Go Astros Go!

Danny LOVES baseball. Last year he got to go to his first major league baseball game and he was amazed at how high and far they would hit the ball. I'm pretty sure I didn't go to my first major league game until I was out of high school, so he's one lucky guy. For Danny's 2nd birthday we got him a t-ball set and for Christmas his grandparents got him another baseball and bat. He's a lefty at bat and actually has some natural talent - he hits more pitches than I do

This year we've been spoiled to go to 3 Astros games already. Our friends Beth and Tim invited us to join them when Tim's boss gave him some tickets for doing a great job on a presentation. (Way to go Tim!) They were AMAZING seats right behind 3rd base. I didn't get a picture of the seats, or the game, but this is a pretty good picture of Tim and Danny. Besides a really fun evening, we also left the game with tickets to another game. Due to inclement weather the post-game fireworks show had to be cancelled. To make up for the loss (which Danny was happy about since he's afraid of fireworks these days) you could get free tickets to a future game.

For game 2 Tim and Beth couldn't go, so we ended up with all 4 tickets. We took Rex and Alex. This time the seats were nosebleeds, but had an amazing city view. Yeah, it's a pretty cool ball park. And thanks to T & B this meant 2 fun major league games for free!At game 2 Danny and his dad discovered the playland. Danny had fun trying to race the baseball player and hit the water with the bat. Again, he was better than his mom.

The 3rd game was not free, but was still a lot of fun. Matt had organized a team-building/social event for work. This time we had seats in the outfield just behind 1st base. Not as good as the first game, but a step up (or should I say down) from our nosebleeds at the last game. By now Danny had the routine down and could even cheer on his own.

He also made it quite apparent that he doesn't just like going to Minute Maid Park for the baseball.

If he can learn to run bases as fast as he can stuff his mouth with popcorn, he may just be playing for the Astros someday. :)

Baby Names

It is just over 2 weeks until my due date. By this time we were sure about Danny's name. However, despite several baby name books & late nights looking at names online, we are still at a loss. I'm sure we'll make a final decision when we see her, but here's some we're thinking of:

Madison Jane
Kailey
Kayla
Elizabeth (Lizzie)
Eliza
Hadley
Sophia
Sophie
Jessica

Did I miss any Matt? This could be risky, but we're open to opinions and suggestions. We just haven't unitedly fallen in love with any of the girl names yet.

Happy Birthday Matt!

This month is flying by too quickly! I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since we celebrated Matt's birthday!

Anyway, we had a fun birthday celebration. Billings came over for dinner and festivities on his real birthday.
We played croquet (one of his gifts).There was a treasure hunt where Matt had to call some family to get the next clues. The treasure was his favorite British candy - Smarties.
And the highlight for me was the birthday cake - Mud Pie. YUMMY!
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the recipe for the mud pie makes a TON! Matt and I enjoyed recelebrating his birthday all week. Obviously my pregnant belly is not all baby though . . . pretty sure there's some mud pie there!

Hooray for Matt - Happy, Happy Birthday!

Shower

Thanks to Anne and Mindy for a fun baby shower! They hosted a double shower for Sharon (Mindy's sister-in-law) and I because we have almost identical due dates. It's great having sisters close!
There was a beautiful cake made by Anne and lots of tasty brunch food made by Mindy and others. I was lucky enough to get a huge chunk of the leftover chocolate cake and it tasted equally delicious over the next few days!It was fun to just eat and chat with everyone. We also had a humorous game of "Family Feud" & "Who's the Mom?" where you had to name the mom for famous babies (ie. Rudy Huxtible & Renesmee). Thanks to so many friends for coming to celebrate with Sharon and I - sorry I didn't get pictures of everyone.
Opening gifts was fun - Sharon is having a boy, and I'm having a girl. Everyone convinced me that little girl dresses are pretty adorable, but I kept thinking Sharon's little boy clothes should be for me. I'm definitely getting in girl mode though (I did paint a pink room after all).Thanks again Anne & Mindy and all our friends who celebrated with us! Now it's a race to see whose baby will arrive first.

Nursery Paint

After many, many hours and help from many people, baby sister's nursery is finished. Well, the painting is finished - there's still some details, but I'm content with the paint job. Truthfully, I'm still in a bit of shock that I was able to paint a room pink, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Step One: Touch up nail holes, spray texture, tape, and strip down to your underwear. (Sorry to disappoint those of you expecting a prego shot of me in my undies. I don't think so! And don't worry, I kept my paint clothes on.)

Step Two: Begin painting using scribbly brush strokes.
Step Three: Cover all the scribbly paint strokes using a roller.
Step Four: Finish painting a light, light pink.

Step Five: Paint a border in an even lighter pink.
Step Six: Find a great friend who will drive all the way from Austin to support your crazy ideas and help you paint a green vine (THANKS JENNY!!!).
Step Seven: Hand paint flowers on the vine to match the bedding.

Step Eight: Find a sister to take care of your son so you can finish the insane painting project you tackled. (THANKS ANNE!!!)
Step Nine: Put the bedding in the crib, breathe a sigh of relief, smile at a cute girlie nursery, and take a nap!

Twins

I have a cousin who is about 4 months older than me. Michael and I were labeled twin cousins at an early age because of similar smiles and blonde hair. There are hundreds of "twin" pictures of us. I remember one time when we were quite young being awoken from our sleep so some family friends could see the "twins." Truthfully, though I didn't always enjoy the pictures, I'm glad someone was taking pictures of me (I was #4 in my family, Michael was #1).

Now, I am the total hypocrite about twin pictures. Danny is about 4 months younger than his cousin Kaya. And though I don't really think they look much alike, they do share the blonde, blonde hair. Our 1/4 Chinese blondies. Every time they are together I can't help snapping a lot of photos of the two of them. Matt has a special bond with Kaya since they share the same birthday (thanks for making that work out Mindy!). So here are some "twin" photos of Kaya and Danny last time they were together. I love how chunky Danny's hand is holding Kaya's.








Who knew a mirror could provide so much entertainment. Looks like Danny has an identical twin in these shots!Yes, I did let my child kiss the dirty store mirror. It didn't look too dirty though. And really, a few germs isn't a bad trade off for a great photo and happy kid. Unless those germs are the reason he's so allergic to mosquito bites!