Just a break from the recounting of our trip to share a video from tonight of Evie and her latest dance moves. This is also a great way for her to get the last spurts of never ending energy out before bed and I love to watch her and sometimes dance with her (although she prefers solo dancing and frequently tells me 'NO!' when I interfere too much).
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
America Part 5--New Orleans!
I have to admit that I really wasn't a very good sport about driving before our ride from Birmingham to New Orleans. I did a lot of whining and crying and kicking my legs and throwing my toys around and, generally, being in my car seat put me in a bad mood.
BUT that all changed when my Dad rode in the back seat with me! Sticker Party!!!!
Another great thing about taking a road trip with my Dad is that even though my mom tries to make sure I'm eating things that are good for me (like orange pieces and raisins), my Dad always lets me have some of the bad stuff (like french fries..YUM!). And then my mom has to get all stern with him. Lucky for me, she was totally out numbered because my grandparents also let me eat whatever I want.
We stayed in a hotel in the French Quarter in New Orleans and had a great view of the city and the Mississippi River from our room:
Our room also had an antique baby walker in it, which I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have been playing in (it was actually a table, but my Dad took the glass top off of it because, for some reason, everyone thinks I'm kind of accident prone).
When everyone else arrived, our room became party central. Cheers!
I had my first taste of gumbo while we were in New Orleans and I liked it a lot. I also liked red beans and rice.
I also tried my first beignet and wasn't a fan. That just meant there was more deep fried deliciousness for everyone else to eat.
It was so hot in New Orleans that we couldn't really stay outside for very long, so we decided to go to the wonderful New Orleans aquarium, which was definitely a highlight of my young life.
Hello, fish!
I was a little wary of stepping on this glass floor over the shark tank...especially since my pregnant mom was also on it. It pays to be careful when you are sharing such a tenuous space with someone who is a little on the heavy side. We survived, fortunately.
Jellyfish:
And taking a closer look at the shark tank with my Dad:
I also got to pet a sting ray, much to my surprise. I sure didn't want to do THAT again.
After all that fish action, it was time to eat again. And we ate a lot of...well, fish, in the form of shrimp and catfish po'boys and seafood gumbo. My enthusiasm for New Orleans food was waning at that point, so I just had a PB&J. Peace!
On the way back to the hotel, I danced a little to a brass band in Jackson Square...
and was unable to deny the advances of the balloon man. He saw me coming a mile away.
What a fun time we had in New Orleans, but it was time to head back to Houston and be reunited with Nana and Papa, Jenna, Olivia, Aunt Mendy and my future Uncle Rick! But not before I finished relaxing by the pool.
BUT that all changed when my Dad rode in the back seat with me! Sticker Party!!!!
Another great thing about taking a road trip with my Dad is that even though my mom tries to make sure I'm eating things that are good for me (like orange pieces and raisins), my Dad always lets me have some of the bad stuff (like french fries..YUM!). And then my mom has to get all stern with him. Lucky for me, she was totally out numbered because my grandparents also let me eat whatever I want.
We stayed in a hotel in the French Quarter in New Orleans and had a great view of the city and the Mississippi River from our room:
Our room also had an antique baby walker in it, which I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have been playing in (it was actually a table, but my Dad took the glass top off of it because, for some reason, everyone thinks I'm kind of accident prone).
When everyone else arrived, our room became party central. Cheers!
I had my first taste of gumbo while we were in New Orleans and I liked it a lot. I also liked red beans and rice.
I also tried my first beignet and wasn't a fan. That just meant there was more deep fried deliciousness for everyone else to eat.
It was so hot in New Orleans that we couldn't really stay outside for very long, so we decided to go to the wonderful New Orleans aquarium, which was definitely a highlight of my young life.
Hello, fish!
I was a little wary of stepping on this glass floor over the shark tank...especially since my pregnant mom was also on it. It pays to be careful when you are sharing such a tenuous space with someone who is a little on the heavy side. We survived, fortunately.
Jellyfish:
And taking a closer look at the shark tank with my Dad:
I also got to pet a sting ray, much to my surprise. I sure didn't want to do THAT again.
After all that fish action, it was time to eat again. And we ate a lot of...well, fish, in the form of shrimp and catfish po'boys and seafood gumbo. My enthusiasm for New Orleans food was waning at that point, so I just had a PB&J. Peace!
On the way back to the hotel, I danced a little to a brass band in Jackson Square...
and was unable to deny the advances of the balloon man. He saw me coming a mile away.
What a fun time we had in New Orleans, but it was time to head back to Houston and be reunited with Nana and Papa, Jenna, Olivia, Aunt Mendy and my future Uncle Rick! But not before I finished relaxing by the pool.
America Part 4--BIrmingham!
From Atlanta, we headed on to Birmingham, where we visited with my Dad's Aunt Pat and Uncle Tom. They live in a really tall building with lots of space to run, really nice, big curtains, and a tall, tall balcony. Most excitingly, they gave me a beautiful tea set, which I play with on a daily basis. I have become quite the hostess at our house and everyone around gets a cup of my tea.
Here I am with my beautiful Aunt Pat and my handsome Daddy and Uncle Tom.
I really liked going out on the balcony and looking down at all the people below. At the end of the day, the sun sets and you can see it looking like a big, red ball from Pat and Tom's balcony. But my favorite thing was to look down at some kids playing below. They had an actual ball (not the sun) and I'm a huge fan of balls.
I was also a little bit obsessed with Pat and Tom's shower and tubs. Normally, I'm really scared of the shower, but I'm pretty sure that if I could have taken a shower in this one, I would have had fun.
As for the tub....well, it was awesome and much bigger and more exciting than the tub in my house. Tom let me play around in it for a while, but I didn't get to take a bath in it. Next time!
No family get together is complete unless you get some stickers stuck on your head.
We took a walk around Pat and Tom's neighborhood, too! Here, Pat and I sport our sun hats in one of the parks near their house. It was hot!
When we were in Birmingham, we stayed in an awesome hotel with a glass elevator and a pool. We went up and down the elevator as many times as we possibly could and every time we got off I ran to the door of the pool. FINALLY my parents took me swimming. It was ice cold on the outside of the pool, but really warm when we were in there. My favorite game was to splash my Dad while my mom was holding me. He couldn't splash back because my mom was using me as a human shield. Crafty, Mama is teaching me lots of good tricks.
It was great to see Pat and Tom and I can't wait to visit them again. But the next time we take a road trip, we have to get our luggage situation under control.
Here I am with my beautiful Aunt Pat and my handsome Daddy and Uncle Tom.
I really liked going out on the balcony and looking down at all the people below. At the end of the day, the sun sets and you can see it looking like a big, red ball from Pat and Tom's balcony. But my favorite thing was to look down at some kids playing below. They had an actual ball (not the sun) and I'm a huge fan of balls.
I was also a little bit obsessed with Pat and Tom's shower and tubs. Normally, I'm really scared of the shower, but I'm pretty sure that if I could have taken a shower in this one, I would have had fun.
As for the tub....well, it was awesome and much bigger and more exciting than the tub in my house. Tom let me play around in it for a while, but I didn't get to take a bath in it. Next time!
No family get together is complete unless you get some stickers stuck on your head.
We took a walk around Pat and Tom's neighborhood, too! Here, Pat and I sport our sun hats in one of the parks near their house. It was hot!
When we were in Birmingham, we stayed in an awesome hotel with a glass elevator and a pool. We went up and down the elevator as many times as we possibly could and every time we got off I ran to the door of the pool. FINALLY my parents took me swimming. It was ice cold on the outside of the pool, but really warm when we were in there. My favorite game was to splash my Dad while my mom was holding me. He couldn't splash back because my mom was using me as a human shield. Crafty, Mama is teaching me lots of good tricks.
It was great to see Pat and Tom and I can't wait to visit them again. But the next time we take a road trip, we have to get our luggage situation under control.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
America Part 3--Atlanta!
On the road trip to Atlanta, I wasn't a happy camper and Cora was really hungry, so it took a LONG time to get to Cora's house. Because I can't express the pain I am in in words yet, I just did a lot of squawking and whining and crying...for ten hours. Everyone just thought I was teething.
Atlanta was hot, but we still went out and did some fun things. The first place we went was a French restaurant, where I ate fruit and a little of this and a little of that from everyone elses' plates.
Then Grandpa let me help him walk Lucy. At the beginning of the trip, I was really scared of dogs and didn't want them anywhere near me. And Lucy was really scared of me, too. But we found common ground before I left Atlanta and I was very proud to be able to walk her.
Lala pushed me on the swing:
And we went to Trader Joes, where I got to push my own shopping cart and pick what I wanted to eat. Obviously I picked a huge box of blueberries because I'm very concerned about eating foods that are good for my brain.
When we got home, though, I was shivering a lot. Everyone just thought it was because the air conditioner was too low. This is why I'm learning to talk as fast as I can. I decided to take a rest on the couch with Cora because I didn't feel very well and later that night my fever went up to 105 and my wonderful Uncle Andy drove my mom and me to the emergency room. Lala and Grandpa met us there, even though it was late and we woke them up when we called them. It turns out that I had been grumpy for a few days because I had two really bad ear infections--one in each ear.
One good thing about being sick is that I got to eat ice cream as much as I wanted:
Finally my Dad got there! And my Super Shug! Of course they held Cora, but I was ok with it.
My Uncle Will was there, too (and he held Cora, too, but whatever. He probably would have held me, too, but I was being a little shy and stand offish at that point. We bonded later in the visit)!
Cora is so cute that even I held her. I definitely will be a good big sister:
At times, I may be a little too enthusiastic of a big sister:
Lala and Uncle Will taught me how to drive when my parents weren't there:
Atlanta was fun and I was really sad to leave, but lucky for me I had lots more wonderful family to meet and love. We were off to Birmingham next!
P.S. Thanks to Aunt Kate for many of the pictures in this blog!
Atlanta was hot, but we still went out and did some fun things. The first place we went was a French restaurant, where I ate fruit and a little of this and a little of that from everyone elses' plates.
Then Grandpa let me help him walk Lucy. At the beginning of the trip, I was really scared of dogs and didn't want them anywhere near me. And Lucy was really scared of me, too. But we found common ground before I left Atlanta and I was very proud to be able to walk her.
Lala pushed me on the swing:
And we went to Trader Joes, where I got to push my own shopping cart and pick what I wanted to eat. Obviously I picked a huge box of blueberries because I'm very concerned about eating foods that are good for my brain.
When we got home, though, I was shivering a lot. Everyone just thought it was because the air conditioner was too low. This is why I'm learning to talk as fast as I can. I decided to take a rest on the couch with Cora because I didn't feel very well and later that night my fever went up to 105 and my wonderful Uncle Andy drove my mom and me to the emergency room. Lala and Grandpa met us there, even though it was late and we woke them up when we called them. It turns out that I had been grumpy for a few days because I had two really bad ear infections--one in each ear.
One good thing about being sick is that I got to eat ice cream as much as I wanted:
Finally my Dad got there! And my Super Shug! Of course they held Cora, but I was ok with it.
My Uncle Will was there, too (and he held Cora, too, but whatever. He probably would have held me, too, but I was being a little shy and stand offish at that point. We bonded later in the visit)!
Cora is so cute that even I held her. I definitely will be a good big sister:
At times, I may be a little too enthusiastic of a big sister:
Lala and Uncle Will taught me how to drive when my parents weren't there:
Atlanta was fun and I was really sad to leave, but lucky for me I had lots more wonderful family to meet and love. We were off to Birmingham next!P.S. Thanks to Aunt Kate for many of the pictures in this blog!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Return to the blog--America Part 2 (by Evie, mostly)
From Claire: Apologies for the non-blogging lately and thanks to Jim for his wonderful contributions because, after all, this is his blog, too, and he is a great writer and takes really beautiful pictures of things I wouldn't even look twice at. Hopefully he'll keep writing every once in a while. And now onto Evie's blog!
It has been five weeks since we headed out on our great American family visit adventure and after an amazing few days with my fabulous grandparents Nana and Papa, Lala and Grandpa joined us. To celebrate, we all went out for Mexican food! Everyone expected me to be compliant and eat the chicken quesadillas that they got me, but instead I opted for my Mom's charro beans.
I think it was completely understandable that after all those charro beans, I had a little trouble holding still...
and found that there was more fun to be had UNDER the high chair than there was to be found IN the high chair.
The next day we headed out on our road trip to Louisiana. Grandpa was excited and wanted to hold DouDou for the whole trip, but I said NO!
It was a little bit much for them to expect me to just sit in my car seat for seven hours, so I made a little bit of noise to remind them that I wasn't ok with it. But in the middle of making a lot of noise, I accidentally fell asleep. And when I woke up we went to this really big place called Sam's Club. Mom said it was pretty American to go to Sam's Club.
On the farm there were lots of dogs and lots of "Finchleys." You may remember this Finchley from the olden days of this blog. Chowder remains highly affectionate and we spent some quality time together.
I really tried to embrace the life of a farm girl, although I wasn't too sure about the beetles who were camped out in my sand box or about the gnats which persistently bit us and got in our eyes during our entire visit.
In the fashion of the late Buster, I took off across the cotton fields at break neck speed.
And I thoroughly enjoyed splashing in the baby pools--one by the big pool and one next to the sandbox.
Behold the Vicksburg water park!!! It's the only thing in Vicksburg for a hot little girl to do on a scorcher of day.
So I stripped down to her diapers and, with the help of a new friend, splashed around. It turns out that I'm a pretty big fan of wearing as few clothes as possible:
There was so much to show Lala!
And there were lots of rides to be had in the red wagon that my mom, Aunt Kate and Uncle Will rode in when they were kids!
Life on the farm was perfect...until Cora showed up!At first I didn't realize what a big deal this was because I went to bed and didn't see that everyone was holding Cora. Lala was holding Cora:
Grandpa was holding Cora:
And..the unthinkable....my MOM was holding Cora!!
Uncle Andy looked a little like my Dad looked right after I was born.
The next morning I decided to check out this new threat for myself. She IS pretty cute.
And she pretty much minded her own business so I could still have a nice time playing in the sandbox and baby pool (which my mom said I would have to share with Cora some day. HUMPH!)
Then, suddenly, Aunt Kate had to go in and talk on the phone and my mom had to hold Cora while she did. That was NOT ok with me and made me really, really MAD.
Oh, it was horrible and it took me many days to get over it. I had to do something, so I hit my mom and tried to hit Cora and tried to pry Cora out of my mom's arms and I cried and cried and cried.
Fortunately I was able to return to my previous zen-like status with a visit to the resident Koi:
And my older Cousin Jamie was really nice to me, too and made me feel very special.
And I got to eat some of Lala's extra delicious French bread:
So all was good with the world again...as long as my mom didn't hold that pesky Cora!!
As if one baby wasn't enough, then ANOTHER one showed up. Meg and Dan and Sebastian paid us a visit.
But Sebastian didn't make me jealous for some reason and was actually really fun. He put me in such a good mood that I even was willing to share Lala's lap with Cora:
Ok, ok...so I was really trying to sit on her, but at least I didn't hit her!
If I have a little brother, I hope he's like Sebastian. We like all the same things!
Riding the tractor:
Swinging:
Eating!!!
Lying on the floor and sharing binkies:
Cora likes to eat, too, but she only eats milk. I bet she'll like to ride the tractor when she's bigger and, as long as my mom doesn't hold her, I wouldn't mind having a sister as pretty and sweet as Cora is either. The more I got to know her, the more I loved her. Isn't she cute?
Before we left the farm to head to Atlanta, we went to Mike and Debbie's to visit their very friendly and docile chickens. My favorite thing was to play in their water, but I also liked feeding them.
I had a great time being a temporary farm girl, but we had to go back to the big city--Atlanta--to see my Uncle Will, Super Shug, more of my Aunt Kate and Uncle Andy, Lala and Grandpa and, most importantly, my Daddy, who was flying in to meet us! A family reunion, which I will tell you about in the next blog!
It has been five weeks since we headed out on our great American family visit adventure and after an amazing few days with my fabulous grandparents Nana and Papa, Lala and Grandpa joined us. To celebrate, we all went out for Mexican food! Everyone expected me to be compliant and eat the chicken quesadillas that they got me, but instead I opted for my Mom's charro beans.
I think it was completely understandable that after all those charro beans, I had a little trouble holding still...
and found that there was more fun to be had UNDER the high chair than there was to be found IN the high chair.
The next day we headed out on our road trip to Louisiana. Grandpa was excited and wanted to hold DouDou for the whole trip, but I said NO!
It was a little bit much for them to expect me to just sit in my car seat for seven hours, so I made a little bit of noise to remind them that I wasn't ok with it. But in the middle of making a lot of noise, I accidentally fell asleep. And when I woke up we went to this really big place called Sam's Club. Mom said it was pretty American to go to Sam's Club.
On the farm there were lots of dogs and lots of "Finchleys." You may remember this Finchley from the olden days of this blog. Chowder remains highly affectionate and we spent some quality time together.
I really tried to embrace the life of a farm girl, although I wasn't too sure about the beetles who were camped out in my sand box or about the gnats which persistently bit us and got in our eyes during our entire visit.
In the fashion of the late Buster, I took off across the cotton fields at break neck speed.
And I thoroughly enjoyed splashing in the baby pools--one by the big pool and one next to the sandbox.
Behold the Vicksburg water park!!! It's the only thing in Vicksburg for a hot little girl to do on a scorcher of day.
So I stripped down to her diapers and, with the help of a new friend, splashed around. It turns out that I'm a pretty big fan of wearing as few clothes as possible:
There was so much to show Lala!
And there were lots of rides to be had in the red wagon that my mom, Aunt Kate and Uncle Will rode in when they were kids!
Life on the farm was perfect...until Cora showed up!At first I didn't realize what a big deal this was because I went to bed and didn't see that everyone was holding Cora. Lala was holding Cora:
Grandpa was holding Cora:
And..the unthinkable....my MOM was holding Cora!!
Uncle Andy looked a little like my Dad looked right after I was born.
The next morning I decided to check out this new threat for myself. She IS pretty cute.
And she pretty much minded her own business so I could still have a nice time playing in the sandbox and baby pool (which my mom said I would have to share with Cora some day. HUMPH!)
Then, suddenly, Aunt Kate had to go in and talk on the phone and my mom had to hold Cora while she did. That was NOT ok with me and made me really, really MAD.
Oh, it was horrible and it took me many days to get over it. I had to do something, so I hit my mom and tried to hit Cora and tried to pry Cora out of my mom's arms and I cried and cried and cried.Fortunately I was able to return to my previous zen-like status with a visit to the resident Koi:
And my older Cousin Jamie was really nice to me, too and made me feel very special.
And I got to eat some of Lala's extra delicious French bread:
So all was good with the world again...as long as my mom didn't hold that pesky Cora!!As if one baby wasn't enough, then ANOTHER one showed up. Meg and Dan and Sebastian paid us a visit.
But Sebastian didn't make me jealous for some reason and was actually really fun. He put me in such a good mood that I even was willing to share Lala's lap with Cora:
Ok, ok...so I was really trying to sit on her, but at least I didn't hit her!If I have a little brother, I hope he's like Sebastian. We like all the same things!
Riding the tractor:
Swinging:
Eating!!!
Lying on the floor and sharing binkies:
Cora likes to eat, too, but she only eats milk. I bet she'll like to ride the tractor when she's bigger and, as long as my mom doesn't hold her, I wouldn't mind having a sister as pretty and sweet as Cora is either. The more I got to know her, the more I loved her. Isn't she cute?
Before we left the farm to head to Atlanta, we went to Mike and Debbie's to visit their very friendly and docile chickens. My favorite thing was to play in their water, but I also liked feeding them.
I had a great time being a temporary farm girl, but we had to go back to the big city--Atlanta--to see my Uncle Will, Super Shug, more of my Aunt Kate and Uncle Andy, Lala and Grandpa and, most importantly, my Daddy, who was flying in to meet us! A family reunion, which I will tell you about in the next blog!
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