Bowl Head

This is our son.  In these photos, he is wearing a bowl on his head, as you

 can plainly see.  His father swears up and down that this is something he gets from the "California" in him. 

Sadly, I must admit that he is right - at least partially.  I did indeed teach him to wear his bowl on his head.  Not on purpose, of course.  It happened entirely by accident.  We were being silly one day, and I placed the bowl on my head.  This began the bowl wearing phenomenon.

So yes, wearing a bowl on his head is something our son did get from his mother.  But let me assure all Texans who might read this blog - it has NOTHING to do with the "California" in him.

:-)

Spring Break

Today marks the official end of our Spring Break.  Unlike our college days, where breaks were work free, we now practice "working holidays."  That said, we were able to enjoy some down time with Grandma Gonzalez and Cousin Matthew, who spent the last half of the week with us.

On Thursday, we headed up to Austin and spent some time at the State Capitol.  Uncle Ted got to introduce Matthew to the Capitol, the Texas Supreme Court, and the grounds surrounding the Capitol.  Needless to say, Mattie had a good time - and he learned a thing or two about his state government!

Below are some pictures of our outing, including shots of the boys playing in front of the TRS building in Austin and relaxing on our back patio at home.  Little Ted really enjoyed having another kid around - he doesn't often find a playmate who is willing to spend as much time with him as his Cousin Matthew will.

Comfortable Seat

Sometimes, a comfortable seat isn't a seat at all. In this case, LT has turned a wagon full of stuffed animals into a chair.

Valentine's Day

Did you ever see the movie The Red Balloon when you were a kid?  Well, at my school, it was a go to on rainy days (along with the animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).  In any event, I sometimes feel that my son is the little boy in that movie.  He loves balloons, and he loves to have them trailing behind him wherever he goes.

Because he loves balloons so much, daddy thought it would be a good idea to get him some balloons for Valentine's day, along with a Curious George plush and book (LT's been a Curious George fan lately).  I put in the balloon order, and on Valentine's day, we went to the grocery store to pick them up.  Never have I seen so many men at the grocery store at one time.  Once we fought our way through the crowd, LT got excited because he knew what we were there for.  I secured the balloons to our basket and headed to the register while LT blew kisses at the balloon bouquet behind him.  He was happy.

These Valentine's balloons have been amazingly resilient.  One of them is still flying high in LT's room, and he likes to take it for walks around the house.  All in all, it was a good Valentine's day.

If Spider-Man were a Mexican Wrestler . . .

He'd look something like this

Spring is near . . .

New Year's, Part II

Little Ted experienced party horns and poppers for the first time this past New Year's Eve.

I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed them.

New Year's

After my parents returned home, we visited Ted's parents for the New Year's holiday.  Little Ted enjoyed spending time with his cousin, making (eating) a gingerbread house, and visiting with Aunt Janie and Uncle Bob.

You know it's a bad sign when . . .

. . . your toddler pulls out the exercise DVD and starts doing the exercises on his own.



(Sorry there's no sound - unfortunately, I didn't realize my mic was muted!)

I think it's clear he's trying to send mommy and daddy a message - we need to move more!

Christmas 2012

We spent the Christmas holidays with my parents.  The last time we saw them, Little Ted had not yet turned 2 and I had just finished grad school.  In other words, it had been a LONG time, and we were excited to see them.

While they were here, we visited Fredericksburg, the Alamo, and the Riverwalk.  Here are some photos of our adventures.



As you can see, Little Ted had fun exploring an iron works yard that we visited in Fredericksburg and talking to a cat at the Wildseed Farm.  The hat you see on his head is daddy's.  Ted brought it along for the trip but decided not to wear it while he drove.  Little Ted snatched it up and wore it the rest of the day.

The large Christmas tree you see was set up across from the Alamo.  We had to have a picture because it had a BU ornament on it.

The best part of the Alamo was not inside, but outside, where we got to enjoy some huge oak trees and watched the squirrels.  The Riverwalk also offered some good views, but I didn't get any pictures of the Christmas lights we saw there.  :-(

You'll also find photos of Little Ted sitting inside our new bike trailer.  He was excited to see it arrive, but it was too cold to try it out at the time.   We have since taken it out on an expedition but have no pictures to prove it - we blame the hills around our neighborhood.  They occupied all of our attention, and we forgot to take any pictures of our bike journey to the park.

We don't have any pictures of Christmas day, either, because we all ended up sick.  Mommy just didn't have the energy to help LT open presents and snap pictures.  Rest assured, he enjoyed all the gifts he received from his family.

Nostalgia

Apparently, there aren't enough chairs in Little Ted's room.  Or at least that was what I concluded after he requested that I pull his Bumbo out of the closet this past weekend.  We didn't use it much when it was "age appropriate," but it was a staple on our trips to Grandma's house.

In any event, he still fits in it.  Getting out is a bit of a problem, though.