Toy Story Aaron

 

Aaron is quite the little character! I just love watching him play. He LOVES Toy Story. LOVES IT! His favorite is Buzz Lightyear, but he was MIA for this little play session. (He loves Buzz so much that he pines away to go to his babysitter's house because she has such a great Buzz toy. He runs in each day and goes straight for Buzz. She says he barely puts him down while he is there.)

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you
And as the years go by
Boys, our friendship will never die
You're gonna see
It's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Happy Birthday, Hugga Bugga!

 


Oh my goodness! How did this happen? How did my baby grow up so fast? Where did the time go?

Aaron celebrated his second birthday today and I think he really enjoyed himself. He woke up this morning to find his big present from Mommy and Daddy and got right in to take it for a spin. We got him a Fisher Price Happy Songs Coupe, which is like a Cozy Coupe. HE LOVES IT! Then it was pretty much an ordinary day until 4:30 pm when our friends met us at the splash park for a birthday party pizza bash ala Sesame Street theme. Aaron was decked out in his new Elmo swimwear and shirt and enjoyed his pizza and the company. He liked the water, but also liked to just run around the park. He DID NOT like getting Happy Birthday sung to him and spent the whole time we were doing that screaming NOOOOOOO and putting his head down on the bench. Such a little drama bugger! The cake was a bit of challenge for me. My friend Laura made the cutest little Sesame Street characters to go on it, but was out of town and unavailable to make the actual cake so that was left up to me. I managed. It wasn't as pretty as it would have been had she done it, but it tasted pretty good. I made a three layer 10" round cake with the layers all in different colors: red, yellow, and green. The decorations were awesome and the cake tasted really good so it was a success in spite of its shortcomings. There wasn't even a slice to bring home so it must not have been bad, eh? We came home and the kids were bathed and then Aaron got go open the rest of his presents. He loved it all and wasn't too keen on sharing with his older brother. I guess we need to learn that lesson here in the next month or two.

So here we are in the Terrible Twos again. Wish us luck! And send us a dose of patience and sanity while you are at it!

Happy Birthday, Aaron! Mommy loves you so much and is so proud to call you her little boy! Continue charming everyone with that crazy grin and keep on giving Mommy lots of hugs and kisses. Mommy cherishes each and every one!

He Wore Daddy's Beret

 
I stole your beret Daddy!
 
If I tilt my head just right I can still see.
 
But if I run around, trouble begins.
 
I definitely cannot see now.

 
Maybe if I pull it down a little farther?
 
Nope! I still can't see!
 
AAAhhhh! That's better!

He wore Daddy's beret.
The kind you can buy at an Army Surplus Store.
Daddy's beret.
He wore it o'er his eyes and he could see no more.
Daddy's beret.
I think it's adorable.

The Alamo

 
 
 
 
Today we woke up and went to breakfast before heading down to the Alamo. You can't go to San Antonio for the first time and not see the Alamo so since it was the first time for me and the boys we did just that. I knew it wasn't a huge place, but it was even smaller than I realized and the story behind it just makes it all that more remarkable. 200 against 2000 just makes those men that much more brave to me. So we enjoyed our little tour and movie and now will "Remember the Alamo!"

 
 
 
 

Bugs and Blooms and Cup O' Worms!

 
 
 
 
Today we hosted a playdate at the park. The kids all came and potted a flower for their mommy and then took a bug catcher and went on a bug hunt. My friend Crystal generously brought our snack and helped the kids make a dirt pudding with worms! The kids had a ball. They especially loved the plastic bugs that we had to put in their bug catchers! I think the moms liked the flowers the most. :)

Great Wolf Lodge

 
 
 
 

I'll admit that I have really wanted to go to the Great Wolf Lodge ever since I found out that it was within driving distance. I just knew that my boys would really enjoy it and I sure wasn't wrong about that. We drove up yesterday and got to Grapevine around 2:20pm and were able to check straight into our room and then go straight to the water park. The boys had a ball. They loved letting the huge bucket of water fall on them. Aaron's favorite was the little water slide. He would go around and around just to go again and again. I'm not sure that Ian came up with a favorite. That kid was everywhere!

We were there and 2 families that we knew were there, too. It was nice to see friendly faces. Bill was nice and let me go on the slides a few times. Not that he didn't go a few times, too!

We really enjoyed our time there and the kids are wiped out! Oh who's kidding? I'm wiped out, too!

 
 
 
 

He's HOME!

Bill is HOME!! I can't tell you how happy that makes us!

Yesterday was filled with lots of time changes and lots of little frustrations. The time kept getting earlier and earlier. This is good in a way since that meant we were going to get Bill home sooner, but it also meant waking the boys up at 2 am and going to Ft Hood in the middle of the night. It also meant no special outfits and really more of a just get there and get it over with. The rear detachment wanted the families in the gym at 2:30am. This ended up being way too early. Nothing like the Army way of "hurry up and wait." Any military family can appreciate what that really means! We were there for 1.5 hours before we saw our soldiers. I did get a text from Bill at 2:26am that they were successfully on the ground at Gray Army Airfield. But just because they were on the ground did not mean that they were on their way. They had to turn in weapons and load bags, etc. So they had us at the gym which was mildly warmer than is comfortable. They gave us lousy snacks and had a DJ. The floor was filthy. The kids were so good for the first hour of our wait. But that was their threshold. Who can blame them? I was getting impatient, too. But finally the buses arrived to cheers. Bill's unit was to be the last ones in the gym and we saw him walk in. And then Ian took off after him so I had to chase him. Poor kid. I wanted to run after Bill, too, but you know the Army. They make everything have some sort of formality. So I did manage to catch him and heard the chuckles from the wives behind me knowing that if their kids were any younger that they would have been doing just what I had done. LOL.

The short address of the soldiers was nothing short of lame. The speaker didn't even say my husband's unit correctly. I mean if that doesn't put a bad taste in your mouth then I don't know. So he finally said "Released!" Ian ran. He ran right to Bill and jumped. It was sweet and then Bill came toward Aaron and I and grabbed Aaron, too. It was so great to see him. So we relished the moment for a few and then started our way out of the gym. We put the kids in the car and Bill went to retrieve his duffle bag. Then it was homeward bound!!

It almost doesn't seem real. Aaron has warmed up pretty well. He didn't cry, but was a little hesitant. He seems to be much better today, but still prefers me. Even Ian, who is overtired, is still preferring me. (Much to Mommy's relief!) We have had a fairly laid back day. Lunch at a local eaterie and then a trip to the commissary on a payday during a case lot sale. (We were definitely NOT thinking on that one!) Then home for naps!

Did Someone say Ornery?

 

Wordless Wednesday

 
 
 
 

Bluebonnets 2010

 

My wonderful photographer friend, Susan Steen took photos of my boys in the bluebonnets which is a Texas tradition. I sometimes get a little down in the mouth about Texas, but this is one thing that I know when move away from here that I will really miss. These fragrant beauties just make me smile. And they are so gorgeous along the sides of the roads and in the fields. The little hints of red are another native wildflower called an Indian paintbrush. They are really pretty, too. Ian actually likes them better since they are his favorite color, but he loves all flowers and really enjoyed being in the bluebonnets. Aaron on the other hand gave 110% effort in the "I'm almost 21 months old and I'm not posing for you or anybody 'tude."

Thanks Susan for putting up with us! We love every shot!

BU-TLE- R U a Bulldog?

 


Oh Yeah!!


I was supposed to go to Austin to a viewing party this evening. I was going to meet up with a college classmate and some other Bulldogs at an organized viewing site, but my babysitter bailed last minute. I'll admit that I am pretty disappointed to not get to go, but we made the most of it. So GO DAWGS! No matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the night, we are incredibly proud of you! I'm super proud to be an alumni from Butler University!