Baby Boot Camp

I jokingly told many people that this summer was going to be Baby Boot Camp for Shea. We needed to break several habits before the baby gets here in August. I must brag on my little man because he has done a FABULOUS job with all that we have set out to accomplish.



1st was getting him out of our bed and sleeping all night in his room. With a major bribe of a new train set when he did this for several weeks - we met the goal and now are the owners of a new train set. Shea thinks it is a Thomas the Train set but mom is way to cheap to shell out those big bucks - our's is the generic!



2nd was potty training. To be honest - I didn't think this was ever going to happen. All of a sudden he got the hang of it and we have been out of diapers, pull-ups, etc for 3 weeks with only 1 accident! Yea for Shea! This does not include bed-time. We will get to that later!



I am ready to have this baby. Only four more weeks until little Mattie graces us with her presence. I am very excited but still have a ton to do around here! The summer has been hot and I am sure my electric bill is going to be near $10,000 by the time summer is over!

Birthday Boy!

Well - our little man is now 3 years old. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. We had a Diego themed birthday party with a Madagscar cake (they don't make Diego cakes - Dora yes - but NO Diego). Shea changed his mind several times on the theme and I think I actually did invitations 3 times. Anyway, the party was a success and I think everyone had a good time. The pool was nice and warm so Shea was only persuaded to come out for cake and presents!

Now that we are a big boy, Shea has moved into the other room with all of his big boy stuff. He is really liking his room. Potty training is going okay and we may actually have it down by the time he is 12!

Shea has become the ultimate momma's boy the past few weeks. I must say it is quite flattering for me but Chris is getting a little tired or being told to go away because he only wants Mommy. I am a little worried about how he is going to feel when the baby gets here. He did pick out an animal print sheet for "Lassie's" bed and he likes to talk to her through my now "popped" belly button! Mostly he likes smacking my tummy and yelling at her to wake up.

Spring Break

We were all super excited to go to San Diego for Spring Break this year. Chris and I thought this would be a great way to spend some family time together before the baby comes. Shea LOVES anything to do with animals so we went to the San Diego Zoo and to Sea World.

Shea and Mommy

Toby the Koala Bear

After searching for about an hour and a half for the elephants this is what we were greeted with when we finally got there - NICE!!


I think Sin-Liu the panda was Shea's favorite.

The next day was our trip to Sea World. Chris thought it would "be fun" to sit in the "soak zone" so we could get a little splash. When Shamu drenched us Shea threw a fit and wanted to leave IMMEDIATELY!! Now, he tells everyone that "Shamu splashed ALL of us and it is all Daddy's fault." Of course, I helped with that last part!

Other highlights from the trip:

Great Balls of Fire: this is the actual piano that Goose plays in "Top Gun" Yes - I took my baby to a bar.

Shea the fighter pilot on the USS Midway

Boat tour around our hotel

The very cold beach

Easter

Here are a few pictures from the many Easter Egg hunts that we went to this Easter. Our neighborhood put on one and we went to Mimi & Pop-Pop's new neighborhood for the other. Apparently the Easter Bunny is a little scarier than Santa Claus, and most importantly, did not have a large sack of presents to ahnd out!

And of course, the Easter Bunny visited our house Easter morning as well! I wish that I had taken a video to show his reaction when I told him that the Easter Bunny had come to visit our house. Notice we needed one basket for our eggs and one basket for out other goodies. Zora even had a good time hunting for eggs. She managed to find one stuffed with Hershey kisses!

Eat Your Heart Out

We spent some time outside this morning enjoying the warm weather. Those of you not in the Dallas area need to understand the wild weather around here lately. It was 80 last weekend 60's all week and then it snowed on Thursday. By Saturday we were back up into the high 60's. CRAZY!! We needed some outside time this morning to enjoy the non-snowy/rainiy day. Shea decided that he needed to have his very cool madras hat and shades because it was "too bwight." Maybe this is just mom talking but check out how cute he is! Look at that pose! I dunno - do we see Time Square billboards in this kid's future?

What's New

Well, it has been a while since our last post. We have lost the memory stick to our camera and are still on the lookout but I figured I could send an update.

We all had a great Christmas even though Shea was a tad under the weather. He was fortunate to get a ear infection that lasted the week of Christmas. Other than that he thought Christmas was FANTASTIC! He was thoroughly spoiled by all sides of the family. We now need a bigger house to accomodate all of his toys!

Chris has enjoyed lots of snowboarding this January. Was was able to go on two different trips leaving his poor, pregnant wife and crazy 2 year old behind. Don't worry - he is being made to suffer now!

I am thankful to be in my last week of my 1st trimester of baby #2. I must say that this kiddo is WAY different than Shea. With the 24 hours of "morning" sickness and extreme tiredness - I think that we may be in for trouble! We are very excited about our new addition and can't wait to find out if Shea will have a brother or a sister!

Santa

Shea has been talking about Santa Claus since September. I am not sure where all of this started - he just started mentioning it one day out of the blue. He has been saying all along that Santa is going to bring him a bike, roller skates, and a helmet. Safety first! It has been hilarious to hear him explain that we need to write Santa a letter. He has been so excited about the house being decorated, all of the holiday cartoons on TV, and of course, listening and singing Christmas carols - the same ones - over and over and over! I must admit that I am having loads of fun with all of this. It really makes me stop and remember all the Christmas magic too.


This weekend we went to a Christmas party for the kids in our neighborhood to decorate some cookies and get to know some other families. The kiddos were surprised with a visit from Santa. The look on Shea's face was priceless. He was in such awe. When I asked him who was hear he just stared at Santa with a huge grin on his face and whispered "Santa Claus." He got even more excited when he saw that Santa was passing out candy canes. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, Shea said, "candy cane" - totally forgetting the bike and roller skates. Live for the moment - right!