When I met Durel, he shared a house with two other guys.  One of them was Sean.  (The other was Okie Roy, which is an entirely other story for another day.)

Sean was dating Emily.  

Durel, Sean, Emily, and I all worked at the same restaurant.

Emily and I became friends.

Durel and I became flirtypants.

Two weddings and three children later, we're still friends.  

Sean and Emily just started Tipping T, an intimate event venue, family reunion spot, vacation rental, or where I like to gather with the girls and drink lots of wine.  It's awesome.

Earlier this summer, Durel, Jack, and I went to check it out.  Jack quickly abandoned us to hang out with Connor and Cal.  We expected this.  They ran around, got dirty, played with stuff, stopped long enough to eat (just), ran around more, watched a show, got dirtier, and then got bundled up into a serious tickle fest and monkey pile with Durel.

It was one of those summer moments where everything is just right.  

Hope you have one of those moments today.

Talk soon,

Heather

ninja at rest

Our "parent homework" for Jack's school this week was to discuss with him what we do for a living.  His entire class was scheduled to discuss it today.

I sort of forgot about it until yesterday but then, in true Type A fashion, didn't want Jack to be unprepared for this fundamental moment of toddler sharing and caring.  (I know.)

So, I started.  

"Jack, do you know what I do for a living?"

[blank look]

"Momma's a lawyer.  Can you say lawyer?"

"Woyah."

"Cool."

I thought about trying to explain what lawyers do, and quickly decided against it.  A) He's 2.  He doesn't care.  B) It's hard to explain to adults, much less children.  C)  It's boring.  I mean, I really love my job.  But I'm a nerd.  It's really boring.  D)  Being a lawyer makes you itemize your own thoughts into bulleted lists.  Case in point.

And then I thought -- Dude, he's young for this.  I am happy to do it, but I mean.  I don't know.  We should have some fun with this.  Luckily, Durel and I have very similar senses of humor and he was On My Wavelength.

So, then Durel took over.

"Jack, do you know what I do for a living?"

[blank look]  (See?  He's bored by this.)

"Daddy's a ninja.  Can you say ninja?"

"Minja!"

"Cool."

So yes.  We sent him to school full of his parental occupational knowledge, which is that Momma is a Woyah and Daddy is a Minja.

And then he played it out.  Even ninjas need naps, you know.

Shirtless

Last night, Jack decided that he wanted to enjoy his dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn, without his shirt on.

It struck both Durel and I as funny.  It's pretty down home behavior.  And so, we immediately looked at one another to blame it on the genetic material of the other one.  We like to tease one another for the cultural underbellies that each of our home states has.  

Me:  It's like we're in Louisiana...

Durel:  It's like we're in Maryland...

Jack:  [I don't care where we are, so long as there's chicken, potatoes, and my shirt is off.]

I hope you don't care where you are today,
Heather

Butterfly

I decided to take a quick flashback to vacation today.  One afternoon, Durel, Jack and I decided to take on Key West.  It was hotter than the surface of the sun, so we didn't do much.

We did two things, though.  We sat on the porch of an old-fashioned ice cream shop and shared a dish of key lime sorbet between the three of us.  That's good stuff.

We also went to the Southernmost Point in the United States.  Well, we were one pier over from the one that everyone takes pictures of, which looks like this:

We could have walked over to it to take a picture.  We did not, because it was hotter than the surface of the sun, and walking to the end of the pier would have negated all the cooling effects of the sorbet we had just eaten.

We also stopped at a cool butterfly conservatory.  If you do not have a toddler, you read that sentence and assume that we went through the conservatory.  You would be wrong.  If you have a toddler, and have been reading closely about our TWO events already completed on a day when it's hotter than the surface of the sun, your guess is that we did not go through the conservatory.  You would be right.

We did however, in the great tradition of my family, go to the gift shop.  We got little presents for Jack's teachers, and took this picture of our Boy as Butterfly outside:

Hope your day has a cool treat and a butterfly in it,
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

Dudes

Mad about plaid, and mad about these dudes.

Hope your Memorial Day weekend was divine.

Heather

Friday Flashback: When We Had Lives

I know, I know.  That's not fair.  We have lives now.  In fact, we have a whole new person in them to redirect their focus, realign their priorities, and recalibrate how often I wear things that require dry cleaning.  We have lovely and wonderful lives, and are grateful and giddy that Jack is here to make them awesome.

That said, we used to, like, go out.  And have cocktails.  Maybe even too many cocktails.  We used to live in DC.  We went to school there.  We dressed up for Halloween and went to Georgetown.  Our costume was timely, witty, and most importantly, comfortable.

For Halloween 2003, we were Bennifer.  Here's proof.

Bennifer?  Why, J. Lo and Ben Affleck, of course.  When they were engaged.

Bourbon and Bennifer to you, too,
Heather

Flashback: More 'Stache Bash

More from the mustache bash, party-a-go-go...

Cal rocked the 'stache.

Conor said he was too cool for the 'staches, but not for the par-tay.

Ava wisely chose a Fu Manchu to compliment her outfit.

Julie also chose a Fu Manchu to complement her Moby wrap.

Beautiful Harper

Mom-stache

Dad the Cupcake Thief

The awesome and lovely Amelia, one of Jack's best buds.

A good time was had by all!

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

Flashback: Birthday Party Prep

Yeah, so, it took a foot surgery for me to sit down and upload these pictures.  What can I say?  I'm a busy working mom on the go.

Speaking of go, here goes:

Jack and I contemplate the spread of party foods.

Gift bags for Jack's buds.

Oh, tower of cupcakes, how I love thee.

What of my Fu Manchu mustache, mama?

Mustaches on sticks are fun!

The birthday boy.  Be still my heart.

And...yup, you guessed it.  There's more where that came from.

It was a blast,
Heather

Bex and the Bean

For the past few days, Durel has been in Chicago.  On the trip, he did a great job of combining work and play by attending a conference, visiting some dear friends, and reconnecting with one of his oldest friends.

Durel was able to spend a few precious days hanging out with Bex and his parents and seeing the sights.  One such sight is The Bean in Chicago, where these awe-inspiring shots were taken.

The Bean is a modern art installation that invites people to take awesome pictures with it.  Here's what it looks like from afar:

And here's what it looks like when Durel, I mean, Captain Awesome, visits.

Bex and Durel at The Bean

Captain Awesome

That's Ms. Awesome if you're nasty.

For the record, Jack and I had ridiculous amounts of fun for the past few days.  But we definitely missed Captain Awesome!

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

Date Night. Aw, Yeah.

Last weekend, Durel and I had a long-overdue date night.  We attended the Austin Addy Awards, a local advertising industry award event.  The coolest thing about the event (other than our lovely company) was the venue:  the event was held at the W Hotel, in the new Austin City Limits venue.  I spent much of my time there wishing that I could make Dave Mathews appear, but my genie powers must be on the fritz.

We had a great time.  We hung out with friends, went to some favorite places, as well as some new ones, stayed out late and laughed a lot.  All the while, Jack snoozed snug as a bug in his crib, while his grandparents relaxed downstairs.  They're the best babysitters ever.

Slainte,
Heather

Jack Goes to Dinner

Last night, both Durel and I were spent.  Long days of being busy professionals had taken their toll on us, and we just needed Mexican food to make it right.  We convened our family meeting at Guero's, one of our favorite restaurants in Austin.

Jack wasn't entirely sure he approved of the plan to dine out.  As we watched, horrified, he fussed, fussed, and fussed some more.  I know that we were both thinking the same thing:

Are we destined to eat at home for the next 3 years?  The next 10 years?  We should leave.  We can't leave!  We already ordered!  What should we do?

Enter:  Heather.  No, not my alter ego.  The best server, ever.  Heather is the proud mom of a teenager, and so misses the cute and wordless bald baby fussiness that we were finding a bit perplexing.  In order to help us enjoy a few chips with some pico and a few sips of our respective beverages, Heather taught Jack a little lesson about waiting tables.

He learned with rapt attention about printing out checks.

And so, this is how you do it, Jack.  See?

And with that life lesson learned, Jack was then happier with life in the restaurant, at least for long enough to let his hungry parents eat.

What?  It's totally my bedtime, you know.

So, thanks, Heather.  And thanks, Guero's.  We needed that.

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Science, Nature, and Us

Thanksgiving weekend was lovely in Austin.  It's turned chilly, but the days are still pretty sunny and warm.

On Saturday, we decided to get some fresh air and enjoy some free Austin fun.  We went to the Austin Science and Nature Center.  It's in Zilker Park, and hosts an interesting array of rescued wildlife, including a coyote named Martha, a "descented" (but still kind of stinky) skunk, and a bobcat named Conan.

We got some great family pictures while we were there.

Is that what skunks smell like, Dad?

We are a fleece-wearing family.  Yes, we are.

We also enjoyed the "dinosaur skeleton" on display, though it makes the guys look a little bit like they're doing hard time.  Not hard time.  Fun time!

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

Jack Meets Santa

Nope.  It's not here.  What, you say?  Jack's first picture with Santa.  We'll be debuting that later.

For now, let me say that Jack had the pleasure of meeting Santa for the first time last week at the Junior League of Austin's annual event, A Christmas Affair.  As a member of the Junior League, I have to give the appropriate props to this group of women.  They create a little piece of holiday heaven in Austin every year.  It's stunning.  It's also a huge fundraiser so that the group can do their charitable work around Austin, which is important and significant.  (Stepping off soapbox.)

One of the events this year was a "Breakfast with Santa."  There was breakfast, coffee (for the grown ups), a chocolate milk bar (with whipped cream and sprinkles!), The Biscuit Brothers performed, and Santa was there for photos with the kiddos.  It was totally awesome.

Jack and his buddy, Claire, totally enjoyed it.  I am entertained by the fact that Jack is merrily chewing on my friend Katie's lens cap, and that she doesn't seem to mind.

Hope this finds you, and your little elves, well.

Heather

Bob, Jillian, and Jack

I haven't hung out with Bob and Jillian, oh, ever.  But I am a big fan of The Biggest Loser and am totally into this season.  (I didn't discover it until last season, when I was a pregnant beached whale.  Still inspiring.)

So, while I don't have the opportunity to have Bob and Jillian yell at me on the treadmill, I do have the opportunity to have my "other" personal trainer give me tough face while I run.

Hope this finds you well.
Heather

Happy Friday!

A few Fridays ago, our dear friends Jess, Juan, and Ava agreed to take care of Little Dude so that Durel and I could enjoy a real adult dinner out to celebrate my birthday.  It was totally awesome of them!

We had an amazing meal at a new(ish) restaurant called Foreign and Domestic Food and Drink.  It has the ambiance of Manhattan and Austin combined.  And culinarily (is that a word?  food-wise), it's like being on an episode of Top Chef.  Awesome.

Anyway, while Durel and I were engaging our palettes, Jack and Ava were chilling out, big time.

In the future, we won't let Jack take his pants off when he's on the couch with a girl, but for now, it's fine.

Happy weekend to all.
H

Our Little Dude

A while back, we had some awesome family pics taken by our friend Betsy.  On this lovely Tuesday, I just wanted to share a few more of our favorite shots with Little Dude.

Who, by the way, officially sprouted his first tooth this weekend.  Pictures to come!

Hope this finds you well.

--Heather

Happy Halloween!

Jack decided to be a bat for Halloween this year.  We didn't trick or treat because, well, he can't walk yet.

But we did get in costume at school with his best baby buds.  Good times.

Jazmin rocked it out as Pebbles:

Linley cuted it up as Raggedy Anne:

And Gabe showed his ageless wisdom as Yoda:

Jack wasn't sure that he was enjoying the experience at first...

But it got better.

Hope your Halloween was delightful, as well!

--Heather

It's the Great Pumpkin, Jack!

Recently, Jack, Durel, and I entertained Aunt Nancy, who trekked to Texas from New Hampshire for a visit!  Suspicious though she was that we actually have fall and things like pumpkin patches in Texas, we showed her otherwise:

Granted, we can wear flip flops and tshirts while selecting our pumpkins, but I ask you...is that a bad thing?

Jack was fascinated with these larger-than-him gourds:  

And tickled by the idea that they were named after him (not the other way around, or a coincidence, right?):

Though of course, our Jack is worth more than $12.50.  Just sayin'.  I mean, this is pure cuteness:

Happy Jack, happy mama.  It was a great day.

Thanks, Tia, for the pictures and the visit!  Miss you!

Flashback: PSF

So, my daycare mama friends and I routinely dress our babies alike and take pictures of them.  Hey, it's the little things in life, right?

In anticipation of the great photos we will be sharing soon from the kiddos' Halloween celebration, I would like to flash back to a PSF (Photo Shoot Friday) from many moons ago (or at least a few moons)...

Liberty, Linley, Gabe, and Jack, sporting the hot new trend in diapers -- pseudo denim.

Baby Chaos (Emma, Gabe, Jack, Jazmin, Aksel, Linley, Liberty, and Mac)

Taken with Ye Olde Blackberry.  Thank goodness for my Droid!