Children's Museum

Lets continue with our Houston vacation! One of the perks of a big city are the museums they have! Houston is no exception and has a TON! I really really really wanted to go to the children's museum while we were out there because I had a feeling it would be spectacular. I WAS RIGHT!!!!

I was super nervous to drive there by myself (Dan was at a work training) because it is a lot of highway driving and I am so out of practice living in Wichita now, but it wasn't that bad! I did get lost downtown trying to find the museum, but luckily technology is such that my phone acted as a GPS and got us there in no time!

Momma and baby at the entrance to the Museum

The place was SO huge! I honestly didn't know where to start. We walked around for a minute to take it all in and saw a huge water area outside! BINGO!!! Lets go there and explore first!

Playing in the water area! It was so huge



Here she is saying, "Balls" She LOVED all this water play!




You can add tubes to change the direction of the water flow! How neat is that. Of course all she wanted to do was dip the balls in the water :)

 We had a great time playing and exploring the water. There were so many things to do and if she would have been a little older she could have taken advantage of some of the really neat activities set up!

Next we went inside and found a little art studio! We haven't had much luck with painting at home, so I thought maybe being somewhere new might interest her more. It did! She was such a serious and talented artist...LOL!



She is just soo cute!



Very serious about her work!

We then went upstairs to play in the designated toddler area. This was a lot of fun and had a lot of activities that were just right for her!



This was a really neat activity. It was like an extra large night bright (remember those). We spent a long time here!



Driving and exploring the cars they had there :)

We then took a break for lunch and were both really hungry! Then we went to the town village area. This was my favorite part! They had this little town set up with different rooms that were different town things. They had a vet clinic, diner, grocery store, bank, news station, fire/police station and several more that I can't remember. All were child size for the children to pretend and explore. It was so amazing. I am taking my children back there in several years when they are in the prime pretend age and we are going to go nuts!!! LOL but in the meantime I was surprised how much Saffryn enjoyed it. She played with it on a very basic level....and by that I mean: dumping/filling, pushing buttons, carrying items around and overall exploration but had a TON of fun!

The Vet Clinic. We spend lots of time here with all the stuffed animals!



The Diner! I mean really...how cool is that?!?!?




Pushing all the buttons on the cash register!




Opening up the "kennels" to get the stuffed animals out! She LOVED this place with all the stuffed animals




Saffryn taking her baket around to get some goodies at the grocery store!



She had so much fun!

Oh man did we have fun! I seriously have like 30 more pictures of us exploring this place haha. So I tried to narrow them down the best I could! And yes almost all of them Saffryn is interacting with something very intensely! Always the serious baby :) I am honestly not kidding when I say I want to go back in a few years with both of my children. We didn't even touch the surface on all the things they have for children to explore and learn. Dan would have loved it and we were sad he couldn't be there with us. Thanks again Houston for a fun day of exploring...we both loved it!

March 31st

I am taking a quick break from my scheduled vacation blogging to write about something that happened today! I am SO SO SO excited about it! Saffryn played by herself while I was cooking dinner....YAY!!!!


Okay, let me back track so you can understand why I am so excited. Dinner is usually the hardest time of day for us. Saffryn is tired from a long day, hungry and SUPER CLINGY! I am trying to make dinner and I have a screaming/crying/whining toddler at my feet for most of the time. I have tried so many different things to help remedy the situation: snacks, toys, having her help as much as possible, sitting in the highchair so she can see me doing things. Mostly these don't work so I end up telling her what I can do and then ignoring the rest. And honestly it is usually miserable for both of us.


Well tonight we were downstairs playing for a bit and I knew I needed to get dinner started.


So I said, "I'm going to go upstairs and work on dinner. You can stay down here and play or you can come up with me. It is up to you. I will leave the gate open and you come up when you are ready."


She looked at me and said, "okay"


I went upstairs and she closed the baby gate, turned around and went to her doll house. I sat there waiting for the meltdown....but it didn't come. Hmmm....ok I guess I should get started on dinner. I get started on dinner and peak downstairs and she is busy playing with baby doll. I can't believe this. 5 minutes pass then 10 minutes and I haven't heard a peep. I check on her again and there she is busy busy busy just playing mommy to her doll!!!(Yes I was trusting her to come up the stairs herself...but honestly I was expecting her to start crying and screaming the second I got out of sight so I really thought it would be a non issue anyway)

I'll be honest I kind of freaked out in a good way! I was literally doing the happy dance! I called my Mother-In-Law and told her the good news! I posted it on facebook to tell everyone the good news!!! I mean this is GOOD NEWS!!!!




Well I was thinking the meltdown was sure to come...so when dinner was ready I hesitantly went downstairs. Saffryn said, "Hi Momma!!!" I said, "Hi! Dinner is ready upstairs." She said, "okay" and walked to the stairs. She turned around and said, "Bye bye baby" to her baby doll and walked up the stairs!!!!


WHAT?????? This is AH-MA-ZING!!!! She had a great dinner and was in a perfect mood all night long! When did she grow up? I felt like I was talking to a preschooler this evening, not a toddler! I am SO beyond proud of her! I know not every night will be like this, but this was such a huge jump for us that I am still literally doing the happy dance!


Who knows maybe I will actually start enjoying cooking....NAH probably not. LOL!!!!


Happy Thursday :)

dog parks

One of the activities I was most looking forward to doing in Houston was going to the DOG PARKS!!! I know it sounds so weird, and honestly I am pretty sure Dan thinks its slightly weird how much I love that place. But it is just so fun! The dog parks down there are so amazing and I really really miss them.

Let me try to describe it a little bit for you and maybe you can see why I love it so much. First of all it is 20 acres of land. Yes 20!!!! There are lots of trees and a walking path. There is a concrete pool for the dogs to swim in. There is an obstacle course and giant mud puddles for the dogs to play with. There are benches for us humans...with shade! There are water fountains for humans and dogs. And lastly there is a little shower area where you can bathe them when they are done playing! Plus so many dogs to see and watch Crash play with!


A close up of the pool area




Here is a view of the pool and shaded benches



A view of the giant mud puddles and in the background you can see the obstacle course. Look at all those trees, too!



Crash playing in the mud puddle...FUN!



Another picture of Crash playing in the mud!



playing, playing and more playing!



Saffryn exploring the dog park! Don't worry it was super mellow that day with only a few dogs...if it had been busy she would not have been allowed to play so carelessly. She LOVED it though :)



She is my super cutie!!!!



Taking it all in.




Crash getting ready to take a swim :)

I was a little nervous about taking both of them there by myself but they were both on their BEST behavior. Crash was so responsive and listened to me so well. Saffryn loved seeing all the dogs and tried her best to catch up to them running around (of course she was no where close..she is a little bit slower than the dogs...LOL)! We all had a great time and came back tired out :) Thank you Houston for these free, wonderful places us dog lovers can go and have a good morning!

catching up

I am really really behind on my blogging. Actually I seem to be behind on a lot of things in my life recently, this just being one of them...LOL.

Well lets just dive right in :)

First I need to give a great big thanks to my Dad, Sister and Brother-in-Law for making it out here a couple of weekends ago!!!! The weekend of course went much too fast. But it was so so so great to see them! We relaxed, watched basketball, ate yummy food and spread sicky germs. :( That most certainly put a damper on the weekend, but was glad to see them. Saffryn really enjoyed spending time with them and eventually "showed off" for them, too!! Love you guys!!!!

After they left we actually drove down to Houston as a little family, Crash included! Dan had a work training and we decided to tag along for the week! SO glad we did. I was a little nervous about driving down there and spending a week in a new place with a one year old and a dog, but it went so wonderfully well. Saffryn was a MAJOR trooper through the whole thing! Crash gets an A++ for his behavior! I have so many pictures of different activities to show so it will be broken up in a few different blog posts!

Some of the things to look forward to: Dog park, Children's Museum, Beach, The weekend in Dallas :)

We also did some shopping...of course! We also got together with some of our past neighbors and coworkers down there. It was SUCH a blessing to see them all. All I could think about all week was how much God has spoiled us with so many wonderful people in our life! Thank you GOD!!!!!

Ok stay posted for more!

Saffryn the sleepy head on our way down to Houston :)

Dan driving us down to Houston, Texas...LOVE HIM!!!!



Not the most flattering picture, but I was trying to get a shot of me and Jr!!



Saffryn being a cutie in our hotel room :)

I also want to add that the weather was PERFECT all week for us. High 80's and sunny. SO amazing! Also want to add...how HUGE Houston is. I honestly forgot the size of that place and am slightly embarrassed to say I was so nervous about getting on the highways...LOL! But they are all 5-7 lanes with so much traffic on each lane. Have no fear as soon as I merged on it all came back to me and it wasn't too scary anymore...just a little intense :) Needless to say Andover, KS feels so small to me right now...hahahaha! What an adventure we had!!!!

Epic Fail

Well our arts and crafts saga continues with PAINT!!!!

I was very excited about this one because I think painting is so fun. I thought she might really like it because she is so NOT afraid of getting messy. Once again....WRONG!!!!!!!!

So I got out the paints and some big paint brushes and showed her what to do. First she had to put it in her mouth....Oh brother! Then I thought she may be somewhat interested in using the brush and exploring the paint!

That thought lasted about 1 minutes...literally!!! LOL!

This was within the minute. She put the brush down and wondered what was on her hands!

Then she was ready to be done.

All done!

No really I am ALL DONE!

Oh well....we will try again in a couple of months. And don't worry I have a few more ideas up my sleeve for us to try :)

Bad Mom (or maybe just hormones talking)

I love those pregnant woman who are just glowing. Who love being pregnant. They rejoice at every movement, squirm and hiccup they feel from within. They love their changing body and feel great. They love the 9 months they get to bond in such a unique and special way with their child. They somehow ignore the usual pregnancy complaints and focus on the miracle growing within. They patiently wait for their child to come into the world when they are ready...even if that means waiting a week or more after their due date. I really do love those woman and admire them greatly.

But I need to face the facts...I am not one of those woman. And I feel so guilty about it. I really do not enjoy being pregnant. In fact I seem to dislike it more the second time around. I complain, complain and do some more complaining (sorry friends, family and husband I am sure it's getting old). What do I complain about: waking up every hour to use the bathroom or change positions, the constant back pain, the heartburn, the stretch marks, my constant fatigue...the list goes on. I do not enjoy my changing body. I feel like its limiting me. I don't feel that great emotionally either...my hormones make me so moody and honestly I just don't feel like my happy self. And on top of that I am the MOST impatient person you might ever meet and I just want to be with my baby! I hate waiting around...

Now don't get me wrong. I love what pregnancy brings. I know what a miracle it is to be pregnant and my child growing inside of me. I know I am truly blessed! Being a mother is the most amazing thing ever. I LOVE my children, even the one growing inside me. But I just cant seem to enjoy the process of them getting here. I promise I keep trying to enjoy it.... 

I had a doctors apt today and everything looks good. He is still measuring a bit ahead of schedule, but my blood work all came back really well, so it looks like he is just a big boy. My doctor also said we can talk about inducing at 39 weeks if I want to do that. I am wrestling with that decision so much right now. I got induced with Saffryn at 39 1/2 weeks and it went super smoothly. My doctor didn't and doesn't want me going too far past my due date b/c of my high likely hood of blood clotting (remember Factor V Leiden???). But she will let me go further than 39 if I want to. But I really don't want to. I am SO ready to be done. Does that make me a terrible mother???? I feel like a horrible mom. I should be enjoying this process. What is wrong with me???

Anyway. Not too sure why I am sharing this. Just being honest I guess. I'm hoping the "I love pregnancy moms" will forgive me for my horrible attitude about pregnancy. I am also hoping there are other moms out there who feel similarly. Please don't judge me too harshly about deciding to be induced at 39 weeks and not just waiting for him to come on his own.....

Sorry for the downer post. I'll post more on what my sweet Saffryn has been up to soon. Those are much more fun than my pity parties :-)

Workin' Weekend

Well I am a little behind on my blogging, which is slightly discouraging since I was doing so well in January and February. Oh well lets get to it!

My mom (Grandma Malie) came into town a couple of days ago. It was planned to be a girls weekend while the boys (Dan and my stepdad Steve...known as Papa Steve) went down to Texas with a bunch of other guys to hunt hogs. Big fires prevented them from going hunting down there so Papa Steve and my mom came out for the weekend :)

The plan was to maybe do a little shopping, play with Saffryn and come up with some ideas for Jr's room. I wasnt' sure what I wanted to do with his room so I was looking forward to some input from my highly creative mother!!! They arrived Thursday afternoon and we spent the afternoon/evening playing outside! We went to Braums and got some ice cream...yum!

Friday she took a look at Jr's room and started coming up with all these great ideas! We brainstormed together and started organizing it. We went through the closet and got it all cleaned out! Started a load of laundry with some clothes one of my friends (Thanks Erin) let me borrow and got ready to go shopping! We went to babies-r-us for: hamper, diaper genie, changing pad, video monitor (YAY), newborn diapers and hangers! We didn't see any puppy stuff for his little room so we thought we would try another store! Then we headed off to Lowes to pick up some paint swatches. While Saffryn was sleeping we left (Papa Steve stayed behind to take care of her...thanks!!!!) to do some more shopping. We had an idea of looking for: paint, a book shelf, wall decorations, a bench to go under the window, curtains, etc... We stopped at goodwill first and found a book shelf for $11!!! It was perfect! Just what we wanted. Then we went to Hobby Lobby and hit the JACKPOT!!! The bench, wall decorations, cushions and fabric for the cushions and curtains. Then Walmart for a few essentials: curtain rod, vacuum stuff and other random goodies. Then Lowes for paint...brown and orange :)

Phew!!! It was so fun. It was one of those shopping days when everything falls into place. It was great! We came back and my mom started working on the accent wall in a dark brown!

We moved all the stuff away from the wall so my mom could paint it!

 After Saffryn went to bed we started sanding and painting the shelf and bench! We chose an orange color that is so fun and bright!!!

The book shelf we got from Goodwill before we started painting!

The bench we got at Hobby Lobby before we started painting!

Saturday we continued our painting and playing! We went to lunch with Dan's mom (Karen or Gigi) and his Sister-in-Law (Aunt Meredith). It was fun and delish :) We of course showed off our hard work!!! Had a scare when we lost Crash for 30 minutes or so...turns out he was playing at a neighbor's house who were having a birthday party outside! Then RELAXED!!!! Played, ate and just enjoyed being with everyone!!!

Here is a little sneak peak of some of the wall decorations and the shelf painted orange!

Saffryn thought the shelf looked like a good place to climb...LOL!

Well Mom and Papa Steve left Sunday. It sucks to have them live so far away. But I am thankful we get to see them even as often as we do! I couldn't believe how much we got done this weekend. My mom was a serious trooper and did SO much to help me! I have a few more things I need to get done in the room then I will post pictures of the completed project! Hope you enjoyed the little sneak peak :)