Summertime... And the Livin' is HOT!

Heat-induced insanity?

Think Chevy Chase in Vacation when he is walking through the desert?

I could do without setting any records for heat, without the irony that my Mom went through this with me as a newborn in 1980, and without the clostraphobia that is setting in as we are confined to the indoors. Something like 50 days over 100, and there is still plenty of Summer left. The unfortunate coincidence is that my pregnancy is peaking during the peak of the heat.... wonderful.

125 degrees? I realize this isn't completely accurate, but the high was about 115 that day!

I am desperate for indoor activities to entertain Carlyle (and myself... however, I could do with a nice nap these days).

Our outings consist of:

Going to Northpark to visit the Disney Store, Bookmarks, and roam the halls exploring in the A/C

Indoor playground at our church

Errands that involve garage parking, like Whole Foods

Our at home games:

Coloring on our new Aquamat

Watercolor painting in Mommy's bathtub preceeding a bath to wash all the paint off

Sliding on the new slide that Daddy brought home (its staying indoors until this heat is gone)

And of course the occassional movie (Toy Story, Nemo, Cars) and playtime with the iPad

31 weeks and counting

Baby boy is head down, growing like a weed, weighs about 4 lbs, and definitely a boy! Hard to believe that we are about 60 days (at most) from his arrival. When we aren't traveling, we are busy cleaning out, creating Carlyle's big girl room, and making room for baby boy in the nursery. Just doesn't seem like there is enough time to prepare for all the changes coming our way, but I know we will all adapt to our soon-to-be family of four!

David Family Reunion at the Lakehouse

July 21-24

Thank you to the Cosse's for another fun lake weekend and reunion!

We managed to capture a photo of the whole group with several new additions since last year! We missed you Stephanie!

We had a blast on the boat, and Carlyle loved the big girl life jacket that matched Carley's.

Cade in his swim bucket on the pier.

Emmet's first trip to the lake!

All the 2nd cousins piled on the couch. Carlyle, Cole, Emmet, Cade, and Carley

Carley LOVES to play dress-up and she brought an entire bag devoted to princess dresses. She was eager to share with Carlyle... I think this was within the first 15 minutes of arriving!

Enjoying a boat ride with Aune Mamie!

And a video of the dance-off... however this year it was between the kiddos, not the grown-ups.

New York, New York

July 14-17

Justin and I took our first trip together, alone, since Carlyle was born. We went to NYC for essentially three nights while Carlyle spent the weekend at Zuzu camp in Dallas.

Justin and I took advantage of the freedom and really had a blast! We walked and walked and explored and ATE!

Within our first couple of hours, we walked around Soho and had a fabulous lunch at Balthazar. We were pretty giddy to have so much time to ourselves!

We visited Bow Bridge in Central Park, for the first time since Justin proposed to me there in 2004! This time, Justin got me a pedi-taxi as opposed to our epic walk from the engagement day. Afterall, I am 7 months pregnant!

After our Central Park visit, we strolled over to The Carlyle for a drink.

Megan and Mike's engagement party was so much fun. On a rooftop at Sunset with these views... who could complain?!

The soon-to-be Malone, Punches, and Garrity clan

Meanwhile in Dallas . . .

Zuzu and Aunt Mamie took Carlyle to see her first movie on the big screen, Winnie the Pooh. She LOVED it! As you can see in this pic, she is a big fan of Cars too. Not sure she is ready for Cars II with the theater surround sound.

I love this photo that Aunt Mamie took on her phone.

Dallas Aquarium.

Just one of many activities Zuzu, Carlyle, and Aunt Mamie did in Dallas while we were gone. They stayed very busy and had a great time together!

Happy 4th!

The girls show their patriotism at the Lakewood Fourth of July Parade.

Ryan Marie, Carlyle, Kena, and Elise had front row seating for the parade. Too bad it wasn't air-conditioned!

Jara Hill Photography

I am so behind, once again, at posting these photos. For Carlyle's 18 month portraits (and for the first time), we had an amazing professional photo session with Jara Hill, a sitting we won at the TRGF Crown Ball Silent Auction (where Justin won the miniature wingback for Carlyle). Jara was so easy to work with and produced some beautiful shots of Carlyle and family. She posted some of them on her Jara Hill Photography blog, http://jarahill.com/blog/?p=456.

Here are some of our family favorites . . .