Peeing in the Toilet!

Lately, before Dax gets in the bathtub, he's been asking to sit on the toilet. So, we put him on it and he sits there for a minute and smiles. Then he asks to get down and we put him in the bathwater, where he proceeds to, about half the time, pee. Nice.

Well, yesterday, when he sat on the toilet, he actually peed! In the toilet! Well, "sort of" in the toilet...he actually shot between the seat and the bowl and peed on the floor and my shoe, but that's just a technicality. He was so proud of himself!

Tonight, we went through the routine as usual, and he did the "pee in the tub" bit. But, he asked to get out of the tub and to sit on the toilet again. He made a straining face, like he was really *trying* to pee in the toilet. Nothing happened, but I appreciated the effort.

I'm really surprised by his interest in the toilet. I know yesterday was a fluke, so we're not going to start pushing potty training on a kid who isn't even 2 yet. But, he enjoys doing what we do, so we'll make a game of it, and keep it in our routine. Maybe I won't have to change the tub water so often. :)

4 Year Anniversary

Four Years Ago, Duane and Karen got married. Wow. Has a lot changed. It really seems longer than four years. In a good way!

To celebrate the day, we took Dax to Grandma's. He had a wonderful time and even spent the night. Incidentally, the next morning he slept in until 8:00am. 8:00AM!!! He has NEVER done that. Ever. But, he does it for Grandma. I'm not bitter. Really.

Duane and I actually had an amazing day together. We had a fancy steak lunch at Sullivan's. They brought out our dessert with 4th of July sparklers. We didn't know what to do with them, so we just doused them in our drinks. Not very classy, but practical.

After lunch, we drove by the Vista on Seward Hill (the place we got married). The owners were so sweet and showed us all around the property and even their private home. They've made a lot of changes; most notable being an Old World-style wall behind the ceremony spot. It strategically hides a new office building, but it looks great! It was so nice to see the place (and the people) that helped us have such wonderful memories of that day.

Later, we checked out an artsy French movie (with subtitles) and had a romantic dinner at home. It was a perfect day!

Ahh, we were so young then....

Dax in Bluebonnets

Aunt Hollie took some pictures of Dax in the bluebonnets for us. The last one cracks me up.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter with Annette and the boys. They just got a new puppy, Gracie, and she and Dax were fast friends. Gracie put up with a lot (think Dax trying to pick her up by the neck), but she got him back by using those puppy teeth on hands that were JUST at mouth level. Dax is still talking about "Geecie". We enjoyed her, not only for her sweet puppy breath and soft fur, but because she reminded us so much of Badger's puppies (way back in '06).

We also got together with Duane's childhood neighbors, the Ferrells. Mr. Ferrell was Duane's coach in high school, as well. As always, they left us smiling and feeling blessed to have them in our lives.

We had an Easter egg hunt for Dax in the backyard. Dane (Dax says "Neen!")and I hid the eggs and Dax had a blast hunting for them. When he later figured out there were things INSIDE the eggs, he was even more excited. I've finally forgiven Annette for putting chocolate in some of them. :) We also attempted dyeing some hard-boiled eggs. Dax loved it and I was amazed at how proficient he was with that little wire egg holder/dipper. Of course, I was a nervous wreck that he was going to spill dye all over Annette's kitchen, but my fears were not realized. Dax didn't like waiting for the eggs to dry, because he really wanted to get to the sticker-decorating part, so we had to improvise and we found that a hair dryer can dry an egg in just a minute or two (quick enough for a 2-yr old to think it's still amusing).

Annette always hosts the family Easter dinner and it was a lot of fun to see everyone from Duane's side of the family. We got to spend extra time with Aunt Fay because she came in the night before and spent the night. However, she pulled a fast one the next morning. When she was supposed to be going to church, she decided to go all the way home to pick up something she forgot. When she finally got back, and we were scolding her, she asked why we didn't call. Which, of course, we had. Then she remembered, "oh, well, I don't hear it ring anyway." Good thing she's so sweet and we love her so much! We also enjoyed seeing 4 month old Baby Lillie (or, "beebee Yeylyee", if you're Dax). Dax was very sweet to her and kept trying to hug and kiss her. It was great to catch up with all the cousins over the yummy food and relaxing afternoon.

Finally, we took advantage of the nice weather and got Dax in the pool. It was his first time this year. He loves his baths so much and he took to the pool like a duck. He loved being "thrown" from one person to the other, and especially jumping off the side and in to the water (with us there to catch him, of course). We had to stop him, though, when he wanted to jump off the wall in to the deep end (after Chance had just done a flip from there). We hope to spend a lot time with Annette and the boys this summer.

All the activity from the weekend really wore Dax out. On the drive home, we wanted to stop in Brenham to get some pictures of Dax in the bluebonnets (they're gorgeous this year!), but, Dax was too sacked. So, I did the best I could.

Duane with the newest family member, Gracie


We had a lovely time with Mr. & Mrs. Ferrell


Dax loved hunting for Easter eggs

Aunt Fay helping Dax put stickers on the eggs we colored


Hanging with his peeps: Jenna, Dane & Chance


Lots of love for Baby Lillie

Having a blast in the pool


Closest I could get of "Dax and bluebonnets"

Lake and Crawfish

It was a beautiful spring morning, so we loaded up and hit the lake. It's amazing how a little fresh air can make you feel so good! We all enjoyed our picnic lunch (complete with lots of strawberries from our visit to Sweet Berry Farm) and had fun feeding the ducks.

After Dax's super long, 3-hour nap (the lake always makes you hungry and tired, doesn't it?), we went over to Kaylee's house for her family's annual crawfish boil. A lot of the people there were folks Duane and I had worked with at Pervasive, so it was a lot of fun to catch up. The crawfish (and the potatoes and corn) were all too spicy for Dax, but he showed his Cajun roots by liking the boudin. Hopefully, the Louisiana relatives will be proud.

More pics at: http://picasaweb.google.com/karen.derouen/April2009#

Driving the boat (as usual)


Fresh strawberry juice running down your chin while having a picnic at the lake--does it get any better?

I got some crawfish!


You're supposed to suck on them? I don't get it.


Thanks, Kaylee, for the ice to cool my "hot mouth"

Strawberry Picking

We met up with some friends and headed out to pick strawberries at Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls. The weather was perfect and we all had a lot of fun. There were tons of beautiful berries and the kids really got into picking. All I had to do was tell Dax to find "big, red ones and put them in the box". He was on a mission. After picking, we visited the farm's horse and minature donkeys. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, complete with yummy, homemade strawberry ice cream. When we got to the car to leave, we discovered a dead battery, but one of the farm hands was nice enough to give us a jump, so all was well. We were at the farm for 2 hours and then Dax slept for 3 hours. I like that math!

Dax ate about a pint of strawberries for his snack. Then for dessert tonight we had strawberry shortcake. And, he was still asking for more. We'll have to go back again soon.

Lots more pics at: http://picasaweb.google.com/karen.derouen/April2009#

Dax, Erika, and Elisabeth getting ready for picking


So many berries...


Our haul


Not even a dead battery could dampen our spirits

Strawberry shortcake - Yum!