Hi and Waving!

Ok, this may be the cutest video so far. I really did not expect him to say "hi" to me much less wave! I've been telling everyone that he's going to be a basketball player because he "palms" his sippie cup (he does it at the very beginning of the video).

Little Bud is growing fast! He took two more steps on his own at daycare on Thursday and has taken one here and there about the house. It shouldn't be long now. He's also say "mumumumumumu" which qualifies in my book as "Mama."

He also loves David Cook! Just like his Mommy and Daddy. I still wish that "Dream Big" was the single although "This is the Time" already has almost a million downloads.

A Hula Hug

Ace has been really into Hula lately. He gives her hugs and gets NO END of entertainment from her. She is so mild-mannered with him and lets him pull her ears, poke her eyes and pinch her skin. She does like to get a lick in when Jonathan and I are not within arms reach or are preoccupied with the video camera...

Fun at the Pool

We spent Memorial Day at the neighborhood pool! Really, we were only there for an hour because Ace and I are so fair but it took ALL morning to get ready and a good length of time to wash off and rest up from the fun.

Ace loved the pool and cried when we made him leave. He is a little fish. THANKS CHRISTI, JASON AND RILEIGH for the jet ski floaty. It worked perfectly!

He's my favorite Idol EVER!!!

Dream Big - AI Weigh In

As soon as it's on sale, I'm going to buy David Cook's CD. I can't stop singing "Dream Big." I know that David Archuletta is probably going to win but David Cook is my favorite. I totally disagreed with the judges that Archuletta beat Cook in every round last night. Cook ALWAYS makes the songs his own and that is HARD. I just can't hear Archuletta playing on the radio. We may have another Hicks, McPhee/ Daughtry repeat; a flashback to my favorite season: Clay and Reuben...where the winner doesn't necessarily do the best after the competition. I wish Archuletta the best and I think he may need the win more than Cook. Archuletta has a great story and voice but Cook is my choice.

P.S. Did anyone else notice that Randy called this is competition of 2007??? Do we need to update his calendar?

Trip to San Antonio

Ace and Aunt Tata drove to San Antonio on Thursday to meet Braedyn. He was still at the hospital because the doctors were monitoring him and Leah (him because he had had trouble breathing after spitting up and her for her blown vein). What a trial!

In keeping with her desire to do everything her mama does, Brookelyn discovered the breast pump!

They got released on Friday afternoon. So Friday morning, Ace played with Brookelyn, she did Tata's makeup and we had lunch at the park with the ducks and "Sashi."

Aunt Tata is smitten with Braedyn.

We had such a good time and it was over all too quickly. We drove home to Houston on Saturday afternoon so we could spend the rest of the weekend with Daddy.

As much as she refuses to have anything to do with him when we visit, Brookelyn asked and talked about her uncle Jonathan an awful lot.

BAB-Y Because we LOVE Him

Braedyn Allen Bates arrived last night right around 7:30. He was 8lbs. 9oz. I'm not sure how long he was because things got a little crazy for Leah and Allen last night. Late last night she had a vein burst and was in excruciating pain; so much so that they gave her some serious drugs. According to Allen, she even asked the nurses for oxycontin at one point!!! Leah and Braedyn will spend a few extra days in the hospital because of the excitement but I well know that those can be a blessing. I'll post more photos after a quick trip to San Antonio this weekend.

Cutest Walker

Ace is trying so hard to walk and is doing a bang-up job as long as he has his car or truck to walk behind. This is the car his Aunt Barby and Uncle James bought him for his first birthday.

He also loves his truck from his Uncle Patrick and Aunt Leann that they bought him for Christmas.

No - She's not having twins; Yes - We're sure

Leah is 38 weeks. She and Allen are planning to induce Braedyn on Monday, May 12th. (Aunt Kelly is hoping he'll come tomorrow, on her birthday.) He is already measuring 8.21 pounds and his head is measuring like a 41 week-old baby!

I can't wait to welcome him. It will be so strange for Ace not to be the littlest guy around but I'm sure there will be a quick adjustment followed by "how did we ever live without him."

Braedyn - See you Thursday. Aunt TaTa is ready to give you lots of hugs and kisses.

My Turkey

Jonathan went on a hunting trip with EBS (his company) down near Brownsville. They were hunting turkeys and nilgai. Nilgai's are like huge, fat antelope. I attached a picture below.
He didn't bring home the turkey meat. He left it for the next group of hunter that were coming after them.

Thank you Uncle James for letting Jonathan borrow your shotgun and rifle and taking him to the shooting range to make sure he could shoot it.

Jonathan said that you actually have to stalk these babies. They move from place to place and don't stop to eat for long periods like deer. Maybe next year he'll get his stalk on.

Walking Update

ONE STEP...
Ace's first step was right before his first birthday. He was staring out the door to the backyard, turned, saw his Honey and took one step toward her.

TWO STEP...
Ace's second steps were right before a bath. He was standing on his own and I was running his bath water when he took two steps towards the tub. After two steps, he caught the side of the tub and held on.

THREE STEP...
At the crawfish boil on Saturday, Ace took 3 STEPS! He was using his little red car (that he got from his Aunt B and Uncle James for his birthday - thank you again) to stand up and all of a sudden, he turned and started walking away from it. Three steps later, I think our shouts of excitement scared him into falling down.

We'll take the victories where they come! I think we are officially on our way to walking.

Crawfish & Motorcycles

Ace's Uncle James helped throw a big party this past weekend. He cooked 600 pounds of crawfish, hundreds of pounds of potatoes and who knows how much oil they fried! Ace loved the french fries and tried to feed them to the crawfish.

One of the highlights was the motorcycles! Ace saw himself in the chrome and put his face as close to it as he could!

Ace loves mirrors. He's too little to be vain, right?

I don't think Ace will EVER be getting one of these. But he sure looks cute on it!

Wonder Woman

When Aubrey came this morning, I truly felt like Wonder Woman because I got them both eating at the table and they were both HAPPY! Life's small victories can make you feel good.

Aubrey came over this morning to play while Aunt Hilary taught at the high school. These two were a complete mess together but it just makes me melt with how much they love each other. They gave each other soooo many hugs I finally had to separate them because the hugs became head-locks.