Game night with Roger & Stacey

We got together with our friends, Roger and Stacey, for dinner and games. They came by after work and played with Dax while I got dinner around. Apparently, we paid more attention to Roger and Stacey than to Dax, though, because at one point we looked over at him and he had made the biggest mess of food we'd ever seen. Note to self: just because there are adults WILLING to converse over dinner, doesn't mean we can ONLY converse - we still gotta watch the kid. :) Roger made his famous cherry cobbler for dessert, which we thoroughly enjoyed! Dax got to bed late, then he tried to prove to us that he could stay up and play games with us by talking in his crib for another 30 minutes. But, he eventually fell asleep and we got to enjoy our company. They introduced us to the game Taboo. Duane and I had never played it before (it is a word guessing-game, kind of like $25,000 Pyramid), but we really had fun. It took us a while to get in the groove, but we made a run for it at the end and kept R&S from making it a complete stomping. The next morning, Dax was still thinking about R&S, so we got out the video camera so you can hear how he says "Roger & Stacey". We have no idea why he does it like that. Stacey said she likes the way he smiles when he says her name. BTW - he was obsessed with the camera, so I had to shoot this into the mirror, so he could look at himself. Sorry for the "early morning mommy" look.

In Case You Were Wondering

In case you were wondering, this is what an allergic reaction to amoxicillin looks like.





After being on amoxicillin for 7 days (for his double ear infection), Dax had a red rash break out all over. The pediatrician said he's allergic to penicillin-class antibiotics. :( Luckily, his ear infection is all cleared up, and the ruptured eardrum is completely healed. She was very pleased with how he looked (rash not-withstanding), so we didn't even put him on another prescription. The rash didn't slow Dax down at all, naturally. The rash actually got a little worse than these pictures, but it is already fading quickly.

The Elephant Room

Duane's company had a happy hour downtown, so Dax got to spend the evening with Grandma while Mommy and Daddy went out. We had a yummy dinner at Pesche on 4th St, that reminded us of our honeymoon in France. We then joined Duane's co-workers at The Elephant Room to listen to a jazz band. It was great -- especially, since the last time I was at The Elephant Room (probably 10 years ago), it took me a week to get the smoke smell out of my hair, but, now Austin has a no-smoking policy, so it was great to hear some good jazz, talk with friends, and still be able to breathe!

Football Sunday

In memorium of football season, Duane and Dax got out in the backyard and played with the pigskin. Afterwards, Dax decided that all a man needs after playing football is, well, nekkid reading time.

Learning Daddy's QB tips

Dax's unorthodox method of carrying the ball - it leaves both hands free to stiff-arm defenders

On your mark...get set...

This boy sure loves playing with his Daddy

Dax wanted a "clothing optional" story time

Aunt Kay and Chance visit

Aunt Kay and Chance were in San Antonio because their school's girls soccer team was in a state tournament. After the game, they swung on by Austin for a short visit. It was great seeing them. We got to visit Crate & Barrel, play at the playground, eat at our favorite Italian restaurant, and just plain play. We loved every minute of it.

The "boys" waiting to play with Dax

Swinging with Aunt Kay

MMmmm, Ziti!

Largest block tower, EVER

Meals on Wheels and Bubbles

Today was my first time to volunteer with Meals on Wheels. I've been wanting to get involved in some volunteer work, but wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Then, someone told me that the neighborhood ladies all take turns delivering for Meals on Wheels. I thought I'd give it a try. Grandma watched Dax while I went on my first test run. It was actually pretty cool. Most of the people were really "with it" and were genuinely happy to see us. My favorite was the last lady on the route. She told me I look like Anne Hathaway, which of course was very flattering. My teammate asked her, "from which movie?" She said, "the princess one". So, for the rest of the day, I felt like a princess. And I thought volunteer work was supposed to help OTHER people. :) I go again in a couple weeks and I'll take Dax with me. We'll see if this is something he and I can do together.

In the afternoon, it was another gorgeous, sunny day, so Dax and I took Badger for a walk and then decided to get out the bubbles. Dax likes to say "bab uhl". We never really got the fancy wands to work all that well, but we had fun trying.

Bubbles!

Bubbles are serious business

We never could get the "kazoo" wand to work

An All-Nighter, and Another First

Monday's playdate was fun because we had a new friend join us, Clark. Clark's daddy works with Duane and I met her mommy at a company get-together. Clark is such a sweetie. Clark and Dax were born on the same day, incidentally, and they are exactly the same height. It's cute. Dax really liked her, too - after they had been playing for a while, he just got up, out of the blue, and hugged her. It was sweet.

But Monday night, when Duane got home, Dax was kind of grumpy. And he was pulling on his left ear so much that it was red. But Duane is great at getting Dax to laugh, so they played and everything was fine through dinner. But come bedtime, Dax was grumpy again. We took his temperature and it was only 99.4, but we gave him some Tylenol anyway and put him down. But he wouldn't go to sleep. He just kept crying. So, Duane went in and rocked him. That worked for a few minutes, then he was crying again. So, I tried. Same thing. So, after an hour and half of trying things, we decided he was over-tired and a car ride would help him fall asleep. After a few minutes on 183, sure enough, he was out. But when we tried to move him back in to his crib, he woke up and was crying again. So I held him and rocked him and walked with him and fed him, and did everything else you could imagine. For hours! He would get quiet, then start crying and just kicking his legs in pain. It was awful. Finally, we laid on the couch and he rested for maybe 30 minutes, but he was clearly uncomfortable (this is now around 3am). At 4:00, he was crying again. And his temperature was 103. When I tried to give him more Tylenol, he gagged and threw up all over himself, me, and his lamb. So, we got to clean everything up and try to settle down again. Finally, around 5:00am, Dax relaxed enough and was able to fall asleep. It's been a long time since I've seen THAT side of 5:00am. I saw plenty of it this past year-and-a-half, thanks to Dax, but this was the worst. He actually slept well until 11:00 (and I managed to get a couple hours in, myself). We headed right over to the pediatrician. His first ear infection. And not just any ear infection; oh no - a double ear infection with one bulging ear drum and one already ruptured. Poor kid sure got wholluped good. But, I'll tell you, those drugs are amazing. After the first dose he perked right up and he hasn't looked back since. He took a good nap Tuesday afternoon, ate a good dinner, went to bed at his regular time, and slept all night. Thank God for modern medicine!

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's weekend, we started off with Grandma having a slumber party with the grandkids. Which meant Duane and I, and Travis and Hollie, could go on a double date. We decided to check out the Alamo Drafthouse's new location at the old Ritz nightclub on 6th Street. The old club was a place you definitely would NOT want to see with the lights up, but they totally redid the place and it looks great. What we love about the Alamo is that they serve real food there, so you really can do dinner and a movie. (I also love that they have "baby days" when you can bring your baby and nobody cares if he fusses a little or if you need to nurse - pretty cool for stay-at-home-moms who don't get to see too many movies.) Anyway, on Friday we saw a movie called "Fanboys". It's about these 4 friends (massive Star Wars fans) who decide to trek across the country, break in to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, find a rough-cut of the not-yet-released Episode I, and watch it. It was hi-lar-i-ous. After the movie, we walked around downtown, stopped at a coffee shop, and talked and reminisced about being a kid and watching Star Wars. It was very fun.

Saturday night I made my Valentine's traditional pasta bolognese. For those of you who don't know: I made that same dish the first Valentine's that Duane and I were together. I invited a bunch of single friends over for dinner and Duane ended up being the only guy who showed. He hung with the girls for a good time, but when I placed a plate loaded with pasta in front of him, he decided he needed to marry me (or at least ask me on a real date). The rest is history. I enjoy making my secret "love-potion pasta" every Valentine's as a reminder of that night. Dax even liked it!

Sunday morning we went out for a family breakfast at a local Tex-Mex place. We were stuffed! Dax had a great time and we learned that bar coasters make good toys (good enough of a distraction for the parents to finish eating, anyway). Check out the video below to hear Dax practicing his colors while we waited for our food.

We hope you had a lovely Valentine's day remembering all the people who love you.

At the coffee shop downtown - a beautiful night to sit outside and talk with friends


The love-birds - together for 5 years


Guess which color is Dax's favorite (the tongue cracks me up!)

Lunch at Hula Hut

Today was a busy day. We ran several errands in the morning, then, as a reward, we stopped at the Rootin' Ridge Toy Shop. It's a real, old-fashioned, hand-made toy shop. The smell of freshly sanded wood hits you when you walk in the door. It always takes me back to my Grandpa Smith's basement where he did woodworking & carpentry. So, this store makes me happy. And Dax loves the cool wooden toys.

For lunch, we met Rebecca and her son, Brock. Rebecca was in bible study with me and Hollie last summer when she was 8-9 months pregnant. This was actually the first time for me to meet little Brock. He is the sweetest boy! It was a lot of fun to catch up with her and remember what it was like when Dax was that young.

After a great, long nap, Dax awoke refreshed and ready to go, and since it was gorgeous and warm outside, we went to the neighborhood playground. We see a little girl there pretty frequently. Her name is Luca and today she and Dax played together. Kids this age are just learning to interactively play with each other. They were very cute about scooping up rocks and pouring them out again.

playing with his new truck


checking out the ducks at Hula Hut


with Rebecca and sweet baby Brock


playing with Luca

Lunch with Mrs Ford

We had lunch with Mommy's friend, Jill. She has twin boys a year older than Dax, so it's always fun to hear what escapades they're up to. We met at a pizza place that has a tv at every table. I know it's wrong, but it sure is nice to turn on Barney for him, while the grown-ups have a conversation. And after yesterday's wrestling-match, today felt especially rewarding. I'm not proud of it, but I tell myself that once in a blue moon won't affect his chances of getting in to an Ivy League school. :)

Lovin' on Mrs. Ford

Ladies Who Lunch

Today we had lunch with the ladies from the neighborhood (affectionately called the "Ladies Who Lunch"). Dax was pretty wound up, but he had a good time. Mom, on the other hand, was exhausted after wrestling with Dax the whole lunch. Good thing it was a rainy afternoon and he and I both got good naps. :)


"What should I order?"

Frankie at Petsmart

It was another beautiful day, so Heather and I decided to take a walk with Dax and Ethan. We went up to Petsmart, since we both had something to get there. (Incidentally, we were buying Badger a new food bowl because "somebody" thought it would be fun to practice jumping on her old bowl, and, well, it didn't make it.) Dax loves Petsmart. The hamsters, rats, and a chinchila are all at his eye level. He gets really excited if someone starts using their wheel. He also likes the birds, the fish tanks, and the cats that the rescue organization houses there. But, most of all, Dax really loves petting the dogs that people bring in to the store. The store has a dog, Frankie, that helps out with the doggie obedience classes. Frankie is a Chinese Crested breed, which means he is little and mostly hairless (we're used to big and very hairy). But, Frankie is very sweet and he REALLY likes Dax. Today, he climbed right up in Dax's lap and started kissing him! Dax was cracking up!

Kisses!

Great Weekend

We had a great weekend. It started Friday night with Mommy and Daddy having a movie night, snuggled on the couch after Dax went to bed. We later realized how much longer the weekend seems when you start relaxing on Friday.

Saturday morning, Mommy and Dax cheered on Daddy at his flag football game. Then, Mommy had lunch with girls she hadn't seen in 20 years! It was nice remembering the old days and hearing what everyone is up to now. In the afternoon, the whole family walked around the Arboretum. We played on the cows and Dax practiced his new skill - hanging from a bar like a monkey. He's very good at it and he LOVES it!

On Sunday, while Mommy slept in, Daddy and Dax picked up breakfast tacos and had some guy-bonding time. We all ran some errands together (and spent our Christmas gift cards - thank you Grandma and Uncle David!). That evening, our neighbors, the Mayers, came over for dinner. It was a nice, casual evening with Dax and Ethan playing and the adults talking.

All-in-all a great mix of quiet time, active time, family time, one-on-one with Dax time, individual time, social time, and grown-up time.

Beth, Erna, Monique & Karen at Shady Grove this weekend

And, 20 years ago

Our little monkey

On the cows at the Arboretum

St. Catherine's Playground with Elisabeth

We met Mommy's friend from MOMS, Jennifer, and her 13-month old daughter, Elisabeth, at the St. Catherine's playground. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed ourselves. Dax liked the bouncy bridge a lot. And, of course, Elisabeth's snack. Why is it, that no matter what food I bring for him, he always wants what the other kid has? Oh, well. I just hope Jennifer brings extra next time we get together. :)

Running on the bouncy bridge


Life through green-tinted bubble


Rock Wall Challenge


Sweet little Elisabeth

Children's Museum Playdate

Since the field trip to the zoo was so successful, we decided to meet for playgroup at the Austin Children's Museum. The peg board once again proved popular, as well as, the train table. Dax checked out the costume area and the playhouse, too.

Dax, Kaylee, and Payton at the peg board


All dressed up for his "gig" at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage


Dax pretending 1)to be a baby, and 2)that he likes going to bed

Super Bowl Sunday

All the Rouses, plus Craig's girlfriend Lauren, came to watch the Super Bowl. We had etouffee which was almost as good as the game. We enjoyed having everyone over and spending time with our loved ones.

Good times with Grandma and Payton


Dax trying to find Payton, presumably to play soccer

New Month, New Trick

On January 1st, Dax protested his nap by climbing out of his crib (which, luckily, has not been repeated). On February 1st, Dax protested his nap by stripping down to his diaper. He was very cold and unhappy when we found him. I wonder what trick March 1st will bring?