What's Been Going On Around Here....

Hello, my bloggy friends!!! This past week has been fun and laid-back. Weiss and I have spent more time around the house, which has been nice because he will begin preschool at FBC very shortly. (He'll be attending Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings....I'll pick him up after they serve him lunch...) This is really a bittersweet moment for me because I feel he is growing up and we are already cutting one of the "strings" that attaches him to our "nest." Friends will become more important to him, he'll be forming opinions and bringing back things that are not of this household, and you name it.... (Thankfully, there are some great Christian families we know that attend his school and strong Christian teachers and administrators, praise the Lord!)

Because school is starting, Weiss had to go to the dr.'s office for a wellness check. And I LOVE Dr. Madrigal, our doc. (When I was in San Antonio, I started driving Weiss all the way out here to see her.) She is a Christian, very high energy, and she practices what she preaches (extremely fit and healthy doc--love that). She spends lots of time with each patient, thinks outside of the box (she doesn't try to shove prescription drugs first thing down your child's throat), and lets you call her home or cell if you need her anytime. (What doc nowadays does THAT?!?!?!) Anyway, so we have found a real gem for our entire family.... (She is board certified in pediatrics and internal medicine, but she also does family practice....)

Because she hasn't seen Weiss since December, she was very impressed with his sentence structure, counting skills, and him saying his ABCs. I had brought his little DVD player with Sesame Street playing, and although she is not a TV advocate by any means, she began talking about how great Sesame Street is for development and how it can help Weiss get ahead. (I told her he was OBSESSED with Sesame Street....) She said at this pace, she had no doubt that he would probably begin reading in his fourth year after several questions she asked me. (I'm not going to take that to the bank, but we will continue to work on all of the above....However, it made me proud of him!) Weiss is tall right now for his age and right smack in the middle for weight, and Dr. Madrigal thinks he looks older than he is. She told me to make sure others understand his maturity level and age and don't expect him to act like an older child.

She also told me to always, ALWAYS keep him in a five-point childseat for as long as possible, regardless of what companies advertise for older kiddos. (Her personal childseat recommendation was the "Britax" brand.) She said avoid boosters AT ALL COSTS, even if it means Weiss doesn't look "cool..." We will certainly heed her advice for as long as we can... I believe our particular seat holds up to 65 lbs., so Weiss will be stuck there for awhile.... Dr. Madrigal gave him a clean bill of health and signed off on his FBC preschool sheet!

Last Thurday, we FINALLY got to meet Mr. Brooks Matthew Homeyer, the newly-hatched son of our great friends, Matt and Kelley. He is soooo cute and is a teeny little man! He's got a crop of blonde hair, and he's just precious! We took them dinner and Weiss came along... Weiss was VERY wired at their house....(Sorry about the free entertainment, Homeyers!!! And thanks for letting us crash your peaceful atmosphere.... We'll be back--whenever ya'll are ready!!!) I was SUPER frazzled with him because, well, Thursday had been a fiasco most of the day... I woke up and Weiss pooped his pants and tried to "clean" them up when I was in the shower..... (Just imagine....) There was poo all over his bathroom toilet and floor.... on the rug, and all over him! So he had ANOTHER bath, and I had ANOTHER shower... We went to volunteer at respite care at Fellowship Baptist, and Weiss was great---until it was time to leave. MAJOR screaming meltdown. Matt was so nice to bring this neat little train Weiss was nuts over home that night when we came over to see them. (Thanks, Matt!) We went on to HEB to get dinner for the evening and Weiss said, "Don't wanna go to HEB" when we got in the parking lot...

(HEB has marketed well.....he knows HEB logos, HEBuddy, et cetera, et cetera...) As a side note, we were going down an aisle to get Logan some more hair gel. The adult "underpants"--ahem--Depends--and the like, were across the aisle from us as we stopped to search for the particular type of gel. Weiss saw the HEB brand and exclaimed loudly: "HEB PANTS!! YEAH!! (I laughed so hard....) He loves to get Buddy Bucks after we check out and put them in the little claw machine. He cheers when he gets a Buddy Buck and doesn't keep the points.... He just loves the stickers because they are, well, stickers! He'll exclaim: "Number 2! YEAH!!!" And then he'll jump up and down.... It really is cute to see... (Parents, I'm sure you know what I mean with the Buddy Bucks.... And thank you, HEB, for making my toddler's day a bit brighter.... Can I get some free groceries for saying that??)

This weekend, my parents came down for a visit. We really didn't get out and do a whole bunch, but we ate at Real New Orleans Cajun Restaurant on Friday night, which is NOW IN TOWN!!!!!! Yippee!!!! It was great (as always) and I can't wait to order out etoufee and gumbo when it's cold outside.... And their bread pudding is some of the BEST on this planet.... (Now there are three locations: the old Round Mountain location on 281, Marble Falls, and Burnet.) And not only is the food great, but it benefits the "Smoking for Jesus" ministry, located in Kingsland. (Yes, you read that correctly.) They are an incredible group of godly people who moved together from New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit, and they have all made their home in here in the Highland Lake area. So come on out, support their ministry, and eat some REAL Cajun food from authentic Cajuns!!!

Saturday, we didn't do much but get some stuff accomplished around the casa. Even though Lakefest (boatraces) were going on, I wasn't excited about going because it was soooo hot, soooo loud, and soooo crowded....Dad, Logan and I assembled our new coffee table, which Logan was skeptical about me ordering, but now I think he likes it. (I basically watched... The dudes had to put their muscles behind it at times....) Mom and Dad played with Weiss, Logan washed his car, and I did some laundry. We ordered out Thai food from Ginger and Spice on Saturday night, and we all got the Pad Woon Sen (my fave, Logan's fave, Weiss's fave). We also got some Tom Kha soup, which I want to attempt to make (coconut cream base, lime leaves, cilantro, mushrooms, chicken...YUMMO.....) Everyone enjoyed it. Mom and Dad kept Mr. Pookie while Logan and I went to see "A Perfect Getaway." It wasn't too bad, but wasn't great. It was just nice to get out of the house for a bit and have a little "date...." Thanks for the babysitting, guys!

We all went to church Sunday morning, while Logan and I stayed for Sunday School and Mom and Dad took Mr. Weiss home to play before they had to leave. We came home, I threw together some lunch, and Mom and Dad had to go back to West Texas. Weiss took a nap with Logan while I worked a bit on organizing our closet. I want to install some shelves so we have some room to keep our suitcases off the ground...

I am enjoying these last two weeks with Weiss before he goes to school and I am gone to Lynchburg, VA, for two weeks for school. (I have to do a total of four weeks on the Liberty campus--4 classes, one week apiece. However, I figured I would cram two together to save on airfare and just to get 6 hours out of the way.... It will be hard to be away for the moment from my family, but so great to have knocked out. I am quickly approaching the finish date for my degree, but have many, many, MANY hours left for internships!!! Thank goodness I have five more years before I must have my completion!!!) Logan is coming to visit the weekend in between classes, and we plan to see the local Civil War sights that are around in beautiful Virginia. Anyway, more on that later....