Ah, Houston, We Missed Ya!

This last week Brandon had a business trip in Houston and the kids and I seized the opportunity to use his frequent flyer miles and tag along. While he was working we were busy enjoying the warm weather and company of great friends-- lucky us!

(When we arrived at the Larson's door she immediately asked if she could go in their backyard and play with the cars. How does she remember stuff like that? The last time we played in their yard was about 15 months ago!)

(Little Roo spent nearly the entire afternoon wearing the princess cape. Dress ups are her thing!)

(Big siblings doting on the smaller ones-- it was precious!)

(Wyatt meeting Miss Helen. Don't you poke people when you first meet them, too?)

I had been itching to get down there and visit my friends and meet all the new babies that were born while we've been gone. Plus, I wanted Ruby to have a chance to get re-acquainted with the friends who were such a big part of her early life.

(Me and Lori-- unplanned but wearing green short sleeve shirts and sporting similar hair cuts-- some things never change.)

(So proud of herself for picking up a crawfish.)

(At first our little Texan was unsure about the crawfish.)

(Miss Rylie Cat and Miss Ruby Roo.)

(Cutest girls ever! I can't believe how big they all are-- it blows my mind that I saw each of them at the hospital as newborns.)

Unfortunately, my camera was on the fritz (it seems like it does that often) so I didn't get a ton of pictures. I especially wanted one of Ruby with Benson and Lily (together with Eli they used to be known as the quads because their birthdays are so close together). Oh, well. At least we have lots of good memories!

(Totally fascinated with the giant komodo dragon.)

(Can I just say out loud that The Larsons are some of my favorite people in the whole world?-- what a treat to spend the day with them at the zoo!)

(So precious! Too bad Ruby couldn't convince Joseph to hold her hand too-- she tried all day long, though.)

(Taking the rhinos for a ride.)

Here's a quick run down of some of the fun things we did while we were in town:

visit great friends

play at Pump It Up with most of our old buddies

enjoy a crawfish boil with our Texas family

roam the zoo

eat incredible food (Papasitos, Hubble and Hudson, Berry Hill Cantina, Cheesecake Factory, Cupcakery)

play at the park

(I have a similar picture of these two when Ruby was about 9 months old.)

(Goat petting-- even Wyatt got in on the action.)

(Who let the monkeys out of the cage?)

Houston is a fun place, but the people are what make it great. It was a fun period of our lives when we lived there. We are so blessed that we were able to make it our home and make the most wonderful friends while we lived there.

(Totally miss this woman's guts-- like every day.)

Thanks to everyone for making time for us while we were in town. Miss you and love you all.

Wyatt's 13 Month Update

Little guy is growing up fast! This past month he started standing on his own and taking his first steps. Every day he gets more brave and tries walking farther.

(This is what happens when you try to grocery shop during nap time.)

The older he gets, the more apparent it is that he loves his Mama. Whenever I leave him at the gym he cries for me and when I return and he hears my voice he stops what he's doing and scoots over to the gate so that I can pick him up. He likes to scoot around the house (he still does the peg-leg pirate scoot), explore (i.e. make mischief), and then scoot back to me and give me a quick snuggle. While his devotion to me is endearing it's also a little overwhelming at times. Good thing he's so darn cute!

He loves playing with big kids-- especially Miss Ruby. His favorite toys are the play kitchen and plastic food. He also still loves balls and balloons, bath time, and pulling anything and everything out of the pantry.

(Valentine's day-- my little sweet hearts.)

He started signing here and there. He has "water" and "ball" down pat and is working on "all done" and "milk."

Just last week we discovered that he is the worst traveler in our family. Our apologies to anyone who rode on our plane to Houston or Salt Lake City. Trying to get a wiggly 13 month-old to sit quietly for 3 hours is not an easy feat! Hopefully he will be a happier traveler when we go to San Diego in a few months...

We love our little man and count ourselves lucky to have such a happy, healthy, sweet boy in our family.