Gone To Texas! (Part 1- Houston)

We went to Texas last month, to visit with friends and family  in Houston and

 for Shelby's wedding in San Antonio.

Zack and I decided I would go down a week early with the kids, spend some time in Houston for a few days, and he would then meet us in SA that following weekend. These plans had been set for a good 3 months, even still, every time I thought about flying with the kids on my own, I honestly got so nervous, I had to think about something else.

 

The Flight

 

As the day got closer and I had to face reality, I did so by stocking up on snacks and games and treats,  but I also found myself preparing mentally, by thinking  about all my amazing mommy friends who teach me things every day and how on that day, I wanted to be just like them! So I prayed that I could see humor in situations naturally, be a good planner, be nurturing and loving, be easygoing and flexible and while doing all of this, have some amount of grace! : )

 

Who knows if I was granted all of those qualities to be up for the task, but I will say one thing, my girl Bekah was THE BEST!

She had the best behavior, so patient, so kind, so obedient, I couldn't have asked for a better traveling buddy!

We flew first to Chicago, only an hour flight (9am to 10am) , but I was on such a high that we accomplished the first leg, I had Bekah take a picture next to the dancing Belushi, because I too felt like dancing!

 

 

We had a bit of a layover in Chicago, which was perfect because it gave Benjamin time to take  his morning nap in the stroller. Which is another thing, let me just say how much I fell in love with my Bob all over again! We used this, instead of my umbrella stroller because Bekah can sit on the point of it, it's like a double stroller, but not! : ) I know, not the safest, but desperate times, desperate measures! PLUS, when we flew back with Zack, it was the "baggage holder" while each one of us held a kid! ( You can fit two carseats and two carry ons on that bad boy!)

 

 

Basically, since Bekah was such a rock star the whole day, my job was to keep this little guy happy and contented, the passy and his sleepsack were two crucial elements!

 

As soon as we started strolling the Chicago airport, he was out like a light! Bekah and I were able to grab some lunch, go to the bathroom, it was great!

 

 

Kudos to Southwest for having a "tot spot" at some of the gates, with a TV, kid table, lots of crawling space, this mommy really appreciated it!

 

 

The flight from Chicago to Houston was 2.5 hours long and thank goodness the first flight went so well because I had an extra sense of excitement and confidence going into it, which helped!

 

Here are some tips that I would love to pass on!

 

- the night before I flew out, I realized, after spending many days with Benjamin trying to grab everything Bekah has, it dawned on me that the precious IPAD that I would be depending on to keep Bekah happy, would be coveted by Benjamin the ENTIRE flight, preventing any kind of peace on her end! So, I decided we would have to sit across the isle from her, offering him no opportunity to play with her dollies, her coloring book, and yes, the IPAD. SO happy it occurred to be before we stepped on the airplane so I could prepare Bekah and ask her to be brave about it, which she totally was!

- BOB stroller with 2 kids works like a charm!

- IPAD for the older kid, very light, and if it contains new Little Einstein episodes on it, the fun never ends!

- playdough for Benjamin! he loved breaking apart the pieces and putting them back into the containers and if i kept the passy in, he never tried to eat it.

- snacks galore, that was our biggest time wasting activity. the applesauce was the clincher though! give the boy a spoon, a bib and his own little cup of applesauce and the excitement of trying to feed himself lasts for THIRTY minutes! amazing really! never thought applesauce could be so fun! and not too messy, it's basically clear after all!

- those sticky placemats from chick filet are great for putting on the tray table, so they can then eat off of it and you don't have to worry about germs.

- regardless, clorox wipes were my best friend that day, on the plane AND in the bathroom!

- took the advice of a friend to not drink much at all that day, so i didn't have to go to the bathroom on the plane with both kids. i bribed bekah to go before and after each flight, so she never had to go either.

- go to the bathroom BEFORE getting your luggage!

- get a luggage cart before you go to the baggage claim. pull the luggage cart, while pushing the stroller with the two kids in it. a challenge? yes! but gets the job done in a manageable way!

( I had two suitcases, two carseats, two carry ons, two kids and a partridge in a pear tree!)

 

In the end, Bekah's awesomeness : ), the kind people that happened to sit next to us, the timing of it all, the fact that there always seemed to be a way to pacify Benjmain : ) and most importantly my friend's and family's prayers, we survived! And wouldn't you know, the hardest part of the whole day was getting those darn carseats in the rental car???? It took me OVER 20 minutes! Next time I may just rent carseats!

 

Regardless, it was a whirlwind of a day, so this blurry picture of my little man who required every last ounce of energy from me, pretty much sums it up! 

 

Houston

 

When we got there, we hit the ground running!

First things first, family!

(Uncle Jeff, Aunt Rani, Brittany, Aunt Kath, Ryan, Allegra and Baby Carter)

 

Aunt Katherine had the house looking so lovely, how wonderful it was to be back in our old home that we love so much!

 

Bekah playing with Brittany ( Aunt Rani's sister)

 

 

Aunt Rani and Aunt Kath cooked a yummy meal for us!

 

Benjamin had been missing Aunt Rani's lovin!

 

And introducing the newest baby in the family, my cousin Ryan's little boy, Carter!

 

Aunt Kath sure was proud to meet her cute little nephew!

Congrats Frolow family! We are so happy for you!

 

Everyone was sweet to Benjamin, wanting to celebrate his birthday early,

thanks Aunt Rani and Aunt Kath!

 

I didn't bring many toys to Houston because I promised Bekah we could open up one of the boxes we left there, full of toys. It was really fun opening it up and rediscovering old toys that seemed brand  new again!

 

Ooooh, one of the things I was most excited about for this trip was,  we were going to meet 2 very special boys!

 First boy we met was Baby Paul!

Our dear friends Kim and Hugh adopted this precious little boy, and what a gift he is, to all of us!

 

That Sunday, we threw Kim her Sip and See.

Just look at that little angel!

 

The guest of honor did eventually wake up, so everyone could see that cute personality of his!

 

Kim with her hostesses that love her and her family so much!

 

After the sip and see, we got to go over to Little Catherine's house and run around in Princess dresses while riding on stick horses! Right up Bekah's alley! Bekah is always so happy with precious Little Catherine, wish I could have gotten a pic of that special playdate!

 

 

Next day I got to meet Nicklas, Tracy's little sweetheart!

Just like his big brother, he is a cutie!

 

I love this picture of them together!

 

 

That afternoon the playgroup met up at our favorite West U Park, Huffington!

Catherine and Lauren, Ting and Fisher

 

 

 

 

Bekah picked up right from where she left off with all these good buddies of hers!

 

Dance class buds, Ashley and Lina.

 

 

 

Jack, Colt, Lina and Bekah, a few of the original Storytime friends!

(teehee, Bekah isn't too much into posing for the camera today, but the other cuties were!)

 

Jack and Colt, two of Bekah's favorite boys!

 

 

Val and James, Ting and I

 

 

Sweet Fisher  giving Benjamin a pat pat : ).

 

It felt wonderful to be back here with all these amazing mommy friends and their darling kids!

 

It was like we had never left . . . which made me happy, but also sad. . .

 We even got a party favor from one of the birthdays we missed this summer, a personalized Zoo shirt that Benjamin is wearing! Isn't that so sweet?

 

I'm telling you, these friends of mine in Houston have been so incredible with our move, their support has made SUCH a difference for my family and I! I really can't thank them enough!

 

James and Benjamin

 

Thanks to Aunt Katherine for Benjamin's birthday cake as well! We had fun munching on it the whole time we stayed with her!

 

 

 

It was Benjamin's first taste of cake actually! No surprise, this Burkhart was like all the rest of us and scarfed it down!

 

Kath you were the best hostess, making us feel so comfortable and welcome, thank you so much again for EVERYTHING!

We love you!

 

We loved staying in our old house . . . but if I thought too hard about it, I got sad, I guess just like anyone else in their first house. What a blessing it is that we still get to go back though!

 

We are thrilled to be going to San Antonio, but part of my heart will always belong to Houston. : )

 

Next day we had a playdate with our friends Kim, Jack and Paul!

(please note, anytime Bekah's outfit looks like something just "isn't right", you can assume that mommy's coaxing only got so far and I decided to let her "express herself." that outfit had potential, we were doing well, until she decided she was cold and that her pj bottoms would "do just the trick!" teehee! it makes me giggle really!)

 

Bekah needed some more time with Jack,

 

and  I needed to see that sweet Paul some more!

 

That afternoon I was so grateful to Ms Emily and Samantha for stopping by to eat lunch with us! Just like my church friends and neighborhood friends, we miss this family so much! Bekah and Samantha had so much fun together, I hate that we moved right around the time that they started to play so well together, but that's okay, I know we will be seeing this family alot when we move back!

 

Aunt Rani even had to stop by one last time to say goodbye to us before we drove to SA,

thanks Aunt Rani for being such a caring Auntie!

 

So the last night in Houston was not to be spent in our old house, but at Lina's house for a SLEEPOVER! It was, in Bekah's world, the event of the year, we had talked up this sleepover ever since we found out we were moving, we were ALL excited!

 

But you know what my sweet friend Val did first? She hosted a playdate at her house that afternoon and celebrated Benjamin's Birthday!

SUCH a wonderful thing to do for a friend, Val is just that loving and gracious!

Thank you to everyone for coming and wanting to help us celebrate out little Benjamin!

 

 The yummy cake:

 

 

Some of our precious friends eating the yummy cake!

 

Benjamin's stroller aerobics buddy, Sophia!

Really, could she get any cuter??

 

The birthday boy himself!

 

Once again, eating cake and loving it!

He ate cake 3 times that week, a good Burkhart never turns down cake!

 

So happy to spend time with Sweet Margaret that day!

I never get enough time with this awesome girl!

 

Benjamin, playing with his friend Rhett, their due dates were only 3 days apart!

 

Playing with James, reminds me of Bekah and Lina's days in music class.

I sure wish Benjamin and James could continue that tradition with Prelude!

 

Yay! We got to see Nicklas again! Back to back days, what a treat!

 

Also wish I could be doing stroller aerobics again with Lauren this year!

 

 

Diane and Tracy, so thankful God put such kind and encouraging mommies like these in my life!

 

And now, it was time, time for the sleepover!

Everything was so perfectly planned out by Val, even down to their matching Rapunzel nightgowns!

( that Bekah will be wearing for Halloween actually! Teehee!)

 

Of course there were many outfit changes before the nightgowns were put on.

 

 

Once our sweet boys were down for the night, it was time to focus on our darling girls.

Lina let Bekah watch a ballet and Bekah was mesmerized!

 

 

Ballet is a very special part of their friendship, they went to a real ballet together and we took dance class together, so we had to dedicate part of our evening to this shared love : ).

 

Val had the girls make their own pizzas that night, such a fun idea!

 By 9 o'clock, we finally had the

nightgowns on, ready for tooth brushing, but not without a few headbands changes . . Since headbands are soo much cooler than bows these days . . : )

 

Yeah, it was a late night, but Val and I wouldn't have had it any other way, the 4 of us were in need of some good quality time together!

 

And it really was like they just picked up from where they left off, Bekah truly adores this BFF of hers and to see her in person and see their special friendship strengthen even more that night was so reassuring! As much as toddlers can bond, they did it to the max those 2 years they had together!

I simply LOVE these two together!

 

So the whole evening had been magical, but now, for the uncertain part, could they actually sleep in the same bed together and fall asleep???? Or would it just all be too much excitement for them? I didn't want the night to end, to go to bed myself, don't blame them if they felt the same way!

 

Well, after being given their matching Tiana dolls, being read 2 bedtime stories and even being told a Lina/Bekah adventure story, the ground rules were set and the lights were turned off . . .

 

Val and I walked down the stairs, wondering what the night had in store for our EXHAUSTED little ballerina princesses . . . thanks to the intercom feature of this video monitor, Val could kindly remind them to not be so loud or eventually, stop talking, and boy were we pleasantly surprised to find them sleeping only 30 minutes later! We were so proud of our little big girls!

 

I will say, that this was my first time to be in the "parent" role at a sleepover, it was so weird! Ha! I guess the last time a parent came in to tell us to "quiet down" I was 16 or 17! Crazy, being on the other side, but I told Val it was a privilege to be doing it with her!

 

Next morning, we had to head out early, to get to SA, but not after spending some more time with this favorite family of ours!

Not only did Bekah have fun with her bestie, Lina, Benjamin had fun with that cutie patootie, James!

 

Love this boy, I sure wish we could be around him to watch him grow!

Next year James, we will be around more, I promise!

 

 

What a perfect first sleepover with her best friend that was! First of many, especially with us living in SA and them in Houston , we will have lots of sleepovers with all our visits! Thank you so much to this beautiful family that we love so much, for hosting us and for making it all so special! It will be a memory we will always treasure!

Thanks again to all our friends and family for in Houston for giving us your time, it was the best feeling, being back with all of  y'all again!