Memorial Day Weekend

We had a non-stop Memorial Day weekend. I got home from New Orleans on Thursday night. It was a great trip, but I was tired. We managed to catch a lot of fish and turtles, but the clean up had a set back on Thursday with the huge rainstorm that hit. On Friday, I picked Natalie up from school early to get her ready for her ballet recital dress rehearsal (she had to wear stage makeup and have her hair up in a nice bun, and I had to sew the tail on her monkey costume). So then we picked up the boys and headed to the performing arts centre. She was done by 6:15, so we headed out to dinner. On Saturday she had her last ballet class (for this season - she has a dance camp coming up in a few weeks, then classes start up again at the end of the summer). After that we came home and the kids rested while we got stuff ready to go to our friends' house for a cookout and pool party. That was a lot of fun! And we had a hard time getting Natalie & Owen out the pool. Henry went in too, and enjoyed floating around in a little ladybug raft. Then Natalie & Owen went to Rainbow Kids on Saturday night. On Sunday we braved the heat to walk to our favorite neighborhood coffee shop, then we came home to get ready for the big ballet recital. We weren't allowed to take pictures or video during the performance (but we ordered the dvd), so I only have a few pictures of Natalie beforehand. I didn't get her with the cute hat with monkey ears though. She did great!!! We were so proud of her. The recital was really good - the ages of the dancers were Natalie's class (3-4 years) to adult/late teens. The second half of the recital was very high level dancing. We were impressed. Natalie came to sit with us for that and she was really into it. Owen stayed interested (kind-of) - I only had to take him out twice. Henry fell asleep part way into it.
Then on Monday we went to have lunch with Natalie's friend Jack & his family, and see their new house. Natalie, Owen, & Jack had a lot of fun running around, and they all had fun with Jack's aunt. Natalie & Owen had sprinkler time when we got home, while Henry napped and Ike & I worked around the house. It was a full weekend and we are looking forward to some downtime this coming weekend. Henry must be on the verge of crawling - he has coordinated pushing up on all fours and he started scooting backwards over the weekend.

Mom's Day and other Gibbs Family Updates

We had a nice Mother's Day weekend. Grandma Laura came for a visit and we had a good time going to our neighborhood hangouts and playing around the house. On Friday night we met Karien, Kevin, & Allison for dinner and had to laugh when we got there because Natalie and Allison were wearing the same dress. On Saturday we went to the Art Car Parade downtown, which was really cool. Saturday night after dinner we came home and played games before the kids went to bed. Owen was sick all weekend - the pediatrician said it was just a bad cold, but he had a 103+ degree fever all weekend and he was pretty cranky. He spent the whole time in my lap or somewhere near me. He's doing much better now, although he passed it on to Ike. Ike has been battling a 102 degree fever and been feeling lousy all week.

In other news, Owen is potty training! He's come so far since last weekend - he's basically there. We went from three+ accidents a day at the beginning of the week to none or maybe one a day now. So that is very exciting! I haven't had to change a diaper on him since last Sunday (he wears pull-ups to bed but he wakes up dry every time). He even uses the potty when we are out shopping or running errands. Last Saturday at ballet, Natalie was asked to play an additional role in the upcoming recital (in the opening scene with the big ballerinas). So we had an additional rehearsal for that during the week. I've been telling her she's like Angelina Ballerina, getting special roles. And Henry finally has two teeth. The lower left that we have seen the corner of for a couple months finally pushed through last weekend, followed by the other lower front one on Tuesday. Also, he's rolling everywhere, and starting to push up on his knees. So now we are just waiting for when he starts crawling.

So that's the latest around here. Ike has to go to NY tonight for meetings tomorrow followed by a quick trip to DC and he'll be back tomorrow night, and I'm heading to NOLA this week for a big project. I haven't been in the field in ages, so it'll be a great trip (I'll be getting dirty, catching turtles and other wildlife to relocate from one city lagoon to other areas - can't wait!).

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We had a jam-packed weekend, the ball game being only part of it. On Friday evening, we went to our neighborhood "Spring Fling," where all the shops and art galleries are open late with food and drinks, and some have live music outside (along with displays of goods - like a sidewalk sale). Anyway, we walked over from our friends house to see one of their favorite bands. The music was eclectic - ranging from flamenco to irish to kind of new wave. It was really good. Natalie had fun playing with Allison and a little girl from school, Rescie, whose parents are friends with our friends. Owen enjoyed dancing to the music and playing with the girls, and being a gentleman - a couple weeks ago as he & Natalie were fighting over who would go out the door first, I explained to him that gentlemen let ladies go first. And it stuck, and since then he's very keen on being a gentleman. He also spent part of the evening trying to find a way to insert himself into a game of catch going on between some older boys. Henry spent the evening napping in the stroller. During a break between sets, Natalie decided she had to meet all of the band members and worked her way into talking to all of them.

On Saturday after Natalie had a full run-through rehearsal for her recital at ballet, I set up a sprinkler for Natalie and Owen to play in. They had a blast! In the afternoon, we had yet another birthday party at Pump It Up - this seems to be the location of choice lately. This was for a little girl in Owen's class. Her older sister, Grace, is Natalie's best friend so Nat was invited too. It was fun. Ike & I enjoyed the slides too (along with lots of other parents), and we all joked we needed to have an adult party there. After the party, Natalie and Owen went to the Rainbow Kids babysitting program, and Ike, Henry, & I went out for mexican (and margaritas!!) - just squash and bananas for Henry.

On Sunday we went out for breakfast and then Ike took Owen to an Astros game. Initially we were all going to go, but we decided it would be good Daddy & Owen bonding time. Owen has been really excited all week, singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at every meal and before bed, and he's been talking about having cracker jacks. They had a good time. Owen was really excited about the train at the stadium, especially after Berkman hit a home run and it started up. While they were gone, I took Natalie and Henry to the playground, where we stayed for a while since "red cheeks" (Owen) wasn't with us (he gets so hot and sweaty!). We then came home and Natalie colored rainbows and other decorations in the backyard with some new chalk I got her.

So it was a full weekend, lots of fun, and we are all very tired!