Road Trip

Mommy Blog - Thomas and I are leaving tomorrow morning and heading over to St. Augustine for my sister, Jennifer's wedding. We are so excited to be a part of this huge celebration as well as welcome Ash to the family. We will get to see lots of family and friends - many of which we have not seen for a while. I will try and post some pictures later in the week.

Comfort all the way

Life should be comfortable, shouldn't it? This was my set up this morning after breakfast as I watched some cartoons. Can it get any more cozy than this?
Too nice of a day not to be playing outside. We went to the waterpark down by the beach today and had a great time.

Cozy with Daddy

Even cozier with my Daddy. I sure do miss him when he is gone.

(Mommy called us two peas in a pod)

Enjoying the weekend (with Daddy home)

I live for my Saturday afternoons - that is when Daddy comes home from his week away from us and we are all together again (at least until Sunday evenings when he heads back to "work"). As you can see below, the weekend was busy with chores, errands and lots of FUN!

Pure Heavenly delight... I'm actually riding the "tractor" with Daddy and I was so excited.

When we were all done mowing and we put the "tractor" in the garage - my smile did not leave my face for quite some time. I not only loved the riding part, but I especially liked just being with Daddy.

Boater's World was having a huge sale and Daddy wanted to check out the deals. So, when we walked in the store, there parked in the entrance way was this little bay boat on sale. I jumped in it and started to tinker and play with everything. The seats swivel and fold up & down which kept me busy, as well as getting in and out and jumping all around. 45 minutes later as Daddy was finalizing all of his good deals, I was still having a great time in "my boat." People walked by and just chuckled at me and asked mom on several occasions, "if the little boy came with the boat for sale?"

Enjoying an ice cream cone... hmm, hmm, good!
Got to be careful that you don't drop any of it!

Hollywood star! I love these glasses...

Video Clip - Here is a sneak peek at Daddy & me taking care of business...

Going back to school

Mommy Blog - Many of you do not know that I have long been considering going back to school (yet again) to get a 2nd Masters Degree. I realize this can sound crazy to some... let me explain.

As much as I LOVE to be in the classroom, teach history and connect with kids, one of my long term goals is to move into administration in the future. With my current Masters Degree in Human Relations, that doesn't "qualify" me to be considered for the next level. So... the next logical thing would be is to get a degree which does qualify me and better prepares me knowledge wise for it - a M.A in Educational Leadership.

My classes are all online with Grand Canyon University (private school in Arizona) and begin on Monday. As a teacher, I am a firm believer that you are never done learning (at any age or any stage of your life). I am very excited and anxious to be a student again. Wish me luck with a busy schedule at work & busy life at home.

All dressed up for Easter

Mommy said she loves this picture of Daddy & me (since I'm all dressed up)

Waiting patiently while Grannie opens a package of airplanes that was in my Easter Basket. Can you believe that the Easter Bunny left a basket at her house for me also?
I'm giving some chocolate to the stuffed bunny that Nana brought for me. I mean, that is the right thing to do for a fellow bunny, right?

I went on my first Easter Egg Hunt today in Grannie's backyard. I took right to this game, especially when I realized that...

... all the eggs had a M&M inside waiting for me to eat!

Family picture... Daddy, me & Mommy

say, "CHEESE"

More Easter Day Fun

So much to do on this beautiful Easter Day. I helped Mommy make Deviled Eggs to bring over to dinner at Grannie's house. Mommy let me stand up on the chair and help her a little bit. As you can see here, I am busy "smooshing" the mix in a bag. Funny story (at least Mommy thinks so) - as I watched her mix the yolk, mayo and mustard in the bowl, I said, "Yuck, Mommy... poo-poo." She looked at me and said, "Well... its not poo-poo Thomas, but you are right - it sure does look that way, doesn't it?" But then she put a little dab on her finger and let me try and taste. "Mmmm, Mommy." I guess looks can be deceiving.

After the kitchen help, I went outside to wash my new truck as Daddy was finishing up washing his truck.
It was a windy day today, so it was perfect for me to test out my spinners!

You can't really tell but the wind is really making them go fast!

The Easter Bunny came...

Look what the Easter Bunny brought me this morning...

My "Big Truck" was filled with stickers, a new coloring truck book, 2 small trucks, spin wheels, a "sticky star", and a few eggs filled with yummy candy!
Spin wheels

Mommy made fruit smoothies this morning for all of us - I'm watching cartoons and enjoying mine in a new fancy straw sippy cup!

Easter Weekend Splash

Saturday was beautiful - sunshine and 80 degrees warm! Those of you who aren't here... we sure do miss you. Daddy came home this afternoon (he is TDY during the week and can only come home from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoons) and as you can see - we played outside in the water!

Cars sprinkler!

Water transfer station
Can you figure out that I LOVE playing with water - pools, tubby time, sprinklers! Love it all!

Say "cheese"!

I finally figured out that I needed to use the small yellow pail to get water from the big gray bucket... orange one didn't fit.

Concentrating hard!

Do you want to come get wet?

Mommy brought out the big toy tub and filled it with water... fun, fun, fun!

Choo-Choo Trains

Choo-Choo! Choo-Choo! Yeap... I am laying on my brandnew Thomas-the-Train blanket that Grannie just made me. She said that because I'm going to be getting a new big boy bed soon, I needed a bigger blanket to fit me. As soon as I opened it up, I insisted on laying it in the middle of the family room and laying down on it. These pictures do not show my true amazement, nor does it show my ear-to-ear grin. All I wanted to do was lay on my Choo-Choo trains!

I even got Poppie to lay down with me after I went and got my night-night blankets and my "baby" bear from my bedroom. Needless to say, that night I had big dreams about trains!

Pregnancy Update

Mommy Blog - I figured I would write a quick update on how things were going with this pregnancy because so many of you have asked lately. Thanks for the concern & always checking up on me.

We will be 22 weeks along this Wednesday. Our last appointment (just 2 weeks ago) proved to be a good one with nothing unusal to report - baby size is good, blood tests good, past the half way point, and mommy weight gain good (although people always want to know how much you have gained). Funny story for you about weight gain questions...

First of all, to set the record straight, I am at the same point with weight gain as I was with Thomas 2 years ago. I gained a total of 28 lbs with him when I had gone into labor - Drs like you to gain between 25-35 lbs total for a pregnancy. So... I feel like I'm doing pretty good. Granted, last pregnancy I was constantly taking Booker and Ziggy for walks so exercise was good. This time around, I don't go on nearly as many dog walks, but I think I make up for it with chasing a soon-to-be 2-year old... lots of exercise there! OK - back to the story. Most of you all know that I teach high school. Most people would never guess that teenage boys (specifically my 12th graders) would be so curious about my pregnancy. Compared with my freshman boys who won't even acknowledge that I'm pregnant because its probably "dirty and disgusting" to think about it, let alone look at my bulging tummy - my 12th grade boys are entirely different. One day, walking into class after the tardy bell had rung, one of my male students turns to me and says, "So, Ms. Heck, how much weight HAVE you gained anyway?" He said what? Yes, he really did. Now mind you, I have a great relationship with all of my seniors, but really? So, without laughing aloud and trying to keep a very serious face, I say, "I KNOW you did not just ask a pregnant woman that. Her OB doctor sometimes doesn't even feel comfortable asking that question." The student proceeds to say (with confidence), "But Ms. Heck, I thought I could ask this of you because you are the type of woman who is secure in her body type regardless of how big you are getting and besides, you have always encouraged us to ask questions in class." Silence. Yes, he really did say this. I responded with, "None-ya" (meaning none of your business) and moved the class on to the topic of class that day. Gheezz, teenage boys. And to think, I'm only at the half way point of my pregnancy. Lord help me.

We have been brainstorming names recently. One night, we decided to each make a list of names that we each liked. Once we were done, we swapped lists and could cross off any name that we didn't like on each others name list. Sounds simple and I thought it would be a great way to get the creative "name juices" flowing, right? When we traded lists, I saw a few names on his list that I just couldn't stand (probably from former students I was trying to forget about), so I scratched them out. But I certainly left a few names on there that I was willing to work with and compromise on. Well... he handed back my name list and had proceeded to scratch out all but 1 name - ALL BUT 1 name? How do you do that? Are you telling me that all the names I have been daydreaming about for years to name my future baby girl all suck? Thanks. He left me one stink'in name. Of course it turns out we coupled it with another name and we are trying it and seeing if we like it. I like it. Brian likes it. And here is the deal breaker - Thomas can say the name already. I don't want to give it away just yet - but I think it is beautiful. We will keep you posted.

Anyway - hope that is enough of an update for you. More to follow - I promise!

Early Easter Present

Mommy told me that this time every year the Easter Bunny brings all little boys and girls Easter baskets filled with candy & other yummy treats. Well, we went to Nana's house tonight for dinner and she had an early Easter present waiting for me - a new Fire Truck! I'm wondering if this Mr. Easter Bunny delivered it to her house by mistake for me??????

Kisses for Nana

Play-Doh

Who invented this? This is great, except don't eat it... it doesn't taste good at all. I love the way is squishes when I press on it with my fingers!

It's a tractor

It's simple. A lawn mower is a tractor. A tractor is like a truck. Therefore a lawn mower ranks right up there with ALL trucks - they are amazing! Daddy was mowing the lawn on Saturday and Mommy & I sat out back and had a snack while he was busy making the lawn look nice. The pictures don't quite show my excitement, so I asked Mommy to add the Video Clip at the end. Enjoy!

Video Clip - Eating a snack, enjoying the beautiful weather, and watching Daddy go back and forth on the tractor is my idea of a great day!

Daddy's Side Job

I love to imitate Daddy and everything he does - so I was very disappointed to find out that Daddy did a side job without me. He renovated Nana's laundry room today (while I was at school) and as you can see by the pictures... it looks awesome! If I had been there, I could have been his little helper and handed him all of his tools. I guess I will have to wait for next time...

(Mommy apologizes for the picture quality - she was using her cell phone camera)

The laundry room before renovation

Braces installed to hold the counter top
Counter top being installed

Top Cabinets installed (which means lots of storage for Nana's stuff)

Finished laundry room!

When Daddy got back from his deployment in September, this was the first project that Mommy had Daddy complete at our house. Our laundry room looks very similiar to this one; matter of fact, when Nana saw ours - she immediately knew she had to have one! Good thing Daddy is so handy with the tools... actually, he can build anything Mommy asks him to make.