Bigger and Busier

As Carlton and I prepare for the arrival of our littlest guy, Robert is keeping us on our feet with our hands full. While that can be trying at times -- with my carrying around an extra ??lbs. -- we are having so much fun and find ourselves laughing at our 21-month-old all the time!

These boots were made for walking, but definitely for someone with (much!) bigger feet!

Robert still has a ways to go with his numbers and hasn't figured out that size 15 men's does not equate with size 7/8 little boy's.

The fireman/truck obsession is still alive and well. And I'd be lying if I said that we, as his parents, have no involvement in perpetuating it.

Robert surprises me everyday with the amount of energy he is suddenly able to summon once Daddy gets home. One afternoon Carlton dressed him up like a superhero and they did 20 laps around the house -- no kidding.

Some of our dear friends threw a shower for Alyson, Amy and me (pictured in the center) to celebrate the upcoming arrivals of our second babies. Southern Living missed an opportunity to document one of the greatest -- and most thoughtful -- backyard dinner parties I've ever been to. If they decide to do some professional catering on the side, I'll be sure to post it!

BEEECH!!!

This past week our little family joined my family in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. We had a blast! Not only did we get uninterrupted, quality time with my family, which was precious and much needed, but we were able to relive the joys of discovering the beach and ocean with our little guy.

I thought this was such a cute picture of Robert walking confidently out into the ocean clearly oblivious of any and all sea creatures that might be lurking in the shallow waters.

This is a more accurate portrayal of how he typically entered the water. And he would have kept going if we hadn't stopped him.

Another reason this past week was so special was watching Robert with his cousin, Jack, who is six months his senior. They were absolutely precious and the sweet bond that formed between them far exceeded my expectations!

Carlton gave Robert his first baseball lesson. This may look like a swing and a hit, but I'm pretty sure it was a swing and a miss...he doesn't seem to mind though.

While the rest of us enjoyed a week with relatively little cell phone usage, Robert had his close by in case of important incoming calls. This "phone" is actually just a little toy that makes noise. He thinks all such devices are phones.

One of the greatest things about taking little boys to the beach is that it doesn't matter one bit if they get filthy. Robert took this fact and ran with it...

His messy activity of choice was pouring sand on his head. And who wouldn't think that's fun??

More sand on the head...Robert has a current obsession with firetrucks. He calls them "wee-o wee-os." We have had to get creative to give him his fix of fire trucks each day and have found a winner on YouTube. I highly recommend this clip to anyone who has a child with the same issue (www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW169H4a4-E).

It just so happened that there was a fire station 5 minutes down the road from our house. We frequented the station often and the little guys loved sporting their Junior Firefighter hats.

Another great joy of the week was meeting our newest niece, Katie. She was an AMAZING baby

all week and we're all thankful for a little femininity to soften up the growing brood of boys!Robert was very interested in Katie. I'm hoping he'll still be intrigued by babies in a couple of months -- that would be very helpful!

Robert loved every one of his family members. Here he is playing with his uncle Zack, who might very well be the greatest uncle ever!We tried to get some still shots of Robert and Jack. Fat chance. Robert is only still in this one because we've stuffed his mouth with food -- our only sure-fire way of grabbing his attention.

I didn't want to post this many pictures without an update of our littlest one. We're 30 weeks and counting and can't wait to meet our second son!

Growing Up

I don't know if it's the impending arrival of #2, or if this is just par for the course at this stage in toddlerhood, but I feel like my little guy is growing up so fast! We are truly delighting in every minute with Robert and can not comprehend that our joy will double come October!!

Our dear friend, "Miss Jada," took this picture of Robert in her son, Charlie's, bouncy seat. Fortunately, the makers of these seats knew better than to make something that could not withstand the weight of an older sibling.

I came home from Bible study the other morning to find this. Fortunately, he was content with wiping the shaving cream off with a cloth instead of insisting that he use a razor like Daddy.

We're heading to the beach next week and Robert has been hard at work trying to sculpt the perfect beach bod. This is actually another way that he loves to imitate Daddy -- they've become quite a productive work-out duo.

The other day Robert was talking about fire trucks incessantly so we decided to venture to a real fire station. In this pic he's pointing to the camera because he's learned that he can watch videos on it. I have a feeling that we are going to have a lot of pictures with this "finger pointing" in the near future.

While he doesn't look very happy in this one, he really was loving every second of it. I think he was in awe of all of the trucks and firemen and was just taking it all in. Have you ever seen a cuter fireman in your life???

First Soccer Game

This past weekend, my cousin, Carson, played in a tournament in Dallas. We went to a couple of the games and Robert LOVED it! The heat was pretty brutal, but this frozen strawberry lemonade sure helped. Half of it made it into his mouth and half dribbled down his shirt. These percentages are actually not accurate come to think of it because at least a fourth spilled on Mommy.

Carson taught Robert a thing or two as they watched another game. And then Robert, as seen here, taught Carson. He's probably pointing out the ball, just to make sure she knows that's what you play soccer with. Robert wore #10 in support of his favorite player.

Where We've Been...

I have not been good about updating the blog lately, so I thought I'd catch our readers up on some of the things we've been doing! The temperature in Dallas is now -- and will continue to be for at least the next 14 days (according to Accuweather.com) -- 100 degrees. Fortunately, Robert has discovered several ways to beat the heat.

One great distraction from the heat was a visit from Leeley (my mom) and GeeGee (my grandmother). We had a blast all week and Robert LOVED the extra attention!

I caught a moment of my son's first date on camera. Looks like precious Ellie is giving him the stiff arm. He probably just stole a Cheerio from her -- we'll have to work on date etiquette. I appreciate a girl who stands up for herself though-- way to go, Ellie!

Here's an updated shot of "the twins." This last pic is a tribute to our dear friends, the Langleys. They just moved to Chicago where Rob will start business school later this summer. We are going to miss them so much! We love you, Langleys!

It's a BOY!!!

We recently found out that we're having another BOY!!! We are thrilled and can't wait for this little person to arrive!

We celebrated the news with our friends, the Dunlaps, who also found out that they're having another boy! We had a small party to reveal the genders (our appointments were on the same day). We proudly wore blue to share the news.

The babies are so lucky to have their precious older brothers to show them the ropes.

Robert was giddy when he found out he is going to have a little brother.

I added this video because it's been a while since we've posted one. Carlton has watched this one over and over on our camera...

Easter in Houston

Carlton, Robert and I headed down to Houston for a few days prior to Easter. We had a blast seeing all of the Wynne family and Robert was able to partake in his first Easter egg hunt with most of his Wynne cousins!





Here's a shot of some of the Wynne family. We were celebrating Jody's birthday.

Here is Robert with Trip and Jody. Amazingly, Robert did not mind the neck grip that Trip utilized to keep the other two close for the picture.

This was hilarious. Robert saw the "Easter bunny" coming down the stairs and immediately turned and ran toward me. He enjoyed looking at the bunny, but only from my arms.

Here Robert is showing off his findings from the Easter egg hunt. He found two eggs. Once he had one for each hand he was perfectly content ending his search.

We all enjoyed a DELICIOUS brunch after the hunt. Robert was sitting with his cousins, Anna Cate and Ross -- can you tell they're related?

Yay! Such a fun day!

I had to include this picture. Robert found my hat, put it on backwards and grabbed his keys -- this was not staged, I promise! Carlton and I felt like we were catching a glimpse of what life might look like 15 years from now...I'm not ready for that yet.