Summer Shower

I co-hosted a shower today for my friend Jennifer (next to me) who is having her second boy. Erin M (the other pregnant one) and Laura (on the end who just had a baby, although you can't tell except for the newborn that is usually in her arms) were my fabulous co-hosts. We had a lovely time with the girls celebrating the new life that Jennifer is about to bring into the world. So much fun and good food!

We are busy packing for a little vacation with the extended family. We are going to Wimberley Tx to spend some time on the Blanco River with Jimmy, Jane, June, Nana and Papa Jim. I hope to post while we are gone, but you never can tell. I might just like the "unconnectedness" so much that you'll have to wait until the bags are unpacked to hear all about it. Even then, it might take a while to get the whole story told.

-EBP-

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A new companion

Here's a little photo of what we brought home last night. After many hours, we came home with a new Honda Odyssey EX-L in this lovely shade of blue called Ocean Mist. It reminds me more of a pretty blue sky. John stayed home with sitters last night while we worked our deal.

I showed it to JHP this morning, but we didn't drive it today because I didn't have a carseat to go in it. We'd dropped the Avalon off for some service (with the carseat in it) and I didn't want to mess with the carseat in the truck. John was disappointed because he wanted to ride in it. After Daddy got home, I went about moving John's carseat and some other items to the van. Meanwhile, John explored the new van. Once I got the seat in, he was still so excited to be in the van that I found him sitting in his carseat reading books sweating up a storm. He cried when we told him we needed to go inside because it was just too hot (humid, really).

Our new van does have a rear entertainment system with wireless headphones. It was not on our wish list, but I'm sure we'll find the convenience of it nice in the long term. I just hope that John does not totally lose it every time we get in the car and I won't let him watch something. This will definitely be reserved as a special treat for long trips.

-EBP-

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Zoo Baby

We meet some friends at the zoo bright and early today. Aside from the immense humidity, it was a pretty good day. The sun was in and out of the clouds. The rain stayed away until later in the day. The first stop was the giraffes and as you can tell the boys loved the ability to get a good look at them. We saw a whole bunch of other animals as we made our way to the children's area where the splash pad is located. The bad news was it was closed,but we enjoyed the trip wandering back and forth through the zoo.

We only stayed at the zoo for a little over an hour. Another item on our agenda was a free play, Billy Goats Gruff, at the outdoor theater not far from the entrance to the zoo. As we watched the play, we ate our lunch, albeit a bit early for us, and enjoyed being outside. It was hot, but not near as hot as it has been in the recent past. I was surprised at how attentive John was during most of the play. We were set out on the grass and the not anywhere near the stage, but it did hold his attention. Our friends had to leave before the play was over. When it was all done, I asked John what he wanted to do. See more animals was his reply. So we did.

We hadn't stopped before on our way in, but since we had the leisure of our own time table, we stopped this time to take a photo with this dinosaur which was on display to advertise a dino exhibit. The reason I wanted the photo was because the only dino that John has at home is this very same kind. I don't know the name, but it's quite unique.

This was one of the reasons for our return trip into the zoo. His name is Baylor and he's only a few months old. Isn't he CUTE? John calls him Baby Baylor. We also saw the giraffes again, the lions who were MIA earlier in the day, some fish, a tiny monkey of some kind, the sea lions, and the bald eagle again among other animals. By the time we were done with the zoo it was well after 100p and we should have headed home, but I'd promised John a train ride. And it was on the train that it rained. But it has mostly stopped by the time the ride was over.

Overall the trip was great and we both had a great time. John was in a really good mood and listened well. He didn't run away and either rode in the stroller, walked beside it or held my hand. It was only on the trip home, when naptime was past that he got a little whiny. I managed to convince him not to nap on the way home, hoping that he would crash once we got home. Uh, no. He didn't fight naptime at home, but after about 45 minutes, he was hollering. When I went to check on him, he informed me that he didn't want to nap anymore. I told him quiet time was in order and I'd bring him some books, leaving him and the books in his bed. I was in desperate need of a shower, so that's where I went. When I got out, I heard more hollering, this time for more books. I figured since he'd been in bed for an hour and half and hadn't slept, I'd fish him out and let him finish his quiet time in front of the TV. We hadn't watched any before we left this morning. Considering he hadn't had a nap, the rest of the evening was quite pleasant, although I missed most of the bedtime routine in lieu of the church finance meeting.

I did learn one thing today. I finally feel comfortable enough to take John to the zoo by myself. Maybe even comfortable enough to take him other places I'd previously convinced myself wouldn't be wise. I glad to know I'm not such a big chicken anymore!

One last thing - I'm not getting the photos up on the WebAlbums today. Too late!

-EBP-

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Stylin' Sunday

Don't you like his new Hawaiian shirt? We brought the tricycle inside in hopes that he'd get the hang of it. He's almost there, just easily frustrated at times.

-EBP-

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Naughty Monkey

Notice how he's holding his crayon. He's not consistent, but I've noticed this manner more and more often lately.

John was working in the new coloring book he got today at the Honda dealership. We went to test drive cars. And he was like an untamed monkey, playing around all over them. The good news is that I think we've settled on the fact that we will buy a minivan. The bad news is: it's not in the driveway yet. But we are working on it.

-EBP-

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Eaten alive (almost) at 29 months!

It's just wrong when you go indoors and get eaten alive by mosquitoes! Poor John has no less than 10 bites, half of which he got yesterday in OUR house. The other half he got today in Bed Bath and Beyond. I bought some more bug spray today. We might just have to spray him down when he gets up. So sad, really. We haven't seen rain for a week. This crop of mosquitoes came from the downpours we had a couple of weeks ago.

Today, John is 29 months. Hard to believe he's not even two and a half. He speaks so well (although most strangers wouldn't know this because he's too busy trying to impress them by acting cute and speaking at the speed of light that no one can understand). He continues to pick things up easily. We started learning to play a simplistic form of the game Memory. And he's creating play on his own, instead of relying on us to show him by example. He remembers everything, but doesn't always remember when he did it (usually he'll come up with something he remembers doing two days ago). He's a pretty happy kid, except when he remembers to whine for Momma or Daddy. And he's quite stubborn about NOT getting his diaper changed. He tolerates it begrudgingly. Lord knows how I'll potty train him. For a couple of weeks now, he's not been going potty on the toilet before bath and still not tee-teeing in the bathtub. So I'm pretty sure he has at least some control, just no want at this point. I'm hoping that might change. I'd love to try next month, but might need to wait until we get into the school year for some help with peer pressure. He's so frustrating some days (what two-year old isn't), but he is such a loving child, even more than I think I'm capable of some days. Maybe that's God's way of making me stop and take notice. I can't imagine our house without his little feet running around. I love him with all my heart.

Funny things JHP's said recently, not because they were really funny, but because they were funny sounding coming out of his mouth.

1. The other day he was in need of assistance of some kind in the living room and John and I were in kitchen talking. After I helped him out he told me, "You can go watch Daddy now."
2. Today as we were watching the dump trucks and digger on the side street tear up the road to replace some concrete, he said, "I just can't believe it!"
3. Yesterday we went to drop off a meal for a friend who just had a baby. I'd explained that we'd see a baby, who's brother is a child John knows. John asked me, "Can I kiss the baby?" I have no idea where that come from, but he asked multiple times. So before we left John was allowed to kiss the baby's feet.

-EBP-

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A new 'do and working

JHP was in need of a haircut. His "horns" were beginning to show more often. When he wakes in the morning, his hair is in quite a disarray. If the "horns" appear, then I know it's time for a haircut.

Sitting in a pile of stuffed animals, hiding from the sunlight.

Working. We always talk about Daddy working. So John's taken to working on things, too. Earlier in the week he kept telling me he was building a castle. He'd take Dusty the saw and start sawing on the edge of the dining table. I tried to nip that quickly since even a plastic toy can do damage. Then he tried the wall corners. I offered a cardboard box that had stuff in it, but then he started digging in the box. So today I pulled out an empty diaper box and he went to town, sawing , hammering, poking holes with the screwdrivers. Totally content.

-EBP-

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So funny!

I'm pretty sure this was a total pose for the camera, but it's cute nonetheless. He didn't look at me, but he knew I was right there with the camera. We've seen a lot of this lip lately, although today was a good day. We kept busy with a Bible study, lunch out and some errands. And the biggest whine I heard from him came when I told him we were going home. Go figure!

Daddy called me into the bathroom tonight to demonstrate what was making John laugh so hard. I'll let you see for yourself. I find it odd that JHP prefers when I do the washing, but he almost always has more fun when Daddy does it.

-EBP-

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A very long day

Today was a long day. We got up and had plans to welcome the AT&T guy at 900a to install U-verse, the whole package. While he was here some friends came to visit, too. A playdate. That was when things turned south. John's been super whiny and quite sensitive the last few days. That seemed to escalate today. The playmate that joined us is about the same age and that made for not so much fun for John. As I was trying to help the AT&T guy out, John kept clamoring to be held. A snack helped enough to allow us a short while of good play.

I'm not sure how he came up with the idea you see above, but he decided that using Darth Tater's arm that is equipped with a lightsaber was a good pointer, although in true John fashion he used a sound "word" to describe what he was doing with it. Anyway he had great fun "getting" Mommy with it.

The closer it got to lunch, the more eruptions of emotion happened with both boys. Soon it was time for them to leave. After they left we learned some stuff from the AT&T guy, bid him farewell, and then had some lunch, albeit late for us. John got down for his nap on time, but woke after only a two hour nap. He was in a decent mood thankfully, although he demanded my attention and used whining to get it.

We had SNBNA and B's sister and her girls over for dinner. SNBNA have been without a kitchen sink for a week. So, being the hostess I am (uh, NOT!) I invited them over for hot dogs - if they brought their own stuff (I hadn't planned on it and didn't have enough without going to the store, which I couldn't do with the AT&T guy coming today.). Traditionally, we have hot dogs once a year on the day of the MLB All-Star game. It's kinda cheesy, I know, but that's just how it is.

After dinner, we headed out to the park to take some photos of the girls. L wanted some casual photos. I think we managed that, even after running from the obnoxious swarms of mosquitoes. Man, the rain we've gotten recently has turned into a HUGE crop of mosquitoes!

The we rushed home to get John bathed and in bed, late but no too worse for the wear.

-EBP-

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A new skill (and toothbrush)

We went to Target today and picked up a snazzy new toothbrush for John that has Buzz Lightyear on it. In recent days things have clicked and John seems to have figured out how to actually brush his teeth. Previously, all he did was crew / suck on the toothbrush. No matter how many times I told him that he needed to move the brush back and forth, it didn't seem to sink in. But now he's actually brushing. So, I figured a new toothbrush (as added motivation) was in order. Doesn't he look so proud?

At Target today John got bored just sitting in the cart and asked to get out. I figured I might regret it, but I let him out anyway. I did sternly explain that the rule was that he should be touching the cart at all times, else he'd be relegated back to the cart. Well, he took me quite seriously and decided that he should hold on to the end of the cart with both hands and walk backwards. I finally convinced him that he could help me push the cart or hold it with one hand on the side. Overall, I was pretty impressed that he listened well and performed admirably pushing the cart. Only on a couple of occasions did he leave the cart and pick something up off the shelf. I did realize that I needed to be on the same side of the cart as him. One time I was on the other end and I assumed he was pushing. He wasn't. He was over on the previous isle looking lost.

The other trip we made today was to the doctor for a follow-up on his ear infection. The good news is that the ear infection is gone. the bad news is that he still had fluid in the left ear that has not drained. The doctor hopes that this will eventually resolve on it's own. In the meantime, we should expect that his hearing in that ear might be reduced. That, of course, will be in addition to the normal "parental selective hearing" (docs words, not mine) that we would experience at this age. Yes - we've seen that, too. So we go back in a month to check it again. Worst case should it not resolve - he might recommend ear tubes. (Don't you love the big sticker he got at the doctors' office?)

-EBP-

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Blankie

We had SNBNA over for dinner tonight and that resulted in a late bath time. It wasn't too painful, but John really wanted his blankie. We had an enjoyable evening visiting with friends. John ate ice cream at home for the first time tonight . The last time we offered it to him he turned it down flat. But I guess the peer pressure got to him. He didn't want to miss out on whatever A was having. He even had sprinkles!

And since he had his blankie as we were dressing for bed, we thought we'd play some peek-a-boo, which he still gets a kick out of. And it provided a distraction from the whining that seems to fill every moment that isn't distracted in some way.

What a ham! I can't believe he'll soon be 29 months. We've got some things to work on. Like the whining and sharing and listening. Sometimes he's so busy talking, he has no clue you even said something. I've taken to making him repeat back what I said, else I will have a mini-fuss on my hands if he doesn't like it. But he's loving books, his Buzz Lightyear, and making noises with his mouth.

I'm not sure what possessed Daddy tonight, but he decided to show John how to make farting noises with the heel of his hands against his face. John wasn't so successful tonight, but I'm sure it won't take long before we hear it all the time. Then Daddy will really regret what he's done.

Daddy and I had a date last night. We went to test drive some cars and get some dinner. Can I just put on record how much I detest car salesmen? I was treated poorly by a salesman a long time ago when I was fresh out of college. So when I go in an interact with them, I almost feel like I have a chip on my shoulder if they even try to play their little games with me. We survived last nights experience nonetheless. We have a few more cars on the list. We need to get cracking if we plan to meet our self-imposed deadline.

-EBP-

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The Fire Museum

John and I joined some friends today at the Houston Fire Museum. The main draw: This cab of a fire truck and all the gear for dress up. As per usual, John was very leery at first when B turned on the lights. He immediately crawled into my arms. So we check out some other stuff and eventually, he was all over the fire truck. He still didn't like the flashing lights, but you couldn't really see them from INSIDE the truck.

His favorite part was driving the fire truck. The wheel was an easy turn. He loved it! No horn or sirens, thankfully. He looked for them, but that would have really freaked him out.

He did try on the gear and of course, it swallowed him. But he insisted that he needed the gloves to drive the fire truck.

After an enjoyable time at the museum, we headed over the Star Pizza and ate too much! But we had to, it was soooo good! Thanks to Jennifer who took over so I could be in the picture!

-EBP-

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Funnies

Today was a really good day - even though it rained a lot and we got a little wet. I had a meeting at church and John went to the nursery. He whined when we got there, but I think he's just programmed to do that (for my sake, of course). But he was happy when I picked him up. We drove around a bit and then ended up stopping for lunch. The place was empty, but he was so charming to me and ate just about everything I gave him (normal stuff I'd brought from home). Then we headed home, played a bit, and then it was nap time. And the rest of the day was just as easy. I love days like this!

There were a couple of funny things I wanted to mention:

One of the books we checked out from the library this week was a Veggie Tales book. In the book, Larry the cucumber calls Bob the tomato Bobbo. OMG, John thinks this is hilarious! He busts out with his truly-from-the-belly laugh that I LOVE! So tonight after reading the book with Daddy, it is all Bobbo, all the time. Got old, but surely came in handy when there was slight pushback about bathtime.

Tonight while we were readying for bed, John got real serious and said, "There's something in my hair!" as he was rubbing the back of his head. We asked what it was. "I have a Mohawk in my hair!" Daddy and I had a chuckle and quickly combed the Mohawk "out". All better.

-EBP-

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Some B&W

These are from dinner tonight. He was mostly done by the time I pulled the camera out to take these, which happened to be long after John and I were done eating.

I won't say much about today except that I'm tired. We had friends over today to play this morning. It rained and was overcast all day. He didn't nap well. And the whines were in full swing for some reason, especially after nap. And nothing really makes me as weary as the whines. Tomorrow's another day, right?

-EBP-

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Smart Aleck

A couple of photos from bath tonight.

Something I forgot to share a few days ago: At the dinner table, most times John is super slow about eating more interested in the captive audience that he has (unless he's starving, then it's a whole other story!). And try as I might, I almost always end up "encouraging" him to eat. Recently, I've said something like "You've haven't even touched" whatever he's ignored on his plate. After one such statement, he reached out and touched the item, with a smile of satisfaction that he had indeed "touched" whatever it was. Score one for him. He's too smart already. Is it normal for an almost 29 month old to be so literal ?

-EBP-

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A Lazy 4th

Today at church John made a pen topped with red, white and blue stars. He called it his "YEA!" since that's what you do with it, wave it and yell "Yea!" I coaxed him into demonstrating it for me after lunch. The photo's not in focus, but sure captures his excitement.

We totally took it easy today. We went to church, followed by lunch at home, a nap, and dinner out to celebrate our freedoms (Mexican food, of course). Also, Daddy and I spent some time on the computer researching new cars. It's time to replace the truck. We've narrowed it down to a few. Now to test drive them.

-EBP-

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Two sides

Dr. Jekyll

Mr. Hyde

Is this normal for 2 year olds? In between these two shots (less than a minute) nothing happened of consequence. He must have just realized that he didn't have as much of my attention as he wanted. So being a good mommy, I put the camera down and took him i my arms.

I rained more today. We did make it out of the house for some lunch. And then we went and ordered a new kitchen table and chairs from a local Amish furniture dealer. I decided I wanted a round table. Ours is in OK condition, but the chairs that came with it are all in need of repair. So we decided to get something that will last for many more years to come. I'll post a photo once we get it in the house in a couple of months.

-EBP-

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