Summertime!

Well, I must say it has been awhile since I last blogged! Things have been so crazy around here! We sold the house and have to be outta here by this Friday! SO, it has been mass chaos- poor Michael is feeling it too! Luckily, he has been a very busy boy! We have many Gymboree make- up sessions, so we have been spacing those out to keep him busy, in addition to playing outside in the baby pool and water table (thanks Jen and Hayley for the idea:) This boy is so happy outside with the hose and some buckets! We usually do this around 5:00 or so, to make sure he is worn out before bedtime! Michael plays in the hose and Mommy watches, while sitting in the pool with him, wine in hand:)
After we close, hopefully, on Friday with our new house, we are off to Charleston on Saturday to spend a week with the Hatch's! I am so, so excited! Bear is going to have a blast with all of his cousins! I just wish we all lived closer to each other so we could get together more often:(
I will post more pics when we get back from the beach!
I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Kate

Mavs Mania

Well, we did it, we kept Michael up, WAY past his bedtime, to go to his first Mavericks game...and boy did he have a great time! I was a little nervous because the game did not start until 7:00, which is Bear's bedtime, I know, Sgt. Hatch, but our little Bear is tired! Anyway, when we were invited by Celina, Vicki and Phinn, we couldn't say no. We met up and went to the game and let me tell you, it was crazy- not to mention it was game 1 of the playoffs against the Spurs- so fun! We had great seats and Bear LOVED watching all of the action! He did not like the beginning when they were introducing the players (lights off, strobe light going, who likes that anyway), but the rest of the game, he was crazy! He was cheering and dancing and clapping, he got on the jumbo-tron twice! Every time the Mavs scored, Bear would start clapping, and when the Mavs Dancers came out, he and Phinn (his BFF), would stop and stare- BOYS! So, we made it through 3rd quarter and called it a night- got home around 10:15, quick bath and our little boy was out- I had to get him up at 8:45 the next morning:) Thank goodness I had taken that day off, originally to close on our house, but that was pushed back, another story, but needless to say, we all had a great time! We thank the Bells for taking us to the game- you guys are awesome!
Here are some pics from the game:)

Kate

Hawaii Fun

Geoff, Michael and I took off to Hawaii for my Spring Break this year. We had saved up enough miles to make the trip, and with Michael still being under 2, he was able to fly for free.... this made me one nervous mama! I know my son is adorable, but he is one wiggly monster! Fortunately, he surprised us all by being the Model Baby on all 5 flights!!! Of course, the DVD player broke so no Elmo on the flight, but he was entertained with a SLINKY, of all things, and books:)
(After brunch at the Mauna Kea)

Once we arrived in Hawaii, it was close to 10:00 Dallas time, Bear goes to bed at 7:00 mind you, and by the time he got in bed, it was past 11:00 Dallas time- we were expecting the worst, again, and he surprised us all! Geoff and I were awake before he was the next morning, we woke him up! Needless to say, we had a FABULOUS time with Nana and Pops! And, my parents were across the way at the Hilton, so Bear had a lot of Grandparents time- and some much needed Nana Time- he missed her so!! Pops too of course:)
(Waiting for food at the Mauna Kea for brunch)

We started off slow, trying to get Michael used to the water in the progression pools and salt water pools- our little man loves water!!! We took Michael to the ocean, he let the water come to his toes and then he was hooked- he would have dove right in if Geoff hadn't been standing there! We had to be sure someone was standing between him and the ocean at all times! He LOVED the waves and the sand! It was the greatest thing watching his little eyes light up with every wave that crashed! I think this was the best part of the trip, watching Michael's love for life!

We were very sad to come home, but knew we had no choice- luckily we had 3 beautiful days in Dallas to get Bear out and playing to "re-set" his clock, before it snowed, yes, SNOWED in Dallas! We had a hard time getting Michael back on Dallas time- we had some LONG nights, I say we, I mean me:) Geoff is a much better sleeper than I am! It seems we might be coming to the tail end of this, thank goodness:)

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip! Thank you to Nana, Pops, Annie and Pop Pop for all of your help with Bear this past week! We had a WONDERFUL time:)

Kate

February Already?

Goodbye January, Hello February! These last few weeks have been flying bye! I guess that is a good thing when we are very much anticipating our upcoming trips! We are off to Hawaii in March and South Carolina in June- Yeah! I can't wait to get Bear in the water! Geoff and I started taking Michael to swim lessons about 2 weeks ago- the boy loves the water! His favorite thing to do is hang on the wall and climb out, yes, the boy can lift his body out and sit up on the ledge- he then wants to scoot off the wall, back into the water, but it gives me some comfort that he can hold his weight up on the wall:) He is definitely a little monkey these day, climbing on EVERYTHING! The fireplace, the coffee table, exersaucer (which we used as a blocker), the couch, over the couch, chairs, you name it, he attempts to climb it! So far, no trips to the ER this year, but I know its coming, if he is anything like his father:)
Geoff celebrated his 38th Birthday this year! We had a great time out with friends- We are so thankful to have such great friends!

So far, we have been ear infection free, well, we had a minor one but the pediatrician said it was due to an infection when the tubes were put in. Michael is talking up a storm! Not really making sense to us, but he sure thinks he has some profound things to say! I just love watching him grow up and take everything in! He is definitely not a baby anymore:( He is a BIG boy! His new word is "mine". We officially have a toddler!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We have had a crazy household over the past month or so! Michael is now officially a walker, well has been for about 3 or 4 weeks now:) He is in to EVERYTHING!!! We have moved the living room furniture to "pin" him in, so to speak:) He is so much fun right now and has so much personality! He also has a temper just like his Mama (oops)! This past month, Michael has had 4 or 5 ear infections, so the ENT told us it is time for tubes- I am really hopeful that this will put an end to Bear's ear infections! Since we have met our deductible (as you all know, from the 4 night stay at Childrens thanks to RSV) we wanted to have his surgery before the end of the year...we got the last appointment available...Dec. 31st! Happy New Year to us:) Hopefully Michael's New Year's Resolution will be no more hospital visits, for a few years:)

We had a very nice Christmas Eve at my parents house with my brother and sister and their spouses and children- We got home a little late for Michael so it took him a while to settle down to go to sleep- then he was up at 6:30, bright and early to see what Santa brought him! We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! Now, Michael is napping peacefully, thank goodness, he was a little overwhelmed by the gifts, I should say, boxes and wrapping paper:)
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a great New Year!!!
Kate and Geoff

Happy Birthday Michael!

I can't believe out sweet boy is 1! This year has really just flown by! Well, the last 9 months at least, the first 3 were a little rough:) But well worth every meltdown, sleepless night and glass of wine:) We had a little party for our Bear on his actual birthday, November 19th, then we had a bigger one on Saturday the 21st. All of his friends were there, along with their parents of course:) We are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends! My sister let us borrow her bounce house and slide- we set up the slide to go into a wading pool that was filled with balls- such a hit! The theme of Michael's party was Teddy Bear Picnic, since we call him Bear. I had such a fun time putting it all together, and thanks to my friend Christina, she put together the cutest invitations and party ideas- I could not have done anything without her! She is such a creative person! If you need invitations or announcements, you should check her out:)

We are headed to Atlanta on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. We will be staying with Geoff's brother Steve and his wife Lorraine while we are there- Geoff's sister Merrie just had their 3rd girl, Kacie, so they have a FULL House! I cannot wait to meet Miss Kacie and visit with our other nieces Presley and Hannah Blanche- we have so many things to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and travels safely to their family celebrations!
I am sure I will update once we get home from Atlanta next Sunday!
Take care!
Kate

Also, my good friend Claricia made Michael's Birthday Cake- the best cake I have ever had! The bottom was chocolate with orange cream filling, the bear and picnic basket were rice crispie treats with frosting and the present was Michael's smash cake, banana cake with banana cream filling (since the Bear loves him some banana)- It was all absolutely worth every calorie:)

Our Lil' Pumpkin

It's hard to believe in 24 days our Bear is going to be a 1 year old! Where has the time gone, I mean, really!!! We have been busy at school, playing at daycare, going to Gymboree and hanging out with family this month. Last weekend, Geoff and I went camping with a group of friends to Brownwood, Tx. It was an amazing time, but it was the first time I had ever been away from Michael for more than 24 hours! My cousin Rachael offered to keep Michael for the weekend- she has an almost 4 year old, Gino, and lives just up in Frisco. The drop-off with Rachael was so traumatic, for me, not Michael:) I cried the entire way back to Plano to get my bags:) However, before I left with the group for Brownwood, I received the phonecall that Gino has the flu! Uhg! So, I went back and forth on what to do and my wonderful cousin Genevieve agreed to take Michael for Saturday and Sunday. Needless to say, it was a great weekend and everything worked out!!! We got back on Sunday and our sweet Bear was a good boy for his cousins and they both offered to take him again, anytime:) I think we will be taking them up on this:) It was so great to get Michael up from his nap that Sunday- he was so excited when he opened his eyes and saw Geoff and I standing there- he grabbed the sides of his crib, pulled his pacie out of his mouth and had a HUGE grin, saying "Da-Da, Da-Da" while reaching for Mama of course- such a sweet boy!

We are having quite a busy week this week! Today we have the Gymboree Halloween Party and on Friday Michael will be in the Shelton Halloween Parade:) Also, Michael has his 1 Year pictures on Sunday with JosephMark, our FABULOUS wedding photographers! I will post pictures as soon as I can! In the meantime here is a pic of Michael from 2 weeks ago at the Pumpkin Patch- he had a GREAT nap, I had him dressed cute, we took him to the Pumpkin Patch, snapped 2 pics and my camera died, of course! At least I managed to get one good picture- he loves to have his picture taken:)
I hope everyone has a great Halloween weekend!
Kate