Sweet Home, Louisiana

Sorry for the delayed post..as many of you know we went home this weekend. We wanted to surprise Alesha's brother, Jake, for his 18th birthday. It was fun..and he had no idea we were in town. We had a nice time catching up with everyone...even though we were spread very thin.

When we arrived home last night..we had a note stating that there was a serious sewage problem and we could use the apt upstairs for bathroom facilities. Hello people, I am 7 months pregnant..can you just picture me in my pj's and disshoveled hair walking up a flight of stairs at 2 am?? um, no So if you guys want to give me an early Christmas present I will take a Pot O'Gold please. Thank you very much...oh but one more thing..the good news is that they 'should' have this problem resolved in 10 days...oh goody!

In other news, I met my new OBGYN doctor last week. Yes, I was indeed lost, very lost..in the hospital for like 30 minutes while trying to find the drs office. Avery and I found it finally and really like our new doctor. The hospital..man oh man...it is beautiful! It just opened this past spring. We are going for an ultrasound next week to get a definate due date and to check on his kidneys..they were a bit dialated in May..which they say is pretty common. On the way home...lost again..but knew I was in trouble when I saw Martin Luther King Jr. drive...yikes..quick U-turn.

On Tuesday of last week, Avery and Alesha went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. We had a picnic and a small photo session. That place is a little piece of heaven..so beautiful.

Please continue to pray for our house to sell...we lowered the price today..and really hope this helps to seal the deal...its been on the market since January..looking forward to saying it is SOLD very soon..we will keep you posted and really appreciate your prayers.

If I forgot anything..I will be sure to post again this week. Thanks for checking in...stay cool..especially you Louisiana people...man it is SO humid there..

WANTED!!

WANTED... a nasty creature called 'Stinky the Monster'! He is shorter than dad, but taller than mom. He has one eye, is red with orange hands and green feet. This wretched beast has been terrorizing poor Avery from time to time during the night. Unfortunately, he seems to disappear once Dad comes looking for him, so we've never actually laid eyes on him. If anyone happens to come across him, be sure to let us know!

WANTED... Alesha Watts, for failure to pay highway tolls! Brave Alesha ventured out to the far country of Frisco, TX one day in search of the fascinating cultural phenomenon known as IKEA... and "far" it was indeed! It took her well over an hour to get there, as she tends to prefer the "scenic" route over the most direct route as provided by Kenny (aka Human Mapquest). However, Kenny's directions failed to mention that the route included a long stretch of toll roads, requiring you to fork out $1.00 every few miles or so. Having run out of cash, Alesha just kept on going and eventually made it home. We will keep you posted as to any jail time that Alesha will have to serve.

Alesha and Avery began Preschool at home this week. Avery is a great reader already but is learning some of the basic sound blends using her Hooked On Phonics Kindergaten curriculum. Thanks to Gram and Poppy for the materials. They also took a 'field trip' to the Fort Worth Zoo this week where they saw lots of animals, rode the train and the carousel. They even packed a picnic lunch and fed some birds watermelon.

In other adventures, Alesha told Avery they were going to the "Baby Store" when they were on their way to Babies r Us. Avery gasped and said, " Are we getting a real baby there?" I had to remind her that real babies came from the hospital but we were just picking out stuff for her brother. She was very, very excited and wanted to buy everything that day but settled on some Little Einstein band-aids instead. Her favorite item was the cool stroller that she will be able to stand on while Andrew rides in the front.

On Saturday, we went to a pool party at our apartment... here are some pics:

Bears, Baseball, and Back-Home Flavor

Thanks for checking in on us! Hope you enjoy these updates as much as we love writing them.

Alesha took Avery to Build-a-Bear the other day... she had been begging to go and has been a very good girl, so we thought, why not? She picked out a brown teddy bear and decided that it was a boy. She told the Build-a-Bear lady that she wanted to name him Andrew - guess all those talks about her new brother are starting to sink in! Alesha decided to buy baby Andrew an outfit to match Bear Andrew's... you'll have to wait a couple of months for that picture!

On Friday night, we went to our first ever minor league baseball game, to watch the Grand Prairie Air Hogs... yes, the Air Hogs! We still have no idea what an Air Hog actually is though... feel free to enlighten us if you happen to know! Kenny's employer is a corporate sponsor, so a few of his co-workers decided to go and bring the families as well... so Alesha and Avery finally got to meet everyone. When we got there, Avery immediately jumped into the lap of Kenny's boss, like she'd known him for years - how's that for a good first impression? We didn't even pay her! :)

Saturday was a fun day... we were in the mood for some 'back-home' cooking, so we drove up to Lewisville to the nearest Raising Cane's. There are a whopping two Cane's locations in the entire DFW Metroplex and they are not exactly right around the corner, so it is somewhat of a treat. We decided to bring Andrew (the bear) with us, but wound up forgetting him in the van during 100-degree Dallas heat. Poor Andrew... hope this is not a foreshadowing of things to come! (ha ha). Later that afternoon, we went swimming in our apartment pool for the first time. Kenny and Alesha got a tad sunburned (especially Alesha!), but Avery just turned tan. She must get that from her daddy!



In other news... Alesha read "The Shack" in one day! Highly recommended! We had heard a lot about it, but didn't realize just how great it was. Also, you can see some pictures of our apartment here... it's hard to believe we've been here three weeks already!

4th of July Weekend

We had a great Fourth of July weekend! I (Kenny) was off on Friday, and it was great to have a three-day weekend.

Friday highlights... had some delicious barbecue and went to the Fort Worth Botanical gardens for a fireworks show which included a performance of patriotic music by the FW Symphony Orchestra. Avery fell asleep on the way there, so I had to carry her halfway to our spot (which is becoming harder and harder as she gets bigger!). Here's the kicker though... Alesha had brought three little American flags for Avery to wave, but just grabbed two of them as we left the van... no problem, right? Well, it turns out one of the flags was made of softer material than the other two... and it so happens that that one was Avery's favorite... and of course, that is the one that was left behind. As we were walking to our spot, we were accompanied by a cranky, snot-nosed little girl who continuously begged, teary-eyed, for her "soft flag". Fortunately, she eventually got over it and had a great time (once we convinced her that the fireworks wouldn't burn her).

Saturday... Avery woke up once again wanting to go back to Disney World (she doesn't grasp the concept of distance yet, I don't think!). Once we shattered that little dream of hers, she became eager to take her dad to the Dallas Children's Museum. She had the best time feeding popcorn to the pigeons (her "friends") and chasing them around the lake.

Sunday, we went to The Exchange Church again and loved it... it is a brand new church that is meeting in an elementary school for the time being. We plan to check out some of the small groups (called Lifehouses) that meet throughout the week.

Another funny story from the weekend (not one we're necessarily proud of, mind you)... Avery was pretending to be Scooby-Doo (her character of the day) , and Alesha sent her to wash some sticky stuff off her hands. When she came out of the bathroom, her hands dripping wet, she proudly said "When we need to wash our hands, we just put them in the toilet!!" (Maybe that's a Scooby thing... I don't know.)

Alesha, besides denying her child of her soft flags, is doing well... she is now six months pregnant, and baby Andrew is kicking a lot! Yes, we have definitely decided on Andrew as his first name... still contemplating what the middle name will be though. Myself, I am doing well... the new job is going great, and I am definitely looking forward to being a dad again! I'm also looking forward to beginning my studies at DTS in late August. Will probably take a light load this semester, as I am already enrolled in the "night shift" come October (when Andrew is due)! :)

Welcome

Greetings from K2 A3

(Kenny, Kramer, Alesha, Avery and Andrew)

We've created this blog for you - our family and friends - so you can keep up with our adventures here in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. We'll be sure to post regular updates - everyday happenings, funny stories, a few pictures here and there.

So far, we are loving it here! While moving from a house to an apartment has been quite the adjustment, we really do love our new place. We've met several of our neighbors already - the couple next door has a little girl close to Avery's age, which is neat. Kramer has already made friends with a Boston terrier from down the way. Avery has discovered the nearby water park
and loved it immensely, which prompted her grandma to buy season passes for us (thanks, Grandma!)

Right now, we are looking forward to the 4th of July and finding some good fireworks! Also, we are currently looking for a new church in our area. We know it will be difficult to find a place we will love as much as our old church in Baton Rouge... but we will see!

Funny story of the day: when Alesha and Avery were cleaning/organizing Avery's room, the little one found some coins and immediately put them in her "flag" coin purse (from MaMa) and immediately declared, "I'm saving money for Disney World!"

Also, Avery is adjusting well to the... ahem... cultural differences here in Texas. We took her ice skating last night, and at one point, a little Hispanic boy fell on his rear just ahead of us... which

prompted AG to cry out, "Oh no! Handy Manny fell down!!"