First Yell Practice

As any good Aggie family knows, it's best to start indoctrinating your kids young.  Especially when your son is partly named after Kyle Field.  So this past weekend we took Dalton to his first Midnight Yell Practice at Kyle Field before the game against Army.  For those who are unfamiliar with A&M traditions, at Texas A&M there are no cheer leaders or pep rallies.  Instead, since 1932 we have had Yell Leaders and Midnight Yell Practice.  After climbing up to second deck, we found the perfect spot on the front row overlooking the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.  While the band and the yelling crowds were a little much for Addison, Dalton loved every second of it!  As we were leaving the stadium, he asked if he could sleep in his Aggie shirt that night. 

While back in Aggieland, Dalton took the opportunity to play at the park near our old house and visit his old duck friends we used to live next to.

After returning home to good ol’ San Antonio, we finished off the weekend the only way we know how; with ice cream.  Sometimes it’s so good you just need two spoons.

Becoming Mobile

Little Addison has been working really hard at become mobile lately.   She can roll over with the best of them (something the dog still cannot do).  She has even gained a limited scooting ability.  Her latest project has been trying to sit up.  She practices constantly and we're beginning to make bets on when it will happen. 

 

With her newfound ability to leave a stationary position, she has naturally started gravitating to her favorite target; Dalton.   The other day they were laying on the floor watching TV together and Dalton had fallen asleep.  She tried for quite a while before she finally scooted to his side. As a sign of affection (or teething), she then began to chew on his hand.  Needless to say, for Dalton the sheen is starting to wear off of his new baby sister.

Addie has also doing really well eating new foods.  She loves apples and sweet potatoes. 

Dalton has been doing very well in school with Mommy, and is well on his way to learning all of this letters! 

He is really excited that his cousin Clayton will be moving nearby soon and can come help him learn and play after he gets out of his school. 

 

In trying to get the most out of our season passes, we have gone again to see our favorite marine animals at Sea World.  If you're ever coming to San Antonio with kids, this is the best place to go because there are never any lines and the place is super-clean.

And lastly, who doesn't enjoy watching their kids play together?

We’ll Miss you Ms. Molly

Ms. Molly, our beloved tabby cat passed away this weekend.  She came to live with us in August of 2007 after Crystal rescued her from a local adoption agency.  She quickly became best friends with our other feline resident, Ms. Kitty. Together they would play all night long jumping up and down the stairs.  She loved to be held, even if it was Dalton trying to carry her around by her back legs.  She had a special ability to tolerate us, as anyone who ever saw the Molly-go-round knows.  She did a great job of keeping you company while watching TV, reading, or anytime you just wanted something furry to pet.  She will be greatly missed. 

Help Cure MS!

On October 4th, I will be participating in the 19th Annual MS 150 Valero Bike to the Beach.   This is a 2 day ride from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, covering 100 miles the first day and 70 the next.  Should be fun!  My dad and I are riding as guests on the team of one of my company's clients, Magi Real Estate Services.  I guess this qualifies as a working weekend, I'm not sure.  

 

Anywho, now the hard part.  Unlike other rides I do yearly, this one is actually a fundraiser to help fight multiple sclerosis.  The goal is for each of the 3,500 cyclist participating to raise at least $300 for the cause.  If you would like to help fight MS and sponsor me on this ride, I would greatly appreciate it.  Please click here to donate. 

 

Thanks for supporting the cause against MS and a huge thanks for supporting me! 

~Blake

Staying Busy

We have been staying incredibly busy lately and taking about a million pictures of it all.  We are up to 186 pictures in the month of August.  Don't worry, we won't put them all up here, just the best ones.

Addison has been having a great time playing in her bouncy and chasing toys on the floor.  She has almost mastered the art of rolling over.  (We're still working with the dog on this one.) 

We have also started Addison on her first foods.  So far it's just rice cereal but she seems to really enjoy it.

Dalton has been working really hard at "school."  He actually asks every day to have school time!  This is him drawing the letter "C" in shaving cream. 

He loves to read his books to his baby sister.

  

He has also been studying biology and learning about the different animals around us. 

He is very into animal rights and proper handling, as you can see below. 

There are a lot more pictures online from this month.  Check out the web album to see them all. 

Happy Birthday and Baptism

This weekend was a two-fold celebration!  It was Grandma Kelly's birthday and Addison's baptism.  After spending the week in San Angelo, Kelly (gladly) returned my family to me in San Antonio.  She stayed with us through the weekend to celebrate her birthday and attend Addison's baptism at our church.  For her birthday, we all went out to her favorite Chinese restaurant, PF Chang's.  My parents joined us for a great family style meal and helped us sing a seriously off-key Happy Birthday to You.  The meal came complete with a shot glass birthday cake.   Dalton was quick to taste-test it for us, all of it.

 

Dalton showed off his photography skills at dinner with this shot of my parents.

 

Addison's baptism was of course a very special event. 

All of the grandparents came down to celebrate the occasion with us.  Addison was baptized by our local church pastor Milton Lewis at Northern Hills UMC in San Antonio.   We have found an extremely supportive church family here and can't think of a better place to raise our kids than with this congregation. 

Landa Park

Earlier this month we took a trip up to Landa Park in New Braunfels to feed the ducks and play in the cold spring-fed water.  There is no better place to spend a 100 degree day than in the clear, always-cold, super-shaded Comal river.  Getting entertained by a dozen geese and a three-year-old with a bag of bread is just an added bonus. 

If the ducks and geese weren't enough, there are more fuzzy creatures going for Dalton's bread.

    

 

After a hot afternoon outside, what could be better than a little ice cream? 

Last week, Crystal and the kids got to spend some time in San Angelo with the family.  They had a blast playing in the swimming pool and making Grandma watch every episode of Thomas the Tank Engine ever made!

  

 

 

 

 

There are more pictures online from everything we've done so far this month.  If you'd like to see them just click here.

Our First (and last) Crop

Look at the cute little farmer in the making.  For not ever having raised a garden before, it turned out pretty successful.  We had cantaloupe, carrots, tomatoes, and okra.  This is our first and last "big" harvest of the year because we have decided to let everything die out and start again. We are going to clear the area and raise it up to make a better planting area for next year.  Dalton enjoyed watching the garden grow from small seeds into giant plants and vines. 

Dalton has also been working very hard at learning his alphabet.  Last week he learned the letter A, and this week studied the letter B.   Crystal and Dalton sing songs about the letter, read books, and do arts and crafts related to the lesson.

 

 

 

 

During the lessons, Crystal and Dalton have been working to improve his fine motor skills.  They work on holding a pencil and crayons correctly, using scissors and painting.  He was so excited when he learned how to write the letter A.  For the past two weeks he has been going around writing A's on all the paper he can find.  Our electric bill has a giant A on it!  Now if he could just learn how to write the letter B.

Addison also enjoys "school" time.  She is usually close by on her turtle mat or leaf pillow.   She listens on as Mommy and Dalton read books and sing all their silly songs.  Her favorite time is in the evenings though when Daddy gets home.  They swing together in the backyard almost every night.   She is smiling all the time now, especially when her big brother is nearby.  She is right on the verge of laughing, and has kind of done it three times.  She acts like she could start at any minute, so we're excitedly waiting. 

On a side note; the cat did not die from the yo-yo incident.  She should be down to just a life or two left though.