Beehive

Mommy got a night out with her old co-worker friends, Gabi and Kristi. After a very girly dinner (with a yummy mushroom tart and poached pears) at Gabi's house, we went to Zachary Scott Theater to see Beehive. It is a musical review show about female recording artists in the 60's. It was Uber-fun. Especially when Kristi and Karen got called up on stage to dance. We busted out the swim, the mashed potato, the works!

This is a re-enactment

Piano with Grandma

Dax loves Grandma. And he loves her piano. So, when he's at her house, he usually "plays" the piano. This time, he asked Grandma to sit next to him and to play with him. It was very cute.

Dax and Grandma

Here's Karen with HER Grandma (a few years ago, probably 1971 or 1972)

Lunch with Elisabeth

The St. Catherine's MOMS group was supposed to meet this morning at the library for storytime, but the roads were a little icy early in the morning, so it was postponed. But, by lunchtime we were able to meet up with Jennifer and Elisabeth. We went to a Brazilian restaurant. Not only was it very tasty, but the lunch specials were very reasonable. We hope to go back. Elisabeth is 13 months and it is so cute to see how she and Dax interact.

Trying to hold Elisabeth's hand

Helping with Laundry

Who says laundry isn't fun? Dax really "gets in to it"! :)

Lunch with Grandma

This morning we had ROMP at St. Catherine's. It's good for me to hear the lecturer and to socialize with other Catholic moms. Dax goes in the nursery. Since this was the first meeting of the session, a lot of the kids were having a hard time in the nursery, but Dax was cool as a cucumber. I was really proud of him to stay relaxed when others around him were breaking down.

On our way home from ROMP, we drove past Grandma's office and decided to pop in and surprise her. She was just leaving for lunch, so we joined her at the Greek cafe. It was a fun time.

At lunch with Grandma. Who knew bread baskets made such cool hats?

Salsa and the Tu's

We decided to have lunch at the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Dax was insisting that he wanted to dip his chip in the salsa (dipping is very popular right now with Dax). So, we let him, thinking that he'd do it once, would regret it, and that would be the end of it. But, oh, no - Dax LOVED the salsa. He was scooping it up by the chipful. His eyes were watering and he was making the sign for "hot", but he was NOT stopping. I guess he is offically a Texan!

After lunch, we visited Larry and Kim Tu. They are expecting their first baby, a girl, in just a few more weeks. We got to see their beautiful, hand-painted nursery and Dax got to play with some of Larry's toys. They are going to be great parents and we can't wait to meet their little one.

Our salsa-loving little Texan


With Larry and Kim Tu (and Killer)


Playing with Larry's big dump truck


Dax loved Kim

Playing with Erika

Erika and her mommy, Christa, came over for a visit. Christa and I used to work together. We shared our pregnancies together (Dax and Erika were due on the exact same day), and we even took our childbirth class together. Now, Erika and Dax are good friends and Dax always looks forward to seeing her. He was especially fired up today. BTW - check out his form when he shoots the basketball at the end of the video.

Showing Erika the love

Two very fired up kiddos playing

Austin Zoo Playdate

The playgroup took a field trip and visited the Austin Zoo. It was a lot of fun. The big cats were having their houses cleaned, so they were locked out in the "yard" part of their enclosures. The male lion was NOT happy about this; and he let everyone know about it by pacing and giving a full-out ROAR every few seconds. Dax was completely enthralled. He definitely knows what a lion "says" now. One of the female lions was jumping up against the entrance to her house and roaring, too. The zoo keeper inside just yelled at her, "knock it off!" It was kind of funny. Even more so when the lioness actually DID knock it off. But, as soon as the keeper started opening the door, the lioness squeezed herself inside and flopped down, as if to say, "For Pete's sake - why was that SO hard?"

The other highlight was feeding the pigs. The pigs were very piggy and acted like they hadn't eaten in days. As we were leaving their pen, we saw the "please don't feed me" sign. Oops. The kids had fun, and well, the pigs got a little extra treat.

Watching the bear with Payton


Unhappy lion taught Dax that lions "roar"


The tigers were playing in their pool and with their ball


Feeding the pigs


Ethan, Dax, and Connor feeding the pigs

Picnic on the lake

It was a beautiful day in the 70's, so we headed to the lake for a picnic. As usual, Dax enjoyed 'driving'. He also had his first PB&J. A true rite of childhood.

Enjoying the sunshine and fresh air


Picnic with 1st ever peanut butter & jelly sandwich


'Driving' in to the marina

Lunch with Payton and Aunt Hollie

We met Aunt Hollie and Payton for lunch at the coffee shop that makes yummy pizzas and paninis. After lunch, we walked around the center to the toy store and to the pet store. The kids enjoyed the bunnies, fish, and turtles a lot! Then, while the kiddos napped, the mommies watched a movie, "Legally Blonde" (they're going to see the Broadway show in a couple weeks and thought it would be fun to watch before we go). A very fun day.

Dax and Payton were so cute holding hands as we walked down the sidewalk

Louisiana

We received sad news that one of Duane's relatives in Louisiana, Nolan, passed away. Duane couldn't go to the funeral, but Dax and I loaded up and headed East (well, after a haircut and a run-in with a slide that left a goose-egg on Dax's forehead). We spent the first night at Annette's. The next morning we drove to Missouri City to pick up Aunt Fay and got on I-10 for 215 miles. We stopped for lunch in Beaumont, but that was it. Dax was great in the car. After recovering from bad Internet directions to the hotel, we headed over to the funeral home. Dax made it about 5 minutes into the Rosary, but luckily they had a kids room where I could let him play. After the Rosary, Dax got to meet a lot of relatives whom he had never seen. Georgia was so sweet and introduced Dax and me to everyone. Dax really liked her, too - he was giving her some good hugs (which I'm sure were nice to get after just losing her husband). Dax also enjoyed meeting a couple cousins about his age: Reece is 26 months and Gage is 19 months. They had a good time pal-ing around together. I really enjoyed meeting all Duane's cousins, too. They are all so warm and welcoming. Nolan had been the local sheriff for many years, so at the funeral home deputies stood by the casket. They looked like they were "at attention", but their heads were bowed, as if in prayer. It was very nice.

The next morning there was a full police/sheriff escort from the funeral home to the church, complete with lots of lights and sirens. Talk about arriving in style! The funeral was lovely. From our vantage point in the cry room we could see everything, including Aunt Kay and Aunt Fay. The eulogies were very heart-felt and touching. Even though I'd never met Nolan, I was moved to tears and really wish that I'd had the opportunity to know him. I know his family dearly misses him. He was interred in a mausoleum, which I had never seen before. The ceremony concluded with a gun salute by the sheriff's department.

Spending time with Duane's family was wonderful. And they definitely made sure we didn't leave hungry! Those Louisiana folk can COOK! Even if they did make fun of the way I say "DeRouen". Apparently, in Louisiana there are a lot of "DeRouens", but they pronounce it "der-wahh". Oh, well. They "corrected" us in France on our honeymoon, too.

When we got back to Texas, we stopped to see Duane's cousin Tracie who'd had a baby right before Christmas. Baby Lillie was sleeping, so we didn't get to hold her. But, she was so beautiful laying there, that I started crying immediately. No telling what I would have done if I'd gotten to hold her! What a blessing babies are! And parenthood definitely becomes Mark and Tracie. They're doing great. We hope to see them again soon.

We spent the last night at Annette's again, before we headed back to Austin the next morning. Dax slept the whole way home. After staying up till practically 9pm every night the past few nights, he was more than due for some good sleep (me, too, actually). Now that we're back, we're all sick with a head cold and trying to get back in to our routine. But, we're SO glad we made the trip. We're looking forward to planning another trip when we can spend more time, and under happier circumstances, with such wonderful people that we are blessed to call "family".

Checking in to the hotel


Georgia introducing Dax and Gage - even the toddlers are welcoming!


Dax hit it off with Reece, too


Showing Aunt Fay and Georgia the "love"


Aunt Fay and Charlotte


3-week old, Lillie


Mark and Tracie

18 Month Appointment

We got Dax's "stats" at his 18 month appointment today. He is 32.5 inches tall (50th %) and 20lbs 10oz (1st %). Also, his head is 47cm (40th %). Again, the doctor is not worried about his weight because he is excelling in all his developments. Dax was so good at the appointment. He let the doctor poke and squeeze and prod and he just let her do it all. He looked at us a couple times like, "you guys are ok with all this, right? ok, then I am, too." When he got his vaccine (only 1 this time), he cried out, but was done by the time she got the band-aid on. We were really proud of him.

Here are a couple pics of Dax playing with his "baby". He got this baby for Christmas and he has been so sweet with it. He feeds the baby, gives him drinks, puts the blanket over him, and hugs him all the time. It's amazing how loving he is. Of course, he has been known to pick up the baby by his head and to try "baby distance throwing", but, that's ok.

Giving the baby blocks to play with

Making sure the baby gets a snack (and is safely belted in his seat)

Avery's birthday

Dax's friend, Avery, turned 2, so we got to go to her birthday party. Dax had a lot of fun seeing some old friends and making some new ones. He liked the chocolate icing on the cupcake, too.

Sharing the play food with Avery


Mmm, chocolate

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! We didn't really do anything for New Year's Eve (except pray that the fireworks didn't wake up Dax). However, Dax celebrated the new year by climbing out of his crib. Yikes! We put him down for his morning nap and he was protesting, but I figured he'd settle down in a minute. Instead, I heard a thump, an instant of silence (enough to think to myself, "what was *that*?"), then a very upset scream. Dax met me at his door. He was scared, mad, and probably in a little pain. There was no blood or bumps or bruises thankfully. He hasn't tried it again, but if he decides to make this a habit, we'll have to convert his crib over to the toddler bed. I just hope we don't have to do that, because I do not see him staying in that bed. I'm afraid I'd be fighting with him every nap/bedtime.

Speaking of sleeping, we tried moving Dax to just 1 nap a day, but it really wasn't working. We tried it because he had been fighting the morning nap. But the 1-nap schedule wasn't getting him enough sleep; and he was waking up at 4am, 5am, and 6am. So, we're back to 2 naps. He's sleeping much better now. Although, he is still waking up at 6am. It's not as good as the couple weeks he was sleeping till 7am, but that's ok. I didn't really think that would last anyway.

Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009 filled with lots of fun and laughter (and some good sleep)!