Meeting Santa

Did you know that having your picture taken with Santa at the average mall in Ft. Worth costs at least $25?!  That's the minimum you're allowed to spend if you want your child's picture taken with Santa. And you have to buy the pictures they take; you're not allowed to bring your own camera.

Well... this year I did a little research and found out that Bass Pro Shops has a wonderful winter wonderland set up in their store all of December.  Pictures with Santa are free, we were allowed to use our own camera, and they have crafts and Christmas activities for the whole family set up around the store.

We had so much fun. I cannot say enough good things about our day at Bass Pro. Here are a few of the memories we made...

meeting santa... adorably traumatic

riding the Christmas merry-go-round with daddy

our wilderness man

looking at the ducks and fish in the pond with mommy

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. And of course... God bless Texas.

Hurricane Denver

It's funny. I feel like Denver is changing every day. I could probably write an entire blog post every day on all the new things he does and the new ways he makes us laugh. Maybe that's why I never seem to write any more? I'm too preoccupied with my son's cuteness and he's keeping me too busy. :)

Anyway, sorry for being so absent. Hopefully I'll get back to blogging more in the new year.

A few quick facts about the little (big) man...

• 15 months old
• weighs 25 lbs (75th percentile)
• 32.5 inches tall (75th percentile)
• favorite things to do with mom and dad: 
• be chased around the house and laugh hysterically
• play peek-a-boo
• help us take the trash outside to the bins 
• read books
• watch Sesame Street
• play in the backyard with Fable
• favorite things to do while mom and dad aren't looking:
• throw "trash" in the trashcan (aka valuable things like credit cards or jewelry or important receipts etc.)
• climb onto EVERYTHING including the dining room table, kitchen table, our bed, out the doggie door....
• take off his diaper and poop on the floor
• empty out the kitchen cabinets, then put himself in the cabinets in place of the pots and pans
• dump Fable's water bowl all over the kitchen. at least once a day.
• have you heard the expression "gag me with a spoon"?  well, he takes this quite literally. if i'm not paying enough attention to him, he takes one of the giant stirring spoons, and gags himself with it so that I'll look at him. it seems quite painful, but apparently it's worth it.

I thank God daily for taking better care of our son than I can. Because the little man is a walking tornado, and I can't keep up. Thank God that He can.

I also thank God for ShamWows.

Bobblehead

Austin's phone has a front facing camera... aka, you can look into it like a mirror while it records.

Denver discovered this feature earlier this evening.

It turns out he finds himself just as adorable and hilarious as we do.

And for the grand finale, he does his trick of the week: pointing to his nose. 

What a champ.

Up Up and Away...

Happy Halloween! 

I'd say these two are much cuter than the original, wouldn't you? :)

Denver was certainly very popular at our church's Fall Fest last night. He wandered around, from booth to booth, like such a big boy. Many people commented on how independent he is becoming. I know they're right, and I'm not ready yet!

I'm glad that my independent boy still loves his mommy.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Our Little Pumpkin

It was a chilly Autumn morning...

No, that's not it.

As we left the house, bundled in our sweaters and sipping hot chocolate...

No, that's not it either.

It was six days before Halloween, and it was 86 degrees and sunny in Texas.

Yes, that's the introduction I was looking for.

I'm savvy with Mommy Blogging 101. Have cute child? Must take pictures in October at a pumpkin patch.

 I confess that one of the main reasons we went to Homestead Farms was because I wanted adorable pictures of Denver. Yes, I got my pictures, but more importabtly Denver LOVED our time at the farm.  He wandered around the pumpkin patch for quite a while, just staring at everything, throwing gourds, moving pumpkins and squash from one pile to another, and climbing on hay barrels.

 Homestead Farms is also much more than a pumpkin patch. It is a farm with goats...

chickens (and roosters)...

and of course, pumpkins...

Can you tell it was a bit windy? :)

Denver had such a good time that he grabbed a power nap on the way home. 

So was it the perfect chilly Fall day I was hoping for? Not Quite. But was it a great day at the farm anyway? Absolutely.

Behind Enemy Lines

I grew up in St. Louis.  Needless to say, I am a Cardinals fan.  I guess you could say I never really had an option...

And I suppose Denver doesn't have an option either :)

St. Louis is often referred to as the best baseball city in America.  I grew up going to Busch Stadium with my family and watching Ozzie Smith do backflips while everyone cheered. 

Now I live in Ft. Worth.... home of the Texas Rangers. 

Cards vs. Rangers 

World Series 2011

See my problem?

I am surrounded by family and friends that are SO excited about the prospect of the Rangers winning the World Series. Every store, every house, every street corner has big GO RANGERS signs hanging up.  Everyone is wearing Nelson Cruz jerseys instead of Albert Pujols jerseys. Eeeeek!!!!

And I wish that the Rangers were a bunch of jerks. I wish that they were rude and arrogant and unlikeable....but they're not.  It's sort of fun to watch them. It's fun to live in a city where everyone is exited about baseball. It reminds me of childhood.

So how do I stay true to my team without being an obnoxious in-your-face type fan? Do I hang our Cardinals flag outside the house? I don't really want to get egged or have my car keyed.  Do I wear my cardinals t-shirt in public? Or dress Denver in his adorable Yadi tee?

Also, one of the most fun parts about the Cardinals being the World Series is cheering for them with other Cardinals fans.  My friends here that care about the World Series are bound to be cheering for the Rangers. Can't you picture that bar? Or living room? When David Freese hits a grand slam, and I stand up yelling and screaming and cheering and everyone else is sad and angry and glaring at me?  Ick.

So don't worry mom and dad. You brought me up right. I won't be betraying my team. I will cheer for the Cardinals no matter who they're playing against. I'm just not sure how zealous to be. Ya dig?

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

Tormenting the Dog (and other fun things...)

Our little Denver Man has gone from this...

to this...

in thirteen short months.  We are so blown away by how quickly he changes. Not only physical changes, but he is becoming less of a baby, and more of a little kid every day.  A few of Denver's favorite ways to pass the day away are...

• taking things from one place, and very carefully and methodically bringing them to another place. example: taking clean clothes out of the dryer and putting them in the trash can. another example? taking puzzle pieces and placing them in the toilet.
• he LOVES to ride around in his backpack.

yeah, he looks sort of miserable here. I guess you'll have to trust me that he actually enjoys this.

• he takes his toys and drives them full-speed into Fable's body. Then Fable scampers away, and Denver falls over laughing.  Nothing makes him laugh harder than tormenting his pobrecito puppy Fable.
• he now brushes his own hair. He gets lots of compliments on his stylish do.  I think it's beginning to look mullet-y, but we don't have the heart to cut it.
• favorite food? chicken sausage. favorite drink? mommy's milk. favorite toy: anything that makes loud noise and music and can be used as a weapon against Fable.

Our little stud muffin keeps us pretty busy, but he's also pretty cute and does pretty amazing things. So we kinda like him. :)