Our 4 Year Anniversary

R and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. We went to dinner at The Steakhouse inside of the San Luis Resort in Galveston. We were married  in that hotel and it is beautiful! We always had planned to celebrate our anniversaries there but something always happened. One year the causeway was closed because of ice. That was crazy. I was sick on our wedding day and have been sick on every one of our anniversaries. What is up with that? But I did not let that ruin our plans.

We left our sweet baby for a couple of hours and it's funny how much we talked about him even though we were away from him. Walker had a great time reuniting with his Nana since she just returned from a weeks vacation in Disney.

We thoroughly enjoyed our night. The food was of course amazing! We sat next to a couple from Dallas that bought us a drink and just talked about life. They have been married for 48 years. Such a sweet couple.

I love being married. I love being someone's wife; someone's other half. I love that when we both have done something wrong that we always apologize and try to make it better. I love that we both aim to please each other on an everyday basis. I love my husband. I love that when I am with him I feel safe. I love that we could be anywhere in the world and I feel like I'm at home when I am with him.

Happy four years, honey. Love you. 

Izzy's Birthday

Today we celebrated Izzy's birthday at a jump house and Minnie Mouse themed. She is headed Walt Disney World next week for her 5th birthday! Walker enjoyed the cookie cake but not as much as the vanilla ice cream. He was a little spooked by all the girly squeals but he was good sport. 

Cousins!

We Went to the Zoo!

It was a gorgeous day and we decided to head out to our city's zoo for the day. Just the three of us. 

We had such a good time. Walkie went into the petting zoo where he was not too excited to see the goats. 

He rode the carousel and loved it!

Look at my baby! He is so small but so big at the same time!

 We fed the giraffes lettuce. R wasn't quick enough to snap a photo of us feeding them. Their tongues are long and they fast at grabbing the lettuce.

 Later in the afternoon, Walker felt the time was right for a nice outdoor nap.

 We rode the train! He loved it! It was a little chilly but Walker did not mind. He is obsessed with trains.

I'm in love with this picture. Love these two boys so much! 

We've Been Busy

Our lives have been very busy in these last couple of weeks. My Uncle Walter's cancer progressed faster than anyone thought it would. Walker and I made a trip with my mother to see him. He was in ICU waiting to be transferred to home hospice care and we had to leave to come back home. We did not get to see him but did get to visit with Aunt Pat, Ric, Aunt Sis and Uncle Harry for a little bit. I am sad to report that my Uncle Walter passed just a couple days after we returned home. He was great man and will be missed terribly. My favorite memory of Uncle Walter was going to the KZTV news station and seeing in his prime. I remember my grandma ruined it a little for me because she was being extremely bossy.

My Uncle Walter and Aunt Pat would read the blog and print pictures. I would hear feedback from him like, "She just wants to hold her baby", or that he was updating his sisters on what was going on. When he found out that one of them didn't have a picture of Walker, he printed the Easter bunny picture for them. Every time he would see me he would say the same thing, "She looks just like mother".

We chose Walker's name because we liked it the best. We picked his middle name, Williams, because it is R's middle name. Later to find out that my Uncle Walter's name is Walter William. Just two small letters a part. I remember my mom calling me from out of town saying that Aunt Sis said, "I didn't know she was so fond of Walter". So story goes that we named Walker after Walter, and why not? He was the classiest man I have ever known and such a great role model. R and I both thought the story was funny and decided to go with it.
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Our family goes into survival mode after the holidays. We are all just a hair away from meltdowns thinking of the anniversary of my brother's death. It consumes our lives. Every time this year I feel myself pulling away from people and reverting to my own little place. So, please forgive us if we are not the same happy people we typically are.
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Ride it cowboy! 

He LOVES taking rides on this dog! And I think we have memorized all the songs that go with it. 

Show me a smile! I've got beads!

Daddy and Walkie at The Spot in Galveston 

The mohawk is back! Baby needs another haircut!

Cuppycake Couture

I say "your mom" to a lot of stuff. It's typically my comeback for anything. I love my mom's board and you all know it!

One of our mom's, Ashley, has started a super cute business called Cuppycake Couture and she has some really cute things. 

She made the above onesie for Walker. I opened the package and was consumed with laughter! Thanks Ashley! Look for more from her shop soon. I believe she is getting an embroidery machine! 

Off to Miss Julie's

Walker went to our friend Miss Julie's house today. First time he has been around a cat.

The stare down.

He basically assaulted the cat. Pulling her hair to the point of picking the cat up. He was crazy!

The day ended with a ton of tears. Almost cried a river.

Speech Therapy Eval

We had Walker's speech evaluation today and it went pretty well. He does not qualify for speech therapy at the moment but they are going to keep him in case management and come back out in three months. The therapist today was really annoying. She was a grandmother herself and was very frustrating for me.

"His legs are cold, Momma. His arms are cold, Momma. You better not let him get the flu now, Momma. He needs to have shoes on to practice walking in. Does he own a pair of shoes? He feels warm now, Momma. Are these slippery socks? Do they have grips on the bottom? Does he chew his food? How? Up and down? Like us? (I started feeding Walker his snack) What are you feeding him? What are those? He doesn't get ANY services? Why not? You're a stay at home mom? Who lives here besides you two? What's NEC? He's shortgut?!! He has a flat spot right here, have you been talked to about a helmet? Yes, we decided not to. Okay, I'll put it down as it's still up for discussion."

It was just on and on with the questions and trying to parent me. I'm a good mom and I know when my child is hot, cold, hungry, tired, sad and happy. When she left it was such a relief to just have her out of the house. Walker took a three hour nap, which NEVER happens. I think he was over stimulated with that one.

Walker is excelling most statistics of what he should. He's doing wonderfully. Leave it at that, lady. When a problem arises, we'll go back to the drawing board. She was so eager to have him receive some type of service.

We were so happy when R came home to brighten our moods.

Look at that face! That face makes my whole life better. 

The Beginning of a New Year

This New Year's Eve we celebrated at our friend's house. We left Walker to ring in the New Year with his Nana and Uncle Paul. I kept getting pictures of a very wide awake Walker.

 And finally my little man tuckered out right before midnight.

It was very weird coming home late and with no baby in the house. I have both his monitors on all the time and decided to turn them off. I woke up multiple times and finally decided to go over to my mom's to see his face. I was a little shocked to see that he was not as excited to see me. He crawled off fast towards my mom. Clearly, at Nana's house there are no rules. We had New Years lunch and then went to the mall for some retail therapy.