How Does He Remember That?

Conner's memory continues to amaze me. I really don't know how he remembers things.

Last week when Conner got dressed I helped him put on his favorite green t-shirt that has a back hoe on the front. "Got this shirt at Target." "Actually, Conner, we got it at the mall." "Ate a pretzle." At first I didn't know what he was talking about. "A pretzle?" I asked. "Conner and, and, and Sheppie ate a preztle." Then I remembered. Yes, the day we bought that shirt on the clearance rack at babyGap, I had bought the boys a preztle to split. That was probably 3 mo ago.

Last week I wasn't feeling well. One night Zack decided to pick up a pizza for himself and the boys. I told Conner and he was pretty excited. He ran into the living exclaiming that he wanted to go with daddy to pick it up. (Zack had taken him along before) He said, "I get the candy!!" "Candy??" I was thinking. What is he talking about. Then I remembered that the guy behind the counter had given him a mint. That was at least a month ago.

Lest you think all the stories have to do with unhealthy food, here's another example of our little sponge. My brother was in Dallas for a few days. He drove down Saturday to visit. He and Conner were chilling together and Daniel asked him to count for him. Conner proceeded to say, "Uno-dos-tres-cuatro-"winko"-seis-"sete". Thanks, Dora...haha! I never taught him that one, but boy do I was I was bilingual. Conner would very easily pick up another language.

Conner and I were talking about Uncle Luke and his new house. Then, of course, we started talking about Uncle Luke's car. I thought I was telling Conner about it, but apparently he already knew what I was going to say. "Conner, Uncle Luke has a Honda." Conner replied, "Yes, a Honda Civic." A couple days later on our walk Conner said, "There's a Honda Civic like Uncle Luke has" (just wanted to write it like he said it=). I was looking around and sure enough, we had just walked by a navy blue Honda Civic. He then said, "Different color". The boy definitely knows his cars. "There's an Escalade...there's an old Mustang...there's a 'W'." (BMW) And he's usually right.

Uncle Time!

Uncles are fun! The boys are blessed to have nine Uncles. (Only one Aunt so far, but someday they'll have lots=) We don't get to see the uncles very much, but have gotten to see all of them this month.

Uncles are great to swim with. Here's Uncle Gabe. He's almost 13...he's real cool.

Uncles are great for pushing strollers. Always nice to have extra hands around. Here we all are in Nashville touring Belmont where Uncle Spencer goes to college.

Uncles are great for teaching things. Here's Conner with Uncle Silas at the Nashville Zoo. Uncle Silas is 11. He knows lots of interesting facts. You can learn a lot from him.

Uncles are great to swing and play with. The boys love their Uncle Trent and Uncle Isaac. They're 15 and a both very patient and responsible.

Uncles are great for being silly with and grilling with by the pool. The boys got to see Uncle Daniel this week-end. He and his friend Jessica were in Dallas and came down to visit. Conner could say "John Wayne" and "George Strait", among other things, before he was even 2 years old, thanks to Uncle Daniel.

I think the boys are pretty lucky to have so many great Uncles!!

Pancake Pantry

A great place to have lunch on a Saturday in Nashville. I heard that Keith Urban and Taylor Swift are seen eating there a lot.

Some cute little feet belonging to the cute little boy that was sitting next to me.

Coloring while we wait for our pancakes.

Conner being very calm. Glad I got it documented=)

Mmmmm...pineapple juice! I've got my spoon ready Mom...let the eating commence.

Still being very calm. This meal gave me hope that maybe someday we'll be able to eat out.

This may have been Conner's first taste of M&M's. I'm sure he was wondering where they had been all his life. He ate all the candy off separately(he did eat the pancakes, too)

Shep ate every last bite and then some.

I won't lie. Yes, I ordered that.

Mom, can I have pancakes with M&M's everyday??

Back Home

It's been a great trip. Going to stay the night in Dallas with friends and head home tomorrow afternoon.

It's always fun to get away from your routine and then equally fun to get back into it! I have lots of new recipes to try and a women's fellowship dinner on Thursday. Conner starts a toddler gym class on Mon. We'll have story time on Wednesdays, park play group on Fridays and lots of pool time and sno cones=) I love summer.

We're very sad to have to say good-bye to two of our favorite friends the same week. I had the privilege to reconnect with a very old friend the past 2 yrs as she and her husband (and two little ones)have lived in Austin. We met another Mommy and little girl at story time a year ago and discovered we were neighbors. Both families are moving back to Houston. This time of life, especially in a university city like Austin is like that. I'm so sad to see them go, but so grateful God put them in my life for a time. Hopefully, we can stay in touch. We spent so much time with these friends!

Pictures from our trip to come soon! Hope everyone has a wonderful week-end.

It's Been a Long Time

Something very exciting happens tomorrow. Zack and I are leaving the kids and sneaking away for TWO nights. This will be the first time we have been ALONE all day AND all night AND get to really, truly sleep in (with no interruptions)in 2 1/2 years. Also, it's our first over-night trip period in 3 years! Between no family nearby and no money, pregnancy and nursing, time away has been out of the question.

We are going up to Petit Jean to stay in Zack's Uncle and Aunt's cabin. I don't think I would be more excited if I was going to Paris (well, maybe that's an exaggeration). You have no idea how much we need this. I can't wait to hear the silence, read as long as I want to and just talk. I miss just talking and just being. We may not come back and honestly, I don't think the grandparents would mind...haha!

Picked up some yummy food to make, some sorbet and a bottle of wine. Ahhhh...it will be wonderful!

Alone to blog!!

Wow, I'm sitting alone, blogging and drinking a cup of coffee. "Now that's something you don't see everyday." (A quote from Pinky Dinky Doo, a kid's show)

We arrived left Austin around 8 am and arrived about 4:30. Remarkably, we only stopped twice. I packed us a lunch to save money, so we found a grassy area at a gas station and had a little picnic. It was kinda hot, but the boys enjoyed watching all the cars, of course! We let them run around for a little while. The boys did pretty good. Neither of them slept much, but there the screaming was limited=)

We're about to head out again in an hour or so to visit Spencer and Ashley in Nashville. Eleven of us are making the treck (minus Luke who is buried in work projects). This will be the first vacation with the entire Stanton fam since before we moved. I think we're going to hit the zoo, the Hermitage, ride a trolley and explore the area. I haven't been to Nashville in probably 10 yrs!

We'll head back to AR on Sunday, stay here through Sat and then stop in Dallas for part of Sat and Sun to visit some friends. Zack and I get to do something very exciting next week as well, but I'll post about that later.

The golfers are back, so I better get dressed so we can pack up the cars and head out! Love to all. I feel so relaxed and happy right now .