Two for One

Hmmm....wonder if the one on the left is available for public outings? Bet he's a bit quieter than the one on the right. And he already seems to have a bushy beard!

Why Stand When You Can Sit?

That's always been my lazy mantra, and it looks like the B-man has claimed it as his own. Just recently, he has started backing up to all kinds of things so he can sit on them himself.

Sometimes the seats make sense:



And sometimes they DON'T:

The Virtues of Being Messy

We've been under a bit of self-imposed house arrest the last couple of days due to B's bout with an icky runny nose. There weren't too many options for my lunch yesterday so I decided to open a can of tuna and dress it up a bit. I got out the bag of frozen peas to throw some in and accidentally dropped one on the floor. I was somewhat surprised with how quickly Brooks picked it up, and then was completely shocked to watch him NOT spit it out.

Realizing that maybe we were cracking the B-man's code (likes things cold?), I gave him a few more peas. Down the hatch. I then put him in his highchair and put round after round of frozen peas on the tray. He ate 'em all. At this point, I am trying to stay calm because, darn it, watching my child eat green peas is a moment for posterity! Good thing I was able to grab the camera so that I could present to you now the MOST BORING VIDEO YOU HAVE EVER SEEN!



Knowing this kid, he'll surely not eat any today and may never again....but yesterday was a certain victory! (Hope it wasn't just because his nose was so stuffy that he couldn't taste their veggie-ness!) But if I weren't so careless with my spillage in the kitchen, we never would've had this breakthrough! Hooray for being messy!

The Rest of the Outdoor Play Session

"Playing" outside with the Brookster is a little stressful for me since we have no fence to contain him. This is where he ends up just moments after letting him outside (picture taken from front step):

We had trouble interesting him in his push-mower:

But he was down with the bubbles:

And being super tall:

B clearly got his pasty white skin from me and he gets red VERY quickly. Obviously, we lather on the sunscreen but a hat would really go a long way towards making me feel better about him being out in the sun. So yesterday, we went outside for a bit and I couldn't believe that he didn't immediately take it off--although he's really trying, as you can see:

About 10 seconds later, it was gone. Ah well-- I don't like being outside in the sun, anyway! I'll just raise me a couch potato! :-)

By the way, the outfit pictured above is the LAST of the clothes bought before he was born. Gymboree had a whole line of stuff with ants and it was seriously on sale the winter right before B arrived. Grammie treated us to all the ant stuff they had left (since bugs are high on the list of COOL things to wear when the paternal unit teaches biology!) and the only size left in this particular ensemble was 12-18 mos. So while he outgrew the other 2 wee onesies last summer, we were happy to have a warm day to get him in this one before it gets too small!

A Boy and His Gnome

...and lots of smiles!

On the Loose

Our local mall has a very nice indoor play area, sponsored by the hospital, in which the wee ones can entertain themselves:

What B would rather do:

Who needs a play area when you have an empty mall?

I finally got him to stay for a little while and he seemed to make friends with the beaver (gopher?) toothbrush. Perhaps he'll pick up some dental tips-- he's going to need them if he gets my teeth!

And speaking of malls.... if NorthPark in Dallas were my closest mall (as it is for my parents), I would probably have to be rolled through life like Violet "Bloated Blueberry" Beauregard--I'm not usually much for food courts but those gourmet Tin Star tacos last week were deeeelish!!

(Of course, if NorthPark were my closest mall, I'd also be very, very poor.)

Just So You Know...

...I do not fib when it comes to winners of contests receiving (wee) prezzies! Check out this blog post (scroll to the bottom) to see what I mean!

Hope to see your entry in my next contest! :-)

Belated Birthday Breakfast

Hmmm--- I guess it wasn't actually a birthday breakfast since Polly treated ME to my yummy bagel sandwich, but it sure was a treat to get to see her bright and early yesterday morning! B loves his Auntie Polly!

They worked on high-fives:

Now the B-man and I just need to get to one of Polly's games (she coaches a local high school girls lacrosse team) so we can high-five each time they score!

The Little Big Guy

Okay, this kid is going to be taller than I am very, very soon. I was just sure that he'd hardly grown in the last 3 months. But, um, not so much. At his 15-month appointment yesterday, B was the most above that 95th percentile height line than he has ever been. He checked in at a giant-esque 34 inches......but weighed only.......wait for it.......or should I say 'weight for it'........23 lbs, which is hovering right around the 25th percentile for weight. Seriously. The kid is a STRINGBEAN.

But he is on the cutting edge of animal-print headgear:

We Made It!

We landed last night about 10:15 and I'm happy to report that, even though the B-man didn't sleep a wink on the flight, he was pretty well-behaved. It didn't hurt that there were 2 (much younger) babies very near us who took turns screaming most of the flight. Actually, it was during the noisiest times that Brooks was the most quiet!

We even managed to have some playtime at DFW airport before departing:

My one bit of travel advice to impart after the completion of a 6th round-trip adventure with a small child is to take a stroller! I'm sure that isn't a news flash for most, but we haven't had a stroller with us in the airport since his first flight at 4-months when he was still in the infant carrier and stroller frame. It has just seemed so much easier for me (especially when traveling alone) to have him in my Hotsling or, more recently, the Ergo carrier, but OH MY GOSH does a stroller make things better!

I had been worried about taking my big Phil&Ted because of the size since at least one airline website went into detail about different sizes of strollers that are acceptable. Thanks to my dear friend, Lindsey, who has flown the friendly skies many times with Cady, I had proof that not only does the P&T fit through the security machines (just barely!) but that no one should give me any trouble for gate-checking it. And so it was. It does now have two gashes in the handlebar foam from not being treated with TLC by the baggage people but the fact that B could be contained in the airport--and that I had my own stroller during my entire trip--was totally worth it!

Wrapping Up our Dallas Adventures

B and I head back home later today, and there were still things on "the list" to accomplish first. The city recently redid a little park at the end of my parents' street and my dad has been wanting to take the Brookster there to play. I imagine he had a slightly different mental picture of said adventure than the constant running off that actually happened yesterday:

Then I went to get my 3rd and final Sonic slushie for the week, but those darn people didn't have any strawberries for my slush! So I let the B-man have some of my poor-excuse-for-a-slushie lemon one and I think I might have created a monster:

Then I had a wonderful evening visit with Nina, who was a Zeta at Baylor 2 years behind me. I haven't seen her in years and it just worked out at the last minute for us to catch up. Nina is an attorney in Dallas and is getting married in October, and we lacked for nothing in the gossip department!

Hope you hear from me tomorrow because that means we'll have survived our flight back home!

But.........before that.......... we have another BIG* birthday to celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POLLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(*Not actually a BIG birthday, since someone is a young 'un!)

Weekend O' Family in East Texas

Grammie, Opa, Brooks, and I set off for Longview yesterday morning. After a visit with my Grandmother Duncan, we then drove southeast to Timpson to visit Seth's grandmother and a whole host of other relatives, after which we drove back north to Tyler to visit my aunt and uncle. So in one day, B saw 2 grandmothers, 2 grandfathers, 2 great-grandmothers, 2 sets of great-aunts and -uncles and a great-great aunt and uncle! I also crossed barbecue and chicken-fried steak off my "to-eat" list, so it was clearly a fabulous weekend!

(Clockwise from upper left: Opa, (great) Grandmother Duncan, Grammie, (great) Grandma "Sugar", (great) Uncle Maxey, (great) Aunt Carole Jean-- Opa's sister, and Grandma!)

B also managed to have a few adventures along the way. He really enjoyed using Grandmother's footstools to try to climb onto the couch:

And he was all over the rain coming out of the gutter downspouts:

Switching gears a bit... as I'm surrounded by really crafty friends in my mom's group, I always wish I'd gotten an iota of Opa's artistic talent so I could try to hang in there with them. My dad painted this amazing image of Jesus on the cross and it hangs on the wall in my aunt and uncle's house:

And....a portrait of the artist as a clown:

Blurry Lens Thursday

Wanted: little scamp who got his grubby paws on the camera lens while trying to pry open the lens shield-thing. Have you seen him? He looks a bit like this:

Our day began with an attempted photo shoot with Opa before he left for his daily trip to outpatient therapy. A driver actually comes to pick up my dad each morning (and drops him off at the end of the day)-- Opa refers to it as "going to kindergarten" since he's getting driven to a place where he has to bring his lunch and, once there, he participates in activities like playing with putty! My guess is that he's collecting notes on this insanely surrealistic life change for a hysterical book, but, in any case, the B-man didn't want to stay still for a picture:

After B's nap, we were off to Grapevine for a day with Lindsay and Grant, who was celebrating his big half-birthday!

We were treated to a visit with the 3rd roommate from Apt #3210, Rachel, and 2-month old Audrey:


The wee ones decided to hang with the "big" guy as he had some lunch:

Then we tried to get a baby pic but my wrangling was necessary for the wiggle worm. (Sorry for that gigantic lens smudge on your head, Audrey!):

The inevitable roomie pic:

After the Carpenters left, we made a Sonic happy-hour run, changed into short-sleeved shirts, and walked to a park down the street. Brooks wanted to spend his time walking UP the slide, of course:

Then he wanted to rock the baby:

After bathtime, he tried to make Linds an offer on her necklace:

And then after B fell fast asleep, G decided to wake up and hang with his daddy upon Jason's arrival home!

Thanks for letting us spend the day at your house, Safrans!

PS-- CONGRATS to Mel on squeaking through with a victory in the caption contest!!!!

Someone Has a BIG Birthday Today!

I know, Anne. It's hard to believe that we aren't 9th graders sporting Esprit shirts anymore. But so it goes.

Remember 12.5 years ago when we carried on the following conversation many, many times in front of a paying audience?

EDM (as Chris in Neil Simon's Rumors): "I'm coming apart at the seams."
AKH (as Claire): "Your dress?"
EDM: "No, not my dress...my nerves!"

(don't mind our dress rehearsal hair. it was MUCH bigger at the performances!)

And then almost 5 years later, when this picture was taken the evening of my rehearsal dinner? Can we maybe get an updated one this July at YOUR rehearsal dinner?

And this one-- I know, it's not a great pic in any way. BUT it just completely summarizes our favorite activities when we're together: sitting around, eating some sort of chocolate-y goodness (straight out of the pan? sure!), drinking some vino, *perhaps* engaging in a little gossip. Why did you have to move all the way to Seattle, anyway??

Wish we could hang out today-- wearing matching colors, of course!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNIE KATE!

Surviving 32,000 Feet

American Airlines is currently my BFF for changing my seat upon boarding to the bulkhead aisle seat with no one next to us. Awesome! So we had room for Master Brooks to conduct all kinds of business.

A little light keyboarding:

Perusing the selection of reading material:

And, THANKFULLY, some snoozing:

So we indeed survived. He has really become quite good in the last few weeks at the high-pitched whining noises which just aren't sounds anyone wants to hear, so the siesta was welcomed by probably more than just his mother! But we made it just fine and I've already enjoyed Jason's Deli for lunch, Tukta Thai for dinner, a trip to Half Price Books, and coffee with Fran! Ah how I love my Dallas visits!

PS-- Big anniversary shout-outs today to two fabulous couples: Carrie & John and Geoff & Nicki!

Let's Hear it for Democracy!

I'm putting the decision in your hands. Who should win the caption contest prize? Vote now in the poll!

PS-- Drew, you let me down with your no-show answer!

The Most Boring Post Ever...OR NOT

I'm writing this at 9:18 PM on Monday evening and I have yet to open a suitcase for our trip to Dallas tomorrow morning. And I'm really sleepy.

Hopefully, by the time you're reading this, I will have gotten packed and crossed everything off my to-do list on the fridge--and may already be in the Big D! I figure that, regardless of how the wiggle worm behaves, the plane has to land eventually...and I'll never see those people again! Right?

Happy Tuesday!

***Oh wait! I know how to make this post more interesting! A CAPTION CONTEST!! I don't have a picture to prove it, but one Ms. Rosemond Cates did indeed receive a PRIZE in the mail for her winning caption last time. So we're serious around here about the awards. Just FYI.

Okay. What's going on here?

Who Needs a Treasure Map When Fake Auntie Chisty is Around?

One thing I've learned about myself as a parent is that I have trouble getting into the spirit of celebrations that I don't think my kid really understands-- hence me throwing a birthday party for myself with only a 1st birthday pre-party! I had decided weeks ago that I didn't see much of a point in doing anything too "Easter-y" this year, but finally determined that B might have a good time adding eggs to a basket. Of course, I'm really cheap and didn't want to spend money on an actual basket when our $1 bargain bin sand bucket would work, so I bought a few plastic eggs and off we went. FAC was in charge of "hiding" the (very large) eggs (in plain sight) in the backyard after she and Eric arrived yesterday afternoon for Easter supper, and what an adventure it turned out to be.

He didn't quite take to the challenge as I hoped he would. He seemed to appreciate the glorious plastic beauty of the eggs....and then would keep on running. Thank goodness for Christy's very deliberate pointing technique:

He managed to scoop up a few-- and end up with at least one in his drawers!



Eventually, FAC had to get a little more direct:



Celebrating a full bucket!

I'm already excited for next year, when hopefully B will say (in complete sentences with proper English accent): "Mumsie, I just can not wait to hunt for Easter eggs! Might I have a go at it now? Or perhaps after my spot of tea?"