Ella

Ella headed to summer camp last week while we enjoyed out time in California...our friends, Kate & Andy we gracious enough to take care of Ella for us....thank you Kate & Andy! Ella enjoyed a fun filled weekend of playing with her buddy Berkley, going for walks, going to the dog park, getting brushed... for an funny and complete recap of her time at camp check out http://www.thefriederichsflock.blogspot.com/

Oh Happy Day

I am working to find the simple joys in my life right now and wanted to share a glimpse of the morning so far...
This morning I was able to go for a quick run with one of my favorite running companions, Ella. When I came home, I heard little peeps from B's nursery...I tip toed in and found a very sleepy and very hungry blue eyed boy waiting to be picked up and hugged. After a quick breakfast and a little time in his excersaucer (I had to capture a photo of him playing, just watching him brings a smile to my face)...B, Ella and I enjoyed a long walk around the neighborhood. Ella enjoyed sniffing a variety of things along our route and B cooed at the trees and birds as we walked. B fell asleep about half way through the walk and is enjoying the remainder of his nap in his crib...ohhh, the dog days of summer...I love them!

B's Cousin Mia

B had the opportunity to "hang out" with his cousin, Amelia (Mia) while we were in California. It was so much fun to see the two babies together. Mia is my cousin, Marissa's, daughter she is three weeks older than Owen. Since Mia lives in Minnesota, our visits are few and far between, but we will savor every play date we can get. It was hysterical watching B and Mia together, they have quite different personalities. Mia is the life of the party, she talks almost constantly...you can hear her happy squeals from a across a room. B on the other hand, just took it all in, he would just sit, watch and listen to Mia as she talked...we would crinkle up his eye brows and forehead when he heard some of the sounds that she made. B was the "thinker" of the two, while Mia was more of the "free spirit". When we took this photo of the two babies together, Owen just laid there while Mia tried to roll over close to him to "eat" his hands and face...we all laughed so hard! I can't wait to watch the two of them grow up and see if the personality differences follow them both as they get older...Mia, B can't wait till his next visit!

California

We are settling back into our routine and the warm Texas temperatures after enjoying a special trip to California to celebrate my brother's wedding. We were able to catch up with several family members during our trip in between the different wedding festivities. I apologize, the photos are not all in chronological order...I am still getting in the hang of blogging...

Through the awesome powers of facebook I was able to copy and paste a photo of Jeff and Amanda...and Jeff and B, I will never forget my camera at a wedding again...Amanda was truly glowing in her beautiful gown and Jeff looked pretty handsome himself!

After rehearsing for the big day, we enjoyed a fantastic rehearsal dinner over looking West lake, near where Amanda grew up. We couldn't have asked the Lord to provide a more beautiful sunset as the backdrop for the evening, the night was filled with family, friends and lots of funny Jeff and Amanda stories. This photo is of Jeff and his beautiful bride, Amanda, thanking everyone at the rehearsal dinner.

We spent one evening enjoying some beautiful southern California weather at my mom's cousin's house. The night was filled with a lot of catching up between cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles...it was great to be able to sit outside, watch the water and simply enjoy being together...
my mom's cousin has an incredible gift of hospitality, our time there was so special!

B enjoyed a couple trips to the pool at our hotel. He loves to swim and be in the water, but does not like to sit in his wet swimsuit after he is done swimming...yes, this photo is capturing him just chillin' in a towel....hopefully we aren't developing any inappropriate habits!

Are these two related? B is looking more and more like different members of both of our families...it is so much fun to see the similarities.

B enjoying some good diaper time and a bottle from his Great Grandpa Bob. My grandparents babysat Owen for an hour or two while I attended different wedding related events...they seemed to really enjoy that time with him...I think B enjoyed it too! My grandpa gives great big bear hugs...B can't wait for his next one...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

B enjoying a quick nap on his Great Grandma Marion's shoulder resting up for the big day!

Swimming with Uncle Jamey...

Just about to hit his limit...

We were able to take a couple quick trips to the beach after all the wedding festivities had come to an end. B wasn't real impressed by the cold Pacific water...but for the sake of the baby book...his toes did get wet! This photo is of the three of us at the beach near the Santa Monica Pier, the Ferris wheel is just behind B's head. We couldn't decide what was better at the beach...the sun, sand and water or the people watching?

B was awesome during the rehearsal dinner...he slept through it! This is him parked and asleep while people ate. He woke up about half way through the toasts and started to fuss a little...I have to admit that when he started to fuss I thought "Oh no, some one's baby is getting unhappy...then I thought to myself...oh, that's my baby!" After waking up, he enjoyed sitting with Chad as the toasts came to an end.

This photo captures Owen and Chad toasting with one another...

It's so hard to get photos of the three of us together...we will take advantage of every opportunity we can get!

I don't have much of a caption for this photo...but the photo speaks for itself...B is blessing us everyday with lots and lots of reasons to smile and laugh!

B's first convertible ride...he wasn't real impressed, he fell asleep! And again, was not real impressed by the sunglasses!

On the day of the wedding I forgot our camera, so unfortunately I don't have photos of the beautiful bride, handsome groom and other gussied up family members...hopefully I will be able to get some from friends and family. B looked adorable in his little smocked outfit...I wish I could get Chad to let me dress him like this more often! The ceremony and reception were beautiful...but what matters most is that Jeff and Amanda are now officially married and our family has grown...praise God for the gift of marriage!

All in all it was a sweet trip spent with family and friends...and some great California sunshine!

Mini Austin Vacay

We enjoyed a quick trip to Austin last weekend to spend some time with Chad's sister, Beth and to see some dear friends...J, Rachael and Trip. Beth was gracious to open up her apartment to us, we spent the weekend enjoying fantastic food at some highly recommended Austin dives, took a trip to Barton Springs- where we were surprised by the frigid water temperature, saw the bats fly at sunset & attended Austin Stone Bible Church.
B enjoyed some quality time with Aunt Beth, however, he was pretty over the bats by this point in the evening.

Beth captured a photo of us before heading into church on Sunday morning, this was after we had enjoyed a fantastic breakfast at Magnolia Cafe (Chad's favorite meal of the weekend). We all really enjoyed Austin Stone, the teaching was great and so was the music. I was only able to listen to about half of the sermon, about mid way through, I felt something very warm on my leg...I put two and two together and realized that Owen had decided to leak through his diaper...I was very grateful for the extra change of clothes in his diaper bag, if only they had been my size!
This is B and his buddy Trip in their pj's ready for a good night's sleep. Trip was born one week before Owen. If their dad's have anything so say about it, Owen and Trip will have many fun & silly adventures together in the future...all of them safe adventures of course!
This photo is of Aunt Beth trying to figure out how to put Owen's pajamas on him...the snaps were a little tricky. Chad thinks they should color code the snaps on baby clothes...just to make the process a little easier!
Probably the most hysterical J and Chad moment of our Austin weekend trip was watching/listening to the two of them try to put our pack and play crib together. J had mastered assembling Trip's crib...Chad had never assembled Owen's crib before so the entire process was entertaining to say the least...there was lots of laughing involved!

The Dog Days of Summer

We haven't had a home improvement update in awhile...Owen has taken center stage...
This is Chad's recent feat...a new shrub bed around the side of the house. We chose shrubs that we had already planted in the front yard, this gave us a little more confidence in keeping them all alive. I am so grateful for all of his hard work, I can't say that I really helped much on this project. This is how B fell asleep in his swing the other afternoon...his head was on the swing...we tried to reposition him, but to no avail...we added the blanket for a little extra cushioning...consequently he woke up with a little red spot on his forehead...I guess sleeping can be hard work!

B has started to use his legs to kick and try to stand more, so we decided it was time to get the "excersaucer" out for him to play in...this toy has been my new lease on life...he loves it! B will play in the saucer for 20-30 minutes completely content...which means I can do things like fold laundry! B needs a little help to prevent wobbling so we stuff a baby blanket in around him, hopefully his core control will come soon. It is so precious to watch his little toes kick up and down as he sits in the saucer. There is a little button that he can press that makes cow, duck, dog and cat noises...his eyes light up when he hears the noises, he doesn't understand that he is responsible for what he is hearing. There is one botton that plays "Old MacDonald"...I haven't been able to figure out what button plays the song, but he has played it on several occasions...each time I hear it, I try to figure out which part of the saucer it is coming from...I still don't know...he has me stumped and giggles as I try to figure it out!

(Also, in this photo he is wearing one of my favorite little onsies- it has a dog on it with a red collar and reads "Good things come in small packages". I got it on sale at Gap Kids before he was born, despite the fact that it had words on it, and now...as the photo reveals...the arms are too short and the bottons hardly button...it has been washed, folded up and put away...he is getting SO big.)

My two boys, enjoying a simple summer evening...life is good!

The Fourth of July

We enjoyed some sweet time with Chad's extended family at his parent's house on the Fourth of July. There were lots of laughs, great food and a chance to cool off in the pool. Afterwards, we enjoyed some fantastic fireworks back in Fort Worth...B was AMAZING he slept through the entire show! B chose to be very patriotic!

The whole group...it was tricky trying to get everyone in the photo and looking at the camera at the same time...even Sophie, Beth's dog, made an appearance!

Owen and his Grandma and Grandpa Underwood right before enjoying a quick dip in the pool.