Had a Fun Weekend in Houston!

Thursday night we rode down to Houston with our neighbors. O and I met up with Aunt Lanie for a fun-packed weekend! Baby O met Jack Friday! We took the boys for a late-night-for-little-guys swim!

Here they are together before jumping (literally for Jack) into the pool? Baby O needed a little support from Jack--looks like he is trying to figure out why the little guy is pushing him...too funny.

Here's little man jumping right in to Aunt Lanie!

Baby O sitting pool-side while Mom takes photos!

Jack had a blast--look at his smile! This is just before another jump!

My sweet boy hamming it up for the camera while mom gives him a kiss! Right after that, he grabbed hold of my cheek and gave me a big wet, slobbery kiss. Aunt Dona and G-ma, this guy loves the water. We are so looking forward to our trip to Florida in two weeks!!!

LOVE this photo of Jack. He loves planes and is watching one over-head. Aren't his little boy Crocs cute, too?

O watching Jack watch the planes.

Saturday, mom came over to Houston and we met for a bridal shower of a long-time friend. It was mom's (grammie's) birthday and O had worked really hard on a gift for her! Here he is showing it off (i.e. hamming it up for the camera/Lanie). PS, Lanie can get quite a smile from this little man....stay tuned for the six month post later this week/weekend to see the results!

Happy Birthday, Grammie! O had a great time sharing the weekend with you and I enjoyed sleeping in (enjoyed seeing you, too, of course)!!!

Baby O Goes to Washington

{Sunday, June 15th--Father's Day}

Papa Tex: Sweetie, I've been meaning to ask you something
Me: expression = waiting for what comes next
Papa Tex: I was thinking about going to Washington DC next weekend. Will you look into tickets for me--you are good at things like that.
Me: Whaaaaaaaat? {keep in mind that a trip to Dallas is a pretty big deal for Papa Tex}
Papa Tex: Yeah, I have a Marine Corps Reunion there this weekend...I've booked the hotel, but haven't decided whether to go.
Me: Of course I will look into it, and maybe Baby O and I will go with you!

{fast forward 5 days}

Baby O waiting on his first plane--this baby is Baltimore Bound!

Papa Tex, Baby O, and I set out for a big weekend adventure! Baby O started the trip off with lots of attention grabbing--this turned out to be his ammo the whole trip. He smiles oh so sweetly to grab the attention of strangers. Then, once they glance his way, he goes to batting his eyes and smiling bigger. This goes on until stranger {new friend of Baby O} feels obligated to look away as they feel funny staring at a stranger's baby. Not for long...Baby O works his magic to get the attention back. Then, we have a new plane/restaurant/hotel/tourist friend!

Baby O checking out the fellow passengers...

Baby O luvin' pears and cereal.

This whole meal was "commentated" by fellow passenger. I kid you not...ask Papa Tex. She was so into Baby O and she commentated every bite and expression he had. He was in attention-grabbing heaven and she was lovin' this baby! The next pic is of Ladies Man making sure she was still there and watching him...she was.

This shot Papa Tex just couldn't resist. He thinks it is hilarious that Baby O sucks his middle two fingers leaving his hand in the "Hook 'Em" gesture. What's even funnier to Papa Tex? This Aggie came to sit next to us, when Baby O "Hooked 'Em" Papa Tex couldn't resist the irony of the photo!

Here we are about to board the flight! Baby O and Papa Tex getting ready for "first on flight" boarding!

Baby O, me, and the pilot! After Papa Tex snapped this photo, the pilot looked up and said "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Select last night," then, he boarded the plane. Too, funny!

Take off!

The flight was uneventful. Baby O slept for an hour and then played for a couple. After we made it to the hotel, he was tuckered out. Baby O took a nap while Papa Tex "reunioned."

Then, we went for dinner. Papa Tex and I wanted a bit of an adventure. So, we played "GPS Restaurant Roulette"--we selected "Restaurant" on the GPS, then chose "Italian" and let the GPS lady-robot take us to the 6th one on the list! When we got there, we looked across the street at this awesome looking grill and went there instead. And that, folks, is how we ended up at Whitlows on Wilson ("WoW"). It was a fun spot!

After dinner, we drove around for an after-dark tour of the monuments. It was fun...but, there aren't any good photos! We toured as a "tour mobile"! What does that mean? It means, we deemed ourselves a tour mobile and took their special roads that pass right in front of the monuments. What a laugh.

{Saturday--dubbed one of the Best Saturdays of Papa Tex's Life}

First, we drove out to Virginia so that Papa Tex could meet a man that he has been doing "catalog" business with for years and see the shop in person. Turns out they are both "jarheads" and he also has a strong Texas connection. Dad was in collector heaven. Here he is standing outside the shop with the sword he purchased. Look at that ear-to-ear grin.

I get bored with swords (hey, that rhymes), so I set out with Baby O in the stroller to check out this cute little town we ended up in! Baby O and I found a fantastic independent book shop (an absolute oasis for me). We bought him a couple of books to memorialize his first trip to Washington 1) So You Want to be President, and 2) United Tweets of America! And, another because its a really neat story about two animals that have become inseperable since meeting after the Tsunami caused the baby hippo to lose his mom, Owen & Mzee.

After the shopping, we headed back. We played Restaurant Roulette again, and picked Anita's New Mexican Restaurant. Twice this game has worked out for us. Funny thing was that we had Mexican food on Thursday night thinking we wouldn't have any this weekend--little did we know. Anita's held a surprise for Papa Tex--these refried beans on his spoon, below, are --are you ready for this folks--the best refried beans Papa Tex has ever eaten! I took a taste to see if this declaration had merit--they were pretty tasty!!

Baby O sat in his highchair and kept us company...look at those eyelashes on this fellow!

Then, I went to pose for a photo with my little man at Anita's. I was going to hold the glass in front of us as a "point of reference" for the blog, and little man grabbed it from me to take a sip. He looks pretty happy with himself for amusing me so much!

After Atita's, we went back to the hotel and Papa Tex did some more "reunioning". After that, we set out for The White House! Here is Baby O checking out Obama's new pad!

For dinner, we had {get this} Mexican food with my cousin Trav! It was so much fun to see him! I loved hearing about his job and life in D.C. I think he enjoyed meeting his first cousin once removed! Trav took us to a fun area for dinner and then we got a tour of his university--if it hadn't been such a long day for O we would have hung out longer. Hopefully, he will make it to the beach and we can spent more time together!

Papa Tex did more "reunioning" while Baby O and I sawed some logs (Papa Tex, that use of slang is for you)!

{Sunday}

Drove to the airport...the GPS lady took us a different route. Dad and I decided to check the paper map to be sure she was taking us the right way. He tried to do it where she couldn't see us, but we think he failed, 'cause she didn't speak for about 10 miles after that. We were, in fact, headed in a different, but correct, direction.

Got to the airport much faster than anticipated due to the new route. So, we just hung out and waited on the flight, then took the flight (this is Baby O playing on board below), and then landed home!

What a fun weekend! Hope you had a great trip, Papa Tex. Next stop--Boston!

Hip Hip Hooray, Its a Gymboree Day

Baby P is two months older than Baby O, so he moved up to Level II Gymboree a while back. Baby O moved up today--so funny to us to see the two of them "reunited." In the pic above...P came over to sit by O. O can't crawl, but P can. So, P periodically swung by to check on O during free play. Here, P has sat down beside him ...At one point, they had their hands on each other's backs. Too cute

Bubbles were new in Level II...O seemed to like watching where they were going. The time with the parachute was really neat, too. We had them under the chute and on top of it. So fun! Love those chubby cheeks, Punkadoo!

Tuesday

Tuesday morning started very early at the Quinlan household! Around 1AM our fire alarms went off. They continued to do so intermittently for an hour or so. Baby O continued sleeping soundly, but after about 30 minutes of alarms, even with Daddy Q's thorough check of the house resulting in no spotting of flames, I woke O up and went out to the front with him. Finally, they stopped.

I fed Baby O and tried to get him back to sleep. Soon after we were all asleep, the alarms started again...uggh.

So, I called 911 and went out side with O. The firemen came and surveyed the house! Turns out, we only needed to replace a battery!

Daddy Q, we have a big project on our hands replacing all of the batteries in the house!!!

Phew. Hopefully tonight we will all get more sleep.

First Father's Day

Daddy Q and Baby O hangin' out on the Back Porch on their first Father's Day together!

We thought we would meet my dad, Papa Tex, halfway between Big D and O-Town for a Father's Day lunch/dinner. Unfortunately, the Quinlans spent 2.5 hours of Father's Day looking at this view:

We were stuck in traffic FOR EVER! Baby O really doesn't care for the car seat much and he especially doesn't like being in it when the car is not moving. How much fun do you think we had?!? He finally gave up and tried to put himself to sleep. He sucks on his middle two fingers incessantly, yet I have never captured it in pixels to blog about...well, after two and a half hours in traffic--you get desperate. So, here is the way we see O the most! If he isn't smiling or sucking on these two fingers, he is probably asleep!

Because of all that traffic, Papa Tex ended up driving all the way to Big D for lunch. But, we had fun in the end. Here are Baby O and Papa Tex on Father's Day Numero Uno!

On Friday, Aunt Lanie came to visit--here they are!!

Last, but not least, we just completed a big landscaping project. The backyard went from zero to landscaped in two weeks. Here are the results--there are three tall plants on the right of the porch that you can't see, which is too bad cause I think they are my favorite part! The whole yard will really look much better when the plants are taller/fuller/more grown, but you get the idea. Julie--thanks for the lemon tree idea--I have one now!!

Photos of the front will be posted tomorrow--its dark out now!

Raspberries or Spit?

Sunday night at the Quinlan House.

Me: Hey GQ, come here and see what O is doing.
O: Pltthhhhhhh
Daddy Q: Huh...
Me: He's blowing raspberries and keeps doing it over and over again and then looks for me to laugh. Keep watching.
****30 seconds or so pass with us watching intently*****
O: Pltthhhhhhhhhh
Me: laughing
Daddy Q: He's blowing what??...Hum. Looks like he is spitting at you.

Look at my new kicks!

Yummy...carrots!

Today at Gymoboree...

Just a cute picture of me sitting.

Can you Put Time in a Bottle?

For a while now, Baby O knows when you are making a bottle for him and is calm and content while you do so even if he was crying before. I guess that he figures you now know out what's bothering him, so he waits patiently for you to get the bottle made, sit down, and feed him. Now, this anticipation business is taking a funnier-to-mom turn. He is still calm while you make the bottle, but when you are done...he wants it stat...like, yesterday! As soon as you can get the top on it, he makes monkey sounds and bounces up and down in your arms while reaching for the bottle and opening he mouth like a bird for it. It is really funny. Thinking that this little corner of his personality may go as soon as it came, I reached for the camera. Bad idea mom....this is the photo I got!

Seriously, you are taking the bottle away from me to snap a picture?

Well, sweetie. I get sad, too. Like this morning in church, for instance. The sermon was about Leaving Home. The Preacher spoke of the opportunities that come with the strength it takes to move on from what you are used to. Whether as a child leaving one school for another, a young adult leaving for college, or an adult leaving for a job opportunity. It made me think of leaving Kilgore to head for college and how much was ahead of me. And...to think that 13 years have passed since then. That in and of itself was touching, but it didn't bring me to tears like what came next.

Yeah...that's me...I can sit up now...mamma is so proud....

After the sermon, the last song of the service was done differently. Instead of singing and going on home, the Pastor invited four high school seniors to speak in between stanzas of the song. They spoke about what they are leaving behind and what lies ahead for them. Now....that brought me to tears (and is again as I type--what is up with me?).

This is how I give mamma kisses now...I grab her face with both hands, open wide, and slobber all over her....

First, I was touched by the conviction and confidence these kids have. I was so proud of them and I don't even know them! It made me think that even though I often have second thoughts of raising my son in such a large city (I loved my childhood in a small town), this is a pretty good little section of the metroplex. Next, it made me think of myself at that age. How much I had in front of me and how extreme some of the times have been for me...some extremely painful, some extremely sad, and some extremely joyous. Man...its been a packed 13 years!

This is me after church checking out the tickle-y grass....

But, the biggest reason it made me teary is that I thought about how short life really is. The parents of those high school seniors can probably remember bringing them home from the hospital, the first time they smiled, when they started sitting, when they began walking, when they took their first spill on the bike, when they started driving. I thought further that their parents probably remember all of those moments in little clips and that the whole memory of their child is no longer than a movie preview. Wow! That made me wish for time to slow down so that I can savor every moment with the little man who brings a smile to my face every time I see him.