Caught being cute...

Hunter doing his "funny face" on command. After a rain storm the other day, I decided it would be fun to let him splash around in the puddle that forms on our sidewalk. Hunter had a blast and insisted that I let him play with the la-lo (water). We pulled the hose over and added some more water to our puddle. By the time we were finished, he was soaked.
At the lake this weekend, I walked in and he was watching a cartoon on TV. Hunter is never too interested in TV, so seeing him smiling up at the TV was too cute not to take a picture of.

Home Sweet Home

The new master bath looking towards the walk in shower.

We are having the glass installed next week.
Master bedroom- I need to get my bed skirt made and some drapes made for the windows. I haven't hung anything on the walls because I'm scared to commit!
Looking from the dining room into the new family room. This used to be our backyard! We are loving the open kitchen and family room and spend most of our time here.
Looking from the family room into the kitchen.

It's Great Being a Kid!

It's been a great summer! We FINALLY got to move into the new addition and are so excited to have the space. It's been great! We had a rainy 4th of July which was a bummer since I had had so much fun decorating the wagon for the parade. We took it for a spin around the block that night instead and looked very patriotic.
Smiling big on the 4th of July!
The Jones Family Parade
Driving the boat with Babs
Sacked out during a car ride to meet MiMi in Austin

18 months

18 month check up.... a mere 6 days before he turns 19 months!

Hunter weighed in at 26 lbs 15 oz- still up in the 90th percentile and was 33 inches tall which is the 60th percentile. With a clean bill of health, we left the doctor's office feeling very grateful to have such a healthy boy. We may have to go back and repeat the finger prick for anemia because Hunter tested in the low end of normal. The pediatrician called and doesn't think it is a problem but wants to double check to make sure. With as great as Hunter eats and as healthy and energetic he is, I am sure it will turn out fine.


Hunter is now putting 2 words together like, "Mama car," or "Dada shoes." Other words in his vocabulary include, la lo for water, bath, light, up, uck for truck, car, bus, hot, outside, shoes, nose, teeth, fan, dog, tat for cat, uh oh, no, ball, dark, hand, that.... He also has been heard saying, "Let me see that" or even "Give me that."

He is Mr. Mechanical and can turn on just about anything and loves to mess with buttons. Seeing as we have lived the past 5 months in such disarray during construction his little life has been turned upside down. We have lived with boxes and sheetrock dust all over. Nothing seems to be in it's correct place. The king size mattress and 2 box springs arrived the beginning of July and have taken up residence in the dining room. Needless to say, he has learned to live in the middle of messiness. Perhaps this would explain his dire need and obsession to have shoes on at all times, to talk about them, point them out to complete strangers... We have laughed that this must be his way of being in control of something. He mentions shoes upon waking up in the morning, brings us our shoes, and basically insists that everyone have their shoes on at all times. It's pretty entertaining!

Overall, our little guy is growing and becoming more and more like a little boy each day. He never ceases to amaze us with how much he can do.

The movie, The Money Pit, is an all time favorite of mine. Now, it's even more so. After a 5 month addition project onto our home, I can relate to the hilarity of it all. One scene that resonates so much with our situation would be the one where the main contractor looks at Tom Hanks and declares. "Your name came up in the lottery today... we WORK today!" There were days that Chris and I would look at each other across the dinner table and be in disbelief that so little was accomplished... yet again. As two people who truly look for the best in everyone, we were often caught off guard by how undependable people can be.

Chris and I took on this project back in January. We spent the fall getting plans drawn up and finally settled on a mere 934 square feet that would include a family room, laundry room, master bedroom, master bath, 2 closets, a front porch and back patio. Simple sounding, right? Well... the new year found us interviewing multitudes of craftsmen. We talked, negotiated, acted like we knew what we were doing, and finalized a crew we felt we could handle. After all, Chris and I were the "contracters" so to speak!

February brought on the first crew to bring down an oak tree in the backyard and construct the foundation. March brought the most rain San Antonio has ever seen in history for the month of March. Wait, did I say the MOST ever?? The foundation was completed at the end of March after many cold, rainy days of delay. Not to mention that a 60 foot long trench was dug so that we could replace our sewer line. The joys of older homes!

The framing was fast and furious and left us stunned. It was up in a matter of three or so days. With that, we got greedy and demanded the front porch be built. You see, we had planned on saving that for the end of the project to make sure that everything we were planning could be accomplished first. The front porch was to be the icing on the cake. Well, life's a little more fun when the dessert comes first. The porch, which really make a HUGE difference to the front of the house, was finished in a couple of days. We were thrilled.

To sum up since April, it's been a hurry up and wait game. We've had a lot to learn along the way. Anyway, there's a light at the end of this money pit. This Wednesday should be a day for final finishing touches. I remember telling my plumber I couldn't wait to see him again and it was mainly because he comes last... and he's coming Thursday morning. Hallelujah!!!

After that, pull out the broom, vacuum, rags, mop, Pledge, Windex, Clorox, Soft Scrub, Mr. Clean, Febreze, 409, and power washer.... we've got a lot of cleaning to do! Pics to follow~

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.