valentines

the valentines tradition continues....italian food at my moms. this boy was very happy about his new cup, the pizza, .... ...and elmo card!
with valentines falling on a monday, i decided to go simple with dinner and get a heart shaped pizza from papa murphy's. i think this will become our vanderveer tradition bc it was super easy and delicious. well, our tradition until my husband decides to start cooking! :)

date 1 of 12

january was a very tight budget month at the vanderveer house so we decided our 1st date of the year would have to wait for valentines day... this restaurant (the dallas location) had been recommended to us so we decided to give the one in sundance a try. the food was melt in your mouth good, but the portion left this preggo a little hungry.
after dinner to headed to barnes and noble for some book browsing and coffee.
a fun way to kick off a year of dates!

a day at the zoo

a last minute decision led us to the dallas zoo on a gorgeous saturday...it was a much needed day of family time and i am so glad we made the effort. we took the train (max loves it!) and only paid $10 to get in (the admission price for jan/feb)!max was roaring for the tiger to hear but "he don't talk mommy"

they had a cool giraffe patio where you could buy food to feed the giraffes and see them at eye level...

this chimp was max's buddy. we got to see them "train" the chimps

(and we also saw one chimp throw a fit and slam his hands and feet against the glass-intense)

in the children's zoo area they have a nice playground area...max thought he was so cool when he got into this egg. but not as cool as the nachos that daddy bought for us while he was playing :)

coming in august!

baby #2!

the worst part of allergies

so far has been this.... that's right, bruises on my little boy's arms from the attempt to draw blood today...that's right attempt. after many tears and lots of poking his little veins did not give enough blood to retest for his allergies. so now we have to go back next week and try again. poor little guy.

the season of 30

at the end of a great week being iced in, we celebrated my best friend lyndsay's bday...her 30th!

we got to celebrate in sundance square at an amazing condo owned by her friend's employer. even though it was bitterly cold, this view of the espn stage made us feel like we were a part of the superbowl fever.i'm the oldest of these 4 so i'm excited to begin this season of celebrating turning 30...so far it's been a blast!

and here is lyndsay being super embarrassed at pete's piano bar...we thought he would just sing a happy birthday tune...little did we know this guy would get ridiculously dirty. oh well, live and learn!

ice ice baby

its been over a month since ive posted to this blog. it's not that things haven't been happening...in fact we've been busy.

i am long term subbing for a prek class in the mornings. joey is growing his position and responsibilities as a worship pastor. and max is growing like a week and talking like a...well, he talks ALOT.

but today, on the 3rd day of "ice storm 2011", i just had a few random things that i felt the need to say.

1) i want to be a stay at home mom forever. i hope that i never have to work full time again.
2) joey is a truly great husband and an awesome dad. and my best friend. i'm glad he is in the midst of his dream job.
3) God always provides. always. always. always.
4) i wish i had taken max swimming over the winter more because he has forgotten all his skills. i only hope that his swim instructor mom can help him remember.
5) more then i ever thought possible, i have enjoyed relaxing these last few days. it is truly a blessing to be able to sit still and relax. and even though i have a 2 year old and my husband is out of town, it is a blessing and i will think of it as nothing less.