sunset...Creighton mini-me

Happy Birthday Marshall!

2010-04-08T15:22:00.008-05:00

One year ago today at 10:40am, Marshall Creighton Uphues was born! To say this past year has been a blast would be an understatement! Marshall is just a fun kid and it's been a joy to see his little personality blossom over the past couple months. His spunk and hilarity is contagious...I've always said our children don't stand a chance of being normal with Creighton and I as parents and Marshall is definitely falling right in line! :)

Since we had his birthday party on Saturday (blog post to come) today we went to the park with his playgroup. It was a beautiful day, perfect to be outside. Marshall sported his birthday boy shirt that I snagged on sale at TJ Maxx! We went for a swing, hung-out with friends, and as always played with the girly pink toys. ;)

Here's a recap of some of my favorite pictures over the past year.

Like I said on the day he was born..."My heart is now full."

Dallas Blooms

2010-03-30T11:46:00.005-05:00

Yesterday our playgroup went to the Arboretum to enjoy Dallas Blooms and their special "Mommy & Me" day. Our group didn't really partake in the scheduled activities, but we found a great tree and had a wonderful afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather and the fabulous scenery. Since Marshall is walking these days I shot a little video of him walking through the grass on his hunt for little sticks. He's not a fan of actually looking at the camera when there's so much to see around him. Let's face it, I'm boring since he looks at me all day! So I got some really nice profile shots! :)

Our little boy is turning one in a week and two days, so we're in party planning mode. I can't believe it's already been a year since we brought our sweet baby home from the hospital on Easter Sunday. What a blessing he has been! Such a tremendous example of God's goodness and faithfulness.

(If you can't view the video from email, visit the actual blog)

11 Months

2010-03-10T16:32:00.007-06:00

"Red" as his father refers to him is now just one month away from being a year old...crazy! The past month has been an exciting one now that Marshall is attempting to walk. He's taking a couple of steps here and there, but just gets too excited and starts waving his arms in the air. This inevitably causes him to fall since he's not too sturdy in his stance. But it's been fun to watch him figure this whole walking thing out. It's still faster for him to crawl to what he needs, so the transition to walking seems to be slow. (Please note: Mom isn't complaining!)

He also has not one, but TWO teeth! The second tooth quickly followed the first and he seems a little more angry about this one than the first so that's been fun!?! Still haven't been able to get a picture of the elusive teeth, he's constantly got his finger or tongue covering them. Some day...

Above all I'm so thankful for the little personality that's emerging with every day. Marshall is a very friendly baby. He'll go to anyone that wants to hold him with no reservation...even the security guard at "The Dump" furniture store...no kidding. He loves being in the church nursery and gets giddy excited when he sees the sweet woman that greets him at the Wednesday bible study nursery. Never once has he cried when we've dropped him off. As a mother, I am beyond thankful to the Lord for that one! As his grandmother reminds me, Marshall's spunkiness definitely comes from me, since Creighton was terribly shy as a baby and child.

But let's be real here, our sweet boy isn't always so sweet. Marshall is a toy stealer and a bruiser! Creighton and I have witnessed it first hand when we're serving in the nursery. That boy can steal a toy from an unsuspecting child in no time. (The song "Swiper no swiping!" from Dora the Explorer starts playing in my head.) So learning to share is at the top of our parenting list. But the one thing above sharing on that list is teaching gentleness. Yep, my son is a hitter...of other children, our dog and especially mommy's face! I'm not a big fan of people hitting my face, so this has been a good lesson in parenting for me and how not to react when your child comes swinging at you. But regardless of these little personality quirks, he is wonderfully and perfectly made. And still loves to snuggle with his mom, cheek to cheek! Just precious....

Our little bath monster

Love me some broccoli

Sleepy Bear

2010-03-04T09:42:00.006-06:00

These pictures were taken back in January when out church had a carnival to celebrate it's 10th anniversary. The carnival happened to fall during Marshall's 2nd nap time so we threw caution to the wind and decided we would brave the world sans nap. Marshall did great as always, there were too many things to see and people to watch for him to realize he was sleepy. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with our community group and Jeff Burd took a couple of shots of Marshall.
We got home around 7pm and Marshall was still hanging in there...a little punchy but to be expected. Since he usually goes to bed at 8pm, we decided to keep him up a little longer and put him in his bouncer while we ate dinner. He loves his bouncer, he's constantly jumping or swaying side to side and this time was no different. If he's not bouncing he's banging on the various toys surrounding it...it's not a quiet experience!

So about half-way through dinner it gets quiet, which as a parent you know when it gets quiet something is up! So we looked over and this is what we found...

Sweet baby had rocked himself to sleep! Thankfully he was crashed when we got him out and into his pjs. He went right to sleep when we got him into his crib. We love our little sleepy bear!

A Pearly White!

2010-02-20T20:05:00.006-06:00

Unbeknownst to us, Marshall cut his first tooth today! After dinner we noticed he was a little punchy and awfully snuggly, a strange combination for him. Since I've been very eager for him to get a tooth, I went in for a little inspection expecting to find nothing as always. But to my surprise there was a tooth, not a bud...a tooth!

Our prediction was Marshall would walk before he got any teeth, so this is a very pleasant surprise! We're not looking forward to all the crankiness and sleepless nights that usually accompany this milestone, but oh well. I'll try and take a picture, but Mr. Lock Jaw isn't a fan of us fishing around in his mouth...just makes him angry, frankly!

Here's a picture of the boys during one of his snuggly moments...just adorable!

Nothin' But Trouble

2010-02-17T15:55:00.002-06:00

I'll let the video speak for itself.... ;)

REAL Snow

2010-02-12T14:27:00.006-06:00

We got some real snow in Dallas yesterday. I think we got about 10" here at the Uphues house. It definitely reminds me of being back in Chicago. Just beautiful, until you see all the dirty snow on the roads. :) Here are a couple of pictures of the house from Thursday morning to Friday morning, so you can see the amount of accumulation.

Thursday AM - Front Yard

Friday AM - Front Yard
Thursday AM - Back Yard

Friday AM - Back Yard
Look how high the snow was!!!

No amount of snow was going to stop us from going to playgroup, so Marshall got to take some pictures in the snow with his friends. I'm happy to report he has not one, but two Valentines this year....Camryn and Mia are two very lucky ladies!!!

(L to R) Jennifer & Mia, Kristen & Jake, Amanda & Camryn

Don't they look so happy!?! (Mia, Camryn, Jake & Marshall)

10 Months Old

2010-01-20T07:26:00.011-06:00

10 Months Old

9 Months Old

Well, I took his 9 month picture on time, but didn't get to the post until now...on his 10 month bday. So you get both! Marshall has become just a bundle of personality recently! He's constantly pulling up and standing either with his cube, the couch or just a wall. He can stand on his own unassisted for a couple of seconds and the concentration on his face is adorable. Much to my dismay, he starting cruising down the couch this week. Walking is definitely in our midst, sigh.

Unfortunately for Creighton, Marshall's got his mommy's gift of gab. He "talks" constantly while he's playing but they are very boyish sounds which cracks me up. Still no "ma-ma" but I swear he's working towards it.

We've officially weaned from breast milk to formula and thankfully the transition went well. He's eating more finger foods, although the Lord has yet to bless him with teeth. I don't think he'll get them until he's a year old since both Creighton and I didn't get our first tooth until we were one.

Marshall loves it when his daddy gets home. He rapidly crawls towards the door when he comes through the garage. It's precious to watch and I know it melts his daddy's heart. As Creighton says, he's definitely a mamma's boy but he does LOVE his daddy!

His stats from his 9 month Dr appointment:

Weight: 19lbs - 25% (Although he's probably 20lbs by now!)

Height: 28.5" - 50%

Head: 17-3/8" - 25%

He has a slight obsession with Gordo's nose, as you can see from the sequence below

The Polar Express

2010-01-05T11:31:00.004-06:00

I must confess, I haven't been in the blogging mood. No reason, just taking a little break. But I'm getting back on the horse, and trying to catch up before I head out of town. So here goes...

During the holidays the Texas State Railroad offers a Polar Express themed ride for families. Since my sister and her family were going to be in Texas for Christmas, we decided to make a Harrelson family trip to the railroad. My niece and nephew are the perfect age for this sort of thing, so Marshall and I were just along for the ride and to experience it with the kids.

If you've read the book or watched the movie you know this magical story, and the railroad did a wonderful job of bringing the book to life. The trip was complete with hot chocolate and cookies served by chefs in their white coats and hats, a conductor that comes by to punch your ticket with a "B," The Polar Express story read aloud over the speaker (I think it was Liam Neeson's voice?), and a magical ride to the North Pole (sans snow) to see Santa. Santa even boards the train and gives each child a bell!

Everyone had a wonderful time, minus the gigantic candy cane decoration that fell on Marshall's head, but thankfully he isn't scarred!?! I have no doubt we will go back when he's older, but I think he enjoyed it regardless...just watching all the kids and the chefs walking by. Thanks Gana & Papa for such a wonderful time!

Marshall getting festive in the RV on the way there. Yep, we all rode in my sister's RV to the train!

Vicki, Austin, Dad(Papa) and Andy in their PJs on the train. (A little wet, from all the rain!)

Mom(Gana) and Elizabeth

The Three Amigos!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2010-01-05T10:25:00.009-06:00

We had a wonderful holiday season this year, so much to be thankful for! Christmas is just simply more fun with a child around, so we tried to make Marshall's first Christmas a memorable one. We started off the season with a trip to see Santa with the playgroup. One never knows how their child will react to Jolly Saint Nick, so I was prepared for the worst. But Marshall was all about Mr. Claus and was happy to sit in his lap and give his beard a tug.

My playgroup decided to have a little holiday party with a gift exchange for the moms and we dressed the little ones in their Christmas PJs. I'm really bad about not taking pictures so this blog has been a great reminder and motivator for me to do so. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures at the party, but we did take a group shot with all the cuties on the couch...this was no small task! Unfortunately Marshall is covering up Piper, which as you can see, she wasn't too thrilled about. We're only missing Lily and Raylee, so that's 11 little ones! Miss Lisa made all the kiddos Christmas lovies and Marshall has thoroughly enjoyed his this holiday season, Thanks Lisa!

Before we left for Tyler and the tree was filled to the brim with gifts, I did take these sweet pictures of Marshall in his Christmas PJs. He didn't understand why I wanted him to sit there so he kept crawling towards me. He's also holding his Christmas lovie from Miss Lisa, it was a great distraction tactic for a couple of shots.

Marshall's First Christmas

8 Months...and a weekish

2009-12-16T10:22:00.005-06:00

Eight months old, really!?! Our little butternut is just growing like a weed. He started pulling up last week, so we've had a little more tears recently from all the falls that come with standing. But he's getting the hang of sitting down "easy" and gets the concept that letting go quickly isn't to his advantage. He's a speed racer in the crawling department so he constantly keeps me on my toes. It's fun to see him explore the house, until he finds the room with the Christmas tree!

He's still sleeping and eating like a champ and in perfect Uphues/Harrelson fashion his love for green peas is waning. Initially he was all about them, but now he'll only eat them if I mix them with his cereal. But he comes by it honestly since there is a long list of family members on both sides that don't favor those little green suckers...including both Creighton and I.

No stats to share since he doesn't go back to the Dr. until his 9-month appointment. But the boy is heavy...the return of my back pain is proof. We love that our house is filled with constant baby chatter, gummy smiles and laughter. What a fun time...and I'm trying to soak up these days as much as possible. Our little baby is quickly growing into a boy before our eyes. Thankfully he still likes to snuggle with his momma...cheek to cheek is our favorite.

Aunt Leslie

2009-12-15T07:20:00.004-06:00

After much anticipation, Marshall finally got to meet his Aunt Leslie (Creighton's sister)! Leslie and Adam live in Seattle so unfortunately we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. She was in town for a quick trip, so they donned their matching pumpkin hats for the occasion! We had a lovely visit, minus the head butting incident...sorry about that Aunt Leslie!?! Now Marshall can't wait to meet his Uncle Adam!

My friend Egan...

2009-12-11T07:59:00.004-06:00

Two weeks ago I took a trip to Canton to shop with my mom. I was hoping to bring Marshall along with me until the temperatures dropped and it was going to be in the low-40s. So my dear friend Miss Whitney graciously volunteered to watch him for me. Her son Egan is just a day older than Marshall, so Whitney is also a very braze woman to take on the task of two 8-month old boys. Thankfully her husband Blake was there to help!

Here's a link to her blog post...she's a wonderful photographer so she took some great shots of the boys playing. Thankfully Marshall behaved himself!

http://www.blog.blakeandwhitney.com/2009/12/trouble-in-making.html#links

Thank you Whitney, Blake and Egan, we REALLY appreciate it! :)

Let it Snow!

2009-12-08T07:01:00.003-06:00

Last Wednesday was a big day of firsts for Marshall for two reasons: 1) He got to see snow for the first time, 2) He got to meet his Aunt Leslie for the first time! (That's my next post.)

So it snowed...in Texas...in December....crazy! That morning I was already up in the office on the computer, when Creighton came in and asked if I had looked outside. I had about 30 minutes ago and everything seemed normal. But in typical Texas flare, the snow came as fast as it left! Knowing this, we quickly got Marshall up (thankfully he had just woken up) and dressed him in a fleece suit over his pj's. We got some great shots, but Marshall really didn't know what to think of it all. The Belgian in our family, Maggie, thought it was the bees knees....she was all about it!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T06:24:00.005-06:00

The holiday season has been keeping me a little busy so I'm backed up on things to post. Better late than never!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Murphy, TX at my in-laws. My parents came in from Tyler and I was in charge of making the desserts! Do you think 3 pies, a chocolate cake and cookie crackers is too much for 10 people!?! Marshall's feet never touched the ground because someone was always holding him...no complaints from him of course! He actually napped during the meal which was nice for me, so we didn't have to worry about entertaining him.

Jack made a wonderful meal, as always, but this year the turkey was out of this world! He used a new recipe that has you brine the Turkey (which basically means marinate it in a bucket, then grill it.) I'm not a huge turkey fan because it's usually dry but this was THE best turkey I've ever had. It was tender and juicy and oh so tasty! Here's the recipe Apple-Brined and Hickory Smoked Turkey. I highly recommend it!

We got some great family pictures, but unfortunately we didn't get any with Gi-Gi and Gpa before they left.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Us with Papa & Gana (my parents) and Grandma & Grandpa (Creighton's parents)

Marshall with his Uncle Chris & Aunt Susie (We couldn't get a shot with every one's eyes open...sorry Creighton.)

B is for Ba...Ba...Ba, Bath!

2009-11-23T11:12:00.006-06:00

Now that Marshall can sit up on his own, he has been enjoying the whole bath experience, much more. Here are a couple of pictures of the naked baby, with his styling hair-do!

The other new trick he started this weekend was saying "Ba" over and over again. He thinks it's hysterical if you say it back to him. It's like he knows he's making a language break-through. Here's a very short video of his verbal antics...

Bouncing with my Buddies!

2009-11-23T10:56:00.005-06:00

Last Thursday some of the girls from Playgroup met at NorthPark for Baby Bounce. Michelle took some great pictures of the kiddos. Marshall wasn't in a smiley mood, since we were missing his nap for this trip...until Daddy was able to join us since he had just flown in from Houston! Creighton was the only man there, so the Baby Bounce leader gave him a shout out, which was quite funny! But it was good for Creighton to experience the chaos that is, Baby Bounce!

Mia, Marshall and Piper hanging out at the food court!

A scene from "Look Who's Talking"

Green Peas make me sleepy....

YAY, Daddy!

7 Months Old

2009-11-09T06:58:00.007-06:00

Marshall turned 7 months old yesterday, boy has time flown by! October was a crazy month for us, so I completely missed posting an update for his 6 month bday, sorry. So we'll catch you up on all his likes and dislikes this time around.

Marshall is the light of our lives! He's just a wonderful, extremely happy baby. Creighton and I know that we are very blessed, thank you Lord!

It is so much fun to see how much of the world Marshall is taking in these days! Gone are the days of the poker face when he meets people, he's warming up much faster to give everyone a big smile. But he still doesn't laugh when he's really happy unless you are tickling him, then he can't control himself. No first words yet, but we swear sometimes it sounds like he's saying "hi" back to us!

Likes

looking in the mirror - vanity smurf loves to see himself in the mirror!
toys - he loves to sit on his blanket and play with a surrounding toy or 2.
"Schwacking" things - he's all boy! he's gotten the right arm "pump" down when he's got a toy in his hand
moving - crawling, rolling...if he's determined, he's going to get there. Unfortunately his target is usually Maggie or shoes
solid food - he loves it all, there hasn't been a single thing he doesn't like thus far. He's eating 3 meals a day and so far he's eaten: rice cereal, sweet potatoes, squash, green peas, green beans, carrots, applesauce, bananas, pears and peaches. Next to try are oatmeal, prunes and little finger foods.
sleep - he still sleeps 12 hours a night with two 2-hour naps a day...daddy is extremely jealous!

Dislikes

nasal aspirator - just gets fightin' mad
falling backwards - when he's sitting, he can catch himself when he falls to the side, but backwards is a whole other story
slow service - sitting in his high chair and mommy isn't fast enough with bringing his food

His Stats - from his 6 month check-up, he's mainly wearing 9 month or 6-12 month stuff.

Weight - 17lb 6oz - 50%
Height - 27.25" - 75%
Head - 16.75 - 25%

6.5 Months with Gordo

7 Months with Gordo

Realistic shot of how the photo shoot typically goes...Marshall in a monkey take down, Gordo usually loses.

The Beginning of the End...

2009-11-05T09:47:00.005-06:00

Marshall's been pseudo crawling for the past couple weeks, more like an army crawl with strategic lunging towards a specific toy or mainly Maggie! But on Halloween night Creighton spotted him making a bee-line towards Maggie and it was real crawling. He'll be 7 months on Sunday and I'm already mourning the end of my "mom independence" when I could leave the room for a second and not worry about him hurting himself, sigh.

We took this video Sunday night and his skills have progressed even further since then. But the best part of this video is the very beginning when he appears to wave to the camera, priceless!

Halloween

2009-11-02T10:53:00.006-06:00

Most you know Marshall has this little stuffed turtle that he just loves. So when thinking of costume ideas, we thought a Turtle would be right up his alley. This costume was ridiculously cute and he loved it! Not to mention it allows him to move around....but that's another post!

We had a quiet Halloween at the house passing out candy. Since I had some bunny ears on hand, I decided to be an impromptu bunny so that Marshall and I could be the Tortoise and the Hare.

Arboretum Mom Group Shot

2009-11-02T10:45:00.003-06:00

I wanted to post this quick picture of the moms from our trip to the Arboretum. There were only 8 of us there, we are 13 strong! Along with another group shot of the kiddos from Whitney.

Left to Right: Marshall and I, Kristen and Jake, Erika and Raylee, Amanda and Camryn, Gretchen and Preston, Sandra and Zane, Jennifer and Mia, Whitney and Egan

Love these ladies, they are amazing!

Arboretum Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-29T16:39:00.005-05:00

Since it's been raining so much, our playgroup made an impromptu trip to the Dallas Arboretum Wednesday to get some pictures at the pumpkin patch while the weather was in our favor! Unfortunately Marshall was the only one without a costume, his was coming in the mail (and of course it was delivered while we were at the Patch. One word - Turtle!) But he had his faithful pumpkin hat! It was a very muddy patch, but we got some great shots. I'll have more to post when I get some of the pics from the other mothers. Thank you Grandma for coming and taking the group photo!

Top Row (left to right) - Jake, Camryn, Preston and Zane, grrrr

Bottom Row - Egan, Raylee, Mia and Marshall

Mom and Marshall in the Pumpkin house

Who's the happiest punkin head around!?!

We didn't have tons of luck on the pumpkin pile, kinda hard for him to maneuver.

Happy baby, free from his pumpkin hat and sweaty head!

Kansas - Part 3

2009-10-29T15:48:00.006-05:00

As mentioned in my first Kansas post, we had a strange encounter with little critter when we were touring Fort Leavenworth. I think I spotted him first, just hanging out in the side yard of this house we were driving by...there he was, Phil the Groundhog! To say this is a highlight of my Kansas trip is an understatement. I mean, seriously...a groundhog in some one's yard...a cat he ain't! His name instantly became Phil, because of the classic movie Groundhog Day. Austin thought it was the bee's knees, too...so much that he adamantly defended his sighting to his disbelieving dad and sister. But here's the picture to prove it!

Here are a couple more pictures of Elizabeth and Austin with their FAVORITE cousin! And sweet Miss Tikka...just a precious girl. It didn't take her long to figure out that Creighton is her favorite Uncle!

After enjoying a couple of days in Leavenworth, we headed over to Kansas City for some BBQ and more R&R. The weather was not in our favor, unfortunately it was cold and rainy most of the time. But we stayed in a great area called The Plaza that has tons of shopping and restaurants so we didn't have to go far for good food and fun stores.

We went to a WW1 museum, which is the only one in the nation...random, in KC!?! But it was an excellent museum and since I married a trivial pursuit genius...this is right up Creighton's alley. But don't get me wrong, I love museums, I just have a retention problem....so although I'm sure I learned all this back in school, it's like learning it for the first time. But since it was pouring rain, we didn't stop to take any pictures. :(

Did you know that Kansas City is the City of Fountains!?! There are fountains everywhere! So we did get to take one picture by a fountain near our hotel. It was freezing so we had Marshallmellow all bundled up, but as you can see he didn't mind one bit!

Thanks Auntie Vicki and Uncle Andy for a great time! :)

Kansas Pumpkin Patch - Part 2

2009-10-27T16:03:00.004-05:00

Working for a marketing agency for 8 years opened my eyes to photography in a completely new light. But unfortunately the Lord blessed me with the gift of administration and not the gift of true artistic talent. But I'd like to think that hanging around all those art directors rubbed off on me a little. So these are a couple of pictures I shot to show a more artsy view of the patch.

I've always loved fall for the festivities, not necessarily for the colder weather. I have very distinct memories of October afternoons, when my parents would leave our front door open so the cool, Fall breeze would come through the screen door. Helping mom put out the Halloween decorations and making plans for my birthday party...dunking for apples anyone!?! So when I see pumpkins, it takes me back to my childhood. The funny thing about pumpkins, I don't really like to eat them...just like to look at them. :)

PS - Speaking of childhood, we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" when we were visiting Vicki...it just never gets old. Poor Linus....

Kansas Pumpkin Patch - Part 1

2009-10-26T12:02:00.008-05:00

We had a great time in Kansas visiting my sister and her family! We spent the first half of the week in Leavenworth, KS where they live. We got to see Elizabeth and Austin's schools, go to E's soccer game and A's football practice. Saw the sights in downtown Leavenworth, the penitentiary and took a tour of the famous Fort Leavenworth where Andy is attending school. (Very excited to share with you the unusual varmint sighting we had on the Fort!!! But we'll save that for a later post!) And most importantly, we had the pleasure of meeting Tikka, the newest member of the Rolling Stone's family!

I'll start with the pumpkin patch since that was our first outing in Leavenworth. I sent a quick preview of the pumpkin patch, but that was just the tip of the photo op iceberg! The Lamborn Pumpkin Patch is a family run operation with all your typical patch festivities...hay ride out to the patch, petting zoo, hay bale maze, kiddie "train" ride, mini donkey and lots of pumpkins! Marshall was dressed to impress in his pumpkin hat that his grandma knitted for him. It's a little big so we had a hard time keeping it out of his eyes. Enjoy!

Marshall & Elizabeth as Happy Scarecrows (ignore the man behind the curtain, I could have cropped him out, but that's the best part about the picture!)

Elizabeth & Austin in the hay bale maze (She might look like her daddy, but she has her momma's smile!)

Riding the mini-train...that look is priceless!

We just couldn't get out little punkin to smile.

Pumpkins are definitely more interesting than our camera. But those cheeks are worth the shot!

Hay ride out to the pumpkin patch

Marshall falls asleep in the patch

Sleepy pumpkin head

Pumpkin Patch Preview

2009-10-19T21:16:00.003-05:00

This week we're visiting my sister and her family in Leavenworth, KS. I had a second to post a quick picture we took yesterday at a local pumpkin patch. That's not a pumpkin under Creighton's chin, it's Marshall wearing his pumpkin hat in the Baby Bjorn! He was sleeping so we didn't want to wake him for the photo op.

I'll post more pictures when we're back but this is for all my playgroup friends. They're headed to the Arboretum this Thursday and I was so disappointed that we couldn't join them. So I'm happy to report we got our pumpkin fix and Marshall got to wear his pumpkin hat!

The Suit and The Swing

2009-10-12T17:45:00.008-05:00

I hosted a garage sale at my house for my DG alum group this past weekend, so unfortunately I've been neglecting my blog. (But we made $723!) So I'll be catching you up for the next couple days. Marshall is now officially 6 months old and he's been celebrating by getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth...danger Will Robinson! This boy will be crawling before we know it, sigh.

Last weekend our dear friends from Chicago, Vann, Amanda and their cutie Charlie were in town for a quick visit. (More pics of Marshall and Charlie to come!) Marshall got to sport his Adidas track suit for a trip to the playground. This thing takes adorable to another level! We put Marshall in a bucket swing for his first ever "real" swing experience...needless to say, it was a big hit! Unfortunately all that swangin' made the little man tired, so he made himself "comfortable" in his daddy's arms. The boy ain't picky if he needs a little shut eye! :)

Elizabeth's Sugar Shakers

2009-10-03T19:33:00.003-05:00

Team Elizabeth's Sugar Shakers! (Unfortunately the sun was so bright, Marshall wouldn't face the camera. Mom forgot to pack the floppy hat and sunglasses.)

Susan and sleepy Marshall

This post is a week late, but last weekend we had the pleasure of participating in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes in Plano, TX. My cousin Katy and friend Susan joined our Uphues fam for the 5K. The weather was perfect, Marshall got to wear his AWESOME yellow Adidas track suit (Thanks Morgan & Rebecca!), and Maggie was in heaven! We were walking for my 6 yr old niece, Elizabeth, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes this summer. We hope to have an even larger team of walkers and to raise even more money next year! Love ya Queen Elizabeth!

Fall Preview

2009-09-25T10:35:00.002-05:00

Being raised in the Harrelson household, a very common term of endearment around our house is "Pumpkin Head" which actually sounds like "punkin." Marshall's Grandma is quite the knitter and has made this ADORABLE pumpkin hat for him to wear this Fall. I just couldn't wait to snap a picture, so consider this a Fall Preview. We'll be heading to the pumpkin patch at the Arboretum in October, so this won't be the last you see of this adorable little Punkin Head!

Happy Birthday Uncle Chris!

2009-09-22T21:48:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful Sunday brunch with Creighton's family to celebrate his brother Chris' birthday. We went to Soley, which for all my Dallas friends, I highly recommend this place...it's AH-mazing! It's next to Capital Pub on Henderson and the food is crazy good. It's French-Mexican Fusion which sounds odd, but it works!

We don't get to see Chris and Susie nearly as much as we should so it's always a joy to get together with them. Marshall was so excited to see his Aunt Susie, he spit up in her hand. Yuck! But in true mom fashion, it didn't even phase her.

Afterwards, we swung by their beautiful, new home to get a quick tour and take a picture of the Uphues' boys. Marshall got to meet his cousin MoMo for the first time...it was love at first sight for both parties involved. MoMo gave Marshall lots of kisses and I'm sure Marshall was thinking, "she kisses like Maggie, but she doesn't look like Maggie!?!"

Marshall and Aunt Susie

Chris, Grandpa Jack, Creighton and Marshall

MoMo the Boxer giving kisses!

Mmmm, rice cereal...

2009-09-22T21:38:00.004-05:00

Marshall had his first taste of solid foods (aka rice cereal) this weekend. He did pretty good, but I think he was more interested in the spoon than the actual food. That has quickly changed now that he's had it for a couple of days. He's eating like a champ! We'll start veggies in a week or 2...I have no doubt those pictures will be much more entertaining! :)

Hello ladies...

2009-09-17T18:30:00.004-05:00

With all this rain, it was finally cool enough for Marshall to sport his super cute Dog hoodie track suit from our dear friends, Vann and Amanda! (it says, Woof Woof.) I had to take a picture so everyone could admire our little ladies man, striking a pose. Don't you just want to sop him up with a biscuit! :)

Bear Down!

2009-09-15T10:18:00.004-05:00

Well, the Chicago Bears weren't as fortunate as the Cowboys this Sunday to pull off a W for the 1st game of the season, sorry Creighton. But we still got all geared up for the occasion since this was Marshall's first season to be a Bears fan! (Please note, he will also be a Cowboys fan even though some say you can't be both...his mother has had much success being a fan of both teams! Heck, as long as he doesn't like the Eagles, Redskins, Packers or Vikings...we're fine!) :)

Since it was a night game, we took these right before bedtime so he wasn't in a smiley mood. So just appreciate the face and that BELLY!

I affectionately call this picture, "Marshall on a Stick."

Marshall's 5 Months Old!

2009-09-11T10:21:00.004-05:00

Since I forgot to take his 4 month pictures until he was 4.5 months, there doesn't seem to be a huge size difference between his last picture with Gordo. Creighton and I think he's thinning out a little...from all that bouncing in his bouncy seat. He moves his legs like a crazy man when he's in that thing.

Marshall's "Current" Favorite Things:
1) My Paci, Monkey Lovie and My Turtle (it's a tie for 1st place)
2) I love to grab my feet
3) Rolling over to my left
4) I love to grunt and growl, I'm such a boy!
5) Daddy, when he bounces me around
6) Mommy, when she smiles at me and the obvious...food!

We're buying his high chair this weekend, so rice cereal is definitely in his immediate future. I'm sure there will be plenty of delicious photo nuggets from that new adventure. Secretly I'm a little sad about moving to the solid food phase. Our little Marshall-mallow is growing up!

Turtle Love

2009-09-08T15:51:00.011-05:00

Marshall is 5 months old this week! I'll post his monthly pictures with Gordo tomorrow. In the meantime, I've posted a video of Marshall with his most prized possession - his turtle! This little turtle came with his bouncy seat and it was love at first sight from day one. Evidently it's one tasty turtle because that's all he does is try to eat it. He does get quite upset if he can't get enough of the turtle in his mouth. Watch the love unfold.....

PS - This is my 1st time to post a video on YouTube and link it back to my blog. Not sure this video is exciting enough for YouTube, but it is hopefully the easiest way for others to view the video!?! If you can't view the video, let me know.

Sometimes it feels like, somebody's watching me...

2009-09-02T10:15:00.004-05:00

Well, Marshall has officially spotted our precious, furry beast Miss Maggers! Maggie doesn't quite know what to do with the little hands and open mouth that come her way, but she's being a champ about it. Now mind you, all of Marshall's interactions are well supervised but it's funny to see his little hands reach for her at the same time his mouth starts to open. Since he's in the touch and taste mode these days, I'm sure he thinks those furry ears would taste delightful!

Marshall loves to watch her, and no human can compete for his attention if she's near by, not even mommy. It's the beginning of the end for Miss Maggers...her days of sleeping with one eye open are inevitable.

"Look at me, I can push up and scoot myself around!"

This picture cracks me up! This is a pic of the boys watching the Bears game...which one's more excited about the game!?!

Cutie Patootie!

2009-08-24T16:08:00.005-05:00

Look at those adorable little feet!

Not much to say, so I thought sending out some pictures would be sufficient. These pics were taken by our friend from church, Lisa. She'd like to have her own photography business someday so I'm more than happy to let Marshall be her "model" anytime! We were at their house for a pool party a couple weekends ago. Enjoy! :)

Growing Like a Weed

2009-08-19T15:14:00.004-05:00

I forgot to take Marshall's 4-month picture with Gordo, so we'll have to settle for 4.5-month. As you can see he was in an excellent mood and was actually smiling for the camera! Then his sights were set on that monkey's foot and it wasn't pretty! :) It wouldn't be a Marshall photo session without the "deer in the headlights" look, so I threw that one in for good measure! And yes, I know his hair looks red, he gets that from his Gi-Gi. Enjoy! :)

Baby Bounce

2009-08-13T15:56:00.002-05:00

Today for our play group we went to NorthPark Mall where there's a small Dallas Public Library called "Bookmarks" within the mall. They have tons of little activities throughout the week but the most age appropriate for our group is Baby Bounce, which they have every Monday and Thursday. It's a short 30 minute session where the leader leads the group in various songs and then reads 2 books in between the songs. It was quite entertaining and I loved singing all the songs that I haven't sung in ages, like I'm a little Teapot, Ring Around the Rosie, Let's Go Fly a Kite, etc. They give each child a little scarf to wave to the music and there was LOTS of bouncing!

I think Marshall thought he was in Crazytown because he was giving his famous poker face throughout the event. Looking at everyone like they had lost their mind! But if I turned him around to look at me, then he would smile when we were bouncing. I think it was just a lot to take in for the little man! But we'll be back, because momma wants to sing some more! :)

2009-08-12T13:43:00.000-05:00

Marshall had his 4-month check-up yesterday. He did pretty well with the shots and the Dr. said we could start him on rice cereal anytime within the next 2 months. He hasn't really been eating very much so we won't take the cereal plunge until we buy a high chair and he hits a growth spurt and seems more hungry.

Here are his stats...not too big, not too small...just right!

Weight: 16lb - 75%

Height: 25-3/4" - 75%

Head: 16.5" - 50%

Here's a pic I took a couple of weeks ago when he started pulling his paci out of his mouth and putting it back in...never the correct way, but at least back to his mouth. He was sleeping and obviously didn't get the paci back to his mouth before he was out.

A Floppy Hat for My Floppy Head

2009-08-10T15:25:00.001-05:00

Sometimes my mom likes to take me with her when she goes out to get the mail. But I have to wear my floppy hat (thanks Cousin Austin) to keep the sun out of my eyes. So mommy thought it would be fun to take some pictures of me in my hat for the blog...whatever that is!?! But things got a little hairy...literally! :)

Mom put me in my Bumbo, and Maggie got all excited that we were on the floor, so she walked right in front of the camera and lied down.

Then the love fest began...doggie kisses on my face, my hands and then my toes. Oh my!

Still in shock from all those kisses, this was the best pose I could muster up for mommy! Nice, huh!?! :)

Now it's my turn to give the kisses...now that's some puppy love!

Busy Day....

2009-08-06T16:01:00.000-05:00

Today was one of our busier days this week. Over a month ago, I joined a new moms group at our church called Square One. It's for first time moms that are starting out on this new journey of motherhood with the goal to meet with "seasoned" moms for helpful advice and make some "new mom" friends that are just as clueless as you. Our church is all about building community so I was happy that a few of us decided to continue meeting on a weekly basis after our official sessions were complete.

Today was our 1st time to meet outside of the class and we had a great time. We met in a room at the church, there were 11 of us so the room was pretty packed. It was great for me to get some adult conversation and for Marshall to see all the other babies. He was just talking up a storm to a cute little girl, Camryn...it was quite entertaining to watch and listen to. There's actually 2 girls in the group that live in our neck of the woods, one's in Wylie and the other in Murphy so that will be fun to have some kids we know near by. Afterwards, all of us decided to have lunch at Chic-fil-a and as you can imagine it was pretty funny to see all of those baby carriers in one area...it was like an infant take-over! Next week we're meeting at Northpark Mall for story time at their little library...should be interesting, I'll try and take some pictures.

Then we were off to visit Gi-Gi in the hospital. She had her left hip replaced yesterday. G-pa and Grandma Maureen were there too, so it was good to see everyone. Gi-Gi has already gotten up twice to walk to the door, so she's well on her way to a speedy recovery!

Enjoy the pics, we have Aunt Leslie to thank for the hysterical onesie. But check out those big Hazel eyes! :) I tried to get him to smile, but I got the "what's up with the bright flashing light?" look instead.