More fun with Grandma & Grandpa

Grandma & Grandpa B spent another fun weekend with us and gave Drew plenty of spoiling! The Bossens were in town for a quick weekend of hanging out in Sherman a few weeks back (I'm way behind on my posts)! We had a good time relaxing at the house. Grandma & Grandpa surprised Drew with 3 great new toys to keep him entertained. He's got a new Leapfrog alphabet wheel, a singing stuffed puppy that sings songs and teaches Drew about hands, feet, noses and ears, and a set of plastic books which are great for the chewing phase he's in!

Grandpa had a new toy that he enjoyed testing during the weekend too. It's this cool digital video camera that is smaller than a regular digital camera! It will hold up to 2 hours of footage and can upload the videos directly to You Tube. So...we're all You Tube stars now!

The World is My Chew Toy

I guess it's just that phase of life when everything in the world within the grasp of those little fingers goes straight to the mouth! Although Drew has a million and one toys designed for chewing, he likes the "off label" variety of chew toys like cell phone charger cords (yikes!), dog toys, toes, and even my flip flops (yuck!). So, I decided maybe he needed some more age appropriate toys to stimulate his learning and pique his interest in something other than chewing (and to keep him out of trouble).

The UPS guy paid us a visit today and the new toys arrived! Fisher-Price's "My First Blocks" shape sorter and a "Musical Stack & Ball Game" by Tiny Love were inside. I was excited and Drew was definitely curious. So, we sat him down and put the toys out in front. He studied them a little. I picked up a ball and dropped it in the toy to make the lights flash and songs sing. Then, I guided Drew's hand to a ball. He grabbed it...and stuck it straight in his mouth. Forget the learning new skills thing, just let him chew on something new every once in a while and he's a
happy camper! Hey -- at least the rings from the new toy make cute hats!




Kobe was excited about toy time too - can you tell?

Karissa's Wedding

I just love weddings! Saturday night we had the honor of watching my cousin Karissa get married! She's now Mrs. Will Rennels and we're so excited for her. It was a beautiful wedding out at the Buffalo Ranch in Denton. I had no idea that a Buffalo Ranch could be so elegant, but it was a beautiful setting for an outdoor gazebo wedding. The reception was held in a very elegant ballroom on the ranch. We stayed out way past Drew's bedtime, but he was a trooper! He hung in there long enough for a few family dances. It was a blast hanging out with the Patterson crew and watching Karissa as a beautiful bride.

Can you believe these are the grandparents of the bride??

This is my aunt Carole & uncle George, escorted by my cousin Austin.

Karissa & Will

saying "I Do"

Family Fun

Happy Birthday Gram!

Mom and I had been doing serious home-organization and decoration the week before her birthday. She came up to Sherman to help me get the new house settled and decorated. We had so much fun shopping in Dallas and around Sherman. I'm so lucky to have a talented mom who can help make a house feel like a warm and inviting home! So, when family came in Friday night to celebrate the birthday weekend, our house was much improved from the last time they saw it!


We had a fun weekend celebrating my mom's birthday. It was a "milestone" birthday for her...and we definitely had a weekend to remember welcoming her to her shiny new decade of life! Friday night taught us a valuable life lesson. NEVER attempt dinner at a restaurant with 6 adults and 3 children (all under the age of 2) after 6pm!! Dinner was a comedy of errors, starting with a crazy hostess who didn't 'get it'...at all! We sat for probably 20 minutes before our waiter was even aware he was supposed to be waiting on us. When we finally placed our order, about 15 minutes later the waiter returned to the table and said that somehow the order disappeared. We had to re-order. By this time, the babies were squirming, Drew had knocked an entire glass of ice water all down my leg, Avery was crying...and we were all wondering why we thought this was a good idea. We ended up getting our dinner boxed up and heading back to the house. Once the kids were fed and put down, we finally had a fun b-day celebration dinner for Mom.

Saturday turned out much better. The grandparents and girls & Drew hung out while Collin & Andrew played golf. Once they returned, we all headed out to our favorite summer spot in Sherman...the pool! Avery braved the kiddie slide and had fun. Drew seemed to like the water again too. The jury is still out on whether or not Julia is a fan of the pool.

Happy birthday Gram!!! We love you!

Shopping in Dallas at Crate & Barrel



Happy B-day Mom!!


Fun at the pool


Fun at home (playing with Avery's hats)

Sweet Sleep

I don't know how he's comfortable enough to fall asleep this way, but it seems to be Drew's favorite way to sleep. No matter how you lay him down, he ends up like this! I think he's practicing crawling in his sleep. I managed to snap a quick picture today while he napped. He's the sweetest little kid!

Choppers!

They've arrived. Drew has been drooling and shoving everything he can find into his mouth for the last 3 months, and finally we can see why. He's got TEETH. Not just one, but two little choppers appeared about a week ago (July 25th, to be exact). He's obviously very proud of his newest addition and he keeps them tightly guarded with his tongue and lips. So, we don't get to see them very often. He will surprise us with a sharp nibble from them pretty frequently, so we know they're there! Sadly, the other day as he was fussing away, I caught a glimpse of the little choppers and ran for the camera. Nevermind the fact that he's screaming...check out those teeth!

The greatest entertainment from the teeth is this hillarious face he makes when he's rubbing his bottom lip over his teeth. He looks like a little old man flipping his dentures around. This is a little of the "no lip" look he gets, but it's way more funny in person!

Redneck Weekend

What's better than a little yard work on a Friday night? We had a "Redneck Weekend" pulling weeds out in the front yard. Kobe was tied to a stake in the grass, Drew was supervising from his exersaucer, and we had my cousin Greg's radio show entertaining us from the boom box on the porch. Our neighbors probably think the neighborhood is going downhill fast, but we had a fun Friday night!

Fun on the 4th

This is WAY late...but still worthy of posting. We had a really fun 4th of July. We had the "Ellison Gang" in town for a quick visit, but we managed to squeeze in lots of fun! On Independence Eve, we hit Sherman's local water park for some fun in the sun. The kids loved it! Avery played in the splash zone, and Julia & Drew snoozed in the shade for a while. Once the babies woke up, they tested the pool out and seemed to like it. Well, Drew liked it more than Julia. Then for lunch on the 4th, Andrew fired up his new grill and we made burgers & even tried some grilled pineapple (yum!). The crew headed back to Dallas that afternoon.

We went to the Burlingame's house for food & fireworks. It was a fantastic celebration. We met some new friends, had a wonderful meal, toured Dr. Burlingame's incredible garden and ate blackberries right off the vine! When the sun went down, the Kimberlin's passed out glow sticks to all the youngsters. I love glow sticks -- I used to beg for them at the fireworks in Austin and my dad usually treated me to a glowing green necklace every year. That, along with a stop at the snow cone stand on the way back to the car after the fireworks were over, is what fun 4th of July memories are all about! So, I just loved the fact that Drew got his very first firework glowstick to play with. He loved it! Of course, he wanted to chew on it, which isn't great. But when we could pry it out of his hands, he loved looking at it. In fact, he fell asleep that night with it clutched in his hand. Another set of fabulous fourth memories to store away!