Goodbye Army Life, Hello Circus!

Yesterday was J's official last day as Active Duty in the US Army.  I know it's a bittersweet moment for him as there are many things that he is going to miss about the Army, but there are also many things he is enjoying about his new life as a civilian.

Apparently, he is really thinking about the future and has decided to try out some other possible future career opportunities.

Choice #1....the Circus! :)

Fun with Water Guns!

100% BOY!

Monkeying Around!

Alex has been very into Curious George recently, so we brought out all the monkeys to play and listened to some Jack Johnson music from the Curious George Movie.  Makes for lots of fun monkeyin' around!!

PARTY TIME!

Happy Birthday to Alex!!

I can't believe how nicely four kids under the age of 3 sat at the table and ate dinner!  

Are they singing to ME?!?!

Aren't I the cutest?!?

This is some good stuff!

My favorites...chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream!

BUBBLES!

MORE BUBBLES!

He got a little help opening presents! :)

Maddie had to supervise the present opening!

Slam Dunk!

Getting out some energy after the sugar high!

A few of my fellow interns...
Me, Monica, Gifty, and Geetha

This is precious Baby Meena (Geetha's new baby)
who came to her very first birthday party!

Saying goodbye!

On the Road Again!

Dancing to his favorite singing birthday card!

A Big Guy Haircut!

Alex had his first big guy haircut this week!

And, Dippin' Dots was his reward for being such a big guy!

The Big 2!

Alex marked a big milestone and turned 2 this past week!  I was very lucky and had the day off, so we got to spend a family day celebrating Alex.

He checked out his new tricycle.  His favorite part is the little bell, so you hear ding-ding everywhere he goes!

He ate yummy donuts for breakfast!

Played at the pool!

Then, we took him to Rainforest Cafe....what a mistake!  Even before we went in, he looks a little concerned.  It only got worse!  We sat down at the table and ordered drinks.  He looked a little unsure, but then the animals started to move and he knew he didn't want to be there!  I have never seen him quite so scared in my life.  I hope we haven't scarred him for life.  

We had to leave Rainforest Cafe immediately, so we went to a local seafood place.  He enjoyed his fish sticks, but he had to stay in one of our laps the whole meal....just in case there might be any more animals lurking around that could come to life!

Then, we came home and enjoyed some yummy cupcakes and a little silliness!

It was a great day with a fun little man!!

Hello Again!

It's been over two months since I last blogged and our life has changed significantly!

We are all settled in Galveston.  We LOVE our townhouse here!  It's a huge change from our old house in Columbus, but we are loving some of the amenities of new construction....especially the huge master bathroom, walk-in closets, and an attached garage just to name a few!  

We ended up signing a lease without actually seeing the townhouse and one of my favorite things about it is that it's a beautiful shade of purple-pink.  Not sure that's one of J's favorite points though! :)

It's been too hot to sit out on our nice front porch, but the boys have enjoyed some trips to the beach and to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens...

We have found Cafe Michael Burger our new favorite burger joint with a view of the beach...

(It's not quite Minnie's, but they have some mean sweet potato fries!)

I've also replaced my obsession for Pat-A-Cakes Bakery in Columbus with Patty Cakes Bakery in Galveston.....  

(We celebrated the Big 29 for J back in June!)

Alex has also been throwing some good fits, proving to us that he is ready to enter the terrible 2's....

Amongst the fun, I've been readjusting to working 80 hours a week and learning how to balance it all with Alex. It's not easy, but so far it's going fairly well!  

The boy LOVES his trains!

Future Gamer

We had to go to Best Buy last week and Alex had a great time testing out the PlayStation and the Wii!

Happy Mother's Day from Minnie's!

Alex and I are going to miss that yummy Southern cooking! 

Dying Easter Eggs and Easter Morning

A Big Monkey!

Mama!

Here's my favorite video from the Safari!

A Safari, Georgia-style....

Jeremiah's mom came to visit for Easter weekend.  There is a place called Wild Animal Safari just north of Columbus.  We have been curious about it for awhile, so we decided to head up there and check it out!  It was quite an experience.  We rented an old van to drive through the park that was full of all kinds of interesting animals.  They gave us food to feed them, so they came up to the van begging for it.

Here we are about to head off!

We saw zebras....

and giraffes....

I even fed one!

Pregnant pigs....

A lion safely caged away...

And, lots of gross tongues!

It was a great day full of many memories!! :)