The Coast has been Conquered!

This weekend Adam raced in a bike race called Conquer the Coast. Below is a map of his ride. It was 65 miles around the bay of Corpus Christi. If anyone has ever come to visit you would know first hand how extremely hard this would be. It is no fun to drive much less ride on a bike. The race began at 7:30am, Adam was joined with some friends to make "Team Astania 2". This is the same crew that raced in the triathlon a month or so ago. These boys have so much fun! Lucy and I enjoyed being at the finish line cheering Adam on! Connor, Michael, Lucy and Adam - hanging with Dad after the big race
Adam and one of his biggest fans - Lucy!

We caught a glimpe of Adam in the middle of his grueling ride

Team Astania 2 - Adam, Michael, Gil, Bryan and RayAdam stopped to greet his fans (Lucy and I)

Lucy did such a great job at dance class this Saturday. Since Adam was busy on his bike ride Lucy and I had class together. She was so great. Each week it seems she follows directions even closer and is getting more and more out of class.

Stretch my arms way up high!

Following Directions in Tippi Toes
The thank you note Lucy got from her cousin that she is in love with!

Earmuffs Lucy!

Adam taught Lucy how to do earmuffs...from the movie Old School. I am sure many of you know exactly what I am talking about if your husband is anything like mine and loves that movie. It is so amazing how quickly children pick up on things at this age. This is Lucy's new favorite trick - we have got to say, we are pretty proud!

A Boomer Sooner Weekend!

This past weekend Adam, Lucy and I went to Tulsa to visit my mom and dad. We were lucky enough to have Gannon and Jennie come to Tulsa too from St. Louis. We got into Tulsa on Friday afternoon and got to spend some time with my mom and dad. My parents took Lucy to a outdoor concert in our neighborhood with all of their friends. It didn't take her long to start dancing to the band and entertaining the people surrounding her. Adam and I drove to Oklahoma City to spend the night with Katie, Erik, and Molly Mentzel. It was so much fun to get some one on one time with their daughter - who was perfect. Adam and I enjoyed holding her and thinking back to Lucy being that small, it is so amazing how quickly they grow. It made us so excited for our baby #2 to join our family. On Saturday morning Erik, Adam and I drove to Norman for the Oklahoma/Tulsa game. We were so excited to be in Norman. There is nothing like a college campus on game day...especially OU. We got into town around 11:00 and met Chanda and Matt Jackson at Campus corner. Chanda and I shopped in all the cute little shops while the boys spent time haggling people for tickets and enjoying some game day excitement. We had great seats - 50 yard line about 50 rows up! The weather was beautiful and the game even better. The Sooners won and we were all so excited! We have decided we will make this a tradition to do every year! My sister took lots of pictures of Gannon and Lucy on game day once I get those I will make sure I do a Lucy post - I know that is the real reason you read this blog.

I love...

My two favorite people at a pit stop on our road trip! I forgot my camera and about died - this was from Adam's phone the best pic we could get. I LOVE...

A night out with Adam

A Road Trip

Snuggling in a hotel with Lucy and Adam

A Brad Paisley/Dierks Bently Concert

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory

A Sooner Win

Going to Church

Family Time

That is exactly what I got this weekend. Adam and I celebrated our anniversary in July but his gift to me was to take me to the Brad Paisley concert. We drove to Houston and had a darling little babysitter stay at the hotel with Lucy. She was asleep at 6:15 which I could not get over but that made our night even better. I wasn't worried about her at all. Adam and I grabbed dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We split a lemon herb chicken dinner which was amazing. We strolled to the concert which was outdoors at the Woodlands and we could not have ordered better weather. Brad and Dierks were amazing - we sang every word to every song at the top of our lungs. At times in the night I felt like Adam and I were on a first date - I loved every minute of it. We got home and early the next morning Lucy peeked her head over at us from her pack and play and climbed into our bed - it was great! We headed back to Corpus just in time to watch the Sooners win! This is what I am talking about...now that baseball is over our weekends are filled with FAMILY TIME! I love it more than anything. This Friday we are flying to Oklahoma to watch the Sooners play Tulsa in action. It has been a long time since we have been to a game at the stadium. We are meeting up with some of our favorite people, the Mentzel's and the Jackson's! We are staying with Erik, Katie & Molly Friday night, and then hitting the game on Saturday with Chanda and Matt. We are going to walk the campus and enjoy the smell of football in the air! It will be so much fun I can hardly wait!

Last Hooks Game as a family of 3!

Adam wrapped up his 5th season with the Hooks on Monday. What a great season it has been. There was a total of like 72ish games that Adam had to work. He loves his job so much and we are thankful for that. It is so nice that although he works many hours we can go visit him anytime we want. I must say though we miss him a lot during the season with the long hours he puts in. It is always great when the season is over for him to relax and for us to maximize on family time. I know when April rolls around we will be excited to make lots of visits to the ball park. As Adam and I were walking around the stadium with Lucy we were talking about how different it will be next year a 1 year old and a 4 month old! It will be so much fun! I am so proud of Adam and all his hard work! Way to go babe!

Santa Sighting

I am especially excited for Christmas this year because we will go from a family of 3 to a family of 4 (December 18 is our due date)! Anyway, Lucy has a Christmas book all about Santa that she really likes, although it is not Christmas time we read it anyway about once a week. Every time we see Santa I point to him and say "Ho Ho Ho" she repeats it and we do this over and over. So she is getting that this man with a big white beard is Santa or Ho Ho Ho. Yesterday, we went to Hobby Lobby so I could pick up a few things (FYI...grandparents day is next weekend). We went down the isles that had the ornaments and we stopped in front of the Santa's and looked at almost all and we both said "Ho, Ho, Ho" We were on that isle for about 10 minutes. Then I went over to another section of the store where...well we saw Santa. There was a man, not in his red suite as many would think (but it is rather hot in Texas right now) but rather in a green shirt, a funny looking hat and you guessed it long white hair and an even longer white beard. Lucy looked at me, with her mouth wide open pointing to this man. I smiled at the man as we passed him and then whispered "Ho, ho, ho" in Lucy's ear. WOW - I was not thinking... she repeated me out loud while pointing to this man. He turned around, chuckled and said "yes, many people think I live year round at the north pole, but often times I reside right here in Corpus Christi Texas". He was so proud and Lucy was in awe. We ended up being on the same isle with him over and over. He was telling me how he was busy working on a Christmas project, I started to wonder - was he the real deal? As we checked out, he told Lucy to be a good little girl and he would see her in a couple of months. It made both Lucy and my day! As if I wasn't already looking forward to Christmas, getting to meet Santa a few months early in Hobby Lobby was a real treat! This is a story I will always cherish.

A Busy Week!

This past week has been one of the busiest I have had in a while. It was the first week of Tippi Toes which is so exciting but with working in naps for Lucy, being pregnant and Adam having his last week of the baseball season - we were all wiped out! Daisy came in town to help us with Lucy so we could get the work we needed done. It was so helpful to have her here. She came in town on Tuesday around lunch and we literally did a quick exchange of Lucy, as she walked in the door I ran out. She and Lucy spent the days playing together, taking walking with Wrigley and just having Grandma/Lucy fun. She was able to stay with us Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! It was so helpful I only missed 3 of our 27 classes all week, so I felt really good in being able to answer parent questions, being at the schools and making sure all my teachers felt comfortable. I am always out and about throughout the days but with Lucy I always make sure to get home so she can have 2 naps and some playtime at home. This means when we do go into town we aren't able to stay out all day. Thank you so much Daisy!!! Since I was gone the whole time I wasn't able to take any pictures this time but I thought I would add this one of them for fun!

First Day of Dance Class!

Yesterday was our first day back for Tippi Toes! It is always so exciting for everyone. The children come all dressed up in new outfits, tutus, bows and ribbons. The moms are just as excited as the children. Today marks my 11 years in business owning Tippi Toes - yeah! I have always seen the smiles on parents faces while watching their children dance, and I totally thought I understood, until yesterday. I got to experience the joy of waking Lucy up, getting her in her new dance outfit and going to class. You would have thought I hadn't been teaching for the last 11 years. It was so magical. Adam and I both went upstairs to wake Lucy up like it was Christmas. Adam got her out of bed and said "Lucy, its Tippi Toes day". In our house...seems like everyday is Tippi Toes day - but none like this one. We went to class early so I could help greet the other new students. Lucy and I did the mommy and me class. This class is designed for children 18 months - 3 to dance with their moms. Well I thought of course Lucy could do it. She was great about the first 5 songs, then was very interested in the other little dancers, and their hair bows, shoes and so on. All the stimulation got the best of her and we ducked out a little early. I have to admit although she didn't dance the whole class I could not have been happier. It was so much fun and we had a blast together. This Saturday should be really fun I am teaching a daddy and me class - and Adam is bringing Lucy (that is if he can tear away from college gameday on the tube - a ritual in our house). They will have so much fun, hopefully having mom as the teacher isn't a big distraction! For more information on Tippi Toes you can visit our website: www.tippitoesdance.com

Lucy checking herself out in the mirror

She loved the tutu and kept bending over to take a peek

She also loved her hands all over the CD's

After class she was pooped and we spent the rest of the day watching the others dance. I loved every minute of this day together!

Sorry there are no pictures of Lucy actually dancing. Since it was a mommy and me class I was dancing with her and just didn't think to take pictures. Next time I will for sure!