Summer Swimming

Been swimming so much already, and it's just now June!!!  I'm attaching 2 videos of these cuties, and then the rest are just cute pictures taken at either our neighbor Chris and Jenica's or Grams and Papa's!

1, 2, 3, BLAST OFF!

Just swimming-

Casey's 32nd Birthday!

Casey turned 32 on Saturday!! We went to Top Golf with Grams, Papa, Kendra, and Luis. It. Was. A. Blast! As non-athletic and uncoordinated as I am, I am happy to report I won the entire night's competition. I pinged the golfball-collecting-cart TWICE! :)

Teaching me what to do- I eventually have in and tried it left handed. Much better! 

Getting the game figured out-

He's got such an awesome swing!

Trying to see where his ball went.

The Dowell-Blay clan!

You get a 3 minute warning your game is about to end. What do you do? Wave out as many balls as possible to extend your game at least 30 extra minutes!

Happy birthday babe! Love you!!

Awesome Neighbors

We seriously picked the best possible street to move to. Our neighbors are AWESOME- and almost everyone has little kids. Several times we've grilled out in our driveway and it's turned into a block party, and we went to the Krugers both days last weekend and swam in their awesome pool ALL day on Saturday and Sunday! It was SO fun... 

Tate and Maizy hanging in the shade-

Jumping off the waterfall-

Dax loved jumping too- this is from the hot tub ledge, but he'd jump from anything!

They even have a sno cone machine!!

Mother's Day 2013 <3

What an AWESOME Mother's Day with my sweet fam! Here are some pictures :)

Trying to get a decent photo while everyone's in their Sunday best. HA! I love Dax scampering off with my rose he'd given me then snapped in half, me pulling his shirt, Ada's expression & body language, and Tate's screaming. It doesn't get more classic Dowell fam than that!!

My boys working hard to grant mommy's Mother's Day wish- some colorful plants and black mulch in the front yard. 

Maybe if I get IN the hole...

Ada had a blast digging, planting, and watering. Of course! So pretty- 

Tate did decently well! I had to watch from the sidelines about 75% of the time holding the bubbs, but when he was in his chair he was having fun punching and kicking his toys like crazy :)

After we'd gotten the kids to bed (sort of - Tate's in my lap and Dax wouldn't stay in bed)- we are grilled burgers and drank Coronas on the driveway, enjoying our freshly beautified front lawn! (I wish I'd taken a before and after picture- it really looks so great!)

My gift the boys made at Sunday School, so precious!! Ada made me several precious gifts too. Definitely a WONDERFUL Mother's Day!!

And I'll leave you with a picture of all 4 generations of my grandma, mom, me, and Ada from several years ago <3

Member's Only Day- Moody Gardens Palm Beach!

Grams and Papa have gifted us a family membership to Moody Gardens several years in a row now- and every year about this time they hold the grand opening of the little beach/water park Palm Beach, open to members only!

We LOVE going on this day because it is so calm, relaxed, and NOT crowded. And of COURSE we visit the Aquarium and Rainforest pyramids while we're there too. We didn't do any 4D or IMAX experiences this time, but lots of animals were out and active which the kids wouldn't trade for sitting in a dark theatre for the world! Ada even held a butterfly. Probably the most significant event in her life to date. :)

Daddy was a trooper and swam and kept up with the two older kids at Palm Beach while Tate and I lounged in the shade. Everyone slept until 7:30 this morning we had such a packed weekend! (Bridgeland held the annual Naturefest on Saturday which was awesome- as well as a tee ball game!)

It's 9:00 pm...

... and I have two snoring men in my bed. Go ahead. Be jealous.

First Family Walk as 5 :)

Introducing Tate Anders Dowell!

It's a boy!  And he's here!  Tate Anders Dowell was born at 2:23 on March 4, 2013.  Weighing in at 9lbs 1oz and 21 in long- he's absolutely perfect!  We are madly in love.

Here's the long overdue post about his arrival. :)

I went into labor Sunday night- the contractions I'd been having on and off for WEEKS (yes weeks, I'd been swearing I was going into labor and then Tate would move, causing my labor to stall)- finally turned into the real deal.  The contractions were officially painful (no longer just "strong pressure")- but not consistent enough to go into the hospital just yet.  I managed to get some sleep and woke up about 4:30 the next morning.  They were getting more consistent- and went from 15 min apart to 10 min apart to 7 min apart within about 45 min (do the math- that is a FAST progression!)  Steve got here just in time for them to be 3 minutes apart and us to make the 30 minute drive to Katy.  

I stayed surprisingly calm throughout it all- no crying, screaming, or puking (unlike Dax's labor!).  I got my epidural about 8 cm (because I was so scared to push out what could be a 10 lb baby with no drugs!)- Tate was in fact in a weird position at 8 cm, they had me get into a weirder position to correct it, and he popped out literally 6 minutes later!  

Not to brag or anything (ok, I'm bragging), but the nurses said they wish they'd had a video camera to film everything and post to YouTube as the most graceful labor and delivery ever.  

Thank you, thank you very much!  ;)

This is me about to have a contraction right as Casey snapped the picture-

Let's try again-

IT'S A BOY!

Most beautiful head and face ever.

9lb 1.3oz 

So alert

He grabbed Casey's finger and inspected it at 3 minutes old...

Back in mommy's arms- where he's stayed for the last 13 days!

Grams and Papa!

Some daddy snuggle time

He didn't sleep much that first night- he was so into learning all about this new place!

MiMi brought Ada and Dax the next day- Dax is topless in these pictures because he immediately barged in, picked up my cup of (cooled) coffee, and dumped it all over himself.  Woops!

"Now YOU kiss Tate, Dax!"

Mommy's tired and Ada's unsure-

MiMi!

MorMor!

In his "Just Born" monthly onesie sticker!

Favorite activity at 43 hours old: yawning.

Getting ready to go home!!!

Loading up in the car-

What is this thing!?

Love him!

MiMi kept the kids for an extra 2 days after we left the hospital- and it was so wonderful to extend the new baby bubble for a little while longer.  

I missed my older crazies so much though, and was so happy to see them!  

This is right when they got home-

And a few videos of my sweet boy and family the first couple days of his life:

Hanging at the hospital in the middle of the night-

Leaving the hospital!

Dax at the hospital-