Hot Brown!

Dave came across a recipe for a sandwich that his mother and grandmother used to make: the Hot Brown. Something created by the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY, that is a piece of white toast, slices of turkey, mornay sauce (alfredo-ish) and bacon. Yes, heart attack on a plate, but I'm thankful for it none the less: it inspired Dave to volunteer to make dinner! And the experience was positive enough that he wants to find something else to make. Hooray! 

Rolling Over

Charlie doesn't love being on his stomach, but I have been better about putting him on it than I was with Davey. Yesterday when it was tummy time, Charlie looked like he was about to roll over, so I helped him along to show him what to do. Then I put him back where was and he proceeded to roll right over again on his own!

Today I tested him to see if it was a fluke yesterday and right when I put him on his tummy he rolled over and then did it again. Of course when I got out the video camera he wouldn't do it anymore.

Movie Night

We had our first movie night with Davey and it was really fun! Davey has seen very few movies aside from Thomas the Train, which are very short anyway, so he was pretty excited and we weren't sure whether to expect him to have the attention span for it or not. We rented Cars since Aunt Katie and Uncle Bryan had just given him some of the toys from it and it was a hit. He sat and watched the whole thing, also really enjoying his personal bag of popcorn.

I turned it on the next morning and it was way too easy to just let him watch the whole thing again...

During the movie, Charlie hung out on his 

mat between spells of fussiness.

Finally!

Good news for Charlie's locker room future - his belly button is finally an innie! We were a bit worried because it was a serious outie. The pediatrician assured me that it was just herniated and would settle in eventually, but I wasn't sure if I should believe her. Dave was pretty worried for all the fun that would be made of him. Thank goodness she was right! 

Davey wanted his turn on the blue carpet.

Princess Mommy

This weekend we did something I've been wanting to do for months - we picked out and ordered a dining set for our kitchen. That's a big deal for us because we take forever to make those kind of decisions. I'm so excited that it's on it's way... hopefully it will be here closer to 6 than 8 weeks.

While we were placing our order, Dave and I kind of lost track of where Davey was and what he was doing... big mistake in a furniture store! I was only made aware when the saleslady exclaimed that he had hurt himself - I had even somehow tuned out his crying. He had hit his head on something and I put the clues together when I saw footprints on the leather ottoman next to a couch and surmised that he must have been jumping between the two like he does at home (which we're trying to get him to stop).

Though I was sad that he was hurt, it was a tender moment as I held him when through his tears Davey looked up and me and asked, "Mommy, sing a song for me." It was so sweet to think that it is me singing to him that he wants when he needs comfort.

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Sunday Davey was in my closet with me as I got dressed for church. He looked me over and asked, "Mommy, you princess?" Hopefully he'll always see me that way :)

Charlie's Blessing

March 15th was a special day for Charlie; he was given a blessing in church, pronounced by his father. It was a beautiful blessing and a wonderful day. Like Davey, he wore the gown that my father was christened in.

Also participating in the blessing were Bishop David Peterson, Grandpa Paulson, Chris Brown and Adam Malone. Charlie was quiet the whole time, but my father said he'd never felt a baby squirm so much!

Grandma and Grandpa Paulson

Grandpa Adams, Uncle Bryan & Aunt Katie, Grandma Adams and Aunt Carrie

It was wonderful to have so much family here to celebrate the addition of Charlie to our family. He is so special to us.

Our neighbors, the Gilders, joined us for a nice meal after church.

(Charlie was sleeping.)

We had Croque Monsieur sandwiches, homemade tomato soup, salad and an ice cream torte. It was delicious.

Our friends Chris & Haylee Brown and Adams & Rebecca Malone were also at the blessing & lunch, but we forgot to get a picture with them before they left.

Auntie Harmony comes to Texas

A few weeks back Harmony was telling me about how she was excited to visit New Orleans with her hubby, joining him for a business trip. Ready to jump on any opportunity to get my family to come visit me, I told her that we were only 5 hours away from there so if she was going to be that close, she'd better come for a visit. I knew it was a long-shot, but it worked! She was able to change her ticket and came to see us for 5 days before renting a car and driving to meet her hubby in the Big Easy. And, her visit coincided with the week my mom was here.

While I picked Mom up from the airport on Sunday, Harmony made the most delicious Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner. I can't wait to have it again!

We took Harmony and Mom to the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory tour that I've posted about before...

Davey and Harmony ready for some creamy fun!

My mom found this adorable onesie in the gift shop.

Charlie's got all the sweetness the creamery needs! :)

The cutest part!

Riding the Blue Bell Bull

We couldn't miss out on heading to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - the biggest in the world! We had beautiful weather and a great time at all the displays for kids.

This bunny pounced right at Davey!

If you look closely you can see him jumping out of the hand.

Davey focusing to keep the tractor in line (they had a 

tv screen in there so the kids really felt like they were driving!).

His first pony ride.

Hanging out with Grandma.

They had the cutest display for kids called Fun on the Farm. They got an apron and a basket and had to go around to different barns and work on the farm. Davey got to...

feed the chickens and collect an egg

plant a tomato seed and pick one

milk a cow

pick a peach from a tree

and grab an ear of corn.

Then he brought all his goods to the market and sold them for a dollar, which he brought to the country store and bought a box of raisins. He had so much fun!

Harmony also spent a bunch of time just lovin' on her nephews...

Tender moments.

Auntie Harmony and Davey have a special connection. It must come from the time they spent together last summer when we stayed with Harmony & Jared to attend a wedding. She is such a fun playmate for him - and me :) ! We're so glad you came and can't wait to see you again in a couple months!

Movie Night

We had our first movie night with Davey and it was so fun! Aunt Katie and Uncle Bryan gave him Lightning McQueen and Mack the truck when the were here and he loved playing with him so we thought we'd rent Cars so Davey could watch the story they go with. Davey loved having his own individual bag of popcorn, staying up late and the movie of course!

His morning routine always includes asking to watch his train show but this morning he corrected himself and asked to watch the movie again. I indulged him and let him watch it all the way through again. It's really only the second full-length film he's seen (Finding Nemo is the other one). I'm looking forward to our first experience in the movie theater now!

Progress

Sorry for the see-food picture, but I am very happy to report that Davey's eating horizons have expanded greatly as of late. We can get him to try most things that we are eating for dinner, pretty much only with the exception of lettuce (we just group the other salad toppings on his plate for him) and sandwiches other than PB&J. I was so surprised the other day when Dave offered him a bite of green pepper the other day and he not only tried it without complaint but also asked for more. Hooray!

A Nice Long Weekend

Not only did we have a nice day when Charlie was blessed, but we had a nice, extended weekend. Dave's family all arrived on the Friday before and my mom (who had come the previous Sunday) was kind enough to go stay in a hotel (though no one thought she needed to!) so that we could have a nice visit with them before things got so busy. We had a nice dinner at home on Friday night and went out for dessert. Saturday the guys (including my dad who arrived Friday night) enjoyed putzing around the house and installed a ceiling fan for us and fixed our broken dining chairs (yea!) while the girls went shopping. Then we joined up for some good Texas road-house barbecue at the Swinging Door. It was great to spend time with all of Dave's family together and my parents. Davey especially loved all the attention!

The Adams all left Sunday afternoon and my parents stayed until Tuesday so we got to spend some rare time with Grandpa Paulson, too. 

Monday we played tourist and went to explore Galveston Island and the Kemah boardwalk that I'd been wanting to see since we moved here. Too bad we didn't get to see Galveston before the storm; there was still a lot of damage evident and it was crazy to see boats just randomly sitting around on the ground that had been washed ashore.

It was a beautiful day (we had had cold, rainy weather the 4 days previous) and there were even people swimming in the ocean. Though I couldn't tell you how the water was... I stayed in the car feeding Charlie the whole time they were at the beach :(

On the beach at Galveston

One of the hotels that's back up and running.

Next we drove to Kemah and had a tasty lunch at the Caddilac. The Kemah boardwalk was a pretty fun place with a few nice restaurants with beautiful views of the bay, some carnival rides, and, best of all, a train.

The bay. It was so refreshing to breathe the ocean air again.

I miss the beach in California.

Davey looking cool in his new shades.

We're ready to ride!

Charlie was so smiley that Grandma couldn't resist staying 

behind so she could spend time enjoying him.

(Notice my new double stroller in this pic. 

I was so excited to finally get it and I love it!)

Davey loved his ride on "Thomas"

Shortly after this picture was taken, Dave tripped over a curb

and took an amazingly graceful fall in which Davey stayed

safely on his shoulders!

Dave enjoying time with his boys.

It was so nice spending time with you, Mom and Dad! Thanks so much for coming!