Making Dirt Angels

This was Alli at the playground on our recent trip to Pearland for the Holmes Family Reunion. Needless to say she had lots of fun. She played on the actual playground equipment some, but I think she enjoyed making dirt angels more. OK, maybe I should have stopped her from doing this (like her daddy did when he was watching her), but the amatuer photographer in me just couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch this on camera. She usually doesn't like getting dirty, so I'm not sure what her fascination with playing with this dirt was about, but she sure did enjoy it!

The after math....

What a mess! Good thing we brought an extra set of clothes for the ride back to grandma's.

My precious babies!

These are some recent pics of my precious babies. I know Alli is more of a big girl especially now that she is a big sister, but she's still my baby. I can't believe I have two amazingly wonderful children- I am so very blessed. Not to mention, 8 great years of marriage (we just celebrated our anniversary). Wow, time flies- especially when you're having fun!

TJ at 8 weeks. He has developed quite a little personality and loves to socialize. He already has trouble concentrating on eating 'cause he's too busy cooing and smiling at me.
I'm telling you, the boy is gonna be a heartbreaker. He does this little eyebrow raise thing before he smiles that is just too cute.
Alli holding Thomas. I'm guessing she won't be able to do this in the very near future since he's growing soooo fast! When she had had enough, she just rolled him off of her. It was pretty funny.
Alli and TJ posing for the camera.
Me with my precious babies. Truly an amazing feeling!

Future Ballerina

Alli has always been very flexible. Here's a little proof...

Just watching TV!

I think she's going to make mommy very proud in her ballet classes. Only a little more than a year before I can enroll her!

Hanging out with Nana!

Alli, TJ and I visited with Nana (my grandma) this past Sunday while Daddy went dove hunting on the family land with my uncles. She had a great time playing with the fluffy green duster, looking at pictures of family, removing every single one of the bead necklaces out of the coffee table drawer and placing them around her neck, applying lotion to her's and Nana's hands, and rearranging all the items on the end table. (I hope we got everything back in order before we left.) Overall, she was very well behaved for not having an afternoon nap and being in a non-childproofed environment. I have lots of wonderful childhood memories of Nana's house and it's great to see Alli enjoying some of the same things I used to. I always have a wonderful time visiting with Nana and I really enjoyed the home cooked chicken and dumplings- delicious! Thanks Nana- we love you very, very much!

Alli hanging out with Nana at the bar (that sounds kinda funny, but I'm not changing it).

Big smiles and new tricks.

TJ's face just lights up and he gets all squirmy and excited when he sees me, Daddy or Alli. What an awesome feeling to know you have that effect on someone. He is so precious and just loves to interact with us. I can tell he just can't wait till he can move around and play.

This is the look I'm talking about- imagine it accompanied by excited coos and the beginning of a laugh. He knows how to get you right in the heart.

This is a pic of one of TJ's daily exercise sessions.

Way to go- lifting that big head up- good job!

Practice makes perfect- hopefully!

These are some of my first attempts at fixing Alli's hair. I realize I need a little practice (these are my most successful attempts so far), but it's very difficult to gather a small amount of baby fine hair into a ponytail holder when the head that it is on is constantly moving. And when I do succeed, it is usually pulled out moments later by someone's little hands, so it makes it hard to want to put forth the effort to get it done. I suppose I also need some better ponytail holders that aren't so easy to pull out and maybe that don't look like they belong in the 80's (these just happen to be what came in a little purse set that we got her).

I think she looks adorable anyway. I think the toothbrush is distracting her from pulling her hair down at the moment.

That is her beloved babydoll that she is clutching. He sleeps with her everynight, along with a few other babydolls and a giraffe too- oh yes, and sometimes the "Shout" Elmo when she makes a special request for him!

Sacked out!

This is a recent pic I took of TJ after he sacked out. He usually doesn't sleep quite this hard during the day, but it was a rough one for him. Mommy left him at home with a friend while she took Alli to the doctor and he cried a LOT- sorry Krista :-) But, they both survived and while Krista did not sack out that afternoon, I bet she felt like it. Thanks again Krista- I really appreciate it!

Great Friends

Great friends become even better friends when they have kids the same age as yours. Everyone has someone to play with and we can all relate to one another. We visited our friends Corry and Stephanie last weekend and had a great time. Especially Alli- She just loves being around other kids and she and Autumn had so much fun together...

The big sisters, Alli (19mos) & Autumn (21 mos). They seemed to be more interested in the leaky water spicket than the pool that Corry spent so much time blowing up for them. That would have been fine except that it was muddy and neither one of the girls like to be dirty so they would get all upset when they did.

This was the pool at it's finest. It quickly deflated and lost all it's water. The latex glove and hair band rig job you see in the lower right corner of the picture may have been at fault-I'm just throwing out ideas :-) I can't imagine why the water spicket became more popular?

The puppies living at the fine establishment next door were too cute. Dwaine and I considered dognapping one, but decided we have enough little bodies to take care of right now.

TJ (5wks) & Shelby (9 wks). This was pretty much the extent of their excitement all day. That's not totally true- there was Shelby's poop explosion worthy of a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records, but we won't go into details with that.

Tipping the scales!!!

I'm gonna have to change the name of this blog sooner than I thought 'cause "little" is not the word to describe TJ. He weighed 11lbs 12 oz at his 1 mo doctor's appt. That's about the 95th percentile. And, I'm pretty sure he's packed on some more weight since then. I took him to my postpartum doctor's appt today and all the ladies in the office who were oooing and awing over him could not believe he was only six weeks old. He looks more like a 3 mo old. He was quite a little flirt with all those ladies by the way. He even "roared" for Dr Largoza- she got quite a kick out of that. She "roared" right back at him and he smiled. I've got a ladies man on my hands:-)

First smiles!!!

Thomas melted our hearts with his first real smile on his 1 mo birthday. This is the first one caught on camera...

Gosh that's cute!

When TJ coos, it sounds like a little lion cub trying to find his roar. He has this raspy hoarse voice that is just adorable. I don't know if it is going to stay that way or if it is just a result of all the crying he has done in the first few weeks of his life- lots and lots of crying :-( I sure am glad he is becoming a little more content and secure in this world. That's not to say we don't still have some daily crying episodes, but they are fewer and further between and for that I am very grateful.

Yes, sometimes I call him Thomas and sometimes TJ. It may never be only one or the other- just whatever suits the mood. For Alli, saying "TJ" is easier. I guess when he is old enough, if he prefers one more than the other, then it can be his decision. We'll see!

Dement Family Reunion

We had a Dement family gathering yesterday at our house. It's not often that we are all in the same place at the same time. It was a great visit and we even got a family photo thanks to the timer on Aunt Christie's fancy camera!

The whole gang- what a good-looking bunch!
The grandkids (Lyndee, TJ, Meg, & Alli). TJ is the first boy after 4 beautiful girls (Misty, the oldest, is not pictured here).

Just a few pics

No time for lengthy stories or updates (a certain baby boy will be wanting to eat again soon) but I thought I better post a few pics to keep my regular visitors interested :-) Enjoy...

Alli practicing to be a master at fishing like her daddy- see below...

Daddy caught a nice sized bass out of the creek at a recent visit to the duck park in Boerne (always a fishing oppurtunity). The park worker said it was the biggest bass he has ever seen come out of that creek and someone driving by even stopped to get a look, 'cause he was so surprised. What a way to show off for your daughter!

Alli "playing" with Thomas- she can't wait till he's a little more fun.

Tummy time!!

Hi Daddy!

Thomas at 3 weeks- wow, time is flying as usual. We need to work on changing that.

Crazy Colander Head

I think the title and pictures speak for themselves...

Who is this child?

She was so proud of herself for making us laugh and I must say she really got a kick out of herself too!

Alli loving on Thomas

A couple pics of Alli and Thomas...

A kiss for baby brother

Alli has been adjusting very well to being a big sister. She calls Thomas "my baby" and any time he starts making noise or fussing, she says "baby?" and goes to see what's wrong with him. She likes to take his pacifier to him- although sometimes she takes it from him too. Unfortunately, he has started to not like his binky much. Mom and Dad are panicking a little- what are we going to do without our binky crutch?

Welcome Thomas!!!

Well, he's finally here! Alli has a little brother, Thomas Jackson, born 8-2-06 at 11:51am. He was a bit bigger than expected (Jules grows 'em big) at 8 lbs, 4 oz. He measured 20 inches, and has brownish blonde hair. He's being a good boy so far, eating right away and checking out his new surroundings.

A Great Big Sister-to-be

We have been trying to prepare Alli for the arrival of her baby brother for a while now. And even though she would lift up my shirt when we asked her where her baby brother was, I was pretty sure she had no clue what that meant 'cause occasionally when asked, she would show us her own belly or even her daddy's. But, just recently I'm starting to think that maybe she understands a little more. She will kiss, hug and lay her head on my belly (sometimes unprompted which I absolutely love!). She also recently started playing with her baby doll, and insisted that I wrap it in a blanket which is strange 'cause to my knowledge she has never seen a baby be swaddled up. She was definitely pleased when I swaddled the doll though and then wanted to rock it. Anyway, I think she is going to make a very loving and caring big sister and a great little helper as well. She loves to throw things away for me, helps empty the trash from the bathrooms, and even assists with putting the new trash can liner on- something she just started doing one day. I know I've done enough bragging, but I just feel so blessed to have such a sweet little girl full of so much personality. I feel like I just can't love her enough. Can't wait to meet her brother and find out what kind of personality he will have. I have a feeling I will love him just as much :-)

Baby brother are you in there? You can come out now!

How do you eat an Oreo cookie?

I don't know about you all, but Alli likes to pull her Oreo apart and scrape the filling off with her teeth. After that she smashes the chocolate wafer against her mouth until it becomes mushy and what doesn't make it into her mouth is left smeared all over her face, hands and arms. Not fun to clean up, but I'm pretty sure Alli thinks it was worth it! I have to say it was pretty fun to watch too!
As for me (in case you were wondering), I'm a milk dunker, but as a kid I would twist it open and lick out the filling before eating the chocolate wafers- mmmmm! And I know a cousin of mine whose son saves a little piece in his hair for later after his mom fishes it out :-) How about all of you? Comments welcome as always!

What a healthy snack mom!

Dement Family Photo

I'm guessing this will probably be the last Dement family photo of 3! As you all know we will soon be the Dement family of 4 and I'm hoping that family photo will make it to the blog very soon. Awaiting our baby boy.... just waiting.... and getting bigger by the day.... trying to be patient.... trying to stay comfortable.... becoming more anxious.... oh the joys of being 9 mos pregnant :-)

Day trip to Corpus Christi

We took a family day trip to Corpus a couple weekends ago, and while we were not well prepared since it was a last minute idea (the morning of to be exact), we all had a great time. We visited the Texas State Aquarium during the heat of the day and then headed to Padre Island National Seashore for the evening where Dwaine fished the surf and Alli and I played and walked on the beach. I found 2 whole sand dollars- still fuzzy actually! I didn't even know they were ever supposed to be fuzzy, so I wouldn't touch them. I had Dwaine come over to look, and he said that's the way they look when they are still alive, so apparently these hadn't been washed up for long. I thought that was very cool (and I'll actually touch them now that I now they don't have mold or something growing on them).

Alli absolutely loved playing in the water- so much so that she would have just walked out there until the water crashed over her head if we let her. Dwaine says her face actually lit up with excitement the first time he took her into the surf. You gotta just love those moments as a parent! She also enjoyed chasing seagulls and collecting seaweed.

Dwaine caught enough whiting to feed us for the next evening. I don't guess you would call it a completely successfull fishing trip, but it was enough to give him the "bug" and now we're shopping for a "beater" 4x4 beach/ranch vehicle so he doesn't have to steal my 4x4 everytime he goes somewhere. The mustang doesn't work to well for those purposes as you can imagine.

Well, I guess that's enough details for one blog posting... now here are some pics from the day. The beach pics are on the 35mm and hopefully will make it to the blog before too long (the digital camera didn't like the humidity). These are from the aquarium.

I loved the sea turtles-they just look so cool and I'm sure they speak in that dopey surfer accent just like the one from Finding Nemo!

Dad and Alli watching the sea otter flip and play in the water.

Mom (with Thomas at 8mos in the making) and Alli checking out the sting-ray and shark petting tank. Can't wait to come back next year when Thomas can enjoy it outside the womb!

Corpus Christi...Amen.

(just a little inside joke for my dad)

Puffy cheetos and water guns... what more could you ask for?

At the baby shower that my friends recently had for me, my friend Esmy had set up a kiddy pool for the kids. They also had plenty of big puffy, curly cheetos and of course, water guns too. Everytime I looked at Alli she had cheetos in her hand as well as all over her face. She had a great time with all the other kids and couldn't have cared less about where I was at any given time. I guess a little socializing is good and I'm glad that she is starting to figure that out too! I thought this picture of her was just too cute not to share...

First boating experience

We took Alli out for her first boat ride over Mother's Day weekend. It took me a while to get the pics up b/c they are 35mm pics, so I had to finish the roll, get them developed, scan them etc. Anyway, finally they're on the blog! She had a great time on the boat and loved anytime we were actually moving accross the lake. I think she likes the wind through her hair and maybe she's a little bit of a thrill seeker. She did not like getting in the water however. I have to say I was with her on that one 'cause it was still quite cold at that point. Hopefully, this will be the first of many fun-filled family boating trips. Chili was even along for the ride. He however prefers the boat to be sitting still :-) He's not nearly as brave as our little Alli.

I think I could drive this thing, don't you daddy?

Gotta keep those sun hats on! Don't we all look cool :-)

Yeah, I have to say this is fun...

Give us another year or two and we'll have her in the tube behind the boat. Let's hope she thinks that's even more fun!

Alli & her cuz

Alli and her cousin Lainey. Don't they just look so sweet!