Mai Mais

Mai Mais are little pillows--or as the rest of the world calls them 'security blankets' that various members in my family have used since childhood. Apparently we always have to be doing something with our hands so mai mais are introduced to us as babies. We noticed Jackson having to do the same thing with his hands in order to go to sleep so I would just put a little muslin lovey over his face and in his hands to help him fall asleep faster.

My mom picked up on this last time she was in town so decided to have some mai mais made for him. He LOVES his new little pillow and uses it every time he takes a nap or goes to sleep for the night.

I've had different variations of my own mai mai since I was a baby and still use it today. That's right, its followed me from my teenage years, to my college dorm room, to life as a married girl and now even as a mom. A lot of the men in our family even have their mai mais! Hopefully Jackson won't get made fun of toooo much when he takes his into a frat house one day ;)

Summertime at the Springs

...Barton Springs that is! Barton Springs is an Austin staple and we've been going there for years. The last time Jackson was at the springs he was in utero so he had a pleasant time seeing it for the first time on the other side.

We thought he would scream when we got in the frigid water but the only one screaming was me! ICE COLD!!!


He absolutely LOVED lounging under the trees and swimming in his 'evil elefante'. Jack thinks the boy's floaty looks like the Heffalumps from the Winnie the Pooh movie so that's we we call him now...



We took various breaks in between swimming and on one occasion Jackson refused to leave Sophie behind even though we told him she's not really a swimmer. As soon as we got in the water he tossed her aside and she began to drown. We told him to save her because she was a pretty expensive chew toy and we are not about to buy him another one. So he freaked out and dove in after her...


He felt pretty bad about almost losing Sophie so the boy apologized and quickly put her back in her favorite spot...

We had a lovely time at the Springs and we'll definitely have to go back before it starts to cool down, (ok that was just funny to even write...'cool down' yea. right.).

Gordo's first sleepover

Recently my cousin had to tend to a few things and so asked me to watch her kids. Since some of the stuff she had to do was in the evening I said, "Well just let them spend the night" to which she happily obliged.

While they are in fact 'big kids' and can in fact take care of themselves they definitely took a toll on my exhaustion level and I think that is only because they are absolutely fascinated by everything and have the energy of me after 14 hrs of sleep, 4 shots of espresso and 2 redbulls....yea. Needless to say we had a great time and I'm so glad they were able to hang out with us.

Jackson was especially excited because he got to hang out with big kids and did his best to 'play it cool'. He tried really hard to play video games but he doesn't yet know to pick Yoshi instead of Toadstool because he is just faster in Mario Kart (duh).

Then we went to Mighty Fine for dinner and J was a little TOO excited about a burger, fries AND a milkshake (no he didn't really eat any of these things but he sure was excited about them). Additionally he matched the restaurant's tablecloth...so NOT cool J.

In the end the big kids LOVED having Jackson around, and come on who wouldn't? He IS totally rad. Before bed we talked about ex-boyfriends (yikes!) why there isn't Wi-Fi on trains, and I gave a brief synopsis on EVERY SINGLE book in our library. Since Jack lives here too his books were a little more difficult to explain. Especially when the main question I'm trying to answer is, "What's Politics? Like America?". Seriously sweetie, you have got to broaden your reading horizons...but once again, I digress...

Funny things about El Paso...

Every time I come home I seem to always discover new things about myself or my family, here are a few I picked up on whilst home this time around:

I truly miss the El Paso weather. It is miserably hot during the day but it always cools off at night. Also,--and this NEVER happens--it just so happened to rain while we were home this time around and if you've never experienced a desert thunderstorm it's really a beautiful sight...and combined with rain? WOW. I told Jack, I think the best smell on the planet is wet earth...

Jackson really enjoys swimming with his mom and dad, but his all-time favorite person to splash around with? Achilles. Two peas in a pod...

Jack gets more work done in my dad's office than he does anywhere else. Which was actually the reason behind our visit...

The food tastes better. Well, except for Chico's which STILL makes my stomach hurt...



My dad is seemingly a big fan of Mr. Urrrrsher...but apparently NOT for his musical talents...

Burrito is a much happier pup at his grandparents house. His allergies go away, he's the boss of two big dogs and he gets to sit at the head of the dinner table...Also? his inner cat seems to come out on a regular basis...


AND...Mr. Jackson seems to prefer his El Paso crib to his own at home. Look how happy he is! SPOILED ROTTEN!

Black Lace

Black Lace by MissyZ featuring a black lace blouse

Joie black lace blouse
£188 - matchesfashion.com

J brand
$180 - intermixonline.com

Alexander McQueen peep toe wedge
$930 - ssense.com

J Renee clutch handbag
$49 - endless.com

Star stud earrings
tacori.com

I LOVE me some...ME!

The Anointed One

Saturday was a big day for our sweet angel! Jackson Clayton Zinda was baptized in front of friends and family and most importantly in front of God at St. Theresa's Catholic Church here in Austin.

The day started off like any other with his regular feedings, naps and playtime. I let him hang out in his pj's all day so that he could be nice and relaxed for church. As we were going upstairs to get ready we sat down and had a little chat about what was going to happen and that he had to be on his best behavior because all eyes would be on him. He promised he would be good and told me he was really excited about his day.

We got to church extra early because I'm usually running late to absolutely everything and we actually ended up having a few minutes to sit and breathe before it all went down. As soon as the priest walked in we got the boy dressed in his baptismal gown and took our spot right next to the pool.

Jackson's AMAZING Godparents:

Grandparents:


Proud Momma and Poppa Bear:

With his uncles...

Jackson did so great during the entire process and was being especially chatty when the priest was giving the blessing. My brother (his Godfather) thought the boy would cry when the water was poured over him but the cub ended up thinking it was hilarious and smiled a whole lot.

The theme of the baptism was 'little lamb of God' so everything from his invites, cupcakes and even his party favors that his Godmother Sophia got him had lambs on them. His Aunt Regina even got him a stuffed lamb that gave him loads of kisses for good luck!


After the beautiful (and short) ceremony Jackson asked me to take him out of his 'girly' dress and put him into some real clothes so we obliged by putting him in a cute linen short set. We then headed to dinner and then straight home because after such a special day our boy was especially exhausted.

Many thanks to all of our friends and family who made this day that much more special with your presence. From the bottom of his little heart Jackson thanks you and Jack and I feel truly blessed and honored that our son is surrounded by so much love.