Pumpkin Patch

Fall is my favorite time of year and we are finally getting some weather that is really enjoyable.  So, yesterday we took Steven to a petting zoo/farm where they also have a small pumpkin patch set up.  Now with the weather getting cooler, I'm getting in the mood for fun and parties and this is just the first of many seasonal festivities for the upcoming months.

Beginning of Fall

It's October...which in Texas means we're still wearing shorts and eating snow cones.  [This was last weekend- thankfully it has cooled down a little and we're now enjoying weather with highs in the low 80s and high 70s.]  Steven wanted "red" but didn't mind also tasting our blue and purple ones to make sure they were ok too.  

  

He's showing off his red tongue; we, of course, thought it was funny but I'm sure he was thinking, "isn't my tongue always red- what's the big deal?"

First Aggie Tee

We got Steven his first Aggie tees the weekend we escaped to  Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kyle's place.  I always love going to College Station during football season- the excitement is contagious- and I just couldn't resist getting Steven one (or two).  We did not acquire many A&M things for Steven when he was a baby so I feel these were overdue.  Lindsay showed us to a tent sale where they were selling "bookstore stuff" cheap.  You've gotta love that.  I don't remember them doing that when we were in school except for special event t-shirts like for Maroon-Out.  Anyway since the t-shirts either run small or shrunk when I washed them, I knew I better take some pictures before he can't wear them anymore.  What better place to take them than outside at the playground where Steven's in his element.

Posing (not that he did much) is tough work!

A comparison...

Steven at 6 mos.

and now at 2 yrs.

Again at 6 mos.

And at 1 yr. (I remember taking this picture comparing it to the above and thinking that he was so big!  Actually I think I thought that at 6 mos. too.)

And last week at 2 yrs.

Fun At Mimi's

Steven loves going to Mimi and Popo's and playing with his cousins.  Soon there will be another- another girl too!  =)  Steven's totally outnumbered, but the girls are good about also playing with boy things when he's around and they always have fun no matter what they are doing.   Thanks to Mimi for the pictures and wanting to spend the day with her grandbabies.  

Be Kind, Rewind

to see pictures from Steven's 2nd birthday party on Labor Day.  Don't miss cute pictures of the cousins at the end-- music by our favorite children's musician, Elizabeth Mitchell.

Trains and trucks

I'm not sure where the last month went- Steven is already 25 months.  And like every two year old boy, he loves trucks and trains.  My parents got him his first train set and table for his birthday and he loves it.  He has even recently added the "choo choo" sound effect when he plays with it and it is just so cute.  I think I have to agree with Uncle Kyle (partly) that toys nowadays are too flashy and make too much noise.  You can buy trains now that will make hundreds of different sounds I'm sure but I feel that it is so much more satisfying in hearing Steven doing it himself and using his imagination while he's playing.  

Another one of his favorite things right now is the alphabet.  He loves anything that has to do with letters.  We had gotten him an alphabet puzzle- it is for three year olds but he's a puzzle wizard- before his birthday because we were trying to challenge him a bit.  I guess it worked because he learned all his letters from us doing that puzzle with him.  He's still learning to say them in order but he can pick up or point out any letter and tell you what it is.  Then for his birthday, separate friends got him a Leapfrog Alphabet DVD and magnet toy.  It teaches phonics which sounds way too old for Steven, I know, but he knows all the letters and what sound they make from those two things- crazy!  Charlton said he would have been skeptical if he hadn't witnessed it himself.  They play the same song- the way to this kid's heart and mind is through music!  So, now he plays with the magnets and brings us letters saying,"B says Ba."  He's a smart kid!  

He is so much fun now that he is two and we are enjoying him being older!  Although, I will say that we noticed a definite change in his personality right around his birthday.  We were kind of hoping that the "terrible twos" was just an abstract idea....turns out that it's not and we're already in them.  Steven's laid back style has gone on vacation or maybe got swept away during the hurricane.  He no longer is content to share or let other kids take his toys.  He also has decided the he'll do anything to get his way and has decided that throwing big fits anytime he doesn't will show us how unhappy he is and we'll give in.  He is wrong there.  I'm hoping that some of this acting out is because of all the changes (school and hurricane related) that have occurred recently.  His sleep schedule has been messed up with school too so that certainly doesn't help, but he has been quite a handful since his birthday and we're exhausted with handling this new stage.  This new direction of behavior is certainly not ok with us and so we are trying to be very consistent with our discipline.   This week has been better but still a little tiring.  The good moments definitely out weigh the bad ones though and I'm hoping that my sweet boy returns to stay instead of just appearing every once in a while.

Escape to College Station

As I previously mentioned in one of my hurricane updates, Steven did great with all the craziness until the Friday after the storm.  In all fairness, it was the 7th day of things not being normal.  He woke up that morning excited that Charlton was home again instead of being at work but was quickly un-excited that his world had not return to normal overnight.  Our neighbors across the street and my parents down our same street both got power at 9 am that day.  We were hopeful that ours would be on any minute until we were told that a tree a few houses down had fallen on a power line...that was when we realized that our power line was not going to be labeled a quick fix and might be passed over (not comforting). 

We called a neighborhood info line and were told that everyone in the neighborhood should have power by Monday- not as bad as it could be but that meant it would be at least several more day.  It proceeded to get hotter as the day progressed (funny how that happens) so I called my sister later that afternoon to take them up on their offer for us to enjoy their AC and their company for the weekend.   Actually, they had offered for us to come over right after the hurricane but we of course were convinced that the power would be on that day.  It was about as last minute as it gets but they changed their plans that weekend to accommodate us- what an awesome sister!  

We threw our bags together, loaded the car, and then fought rush hour traffic across Houston to pick up free A&M football tickets from Charlton's boss who had called in the afternoon.  After stopping for dinner and traffic before getting on the road to CS, we did not arrive at Lindsay's until 10 pm Friday night and unfortunately Steven did not fall asleep.  And no, that did not help he get in a better mood for the weekend.  =)

We, however, were very happy to have a break from the inconvenience of no power and the fun distraction of visiting Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Kyle, and Gus (their dog).  Steven loves "Insey" and "Kycle" (the combo of Kyle and Uncle that Steven came up with on his own)- and when he also gets to see Gus he is pretty close to perfectly happy.  

Alas, we did not get to take Steven to his first Aggie game like we had hoped.  We discovered after our arrival to CS that A&M is one of the few major universities that makes toddlers have a ticket.  I told Charlton that it's probably because Aggies have a lot of babies and want to brainwash, I mean indoctrinate, early.  We did get to take Steven to the original (or at least the one we ate at in college) Freebirds- a popular burrito place for those of you outside of TX- and get a picture of the three of us.  

Afterwards, Uncle Kyle and Charlton went to the game.  Steven napped so Aunt Lindsay and I got to chat with no distractions which I realized later has been quite while since that has probably happened and it was nice!  

After he woke up, we went in search of some good ice cream and Steven's first Aggie t-shirt.  We spent two nights in the L&K hotel so on Sunday we were able to visit our old church that we went to during college.  Here's a fun fact for you: we both attended there before we dated, while we were dating, and after we were married- that's a lot of history at one church during college.  

It felt like only  yesterday since we were there until I remembered it had really been been 6 years.  It was a great trip back; we're looking forward to going again soon and Steven going to his first Aggie game- next time we'll make sure he has a ticket ahead of time.

School Days

The Monday before the hurricane Steven started his first day of "school."  That's what we call it anyway.  He is going two days a week to a "development program" at a local church (similar to Mother's Day Out) mostly for his own social and educational benefit but I don't mind a little time "off" either.  =)  I tried to take pictures of him with his backpack but he did not want to get close to it that morning and would not put Frank down.  He loves his backpack now but still refuses to wear or carry it.  

It has been a little rough transitioning into school.  He went twice before the hurricane and then missed three school days while everyone (including us and the church) was waiting for power to come back on.  So by the time he went back, it was like the first day all over again.  His teachers tell me he has a great time with all the kids and music and crafts, but I would hardly know it from what I see.  He panicks as soon as we drive into the parking lot and screams "mommy" until I pry him out of my arms to hand him over to his teacher.  It is a traumatic experience for both of us; however, they tell me that he's fine shortly after I leave.  

He is always fine when I pick him up although he asks "mommy too" for the rest of the day checking to make sure that I'm still going to be with him.  I'm trying to stay focused that it's going to be a long term adjustment and that this is fairly normal so we need to stick it out a little longer and I'm sure he'll look forward to it.  He's been bringing me his shoes and asking to go out at 8:30 am all summer so we felt it was a good time for him to have a more structured activity with other kids.  And as you can imagine I have had no problem finding stuff to do while he is away and I find that the times flies and I never get all I want do done before I need to pick him up.  He is such a big boy but still a baby in so many ways.