Wordless Wednesday

Hot Springs, Arkansas

To say that I’m behind on blogging is a {HUGE} understatement.  In an effort to catch up, I will stop sleeping at night.  That’s not really going to happen, but I’ll do my best to get caught up to the current month. 

In April, Michael and I took a weekend trip to Hot Springs, AR and stayed with four other couples from the our neighborhood.  (Lara, if you are reading this, I consider you a neighbor).  My parents watched Caitlin so Michael and I could go.  Thank you  Mom and Dad!  They were so understanding and didn’t mind me calling every two hours to check in on Caitlin.  Another big thank you goes out to Amanda, the trip organizer, planner and all things Hot Springs!  We had a great time and look forward to future road trips!

On the way there, we ran out of gas.  It was only 1 mile to the closest gas station.  Thank goodness for OnStar and Ace road side service!

 

This was our fist time to Arkansas, so we had to stop at the visitors center for a picture with an official “Arkansas” sign.  I wanted to stop next to the road sign as you cross the state line, but it’s suspended over the freeway so it’s next to impossible.  I especially like how I’m still “representing” the state of Texas with my Texas A&M shirt on.

 

Michael and I found the house and settled in while we waited for the rest of the crew to come home from the golf course and the spa.  Here are a few pictures of the house we stayed in…

                

 

We all cleaned up and went on a a dinner cruise on Belle of Hot Springs river boat.  Michael and I had a great time looking at all the houses on the lake.  We got some good ideas for our future lake house.  The weather was perfect and the sunset was beautiful.

 

From left to right: Trey & Kylie, Brooks & Katie, Justin & Lara, Amanda & Travis, Tamra & Michael

 

Beautiful sunset!

 

After the cruise, we returned to the house and continued the party, which included s’mores…my favorite!!

 

The next day, we started the morning with a breakfast fit for champions.  Michael and I headed to the spa for massages and some site seeing while the rest of the crew went to the horse races.  I had a hot stone massage (got a tiny burn on my back…ouch!) and Michael had a Swedish massage.  Afterwards, we parked on Bath House Row, checked out some shops and grabbed some ice cream.  We eventually made it over to a natural hot spring that you can visit and touch the heated water coming right out of the ground.  It’s a little shocking at first…very hot!  Then we visited Boyce Bath House.  It’s the only bath house on Bath House Row that is still open to the public.  My best interpretation of the bath houses is they were the “spas” of their times with more emphasis on health and working out.  We all met back at the house for a delicious dinner prepared by Justin (aka Grill Master) before heading home the next day. 

                            

8 Months

Caitlin, our little 8-month old…there is no stopping you!  You are officially a crawler and you are fast!  You’ve created your own style of crawling (one leg out to the side) and I love it.  I hope you continue to do this in life...find what you want to do and figure out how to do it your way!  Shortly after you mastered crawling, you started pulling yourself up on objects (couch, coffee table, mommy, daddy, etc.).  We are quickly learning about the areas of the house that require immediate baby proofing.  Your little knees are getting beat up as you crawl across the wood floors but the baby leg warmers help minimize the “wear and tear”.  You’ve taken some tumbles already, but I’m afraid it’s just the beginning as you learn to get your feet under you.  It’s hard for me not to be able to catch you every time you fall, but I suppose it’s a lesson every parent has to learn some time. 

Congratulations!  You graduated from your six-week baby sign language class.  We are continuing to work on everything we learned, but I need to do a better job of remembering to practice!  One of your new skills is pointing at everything.  Each time you point to something, I tell you what the object is.  Sometimes you point to the same thing over and over again, so it goes something like this…Caitlin points.  Mommy: “That’s a couch”.  Caitlin points.  Mommy: “That’s still a couch”.  It’s very cute and I’m hoping if I keep at it, you will learn some new words.  You are absolutely mesmerized by Maximus (our dog).  He is getting smarter though (especially with you on the move) and he knows to stay in high places. 

Your new favorite show is “Super Why” on PBS.  The cartoon teaches kids about the alphabet, words, spelling and reading by using nursery rhymes to solve a problem.  There’s singing at the beginning and end of each episode and you love it!  Most of the time you squeal and dance during the musical numbers.  The cutest part is when the four main characters say their names and then there’s a pause for you to say your name.  You don’t know how to say your name yet, but you know that you’re suppose to respond in some way, so you usually let out a little noise to let the Super Readers know you are ready to help save the day by solving the problem and finding the super answer!   

You and your daddy had the opportunity for some father-daughter bonding time while I went on a 5-day girls trip to Destin, Florida with my best girl friends.  Another wish I have for you…to find a group of girlfriends that love and support you.  You were on your best behavior for Daddy and I really appreciate that.  The two of you stayed very busy and went to Gymboree classes, sign language class, a trip to Corsicana and a visit to Grapevine Mills mall.  You have an amazing father.  He took such good care of you and I wasn’t worried at all.  I guess you were showing off for Daddy because while I was gone, you really started crawling. 

I packed up your 3-6 month clothes this month.  I’d been delaying this task for a while.  Something about putting those clothes into a storage bin reminds me of how fast you are growing up.  I swear when I returned from my trip, you were ten times bigger then when I left!  You are drinking 7 to 7.5 ounces of formula a day and eating level 2 baby foods, but I haven’t introduced any proteins into your diet yet.  I’m not in a big hurry to do this, so we will probably start next month.  Your new favorite food is yogurt and your hand and eye coordination has improved, making it easier to feed yourself small pieces of food.

We love you sweet pea!     

 

 

These are Caitlin’s summer shades…and it’s cool to be 8 months old!

                        

                             

 

 

Since she won’t sit still anymore, we went downstairs to get some pictures in the play room.

Yes, that’s a bruise on her right cheek.  Run in with the coffee table.

She is crawling so much…I see this a lot…

                                  

…and then this started happening too.

 

Caitlin seems to be obsessed with socks.  I’m hoping this doesn’t evolve into a shoe obsession.

                              

                               

 

That’s a “Tamra” face.

 

Caitlin’s new favorite show is “Super Why” on PBS.

 

She gets excited like this…

                             

                             

 

I got some greats shots of Caitlin and Michael.  Little girls love their dads!

Happy 8-month birthday baby girl!  We love you!!