Vent-o-Rama

(I love how he holds on to the table the whole time I feed him)

Evan is at that horrible stage. He sits up in his crib and cries in the night and doesn't think to lay back down. So when I come over to lay him down, he cries that silent breath holding cry until I pick him up and comfort him - like every two to three hours.

Avery went through it. I remedied it with butterflies.

But he is also so fussy all day and there is no ignoring his screeching. I get so impatient and I don't like that feeling of anger towards my children. Is it teething? Is it the leftover cough/cold? Is it something else that needs real medicine? (I will find out tonight when I take him back to the doc.)

post edit: ear infection. poor little guy. that explains a lot.

He wakes up in the night and stays awake for a few hours just being restless, fussy, and wired.

I just can't wait for this phase to pass.

Our Tree

What was once a Bicycle magazine is now our Christmas Tree,

and we are bumpin' the Pandora Christmas music chanel (good idea Jamie),

and we went to a tree lighting in Georgetown on Friday.

(side rant: Georgetown is a fantastic little town. It was built in 1840 and has cool old buildings and shops)

Though we were underwhelmed by the lighting, this used book store was a dream.

Kids books upstairs...

Even without our usual decor and routines, it feels like Christmas.

 I can't wait to play santa...

Thanksgiving

Gma Larsen handmade this dress for Avery. Amazing.

I want to remember this Thanksgiving as the one where we ate on a card table and foldout chairs,
just us four. Evan napping in the closet while Avery licked ranch dip off her carrots. Perfect.

rolls made without a kitchen aide,
mashed potatoes without a potato peeler or masher,
store bought pies and (gulp) cool whip,
a roasted turkey breast with a built in timer. pop!
Just us four. Cozy full stomachs.

When we realized it would just be us for Thanksgiving, I got strangely excited. Perhaps less pressure to make a good tasting spread, but more so because I love to hunker in the house with my little family.

Earlier today Evan was crying so I asked Avery to find him a pasi. After looking under the couch, in the bedroom, and all around, she plucked the one out of her mouth and handed it to him. Extremely generous on any level, but for a two year old? Huge. I love my kids.

As far as listing off all that I am thankful for...I don't know where to even begin. So I will tell you what I am thankful for not. I'm thankful to not live in Nazi Germany. I just finished reading The Book Thief, so it is fresh in my mind. I literally just finished it. Adrenaline from the power of that book made me want to hurry and write down how lovely life is here.
Sometimes I pretend I am in a starving situation (like I'm on Survivor), so that I have extra appreciation for all the food on my table. Of course I can't even come close to knowing what poverty, hunger or the absence of freedom is really like. For that, I am very thankful.

G is for Good Thing

Good thing Evan finally got his first tooth because tomorrow is a day of feasting.

Interestingly, both my children sprouted their first tooth a few days before Thanksgiving.

I didn't even know Avery's tooth was coming in, whereas Evan is so sad and fussy and sick on top of it all. It's been fun around here in the middle of the night.

Yesterday we went to a pizza place decked in Vegas paraphernalia because we were really missing the Elvis, ratpack, slot machine ambiance.

No. Actually I got a groupon deal. Large Pizza for 1$ at a restaurant on the famous 6th street.

We are keeping it weird by dumping the entire jar of parmesan cheese on the floor of the restaurant.

N is for Nudity Avoided

I is for Impress

The look on that little face is priceless.

A train ride took us along the rivers in Zilker Park downtown Austin.

This kid was impressed.

"I got my ticket!"

At least this guy is working for his money. Jimi waded up a dollar and threw it at him as we rode on by.

Under this bridge is a river with lots of turtles swimming around. There are turtles everywhere here!

Different than the desert tortoises we saw on our bikes back in Vegas...these ones are wet and swimmy.

There is also a great botanical garden in Zilker Park. 

Amazing.

We played in the water for a long time...floated "boats" down the stream.

Pardon me, but it was so pretty.

Avery fell and scraped her hand. The doctor's orders: dip them in the cool water over and over and over. Make sure you get your sleeve wet while you're at it.

These stepping stones look like they are floating, so when you walk on them it's a bit unnerving. Plus there are big orange fish swimming around.

I love this gate.

It's a mixture of Charlotte's Web, Edward Scissorhands, James and the Giant Peach, and Romeo & Juliet.

There was a sign pointing to the "prehistoric" garden, so I told Avery "let's go look for dinosaurs!"

She got super excited and kept saying "dinosaur!".

Then we turned the corner and found this:

Avery got really quiet...maybe a touch scared. I didn't think we were really going to run into a dinosaur. Rarrrrr

Then around the next bend we came upon a butterfly garden.

Butterflies everywhere! Huge monarchs! Everywhere a-flutter...

and look at these huge, crazy butterflies...

I was imagining being the teacher in here. "I need everyone to stop talking and look at me".

We are gonna go back for more. Nap time came before we got to see everything.

V is for View

I took my camera with me on a bike ride the other day. About a mile from our apartment, the sidewalk ends and rural Austin begins.

Boring? Maybe. But I know my mom and dad will enjoy these pictures.

weird castle-house

this cemetery only has a handful of grave stones

fog in the morning

keeping Evan entertained

I is for It's

It's the beginning of "nine days of fun and freedom".

That's right, Jimi has the next nine days off! We had a nice little Thursday afternoon...shopping, a stroll through a cool park, dinner at The Salt Lick.

It's been a successful day at the used book store. I found The Book Thief for three bucks! (Emily keeps telling me how much she loved it...)

It's the first time I got the stink eye from a stranger because my baby was loud in a restaurant. You know how Evan screams super high pitched? I admit it's annoying. But this lady turned, gave the stinky stink eye, topped it off with a stern nod, then turned back to her brisket.

I made eye contact with her because usually people smile at my kids and acknowledge the "what can you do" factor (shoulder shrug!). But no way. This lady was out to have a nice quiet evening without interruptions from pesky children. (shudder)

It's so cute when these two hang out together.

It's a waste of a bath when I have to change a poopy diaper after they are dried off and in their jammies for the night.