The Happiest Place on Earth

Guess who went to Disneyland for his birthday?  H-U-S-T-O-N!  There was no way to capture the excitement and happiness on his face in photos, but we tried.  We told him about 2 months ahead of time that he was going for his birthday, not really expecting him to understand what it meant, but he told everyone he met that he was going to Disneyland for his birthday.  At the grocery store, getting his haircut, etc. 

The day before we left we gave him the choice of going to breakfast with Goofy or doing his birthday with Mickey and Minnie.  He didn't answer for about an hour, giving it very serious thought.  He came in and said, "I want breakfast with Goofy for my birthday".  So we made our reservations and I asked Doug what time. 9:00 a.m.  Huston heard every word and did not forget it.  He told us repeatedly, "9 o'clock, Goofy, breakfast."  We heard this the whole drive down, the whole first day, and then finally the day arrived!

He got to meet lots of characters as they rotated through the restaurant.  Some he didn't even know who they were, but he was still excited to see them!

They brought him a very special birthday cupcake to eat with his breakfast too.  He thought they were a little too loud singing, but he could not stop smiling.

His favorite rides were Buzz's Astro Blaster, Pirates of the Caribbean (although he hid his face the whole time) and the train....because it had dinosaurs!

We had a great time celebrating not only his birthday, but also his first visit to the Happiest Place on Earth.  Nama and Grandpa Nelson came with us and we rode lots of rides, shopped, ate lots of sugar and stayed up way too late!

Here are some of the pics we captured over the weekend.....there are tons more, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to rotate pics on this blog if they aren't going the right direction!

Adventures in Learning

Huston has been at his new school for about 2 weeks now and he still absolutely loves it.  I used to use the term "school" loosely, since they were more daycare than school.  This one is so amazing though and he is learning so much.  We decided to move him so he'd be closer to home while I was on maternity leave.  Since it will be winter when baby Nolan arrives, we wanted him to still be able to go a couple days a week to get interaction and keep him from going stir crazy cooped up all week.

It's turning out to be the best decision ever.  The name alone is a perfect fit - Adventures in Learning - because everything is an adventure to Huston lately!  It is a Christian based daycare and all of the teachers have been there for 10+ years.  Huston loves his teacher Ms. Emilie (Ms. Memmilee).

So far he has come home reciting the pledge, a prayer before eating and saying "Hallelujah!".  They do crafts and art time almost every day and my stack of keepsakes is growing out of control.  Once the Fall curriculum starts they will do karate, spanish, music and art.  Today they colored a little kid and where they should apply sunscreen to not get burned.  On the way home I told him that splash day was tomorrow and we'd have to pack his swimsuit.  Very seriously he said, "We'll need to apply sunscreen".  ::cuteness::

Probably the biggest sign that he loves his new school is....he doesn't want to leave when I pick him up.  I still get the run up hug and "mommy, mommy" but then he's off again and I have to drag him out.

Another perk is he gets to see his (third) cousin Parker daily.  They are in different rooms but at the beginning of the day when they are combined and on playtimes they get to catch up.  When I dropped him off the other day, Parker said, "Huston we need to build a castle!"  They are so cute together.

Getting Ready for Brudder

baby brother pillow

measuring baby brother

We are getting ready for Baby Nolan in this house.  Big brother Huston is helping prepare too.  He told us the other day a list of things that we are going to need.  We need a bottle, a blankie, bananas, apples, bananas and a curtain.  Later I found out that a curtain meant a bib :)  And I guess we need to double up on bananas.

Baby Nolan has also become a part of playtime.  When Huston plays with his leggos, one is Momma, one is Daddy, one is Huston....and now one is Nolan.  Huston loves to use Baby Nolan as a pillow, give him kisses and play drums on him.

We are so excited to meet Nolan and can't wait for him to join our family!

Huston - July 2012

sleepy boy

Huston, this is your last month in your 2's!  You are completely aware that your birthday is coming up and are very excited about it.  You are planning your Disneyland trip and have helped us make your birthday list on amazon.  Luckily, you are only going to be 3....if asked you say you want to be 8 on your birthday.  I'm sure that will be here soon enough, but I'm not ready!

On 4th of July we went to Nama's and swam and bought some fireworks.  It took you a bit to hold a sparkler, but once you started you were very into it.


sparklers



watching the fireworks

Later that weekend we went to the County Fair with Poppop and Gramma.  Momma was excited for cheese on a stick and lemonade, you were a fan of the rides, the animals, and a big ol' ice cream cone.  You also got a pony ride and got to participate in a kids cowboy show!



big truck ride

feeding the animals with gramma

pony ride

cowboy huston

tipping his hat

We also went to an A's game with Nama, Grandpa and Uncle Paul.  You don't really watch much of the game yet, but you love the Stomper Kids' Zone!

kids playground

with crazy uncle paul

playing chef

coloring a picture for Stomper

practicing soccer moves

Your goofy personality comes out more every day.  You love to tease and are starting to get your own little quirks - you hate to have tags on clothes, you announce "Sun came out, put sunglasses on!" and everyone has to obey, you are very big on manners and correcting others and you have a new fake laugh where you put your hand over your mouth and cackle.  You have also discovered whispering, but you won't say actual words, only whisper gibberish.  You have also started laughing in your sleep and it is so cute!

You love to get your microphone out and sing.  Somewhere you must have seen someone signing a very emotional ballad, because now you hold your hands out by your sides, sway our hips and roll your eyes back when you sing.  One of your favorites right now is "Rock a bye baby", but it comes out more like "Rock-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca Baby".  You also love to sing the Happy birthday song, and will fill up a bucket or box with toys and will bring it to me singing Happy Birthday.

I love listening to you play, your imagination is huge.  I hear you potty training, saying "I love you", playing family and cooking and preparing for baby with your toys.  You still like to play with your Handy Manny tools, your Superheros, Woody and Buzz and your Hot Wheels.  You have also now found a love for Legos (or as you say Eggos) and any kind of instrument.  You picked out a trumpet at the fair....it's not loud at all (ha).  Needless to say, we can't find that toy right now.  You also love to take baths.  You want one every night and you play the whole time.  You like taking your superhero guys, glow sticks and your turtles.  And you love to make bubble mustache and beards.  When you are done, you come running out, dripping wet and say "Naked Boy!"  One of our favorite games in the car is "I like.........".  You will say something like "Mommy, you like......chicken nuggets!"  I'll say, "You like broccoli" and you'll shout "NO!".  "I like....." and it goes on.

Some of your newer cute sayings are:

"Ewww that is so gross"
"I need a LOT". (milk, food, etc)
"Thank you, Poopie" (apparently my new pet name)
"Play with me daddy" (non stop, in your most pathetic voice)
"It is sooo freezing" (swimming pool)
"Ewww, underwares" (anytime he sees a pair)
"Wait, wai, wai, wai, wait!"

Your not so cute saying:

"Damnit." (we gotta work on this one)

We have been working on eating better and you are learning the order of meals...meaning no deserts or snacks until you eat your meal.  You are coming around slowly.  You are also into taking your vitamins, so you can be strong like Daddy.

And probably most exciting this month - you started a new school!  It is called Adventures in Learning which is perfect, because you love "adventures".  Your cousin Parker (third cousin) goes there and we are going to start going to the church associated with it too.  Your teacher is Ms Emile and it has an amazing curriculum.  During the fall you will have music, art, karate, spanish and other fun stuff.  Your first day you got a great review:

Huston, we've had a great month and love you more every day!  You are a special, sweet, smart and funny boy who charms the socks off everyone you meet!

Brother Bonding

At 22 weeks we finally know that Huston is going to have a baby "brudder".  Just like Huston, the only way the ultrasound tech could determine this, was to go underneath the bottom to find "boy parts".  Needless to say the picture of this proof isn't something we'll probably be framing anytime soon, but we were happy to hear the results.

Now that Huston knows what kind of big brother he is going to be, he likes to talk about Baby Nolan.  He saw an episode of Dinosaur Train the other day and learned that having a brother means having a best friend with you all of the time and he really liked that.  He is also already trying to use his baby brother as a pawn....he told me the other day that Nolan wanted donuts.  He also likes to blow "strawberries" on momma's belly and use baby brother as a pillow.

In 17 weeks Huston will get to meet his baby brother, Nolan Michael!

Huston - June 2012

Huston, you have been keeping busy this summer with baseball games, swimming and going to the park.  You saw an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba about "adventure" and now are always asking to go on adventures.  Luckily for us, pretty much anything is an adventure.  You are becoming less of a momma's boy lately and get so excited to do things with your Dad.  Each time Dad takes the trash out, you have to go too.  You will go even if you aren't quite, um, dressed for it.  You also like to "stretch" with Dad...although it usually consists more of you jumping on him rather than you actually working out too.

You do still like to do some things with Momma too....especially the cuddly stuff.  Lately you have been very verbal with your "love yous" and you will come running up and say "Momma I need to cuddle you".  Somehow you figured out how sweet it is to kiss my cheek too.  You do melt your Momma's heart.

You have also gotten really good at playing on our iPhones, but are a little too demanding so I think it may have to slow down some.  We have searched your favorite things on YouTube and you ended up stumbling across a animated version of Beastie Boys singing "Fight for Your Right".  You LOVE it.  You always ask to watch "Kick it".  We also searched the new California Adventure and Disneyland so you could get a feel for it.......drumroll........because we are taking you there for your birthday this year!  You watch the trailers so often I think you will be showing us around there.  You totally understand you are going and tell us all of the time who you will see there and even told the lady who cut your hair that you were going.

Some of your favorite things to talk about lately are things that match (clothes, colors, toys), if you see footprints, stinky socks (anytime you see any socks), and anytime you see skin you say (naked boy!!).  You also want to know everyone/everything's name..."What him name?"  When you leave me you will say "See you lady".  And you impatiently say "C'monnnnnnn" anytime something takes too long.  Your manners are very proper too.  Daddy will ask you if you want him to throw you in the pool, you will say "No thank you".  I'll ask if I should spank you, you will say "No thank you".  It's very cute.  You also like to sing, especially Twinkle Twinkle lately.

Another fun thing is that we got to see Amy, Ella and Aiden, our old neighbors from Ohio, when they were in town visiting family.  I wasn't sure how much you would remember each other, but you picked right up where you left off and were playing in no time.

One of your very favorite things this month was helping me make breakfast for Daddy on Father's Day.  I had no idea you would like to cook so much!  I think you will be my partner in the kitchen from now on.

Huston you are growing up so fast and sometimes I look at you and can't believe how big you are.  You are such a smart and sweet boy and every day we become more proud of you.  I can't wait to see what kind of big brother you are going to be.  We love you so much!

Rocking Jump



 We've been hearing the buzz about this new indoor trampoline place by our house and decided we better go check it out.  I wasn't really sure how much Huston would be into it since he's not a huge fan of bounce houses, but he LOVED it.  You pay by the hour and I didn't think we'd make the full first hour.  We had to pull him out of there when time was up.  I can tell this may be a regular place for us once baby is born and he needs to get some energy burnin'.

Had to get the special froggy socks

Lots of fun playing like he got "shot" and flinging his body down