The big 2-9

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. Now, I know what you're thinking....I don't look a day over 24. Ok, so that's not what you're thinking. You're thinking....wow, that means I'm almost T-H-I-R-T-Y. The truth is often a very sad thing. At any rate, I had a really fun birthday! First, some very good friends took us out to lunch at Zio's. Hello, mozarella sticks. We had a really nice time visiting with them. Thanks, Corey and Blythe! After that, Andrew took me shopping. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything that I couldn't live without, but it was still fun to look. Then in the afternoon, my cousin and BFF, Stephanie, her husband, Troy, and son, Cousin A, came over to help celebrate. We had a really fun afternoon playing games, laughing, and eating (oh, yes) oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. We actually probably spent as much time drooling over the cake as eating it - let's just be honest here. Thanks, again, Stephanie and Troy! Now I'm off to enjoy my last year in my 20's before I must start start the long and inevitable trek up the proverbial hill.

Sadie and I with the cake

The super cool and very special necklace that Stephanie and family gave me

Stephanie and I

Andrew and I

Andrew and Troy playing Wii

Parker and Cousin A trying to play Wii

Tuckered out from all the fun

Parker, pictures, and the potty

Today is a monumental day in the Strait home....Parker has started using the potty!!!! To say that I am excited is more than an understatement. He just started this evening so it obviously hasn't been long, but he went three times and had a dry diaper in the meanwhile. Before I was a mom, I would have never dreamed how much this would thrill me. Parker also commandeered the camera today when I pulled it out to snap some pictures. Below are some pictures that he took....not too bad for a 2-year-old!

Mommy

Molly, the wonder dog

Daddy

And so Sadie isn't left out of this post, a picture I took of my little darlings today

Straits and more Straits

We spent this past weekend with Andrew's dad and grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa Strait hadn't yet met Sadie, so naturally they were pretty impressed! We stayed at a lodge in south central Colorado....probably one of the last known places on the planet with NO cell phone reception. Seriously. Not a single bar. It was also our first vacation when all four of our family members had to sleep in the same room which resulted in Parker being awake from about 11 p.m. to about 4:30 a.m. which subsequently resulted in me being awake from about 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Fortunately Sadie did not have the same problem because that's the one possibility that could have made the situation worse. Sleep deprivation aside, we had a really good time!

Parker "fishing" with a hook-less line

Happy Sadie with great-grandma

Parker and Daddy with the fish Daddy caught

Having fun with Grandpa

Everyone but me

Four generations of Strait men

The girls

Good times

So this last weekend was Labor Day. My parents were in town for a few days, and we had a really good time. While they were here, Sadie turned 4 months old (what?!) and also had her first taste of rice cereal. She didn't act like it was the best thing that ever happened to her, but she actually did quite a good job eating it.....translation: most of it went down instead of coming back out. OU also played it's first game of the season -- would've been quite a bit more enjoyable had they won, but whatever. All in all, we had a really fun time. Now back to the grind of everyday life.

Andrew watching the game

Wait for it....

Yummy!

4-month-old Sadie

Both kids with Poppy and Gram

Playing water

Yesterday we went swimming at the pool in my cousin's neighborhood. We've gone a couple of times now, and Parker LOVES to "play water". So far Sadie's just been along for the ride since it's been too cool for me to want to put her in....well, actually, the pool is heated to a lovely 85 degrees, so once you get out it feels quite chilly. At any rate, I don't feel like sending her little body into shock so for her swimming is currently a spectator sport. This trip to the pool was far more successful than our last visit when all of the following occurred.....buckets of rain, a bit of hail, and a long walk on a gravel road with wet flip-flops. Let's just assume that's not the most enjoyable set of circumstances. My cousin has a 16-month-old son who has a mutual love/hate relationship with Parker - they are either the very best of friends or screaming/crying and hitting each other. Typical boys. They both love to swim, though, so we had a really great time at the pool. Thanks for having us over, Stephanie!

Here's a picture of Sadie watching us

Both boys in the pool