Summer 2009

Whew! I can't believe it is already August. The summer has truly flown by. We apologize for not updating lately, but it took an Apple Genius and a little bit of memory to get my computer the right TLC.

So what have we been up to??? Well, since you asked...

Brady
Brady is talking a mile a minute about everything. You can't say anything, and I mean ANYTHING, without having it repeated back to you. He has been to three fantastic birthday parties in the past 6 weeks- one firefighter, one pirate and one gymnastics- all a great time. He has his first girlfriend, Samantha, and they are inseparable at school. He may not remember what he did in Art, but he will certainly remember the shirt Samantha wore.

Speaking of Art, Brady loves to color, play with stickers and play with playdoh. At least an hour a day this summer has been spent outside watching Brady 'do art' and ride his tricycle. Often at the same time.

Brady enjoys swim lessons and swimming in our pool. He can now swim across the spa without assistance and should shortly be able to do the same in the narrowest part of the pool. He has been to several Astros baseball games and loves to cheer for his favorite baseball player, Lance Berkman. He has already announced that it is now football season and baseball season is almost over.

After repeatedly hitting his head while he slept on the frame of his small toddler bed we converted Brady's bed to a full size adult bed. It has a sports theme (of course) quilt/sham set and he enjoys explaining all the different sports represented on the quilt. He loves to break out his tool set and help Daddy fix things around the house. He and Daddy have lowered Cullen's crib, hung a porch swing, changed air filters, fixed the neighbors downspout, converted his bed and much more.

Brady saw his first movie in a movie theater- Horton Hears a Who. He ate an entire large bucket of popcorn by himself as we sat in the very front row. He loved the movie but complained that his belly hurt after the movie. ;-)

Cullen
Cullen is the sweetest baby on the planet. I know, I know, every Mom says this, but they are all wrong (sorry!). This kid sets a new standard for exceptional babies. Cullen is an easy going boy who is quick with a smile and willing to go with the flow. He loves his sleep, but if it is interrupted he doesn't fuss. He loves to eat, but if his meal is delayed he doesn't fuss. He has had a cold and a couple ear infections over the past month and still he doesn't fuss. He is so mellow that when he does actually cry we now something must be seriously wrong. For example, when he wouldn't stop crying because the jeans he was wearing (18-24 mos) were too tight... at 7 months old.

Cullen has graduated out of the infant seat to a convertible baby seat. He is still rear facing, but at least now he has room to wiggle. And wiggle he does. His feet and ankles never stop moving. We call him 'happy feet' because they are in perpetual motion.

Cullen is extremely curious and after weeks of rocking he can finally now satisfy his curiosity. Cullen is mobile! Although at this point it is just a couple of crawling motions we think that within the week he will be outpacing Brady. He loves to play with the wipes so just leaving those on the floor is all it takes to see him break into action.

As I mentioned before, Cullen enjoys his sleep and his meals. He is eating anything in sight and is a solid 20lbs, 5ozs. His blonde hair is starting to grow over his ears so a hair cut will most likely be happening in the near future. He has beautiful blue eyes - just like his Dad.

Cullen has also been to several Astros games, has played in the pool frequently, and is now taking baths in the treasured 'ducky.' He has rode in his first Gleannloch Farms Fourth of July Parade, tried out the swing set and slides in the backyard and took his first road trip with the family to Horseshoe Bay.

Cullen started attending Primrose in early August and seems to really enjoy it. He has two friends that he is always sitting and giggling with, Kinsey (girl) and Trayson (boy). They 'talk' all day long, especially during food times.

Cullen and Gracie (our black, sweet kitty) are best buds. She lets him pet her and sit with her. Brady and Sassy (our white, frisky kitty) are buds. Sassy lets Brady chase her around the house, staying close enough to make it interesting but never allowing Brady to actually be able to catch her. Funny how our kitties took to the child with a similar temperament!

As for Shay and I, we generally are not idle long. Besides hangin' with the boys, Shay has also managed to squeeze in several business trips, sell two cars, buy one car and is currently working on making a surfboard for Cullen's room.

I strapped on a pair of tap shoes for the first time in 20 plus years and remembered the love/hate relationship I have with said tap shoes. My parents visited in July and we celebrated my Mom's 29th birthday by taking family pictures and having a nice McGarr/Dalton family dinner.

In the next few months, we will take another road trip to San Antonio, Cullen will have surgery to 'repair' his lip and I will return to work...but we'll save those for another day.

Happy Summer 2009!

~R