Easter 2011

Easter was a big success: we experienced a lot of firsts over the weekend.

1) Zoe went to Joe T's for the 1st time (the patio there is surprisingly very kid friendly...we were surrounded by little ones! And on a sidenote, it may be just me, but I now notice kids out wherever we go...and I take note of what stroller they're in, or what carseat, etc. There's just so many baby gadgets and accessories out there and you never know if you bought the right stuff or not. And then I wonder how old is that kid? And especially, how old is that kid b/c her mommy looks way skinny which means she's GOT to be older than Zoe b/c her mom looks way better than I do...she must be at least 6 months! This as you can see is a struggle for me, the whole mommy comparing thing...and I promised myself I wouldn't get caught up in the "my baby's doing this....what, yours isn't...oh it's ok, she'll get there" thing. But I digress, back to Easter stuff....

2) First Colonial easter egg hunt experience (it lasted all of 5 minutes and Reed was over it with a whopping 3 eggs in his basket...they did however have an adorable petting zoo with baby piglets and ducklings and the works- let's hope Zoe is into animals b/c I'm already planning the photo op next year!)

3) First time Zoe went to church (and she sat through the whole service minus the last 5 minutes!)

4)Zoe wore her 1st smocked dress and she looked like Little Miss Fancy Pants....I have to admit, I used to be skeptical of all the frilly dresses and bows and whatnot, but now that I have a little girl of my own, they are just so fun to dress up! Although I do think they should be reserved for special occasions (I mean, I can't really drop her off at daycare in a dress that is just going to get drooled on and potentially pooped on). And you should have heard the pep talk I had with Zoe before we left for church....it went something like, "please please girl whatever you do, do not have a blowout in your new fancy dress! Just hold it girl, for me, you can do it!"

So lots of dragging Zoe all over town again...this is becoming quite the norm as far as our weekends go. But she seems to enjoy it!

Happy Earth Day!

So last year we had a momma bird build a nest in the corner of our column on our front porch. We watched the eggs hatch and the little birds beg for food last spring as the mommy and daddy bird came and fed each little guy. Well, guess who returned this year??? Check out Mommy Bird and her little ones. I don't know if it's the same mother or not, but I like to think it is. Every day as we walk out our front door we get to see this cute little family, pretty awesome huh?



And just for good measure, here's a pic of our blooming little flower :)

Guest Post: Watching The Godfather with Dawn

My name is Taylor Ferguson and I am both Dawn's husband and Zoe's dad. Dawn has been asking me to write something on this blog ever since she created it, but I really didn't have a topic to write about... until now. Dawn recently got on this classic movie kick and has been wanting to watch some older, great movies. Now about three years ago I decided to watch every movie on the AFI top 100 list and Dawn watched most of them with me, but there were some movies on the list that I had already seen so we didn't watch them. (And as a side note, we watched Gone with the Wind back then, but apparently it didn't take. Now she is waltzing around this house like it is Tara and threatening to leave me for Rhett Butler, who I keep reminding her is a fictional character.) Despite me lobbying for our first trip into movie classics being Star Wars, Dawn decided she wanted to watch all three Godfathers. So I figured I would give a review of this classic.

All in all Dawn did a good job watching the movie. She had already seen Good Fellas, so I think she was expecting a little more of an up-tempo movie, but I explained to her that while Good Fellas follows one character's rise from street hoodlum to a member of the mob, the Godfather tackles a different era and viewpoint of the Mafia, how the familes gained and maintained power. What I love most about this movie is how it hides the plot until the last 15 minutes. When the movie starts it has a 30 minute scene covering the wedding of the daughter of the Don, Vito Corleone. It is an incredible scene that sets the tone for the importance of family in the Mafia, but also lays out the framework for the level of respect the Don commands. In my opinion this scene right here makes this movie a classic, because Hollywood will not allow movies to do this anymore. (If this scene were done in a movie today it would have been 8 minutes tops).

Now after this scene the stage is set for what you think will be the story of Vito Corleone, and this is where the movie fools you. It fooled Dawn, because I kept having to stop the movie to explain what was going on. In her defense the movie can be confusing and hard to follow. What I found funny was I kept telling Dawn "pay attention to this scene, this scene is important" to the point that she said "you keep saying every scene is important."

That is what is so great, because the plot of this movie is not the importance of Vito, but rather transformation of Michael from war hero to ruthless Don. All along the way, the movie gives you signs and sets things up, (the scene in Vegas with Mo Greene is a perfect example of this) but doesn't really pay out until the end with the final scene between Michael and his wife where he lies right to her face. In fact, the most entertaining part of watching the movie was watching Dawn finally realize this, when she turned to me and said "I thought Michael was a good guy, but he is cold-blooded." All I could say to that was it's not personal, it's strictly business.

We ran....

We did the Zoo Run on Saturday. My 2nd 5k attempt postpartum and it was a success (we ran the MADD walk last weekend). Not quite as quick as I used to be, but I still finished it in 31 minutes which isn't too bad. Taylor ran the 10k first, then we did the baby switch while I ran the 5k. The Zoo Run is probably my favorite race of the year that we do....the first mile you run through the actual Fort Worth Zoo and get to see the animals out first thing in the morning which is always cool. I can't wait til Zoe is a little older and we can become regulars at the zoo.

We had an action packed weekend. Lots of family were in town (Taylor's Lubbock peeps were in town to go to Six Flags and his Aunt Linda and Uncle Roger were visiting from California to see Papa Scott and Grandma Kel) so we took Zoe all over town seeing everyone and going out to eat.

Proud Papa Scott

It was a beautiful weekend weather wise so we even squeezed in some patio time and worked in the yard. We have to enjoy "spring" while it lasts, even though it has already hit 90 on several days. It's almost that time of year when I really hate living in Texas b/c it gets so dang hot.



Margarita Time!

I have a new crush...

Rhett Butler! What a perfect man...and yes I mean the character Rhett Butler not Clark Gable. I recently finished reading Gone with the Wind for the first time and oh my goodness, it was fabulous! Now yes, it was quite lengthy and took up the majority of my maternity leave to read, but it was so worth it. And we just watched the movie last night and it made it so much better (kinda like Harry Potter, you just don't fully appreciate the greatness until you've read the books). All the characters are just so wonderful. My favorite is Miss Melanie, she is just such a good hearted person and even can find the good in Scarlett. And of course, Captain Butler, some may think he is a dirty old scoundrel, but I just love his spirit, his wittiness, his intelligence (of course it was stupid to think the South could beat those damn Yankees!), and the fact that he falls in love with Scarlett, despite all her shortcomings, aahhhh I just love it.

If you haven't experienced Gone with the Wind go do so now!

(Do you like how I'm pretending I actually have followers to my blog other than my few handful of friends and family that actually check this thing?! But seriously, take my advice on this one!)

3 months

Today is Zoe's 3 month birthday....she seems to be growing like a weed! No official stats until our 4 month doctor's visit, but I think she's close to 13 lbs now. She is very into her hands, mainly just sticking them into her mouth and chewing on them. She drools a lot...all those bibs are coming in handy now. She has mastered the bumbo and loves to sit in it while daddy sings or mommy cooks. She seems to be a hit at daycare...they say she only crys when she's hungry or tired and that she's a very "peaceful" baby. She's sleeping through the night, normally 9- 10 hours in a row! I can't help but brag but she's just so easy. We're definitely getting spoiled over here. God help us when she actually gets sick for the first time or gives us any trouble b/c so far she's been a little angel.

Four Generations

Zoe got to meet her great grandparents this week! Papa Scott and Grandma Kel just moved to Fort Worth and we are so excited to have them so close. They used to live in El Paso and we hardly ever got to see them but now they are just 5 minutes away! It was so neat to have 4 generations of Fergs in one room....we love you Papa Scott and Grandma Kel!

We made it....

Well, we made it through my first 2 weeks back to work and had Zoe's first day of daycare today. Work is getting easier and easier as I get back into the swing of things. Pumping is going better than expected but I'll get my first real test tomorrow as I start my 1st trial since being back. Hopefully we'll be able to take enough breaks. Luckily the guy's pleading guilty so it should be a pretty quick punishment trial.

I am so glad that Taylor got to spend the past 2 weeks with Z. They really bonded and it was so neat to come home each day and hear Taylor talk about all the fun things they did together each day. This morning we both cried as we had to leave her which was so hard. Zoe's teacher Miss Elizabeth gave me a big hug and said it would get easier each day. We picked her up at 5 and they said she did just great! She was just sleeping away when we get there in a little bouncy seat....like everything else so far, I think it is much harder on us then on her. She just goes with the flow!

Here's some pics from the last couple of weeks.



Opening Day of Rangers (we didn't get to go to the game this year, tear!....I guess that's what happens when your team goes to the World Series, you have to enter a freaking lottery to get opening day tix, and alas, we did not win)


Zoe got her 1st piano lesson


Tummy time!