Halloween 2008

The boys (or should I say Batman and Robin) had a fun-filled Halloween! During the day we went to our play group's Halloween party down in Clear Lake. The boys got to see their friend's all dressed up! Then after dinner we did the usual neighborhood trick or treating. It was sure different then our old neighborhood though (our old neighborhood in Friendswood didn't have many houses with kids). We weren't expecting a neighborhood full of kids and activities...it was a lot of fun! Batman stayed behind with me to hand out candy and Robin went trick or treating with David. All the boys on our street went in one group and the girls all went in another group. Even though Austin is one of the younger ones he had no problem keeping up! The bigger kids made sure he was up front at every door so he didn't get left out...what sweet kids! After a couple of hours trick or treating they all came back to the culdesac and played football. Austin and Jake played until they about passed out! lol Here are some pictures:

My halloween "costume" at the play group party - the shirt says "I'm so crafty, I make people":


Austin practicing his scare moves:


Batman:


Robin (he wanted to be Robin, because red is his favorite color):


The boys getting their hands on my candy:


Batman helping me pass out candy at the house:


The boys (and one of the girls) of our street:


Friday night football, Halloween style:

Baby Tres - 28 Weeks

I had my 28 week appt today. I have gained 18lbs! Belly is still measuring 3 weeks ahead - yep that's right! My OB put me on Brethine (Terbutaline) 5mg to take every 6 hours for the next 8 weeks (until I am 9 months, 36 weeks) since I am having continuous contractions around the clock. With my history and being an hour away from the hospital it was the best decision. I will say I hate this medication due to its side effects (racing heart and shortness of breath), but I know it will take away my contractions and keep Tres baking longer. Can't complain about that!! I start going every 2 weeks now and I am happy to be in the third trimester! We are getting close to meeting Tres!!!! :)



The nursery is slowly coming together! David has painted the walls and is cutting the chair rail and crown molding right now. We have the furniture in, but won't put it together just yet. I can't wait to show you all the finished product!!

David's Projects

David has some new projects at work:

1) Expanding 290 - Yep, that's right! Houstonians, 290 will be the next highway that will be expanded (we didn't move out here for nothing!). It will take at least 5 years to design and David will be working on the section from Beltway 8 to 610. You won't see any construction on it for a long time (5-10 years), so you don't have to worry about crazy construction traffic just yet. They have to finish I-10 first! :)

2) Blue Water Highway - After Hurricane Ike left its mark on some of the highways across the coastline, David will be busy designing this one back together. It's in Surfside Beach (Brazoria County) and here are a few pictures of what Ike did:











Amazing what water can do, huh?!

Twins?!

I would say that about half of the time we go out in public I get asked the question "are they twins?" Now, I know Jake is pretty big for his age...both in height and weight. But they are two years apart! It cracks me up and I usually get a kick out of it when I respond to them their age difference (as they respond back with a WHAT?!). People will still say how they could easily pass as fraternal twins. Even though I don't see it in person (since I still see Jake as a baby) every now and again I will take pictures and, for a minute or two, see how people can think they are twins. They pretty much are the same size (obviously not weight wise)!

27 Weeks

On the way to Michelle's house for dinner I made (yes that's the correct word! lol) David take a few pictures of me that actually included my face! :) I think he did a fantastic job, but of course I was barking orders left and right of what to get in the shot. Got to love being the wife! ;)

Black Eye

Well, Austin is fitting right in with being a boy. He received his first black eye today courtesy of his brother Jake! lol The two were running around chasing each other when Austin switched directions. So then of course, as life happens, they bump into each other - HARD. Both boys went down, but surprisingly enough they didn't cry (even though my heart is pounding and I'm the one emotional). Jake's forehead crashed with Austin's eye resulting in a huge whelp. I'm proud of both boys though shaking it off like nothing happened...we have some future sports players right here! :)

Such a ham!!

Need I say more?!?

Missouri Bound

Since David refuses (haha!) to write about his trip to Missouri I will have to do my best (forgive me if I have left something out!). David and Austin took a flight out to Missouri to visit his family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) for the extended weekend. My heart ached as Austin left on the plane without me!! But that's beside the point. :) They stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Puff in Independence (their house is beautiful!). Austin got to meet his cousin, Adrianna! They had a great time going places such as the Crayola Restaurant, Union Station, a park where they took a train ride, and a baseball game (where David caught a Kansas City Royal's t-shirt)! When Austin got home all he could talk about was his cousin Adrianna...so cute!! Here are a few pictures:

Baby Tres - 24 weeks

I had my 24 week appt today. I have gained 15lbs...about time I start packing them on! My belly is measuring 3 weeks ahead - STILL. Yep, that's right. One good thing is that it's growing consistently. But, that either means a big baby or an early baby. If both, it wouldn't surprise me! LOL We'll be doing an ultrasound at 36 weeks to make sure it's not a giant in there! ;) Heartbeat was going strong, ctx's are the same, and everything else is looking good.

If you haven't guessed yet on Tres' arrival here is the link: http://www.expectnet.com/games/GuessBabyTres

Hurricane Ike

We fared well during the storm. It had been 25 years since the last time Houston was directly hit by a major hurricane, so we had to pay our dues. My mom and brother came up here to stay with us since she had to move her horses from Pasadena to Katy. Thank God she did, because her barn in Pasadena did not survive Ike. :( We started feeling the storm right after dusk on the 12th. The winds picked up and the clouds rolled in. It was an amazing site to see Ike's outer bands make way over our area. It didn't start raining until about midnight. We lost power at 2am. And by 3am the worst was hitting us. It was strong full-fledged hurricane power until about 8am. By 10am we got hit with massive amounts of rain from the outer lower bands of Ike. Our area (north/west side) actually received some of the worst flooding (from rain not storm surge)...our neighborhood did great though and didn't flood! By 11am we had power back on...we just happened to be on the same power grid as a CenterPoint sub station (got to love living next to one)! :) We ended up not using our generator at all. Later on we went outside to pick up all the branches and "stuff" around our yard. We looked up and noticed a nice patch of shingles missing from our roof (part of the "stuff" lying in our yard). The next day David and Jamie were on the roof fixing it!! Good job you guys. All in all we did great. Austin is still scared of the hurricane that he calls "monster flapping at my window" - but to be expected, I guess. And, of course, Jake slept through the entire thing. Thanks for all the well wishes and thoughts!

On a side note I went by our old house in Friendswood (which had a mandatory evacuation for Ike) and found the brand new fence, David worked SO hard putting up, in ruble. It did not survive Ike, but none of the fences in our old neighborhood did. :(

There are still 348 people missing from the Galveston area...we pray for their safe return home to their families. The devastation there is unreal. One of my favorite spots for photography sessions washed up on the sea wall in ruins (the historic Balinese Room). Our favorite souvenir shop (Murdoch's) is gone as well. Not to mention the Kemah Boardwalk is destroyed and will have to be rebuilt. :(