Boys of all ages love water balloons...

This weekend, there was a water balloon fight at my parents' house. And I mean a big one! Grayson was playing on the patio with his water table, very unsuspecting... and all of a sudden, Uncle Brett bombs him with water balloons from the 2nd story balcony. Grayson did not know what hit him. Literally!! Brentley threw 3 huge balloons at Grayson before he could figure out what was going on! Here's right before the balloons started raining down...

Gotcha!!

Then, Brett lifted Grayson up so he could toss a few of his own balloons. Notice that his shorts were soaked, so he stripped down to his undies. =)

Carter loved looking at the balloons!
So then Jerry got in on the fun. He threw a balloon so hard that it BROKE Grayson's plastic swimming pool on Nana's patio. Way to go, Jerry!

Pretty exciting stuff, huh??

After all the testosterone was released outside, Brett got Carter laughing! It was so cute! I loved watching them together. =)

And, at the very end of the day, the two youngest boys were completely exhausted. Carter was already sleeping, and Grayson snuggled up next to him and was OUT!

The end to a great day!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day weekend! We have had a fun-filled weekend, and we've been blessed with beautiful weather! The flowers are in full bloom after all of our rain... here are the boys in front of my HUGE carpet rose bush. It started as a tiny bucket plant, and is now taller (and wider) than me!! =) And, of course, I had to pick up the matching $5 flag t-shirts at Old Navy. I just figured we could use them today AND for the 4th of July!We've had a ball playing with Uncle Brentley, as he travelled home from Ft. Worth this weekend. We all went to our neighborhood pool on Sunday afternoon. It was chilly, but fun! Uncle Brentley threw Grayson SOOOO high in the air! Here's an action shot!

Jerry and Mom were poolside... working on their tans =)

This was Carter's first-ever time in a pool... and he LOVED it!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Thanks to all of our veterans whose service have made the United States the best country in which to live. A special shout out to my Dad, who served our country in Vietnam, from 1970-1971 with the Army. Thanks, Dad!

Brookses and Butterflies

Okay, so I am a little slow in posting these pics... sorry! We had a lovely Mother's Day dinner with my parents and the Brookses. The guys went and picked up Abuelo's (yum!!) and we had a great time catching up. Here is Miss Kay getting some snuggles in with Carter... (I think his eyes still look really blue...)

Mr. Paul and Grayson are really into this animal book
Nana and Grayson have been "growing" butterflies over the past few weeks. They had caterpillars that arrived in the mail, then turned to chrysallises, and then became four beautiful butterflies! After keeping the butterflies in their temporary home for awhile, it was time to let them go. Unzipping the original butterfly home...

The butterflies LOVED Grayson =)

Aren't they pretty?

How fun to watch this miracle occur!

Field Day

This morning Grayson's preschool had Field Day. It was a beautiful day outside... a little cloudy, slightly cool, and no wind. Just a few drops of rain here and there... =) Here is Grayson balancing a bean bag on his head while walking, and his teacher, Mrs. Tinius is cheering him on. Go Grayson!Here's Grayson's class

Dribbling down the field with the soccer ball. Watch out, Uncle Dave!!

All the kids had to do 20 bounces or dribbles with their ball... Daddy would be proud!

And, of course, the most important part of the day -- SNOW CONES!!
What a fun morning it was! It's hard to believe that the last day of school is next Tuesday! We have had a wonderful first year of preschool!!

Sleep and a Shower

Last night I hosted a lingerie shower for my good friend, Heather, who is getting married on July 3rd. Everyone who came to the shower does or has worked in the Occupational Therapy Dept. at Wesley Medical Center at some point. Several of us have worked together for several years now. It was so fun to get everyone together to celebrate Heather, and to catch up and chat!Front: Sherry, Heather (the Bride!), me

Back: Regina, Debbie, Michelle, Staci, Joyce, VickiThe table filled with yummy treats... Mom let me use her cool drink dispenser and I made limeades in it.
Now for the sleep update... and a couple of new pics of the boys. Carter has been a ROCK STAR when it comes to sleeping at night. We have changed NOTHING! We are still feeding him at 7pm, putting him down for bed about 8pm, and then waking him up to eat again at 10pm. Then, we just wait until we hear from him... The past 3 nights he has awakened at 4:45am, then 5:30am, and then this morning at 7am to eat. Hallelujah! It's been wonderful!Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there! And, happy sleeping!!

Well, we tried...

both ideas I had mentioned in the previous post.

On Saturday night we put Carter to sleep on his stomach. He woke up an hour and a half later, screaming. He hated being on his stomach. As soon as I rolled him back to his side, he went right back to sleep. Strike one...

On Sunday night (last night), we fed him at 7pm and he went to bed at 8pm. We decided to just let him go... see how long he would sleep before waking up. Maybe this would be the trick. Ummm, not so fast. He woke up, starving, at 11pm. And then at 3 and 6:30am. Strike two...

So, tonight we're back to our original plan. Feed him at 7pm and do his usual bedtime routine. Wake him to eat at 10pm. We go to bed and then wait to hear from him. We're just hoping to not see that stupid clock before 2am. Please...

Tired... (literally) of not sleeping

Well, here I go again. I'm tired. We're tired. Carter just passed the 10 week mark, and he's still up 1-2 times per night. Here's our routine: Eat at 7pm, wake him up to eat at 10pm. Then, we wait until we hear from him for his next feeding. He's gone as long as 3:30am (twice), but more often he's awake about 1:45am and then again at 5:30am. I'm at a loss for what to do. This is getting really, really old.

I'm seriously considering putting him to sleep on his stomach. He can clear his head up off the floor when laying on his tummy. He's not yet rolling over, though. My other thought has been to NOT wake him up at 10pm for a feeding and see how long he goes. But, my fear is that he'll just wake up at 11 or midnight, and then be up every three hours after that. Ugh.

On a positive note, he's been taking good afternoon naps in his crib. He's been sleeping for about 2 hours in the afternoon, and it's allowed me to feel somewhat productive! Yea!!

Any sleep-extending ideas out there??