Loving Summertime!

Wheee!! This is fun!
Playing in the la lo- that's how Hunter says water.

Me and my Buckaroo ready for VBS

Summertime has to be my favorite time of year! We've been making the most of each day by going to the pool, riding the train, going to the zoo, playing in our new sandbox, splashing in the baby pool at home.... The top 2 pics are of Hunter sliding into the baby pool in our front yard. He wanted to keep sliding over and over and over!

This week I am teaching Vacation Bible School and Hunter is a "Buckaroo." This means he gets to wear his first t-shirt ever and go to church each morning. I even have to pack him a sack lunch each day. I've gotten a kick out of it and so has he. The picture above is us in our matching VBS shirts ready to head out the door.

Funny Guy

Hunter decided to take it upon himself and get the chips out. This is where I found him- snacking away on the couch!
Hunter and his friends Taylor and Scott over to play. They had a great time!
The family room- the built in cabinets are finally in and the fireplace is complete. This was taken about a week ago.
The backyard and new patio. We have our work cut out for us this weekend laying grass. It should make it look so much better. I'm ready to have a back yard again!

It's GREAT being 17 months old!!

It's great being 17 months old.... you get to swim in the lake....
... you get to drink from a big kid cup....


... you get to drive a car....
...cheers to milk....
... and you get to just hang out!

17 months is a fun age for Hunter. He's full of new things and loves to play outside and will pull your hand to make you come with him. He loves his car and will "let you" drive him around in the heat of the day for as long as you want. He's hilarious with shoes and demands that everyone wear them. Knowing what a barefoot person I am makes it even funnier. He will not allow anyone to go without shoes. He's very interested in cars and trucks and will announce "guck" whenever he sees a truck pass by. We have to be careful with that one if he shouts it out in a public place. :) I read somewhere recently that children who play with blocks score 15% higher with their language skills. Well, a trip to Toys R Us assured me that we had some blocks. A lot of blocks. So far, my little scholar ain't seeming too interested! Hmmm, I wonder why? Just want those SAT scores to be up there. We'll have to figure out a way to get him interested in the blocks before too long! A fun part about this stage is that Hunter can understand everything we say. As soon as Hunter senses that we are leaving someplace, he will announce to EVERYONE, "Bye Bye" and wave. It's hilarious and people always laugh. It's especially endearing as we leave the grocery store. For some reason, he really puts on an act as we leave HEB.

All in all, Hunter is in the midst of such a precious stage. We're having the time of our lives just keeping up with him!

A Very Happy Mother's Day

Hunter doing his hilarious "Popeye" face at dinner. All you have to do is ask him to make his funny face and this is what you get. I have a feeling we have a class clown on our hands!
We had a great weekend and I had a great 2nd Mother's Day. We got out of the house and went to the lake and enjoyed a relaxing and beautiful weekend. The weather was great and Hunter loved getting in the lake. I'm glad he's not afraid of the water, but we will have to work on teaching him some boundaries and keep a VERY watchful eye on him by the water.

Chris and Hunter gave me a precious card, my favorite candy and a check made out to one of my favorite stores so that I can get the coffee table I've had my eye on. I'm so excited and was very surprised!

The house is in full swing and hopefully this week we will make some great progress. Tile and wood floors and cabinets should be in order this week. :) I'll update with pictures when I get them. The back patio is being poured early this week too. Can't wait.

All in all, this weekend made me realize how grateful I am for the "job" I have as a mom. It has exceeded all of my expectations. I love that I have learned more in 17 months than any book could ever teach me, that my years as a teacher prepared me for the fact that no 2 days are alike, that joys are found in the smallest things and that God entrusted me with Hunter to love and care for. I'm immensly blessed!

Happy Hunter!

After Hunter's trip to Gymboree this morning, we stopped off for a mommy and son lunch. After our little "date" we headed over to the Picture People in the mall to get Hunter's picture taken. Here's what we got! He looks so grown up!

News on the homefront.... paint is going up inside! It's really looking good and if this humidity would decrease we could move a little faster. I'm getting anxious to have a clean house again. We have been living without a stove and without a washer & dryer for about a month now. It's getting a little old and definitely is not convenient with a toddler in the house.

Hunter's latest.... Chris swears that the other day while he was watching his Baby Einstein video that he said "gorilla" when the picture of the gorilla came up on the screen. Wow! I have yet to hear anything that advanced.

Yesterday, we went with our playgroup to ride the train at the zoo. Hunter rode the entire 20 minutes with his mouth wide open. He was amazed! We've riden the train once before but it was after a 2 hour zoo visit and he was not amused. After the train trip yesterday we headed over to Cheesy Jane's for lunch. They have a model train that travels around the ceiling and Hunter sat through lunch saying "choo choo." All of the boys had a great time and I love getting to visit with other moms that are in the midst of the same things that I am.

Play Group at Chick-fil-A and Sheetrock!!

Hunter had a ball climbing the playscape at Chick-fil-A. We were supposed to host play group at our house, but in the present condition of dust and more dust everywhere, we decided to have play group somewhere else. It was perfect for Hunter who is like a little monkey and loves to climb. Before I knew it he was high above my head and smiling so big. This is a pic of Hunter standing in the slide. Wheeee!!!!

Who knew we would be so excited to see sheetrock going up. This is the view from the master bedroom looking towards the door to the hall. They are here again today working hard. It should be finished (the sheetrock I mean) today!

What a Difference a YEAR makes!

April 2007- 16 months old
April 2006- 4 months old

I got to thinking how much Hunter has changed in the last several months and realized how neat it would be to look back at him this time last year. These two pictures show the same precious boy that has blessed our lives... he's just not quite a baby anymore!

Random Pictures

April 15- The porch is coming together. The roof is going on tomorrow so that will be exciting and pull it all together. Once it is all painted it will really look good.
Hunter and I out on Sunday afternoon to snap pics in the bluebonnets. It's amazing how big he seems to me all of a sudden!

Bluebonnets

Once we got on the property today, I decided Hunter was ready to try out his driving. Look how well he took to it! He loved sitting in my lap looking for cows!

Hunter in the wild flowers. He loved the dandelions the best and wanted to find them.
Hunter and Jackson Hildebrand- buddies in the bluebonnets
Aren't they so cute?!

Hunter got a kick out of standing in the middle of the flowers. Most of the bluebonnets had lost their "bonnets" so we might try some more pics one more time.
He was very curious about everything around him.
Hunter clapping his hands and having a great time!

Today, Hunter is 16 months old! We took a little trip this afternoon to take pictures in the bluebonnets. Hunter enjoyed driving in the country and liked the dandelions the best.

Update on the House!

We are so excited- as you can see by the pictures, they have broken into the house. The pictures show the view from the new family room looking into the kitchen. This one above was taken right after they created the opening. I was so excited to see how much it opened up the kitchen. It's going to be great!
This picture shows the arch that they created to mimic the others found in the house. We thought it would keep some of the charm that the older part of the house already has. Here is Hunter walking across the pine wood floors that we were fortunate to uncover beneath the yucky linoleum in the kitchen. Hallelujah!!
Looking from the kitchen into the new family room. French doors were installed today!

The new front porch- it adds so much to the curb appeal of the house and has only taken a little over a day to get to this stage.