Fun in the Sun

Just some pictures here. An update is looooong overdue, but it will have to wait for a less hectic day...

Cracks me up: The Lady Mac Attack

Okay, not really sure why I think this is so funny, but I can't help cracking up every time I watch it! Our little Lady Mac sleeps much of the time, but about once a day she goes bonkers...

Elliot's camera smile--hilarium!

Deadbeat Blogger...

oh, boy it's been a loooong time in blogger terms. lots has been going on. it's getting warmer and we got outside many times per day. we got a pool and i can't think of any living things that could have more fun in a pool than two young brothers. there was more squealing and laughing than i thought possible...i was in heaven watching them! as an alternative we got a sprinkler, too. it's not quite as fun as the pool, but it makes hot afternoons bearable.

elliot has been talking more. he still has trouble making a variety of sounds, but he's getting the concept. he excitedly points out fish, airplanes, birds, the moon, balls, squirrels, dogs, and several other things. he also is starting (FINALLY) to understand the concept behind "easy! elliot, easy!" which we tend to say over & over when he's slapping someone in the face. he'll dial it down a little and pat their cheek but if we stop saying "easy" he starts hitting again. ...and not one bit of malaice in those smacks, by the way, he thinks people like to be abused. ahhhh.... he's also finally learning not to throw things from his highchair, which is so nice.

unfortunatley eli has discovered climbing and and we are hard pressed to keep him off elevated surfaces. all our dining room chairs are lying on the floor unless in use. looks pretty weird, but keeps him out of danger for the most part. of course we can't very well lay the big furniture on it's side, so he can still do crazy things, but he can't inadvertently tip over the couch, so he's a little safer on the big furniture. sad to say, tho, that he has bonked his head a record time over the past couple of weeks.

well, i'm being summoned outside...gavin needs a playmate b/c elliot is napping. more soon...

--emily

Great Easter weekend visit with Bizettes

Aunt Meli, Uncle Rhett, Leighton & Lexi came to visit with us for Easter weekend. What fun! I especially enjoyed harrassing Lexi in her bouncer and getting Uncle Rhett and Aunt Meli to hold me as much as possible. We went to the zoo; Gavin and Leighton had ice cream cones; we ate lots of yumminess; played outside a lot...had a great time!


At the zoo. Showcasing my mad rockclimbing skill.

That's me on a lilypad in the kids area of the zoo.

Gavin on the yellow brick road (there was some Wizard of Oz thing going on)

Leighton checking out a bird.

Gavin looking at the clown fish--I'm right behind him (that's my hand).

Leighton and Gavin crawling through an aqarium--I'm still to young for that.

We went for an exploring adventure at George Bush Park on the west side of Houston. It was pretty cool and nice and peaceful--a nice way to spend the evening on Easter Sunday. Can you tell me and Gavin are brothers? I bet if mom had kept daddy in the frame he would have had his left arm up, too. Ha!

Crayola John Hancock -- seeing the trend?

Okay, so I thought Gavin's little 'signature' stunt with the sidewalk chalk was a coincidence, but check this out.

Sidewalk chalk John Hancock

I've started tracing letters, but I don't know how to write yet. Even so, I was playing w/ chalk the other day and thought this little doodle looked like my name. I showed mom my "name" and she took a picture, of course. She thinks I must be important if I have a signature b/f I can even print. Ha!

Update from Gavin

Here I am painting. I like to talk about Nana when I'm painting. Miss her...

And here I am tracing the letters in my name; one of my newest endeavors. :o)

So I haven't updated y'all in quite some time. It has been so long that I'm not even sure where to start...

Well, let's start w/ my boy Elliot. He is getting more cool by the day. He laughs at my jokes and he does silly things that make me laugh. He is getting bigger and more stable so it takes a little more to knock him down than it used to. Translation: I get in trouble for pushing him a little less often b/c he doesn't always fall down anymore... I like to take his hand and lead him to my room to play with our toys; he thinks that's fun, too. So all around, we have getting along pretty well and I'm learning how to play nicely and we have a really great time.

I'm still reading away. Mom gave me the comics from the Sunday paper the other day. They are very cool: bright colors, cute pictures and lots of words. The trouble is that they aren't really for kids...at least not my age. There was a lot of things I didn't really understand--and mom says I probably shouldn't understand some of those things yet.

Another thing I like to do with words is spell them out verbally. The other day I was challenging mom to tell me what the letters I reeled off spelled: t-e-c-k-o what does that say, mommy? like that. Well, she started to tell me to tell her what these strings of letters said so off I went: h-o-u-s-o. small pause. "houso!" Boy was she surprised! Ha!

Me and the potty are really good friends. I go visit a million times a day. I have very few accidents anymore. There are toilets everywhere. Did you know that? And there are special rooms for men and women. This has led to many a conversation about the difference between the sexes. Well, it's has been pretty abstract so far, so I still get a little confused at time. A few weeks ago we went to visit one of these public restrooms and out of curiosity I asked a stranger: Are YOU a woman?. Mom was a little embarrassed because apparently it was very clear that he was not a woman. Anyway, luckily, he thought I was just saying something cute and he just smiled and nodded.

We are almost all settled into our new house. We have a super cool backyard with a couple small trees I can climb. Dad tied a swing to one of them just to keep mommy on her toes -- little brothers don't learn to stay back from swings until they are at least 2 years old. It has a big maple tree, a couple of Japanese loquat trees and a big ole holly bush (we're not supposed to play with the berries; they're poisonous). We also have a lot of patio space to ride bikes and roll balls and stuff. I have a new room, but all the same old toys, so although I do miss our old house a lot, our new one feels pretty homey already. We still go to the same church and see the same friends, so this move wasn't easy, but wasn't quite as hard as moving from Baton Rouge.

We get to walk around a lot now. There are parks to walk to and the roads make a big loop in our neighborhood so we can just walk for the fun of it if we don't really want to go anywhere.

Mom wanted to make sure I included this little list of Gavinisms:
NeighborHERD=neighborhood (already a little social commentator)
insurrection=interesting
stumfing=something

Well, I'm sure there are more, but we can't think of them right now.

~Gavin

Don't mess with Texas!

So we took a little exploration trip today to a part of the Houston area we've never visited: the lovely east side--Pasadena really. We weren't really headed anywhere in particular, but I started to see a few signs for the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, so I decided we check it out.

As we're pulling up to the entry guard Gavin is chattering away about the signs he sees: One has the name of the park; another has the speed limit; there's a Don't Mess with Texas sign (anti-litter for those of you who aren't regular visitors to TX); and one with a schedule of fees, etc. I'm trying to talk Gav through them as we go, but there are really too many, so I give up and decide that a quick overview of where we are would be more pertinent. So I start in: "Gavin, this place is where the battle of San Jacinto was fought. Groups of people came here from all over to have a big fight over who would get Texas." Gavin cuts in and says, "Mommy, you don't mess with Texas; Texas is dangerous."

--Alas, left the camera at home, so no pix.

Trip to BR

We made a trip to BR last weekend. Here are some pictures :o)

On top of the world...

...well, maybe just the table. The blocks were worth the climb.

Safari!

We were invited to a super fun birthday party at Bayou Wildlife Park. We got to play w/ friends, ride a tram and feed crazy animals, and ride ponies! Here are some pictures. We had a lot of fun!

Here is Elliot on "Babe."


















Gavin on "Babe."






















Gav and daddy on the tram checking out some furry guys.















Daddy and Eli




















We'll post a video soon...

A day in nature

We met up with some friends at a local park. Saw cardinals, hawks, dragon & damsel fly nymphs, mosquito larvae (mom's fav), turtles, a blue heron, and lots of beautiful Texas wildflowers.



As always the nunu is on it's way back in to Elliot's mouth. It's days are numbered...


Gavin running around in the discovery garden.



Cool tractor in the background...


Elliot playing on the alligator tube.

Gavin checking out the creatures that live in the pond.


A cool snowy egret weather vane (apparently roosters are passe).


A little bit of bed head :o)

Just Pictures

Sad news

We have been dealing with a very sad occurrence in our lives. A few weeks ago, my mom (Nana to the boys) left this world and entered eternity. It was very sudden, but thankfully peaceful. We are still very much in a season of mourning and we will miss her tangible presence in our lives very much. Mom gave so much of her life to those around her--most of all her family. She continues to give us comfort in her passing, because she lived her life ready to leave this world. We know we'll see her again. She loved our boys so much and her absence from their lives is the hardest thing to face. Countless people have been praying for our family and I know that's the strength that we feel as we walk through our grief. We really appreciate each thought and prayer. Please let this sad time in our lives motivate you to hold your family close. We strive to do the same. ~Emily