Last week, we got to take our first family road trip! On our way to Houston to see family, we drove over to Dallas to visit our friends,
Jared and Katie Bares, and to take John to his first Astros game!
We had so much fun! AND the Astros, who are currently 32-49 for the season, actually WON that night and broke the Rangers' 11 game winning streak! John must be their good luck charm! :) Anyways, Jared and Katie have a 7 month old baby boy named Logan, who is the happiest little guy! I somehow failed to take any family photos of them, but here's a photo I took of Andy with Logan and John this weekend while they stayed at our place on their way to Colorado.
So back to our trip... After a short overnight stay in Dallas, we stopped for just a bit to visit one of my very good friends from PT school, Van Nguyen. Her fiance, Minh, also came by - we can't wait for their wedding this fall! I sure wish I had taken my camera in and snapped a few photos, though - Van is so cute with baby John! And she sure spoiled him with very sweet gifts (and us with yummy bagels for breakfast)!
So thoughtful and generous! Too much, too much, Vannie -- but thanks again!
Our visit with Van and Minh was cut short so we could get on the road to Houston. We first stayed with my parents for a couple days and got to see Jenny, Jae and Ethan. We had a great time! Thanks for everything, Gramma and Gramps!
Mom and Dad's neighbors, Ken and Mary Louise, joined us for dinner one night. They were cute, fighting over who would hold John -- I think Ken won!
Here's a cute one of Ethan and Gramps: Ethan got to sit on the barstool for the first time with Gramps -- what a big boy!
Gramma getting a snuggle from John (aren't his overalls cute? Thanks to his Great Aunt Sharon and Uncle Ray for those!)
Gramps with his two grandsons:
Ethan being sweet with John. Maybe he's teaching him a secret hand shake...
Tummy time!
A happy Gramma and Gramps:
Aunt Jenny and cousin Ethan -- what a cutie!
Aunt Jenny holding John:
A quick family photo before we hit the road again:
Next (and last) stop was in The Woodlands to see Andy's parents and brother Dave. Again, we had a wonderful time! Thanks for everything, Pinkie and Pa! Wayne also sure enjoyed playing with their dog Molly for a few days! Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out much, thus there are very few photos from our time in The Woodlands.
Here's a good one of 3 generations:
Having fun with Pinkie!
John thinking about giving Pinkie a smile!
We had a wonderful trip, though it was a complete whirlwind! We're so glad we got to take this trip before Andy starts his summer clerkship and I return to work, we just wish we could have spent more time at each place! We loved the company and ate VERY well, of course! :) So much for losing that baby weight! ;) Also, John did pretty darn well in the carseat for umpteen hours... though he lost his sanity a few times, we're proud of him! What a trooper!
Well we hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend! God bless you and God bless our soldiers! Take care!
Love,
Andy, Abby, John, and Wayne-Dog
Later on, he was excited to discover the mobile above his swing! Of course I didn't get a picture of him grinning, but I thought this was a pretty cute one anyways:
Have a great weekend!
Bedtime story with Momma -- this was the night before I started back at work. (Andy started working full-time for his clerkship at a great firm here in town the week before). Everyone at work has been wonderful, but it was sure tough on me to leave John! Luckily, Gramma (my mom) came up for the first week and a half to watch John, then Pinkie (Andy's mom) came for the next week and a half. It's been SOOOO nice to have their help, and it made it much easier on me! They would even bring John up to work to visit me on my lunch break everyday! And having dinner ready on the stove when I got home wasn't too shabby either! ;) We sure got spoiled! Starting on Monday, John will start at an in-home daycare here in town. I'm sure he'll do great (though it will be tough on Momma!). Thank you again to Gramma and Pinkie! We love y'all!
Busy melting hearts...
haha, LOVE this one! His shirt reads "Mister Charming" haha! Thanks to his Aunt Laura for the cute outfit!
Oh, but here comes the charm!
My boys!
Flirtin' with Momma:
Bedtime stories with Daddy! John gave him this book for Father's Day.
Wayne's turn! haha, what a good dog -- he tolerates so much!
In early July, we attended a wedding (Jordan and Tricia Matchen) and John finally got to sport his tuxedo t-shirt bib! haha, I think Andy may have enjoyed it more than John!
Looks like he's had enough of the party! ;)
This month John has REALLY started smiling! Here he just finished eating (see the milk drooling out of the corner of his mouth). Man, he just MELTS our hearts with every little smile!
Big blue eyes!
Looking into his Daddy's eyes... he really locks in on ya when he's looking at you these days! So much fun watching him learn and grow!
Love this one...
Smiling at his toys! John loves hanging out in his floor gym and talking to his toys -- he'll talk up a storm! Gramma snapped this one when she was watching him last week:
Awwww... snuggling with his Gramma:
That's one happy Gramma!
Our "Cradle Catholic"! haha, his Aunt Laura (and Godmother) made this for him for his Baptism back in May:
"Who me?"
Hangin' out with Pinkie:
Andy, John and Pinkie:
Our "All American" Boy!
Well that's it for now! Thanks again to both of our moms for their gracious help for these first 3 weeks back at work! It's been a big blessing -- we're so grateful!
He also started smiling today when Daddy was playing with him! Of course he's been smiling because of gas for quite a while now, but this was the real deal today! :) We didn't catch it all on camera, but here are the best shots...
I absolutely love this one -- he was laughing at his Daddy! Too bad the camera focused on Andy's hands instead of John's face... but cute nonetheless! :) 
We had so much fun! AND the Astros, who are currently 32-49 for the season, actually WON that night and broke the Rangers' 11 game winning streak! John must be their good luck charm! :) Anyways, Jared and Katie have a 7 month old baby boy named Logan, who is the happiest little guy! I somehow failed to take any family photos of them, but here's a photo I took of Andy with Logan and John this weekend while they stayed at our place on their way to Colorado.
So back to our trip... After a short overnight stay in Dallas, we stopped for just a bit to visit one of my very good friends from PT school, Van Nguyen. Her fiance, Minh, also came by - we can't wait for their wedding this fall! I sure wish I had taken my camera in and snapped a few photos, though - Van is so cute with baby John! And she sure spoiled him with very sweet gifts (and us with yummy bagels for breakfast)! So thoughtful and generous! Too much, too much, Vannie -- but thanks again!
Here's a cute one of Ethan and Gramps: Ethan got to sit on the barstool for the first time with Gramps -- what a big boy!
Gramma getting a snuggle from John (aren't his overalls cute? Thanks to his Great Aunt Sharon and Uncle Ray for those!)
Gramps with his two grandsons:
Ethan being sweet with John. Maybe he's teaching him a secret hand shake...
Tummy time!
A happy Gramma and Gramps:
Aunt Jenny and cousin Ethan -- what a cutie!
Aunt Jenny holding John:
A quick family photo before we hit the road again:
Next (and last) stop was in The Woodlands to see Andy's parents and brother Dave. Again, we had a wonderful time! Thanks for everything, Pinkie and Pa! Wayne also sure enjoyed playing with their dog Molly for a few days! Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out much, thus there are very few photos from our time in The Woodlands.
Having fun with Pinkie!
John thinking about giving Pinkie a smile!
