What's worse than 1 sick baby?

Two sick babies!

I was sick all Tuesday night and some Wednesday and my mommy thought it was something I ate. That is, until my baby had a fever and started throwing up at dinner last night and all through the night. It was a mess and my baby didn't feel well at all. She ended up sleeping down with mommy and daddy and I don't think anyone got much sleep but me. This morning, my daddy is sick now. Mommy is trying to keep us 'quarantined' which is perfect for me because what's better than laying around watching movies all day in pjs? We're currently watching 'Frosty the Snowman' for the 3rd time this morning.

Mommy, watch out. You're next!

On the road again.....

What do you do when it's 105 degrees? Why you go to the beach (again), of course. Emmylou and I decided it was time to go back to Port Aransas and it didn't take long to get our mommies to agree. Even our daddies decided to come along for the fun, although they missed the real fun because they drove in their own car. They said they had to work and would meet us the next day but mommy and Miss Becca really think they just wanted peace and quiet. No peace and quiet for mommy and Miss Becca! Here are some pictures from our beach adventure.

Is this the Beverly Hillbillies or what? Can you see you baby Miller's head? He didn't seem to mind to much and slept most of the way.

Beach monkies on the luggage cart

Out to dinner at the 'Krazy Kajun' for a shrimp and crawfish boil.

My baby wasn't a fan of the crawfish AT ALL!

My baby is practicing her water cheer routine. Go, team, Go!

...and I'm practicing my 'Nestea Plunge'.
Miller and my baby played together in the luggage cart. It turned out to be a great playpen by the pool. Again, Beverly Hillbillies anyone?

Poolside table/cooler for two, please.

My baby is a messy eater but she sure is cute!

Look at my baby swim! Yeah, Tatie!

Group shot....3 out of 4 happy babies ain't bad.

And when we couldn't play at the pool, the beach or watch a movie, we decided to decorate the dead tree with seashells. Ah, what an improvement it made.

Trippism

While meeting with a potential sitter:

Tripp: Miss Annie. Do you know what I did last night?

Annie: No, Tripp. What did you do?

Tripp: Well, I went to the rodeo and I saw horses and bulls and some cowboys that got hurt. And I was in an egg scramble!

Make sure to read post from 7/18/09 if you haven't. Daddy and mommy fell over laughing.

First Rodeo

The rodeo was in College Station and because I was such a good cowboy on the farm, we got to go. It was the first rodeo for not only me, but my baby too! We had great seats right above the bull pens and I was fascinated with the cowboys getting ready to ride. Among other things, we saw bronc riding, calf roping and bull riding and 2 of the bull ridin' cowboys got hurt and had to go into an ambulance and to the hospital. Mommy told me the big ole bully stepped on the cowboy and I've gotta say, it sure looked like it hurt. I hope they're ok!

Ready for the best part? I participated in my very first calf scramble! Mommy is really upset because we didn't get any pictures of it and you know how mommy is about her pictures. But in my defense- we were heading to get me Skittles that I just had to have right then and it was a last minute announcement. Mommy asked if I wanted to do and of course being the cowboy that I am, I said yes. Right then and there, she lifted me up and put me over the side of the rodeo fence and off I went. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do so I played in the dirt and when I saw the other kids start running, I started running too. Mommy asked if I had fun chasing the baby calf and I said 'what calf'? Obviously it made quite an impression when I didn't even know I was chasing something. I know for next year though!

In the petting zoo

My baby loved her first rodeo!

Check out my cool boots. I love these boots and got them the last time I was in Wyoming.

See the calf licking my baby? She wasn't sure what to think of all of the animals at the petting zoo.

Tripp, the Cowboy Vet

I had to go to College Station this weekend to help daddy, Uncle Stan and Grandpa Smokey vaccinate the cows. I was a big helper and always have lots of fun on the farm!

Hi big moo moo. You're next....

My job was to keep the cows in the pen while getting their shots.

My work is done here.

Date with Mommy

Mommy and I haven't really spent a lot of 1 on 1 time lately. I sure am understanding because she has her hands full with me, my baby, daddy and her work. Tonight, she had a special surprise for me and she and I went bowling while daddy stayed home with my baby! I had so much fun and put up some impressive marks, thanks to the bumper guards. Afterwards, she and I went and had ice cream. I sure had fun with mommy and mommy says we're going to have date nights more often because mommy sure loves me! I wonder where we'll go next time?

My sister's keeper

We went to the farmer's market again this evening and daddy even joined us! As the big brother, I have to watch out for my baby and even if I'm not right next to her, I still have my eye on her making sure she's safe. Today, a boy (younger than me but older than my baby), went up to my baby while she was in the sprinkers and dumped a cup of water on her. Immediately, I came running and stood between them and with my finger in his face I said, 'No! That's my baby!'. The little boy knew who was boss.

Icky Thumb Chart

Uh oh. I think mommy is finally serious. She said no more thumb and I think she really does mean it this time. After nap, we sat down and made my 'Icky Thumb Chart'. The way it works is for each day that I don't suck my thumb, I get a sticker. Once I get a bunch of stickers (she conveniently forgot to tell me how many that is), I can take my icky thumb chart to Learning Express and trade it in for a surprise. I told her a want a train. Mommy said this concept worked well with my potty chart and potty training so why wouldn't it work with my icky thumb? Well mom, because I LOVE MY ICKY THUMB and I won't give up without a fight. Especially when I have blue bear or my green pillow or really anything nice and soft. Ah, the more I think about it, I sure love my thumb.

The Farmer's Market

Each Wednesday, there is a farmer's market at 'The Triangle'. We haven't been able to go much this summer because of gymnastics but I we have a 2 week break and it's the perfect opportunity to go (not to mention we need to cool off somehow since it's 106 degrees almost every day). The farmer's market is really neat and I love seeing all of the fruits and veggies but my favorite parts have to be 1) Jim's sno-cones and 2) the sprinklers. My baby got to go for the first time and although she wasn't too sure at first, I think she now loves it as much as I do!

Harmless flirtingSophie and I were the 'Fountain Patrol'

4th of July - Matagorda Bay style

We went to Gigi and Papa's beach house with Emmylou and her family for the 4th of July weekend and had the best time. I always love going to the coast because there is so much to do. We did a little fishing and I caught a fish to put in the crab trap, we played on the beach, found seashells and my favorite, rides in Papa's boat. Our neighbors had a lot of fireworks and we ended up having our own private fireworks show. We hope you all had a great 4th of July, too. Happy Birthday, America!

check out Emmylou's face

My baby's 1st 4th of July

My baby kept eating all of the sand

Happy Beach babies

Mommy was trying to be artistic. My footprint is on the right and my baby's footprint is on the left. I don't think it turned out like she planned but she gets an 'A' for effort.

My fish!

Emmylou's hat says 'Chicks Fish'.

Tate is 9 months old!

Height: 27.25 (50% percentile)

Weight: 16 lb 7 oz (20% percentile)

Head: 44 (75% percentile)

To my little peanut -

Another month has flown by and I realized the other day that you're only 3 months away from being a year! How does that happen? Time flies by so quickly and it seems to be going faster with you than with your brother. You are changing daily and amaze us with all your new 'tricks'. You adore your brother and I think you're really trying to keep up with him because you're now cruising all over the place as fast as your little 4s can take you, you pull up and walk around things with not even a second thought and the other day, you let go of the couch to see if you could stand by yourself. Your brother was just now starting the army crawl and didn't crawl on his knees until 12 months. He didn't walk until 15.5 months and I have a feeling in the next letter to you, I'll write about your first steps. Wrestling with your brother is lots of fun for you, too, as long as you're in the mood. If not, forget about it and you make it known.

You had your 9 month check up and the doctor says you're doing great. You had to get shots and your iron levels showed a little low but you're on some vitamins and although you don't like them one bit, I think they'll help make you big and strong. Your doctor also said you were 'spunky' which is a very good term for you. You definitely let us know when you want something or don't want something - and tend to 'yell' at me to get your way. Oh my, I can only imagine what's in store down the road. You love to eat and are experimenting with new finger foods. Just like your brother, you love pancakes. You also love puffs but who wouldn't love puffs!? You're not a fan of peas or spinach this month but I've been finding ways to conceal it into other favorites and it's working so far.

You're a constant joy to all of us and Tripp is always saying how lucky he is to have you as his baby. I think he's right - we're all lucky to have you as our baby and we love you so incredibly much! Until next month, keep smiling with that sweet smile and know that our family would not be complete without you.

Love, Mommy