Since we’ve had such beautiful weekends lately we decided to take Evan to the Dallas Zoo – it was actually his first zoo trip ever. We invited Grammy and Grampy along too. The Dallas Zoo was SPECTACULAR! It was so clean and updated, and the kids area was awesome. Evan got to feed the giraffes right in their habitat! Other highlights included the albino alligator and a ride on the monorail where we were able to see mountain goats and even ride through a waterfall. We had the best time and can’t wait to go back.            

Horned Frog Bench - of course we had to take a photo!

Big Nest

Evan says, "Hunnel!"

Waterfall on the monorail ride

Evan made his own Zoo penny with Daddy

Polar Express

We decided to spend Thanksgiving in Lufkin with my family this year.  I’m so glad we did because it was the last visit we would have with my Uncle William who passed away on December 22, 2011. Evan always loved seeing him and playing with his cane (aka “stick”). Brett & Papa were able to take Will to Fairfield for a hunting weekend, which he was so excited to do since he had been sick for so long. Rest in peace, Uncle Will…you will be missed.

While the men were hunting that weekend the girls decided to take all the kids to ride the Polar Express train in Palestine! What fun we had but boy, were we worn out afterwards!  Kids included Evan, Tyler, Grant, Carter, Blake, Preslee, Addison, Juliana and Kadie.  They all wore matching PJ’s and were PRECIOUS! Once on the train, we were served hot chocolate and cookies just like the book/movie and even went to the North Pole to pick up Santa. He walked through each train car and gave all the kids a jingle bell. We all sang Christmas carols on the way back to the station…so fun!

Evan & Addison are excited about the train ride

Aunt Jenn with lots of kiddos!

Sweet Addi

Blakey looking for the North Pole

"What's that I hear!?!?" Nonna and Grant

Nonna (Lisa), JuJu (Judy) and Heatty (Heather)

The North Pole!!

It's Santa!

Evan gets a jingle bell from Santa!

Also while we were in Lufkin we were able to celebrate Addison’s 1^st birthday! Addison is my cousin Heather’s baby girl – she’s so stinkin’ cute and so sweet. Heather and Judy did such a great job with the party – it was a “Sweet Shoppe” theme with lots of sugary treats for all the kids. Thank goodness they gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste as favors! Makes me excited to plan Evan’s 2^nd birthday…only three and a half months away!!!

SO FUN!

GO Preslee!

Evan was more excited about the power sports equipment than the bounce house obstacle course!

St. Jude Evening Under the Star

My sister, Jennifer invited me to the “Evening Under the Star” event benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It was a spectacular evening held on the field at Cowboys Stadium complete with food, drinks and live entertainment by Craig Morgan (country singer).

When we first walked through the doors that lead out onto the field we were surprised to see Tyler’s picture blown up on an easel right in front! He thought it was pretty cool too. He the best time hanging out with his friends (other St. Jude patients from the DFW area) running all over, throwing the football around and best of all – having his picture taken with the Cowboys Cheerleaders – hee! What a great night!

Jenn and Ty

The gang left to right: Lisa (mom); TK; Amanda (me); Tyler; Aunt Judy; Jennifer

Whoo-weee!

Such a cutie!

He's sweet, too!

Presenting to Mr. & Mrs. Brooks of Brinker International (Chili's restaurant is a HUGE contributor)

Our Star!

Broken Arm!

Yes, you read correctly – Evan broke his little arm at just 17 months old! Last week he tumbled down 2 steep steps that lead down into our sunroom. Naturally, these are tile, so they didn’t make for a very smooth fall. X-rays revealed a broken radius and ulna on his left arm, so off to the pediatric orthopedist we went for a baby-sized cast.

We actually had the cast re-done 3 times! The first time the nurse wasn’t happy with the way it turned out even though Evan was a perfect little patient through the process. The material flipped near his palm and would have caused irritation once it dried all the way. So, once the second cast was on the doctor came in to examine it. He decided that the cast needed to have a “banana curve” to it so he suggested we re-do it AGAIN! He clearly didn’t know that we had already done it twice. By the way – the little saw thing they use to remove it was scary and Evan didn’t even flinch! I guess the third time’s the charm because it was perfect once we got it on. I can’t believe how well Evan did through it all. Maybe it helped that he was in zombie mode thanks to missing his nap for the appointment. Ha!

He’s doing so well with the cast and doesn’t even seem to be bothered by it. It’s tricky bathing him and keeping food away from it, but we’re doing okay. He did however scratch his face up with the rough texture of the cast during his nap. I made him a fancy cover out of a long sock to keep this from happening again. It makes it even cuter on him!

"I want blue!"

Scratching his hand where the splint had been - probably felt odd.

Happy to be back home. "Thanks, Aunt Jenn for the firetruck! It's my new favorite toy!"

“3 MONTHS!?!?! Really, Amanda?” This is what I said to myself when I decided to check my last post. Pathetic, I know. Well, I must catch you up then!

Evan has progressed from walking everywhere to running and he’s even learned new words! His vocabulary consists of “truck, outside, cold, hot (“Tot!”), tractor, tattoo, Nonna, TyTy, no (his favorite)” and a few others. He still refers to both me and Brett as “da-da” but I’m working on getting him to say “mama” again. He loves reading books and playing with his cars and tractors. He had his second plane ride ever this month when we flew to Iowa (his first was at 3 mos. old when we went to see his cousin, Tyler at St. Jude in Memphis). He did GREAT both there and back, thank goodness. Which reminds me…for those of you traveling with children here are a few tips: 1) take new toys that they’ve never played with before. They don’t have to be expensive and can even be something as simple as sticky tape. For older kids you can even wrap them up and tell them they get to open a new one when the clock says a certain time if they’re good. This is not only a learning tool for time, but it gives them something to look forward to. 2) Lots of snacks! Evan stayed busy eating a lot of the time. 3) Gummies to chew on or a bottle to suck on takeoff and landing. 4) iPad or iPhone for games and make sure to download their favorite TV Shows before taking off (Evan loves Mickey, Backyardigans and Jungle Junction).

You may be asking why we went to Iowa of all places. Sadly, Brett’s paternal grandmother (Leona) passed away a few weeks ago. I had only met Leona twice - she was so sweet and so tiny! I have a fond memory of her dancing at Brett’s cousin’s wedding – she was having the best time doing the Cha Cha Slide with everyone! Anyway, Lynn and Kay were so gracious to fly the family out for the funeral. It was great seeing the family and catch up with everyone. We got home that Sunday and then my paternal grandfather (Paw Paw) passed away that Tuesday. His funeral was this past Friday in East Texas. We miss you, Paw Paw! Hopefully, we’re done with funerals for a while.

On a happier note, our nanny, Edna got engaged a few months ago and asked Evan to be her ring bearer in April! He’s going to be one handsome little guy all dressed up.  We’re so happy for Edna and Jason and can’t wait to celebrate.



Airplane!




Reading a book.





Airplane!

 We have lots of fun stuff coming up so stay tuned!













4th of July

First and foremost, Evan is walking! He started a few weeks ago and has been progressing every day. He still lacks a little confidence to take more than 10 steps or so, but he's getting better every day. We saw a HUGE improvement this weekend while he was hanging out with his cousins (Tyler, Grant, Carter and Blake). I think seeing them get around everywhere motivated him quite a bit.

We spent July 4th with the Bates and had the best time swimming, eating and playing Wii Dance! Thanks to Mere Mere and Pops for their gracious hospitality and delicious food. We really enjoyed it!

Below are a few pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

CPA Exam...

Brett PASSED the CPA exam! We are all so very proud of him, and he's definitely relieved to have this over and done with.  Just wanted to share the great news!