Ian Performing on Video

This video is especially for the Duke side of the family. Yesterday, Ian went swimming with Grandma, Grandpa, and his aunts Audra, Natalie, and Ariel. That evening, during our discussion of the day's events, we reviewed all those names. He never really got Grandpa (sorry, Daddy), but he did pretty good on the rest. Check it out!

First Time at Moody Gardens

Last weekend Daniel and I went to get our Moody Gardens passes made. For those of you that don't know what Moody Gardens is, its a local tourist attraction that consists of a rain forest, aquarium, and and a large swimming area named Palm Beach. There are other things to do there but I don't really know what. Since we were there and had some free time on our hands,we took Ian to the rain forest for the very first time. He was enthralled!!! The kid just kept walking around in awe of the animals and water. Some of his favorites were the bats(no good pics) and the colorful macaws. There were also some brightly colored birds walking around and he had fun following them around too. I think we will be visiting Moody Gardens a lot this summer. I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Look what Ian and Daddy do when they get creative...too funny!!! Daniel called him the "Activia King",and Ian loved it! He even went and sat in his "throne" for pictures. I love the last one...he looks the part of king:) I am having so much fun with Ian in this phase of his toddlerhood. He has a wonderful imagination and is always learning something new.

Busy boys...

Ian and Maddox are practically brothers. I am so glad Ian gets to have a little play pal right now. Maddox is very special to him. Even though he is only 18 months, I hope that somehow Ian will remember this special time in his life.

Monica Holmes is now Monica Malloy

One of my best friends,Monica got married on Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding! She and her husband Sean just moved in a few doors down from us. I look forward to being their neighbor and having a walking/running partner once again! Don't they look happy?

A Very Special Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was special indeed! My little boy said "Happy Mommy Day" upon my waking up!(I got to sleep in a bit thanks to Dan) My special present from Ian was a personalised bottle of perfume from Clinique that had a picture of us on it. I also got an awesome pink tool kit and a deep fryer that I will be using in the near future. Fried chicken anyone? It was a wonderful day that was spent with loved ones and will hold special memories for a long time. I hope all of you Mommies also had a fun day with your family!!!

Bethany came for a visit!

Daniel's sister Bethany came down from Waco to stay with us all last week!
I loved it!! We got to spend a lot of much needed quality time together. We have really gotten to know one another better over the past couple of months and I praise God for such a wonderful sister-in-law. I miss her so much already...I hope she plans on coming down again in the near future:) Here are a couple pictures of Ian posing with his "Aunt B".

Recent Photos on the Beach...

The three of us...

Ian and Mommy

Exploring...

An attempt at an "artistic" shot

Daniel and I took Ian to walk on the rocks down on the seawall last week after dinner. I was a little apprehensive because up until that day he has been terrified of water. I mean shaking head to toe terrified! To my amazement,when Ian saw the water,he starting screaming "blue" over and over again!! He is now no longer afraid of the water...he loves it! Here are a few pictures I took that evening...maybe we will make a trip down soon to play in the water!!!

Four Generations!!!

And here is the ONLY halfway decent picture of the four generations. Who would have thought it would be so hard to get them all to smile at the same time?

A Visit from the Great-Grandparents!

Daniel's Grandparents from West Texas came down for the weekend for Christopher Duke's(Dan's youngest brother) Graduation Ceremony. It was a big event! It was a blast having most of the immediate family around. Ian especially liked having the chance to grab Great-Grandmother and Great Granddaddy's undivided attention! Here he is brushing up on his reading skills and showing off his squirminess!