In honor of Great Gramma

My mother lived in MuuMuu's. Each trip to Hawaii, a yearly vacation for some 12 years or so, she would stock up. She had fancy ones and everyday ones and rarely wore anything else.
John and I were shopping last week and we still have a tendency to look at baby stuff. We..both of us...spotted this adorable little dress, fell in love and bought it. Becky says it looks like one of Great Gramma's MuuMuu's and she also loves it. We did not even think of it until she pointed it out and now we smile even bigger when we look at it. My Mom would also love it.

Mom would also have loved the raspberries I am getting while I take this picture.

Memorial Day

We had a wonderful holiday. All the usual suspects joined us for swimming and barbecue ribs. Family and friends brought sides and desserts. Everything was wonderful, including the weather. The kids had spent a couple hours swimming before dinner and just about the time dinner was ready it started to darken and the wind blew in. We were prepared and quicly dragged chairs and tables from the yard into the garage. The wonderful cool breeze kept it nice in there...door open...and bad rain never came. Just a little drizzle. When we were done eating the kids sang Happy Birthday to me and blew out candles on cupcakes. The sun did not come back out but many of us went back in the water. It was a good day. Regretfully I did not bring out the camera but Becky took a picture of Em in ONE of her bathing suits.

Da Da Da Da

First Words

Today I walked in far too quickly to get Emily up from her nap. She was making noise and my usual is to stand at the door a second, then knock, but I needed to get her up because Mommy was coming to get her. As I opened the door and walked in I started to think she was saying Da Da Da Da, but it was all too quick to be sure. I told Becky about it so she could confirm...or not. About 30 minutes later Becky called and said it is definitely Da Da Da Da and she said it ALL the way home in the car and has not stopped. LOL. Another step forward.

Needed a change.

So I made a change....in the colors at least. Google needs to get more templates.

And another 1st

We are not crazy....letting her choke. A baby has to LEARN how to handle food when it "gets stuck" so we always give it a beat before we help. She is doing excellent. Cheerios are just around the corner.
Then goldfish. YEAH!!! Life becomes REALLY easy then. Time to breath between meals.

And sweeter

Life with Baby gets easier.

Roller Coasters

I used to love roller coasters. Going to big parks was not a thing my family did growing up so my experience is small but the few times I rode them I liked it a lot. Some jerked me around too much but all in all it was a fun experience. Caring for a baby is like a roller coaster sometimes. Actually I think a current mother or care provider for an infant/baby/toddler would probably agree it is ALL the time. LOL.
Our angel baby today is in a bit of a snit. It just figures. I went out shopping this AM after laying her down for what is usually a 2 hour or more nap. She woke up after an hour. A usual day, when she gets up, she will play for close to an hour in Papa's office and be perfectly happy. Not today. My poor angel was fussy, so when I came home Papa was feeding her lunch a half hour or so earlier then the norm. We have to assume these bad days are teeth pushing their way through but I sure wish they would pop. It is so sad to see her fussy and not be able to do much about it. Today I resorted to Tylenol. Usually the homeopathic teething tabs and gel works fine but not today. She is asleep again now and hopefully will take a long afternoon nap.

Monday night I finally got to meet "The Usual Suspects". A group of people John works with on a regular basis who have also become close friends of his. 2 were in from D.C. One from OK and the other lives here in Dallas but the opportunity never came up to meet her. It was great fun to put faces to names. Greater fun to enjoy in person the personalities I have heard so much about. We, well they, had drinks in the lounge of the hotel the out of towners are staying at then we went to dinner. Pappadeaux's Seafood, my absolutely favorite fish place. We did not get home until after 10 PM. Absolutely unheard of hour on a week night. I felt like such a "BIG GIRL" being out with adults. If your reading any of the "suspects", it was great to meet and spend time with all of you. I look forward to doing it again sometime.

Big post to catch up.

First off....John is doing great. They did put a stent in, but the rest of his heart looks good. He had to escape from the hospital because he somehow got dropped off the rounds list by the partners. That would be a first person I know to do that, even though I know many people who threatened it. He just grabbed his bag after about 6 hours of waiting past the time someone was supposed to be in and left. The doctor had already called in all the prescriptions so he figured to hell with this.
One of the scripts they had him on was Lipitor. A cholesterol med. One that is famous for the horrible aches and pains. Been there, done that myself. He took it for 4 days and quit it. He felt like he had been run over by a MACK truck. The other meds are all fine and we saw the doctor last Friday and dropping the Lipitor has been approved. He is good to go until August. Then he goes in for a recheck.

We have been sadly dismantling our pond. The liner was very old and had too many cracks and leaks to repair right now so we have had to give it up. It is pretty sad right now. Filled with bricks and sand and looking very ugly but hopefully soon we will have the time to get it looking decent. It will make a great spot for the grill in the future but not having the waterfall is a killer. It was a GREAT noise barrier. Now we hear everything going on outside the yard. I am also still in the habit of walking out there and going to see the fish. Now I see an ugly hole. I am happy to announce though, that the fish have a wonderful new home.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Despite the horrible forecast we ended up with a lovely day. We had warmed up the pool and just about the time everyone got here the sun started coming in and out and the drizzling stopped. Even Emily got to play in the pool and Nick, Elliot and Maggie were in for hours. It was a great day!!!

Emily just keeps growing and far too fast. The video is her new "trick". What a hoot it is. I keep working on Papa and she just clicks away and smiles at me.

No more dragging that heavy carseat with baby into the stores. YEAH!!! In fact John and I put our big girl carseat in the car this past weekend.


This shelf in the pool is just the greatest. It is Lucy's play spot or laying spot and comes in real handy for making sure Em was not going to freak out. Even if the little ones love a bath the pool can be overwhelming but she loved it. Nicholas, Elliot and Maggie are looking on as Em experiences the pool.


In her floaty.


"Papa got me all wrapped up in a warm towel when MOMMY was done in the water. I would have stayed in MUCH longer." Emily was a delight yesterday. It seems she is over her "stranger" stage. At least for now, and since she was "home" she took two great naps.


After Emily was done swimming she played outside for awhile on the mats. The big kids are more fascinated with the baby toys then Emily is. LOL. And in the picture below is Lucy taking advantage of a soft surface to lay one. Spoiled ROTTEN dogs.

Big BIG Girl.

At lunch time we join Papa and have a bagel.

About us

I would rather this be about the kids. LOL.
John had an angiogram this AM and had to have a stent put in. One of his arteries was 90% blocked. There was no heart attack. There is no heart damage. We were lucky with an early warning sign and blessed with great doctors who immediately wanted to check everything. The procedure was scheduled for today 3 weeks ago. No emergency. Because they put the stent in he will be in the hospital over night but if every thing goes as it should go, I will bring him home tomorrow and life will get back to the boring routine I so love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BELOVED BOY!!!!

And this little surprise was in the yard or Nick this morning. Mom called animal control because it appears to be hurt. Nick got to feed the duck in his own yard though. LOL. Here's is my 7 year old.

Yesterday we had a little party at Elliot's house. Here are a couple pictures from that. It was fun and Nick was very surprised.

Time keeps on flying by!!

I really need to get a life. LOL.
Mom is gone 7 years yesterday and Emily was 6 months old. Nick will be 7 years old tomorrow. Time does fly. Too fast. If Mom were here she would delight in these Grandbabies just like John and I do.
Emily is eating big girl food now. We still have a few foods to test out but so far no reactions and she does love to eat as evidenced in the video. She gets lost in the high chair but the towel helps to keep her upright.



Today we gave Emily her first piece of apple. It is there...in the net thingy. Great invention. A trip to OK. this weekend will bring about a few more new things. They are going to give her bagels and a sippy cup. Emily is definitely teething and gnaws like there is no tomorrow. Why do I think this little girl will be one of those babies who bites the nipple off her bottle when she gets those teeth? LOL.

It is a play day with Elliot and since Nick will not be here for his birthday I planned a surprise for him at Elliot's house. Just a teeny one. Bought some balloons and a brownie cake. Some candles and have his present over there. When I take him over after school I think he will be delighted. Elliot also seemed excited last night when I took the stuff over. I'm looking forward to it and Em is taking an awesome afternoon nap so should be in good shape for her first birthday party. If I remember the camera I will take pictures to share. Lordy....I cannot believe he is going to be 7!!!! More later.

Big Girl

Happy Easter

And good Sunday morning to all. My house is heavenly quiet. We kept Emily last night. Nick stayed at Auntie Colleen's. Chris and Becky celebrated their second wedding anniversary. So our Easter was yesterday basically. Colleen and I took Maggie and Nick to see a local theater group perform My Fair Lady. It was delightful. Just a teeny place and you can touch the actors while they perform in the round. We will be going back again to see West Side Story later in the summer.
Jason and John kept Emily at the Wile's household. She was an Angel baby for them. We met at a restaurant for dinner after the play. I thought I was pressing my luck. It was already 6:30 when we got there and Emily's bedtime is usually about 7:30 or 8:00. Again...she was delightful and as happy, chatty and smiley as she could be. Em's bedtime routine starts with a bath but when we got home about 8:30 I crossed my fingers that just putting on her lotion and pajamas and giving her the bedtime bottle would do the trick. It did. She went right to sleep and slept until about 5:45. She then played and chatted for about a half hour or so and I got up so I would be ready to feed her if she did not go back to sleep but she did. Out cold again until 8:30. Gramma is a happy camper. Em and Nick both liked their presents from Gramma and Papa. Nick was eager to get home to put together another Lego thing. Em played well with her pop-up toy, but is truly intrigued by Lucy's turtle so a couple of Lucy's toys are now taking a "bath" so they can be shared with Emily. It is pretty funny to watch Emily hanging on for dear life to one of Lucy's stuffed squeaky toys while Lucy gently tries to pull it away or gently squeaks it while Emily is hanigng on. I have to get that game on video.
I did not have the camera with me yesterday but took a picture of a HAPPY Emily with the phone. This MOOD while we were out was a major step forward for me. So far when I take Em out and about she is not a happy baby unless the timing is PERFECT. Maybe we are turning a corner. Em also is in STRANGER mode right now. Women that is...men are all wonderful to her.
Becky tells me the Wiles all looked wonderful this AM in their Easter outfits so hopefully I will get a picture to share. They met up to pick Nick up on the way here. In the meantime here is a picture I took of Em at the restaurant to send to her Mom on the phone.

Emily discovers the greatest toy.

And Snack

Maggie's school picture

Time flies

I have had pictures sitting on my desktop to post and there they have sat so I need to catch up.
Nothing new around here. John works. I take care of Emily. Nick is doing well in school.
Everyone is fine. The weather stinks but that will change and I will be complaining about the heat soon. LOL. Actually that isn't true. I rarely if ever complain about the heat. The pool is too much fun and without the heat it is nothing but a water hole in the yard. A water hole I have to take care of.
Anyway some catch up photos.

Chris and Becky took Nick and Emily someplace...sorry not sure where...that had tons of flowers and snapped some beautiful pictures. These are just a couple.

Last December...I do not get blamed for this timing since I just got the photos...Susie took Elliot and Nick to the zoo. Of course the boys had a wonderful time.


A friend made Emily a quilt that just arrived today. It is absolutely adorable and Em immediately started chewing on it so I think she likes it too. Also a surprise to us, was a pillow with a quilted story book in a pocket on the front of it. TOO cute. We all just love it and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of both items.


Thank you Paula!!!!

My beautiful girls.

Colleen and Maggie.

And can you believe this child is 5 and 1/2 and this is her first Milk Shake? She LOVED it they say. Odd...because Nick does not like them.