New Batman Pajamas

Thanks for the new pajamas, MaMaw and Poppa Steve. We love wearing them!!

Love,
James and John

John's first birthday party

John attended his very first birthday party this past Sunday. It was for a little girl in his class at school and was at the Inflatable Zone here in Katy. He had an absolute blast going down all the slides. He had absolutely no fear whatsoever. It was definitely a workout for me since I had to help him get up all the steps but seeing that HUGE smile on is face was totally worth it. After the kids jumped around for an hour or so, they all went into the party room for some pizza and cupcakes. John sat at the table like one of the big kids, at a whole piece of pizze and ate a whole cupcake by himself. I think this is the place we're going to have the boys' birthday party this year as all the kids seem to have a blast. Plus it's indoors so no need to worry about bad weather. :)

At the top of a slide

Wheee!!

James' First Camping Trip

We took James camping for the first time ever a couple weekends ago. We met Sally, Jason, and Sarah up at Inks Lake State Park just northwest of Austin. Even though we weren't allowed to build a campfire, James had a great time. Our campsite backed up to a granite hill that led down to the lake. James loved walking down there and throwing various things into the lake. Aunt Sarah brought bread and James threw it out to the ducks. Saturday afternoon we went to nearby Longhorn Cavern. James thought there would be lions in the caves and was a bit disappointed when we left and he hadn't seen any animals. It was a bit chilly in the mornings but we were all nice and warm in our sleeping bags. We really need to invest in a bigger tent because the three of us were very cramped in Brian's old two man tent. After we were all done camping, the three of us along with Sally and Jason, stopped in Georgetown to wish MaMaw a Happy Birthday. We all went out for breakfast and then went to pick up John John from the other grandparents.

Walking back to camp


Putting stuff in the water


James sitting by the lake

Children Update

I guess I should also update you on what the kids are up to these days. John is all about singing these days. He loves to sing his ABCs, Twinkle, Twinkle, Ring Around the Rosies, The Barney "I Love You" song, Old MacDonald, and a few others. He's counting to 10 and recognizes many colors. He's had a massive language explosion in the last few months. I can't even begin to count the number of words he has now. He's doing very will with his manners, always saying please and thank you. He's also getting really well with answering questions correctly. If I ask him where Daddy is, he'll answer "At work".

James is doing great in his class. His handwriting is improving and he's in the early stages of learning to read. He moves his fingers along with the words but I think he's memorized the story instead of actually reading the words. He's also fantastic with puzzles!! He has a few 12 piece puzzles that he's mastered so we got him some more challenging ones for his birthday. James will be starting soccer on March 10th and will be playing on a team with his buddy, Cameron. He's beginning to dribble the ball which is a vast improvement from the days when he'd only pick up the ball and never kick it.

I think that's about it for now. I'll try to snap a couple of new pics and maybe get video of John singing.

Adventures in Home Improvement

We've been very busy with home improvement projects these last few weeks. We painted the master bathroom and kitchen, replaced the back door, and hung shutters on the front of the house. We had planned to paint the master bedroom but ran out of time as Brian is heading to Kansas for business on Monday. Here's before shutters and after shutters photos just to show you the difference. We think the house looks so much better now. We also just ordered solar screens so I'll post a pic after those are put on to show you the changes as well.

Before


After