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.

Green Thumb??

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would post some pictures to show our resolve to beautify our little plot of earth. Embarking on something new is always dangerous and this is especially true with regards to gardening for us because until now we could plead ignorance instead of lack of talent. We did a lot of yard work two weeks ago and the things we planted are surviving nicely- much to my excitement. Charlton said (and rightly so) that we should make sure that these do well before investing time and money in a whole new landscaping project (the flowers we planted last year died in less than 2 weeks). They look pretty good so far so maybe it's safe to continue??? I'll keep you updated on how the gardening is going. I always wanted to plant Caladiums when I had my own home-- I just love them I don't know why??? They seem like a very Southern kind of plant to have in your flowerbed.

(Before)

(After- we planted the same thing on the other side of the sidewalk)

I'm also trying to find other ways to make us a little more environmentally conscious around here. Our neighborhood just started a recycling program which is great, and we already use energy efficient light bulbs. I just bought some of the Green Works cleaning products (made by Clorox); they are from plants and minerals instead of chemicals which will be nice with little kids around too. I'm interested to see if it cleans as well as the regular stuff-- has anyone tried it? I'm also planning on getting some cloth shopping bags (I think they're selling them at about every grocery store in Houston this month) to use instead of plastic ones. I'm not sure how practical it is to think that I'll actually remember to take them into the store with me but it's the effort that counts.

Week In Review

Unfortunately, Steven did end up getting strep. The initial test they did while we waited came back negative, but I didn't realize that the doctor had swabbed him twice. Apparently they do another test in 24 hours if the first one comes back negative. The second one came back positive for Steven, and a nurse called Tuesday morning to let me know. For those who are interested to know, they also do a 48 hour test if the first two come back negative. I guess they believe the test if all three say you're clear. In any case, this is what we did while we are all recovering this week.I don't know who was happier when Mimi dropped off Charlton's old legos...Steven or Charlton? Steven loves them and likes it even more when Charlton build him things to take apart. Here is a fine example of Dad's Legos skills...a robot. He has also built a school bus, many cars, and a jumbo jet this week for Steven. "improving" Daddy's designMy little musical prodigy- he practices several times a week

Steven inherited two brand new Elmo toys from a good friend. They dropped them off one day during Steven's nap; he was in a particularly grumpy mood when he woke up because he was still not feeling well. I had already forgotten that I left the chair in the middle of the living room for him to find, but he spotted it as soon as he walked in. His face was so funny...first he was confused...then he looked around like, "is it really for me," and then he was full of joy and a love for all things Elmo. I feel like we're running a Elmo factory around here but we were really happy to get them and they were especially a good pick-me-up in the middle of a sick week. (purposefully) falling out of the Elmo chair

Filling Daddy's big boots

New York, New York

I know that y'all have been dying for a recap of our trip to NYC. Unfortunately, Charlton and I came down with strep at the end of the week, so I haven't felt like posting until today. We are doing much better now that we've been on antibiotics for a few days. Thankfully, Steven dodged the bullet-- our pediatrician confirmed today that he's super healthy and that we should be past our contagious stage. Yea!

Charlton and I stole away the Friday after Easter for a long weekend without Steven. We have only ever been away from him for less than 24 hours since he was born. We were overdue for some alone time so we could focus on each other. We arrived Friday night without any problems and enjoyed dinner at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain which was only a few blocks from our hotel close to Rockerfeller Center. The food was excellent and it was fun to eat at a restaurant I had seen Bobby Flay demonstrate a few of dishes on the Food Network.


Our good friends, Jeff and Liz, were able to come up from PA and spent all of Saturday and part of Sunday enjoying the city with us. These first few pictures, we are in Central Park; thankfully, Liz had her camera because I found that without Steven as inspiration I was not as willing to be the photographer. Almost all our pictures are from Liz.

The weather turned out to be beautiful despite the predictions a week ahead of rain. It was in the mid 40's which is a little chilly for us Texans in the shade but we did quite well all bundled up in our coats- they haven't seen much action since our Philly days. Ironically, I spent a lot of time packing what to wear when really most of the time all that was showing was my coat, scarf, and gloves. We spent Saturday walking different areas of NYC. After walking through a very small part of Central Park, we walked through the NY public library which was just gorgeous. Can you imagine studying in there? I felt smarter just taking a break on this bench from all our walking. We kept wondering where all the books were and had to walk up to the third floor before finding this room. The hallways and stairways looked more like a museum than a library.

After the library we hopped on the subway to look around Soho which is where we found this well-named street. We tried lots of different kinds of Dim Sum for lunch at Chinatown Brasserie.

We then walked over to Greenwich Village. I had heard so much about Magnolia Bakery in magazines, etc. that I was dying to try one of their famous cupcakes. And it was only blocks from a cool tea shop that Liz had been told about. Perfect...until we found the bakery and there was a line out the door (with an employee to make sure no one cut in), around the corner, and down the street. Since we aren't in NYC very often we decided not to waste our limited time standing in line. Bummer-- those cupcakes must be good!

Charlton and I like a cup of tea, but Jeff and Liz are big tea drinkers. So, we headed for the McNulty's Tea and Coffee Co. and it was worth the walk. All the tea leaves are in separate glass canisters and they measure your choice out on this scale. I had Liz pick us out some green tea to try and it is so good! We've been drinking it a lot (especially with our sore throats); I should have bought more at the rate we've been going. I think you guys started something!

Saturday night we saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. The sets and performance were of course amazing and so much fun to watch! Sunday we attended Redeemer Presbyterian for worship, and heard a wonderful sermon from Tim Keller. He has a new book out called The Reason for God that has made it on the New York Best-Sellers list that we are excited to read soon. After lunch and telling Jeff and Liz good-bye, we enjoyed some shopping and walked down a few streets where the artists have their paintings out to sell.

Monday we got home around 5pm; I especially was very anxious to see Steven. He did wonderful with our parents- he had two days with each. He was excited to see us and wanted to be held for the first hour or two we were home which was fine with us. He recovered pretty quickly and ran off the play just remembering to come back every once in a while to make sure we were still there. Charlton was able to have Tuesday off to so that we could spend a little time convincing Steven that things were back to normal. Last but not least...a picture for Steven for obvious reasons. Evidence that he was still on our mind even though we were miles away. Jeff and Liz- We had so much fun seeing you guys after so long! We'll have to try the West Coast next time.

Easter Day

Easter day we went to our church and then only had to go several blocks over to have lunch and spend the afternoon with Charlton's family (minus Jenn and Evan-- we missed you but know we have to share you sometimes). Mimi planned an Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard for the kids. After the previous day's experience, Steven knew that there was stuff inside the egg so he just took out the goodies for his basket and left the eggs on the ground. Pretty smart, if you ask me! Thankfully, he doesn't know or care what candy is yet, but he liked collecting it. This was the best picture we could get of the three of them on Easter. They were not up for another photoshoot...poor Meadow, she's such a trooper. After Steven's nap, he enjoyed playing on the Mimi and Popo's swingset: