4 years

That's how old my biggest baby is. He's 4. F-O-U-R. So weird to say that. And to type that.

Drew is such a special kid. He's so smart, it freaks us out a bit every so often. The kid can do 100 piece puzzles, all by himself. He beats me at Memory, which is hard to do because I've always been very good at it. He knows words to all these songs, and loves to sing. He knows all his letters, upper and lower case, can spell a few words and recognizes some, too, so he's very close to reading. He is one of the 'clowns' in his class, and loves to make his friends laugh. He's very independent, dresses himself every morning, plays well by himself, and goes right up to anybody on the playground to make friends. Clearly his mother's child. :) He LOVES his baby brother, except he calls him 'Baby' a lot, instead of Alex. The day before he turned 4 (about 6 hours before, actually), he fell running in the house (big no-no) and split his chin open. Got 3 stitches. It was our first trip to the emergency room, which I think is pretty good for a 4 year old boy who likes to do things on his own.

He's a precious boy, so tender and sweet, loves to snuggle with his Mama, but to rough-house with his Daddy, too. I love him so much, and thank him every day for making me a Mama!

Man, time flies

Actually, my main reason for not posting much is that my blog account is totally messed up and not in sync with everything, so I have to log onto this crazy account. Anyway.

I had to blog today because there's lots to catch up on.

One, Drew turned 3 last Friday. No longer a Terrible Two! Although he never was that terrible, actually. He's a precious little boy. Talking up a storm, very clearly. He knows his letters AND the sounds they make! He's a puzzle-working FIEND. Seriously, he's working puzzles right now for 5-7 year old kids. ~jawdrop~ Oh, and his favorite color is orange. A fact I like to remind Joel of as much as possible. He sings little songs to himself as he's playing. He's obsessed with cars still, but has recently been into Thomas the Train and loves to build train tracks with his daddy. He's a joy to be around, actually. I couldn't be happier or more blessed.

Two, I've started my own business, which is keeping me busy in start-up mode. Exciting stuff!

Three, I'm having another baby! In June! A boy! More excitement!

Four, and the main reason for posting TODAY and not, you know, yesterday or tomorrow:

SNOW!!!

For the 3rd time this year! Crazy El Nino!

Our back porch. This is about 2pm this afternoon, 3 inches on the top of that table.


'Artistic' shot of the crepe myrtle seen on the left in the above picture. Look at it just stacked up!


It's been snowing since before I got up at 6:30, there was already an inch by then. It is TOTALLY not Texas snow, either. Big, fat flakes, kind of wet, but otherwise I'd swear I was in the Colorado mountains or something. Straight-down snow, no blowing or drifting. It's not sticking to the roadways and paved surfaces (yet), otherwise this would be a giant mess. But for now, as I'm sitting in my house watching it all day, it is GORGEOUS. And I love it!

On the way to school yesterday

Isn't he getting so big? My goodness, where does the time go?

A Little Bit of Spring For Ya

Bubbles fun!


Family Easter

It's finally finished!

My sweet Mama drove all the way from Wellington to bring us our newly-hemmed curtains this week. Why were they in Wellington getting hemmed? Because it was all of $20, that's why. And why didn't she just mail them, you ask? Because the postage would have been WAY more than $20 for those heavy, bulky curtains, completely defeating the purpose of sending them home with her in the first place. That, and she brought some plant cuttings from her yard to start in mine of honeysuckle and lilacs that have been in the family for a few generations now (how cool is that?). Oh, and she just HAD to see Drew Bear, too. But the REAL reason was the curtains.

So now the dining room is officially finished! Well, at least until we get the trim painted and the piano from Bubba's Mom. But that's not happening for a while, and are just bonus, so I'm sticking a fork in it anyway.

BEFORE:






AFTER:









I like it way better, don't you? Don't you want to come over for dinner now?

Skiing Is Not For Drew

This snow stuff is fun and all, but....



can I go back inside where it's warm?

I have a problem

Have I mentioned that I'm a snacker?

I'm a SERIOUS snacker. Frankly, it's just that I like to eat good food. But, I also inherited my father's love of snacking. Diets? PAH! I can never do it, because I can't keep from snacking. So, I eat small meals to make up for it. Most of the time. And, I try to snack on healthy things.

My problem is that I CAN NOT give up carbs. I've tried, and then I just crave them more. My OBGYN actually told me I should maybe steer clear of them when I was pregnant with Drew, because of the copious amount of weight I'd gained in just 3 short months. I laughed in her face. She might as well have told me to stop eating altogether.

Right now I'm inhaling a bag of Sun Chips. They are SOOO addicting, my friends. Try them, you'll see. I dare you to eat just one.....handful. Oh sweet mother of all that is good and pure, I'm about to gain 2 pounds. At least they are multigrain.

D

Bubba's Sis is playing this fun game and I decided to play along! Here's how you do it: Tell me by leaving a comment on this post, and I will assign you a letter. Then post ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter on your blog. Explain the rules with your ten things and when others comment requesting a letter, assign one to them; thus, the chain continues.

BS assigned me the letter D, so here goes!

1. Drew Bear, of course! Happy Birthday to my first born!
2. Dancing
   
3. Diamonds
4. Daisies
5. Daddy Don
   
6. Dallas
7. My new Deck
8. Dreams
9. Dogs
10. Drama (in the movie department, not in my life!)
    

The End of an Era

Today is the last day my baby is an actual baby. He turns 2 tomorrow, and will officially be a 'toddler.' Not that he hasn't been acting like a toddler for the last few months or so. Heaven help us.

Lately, though, he's been all sorts of fun. The language has just EXPLODED onto the scene, and he has started saying things in sentences. Sort of. There is DEFINITE noun/verb/adjective usage going on here. Mainly these little blurbs have to do with him 'wanting' something, but hey, it's a form of communication we hadn't had previously, so I'll take it. His little personality is coming out now, too. Big time. He is such a card, and loves to laugh. And sing. Seriously, I'll start singing him little songs, and he already KNOWS most of them and will at least get most of the tune right, despite not getting all the words. I have hope for his singing career. Guess day-care's done a better job with songs than Mama has. :( Bad Mama!

I'm honestly sitting here thinking how is it possible that he grew so fast? Where did the time go?

What A Day!!

The inauguration hasn't even happened yet, and I already have tears in my eyes just thinking about it! What a historic day. What an incredible thing that in our lifetime we would elect a black man to be President of the United States. He just came out of the White House with GWB, and I am just so thrilled that I'm able to watch this!

Chills just go up my spine when I think about it. Despite how you voted or your particular politics, I hope we are all able to recognize how cool this is and revel in the pomp and pageantry of today.