Dallas Blizzard...No, Really!!

Pearce and I went to Dallas last Thursday for a spur of the moment visit.  Mom was having a luncheon for her friends and I really wanted to meet all of them, so we went right after school on Thursday...and we had no idea how much fun this visit would be!  When we got to Dallas, we met Auntie Ashy and Nay Nay and Charlotte at Chick-Fil-A.  Of course, the kids had a blast playing together!  After dinner, Pearce and I went to Mama and Papa's house and spent the weekend there.  Pearce had so much fun staying at Mama and Papa's house because that meant popcorn, marshmallows, golf cart rides, fishing, and SNOW!!!!  On Friday, at 9:00, snow flakes started falling hard and fast and we were so excited, but also sad for Mom because we knew the snow would keep a lot of her friends away from the luncheon.  Mom had worked so hard and cooked and baked, and now, no one would come.  Well, we were wrong!  At 10:00, her friends started pouring in!  It was so funny, because she invited around 25 people and only a few did not come!  These ladies like their parties!  Mom baked casseroles and muffins and had lots of other yummy food.  We also had Bloody Mary's which were soooo good!  The ladies loved the food and drinks and it was so fun for Ashley and I to meet all of mom's friends who were all so cute and sweet!  Charlotte and Pearce were a huge hit at the party, too :)  They talked to all the ladies and the ladies just loved them!  At one point, Charlotte and Pearce went into the playroom and we thought they were just playing nicely in there, but when we went to check on them, my heart just sank.  Pearce was standing on the bed, and Charlotte was on the floor looking at Pearce.  Then I see a huge puddle of lotion on the quilt, wall, and all over Pearce!  Pearce was having a grand ole time finger painting with lotion :)  What's so funny is that Charlotte would NEVER do something like that.  I honestly, can't think of a time where she has made a mess on purpose.  But Pearce???  I should've known better!  Honestly, I totally thought with Charlotte there, Pearce would not get into any trouble :)  Mom's friends stayed until about 11:30.  After they left, we all got our winter gear on and headed out into the snow!  The snow was coming down hard by now and the wind was blowing....it really was like a blizzard!  Pearce and Charlotte had the best time playing in the snow!  Papa even helped them do some "redneck sledding!"  We all played for a while and then had to get dried off to go pick up Nathan early from school.  After we got him from school, it was time to play again in the snow which was now even deeper!  It was the craziest thing ever.  I had no idea Dallas was supposed to get snow!  I'm so glad Pearce got to experience it! 

The snow wore this little fella OUT!

On Saturday, we went to see Grandma.  Pearce just loved and loved on Grandma.  It was so sweet to see.  He was Mr. Talkative at the table, too :)  Grandma was eating her lunch with her other two friends and Pearce just talked and talked to all of them.  He sure is a charmer with the ladies!  After our visit with Grandma, Daddy took us home and then Mom and I hopped in Mom's car to go to a movie!  We saw Selma and just loved it!  While we were gone, Papa and Pearce went for a golf cart ride to see all of the snow.  After Pearce helped Mama make breakfast, we left on Sunday to head back to Austin.  It was a quick visit, but man, was it fun! 

An update on sleep and exploring Bull Creek

A few posts ago, I was pretty deflated with how things were going with Pearce's sleep routine without his BBs.  Pearce was saying he was scared of being by himself in his room, wanted his door left open, wanted the lights left on, and did not want to take naps.  I think I felt guilty about BBs, so I went along with his requests, but after a while, I knew this just wasn't working.  He would stay awake in his bed until after 10:00, sometimes 11:00 at night because his door was open and he kept looking out from his bed to see us.  Plus, I was feeling like I couldn't do laundry or other things around the house because he would hear me.  After talking to Mom, she gave me the advice I knew, but needed to hear.  I had to put my foot down and say the door has to be closed at night, and lights off.  I needed to tell him there were no monsters at our house, nothing scary at our house or in his room....only silly, happy, fun things were at our house and in his room.  I told him all of this and told him his room is the same room he's always slept in.  That he had always liked his room and had never been scared.  The only thing that's different now is that he doesn't have his BBs, but that's because he's a big boy now.  I told Pearce he had always slept with his lights off and his door closed and that's how it's going to be from now on.  I was firm, but convincing, I guess, because Pearce said, "There's no monsters here? Oh, ok."  I just had to reassure him and that was it.  I mean, it was seriously that simple.  Thanks mom!!  As far as naps go, those are definitely over.  It was exhausting trying to convince Pearce to take a nap and stay in his bed.  Again, after talking to my mom, she said for me to just let him give up his nap...not worth the fight, but let him have quiet time in his room instead.  It was nice to have her say it was o.k. to do that.  She has a way of wording things in the best, most positive way :)  So, the next day, I told Pearce he did not have to take a nap, but that he did have to stay in his room and have quiet time so that Mommy can have a little break.  He was all about that!  I mean, when I told him he did not have to go to sleep, but that he did need to stay in his room and play quietly, he perked up and said, "Oh, ok Mommy, I can do that!"  So, that's what we've been doing.  Usually around 2:00ish, I tell Pearce it's time to go to his room and rest.  I made some "quiet time boxes" for him with various games, books, and activities.  Pearce will choose a box and then just play for the next hour or two.  Lately, he's been wanting Otis and Daisy to stay in his room with him which actually gives me a little more time :)  At some point, Pearce will usually ask for a snack, so I'll bring him a snack to have in his room.  All in all, it's worked out just fine.  Because Pearce is no longer napping, that meant he really needed to have an earlier bedtime.  So now, Pearce goes to bed by 7:00-7:30.  This does make it harder for Chris to see Pearce in the evenings sometimes, but Chris agreed that Pearce really does need to get a good night's sleep, so a lot of the time, Chris will go to work a little later in the morning and get Pearce up and have time with him in the mornings.  I'm so relieved we've found our new normal and that it's working out just fine!! 

Now, Bull Creek!  I love doing new things with Pearce.  I saw a write up about Bull Creek a few days ago and decided Pearce and I needed to check it out.  Chris was out of town and we had no plans for today, so it was the perfect day to go exploring.  I packed us a picnic lunch and off we went.  When we got there, we found the creek with perfectly clear water and rocks all around.  Lots of people were out with their dogs and kids.  The dogs and kids were loving playing in the water and Pearce could not get his water shoes on fast enough!  He went right in....the water was COLD, but he didn't care.  He had so much fun throwing rocks in the water and just wading in the water and walking up and down the creek with his walking stick :)  After a while, we walked a trail for a bit.  Then we came back and ate our lunch on the rocks.  After some more wading and rock throwing, it was time to go.  We were right by Waterloo, so since we had the whole day open, I decided to stop there to let Pearce play in the sandbox and on the playground.  By the time we left, Pearce was one tuckered out little guy....which was exactly my plan :)  We had such a fun day and Pearce was more than ready to get in bed at 7:00!

Valentine's Day at Sea World!

I got to spend Valentine's Day with my two special guys at Sea World!  Chris suggested we go to Sea World for the day, and I could not have been more excited!  Pearce kept asking if he was going to see Dumbo and sharks :)  The drive down wasn't bad at all.  Took us right around 2 hours.  The park opened at noon, so we got there at 11:45.  The weather was absolutely perfect and because it was not during a busy time, it wasn't very crowded, either.  Ash told me the main things that she thought would be good for Pearce and then the rest of the time, we just kind of explored.  Our first stop was the Sesame Street play area.  There were several little kid rides, a huge climbing playscape, and a splash pad.  After giving Cookie Monster a big hug, Pearce wanted to go to the splash pad.  Thank goodness I brought an extra change of clothes!  I felt like we were prepared for the day, except for the fact that I did not bring Pearce's swimsuit.  I really didn't think they would have the water areas open, but they sure did and Pearce loved it!  After that, Pearce rode the rides.  Our first one was the Shamu Express which was a little roller coaster.  Loved it!  Next, we rode a crazy sea urchin ride, but Pearce loved it too!  Then he wanted to ride something "that went way up high."  So he rode an Elmo ride that went way up high and he rode it all by himself!  After the rides, he did the climbing playscape for a while and then it was time to go see our first show.  We saw Shamu's Story.  Pearce sat through the whole show and was just mesmerized.  Then he started saying he wanted to go swimming with Shamu.  I told Pearce he had to know how to swim in order to swim with Shamu and the trainers, thinking he wasn't serious and that answer would satisfy him.  He said he does know how to swim because he takes swimming lessons.  He would not let up about wanting to go swim with Shamu, so finally I just said, "Ok, Pearce, I'll ask at the end of the show."  So, Pearce kept watching the show, but every few minutes, he reminded me that I was going to ask he could swim with Shamu.  So at the end of the show, Pearce said "Ok, mommy, go ask if I can swim."  So, Chris said he would call and ask.  Then Chris said "Sorry, buddy, they said you have to be older than 3 years old."  Oh man, Pearce's world came crashing down.  He cried and cried and was totally disappointed.  I mean, if he could have put on his floatie and jumped in with Shamu, I think he totally would have done it.  We cheered him up with an ice cream cone and then started exploring the rest of the park.  We saw the alligators, the dolphins, and the big fish and sharks.  Pearce kept talking about sharks, but when we saw them, he did not want to get close to the big windows at all!  We also found another neat playscape that Pearce did not want to leave.  What's so funny is that he did love seeing the animals and riding the rides, but we could not get him to leave those playscapes!  At 4:45, it was time for our last show.  We went to see Azul which had dolphins and Beluga whales, plus divers and synchronized swimmers.  This show was really, really neat.  Pearce loved watching the divers do flips off the high dives.  Then he started in on wanting to go swim with the dolphins.  Oh, dear Lord, not again :)  After the show, Chris took Pearce to the Sesame Street play area while I raced to ride the two biggest roller coasters there.  They were so scary, but sooo fun!  On our way out, we had to stop at the gift shop to get Pearce a stuffed Shamu and one other toy.  He chose miniature sea animals for the bathtub.  We had such a great time at Sea World!