Step by Step He is Becoming a Mini NN

So sorry for the long hiatus, but you will see soon why now I have absolutely no free time anymore.  As you all know we recently celebrated Little Pope's first birthday.  It was a great party with lots of family, friends, good food, and lots fun.  Warning - Lots of pics!

So before I post the party pics I wanted to refresh your memory about where we were a year ago.  He was about 2 days old in this picture and still had a CPAP to help with his breathing.  We were only allowed to hold him for 30 minutes at a time because he could not regulate his temperature.

Now for happier memories...Little Pope and his color-coordinated mama on his first birthday.  Yes I now pick out everyone's clothes.  If I thought the dog would not act rabid I would pick out her outfits too!  He weighs 18 lbs 12 oz now and is 29.75 inches long, which is a long way from 3 lbs 13 oz and 15 inches.

There was  A LOT of picture taking at the beginning of the party.

Everyone had to get a pic with the birthday boy!  Gramma commandeered him early on for his pic with her.

Messing with one of his great aunts!  Silly boy!

Then he convinced his great granny to watch him climb the stairs, one of his favorite activities.

More stair climbing with Gramma!

And of course a pic with C!  He loves playing with C and his brother B.

Apparently he is a little Nutrition Nazi in training judging by the look he has on his face when we gave him his birthday cupcake.  Good job NN.

He warmed up to playing with the cupcake and occasionally putting pieces in his mouth, but not what I had hoped since baked goods are a staple in our house.  Luckily he redeemed himself later the following week when he ate part of a cookie that I made.  Remember to be good to your mama baby because no one will love you like me.

Then it was time to open the pile of gifts that Little Pope received.

Time out for a kiss from Mama.

Daddy helped him look at his bubble dog from Paw Paw and CiCi.

He really loved looking at the cards more than the actual gifts.

Such a happy handsome birthday boy! 

His attention span is still very short, though, so he moved on to working on his headstand while the other little ones help open his presents.

And in true Pope fashion our little one waited for an audience to take his first three steps towards Gramma.

Almost there!

And the crowd went wild, literally, and scared him so bad he started crying!  It was great that so many family and friends got to see him take his first steps at such a great party.

Have a great week and 4th of July holiday!

My Oh My How Time Does Fly

Today we are celebrating Little Pope's 1st Birthday!  I wrote him a letter instead of buying him a card, and in a rare moment of open emotion I am sharing some of it today.

My Dearest Little Pope,

Today we are celebrating your very first birthday!  I am so happy that I have been given the chance to call you my son.  I can’t help remember, though, how just one year ago today your father and I were trying to prepare for your unexpected early arrival.  The situation was urgent and we were very concerned for your health, as well as mine.  You were so small, but such a fighter when you were born.  

At the time 3 weeks in the NICU seemed like eternity, but now it is just a quick glimpse in time.  Some day you will see the pictures of a very fragile-looking you, and I will probably cry when I explain everything, but know that I, along with your father, was there every day and spent as much time as I could holding you and telling you how much I loved you.  We were so blessed, though, to be given such a beautiful son with just a touch of our hard-headness!  It is what has allowed you to ‘catch-up’ during your first year.

Every day that I see your handsome smiling face I am so amazed at how far you have come from that tiny little preemie.  When you were born you were not even on the growth charts and now you are in the 75th percentile for height, the 50th for you head, and well your weight is below the 5th, but that is not a bad thing!  You are the perfect combination of Daddy’s tall, thin body and Mama’s devastating good looks!  You are going to break hearts with those beautiful blue eyes you carry around like your own secret weapons. And your smile and little voice melt my heart on a daily basis. 

Over the past year I learned so much about myself through being your mom.  I never knew I could fall in love with someone instantaneously or how selfless I could be when it came to you.  I love you more than life itself, and you truly are my heart.  I also learned that the small stuff did not matter as long as you were healthy and happy! 

Your amazing journey has only just begun and I am so excited to see what the future holds for you as well as our family.  There will be a few bumps along the road of life, but know that your father and I are here to help you whatever you may need.  There are so many life experiences we can’t wait to share with you.  And though it makes me sad that you are growing up way too fast, I love watching you discover new things and the evolution of your charming personality.

Happy 1^st birthday, my sweet boy, the best is yet to come!

With all my love,

Your Mama

Summer Fun

We are busy getting ready for the Littlest Pope's first birthday right now, but here are a few pics from the summer fun we have had so far.

We have been spending some time on our new patio.

Little Pope LOVES to be outside. 

Fun in the backyard in the pool!

Even the Team Leader could not resist the fun.  In all fairness it was her pool first.

Look who learned to climb on to the fireplace at the riverhouse and then make our hearts skip a few beats as he climb along the ledge?  Gotta love our redneck baby-proofing!

Hanging out on Daddy's boat.

Having a blast sporting his new swimwear watching the boat traffic.

I can't believe only one more week until Little Pope's first birthday.

Finally A Bigger, Better Patio

We finally decided to add some life to our postage-sized patio, and after various building and furniture delays it is complete.  Yay, except now it 2 degrees below boiling point with 200% humidity outside.  Here's the transition.

Such a sad little space before the transition where so much furniture and a grill were shoved into the equivalent of a closet.  Even Little Pope did not want to sit or play on it.

So we decided to add some more concrete to enhance our backyard experience.  We debated for a long time on what to add, and ultimately decided to wait on stone and a covered roof.

It was a slow process in the beginning, but one day I came home to find this, and then the concrete truck showed up 10 minutes later and the space was finished shortly thereafter.

And here we have the (almost) finished project.  I still need to attempt to repaint our old chairs at some point, but it is mostly complete. Sorry for the glare off the concrete, but picture time does not always coincide with the best sunshine angle, instead it runs on Little Pope's nap time.

I have always wanted dark wicker furniture and this set was a good compromise between just buying a set at Walmart and the super expensive Restoration Hardware set that NN and Little Pope decided we should buy.  It is two sofas, two end tables, and one ottoman with a huge 'no eating here' sign.  This means you NN and Little Pope.

From the formerly sad patio side with the view to the lake and the Costco cantilever umbrella, which provides a good amount of shade.

Eventually we are going to put in a pool, but this will have to suffice for now!

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Gonna put the world away for a minute, and pretend I don't live in it, sunshine gonna wash my blues away...Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere, got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair, only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair (Zac Brown Band.)  Thanks to some help from two sets of the grandparents, the Nutrition Nazi and I were able to escape away on a much-needed vacation to Mexico at the Casitas Royale.

 The view from our room as we walked in....serenity is that you I see?

So let me show you a few pics of the room. A nifty liquor cabinet.  At first glance you might think now why would one need this at an all-inclusive resort?  Well as members of the timeshare we have the option of getting better liquor in our room than we can get at the bars around the resort.  And yes my mini-beer drinking friends that bottle of Cuarenta y Tres did happen to jump in my suitcase for the trip home.

Pretty bed with a jacuzzi tub off to the right, which also has the view above!

Our own little private pool with floats!  

Outdoor patio with a bed and table perfect for having breakfast in the morning.

The bathroom area with closets to the left and indoor shower directly ahead.  Please excuse all of my mess.

Definitely one of my favorites about the room - the outdoor shower.  We never used the indoor shower the entire time because this is so cool, and yes very very private.

The rooms are set-up on a semi-circle so that all the rooms have a view of the pool and the beach.

Each set of casitas has its own pool with a swim-up bar.  This is usually where we retreated after being out at the beach all day.  It's a great place to meet your casita mates and have a good time or watch NN get a beat down by a middle-aged woman playing basketball.  In all fairness I believe she played league  ball until a few years ago.

The one thing that did surprise on our first trip a few years ago is what many people call the 'beached whales' which are gigantic sand bags to prevent further erosion.  About 5 years ago the resort lost about 2/3 of its beach to Hurricane Wilma and were forced to use extreme measures to save the remaining beach.  A few margaritas and you forget!

It was SUPER windy while we were in Mexico, as evidenced by the palm trees about to blow away.  We actually got wind-burned while we were at the beach.  Bummer!

For many of us native Houstonians clear ocean water is something we only hear about, and some don't believe it truly exists!

The grounds crew does a phenomenal job at keeping the resort's manicured tropical/jungle look and feel perfect.

The beach has these awesome covered beds to relax on, and the best part is the bartender from your pool will come out to the beach and bring you a drink.  And for those of you wondering...no I never wanted to come back because no one waits on me at home.

And so another great vacation comes to an end...hopefully to be re-visited soon.  Adios and vaya con dias!