Dax Cleaned His Room

Dax decided to clean his room today. Yay! But, he did it by throwing everything from his room into Link's room. Oh. He is such a character!

Fancy Party

Dax's classmate, Grace, is celebrating her birthday at school today. Since she is a fancy kind of girl, it is a "fancy" party. The kids were supposed to wear their fanciest ensemble. Dax chose to dress up like a cowboy. He was so excited about the party, that he got completely ready all by himself and had great attitude/cooperation all morning. And I didn't have to pack a snack or lunch. What a nice break!

Hot Yoga

Craig's girlfriend, Kim, gave me a 30 day pass to the yoga studio up the street. I get up at 5:40am for a 6:00am class and get back a little after 7:00am before Duane leaves for work (and hopefully before the boys wake up). It is "hot" yoga, in that the room is 98 degrees with 60% humidity. Wow! The first day I got lightheaded a few times, but made it thru surprisingly well, considering it has been almost 2 years since I've done yoga, and never in the heat. I found out that the heat really helped me be more flexible. The second day the class was a "flow" class - each pose "flowed" into the next; it was really hard. Today was my third class and I did better with the lightheadedness, but since I am sore from the first two days, my balance and flexibility were not great.

I really like how much energy I have after yoga. Maybe it's because everything else I do during the day is SO MUCH EASIER than an hour of yoga in 98 degrees! :-P I am looking forward to seeing how I progress over the month.

Nice Weekend

We finally had "spring" weather this weekend. Cool in the mornings, upper 70s during the day. We took advantage by getting outside. On Saturday we went for a hike in the greenbelt. It was so fun watching Dax climb on giant rocks, walk thru the stream, skip rocks, and generally enjoy being a kid in nature. Link liked throwing rocks, too. After a relaxing family dinner at Firehouse Subs (a favorite with Dax because of the free fireman hat), we came home and climbed the tree in the front yard. Then Link decided he wanted to go for a walk, so we all joined him. :-) He led us around the block and we ran into our neighbors, Elisa & Mark Engelhardt. We hung out in their yard, throwing the ball for their dog, Bennett, and talking. Eventually we ended up in their back yard, with a glass of wine while the kids kicked their feet in the pool. It was a wonderful, inpromptu evening that really made us appreciate our neighbors.

Today was filled with a trip to the playground (with Trinity) and lots of backyard play time. Then for dinner we had a special treat of eating on the back patio. I cooked a pasta dish with lots of farmer's market goodies and shrimp. The cool breeze and relaxed dinner was fantastic. We topped it off with ice cream sandwiches. Great weekend!

we were really impressed with Dax's agility and confidence while climbing on the rocks









learning the fine art of rock skipping

Easter Bunny

Today we met Benjamin, Bethany, and Mrs Burke at the mall. We enjoyed lunch in the food court, then headed downstairs to the jumping place. On our way there, we noticed an Easter Bunny. With no line! So, we "hopped" on over and got some pictures. First Benjamin and Dax wanted to go together, then Benjamin and Bethany. Link (who was terrified of Santa) walked right up to the bunny, smiling. After a minute of flirting, we put him on the bunny's lap and he did great. After an hour at the jumping place, a good nap was had by all.

Link Playdate

While Dax was at school, Link and I met his friend Owen, and his Mommy Jackie, for a playdate. We went to the playgound in his neighborhood, on Yaupon, near Dax's school. It is a nice, shaded playground with a big sandbox and lots of dump truck toys. Link enjoyed the swing and a bouncy frog. We had a picnic lunch and watched a roadrunner run all over the park. It was fearless. And really cool to be that close to one. Unfortunately, it moved too quick to get a picture of it. :(

We also met the snooty "park Nazi" who wanted to make sure we lived in the neighborhood. After preaching about HOA dues paying for the playground, she finally conceeded that "it's OK to have friends, but it really is for the NEIGHBORHOOD children." Way to make me want to move in to your neighborhood, lady. Sheesh.

But we didn't let her ruin our day. The weather was perfect and it was nice to spend the time with Link. Hopefully, he and Owen will continue to be friends as they get older.

Spaaahhhhh Day

For Christmas, Duane gave me a gift certificate to the Lake Austin Spa (one of the best spas in the country). I finally was able to book a day. My friends Kateri and Heidi came along and we had a wonderful, girly day! Thank you, Duane!

Salt Lick with the Bogarts

Bill and Dotty Bogart are Gramma's friends from Mansfield. Every year they winter in South Texas and end up staying in Fredricksburg for a couple weeks before they head back to Pennsylvania. When they are nearby, we always try to get together with them. This year, we all met at the Salt Lick in Driftwood. And I mean ALL of us: Gramma, Travis, Hollie, Payton, Piper, Craig, Kim, Addy, Duane, Karen, Dax, Link, and Mr & Mrs Bogart. We took up two tables. It was fun to catch up with them; they are such neat people.

The whole gang


Mrs Bogart with Piper & Link

Mr Bogart is always a hit with our boys

Step

Link has been pulling up and "cruising" for quite a while, now. And he will "walk" while we walk behind him, holding his fingers. He can stand unassisted for almost 10 seconds. But, he has refused to take a step on his own. If he's standing, and we let go, he stands there, his eyes get really big, he laughs, and then plops down on his bottom. But this morning, Link actually moved one of his feet! Maybe he's thinking about walking.

Playing with Uncle Craig

Craig came by the house to borrow something and ended up staying and playing for a couple hours. Dax was so excited to see him. They went straight to the backyard and played golf, firemen, pirates, and threw the ball for the dogs. We got a baseball game going and Dax showed off his switch hitting. Dax also showed Craig how to play "plantball". Which, apparently, is a game where you hit the plants with a golf club. When Craig asked where Dax had learned that game, Dax explained that, "God showed me how." So there you go. There were a lot of laughs from young and old(er). I really enjoy seeing my boys interact with their uncles and how much fun they have together.

Shorts and Longs

We're in the time of year when we break out the shorts. Every day I tell Dax to pick out either shorts or pants, depending on the weather. But he refuses to call pants, "pants". He calls them "longs". Seems logical enough.

Boat and Harry Connick, Jr

We took the boys out on the boat today. We enjoyed a pb&j picnic at the marina and a nice ride around the lake. Dax loves driving the boat and he's getting pretty good at it. Link completely zones out as soon as the boat starts moving. They both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Grandma came to watch the boys while Duane and I had a date night. We sat outside and stuffed ourselves at Romeo's, then went to the Long Center to see Harry Connick, Jr in concert. He was incredible!!! He started out just singing and standing there, but by the end of the night he had a Mardi Gras party going on on-stage and he was dancing like a maniac. We especially enjoyed hearing him play/sing "Once in My Life," since it was one of the songs we danced to at our wedding. We also got to catch up with a former co-worker, Brian Dougherty, and his wife, as they were just a couple seats down from us. A great day of family and grown-up time and amazing entertainment!

Hoe Down at School

Dax's school had a rodeo hoe down. The kids all dressed up like cowboys and cowgirls and sang songs 'round the "campfire". We all got in the spirit and had a good time. Daddy and Gramma came, too. I'm having trouble uploading a video, so go to the Picasa web album to see/hear him singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas".

Dax and his class getting ready to sing


Dax and his friend Noah

My cowboys

We were all in the spirit (and, yes, the bandanas say "Petsmart" - they were all I had)

Daddy is Cool

Daddy got home a little earlier than usual today, so he took Dax to the neighborhood playground while I cooked dinner and fed Link. They had a great time playing pirates and talking and laughing. At one point, Dax went over to the swings where some ladies were talking. One of them asked Dax if he wanted her to push him. He said, "No thanks. I'll have my Daddy do it. Cuz he's cool."

To top it all off... As Dax was swinging "super high," he told the ladies, "See! I told you he was cool!"

Gotta love it!

Chinese Buffet

I decided I wasn't up for cooking tonight, so I took the boys up the street to the Chinese buffet place. Duane planned to meet us there. Dax was done eating fairly quickly and moved on to his fortune cookie. I asked him what it said and he replied, "Eat your cookie fast before your Daddy gets here." I laughed and asked him how he knew that Daddy was coming. He then held up the paper and said, "Cuz it says it right here!"

He is a funny kid!

Main Event

One of Dax's classmates, Jonathan, celebrated his 4th birthday at Main Event. Noah and Nash from school were at the party, too, as well as, several other family and friends. The party started at the bowling lanes. Dax has never bowled before, but he enjoyed it. They had pop-up gurad rails to keep the balls out of the gutters, and a ramp they could use to get the ball rolling in the right direction. At one point, it was "disco bowling" with the lights off and lazers and fog. Keeping 20 4-year-olds focused amid all the noise was "interesting", but we made it to the back room for pizza and cupcakes.

One of the party guys did a magic trick of turning a quarter into a penny. Dax was fascinated! When the guy gave a quarter to Dax, he tried and tried to roll it between his fingers just like he'd seen. He really wanted to figure it out!

After the food, we got to play arcade games. We did mostly driving games, but Dax and Noah both enjoyed the jet pack "ride". Parents and kids were both exhausted by the end, but smiling.

Watching the magic trick

Driving a Harley down the sidewalk

Rodeo

We met Noah's family at the Austin Rodeo. We had a good time checking out the farm animals, and playing in the midway. Dax even rode his first-ever roller coaster! I thought he might get scared, but he loved it! After our quota of fried food, we came home.

Dax picked out his "Woody" outfit: boots, jeans, yellow shirt, unbuttoned "vest", brown hat


Real Texas Longhorn


This cow's owner said he could pet her


The caterpillar roller coaster: "We're up so high!"


Link really just wanted to nap

Link's First Visit To Dentist

Now that Link is 1, we took him to the dentist for his first check-up. They had had a couple emergencies, so they were running over an hour late (unusual for them). Poor Link was tired and hungry by the time we got to see Dr. Thomas. He was not a big fan of her poking around in his mouth, either. He got a good report on his teeth, though, and we noticed that his top left molar has come in. Still has the 4 front on top and 2 front on bottom. Looks like the next 2 bottom teeth will be coming soon, though. We discussed the gap between his 2 front teeth and she said we'll leave it until he gets braces. Then we'll snip the frenulum to allow the teeth to move in. It is a fairly easy proceedure, but I'm glad we won't have to do it for several more years. Besides, I like his gap -- it gives him character.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Paddy's Day! To celebrate, we made corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot. And shamrock cookies. Dax helped mix the dough and could even work the cookie press all by himself. We shared the cookies with neighbors Miss Elisa, Miss Katherine, and Sohm's family. Dax had such a look of pride each time he delivered them. What a fun and easy way to teach generosity and thoughtfulness.

The corned beef was my first attempt and it came out great. Link really liked it, too!

Corned beef and shamrock cookies

Horseback Ride

Dax's school has several animals, including two horses, Sunny and Maddy. In celebration of " 'R' is for Rodeo" week, the kids actually got to ride Maddy (a treat normally reserved for summer camp). This was Dax's first time on a horse. He volunteered to go first and was all smiles.

He looks so little up there


His first horseback ride!

Zoo

We met my friend, Julie, and her kiddos, Ava & Bobby, at the Austin Zoo. Bobby and Link are just a few days apart in age, while Dax and Ava are less than a year apart. We all really enjoyed seeing the animals.

This goose bit Dax's hand when he was trying to feed it


What?!

This lioness is not staring down Link. She was watching a zookeeper that she really wanted to play with. He threw he a ball, but she got sad when he walked away. Almost dog-like.

Quite a Day

The boys decided to really test my mommy skills today.

Link was first. He climbed up on the hearth and when he tried to crawl back down, he slid face-first on to the tile. There was a little blood, but no major damage, just a fat lip. A few kisses and cuddles later, he was back to his cheerful self.


Then it was Dax's turn.... I was in the garage getting the stroller ready for our walk, when 2 kind ladies walked up and told me that they'd found my "little one" walking down the road! I was completely confused because 1)my "little one" was in his crib, and 2)my other one was playing in the living room. Then Dax stepped out from behind them. What a shock! Apparently when I left the garage and came in the house to get drinks, he must have gone in the garage. When he didn't see me, he thought I'd started the walk without him and he went to look for me. He made it around the corner and about half a block down (on a fairly busy road) when the ladies saw him and asked him where his house is. He freaked and ran home. They followed to make sure he was ok. I was back in the garage when they showed up and said they found him. I luckily never got mad, but later it was scary to realize that I never really knew he was missing. He and I had a good conversation about it ended up having a good walk, too. I am So Thankful for his angels!

So, while I may not win the SuperMom title today, I know that these things happen, even to the best moms. And, both boys (and mom) are really no worse for the wear. Thankfully.

Link and the Hat

We put Dax's hat on Link. He really liked the bill.

Link is 1!!!

Our sweet baby boy is 1-year old today! Because of his fever yesterday, most of the folks with kiddos (understandably) opted to skip the party. But we still had decorations, balloons, family, one friend, fajitas, and cake. The party had a jungle animal theme because our house is, well, sometime a zoo. The people who joined us were: Gramps, Dane, Grandma, Uncle Travis, Aunt Hollie, Payton, Piper, Uncle Craig, Miss Kim, and neighbor and friend Sohm and his mommy, Prachi, and daddy, Sanjay. Gramps came early and stayed late, because he didn't want to miss anything. It is hard to believe Link is a year old! He may not be a baby anymore, but he'll always be MY baby.

With his "smush" cake

Ear Infection

Link is clearly not feeling well and coughing a lot. Last night he started with a fever, too. So, today we took him to the doctor. Dr. Petropoulos discovered that he has an ear infection in his right ear. She thinks he may have a virus on top of that (hence the coughing). :( We're starting antibiotics and hoping he's feeling better for his birthday. We decided to go ahead and have the party for family, but we had to call all Link's friends and let them know. We are sad that the party will be smaller.