We are visiting Gary's parents. For Christmas, we bought his dad an HD TV. We asked his mom to pick out a stand that would hold the new tv, so she picked out a decent-looking one in a box from Wal-Mart.

Upon opening the box, the first thing that came out was a BRICK! Actually, it was a broken pacer. That was our first clue. Next, out came a piece of sheetrock! When we finally got a piece of wood out, it was obvious that this was not the same piece of furniture that was pictured on the box.

The board had nails sticking out of it, and had water rings on it. It had gouges and scratches, and paint spilled on it. It appears that someone bought the furniture, broke down their old crappy furniture, crammed a few pieces into the box, and added enough weight so it felt legit. I have no idea how they taped the box back up so well, because you could not tell anything from the outside.

Gary, his brother, and his mom have replaced it the best they could in the box, and headed back to Wal-Mart. I'm eager to hear what the employees have to say about that!

Garrett Anderson Needham
Monday, August 1, 2011
10:04 pm
9 lbs 8 oz
21.5"

Doing beautifully!!

Maternity Pics

Megan and I had maternity pictures taken this morning. This is a sneak peek of one. I can't wait to see the rest! I'm 33 weeks, and she's 28 week.

Oh Baby!

We are expecting our second baby! I'm due 8-8-11, but my doctor will induce two weeks early. Since I've been diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome, I have to give myself heparin shots daily. It's getting easier, but it still isn't fun. My belly displays a new bruise daily, but I know it's worth it!

I had my second doctor's appointment yesterday, and everything looked really good. I will have a sonogram every time i go. It was so reassuring to see a baby on that screen!

Kate is very excited, of course! We're trying to figure out the bedroom situation, but we've got some time to sort that out.

Travels

We are finally home. In the last two months, we have been gone for a total of 37 days! We went on a cruise for our 10th anniversary in June. We flew to LA and spent a few days doing Hollywood things. Then we took a 7-day cruise to Puerta Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. We had a wonderful time, and can't wait for our next cruise. When we got back, we spent a few days around the Santa Monica area, and were in the audience on Jay Leno!

In June, we did our typical Abilene/Lubbock/Durango trip. We just spent one night in Abilene, and went to a fantastic fireworks show at a friend's ranch. We spent a week in Lubbock, while Gary taught at the Texas Tech music camp. Then we left Kate there with Dad and Jean, and went to Durango while Gary taught at Music in the Mountains. He had to stay for two weeks, but I just stayed for one. I brought Kate home from Lubbock and we had a week at home.

My mom, Kate, and I then did a girls' week in New York to visit my sister. We hadn't been there since her wedding in April 2009. We had a great time with Megan and Ben, and they were wonderful hosts. We rode the Staten Island ferry, visited the Lego store and Times Square Toys'R'Us, saw the musical Billy Elliot, spent time with my cousin and his family, played skee-ball at a bar, went to the beach, and rode the rides at Coney Island. Whew! No wonder I'm tired!

We were home less than 24 hours when we packed up for an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We surprised Kate with the trip, and she loved it! We went with Gary's and his family, and the kids all had a wonderful time.

So now we are back home, and have to start thinking about school. We both have a few meetings next week, and then start back full-time on the 16th. We begin school on the 23rd. Kate will start kindergarten, and she is so excited! She's in a dual-language program, where one day of instruction will be in English, and the next day will be in Spanish. I can't wait for her to be able to teach me some more Spanish!

Kate is also on an invitation-only dance team called Tiny Company. They get to perform at various parades and fairs around town, so that will be something to look forward to. Big things are happening this year!

Testing 1-2-3

I'm trying the Blogger app. We'll see if this works.

101 Dalmations

We went to see the play 101 Dalmations today. We had a great time, and our little Dalmation really enjoyed it!

Happy Halloween!

Here is my Ariel. The bear is part of a class project for pre-school. Each student gets to take him home for a weekend and then take pictures and journal about his time with them, like Flat Stanley. Anyway, he went dressed as Ariel too!

They're Baa-aaack!!

I am going to pick up Megan and Ben at the airport this afternoon! I am so excited to see them. We haven't seen them since their wedding in April.

Fashion Show

I just had to post a few pics of Kate modeling a new outfit.

K and Me

My mom took these pics while she was here. There's nothing special to say about them, but I love how vibrant the color is.

Soccer Girl

We started soccer a few weeks ago. Well, I say we "started" soccer, but really, we had two practices, and then a three-week rainout! The girls had their first game tonight, and it was a trip! They hadn't met in weeks or touched a soccer ball since their second practice, and they had never seen a real goal or field. At least at this age (under-5) all the girls are pretty much in the same boat -- clueless! We don't keep score, and that's a good thing!

See if you can pick out K in the pics below.

Color Float

K had a project for her pre-school class. The assignment was to cover a box with her favorite color of paper, attach a string to create a float (or more accurately, a "drag"), and affix stickers, buttons, and other 3-D objects. Thankfully Nana was visiting last weekend, and was able to do most of it! It was fun to pick out all the things to put on it. Guess what K's favorite color is?

First Day of School

It's been awhile. I'll play catch-up when I can.

Today was the first day of pre-school. K is in the "Divers" class, and had a terrific day with all the other 4-year-olds.

Princess Tea Party



K had her princess tea party today.

We had seven other little girls there at the tea room.




I was a bit nervous about how all the girls would behave, but they were good as gold! They all wore their favorite dress-up dresses. The girls got to drink pink "tea" (lemonade) which they poured themselves from ceramic teapots.



They had flower-shaped sandwiches, fruit, and muffins. Then the birthday girl got to open her gifts. She loved everything she got, including lots of Barbie and princess things, a stamp set, and pool toys. Then the girls got to eat cake.



After all were through, they were able to do a craft. They strung foam beads onto a bracelet. They concentrated so carefully, and were all very proud of their creations.



It was a great day, and all the girls had a wonderful time. They all looked so beautiful!

Visit from Nana

My mother came to visit this week, and her birthday gifts to K were a trip to Build-a-Bear, and a princess dress from the Disney store to wear to her princess tea party on Saturday. The "bear" she built is a dog, and she picked an Ariel outfit for it. It's the ugliest thing you've ever seen, and she named it, what else, Princess.

She wanted to be Sleeping Beauty, so not only did she get the dress, but also shoes, tiara, necklace, bracelet, and nightgown!! As you can see, she loves her new outfit, and will eagerly wear them to her birthday party.

Gifts from Mom and Dad


Tonight we let K open her presents. We kept it pretty simple, since we knew grandparents would inflict Operation Gift Explosion upon us. We just gave K a few books, a bank, and a princess scooter. As you can tell, she was thrilled!!

Birthday Girl

Happy 4th birthday!!

Ballerina Girl

K has her final ballet class last week. The parents were able to go into the room and watch (usually we stay in the waiting area and watch on a closed-circuit TV). The kids all did a great job! I'll post a video soon. K has loved ballet, and we will sign up again next year.

These are the professional ballet pics they took. I am waiting for my copies to come in, so here are the watermarked ones in the meantime. All photos courtesy B&E Photo.

Goodbye, Sampson

Today we lost a dear friend. We had Sampson for 8 years, and today we had to say goodbye. He was between 12 and 15 years old, and he was having a very hard time getting up. We could boost him up and he'd be OK for a while, but it was so hard to watch him struggle each time. The vet said we could do x-rays and try a special joint diet, but at his advanced age, I just didn't think it was fair to keep trying things for him that may or may not work.

He was such a handsome boy!


From the moment we brought K home from the hospital, Sampson watched over her like a hawk. He was so patient with her, even as she learned to climb and walk, and pulled all over him. He never minded a bit.





K told us that God has a new dog now. I love that.

He was a truly special dog, and he will be sorely missed. Our remaining lab, Montana, had been a little clingy lately, but secretly I think she is glad to be an only dog.