Family Fun!

Matthew and I have been busy this week visiting my grandparents, cousin, aunt, and sister!

On Tuesday Matthew and I drove to Arlington to hang out and eat lunch with Grandmomie, Aunt Cassie, and my cousin Melissa. We spent some time at Grandmomie's house where Matthew decided he'd like to take a picture with my camera.

After we hung out a for a little bit we decided to eat lunch at Grandmomie's favorite restaurant, The Black Eyed Pea. Matthew did not want ANY of his lunch, all he wanted were the rolls. So, I had to get a little sneaky by hiding his turkey and green beans inside the pieces of rolls I was giving him. After we all finished eating Matthew enjoyed playing cars with Grandmomie.

When we were finished eating we went back to Grandmomie's house to spend a little more time together before heading home for a nap. Matthew liked sitting in Grandmomie's lap and petting her dog Lucky. The fact that Lucky let Matthew pet him is amazing!! This dog does not like anyone to touch him except for my grandmother. The moment you reach down to try and pet him he runs away.

Matthew has recently started walking everywhere so I took a few snapshots of him exploring Grandmomie's house on his feet.

Around 1:00 we headed home for a nap except Matthew was asleep by the time we stopped at the red light at the end of Grandmomie's street!

On Wednesday Matthew and I headed to my Aunt Piper's house in Richardson to see her, Pawpaw, and Mawmaw. At Aunt Pipers house Matthew enjoyed throwing his ball to Pawpaw but I think his favorite part might have been (unfortunately) discovering the cabinet that had all the dog toys and remotes in it. After he found this cabinet it was hard to distract him with anything else but it was time to head to lunch anyway!

I think Matthew made up for lost food that day! He ate green beans, turkey, cheese, Aunt Piper's roll, an onion ring, and a few of Pawpaws french fries. He was a bottomless pit!! After eating this feast he showed Pawpaw how to roll his cars on the table.

After lunch we headed home!

Today we spent the morning with my friend Meagan and then tomorrow we are spending some time with Janet and Marin Wheeler! This has been quite a busy week but it has also been a whole lot of fun!! Matthew enjoys seeing all his family and good friends (and I do too)!!

Girls Weekend and Happy Feet!!

At least once a year a group of my friends from Pate Rehab. get together for a weekend girls trip. This year Mary, Sarah, Stacey, and I decided to have our weekend in Dallas. Friday night we met up at Manny's Mexican Restaurant in Uptown Dallas and had some really good food. After dinner we headed to our hotel, The Crescent. The hotel was so fancy! They had turn down service and they left a note on our bed telling us the weather forecast for the next day and whether we needed sunglasses or an umbrella. When we first arrived we decided we didn't want to sleep the day away on Saturday (even though we really wanted to!). But after staying up until 2:00ish we decided to just get up when we got up! By the time all of us woke up and got ready it was nearly noon. It was really nice to just get up and get ready! Usually the first thing I do when I wake up is get Matthew fed and ready for the day. On Saturday I had no one to worry about but myself!!

For Brunch we decided to walk to Dream Cafe, which was a few blocks away. There we feasted on Breakfast Taco's, Pancakes, and Fruit. After brunch we headed up to Allen to shop at their outdoor mall. We had a lot of fun looking in all the stores and eating Frozen Yogurt, yummy!!! After shopping we decided we'd like a pedicure after all that walking in the Texas summer heat! On our way back towards downtown we were discussing where we should go and no-one could decide. Stacey remembered the girl who cuts our hair had previously suggested a nail place called the Hawaiian Nail Bar, so we decided to check it out. Man am I glad we went there!!! Here are a few pictures hi lighting our experience.

This is what our feet soaked in at the very beginning. Orange slices, Lime slices, and rose petals!

We each got the Aloe Vera Pedicure and these are all the different scrubs/lotions they used during the course of our 2 HOUR pedicure, that's right 2 HOURS!!!!!

First they put this purple stuff in the water to make the water smell good and soft. After our feet soaked in the water for a bit the nail technician came over and started scrubbing the dead skin off our feet. For me this took a while since I walk barefoot on our concrete floors all day and don't take good care of my feet. I believe Mary said it looked like the lady was "grating parmesan cheese". Gotta love a friend who's honest with ya!!

After the scrub the technician put Aloe Vera all over our feet and legs. The leaves were what was in the bowl of ice on the tray from the picture above. My lady said the owner grows all the plants and makes all their lotions/scrubs and everything is organic.

After she washed off the Aloe Vera she wrapped my legs in warm towels and put my feet in bags of paraffin wax!!

After the paraffin came the BEST part of the entire process....a 20 minute foot and leg massage! She massaged my knee, behind my knee, up and down my leg, my heels, my feet, and each of my toes. I was so relaxed I almost fell asleep!! When our massage was finished we had our toenails painted and here is the final product (unfortunately Mary had already left when we took this picture Sunday afternoon)....

After our A-mazing pedicure we went to dinner and then went back to our hotel and hung out a little more before going to bed. Sunday morning Mary had to leave first thing to get a few things done before she flew out that afternoon for work. So Sarah, Stacey, and I grabbed breakfast at Paradise Bakery before taking Sarah to the airport and heading home.

The weekend was so much fun and incredibly relaxing! I cannot wait to spend another great weekend with great friends!! Rockport perhaps??????

18 Month Check-Up

This past Monday Matthew turned 18 months old! Man, where has the time gone?!?! He is getting so big and is a lot of fun right now. He continues to intently observe people and things around him. He will watch everyone else try to figure things out and then do them perfectly himself during his first few attempts. I thought he would never pull to stand, cruise around furniture, or walk. But one day he pulled up next to the coffee table then walked around it like it was no big deal. A few weeks ago he started walking with Bryan and I coaxing him with his favorite toys and acting really excited as he walked. Then last week as I sat at the kitchen table working on his baby book (yes, I realize I'm behind!) he walked around the dining room and kitchen without us having to bribe him!! Each day he takes more steps than the day before and I know he'll be running around the house in no time!! I'm just amazed at all he has learned in one year! I have so much respect for him and other little kiddo's who have to figure out this world and how everything works!!

Here is a picture with his pediatrician, Dr. Blair, who was just named as one of Dallas' best pediatricians. He's great and we love going to his practice! During the doctor's visit they measured Matthew and he is growing quite nicely. He is 26 pounds 8 ounces (60th percentile), 34 1/4 inches long (97th percentile-go figure!), and his head is 18 7/8 inches around (70th percentile). Good job Matthew!!

Swim Lessons

This past June we were incredibly lucky to be able to take swimming lessons at our local recreation center with a group of friends. Matthew and I donned on our bathing suits, lathered ourselves in suntan lotion, and headed to the pool every morning for a 30 minute swim lesson. There he learned how to kick his feet, make scoops with his arms and hands, and blow bubbles. It took him a few minutes to get used to the water, but once he adjusted he loved splashing around! His favorite was going down the slide! They had a "kiddy" slide that looked like a frog. His face would light up with the biggest grin as he went down and landed in the pool. On the last day we were able to go down the more "grown up" slide, which I was really excited about!! It is a slide that's tall and winds around in circles that eventually dumps you out in the pool. It was sooooo much fun!! My friend Kenee', who was 6 months pregnant at the time, was gracious enough to come sit in the heat and take pictures of us. Here are a few moments she captured....

Matthew "walking" on the wall towards the ladder. Once he reached the ladder he climbed out of the pool to his swim instructor and jumped back in the pool.

After splashing around, Matthew enjoyed eating the bubbles. It was HILARIOUS!! He ate the air like they were cheerios!!

Here's Matthew trying to reach for the toy by scooping his arms in the water.

Our group shot. So many cherished friends!!