Houston, We have a Toddler!

We took road trip this weekend. The idea was to enjoy our family and the last waning days of summer. And we did do that - in between Katie's bouts of terribletwoititis. For those of you encouraging the creation of a lil' bro or lil' sis for Katie, I invite you on our next road trip. Yes, I do. Interestingly enough, K is smiling in most of these pics, but don't be fooled. She is smiling because she is masterminding her next plot to overthrow the unsuspecting parents.

Daddy and Kate say "Go Rangers!" at the Astro game.


A trip to the gift shop, and now we own a pom pon that doubles as hair accessory.



Wearing our mom and daughter sneaks to the game. Mom, want to take this to the next generation? I can get you a pair!


I took cuter pictures of Katie happily waving from the carousel, but I love the similar expressions they are wearing in this one. This was at the Houston Aquarium.


Yes, it was humid.


Daddy shows off his muscles at the Children's Museum


I know this picture takes my blog from a G rating to PG, but I can not resist! If that's not her maiden name, she LOVES her husband! This was on the road to Kemah. If I lived in her county, she'd get my vote. I wonder if her students gave her a lot of .....
All during our trip, Katie would answer any question we asked with "maybe." Maybe I will try to be more mature in the future. Or maybe not? Jon will probably start his own blog after this!

"This is my best prize ever!" That's what Katie said when her Daddy won this big fish for her on the Kemah boardwalk. Jon was looking a youthful 29 this night to the Guess Your Age Master of Ceremonies/carnie. Fish or no fish, I'd say being mistaken for 29 (as long as you are actually over 29) is worth the money to play this game. I can see how this is a gamble though. I wonder if the M.C./carnie is trained to guess low.
We were calling the fish Nemo, but Katie has never heard of him or his movie. She renamed him Nina.

Halloween - The Real Deal and Aftermath

Here are a few pics Granddad and Grandma, or Mahner as Katie refers to her, took on Halloween.







While K was celebrating at home with the grandparents and cousins, Jon and I were in NYC carbo loading on spaghetti! I saw Elmo - and a few less appropriate costumes - on Times Square.



The next day we ran 26.2 miles.





Then had pizza and dessert.




This video is of Jon after the marathon. Watch the little old lady pass him! A man offered us $20 to pay for a bike cab across the park. Jon looked so pitiful the man didn't think he could make it. Jon gutted it out to the next park bench for a little rest. Then he was fine.

Thanks for helping Jon raise support for Team for Kids and his first marathon!

Back at home, right when we really needed to catch up on laundry, errands, and housekeeping, K and Mommy were hit with nasty colds. This book makes K-T feel better.

I have read it 15 times in 3 days. So if you ever need help with your horse...

Family Reunion - Western Style!

Here are a few pictures from our family reunion with Jon's branch of the family. It was also Founder's Day - a celebration of the town's heritage that Jon's Uncle Charlie helped to plan. The weekend was kicked off with a cattle drive. How many head of cattle does it take to be consider a drive?



Cousins, Uncles, Aunts, Oh My!
Jay, Uncle D., Aunt A., Cindy, and Aunt Nino.



These two were born for the stage. We had a coffee and donut breakfast at a little theater. Someone mentioned it was the venue for Jenna Bush's wedding rehearsal dinner. How cool is that? I sewed the skirt Katie is wearing. That explains the many seams and asymmetry.



Aunt Nino and S. getting ready for the parade.



Katie riding in style.



K LOVES horses!



Sweet! We had a bench in our hotel room just for the stuffies to sit!



Linda played the guitar for the girls. Katie and L. are letting their lights shine.



Blowing bubbles with Aunt Bev and Granddad.

Last weekend Jon rode 100 miles at the HHH in Wichita Falls. He finished it with a 20.5 mile per hour pace. The next morning he jogged 5 1/2 miles pushing a jog stroller. I'm impressed!

With Jon out of town, Katie and I spent time with Meme and Papa and the relatives in that neck of the woods. I tried and tried to get a good picture of Katie and Bryce (Katie's second cousin or cousin once removed - I get confused.) They were like repelling ends of magnets. Here is the best I got. Makes you appreciate photographers of the young.
Could be a rival for Katie's claim to fame as the cutest baby in the world!

Papa was able to convince Katie to try the swing in his backyard. She loves it now. "Wee, wee!" is her name for the swing. All fear cast aside, she was ready to explore the entire playground near our house this morning. She even went down the slide by herself! I intended to go with her, but she was too fast for me to catch. Abbey went down the slide and ate two packets of horseradish she found in the mulch!

Remember (to go to) the Alamo!

Here are a few picks from our 4th of July weekend trip to San Antonio. We stayed with my friend, Lauren's parents. They live just outside of San Antonio in a beautiful home surrounded by trees. We got too busy and hot to make the trek to the Alamo, but Katie had the best time visiting with Keegan, one of Lauren's nephews.

K & K checking out the view. I am sure they are hatching a plan to escape and climb that tree.


Gidget and Moondoggie


What a sweet helper!


I had to include this picture since it appears that I am running just a bit faster than Ryan, a Boston Marathon runner!

Boston without Katie

Jon traveled to Boston for work last week. He was there to celebrate the wrap up of his project and to receive recognition for his contribution. Katie sent him this "I miss you!" picture while he was gone.



Katie had her first sleepover with Meme and Papa. I don't have any pictures of her weekend, but I know she had a blast. She got a balloon from their local florist and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I joined Jon in Beantown for the weekend. Here are some of our trip highlights.

We took a swan boat ride in the Public Garden.



We found the World's largest carrots at the Boston Farmer's Market (where they yell at you for touching the vegetables, so don't do it!!!)



We jogged along the Charles River. It was nice to jog without the Texas humidity.



Jon's company gave him an iPod touch as part of his award. We never noticed all the billboards for the iPod touch until he owned one.



The North End is our favorite area of Boston - because of Mike's Pastry, Regina's Pizza, and Giacomo's - Yum!



Bunker Hill Monument - 294 steps to the top. We made it!



Here is the brunch that gave us the energy for the climb up 294 steps! This is Jon's order of Eggs Benedict. I had Raspberry Cream Cheese French Toast. At 75 Chestnut they have Chocolate Saturdays. This means after your decadent meal they bring out a sampler of chocolate desserts for free. How can you say no to Chocolate Creme Brulee at no charge?



This video clip Jon took the other night while he was home alone with Katie. She likes to sit in the chair in our office and demand you hand her toys from her toy box. She likes to have all her stuffed animals crowded around her.

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A

We traveled to OK this weekend to hike, bike ride, and hang out with friends. Here is Katie exploring the cabin. Here we are hiking in Beaver's Bend.
Katie had time on the trip to hone her Rock Band skills.
If a career in rock doesn't pan out, there is always geology...

Katie didn't want Daddy to wear a helmet. She dislikes her helmet, baseball caps, and party hats - see previous posts. I didn't hear Jon say not to wash his manly black arm warmers. They completely unravelled. In a pinch, Katie's pastel pink Baby Legs worked.
Katie's second favorite thing about the trip, after tasting rocks, was scooting through the cabin in this bucket. This video is about the 4th or 5th time across the length of the cabin, so my speed is not as exhilarating as the first scoot.

Traveling Shoes

Katie and I went to Galveston with Meme and Papa this past weekend. The island hasn't fully recovered from Hurricane Ike yet. You can see the water line marked on the buildings on the Strand in the picture of Katie with her Papa. Many shops and restaurants are still closed for repairs. With only about three shops open on the entire Strand, it felt like a ghost town. I think we may have been the only tourists on the island.



Katie's favorite thing was walking on the beach with Meme and Papa. Papa held her while running into a flock of seagulls. Katie thought it was so funny. I wish I had it on video. It would make you laugh too.



Two things she did not enjoy:
1. Putting her head in the photo op cutout to make her look like a sailor.
2. Letting her left foot touch the grass. The right foot was no problem.




We got home on Sunday. On Monday, Katie and I went to the grocery store. What made this trip special was the fact that Katie wore shoes for the entire ride to the store and the first half hour of the shopping. This is amazing! Shoes usually only last about 15 seconds on her feet. I had to put the shoes on again later in the day to get the picture.