Life and Another Video

I was recently asked for an update and more photos, so here you go! :-)

Ken has been working in San Antonio, so it's been me and the boy alone together Monday - Friday. It's hard being sole caregiver with no breaks and no relief except for naps and bedtime. I'm not the most social of people (did you know that about me?), so we mostly stay at the house. Also, Trav's been teething, so he's been cranky and whiny lately. Not a pleasant way to spend the days. However, we're hanging in there. Next week, we'll go visit Ken again. We have friends in SA, and there's a little pool at the hotel, and a Target nearby, so we should be plenty happy.

Ken's job is going well, but he's been very busy, and we weren't planning on him being gone like this. We visited last week, and I got to meet several of Ken's coworkers. Everyone was really friendly and geeky so I totally fit right in. One gal held Travis so Ken and I could eat lunch, and he never cried or anything. In fact, we couldn't find them when I was ready to leave, so we had to go looking for them. She had him with a bunch of girls cooing over him. Yeah, the little flirt is gonna be a ladies' man.

I found this really cool TV series (no longer going), it's called Digging for the Truth, and it was on the History channel hosted by a guy named Josh Bernstein. I have found each episode really fascinating, and whether you're into history or not, I think you'll find it entertaining.

You've politely read everything I've written, but I know you were hoping for some more videos of Travis, and I won't disappoint you. Here you go! Here is a video of T walking around the coffee table saying "Mama." He still doesn't realize I'm Mama, but it's cute anyhow.

I've added some more photos of Trav's room after I added some wall art. What do you think? I decided that I'm not fond of the blue that I chose, but it works and it's not worth repainting. It's a nice blue, it just doesn't have a lot of pizzazz, which I guess is fine for a kid's room. 

Closet wall

Above the closet

Family Photos

With Howard after their nap

Pooh in the rocking chair

Wall art and changing table

Please continue to pray for us during this rough time; Ken will be going to SA every week until probably mid-August, and then we should find out whether he will go back to the Austin office or what our next steps will be. 

Happenings and Changes!

On our morning walk by the river

Earlier this week, Ken, who has never met a stranger, helped a lady at Loewe's who was fixing her lawnmower. She happened to work for the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort right here in Bastrop, and invited us to visit, so we decided to treat ourselves as a celebration. Though it's only about 10 minutes away, it felt like we were miles away from home. We naively believed that we'd be one of a couple of families sharing the pool, so we were super surprised by the number of people and kids everywhere!!

My great guys

However, we had a great time. We got an upgraded room (with a balcony), and after we ran into Cynthia the next morning, she bought me a coffee and comped our breakfast, which was a delicious buffet! I hope that Travis is as outgoing as Ken--he always meets the nicest people!

We traded off getting massages and playing with Travis in the pool. He was one tired baby, there was so much going on that he would not fall asleep for anything! After 2 hours of trying, he finally fell asleep about 10pm, but woke multiple times to throw up...of course, waking us up in the process. Poor baby got so overheated that it made him sick. He's fine now, and has slept most of the day to catch up on his sleep, and now we know that 3 hours by the pool in this heat is a bad idea. For some reason, we forgot to get photos of us in the pool, but we did get some others.

Sleepy, sleepy baby

Ready for a nap!

We had to visit the horses:  Julius and Cesear

Travis seems to really enjoy the water, though the Hyatt was not his first swimming experience. Last Saturday, we were invited to a pool party, and had a great time with some of Ken's co-workers from ASI.

In the pool!

Sylin' with hats

Bob and Travis meeting

Tuesday, May 24 was my good friend Bob's 60th birthday, and we were invited to a surprise party at the Oasis. Boy, was he ever surprised! I can't help but feel that we were the highlight of his day. As soon as Bob saw that we were there, he made a beeline straight towards us, and Travis went right to him! Later that night, I heard Bob introduce me as his daughter, which, I have to say, made my day! I used to work for Bob, and when he and his wife Candy decided to move to Austin, TX, they brought me along as part of the family, which I've been ever since. Candy passed away several years ago, but I think of her every time I use my sewing machine because it was once hers. I feel that everything I make on it is a tribute to her.

Me, Bob and Trav

Finally some of you may have already heard that Ken has accepted a position with a company called RackSpace. It is here in Austin, and promises to be a new challenge, which Ken is looking forward to. I know that he'll miss his friends at ASI, but we're excited about this new change in our lives.

Fun in the Sun

Our Fam at the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum

Recently, we drove to Tucson, Arizona, to visit my family. Travis got to visit his Nana, meet his great-grandparents, his Tata, great-aunts/uncles, cousins, second cousins and some of my good friends. Luckily, he is such a sweet, happy baby and traveled really well. He is really starting to move around, and scooted around Nana and Tata's house, and we walked around the neighborhood where I grew up. It was so fun.

We traveled through a cave (Carlsbad Caverns), which Travis seemed to enjoy, and drove through the Saguaro National Monument to see cactus (apparently, it is a hot destination for out-of-towners). We got this awesome backpack that Ken used to carry Travis around all over the place. It was nifty.

The Coolest Backpack Ever!

We went shopping with Nana, traveled to Bisbee and the Arizonan Sonoran Desert Museum. T-Rav was a hit wherever we went, and I found myself so proud of our great baby. I'm glad that he also got to meet my grandparents. It was so sweet watching them together...

Travis with Nana

Travis with Grammy

Travis with Grampy

Travis with Nana and Tata

Oh, Baby

I can see that this blog is turning into a baby blog, where I mostly post about the kid. Have you noticed I blog a little bit more since we've had him? I guess there just isn't anything else of interest in our lives! This blog will be no different!

Baby Milk and Alcohol

We had our first party and Travis had his first babysitter this last weekend. Ken's work Christmas party was at the Mansion at Judges Hill - a beautiful, old hotel. We decided to treat ourselves and stay there with Travis. We stayed in the Magnolia retreat, which had a beautiful King-size bed with drapes hanging from the ceiling and floor-to-ceiling French doors that opened up onto a balcony overlooking a lovely garden. We even had a mini bar, where we were able to store Travis' milk, which just shows how much our lives have changed.

Aren't we cute?

Our good friend, Ashley, from work came to stay with Travis while we went to the party. Travis wasn't very interesting for her, he fell asleep before we left, but he did wake up a little later and she was able to feed him a bottle, and he seemed to be happy hanging out with her. We had fun at the party, and felt confident that he was in good hands, so it was a very positive experience for all of us. It helped to know that we were only a few staircases away from the boy. Maybe next time, we'll go a little farther away!
It's hard not to be completely in love with this baby. I confess that I'm completely happy to have my life revolve around him right now. In fact, I miss him even when I'm at work. I know he has a great day care, and it's obvious that it has been good for him, but it's still hard to leave him!
The other morning, he just looked so cute that I had to take pictures of him. I try most mornings to take pictures, but it doesn't always happen.

Ken and Travis playing

And before I sign off, here's a picture of Ken playing with Travis in his activity gym in front of the fire. I love watching the two of them play - it is the cutest thing. Right now, Travis loves Mama more than anything else; I can almost always get him to smile, and he follows me around the room with his eyes if I'm not right there with him. But I know that this time won't last forever, and soon Papa will be his favorite person, so I'm enjoying this time with him as much as I can and storing up every precious moment.

First Road Trip and Farewell

We took our first road trip with Travis over the weekend. I wish our first trip had been under better circumstances, but Ken's sweet Aunt Joyce passed away, and we went to the visitation and funeral. Travis did very well, and enjoyed meeting his family. It's a good thing he's such a social baby because he has a BIG family and everyone wanted to hold him. He was very good and didn't fuss very much at all unless he was tired or hungry (not too surprising). He got very tired of his car seat though, and a few times started crying as soon as we buckled him in; I'm not sure how he's going to like our hour-long commute twice a day!

He is a very happy baby in the mornings, and shared his first attempt at real laughter with MamMa. I wish I had gotten a picture of the two of them smiling and talking together-it was adorable! As always, going home is bittersweet-I always leave another piece of my heart there and pray harder that God would find us a way to move closer and still make a living.

Travis fussed during the actual funeral service, and we spent much of it in the front hall. Luckily, we could still hear. Ken shared several memories of Aunt Joyce and I was so glad that we were able to hear him. She was always special to Ken, and to me as well. It's sad to lose such an amazing and Godly generation.

Here's a picture of Aunt Joyce and Uncle Charles:

And one of Aunt Joyce and Ken's dad, Ray:

We will miss her dearly!

April!

Not much to blog about - but we've been busy busy with this and that!!
We had some friends stay for the weekend a few weeks ago. We met up in Brenham to visit a winery and the Monastery Miniature Horses farm. We missed the Bluebell ice cream tour because it was so crowded!

April is sure shaping up to be a busy month! Krista's birthday comes up at the end of the month and we're thinking about having a party to celebrate our new enclosed patio. Ken will be headed into work for some training for the next couple of months, and Krista is looking forward to sharing the long drive in.

We've made travel plans to go on a cruise to Mexico for our 5th anniversary in May!

Spring is the most beautiful season of the year, especially in Texas! I love to see all the different shades of green. The wildflowers are starting to spring up and fills the view with loveliness and bright colors. Nobody can be sad in the spring!

That's all for now!
-Krista