life as we know it...early summer

ahhh... a phone photo update. the best kind.

in a (lazy) effort to keep our life semi-documented i am uploading photos that represent a small portion of our life over the past coupla months or so...

hang on, it's alot,

but let's start easy

lunches with Mamaw Lou

the DC 500 in DFW

GTs asked me to go the last 2 years, but i haven't been able to because of babies, babies or school

this year i drove over for the day and actually had a great time

i'm still no Nascar fan, but i enjoyed the time with my man and our friends

also, in April

we spent a long weekend with our good friends in Sugar Land, Tx

and i do intend to devote a post to this weekend!

a few weeks later, i spent a hurried 24 hours in Dallas with my gals

we had a lovely outside lunch at Velvet Taco, followed by some browsing at the Gypsy Wagon (probably my favorite store ever), pedicures, then an early dinner followed by 

the Newsies!!!

if you recall, we all went to NYC 3 summers ago for Laurens' 30th bday and saw the Newsies on Broadway. 

Well, as luck would have it the Newsies on tour came to Dallas the week of Laurens 33rd birthday... so obviously, we went!

then we waited in the downtown park for our Uber driver (my first experience with this unexpected and kind of scary way of travel) and watched the video that Patrick made for LC before we went to NYC

i left early the next morning to make it home for Mary Kates shower!

That week, Judson had his last day at Mothers Day Out

and we are all very sad about it 

there will be no more MDO at this place and so we have to find a new one...

he has LOVED his time at Cedar Crest and we will truly miss Mrs.Julie and K-K.

they have taken such good care of him over the past 2 years and he has made some cute little friends.

then we went to the beach

a whole post to come...

i started back to school.

whomp, whomp.

when we got home from the beach, we celebrated Mamaw Lous birthday

we also had one of Judsons besties, Isaac, birthday party at the barn

GT took the kiddos (and a few parentals) on a tractor/trailer ride

we had a small crowd (the rest of the family was at the beach) for a Memorial Day lunch in the barn

in the midst of it all, we have the ever on-going work on the house, back deck, barn, property

and family trips to Home Depot

uncle Garrett and Cristie went to Disneyworld and brought home these awesome Mickey hats

we planted the garden in early May (if i remember correctly)

which we tend to frequently

but Judson prefers to use it as a shoot for his bull-riding 

GT and i continue to love our Advocare

and are feeling great and shedding some pounds...boom

the oldest of the "little cousins" graduated

and in a few short weeks, we will celebrate John Lukes marriage to Mary Kate!

we mainly just spend our time outside

GT is teaching JR how to run the bases and hit off of a tee.

a couple of weeks ago, we were in Huntsville for various reasons

and caught a few Astros games...making national television

look reeeeeealll hard.

then one of my dearest friends from college, Laura, and her daughter, Florence, came to visit us.

I have not seen Laura in 5 years. 5 years!

and it was as if we had lunch every day.

i'll share more about that later...promise.

well, that about sums it up.

except not really.

but, it'll do for now.

the majority of our days are full of this...

and it's pretty good livin'

Ten months with Townes

my sweet Townesy

you are becoming a little guy and leaving the baby stage behind

and i'm not quite ready for that transition

you are still very much a snuggler who likes to be held

but you are increasingly interested in the world around you
and your moments of quiet are getting fewer and farther between

you are pulling up on things

and will let go with one hand, but aren't quite ready to make any moves with your feet

but, you always get excited when you can pull up and see something at a higher level

you seem to enjoy when we go on little strolls in the wagon and "talk" about everything 

you are very entertained with grass...

actually, anything that you shouldn't put in your mouth...that's what you're interested in.

you made your maiden voyage to the gulfcoast

and LOVED the water

not so much the sand

but the water was your favorite

every time that we got close to the pool or ocean, you start kicking your little legs and flapping your arms and wiggling your little body in the direction of the water

you now have 4 teeth!
the top teeth have about done us all in, but they are finally through and you are using them to their fullest potential
you love to eat
i mean, give you some food and you're pretty content

even lemons

but you are particularly fond of ice cream

can't blame ya

and spaghetti

you are often seen with some sort of snack in your hands
which would explain the extra chub you have put on lately
we haven't been to the doctor in quite a while, so i'm not sure what your fighting weight is...but i'm pretty certain that you have put on some ell-bees in the last month
you have put some squeeze on your thighs and i love them so.

you and your brother are starting to play together (i use that term loosely) and it completely melts me every single time

you love to laugh with him and at him
and he loves to make you happy
whenever you are fussy or sad, he will try all sorts of things to make you smile
currently he calls you "ding ding"(no idea) or "bubba"
or
"tay-ons"(the 2-syllable pronunciation of Townes. redneck, much?)

you and Judson will often have these little screaming sessions in which you yell at each other back and forth.
i mean, it's not my favorite-but at least you're learning to interact with one another.

of course, when he hugs you it often goes a little too far 

and you end up in a choke hold

but, it's a start in the right direction of brotherly bonding, i suppose

you are a fast little scooter

and crawl wherever you please

to get whatever it is that you want

we have to keep a close eye on you at all times so that you don't end up under, on top of or next to a precarious situation/item or with an unidentifiable object in your mouth

you are way more interested in not-toys than you are in actual toys

which is why my lens cap kept your attention longer than any toy i gave you for our little photo shoot

it was that or a water bottle

even though you are very curious and like to explore,

you still prefer for me to hold you, so this is how i get pictures of you often 

you are my little side-kick and i intend to keep it that way.

jk. but maybe serious.

we are rather eager to hear what you have to say once you start talking

i think that you will have a lot to say

you are a sweetheart that gives the best little snuggles
and a wild pistol that is ever interested in the world around you
you are very vocal about your needs and wants
and make it known when you are not pleased with your current situation
you have grown out of your title of the laid-back baby
that is no longer true

you get so excited whenever you see us and you can make us feel like a million bucks with your smile
you can wave "bye-bye"
you raise your arms over your head when we ask "how big is Townes?"
you can give a high-five
you are becoming less and less interested in nursing and i'm reminding myself that that is a normal progression and just going with it....kind of.

we are so in love with you, sweet Townesy
you are a tender little heart and i am so thankful that i get to nurture your sweet spirit