End of February

Owen is spending the day with Nana and Rebecca is asleep so I'm catching up on all sorts of stuff around the house. Just posted some pictures about our recent trip to the zoo, and here is the baby book sort of stuff...

REBECCA

• New words: bubbles (bu bu), hi (hiye), Rebecca? (Ra Ra), go (doe) - as in, ready...set...go!
• Her own toddler version of speaking in tongues...she puts her hands on her ears (so she can only hear the noises she makes through her head - you know what I mean) and makes every sound she knows how in rapid sequence. Then she giggles at herself. Very funny to watch/listen to. 
• Perhaps it's totally instinctive because she sees my belly growing, but she has become very very very fond of taking care of her babies...feeding them, carrying them around, pushing them in her stroller. But mostly feeding them - bottles and treats from her tiny tea set. 
• Kyle turned is back for one second while he was filling up their tub with water and she climbed in fully clothes, and with shoes on. 
• We had another "playing with poop incident"...it was on Kyle's watch so I don't have all the details...but somehow I ended up being the one to clean the carpet?  Love. 
• Still runs from us most of the time when we say her name...or stands her grand and says the sweetest "no" my ears have ever heard. Danger. 

 This is her "Queen of the World" pose.

 OWEN

• New favorite things: lacing toys, the Backyardigans (Diego has been replaced, and I could not be happier), lending books to friends (inspired by an episode of the Backyardigans featuring a library) - "Enjoy your boooots!" (c/k's are still t's). 
• Owen wants to "teach the new baby all sorts of things"...like playing, singing, running, but most importantly" how to not break up my tracks," and "how to not do no-no's."

 TOGETHER

They really are becoming quite the little pair. They are figuring out how to play together. Owen is figuring out how to interpret for her. It's getting more and more fun to see their little friendship develop. As the weather has started to warm up, we've had a lot of fun with our little t-ball set in the backyard, their bikes/trikes, and taking them to parks. Makes me really look forward to spring!

Just found out their preschool schedule for next year and couldn't be more excited. Owen will go MWF and Rebeca will go MW! Still waiting to hear about some plans for the summer...but this kind of good news makes me way less stressed about bringing a third little muchkin home! Later taters.

The BIG Zoo

My mom, Bee, had been wanting to take the kids to the real zoo, the BIG zoo as soon as the weather was nice enough, but not too hot yet. So, last Wednesday we made the trek to San Antonio to enjoy some time with the animals.

Bee & Rebecca posing on the "Lion's Pride" statue at the entrance. (I remember this place being SO much bigger when I was a kid!)

 Owen climbed up by himself but then couldn't get down. Glad I'm still needed. :)

At first, not sure what to think about the BIG bear. Roar.

 Then she couldn't stop pointing and roaring.

 Owen was glad the bear was in a cage - very practical.

 Roar. (Not that I'd want to meet this guy in the wild, but he seemed pretty old and docile.)

 At least they're both looking at the camera.

 Hippo bottoms. Talk about making you feel skinny!

Mom and I like the flamingos a lot - they're knees are backwards and that imperfection is very pleasing to us - like there is a kinship. 

 This popsicle was so tall he had a hard time getting it into his mouth. No worries - he stuck it out and finished the whole thing.

 Being with Bee means that there are treats - of the edible and toy variety. Rebecca picked out a small stuffed panda bear (even though we didn't see a panda) - boy, does she like to roar! And Owen picked out this "kimona dragon grabber" (plastic head on a stick).

 Owen also got a new cap, which Rebecca couldn't resist pulling off his head and trying on herself. In her own style.

We finished the day with a train ride. And of course we stayed later than we had anticipated. But the weather was overcast, the zoo was near abandoned, the food was fried, and we had a great time. We couldn't figure out why we only ever came in the suffocating heat/humidity of July/August when I was growing up?! Bee is so much smarter now.   :)

Hill Country Camping Society - Laity Lodge

Thanks to our the Hill Country Camping Society Founding Member - Trey - we and 13 other families got to enjoy the beautiful Laity Lodge Youth Camp facilities (Singing Hills) for the weekend. Yes, I said 13 other families...something like 30 adults and 38 kids. The HCCS has been gaining momentum (and participation) for quite a few months, and apparently the lure of sleeping on actual beds in actual cabins with actual heat and bathroom facilities was too much for people to resist! It was great fun for all! Here are a few highlights...

At any given time there were probably 3-6 little people cruising up and down "main street" on their glider bikes or training wheel bikes. Thank goodness for the water puddles that made it that much more fun! (This was by far Owen's favorite activity.)

 

Emmy in her "serious biker" pose.

 Rebecca trying to be a big girl.

One, two, three...go! (Owen was on and off his bike so much that he pretty much kept his helmet on the entire weekend...racing, wading in the Frio River.)

 Cousin Blake (almost 1 year old) toddling around camp like a big guy.

 Climbing a pole with a little help from Mr. Joel.

 The Foshea Family exploring down by the water.

Joel and Boone having a rock climbing adventure.

 Perhaps Owen's 2nd favorite activity...fishing. Don't think they caught anything this time, but it's still fun!

Joel and Emmy.

 

 Cousin Bailey had gone through all of her changes of clothes within the first 3-4 hours we were at camp. The dirt, mud, puddles, river, etc. were just too much fun! Here she is taking a little drink from the Frio.

 "Hey, I may not be old enough to fish, but I still LOVE this!" - Boone

 Katie and Aunt Mel took the three Gen 1 canoeing.

Luke, Mel, Bailey and Emmy on another ride.

None of the canoers offered to take Rebecca out in their boat - I can't imagine why?!?!

 Owen was showing off one of his "silly faces". He has lots of them and they all look exactly the same in the face with different "rock star-esque" hand movements.

 One of us had to be "on Rebecca" duty the entire weekend. That consists of chasing her and keeping her away from the water, fire, cars, and other possibly dangerous things. She's fast, sneaky, small (so she slips through a crowd easily), fearless and clumsy. It's a powerful combination.

Looking down on us from the top of a an overlook - waving "hiya".

 Owen helping Kyle light the camp fire.

 Trey did an AMAZING job cooking for such a crowd. The food (stew and fried backstrap for dinner; eggs and sausage for breakfast) was awesome and he did it all outdoors and in a HUGE quantity. Remember - 14 families!

The "eight year old girls" and some of their followers put on two shows for us. The plots and the dialogue may have been hard to follow but their use of special effects (stage lights, ceiling fans and scattered leaves to simulate a tornado, splashes of water from behind the stage wall in the lake scene) were quite impressive. So were the number of non-cast members riding their trikes and dancing across the stage during each performance. (Oh the heels of finding out our little #3 is a girl - Kyle and I are thinking - wow, this is what little girls do - are we ready?!)

 And when it's all said and done, who doesn't like just sitting around a in camp chairs shooting the breeze with good friends? Here are our friends John David and JoNeel Vickery with Ellie and Josie.

 A camp chair and a snack will even keep this little tornado still...for a second.

 Such beautiful country. What a treat to get to enjoy it with such a fun group of people!

Oh, I can't summarize camping without talking about Owen's 2 favorite parts: marshmallows (he and R may have eaten a few...) and getting to sleep on the TOP bunk of a bunk bed. The combination of no nap and the thrill of the top bunk may have made putting Owen to sleep on Saturday night one of the easiest bedtimes we've had in months! But the marshmallows in R's system put her on such a sugar high (my fault) that Owen called us back in the cabin a few times to tell us that she was keeping him awake! It was all worth it to sit around the camp fire and listen to Trey tell stories...

Already looking forward to our next trip!

Diamonds and Poop

Two stories you'll never believe happened all within 24 hours...

1) Kyle wins me a pair of diamond earrings at Owen's preschool's "Rhinestone Rodeo" dinner/auction fundraiser event. He rode the mechanical bull for the record 47 seconds. The time to beat was 32. The average time of most folks was 8-12. He rode twice, the first time for 11 seconds. So 47 was a freakishly long ride. At first people were just cheering him on like we had done for everyone else. Then everyone started jumping and screaming. I just started laughing so hard I seriously almost peed in my pants. It was like - is this guy EVER going to fall off?

He's pretty much a local celebrity now. All the other men hate him. All the women were jealous. It was, in a word, awesome. People were asking if he had "previous professional experience". Seriously? He says he injured a testicle (but we agreed we won't be needing those anymore) and his thumb. Poor baby. We continued to laugh for the rest of the night. Stinking unbelievable.

Happy early Valentine's Day to me.     :)

***Sunday morning update: Kyle's notoriety grows. He got "congratulations" and "wows" from several people at our small (non-preschool affiliated) church that he had never even met before. Word of greatness spreads quickly. We're expecting calls from the local news to start poring in at any moment.

2) Rebecca wasn't falling asleep for her nap as easily as usual so I went in to check on her. She had practically been asleep in my arms 45 minutes before when I was getting her ready to put her in bed so what I saw was even more shocking...

Dancing, prancing, jumping and having a grand ol' time in her crib with POOP EVERYWHERE. Her diaper was still on so I guess she just decided to dig around and have a little dance + art party. Immediately to the bath. Bedding and lovies immediately in the wash. Thank goodness for Clorox wipes.

Happy Saturday afternoon to me.      :)

Bath Day + Snow Day

Wednesday was really cold and we were hunkered down in the house all morning. To break up those long hours we had a pre-lunch bubble bath. 

 Baths always include tea parties. 

 The Happy Hostess.

 Mr. I Don't Like Water in My Face.

 Rebecca is in to putting on everyone's shoes. She could only take a few steps in Kyle's big "work" boots before falling flat on her cute little face. 

And today was Austin's "annual snow day". (I know I shouldn't get my hopes up - or the kids' - that we'll get a little snow each year, but we've had 1 day both years we've been back.) It's a real treat. And to be honest I'm glad it only lasts a day. Owen remembers playing in the snow last year and building "Grassy the Snowman" but Rebecca was too little. 

Here they are all bundled up. 

 Kyle and Owen put a cup of ice out last night as an "experiment" - a teachable moment about water freezing and turning into ice. Here he is testing the outcome and explaining it to Rebecca, his lab assistant.

 Truthfully, Rebecca didn't last long. My fault really. Her only gloves are knit - which work fine 99% of the time in Austin - but once they're wet with snow you might as well take them off. Her poor little paws were just frozen and she did NOT like it. 

 Some neighbors walked down the street and played for a bit (while Rebecca was inside warming up) - there was a little bit of sledding on plastic storage bin lids, a lot of snowball throwing (Owen: "I got you!" - from 1-3 feet away from his victim, usually Ben's dad Mr. John), and a pitiful little snowman or "snow-mound" as Kyle called him when he got home. At least he had a carrot for his nose. 

 You should see him after the melting kicked in...not pretty. 

Fun times!