Fun, fun, fun

I have been scouring craig's list every morning for a cheap water table. Several of my mommy friends have them and I have been slightly obsessed with getting one for Gideon. We went to Toys R' Us for a stroller today (I had a coupon) and I found a water table I have been drooling over (this is how I know I am a mom, I get excited about water tables) for $10 off, that made it only $30, so we bought it. BEST. DECISION. EVER. Mamas, if you don't have one, get one. Gideon is in love!

Action Jackson

We went to the park today and we had a ball.

What a difference a year makes...

We saw the Easter bunny today, and as usual Gideon had a great time. Before we went to the mall we had an engineer come out and look at our foundation (which is apparently fine, thank god) and he kept saying how good- atured Gideon is. I could not agree with him more. I think there is both nature and nurture at work here but I will admit we have been lucky and I am eternally grateful to have a sweet boy who smiles at the Easter bunny and seems to enjoy almost every moment of life.

Well except for when his molars are moving. Dear lord that is the devil! I feel so sorry for Giddy, I know he can't help it, but he is exhausting me lately.

Also this is blowing my mind.

Noodle Monster

We have an Asian food lover, especially Garlic noodles from Pho Thai.

The noodle monster strikes!

Why are there not noodles in my mouth at the present time?

Happy Birthday Grammpa Tim!

I don't think Gideon is getting any better at these.

What A (long) Weekend, Part IV- The zoo!

We saved the best for last by planning to take Gideon on his first zoo trip on Monday. All week long the weather forecast was all doom and gloom predicting violent storms, flooding, and tornadoes starting Monday morning. Our backup plan was to take Gideon to Ikea (an Edwards Family Favorite) but I reallllly wanted to be able to go to the zoo.

Monday morning dawned cloudy and ominous but as the day went on no rain fell. After his nap we packed up the boy and headed out to the Fort Worth Zoo. The weather was wonderful, warm, windy, and only a little humid. Since last week was spring break for the rest of Texas, the zoo was practically empty and while it did mean that many zoo shops were closed (no homemade fudge :( ) it also meant that we only had to contend with about 20 other zoo patrons.

I have to admit, for the most part Gideon wasn't all that impressed by individual animals.

The flamingos got a second look, the turtle tank was pretty interesting and the otters garnered a smile, but it was really the people that got Gideon's attention.

Even if he is not yet impressed by enormous elephants, cute baby chimps, and ferocious tigers, I do believe he had a great time, relaxing in the awesome zoo stroller, eating at Burger King, people watching (intently), and soaking up the great weather in his favorite of all places - OUTSIDE!

We stayed for about 3 hours then headed home. The rain didn't start (and it was a soaking rain of over 3 inches) until dinner time but my storm loving boy enjoyed his bath listening to the rain drops and slept all night long, totally undisturbed by the thunder and lightening.

(post zoo car pass out)

It was such a good weekend that Tuesday morning was depressing! I am so lucky to have such great friends and family. Most of all I am grateful to have Mac and Gideon in my life. This time last year we were exhausted new parents, the year before that we were trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, and the year before that we spent St. Patrick's day in Dallas drinking green beer and watching the Old 97s play to a drunken audience. My how things have changed (and for the better)! Who know's what we will be up to next year?

There are more awesome zoo pics on picasa here: https://plus.google.com/photos/102575064707922054463/albums/5722376615359196065?authkey=CPqnwPLpmKzFJA

What A (long) Weekend, Part III - Grampa Tim's Birthday

Sunday afternoon we packed up our baby and a lime jello salad and headed out to my dad's for his birthday lunch. Jeremy, Bethany, Liyah, and Ashley were all there too (and Debbie of course because she lives there). Lunch was fantastic, with grilled steak, chicken, shrimp, roasted carrots, creamed spinach, bean salad, and a pineapple upside down cake to top it all off. Dad seemed to really like the composter Ashley found for him; I think Mac kind of wants one too now. We had a nice relaxing time and Gideon had a ball running around dad's house and yard. His only disappointment was that Ashley didn't bring her dogs so Giddy could help them in and out of the dog door.

Also Gideon is a big fan of his cousin:

What A (long) Weekend, Part II - Lyla's Party

Despite our best efforts we were still an hour late for Lyla's birthday party which I felt pretty crappy about. When we got there things were already in full swing, with kiddos riding horses (well the horse was being led around the pen by a guide but you could tell the kids were pretty proud of themselves), feeding goats, and running around like little crazies on the huge playground. Gideon even got a bandanna and a pic on the back of their extremely sweet horse.

AND he got to feed a goat!

As usual the party was amazing, thanks to the efforts of Emily and Sally who should probably start a professional party planning business. The kids bobbed for apples, played games, ate amazing food, got bandannas and cowboy hats to keep, beat up on a cowboy boot pinata, and had a FANTASTIC time.

(seriously, how cute is this?)

We felt very lucky to be included again this year, I can't believe Lyla is already 4 years old! I remember the day she was born, crazy!

(2008)

(2012)

Once we got home we took it easy until Gideon passed out for the night. Mac and I also went to bed pretty early because the next day was Grandpa Tim's birthday party!

What A (long) Weekend, Part I - Bee Creek Retreat

Our spring break consisted of a 4 day weekend this year (which is odd considering I am a student and Mac works at a university but, oh well) so we tried to pack in as much spring break fun as humanly possible.

Friday morning we drove down to Mac's uncles vacation house just north of Cliffton to hang out with Mac's two uncles Jimmy and Cliff, crazy aunt Karen, and grandmother Walker. The drive was alright; we thought leaving at naptime would inspire Gideon to sleep the whole way but he resisted mightily. I finally told Mac to stop for gas and then went into the suitcase for Chip, Ellie, and a blankie. Once he was all tucked in Gideon went right to sleep (Mama victory!). Right after we heard his little snores coming from the backseat we drove past an old guy sitting by the road next to two festively dressed donkeys and holding a handwritten sign that simply said "Pictures". It was extremely difficult not to turn around and wake Gideon up for the photo op.

Not long after we arrived at Uncle Cliff's Bee Creek Retreat (named for the creek that runs through the property), he took us out in his "buggy" (i.e. the yamaha Rhino 4 wheel drive vehicle) to check out the property. We went down to the creek, dipped our toes in, and then Mac drove the buggy back up to the house via the scenic route. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little terrified as I clutched the baby on my lap as we hurtled over rough terrain without seatbelts in a 2 seater with essentially no doors, but Gideon seemed to enjoy it. After lunch and a failed nap attempt we took the buggy back to the creek for some family time. Gideon sat in the creek, soaking up creekwater with his diaper (which later exploded spectacularly), stacking river rocks, and trying to make big splashes by throwing the largest stones he could find in the slimy creek bed. It was pretty cute and all three f us had fun exploring.

When Gideon started to shiver we got out and laid in the grass, sorting sticks, play sword fighting, and enjoying the wonderful weather.

Back at the house we found everyone waking from naps and the uncles kidnapped Mac to help them with some work. Apparently this work involved Cliff almost killing them when the buggy broke and went careening backwards towards a tree. Luckily it is something we are all laughing about now. Later Cliff and Jimmy went to get some really tasty burgers from town for dinner. Not long after, Gideon went down with his usual amount of fussiness and then we got out the dominoes. Chicken Foot was fun but Mexican Train is now one of my new favorite games, probably because I actually won a couple of times. I think it is time to invest in some dominoes for the house.

The next morning we had some of grandmothers breakfast casserole, took a few pictures, Mac helped load lumber and retrieve logs, and we hit the road in order to make it home in time for Miss Lyla Q's birthday party...

(Mac, Me, Grandmother (being pushed), Gideon (trying to push grandmother over), Karen, Jimmy, Cliff)

More pics of the beautiful land and our adorable son can be found here:

Happy Birthday Gramma and Grampa Mathis

This took all morning and we are pretty proud of it lol

Holy, long time since the last update, Batman!

It has been awhile since this blog had a real update. I am trying to think of all of the things that have been going on since Gideon's birthday and my brain feels overloaded.

We have been making a transition to a "normal" life that is more family oriented than Gideon oriented, not that he isn't still the center of our world, we are just doing more together. My favorite change is dinner time. It used to be that Mac would get home, give Gideon a bottle while I made Gideon's dinner, then feed Gideon dinner while I made our dinner, then we would put Gideon to bed. This meant Mac spent most of his limited time with Gideon feeding him, and we ended up eating cold, late, dinners every night. Now I give Gideon his bottle before daddy gets home (I can't wait til this bottle thing is over), then we all eat dinner together at the table once Mac gets home. After dinner we all get to play until bed/bath time. It's nice to decompress and talk and eat together. It is also nice to just make one dinner. These days Giddy and I eat all of our meals together at the table which is cutting down on his tv exposure and giving me time to do something other than eat during his naps. It is probably good for him to see us eating with silverware and talking too.

(Black bean and cajun chicken face)

Speaking of food, I am going to knock on wood..done...and then say I am so proud of him! He loves humus, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lima beans, bagels, and pretty much anything you give him. I hope this lasts. Now I am going to go knock on wood again...done.

On his birthday Gideon was almost walking and at his party he was able to take a few tentative steps, but for a few weeks afterwards he had no interest. This child likes to be sure before he goes all in. He tried walking, wasn't sure he liked it, moved on. Now he walks EVERYWHERE, it is wonderful and terrifying all at once. His odd little gait always makes it appear as though he could fall over at any time but somehow he makes it to his destination, most of the time. He is even starting to refuse my hand in public, choosing to walk on his own like a big boy, and looking very proud of himself for it.

Gideon wants to be outside all of the time. He loves sunshine, wind, rain, all of it. Luckily we have a raincoat now or I would be the owner of one very angry indoor baby. Now that he is walking being outside is a lot more fun and involves a lot less lumpishness. He used to sit in the grass, just taking the world in, now he walks around brandishing a hose attachment at the dog and picking out rocks from the flower bed. Very entertaining.

Before we turn in for the night, Mac and I tip toe into Gideon's room to check on him before falling back to our bedroom. Then we usually spend a couple of minutes talking about how cute he looked as if the other person isn't totally aware because they were also there. The conversation usually goes along the lines of "Did you see his little leg? It was through the bars of the crib, how cute is that? He is so cute!" The last few nights the conversation has turned to "someday we won't be able to check on him because he will be all grown up!" Followed by a moment of panic. It's silly because of course we want him to grow up and find his way to love and happiness, but it's hard to believe that he might someday be 6 foot tall and not want to watch Curious George while snuggling on the couch. That will be the worst! So I am going to just not think about that for now and enjoy our sweet little guy.

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