Parker turned ONE!

I received a great gift for Mother's Day (besides the new running shoes and workout clothes!) - A airplane ticket to San Diego to see Parker and help celebrate his first birthday with him Mommy and Daddy!

I arrived pretty early on Friday morning and our first stop was a really great fabric store! Dallas has pathetic fabric stores, so Ashley took me to one on the way home that has super cute stuff!  I indulged in a couple pieces to make a cute apron.

Which came first?

If I'd had room in my suitcase, I'd have brought home yards and yards!

Then we went straight to work at party preparations!

We made party hat cake pops!

And the most delicious Vanilla Cup Cakes with toppers designed by Drew!

On Saturday, Sam made fajitas, Ashley made black beans, Spanish rice, and guacamole!  It was a super yummy meal.

Before the party, we took Mr. Parker to get his first haircut.  We went to a salon for kids and they did a great job!

Before.....

During.....

And after!  He is so handsome and looks like such a big boy!

Then we were off to the park for the big party!! 

Sam decorated with a darling homemade-by-Ashley banner!

Parker played in the sand!

Jim Pontzious, David and Solveig Bassham, Judy Bassham, Terri Pontzious and Howard Bassham - all Jon's side of the family!  Way to represent!

Some other friends and neighbors were in attendance and fun was had by ALL!  Especially the guest of honor.  He received some super fun gifts....

Parker's Mom and Dad gave him this great Radio Flyer!  Ashley made the darling "1" t-shirt!

Howard and Judy gave Parker this fire truck!  Parker's little friend had a blast pushing him around on it (all girls love to push boys around, don't they?).  Parker was digging it, too!

Of course, the highlight was watching Park-man dig into his very own, homemade birthday cake!

Mini cake made by Mom! (Ashley)

Mmmmmmm.

Good stuff!  

He easily ate one third of the cake - by himself!  He's just like his grandma!

Great party, Parker!  Number two will be here before we know it!

Mamaw's Birthday in San Diego

On August 15th we (Molly, Will, Drew, Jon and I) got back in the plane and flew to San Diego to celebrate Jon's mom's 40th birthday! (grin)  Lucy had to stay home because she was performing a solo in a show in Plano.  The flight was long.  It's unbelievable how long it takes to get outta Texas - even in a plane!  The scenery wasn't bad though....

It's all kindof a blur to me now, but I think we stopped in Las Cruces, New Mexico for the night. Dinner choices were limited, so we ate at IHOP and stayed in a Motor Inn that was right out of the movies.  We thought we could do the rest of the trip the next day.  We were wrong, but we did learn a few things.

1.  Molly gets motion sickness.

2. Will gets sick when Molly gets sick.

3. Drew doesn't have the reflexes of a parent yet.

It was pretty exciting for a few minutes.  After that, we decided to land and give the kids a break  - and clean up the plane!  We stopped in Yuma, Arizona and stayed the night there.  The kids had pizza delivered and Karen and Jon stopped at a Vegan fast food restaurant.  Thankfully, the flight to SD from Yuma is short.  So we arrived Saturday morning in plenty of time to get to Alpine for the party.  The kids (yes, that includes Sam) had a great time in the pool.

Mamaw was the main attraction, but Parker was the center of attention!

Uncle Will loves Parker

And Parker LOVES Uncle Will!

This was the first real belly laugh we heard!

Molly is a great baby-holder!

A favorite picture of mine!

Of course there was a birthday party involved here.... Happy Birthday Mamaw.  We're so glad we could all get together to celebrate!  Doesn't she look great??

Here We Go!

I just left Ashley and Sam in the hospital! If all goes as planned, we'll have a new baby in our family tomorrow! I'm so excited I can't stand it!

Oh My Goodness!!

The best news deserves it's very own post - not that all the other kid's news isn't good, it's just this is REALLY good. Ashley is gonna have a BABY!! She's twelve weeks pregnant, which makes her due date April 29, 2008. She and Sam are very excited - as are the rest of us. OK, well, Jon isn't thrilled about the idea of being a Grandpa, but he's really happy for Ashley ad Sam! They've even heard a little heartbeat. And Ashley has been feeling great.

Speaking of Grandpa, I'm a little concerned about what this, certainly adorable little thing might be calling the mother of his/her mother. Now, I only ever called my Grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa. Jon's Grandmother was 'Mimi" and his grandfather was "Pappy." None of those are really working for me. So, I could use some help in the "what to call me" department. Please comment and give me your ideas. My dear, sweet brother, Rich, has already had a little fun with it. I'll let him comment further, if he desires. I'm serious, I have some time before the baby is speaking and can actually utter a name, but I have this feeling that Sam will be immediately referring to me as "Granny," or "Nana" or something even more scary! So please help.

But seriously, we are so thrilled for Ashley and Sam. Ashley will be the BEST mother ever, and this child will be ultra talented because he/she will play sports AND sing! Way to go Ash and Sam - we can't wait to meet the new little Schmidt!