Family Date Day: The Zoo!

It had been awhile since we've been able to plan a family date, so with the weather getting (somewhat) cooler, we opted to head to the zoo for the day.  Added bonus, Uncle C and A joined us too!

The real motivation to go the zoo was for Super Hero day, to see Spiderman and Captain America.  But because the lines to see these two heroes would require a heroic amount of patience from a four-year-old, we elected to forgo the picture op.  Thankfully, Little Buddy was too excited about seeing the animals and Uncle C to be bothered by missing out.

This picture was taken right before I fell off the back of the ladybug statue!

Little Buddy showing Uncle C, A, and Little Sweetie the clouded leopard exhibit.

     

One of my favorite parts of today, watching the trainers feeding the elephants!  He threw an entire giant sweet potato, football-style, into her mouth. 

Sadly, a tired Little Sweetie was not as impressed by the elephants.  But she did look cute in her elephant outfit!

Little Buddy and Uncle C at the cheetah statue.

     

     

A boy and his uncle on a carousel!

     

And a girl and her daddy!  And a Momma who got to stand on the sidelines for once and take pictures!  

It was a wonderful trip!  We finished up our excursion with lunch with C and A at Torchy's Tacos, a beloved downtown taco destination that Daddy and I hadn't been to before.  They were pretty tasty!  The rest of the day went well too, as both kids resisted the curse of the zoo and napped when we got home!  A total miracle!  A truly great day!

Good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

Fall Ohio Visit

One of the nice perks of Daddy's job is that sometimes he has to go back to Ohio for work.  When this happens, we try to go as a family so that Little Buddy and Little Sweetie can go see their families back east.  We were very fortunate to travel back this month and spend an entire week visiting our loved ones.

Our first and longest stop was Marietta to stay with Mimi and Pop-Pop.  Daddy was back to do recruiting at our alma mater, but we were lucky to come in on the last day of the Sternwheeler Festival so that Little Buddy and Little Sweetie could watch the races.  We were double lucky that Mamaw and Papaw came down for the afternoon to join us, especially since it was Grandparents Day!  How awesome that our kids got to spend time with both sets of grandparents on their special day!

Little Buddy watching the races with Mamaw and Papaw!

Brother and sister!

Happy sister enjoying Sternwheeler!

Papaw with Little Sweetie, in a picture that looks awfully similar to the ones we have of him holding me as a baby girl.

One of the best parts of a visit to Mimi and Pop-Pop's the castle!  This playhouse used to be Daddy's and Uncle C's, so it means a lot that our kids can now play on it.

     

Little Sweetie getting her slide on!

     

Little Buddy is a seasoned slide pro!

Little Buddy on the castle with Great Grandma.  Pop-Pop and Mimi have put a lot of work and love into the castle, and the kiddos couldn't love it more!

Little Sweetie also worked on standing by herself quite a bit this visit.  Won't be long til she'll be walking on her own!

Another treat this year was taking rides in the vintage car that has been in the family for generations.  It was a big hit, especially with Little Buddy!

     

Now Little Buddy is really desperate to get a license!

Ohio wouldn't be Ohio without our pilgrimages to Bob Evans.  Oh how I miss dedicated breakfast restaurants!  They just aren't a staple in Texas like they are in Ohio.  We may have gone twice, lol!

Little Sweetie getting kisses from Great Grandma

    

Pop-Pop likes Sweetie kisses too!

We are so lucky to be able to spend this precious time with our families.  I love watching Little Buddy and Little Sweetie blossom with the love of their grandparents.

Four generations of the Byers family!


     

Lots of fun in Marietta this trip!

At the end of the week, we drove up to Canton to see Mamaw and Papaw again.  One of my favorite things to do is drive through Ohio.  It's gorgeous!

I miss hills!

One of the best things about a Canton visit is getting to go on Papaw's bus!  And this visit, Little Sweetie even got a turn to drive!

     

Sitting in the driver's seat!

Little Buddy also wanted to see some football players so, because my high school had a home game that night, we got to watch a game.  A bit surreal to sit in the stands with my kids and watch (and by surreal, I mean I felt old) but it was a beautiful cool evening.  We even were able to get some hot chocolate!  

     

My kids' first football game was a CCHS game...crazy!

It was a great trip and I know all the grandparents loved having the kids up.  And we loved watching them with their grandkids.  We are so fortunate to get to see them as often as we do for living so far apart.  

Mamaw and Little Sweetie!

Even remembered to get a group picture!  

Have a good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

September 11

We were fortunate to celebrate Little Buddy's monthly birthday in Ohio this time (a post detailing our Ohio trip will be coming soon!).  We are currently having lots of fun showing all the grandparents how our little man has grown during the past month!

Playing in the pool that Great Aunt K sent!

Being a "helper" by giving Little Sister more of her puffs.  He must have thought she was REALLY hungry!

     

My cooking assistant helping to knead the pizza dough!

His new prized possession...his Lego Movie Emmet coat!  He loved it so much, he didn't want to take it off (even though it was 90 degrees outside).  He also wants to be Emmet for Halloween and we're working on making that happen even though Lego hasn't licensed any costumes it seems.

Height and Weight

Currently 44 3/4 in. and 54 1/2 lbs.  Growing strong!  I need to go get him new pants soon that his ankles are covered this winter...such a tall guy!

Personality

Happy, excited (he often even says, "I'm so excited!!!!), and easily distracted.  And the emotional meltdowns still occasionally happen, normally when he has to do something that he doesn't want to, or has to stop something that he enjoys.  It's funny, because last year my friends talked about how their kids were just super emotional over little things and I remember thinking how Little Buddy was so chill and easy -going.  Obviously, we were just late getting to this crazy stage!

Developmental Milestones

We still see daily improvement in development.  His language is slowly becoming more complex as he makes longer sentences and strives to make people understand him.  New phrases that have been both funny and a bit trying include, "But I neeeeeed it!" when he wants something and "I don't like that," which is occurring when he is trying to get out of an activity or food (not actually because he doesn't like it, but because it isn't what he wants at that time).  We also notice him becoming more observant about the world around him and constantly praise his observation skills in order to reinforce this behavior.  He even, actually, used the potty completely by himself!!!!  I nearly cried, I was so happy.  He told me he had to go while I was busy with Little Sister, I told him to go ahead, and he actually came and told me he had done it! Slowly but steadily, we'll get there.  He's also getting really good at putting puzzles together!  We are also going to start to have some individual playdates with some of our friends to help Little Buddy work on communicating more effectively with his peers.

Little Buddy having fun with his friend, E, at the local kids' concert.  This year, it was a Disney music theme and the kids loved it!  These two had a lot of fun together!

In terms of his therapy and treatment, we keep moving forward.  There is so much bureaucracy we have to get through before we can actually get Little Buddy the help he needs.  We have several evaluations coming up, but once those are finished he should be able to start his in home speech therapy, occupational therapy, and his kindergarten prep classes through our school district.  He's very excited for it to begin as I've explained it as being his school...he is so desperate to go to school, and I hope that these programs will fill that void for him and prepare him for the next step!

Fun Tidbits

In case you wondered where Little Buddy got his good looks, check out these vintage pictures of Daddy! 

     

Safe to say that these two apples fell from the same tree!

See you next month, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma