Pumpkins at the Arboretum

Today was another perfect Mommy day. With less than a week left of maternity leave, today Cade turned 2 1/2 (Happy half birthday little man!), and Devyn is 2 1/2 months, I've been emotional.  The perfect fix? A trip to the Dallas Arboretum.  Every year we have taken Cade, and this year was Devyn's pumpkin debut!  She rocked it, no?

Conductor overalls?? Yummy! 

This year there was a storybook theme. Here we are in Cinderella's carriage.

Um, we are DEF 2 1/2 months today. Had Grammie been counting on us to go, we would have stayed home with the tearful morning SOMEONE had.  This pic is his mood entirely. Sad, yet intrigued. Pouty, yet precious.

My God. That lip. That sunflower. That mini pumpkin. It's too much. He is absolutely too much.  My love for this pouty little prince knows no bounds.  You want to simultaneously spank him and give him the world. I've never known feelings like this could exist before my love affair with my son.

Grand Aunt Shanon, Grammie and Devyn strolling through Crepe Myrtle Alley. This place is absolutely stunning, if you are in a rotten mood in Crepe Myrtle Alley you have issues.  So, literally five minutes later this was said Poutster.

Sheer joy and elation! Oh to feel that happy because you have a stick and a hill to run down. (Yes, my child runs with sticks.... I dare you to try to stop him. You start with "Honey, don't run with the stick, that's dangerous!" and then you go to "Cade, put down that stick please" then you say "Cade, no stick. Put down!" (I don't know why, but I find myself trying Caveman Talk when he's not listening) finally you shrug and say "Um, be safe when you run with the stick!" and decide to devote your time to saying Hail Marys.

Cade found love by the old oak tree.

Use her and lose her, man.  Typical male.

Pumpkin love.

His fave gourd o' the day!  He even kissed it :)

Mommy's new haircut. Oh, and Mommy's presh children.

Grammie's little girl.  Sweetest pic o' the day!

Baby's first Open House

Today was a big day for us! I went with Cade (and grandparent entourage: Lolli, Grammie, Grandaddy) to daycare for Open House.

Cade started off very interested in his surroundings. (See the lambie in the background? It was meant to be!) I got my first taste of mommy butterflies and we walked from room to room looking to see which classroom his name was on! Just like a real Open House! I really love the location of his classroom, away from the main entrance (lest there be any crazies invading daycare--- I know, it's psycho! Have I not blogged about the irrational mommy fears that take over your normal thoughts? It's true, these crazy fears just invade and I'm like "Whew! Glad I thought of that, but where the HELL did that thought come from?")

Anyways... love his teachers, he has four of them. And 2 babies have yet to be born yet. I saw one of the mommies-to-be and tried to guage the size of her bump. I'm hoping she's not due until at least 2010 so Cade can benefit from smaller class-size numbers. Ew, I just thought that and typed it and put that thought out there for the world...Embarassing that I'm that mom. Whatev.

So the teachers immediately swarmed Cade when we first walked in and gave me the pleasure of acting like he was the best baby they'd ever seen in their lives and they'd give up their own firstborn to have the chance to care for mine every day. Thank God, because I couldn't have dealt with anything less...... And how does my son greet them? Projectile spit up. Yup, big white splat on the floor. No worries, these ladies have embroidered aprons that they rock. So cute! And they STILL wanted to hold him and cuddle him. Again, thank you God.

I feel really comfortable and good about his teachers, I want them to take care of me! The room is adorable, so many fun toys, swings, bouncers, tummy time mat. His crib is pretty cool too. In the middle of some friends, underneath the stars bulletin board, so he'll feel right at home.

I did feel like a jackass when one super-mommy comes in with all the gear and stocks up her son's cubby. WTF? I didn't know! Well, I sort of knew, but I lost my daycare folder the other day. Can't find it. I had put it somewhere very special and looked at it all summer, and now it's not in that special spot because this week I moved it to even more special spot so I really wouldn't forget..I forgot.

So glad I had grandparent entourage. I was worried about being embarassed, but I really needed all of them there. Lolli was papparazzi and scored major cute pictures (especially one of Cade giving "the eyes" to a presh baby girl). Grammie helped ask questions. Grandaddy was his usual sweet self buttering up the teachers. And together, we were Cade's bodyguards. Like, don't F with this baby, look at how many of us there are! And we've got reinforcements at home. They're called Daddy, Papa, and Aunt Kelly.

All in all, it will be a great place. Very safe, very state-of-the-art. If only we could do something about the pink duck with Cade's name on it, Grammie says. Ah well, he's a forward thinking baby, he no minds. Real mean wear pink.