Cozumel Vacation

I feel like I need to go to the beach every year. When I was growing up we went to see my dad's side of the family in Florida every summer, so I guess that's where it came from. It's just so relaxing and does something for my soul.  I also need to sleep in once a week (or so I thought when I was working. You didn't want to mess with me the next week if I missed my Saturday sleep in day). So seeing that I haven't slept in in an entire YEAR, I really needed a vacation!!

We planned our trip quite a while back. I figured Avery would be close to a year, so maybe I would feel more comfortable leaving her. We looked into different options (Cancun, Dominican Republic) but decided on Cozumel. I know, I know, there's travel advisories to Mexico, etc. but we weren't going to the border, and there haven't been any "drug cartel" problems where we went.

I first went to Cozumel when Andrea and my cruise ship stopped there for the day back in 2004. Then in 2005, Andrea, Vanessa and I stayed there-

It was such a fun vacation, so I suggested we stay at the same place - El Cozumeleno. Rustin was skeptical though. He thought maybe since that was the first time I ever stayed in Mexico at an all-inclusive resort, and I was fresh out of college... how should I say... my standards weren't as high?

But he gave in, and we had a BLAST (yes even Rustin was very impressed)! Here are a few pictures of the resort -

View from our hotel room  

We spent most of our time relaxing under those little huts by the beach. This is also where I got stung by bee. More on that later.  

The beach area was a little rocky, but that made it great for snorkeling. We saw tons of fish! The water was so clear and blue.  

And the food was amazing! We have never been really impressed with the food at all-inclusives in Mexico, but we were pleasantly surprised. There were only two restaurants - one casual, open-air one by the beach, then the fancy dinner restaurant.

I loved eating breakfast and drinking coffee while looking out at the ocean.  

Ah and then there's the dinner restaurant that apparently has a dress code. Men have to wear long pants and closed toed shoes, and since we were going on vacation to the beach, Rustin packed neither. Our only option was waiting until 9:30pm when there was no dress code. That sounds super late (especially since that's usually my bedtime) but it wasn't that bad. We'd eat a late snack and stay out by the beach/pool really late. Then by the time we got ready and hung out in the lobby for a little while, it was time to eat.


It was funny - the second night we were back home I was starving late at night and couldn't figure out why. Then I looked at the clock and it was 9:30! I guess my body was used to a four course meal at that time.

We both thought the food rivaled nice Dallas restaurants.

Then we (or should I say "I" since I don't think Rustin was ever worried about it) got brave and ventured into town. I was nervous, but when we got there, there was tons of other Americans because the cruise ships port there. It was a lot of fun exploring the area.

Then that night at the resort they had live music and dinner on the beach. We were expecting a mariachi band, but the band was actually pretty good and sang mainly covers of American songs. The best was when they sang "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band with their accents haha!

Now for the bad part of the trip that I mentioned earlier - I was stung by a bee for the first time. So Rustin and I were hanging out at the beach and suddenly I felt this awful pain on my inner bicep. It hurt so bad and I started crying and freaking out. Rustin thought it was weird since he's been stung by a bee and I guess it didn't hurt that bad. But I'm very allergic to things, and I felt my hands and feet going numb and Rustin could tell (and I could feel) my face and lips swelling. I also felt my throat getting tight. We ran into the lobby where Rustin found a paramedic. At this point I was also sweating profusely. I was so scared because I know when people are really allergic to things, their throat closes up. I know this may sound dramatic but that is the first time in my life I was truly scared I might die. If my throat closed up, an ambulance couldn't get there fast enough, plus I was in Mexico. I just kept praying for God to not let me die.

Rustin and a lady from the hotel ran up to our room and got Benadryl for me. I took 3, and the paramedic called the hospital. They said if I wasn't better in 10-15 minutes after the Benadryl, I would need to go there. Praise the Lord, I did get better. I just looked like I had a lot of Botox the rest of the day.

As I'm writing this, it's Sunday night (this happened Wed.) and I still have a rash that itches so much it keeps me up every night, and I am constantly putting cream on it. I tried to take a picture of it last night.

We are thankful for such an awesome vacation. I would miss it more, but I was so happy to get home and see Avery. I think she had a great time with her Nana though (my mom).

I'll close with a few more pictures -

Avery 11 Months

That's right - Avery is one month shy of a year!

Her little personality is coming out more and more. She is quite the little ham. She definitely gets that from her dad. My mom, grandma and I took her to eat at The Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago and she had a blast! I don't think she stopped eating from the moment she sat down. They gave her a "baby plate," which was bananas and bread, and she devoured that. I also fed her the food I brought for her as well as bites from our plates. She might have also had her first bite of cheesecake (don't tell her dad!). There was a station behind our booth where the waitstaff would put in their orders, and she loved showing off for all of them.

Then I had to take her to the doctor the other day. She has red bumps on her face we can't seem to get rid of. Come to find out she has perioral dermatitis...? Anyway while we were in the waiting room and there were people around, she was as happy as could be squealing and looking at them. But when we went to the exam room where it was just me and her, she got fussy. But then the nurse came and she was happy again and showing off.

She refuses to let me feed her anything. Last time I tried to give her something with the spoon she cried like I was hurting her. But the problem is she doesn't like dices of fruit or vegetables, so I had to get creative. I have to either smear baby food on bread or mix it with Cheerios and let her feed herself. It is so messy, but she loves it. I guess that's for the best since she still has zero teeth. This is her favorite way to sit...

I took the following video of her eating lunch, and I was tickling her feet. At the beginning you can see her trying to give me some of her pasta. That's her new thing - offering people her food, paci and bottle. She even tried to give Baloo her paci.  

She has also learned how to do several things this month. She knows how to wave bye bye now. Her Lolly (Rustin's mom) got her a recorder and she loves playing that. Rustin decided he wanted his drum that he got in Morocco on display, and she's learned how to play that too. Another one of her favorites is her sippy cup. She takes drinks as if she's dying of thirst then breathes really hard when she's finished. I've tried giving her juice, but she only likes water. But that works for me!

I'm surprised no one called CPS on me because for weeks she had Howard Hughes fingernails. I tried every trick in the book and she would not let me cut them. I tried distracting her with TV, teaming with Rustin to cut them, even sneaking in while she was sleeping. Nothing worked. But I finally figured it out - do it when she's in her high chair. She doesn't even notice.

I wish I had done this other months but I thought I would write down our little routine (times are approximate):

6:30 - wake up
7:00 - go for a 30 minute walk/jog (this is the only time of day it's cool enough)
8:00 - breakfast
9:00 - nap
11:30 - lunch
1:00 nap
3:00 - snack time
The time between when she wakes up from her afternoon nap and when we start bedtime is the longest and also the time when she's most prone to being fussy, so that's when we usually run errands. It seems there's always somewhere I need to go, and she is happy as long as we're moving.
5:30 - dinner followed by bath then bottle, books, and bed. I usually end up getting her down around 7pm and she rolls around and plays in her crib for a while before going to sleep.

Photos at Watters Creek

Rustin and a couple of his friends he works with are trying to learn more about photography. They decided for us to get together and take some pictures. They were going to take pictures of our family and also of Rustin's friend and his pregnant wife. The plan was to go to the Arboretum on Sunday at 4pm. I was dreading it because it was going to be SO hot! 

Luckily they changed the plan to meet at Watters Creek, which is in Allen and much closer to us, in the morning. Although it was hard to wake up since we went to a wedding reception the night before (they got married in Italy), I am so glad we did it then instead of the afternoon. 

I'll be honest, I didn't have high hopes for these pictures. Even when we get pictures professionally done, I only like maybe 10% of them. But I was quite surprised! Laura did a GREAT job! And the location turned out better than I thought too. As you can tell (if you're looking at my actual site), I even made one of them my new header. Here are a few of the pictures...

Wichita Falls Trip

Last week Avery and I made a trip to Wichita Falls - my hometown and "God's country" according to my dad.

We go back there about every 6 weeks. Why 6 weeks? Because, yes, I still get my hair done there. I go to the same lady who has done it since early college. Every time I've gotten it done in Dallas, I've paid double and ended up with super short orange hair. But that's not the whole reason. I can't stay away from my family very long, so it also gives me a good excuse to visit. And they like seeing me... or Avery. 

The drive was a little more treacherous than normal. As I left Allen, I noticed my gas tank was about half full. I should have stopped but I thought a half a tank could get me there. More on that later.

I don't go the way most people go from Dallas to WF. Since we are so far north, it is about the same distance for me to go up to Sherman and take 82. There is less traffic and more places for me to pull over with Avery if I need to. Overall I just feel like it's a safer route. I also love feeling like I'm in the country. And I love driving through Nocona. My best friend in high school, Sandy, lived there for a while and I think I spent every weekend of my sophomore year there.

Anyway my gas tank started to dip quicker than expected but it started POURING rain. Who wants to pump gas in the rain?? Plus Avery was asleep and if there's one rule we live by at my house it is NEVER wake the baby!

The rain stopped around Saint Jo (if you recognize any of the towns I have named so far, you are a true Texan), but I guess I zoned out on memories in Nocona because getting gas was the last thing on my mind. Then my gas light came on. If you're familiar with this route, you know there is NOTHING for miles. Yes, there's Ringgold, but there's no gas stations there. 

I've always judged people who ran out of gas. I always wondered how dumb you had to be. I mean do you not see your tank gauge or gas light? I also knew that if I did run out of gas, the person I would be forced to call would be my dad. He thinks his tank is low if it is below 3/4 of a tank. I knew that phone call would not be pretty.

Avery was sound asleep in the backseat as I felt my car start to sputter (is that the right word??). I felt like it was my "Jesus Take the Wheel" moment. I've never had a panic attack but I am certain I did right then. I was sure we were running out of gas. I started breathing really fast and my heart was beating out of my chest. I kept praying for God to get me to Henrietta.

We made it to Henrietta.

I feel like I just wrote a lot of build up for nothing. Anyway lesson learned. I will fill up before leaving town from now on. I didn't even tell my dad when I got to town. I didn't want the lecture, but I'm pretty sure my phone will be ringing any second now...

So while in WF Avery got to see Uncle Colby's new apartment. It's really nice and looks out over Lake Wellington.

She also made her first trip to one of my all-time favorite restaurants - Samurai of Tokyo. We figured the guy making the food would keep her entertained. Well instead he scared her and she started crying at the top of her lungs. Here are a few pictures. My mom's going to kill me for the first one.

We also ate at Jason's Deli. They just got one there and they think it's super awesome. I had my fill of Jason's Deli when I worked at IBM. Angie and I went there every day for lunch. So much so our coworkers asked us if we owned stock. But anyway I think my parents wanted to get the all you can eat ice cream. My PE teacher from elementary school was working the door.

Avery is still obsessed with Willie, and now that she can crawl, he's in trouble.

We had a great time and can't wait to go back... in a few weeks...

Avery 10 Months

Wow! I can't believe she's 10 months! I always felt like her turning a year old was an eternity away, but now that she's 10 months, it hit me that it's only 2 months away!! And I also realized that I have done zero to prepare for her first birthday. Luckily I'm planning on doing something low-key. Around Dallas it seems people go all out and stop just short of having Katy Perry as the live entertainment. Not here. It will be something simple with just family and close friends.

Here are pictures from her monthly photo shoot -

This month has been pretty crazy. I didn't want to admit this in her 9 month post, but things were pretty easy back then. She couldn't crawl and had grown out of her colic (or whatever she had) so life was a breeze. I could put her on her quilt and she would quietly play with her toys (not going anywhere) while I washed dishes or made bottles or whatever.

...Then she started crawling. I guess that was her "present" to me, because the first time she crawled was on my birthday. She has not slowed down since, and my life has drastically changed. I've heard this forever, but now I know the meaning of "you have to watch her every second." I turn my head to look at something and turn it back and she's somehow doing something she's not supposed to.

Case in point - our dog has this annoying habit where he drops a couple pieces of food on the carpet. Anyway I saw the piece of food earlier and meant to pick it up but didn't. Well I put Avery on the floor and went to get her bottle. When I came back, she was in the spot where the food was. She was chewing something with a strange look on her face. Yeah. Gross.

I am OCD clean and I have been going insane since she started crawling. It doesn't help that we have a horse-size dog that I swear loses half his body weight in hair in the summer. The vacuum and I have had daily meetings.

She has had a lot of "firsts" this month. Of course crawling -

Her favorite place to crawl is all the way to the end of the hall where her daddy is working in the office. It's quite the hike for such a little girl, but she loves visiting him!

If you're interested, I posted a couple of crawling videos on her YouTube channel. There's nothing in them that's going to make them go viral or anything, but I thought it would be fun for out-of-town family to get to see her crawl. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/samrandrews

Then Rustin's grandma, Joy, came for a visit. This is the first time she has met any of her great-grandparents on Rustin's side.

And she celebrated her first 4th of July!

Let's see - she weighs about 18 pounds. She still is not a huge fan of solids, but we keep trying. She likes finger foods better than me feeding her anything.

She FINALLY (at 9.5 months) started taking longer naps. The Healthy Sleep Habits book said they should start napping "by the clock" with two naps at around 9am and 1pm that last at least an hour at about 5 months. Ha! I guess she's just a late bloomer, but it did eventually happen.

And no she still does not have any signs of teeth!

I seriously love her so much. I wonder what I did with my life before she came along!

When I was 17...

I don't know what's got me thinking about this lately. I didn't think I cared about turning 30. But this last week I've been a little depressed about it.

I've been listening to Eric Church's song, Springsteen, a lot because I love it! If you like country music, check it out. But in the song he talks about being 17, and it's got me thinking about when I was 17. And then I did the math - that was 13 years ago - almost half my life!

When I was 17, "parents" were in their own category. I mean you would ask your friends if parents were going to be there when you were coming over. It was so much more fun if they weren't. You never wanted parents to listen in on your phone calls (we didn't text back then) because they wouldn't get it. And God forbid anyone call either of your parents "hot." Gross! Parents were NOT hot.

Parents went to bed at 9pm, and even when they didn't have to, they still woke up before 7am. They watched boring stuff like the news and acted appalled when you listened to whatever song was popular at the time. They also did not get your fashion choices, even though looking back, I see why.

But it hit me this past week. I am now a parent. I am in that category. Lord help me, I do go to bed at 9pm and wake up before 7am (although at this point that is still not by choice).

I will never be that high school kid again. The kid who could stay up all hours of the night and still make it to school on time (granted in high school, I slept through a lot of classes). I can't do dumb stuff anymore and people say "oh she's just a kid." No, I HAVE a kid now. I'll never again live those days where I had no responsibility, no one depending on me, no one looking up to me.

What's ironic is I've spent the better part of my adult life wanting to be where I am now. I'm that person who has wanted to get married pretty much since I graduated high school. I've never been that into a career because my dream was to be a stay at home mom. And now I have it. I have it all, and what am I thinking about? High school. The place I couldn't wait to get out of.

I know when Avery graduates, I will be watching and crying because I will remember when she was a little baby and only wanted her mommy and would let me rock her before bed while we read books and I kissed her fuzzy head. I know I will miss these days much more than I am missing high school right now.

For me, it is just a reminder to be thankful for where you are because you will never be here again. This stage in your life, no matter the difficulties that come with it, will never be repeated. And believe it or not, you will more than likely nostalgically look back on it one day wishing you could be here again.

I know Avery will be grown up in the blink of an eye, and I pray I enjoy each minute of it.

I don't know if any of my high school friends read my blog. But if you are, I had a great time with you back then and still think of you. Thanks to Facebook I can stalk you and see what's going on in your lives :)

I thought I'd post a few pictures of back in the day (I can't believe I'm posting some of these). Most of my pictures must be at my parents' house because I couldn't find many.

First off, who remembers the Probe?? And yes, my parents still live at that house in the background.

When I moved to Dallas, people were shocked to learn I used to ride horses. Well one horse, my beloved Amigo.

And friends...

Thanks for letting me reminisce...