Show week and exploring

This week was Show Week at Little Gym. Haley did great and we are very proud of her.

Shaking the bells at the beginning of class

She has been practicing on her routine for the last few weeks. It was a forward roll followed by a monkey jump. The kids all lined up against the wall and waited their turn to perform. She is in a parent/child class so doing things on their own is a big step. She was at the end of the line and looked really nervous but when her teacher called her name she ran up with a huge smile and did it perfectly!!
Forward roll...

monkey jump!

And her big smile afterwards!

She then got her award. What a big girl :)

Haley loves Little Gym but we are going to take the summer session off. She has been going every Saturday since she was 10 months old. We're going to go lots of swimming this summer and start again in the fall with gym and some other sports.

Jackson wanted to get in on the action too. Standing proud

Who can ever resist cute butt shots! I can't. I'm pretty sure Jackson's is bigger then Haley's.

On to exploring. Jackson crawls everywhere and nothing is out of limits with this little guy. We have a couch against a wall and today he managed to crawl in the little space between the couch and the wall. He is also starting to pull himself up on things. He always wants to do what Haley is doing. Going up the stairs is no different. Guess we'll have to find some sort of large baby gate soon...

Sometimes he just likes to climb on the toys

Silly Haley wanted me to take her picture while she was upside down. Still beautiful

Look what came in this diaper box. A happy boy!

I think it is a Mary Poppins' bag...a little girl came out of the box too!!!

Once the kids came out of the box, they decided to get back in and make it a boat.

To end the weekend the kids took a dip in the pool before bath time tonight with Daddy. I think Jackson had the right idea. Kick back and chill with my toys.

Haley likes to pull Jackson around the pool. Not a bad way to travel either.

Have a great week.

Zoo and Buster

We woke up this morning and tried to think of something fun to do with the kids. It was cloudy and the weather report wasn't oppressively hot so we decided to make a trip to the zoo. This was Jackson's first trip and Haley hasn't been to the Houston zoo in over a year.

The first exhibit when you walk in is the sea lions and they were doing their show. About 5 minutes into the show Matt and I broke a sweat and we realized, WOW, it is HOT!! But we are here so we'll make the best of it. I pick up Haley to watch the show and notice her shorts are soaked. Nice way to start the day! Good thing I happened to pack and extra outfit for her as well as Jackson. Still watching the show and BLAH, Jackson spits up and some lands on the little girl in front of us. Luckily it was just a very small amount so we decided that was the clue to leave that exhibit. Good thing the rest of the walk around the zoo was uneventful.

Haley hanging with the sea lion

Jackson holding on for dear life to Haley

Checking out the giraffes

Just a tad taller then Haley

A new baby elephant was born at the zoo a few months ago. He is adorable and Haley said that was her favorite animal

Cheese

The petting zoo is always a hit too. Haley was brushing all the goats while Jackson was trying to figure out what was going on

Right next to the petting zoo was a nice "park" that Haley really enjoyed.

Having fun

Haley sliding down the red tube slide

And playing music. She liked to count instead and did good in English. Then decided to work on her Spanish and got up to 6 then started back at 1. Not bad I guess.

A very hot, tired and hungry little girl.

After the zoo we met up with some friends and had a nice lunch. The kids did great despite the heat. And the weather man lied, it was very oppressive heat out there today!

An update on Buster. Last Thursday morning Buster woke us up sick. He threw up once and Matt and I thought that was the end of it. Well we made a HUGE mistake of not shutting the doors upstairs when we went to work. Needless to say we got home from work on Thursday to WWIII upstairs. Buster went in every room upstairs on the carpet and got sick. I'll spare all the details but let's just say it was coming out of both ends and lots of it. Good news is he seems ok now and we were able to salvage the carpets after a lot of elbow grease on Saturday.

Here are the three very important lessons Matt and I learned this week:

1. Never leave the doors open upstairs, especially when the dog is sick

2. Never try to clean up a dog mess by rubbing it into the carpet more. Always go straight for the spot cleaner and blot it up.

3. Never try outside activities in Houston when the temperature is above 80.

Have a great week!!

Friday night fun

Both kids were in a good mood tonight so I decided to get the camera out and capture some life moments.

Haley showing off her pickle. She had a few tonight.

Jackson was ok chewing on his toys while Haley moved on to pickle #2

We have a little boy on the move. Jackson is quickly becoming proficient at it.

Which of course means we get into more trouble...

Ahhh...eating electronics. He is going to take after his daddy, not eating electronics but liking all things electrical. Earlier this week I caught him going for the outlets in the floor and he unplugged a cord from the wall and was staring at it like he was about to eat that too. We are in for it with this little man!

Then the kids decided it was time to gang up on Daddy!

Haley giving the poke to the eyes while Jackson has Daddy pinned down. What a team.

1...2...3....you're out for the count Daddy!!

After the fun on the floor Haley and Matt took a swim then we all had dinner.

The next adventure is bath time. Haley found a new fun thing to do in the bath, get in the baby bathtub with her brother. We usually bathe them together but keep Jackson in his baby tub because it keeps him from going under the water.

The quarters are a little tight so this doesn't last long. I love to see the smile on both of their faces as they play together. Melts my heart.

Our Fish

No, we did not get a new pet. We had a fish once named Fishy but he passed on to fish heaven last year and he hasn't been replaced. Two kids, two full time jobs and one dog is enough for us at this point. The fish I'm referring to are the kiddos. Wow do Haley and Jackson love the water. Haley has no fear and is doing a great job swimming. We are still looking into swim lessons for the summer but at this rate I'm not too sure she needs them. She likes to go under the water and swim but doesn't understand the concept yet of coming up for a breath. The floaties worked for about a week and now she's decided they just hold her back. Jackson likes to splash in the water and chill in his float. It's a good way for the kids to burn some extra energy and get cooled off in this Texas heat. I'm thinking the blog will be full of pictures of the kids swimming this summer. Haley has a nice tan started even though SPF 50 is on her all the time. Jackson is still looking a little white but getting there slowly.

Here's what we've been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Haley and Jackson hanging out one morning

Haley checking out the spa

And her turtle, which has been banished to the garage. For some reason she doesn't like it and cries whenever we pull it out now. Good thing it was only $5 at Walmart.

Jackson hitching a ride on Daddy

Showing off the six pack

After swimming one afternoon I tried to get some updated shots of the kids together. They never seem to look at the camera at the same time.

Haley being a good big sister

Sweet

And in case we don't get enough water in the backyard, we take them to Market Street to play in the fountains.

Haley also has a new toy to show off outside the water. Grandma Vara, or Grandma from El Paso as Haley calls her, bought Haley a brand new big girl bike. Haley loves it! Matt and I are amazed at how well she can ride it. Thanks Grandma!!!!!

Wow I am getting so big

Look Mom, no hands

We had a great time this Memorial Day Weekend. Rob and Lauren came in from Austin to stay with us and we had a great mix of family and friends hanging out at the pool relaxing.

Jackson was enjoying his float playing with Daddy

Hanging out in the spa by himself. Yeah, he's cool like that.

Haley was in the pool non-stop as well but it turns out she didn't want to wear a swimsuit so all her pictures show her naked bum! That silly girl.

On Monday, we went to the lake, had family time and a nice steak cooked by Matt. Yum Yum.

Chilling in the shade

Laughing Jackson showing off his belly

Haley learned to float on the ball

Whew, that was a lot of pictures. Finally, a few quick stats about the kids. Jackson is on the move. He is crawling now though still slow so we don't have to worry too much about him getting too far or into too much trouble. Although today I did find him go straight for the outlet in the floor. Guess it's time to baby proof the house again.

And Haley is doing pretty good at potty training. On Saturday she went in the potty all day. However, she is nervous to go poopies in the potty and went in her pants on Sunday. That caused her to revert a little. We're still working on it but not pushing her too much.

Have a great week!!