Mid-Summer Break Coming Up!!!

Well we've been trucking along with our festive summer.  Tate finished VBS and seemed to just love it!  We listen to the 'Weird Animals VBS' CD in our car every time we're in the car and he loves just sitting back and listening to it.  I love how much he's starting to love the Father.  I was able to arrive at the church early on the last day (Friday) and sneak a peek in to see him enjoying himself!

The night before his last night of VBS he read a book to me.  All on his own, save maybe 2-3 words when I helped him.  Not a book I read to him every night, so he's memorized it, but a book he most definitely hasn't heard in more than 6 months as we don't have it at our house.  He read 'Go Dog, Go'.  He asked if he could read it to me and I was so very amazed.  And so very proud of my 4 year old!!  So proud!!  And he had an absolutely fabulous time reading the book and was super proud of himself!!

After VBS we came back to my parents' and loaded up our car and headed on home.  We met Katherine and Alex at the spray park by our house as they've just arrived from Ottawa as they spend the summer here before they move (along with their parents of course!) to the midwest.  The kids didn't last very long in the heat, and we then trekked over to the Chocolate Bar...yum-o!

Saturday morning found us at soccer, and Tate did a fantastic job, scoring a goal and really enjoying himself, seemingly for the first time in a long time.  I don't know how much longer we're going to keep on going with soccer, but for now he seems ok with it, though clearly he's not in love with it.  We then ran over to my office, so I could recement an appliance on my friends' daughter.  I had an appointment to get my hair relaxed at 12:30 and was planning on taking Tate with me.  My friend offered to keep Tate for me along with her 5 year old daughter and 8 year old daughter (the sweet girl Tate has a crush on).  I decided to let him go!  Now this doesn't seem like a big deal I'm sure, but this was Tate's first playdate without me present!  And my biggest concern was his food allergies.  It was going to be during lunchtime, and I knew they would also want a snack at some point.  So, I made his lunch and included a little snack for him.  I gave my girlfriend his epi-pens and benadryl and tried to relax about everything.  She is so awesome and just assured me all would be fine!!  

And you know what?  It was absolutely fine!  And Tate had an absolute blast!!

There he is jumping into the pool.  Which apparently he did over and over and over and over and over! As I looked at that picture that evening I realized that, yes I knew Tate was going swimming as I had changed him into his swimsuit while at my office before he left with Stephanie and Ila.  But I gave absolutely no thought to the fact that my 4 year old would be swimming without me present, that I was leaving Stephanie to watch three kids and any neighborhood kids who might join them.  I didn't apply sunscreen, heck I didn't even send a towel with him!  

And he had a blast!  Look at him!  I trust Stephanie implicitly and know she was outside with the kiddos the entire time.  And her middle daughter (Tate's crush) is uber responsible even at only 8 years old.  It's just so funny to me that I was so caught up in worrying about his food allergies that every other thought of my child's safety went out the window.  Yes, his food allergies are real and very scary, but I can't let this cripple me.  Otherwise, Tate is going to start picking up on it, as he already has, and I don't want it limiting how he lives his life!

I took the opportunity to run to the uniform store and buy some of Tate's clothes for school for the fall.  This past week I wrote out that huge check and almost passed out from nausea as I did it!  I simply cannot believe he starts kindergarten in less than 2 months and that he's going to a private school!  My world has changed in ways I never thought possible.

I arrived at Stephanie and Dave's and the kids were engrossed in 'Frozen.'  So I sat down and watched some of the World cup with Steph and Dave then finally took Tate on home.

He was down for the count the minute his head hit the pillow!

Sunday morning found us at church (remember that bucket list item of going at least 2 times a month??)!!  We had a great time!  He was even more thrilled because I let him bring one of his trains with him!!

Sunday afternoon found us at his BFF's birthday swim party!  Tate was in heaven the moment he saw Leo.  These boys were practically inseparable at the party.  Tate misses Leo something fierce.  We've had some teary moments this week missing Leo, and it just breaks my heart.  I don't see the boys remaining friends or seeing one another very often.  Maybe I'm wrong, but his mom doesn't seem all that interested in helping the boys maintain their friendship, and it's going to take the two of us to do it.  They live over 30 minutes away and the boys will be in different schools and would be whether we were doing private school or not.  Leo has already left the daycare, so even on the weeks that Tate attends daycare this summer Leo isn't there.  He was actually in daycare (without L) this past week, and I think that combined with having seen Leo on Sunday really brought home how much he misses his BFF, as this is the first time he's mentioned missing him.  Twice.  Getting teary each time.  Oh goodness it just makes me so very sad.

Anyway, he swam and swam and swam.  He had a great time.  I don't know any of the other mothers or fathers for that matter that come to the boys' party, so I just try to make small talk with the women there.  Women who live in the burbs who I don't have anything in common with, because for whatever reason all the kids seem to be Leo's brother's friends (their birthdays are 1 day apart, so they have joint pool parties).  So our kids' lives aren't even in common.  Plus they all know one another.  So I sit there hanging out by myself because my child enjoys himself so very much.

I cannot believe how big this little boy of mine has gotten!  First solo playdate last weekend!  First time to jump into TWO pools without an adult to catch him or be in the pool with him (there were no adults in either poor either day).  AND he was jumping into the deep end!!  

He spent this past week at daycare, and I think he enjoys being back in very familiar surroundings.  They're doing some fun things this summer, and of note he really loves their 'Arts Alive' sessions...they come once a week, and Tate just loves it!!  It involves lots of movement of the body and he talked about it all week.  They do yoga once a week and he still does soccer on Mondays when he's there.  They had a face painter come on Thursday and he got a balloon animal!!  He's more relaxed and at ease on these daycare weeks, so I'm really glad I've included some to give him a sense of 'home' amidst all the changes when we can't be together.  Even better one of his best little buddies, who left at the beginning of Fall 2013 to go to another pre-k3 program, is at the daycare for the summer, so that has made it 100 times easier for Tate.  Even more exciting..the little boy goes to the private school Tate will be attending for kindergarten.  Though the boys were together at the daycare for 3 years in the same class all the time, as the C doesn't turn 5 until October they will not be in the same grade at the private school, but they should see one another every day. I hope!

Friday was his last day to have swim lessons on Friday mornings.  We've been doing those swim lessons since he was 22 months old, and Ms. Veronica has been his teacher since he was 30 months old!  He had Ms. Laura for about 6 weeks late this spring when Ms. Veronica moved up to a more administrative position!  But Ms. Veronica has come back to teaching for the summer, so Tate had her back the past two months and oh goodness was he absolutely thrilled.  I moved him to an afternoon class starting in July in order to snag an afternoon spot before school starts, because everyone wants the after school spots.  If you don't get one now, you'll end up wait-listed in the fall.  So here's his last day with Ms. Veronica!

Friday night I had a girls' night with several of my sorority sisters from college!!  It was a fantastic evening of excellent food, great wine and love & friendship from years gone by.  Some of these girls I haven't seen since they graduated, so 27-28 years ago.  Three girls came in from Dallas!!  It was just fantastic!  Tate stayed home with one of his favorite daycare teachers, and I had just a lovely evening out!

Saturday morning he happily built the red lego train all by himself!!  While I slept until 830!!  So he was up for about 2 hours doing without my help.  A huge feat in my opinion!! I was really impressed!!

We went to soccer where he didn't have a great time this week.  Much whining about the grass on his legs (it hadn't been mowed in a while).  Complaints about the heat and everything else.  Sigh.

We went out to lunch and he was still in a grumpy mood.  He didn't want to eat outside which I suppose turned out to be a good thing as it started pouring halfway through our meal.

He did smile for our selfie!

We made our way back home and we had one of his little friends from soccer come over to play for a bit.  Tate was getting back to himself, and had fun with M.

Dinner was ok, but Tate's been refusing to eat much the past week or so, especially at dinnertime. He'll still eat his entire breakfast with gusto, but only picks at his dinners and lunches.  I'm not terribly concerned, but I've definitely noticed.  He's not even wanting his favorite foods.  Certainly a phase, but as I'm trying to get him to try new foods this isn't making it easier.  Oh well.  I know in two or three weeks he'll go through yet another growth spurt and eat me out of house and home!
This morning we made it to church again!!  Woohoo!  Our two times a month quota has been met!  Tate had fun, and I let him bring his Dusty plane along.  Maybe not such a good idea on my part as you can see in the Gospel processional, which is when the priests walk through the congregation inviting the children to walk behind and join them up front where they read the Gospel and give the sermon while the children sit close by.  It's a lovely lovely service.

This afternoon we went to Constellation Field to see the Houston Skeeters play baseball;  they're Houston's minor league team.  Good grief it was hot, but the kids had fun.  Though they too were complaining about the heat.  Susan came along with her parents and her two kids.  My mom and dad joined us as well!!  When we left at the middle of the 5th inning the Skeeters were winning 4-0.  We couldn't take the heat anymore.

The stadium is great and it has a wonderful area for the kids...a huge playground, a splash pad, bouncy house, carousel and an open grassy area.  Lots of fun.  

Susan's mom stayed up top in the shade!!

Tate and Katherine jousting!

Poor Tate...the thing was quite heavy!

Such a cool guy!

Now we're back at my parents' for a couple of days as they will take him to soccer camp for me Monday and Tuesday.  It's only from 8:30-11:30, so they'll hang out with him for a bit for me! I'm off the rest of the week for a mid-summer break...thank goodness!!  Whoever thought one would need a break in the middle of summer?  But we've been crazy busy at work, so I definitely do!!

Summer!!   I'm loving it this year!!!

Been A Hard Week

It's been an interesting week and a half.  Tate and I have both battled some sort of respiratory malady, and he had a stomach virus that lasted a few days or he came in contact with one of his allergens causing the issues;  I don't know which at this point.

So last Wednesday (the 11th) when I arrived at daycare, Tate looked absolutely miserable. He made his way slowly over to me, whereas he normally he races up to me, and told me "I want to go to bed when I get home with no stories."

This boy loves having stories read to him.  And he hates going to bed, so this was definitely a sign he didn't feel good.

We got home, and he truly didn't want any dinner.   He was just so unhappy. We blew off bath time, and I read him a couple of stories because he had changed his mind :).  He was asleep by 7pm.  

45 minutes later he was up tossing and turning and flailing about.  I got him back to sleep and he was awake again 45 minutes later, crying and tossing and turning and just completely out of sorts.

Then he vomited some bile.  Cleaned him up and back to sleep he went for about an hour.  

More tossing and extending his body all of the place 45 minutes later.  A little more bile.

Poor baby.

I got into bed with him.  He threw up one more time around 1:30am.  But we were up almost every single hour because he was so miserable and crampy,  

I myself had started feeling bad Wednesday morning with a cough and yucky throat.  Wednesday evening when I left work  I had a fever of 101.6.  But once I got to Tate and realized he was sick, I just did what all mommys do...single or not.

I soldiered on.  I took 4 Advil and took care of my boy.

Thursday morning I called in the cavalry...my dad.  He met me at my office and took Tate back to our house.  He spent the entire day taking care of Tate for me!!  Before we left the house I gave Tate his new Sven doll...one of my girlfriends had found him (FINALLY) at the Disney store a couple of weeks ago and picked him up for me.  She mailed him to me and I was keeping him to give to Tate on his birthday (Sven is his favorite 'Frozen' character and he's been asking for the Sven doll).  Giving him Sven brought the first smile of the morning.

On the way to my office to meet Papa!

He did well all day according to my dad...no vomiting etc.  When I got home, he was exhausted though and told me his throat hurt and he just wanted to go to bed.  So we went upstairs for stories and an early bedtime.  I gave him some Advil and we were ready for the night.  (I was exhausted)

The beloved Sven

One of the few laughs of the day.

He tossed and turned alot this night as well, but we did get a solid 5 1/2 hours from 11:30-5.  Then I told him he had to go back to sleep, and boy was I mad.  I was tired, mad and not feeling great.  He finally went back to sleep until 7am.

We got up and I decided to take him to daycare, so I could go to my office for my PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) class that started at 9:30.  He seemed so much better, and I didn't want to bother my parents.  I wanted to take the class, so as not to seem like I was blowing things off, wanted to be on the same page as the other docs in the office and I didn't really want to be bothered with having to do it on a Saturday in October.  However, I made Tate an appointment with the pediatrician for that afternoon because he was still complaining his throat hurt.

He had yet to have a fever.

I picked him up from daycare at 12:45.  My poor sweet boy was almost asleep...my first clue he was still miserable.  One of the teachers told me he told her he was tired and wanted to take a nap.  All the teachers know that is not like Tate!  I gathered him up and we were off to the doctor.  

Throat clear.  Ears clear.  Chest clear.  Nose clear.  Fast strep...negative.  Flu swab...negative.  No good answers except that there seemed to be some sort of sore throat virus going around that comes with congestion a few days later.  The ped (not our usual as she was off that day) recommended OTC pain meds as needed.  In fact since Tate looked so miserable in her office she gave him some motrin right then and there.

We left and I was starving.  I decided to drive through Chick-Fil-A.  I told Tate I would get him some white ice cream if it was safe for him.  Now, I know that Chick-Fil-A cooks with peanut oil, but their ice cream seemed fine as I checked the ingredients.  As I don't ever let Tate have fast food (the only other time was at a McDonald's in Canada when he had some french fries) this was huge for me.

He lapped up the ice cream!

We got home and all seemed ok.  I opened up his lunch kit, and he had not eaten anything at lunch time save one bite of his grilled cheese sandwich.

Two hours later he vomited all over me, the couch, the bathroom floor and the hardwood floor.

Sweet boy.  All the ice cream came back up.  I got him cleaned up and we cuddled a bit more.  And again he complained of a sore throat.  I got him into bed and he was asleep within minutes.

We had another bad night of tossing and turning.  Cramping, cramping, cramping...poor baby.  My mom had come over for the night as the a/c at their house was out on one side.  Saturday morning I took a quick walk to get some donuts before she left and then Tate and I spent the entire day at home.  

It was just wonderful.  Absolutely wonderful.  We watched movies, he played with his trains and his new passion...'Planes'...as in the movie 'Planes.'  He loves the characters...Dusty, Skipper, Chug, you name it.  He has a miniature set of the characters and can spend hours flying them through the air and putting them on the train tracks with his miniature set of Thomas the Train characters.  We stuck to bland, upset tummy foods for the day for him, and he was happy to eat minimally.  We crossed off one thing on our bucket list...he wrote a letter to Mickey Mouse!

We did one of his favorite in the house activities...experiments!

Bedtime came and he went to sleep easily.  And he slept through the night!!

Sunday...Father's Day.  I opted not to go to church as I knew it would be heavily focused on daddys and fathers and I just didn't want to subject Tate to hearing about it.   We hung out at home then made our way to my parents' as we were going to be spending the week with them while Tate went to VBS at their church Mon-Fri 9-12 each day.  My mom is a volunteer in his little group as well!  We got situated here at the house then took my dad out to dinner for Father's Day at Carrabas.  One of my dad's favorite restaurant.  And another item off our bucket list...Tate's 2nd new to him restaurant!!!

All went well even though we had to wait 30 minutes.  Tate was finally hungry and I informed the waitress of his food allergies, and I had called ahead to determine what would be safe for him.  He had some plain pasta made with butter and sucked it down!!  Aunt Lindsey joined us for dinner and it was a great night!

Photo by Tate!

Another photo by Tate!

Tate took at least 40 selfless!!

By 6:15 Tate was saying he was tired and wanted to go to bed.  This was the 5th night in a row that he had rallied during the day and at 6pm was asking to go to bed.  I was starting to get worried.  Again he complained of the sore throat.  I was starting to get panicked.  It just didn't make sense...fine all during the day, great energy, happy kid and then a huge crash at 6pm.  

We made it back to our home for the week, and I got him bathed and into bed.  He struggled again with cramping waking up not an hour after he went down.

And then he vomited all over the place four times!!

Sigh.

Ugh.

He was able to get back to sleep though he woke up at 3am tossing and turning.  I finally got him back to sleep around 4.  Poor baby.

Monday morning he seemed better and was in a good mood.  I went off to work, and my mom took him to Vacation Bible School where the theme is Weird Animals.

When I finally got back home Monday night he seemed much better.  He still complained his throat hurt, but he had had fun at VBS.  We stuck to bland food all day and he was exhausted.

Tuesday morning he begged to stay home with Papa instead of going to VBS, so we let him stay home, while my mom went off to teach the kiddos!

When I got home, he was in a fabulous mood.  What I've learned about my son is that he LOVES being at home.  He just loves his Papa.  He loves his grandmommy.  And he LOVES just hanging out with them in the house.  I need to embrace this time for him.  Just let them be.  I try not to worry that he's eating marshmallows and graham crackers all day, and just let him have this precious time with them.

By Wednesday he seemed completely on the mend.  No more complaining of a sore throat in the evening.  No more vomiting.  No more complaining, well not really :).  He still routinely says "I don't feel good," but that's to get out of say cleaning up his toys.  (This tactic does not work with me :) )

He's gone to VBS the past two days, and he'll finish out the week tomorrow!!

So looking back at how bad he's felt...I think he had contaminated food on Friday from Chick-Fil-A and on Sunday from Carrabas.  I will definitely not be letting him eat fast food again.  As far as Carrabas is concerned, we won't go there again, but also it was Father's Day, and I just don't know how serious our waitress took us.  Usually the manager or chef comes by to assure me that they will take all manners of precautions to keep Tate safe.  This didn't happen at Carrabas.  We won't try any other new places for a while (the Ruggles Green went well though the other week;  I trust them much more as it is an organic, health conscious restaurant).  But I'm thankful he was willing to try the different food at Carrabas!!

Oh and just like the ped said...Tuesday morning he woke up congested, coughing and sneezing!!  And no more sore throat!  He's getting his allergy meds and is doing great!

What a week!!!  Through it all though Tate has learned that God never leaves us!!  His love is one of a kind!!!!

Working Our Way Through The Summer 2014 Bucket List

We've been rocking that Summer 2014 Bucket List, Tate and I!  And it's been great fun.  I love making these awesome (I hope!) memories with him.  I hate that I have to work and not get any real summer day time with him, so I'm trying to make it up to him on the weekends.  I also try really hard to be really present with him when we do do these things.  I also have to remember that we don't *have* to do everything on the list.  I was stressing a couple of hours ago, looking at our summer schedule, trying to figure out "When are we going to get to go to the beach???  If I do this here, and that there, we can race down to the beach for a couple of hours, will he sleep on the way?  What will he do in the car for 3 hours for just 2-3 hours in the sand?  Who will go with us?  How will we get clean?  I hate the beach, and I hate sand, but I'll do it."

And I realized...'Stop Jennifer.  Just stop.'

If I hate the beach and sand; if I'm going to be a basket case of nerves racing like a mad woman to get down there before traffic is hideous, how is that fun?  This is supposed to just be fun.  Fun stuff to do with my son.  My blood pressure rising because we can't get out of the house at a decent hour to beat the traffic does not make the beach and all its disgusting sand any fun for anyone, least of all me.  And I  should have some fun too, not just Tate.  So I've got to work on chilling out.  Which will be hard for me.

Because I am a task master.  I've made a list, and I will not be happy, I will not feel complete until each and every task on said bucket list is crossed off.  I LOVE crossing items off lists.  It's what I live for.

I need to change what I live for.

I need to live for the moments like this morning when Tate scored 2 goals in soccer and was just over the moon.  Or when as he ran off the field towards me, he shouted to his teammate who scored 4 goals..."R!  You did a great job!"  And when he got to me I was beaming with pride and he said "It's nice to be kind to our friends."  My heart was full.  That's what I need to live for.

I'm going to work on it.

In the interim though, I am gonna cross some things off our list :).  I just can't help myself.

Last Saturday we ventured to the zoo and rode the zoo train.  Surprisingly, Tate was not overly thrilled about the idea of the train ride at first!  I was shocked!  And disheartened.  I've loved his love of trains, and for some reason the fact that he seems to be broadening his horizons upsets me.  I can't put my finger on why, but it does.  It's almost like I feel like I'm losing the little boy that I love.  It's weird, but I was so sad he wasn't excited.  

But once we got to the train he was thrilled.  Then I convinced him that we needed to go to the zoo.  This took some convincing...he just has absolutely no interest.  The promise of feeding the giraffes made him happy, so we were off.  

He loved feeding the giraffes!!  We then went on a quick carousel ride!

Then my little Texan proceeded to tell me he was really hot and he wanted to leave.  Sigh.  It was only 90 or so degrees and he was hot.  He is not going to be happy come August or July.  However, I insisted (as per the Summer Bucket List) that we see at least one animal.  He grudgingly acquiesced and we visited the monkeys.  And then he was ready to go.  So homeward bound we were!

Sunday we back to the splashpad with his friend M and his mom.  We were there a couple of hours and the kiddos had a blast!

He started his summer camp this past week.  I've decided to enroll him in a couple of camps...a kids' camp, soccer camp and zoo camp.  He'll also do a week at my parents' church for VBS and he'll do 4 weeks in total at his daycare.  I just wanted to get him used to going to different places, meeting different people and trying to make new friends.  I dropped him off on Monday on my way to work for the before care and the counselors were just awesome.  Of course I'm worried beyond belief that he'll have an allergic reaction while not in my care, but they really put me at ease.  Or as at ease as I'm ever going to be when I'm not with him.  Goodness this is so very hard.  My parents, who are AMAZING, picked him up each day and brought him to my office, so he wouldn't have to do after care thus enabling us to get home at a decent hour.  And to cross another item off our Summer Bucket List, my dad took Tate to the library 3 days on their way to my office...a different library from our regular one.  But I don't think I'm going to count that as a different library since I wasn't there.  But, note to self, it will be good enough if we don't make it to a different one together :) 

Goodness my parents are just so wonderful.  They are just fantastic.  How come it took me having a child of my own to realize how blessed I am with the parents God chose for me?

Splash Day at camp!

Today we went to soccer for the start of the summer season.  We then went to a new-to-us restaurant, a la our Summer Bucket List!  We loved it.  Of course Tate ate what he normally eats...grilled cheese and french fries, but it was a new place!  That's all that matters!!!!  Good food and good company.  His friend M from soccer and his mom came with us.

We then all headed off to the model train exhibit at the mall that Tate loves so much.  Tate was in heaven.  The boys played at the train table for what seemed like forever.  We then went to ride the train in the mall and returned back to the model trains.  Tate would have stayed forever, but M wasn't nearly as into as Tate was.  So I'll definitely take Tate back, so he can get his fix :)

My child was out by 740 this evening.

I also must express how lucky I am with this child of mine.  He woke up this morning at 5:30am. I told him he had to go back to sleep for a little bit.  He gamely laid back down and closed his eyes and slept off and on until 6:05.  He then asked if he could get up and go play!

I said rock on little dude.  He happily went downstairs and started playing.  A while later he came up to tell me he had to go potty.  A bit later he came up to tell me he had made the train all by himself with his playstix.  Even later he woke me to tell me he built the plane from playstix by himself.  (This is not easy!)  Those stix were by far the best gift he received last year on his birthday!  My dad picked them out!  Later on he came to tell me he was hungry...I told him to get some yogurt, cheese and applesauce.

I dozed on and off, but finally got up around 7:15 as I heard the Blu-Ray player 'reading' a story to Tate.  Come to realize he found the 'Cars/Planes' 4 story read-along book I had bought for our Disney trip. (I have to start really hiding stuff, not hiding it in plain view!)  I looked over the railing and he was happily ensconced on the couch listening to the stories, just happy happy happy.  I did some laundry and finally made my way downstairs.  

My boy had gone into the pantry, brought his chair in there to stand on, gotten two boxes of milk and the cheerios (He told me it took three trips :) ).  He opened up the brand new box of cheerios, poured himself a bowl, added milk, had a box of milk to drink and a stick of cheese for breakfast.  With minimal spillage!!!  For four hours, 6-10am, Tate played with his toys, read some books, played with the cat, ate his oatmeal, got himself dressed for soccer and just hung out in our house while I did laundry, emptied the dishwasher, cleaned up, fiddled on the computer, took out the trash, got myself dressed, made up and hair done and organized his stuff for the day complete with change of clothes and snack.  Four hours.  Without one tear, one complaint, one whine or one electronic device or screen.  Our home was quiet, yet abuzz with the sound of contentment in mother and child.

I love this child!!!!

He is just awesome!  How blessed am I?  

Who needs a bucket list when life as we know it is just about perfect?

Our Summer 2014 Bucket List

So, over here in my corner of the world there's a movement to publish a Summer Bucket List.  

Oh and to actually accomplish many, if not all the ideas, adventures and activities on said bucket list. 

 Case in point, this blog which got it all started...
Houston Mom's Blog Bucket List

Not one to be left out of such festivities I've created a summer bucket list for Tate and me.  As I'm a single working mama, I have to keep our list small and contained as we will only have the weekends together to complete ours.  My goal is for us to do something fun every weekend, even if it's something we've done before.

*Hit up a different library than our regular one.
*Miller Outdoor Theater
*Taking our bikes to ride around Memorial Park or the bike trails in Heights or Hermann park...just somewhere safe where we can have a blast riding together!
*Write a letter to President Obama and Disney characters
*Teach Tate to tie his shoes
*Take snacks to the fire station
*Go to the Tomball Railroad Depot
*Go visit the Houston Tinplate Operators
*Go to Kemah Boardwalk
*Go to a baseball game
*Get a snoball
*Go to the Museum of Health and Medical Science
*Go to a water park like Splashtown or Schlitterrbahn
*Go to the zoo and actually look at at least one animal.
*Take snacks to the hospital where Tate was born.
*Go to a professional soccer game. (this might be difficult as almost all the games are at 8pm or later)
*Go to church at least twice a month.
*Eat out at 2 or 3 different restaurants other than our normal faves.
*Go to the beach.

*I want to have at least one adult night out each month, sans child.

Oh and...
*Go to Disneyworld for a week :)

I'm also going to journal with Tate what each of our favorite part of each day is.   And I'm going to let him write it himself :)

Here's to the first days of summer!!!

Tate Does Hip Hop!

Tate had his Hip Hop Dance Recital over Memorial Day weekend!  It's obvious he had a great time!  The dance studio came to his little school once a week all year long.  His teacher from dance class is one of his favorites...every Tuesday he would tell me all about her.  Now he would never show me any of his moves or discuss any of the songs they practiced to, but everything was Mrs. T this or Mrs. T that.

Here's my tiny dancer....

Ready to bust a move!

Off to wait their turn!   

Here they come!!

Look at those faces!!!  I'm thinking they're going to bust
out in some hip hop music of their own!