The Bubelas

Schlitterbahn 2011

2011-06-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Schlitterbahn 2011 was great! We stayed in a house that was situated across the street from the waterpark. Still part of the park, just across the street.

The house had what seemed like hundreds of doors. There were 7 doors to the outside, 5 of them opened onto the huge fenced in patio at the back. Jax loved it! He went all through the house opening and shutting doors. Slam! Slam! Slam! He actually got outside without anyone noticing, which was very scary. The only door with key access was the easiest door to operate. It was in one of the living rooms...the one we only used when leaving the house. If you're inside, you just pull the lever down and it unlocks and the door opens. Which is how he got out. This was fairly soon after we had unloaded the cars and none of us were familiar with the house. We were all wandering around turning corners and getting someplace other than where we wanted to be. Brent walked into that room, noticed the door was open and started looking for Jax. We all started looking in all the rooms. I went to the front door...almost completely opposite from the open door and saw Jax standing at the end of the sidewalk right next to the road. A loaded shuttle bus with two cars had stopped there and the bus driver had his arm out, seeming to be telling Jax not to move. I finally got the front door open and yelled to Jax. He turned around to look towards me and at the same time I saw Brent running around the side of the house to get him. From then on, we kept a large chair in front of that door to keep him from opening it again.

We really enjoyed our time there...the house was perfect with 4 bedrooms, the 2 living rooms, a dining room, breakfast room, laundry room, 3 bathrooms, a decent kitchen, a covered carport and a huge patio with a large barbeque grill and 3 large tables. There were countless places for storage...the worry was that we wouldn't remember where we had stowed our things. We've booked it for next year, too. It's on a large lot and although there are parking lots next to it and across from it, but it's on such a large lot we didn't even notice them. We just had to cross the road and walk a short distance to an entrance. It was a lot quieter there than any place we had stayed before.

As I said, we had a great time. If you look at the photos, be sure and click on the video at the end. Carlee, always the entertainer, started dancing to a catchy tune as we were leaving one of the pool areas and I was able to get the camera on video just in time to film a little bit of it.

Back living room. This is the one Jax escaped from...the farthest room from the kitchen. Notice the large plasma TV. There was one in the other living room, too.


Dining room and front living room. Bigger than it looks here.


Wayne, working on the barbeque grill.

Jax spent a lot of time opening and closing the doors at the house where we stayed

A rare quiet moment

Looks like supper

Jax buddies up to Pop while Carlee whispers something to Uncle Chad

Carlee hanging on just before we get shoved off for our first ride

Kate kept us in line on the Lazy River

Kate and Aunt Robin

This was on the Raging River ride.

Jax and I apparently sharing a joke

Jax was really having a good time

Our Schlitterbahn annual family photo

Carolyn and Kate

Carlee's sassy pose

Memorial Day Weekend, I think.

2011-06-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Bubela family traveled to Port Alto for a weekend of fun in the sun. Jax didn't get to the bay at all last year. He was just over a year old then, so Brent would stay at home with him while Carolyn and the girls and I would spend a couple of days at the bay.

But this year, Jax is two and we're glad to have him (and Brent) at the bay with us. It's been so windy that the kids have really had to struggle in the water...waves knocking them here and there. It started out windy on this particular weekend, but then the wind died and they were really able to enjoy it. We all had a great time and nobody got sunburned. I'm actually getting a tan.

I'm writing this in mid-June, but I think this was on the Memorial Day weekend.

The palm tree in the last photo was a surprise. Not a surprise that it was in the photo...I did that on purpose. The surprise was that it was growing there. In the middle of the sidewalk. Especially since we have never had any type of tree or flower or decent vegetation growing on our property at the bay. Let's just call it determined and practically a miracle!

Carlee, Jax and Kate

Virgie, Carolyn and Brent

Carolyn and Jax, catching some rays

Kate and Carlee

Jax working on his bucket of mud

Brent and Jax

Kiddos having some fun without having to fight the wind and waves

Determined palm tree

2011-04-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Jax loves his little "foot power" cars, so Carolyn and Brent got him this Lil Tykes classic truck for his birthday. He loved it! He had a little trouble with his big sisters who hovered around him, impeding his progress. They were really excited for him and tried to show him features of the truck, such as the horn and the working tailgate. He kept trying to push them away, but they kept coming back, never giving him any space. Brent opened the door so that he could go outside with it. The girls helped keep him on the sidewalk until he was finally on the driveway. The last picture I took of him, he was out of the truck and pushing it up the driveway. It was very cute!

This battery powered Lightning McQueen car was from NaNa and Pa. He likes that one, too and I can't wait to see him when the battery is charged and installed. Till then, he's still happy not minding that he has to use foot power. Actually, I'm sure he doesn't realize there's any other way. Wayne and I still haven't gotten him anything. It's hard to think of something he doesn't already have!

The final picture here is Jax the morning after his birthday. He's in his groundskeeper persona. With the lawnmower loaded into the back of his truck, he's ready to head to work!

Jax is 2 years old!

2011-04-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Jax is two years old today! And what a fun two years it's been watching him grow and learn new things. The videos below indicate how closely he watches what goes on around him. He wants to do things the same way other people do them. The first one shows him opening a drawer. It's a drawer where all the random plastic bowls and cups for snacks are stored. There used to be a handle on it, but it's missing now. He has obviously seen everyone else use their foot to open it, so that's the way he does it.

Jax was really excited to see his mom and Carlee arrive home. He brought Carolyn a little ride-on car and then got on his own so they could make a few circles through the house. She told me to watch how he changes how he "pedals". When Carolyn got ahead of him, he saw her style and began doing the same thing.

He's such an entertaining little fellow...as are both his big sisters!

Saturday morning at the Bubelas

2011-04-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

Kate is having a little batting practice in the video below. She got some nice hits, as you can see.

Jax is back to work at being the groundskeeper. Pushing his little mower around the yard. I don't know how he sees anything except the mower, he keeps his cap pulled so far down. After mowing, he walked up to Carlee and indicated that he wanted her to help him into the swing. Since Carlee couldn't do it, I helped him in and we all took a turn at swinging him.

I might be heading back over there this afternoon for more backyard fun...and margaritas!

It's sliding time again!

2011-04-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Jax loves adventures like these. They set up a big, homemade slip & slide a couple of weeks ago, put him in a tube and he had a blast!

That's Carlee starting to climb.

I'm not sure what Kate is doing here, but Jax is letting her do it.

The slide was at an angle, so all the water in the pool was at the other slide. That didn't bother Jax.

Kate posing at the top.

Jax and Kate sharing a little face time.

Carlee sliding...that's Kate doing some weird dance at the edge.

It's official...I'm way behind!

2011-04-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to try to get caught up from last summer...I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to remember much. I'll see if I can go through my photos and try to get caught up from the first of this year.

Brent's friend Jeff, born and raised in Louisiana, sent all these jerseys to the family after LSU beat the Aggies in the Cotton Bowl this year. Everyone (except Carolyn) seems to be cheering!

The video below was just cute. Jax stops at the little kitchen center then makes his way to the table to do a little coloring. At the end of it, he decides to sit down, but forgets that the chair isn't there.

I love this photo of Carlee, getting down with her music, dressed in fancy black tutu and pink crown, microphone in hand. It's so Carlee.

Jax must have had something on his mind here. He looks deep in thought.

This was on Carolyn's birthday. All are eagerly waiting for the cake ceremony!

Carolyn got roller-blades from Brent and the kids. Kate is standing by for support, if necessary.

This wasn't taken on Carolyn's birthday. Jax was under the weather and Carolyn had a patient, so I was there to snap this photo of Jax, so ready to nod off that his head is held up by his lip on the edge of the cup.

Brent built the dollhouse/bookshelf pictured below to donate to the auction at the St. Philip Dinner Dance in February. I should have taken the photo with a child beside it in order to give it perspective. It might look small here, but it's probably about 3-4 feet wide and about that tall, too. After he painted it, it was taken to St. Philip's where Carolyn and other mothers of children in Kate's kindergarten class finished it with paint decorations of flowers, trees, bees, caterpillers, etc. Books and baskets were added to show how it could be used. The childrens' fingerprints were used to form the painted decorations. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see how cute the little decorations are.

This is a view of the back of the dollhouse/bookshelf. The names of the children in the class are painted onto the leaves of the tree.

Kate and Carlee, just hanging out with balloons.

It's evident that Kate and Carlee have done some modeling for Aunt Robin. Carlee seems to have that beauty queen/parade wave going on.

Bathed and ready for bed, the kids are rewarded with a little play time on Mom's and Dad's iphones. Jax seems content to watch.

So, that's a little about what has gone on at the Bubela household since September. I only looked in a few folders. I'll bet I find a lot more folders to go through!

Summertime!

2010-09-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

It's going to be difficult, but I'm going to try and select just a few representative photos from this summer. There was our annual trip to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, multiple trips to the bay, swimming and sliding at home and a visit to Splashway at Sheridan.

The above photos were taken at Schlitterbahn

The ones below were taken during several trips to Port Alto

These two photos were taken in the backyard

The photos below were taken at Splashway

Dining with the Bubelas

2010-09-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

Wayne and I were invited over for hamburgers this afternoon. Wayne never made it there...at least, not before I left.

Jax is walking a little more now. He finally took a few steps just before he was 16 months old. I figured that once he realized he could walk that he would give up crawling. But, no...he has continued to favor crawling. He seems to have gotten really big during the last month...tall and sturdy. He had his own hamburger tonight, just like the rest of us, along with sweet potato fries.

In the above photo, Jax had just been given one of his gummy vitamins. As you can tell, he really likes them.

In the video below, Brent and Kate started dancing, so Carlee joined in and pretty soon Jax made his appearance, too. He found Carlee's headband and was wearing it around his neck like a collar.

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

Kate and Carlee were very excited to start swimming lessons. In the photo below they are all dressed in their cute suits, both wearing goggles and Kate with a swim cap. Carlee is wearing her very favorite swimsuit...she wants to wear that one every day.

Of course, since Kate had a swim cap, Carlee wanted one too. Brent found her the one in the next pictures. I can't wait to see what it looks like when she has her face in the water with the teeth and the fin. Jax looks pretty interested in the cap in the last photo.

Carolyn reports that both girls really enjoyed the lessons and did really well...swimming, jumping off the diving board, etc. Maybe we'll go to the water park in Sheridan soon so I can see them in action.

!!! Rock Star Party !!!

2010-06-09T14:46:00.001-07:00

Carlee had her 3rd birthday party recently...a Rock Star Party! Perfect for her big personality! She loves to sing and sometimes takes the floor and fields requests from the family members present.

Brent had the garage all decked out in rock star style...with a "stage", real mics and a strobe light. Before the party started, Carlee (in mismatched pajamas) gave us an early preview of her style. She started out slowly, but eventually got focused and gave it her all. Kate (in an interesting choice of red, filmy nightgown and sneakers) joined in about halfway through and they managed a rousing sister act. Carlee gets quite theatrical with her arm and hip movement. I think she tries to tap dance, too, but doesn't quite get her foot to the floor. She'll be taking dancing this fall, so I'm sure she'll be much better next year at this time.

Carlee's friends had play-doh and other activities to keep them busy

Time for the chocolate chip cookie cake!

Carlee blows out her 3 candles!

Kate takes a whack at the guitar shaped pinata

The pinata finally broke and all the kids rushed in to grab candy!

Hold on! That's not a kid...it's Tracy!

Carlee sings into a party favor...an inflatable mic

Carlee's Birthday (the REAL one!)

2010-06-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

Carlee had her birthday party...a Rock Star Party on May 15. (I need to get some pictures posted soon. It's been almost a month.) But, her real birthday was on May 17. Not ever wanting to miss a chance to have cake, we schlepped over there and sang to her. She blew out her candles and then we all got a piece of her strawberry "cupcake cake". Aunt Robin brought her a big bag of goodies and Carlee enjoyed another day of being the star of the show...with boas and fancy flip-flops and other sparkly things!

The Gift Box

2010-05-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Jax has truly enjoyed the box that held the birthday gift sent by Uncle Bert, Aunt Leslie, Paige and Will. I don't remember if the box held his gift or Carlee's. But, he has spent much time opening and closing and studying it. After playing with it for a little while, he will crawl away, but he soon returns to examine it again.

Jax's First Birthday

2010-04-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

We gathered at Carolyn and Brent's to celebrate Jax's 1st birthday. The birthday boy had been a little cranky during much of the day...or at least the part of the day when I was there. He had a cough and a runny nose, so he wasn't in tip-top form. The theme of the party was "baseball", so his personal little cake was in the shape of a baseball. The cake intended for the rest of us was decorated to look like a baseball field.

After thoroughly plastering himself in cake (his first true adventure in big kids food), we moved to the living room for the gift opening. He was surrounded by gift bags and boxes and one curiously wrapped large gift from the Garner family. He didn't know what to do. He went from gift to gift, pulling one thing out of a bag and then moving on to the next bag. With a lot of help from his sisters, he managed to get everything out of the wrappings and onto the floor.

The hit of the evening, for all the kids, was the Elmo carpenter workbench (which was the curiously wrapped gift) that Wendy and Zane brought. Gage and Kelly couldn't be there...they were at baseball practice.

At first, Jax didn't want to try his cake. But after he got a
little "forced" taste, he went to town on it!

Wendy and Robin got a laugh about something, while Carolyn directed a "look" at Carlee for some reason.

Pa, Pop, Kate, Jax and Carolyn...all doing their own thing.

Tyler, Carlee and Kate "helping" Jax with the Elmo carpenter bench

Sunday Lunch

2010-04-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

The Little League barbeque chicken dinner was today, so Kelly took all the tickets and picked up the meals for us. Since Wendy's birthday was just a few days ago, we decided to make this her special celebration, too.

Here are a couple of videos, one of Jax doing nothing in particular, and the next of Carlee, performing, as usual. She was reciting nursery rhymes in her own special way. Sorry for the poor video quality of Carlee. It seems as if my photos and videos of her are often over-exposed looking.

After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to Wendy...in several keys. She blew out our ceremonial two candles and then we dug into yummy brownies and ice cream.

Kelly and Brent then took the older four kids out with baseball gloves, tees, bats and balls and they had a little practice. Well, actually Carlee didn't participate in that...instead she morphed into her school marm persona and put her mom and Wendy through their paces.

Observing Jax

2010-03-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

Carolyn had an appointment at the salon so I'm sitting with Jax. Carolyn always tries to schedule her appointments around his naptimes if I will be sitting with him to make it as easy as possible for me. Jax has always cooperated by taking a long (2 hour) nap and waking up just long enough for a little play time with me before Carolyn returns home. Lately, however, he doesn't go right to sleep upon being placed in the crib. He's learned some new skills and practices them for a while before he grabs his small lovey blanket and settles down long enough to fall asleep.

The new skills? He crawls. He sits. He pulls up. He's even tried a little cruising around the crib. After a half hour of all that activity, he has dropped off to sleep.

I love watching him on the video monitor. What a treat to be able to view without influencing activities. He's perfectly happy in there on his own. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know what's going on in his little head?

Today, Carolyn has told Kate that she will eat lunch with her. So, I will have a couple of hours to read without guilt.

The video below was taken yesterday. I stayed with Jax while Carolyn & Brent observed Kate's dancing lesson and then picked up Carlee. Jax was asleep when I got there and woke up about 5 PM. He was excited to see me walk in and laughed when I clowned around for him.

Laughing Baby!

2010-02-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

While I was making sure all my photos from my camera had been saved in a file on the computer, I came across this video of Robin, Jax, Kate and Carlee. It was December 11th, the weekend after the Wendel/Rioux Family Christmas. Carolyn and Brent had traveled to New Orleans to attend a party given by a friend who had played minor league baseball with Brent. Robin was at the house helping me. In this video Kate and Carlee were running around in their usual manic fashion and Jax was enjoying it enormously. Who doesn't like hearing a baby laugh?

It's a hard knock life!

2009-11-19T11:04:00.000-08:00

Carlee, age 2 1/2, is our little fashionista. She has very definite opinions about what she will (or will not) wear. Every morning is a struggle to reach a meeting of the minds between her and Carolyn.

The same thing is true at night, when after having taken a bath she digs through her drawer full of (mostly) pajamas and gowns. She pulls them out one at a time, gives them a look and then throws the ones not in favor on the floor.

Last night, Carolyn fussed at her and told her she would be in trouble if she didn't get all of them picked up and put back in the drawer. So, Carlee complied and feeling like she was being overworked, spontaneously started belting out "It's a Hard Knock Life." Most of you probably know that is the song in "Annie" when the orphans are being punished and have to work at cleaning their dormitory in the middle of the night. It's a great song and Carlee certainly sang it at the appropriate time!

I've asked Carolyn to try and get that on video. If she does, I'll upload it here and let you know when it gets posted. Carolyn says that both girls sing it; she saw them "cleaning" the tub and singing it, but Carlee is usually the song leader...using the real words. Kate is more into ad-libbing words and music.

Veteran's Day Program at St. Philip's

2009-11-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

The St. Philip's Veteran's Day Program was held on the front lawn of the school. Boy Scouts raised the flag and then a number of songs were performed by the students. Instruments played included flutes, clarinets, trumpets, guitars, drum, recorders and bells. I had no idea they had so much variety in their music department. When I was going to school there, eons ago, they finally had a piano teacher about the time I was in 6th grade. I took from her, as well as from about 3 other piano teachers. I'm not sure what that says about me. I know I wasn't a prodigy, so I can draw a rather bleak conclusion from the number of teachers I had.

But, enough about me...

Carolyn thought that the pre-K 4 class was going to perform since Kate had come home singing patriotic songs lately. But, that wasn't to be the case. The little ones just sat and watched. Jax enjoyed the program, too. He was a very good little guy, especially considering that he hadn't had a nap and this was his 2nd program of the morning; they were at Gage's program earlier.

Here are a couple of pics of Kate telling Jax goodbye with hugs after the program.

Carolyn and Jax

Jax at 6 months

2009-11-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Jax turned 6 months old on October 29. He's a pretty easy baby...easily entertained and happy to watch his sisters or anyone else who sits near him. Of course, you understand that his sisters rarely sit. They are very busy, very noisy little girls. But they make him (and us) laugh.

Jax seems to be very zen...he spent a few weeks studying his hands, but now he seems to have moved on and particularly enjoys watching the palm trees sway outside the windows.

He seems to know that it's theoretically possible to travel from where he is put down to another place in some other manner than rolling. He's experimenting with a couple of different methods. One way is to plant his face on the floor, push his toes down and straighten his knees. That forces his bottom up (like he's in the middle of a jackknife dive) and has some potential. The problem, however, occurs when his heinie is at its' highest point. In that position, since he's using his face instead of his arms, he just can't keep his balance and he invariably falls to one side or the other. Imagine how far he would go if we took him off the blanket and put his head on a skateboard! Wow!!!

A second method he has tried is just to keep his belly down on the floor and kick his legs. It looks very similar to the way Kate crawled early on, but she actually used knees and hands. She seemed to exert an enormous amount of will power to keep her legs under control, but then all of a sudden one leg would fly up and waggle around a little bit until she regained control of it and got it back down on the floor. But to be fair, I'm sure she was a little older than Jax is now when she got to that point. So, we have that to look forward to with him. As I said, he keeps his belly down and kicks his legs and occasionally one of them goes high up in the air, but no forward motion can be hoped for unless he has some snake muscles in his belly.

I keep trying to get a picture of either his jackknife position or his leg up in the air, but haven't managed to capture it yet. The picture below is the closest I've come.

Kate

2009-10-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here we see Kate (black headband, braided ponytail) showing some skills.

I sometimes forget to move the camera, so at the end of this clip you can hear, but not see, Kate saying "Hi, Mom!" as the play passes in front of us.

Carlee and sausage

2009-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and Carlee were in the kitchen alone. I think Kate was at soccer practice. Carolyn had cooked a link of the sausage that Dee had given her. It was on a dish on the counter top, cut into bite-size pieces and was very, very good.

Carolyn told me that Carlee was standing on the kitchen step-stool, eating the sausage with the tongs. At one point she leaned toward Carolyn, looked her in the eye, and said very emphatically, "I like it!"

So, do I. It's really good sausage!

Jax and veggies

2009-10-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Jax has been really interested in the food that others are consuming for a couple of months now. The pediatrician told Carolyn at the 4 month check-up that she could start him on cereal any time she wanted, but she hasn't been in a hurry. For one thing, it's certainly more work to prepare food for and spoon feed an infant. Carolyn has always made all their baby food from scratch...no Gerber's in a jar for those kids!

The girls didn't seem to notice other food when they were his age...about 5 1/2 months now. But Jax has been watching food get picked up on spoons and forks; and he has been watching it get put into mouths; and he has definitely been interested.

So, a few weeks ago started him on cereal, which he took to right away and really seemed to enjoy. This week she decided to start him on a vegetable. She decided on avocado, which, I know, is technically a fruit...but, it's not sweet. The girls LOVED avocado, so she thought that would be a good one to start him on. She snapped the photo below after his first bite. Not loving it, I'm guessing.

In the next picture, he looks like he's doing the Tom Hanks bit from "Big" where Tom takes a bite of caviar and then tries to clean it off his tongue with the napkin.

Carolyn said he was a real trooper, however, and never spit it out or turned his head. But, he sure looks scared!

Jax singing and playing

2009-10-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

I put Jax on his little play mat and started taking a video. The voice you hear at the beginning is his, sounding like the ending of a very simple song.

FYI: This was supposed to be a very short clip. I edited it in Picasa, but then couldn't figure out how to get it to the blog...so, I had to just do it the usual way and upload the whole thing, which makes it a minute and 21 seconds. Feel free to quit watching as soon as you want.

I took the following video a little while later. He had been playing with the little roll-y thing, making it spin, but the seat had turned slightly and he just couldn't get coordinated again. You'll notice that he keeps looking at that taller purple toy...he seems to be suspicious of it...like maybe it's trying to sneak up on him.

Again, I edited to make it shorter, but then couldn't get it to the blog.

Jax-at 5 months

2009-10-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Carolyn had a couple of patients coming and Jax was not napping, so she asked me if I could come over. He seems to be bigger every time I see him. He just turned 5 months last week. He loves to watch the girls play and laughs at them all the time.

Carolyn said he has been very attentive when they are eating a meal, paying close attention to the food. She said she didn't remember the girls being interested at this age. So, a week or so ago she started him on cereal, which he seems to really like.

He was on the floor in the living room, rolling all over the place. He basically rolls in a circle, though. At one point he stopped and watched his hands for a while. Then he napped for nearly an hour while I played games on my phone.

Here's Jax watching me watch him.
A little pause to study his hands...
He's rolled all the way around the mat now; at one point he had rolled himself up in the blue blanket.

Flu

2009-10-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

Dee and I were on our way back home after our trip to Dallas when Carolyn called. We were actually on 961, about a mile from my house. I can't remember why she needed me to come over. Kate was home, sick with a possible mild case of swine flu. It could have been that she had a patient coming, I'm not sure, but she asked if I could come. So, just as soon as I got home and changed into my comfy clothes, I went over there. Kate seemed fine, playing, eating and acting normally. She wasn't allowed to get close to Jax and had to wash her hands often. Carolyn said that in the evening, when she was feeding Jax, she could smell the Lysol that Brent was spraying on everything.

Carlee also ended up staying home on Friday. They were both back in school on Monday, all well. If it was flu, it was mild, though fevers were pretty high at times.

Since I had been at the flu house, Wendy wouldn't let me come to their house to see the boys. Can't say I blame her.

Here's Kate: After taking her nap, she went downstairs and fell asleep again on the mat in front of the door.
And here's Carlee: The budding rock star...she is on her "stage" belting out "Tomorrow" from "Annie" on the "mic". She loves to wear skirts that she can twirl in.

Jax's "busy" morning

2009-09-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Carolyn asked if I wanted to go on a little shopping trip with her today. In seconds I had visualized the trip...Jax crying all the way there and back...he doesn't like to travel; pushing the stroller through the mall and through racks of clothes, trying to stay out of the way; probably having to feed him in the car at some time... I offered to babysit him at their house instead. Carolyn can make the trip to the mall in peace and I can relax and either read, play games on my phone, or try to catch up on some blogging.

Of course, I was aware that Jax has decided to wake up within minutes of Carolyn leaving me with him. And that's exactly what he did...probably less that 10 minutes after she left he woke up. Luckily, there's a video monitor so I can watch him and see what's going on without having to constantly run up the stairs.

Carolyn said that sometimes he just need to burp, so I tried that and then put him back in his bead and dashed out of the room before he had a chance to even lift his head up. As soon as I got back to the office, I realized that I had left my glasses in his room...crap! Meanwhile, he had flipped over to his back and was clearly not going to fall back asleep quickly.

I watched him for a few minutes, then dashed up and retrieved my glasses. Back in the office, I could see that he had flipped back to his tummy and might try to go back to sleep. Nope, back on his back, but just looking around. At what? The fan isn't on and other than the bumper pad and Carlee's name in wooden letters above the bed, there's just the ceiling and green walls to look at. But, I guess it doesn't take that much to entertain him, because he's still looking around.

An hour later...while he's not really fussing, it's clear that he's probably not going to go to sleep. He has worked his way to the head of the bed and has his nose on the bumper pad, so I guess it's time to bring him downstairs so he can stare at new stuff.

Naturally, as soon as I decided to go get him, he turned back to his tummy, plugged in his thumb and appears to be settling down for a little nap.

What a fascinating post!

Kate's real birthday

2009-07-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Kate got an awesome gift from Uncle Bert and Aunt Leslie for her 4th birthday...a real mike. In the video clip below, she is singing some kind of made-up song while Zane stands by, almost twitching he wants to sing so badly. When she backed away from the mike, he saw his opening and stepped up to sing this song. We were all surprised when he started singing...then started laughing at his selection. Unfortunately, he wasn't standing quite close enough to the mike to be able to hear it really well, but I was glad I happened to be videoing. I didn't want the clip to be too long as it's sometimes a real pain to upload, so I stopped before he completed the song.

Here are some other pictures from Kate's family birthday party, starting with the princess bear cake that her mom made.

Figuring out how to cut the cake was tricky, so we did the best we could!

The kids' table...Zane can't be seen because of the high-backed chair.

I can't remember what this gift was, but they all look pretty interested.

They had lots of fun taking turns singing into the mike. Carolyn tells me that Kate has turned into some sort of disc jockey, making announcements, asking people to come over and sing, etc. She is really enjoying the mike. I don't know whether the amp came with it or if they already had it. Super gift for a child who likes to be onstage!

And, finally...we sing happy birthday to our little princess...well, one of them anyway.

Little cuties

2009-07-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

Carolyn took some cute photos of the little ones.

I don't know how she got them to sit still long enough to snap a photo.

Jax looks pretty startled here!

Awwww!

A brief visit with Brent, Kate, & Carlee

2009-07-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

Carolyn called me while I was shifting bags of groceries from the cart to my car this afternoon. She needed some eggs to make egg salad for lunch on Friday and wanted to know if I had any...which I did. She said Brent and the girls would come down to get the eggs when I got home.

They arrived, on the Mule, as I was putting the groceries away. Kate came in first and immediately wanted a glass of milk. She never got it because Brent and Carlee came in about that time so the girls ran off to the playroom. The playroom looks like heck right now because of the leak that had been giving us trouble. Things are moved away from that corner of the room and there's a square opening cut to give the plumber access to the pipe which was leaking. They had to pull off the trim at the bottom of that wall, so that is leaning against another wall...nails sticking out ready to snag someone. It's very messy and, if the past is any indication, it will remain looking like that for quite a while.

Brent, meanwhile, had given me a plastic bowl with a lid in which to place the eggs. I had the cardboard tube from a finished roll of paper towels, so I cut 3 small sections from it and slit them so that I could insert the eggs and keep them from rolling around and cracking during transport. I got the eggs ready to go and remembering the nails, etc. in the playroom, told Brent to check on the girls. He went out there and called the girls, who both came running back into the kitchen.

When she realized they were leaving, Carlee was not happy and was refusing to go...even after I complimented her on her pink leather big girl thong sandals. So, I told her she could carry something back with her. I looked around and saw the remaining section of cardboard tube...about 3 inches long and grabbed it and handed it to her. She looked at it and I thought it might work. I thought that for the whole 5 seconds or so before she gave me a disgusted look and threw it at me!

Luckily, I was able to find a replacement...a small pack of tissues, which must have been acceptable. Then Kate had to have something, so I found a Sonic atomic straw that came with a kid's meal on the countertop and gave that to her. Her dad told her not to open it, so she tore it open within seconds. We got it put back in the package, got sandals back on them, led them to the Mule and got them belted in. Then off they went!

When I walked back into the living room later, I saw that in the very short time they had been there, they had moved the little Elmo easy chair and the cushion that acts as a footstool into the living room. On top of the footstool was a toy from the playroom. I doubt if they had been in the house for more than 10 minutes, but it was a busy 10 minutes!

2009-07-13T18:09:00.001-07:00

I was at the Garner's house for a short visit this afternoon, so naturally I needed to stop at the Bubela's on my way home. The girls were exuberant in their welcome, as usual. I always try to brace myself so they don't tackle me and put me on my back.

Carolyn was finishing up preparing their dinner of chicken enchiladas, salad, and fruit. I got there just in time to hold Jax while they all ate together. Of course, they asked me to join them...but, since I had no idea what I was going to give Wayne when he came in, I thought it would be in bad form to eat there. Turns out I gave him leftover smothered steak, noodles and fresh pineapple. I had started some sausage, but he came home too early for that to be ready.

After they finished dinner, I read to the girls...about 4 pages was all they managed to listen to before their attention was captured elsewhere. Brent or Carolyn put on a music video that Kate & Carlee really like, so they started dancing. Carlee was really into the music until I got the camera out. Then she started mimicking everything Kate did. They eventually danced for a little while, but you could tell they knew they were being filmed, so they acted goofy...or goofier, however you want to look at it.

4th of July at Port Alto

2009-07-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

By the time Kate and Carlee got to the bay on July 4, Gage and Zane's pool had just about given up. The top and bottom rings were almost empty. It made it easy for Carlee to get in and out though, so it turned out fine. Kelly reinflated them later and it was a challenge for Carlee to keep from falling in or falling out. She got used to it, though, and had a good time swimming.

The families went on a boat ride with Virgie and Bo while I stayed at the house with Jax, who slept the entire time...gooood boy!

Kate and Zane both vie for Gage's attention. He tries to be diplomatic, but nearly 4-year olds don't get diplomacy and try to make him choose between them. He's pretty patient with them, I must say.

Carlee is a regular 2-year old, cute as can be most of the time...a little terror occasionally. When she gets mad about something, she usually just lays down wherever she happens to be. I haven't seen her scream or cry, so I don't know whether that's sometimes a part of her behavior. When I've been present, she just lies down and ignores you until she gets over it. At Schlitterbahn, it was in the middle of the walkway once and under a picnic table at the pool another time. It could be face down or on her back...whichever suits her.

I'll get around to posting some of the photos from Schlitterbahn. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get around to it.

End of the day at New Braunfels

2009-06-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

I snapped this sweet photo when Kate and Gage were sitting on the porch at Schlitterbahn, waiting for everyone to gather. It was late afternoon, after a full day of sliding, swimming, splashing, etc. I have one from the front, too...but I like this one best.

Chad and Robin handled our supper of grilled hamburgers with all the fixings on Monday night. What can be better than grilled hamburgers after a busy, fun day? We had cheese dip & chips to start and watermelon to finish out the meal.

Our two units each have a small screened-in porch which open to a shared concrete patio with two picnic tables. It's shady there in the late afternoon and we can watch people float by on two tube chutes that run past the units.

All around the town

2009-06-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and I (and Kate and Carlee), made what was supposed to be a quick trip to the grocery store to buy food for the Schlitterbahn trip. Naturally, it didn't turn out to be so quick, but considering all we accomplished, I'm pretty happy.

Carolyn's new suburban has all the bells and whistles, including a drop down screen for viewing DVD's. The girls were watching "Happy Feet" when I took this photo. Kate was screeching just like Mumble does when he's trying to sing "his song." Carlee is clearly enjoying the movie.
So, we get to town and Carolyn drops me off at Merle Norman so I can run in and buy a wedding gift. While I was occupied with that task, she and the girls drove the few blocks to the post office to mail things for me and for her. Then she zipped back a few blocks the other way to take some recycling to the collection area. Just a few blocks back to where I was waiting for her and a couple more blocks and we were at the grocery store. It's great to live in a small town!

We unloaded the girls into the carts, and headed inside, each of us with the full list. I gave Kate the list and a pencil. She would ask what we needed and when I would tell her she would "write" it on the list. She was quite a big help. Somehow Carolyn and I managed to shop different areas and get most of what was on the list. Then we checked out, loaded up the groceries and the girls, headed across town to get ICEE's and then drove home, getting there about the time Jax was ready to eat. I think we were only gone for about 2 hours, but it felt like it was longer.

I had to call the grocery store when I got home to comment about something that happened at checkout. I have "green" bags which I take into the store with me when I shop. I always put them on the conveyor belt first so the sacker doesn't start getting out the plastic. I'm pretty organized (duh...with my Excel lists, etc.) and put things on the conveyor in groups: cold things, produce, canned goods, etc. Among the green bags is a "blue" bag which is lined with material designed to help keep cold things cold. Today, when I got out to the car I noticed that the brisket and 6 lbs. of hamburger meat were in a regular bag. I saw pepperoni and cheese in other regular bags, so I wondered what the heck was in the blue bag. I opened it to check and there was one 1/2 gallon of milk and 100 foam plates! Meat in a regular bag and foam plates in the cooler bag! So that's why I called the grocery store. I was pleasant...really...but I suggested that the sackers might need some instruction about the blue bags. I wish I could say that was only the 2nd or 3rd time this has happened. Heck, I wish I could say it only happened half the time. The person I spoke to said she would be sure and tell the manager when she got there.

I've made other suggestions which haven't been acted upon, such as having hand sanitizers located around the store, so I'm not really expecting much change. The thing is, I can't get my basket unloaded quickly and watch what the sacker is doing at the same time. I shouldn't have to, though, should I?

New look

2009-06-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, it looks different. I've noticed how much cuter other blogs are and have been wanting to work on mine. This afternoon I asked Christy how she got her pretty template and she said just to go to thecutestblogontheblock.com and follow the directions to cut and paste the code into the layout. It really was easy. The hardest part was the trial and error part...where I had to copy the code from the other website, "add a gadget" in my blog, paste the code and then view it to see whether I liked it or not. If I didn't like it, I had to go to that gadget, remove the code (which then removed the gadget), go back to the other website to browse through some more backgrounds. Then, select a new background, copy the code...blah, blah, blah.

Then I did the same thing for The Garner blog. I think they both look pretty spiffy! Maybe I'll work on Free Form next time.

I spent several hours doing this when I should have been getting things ready to go to New Braunfels. I still have to update the grocery list because Carolyn and I are going to whiz through the store at breakneck speed tomorrow morning. And don't think I've been idle. I've got an Excel spreadsheet with 5 tabs on it detailing meals, rooms & rates for this year and for next year, the grocery list...color coded so everyone knows what they are responsible for, and a sheet of things to bring from home. I'm crazy for Excel! Ask anybody.

Photos of Jax

2009-06-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

I sat with Jax while Carolyn took Kate to a swimming lesson this afternoon. First, I propped him on the bed and took a bunch of pictures with my digital cameras. He didn't seem to like that very much. I haven't really gotten good pictures of him when he is propped that way. The pictures I've liked best are the ones I've taken with my iphone. The tricky part is I have to do it while I'm holding him in one arm and trying to snap the picture with the other hand. You have to hold the phone in one hand, leaving the index finger free to touch the little camera icon on the screen...without being able to actually see whether you're touching the icon or if he's in the frame. So, it's kind of hit and miss. I ended up with more pictures than I meant to take, because I had set it to silent and since I wasn't hearing the "click", I thought I was missing the icon. He was a good little fellow, though and seemed to enjoy those pictures the best, since he was being held. He even gave me a goofy smile or two.

He stayed in his papasan swing for almost an hour and then started getting a little restless, so I held him and then eventually put him on his tummy in the cradle. The first time I put him down, it took him just a few seconds to flip to his back. So, I turned him to his tummy again and he did it again. I got the digital camera to take a video...(don't worry...I'm not going to post it) but he wasn't able to do it again. He kept lifting his head and eventually got turned crosswise in the cradle before I put the camera down and got him settled with the pacifier.

He is 6 weeks old today!

The long and short of sliding

2009-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this video from Robin's birthday. Brent was using the slip and slide to teach Gage how to slide into a base. What a fun way to learn to do that!

As you can tell in the other video posted here, Zane has his own way of doing things.

Photos

2009-06-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Robin brought some new pajamas for Kate and Carlee. Kate tried them on over her clothes and then proceeded to ham it up. I'm not sure if she was actually posing, or if I just happened to catch her in action.

I mentioned somewhere that Carlee really likes to eat. In these photos, she's licking the plate clean. She truly enjoyed the cake with chocolate frosting!

The babysitting gig

2009-05-31T16:26:00.000-07:00

This video was taken a little while before Carolyn, Brent & Kate left for the dance recital. I had curtsied to them and you can see that Carlee is attempting to curtsy several times during this clip. In case you don't recognize the song, it's "You Are My Sunshine", loud.

Carlee was very upset when she realized they were going to leave without her. I called to her to come into the house while they were loading up, whereupon she gave me a very angry look and waved her arm quite rudely at me. Carolyn asked her if she would like a prize for staying with me and Jax and her attitude did an instant about face. She got her little tube of SweetTarts and we sat on the couch and watched Barney while she slowly ate her prize.

Jax wouldn't go to sleep without being held, so I held him...hey! what could I do? Of course, I had my cell phone handy and took about 15 pictures of him. Don't worry, I won't put them all on here. Most of them look pretty similar.

Carlee had on a little tutu skirt that Aunt Robin brought from New ICM. Then she found the hat that Brent got her last week and put that on, so I got a couple of cute pictures of her. The one with her hands on her ribs (probably meant to be on her hips) isn't focused, which is a shame, because it's so cute otherwise.

I only have one picture of Kate in a costume at this time. I took it when then got home. Kate was finishing her post-recital treat. I don't know why I took it with my phone instead of the camera, which I had with me.

The little dancer

2009-05-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Kate has been taking dancing this year and it's finally time to see her in action! The dance recital is Saturday evening. I was planning to go, but had a moment of clarity and offered to babysit Carlee and Jax instead. I suddenly pictured Brent & I with Carlee and Jax while Carolyn tended to getting Kate dressed. It wasn't a pretty picture. Carlee probably would not like being still for that period of time...and who wants to take a 4-week old to that sort of thing?

I suggested to Carolyn that she try to video Kate's dances during the dress rehearsal, which was this afternoon, instead of at the recital. It was under consideration.

About an hour after the dress rehearsal started, I had another moment of clarity when I realized I could have gone to the dress rehearsal and watched her then, as they were taking the other two to Patsy & Frank's. Dang! Hope the video is good...although, Carolyn did tell me that instead of dancing Kate spent the rehearsal time waving at people in the audience. I'm not sure she did any dancing at all.

It's all about Carlee

2009-05-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Carlee had her 2-year check-up this week. Carolyn, Brent, Carlee and Jax drove to Sugar Land to a pediatrician there while Kate was at school.

Carlee weighed in at 31 1/2 pounds and was 35 1/2 inches tall. She was at the 75th percentile mark in both weight and height. It's been said that you can double a child's height at age 2 and predict how tall they will be when grown. This would put Carlee at about 5' 11". Carolyn likes that for her. She likes being tall herself, (well, I guess 5' 8" is not that tall, but it's taller than average) and wishes she were taller.

They had scheduled a visit with a photographer for after the check-up, so that was next on the agenda. Carlee doesn't particularly like to have strange men talking to her, so she wasn't happy or cooperative at first. Once they got her talking about familiar people...Cookie and Pop, NaNa and Pa, however, her attitude changed and they got some really cute shots. Here are a few of them.

Brent dashed into the mall while Carolyn, Carlee and Jax waited in the car. While there, he picked up the hat that Carlee is wearing in one of the photos. He also got a matching one for Kate. Isn't she a stylish little lady?

Memorial Weekend 2009 Photos

2009-05-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

I never know where these photos are going to end up in the post, so here are some brief descriptions you can attempt to match with the photos. Clicking on a photo will open it in another window. It will be really big.

1. Carlee and the phone
2. Carlee, Kate, & Claire Crowell with Rebecca Crowell, Katherine Sellers and Wendy
3. Kate & Carlee eating lunch
4. Cookie trying to encourage anyone to fall asleep by reading to them. Don't know where Carlee was. It didn't work...no one went to sleep
5. Kate & Gage playing a card game...probably "War"
6. Brent & Jax
7. Wendy & Carolyn
8. Brent, Kelly, Gage, Zane, Kate & Carlee in the water
9. Brent, Kelly, Kate & Carlee at the beach
10. Brent, Kate, Carlee, Gage and 2 UIK's (unidentified kids)
11. Carlee, looking cute and suspiciously innocent
12. Dee, trying to keep Jax from flinging his head against her shoulder

A Day at the Bay

2009-05-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

Carolyn, Brent, Kate, Carlee and Jax arrived at the bay on Saturday. They only intended to stay for the day, which they did.

As soon as they arrived, they got the girls in swimsuits and sunscreen and Brent, the girls, and I headed to the beach in front of Janie & Billy's house to join the group of adults and children who were already there. Carolyn stayed at the house with Jax.

The water was nice all weekend, like glass at times. So, the little ones were able to play in it without us worrying that a ginormous (to little people) wave would knock them over. They played in the "sand" and in the water for quite a while, until hunger got the best of them and we all trailed back to the house for chopped beef sandwiches.

Carlee found the telephone which was conveniently located low on the wall. It was almost perfectly placed, except for that danged table which made it hard for her to hang up after her "conversations". Wayne hadn't arrived yet, so he was the person she would "call." "Hello, Pop!" she would start out and then go on to have quite a conversation with him. Her best call was one I didn't get on video. In that one, she would pause as if listening to Pop and then she sometimes said, "Oh" apparently in answer to what he said to her.

They left after eating pizza with us that evening. None of the kids had napped, except for Jax. Kate and Carlee have a nap every day, but they were way too keyed up to nap on Saturday. They expected them to crash as soon as they left the bayhouse. Carolyn texted me when they were almost home. She said Kate was asleep before they were 2 miles away. Carlee, on the other hand, had finished watching "Mary Poppins" and had watched half of "Annie" and was singing something about Sandy.

Carlee is 2 years old!

2009-05-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Carlee celebrated her 2nd birthday on Sunday. Family and friends gathered at her house and had fun watching her be a typical birthday honoree. She didn't want to cooperate when it was time to blow out the candles, but she settled down when she got her slice of birthday cake.

Brent bought a "Big Cupcake" cake pan at Williams-Sonoma, so Carolyn did the baking and decorating of Carlee's cake. It was really cute. Luckily, Carolyn believed what people had written about using the pan and was prepared to use 2 cake mixes. The pan doesn't look like it could possibly hold that much, but she only had enough batter left to make 5 small cupcakes.

Carlee got a see-saw, a slip & slide, and other water toys. She also got books and coloring materials and other fun things that I can't remember. I was in charge of Carolyn's video camera until it ran out of tape, then I took a short video of my own. Every time Carlee opened a gift, she would say, "Ohhh!" She definitely enjoyed it.

She gave hugs to everyone, several times over. All in all...a very happy little girl!

Photo ops

2009-05-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Virgie and Bo were on their way to the bay and stopped by to meet Jax a few days ago. So, here's a photo of that meeting, along with a few other pictures.

It's sliding time again!

2009-05-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and Brent set up the waterslide for the first time this year. The kids loved it and had a great time racing up to the top and sliding down. Gage and Kate were the fastest, of course, and slid down together much of the time. Zane took his time climbing up, and slid down more quietly. Carlee is too little to climb up, so Brent had to lift her as far as he could reach. From there she scrambled the rest of the way. She loved sliding down, too, and probably wore Brent out from all the lifting he had to do.

They had water guns and we heard ourselves saying something we never thought we would say, "No sliding with guns!"

Kate, Carlee, and Jax

2009-05-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos taken recently of Kate, Carlee, and Jax. Oh, and me. How unusual!

Pajama party

2009-05-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

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Robin came over to help me with Kate and Carlee while Carolyn, Brent, and Jax were getting to know each other last week. She brought a big pile of pajamas for Kate and Carlee to wear while we shot photos. Some of them might end up in the I-C catalog.

Robin took one photo with her camera and then realized the card was full. So, a lot of the photos were taken with my iphone. Taking photos of those two is like taking photos of hummingbirds...you have to be ready and take the shot whether they look perfect or not. Chances are they will move during the fraction of a second it takes to push the button, so they'll look different, anyway.

Robin said to tell the dinner group that there are lots of new things in the Tom and Jerry shop at I-C. I stopped by there briefly yesterday to drop something off for Robin, and could see lots of pretty things, but didn't have time to shop.

Kate and Carlee had 7 or 8 sets of clothes that they put on, but I guess I only took photos of the 2 sets here. Don't know where all the rest are...Robin must have made some room on her card. It was frantic and we were all exhausted when we were done.

First meeting of the siblings

2009-05-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Kate and Carlee met their brother for the first time in this video. As you can see (and hear) they were very excited to have him (and Mommy & Daddy) home.

Expressions

2009-05-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

You have to really like to look at babies to watch this video. Jax was sleeping, but his expressions kept changing in the short time I shot this. He went from contented to agitated to a "smile" and back to contented.

Jax Wade makes his appearance

2009-04-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

Brent and Carolyn have welcomed a baby boy, Jax Wade, to their family! He was born on April 29, after a brief labor and delivery, weighing in at 6 lbs. 10.8 oz.

As requested, Brent emailed me a photo very soon after the birth. He also called...my cell phone, Robin's cell phone and the house phone, without getting an answer at any of them. That's because Robin and I were dealing with giving two rambunctious little girls a bath and we couldn't hear anything but squeals and giggles.

Carolyn had been busy all day. I drove her to Sugarland for a scheduled massage and then Brent drove from the Medical Center to pick her up and take her to her appointment with her OB. The doctor wasn't ready to admit her to the hospital at that point, but told her to come back in an hour or so and he would check her again. She texted me a little before 5 PM that they were heading to the hospital. Brent called me at about 7:10 PM, to let me know that Carolyn was about to get her epidural and Jax was born about 35 minutes later.

When I finally retrieved the photo and showed it to Kate and told her it was her brother, she stared at it quietly for a long time...well, 15 or 20 seconds, which is a long time for Kate to look at anything quietly...and then said, "He's out now?"

When I showed the photo to Carlee, she just grinned and said "Carlee!" I kept telling her it wasn't Carlee, it was baby Jax and she eventually accepted that. I printed the photo for Kate to take to her Pre-K 3 class. She seemed to feel pretty important to have a photo of her new baby brother.

They bought a new car yesterday, or maybe it was today...one that will accommodate 3 car seats. So, Brent is coming home tonight. He'll be at home with the girls and take them to daycare in the morning, then I'll ride into Houston with him where I'll pick up the other car and drive it home. Brent will bring Carolyn and Jax home tomorrow afternoon.

I guess Kate will be okay this time. When they brought Carlee home, it took Kate a few days to get over the fact that Carlee was not only going to stay there, but her mommy and daddy would hold her sometimes. When I was there, she kept trying to get me to hold the baby instead of them. Carlee will probably be fine since she's always had a sibling around.

Carlee tells us all about it!

2009-02-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Brent took Kate to a birthday party this morning. Carlee saw them getting ready to leave so she hurried, struggling to get shoes on, only to learn that she wasn't going. To make it up to her, Carolyn told her they would come see Cookie.

There were a number of photo ops, but I never had the camera ready and she wouldn't repeat them. I asked her about her friends at school and she started telling me all sorts of things, gesturing to her arm and her head, talking up a storm. Of course, I didn't have the camera on and commented to Carolyn that if I reached for it Carlee would stop what she was doing. She turned to Carolyn about that time and continued the conversation and I grabbed the camera and started shooting the video.

Part way through Carlee's speech, Carolyn realized that she had switched from talking about her friends to telling us about "the wheels on the bus" and "the babies on the bus." Enjoy!

Girls and boys

2009-02-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

Kate was on the little John Deere, the boys were "roping" and Carlee was trying to fasten a bike helmet. Just a regular Sunday afternoon.

Brent and the girls had come over and picked up Kelly and the boys and they went down to the neighbors to look at the cows. Just a little outing.

Happy Valentines

2009-02-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

These little valentines were happy to see me, especially when they realized that I was bringing goodies for them. Not much, really. But, it doesn't take much to make them happy.

As you can see, it's almost impossible to get them to stand still long enough for a good photo. This is how it went:
1. They both look at me smiling
2. I back up a step to get them both in the frame
3. Carlee takes a step forward and then gets distracted
4. Repeat steps 1-3
5. Carlee takes a step forward as Kate gets distracted
6. Repeat all steps, as many times as you want. The outcome is unlikely to change.

Mule Train!

2009-01-19T09:59:00.001-08:00

Taking the trash to the dumpster is fun now that they have a Mule. Carlee didn't want to ride in it at first. Wendy said they could hear her screams next door. She settled down by the time they got to the road.

Making music

2008-12-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

Musical instruments were much enjoyed by Kate and Carlee as shown here. Pop demonstrated the proper position for Carlee, who didn't quite know how to hold her little guitar.

Kate looks like a rock star and sings into the mike like she's been doing it for years!

New little Bubela on the way!

2008-12-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

Carolyn and Brent will be welcoming a new baby next May. They just found out this week that it's a boy. They plan to name him Jax Wade. He is due on Carlee's 2nd birthday, May 17. Carolyn has been a week or 10 days early with the girls, so she is expecting the same deal this time. She doesn't like anything to mess up our yearly trip to Schlitterbahn the Sunday before Father's Day. Of course, we are all very excited to have a new baby coming!

Models

2008-12-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Robin tried to get photos of the kids in red plaid p.j.'s, etc. for the New ICM catalog that they send to retailers. Robin took pictures with her camera and Wendy and I took pictures with mine. What a zoo! The kids acted like they had been on candy and soda pop all morning. Trying to make them stand still, smile and look at the camera was a fiasco. The best plan was just to let them be, shoot lots of pictures and hope we got something good. The odds that they would all be still at the same time were very small, but we went at it anyway.

The gown sent for Carlee was much too small, but we put it on her anyway. The gown that went with Kate's robe was left at the store. It was rare to get a shot in focus. My camera just takes too long after focusing. Here are some of the shots:

Expansions

2008-09-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Carolyn is expanding her chiropractic offices. They have taken some space from their very large garage. There's still ample room to park both of their cars in the garage as well as all the riding toys, tools, lawnmowers, etc. So, they have made two smaller rooms in which Carolyn can do therapy or acupuncture while still having a client in the main adjusting room. After starting therapy or acupuncture, the client sits or lies quietly for up to about 30 minutes. She has a growing clientele. One of her (very satisfied) patients has passed out about 150 business cards!

Brent recently expanded the playset by building a sandbox for the girls in the playset area. I've included a few photos taken there a few days ago while they played outside.

I got the cold shoulder

2008-09-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

After picking up her kids from school, Carolyn stopped by my house to pick up the dressing I had baked for her. (See the Free Form blog if you really want the long version.) She left the kids buckled in the car, car running and hurried in the house to get the food. It couldn't have taken more than a minute or so, but when we got back to the car we could tell that Kate was very upset. She probably thought that she was going to get out at Cookie's house and play for awhile and she didn't like it a bit that it didn't happen. She wouldn't even look at me. I kept talking to her and trying to get her to settle down (no crying, just no other response, either) but she kept hear head turned the other way. Finally, after several minutes, she reluctantly smiled briefly. Then more ignoring, then another smile. She can be tough when she wants to. At last, a hug, and then they were on their way.

Labor Day Weekend at Port Alto

2008-09-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

Labor Day is another one of the big 3 holidays at the bay...Memorial Day Weekend, 4th of July Weekend, and Labor Day Weekend. After Labor Day you don't usually see many of us there for the weekend, so this is the last hurrah. Wendy, Kelly & the boys weren't able to come to the bay for the holiday weekend. They had a long list of things they needed to take care of at home.

I went by Carolyn's house on Thursday and picked up the waterslide and the baby gates. On Friday I packed everything else I was taking from home and headed to El Campo to buy groceries. We had meals planned and I made an Excel spreadsheet with the menus and the supplies needed...sorted by categories, of course! So, it didn't take long to boogie through the store and be on my way. Thanks to Chris for installing the thermostat that is connected by phone line. I had called the thermostat earlier in the morning to turn the system on and the house was cooled to about 75 degrees by the time I got there. In and out numerous times to unload the car and the temperature had risen a bit, but, omigosh, it's so much better than the days when we would arrive in a house that was 90+ degrees. It would take it 8 or more hours to cool down.

I just had time to unload everything and eat my lunch when Carolyn and the girls arrived. Brent wasn't too far behind them. He had been in Corpus Christi and came from there. We put Carlee and some toys inside the baby gates. She immediately started fussing...so, we popped the Barney DVD in the player and she was happy.

The mosquitos were pretty bad. Kate is very sensitive to their bites as you can tell by one of the photos. A mosquito bit her just under her eye. It didn't look so bad at first, but the next morning it was very swollen and almost looked like a black eye.

On Saturday morning Carlee and Kate both enjoyed being down in the sand and water in front of the Rioux house. In fact, we just didn't even bother getting the waterslide out of the car. Carlee had sand everywhere, so I eventually took her back to the house and Brent bathed her in the kitchen sink. She had her lunch and watched Barney and played until naptime.

When Carolyn and Kate got to the house, Kate had a shower and then lunch. Then she and Brent headed to the bed for a story and a nap. Carolyn called me to go look at them. The were both asleep...Kate holding on to one book and Brent, looking like he fell asleep as he was turning the page. You can see the photo somewhere in this post. By the way, clicking on a photo in a post will enlarge it.

Carlee was being kind of a toot...cutting back teeth...so, Brent decided he would take her home after her nap on Saturday afternoon. He had things he needed to do (they are expanding Carolyn's offices) and he needed to get a better night's sleep. Kate had coughed all night on Friday night...allergies. She coughed all night Saturday night, too. In fact, I think she coughed more Saturday night. By then, Wayne was at the bay, too. He got there in time for tacos on Saturday and left after breakfast on Sunday.

We took down the baby gates, slathered sun screen on and went to the beach again for some floating with Virgie. Janie was there as well as Hannah and Scott. They had pictures with them, but I never went in to see them. I hope they'll bring them again.

At this point, while I'm typing, I know all these things happened...I'm just not sure when. I know milk punch was poured and we had a good time. This much I know!

"In them old cotton fields back home"

2008-08-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Wayne suggested that Wendy and Carolyn take their kids to the cotton fields for some photos. Wendy didn't get around to it, but Carolyn and Brent got the little girls all dressed up in matching outfits and took some cute pictures. Wayne was anxious for me to get them printed so he could take one to the gin for their bulletin board. When I picked them up and showed them to him, he complained that they hadn't done them the way he wanted. I asked him to explain and he said he wanted them to get way back so it just looked like a field of white. I said, "Oh, so you wanted a picture of the cotton, but it was okay to have the kids in it, too." He backtracked a little...but, I think that's exactly what he meant. The cotton did look really good this year. He got most of it picked before the rains set in. It's been raining just about every day for the last 10 days or so.

Carlee walks!

2008-08-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

Carlee took a few steps when I was sitting for them a few days ago. Since then, she has done a little more walking. Today, she was really going to town. Walking back and forth from Carolyn to me. At this point, crawling is still the mode of choice, but with enough applause and encouragement, she'll walk. She will be 15 months old on August 17. She liked wearing the little pink shoes that came with an outfit of Kate's.

Cookie babysits

2008-08-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and Brent went to the bay for a couple's weekend with friends. So, I was roped into babysitting. I whined and moaned for a couple of weeks, but it didn't do much good. At least they waited until they got the girls to sleep on Friday night before they left. That was about 9 PM.

I ate my sandwich and watched some TV. Although I usually stay up till at least 1 AM, I decided I'd better get to sleep since I would be on my own for the next day and a half. So, I turned off the TV at about 12:15. Roughly two minutes later, I heard the pitter pat of Kate's little feet running for her door upstairs. I hurried up to her room to get her back to bed. She asked for her daddy and then for her mommy. I told her that Cookie was there to take care of her and she raised her arms and let me pick her up. We sat in the chair in her room for awhile and then I put her back in her bed. She rolled over and went right to sleep. It was 12:24 when I got back downstairs.

When I got back in bed, I realized that I didn't have my "wrist" pillow (it's a ridiculous thing, made even more ridiculous if I tell you it's my left wrist pillow) and I spent a few minutes pulling back covers, etc., looking for it. Finally, I realized that I left it in the closet when I unpacked my body pillow, arm pillow and head pillow (I know, I know.) I retrieved it and settled back in the bed. About one minute later, I heard Kate's feet hit the floor again. So, back I go upstairs. This time she wasn't satisfied that I was there. She wanted Daddy or Mommy. She locked her elbows over the gate across the door and I couldn't move her. Eventually, I went to sit in the chair, thinking that she would come to me when she was ready. After 5 minutes or so, I went to her, again, and tried to pick her up. The elbows had a death grip on the gate and she wouldn't budge. She never said anything, either. I can't imagine what was going through her mind. So, once more, I went to the chair to wait for her to come to me. I have no idea how long I waited, it could have been 15 minutes, before I went to her again. She hadn't moved an inch! But, this time when I asked her if she wanted to sit in the chair with me, she turned and raised her arms. It probably took another 20 minutes for her to relax and go to sleep. When I got back to bed, it was 1:39. About an hour later, she woke up again, but came right to me and fell asleep quickly. That was the last wake-up call of the night.

The next time I heard from her was at about 6:45 on Saturday morning. She pushed down the gate, which made a great deal of racket. She came downstairs with me where we watched TV until about 7:30. Carlee was up before 8. They had breakfast and then we all adjourned to the master bedroom for the beginning of a Barney marathon that continued (except for naps and bedtime) until Carolyn and Brent got back on Sunday.

Luckily for me, eating still takes up a lot of time during the day...two snacks and three meals. Kate will eat just about anything, but Carlee has been a bit fussy in the last couple of months. Carolyn told me that it aggravates Carlee when people mess with her food...so anything that needs to be done to it (slicing, dicing, whatever) should be done out of sight, before her plate is given to her. I was careful to follow that advice and had no problems with her until I gave her some pears. She doesn't care much for apples and the pear slices look like apple slices. At almost the same instant that the bowl was placed in front of her, she swept it off the table, with great force. She got other fruits after that. Kate was pretty good about staying in her chair and eating. She even mentioned it to me a couple of times, just in case I hadn't noticed her good behavior.

After snack, we put Carlee in the stroller and walked out to get the paper. Kate then put on her helmet and rode her new bike that Nana and Pa gave her for her birthday. Carlee stuck out her hand and got a high five every time Kate rode by her. We stayed outside long enough for Carlee to get cranky and then came in to have lunch. After lunch they got bite size s'mores. Carlee took all her s'mores apart before eating them. Carolyn said that she did that the first time she got them. Instinctive, I guess.

Yay! Nap time for Carlee. She dropped right off to sleep and then Kate worked a puzzle before it was time to head upstairs for her nap. I started reading "The Little Engine That Could" to her. About the time the passenger engine steamed off to the roundhouse, Kate fell asleep. Carlee usually sleeps about 2 hours, but, just for me, she cut it to under 1 1/2 hours.

The afternoon went about the same as the morning...snacks, TV, play, supper. At bath time, I tended to Carlee while Kate bathed herself, including (I realized later) washing her own hair. All I did was pour the water on to rinse it. She was even trying to help me wash Carlee, although I wasn't having any trouble.

After baths, we played and watched TV. I got some video of Kate dancing to the music of Zane's toy. Kind of put me in mind of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld...interesting style. Kate only woke up once, at 11:15, and then stayed in bed for the rest of the night.

Carolyn and Brent got back before the girls were down for their naps on Sunday afternoon. Kate and Carlee couldn't have been any better. Carolyn said that maybe she could talk the other couples into starting the getaway on Thursday evening instead of Friday. They would come home on Saturday afternoon. That way, this poor, old babysitter could have the kids in day care all day Friday and would only have them until about midday on Saturday. Now, that would work a lot better for me.

Kate's 3rd Birthday

2008-07-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Kate's birthday celebration was at her home this year. A clown theme was followed from the cake to the clown who came and did face painting. There were a lot of kids there to help Kate celebrate her 3rd birthday...neighbors and cousins, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles. Also, friends from Sugar Mill Chiropractic were there. It was very exciting for Kate and she had a wonderful time. I think you can tell by the last photo that Kate was totally worn out by the time it was all over.

In the good old summertime

2008-07-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Carlee finally started pulling up. She didn't let go, but she could make her way from place to place by holding on. She also figured out that she could climb.

We went to the bay again in July and Virgie and Bo offered to take us for a boat ride. After putting on the swimsuits and slathering on sunscreen, the usual gathering of snacks, water, diaper bag and towels took place. Then, the adults got ready...more sunscreen, drinks, etc. Bo & Virgie called for us at the pier by the boathouse and we all climbed in and took our places. We had barely gotten out of the channel when Carlee fell asleep. Not too long after that, way before we had gotten across the bay, Kate was asleep. We made a couple of passes in front of the El Campo club, then headed back over to Port Alto. Kate woke up as we entered the channel. Well, I think you can tell we all enjoyed the boat ride, even if some of us snoozed.

Brent's Birthday

2008-07-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

We gathered at the Bubela house to celebrate Brent's birthday...his 33rd...shhhh. Brent and Carolyn set up the slide and we all gathered to sing Happy Birthday and offer good wishes to him. We had a big meal of chicken spaghetti, salad, bread, snacks and birthday cake. Frank and Patsy, the Garners and Wayne and I were there. The Harps came a little later.

The waterslide was up and the kids did their climbing and sliding. Wayne got them to pose at the top so he could take a photo with his phone.

Schlitterbahn 2008

2008-06-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

We stayed in two 3 bedroom duplexes near the office this year. Each one is big enough for a maximum of 12 or 14 or so. I can't find my information in my messy office...gotta look for that folder! Anywhooo...the accommodations worked out great! The Garners stayed in one unit, along with Robin and Chad. The Bubelas stayed in the other one, along with Wayne and I. Everyone got their own bed, if they wanted it. Carlee actually got her own room with 2 queen beds in it. Of course, she was in the pack'n'play. Each unit had a kitchen, living room and 2 bathrooms, so we had a total of 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms for our party of 12. It was great! The units were side by side and shared a patio of sorts in the back complete with picnic tables and 2 grills. Each of them had a screened-in porch leading to the patio. The only complaint was that the Garner unit had sugar ants that made them miserable. The ants got into food before they realized there was a problem. We've got the same units booked for next year; I guess we'll be better prepared to take care of the ants.

We were right across from the resort office, vending and ice machines. It was very handy. Kelly and Gage were on rides most of the time. Unfortunately, I was never in the same area, so I didn't get any photos or videos of them doing that. I was with the smaller kids most of the time and I got lots of photos of them.

Kate went on some of the rides with Carolyn and Robin. She really liked it. They told her to put her hands up when she was going down a slope, so she did. She and Carlee both liked going down the slides in the big pool. If I could find my folder, I'd know the proper name for that pool. It's big, but it's only about 2 to 3 feet deep everywhere in the pool. Found the folder...where it was supposed to be. That pool is called the Tadpool. The duplexes have a maximum of 14, each.

We all like to meet at the large heated pool with the swim-up bar in it. Well, the adults do...the kids probably like a little more action.

We ordered pizzas on Sunday night. Chad grilled hamburgers on Monday night and then we had spaghetti on Tuesday night. We left on Wednesday morning.

Wayne's cousin, Bubby Frazier, picked us up one day and took us to his New Braunfels house. His wife, Mary Ann, lives there with two of their four grandchildren. Bubby goes there every weekend, although he says his weekends might start on Thursday and end on Tuesday. Their house is right across the Comal River from the Rapids area of the Schlitterbahn Resort. We usually stay in the Bahn (the old, original) area.

Memorial Day Weekend 2008

2008-05-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

We all gathered at Port Alto for Memorial Day Weekend. Carolyn and Brent bought a huge waterslide and everyone sure had a good time on it. It's strong enough to support 400 lbs. at the top, but it still made us nervous when the little ones would congregate up there. It wasn't that we were worried about their weight, but they would jump around and lean against the openings and peer over the side to the (very shallow) pool 8 or 10 feet below. There is a mesh fabric over the openings at the top, but who knows when it might decide to give way. We need to remember to inspect that every time it's going to be inflated. Once we figured out how to arrange it on the ground, we started trying to hammer the pegs that anchor it into the hard ground. That was quite a job. Then you have to thread the plastic tubing all around and up to provide the water to keep the slides (there's a smaller slide below the area that you climb on) wet and slippery. There are also water cannons to spray and torment whoever isn't operating a cannon. The pool is about a foot or so deep. The first time or two we inflated it we let the pool fill up, but then realized that Carlee could play more easily if we disconnected the cannons and let those tubes just water the grass. The kids played for hours each time we set it up. We're much quicker at setting it up now.

Tito, Brian and Tatum stopped by. We hadn't seen them for quite a while so it was nice to visit with them. Tatum really had a good time playing with all her little cousins.

Wayne came out in his muscle shirt that I got for him when I was in Hondo a year or two ago. Those shirts are really a hoot! From a distance they are pretty convicing.

Carlee's 1st Birthday

2008-05-18T16:39:00.000-07:00

Carlee had a really good time on her birthday. She loved her cake, made by her mom and Cookie. She enjoyed the cards and gifts. All in all, she had a super fun birthday!

Carlee

2008-05-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Carlee usually got a response when she did her "fake" laugh, so in this video you can see that she kept trying to make me laugh back at her. I wasn't trying to ignore her, just trying to be quiet. I've noticed that I do a lot of chuckling when I'm videoing the grands.

At this point in her young life, Carlee is less than two weeks away from her 1st birthday. She still does a "wounded soldier" crawl, although she occasionally gets on hands and knees. She refuses to pull up by herself or even remain standing if we stand her next to a chair. It's just not something she's ready to try. She still has those fabulous abs from pulling her legs into a sitting position when we try to get her to stand!

2008-03-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

Brent and Frank built a play set for the kids. It's really nice with a big spiraling tunnel slide and three ways to climb up. Kate's little picnic table is underneath it. Brent also built a swing and some benches.

Carlee, working hard

2008-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Carlee was working so hard in this video. I think her clothes might have been holding her back, creating drag against the carpet. She was nine months old at this time. She seems to be fussing, but she really wasn't. I think she was doing the type of yelling that people do while executing karate moves.

January 1, 2008

2008-01-31T13:15:00.000-08:00

I sure like having special occasions at Carolyn and Brent's house. Maybe one of these days I'll get mine de-cluttered...maybe not.

We had New Year's Dinner at the Bubela's. Wendy, Kelly, Gage and Zane were there as well as Robin and Chad and Wayne and I.

A few days later we went to Mr. Gatti's for Gage's 5th birthday party. He had lots of little boys and a few little girls there to help him celebrate. They had lots of fun playing the games there.

December 2007 was a busy month

2007-12-15T12:31:00.000-08:00

Some of the activities going on in December included the annual Wendel/Rioux Family Christmas. This year it was hosted by the Chris Wendel family and was held at the Freeman Ranch. It was a lot of fun for all the kiddos. The adults enjoyed it, too.

Casen's 3rd birthday party was in December. It was in Chris and Mary Jane's backyard. They had the ferris wheel to ride and a pinata to hit at.

Carlee is getting bigger all the time. She's a happy girl!

Carlee's Baptism

2007-11-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

We all met at St. Philip Catholic Church in El Campo for Carlee's baptism. Carlee looked so pretty in her special dress. Aunt Wendy, Aunt Robin and Uncle Bert were Carlee's godparents. Father Gary performed the ceremony. Kate was very good, enjoying snacks during the service. Gage and Zane were very good, also, as was baby Paige.

After the baptism, we all went back to the Bubela home for a nice meal.

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

We had Thanksgiving at the Bubela house this year. There was much more room for cooking and more room for the little kids to play.

Kate put her warm cap on and went outside to ride her bike before everyone got to her house.
We all had a great time. Brent had made big "rounds" to put on top of card tables for dining. It was there first big party in their new home down the road from us.

2007-10-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

On Halloween, Gage (Red Power Ranger) and Zane (Robin Hood) were at the house digging in to the treats when Kate arrived and knocked on the door. At this point in her young life, Kate didn't have much to say. She would talk, but not necessarily when the camera was pointed at her.

2007-10-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Carlee is growing fast and is such a good baby. She's happy wherever she is...if she's put on her back, she's happy on her back. Little did we know that this would be her philosophy for most of her first 15 months...she was content and practiced new skills for a looong time! Unlike most babies, she did not try to straighten her legs and stand up. In fact, if you tried to make her stand, she would pull her legs up as if she were sitting and could keep them there longer than I could hold her. She must have fabulous abs!

Dancing Girl

2007-10-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Kate was busy riding her bike while we watched. When she rode it under the speaker, she heard the music and suddenly stood up and danced until the music ended. At one point, she gestures out to the yard and shouts, "Daddy!," then continues dancing until the end of the song.

I've adjusted the posting dates on these posts from 2007 so that they fall in the right place in the blog.

The Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

We took all the little ones to the Pumpkin Patch in October of 2007. They all (except for Carlee) ran around looking for just the perfect pumpkins to take home and decorate. That is, except when they were being posed for photos. I took about 40 photos. They were very patient about the photos.

Kate's 2nd Birthday

2007-08-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Kate got a pretty, pink "cell phone" from Aunt Robin for her 2nd birthday. She really didn't want anyone else to play with it. In the video, since she was having a bit of trouble working one-handed, I suggested that she put the phone down while she opened the gifts. She did put the phone down, but then decided to put it in a safer place...which you'll see in the video.