promised land...

I think if God asked the Israelites to wander for 40 years today, they would end up in Texas. Our second stop on the grandparent tour was Texas...oh blessed Texas. We had lots and lots of fun with granddad, and mommy got to show CJ off to three of her favorite old friends.

Can you tell they were having fun?

CJ's two favorite "toys" at granddads were a basket that I unfortunately never got a picture of, and a gift card holder from Zara. He had plenty of actual toys, but for some reason he fixated on these two things. I think it is so funny to watch his preferences and creativity develop.

Last week we also got to visit three of mommy's friends and play with their kiddos. First we went to Argyle to see Chad, Kenalea and Grayson. We had lots and lots of fun at the park, but I forgot my camera. :( Kenalea saved the day and had hers, but I haven't gotten pictures yet; stay tuned for another post when I get them. It was wonderful to see these sweet friends who walked with us through good times and hard times while we were in Japan.

Then on Sunday, CJ got to meet his Baylor roommate DEACON!! My bestie from college has a little boy who is only three weeks younger than CJ. We decided before they were born that they will be best friends, both go to Baylor, and be roommates. We haven't gone so far as to say they must marry twin Chi Omegas from Baylor, but that may still be dictated. :)

We started the day with a snack. CJ stole poor Deacon's food and juice, and I eventually had to corrall him in a high chair so he would eat his own food and drink his own juice. Silly boy!

Then it was upstairs to play! CJ liked Jenny....

Aren't they cute?!?!

Then CJ decided the toys were over rated, and Jenny looked like much more fun to climb on. Deacon thought this is a great idea, and joined in the fun. She was a great jungle gym!

CJ really liked this tent. There are balls you can put through slides and doors, and CJ had lots of fun with it. The funniest part was when CJ stood up and was able to drag the tent over his head. Unfortunately for Deacon, he was in there with him at that time. He is such a little power house. We had such a fun time playing. I wish these two lived closer together so they could do this more often!

Then on Monday, we headed to Waco. CJ got to see Baylor and got a new Baylor T-shirt. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of him on campus! Again, preggo brain in action. :( But, even better than Baylor (and if you know me well, you know there aren't many things better than Baylor) we got to see Chris, Brett, Ellia and Olive. This is what happens when you go to a girl's house to play...

At one point Brett told Ellia, who is 3, to make sure CJ stayed safe because she is the big girl and CJ is a baby. She took this job very seriously. She returned with a trash can, two remotes, and a large handful of other things she took from him. Needless to say, she is going to make a great babysitter one day! It is always a breath of fresh air to see Chris. She is a great encourager, and such a sweet friend.

I keep trying to figure out how to get Texas closer to Georgia, but I haven't figured out and answer yet. We'll just have to come back again so we can play more!

mommy's little helper...

I was looking through some older pictures, and I found these and laughed. My little man is such a hoot, and I love that I never know what each day will hold. My wonderful husband put locks on all the kitchen cabinets before he left because CJ loved to go digging in the cabinets. One of his favorite things to do was pull the trash bags out of the box...such a "helper." Even after Scott put the locks on, he STILL goes after the trash bags! He realized he could put his little arm in, feel around until he felt the bags, and pull...

SUCCESS...

BIRD IN THE HOUSE, BIRD IN THE HOUSE, BIRD IN THE HOUSE...

They day before Scott deployed, he and Andy were packing in the garage. When Kaitlyn and I went out to spend time with them, we noticed an adolescent blue jay trapped in the garage. It wouldn't fly out of the wide open garage door even when we tried to chase it out. It was so tired and pitiful, and would sit between the garage door and ceiling panting.

The guys had to drop their bags off in the afternoon, and I honestly forgot about the bird. When Andy came in later, I heard something above me, and the little guy had flown into our house! I was feeding CJ in the kitchen, and I couldn't really process what was going on, so all I could do was yell, "BIRD IN THE HOUSE, BIRD IN THE HOUSE, BIRD IN THE HOUSE" over and over again until they all acknowledged the problem.

I obviously grabbed my camera, Scott and Andy tried to catch it in their Stetsons, and Kaitlyn kept it from flying into our living room with 14 ft. tall ceilings. That would have been a disaster.

Here is the little guy...

He ried to fly out our window, and Andy was able to pin him against it in his Stetson. But then he got loose when they tried to take him out the door.

Then he tried to fly into the living room, but Kaitlyn was a good blocker.

He then took a little rest on an air vent near the top of our 10 ft. kitchen ceilings. Finally Scott threw his hat in the air to spook him, and...

He flew right into Andy's hat! I'm not kidding. He just flew right in and looked at us. Luckily Scott grabbed his ball cap and quickly trapped him between their hats.

Even luckier, the bird didn't go to the bathroom in either of their hats!

natalie's dance recital...

Since I don't have brothers and sisters, I never thought I would get to be an aunt. I am so blessed to be an aunt to Chris, Tyler, Kayley, Lexi, Jayden, Natalie and Nathan. I love these little ones more than I can express. Last weekend almost the whole Hetzel clan traveled to Chattanooga to see Natalie perform in her ballet recital. I know I am biased, but she was really the best one out there in both her ballet and tap piece. You know she is the leader when she is smack in the middle, and all the other little girls stop dancing, look at her, and then start again. She never missed a beat. I was so proud if my dress had buttons, I might have busted them. I also am a little jealous because I am the exact opposite of graceful, and Natalie floats.

We didn't get any pictures of her in costume, but here she is after the recital...

She received six roses from her dad this year, one for each year she has been dancing. So sweet...

And here she is with the rest of the family...

fun in the sun...

We are currently on a whirlwind, visit the grandparents, vacation tour. (Please don't rob our house now that you know Scott is deployed and we are gone...the alarm is on and our neighbors are looking in on things!) Our first stop was Chattanooga to see my niece's dance recital-pictures to come. Then CJ and I headed down to Florida for a few days. We had lots of fun with Nannie and Papa and had a nice surprise when Uncle Buddy and cousin Jayden came to play for almost two whole days! CJ loved being around Jayden. I love that they will be able to grow up together and always have a playmate.

The first day we went in the pool CJ was a little unsure; he didn't want to be out of my arms. Jayden on the other hand was trying to jump out of Nannie's arms, into the water, as soon as he got in. The second day Jayden was just as fearless, and CJ did much better.

CJ and mama...

CJ, mama, Jayden and Uncle Buddy...

We tried to get the boys to jump off the side of the pool into our arms. Jayden of course did it, but CJ was way to entertained by the squishy mat. He finally did it, but I think it was unintentional. But he still thought it was lots of fun.

When you look at this picture it looks like I am torturing the poor baby, but these were screams of absolute joy. He loved being dragged through the water on his back. It was hilarious!

He liked to go on his belly too, but I think that was because he figured out he could put his mouth in and get a drink. Silly boy. :)

Then CJ played with Nannie for a little bit. They had lots of fun splashing each other.

Jayden and Uncle Buddy...

And check out this little guy. He loved getting dunked. We couldn't get CJ to hold his breath, but Jayden did it like a pro. When he would come up he would smile and laugh. Such a cutie...

And then after a fun day in the pool it was time to play some more inside. I thought they were too cute playing together in just their diapies...

We have moved on to Texas, are still headed to Tennessee, and then back to Florida for a few more days. I have lots of posts to catch up on, so keep watching for more cuteness!

first owie...

I haven't blogged about this yet, but Scott deployed last Wednesday. :( We miss him, but accept the fact that it is part of his job. And we have been so very blessed this last year with all the extra time we got with him, I can't complain about him being gone for a few months. Luckily though, Scott was still there last week for CJ's first owie. :(

CJ's negligent mom took him to the mailbox with her, and thought he would enjoy walking up the driveway. Unfortunately, he is REALLY fast, and the moment I put him down, he did an immediate about face and started to run down our steep driveway. After about four steps, he hit his knees, and instantly started crying. Soooo sad...

but OK in less than five minutes...

just like daddy...

Scott gets to wear a cool Stetson because he is a Cavalry Officer. Pretty sexy huh? Before he deployed, one of his friends and his fiancee stayed with us for a few days. CJ was enamored with their hats, so I had to take a picture of my two boys. Thanks for letting us borrow the hat Andy!

hummm....

I honestly never thought I would be pondering this question. I swore my kid wouldn't be this kid. I told myself I would be a better mother than this. Then I had CJ.

When I was pregnant, I read books that said babies who sucked on pacifiers didn't latch as well when they were breast feeding, so I made the decision, CJ wouldn't have a pacifier. That worked the first two days in the hospital. When the pediatrician came to release us, CJ was fussy, and the doctor found the horrid, huge pacifier they give you in the hospital and crammed it in his mouth. It was love at first suck.

In retrospect, letting him keep it wasn't the worst parenting decision we have made, nor will it scar the little man long term. That is, unless he goes to first grade with it firmly in his mouth. I have been trying to get CJ attached to a "lovie" to take to bed with him at night in hopes of taking the nook away. You can even see it in the bed. While he thinks it is OK, he has decided his "lovie" will be nooks...lots of them.

CJ also goes from sleeping to crying in about 2 seconds. There is rarely a peaceful wake-up for this little man. Sunday afternoon he was down for a nap, and after an hour or so, we heard him playing over the monitor. Scott and I were puzzled, and I went to check things out. Here is what I found. One nook in the mouth, two nooks in his right hand, and one nook in his left hand. He thought it was the greatest thing.

So I am left to ponder the question. Is it worth taking the nook away from him now when we are going to have a baby who will have a nook in his/her mouth in 7 months? Right now, I'm exhausted, and anything that helps my sleep-hating baby sleep, it OK with me. So all you who think, "I'll never do that when I have kids," beware. It will come back to bite you in the butt.

one year...

One year ago today everything changed for the better. There have been many sleepless night, lots of learning and almost no free time, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Because one year ago today, this guy was born...