I must be in some sort of a time warp.  How was this picture taken a  year ago?

At least some of my friends are in the same time warp, because this photo was also taken about a year ago, and I bet they can't believe it, either.

Jack, Emma, Gabe, and Jazmin show their patriotic baby cuteness, July 2010.

And, just as a reminder, here's where we are now.

What has happened in that year?  Wow.  What hasn't happened?  We are done with bottles, swaddles, binkies, pumping, crawling, an entire wardrobe, one size of carseat.  Durel got a new car.  (Which is not a truck; don't remind him.)  Durel changed jobs.  I registered for the 3M Half Marathon.  I got highlights.  (This is a big deal to me.)  Construction began on Nonna and PapaDu's Austin house.  Aunt Geri and Uncle Dustin moved to Austin.  We realized that Lucy had been eating Pablo's food for longer than we care to admit, and now feed them separately.  I *feel* that I am starting to master being a working, blogging mama.

What a year it's been, time warp or not.

Hope your time warp brings you to a happy place,
Heather

Toddlerpocalypse

This picture gives you a false sense of security that the story below is happy.

Our recent vacation began with a flight.  It has taken me several days to figure out the best way to blog about this flight.  Because this flight need to be blogged about.  I've decided that the numbers speak for themselves. Here they are:

Magnadoodles rock.

Days before trip that I started planning how to survive a flight with a toddler:  10

Toys in Jack's travel bag:  10  (red truck, blue truck, stretchy frog, stretchy dinosaur, 2 books, stuffed animal, Magnadoodle, Weeble Wobble, rubber duck)

Toys in Durel's bag for Jack:  2, as in one DVD player with Yo Gabba Gabba and SpongeBob DVDs

Snacks in Jack's travel bag:  10  (2 Nutri-Grain bars, goldfish, mini grahams, Kix, applesauce, 2 packs of mini muffins, cheesy crackers, fruit leather)

Minutes we arrived at airport before plane boarded:  60

Number of gates that Jack marched up and down prior to boarding plane, which we smugly thought was sure to tire him out:  8

Level of fear that Durel and I felt prior to boarding plane (on a scale of 1-10):  4

Empty seats on plane:  0

Minutes of flight from Austin to Fort Lauderdale:  150

Minutes that Jack screamed, wailed, sobbed, kicked, and flailed, while in flight:  130

Number of minutes Jack slept on flight:  0

Number of people around us on plane who offered food, medication, or other assistance:  5

Number of things that worked to calm Jack down:  0

Level of fear felt by Durel and I during the flight:  10

Minutes of drive time from Fort Lauderdale to Marathon, Florida Keys:  180

Minutes of drive that Jack slept, when Durel and I actually could have handled crying because we wouldn't have been worried about pissing off more than one hundred people:  160

Amount of wine consumed by Durel and I once we arrived at our destination and put Jack to bed:  Lots

We're calling it the Toddlerpocalypse.

How's your day going?

Heather

Kitchen Bandit

Jack made himself very comfortable in the beach house where we recently enjoyed a Florida vacation.  He thumped around on his cast with ease, explored cabinets, bounced balls, and really kicked back and had some toddler times.

He was particularly fond of the kitchen.  On our second day there, he marched over to the cabinet that we had decided was our "pantry."  He opened the door and pulled out a box of Nutri-Grain bars (his FAVORITE treat).  He plopped himself down on the kitchen floor and pulled a bar out of the box.  He then looked up at me as if to say, "What?  I want a snack, woman."  

Of course, I obligingly opened the bar for him.  He proceeded to devour it in three bites.  

Other than how cute that is, let's really get what happened here.  He knew where the food was after one day in the house.  He got it out himself.  He was getting himself a snack.  People, he's not even a year and half old yet.  What the what?

The other kitchen item that Jack enjoyed was the strainer.

Well?  What do YOU do with strainers?

Hope your day is full of Nutri-grain bars and other good things,
Heather

Potty

We just got back from vacation!

For starters, here's what I will say about that:  

(1)  Mojitos are awesome.

(2)  Hemingway was not as fat as people seem to think he was.

(3)  Having a toddler in a cast on a beach vacation is not easy.

(4)  Having a toddler, cast or no cast, on a plane is not easy.

More on those topics later.  For now, a quick image that I took before we left town for sandier pastures.

That is one Little Dude, sitting on his new Ikea potty, in his pajamas, watching Yo Gabba Gabba.

What am I thinking?  Here's what.  I bought this book on potty training.  (I know, but that's how I do things...)  I meant to read it on vacation.  I didn't.  But somewhere in my travels, browsings, and Interwebbings, I saw this nugget:

The first thing to do is get the kiddo comfortable with the potty, in particular, sitting on it.  Even if you start with them sitting on it while fully clothed.

So, there you go.  Boom.  Now I just need to read that book and figure out what to do next.

Diapers and Yo Gabba Gabba until then,

Heather

Bionic

Everyone has been asking to see the cast, and I haven't blogged any pictures of it.  Sorry.  Jack is so fast, even with the cast on, that it's hard to slow him down to take pictures.

In fear of finding an entire meal worth of crackers, raisins and sundry items inside the cast when it is eventually removed, Durel and I have been dressing Jack with a sock over his cast.  It's working well, and is very stylish.

Sixteen months old, one shoe, and one sock-clad cast, courtesy of Puma:

What cast, mom?

Seriously, what cast?  Is this thing on my leg supposed to slow me down?

Whatever, dude.

Totally whatever,

Heather

Sit

Jack heard that this was a cool place to have a seat.  So, he opened the cabinet, removed the bag of kitchen sponges, took a seat, and obligingly posed for this photo.

Because it's cool to hang out in the kitchen.  And everyone needs to sit down sometimes.

Here's to copping a squat,

Heather

Ikea

The other weekend, Durel, Jack, and I decided to venture to Ikea.

To many people, going to Ikea is not that big of a deal.  To us, it is.

Why?  Because Ikea is kind of far from our house.  Granted, we're lucky to have one in the Austin area, but it's a bit of a haul.  Also?  Because Ikea is completely and totally overwhelming.  I have a tendency to get all worked up whenever I go.  I decide that I want EVERYTHING in the store, that my whole design aesthetic has shifted to be totally Scandinavian, and that I hate everything in my house.

Oh, and that I'm hungry.

So, we don't go to Ikea that often.  And when we went last weekend, we had a specific goal in mind:  Get Big Boy Stuff for Jack.

How did we do?

Grammy and Jack work on their art.

Jack's fitting tribute to the recently deceased Cy Twombly.

Happily seated at his Big Boy table and chairs.

I think the trip was a huge success.  Also, we acquired that black and white spotted dog that is on the table in the last picture.  Jack will not let the dog out of his sight for one second.  Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our first "lovie."  Stay tuned for more adventure in Lovie Land.

Hope you have a lovie today,
Heather

Taking a Moment

The other day, Little Dude and I had a mid-day trip to the doctor.  (A little sinus infection; nothing some grape-flavored antibiotics can't fix.)  Afterward, we grabbed lunch.

Jack was tired.  It was a late lunch, and we were dangerously close to nap time.  But, he was calm as he waited for me to do something other than put him at a table, in a high chair, and smile at him.

I snapped this picture.

And honestly, this picture makes me feel like my heart is breaking.  Not that anything is wrong.  No, on the contrary.  But because this is not a picture of a baby.  This is a picture of a little boy.

I look into those ocean blue eyes and see that in there is a guy who is going to skateboard, and want to learn to surf, and race bikes with his friends, and bring home frogs.  I look into those blue eyes and realize that in there is a boy who will, in a few years, not think it's the coolest thing in the world to have lunch with his mom. Who will not think it's fun to play peek a boo in the castle at the pediatrician's office.  Who will not nestle his head into my neck and suck his thumb when he's tired.

And then I remember how my parents tried not to cry when they dropped me off at college, five hundred miles away from home.  And I understand.

And then I square my jaw, straighten my shoulders, and recommence enjoying every.single.second with my precious boy.  

And then our food came, and he started shoveling sweet potato fries into his mouth, three at a time.  And all was well.

Hope you like sweet potato fries,

Heather

Guero's

In the fair city of Austin, Texas, there is a restaurant named Guero's.  It is a ridiculously cool place, on the ridiculously cool South Congress Ave.  When friends and family visit, we take them to Guero's.  Many of you are reading this and nodding your heads.  

Jack has decided that he loves Guero's, too.  We've been before, when he loved it less but did really like our waitress.  We went on Friday night with Nonna and Papadu and Uncle Dustin.  It was a success.

Why?  Because Jack ate queso for dinner.

And then got to wear the chip basket on his head.

Hope your day is full of cheese and cool hats,
Heather

Splint

On Saturday, Jack broke his leg while skydiving.

No, that's not true.  On Saturday, Jack broke his leg while scrimmaging with the Hopkins lacrosse team.

Nope, that's not true, either.  On Saturday, Jack broke his leg when he misstepped from one carpeted step in our home while Durel, Papadu and I all saw it happen.

Yes, that's true.

How did it happen?  He was, at our instruction, getting off the steps, where he is not allowed to play, just as we had taught him to do.  He misstepped at the bottom and fell to the ground.

How did you know his leg was broken?  We didn't.  The fall didn't look bad at all, in total honesty.  He cried, and we assumed that it was because he had frightened himself.  However, one hour later, when he was still really upset and not walking (bell goes off in head), we realized that we needed him to get checked out.

What did you do?  We took Jack to an urgent care center.  They examined him and took two x-rays of his leg.  The x-rays confirmed what is called a "buckle" fracture.  It's also commonly known as a "toddler break." (Insert realization that these are frustratingly common.)

Then what?  Since this happened at the very beginning of a long holiday weekend, showing what I hope is not Jack's tendency toward impeccably bad timing for crises, Jack received a splint and instructions to see a pediatric orthopedist asap on Tuesday after the holiday weekend.

The splint:

Happily eating at home with the splint (now wrapped in packing tape and covered by a sock to prevent toddler removal):

Gobbling up Pad Thai with Dad before visiting the orthopedist, still totally unbothered by broken tibia or splint:

Pictures of the cast to come, of course.

Hope your day finds you cool in the face of a crisis and gobbling up the Pad Thai,

Heather

Summer

When Durel was little, he liked to sit on the sprinkler.

Yup, I just put it on the Interwebs for all to see.  

As soon as Jack sits on a sprinkler, I'll be sure to post that, as well.

Hope your day is full of comfortable seating.

Heather

Fedora

Did you know that Ernest Hemingway had cats with six toes?  And that descendants of those cats can be seen in Key West, where Hemingway lived?

Did you know that we're going there soon to see it all, live and in person?

Jack knew. That's why he got the hat.

Hope this finds you well!  Happy Fourth!