Our Favorite Ranger

Edible cuteness! And what a game last night, huh? I can't believe the Yankees are coming to the Ballpark in Arlington this weekend. Gotta love being on the baseball bandwagon -- yes, we are! We have the jersey and cheer uniform so we have to cheer for the Rangers!

Maybe someday this little man can be on the roster...

Happies

*I'm starting with the best one -- Carson is speaking! A month ago, he was repeating sounds, numbers and songs. All of his words came from memory and none of them were intentional. What a difference a month makes. He loves to say "no-no" if he doesn't get his way and of course he says "ut oh" and "oh no." He says, "Momma - love you" all the time which makes me melt. Every time he sees me he says, "Hi Momma." Some other new words are: tickle, cow, corn, chicken, train, night-night and YAY! He says "yay" for everything. After he sings his ABC's he screams, "yay!" in celebration. He is so proud of himself and so are we! He also knows his shapes and says, "circle, oval, square, rectangle."
*Fall weather - we are enjoying this Indian Summer and taking full advantage of it. We go outside everyday and love spending time at the park.
*Music - Muse, Ray LaMontagne and Bruno Mars.
*P90X - not sure if this should be in the "happies" section but I am thrilled that we have decided to do P90x as a couple. We are in the middle of week 2 and it is quite a workout. Nathan is pushing me and I am holding him accountable...and we are laughing a lot! To be a fly on the wall...
Let me just say there are results already! We are excited to see where we are at in December. Just in time for the holidays, of course.
*Alex - what a precious phase. Tonight at dinner her prayer was, "Jesus, thank you for being in my heart. Please stay in my heart forever. You are sooo handsome."

Plano Balloon Festival - September 18

On Saturday, September 18, YaYa showed up at our house unexpectedly and announced she was stealing Alex for the day and taking her to the Plano Balloon Festival. We were thrilled that they spent the entire day together. You have to understand...YaYa is not a "normal grandma." In fact, Alex even said the other day, "YaYa is not my grandma, she is my best friend." That explains a lot, don't you think? YaYa is such a blast and when those two are together, no one else exists.

Needless to say they had a wonderful time watching the balloons, getting Alex's face painted, playing games, jumping in the bounce house, etc. Alex was wiped out when we picked her up. Here are a few pics:

Alex was in heaven with her blue unicorn face painting

She kept this on her face for two days - ha!
This is what happens to a fella after spending the day with YaYa
How could she ask for anything more? Thanks for the awesome day, Yaz!

Let's go Rangers!

It must be this new cheerleader that is bringing the Texas Rangers so much luck!

The State Fair of Texas - October 6, 2010

"A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord
After the crowds have ceased
Each night when the lights go out
It can be found on the ground all around
Oh, what a ratly feast!" --Templeton the rat, Charlotte's Web

---

I just had to quote Templeton because he knows how to describe the fair oh so well. Yesterday we busted our kindergartner out of school and took her to the fair! Nathan took a 1/2 day off from work and Miss Gabby watched Carson for us so the big kids could play. And play we did! We had the best day. The weather was absolutely perfect and it was just one of those days where everything went right.

Alex was in fair heaven! She was amazed by the sights and shows. We enjoyed the Doberman Talent Show but the Tropical Bird Show took the cake. As you all know our Alex is crazy about birds, so this was a highlight for sure.

The rides were a total blast! Alex is big enough to ride most of the rides now so that made the day even better. She was a thrill seeker! I love that we have such a brave girl. She had both hands up before they even put her belts on. It was hilarious. Alex kept saying,"More, more! Faster, bigger, let's go!" There was no convincing her...she was all in from the minute we arrived.

We loved the Lone Star Ferris wheel of course and the cotton candy was sticky and delicious. I have so many memories at the State Fair and this year just adds to them. Yea for an incredible day. Here are our pics:

We are ready to go

Alex loved the petting zoo

Here she is begging for more feed

Feeding some of the animals

Alex & Mommy in line for the Lone Star

Alex loved being up so high

You can see downtown behind us

View of the Cotton Bowl, aka "Cotton Ball," if you ask Alex

Enjoying the bird show

Alex wanted to make sure we captured each photo (here she is telling us to take the picture)

Alex & Mommy on a roller coaster

Alex flying

See...I wasn't kidding about her hands always being up

Alex shows off her winnings from the Midway

Alex loved the Enchanted Maze

A view of the Lone Star at night

Our final picture

Here is a video of Alex and Daddy on one of the fast rides:

If you can't view the video, click here:

http://yfrog.com/1nsrnz

I absolutely love this video!

Good times...good times.

Round-Up for Autism Gala - September 11, 2010

On Saturday, September 11, Nathan and I had the opportunity to attend the ATC Round-Up for Autism Gala. The event is sponsored by Bobby Norris and many other contributors in the Dallas area benefiting the Autism Treatment Center in Dallas. My aunt Cindy has been a "family member" of the ATC now for many years, and ironically we have attended several of these galas in the past. This has always been a charity my family is passionate about supporting and as usual, God works in mysterious ways. It was very emotional for us because now we ARE a part of the family too. In the past it was by choice but this year it is because we are living in the world of Autism now.

The gala was incredible and raised over $300,000 for the ATC. A huge highlight was hearing Temple Grandin speak. The movie, Temple Grandin, was just released to DVD and received 7 Emmy awards. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Claire Danes did a fantastic job portraying Temple. I am honored we were able to meet Temple and hear her speak.

We had a wonderful time with Cindy and Stuart (my aunt and uncle) and Heather and Allen Russell (Heather is the event coordinator for the ATC and a long time family friend).

At the end of the day, it is comforting to know we are not alone in this and we are thankful there are so many giving people blessing the efforts to find a cure for Autism.

Here are a few pics:

I wish we had more...but we will be back next year for sure!

Birthday week photos

DeDe came to Dallas for Carson's 2nd birthday party and was able to stay for a few days to help. While here she hugely helped with the party arrangements, met and worked with Carson's therapists and helped keep Mommy sane while Nathan was traveling to Omaha. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Alex & Mommy at Fellowship Church watching Nathan sing

Walking to the car. A real man will carry a purse...when asked.

Alex kept stealing Mommy's sunglasses

Alex tried to coach Mommy with her new gymnastics tricks

Clearly, Alex was more flexible than her mommy. Look at that!

Show off!

Birthday boy enjoying his new ride

Carson dancing to "Yo Gabba Gabba." Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, STOP!

So stinkin' cute. Seriously!

Hula girl made a surprise entrance

So cute and animated, as always

And here are a few extra party pics that didn't make the first cut:

Not great of the parents but look at Carson's adoring glance at his sissy

The Darby three

DeDe & Sophia Worley (our God daughter)

BFF's Kaitlyn & Alex

Kristi DeWall and Nathan must have called each other up and decided it was plaid and blue t-shirt day

It was a fast, fun and memorable weekend! Thanks again for driving all the way to see us, DeDe!