Dean loves to pull things around the house. Today I caught him pulling a towel and my blow dryer around. In efforts to minimize additional dirty laundry and a broken blow dryer Matt and I came up with the idea of giving Dean his own dog to walk. It was an ingenious plan! Dean “walked” Muffin around the house all day.
Dean’s dog Muffin was my childhood “lovie”. I slept with Muffin every night and still can’t bear to part with it. I’m glad that Dean is enjoying my dog as much as I did.
Since we have moved Matt and I have made it our goal to try a new restaurant each time we eat out. We only eat out once a week so it might take a while to get through the thousands of restaurants in our area but we are having fun with each experience.
This afternoon we decided to go out for a lunch/dinner after Dean woke from his nap. Matt headed the car towards Southlake because we had errands to run in the area. After driving through the town center we remembered this small little BBQ restaurant near a church we have visited. I suggested it and Matt eagerly jumped at the opportunity as I have turned him down on his offers to dine here twice (I’m a creature of habit). The Feedstore was the perfect dining experience for our Saturday afternoon outing. We selected a table, in the back, near a window, with a view of a pasture full of cattle. Since Dean is going through a “no highchair” stage he sat nicely in a chair and mooed at the cows. I’m sure the other patrons loved our mooing son as they enjoyed their brisket and burgers!
After we enjoyed a wonderful meal of smoked turkey, green beans and okra I took Dean over to the pasture to look at the cows while Matt pulled the car around. Little did we know our cattle gazing experience would turn into a full on petting zoo! One of the sweet cooks was out back loading the catering truck and saw Dean and I walking towards the fence. He called for the cows and they came a running. They were sticking their heads through the fence sniffing Dean looking for a treat – it scared me to have the cows so close! A few minutes later the cook showed up again but this time with a bucket of potatoes and bread to feed the cows. Dean enjoyed feeding the cows and petting their heads, Matt and I enjoyed the food and the wonderful staff. We will definitely visit The Feedstore again, maybe even before we make it to the other 1,000 restaurants in our area. Until Then!
This week Dean enjoyed spending time in Humble with his grandparents. My parents took him home with them when they left on Sunday and passed him off to his Honey and Pops on Wednesday. Dean enjoyed running errands, playing on the toy isle in Target, visiting with GG and Grandaddy, eating at chick-fil-a, story time at the Atascocita library, play time with the Tucker family and much more! I think his week was filled with fun and lots of love!
Dean’s Mom and Dad also enjoyed the quiet week. I made sure to arrange lots of lunch and coffee dates with friends as well as a shopping trip to the Allen outlets with Miranda and Glenda. I was able to score some great back to school finds and have a nice relaxing time shopping w/o having to worry about making sure Dean was having fun. On Friday Glenda and I set out for an early morning trip to Canton. Although it was warm we were able to find some great deals, I even managed to get one Christmas gift! Matt and I also enjoyed a few dinner dates and a trip to the movies. We had a great week of rest and relaxation. The week ended with a special treat, Matt went to Houston to pick up Dean and I stayed home…alone…for the first time in 20 months…it was heavenly! I truly feel like the entire week was a huge blessing and was just what I needed the week before heading back to school. Thank you Grandmother, Papa, Honey and Pops for loving and taking care of Dean – we look forward to the 3rd annual Camp Grandma next summer. Hey, maybe we can figure out a way for it to be semi-annual…I’m sure Dean would love to come for a week at Christmas!
There are many great pictures of Camp Grandmas. Matt’s working on sifting through them (about 1,000) and will post them here after he is finished. So, check back for pics of Dean’s great week! Until Then!
Honey was nice enough to document Dean’s time with her. I wanted to include her notes in the post so when we look back on our blog years from now we will know how much Dean was enjoyed and how much Dean enjoyed his time too.
Sunday:
I just wanted to let you know what a great evening we had with DT, Grandmother & Papa! Dinner was all ready when they arrived – the pasta, asparagus & mushroom salad was perfect with dad’s grilled steak, chicken & corn on the cob! My warm praline pecan sauce on Blue Bell may have been a little over the top…but everybody forced it down! Dean enjoyed grapes, cheese stick, ravioli, and “more please” ice cream! It was so neat to have just the 4 of us together for a wonderful visit. Prince Charming had all our attention as he played ball outside, picked up rocks, pet Coal, looked at books and played a piano concerto for his grandparents! We LOVE your kid!!
We’ve worked out a perfect “camp” schedule for the week that should keep Dean very busy and make lots of people happy who want time with him!
Now……you two get to just relax, take care of yourselves and know that your boy is experiencing the beginning of a tradition of “camp” with his loving and adoring grandparents!
Thank you so much for this amazing blessing and joyful week in our lives!
Wednesday:
We had a lot of fun from 9:30 – 1:00 while Grandmother & Papa went to the Woodlands. We sorted colored blocks, read books and played with Coal at home, then we went to Target and spent an hour playing with toys in the toy section!! Dean would really focus and play with something, then sign “finished” and hand it back to me to put back on the shelf. When I asked if he wanted to take it home he’d say, “No” and point to something else. We got lots of great language and free entertainment before he finally said “Yes” and put something – ok, a few things – in the basket!!
Then we went over to GG & Granddaddy’s house for a turkey dog, chips, applesauce, cookie & “cold purple” (popsicle)….followed by hide & seek, bubbles and tickle time! Dean was so cute and playful with his great-grands….just adorable! He is talking so well – putting 2 words together a lot!!
Our little guy fell asleep in the car on the way back to Grandmother’s, so it was perfect timing for his nap at 1:00.
Tomorrow (Thursday) we’ll walk over to the library for 11:00 baby storytime with puppets & music – Dean should love it! Then we are meeting Mandi & Emily at Chick Fil A for lunch and fun in the playroom. They’ll come back for more playtime until he’s ready for a nap and they have to leave for Baytown to play softball. Nancy is planning to come over later tomorrow for her turn with DT!
Thanks for documenting Honey. Matt and I both enjoyed reading the nightly updates!
On my 21st birthday my friend Roxane gave me a memory book. In this book she wrote that she hoped we would be the kind of friends who would grow old together, attend one anothers weddings, see each others children and be in each others lives. I’m happy to say that so far we have held to this wish of hers. Last Saturday I had the pleasure of watching as my dear friend married the man of her dreams. I was honored to be a part of Roxane’s day and look forward to watching her life with Oren unfold. Cheers to Roxy and Oren. May your life be filled with more blessings that you can possibly enjoy.
We were invited to swim at Martha’s house for as second time this summer. Gavin and Miranda were also able to join in the fun this time. It was so nice to just relax and let the boys float around while we were able to talk and catch up on summer gossip. After enough time in the pool Dean decided it was time to find the girls. The boys fed the girls grapes, well…shared grapes with the girls. I think Dean ate more grapes than he threw. After snacking Dean decided to inspect the chicken coop and found a freshly laid egg in the nest. Dean and Gavin both had the opportunity to inspect the egg before Martha tucked is safely away. After our egg inspection Miranda and I decided it was time to head home with our boys. Thank you Martha for a great afternoon. We have enjoyed spending time with you and your girls this summer.
