Things have been happening around here. I haven't been writing because by the time the evening/ night rolls around I am just too tired to try and make coherent sentences. I've been up and running and working out. I've been working hard. Logan has been working hard and kicking parenting booty as he ups his game as father and husband. My mom moved to town. Logan turned (dun dun dun...) 29. The kiddos have been running around and then D had a tummy bug which had me cleaning up many messes over a 36 so far hour time span. So basically... tired. Yes. In a good way. In a fulfilled, living as much as I can, enjoying everything I can, working as hard as I can, keeping my body active kind of way.

And it's good. Right now things are great with us and the kiddos. And that's what I've got for tonight.

Date

This morning I had a very special breakfast date. Not with my husband, but with my first born boy.

For a few days now, he has been proclaiming that I am HIS Mommy NOT Kiery's. And that Logan is KIERY'S Dada, NOT his. Things have been really great with his transition into big brotherhood, but something has been going on. His ownership of me really hit home that I need to start spending more time with him alone. After enough acting out and possessiveness of me, I asked him if he wanted some special time with just him and Mommy and he got pretty excited about the idea.

So yesterday we made a date for this morning. Dex is in love with pancakes from Kerbey Lane, and it is their birthday this week, so they have pancakes with frosting and sprinkles on them... and I've been planning on taking him all week. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.

We woke up this morning and got ready. He got himself dressed, with shorts and shirt on backwards obviously and we headed out. It was so nice to be able to just listen to him. His imagination is out of this world. Because while this was special mommy and Dex time, his imaginary friend (George the dragon) came with us too. I got to listen to how he sees the world where newspaper machines are robots, and his boots are dragon boots while George's boots are big brother boots. He got to hold the buzzer and we sat side by side in a booth where I learned that his favorite color is blue and gold like his eyes (and George's eyes are brown so his favorite color is brown.) His favorite movie is Yo Gabba Gabba and his favorite song is the "Ouch It Hurts" song. His favorite Muppet is Kermit and he likes to wear red socks because they are "Go Red Sox" socks.

He ate pancake bites at the same time I ate mine. He wanted water in a cup with a top so it didn't spill. As he sat next to me, he grabbed my hand to hold and said "I love you Mommy".

I am so excited that he is old enough to care about spending special time together, and I can't wait for all the adventures we will have.

*Pics are taken with my cell phone- sorry for the quality

Deckie got birthday pancakes and Mommy got regular

Keeper of the buzzer

SXSW

As many of you know, Austin just hosted SXSW- a huge music festival. Having small children, we obviously did not get to partake in much of the craziness, but we did get to participate a little bit during the day. Logan wasn't feeling very well, so I took the boys out to meet up with our friend Janet on South Congress to check out the happenings.

Dex was pretty stoked to get to listen to music and dance around. He pretty much made everyone's day with his spinning and his booty shaking. He even got a special solo performance by a man on the street playing guitar. (And then learned how to put a dollar in a hat). He also got to walk Janet's dog, Kismet.

This was followed by my first experience eating pizza at Home Slice. It was delicious. My belly is rumbling thinking about it.

We are very lucky to be living in such an artistic area. I love getting to introduce Dex to museums and music and all the different walks of life there are here. He is definitely a free spirit, and I love seeing him dance with no abandon.

Getting his groove on

This curl kills me

Janet and Kismet

He picked flowers and wanted one in his hair

Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!

We rang in the new year surrounded by family and games and Dex running around like a mad man. It was a lot of fun and I'm so happy that I got to start the first seconds of 2012 with kisses all around from my three boys.

Here are some thoughts about what I accomplished in 2011 and what I hope to accomplish in 2012 (I meant to get this finalized and more put together- but I actually had two days in a row with Logan, so there has been more cuddling than computer time)

What I accomplished in 2011
*Had a baby (um... pretty great accomplishment if you ask me)
*Got a new job and helped achieve record sales.
*Moved to a new apt



What I hope to accomplish in 2012
*Start an exercise routine that I actually keep up. Be able to run a few miles. Enter some races.
*Along with the last post- lose the last 10 pounds that keep sticking around post baby babies.
*Figure out how to keep my home clean. No. Seriously. This is a huge goal.
*Take a photography class.
*Take an exercise class (zumba?)
*Take nicer portrait pics of my kiddos
*Move into a (rented) house with a YARD
*Spend more quality time with Logan
*Eat healthier. Make homemade baby food for K. Keep better track of what I'm giving to Dex. Make grocery lists and menus and be more organized about the whole process.
*Take this blog to new places. Places around Austin. Instead of only being an occasional update on our lives, also try to make it a reference guide to places and events to take your kiddos in and around Austin.
*Get Dex to figure out how to sleep normally

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry belated Christmas everyone! We spent lots of time with family and not much time on the internet. Unfortunately I forgot my camera for most of the time, so there aren't as many pictures as I would like. 

I'm still pretty into the family mode, and there is a pretty cute baby snuggled in my bed right now so I will just leave you with some pictures. 

After giving Daddy the present Deckie picked out all by himself. (And told Daddy what it was before he opened it)

Deckie's dress up stuff. Modeled by Logan.

The toy vacuum that Dex had been asking Santa for

Dex's "Yo Gabba Gabba" Box that Logan and I made

Out with the boys

Things have been going well here. My mom came to visit, followed by Logan's mom, and then Logan's sister. Kieran is almost three weeks old, and we have had so much help! It has been amazing. We are now back to being on our own and settling down into our routine. 

But hey! You guys! Today I took the two boys out BY MYSELF. We went to the playground and then to Summermoon to visit Daddy. I was pretty proud of myself for being able to get us together and out the door without any help. And Kieran needed to be fed at both the playground and at Summermoon and I was able to watch Dex and nurse Kieran at both places. (Ok... maybe I got a little help from Daddy at Summermoon so I didn't have to take both boys into the bathroom) BUT, I think that this is looking good toward the future. Watch out... we are on the move. Now... we just need to make some Mommy friends here in Austin and we'll be all set. 

And fyi...

Kieran at birth: 7 lb 4 oz- 19.25 inches

Kieran at 5 days: 7 lb 7 oz- 19.5 inches

Kieran at 12 days: 7 lb 14.5 oz- 20 inches

We have a growing boy on our hands

Here are some pics from the last three weeks. I've done a pretty terrible job at taking photos but now that we're settling down I'll try to get better at it. 

Love to all and thanks to everyone that sent a card or a package! We're feeling the love!

What we've been up to

So, we had a pretty busy weekend around here. My mother-in-law flew into town, and we made the most of every moment she was here. Saturday was a baby shower for me (so nice!), Sunday was a boat ride/birthday party for Logan's gramdpa, and we even made some time on Monday to get the final touches for Declan's new big boy bed. Which has been going quite smoothly thus far. 

Since I have now officially hit the 39 week mark and am a bit uncomfortable today, I'll make this a short post with some cute pics. 

Dex and his cousin Wade on the boat.

Wade

Everyone out celebrating

Taking after Papa.

One of the cute boats along the river

Man, who wouldn't want to own that house?

The kiddos playing after my shower. 

FINAL COUNTDOWN- 36 Weeks

OK folks. So we're down to less than a month. Less than 4 weeks. This is really going to happen... soon.

I haven't been blogging much lately because it's been tougher the last four weeks. I've been way more tired and uncomfortable. Which is obviously to be expected... but after a day of working/ running around with a toddler... I don't want to get on here and complain. Which is probably what I would do. Haha. Just ask Logan.

We had an ultrasound on Thursday and everything checked out great once again. The pictures weren't good but that is because he is squished in there, so there wasn't a whole lot to see. Also, he is head down and facing backwards so we couldn't see his face. Because oh yeah... that is how he is supposed to be to be delivered. He's already prepared.

Also... (TMI alert *sort of*) he's already really low AND I'm one cm dilated. Meaning... this could happen sooner than later. (Though, of course, it could also mean absolutely nothing and I could still be pregnant forever). I have felt for a long time that he would come early. The doctor "predicted" (without any actual facts or science behind this prediction) that I wouldn't go all the way to my due date. She said that she thought I would be about a week early. She also said that moms' instincts are usually right. So... maybe we'll have an early baby? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Maybe that's why I haven't done too much to get ready for the baby. I hate the "wait and see" part. I hate just feeling like I'm waiting for something to start. I guess that if I feel like I still have to wash clothes or make a bed then I still have something to do and I'm not just waiting. I don't know.

Maybe baby brain has just taken over.

But on another note... we've been having a fun Saturday here. Our nephew/cousin/cousin's child... whatever you want to call him had his third birthday party today. So we had tons of fun splashing in the pool and playing with about a million other cute kiddos. I'm bummed I forgot my camera because there were so many little ones that I could have just eaten up.

Next week Dex is attending his first little camp at our church. (With some guardianship from AJ). I'm excited to have a couple hours on two days to be able to clean/nap/eat something without Dex stealing it. I'm also really happy for him to have some time with other kids since he doesn't get that as often anymore.

Anyway... I'm off to relax for the few more minutes that Dex spends napping and Logan spends having boy video game playdate time with our friend. Have a great weekend all!

Review: JW Marriott Hill Country Resort and Spa

For Father’s Day weekend, my dad took Dex and I out for a real treat. He had decided before coming to Texas that he wanted to take a side trip down to San Antonio for a night. He booked a hotel, and D and I were ready for an adventure to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk. Unfortunately, Logan wasn’t going to be able to join because he has to work on Sundays, but we were going to forge on without him. Saturday morning we loaded up the car and the three of us started our journey down to San Antonio to the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort and Spa.

I will start by saying that my one complaint about this hotel is that its location is so new that no GPS can find it. The address that they gave us as a “nearby” location was actually about 40 minutes away from the hotel. It took talking to them three different times to get accurate directions. Luckily Dex was behaving beautifully on the way down, so we were able to get there in good spirits despite the “adventure” it took to get there.

When we got there, it was worth the extra time. The entryway was flanked with huge rocking chairs that Dex was happy to climb up in and rock in while Papa checked in and got our room. We got settled in our room with a nice view of the grass and flowering trees outside. After a minute we decided that the best idea would be to slather on some sunscreen and head out to check out the “water experience.” I am truly sorry that I don’t have pictures of this place, but I was too busy actually enjoying the experience and not wanting to worry about leaving my camera around.

Dex and I immediately jumped in the calmer of the two lazy rivers while Papa settled himself in from the drive with a drink. After a round of lazing, we decided to explore some more. This is when we found it. Declan’s new heaven. The best child pool area I have been to. The water ranged from up to ankle deep to two feet deep. (Where Dex could stand, but needed very close supervision). They had three toddler sized water slides, water pouring from above and water shooting from below. Declan was obsessed with the water slides. (The hotel had two other adult sized water slides that you used tubes on but I didn’t get a chance to check it out) Someone had to catch him at the bottom, but he was SO brave going down that it made my heart catch a little. He even became so comfortable in the water that he was dunking himself under and standing back up. My boy can hold his breath! It’s awesome.

We grabbed some food and ate poolside. There was a nap and then more exploring. One of the highlights of the evening was the fire pit to make S’Mores. In fact, just about every corner I turned had something for kids. Ice Cream making, Storytime, those big hamster type balls for them to run around in, airbrush tattoos… I was so impressed. And most of it was free! We had S’Mores, tried to get some real food into the little guy and then went to watch “How to Train A Dragon.”

The next day was much of the same. Dex slept in, and while Papa went to check out the Alamo (we didn’t make it) we had a great buffet breakfast. It was so good that Dex ate for almost an hour. Fresh made Belgian waffles, fresh fruit, pastries… it was all so good. More pool time came after that. It was really hard to leave.

I got good reviews from my Dad on the adult only pool. He said it had a great view and the sound from the kids was really blocked. I was so happy with the experience. The place itself was great, and the staff was really friendly and helpful. Everything was really efficient and well run. Except for the directions, it everything was so smooth. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone. I don’t know if there were more kids than usual because it was Father’s Day weekend, but it had something for everyone.

So many thumbs up!

Check out the website for pictures!!