Fun with Nonnie and Bubbie

The weekend before last we went to Liberty Hill, it's always great to spend some time in the 'country'. David took Friday off of work so we had a long weekend to just enjoy ourselves. Nonnie and Bubbie got a big pool for Sam since it's been so hot in Texas and the boy LOVES to be outside. He wasn't totally sure what to think of it, but he did play in it some. Caspian thought it made a great water dish.

Saturday I had lunch with some girlfriends I hadn't seen in far too long. It was wonderful to have lunch at Z Tejas and just enjoy each others company. I'd forgotten how when we all get together the gab just flows and before we knew it a couple of hours had flown by and we all had to run off to get things done. In my case that meant braving Lakeline Mall to get a giftcard for Dan and Anne's wedding that night. We left Sam for the first time for long enough that he'd need to be put to bed without Mama. He did just fine, but my thoughts were always wandering. Though I am proud to say that I only called my in-laws twice to check on him! The wedding was lovely as were the Bride and the reception. There was however a decent amount of confusion involved when people tried to find the reception. No one bothered to mention that the Tuscan Hall was at the Wizard Academy! According to David, "That's so Dan." The Republic of Texas Big Band played, we danced, we ate fajitas, we had FUN! And I think I saw Sam maybe all of an hour that day :(

The following Wednesday Nonnie and Bubbie spent the night with us in Houston and took us all to the Astros game. They were playing the Kansas City Royals (who won in the 11th inning, we didn't stay that long.) It was Sam's first sports game and I think he had a good time, though much more time was spent walking around Minute Maid Park with Bubbie and Dada than watching the game.

We'll be in McAllen for the 4th of July to see Gigi, my Mom. Yay! I'm trying to get ahead in my coursework so that I can not be crazy-midterms-are-next-weekend girl.

You knitwit!

I taught myself to knit a back in April and I've been meaning to post a few pictures of my "work". My first project was a ball for Sam...he's played with it enough that the filling has de-lumpified and considering it was the first thing I ever made...I was pretty proud.

When Sam catches me with yarn out he loves to take it and play with it. This one took me awhile to unravel.

Before Sam was born I bought a bunch of this green, white & brown cotton yarn to make him a blanket. I have a blanket that my Great-Grandmother made for me as a baby and it's something I wanted to be able to pass on. Of course I didn't start trying to knit it until he was over a year old but he'll never know. I took a traditional cable blanket pattern and replaced the standard cable with an XOXO cable. I thought hugs and kisses would be appropriate. Here's what the pattern looks like. It's about a foot long now...only 4.5 to go! (Since he's not really a baby anymore I'm expanding the size beyond what I had originally planned.)

In between schoolwork and the blanket I'm working on a couple of baby hats for the little ones my friends have had/are expecting. Even if those little ones never wear them I love the thought of giving something that I made myself. Not to mention how rewarding it is to hold something in my hands that I have made (that isn't food!) and watch it take shape. It's really something that I think is being lost as we move more and more to a computer-based existence.

Laundry Day Fun

That sounds like an oxymoron...fun? On laundry day? Puh-lease. But, Sam can make anything fun. He loves to bury himself in the piles of clothes and put shirts over his face and stumble around while you say "Where's Sam?" He tries to see how far he can make it before he hits something and then giggles when he does. Too cute!

Long and Lean

Sam had his 15-month well check this morning. He is so smart, when the nurse brought in the tray with his immunizations he put his hands on his legs to try and block the shots. Then he cried to whole way to the car :( Here are his stats:

Head: 18.25 in (30%)
Weight: 21.14 lbs (15%)
Length: 31.5 in (60%)

The boy is tall and thin, just like his parents. I know, big surprise. We just had to buy him new shoes, he wears a 6 1/2 now. If he's wearing a one-piece of any kind I've started putting him in 24 month sized outfits, he has a very long torso. Individual shorts and t-shirts are still 18 month. He's grown so much!!!

Sandcastles

This past weekend was the AIA Sandcastle competition in Galveston. We went last year when Sam was itty-bitty, had a great time and decided to make it an annual thing.

This year, I'm sorry to say, we weren't that impressed. There were around 70 entries and several focused on the same concepts. "Octo-Mom" which was an octopus holding a baby in each tentacle and something having to do with the stack of money with eyes on top from the Geico commercials. Even the sandcastles themselves didn't seem on par with last years.

The beach itself was VERY crowded and we are happy to report that the water is already warm there. It didn't even look as brown/opaque as the Galveston water usually does. Sam was brave and kept wading out further and further (with parental supervision of course!)

Goofy Toofy

The past few weeks have been pretty eventful. There was a DeGroot reunion at Keels & Wheels on Uncle Bob's yacht (David's Father's Brother), the Art Car Parade, Mothers Day, a visit to Nonnie and Bubbie in Liberty Hill, my last MOPS meeting for the year, baby showers, Memorial Day at the Goods' and...I STARTED SCHOOL AGAIN!

I'm trying to decide the best way to paraphrase what's been going on around here and right now all I can think of is that Sam has cut 8 teeth. 4 are molars so it seemed more like 20 teeth, I'm sure he would agree. In addition to gaining mastication implements he's also started to pick up some sign language. Right now he'll do 'more', 'milk' (but only when he nurses) and what I think is a slang sign for why/where. I do a lot more than that with him, but I suppose he feels like he's got what he needs most down.

Other things he's started to do:
- Climb up onto the dining room chairs and his leap frog table. He'll also use these as a stepstool to get onto other things...like the dining room table.

- Try to climb out of his crib. He's got the mechanics down, he just needs a little more height and that'll do it.
- Play ball. He rolls balls back and forth with someone else now rather than just chucking it and then chasing it.
- Dancing to the music. Any music. He'll either sway from side to side or turn around in circles.

Sam goes for his next well-check next week so we'll get an official height/weight to post. He's been sick and didn't really eat for nearly 4 days over the weekend so I took him to the Dr. and he'd lost almost 1 pound. Poor dude-man! He seems hungry enough now so hopefully he'll rebound a little before his appointment.


Paddle boats at Hermann Park