20 months and on the go

thanks to the coors
for introducing us to the
micro-scooter.
the kid
is in love with it and
won't stop
(until he hits the curb).
as our neighbor karen said,
"he's so young it looks unnatural,
like those talking baby commercials."

tx In REviEW

while alex worked and studied and studied and worked, the kids and i spent the past few weeks in texas. as i mentioned before, we came right after ike hit, so the first week and a half were spent with sean and tara in college station while waiting for power to be restored in lake jackson. they welcomed our brood open-armed and ready to entertain, and we love them to bits for it. tara captures it all quite creatively here. it was so wonderful to spend time with sean and tara since we don't get to see them as often as we'd like.
lake jackson greeted us with easy, breezy, cloudless days. our schedule involved lots of time outside, cocktails on the porch in the afternoon, and plenty of exploration time for hutch. between my parents' huge yard, shrimp boats, the zoo and mini-train, and the envoys of utility trucks in town, the kid had the best day of his life every day. it only would have been better if daddy were there.
now that we're back, hutch is seriously missing all of the attention he received in the weeks after elsa's birth from both sides of the family. he'll do roll call of every name he knows and constantly asks where everyone is. he has two adaptations of names that are the best and most appropriate i've heard in awhile. in trying to call my mom 'grandmommy', he says "McMomma," and our dog burt is officially "Burp." he's even been bringing me the camera and requesting the person he'd like to see a picture of. the kid's a people-person.
sweet elsa began smiling while we were gone and really hasn't stopped whenever she's awake. she's sleeping through the night, bless her soul, and continues to think her car seat is a torture device.
we had a great, great trip, and it was a huge chance for alex to focus on his test, which takes place in two weeks time--hey-o!

wE miSs DaddY..

..and both look a little freaked out

sweet elsa

SHivERs

the best snowcone place on earth + unc and aunt rara - (dietary restrictions) =
one happy boy

wHeN NOse MeeTS ConcRETE

scene- dr.'s office, two and a half weeks ago

dr: does hutch have a helmet?
me: yeah, and he loves it, actually.
dr: good. this kid's gonna need it

**awesome**

nana and 'ampa' j

this post was delayed due to technical difficulties,
so forgive me nana and grandpa.
alex's parents came in town three weeks ago, one week
before the texas trip.
they showered the kids and ourselves with love and attention
and gave me the ultimate household chore gift:
clean and folded laundry. ahhh.
we went to carter mountain apple orchard
for our annual apple-picking,
giving fall permission to arrive.
elsa put on a great apple picking dress
but proceeded to nap throughout the hoopla.
hutch just couldn't figure out why we
bothered taking apples off the trees when
there were so many perfect brown and rotting
apples on the ground to pick up. yummy.
thanks for the wonderful company, folks.
you've given us more great memories.