Swifts

Leslie told me about this cool thing to do in September, and we're all about neat new experiences, so check this out. James, Wendy and I went to Chapman Elem. School (Portland) to sit on the side of a large grassy hill with a bunch of other folks to wait until sunset when thousands of little birdies called Swifts cyclone down into this old chimney! As we watched, a falcon swept down near the mouth of the chimney and grabbed a Swift in its talons. It was real drama unfolding right before our very eyes! These tiny birds are truly amazing creatures in that they eat and sleep and do everything while in flight, but before migrating ,they find hallowed out old trees or chimneys and fill them up, clinging to the sides inside with their itty bitty feet.

Wendy and Hayden Days

Leslie and Hayden stayed with us overnight because they were having work done to their floor, and they needed to avoid the noise, dust and fumes, so we had the best time together at our house! We went to Cafe Sip N' Play, ate a bunch, caught up, and it was just a wonderful two days!

Sea Side Beach

This last weekend, after God mercifully allowed me to pass my ouchy kidney stone, James, Wendy and I really had the family time we'd been craving. We went to Sea Side Beach! James took Monday off, so we spent the night at the "Microtel" Sunday night. On the way there, Wendy was quite cute in the minivan. We were listening to a song on a CD Katie made for me, "Hosanna in the Highest," and it's a powerful praise and worship song, and I'm not charismatic, but I do raise my hands (in private) to this song. I was belting it out and raising my hands, and we turned to look at Wendy as she was also raising her splayed fingers and singing, "Hosanna in the High-ET!" I was impressed by my first impression of this place. Lots of fudge and chocolate stores, candy stores, toy stores, fantastic seafood restaurants, the glorious beach, gift shops, etc. Wendy loved the ocean, and wasn't afraid when she fell backwards into the water (James of course whisked her out), but Monday she was a little apprehensive when Daddy ran her out into the water after she, let's say, did her thang. The water might have been colder then, and she kept saying, "I don't LIKE to go in the ocean!" The biggest blessing was that Wendy just might be maturing a bit because she did beautifully in the hotel room! Yay!

Meet Your New Feathered Friend!

Richard and Rosemary (family on James' side) send Wendy several amazing puppets for her birthday and Christmas, and here we are introducing Wendy to the peacock, which she LOVES!

Wendy, Micah and Elijah

"Grouchy Land is a messy, messy place!"

A little while ago, I bought an Elmo movie that was on sale, "Elmo in Grouch Land." Well, I found out why it was only $5.99. It's SCARY! Elmo drops his blue blanket in Oscar the Grouch's trashcan, and then it floats down into Grouch Land, and it freaked Wendy out because there is trash everywhere and "it's a messy, messy place," and that just frightens Wendy more than anything. She became obsessed with it, talking about it all the time and getting distressed! Well, we had to haul some yard debris off to the dump a couple Saturdays ago, so we took her with us, of course, and I took her out of her car seat so she could watch Daddy shovel stuff of the bed of the truck, and I told her, "See Wendy, we're at Grouchy Land and it's a messy place but it's not scary!" Phew. Got out of that one!

Yay!

I got to do another up-do last weekend! My neighbor, Tristen, needed her hair done for a wedding, so she came to me, and it was easy because she's got beautiful hair!

She loves to wear her daddy's stinky cap!

She's an enigma...loves her dangle earrings...and her daddy's baseball cap! So that's one angle with Wendy, the other is that lately, she grabs something, like a green square toy, and tells me emphatically, "This is a green square, Mommeeee, this is NOT a yellow triangle!"

Wendy and Ava at their Daddys' Softball Game!

This is the little girl who lives across the street, and now they get to play together as their pops play ball together!

Two Pretty Doll-Players

Hayden is the only other lil' girl we know who likes to play "momma" to her dollies. The two of them were so cute feeding their babies ba-bas!

Wendy's 2 Year Check Up

Have y'all seen Waiting for Gufman?

So, so, so funny.

My little girl got these clip-on earrings at her birthday party. After the crowd left, I offered to put them on her in front of my friend, Julie, who said, "Watch her take them off right away," as normal toddlers do, right? I clipped them on, held her up to see herself in the mirror, and she then proceeded to walk around the house extremely carefully so as not to allow one of those dangles to fall to the floor. She is my lil' miss priss! She didn't even smile, because I think she was afraid it would cause one to snap off. She would occasionally tap a finger on one to make sure it was still there. Awwwww!

Wendy Lynn Turns Two

Reflecting on the past two years of her life...


I gotta admit it--I chose Care Bears for her cake cuz I thought they were oh-so-cute when I was growing up! She actually blew out her candle!

This is the moon bounce that Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Chris paid for...THANK YOU!!!

Her loot...

Making sure her new toy has good reception.
"Oh boy! Just what I always WANTED!"




---Goodie bags for the boys and girls~~~"garden girl" sunglasses, Pooh Bear or Tinker Bell crayons, stretchy heart-dudes, lolly pops, candy bracelets, bouncy athletic balls, etc. I had a ball putting them together too.

Coco Etc.

Before we left for Houston, Miss Girlfriend asked for make-up. She growled and insisted. Ah, a glimpse of my daughter as a young lady....(Please don't grow up too fast.)

Back to the more recent past, Wendy and I had a ball in La Vernia with his family. They threw a marvelous party for her complete with a darling cake made by Tiffany. She actually made decorated cookies on sticks as they do with cookie bouquets! They popped up out of dirt cake, which is one of my favorite guilty pleasures because it's made with whipped cream, butter, vanilla pudding, confectioners sugar, and oreo cookies. Yeah, it's good. James' dad looks great. He's got color in his cheeks and it's just such a blessing that he's doing well with his new heart. His mom is doing well too now, recovering from her hip surgery. Tiffany and Chris are a darling newly wed couple, and their business is doing very well. They enjoyed playing with Wendy. Wendy's sweet great grandmother Alma enjoyed her too, even though Wendy accidentally closed a door on her poor fingers!!! My last evening was spent with my best friend from A&M, Nicole. She picked me up and we went to Coco Chocolate Lounge and Bistro in San Antonio. Hello. Such a girl's Heaven! We sat in a red velvet tufted thrown booth, sipped martinis and "wine flights," and devoured breaded brie, candied raspberries and toasted peanuts. The owner is a Frenchman, and below is his "business card." Girls, if ever in San Antonio, go to Coco. Seriously.

It's a pen.