For Future Reference

Tomorrow is Fatty's 2 year birthday. I'll write more about him then. Just wanted to let you know so you could, you know, like leave him a happy birthday voice mail or get him a Starbucks card or just, maybe, a birthday lick on the cheek.

Next week I'll begin to also post some pre-Halloween photos of what it was like growing up under the creativity of Sweet Kay...who I adore...but who I fear has influenced me when it comes to costumes for my kiddos.

Until then, here is what it would look like if Fatty had been raised by Sweet Kay come All Souls Eve:

p.s.: that is not my house or my dog...there is a Doc Marten's sandal in the corner of that photo and you should know that I would NEVER have one of those in my home...ungodly beast of a shoe.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

...to (insert future name that is yet to really be determined)'s house we go!

I'm not sure if she should be Grandma, Grandmommy, Momma Kay, Momsie (heard that one last week and loved it), Gram or what. And I don't know if my mom knows what she wants to be called yet either. My dad is still struggling not to call himself "Dad" when Davy is around. (By the way, that green blankie in the photo above was made some 30 years ago by my grandmother who we lovingly called "Bumba.") Anyway...we went to Ft. Worth:

This photo was taken right before she ralphed all over him. He hasn't learned the importance of the burp cloth yet. Ah, grasshopper - vomit will teach you; it will be your master.
After this weekend there will be more photos of D. with her Gigi (a name with a perfect fit) and her daddy's side of the family. We are looking forward to seeing Sutton & Johnna as they haven't been in town since D. was born. Bring on the big family breakfast, the football games, the wine & cigars on the back patio, and the endless teasing of Sutton.

Hazel Emerson

Congrats, Matt & Gin.
I don't know if she'll be Hazel or Emerson yet but I love that name. Hazel was my grandmother's name. (We called her Bumba...which just didn't go with "Page.")

Perhaps some day Davy will chill with Miss Mooney...and possibly with Piper (Canatsey) Wilmot...and Caleb (Koch) Raymond...and Nash Wasemiller...and Ephraim (Line) Neagle...and Bradyn (Fouser) Emerson...or any other Kamp staff babies born this year.* Seriously, what were we all drinking? (water, people, water...after all, that's a K-rated reference.)


*Andrea, don't get fired up. D. is already friends with Will...and Ginger Wells for that matter. There's probably a bunch of other babies I left off. Kamp people love the sex.

Anyway, yea for Hazel Emerson! Welcome to the World, baby girl!

Weekend Wrap Up

All I can say is thank God for the iPhone. Without it, there might be virtually no photos of this time in our lives. Much like my mother, I have the best intentions when it comes to things like chronicling our lives with photos in a creative way but when I'm in the midst of a special moment, my camera is nowhere near me. (note: we shall see if I am like my mother when it comes to Halloween costumes for my kids - but that's an entirely different post.) Anyway, I present one of maybe 2 pictures of me with my daughter:

Nice trash can, huh? Well, we're at the doctor's office preparing to get vaccinated. See how alert and sweet she looks? She was all smiles, was kicking away on the table, completely oblivious to what was coming. It broke my heart.
You can't see but those are REAL TEARS in her eyes. Not the crocodile infant tears they cry for the first few months but real drops coming out. The nurse had left us but suddenly came back in the room only to catch me snapping a shot of D. weeping. I'm sure she thought it was the height of cruelty but I'm just trying to capture all the important moments!
Ahhh, so like I was saying last week - one of my favorite things about this weather is that it inspires my husband to cook, especially to grill. These are the green chilis stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon that he made along with steak, new potatoes, and mushrooms sauteed with onions and garlic.
As you can see, I'm not very good at "tablescapes." And yes, we are that type of family that typically uses paper towels for napkins. People, I can only work on one thing at a time! And right now that's taking pictures with my iPhone! But it was a lovely night sitting outside with Russ, music playing from the kitchen, the sound of Highland Park football being played from a distance, the wind sort of dancing around the backyard. It was romantic right up until we spotted some rats running along our neighbors' fence. Big sigh. Texas Tech football at the Gillhams - you can tell it was a nail-biter by the intensity of both their faces! I think Russ and I watched college football from 10am to 10pm. Congrats to all Oklahoma State fans! (I purposely will not congratulate those from another Texas school...I have too much Red & Black loyalty to do so.) This is going to be an amazing season for the Big 12.
Everyone was tuckered out after all that cheering.

Reasons to love Dallas in Fall

1. Green, puffy Eddie Bauer vest comes out of the closet. (he's here, he's green, get used to it)
2. Outdoor concerts aren't a waste of money.
3. Texas Tech always starts with high hopes and the HP football stadium is only blocks away.
4. Dallas restaurants are all about the patios.
5. Big Tex, The Texas Star (N. America's largest Ferris wheel), Fletcher's hot dogs, and rides that will give you a migraine, double-vision, and a t-shirt splattered with funnel cake all in 5 minutes.
6. The Autumn Equinox 15K & the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning
7. That one week where all the trees finally turn the most amazing colors. Don't blink, you'll miss it.
8. Russ becomes obsessed with cooking: homemade chili, cornbread, pumpkin spice muffins and Sam Adams Oktoberfest will be consumed on the back porch.
9. Dad, Casey, Caroline, Fatty, Mr. Bill, Carol, Aars, Lindsay, Russell and myself all have upcoming birthdays...boy howdy, that's alot of cake.
10. Baby Halloween costumes

Sanctuary

So yesterday afternoon I was in the shower and I found myself doing my usual shower routine. Not so much lather, rinse, repeat but more along the lines of fervently praying. I stopped in the middle of my prayers and realized that my time in the shower has been my place of prayer for at least the past year. I know it sounds crazy but it is around 10 minutes of truly alone time. It's quiet (without being too quiet). And something about the "ritual" of showering - you know, how you don't even consciously think about all the "tasks" you're performing - makes it easy for me to pray. My mind and heart just immediately jumps to it once I start the water running.

There are definitely other times during the day that I pray, one being when I'm up feeding D. at night. But I've sort of reserved that time to pray specifically for friends who are trying to get pregnant. I often say quick prayers at the computer when I get emails from our church's prayer website. There was a time in life when I prayed in my car an awful lot. But that was when I lived in Denton and worked in Highland Park. Those prayers were sometimes strewn with the cursings of road rage or the temptation to quit praying and tune back into Kidd Kraddick.

So I was just wondering, if you feel like it, where do you find yourself praying?

Give that girl a Klondike bar

...because she slept for 7 hours last night, people. At four o'clock I woke up and glanced at the clock. Surely my eyes deceived me...zzzzzz.

There were only 2 things who weren't so jazzed about D's 10pm to 5:30am snooze. To quote Mrs. Allen Pearl from Waiting for Guffman: "I called Joyce and I says, Joyce, bring Joshy. I gotta feed him at halftime cuz I'm bustin."