My Baxter and me

When I look at these pictures I feel like this song should be playing in the background!

“My Buddy, My Buddy,

Wherever I go, he goes.

My Buddy, My Buddy,

I’ll teach him everything that I know…

My Buddy and me

Like to climb up a tree.

My buddy and me

We're the best friends that could be.

My Buddy, My Buddy

My Buddy and Meeeee!”

Van and Baxter have become very close. When Van is on the floor playing with all his toys, Baxter likes to lay close by and keep watch. Van will then crawl all over Bax! Baxter just rolls over and let's Van rub his belly.

And here is where the friendship started! With food, imagine that!

Van will drop his snacks on the floor and look down to see if Baxter eats them then he giggles like crazy!

Baxter is ALWAYS there for snack time!

Betsy Grace turns 1

Oh my goodness. I just found this post in the queue and I guess I never actually posted it! It was still saved as a draft. Sorry BG!

On Saturday, July 24th Van went to his friend Betsy Grace's house to celebrate her first birthday. Betsy Grace is very special to Van as she is the daughter of our very dear friends Mac & Libby Barksdale. Betsy Grace is the sweetest, happiest baby we've ever met and her beautiful smile brightens every room. We've known and loved her from the start and we are so excited that Van and Betsy Grace have each other. BG will be a grade older than Van so we're hoping she helps him find his way.

I remember holding Betsy Grace when she was only a few days old. I couldn't stop staring into her tiny angel face. She was so beautiful, my eyes filled with tears of joy for this little girl. She made me so excited to meet the little boy in my belly. I can't believe that was over a year ago.

Betsy Grace had such a fun party for both kids and adults. She had all sorts of toys set up for her friends to play with. And yummy treats for everyone to snack. It was the perfect way to spend a hot, summer day.

Lawton tackling Van (with Jack's help!) Boys will be boys!

Van & Betsy Grace playing with her sand pail

Betsy Grace and her BFF Margaret Blount

MB telling BG why it's so much fun to be one!

Van trying to give Betsy Grace a birthday hug

Time for cake! Betsy Grace's Aunt Haines made her a beautiful smash cake.

Mmmm! This is delish!

Bye Bye Paci. Bye Bye Goat. Hello Puppy!

I got a wild hair on Sunday and decided it was time to wean Van off his paci. I think I just realized that almost every picture I took of him half his beautiful face was covered with that thing.

So before I could think twice about it, I cut the tops off the two pacis he had left. That way, it wouldn't be like I was taking them from him because he does not like these "new" pacis and he shoves them away.

Bye bye milk junkie

This has made nap time and bedtime a bit more difficult but each day is getting better. He has found solace in a super soft blanket which has helped....... a little......

For those of you who have been around Van in recent weeks/months you would have heard him make several peculiar noises. The first was "the dinosaur", a loud, shrill screech which sounded like that man-eating dinosaur from Jurrasic Park. After that, he started this "goat" noise, "eh eh eh eh eh eh" whenever he got excited or thought something was funny. Sometimes I think he made it just to hear himself!

And now we are on to "the puppy" which I am pretty sure he got from Baxter. Baxter and Hurley are spending more time at home with us now that we have moved back into the house. Derek still takes them into work with him sometimes but for the most part, they are home. And so now we have Van walking around the house panting just like Baxter.

There is never a dull moment with this little cutie!

Home Depot, Lowe's, Ikea, Target - Oh My!

We have officially moved back into our old but new house in Dilworth! My darling Derek packed and moved our whole condo in the span of 6 days with the help of his younger brother. I didn't get a chance to pack a single item before we left for Utah. To be completely honest, I hate moving. It's for the birds.

Is that a saying? If not, it should be.

So, having cleared the air, I procrastinated and wasn't much of a help. I should not have been surprised at the way I found the house when we got off that jet plane from the West Coast. It wasn't as bad as I had pictured in my head BUT we did look like a house on that show Hoarders. It was ugly. My sweet Derek hates moving as much as I do and I don't know if this is a man-thing or a Derek-thing but he's moved us this way 3 times now and after the last time I told him no more pour moi. I am not moving like this again...........

Here is what happens, instead of getting a zillion cardboard boxes and packing up each room in an organized fashion (i.e. labeling boxes and wrapping all breakables); D likes to take 3 (no more, no less) tuber-ware bins and load them with as much stuff as he can fit in and carry. Steps 2 and 3 involve taking them to our new address and dumping into whatever corner has empty floor space then going back to re-load those same 3 tuber-ware bins!

It gets the job done but the unpacking process is a nightmare! He has now vowed to never move a single bin again and promises to hire a moving crew to pack and move us. I hope that time does not come for another 10+ years.

So, the past week I have been trying to find my sweet bebe in the mess that is our stuff. Poor Van has been a bit cranky since we won't let him down to crawl around and explore. There are too many things lying around that could hurt him. I didn't realize how hard this move would be on him. Especially since I can't explain to him what is going on. So, we're trying our best to get back into his routine. It's been a hard and slow process since I don't have 6 arms and 2 pairs of eyes.

In the process of unpacking, I decided that we did not need so much stuff. Where did it all come from anyway? We usually purge before the move but didn't get a chance to this time so while we're trying to organize our piles we're making more piles of give-aways and trash. Thank goodness the garbage man comes tomorrow because our trash bin is spewing over. Not a good look.

Did I mention that we lost about 700 square feet? And a lot of closet/storage space. I have already taken two full trunk loads of give-aways to Goodwill and there are still piles to go through.

Which leads me to Home Depot, Lowe's, Ikea and Target. I can't tell you how many times we've been to each store looking for odds and ends to get this house together. We're almost there and hopefully we will be back into the land of the living soon! Dear Steph and Phil, how have you two done this 6 times in the last 6 years and with two little ones in tow? You are our heroes!

I'll post pictures when the dust settles. Until then, if you don't hear from me - send help!

Leaving on a jet plane (for the first time)

As many of you know, Van and I flew to Utah two weeks ago to visit with my family, see my cousin Kris get married and introduce Van to everyone. I was nervous about flying alone with an almost 8 month old (who was flying for the first time) as I did not know what to expect. I almost burst into tears when the mean old lady at the American Airlines desk told me she would not give Derek a gate pass to see us off. In her words, "Gate passes are only given in special situations and I know you think this is a special situation BUT it is NOT." Then she was going to charge me $50 for my bag being 3 pounds over the limit! 3 POUNDS!!!! I wanted to be like, "B$@&*, I've packed the bare minimum for me and my child to get through 6 days away from my husband and you may not think this is a "special situation" but it's about to be!" But, I was a lady. I bit my tongue, smiled and said, "what can you do ma'am?"

I'll tell you what she did, she had me take out a stack of cloth diapers (burp cloths) and put them in a Target bag (which ripped btw) along with a ziploc full of odds and ends for Van that I got to carry onboard with me along with my diaper bag (which was fully stocked for both our flights and layover) and a 23 pound baby.

THANK YOU MA'AM.

Then we said goodbye to Derek and we were on our own. And thankfully, the hardest part was behind us. Van was awake for the first hour of the first flight to Dallas. He drank a bottle during take-off, stared at everyone around us and pretty much banged on everything around us. Then I put the Baby Bjorn on and he immediately fell asleep for the remainder of the flight! He was awake for our entire hour layover then fell asleep again before the second plane even took off. Thank you Jesus! I prayed so hard for an easy trip out there.

The week went by so quickly. The next day was my cousin's rehearsal dinner then Friday was the wedding. And the rest of our time was spent catching up with our amazing family and eating lots of delicious meals. I don't know about all of you but it seems that whenever we go out of town we always eat so well. Maybe it's because I don't cook at home and always want a salad or some sort of protein and a veggie but when I am on vacation - I let loose!!

I didn't take the best pictures this trip since I was having so much fun but here are some of my favorites.

My cousin Kris as he steps to the front of the aisle. I've never seen him so happy!

My handsome date

My Uncle Karl and Aunt Debbie (Uncle Karl officiated the wedding - he also married me and D!)

Saying the I do's. I love weddings.

My cousin Kurt with his two little ones Damon & Sierra

Keith and Lindsay

It's the husband face!

Aunt Lydia and Uncle Phil - where I get my Spanish blood from!

My beautiful Godmother

Johnson Mill

Uncle Dave & Aunt Denise - how we miss them.

Me (in my Rent the Runway dress) and Van

Van and Sierra playing tug of war

Let the Par-Tay begin.....

My bebe was so good. He really made being a mommy easy for me that week. He got a ton of compliments about how laid-back he is and how happy he always seemed to be. That's my little man............how can you not LOVE his sweet, sweet face?!?!

Welcome to the world Cole Phillips Goodman!

A poem for Candace and Cole

"I loved you from the very start, You stole my breath, embraced my heart. Our life together has just begun, You're part of me my little one. As mother with child, each day I grew, My mind was filled with thoughts of you. I'd daydream of the things we'd share, Like late-night bottles and teddy bears. Like first steps and skinned knees, Like bedtime stories and ABC's. I thought of things you'd want to know, Like how birds fly and flowers grow. I thought of lessons I'd need to share, Like standing tall and playing fair. When I first saw your precious face, I prayed your life be touched with grace. I thanked the angels from above, And promised you unending love. Each night I lay you down to sleep, I gently kiss your head and cheek. I count your little fingers and toes; I memorize your eyes and nose. I linger at your nursery door, Awed each day I love you more. Through misty eyes, I dim the light, I whisper "I Love You" every night. I loved you from the very start, You stole my breath, embraced my heart. As mother and child our journey's begun, My heart's yours forever little one."

- Author Unknown

On Friday, July 30th, my little sis and her hubbs (Candace and Clay Goodman) welcomed with love their precious baby boy into the world. We were all smitten from the start.

Beautiful mommy before Cole's arrival

Mother and Son

Now there are three!

Cole's First Kisses

Van and Cole meet for the first time!

I'm an Auntie!!!!! And I'm so in love!

Cole with Aunt Melissa, Uncle Derek and Cousin Van!!!

Dear Candace and Clay,

Derek and I could not be happier for you two. We know the love and joy that Cole has brought into your lives cannot properly be described with words. You will become more in awe of him as each day passes. Enjoy these first weeks home with him, they are some of the hardest but you'll also be making memories and bonds that time cannot touch. We are so proud of you both and know that you will be great parents. You already created such a precious gift that we all cherish and love. We are so excited to watch Cole grow and we promise to always be here for you three whatever may come. God has blessed us again with a sweet baby boy!

All of our love,

Melissa, Derek and Van