More Weekend Pics

When we visited Bryan and Amy this past weekend, they planned to take us to the zoo to celebrate Little Ted's birthday (what good godparents they are!).  Well, that didn't really pan out - the zoo was packed and we got a little turned around trying to get ourselves there using the rail system.

Instead, we ended up at the Museum of Natural Science. It was a nice change of plans - we had air conditioning, we were out of the sun, there were plenty of places to sit, and the museum has a McDonald's in it!

Of course, there were also great exhibits, including a full dinosaur skeleton, terra cotta soldiers in the "Warriors, Tombs, and Soldiers" exhibit (the pictures you see below), and a pretty cool Titanic exhibit that makes you feel like you are actually on the ship (we also took a picture that, thanks to Photo Shop, shows us inside of the ship).

 When Little Ted got bored, we enjoyed the front of the museum, which included a fountain, tables, and lots of shade from big trees.  My favorite moment: a little girl, probably about three years old, entered the museum with her mother and grandmother.  They were obviously out that day to take pictures of the little girl (the museum is on the edge of Hermann Park, a large recreation area near the hospitals in Houston, which also serves as a good backdrop for photographers).  She was dressed up to look like a bee, with yellow and black leggings and wings to match.  Little Ted, who has only limited experience with bees (he's familiar with the ones in Dr. Seuss), spotted her and correctly identified her costume.  He shouted, "A bee!  A bee!  Bzzzzzzzzzz!"  Luckily, he didn't panic the way he usually does when he sees flying bugs, so I guess not all flying bugs are monsters in his mind.

Before we left, we shot this pic of Little Ted and our hosts.  Overall, we had a great time, and Little Ted is ready to go back and visit his pet friends.

2 yr old Speller???

When bedtime rolled around this evening, the 3 Gonzabloggers were relaxing upstairs.  I wanted Little Ted to know that it was time to start our nightly routine, so I said,

"It's time to take a b-a-t-h."

Now normally, I don't spell the word.  I typically say "bath," and that generally leads to a negative response from the toddler.  I didn't want to get him too worked up since he did not get his usual nap today; hence my decision to spell rather than say.

His response:

"No!"

Me: "And what does b-a-t-h spell?"

LT: "Bath!"

At this point, Ted and I looked at each other in surprise and awe.  Does our two year old actually know how to spell???

Probably not, but he did a good job of deducing what mom was referring to.

Guess this means we won't be able to do much "spell speaking" in this house when talking about things we don't want Little Ted to know.  I'll have to brush up on my Spanish skills or learn Arabic so we have other options!

Weekend Trip

Last weekend, we visited Ted's friend, Bryan, and his wife.  The last time we saw them was their wedding day, almost a full year ago.  Since then, they've bought a home and settled in with their three cats and one dog.

They've been asking us to visit for awhile now, and we finally had some time to get away, so we packed up the car and headed SE.  As you can imagine, Little Ted was more than a little excited to share a house with so many critters.  By the time we left, Palmer, Phoenix, Rocky, and Charlie were thoroughly terrorized, and Little Ted was exhausted and sad to leave.  He still remembers his animal buddies and even asked "Can we see the puppy?" as we were headed to the grocery store this afternoon.

Ted shot the video below while we were there.  In it, Little Ted is calling to the animals, and they are doing their best to stay away.

Funny Face

This is what happens when a toddler gets a hold of your camera phone - he makes faces at himself.

Flying Monsters

Today, we discovered that Little Ted is afraid of flying monsters. You may know them as flies, moths, and butterflies. In theory, they are fine and even fun to watch. But things change when they start flying towards you and buzz around your head. The last straw for Little Ted happened when a butterfly tried to share his PB&J this afternoon. Little Ted broke down in tears and went back inside for the rest of the day.

I guess I should be glad. He could try to sneak bugs in the house in his pockets, or worse.

One Last Spring Break Memory

Here's a pic of Little Ted and Grandma Gonzalez from our trip to Chuck E. Cheese (Little Ted's very first visit!).  As you can see, a fun time was had by all.

Hear the Engines Coming

My favorite part - his train noises.  He's got them down!

Sweet goodness

All children I know seem to love icing more than they love the cake or cookie. Ours is no exception to this rule.

Congrats to the Lady Bears.

As we predicted, our Lady Bears are this year's National Champs.  We're still celebrating here in Waco.  For example, you will see this billboard in the same spot that was once devoted to celebrating Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin:

And kudos to CNN's Kyra Phillips, who did a segment on the Notre Dame Coach's comments on our star player:


Six-foot-eight, Brittney Griner, leading her Lady Bears into the history books with a perfect season and an NCAA title to boot.

But still, within all of that glory, Notre Dame's coach says Griner, quote, "is like a guy playing with women."

OK, Coach, you say you were lifting here and to your credit Brittney took it as a compliment. But come on. Do we need to go there?

That analogy is as old as Augusta's archaic rules, so let's retire it now.

And, while we're at it, let's retire runs like a girl and throws like a girl. Have you see Flo-Jo run? What about Jennie Finch pitch?

In the words of our favorite sports columnist, Christine Brennan, comments like this just rev up nastier words and thoughts.

Brittney Griner is an amazing athlete, period, and, Brittney, if you're listening, you got skills, you've got brains and you are today's rock star.

We should all aspire to: 

Hello!

Little Ted loves to play outside.  His favorite toys are sticks and puddles of water that have been left over by recent thunderstorms.  Here, daddy catches him in the act, so to speak, and Little Ted uses his little boy charm to deflect any memory of his possible wrongdoing.

Never Give Up!

Ted's parents visited us over Spring Break, and I've been lax about posting some of our media from their visit.

The video below is yet another example of Little Ted's singing skills.  My mother-in-law is the videographer, and she captured the munchkin singing along to one of his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine YouTube videos.  The song is "Never Give Up"; it's a long one, and Little Ted sticks with it the whole way - and then some.

Enjoy!