Thanksgiving 2010

The big Thanksgiving 2010 is over and all the Bartholomews have gone home. We are sure going to miss them. What a blessing to be able to get together when we can.

Happy Halloween 2010!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Love,

The Texas Mooneys

Paci Fairy

The Paci Fairy came to our house and took all of our pacis and gave them to babies who need them. James was a little reluctant at first, but the Paci Fairy brought him a treat when he woke up in the morning. Since then, James has been a brave boy and we are now a paci free house. Thanks Paci Fairy!

Happy 1st Birthday

Our sweet, happy, beautiful baby has circled the sun for the first time. We are so blessed that he has joined our family. Happy birthday Brend-O. We love you.

5th Anniversary

Here's where we were 5 years ago. I love you times infinity =*

Happy 3rd Birthday

3 years ago today our world was rocked. And, baby, you're still rockin' it =) Happy Birthday Big Guy.

Preschool

Well, a bit unexpectedly, we decided on a change of preschools for James. So instead of starting in the middle of August, he had his first day on Tuesday.

He was a little concerned when Jimmy dropped him off, but when I picked him up after lunch he didn't want to leave and the teacher said he'd had a great day! Hooray! The only thing I got out of him, though, was that he pooped at school and the teachers are the only ones allowed to flush. =) Hopefully, as time goes on, I'll get a few more details about his day.

Here he is on his way to school =)

9 months

We had Brendan's 9 month doctor's appointment this morning and he is perfection (we already knew that=)) He weighed in at a whopping 24.8 pounds and was 28 inches tall. He is hitting all of his milestones, he just needs to work on pulling himself up (there's a lot to pull up) and continue to eat more table foods.

Next appointment is when he's 12 months old. I can't believe it's only 3 months away!

Life just got a little more complicated....

....Heaven help us, Brendan is mobile!
















P.S. See the Swiffer Wet Jet on the right hand side of the photo? That is James' new favorite toy/activity. I figured out how to refill it (luckily. They're expensive!) and it just has water in it. He mops the concrete, but not the wood in the kitchen (it's too "swippery"). The concrete in that little section you see has never been cleaner. It's good to have that guy around ;)

Road Trip 2010

Well, we just got back from Tucson/Vail, Arizona. We made the 14 hour drive, and much to our surprise, everyone did great....both ways!

We went for Jimmy's grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party. Henry and Sue knew we were coming for a visit, but the party was a total surprise! It was so fun to keep the secret all weekend, and surprise them on Sunday night. Everyone pitched in on prepping for the party. Even James did some watering and dog poop pickup. Lorraine and Dirk's (Jimmy's aunt and uncle) house and yard were a beautiful setting for a Golden Anniversary Party. Denise and Darin (Jimmy's aunt and uncle) drove down from Phoenix on Friday night to help with party prep and somehow hid from Henry and Sue for 2 days! During the party Krista, Jessica (Jimmy's cousins) and Travis (his brother) were on kid patrol so Jimmy and I got a chance to mingle. What a treat that was! Travis took James swimming (James is still talking about it!) and he threw James in the air over and over. Travis was so good with James. And James loves his uncle who drives and "ambleance", and he really misses him now that we're home.

We got to go to some of our favorite restaurants including- Brooklyn Pizza, In-N-Out, Nico's, and Beyond Bread. Pretty good for only being there four days =)

We had many visits from Mary Lou, Jimmy's grandmother. She loves that James has red hair because Jimmy's grandfathers' mother had red hair, and Jim always had wanted a red headed grandchild. Luckily, he got to know James before he passed. We're all grateful for that =)

We saw Jimmy's Aunt Debbie, cousins Michelle, Todd, Stacey, her husband Will, and their kids for an early dinner one night and then went to a park afterward to play. The kids had a great time and Todd and Grandpa Bob pushed swings until everyone was worn out and we all went home and crashed for the night.

Sleeping arrangements took a few nights to get right. It started out with James on a cot next to Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sandra. Jimmy and I were on the bed in his old bedroom and Brendan in the pack-n-play at the foot of our bed. That did not work. At about 3:30 am both boys were up and ready to start their day! So, by the end we had Jimmy and I sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor. James sleeping on a pad on the boxspring from the mattress in what was our bedroom. And Brendan sleeping in his pack-n-play in the laundry room. We finally got a couple full nights of sleep! Hopefully as the kids get a little older they'll be able to be more flexible in where they sleep.

James has a special toy that he gets to use at Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sandra's house. His Jeep! It's a red Power Wheel and he lives for that thing! He couldn't get enough of it. He would ride until the battery "pooped out", and wait (only a little impatiently) until it recharged. Then he was ready to ride again. James also invented a game on their pool table called "ball pit". He would call a certain pocket and roll the pool balls with his hands to that pocket. We all would cheer if he made it in, and he would exclaim "dangit!!" if he missed. (note to self: watch what you say in front of James, and Brendan for that matter)

James was so sad to leave "the desert," but we had to go home. We packed up and left at 5:30 am with the sun already high in the sky (Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings). The ride home was great. We were tired when we finally got home (at 9:30 pm), but we had such a good time that we think we'll do it again for the holidays!

Click here are some pictures from the trip.

"Undapants!"

As some of you know, we've been a little slow to get on the potty training train. And just the other day (as if it was his idea ;-)) James says to me "how 'bout undapants?" Up until then, just the mention of underpants or using the potty resulted in "noooo. I can't!!!" Then running and hiding, as if we were punishing him. So this was a pretty big deal.

Now, I must say, he is not yet reliable on using the potty. He won't go, if it's "my idea", and still forgets to use the potty on his own, but if I set the timer, when it rings, I say "oh! that means it's time to go potty!" then, off he runs to the bathroom. So we're moving in the right direction!

Hallelujah! He won't go to college in diapers!

Look Who's Sitting Up!

I'm a little late in posting this, but Brendan's been sitting up for a while now. It's so amazing to see him hit all of these mile stones. I can't believe he's 8 months. What a blessing to be his mom.

Solid Food

Brendan has finally started eating solids! We started with avocado. This is the face we got =)
After a few bites, though, he really got the hang of it, and he hasn't stopped eating since! Since then we've started on sweet potatoes and just yesterday I gave him a bit of banana. Next up is pears!

Big Boy Bed

I've been working on redecorating James' bedroom. James has been sleeping in his crib-turned-toddler bed and I was feeling very uninspired by how it was looking. So this weekend we did something about it! Plans (and so many more fun projects) at Knock Off Wood.

Jimmy did the woodwork.

My mom, Jimmy and I did the upholstery.


James helped too.


James loves it, and I couldn't be happier with how it looks!

28

Jimmy turned 28 on the 16th. We had a party with some of his friends at an awesome bowling alley called The Highball. We had such a good time, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a place for a grownup birthday party.
James made him a chocolate sheet cake with my mom on his actual birthday.

Happy Birthday Jimmy. I'm glad you were born =)

6 months

Our Brendan is 6 months old, and gets bigger everyday!

At the doctor he weighed 20 lbs, height=47 cm, and head size=a whopping 26 cm!

And he gets cuter and cuter all the time (in my totally unbiased opinion).

This is going by way too fast!

Blue Bonnets 2010

We made it out to the Blue Bonnets this year. It was super sunny and super windy, but I think we got some good shots =)

I struggle everyday...

...to NOT gnaw on this baby chub.

It's hard =)

Park

Jimmy took James to the park on Sunday. Apparently they had a great time. This is the video they brought back =)

New Beginnings

We moved to Austin about 3 and a half years ago. Things were so different then. We hadn't even been married a year, we stilled owned a house in Vail, Arizona, no kids, and Jimmy was going to start a new job in advertising. We were living with my parents in Round Rock until our house in Arizona sold (which we hoped would be soon).

So much has changed. We sold our Vail house (after 6 months!), we bought a house in Austin, we got pregnant, had a beautiful baby boy, we celebrated 3 anniversaries, got pregnant again, had another beautiful baby boy. And last week Jimmy got a new and exciting job at a company named Bazaarvoice.

Jimmy is so talented at what he does, and I'm so proud of him. He is very excited about his new position and can't wait to go to work every day. He is having so much fun. This is just one new adventure to add to the list, and we couldn't be happier =)

Hard to Believe...

But Brendan started rolling over pretty consistently this morning from his back to his tummy. I just looked back the the pictures and James was 6 months before he started rolling over! Brendan is only 3 1/2 months. It amazes me how different they are. Both of them are always keeping me on my toes, and I love that =)

January So Far

It's been an exciting month, and it's not even over yet!

It started off with us returning home from Tucson feeling a little under the weather. James had a fever for a few days and a pretty gnarly cold. Sure enough, Brendan caught it. Turns out it was RSV which laded poor little Brendan in the hospital over night. Luckily he is doing great now! I am so ready to be done with our "quarantine" though. RSV is very contagious and we didn't want any of our friends to catch it (especially the other newborns in our playgroup) so we haven't seen anyone in weeks. All of their symptoms are gone, so we go back to the doctor next week to have a final follow up and get the blessing to hang out with other kiddos again (before we all go insane!)

On a happier note, we had some visitors last week. My brother and his wife came to visit from California. Baby Brendan was named after my brother Brendan, so it was very special for them to meet.



We had a great time with them. We went to a hockey game. James had so much fun. Every time they would have a fight James would say "go time out!" He helped himself to some popcorn that belonged to a lady sitting in front of us. Luckily, in Texas, people are far more forgiving of other people (especially at a hockey game), and she thought it was hilarious. He stayed up way past his bed time, and was such a trooper. He even walked through the crowds on our way out.



We took Baby Brendan with us. I thought he might just fall asleep (what was I thinking?) But he lasted about as long as the introductions of the players and the first blow horn. He got scared and my mom took him downstairs where he charmed the passers by and fell asleep for the rest of the game.



On Saturday night my parents watched the boys after they went to bed and the "kids" (Jimmy, my brother, my sister-in-law, my sister and I) went down to Sixth Street and went bar hopping. Now, I thought I might make it until 11:30 or maybe midnight. You see, being a new mom takes a bit of a toll on your ability to party all night. Nope, we stayed out all night! We spent a majority of our time at a dueling piano bar. That was so much fun! I would definitely go back just for the entertainment. We went on to a few others after, but that was by far the most fun. I did pay for it the next day, but it was worth it to go out with my siblings and have so much fun.

I was sad to drop Brendan and Sam off at the air port, but hopefully I'll get to visit them sometime this year.

We did get a family picture in before they left =)



So, happy 2010! Here's to another year in the Mooney House =)

Back From the Desert

We got back from Tucson yesterday afternoon. We are exhausted, but we had the best time. We got all of our favorite food stops and and saw a lot of family. We also did a lot of fun things like go to the Pima Air and Space Museum, the Zoo, and Story Time at the library. James had the best time with the cousins and aunts and uncles and (of course) his grand and great grand parents. We were sad to leave Arizona, but we're happy to be in our own beds.

Here are some pictures from the trip =)

James had his third round of gift giving.


He was very patient when it came time for Grandpa Henry to unpackage the toys (note to self: unwrap all packaging before wrapping gifts!)




Great Grandma Sue and Great Grandmama


It's fuzzy, but it's proof I was there =)


Finally got to play with that car!


Lorraine was such a big help with both boys. I'm pretty sure she was in heaven holding Brendan =)


Lorraine, Jessica and Dirk showed James a great time at their house. He got to pick up dog poop, water plants, and watch Ice Age! James was in Heaven. I was sad when they left for a portion of time we were there. But thank goodness they came back to us!



This picture cracks me up. Brendan's face is priceless.


Uncle Travis and Brendan (I love this picture)


The Baldy Club (Travis was in the middle of a hair cut)


Grandpa Bob


The future Mrs. Mooney-aka Taryn, Travis' fiance. Welcome to the family!


Darin, Denise, and Krista drove down from Phoenix just to see us. It was so great to see them! Thanks for making the trek!



Grandma Nana MaMaw Sandra


Cousin Eric and James. So cute together. They are about the same age difference as Jimmy and his cousin Todd. Really cool =)


James was so excited to see all the planes at Pima Air and Space Museum that he was just running in circles not knowing which way to turn!


I think this is the only picture of the two of us together from the trip. I guess someone's got to be on camera duty!


After the museum we went to In-N-Out for burgers. Yum!



We saw elephants at the zoo...


...and giraffes


Brendan thoroughly enjoyed himself =)


Hey! I was there too!


James had a great time.


I wish I had taken more pictures. Like of cousins Kayla and Maddy and Jimmy's cousin Stacey and her husband Will. They had us over for dinner one night. We had so much fun at their house. Also of Story Time at the library! James was so cute and Georgia made for a great elephant =)

We can't wait until we can make it back to Tucson!