Around our House Lately...

Sometimes, you just have to see things for yourself ya know?!

Friday evening Cameron pulled himself up into our coffee table. (Please don't mind the What to Expect, When You're Expecting book that hasn't been put away since I was preggers. wow that's embarassing!) When he realized he wasn't sure how to get down, I had to stop recording him quickly and go help him down.

Saturday Cameron showed us that he can clap for you when something is good, do the "Indian" sound by himself and say Mama!!! Tim tried to tell me all weekend that he was saying Bubba and not Mama, so then he tried to get Cameron to call me Bubba. Don't worry folks, it's Mama and he's got it.
I wasn't able to catch all of these fun things on video, but I sure tried.

Around our House we laughed, climbed, washed cars, went on walks, clapped a lot and tried beans and watermelon. The beans were a hit; the watermelon we're still working on.

If you haven't tried something new in a while, do it and then clap for yourself -- it's pretty fun!

First Road Trip -- Hot Springs, Arkansas

We recently took our first road trip to meet some loved ones "in the middle". It was about a 7 hour drive and with an 11 month old, we were saying prayers and crossing fingers that our good traveler who rocked on a plane, would also love watching the country roads that we took on our way to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

We went back and forth on when to leave, and finally decided that we would pick Cameron up a little early from school to get on the road, but then stop for a long dinner which would put us in a good spot for an "after dinner movie" and a night of sleep. We decided that we would assess the situation once we got to Texarkana and see how things were going.

Cameron did really well! There was a little frustration when he was ready for bed and he couldn't really get comfortable, but we all rallied through a coffee stop in Texarkana and made it to Hot Springs at about 12:30AM.  We were able to find the hotel that our Tennessee family was hiding in and got to play doorbell surprises the next morning!

We arrived at the lake house we had rented for the weekend and fell in love!

The beds were so comfortable, perhaps the best I've ever visited!

After a trip to the local grocery store for the essentials, we ran back to welcome the next to arrive...COUSINS!

Before deciding on Hot Springs, the only thing I had ever known about it was what Erik Estrada had said on his infomercials with timeshare and retirement information. When the boys decided to go golfing on Saturday, the girls made there way to explore downtown!

Oh and there was a Corvette Convention going on too. 

Remember how we love classics?

In case you can't see it, the sign says: Gangster Museaum.

That's right, apparently there is a ton of history regarding Al Cappone and other Gangsters vacationing in Hot Springs. 

Oh and then there's this. 

(Don't let your political thoughts bring you or keep you away, it's a really fun town.)

It just so happens that while we were there, they also had some sort of National Park celebration going on at a park right off of the main street. There were all kinds of cool exhibits and activities for all ages! 

Remember how I said I don't know how to do a kartwheel? I'm also not very good at hula-hooping.

My favorite thing that they did though, was set up 3 different canvas's that had 3 local scenes on it. Then people were given a smock, paintbrush and some paint and told what to paint on which canvas. I'm not sure where they were going to put these, but the paintings were so unique and colorful.  My Neice didn't really want to paint when she found out she had to wear a smock so she watched me do it. I was told to paint myself in the park. See below. I'm not artist, but I didn't think it was all that bad. My Neice, however was worried about the color I chose for my skin. I informed her that it was during the summer and I was working a great tan!

After painting and all that walking, we visited Fat Bottomed Girls Cupcake Shoppe to pick up desert for the evening.  These cupcakes were huge! It was the cutest little shop, and they will actually be on the show Cupcake Wars coming up in June.

On our way back to the car, we passed this artwork on the side of a wall. The area was blocked off, but we were able to squeeze through to have a little photo opp.  We couldn't pass it up!

The rest of our time in Hot Springs was spent making memories. 

(Guess what we're going to start taking away now that we've got the road trip under our belt?)

He loves his Cousins!

(We're also going to work on this "Mama's Boy" Phase that we've got going on.)

Hot Springs was gorgeous, and we definitely hope to visit again!

Highlights:  Meeting somewhere in the middle for everyone in the family and having neutral ground was a definite plus. There was no pressure on anyone to host or accomodate anyone else. We all had our own space and there was lots to do outside.  We played games, layed in the sun, blew bubbles and everyone got a turn on the rope swing.

Lowlights:  Sure a road trip is hard on everyone and exhausting, but as long as you time it right, pack and organize your car well, go in with the right attitude & expectations, you can make it totally do-able.

Go Team Benton!

Not A Chew Toy!

Cameron was sent home yesterday from school with an "incident report". This is the second one in the last two weeks. The first one was a puzzle to his forehead. No big deal, we laughed and told him we thought he was getting an in-school suspension. Yesterday though...it was because another child in his class bit him.

My first reaction was aww, no big deal and I even tried to guess who did it (there are two "bruisers" in his class that I have my eye on now), but the teacher said that she couldn't tell me who it was (standard procedures). Cameron was asleep when I picked him up, so I didn't really look at him too closely. When we got home though, there it was -- the big, red bite mark on his arm. I know Cameron looks delicious...well that and we teased about him being a vampire baby because of the two teeth that came in first, but this?! I wasn't expecting the big mark to be there. Then I started to get a little more protective and sad for him.  I wondered if it hurt, if he was sad or upset.  This is just the first of what I am sure is going to be a long list of things that I can't protect him from.

However, let's take notice of just how BIG this bite mark is. I mean seriously, are we dealing with a dinosaur bite? Good thing we have such an easy going, and loving kid.

By the way, Tim's response was priceless: "Who was it, I'm about to get all gangster on 'em! Do we need to already start teaching him how to fight back?"

Prayer of St. Francis

After a week like this, I needed to say this outloud to myself, to God, to everyone and anyone that would listen. We're in constant prayer for healing and all things love these days.  

Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of life, I hope it's with peace.

I found this image here, I think I might just have to get it on order so we have a constant reminder in our home.

Here's to a weekend of blessings and grace.

E.L.E.V.E.N Months

Dear Little B,
You are so close to a year old that I find you already practicing the art of blowing out your candle!
Is it almost time to retire your nickname of Little B?  They are telling me at school that they will be taking away your morning nap next month...you're not a little B anymore!

You are on the move and so adventurous!
You are pulling up on stuff.
You found the electrical outlets.
You already know how to make me nervous.
You wave.
You like to read yourself books.
You sing along with me in the car. Sometimes, or at least that's what it sounds like to me.
You play peek-a-boo.
You love chasing after a ball.
You love to "shake it".
You are so ticklish, especially on your feet!
You love to stand tall.
You call after the dogs.
Your Dad wants to give you a haircut to clean up the sides that wisp over your ears.
Don't worry, I won't let him.
You smile, and the whole world smiles with you.

Oh, and you do mohawks. 

You do them well I might add.

Or maybe we should we call it the surfer wave? :)

Thank you for making our world a bright, shiny and happy place.

We love you to the moon and back.

Home of Pig-Pen & Parents of the Year, Volume 2

We had a weekend full of fun, and sometimes...

well you just gotta take that fun on a full ride! :)

I fully intended to take a lot of pictures this weekend, I even charged my camera and cleared the memory card. However, I never even picked it up off the counter.

Saturday we went to a party in a very nice neighborhood here in Austin. Tim and I didn't know anyone other than the couple hosting, so we did what we normally do and hung out by where the food was cooking! After I fed Cameron, I put him down on the concrete patio to give him some freedom. He was having a ball going in and out of the folding chairs, laughing hysterically at himself!  At one point, a future Dad looked over and said, "You're a great Mom!"

Puzzled, I nervously giggled (waiting for what was next) and said, "Thanks for the compliment, but what am I doing that makes you think I'm a great Mom?" (Picture this: Me sitting in a folding chair with a beer in one hand while my kid explores the ground.)

He went on to say that there was another Dad there whose wife wouldn't let him put the baby down. That she wouldn't let him get dirty. I wasn't sure how to respond so I just smiled and listened. We all have our own ways of doing things, and well this is ours. Even if we all left looking like ragamuffin's and everyone else was prim and proper, our boy had a great time exploring and that's what counts!

Sunday we did crawfish, and boy did we do crawfish! 

I so wish that I had a picture of those delicious, red mudbugs to share with all of you. We watched the Master's and laughed in the sun (warning: funky tan-lines may occur). No, I didn't pick up my camera then either. Guess who decided to go full force Pig-Pen on us though? You got it - Cameron was everywhere and covered in dirt and pollen, but he sure was laughing!

To those parents that want to judge...do it! This guy is happiest when he's got some independence and freedom (well as long as his parents aren't too far away)!

  

And now for Parents of the Year, Volume 2:

(I'm beginning to wonder if these are like those Walmart emails that circle around the internet every so often.)  For those of you that have already seen some of these photos, I apologize for the repeat.

*No children were harmed while taking these photos.*

Some of the Fhole Woods shoppers did not appreciate that he was not strapped in something safer. 

I apologize to those that see us out and about and worry. 

I promise, we got this.

Classics

We're big fans of classics. Things that are timeless and that will forever be.
So last weekend we hit up the Lonestar Rod & Custom Round Up. We met some friends and walked South Congress to take a look at all the gorgeous classic cars. Some were fabulous, others were questionable, but that's what makes it fun. There were a few that I had to rip Tim away from and even Cameron couldn't help but think how good he would look in a few of those rides!  These two pictures got us so excited that Tim became pretty antsy when it took Cameron so long to finish his lunch!

It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and we loved sipping on cold beverages as we watched the many cars go by.  See for yourself in my not-so-fancy pictures:

This is the kind of stuff that I love doing with Cameron! Getting outside and showing him pieces of our world.  Gosh I love those sun-kissed cheeks! 

It doesn't hurt that Austin is so funky and welcoming, we love both...even when an older gent in overalls and top-hat wants to be friends! I like overalls & top-hats!

We've got spring fever around here, which means another weekend of outside and adventures!

I'll catch up soon!