Cutting Back

Every 2-3 years, for like the past 10-15, I find that I haven taken on too many commitments. You think after all this time, I would learn. But no. I just get so darn excited about so many things, I sign up for them all.

The high school version: Join student council? Yes! Tutor elementary school students? Yes! Work part-time? Yes! Take AP classes? Yes! Try to have a social life? Yes! Sleep? ...oh I knew I was forgetting something.

The college version: Take a full course load? Yes! (Especially since it was costing a fortune either way). Join TriDelta? Yes! Work part-time? Yes! Host parties at your awesome apartment? Yes! Sleep? ....oh I knew I was forgetting something.

Traveling and wife-ing on our Fredericksburg trip

The mom version: Raise a child? Yes! Be a good wife? Yes! Work out regularly? Yes! Have a full-time job? Yes! Travel? Yes! Generally take care of myself by going to the dentist, doctor, etc? Yes! Blog? Yes! Volunteer? Yes! Watch trashy TV and drink wine? Yes! See friends? Yes! Visit family? Yes! Make Pinterest-worthy anything? Occasionally, yes! Sleep? ...oh right, that again.

So as I have had to continually do, it was time to cut back. And a handful of these aren't up for negotiation. My boys, for example, are (thankfully) here to stay. And though we all have days we'd rather not work, I never have days when I'd rather not have the income, and truth be told, I really do like my job. Cutting out the dentist and whatnot was tempting but ultimately not an adult decision.

This go-around, I cut back on blogging, specifically for the Austin Mom's Blog. I really did enjoy doing it but I found it was a solitary activity for me. Which is what I set out for initially but as I got involved I realized how social it could be with all the fun public and private blogger events that were held. Yet unfortunately, I never ever could fit any of those in. Literally the only other time I saw my fellow bloggers in person was at our group photoshoot last year and it was truly a three ring circus to get there during rush hour on a work day.

I was, of my own doing, having a half-assed blogger experience. Doing things half-assed isn't nearly as fun, meaningful or productive as doing things all in. I mean if you are going to raise a kid, RAISE that kid. If you are going to watch trashy TV and drink wine, well then damn it, make sure you chill the bottle and have some pajama pants ready.

I'll of course continue to be an enthusiastic reader. It really is the best place to find a list of 50 splashpads, events around town, kid-friendly day trips, hilarious stories in mothering and such. (For an example, check out my swan song, Mom and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.)

I'm hoping with my new found time, I can do the other things a wee bit better. I especially want to get more active in my new volunteer group, which being based in Round Rock, is relatively easy for me to participate in. Also, as part of my new year's resolutions, I'm hopeful I can work out a smidge more and maybe I'll do a few things, like decorating the guest room, with Pinterest-worthy flair.

Thanks AMB - it was fun!

That super kid I'm raising...
by turning him into a toddler yuppie at Starbucks before school

 

Sunday Funday at the Thinkery

Yesterday was totally a Sunday Funday. It started with a duck pond walk with the neighbors. Then it was Mommy Morning Off during which I read at Starbucks for almost 2 hours, did a quick return at the outlet mall and then hit up yoga class.

For the afternoon, my favorite toddler and I went to the Thinkery (ie Austin's children's museum). He hadn't been in about 6 months and he's still young enough that in 6 months he's like a whole different kid. We had so much fun! It was our longest trip and our most engaging.

Probably his last time in the babyroom (0-30 months...he's 29 months).
We're officially in tat phase of not knowing how to smiley nicely and consistently

He was really into the tumbling space. That's not the official name but it is a room with mats of different sizes and shapes, hula hoops and the like. Basically the perfect place to run and crash which is his most favorite thing in the world. So naturally, very popular.

There were even some forward rolls down the stairs.

 

And even though he's dramatically different in so many ways, one exhibit continues to come out on top: the toy train table.

Theatre Date

My cultured toddler

Yesterday afternoon Cade went on his first trip to the theatre! We saw "Sarah the Dinosaur" with Brittany and Kenneth down at the Long Center.

When we first went into the performance hall, Cade was really restless so I started to wonder if this was a big fat fail. We ran between our seats and the lobby three times in 10 minutes.

But once the show started he was really good. He sat in his seat or in my lap for the whole thing and only talked with appropriate commentary. "She a dinosaur!" and "What's happening?"

He was a great date - I'll take him out again for sure!

Springtime Fun

It's like Texas heard me when I said a couple weeks ago "no bluebonnets this year...". Apparently I was just a couple weeks early because this week they came out in full force, right in time for Easter!

Between bluebonnets and Easter, here's what we've been up to

We went to the Round Rock flashlight Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday. The highlight was meeting this giant chicken. Egg hunting was really just picking up one and running around the field like a wild man. But hey, he was happy.



On Friday Cade and I played in the cul-de-sac with Jenny, Jeremy and Holden. The boys went cruisin' with the top down.



Yesterday, also with our neighbors, Cade and I did bluebonnet pictures. Really it was pictures of him in the bluebonnets but I snuck in for a selfie.





My favorite though was this one Jeremy took with the two boys.



And this morning was our first Easter basket for Cade. Really an Easter beach bucket to help provide supplies for our summer beach trip.



The winning gift was the Curious George coloring book and crayons. Honorable mention to the vanilla wafers in an Easter egg. Other inclusions were tee balls, paint brushes and a toy car (to be honest, it was just plucked out of the toy box because we needed something else to fill an egg but trust me he had no clue).



Happy Springtime!

The Best Saturday Morning Ever

Whew - it's been busy over here! I am behind on the blogging front big time. Let me start to catch you up.

Last weekend we had The Best Saturday Morning Ever on a family trip to the Thinkery and then lunch at Fuddrucker's.

The Thinkery (ie Children's Museum) has a special Saturday program called "Baby Bloomers" where it opens the second story of the museum up an hour early for kiddos under three and provides some special little kid programming. We took advantage of the smaller crowd (both in volume and stature) and got there right as Baby Bloomers opened.

We tried the formal programming but Cade was not too impressed. He LOVED the water tables and instruments though. He and Ross played there for probably 20 minutes. He also really liked the tumble area with mats and bouncy balls. When the downstairs opened up we spent about 30 minutes there painting and playing in the light room. IT WAS SO FUN!!



While at the Thinkery Ross got a hankering for a Fuddrucker's so afterward we went here for an early lunch. Since it was impromptu I didn't have a lunch for Cade...which meant he got his very own lunch off the kids's menu. He was such a little kid (not a baby) playing with the arcade games and then eating his grilled cheese and apple slices. It was adorable and kinda heartbreaking at the same time. Talk about sneaking up on me!

We all had so much fun, it was all together and really, it was totally the perfect family weekend morning. YAY!!

Austin Moms Blog Kid-tastic Christmas

I'm pretty proud of this recent Austin Mom's Blog post. Reprinted here for your enjoyment! But do a blogger a favor, go read it/like it over there too.

I love Christmas but I am not a domestic diva.

Like not a domestic diva at all. My husband cooks (and well, I might add) and one of my new year’s resolutions is to spring for a monthly house cleaning. But like I said, I love Christmas and all the fun celebrating that comes with it.

So for you other non-domestic divas, or for the domestic diva who just needs a night off, here are 12 kid-tastic Christmas ideas that do not involve you becoming June Cleaver.

1. Christmas cookiesCookie cutter cookies: Pre-packaged sugar cookies have a direction variation for going cookie cutter style. I think it still only required three ingredients or less. And HEB sells some Texas shaped cookie cutters for the $1-2 range. Go crazy.
2. Christmas light drive: Whether around the block or through the Trail of Lights, this is a classic.
3. Storytime: Local libraries, Barnes and Noble stores and BookPeople all offer holiday storytime for the small human in your life.
4. Seasonal volunteering or donating: Many organizations like the Salvation Army offer unique seasonal giving-back opportunities. Pick one near and dear to your heart to show the kids what the giving season really means.
5. Fire department drop-off: Fire departments run 24/7/365. Swing by your local station to drop off goodies. Homemade meals or simply bottled water and Gatorade are all appreciated.
6. Red & green meals: Take inspiration from Green Eggs & Ham and turn any meal a little more festive with the addition of food coloring.
7. Christmas crafts: You can paper mache a life-size Christmas tree if you want (but then you will qualify as a domestic diva). Or you can make simple construction paper chains or buy a Christmas coloring book. I recommend the Christmas Puppies coloring book because who doesn’t love Christmas and puppies.
8. Movie night: Kid or parent selected, snuggle in for a Christmas classic like Miracle on 34th Street or modern classics like Elf. Personally, I love Prancer of the 1980s fame.
9. Sing-a-long: Turn the daily commute or the over the hill and through the woods trip to Grandma’s into the jingle bell rock. Sing your hearts out y’all.
10. Holiday bathtime: Much like holiday meals, add some red and green to bathtime to make it festive. The Crayola bath crayons or drops can lead the way. Or fill the tub with the foam letters to spell words like “Santa” and “tree.”
11. It’s a small world: Choose a country, maybe the one your family hails from, and dedicate an evening to their Christmas traditions. You can include a special dinner dish (I’m sure World Market or Whole Foods can help), read a book or sing a song.
12. Bible readings: Before Santa and the elves, there were Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Help your kids understand the origins of Christmas and the beliefs of your family.

Ba-da-bing ba-da-bum Christmas! No paper mache, aprons or Pinterest required.

Happy Holidays!

#AMBTakeoverTuesday

Yesterday I took over the Austin Mom's Blog Instagram account for the day. In Instgrams, here was our day

Glamping Anniversary

This weekend Ross and I celebrated the big oh-five anniversary. IT WAS PERFECT.

Saturday (our actual anniversary) was full of family fun. Starbucks and the park with Cade in the morning and then a full family outing to a family fall fest thing-a-ma-jigger. Mom and Dad arrived at our house just before dinnertime. We had a delicious steak dinner courtesy of the family chef/my stellar hubby and enjoyed a champagne toast. Cade stayed up all the way until 7:45p playing with his grandparents.

Yesterday was our big celebration day. And let me say again IT WAS PERFECT. We left around 9:30a, ran some errands and then met our friends at The Park for brunch and football. I thought we would have about 8 people but we ended up with 11, the surprise of the morning being Jon and Erin joining. We hadn't had all those people together in months. And we had a great table on the patio, could see all three games that we collectively cared about and the mimosas were just $1. Win, win, win.

After the noon game, Ross and I headed out to Wimberly for our glamping getaway. It was so cool!

The place is called Sinya on Lone Man Creek and the owner has done a great job thinking of everything. She showed us around when we first got there and then it was just time to kick back. We had drinks on the porch, ate our picnic dinner of salami, cheese, bread, olives and mushrooms. Then out to the back porch for star gazing from the hot tub. We stayed out there so long we got good and pruney. Then into sweatshirts and a couple hours around the campfire just chatting. We played a game of cards and called it a night around midnight.

We woke up around 7:30a to the first bit of light and then sat on the front porch and watched the sunrise over the hill country. Really. Yes, it was absolutely perfect. Then our hostess brought us a fruit, muffin and yogurt breakfast, complete with fresh squeezed OJ.

I don't think either of us knew how much we would enjoy a day and night like that. It was so so so fun to see our friends. Sinya was beautiful. It was so relaxing to be out away from everything and enjoy the quiet. And most of all, it was wonderful to have so much quality time with my sweet husband. Even though we see each other almost every day and talk all the time, we talked nearly the whole time we were together. Meaningful stuff, not meaningful stuff, everything.

I'd repeat this weekend any time.

Glamping selfie before hitting the road this morning

Austin Moms Blog!

Since I'm not busy enough, back in August I connected with the editor of the Austin Moms Blog and last month signed up as a regular contributor. Woohoo! I'm actually really excited to have an "official" blog with lots of readers that is more lifestyle and consumer than tech and B2B.

So far I've contributed a guest post, an intro post and as of today my first regular post!

You can read it here: http://citymomsblog.com/austin/2014/10/15/is-working-from-home-for-you-6-questions-to-ask-yourself/

Me Monday

I'm not totally sure why, but my company gives us Columbus Day off. It's a very New England holiday to have and we don't have any New England offices. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So I didn't question it; I just enjoyed it with a me day.

I took Cade to preschool, worked out and then got a 90 minute massage. Ahhhh. It was heavenly. I'm not sure when the last time I splurged on a whole 90 minutes was but it was fantastic.

Then home for a quick lunch and out to do my favorite thing: outlet mall shopping.

Though the day started out very rainy by lunch it was beautiful. Sunny and seventies. Perfect for outlet shopping. And shop I did.

I got lucky and had one of those days where everything fits and everything is on sale. I did my part to support the Texas economy by making purchases at no less than eight stores. I got two sweaters, a work blouse, a wedding anniversary top and necklace, a comfy long-sleeved tee, cute striped 3/4 sleeve top, PJs for the little boy (Xmas gift!), fleece for the little boy, t-shirt for the little boy and a Christmas gift for the hubs. Let it be known that I was not purposefully Christmas shopping but it is getting pretty close and I figure anything I buy from here on out can be wrapped and put under the tree.

Normally I would happily give you the breakdown of spent v saved. But I've been a bad shopping blogger today and hung everything up without doing the math or taking pics. I can tell you though that one of the sweaters is from Ann Taylor and was purchased for $11 when it was originally $79. That was by far the steal of the day. Other notable wins were the Gap long sleeved tee for $12, NY & Co sweater for $17ish and baby PJs at 2 for $13.

Ahhh, I love an afternoon of shopping. And as if that wasn't enough, tomorrow is back to work but as a work from home day! Woohoo!

Rainy Day Adventure to the Thinkery

It was gross and rainy in Austin today. Even though it cleared up around lunchtime, everything was muddy. Not a play outside day.

But I have a toddler and for a split second our house is clean. I really didn't want to screw that up with mud and I didn't want him to tear the walls down going stir crazy (ditto about me). So we hit the town toddler style - a field trip to the Thinkery!

The Thinkery is the relatively new (and renamed) children's museum. It's about 25 minutes from us and this was our first time to check it out.

We started in the baby/toddler space, then moved on to the farmers market area, then the room of water tables, then snack time, then the innovation space, then glass wall painting and finally the train set. Cade loved the baby/toddler space, water tables and painting. Though really there didn't seem to be anything he didn't like. It was a win all around!

Who says we don't have seasons in Texas?

Just ask my seasonal home decorating compulsion, we have seasons. They just have more candles and Pier 1 purchases than naturally changing leaves.

Also as you can see from my recent posts, I have a new photo toy. It's called canva, it's free and it is SO MUCH fun (in a I'm-more-a-blogger-than-a-scrapbooker kinda way).

We are never, ever getting back together

We are never ever ever getting back together,
We are never ever ever getting back together,
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Like, ever...

Ah Taylor Swift, I think you were talking about a boy (the Kennedy boy maybe?) but I am talking about American Airlines.

Supposedly I was going to DC today for my first working mom biz trip. Margeaux was taking Cade to preschool so I could catch my early flight; Nancy was on tap to pick him up and have a slumber party; Ross was scheduled for all-day daddy duty when he got home from shift tomorrow.

Well, I only made it as far as DFW. And then I hung out there FOREVER.

I caught my 8:35a flight from AUS to DFW (Thanks Margeaux!). Quick change of terminals and stop in ladies' room and I was ready for my 10:25a flight to DC. Or 11a flight. Whatevs. But when I got on my slightly delayed flight we were told that some external thing-a-majigger that starts the plane wasn't working so we were getting a new one. 15 minute delay. NBD.

Turns out that thing-a-majigger was not the broken thing-a-majigger. It was a valve actually on the plane. Let's see if one is nearby for quick replacement. Psych! Not so much. De-plane everyone because to do the fix it's gonna be an hour with no AC and it's Dallas so it is 95 out. Try again at noon.

So I went to town on the free DFW wifi and scored some Starbucks. Life could be worse.

When the delay was pushed to 1p, I decided I was skipping out on the company dinner tonight. I wasn't capable of putting my best foot forward or wining and dining anyone. Instead I was gonna sulk with Anna and Ben. But seeing them was a silver lining so I could forgive AA for the delays. It meant Delta time!

Then the delay was 1:20. And because this plane had to be taken full on outta commission, then it was 1:40. Then 2p. OK 2p take off still meant 6p arrival. Plenty of time to grab dinner with my favorite Virginians.

At 2:20p I'm watching the safety video for the third time that day when the pilot says "Some days are just unbelievable..." As in "this is your second airplane of the day but guess what - it doesn't work either!"

Literally 2 minutes after that announcement, before I figured out what the hell I was gonna do, my VP texts me "If you want to go back to Austin that is fine." Sweeter words were never texted.

I rang that flight attendant bell before I even responded. (Thank you boss and boss' boss for being reasonable, compassionate people. Really, it means a lot to me. This is why I was eager to work for you.)

At 2:40p I de-planed my third plane of the day. I asked American if I could get a flight home or if I should rent a car (it's only 3 hours after all). (My VP suggested hitch hiking as the most cost effective route...j/k of course.)  The nice agent told me she could get me on a 4:10p to Austin because duh, it's Sept 11 and nobody but me is flying today. (Shot of confidence!) Ugh well 4:10 wasn't bad if it was on time which American was not doing awesome with lately. Nothing earlier?

There's a 3:10 but they'll close the gate at 2:55p for that and it is already 2:43p. LADY I have all my luggage, I'm wearing flats and I am MOTIVATED. "Well I don't want them to slam the door in your face" and then do what - book me on the 4:10p?! Give me a damn chance! I'll make that sprint.

And sprint I did. Across the entire A terminal, into the sky-tram-whatever-they-call-it, past old ladies (sorry if I knocked you down), through ALL of terminal C with a laptop bag banging my left hip and large purse thudding my right ribs. I had leg cramps and couldn't breathe, by dammit, I made it to C39 at 2:53p. I boarded the plane sweating and panting and barely knowing my name.

We took off by 3:15p. Of course I was in the back of the plane (don't give a sh*t) which meant we had the most slope at take-off...and my iphone rolled out of my overstuffed purse. Awesome. So as soon as the seatbelt sign was off, I was down on all fours in my pencil skirt in the aisle looking under chairs for my phone. Bless the lady two rows back with a big purse that stopped the phone sliding. About that time the pilot tells us we've been redirected toward Abilene because of weather that we need to go around and it will DOUBLE our flight time.

Then I ordered wine.

Thankfully as I poured my wine we got clearance to take a shorter route that only put us 10 minutes behind schedule. Things were finally looking up.

I landed at 4:15p, darted out of the airport, back to my car and sped up 130 to preschool to grab my little boy. After re-installing his carseat (which Margeaux had left there for Nancy), I went into his classroom and found him not there. WTF. Thankfully I was informed that he was just enjoying third recess with the toddler class he's graduating to this month. Cool beans. Except when I got to the playground he wanted nothing to do with me. Couldn't I see he was playing with new friends on a new playground?? Besides I promised him a slumber party with Nana and I was NOT Nana. After three attempts and bribery of a movie and junk food, he obliged and came home with me.

Finally back home we ended our (my) crazy day blissfully with Brittany and Kenneth. The kids ate real food for dinner and the moms had wine and guacamole. Then we all watched "An American Tail" movie featuring Fievel. We ended with this sweet scene of the boys reading together on the couch.

Ah being home with them makes it all worth it. Look how sweet!

PS My American Airlines voucher from Boston travel plan changes has been sold to a sorority sister. Because American Airlines, we are never, ever getting back together.

Playground of the Rich and Famous

When it comes to playground, we don't play around. Nothing but best playgrounds for my kid.

I picked Cade up from his sleepover at the Turner B&B this morning and we went to the Bridgepoint Elementary playground which is literally a $1M+ playground. Clearly we needed to see it and play on it for ourselves.

It's awesome. There are three big playscapes plus swings and some crazy rubber hill things. The ground is astroturf on some kinda rubber so it squishes a bit as you walk and I imagine is ultra safe for little bodies.

I busted out with the panorama feature on my iPhone and what I got wasn't too bad. As you can see, Cade was into the colorful hills. He played king of the mountain on them repeatedly but by the time I was taking this pic, needed a short rest. Doesn't it look like he's in a Dr. Seuss book?

 


Most of the pictures I took are of the back of his head because per the usual, he's running every which way and I'm almost keeping up (also I like to let him lead our activities so I happily follow). I did manage to get a few of his face though. Most importantly, this mama and baby park selfie. We're a cute pair if I do say so myself.

As you've seen via the blog this month, we've been pretty busy. I'm really loving toddlerhood and the increased freedom we have. I like to be out and about and Cade is very agreeable to it. Checking out parks, pools, splashpads and all the things in between is keeping us happy, busy and more or less outta trouble.

I think as the weather cools down this fall and he is that much older the fun adventures will continue. We already have Groupon tickets to go to the zoo. And even in the winter when outdoor activities might take a hiatus, I've got my eye on the Thinkery (Children's Museum), more library activities and maybe even a mom-and-me class. I'm looking forward to next summer too, when he'll be a year older and a year more able to climb playgrounds, go down big slides and all the other super fun parts of being a kid.

Toddlers and Trains

This afternoon Erin and I took our small people on a toddler sized train ride at a local park. It was great! The kids loved it! In addition to the train being great, the weather was great. It didn't even hit 90 today! This has been an unusually mild summer and freakishly cool couple of days in Texas.

(This picture is while we were waiting to go and per the kid usual, waiting was not their favorite part.)

After the ride around the park, they played on a train-themed playground and then a regular playground. Not a bad day to be a toddler in Texas.

This way

That way

Cold Day in July

Like seriously, a cold day in July. I went on a run (ie walk) at 1p today and it was as cool outside as inside. As in well below 80 degrees.

Never in all my days as a Texan have I known a sub-80 afternoon in July.

Seriously. The weatherman said we set a record low for the month.

Summer Vacation, Day 6

Full speed ahead!

More summer vacation!

Cade better be having the time of his baby life because we're pullin' out all the stops. This morning he and Ross fed the ducks again, went to the park and then the grocery store (OK so that last part isn't super wow, just regular life. But still.). They were go-go-go all morning and Ross said Cade had a blast. Then it was a French lunch of bread, cheese and grapes. Yum. The life of a baby.

After nap and snack, Cade and I went to the library to run around. I don't think running laps is exactly what the children's section is for but we got away with it.

Then we went to a toddler arts & crafts class where we sang songs, drew pictures of fireworks and...wait for it, wait for it...the best part...played with hundreds of bubbles from the bubble machine! It totally made his year.

This was the second activity we did at BabyEarth (the first didn't go so well). I think what made this way more successful was 1) the organized activities and 2) the kids were much closer in age. Cade was a toddler tornado per the usual...but so were all the other kids. And bubbles are universally awe inspiring for the under 3 crowd so that helped too.

Also...though unplanned, our whole family wore football shirts today. We didn't realize it until almost 3p. I guess you could say we are ready for football season. (And of course per the usual, though we were all in football shirts, Cade was the best dressed. He literally matched all the way down to the stitching on his sneakers.)

On tap for tomorrow: morning work out and evening wedding!

A Perfect Saturday

The canvas print of this arrived this week
and is now hanging in our gameroom!

It really has been a pretty perfect Saturday.

It started with a Starbucks date with my favorite baby. Then we took a walk to the duck pond and Ross and Lexi joined for the second half. Then playing and lunch with both of our fav, an avocado.

Then it was an afternoon out! The gym, Barnes & Noble and an hour massage! The massage was long overdue. Due to scheduling conflicts, it was my third attempt. So so so wonderful. And after discovering the knots in my shoulders, I am vowing never to go so long (5 months I think) between massages again. I've already made an appointment for another at the end of July. Fortunately there is a great place near us, Cielo Spa, and their hour massages are only $37 so it is very feasible to go every other month or so.

Ross made us pork loin for dinner, one of my favorites. Cade and I FaceTimed with my parents, played with blocks, cleaned the gameroom and then read a book before bed. He even stayed up late, all the way until 7:10p!

Tomorrow we have an exciting day of grocery shopping and then a play date. All in all, it may not just be a perfect Saturday, it may turn into a darn perfect weekend!

PS And I had three nights of good sleep this week. Last night not so much but that was expected since we had drinks with Margeaux and Ryan and I was up til midnight so no big deal. Will make up for it tonight after indulging in some Downton Abbey.

Cade Hearts Parks

You know, just an every day after school trip to the neighborhood park. And loving the hell out of it.

#BestbabyinTexas
#Parksrock
#Wiggleybaby

Also, as you can see he was feeling more like his usual happy baby self today. He's still not eating like the food monster we're used to but I noticed today that he seems to be most refusing crunchy things (plus the normal things he refuses like broccoli...so added to no crunchy things, it's a very short list of things he'll actually eat). Maybe there are some teeth coming in and that hurts? So tomorrow he's getting a lunch full of soft items. Fingers crossed he'll eat more.

#ThingsIneverthoughtI'dsay
#Iknowhashtagsdon'tworkonblogs
#Orwithapostrophesinthem

Pictures and Parties

We had quite the eventful Saturday morning. First, our family of three went downtown to the Capitol to take family pictures.

We'll have them back from the photographer in about two weeks but here's one I took with my phone before she arrived. She told me I was the only mom who ever greeted her with "my boys are reading a book," not "my boys are playing in the mud" or "my boys are wrestling." Apparently one of the "boys" being the husband doesn't typically alter this statement either.

Cade has really been into the 1, 2, 3 Texas book so in addition to this picture, I think it is in at least half of the ones the photographer took too.

Post-pictures, Cade and I went to Kenneth's second birthday party. And it had the best thing ever: a ball pit. It was Cade's first ball pit experience and he loved it. I know in this picture with Kenneth, their grimaces would make you think they are doing homework, not playing at a birthday party but they really did have fun.



And this afternoon post-party Ross took Cade for his first ride in his bike buggy. We realized we forgot to purchase a helmet (oops) so it wasn't quite as ambitious a ride as originally planned. But a helmet will be arriving Tuesday via Amazon and then the great bike buggy adventures can begin!

Finally in the spirit of full disclosure and not putting overly rose-colored glasses on my blog, in addition to "picture and party day" Cade also decided it was No Nap Saturday. Which I decided meant it was also Early Bedtime Saturday. I ran to the store after Cade went to bed and Ross tells me that's when some debate over my decision erupted but thankfully it is parent-ocracy in our home so Cade was vetoed and Early Bedtime Saturday prevailed.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday (like really, not just a silly made up day like No Nap Saturday) and Cade and I are going to Houston! This will be his first holiday in H-Town and we are very much looking forward to seeing our family. Yay!