First Day of Pre-Kinder & 18m Class!

Grayson and Walker started school at Bright Beginnings at the beginning of September and have been having a ball! Gray started pre-school and Walker to the 18 month old class -both going 3 days a week. Mama like. :)

Grayson had an easier time at drop off the first couple of weeks than Walker did :) Grayson is in Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Debbie's class. His pre-school teachers are very buttoned up, the kids know exactly what to do at the beginning of each class before taking their seat and begin working on their first activity. He seems like such a big boy in this class. They no longer take naps, which still continues to be a challenge for my nap-lover. :) He will inevitably fall asleep in the car if we go anywhere in the afternoons. But otherwise, he's a rock star with it all! 

Walker had NO idea where he was headed in a few short minutes ;)

"First Day pics, what? NO. I just want my water." He's obsessed with his water.

"Come HERE, water!!"

"I have my water so I can focus now."

"No I can't."

G was so sweet to pose while W rang the doorbell 200x.

My boy on his first day. Such a good boy!

Walker is in Ms. Emily's class and she is so good to him! She and her helper just loooove on him! They call him their Tommy Hilfiger model ;) He cried at drop-off every day for the first 2 weeks so no pictures of him in his classroom. It has been survival mode of me sneaking out while he is blaring his cries throughout the building. But now he walks right in so whew!

Summer Vacation 2014 - Mustang Island!

We took a last minute trip down to Mustang Island (outside of Corpus Christi on the way to Port Aransas) the last week in August. We stayed at the Seagull Condos, where we spent almost 20 years as kids. It was good to be back - this time with my own kids. It was crazy to see them enjoying the same pool and running the same spaces that Amanda, Andrea, Byron (my cousin) and I used to as kids. Most schools were back in so it was quiet and we had the place to ourselves. Byron took vacation time that whole week we were there so we got to seem his family plenty, which was so nice! He works for TABC so it's cool to hear his stories :) He and Cara have Emily (3 y.o.) and Jackson (6 months) and this was our first time to meet Jackson so it was really special! Ma enjoyed the whole week so much and I'm so happy she and my mom made the trip!

The condo

Ma meeting Jackson for the first time!

My cousin Byron with his baby boy

Ma and Walker having a heart to heart

*kisses*

Proud Mama: Not one sunburn for the entire family! My fair baby stayed covered up like this the whole time. :)

He clearly needed a little lovin' ;)

Byron with his daughter, Emily

We loved our lazy time in the condo too!

We spent one day at the Texas State Aquarium - I love that place! 

Grayson in awe of the fish

Shark!

Emily and Grayson exploring together

Grayson petting a baby shark 

Grayson sitting like a little man. I dress them in coordinating outfits to stifle his growing up ;)

Walker doesn't sit still for pics these days!

Emily and Gray touching stingrays

There is an otter on my head! ;)

I mean, no words...

Ma with her 4 great-grandchildren - this was not an easy photo to get! :)

The rest of the trip was a mix of relaxation and lots of work! Packing bags, snacks, waters, sunscreening and changing kiddos, swim diapers, pooping in swim diapers, removing wet swim diapers with poop in them, toys, towels, pacifiers that fall in sand, baby eating sand, pack everything sandy back up, head up, baths, changing kiddos, more towels, hanging wet clothes and towels to dry.....and then it's LUNCH TIME. That is JUST the morning! And then you do it all over again after nap. It's a lot of work! But naps after the beach are some of the best and we all took advantage. :) Not having schedules or anywhere to be was so nice. And we loved having Beau all to ourselves that week. I think we both agree that we prefer Destin sand and beaches to South Texas (duh) so we are going to try to get back to Destin (Seaside, really) next year. Overall, loved seeing our family and had a great trip with a lot of great memories!

Walker is (was) 18 months!

Only about 5 weeks late and pictures are not aligned but I did it! ;)

Stats:
Weight: 25lbs
Length: 33in
Head: 46 cm (or 18.11 inches...is that even right?)
Moved to size 5 diaper
Size 18m-24m clothes; leaning toward 24m if brands make that size
Size 6W shoe

Likes: vacuum cleaners, pulling all things out of cabinets, getting into whatever someone else is showing interest in, snacks, his sippy cup, cozy coupe, digging, destroying brother's stuff, all things Grayson and dancing!

Eating: Walker has been gracious enough to add some new foods to his list of things he won't throw on the floor. Pizza, yogurt, fruit snacks and burgers/fries. Well-balanced meals, of course! :) He is probably the most well-hydrated human on this Earth. Still not interested in milk or any kind of juices and sticks closely to his sippy cup of water. He goes through so many a day and can really start griping at me if it's empty! A sippy of water is also kind of his security blanket of sorts. He carries it under his arm like a football and always has it with him. So cute!

Oh, and Jello. Because brother eats it.

Sleeping: Still my best, best, best sleeper! The saving grace of my fearless, fiery, strong-willed toddler! This kind of activity requires lots of rest! Sleeps from about 7:30pm-7:30am with a good 2 hour nap around noon or 1pm. I'm still very lucky to have both kids napping at the same time. If Walker has to go down earlier, I send Gray upstairs and he falls right to sleep as well. So, so lucky or these days would be long and tough!

Talking: Walker has a full vocabulary...just nothing you'd recognize as English ;) He jabbers on and on all day and it is just the cutest thing! He'll taaalk to us and we'll just reply back "Yeah? Is that so? Tell me more. I agree. What else?" I need to get it on video quickly before he starts saying real words. He has picked up more words than the last time I wrote. I have no idea how many - maybe 10. And one phrase: "I want this." All the time. Because the kid WANTS. Everything he can't have. Shouldn't have. Can have. Everything. The boy knows what he wants ;)

Moving: Walker is still fearless! He pays no mind to consequences that will result in his recklessness. I'm sure that's normal for an 18 month old but, as I have said a million times, Grayson was never like this!




TANTRUMS: I've never seen anything quite like this and he's mine all mine ;) Walker can work himself into such a loud, screaming, writhing frenzy that if I were to even give him what he wanted, he'd throw it across the room. Don't get me wrong, I know giving him what he wants would be the kiss of death but let's just say I learned this on a recent flight when I was absolutely desperate to get him under control. My poor buddy has trouble getting a hold of his emotions and, in addition to it being painfully embarrassing for me, it just makes me so sad for him. I hope this passes and that he isn't the 4 year old that is still doing this. Prayers for my little guy, please!

Growing up: Walker wants to do EVERYTHING that Grayson does! I'm having to change my thought process on so many things now just to take into account his wishes. For example, trying to order him nuggets when his brother is getting a cheeseburger is a BIG mistake. Even if he prefers nuggets; he will only want a burger b/c that's what his big bro is having. If Grayson wants to paint, Walker wants to paint. So we usually save things like that for his W's sleepy times :) I didn't grow up with siblings  at this age so this is all new to me! 





Walker is so relational! He loves the people in his life and has a ball with them...He can be so shy but so outgoing. Such a unique little personality!

Anyone remember when I used to call him my EASY baby? Ha! :) Love, love, love this coolest BIG personality that fits so well into our family. He makes us all so much better!

Loves his accessories! Sweet, sweet old man baby ;)

We recently cut his long mullet-like hair but it is SO silky and beautiful. I've never had hair like his so no idea what to do with it ;)

Sweetest cheeks you ever will meet :)

Loves stacking things and moving things from one container to the other. But more than anything, he loves destroying his brother's creations :/ This too shall pass, Grayson!