• Thoughts

    Summer

    This time last year I was starting 100 Happy Days and gearing up for my baby showers. This year I’m just trying to stay on top of things around the house and anticipating Forest’s first birthday in 3 short months. 3 months, y’all! I was looking at the photos and videos from the days surrounding his birth and thinking that we didn’t take enough video! But, I think I’m going to put together the videos I do have and share them on his birthday. I forgot how tiny he was! It’s easy to forget sometimes. Our summer is full, full, full…at least the first half. We haven’t planned the second…

  • Texas,  Thoughts,  Travel & Places

    San Antonio Weekend

    There’s a short vlog/synopsis at the front and then a lot of is clips from the San Antonio Botanic Garden, Sea World, and the San Antonio Zoo. There’s a lot more from the zoo…I got a little movie happy on that end. Sorry for the ad, I found a song from Free Music Archive that is supposed to be an Attribution license under the Creative Commons license but You Tube is claiming the owner is monetizing that song—so…I may revise that section soon. A little frustrating! It’s a long one….feel free to skim around! I’ll have some other posts later this week with photos! We had a great weekend and…

  • Hiking,  Outdoors,  Texas,  Travel & Places

    Camping at Brazos Bend State Park

    Last weekend we made it out for our last camping trip of the season. It was borderline too hot and humid anyway, but we toughed it out. There was a chance of rain but nothing appeared until our drive home, thankfully. I would definitely like to visit this state park a few more times with Forest as he grows up. There’s a lot to do at the park with a ton of trails, a small nature center, plus the George Observatory. A lot of the trails were closed this weekend due to recent rains and flooding over the trails, but we made do with more of the front country trails…

  • Florida,  Ghost Orchids,  Outdoors,  Travel & Places

    Swamp Walk

    Remember that trip to Florida I took last March while still in my first trimester of pregnancy? Well, I took a bunch of short videos in our ghost orchid slough and meant to make a video a year ago. Well, I finally got around to putting it together tonight! It’s only a little over three minutes but it gives a fun glimpse into the slough and several great shots of healthy ghost orchids, which were unfortunately not blooming at the time. Below this video is a link to Chris’ video from when we got the sphinx moth pollinating/visiting a ghost orchid back in 2007. We got a good laugh at…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Forest at 8 Months (33, 34, 35, & 36 Weeks)

    In the last month Forest has decided to start doing a modified crawl. One weekend morning he just randomly started making his way towards me where I was sipping my coffee and reading the internet. I did a double take before realizing he was dragging himself along the floor and then jumped up so I could document it! I’d been waiting and waiting for this to happen and here he was, starting to really move. He hasn’t figured out how to put his knees up under him yet, but that’s coming soon I think. It’s insane how this stuff just happens overnight. I know they are preparing slowly, little changes…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family,  Thoughts

    Phalaenopsis Necklace

    Chris and I first came across jeweler Dawn Vertrees at the Redland Orchid Show at the Fruit & Spice Park in Florida back in May 2008. Later that June Chris got me a ghost orchid necklace of hers for our anniversary, which I really love! Fast forward to the morning of Forest’s birth and he presents me with the necklace above. I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile and finally remembered to get a few photos the other night. Unfortunately babies and necklaces aren’t exactly a winning combination so I haven’t worn it very much. I could wear it to work but I often forget. A few weeks…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Dear Forest

    Dear Forest, This time last year I was celebrating my semi-first Mother’s Day. It was a little awkward, do you celebrate when you are pregnant? Apparently you do, and your dad got me some flowers and probably some chocolate. I really don’t remember, I had preggo brain and now I have baby brain. It was still weird to think that in a few short months you were going to be in our lives. We still had Samson around with Leo, and life with a kid in the house still seemed like a foreign concept. Here we are a full year later and I can’t imagine life without you. I mean,…