Summer Annual Beach Trip 2009

We just got back from taking Grace to the beach. We went with my parent's and my brother. We stayed at the same place as last year, Little Bay Club. Although we had a different cottage. This time we stayed in one that was directly across from the water. There's nothing better than waking up and walking out on the patio to watch the sun rise on the bay. We were all in heaven!

DAY 1

When we arrived at our cottage, the boys unloaded the car. My mom and I quickly organized everything and set up "house." Grace was so excited to be at "the beach." She was such a little trooper while we got everything situated. The boys decided to open up a cold one and the girls decided to take a stroll down the fishing pier right across from our cottage. Then my parents decided to take Grace to the swimming pool while I got dinner ready. There's nothing like sitting in a beach cottage, smelling a homemade pot pie cooking, catching up on celebrity gossip all while looking out the window to see the bay.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

DAY 2

The first morning we all got up around 5:50AM (yes, we set our alarm on vacation just to see the sun rise and to take an early morning jog). Ate breakfast and were off to the fabulous pool. Lounged at the pool until around lunch time and then went in to feed Grace and put her down for a nap. While Grace was sleeping, my mom and I went back out to soak up some more sun before we had to head in to take showers and get ready for dinner and the Corpus Christi Hooks game.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

After we all were dressed and ready to go, we headed to Charlotte Plumbers (a seafood restaurant right on the water in Rockport) to eat and then took a little drive over to Corpus Christi to watch the baseball game. Being in Corpus brings back so many memories of my childhood and going to the beach with my grandparents every summer. Grace had so much fun at the game. She danced to the music they played (twisted her little bottom, something Jeff and I had never seen), ate cotton candy, used the bathroom at the ball park (I wasn't too keen on this idea, but she had to go. I laid the law down not to touch anything in the bathroom.), shopped for a cute Hooks outfit, met a little girl named Madelynn and she was still going even after the game was over with.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

DAY 3

The boys got up around 5AM to head out to do some kayak fishing in the bays. While my mom, Grace and I slept a little longer and then headed out to do some shopping and eat lunch. Rockport is growing by leaps and bounds. There are all these little boutique shops popping up all over downtown. Our favorites were Bay Window ladies boutique (I got some really cute things here!), Bay Window Home Furnishings, Oh, My (lots of coastal art work), Comforts of Home (my mom and I decided that when we buy our own place down there this is where we will go to buy the decore for our house), and Rockapulco (accessories boutique). After shopping all morning and after buying Grace some Webkinz animals (a "Nemo" fish and a pelican), we decided we needed to find a place to eat lunch. A lady that owns one of the boutiques recommended a place called Jama's. It was right across the street from where we were at and it sold sandwiches, salads, flavored teas, etc. We ordered Grace a PB & J sandwich with fresh green beans, chocolate pudding and apple juice, my mom ordered ham salad and I ordered chicken salad with mango tea. Grace wouldn't eat her sandwich because she didn't like the strawberry jelly, but she sure did eat her green beans, chocolate pudding and drank her apple juice. My mom and my food was really good. I will have to say that the service there was not very good. After lunch, we headed to pick up some fresh shrimp for dinner and then back to our cottage to put Grace down for a nap and my mom and I put on our swim suits to soak up some more sun. Although, this time I couldn't stand the sun. It was way too hot. I opted for the shade and caught up on all my celebrity gossip and my mom toughed it out for an hour laying in the blazing hot sun. By this time the boys were on their way back from fishing and needed to clean their fish that they had caught. We made steak and shrimp for dinner and then took a stroll down our pier to watch all the boats out in the water. Headed in to take showers and then were fast asleep.

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DAY 4

This was our last full day and we decided to take Grace to Little Bay Beach. We loaded up the car with the beach chairs, ice chest and all of Grace's sand toys. When we arrived it was really crowed which was to be expected because it was Saturday after all. My mom hopped out of the car to walk the beach looking for a cabana, while we drove in the car searching too. We were so lucky...we found one and it was the last one on the beach. I quickly hopped out of the car and ran to claim it. I felt a little like Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in that movie (the title is slipping my mind right now) where they are claiming their land by staking a flaf in the ground. We quickly set everything up and took Grace down to the water. I was a little disappointed because it was very low tide which caused a lot of grass, jelly fish and yucky things to be up on the beach. We walked the beach a little and then Grace began to play with her sand toys. Then Jeff decided he was going to take Grace out to the next sand bar. He was going to let her walk out there (it's was really shallow, ankle deep), but she put one foot in the water where the grass was and decided she wanted to be carried out there. I don't blame her! I made Jeff carry me too! :o) Once we got out there, the sand was so soft, the water was so clear and there were all kinds of shells and hermit crabs out there. We collected a few of each and brought them back to shore! Grace played some more on the beach building "sand castles." My mom wrote Grace's name in the sand and the boys chilled under the cabana drinking cold beer. Every once in a while Grace would walk across the very, very hot sand to go show the boys something or tell them something and can you believe the sand never bothered her. She's such a little toughy! I couldn't even walk across the sand...I had to jog! After some fun in the sun, we headed back to the cottage to eat lunch and for Grace to take a nap. My mom and I headed out for a little more shopping and then back just in time to grill hamburgers for dinner. We walked out on the pier again to watch all the boats in the bay and to see the sun set one last time and then we jumped in the car for our tradition of DQ blizzards. Yummy! Ate our ice cream and then put Grace to bed. We all sat out on the porch one last time, chatted and felt the cool breeze come off the water. At last the day had to come to an end and we all fell fast asleep.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

DAY 5

Woke up, ate breakfast, loaded up the cars, walked out on the pier one last time, took some pictures and headed back to Austin.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Another GREAT vacation in Rockport, Texas!

Ready to do it again next summer. Maybe next time we'll have our own place?

P.S. Thanks Mom and Dad for everything! ;o)

Father's Day

I'm a little late posting about Father's Day, but last week was a little busy getting everything ready for our beach trip (look for a post soon on our beach trip).

For most of the day, we just lounged at home and Grace gave Jeff his present. Later that afternoon we headed over to my parent's house for some good 'ol fried chicken tenders from Bush's and all the sides that go along with it.

The day was very low key, but we all had a GREAT day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, Babe!

Love,

Lauren & Grace

Thoughts for Thursday

In leu of Father's Day this Sunday, I thought I'd post a picture of what a Daddy does for his little girl...

Grace received this dress-up stuff for her birthday and she wanted Daddy to wear it!

So, of course, he obliged! :o)

Does anyone know how to slow time down?

Just a little Grace update...she is now 25 months!

WOW time is flying by!

STATS:


Height - 351/2in. (80 percentile)
(The doctors are saying Grace will be about 5'8 when she's full grown. Hmmm...we'll see.)


Weight - 27lbs. (55 percentile)



FAVORITES:


Song - "Way up in the sky" (cute little Spicewood song!)

"Happy Birthday" (she knows how to sing all by herself)


Meal of the Day - breakfast


Food - hamburger (plain with cheese) or grilled cheese


(Grace continues to be a very picky eater, but every once in awhile we can get her to try something new.)




Snack - anything sweet (Hmmm...I wonder where she gets this from?)



Vegetable - broccoli (she will eat a whole family size serving if I let her)



Fruit - bananas and blueberries



Drink - chocolate milk (go figure since this is my "coffee" every morning) and apple juice


Character - at the moment "nemo"



Book - Wild Animal Baby (National Wildlife Federation)

(These are little books Grace get every month. A gift from my parent's at Christmas)



Color - pink (such a girly girl)



Clothing item - shoes and accessories (she comes by it honestly)



Activity - swimming (really anything outside)



Animal - fish (she thinks every fish is Nemo or as she says it "Meemo")




STORIES:


She tells me that she wants to do everything "by herself." I love the independence!


(For example...potty, carseat, getting in her chair at the table, etc.)





Anytime she sees an airplane, she says "Daddy ride airpwane."



She loves babies and thinks every baby is Abby.

(My cousin has a little girlnamed Abby who Grace adores.)

While watching "Little Bill" the other day before nap, Grace randomly said "Daddy name Jeff, Mama?" I told her yes and asked if she knew my name and she did. They're little sponges!

She loves to put "makeup" on with Mommy and loves to brush her own hair.

She always seems to remind me that she needs her deodorant each morning when I put mine on.

And of course, when going out on the town she always needs perfume. (Is she a girl or what?)

SCHEDULE:



Wakes up @ 8:30AM


Cuddles in "Daddy's bed" watching cartoons for a little while


Eats breakfast around 8:45AM


Gets dressed


Brushes her own teeth (with the help of Mommy, which she doesn't like very much)


Mommy brushes her hair and puts a bow in it


Morning Activities:

playing in her playroom, coloring, playing outside with her rider toys, sidewalk chalk, helping Mommy water the plants/grass, swimming in the pool, playdates, running earrands with Mommy, making cookies, playdoh, puzzles, riding in the jogger while Mommy runs



Sometimes a morning snack


Lunch Time @ 12NOON


Cuddle time on the couch with Mommy either reading a book, looking at pictures or watching a short cartoon.


Naptime @ 1:30PM until about 3:30PM

(we try really hard not to wake the sleeping bear from her nap because if we do she will be extremely grumpy. She comes by it honestly. Mommy is just like this.)

Afternoon snack after nap, if it's not too late.

Afternoon Activities:

(consist of all or some of the morning activities from above and if Daddy is out of town we head to Nonie and Papa's for dinner.)

Dinner Time @ 6:00PM

Outside play time

Bath Time @ 7:30PM

Bedtime between 8:00PM and 8:30PM

(bedtime routine - Grace says a prayer and then Mommy says a prayer, a little rocking and then down in bed)

SAYINGS:


"shure" = sure


"more gin." = more again (she says this when she wants to do something again)





"baby?" (she loves to be held like a baby after bathtime all bundled in her towel)




"all by myself"


"Peease" = please (the one thing she has done really well with is her manners)




"Papa house?" (she thinks everytime we get in the car, we are going to my parent's house)





"awwwwww" (she's very motherly to her babies and stuffed animals)




"Belly boopy boo" = my parent's dog Belle






"fireflies" = french fries

***There are many more I just can't seem to think of all of them at this moment.***

It seems as if over night Grace has gone from our baby girl to a little lady. We are cherishing every minute we have with her and are loving watching her learn and grow.

We love you sweet pea!

Mommy & Daddy

Transitions

A couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to convert Grace's baby bed to a toddler bed. I was a little nervous as to how the transition was going to be taken by Grace.


The first time she slept in her new bed was after picking her up from my mom and dad's house. She was exhausted from playing so hard that she fell asleep in the car on the way home. I picked her up out of her car seat in hopes of just placing her in the bed ( like I do all the time when she falls asleep in the car), but of course she woke up. I rocked a little bit and then put her down. She noticed that something was different, but was too tired to do anything about it. I thought to myself that was easy. We'll keep our fingers crossed it's like this every time...


After she awoke from her nap she immediately noticed that she could hop right out all by herself. Jeff and I neither one called a lot of attention to it. Throughout the evening, she would go "night-night" in her bed. She thought it was really neat until...BEDTIME.


I did our normal routine at night...bath, dessert, a short cartoon, prayers and then rocking her a little bit. As soon as I went to place her in her bed, she stiffened up and clung to me as if I was going to put her in something awful. Sooooo...I rocked her a little bit more and then tried to put her down again. This time I laid her down and let her cry. She cried off and on for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep. The next day at naptime, she decided to do the same thing. I rocked her like I always do and then laid her down only to cry for about 15 minutes off and on. I thought to myself the crying time is getting shorter. That night she wanted to throw a big fit,but I told it was time to go to bed and she laid down after rocking her and only whimpered.


The next day at nap was terrible...she screamed and even got out of her bed. I closed the door and held it closed, so that she couldn't open it, for a few minutes until I heard her go get back in her bed. She cried for just a little bit and fell asleep. I thought at bedtime it would be a challenge again and much to my surprise she was such a BIG girl. From this moment on our MISSION was ACCOMPLISHED!

So 3 days of transitioning and all is good now. We have been blessed so far to have all the big transitions with Grace be pretty effortless.

P.S. She, also, is completely potty trained and in big girl panties (we only have 1 or 2 accidents a week). I'm even being brave and letting her wear panties when we go out to run earrands and we made it through a birthday party without any accidents. I'm so proud of her!

P.S.S. She even has a big girl seat at the table now. No more high chair! :o)

Fun in the sun at...

Brushy Creek Sprinkler Park.

Today, Grace and I met a friend of mine and her boys at the park.

We played in the water for a little bit and then took a break for a picnic lunch and then back to the water, of course, and then we ended our fun play date with the playground.

I think at times Grace was a little overwhelmed with all the water pouring out over head and all the kiddos running around, but we both had so much fun! :o)

Thanks Kelly, Drew and Dylan for such a fun morning! We'll have to do it again soon.

Date Night

Around lunch time yesterday, my mom and dad came to pick up Grace so that Jeff and I could have a date night. It was so wonderful to have a little break from our little sweet pea. During the afternoon, I ate lunch and watched a soap that I'd taped (without any interruptions), Jeff was able to go work out when ever he felt like it (without having to strategically plan his trip to the gym), we were able to convert Grace's bed to a toddler bed (more on this to come...), and I was able to focus on only myself while getting ready. Now don't get me wrong I love Grace to pieces and love having her around, but it sure is nice to sometimes have the opportunity to focus on myself and us as a couple. :o)

Jeff did a lot of research on where to go to dinner (we like to try new places) and decided to take me to a little restaurant in Georgetown called Tony & Luigi's. It's a family owned italian place. When we first drove up there was only a hand full of cars and Jeff said he wasn't guaranteeing anything and even insinuated that maybe we find another place, but I told him I wanted to try it out.

We walked in a were promptly greeted and seated. The waitress (which by the way was the owners daughter) told us the specials of the night, said that all the pastas, sauces, etc. were made in house by her father and gave us a few minutes to decide what we wanted.

I ordered manicotti filled with ricotta cheese topped with a bolognese sauce and a cesar salad. Jeff ordered pasta primavera with fettucini and grilled chicken. We were served homemade rolls that were made in house and fresh herbed butter (which I could of made a meal off of just that). After we finished our entrees, we ordered a chocolate tarte for dessert served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Jeff and I have definitely found us a new italian restaurant to dine at. I highly recommend this place to anyone. It's a quaint little place with black and white European pictures on the walls. The wait staff was very attentive. You can either dress up for a nice dinner or go casual. We saw all types of dress while we were there. And most of all the prices were very reasonable. Jeff and I got out of there with our bill costing $50.00 including tip.

After dinner, Jeff and I drove around just looking at different things. I mainly wanted to drive and find out where the Brushy Creek Sprinkler park was and the duck pond. I had no idea it was so close to us! This will have to be a place we take Grace in the near, near future. :o)
We, also, came across the elementary school Grace is suppose to attend when she enters kindergarten.

We had such a fabulous date night!

Thanks babe for a such a wonderful time. I love you so much!


P.S. While Jeff and I were focusing on ourselves...My wonderful parents took Grace to Chuck E Cheese for the first time ever for her to eat pizza and play games, which she loved. They,also, took her to Firehouse Subs for dinner where she recieved her very own fireman's hat.

Mom and Dad thank you so very much for keeping Grace for us! We love you guys!

Cameron Park Zoo in Waco

I know I'm a little late in posting this, but we took Grace to the Cameron Park Zoo for her actual birthday! We drove up on Monday, the day before her birthday, and stayed in a really nice Hampton Inn (I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who needs to spend the night in Waco!).

Grace playing on the luggage carrier.

Grace and Daddy checking out the cool closet.

Once we checked into our hotel, we decided to drive around Waco a little bit before stopping and eating at George's, which by the way had great food. Jeff and I both had chicken fried steak and Grace picked her favorite grilled cheese and fries. After eating such an early dinner, we went back to the hotel and went swimming in their indoor pool and ate jelly beans.

Next, we were off to give Grace a bath and then it was bedtime or so we thought. :o) We decided that we wouldn't haul Grace's portable crib with us and that she could just sleep with us. Well, between all the excitement of sleeping in a new place, the thought of going to the zoo and Mommy and Daddy watching TV, Grace decided that she didn't want to go to sleep. Finally, around 9:00, Jeff and I decided to turn off the TV in hopes of Grace settling down and falling asleep. I think she finally fell asleep around 9:30/9:45. I knew this was going to make for a long day at the zoo.

The day of Grace's birthday(May 19th), we all woke up at 6:45AM, laid in bed and watched cartoons for a little bit and then started getting ready. Grace was a little grumpy and I wonder why? ;o) After we all got dressed, we headed down to eat breakfast and then we were off to the zoo around 9:15AM. Grace ended up falling asleep on the short ride over to the zoo. Jeff and I decided it was best for all of us that we let her sleep a little bit. So, we just drove around downtown Waco for a bit and then headed to the zoo to find a parking spot under a shade tree. Grace ended up sleeping about an hour before she woke up. Now, it was time for the zoo!

Here's how our trip to the zoo panned out.

Daddy and Grace looking at the turtles.

Still looking at the turtles.

Grace loves turtles. This was even one of her first words.

We saw...

Lions













and

Tigers

(okay...maybe one tiger, who was pacing back and forth)

and

Bears

Oh, my!

Jeff just couldn't resist from being in the picture with the bears! ;o)

We saw...
Elephants

Rhinos

and

Giraffes

We saw...

a butterfly garden

Hueco Indian houses

Teepees

Buffalo

and

"fossils"

We saw...

Reptiles and Amphibians

We saw...

Fish

and

lastly the

Birds

By this time Grace was so tired and ready for a nap. She didn't even want to eat lunch.

Grace slept all the way home.

We had such a WONDERFUL time and couldn't have asked for better weather!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, my little sweet pea!