Eating more chicken

Last week was the Grand Opening of our very own Chick-Fil-A and this is how we feel about it:

 That's right delicious chicken and biscuit breakfast sandwiches are only two minutes away now.  We are probably going to have to really exercise self control in the eating department...because they sell chicken instead of burgers so it's good for you, right?  I took this pic of Steven when we got home from meeting Mammaw there for lunch; he got this balloon and a little stuffed cow.  I got a big travel cup- I love useful free stuff.  I have to say that even though this was the first day it was open and they were on their best behavior, Chick-Fil-A's customer service is really good and for a fast food chain is really awesome.  

(FYI: I tried to post this last week but had trouble with Blogger- anyone else?)

Memorial Day at the Aquarium

Charlton had Memorial Day off and it was fabulous to have him to ourselves for three days.  Monday we spent the morning at the aquarium downtown; Steven had a ball!  I have to admit that it's not that impressive if it's just adults and you are going for some serious study, but it is perfect for kids.  We started outside (so that we could enjoy it before the temp hit 95), and went on the shark exhibit train ride.  We swapped camera duty with another family of three to get this family photo.  Steven wasn't that impressed with the train though I do love the cool guy smirk he's got on his face in this picture.  It was pretty short and it takes you though a building with the shark aquarium all above you.  It was cool but too hard for Steven to see-- we kept pointing and telling him to look up but he just kept looking around like, "I don't see anything-- this is lame."

On the end of the ride, you pass this JAWS set up which all the adults kind of laughed at.  We were talking about how fake it looks, when a blast of water shoots up and there's a very loud BANG!  I jumped about a foot in the air and then we died laughing because it was so bad but it still scared me.

Steven with Dad on the Ferris wheel.

Steven loved watching the fish.  I've been showing him fish in books and trying to get him to say the word and recognize them but he didn't get it until he saw them live.  At each tank he would point and say "fish" a dozen times.  He watched these Goliath Groupers for a while- they were easy for him to see.  I was so happy that my fun trip also turned out to be very educational.

Steven is touching a starfish.  His arms were too short to touch the stingrays and other fish at the bottom- notice the wet sleeve- so the girl that worked the exhibit came over and picked it up for him to touch.

They have a white tiger exhibit inside with the aquarium- don't ask me how they fit in with the fish?!  We have never seen a tiger exhibit that is glassed in and you can be face to face with the cats.  Steven loved it and was running back and forth following the tiger.  It was pretty amazing how close we were to him.  

Because Mom does the shopping...

I love these one piece outfits.  It makes me want to snuggle with him all day because he just looks so cute and reminds me of when he was a "baby" and wore onesies all the time.  I don't really miss the onesies now that he's older because it's just too much to snap and he won't stand still long enough for me to get to them all.  Because I haven't been very good about blogging, I missed updates for 19 and 20 months, so here's a little update on Steven.  He is over 27 pounds now...we'll have to wait until the next doctor's appt to get actual measurements and weight...I'm hoping that his 2 yr old well visit will be the next time we're there but that's still a few months away.  His favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham, and if you ask him "Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham" like they do in the book he says a loud "yes!"  He loves it when Daddy reads it to him because Charlton is very animated. Steven is still very active and loves to climb; he has been taking it to a whole new level by climbing in a chair and hoisting himself up to grab and hang off the living room mantel.  He did the same thing in his room yesterday via glider to his bookshelf above so we might have to do some rearranging.  He is saying about 75 words now (I'll do a separate post when he hits 100- yes, I'm keeping a list), and is attempting to go for the two words sentences now.  He talks a lot and tells me a lot of stories- I'm just now starting to recognize single words in the middle of his "sentences."  We are happy to be in the middle of a language explosion, and incidentally, you know you're a true Texan when one of your child's first 75 words is B-B-Q.  He loves putting THE sauce on everything now which is very helpful in getting him to eat his veggies. 

Thankfully, he looks like he's inherited Charlton's ability to tan.  He already has a defined sock line and farmer's tan...and it's only May.  I've learned to love my fair skin but let's be honest that it's just not cool for a guy to be really pale, so I'm relieved that he inherited this like so many other things from his daddy.  Charlton and I recently got 

Steven to let us look in his mouth with a flashlight and we are really convinced that we saw one 2 year molar popping through on the bottom.  

It's hard to tell though since he doesn't let us look for long (and he was biting my index finger off).  He loves Frank, apple juice, cashews, crackers, Legos, animals and going outside.       

Who doesn't love pizza??

Steven has had a few bites of our pizza before but technically he had his first piece of pizza last week.  And even though we haven't had one in a while, he definitely remembers it because on the 2 minute drive home from picking it up he was pointing to the box and very loudly asking, "please, please."  He was not content to have me cut up the pieces and put them on his tray; he, of course, wanted his own slice.  He did really well eating it too.  He sometimes has a hard time taking bites out of whole foods-- he'll take a huge bite and then can't chew it up so he spits everything out...and sometimes that's the end of the meal.  Very frustrating on my end but this night I didn't care if he ate it so I had nothing to lose.  =)  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he ate a whole piece but he had just had his dinner an hour before.  Steven doesn't realize that this display of a big appetite only proves to me that he eats well when it's food that's he likes/wants which is why he doesn't get to eat stuff like pizza very often and I'm not very sympathetic anymore at meals.  If he starts eating better maybe we'll renegotiate.  

Mother's Day with Mammaw

With Mammaw at a local cafe.  He did not want to take pics that evening and I thought the straw would keep him still long enough for a picture; I was wrong.

Gama was feeling well enough to join us for dinner.  She fell several months ago and also came down with a pretty bad cold shortly after that kept her in bed for a long time.  She has been gradually getting better and has been doing physical therapy the last few weeks which has really helped her become more stable walking again.  She says it always helps her feel better to see Steven-- that probably doesn't surprise anyone!  =)

Helping Mammaw open her present

Giving Mammaw a kiss

Steven's best picture all weekend-- must because Uncle Kyle and Aunt Lindsay came to visit.

No day would be complete without pulling out all the Legos.

Jackson's visit

Sorry that I've been MIA from the blog.  We have been very busy around here with many things.  One of them is that my good friend, Ashley, who lives across the street is 8 months pregnant with their second child and had to have her appendix removed 2 weeks ago.  She is at home now and doing well but the last three weeks I have been very concerned about her and her family...so I've directed most of it toward Steven's little buddy and her 2 year old son, Jackson.  So to help mom and dad out, Jackson has spent some time with us lately and these are the pictures I got of Steven and Jackson together. 

Helping with the laundry

They thought that it was hilarious that they got to take a bath together!  And they want to do anything that that other one is doing- like sticking out tongues!  

Splashing away

Mom, can Jackson stay over every night?!

Jackson was so nice to wash his own hair.

My mom and I were talking about how most children have a tolerance level with other children and grow tired of them after a while.  Not these two...a day after Jackson had gone back home I pulled up in his driveway just to drop off his PJ's thatI forgot to put in his bag when he left.  I left the car running and just put it by the front door, but Steven went crazy when I got in the car and backed out...he was screaming "JACKSON...JACKSON."  He thought that we were going to play and was VERY upset that we were leaving without Jackson.