Our weekend in Little Rock

Pearce and I just got back from Little Rock.  Chris went to The Masters, so Pops and Mimi asked if they could fly us to Little Rock...ummm....ok!!!  We had such a great time!  And thank goodness, Pearce was SO good on all of the plane rides!  When we had our layover in Dallas, I wanted to find a place that wasn't crowded so Pearce could crawl around and get some energy out.  We found an empty terminal where another little boy was doing the same thing.  His mom said I looked so familiar to her and I jokingly said, "Well, I have a twin sister."  And she said, "Oh! Ashley!"  She said I looked like her, but she could tell I wasn't her...how funny!  Ashley was in a play group with her and her best friend is Ashley's neighbor...SMALL WORLD!!  Pearce and Dean had the best time playing together!

There was lots to explore when we got to Pops and Mimi's house.  Pearce loved looking at this little piggy.  He also loved looking out that big window!

Helping Mimi make potato soup :)

Mimi has a cabinet just for Pearce's food, bottles and snacks....and boy does she have good snacks for Pearce!

Friday, we headed to the zoo!  I was so excited for Pearce's first visit to the zoo.  The only bad thing is that we had Pearce in his stroller and when we started to look at the animals, we realized Pearce couldn't see....so we all took turns holding him :)  He was fascinated with all the animals.  He really took it all in and wanted to get as close as he could!

Since Pops and Mimi were dressed like they were going to a football game, we had to get a picture with the Razorback :)

We rode the little train, too!  When we were little, Ashley and I loved riding this train at the zoo, so it was fun seeing Pearce ride it.

The gorillas were my favorite animals to see.  Look at this big guy!  There was also a mama gorilla and baby!  She kept her baby close, but we could still see it.  After seeing Cliff's pictures of the mountain gorillas in Africa, I felt kind of sad for these gorillas that they weren't in their natural environment.  They were so beautiful to look at, though.

After a LONG nap back at home, we went outside to play some more.  I love the red tint to his hair in this picture!

Pearce was really putting on a show for us here...he kept clapping for himself, so then we would clap for him, and on and on it went :)

On Saturday, we met GG at The Wonder Place.  It's a fun play area that has all kinds of neat things for kids to do.  Pearce was on the move!  His favorite was this water table.  He LOVES water....hope he loves swimming this summer!  GG had fun watching Pearce explore they whole place.  After that, we went to McDonald's...Pearce's new favorite food:  McNuggets :)

GG is still recovering from her knee surgery, so Pearce loved playing with her walker and finding all kinds of neat things in her bag :)

It seems that Pearce can make a friend anywhere.  This little boy was just about Pearce's age, and they were  having so much fun looking at each other through this window!

Then they went in for a kiss!  This was so cute and funny!  Good thing there was a window there, but how sweet is this?!  I showed the picture to his mom and she just laughed and laughed and said he had just learned how to kiss :)

Dr. and Mrs. Smart came over to see Pearce and they brought him a little gift, too!  Pearce was kind of shy at first, but he really warmed up to Diane.  He REALLY loved the 3 cars she brought him, too!

It is never easy to leave, but we had a great visit in Little Rock.  Once again, Pearce was perfect on the flights home.  He didn't sleep at all...until we landed in Austin.  By the time we were able to get out of our seats, he was OUT.  He slept all the way home AND another two hours when we got home!  My good, good baby boy!

Easter 2013, Part 2

Ashley got back from the funeral late Saturday night, so Sunday, I packed everyone up and headed back over to her house to color eggs.  We decided to not go to church since everyone was exhausted, so we just had a laid back Easter Sunday.  Mama came over too and we ended up having the best time!  Nathan and Charlotte were pros when it came to coloring their eggs!  I asked Nathan if he would color an egg for Pearce to have and he got right on that! 

I gave Pearce the colored egg to just explore and see what he thought of it.  He looked it over and then started banging it on his high chair!  Then he tired to bite it, so I peeled it for him to see if he would like to just eat the egg....nope....just wanted to throw it down!

We then decided plastic eggs were probably a better choice for him :)

Showing off their eggs!  We tried to get a picture of all three of them, but you can see how well Pearce cooperated with that.

Me and Ash and our kids.  I'd say we're both pretty lucky!

Now we're ready for the egg hunt!  This was Pearce's Easter bucket.  We put them outside for them to find. They were so excited about all of their goodies!  Then they went outside to hunt for eggs.  It was still pretty wet out from the rain, so we just did it inside.  It was so fun watching them try to find the eggs!

Here's the little mommy helping Pearce.  Charlotte would always tell me, "I yike your baby" or "Auntie Tarrie (She can't say her "c's" well yet), your baby is crying."  So cute!

Auntie Ashy with Pearce.  She looked after Pearce while I got to play with Nathan and Charlotte. He was completely happy with Ash.  We decided that she is definitely the "next best thing" to me :)

Nathan found the "Golden Egg" which had moolah in it!!!!

Busy eating all their candy!

Happy Easter!!!!!

Easter 2013, Part 1 (14 months old)

Our Easter didn't go quite as planned, but we still had a wonderful Easter weekend.  Chris and Wayne's grandmother passed away, so they went to Arkansas to be with their family and to attend the funeral.  Pearce was just getting over being sick, so we decided it would be best for us to go on to Dallas and stay with my parents and to also help them with Nathan and Charlotte since Ash went to the funeral as well.  I was so glad I took Pearce to see the Easter bunny early in the week.  I just knew he would cry...well, he was o.k. for about 5 seconds and then totally lost it!   

This was the picture package I ordered....I loved his Easter outfit!  I'm so glad he wore it for the Easter Bunny since we ended up not going to church on Sunday because Chris and Wayne weren't back yet.  

After we visited the Easter bunny, we went on the train ride :)

So, we left to go to Dallas on Thursday afternoon.  I spent the night with Ashley that night and then after she left to go to Arkansas, I headed over to Mama and Papa's house with Nathan and Charlotte.  As soon as we got there, they wanted to make an orange julius which Pearce loved!  Then we went to see Grandma, go to the park, and then get yogurt!

We all had fun playing at Grandma's.  Pearce loved looking at these little figurines she has sitting on her windowsill.  I'm not sure what they are, but I do know they are valuable and just like Nathan and Charlotte, Pearce learned to look but not touch.  

We had such a nice visit with Grandma which I am so thankful for because this past Monday she fell and broke her hip :(  She had surgery today and is doing great!  We love you Grandma and know you will feel better soon!  

After we left Grandma's we went to the park and played and played!

We ended our outing with a trip to the yogurt place!

Nathan and Charlotte got to rent a movie to watch in their room and Cookie decided to join them, too!

We had a big thunderstorm, so the next morning, Nathan and Charlotte found a mud puddle to play in :) 

Pearce had so much fun being with his cousins.  Nathan and Charlotte are soooo sweet and helpful to Pearce.  

On this evening, the light was so pretty outside, so we decided to take a few pictures.  This is the chair that Ashley and I had when we were babies, so it was fun seeing Pearce sit in it.  He loved that chair!  He also LOVES his brown blankie.  We had a close call when we were shopping one day.  I let Pearce take his blankie with him in the stroller and all of a sudden I noticed he didn't have it.  So we all had to back track to try to find the blankie....mom and I were really worried we wouldn't find it, but THANK GOODNESS we found it in the first store we went to just laying on the ground in one of the aisles!  

Pearce learned to say "Cookie" while at Mama and Papa's house!  He loves all dogs, but Otis, Daisy, and Cookie are his favorites!  Cookie is the sweetest dog ever.  Cookie loves Pearce and she also loves that Pearce likes to give her part of his dinner :)

How in the world did we get so lucky with this little guy???  WORTH. THE. WAIT. FOR SURE!!!  

Sweet Charlotte.  She let me take tons of pictures of her.  I love her little smile!

One night, Papa took us all on a golf cart ride.  It really is a little adventure when you drive around the golf course because there are so many trees and ponds and bridges to look at.  We took a little break to sit on this bench and watch the ducks in one of the ponds.  I love this picture!

Next Up:  Coloring Easter Eggs!