Father's Day!!!

It was a FABULOUS FATHER'S DAY!

We started out by making Daddy breakfast - while he (and Augie) slept in. He opened his cards and gifts.
We took our time getting ready for church and went to 11:00 mass.



We talked to our friends and my parents, became a little appetized by what they were having for their Father's Day meals . . .and decided we needed to go to the grocery store! We left with jalapenos, bacon, cream cheese, shrimp, and a 6 pack . . . all to go with the steaks and potatoes that we had waiting at home!

We hung out with Augie . . .


Let him take a (grumpy) nap . . .


Had some Mommy and Daddy time . . .


Grilled our dinner . . .


And thouroughly enjoyed our day . . . and needless to say, it was a SCRUMPTIOUS meal too!!!

Happy Father's Day Gus! You deserve every happy moment from Sunday and so much MORE!
We LOVE you SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!

Hugs and Kisses,
Momba & Augie

WICKED!!!

OK, so I mentioned having the opportunity to go and see the musical "Wicked" on Saturday evening.

I set up our living room for "Daddy DayCare,"

prepared the scavenger hunt,
made a "trophy" for the winner,

put out games,

rented a movie . . .
the Dad's were set on entertainment availability!
So, our families had dinner together - tostadas are a new favorite for the kids, so that's what we had. Then, I explained the rules of the scavenger hunt - - - and off went the dads and the kids - - - and off went the mommies!


I thought the seats were at the edge of the balcony . . . but to my surprise . . . we were in row "N." 14th row away from the stage - AMAZING! Thanks to Jana (my friend who sold us the tickets - and made sure the date was open for us to go), we had one of the BEST experiences EVER!!!

IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN WICKED, AND YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO IN THE FUTURE, I SUGGEST THAT YOU SPLURGE - GET GREAT SEATS - TAKE A GIRL FRIEND - MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MONEY FOR A CD! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!

I cannot express how much I enjoyed going to see this amazing musical. It was perfect that Vicky got to go with me too.

If you don't know the plot, it is that the "wicked witch" from The Wizard of OZ wasn't always wicked. She and "Glinda the good witch" were actually friends in college. (Really made me miss you Jess! A LOT!) So you can see why I say to take a good girl friend - it's a feel good musical that reminds you how important friends are and how sometimes even the most unexpected friends come out of unforseen circumstances.
It was funny too though - I think Gus would have enjoyed it as well.

I did buy the CD at the end of the performance - and it was worth every dollar! And I mean dollar - all of the merchandise was a little bit pricey. The CD was reasonable though, and it is a great purchase.

Thanks Jana for selling us the tickets.
Thanks Vicky for coming with me.
Thanks Gus and Leo for watching the kiddos.

IT WAS AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT!!!

Summer Lovin'

I watched my friend's kiddos yesterday, and we were talking about how it was LITERALLY the 1st day of Summer! It took some extra explaining, but I think we were all on the same page at the end of it all.
For us in the "School World," we measure seasons by the part of the school year we are in . . . so Summer started when school let out and ends when we return in August.
With this in mind, I think back to the movie "Grease" and the famous song "Summer Lovin'."

"Summer Lovin'. Had me a blast. Summer Lovin'. It happened so fast." (Something like that.)

My Summer Love is Augie . . . and I feel like Summer's already going SO fast. Events that we had once anticipated are quickly passing . . . and there are more to come . . . but with every one that passes, I feel one step closer to having to spend my daytime hours without my "Love!"

Until then, I WILL ENJOY EVERY SECOND OF IT! I AM GOING TO SOAK UP EVERY OUNCE OF AUGIE LOVIN' THAT I CAN HANDLE WITHOUT EXPLODING So . . . Looking back on some of our once anticipated events . . .

WE HAD OUR FIRST TRIP TO A BIG POOL. It was LOTS of fun. Thanks Tia Vicky, Julian, Adriel, and Brianna for inviting us, spending the afternoon with us, and even sharing your snacks! We're eagerly awaiting the next time we can do this again!!!








We have also spent some time at home - inside - out of the heat. It really takes a lot out of us (Augie and I both) to spend a day in the sun, and we have to play catch up for a half day or so. Augie's naps are just a little longer after a day in the sun, and we try not to go out after 4:00 to avoid the hottest part of the afternoon.

So we play in our Jump Up . . .


Which we really JUMP in now! . . .


And also eat . . .


And we also just play with our toys - like our hipporse.

Hipporse: an animal that is a mixture of a hippo and a horse. It has no known origin. It is very rare.

All joking aside, that's what I'm calling Augie's stuffed animal. I thought it was a hippo, but it turns out it's a horse (whose name is Whinny). So this adorable blue creature is now known as a hipporse - named Whinny - because I say so and his tag says so.



HMMMMMMM . . . WHAT IS A HIPPORSE MOM?!


Of course, we still take breaks to ENJOY our snacks. A favorite is chocolate animal crackers . . . can you tell?!!!




And when Daddy comes home to share his lunch time with us, Augie is all smiles . . . when he's not napping that is!


And his newest "toy" that keeps him busy for LONG amounts of time - plastic bottles! This is the biggest he's played with so far, but water bottlest that crumple and make lots of noise are his favorite!

Mommy's Little Prince!

YES, AUGIE IS DEFINITELY MOMMY'S LITTLE PRINCE!!!

Well, I would imagine that, as a mother, we all secretly wish that our children will be "Momma's" kids. At least I do/did/do. I don't want Augie to be a Momma's boy in the woosey sense, but I definitely don't want to get shut out when it comes time for him to "be a boy!" There's another saying - "boys will be boys." I'm not sure how I feel about all of these sayings yet. They're all becoming a jumble in my head.

Right now, I can say that Augie is definitely a "Momma's Boy!" I love him more than life! But I will tell you that having a "Momma's Boy" is A LOT of work for Momma. He knows who I am (yeah!), and when I'm there/not (yeah!?). Now comes the difficult part. He definitely knows who ISN'T his Momma!!!

At first it was funny - and Gus and I would talk about the old TV show with the dinosaurs and the baby that hit his dad on the head with a frying pan and yelled, "NOT THE MOMMA!" Well, it's not as funny anymore. Augie is just short a frying pan. And Momma is tired. And poor Daddy is a little left out.
We have LOTS of summer projects right now - and they have all shifted in priority - and they will all get done eventually, but now we have a new project!!!

Project "Mommy Meltdown!"

We're going to play on the word meltdown though. I am going to "meltdown" as in give in to a few of the things I WANT to do - even if I have to do them without my Bubby. :(
I have to do a couple things for myself so that I don't have a real meltdown.
I am in NO WAY complaining about all of the time that I get to enjoy with Augie. I will miss him and be lost when I am away from him!!! But, I think he NEEDS to be with his Daddy-O

and others this summer (without me around) . . . or we are going to have a REALLY HARD new school year for 2010-2011! It's already going to be hard - but we need to try to stay away from the all - capital - letter - add the - word - REALLY, REALLY HARD.
So today, I will be planning a couple of Mommy events for this week - and I'M STICKING TO THEM and hoping that they will help my Little Prince to accept others a little bit more easily than he has been lately!!!

I will actually be planning only 1 for this week and 2 a week for the rest of the summer - because Saturday I already have one event planned - I GET TO GO THE DALLAS SUMMER MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF "WICKED!" I AM SOOOOOOOO EXCITED. VICKY AND I ARE HAVING A MOMMY'S NIGHT AND THE DADDY'S ARE GOING TO BABYSIT! - but that's the weekend - so at least one mommy meltdown event during the week should be sufficient for this week! "Money doesn't grow on trees you know!"

Speaking of this weekend though - I will be planning some fun for the Dads to partake in with our 4 young friends. I am preparing their very own "Daddy Daycare!" It will be complete with movie (Daddy Daycare with Eddie Murphy!), scavenger hunt, s'mores, and some other fun stuff that I haven't come up with yet!!! It's going to be LOTS OF FUN FOR THEM ALL!!!
Please say a prayer that Bri will enjoy it too - she was VERY sad to hear that she would be the only girl staying there with all of the guys. She really wants to go with Vicky and me. Honestly, I'd take her if there were 3 tickets. But there's only 2 - and they weren't inexpensive. So, I will have special projects for my wonderful friend - including making sure the boys behave!!! ;)

Back to today - I have some fun, new moments to share:
The Galleria has an amazing "Play Place!" I think it might be our Tuesday morning activity for the summer . . . Augie had LOTS OF FUN, and he LOVES being around the other kids and watching what he'll SOON be able to do!

Lady Bug - Who new they were SO big!

Elephant Head - I will get a picture of him "riding" the elephant next time - I hope. But this trip laying down was apparently a lot of fun!

The Waterfall - a great place to sit and watch all the other kiddos!

Alligator Head - perfect size for him to stand up and hold on for dear life. Yes - he had help getting into the standing position - he really, really wants to stand/walk!


(These last 2 are my favorite - and the snake was his favorite!)

He's also starting to become "stretch-a-baby!" He can reach the mirror on his swing's mobile. And he's in the stage where he wants you to hold him, but he wants to stretch his body as much as he can at the same time - like he's trying to get out of your arms - but not really because if you put him down it's all OVER!


New play mats - I love these things. They are so easy to store and move and use. And they're soft when he falls over because he's too tire to sit up anymore!


Bath time - can't get enough bath time pictures! Or cool new hairdos while in the bath!




2 teeth - well, not enough to brush, but we can practice - right?! He has his own toothbrush now. Once he analyzed it, he knew exactly where to put it!



And, of course we're at a great age to start the healthy habit of "working out!"

Triceps?

Biceps?


AND THAT INCLUDES STARTING TO GET OUR KNEES UNDER OUR BODY FOR A FEW MILLISECONDS - CRAWLING TIME HERE WE COME!!!


To everyone, we wish you all a happy, healthy, meltdown free week!!!
Love,
The StaatsPac

Playing Catch Up!

Lots of pictures - but I'll keep the writing short and sweet. I guess it really reflects how much can happen in such a brief period of time. It hasn't even been two weeks gone by . . . and wait till you see all of these great pictures and first experiences!

New Toys:
#1. The Penguin!

#2. The Nasal Aspirator

#3. Ellie!!!

ELLIE HAS ALSO BECOME A FAVORITE SNACK . . . TOO FUNNY VIDEO . . .


#4. The Little Tractor
This is such a cool little toy. It is actually a book that came with a wind up tractor. The book opens up to a become both a book (on the left) and a flat field with a tractor track on it (on the right).
You wind up the tractor and it follows the track, which follows the story of "Little Tractor's" day.
Augie loves to try to catch the tractor as it speeds past!

#5. New personalized patio chair made my Marci


New First Experiences for Augie:
#1. First Animal Cracker

#2. First Chocolate Animal Cracker

#3. First Walk to the Water Tower

#4. First time to Enjoy the Trampoline - Key Word here is ENJOY

#5. First time to eat Watermelon

#6. First time to get in a Swimming Pool

#7. First time to meet Scrappy - Tia Marci, Tio John, Elena, Alexa, and Baby in the Belly's New Dog (OH YEAH - MARCI'S ABOUT 8 WEEKS ALONG WITH THE NEXT ONE!!!)

#8. First time to Feed a Horse

#9. First time to Play Squishy Face on Gamma's Window

#10. First time to Take a Picture with Tia Natalie

#11. First time to get a raspberry from Kaleb.

#12. First time to Play in the PlayPen

Lucky Number #13. First time to swim . . . with his cousins!


Other New Experiences:
Augie loves to be around other children - so we made sure to get pictures of him with the boys that came to spend time with us at Marci's on the weekend.
Kole -

Kash -


Not to mention hanging out with the adults and wearing all of their accesories!
Daddy:


Daddy's Hat:

Tio John:

Tio John's Hat:

Tia Anna:

Tia Anna's Shades:


And Mom's new experiences: Mainly just having to change a diaper on a wiggly, toe eating, wonderful little boy!



And to top it all off - WE NOW HAVE 2 TEETH!!!



Well . . . it's been a long blog - and a long couple of weeks. Time to get some more sleeeeeeep!