This past weekend Lesley, Layne, Matt and I all met at the lake house to complete the season closing to do list. This is the first of a new semi-annual tradition. Mom and Dad provided the list and we happily completed the tasks. The work was tiresome but rewarding. We are all sore, cut, bruised and blistered but feel good about our accomplishments. We’re already mentally planning for the next work weekend in March. Thankfully we’ll have time to rest up and hopefully get a little more in shape before that weekend.
We got word today that Dean will be moving up to the 2 year old room on October 4th. Matt and I are pumped about this change for 2 reasons. 1.) They will work with Dean on potty training! Hallelujah! We were working hard this summer but our efforts kinda crumbled when they weren’t reinforcing it at school. Thankfully we’ll all be on Team Potty now. This is foreshadowing for future potty posts in case you didn’t see it coming! 2.) Cheaper day care rates! Now that DT will be in the 2 year old class we can stop making donations for Fridays. Dean stays home with Matt on Friday but we still have to pay for that day. This changes once your child moves up to the 2s. So, hooray for only paying for childcare on the days we’re actually there! I can’t wait to sign my new contract on the 4th. We’re estimating about a $400 savings since they hadn’t planned to move him up until January! Cha-Ching!
The daycare will start Spanish classes on Monday along with working on sign language. There are times I struggle with understanding what Dean’s saying in English. Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen when we throw Spanish into the mix. Dean’s new teacher, Ms. Maria, is bilingual. I told her I expected Dean to be bilingual and potty trained by Christmas. She laughed and said I was a little demanding. Call em like you see me lady. He’s to our growing big boy! More stories to come. Until Then!
On Friday night Colleyville Heritage played Grapevine HS. CHHS and GHS are the only two high schools in GCISD and it’s quite the rivalry. Matt, Dean and I decided to attend the game and cheer on the panthers.
Parking is a mess for this big town event so we arrived early and had a tailgate picnic while we waited for the game to start. Thankfully the weather was nice and a breeze was blowing so we weren’t too hot during our picnic. Dean enjoyed playing with his trucks and football as well as spotting every bus that drove down Mustang Dr (quite a few on Football Fridays). The historic Grapevine train was also running and came past the stadium a few times – also a plus for Dean along with the airplanes that land at the airport near the stadium. I think he was in transportation heaven! We set up our picnic in the grass and happened to be near the local YoungLife group. Dean was drawn to their group. They had an adorable yellow lab puppy as well as a guy playing the guitar. Again both equally exciting for Dean. After enjoying our picnic dinner Dean and Matt played football with some sweet fellow tailgaters. The boys were so sweet to Dean and practiced throwing and catching with him.
After we packed up our tailgate we headed into the stadium to find some seats. Fingers crossed we would be able to sit in them for a minute or two before having to move to more wide open running spaces. But, before we made it through the gates we stopped to see if one of the bus drivers would let Dean take a tour of her bus. Oh, DT was in heaven! He got to go on the bus, sit on a seat and walk up and down the steps. He was beaming the entire time while saying “bus” over and over. We pretty much made the little guys night right there.
After getting in the stadium and finding seats we saw Ms. Molly – the director of Dean’s daycare and enjoyed a few minutes of conversation with her. Her son is a former CHHS football player and student of mine. Dean also managed to score a football from the pep boys. Mama caught one that was sailing right for my head. Dean was so excited to get the ball he immediately put it under his arm and cradled it like a running back should! Dean lasted about 20 minutes in our seats – thanks to chocolate from Ms. Molly and a nutty bar I had stashed in the bag. But, after all the chocolate was gone Dean was ready to move (can’t imagine why).
We watched the first quarter of the game from the south end of the field. Dean ran up and down the hills of the stadium while Matt and I took turns watching. This was a much better experience than the ballpark. After the first quarter we decided we were ready to leave. On our way out we stopped to check out the ambulance. The paramedics were nice and let Dean take a few photos and watch the lights. Again more transportation fun!
CHHS beat GHS a whopping 35 – 0. We have at least one more CHHS football game on our calendar is season. I’m already getting exciting and I know DT will love it too. Go Panthers!
Gig ‘Em and Aggie will be 11 years old this December. Up to this point we haven’t had any problems with either of them. We are thankful for their good health and sweet personalities. A few weeks ago Matt noticed that Aggie had lost weight. I attributed it to the blazing hot weather and assumed she was shedding her fur. Matt weighed her and we came to realize that she had lost 6 pounds! I began to get concerned and made an appointment at the vet after consulting my friend Bridget who is a veterinarian in Humble.
Matt took Aggie in on Friday morning, they did a routine exam and drew blood. They told us they’d call us with the results and treatment plan once they knew what was wrong. We suspected a thyroid problem but they wanted to be sure. They were wrong! Aggie’s liver enzymes were way off. The vet called Saturday morning and wanted us to bring Aggie in that day to start treatment. Matt quickly dressed and headed out the door.
This past week Matt has become a Vet tech giving Aggie antibiotics twice a day as well as I.V. fluids every other day. I have become the vet tech assistant helping Matt hold Aggie down so he can poke her! Aggie seems to be feeling a little better. She’s actually getting out and about a little more. Hopefully the drugs are working and her liver is leveling out. We are playing phone tag with the doctor to see what our next steps are. I’m hoping they are something simple and not something crazy expensive like a liver biopsy. Until Then!
Thanks to Artworks we were able to score tickets to the Rangers vs. Yankees game. Matt and I were excited about taking Dean to his first baseball game. The little guy is really into sports right now so we thought he might enjoy seeing the players bat, catch and run. Boy were we wrong!
We packed a picnic dinner (the ballpark let’s you bring your own food in – so nice) and thought we’d eat it once we found our seats. Well, thanks to a bit of traffic and a hungry mama we at our picnic in the car while driving to the park and settled for taking in snacks and drinks.
After parking and walking to the ballpark Matt had to make an unscheduled trip all the way back to the car to return our water bottles. Evidently the ballpark doesn’t allow those aluminum refillable water bottles. Who knew right? I guess they figure it could be a weapon??? I’m sure it’s clearly posted on their website but I didn’t bother to check. So, poor Matt ran all the way back to the car while DT and I strolled around inside waiting for him to return.
Once a very hot and sweaty Matt returned we let Dean out of the stroller and all heck broke loose! Our seats were in the outfield right by the Coca cola children’s zone. Sound’s perfect right? Wrong! Dean was so overstimulated he was a crazy boy. I’m imagine one almost 2 year old running loose around the ballpark while 2 adults chase him with all their might (one pulling the stroller behind her). It was nuts! Dean did not want us to hold him or hold on to him. He wanted to be free. It wouldn’t have been a problem but the park was incredibly full. He would run in between people, run away from us, stop for a second to look at something and then take off again. So, here we are running towards him, cutting people off, quickly apologizing for our son, catching up with him right about the time he takes off! He was having a great time but Mom and Dad were not. Every time we would catch him and pick him up he’d stiffen up and pitch a fit! To the point that we almost dropped him. Oh, it was good times folks.
I felt like we were the poster parents for what not to do with your child in public. I wanted to stand up and let them know that DT is really a wonderful child and never acts like this at home. Come on seasoned parents…tell me you’ve had moments like this!
Needless to say our night was cut short. Really short! Matt looked at me and said, “I’ve had enough, let’s go”. We promptly left the park and headed for the car less than an hour after arriving! We never even made it to our seats – glad we had free tickets!
We are completely convinced that DT will not return to a major sporting event for the next few years. And to all the folks who were at the ballpark and saw us. We really are great parents and our kid really isn’t as bad as he appeared on Friday but thanks for tolerating our presence! We will be back in a few years! Until Then!