Houston Trip

The week of June 19th, I decided to brave my first road trip with Reid--all by myself since Jason had to work. The car trip part wasn't quite as bad as I'd expected...Reid did have a blowout (diaper, not car!) on the way there, so I had to find a place to stop (fyi, there is nothing for 15 miles outside of Buffalo, TX) to clean up him and the carseat, and by that time I knew we wouldn't make it there before he'd be screaming to nurse. So we took care of that in the Dairy Queen parking lot. What fun. On the way back later that week, I planned for us to stop at Buccee's. I was SO bummed that they don't have Buccee's onesies :( But I did grab a yummy sandwich to stick in the cooler for dinner later while we piddled around in hopes that Reid would take care of his business before we got back on the road (normally, he always goes as he's eating or right after). Of course, Murphy's Law ruled and he was screaming about 8 minutes after we'd gotten on the road. At least it wasn't a blowout this time!

It was great timing to see Laura and my nephews before they made their voyage back to Perth, Australia. My parents had gotten a week at their time share on Lake Conroe. Laura and I had decided that we and all three of the boys would stay out there since my aunt and uncle were coming into town (figured the grandparents and aunt/uncle would enjoy the peace and quiet at night!). It was perfect for us--a loft area with king bed and huge bathroom where Laura and the boys stayed. Downstairs was a bedroom and attached bathroom where I could store all Reid's stuff (wow, does it take a lot of stuff to travel with an infant!!) and nurse in privacy. And right off of that, there was a living room complete with beautiful balcony. After settling in, Grammy and Grumpy arrived...only to find that our a/c had apparently gone out. It was a sweaty evening--at first, we just thought the a/c was having trouble catching up from all the ins/outs through the door and patio, but it became apparent that the a/c just wasn't working once the thermostat hit 85 and it was nearly 9pm. I won't go into that drama, but that's why we look sweaty:

There was a beautiful rainbow our first night there. Here's a view from our balcony overlooking the lake:

The next day, we headed over to the pool to see our friend Mandy and her cute son, Riley. Reid and I had to chill in the shade since he's not allowed to be in direct sun or the pool for now. But I couldn't resist bringing the adorable sunglasses Mike had given him, even though they're too big for now...


And here are all four of the boys: cousins Alex and Ben, Riley, and of course Reid is on the table since he can't exactly sit yet.

Later that afternoon, Reid's Papa, Aunt Kristen, and Gamma came by for a visit:

We all got to catch up, and they all had a chance to hold the newest French.

It looked like he'd be asleep the whole time (yes, Reid actually napped pretty well that week, unlike last week!!), but he finally awoke to their delight. Playtime!

Later that night, my Uncle Lindy and Aunt Nell joined us for a barbeque dinner and some catching up. In true Uncle Lindy fashion, he taught Ben the "Who Pooted?" song. I'm so excited I got it on the camcorder, but I realized later that I didn't snap any pictures of the evening's events...except for Bubble Boy Ben! He loved the whirlpool tub, especially with bubbles!

And here's my happy guy, after bathtime. Oddly enough, he loves his baths and doesn't even mind the getting out/being cold for a second part anymore...but he hates lotion!! I still put it on him sometimes because it smells so sweet (and the lavender is supposed to help with soothing/calming before bedtime).

The next day, I ventured out to The Woodlands. Sounds easy to do, but when you only have about two hours between feedings and you're 30 minutes away, you have to plan accordingly ;) The Adams graciously spent their afternoon with me so we could all catch up and they could see Reid outside my belly this time! It was wonderful!!

And on our last day there, I decided to forego packing up and leaving early since Reid typically naps better in the afternoon (not that there is any guarantee, mind you!). The timing allowed us more time with the grandparents, cousins, and my sis. I'm so grateful the timing worked out perfectly so I could see everyone before they left this week! We went to the pool one more time (and I even got 20 minutes in the sun while Grammy watched Reid and Grumpy went to grab burgers for lunch!) and then enjoyed a family lunch before all the boys had naptime. Laura and I had a little more sister time, then it was time to head back. Aside from sitter drama in the middle of the trip (yes, I have been panicking and lost LOTS of sleep over this--if you know of an in-home sitter/nanny/home daycare in the Frisco/McKinney area, please call me!!!!), it was fantastic!