One Going on Thirty

Our sweet, almost 17 month-old is very observant, and has been an old soul since the day he was born.  

Most weekdays we come home and go upstairs where I workout on the elliptical or lift weights, while Little Pope plays and watches movies.

So one day he follows me up the stairs, closes the safety gate, and then immediately climbs on the elliptical.  He hasn't quite mastered the feet on the pedals part yet!

He also thinks he is old enough to be lifting on the multi-gym machine.  I was around the corner lifting and found him trying to climb down after climbing all the way up on his own.  Pretty soon he will be cocky like the Nutrition Nazi and screaming I-I-I-I workout.  (Name that song.)

Then there is his passion for yard work.  He is always touching and feeling the mower and lawn tools in the garage.

He takes helping out very seriously.  Type A would probably be an accurate description.

In this pic I am guessing he was probably giving NN the evil eye for not working fast enough.

Hopefully he will not out-age us anytime soon!

Like Novacane

A little over six years ago I finally met my match, and three years ago this week on a beautiful beach with family and friends I married that wonderful man.   

 I never knew how empty my life was until I met the Nutrition Nazi. 

 The last six years have brought so much happiness and so many new experiences all because of him.

Though most days are mass chaos right now, with each passing day I feel our marriage becomes more beautiful.

I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone as amazing as the Nutrition Nazi.

Happy Anniversary!

Sunny and 75, or So We Hoped

Recently we had a short beach vacation planned, and the weather had been hot and dry for weeks.  We should have seen the change in the weather coming, but in Southeast Texas the weather people are rarely right.

We had high hopes when we arrived that the impending small monsoon that was predicted might change directions.  Unfortunately hope was not enough this time.

So we had to find other ways that did not involve the pool or beach to entertain Little Pope in between rain showers.

This broken sprinkler head kept him entertained for quite a while.

NN and the Team Leader decided to sit down because Little Pope played for so long.  Ok not really they are both just really short on patience.

Do you see a theme for this vacation?  Some of us sat down more than others.  Little Pope loved to play on the balcony.

Climbing on the chairs seemed to be an endless activity for him.  This would have been great if the balcony had foam rubber all over it since he is not exactly good on coordination and balance at this point.

Little Pope did show us how he could dance in the chair even with the wind blowing so bad that I started looking for feeder bands.

And he was on to the next activity.  For the record I am not sure what happened to his shorts.

There was a little bit of sunshine one day, just long enough to get a picture of our sweet little one.  Guess we will hold on to hope that next year's trip has more sunshine and less of creative entertainment for toddlers!

Five Years of a Crazy

Five years ago today, in the middle of Hurricane Ike, the Team Leader was born.  It seems like yesterday that we were driving to Dallas to go pick up our oldest child.  We had no idea how she would change our hearts for the better.

She was such a cute energetic puppy!

She started working her magic on the biggest nonbeliever first.  I think he quickly fell in love with his half-poodle he swore he would never own.  Way to stand your ground NN. 

 She was so little that she fit under the bar stool!

We quickly learned she was much smarter than us.

She was deprived of attention, as you can see!

She loved the backyard in the new house.  She constantly wants to go outside to play with her friends through the wrought iron fence.

Her love of fetching toys grows stronger each year.  Throw in water and she thinks she has won the lottery!

Last year she became a big sister, or Sissy as Little Pope calls her.

She is never too far from him, and always keeps an eye on him to make sure he stays out of harm.  Sometimes, though, his mischievousness gets him into situations she can't help him out of!

Occasionally she hides from her rowdy brother, but these two are ridiculously cute when he is feeding her cookies and she gently takes them.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl, and many more!!!

The Deer Whisper He is Not, but Big Brother to be...Yes

We were fortunate enough to get away to the Hill Country (New Braunfels and San Marcos) to a friend's house on the Comal River recently.  Every time we pull up to the house there are always deer in the yard, and this trip was no different.

See they are just hanging out not bothering anyone.

Little Pope's social skills still need a little work, though, and he went charging after the deer in his excitement.

The deer took off running towards a safer area, the golf course, when he began running towards them with a stick.  So much for the seeing wildlife up close this weekend because that officially ended any chance of them even looking at the front or the back yard as they pass by.

With all the deer gone Little Pope decided to run around the yard and pick up random things, like our cooler, rocks, and sticks.

He mainly entertained himself, though, by going up and down these couple of stairs.

Down with assistance nearby, if needed!

A very rare moment of pause.

Somewhere he picked up a big stick to carry around, and yes he did run around with it.

His favorite thing to do was to take multiple sticks into the house at one time.  I spent 30 minutes searching the house on departure day for sticks he squirreled away.

I did mention something else in the title, so read his shirt.

Coming soon...March 2014!

Have a great day!

Pope Playground...Now Open

Little Pope has now started to try and climb on everything and anything.  So we thought we would buy him a climber to have a safe way for him to get it out of his system, and also to save his potential victims - my furniture and the Team Leader.

We set up the climber inside since it is so hot outside right now.  In the fall it is going in the backyard, or so I thought initially.  He learned quickly how the slide worked, but was not too sure about the fast speed of it.  

Then our little daredevil decided he should go up the slide because of course that was faster than using the stairs.

His best use of the climber was turning it into a really expensive seat for watching Despicable Me.

Then Uncle Bret called a couple of days ago and said he was bringing over Little Pope's cousins' outdoor toys that they have outgrown.  Ok we officially look like we are running a small daycare.  I am really hoping our lawn guys do not want more money for having to move all 3 of these when they mow!

Little Pope is loving the treehouse.  Uncle Bret even showed him how to safely exit it using the slide.

I can't believe he actually bent down for me in this pic.  He hasn't actually climbed out of this hole yet, but I am sure it is coming.  

His other new toy is so that he can be like NN and Arturo, our lawn guy.  He is always messing with Arturo's lawn gear on the weeks he comes, so I thought he might like the bubble mower.  It is awesome to see him play with it until he runs over a fig newton in the kitchen and then I am desperately trying to clean up the mess so that we don't get ants!  Oh the joys of having a handful for a son!

41 and Counting

Today is the Nutrition Nazi's birthday, and another year closer to being flat out old.  Just kidding!  His crazy workout schedule keeps him in better shape than most 20-somethings!

Every year he claims he gets to celebrate and indulge the whole month of August.  Personally I think it is an excuse to let down his guard and eat donuts, pizza, and white pastas multiple times in one month.  Shocking, I know!

Oh my goodness sissy...today is daddy's birthday!  Is that his inner fat kid running free looking for a piece of cake for breakfast?  Happy birthday daddy!  We can't wait to eat cake with you, but Mama says only after dinner, and she is the boss!

Happy Birthday NN and many more!