Bayou City Art Festival, March 30, 2008

Texas never ceases to amaze me with the number of festivals it has each year. There is a festival happening every weekend, which for us is great. It keeps us busy and helps prevent homesickness!

We met Trent, Sabrina, and Austin at Memorial Park for the Bayou City Art Festival. Very cool event!! There are hundreds of artists displaying and selling their work. One of the artist we ran in to was none other than Roy Adkins of Light+Glass Studio in Jackson, MS. Roy took William's first baby pictures, so it was really cool running into him and his wife in Houston, but even cooler was the marketing postcard they were handing out which featured 4 of William's baby pics!!

After strolling and looking for a while we took a break. William LOVED playing on his blanket in the shade! He discovered grass and dirt for the first time and wasn't afraid at all!! Austin on the other hand had a blast running around and playing with all of the outdoor art displays. Austin is about 9 months older than William, so he's able to do all kinds of cool things like walk, run, eat cookies, etc., but it won't be long before William is chasing after him :)

Once again, we had a fabulous time in Houston with the Miskelly family - thanks guys!! Looking forward to our next outing!!

Easter in Houston

William's first Easter wasn't exactly a "traditional" Easter, but it was alot of fun!! First thing that morning we gave William his Easter basket and he LOVED his books and WE loved his Cadbury eggs :)

William's grandparents were here Easter morning, and ate breakfast with us before they had to drive home (they were here for nephew's scout ceremony - see other blog entry). After a late breakfast we decided to take William to the zoo... You would probably assume, as Bill and myself did, that the zoo wouldn't be crowded on Easter. WRONG. Fortunately for us Bill can parallel park like nobody's business :) and we avoided walking 5 miles to the zoo's entrance.

William appeared to be fascinated with the larger animals (giraffes, elephants, his parents), and really enjoyed being strolled around all the different sights and sounds -- not to mention it was a BEAUTIFUL day!! William was on his best behavior -- he didn't cry when I got sunscreen in his eyes and had to flush them out with water - TWICE.

All in all it was a great Easter, and even though we didn't go to church, we did visit some of God's creatures at the Houston Zoo!! :)

Houston Rodeo, March 2008

It's so easy for me to get behind on this blog!!

Since arriving in Houston William has been on the go, go, go!! Our first weekend we went to the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show with the Trent, Sabrina, and Austin. William saw cows, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, and tons of cowboys and cowgirls!! Usually William LOVES to ride in his stroller and people watch, but not this time. Bill and I had to take turns carrying him, which wasn't much fun. He didn't nap that day, so we're blaming his lack of sleep for the bad attitude...

Anyway, aside from William's need to be held the entire time, we had a great time at the Rodeo, and it felt really good to be with friends in Houston!! Having friends here has definitely made the transition easier!

William's First Haircut

As you all know William's hair had grown really long and it was time for a trim. The pictures are of right before his hair cut and the top picture is after the cut.

Date: Thursday, March 20th
Where: Beautique, http://www.beautique.cc/
Stylist: Julia

William did great!! He didn't cry and sat very still in my lap while she combed and cut his hair. I asked Julia to barely trim it...I still want William to have his "baby" look... I'm not ready yet for the "little boy" look!!

The M.O.V.E.

I'm not really sure where to begin...

The move to Houston, TX was very stressful, but then again, when isn't moving stressful? Moving sucks. After saying a very long and tearful goodbye to our home and life in Madison, we got everything packed, loaded and hit the Interstate. Mom, William, and the wiener dogs were riding with me, and Bill drove the U-Haul + trailer (yes, we moved ourselves...). A special thanks to Bill's parents, Jarred, Lance, and my Mom for helping us pack and load the truck with trailer.

We spent the night in Red Stick, LA, at the Sheraton Casino. Not super nice, but they allowed the wieners to stay with us, so Sheraton it was. William and "Nonna" shared a room, and Bill, myself, and the dogs shared a room. I didn't get a chance to eat dinner so I was a miserable wench, but my mother had the "all-you-can-eat" seafood buffet...gee...

Anyway, we made it to our new home in Houston on March 9th. Thank goodness it's a rental and our lease is only 3 months!! There was an oversight on the utility set-up and we didn't have GAS for 2 days!! We had to boil water to bathe. It was AWESOME. I seriously thought I would have a nervous breakdown, but somehow I managed to pull through and am alive to write about it today... :) Nonna stayed with us for a few days before heading back to MS.

We have finally started to get settled, but we don't want to get too settled because this is not our permanent home.

*In the top picture we had just arrived to Houston and didn't want to wake up William so we wrapped him quilts and blankets and left him asleep in the backyard by the pool, Nonna supervised.

William's First Babysitter (other than family)

Grace Massey was VERY sweet to babysit William so her sister Ashley and I could go out for margaritas and dinner. We met Tracy, Stacey, Tanya, Suzy, Meagan, and Myesha and Mike -- it was "farewell" drinks :(

Grace also helped to decorate my living and dining rooms...too bad we couldn't enjoy them a little longer!!

William received a great report!! He fussed for only a minute, drank his bottle, and passed out. A few whimpers, but nothing major :) Thanks again for watching William, Grace!!

Huntsville, AL

Hi everyone! We fell off the face of the earth for a minute, but we're back...

Back in February Mimi, William, and I made a road trip (William's first) to Huntsville, AL, to visit all of our lovely relatives: Tommy, Barbara, Stacy, Aunt Jane, Uncle Hayden, Alice, Stephen, Molly, and Elizabeth. It started out a little scary. We had barely gotten to Meridian before William woke up and started crying. We pulled over in Meridian so Mimi could switch to the back seat to entertain Jr. We made it a-ok.

William and I had a fabulous-oh time staying at T & B's house. Jr. really bonded with everybody, especially his Auntie B (Barbara), and I got to go out to shop, eat, play, etc. It was GREAT!! Aunt Jane and Mimi babysat William so Barbara and I could go out for sushi and shopping at the Interiors Market -- FUN STUFF!!! William had a grand time too hanging out on "top of the mountain". We spent three wonderful nights in Huntsville, enjoyed fajitas from Rosie's, family bbq dinner, shopping, margaritas :), and a visit to Mike's "ranch". :)

Against the weather channel's advice we hit the road and ended up driving home in the middle of a band of terrible thunderstorms. 2 words. Zero visibility. However, the rain helped William to sleep almost the whole ride home! We survived!

Thanks to all for a good time AND thanks to Mimi for helping me with William!!

Lunch with the Ladies...and Rob :)

Yesterday William and I went to Biaggi's for lunch to celebrate Stacey's 26th birthday! We had lunch with some of Cellular South's finest: Ashley, Rob, Tracy, Stacey, Tiffany, Kathy, Ca-Ca, Tanya, and Meagan. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pics this time :(

William can be a handful in a restaurant because he's still too little for high chairs and HATES his car seat, so he always ends up sitting or standing in my lap which can make eating a hassle... Fortunately for me though everyone wanted to hold him, so I actually relaxed and ate -- something I haven't done in a while. It was awesome!!

William received many kisses and hugs and had a fabulous time. He really enjoys being the center of attention -- especially with a group of ladies!! :) Oops -- and Rob ;) Just kidding...William had a blast drooling on Rob's lap - he even giggled for Mr. Rob a few times, which isn't common for William. Giggling is something new that doesn't happen as often as we'd like !!

I'm so glad we went... Seeing everyone yesterday made me really miss work...for about an hour ;) Hehehe - in all seriousness I do miss everyone, just not the bit about being in a corporate environment!

Happy birthday, Stacey!!

He stopped loving her today

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something very familiar about these two...

Get Well Soon!

So many of our family members are SICK! This is just a quick note to wish you all a quick recovery!! We hope you're all feeling better, Mom, Dad, Judy, Kate, and Brooks!!

Love you!!