Baseball at the track

For the past few weeks on Wednesday mornings we have been going to the track to run.  It has worked out really well as the track is gated so I get a track workout in and Joseph can run around and play while I work out.  Ella just chills in the stroller and enjoys Joseph and I running by every so often!  However, the best part of the morning is that the baseball field is right next to the track so we head there after for Joseph to check it out and he is just in heaven.

 We always bring balls (and he found a baseball last week which totally made the day) so he practices pitching and throwing.

 Last week the door of the dugout was open so we snuck in to check out the dugout and to get a better view of the field.  There were a ton of peanut shells in the dugout so we had to buy some peanuts at the grocery store and he has been enjoying eating those like real baseball players.  It is so fun watching him get so excited.  We are heading to an Astros game over Labor Day weekend and can't wait to see his excitement.

A little trivia

Rich and I had back to back date nights after my birthday surprise and then trivia night the following night.  We were way overdue since I think we have been out only once since Ella has been born...thankfully we have found a new sitter so we can start going out regularly again.  Our friend,  Monica, works for a non profit educational organization who put on a trivia night on August 10th.  We got a group of us together and had a blast!  It was a fun night out with everyone and for a good cause.  Our table didn't win (or even come close to winning) but we had a great time and I was pretty impressed with the answers that we came up with.  

The ladies-half are pregnant!  Can't wait for this next round of babies!

 And with the men, too!

 We made it a late night (past midnight!!) and went out after...had a great time and even a little dancing towards the end of the night!  So kiddos, when you are reading this when you're grown, your parents do know how to have fun every once in awhile :)  

It's still hot in Texas!

Summer is starting to wind down and school is starting but it is still hot in Texas!  We are still doing our best to stay cool and in the second week of August it actually did feel a bit cooler (high 80s/low 90s vs. mid 90s and not as much humidity felt like a cold front!)  I'm really not complaining though as I'll take the heat over the cold any day and we love the pool so we're staying cool!

 Ella is excited to get in the pool!  

 Waiting her turn patiently whiel Joseph gets lathered in sunscreen.

 And, he's in!

 Practicing swimming to the side

 We made it to Cranebrook pool twice this month so far and Joseph loves this slide!  The water at the end isn't very deep so it is perfect for him and he just has a blast.  

 Taking a snooze-swimming is tough work!

And a few pictures from mornings at the park.

Our good friends, the Knellers, live in our neighborhood so we try to meet up with them at least once a week and walk and do the park.  

 

 Just chilling!

 We have had three birthday parties so far this month and two out of the three have been at splash pads...perfect place for a summer party!  

 Gotta love cupcakes!

 Brody's birthday party had the shave ice truck come so everyone cooled off with the fun treat!

 Model pose!

 And finally, this is a picture from one of our runs last week.   I am training for a ten mile race in October so we've been running different routes to keep it interesting.  This is from the waterway "downtown" in The Woodlands-it's not Ko'Olina but not a bad view!  

34!

My birthday celebration started a week prior to my actual birthday which definitely made turning a year older a bit more enjoyable.  I woke up every morning to a card and small gift hidden somewhere around the house.  Joseph loved opening the present for me and then would sing "Happy Birthday" to me throughout the day.  The best part was the day after my birthday he woke up and asked where the presents were...I had the same thought buddy :)

My cards from the week

On my actual birthday Joseph sang "Happy Birthday" throughout the day but other than that the day was pretty ordinary-we had our class at church for Ella's baptism that night and Rich got stuck in traffic so we didn't even have a chance to do cake before class...but, the day after my birthday (Friday) Rich came home early and surprised me with having our babysitter come over and we went out to dinner at Hubbell and Hudson, a restaurant on the waterway that we have been wanting to try.  It was such a nice night and a nice surprise.

The menu at dinner was definitely Hawaiian inspired which was great! Rich had opah and I had halibut and we started the night with sweet and spicy poke which was amazing!!!  

 

We celebrated wtih Joseph and Ella before going to dinner with presents and cake and then Rich and I enjoyed some more cake after dinner, too!

Thanks to my sweet little family for making the day (and week) so special and here's to a fabulous 34th year!

Our growing garden

On August 4th we had our first sighting of something edible from our garden!  It was pretty exciting!   

Joseph was so excited to pick it!  

 We were planning on taking it inside and slicing it up to eat it on our salad that night but then we turned the tomato around and found this...guess we'll have to wait until the next ripe one to really enjoy our garden!  Oh well!

Thankfully the garden is looking great so I am sure there will be plenty more opportunities for delicious fruits and vegetables to eat.

Like this watermelon...we are in shock that it is this big already!  Can't wait to watch it grow even more!

Doctor Daddy

On Sunday, August 4th we had just gotten back from a family run and were eating a quick breakfast before heading to church.  Joseph was sitting in his seat waiting for his pancakes and omelet (the boy won't eat eggs by themselves but loves omelets with spinach, cheese and ham or turkey-no tomatoes though!) and all of a sudden he started crying holding his left arm.  Rich and I looked at each other and immediately we knew that he must have twisted it the wrong way causing nursemaid's elbow.  Joseph rarely cries but whenever this happens he does exactly the same thing-cries and holds right below the elbow and won't move it.  As his doctor told us, Joseph really should be the poster child for nursemaid's elbow as this is his fifth time that this has happened.  It all started in July 2012 when Poppa and Nani were visiting and it was popped out at the Children's Museum, then happened again in San Diego in August 2012, then back in Texas later in August 2012 from me putting him in his carseat leaving the doctor's office for an appointment (which made it very easy since we just got out of the car and walked back in to have it fixed) and then on June 1st of this year at a friend's birthday party when Daddy was putting sunscreen on him and now there is this time.  We still aren't really sure how it happened this time-we think it might have gotten stuck underneath the chair and he just twisted the wrong way and it slipped out of place-it doesn't take too much to pop it out of place.  Thankfully the last time the doctor showed us how to pop it back in so Daddy was able to put his surgeon skills to work and was successful (sure beats an ER bill since it was Sunday when this happened)!  He heard it pop right back into place and within a minute Joseph was back to his normal self waving his arm all over the place.  It is the craziest thing!  The doctor has told us that by his third birthday it shouldn't happen so frequently because his ligaments will tighten and become stronger and the bone shouldn't fall out of place as easily.  Four more months until he turns three so hopefully this is the last of them!  But, thankfully, if it happens again we'll just have Doctor Daddy fix him up!

Joseph all better later that day wearing Daddy's bike shorts

Glad you're all better little buddy and thankful for Daddy for fixing you up!