Where does the time go? There were quite a few happenings over the last couple of weeks. First and foremost, Connor is fully potty trained. Way to go buddy Daddy is very proud. If you read this in 10 years, I know you’ll be humiliated, but you’ll get used to me, this is how daddy rolls.
It was pretty wet two weekends ago and we decided to take advantage of the dip back into double digit temperatures by going to the Capital of Texas Zoo. This is the one near Bastrop, not the Austin Zoo. Now if you are looking for an adult zoo with a lot of funding, this isn’t your zoo. The paths are uneven (darn near untraversable), it’s cut into a jungle of cedar, and the exhibits are pretty small. But the kids LOVED it. There were some fairly exotic animals and the “foosa” from Madagascar was there. The highlight for Connor was the parrot encounter. There is a large habitat where you can go inside the with the parrots. Connor and Josie both went in and were amazed that a little parrot came right to them and was just inches away from their faces. I kept waiting for something REALLY bad to happen but it never did. Connor and Josie even got the bird to say “hello” about 30 times. Of course when your ages are 3 ½ and 21 months, you’re convinced it was you who taught the bird.
Josie’s favorite exhibit was the “Halloween bats.” Josie is on a huge Halloween kick right now and when she saw the bats she thought it was awesome. She also loved that the prairie dog pit was somewhat vacant…they kind of tunneled out. You’d think they’d have seen this one coming. Connor also loved the sound of the rattler. Yep, he was right up next to the glass of the rattlesnake exhibit and let me tell you that snake was MAD! Even behind the glass my heart rate was up a little with Connor so close.
The next first was McDonalds. Can you believe in 3 years and 9 months Connor had never eaten McDonalds? Also, we noticed that you can now get nutritional information on the boxes. Okay, so do we really need this kind of information? Does anyone go to McDonalds with a calorie counter book? Does anyone anywhere think it’s a healthy place? I mean please! Anyway, as luck would have it, the kids were unimpressed.
The next week Nita needed to take a client out to lunch…in Houston. So she said, “Let’s all go. We can go see all the Patrenellas.” So we went. The trip down was great. We picked the kids up from day care, grabbed a quick snack for the road and Connor fell asleep with some chick-fil-a still in his mouth. I know why my blood pressure is so high, I worry about everything. So I made Nita crawl into the back seat and give him a CPR mouth swipe. Anyway, about 2/3 of the way, they woke up and we told stories and sang songs the rest of the way in. We also played our first game of “I spy.” Apparently Josie sees cows that no one else can see, or it’s her “go to” spy, either way, it was pretty cute.
For dinner we went to Uncle Sammy’s restaurant. Uncle Sammy was so excited to see the kids he introduced them to everyone and even let Connor help make the mezzaluna. Then the whole family showed up. It was awesome. The food was wonderful, the stories were hilarious, and Connor and Josie played their first game of Bocce ball. Did I mention the food was awesome? If you make it to Houston you must eat at Patrenellas.
The next day was Nita’s lunch appointment. I took the kids to go swim in the indoor/outdoor pool. This was their first stay in a nice hotel. They’ve been to the ones with the kitchenette before, but never one with valet or room service. And they’ve especially never been in a concierge lounge. They were really funny. In fact, at breakfast in the lounge, Josie insisted that the onion poppyseed bagel was in fact a doughnut. And she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Well technically she might have, but it really isn’t worth the fight is it? So she took a bite of her “onion doughnut” and well, she, let’s just say at that moment she realized that it wasn’t actually a doughnut. And they discovered the candy dish. This almost led to a meltdown. Remember the kids turn into bath-salt face eaters around too much candy. So we finished breakfast and it was off to the pool.
Connor is now an expert elevator button pusher. I’m thinking of getting him a red jacket a little cap and a tip jar. You know, a little something for college. Anyway we got to the pool and the fun went on for a while. Josie had a great time in her float and Connor played pretend whale and dolphin games. I made the mistake of bringing little water shooting toys but after shooting a nice Samoan woman and apologizing, Connor kept it to me and Josie. He and Josie also practiced their bubble face and monkey walk. So I feel good about all of our pool time this summer. After swimming I took my two little wet monkeys back to the room. We had some lunch and then I tucked them into the pull out couch bed for a nap. They slept the sleep of the innocent.
Nita’s appointment went great and then we got the kids cleaned up and took them to Patrenella’s for dinner again. The food did not disappoint of course. This time Sammy Jr.’s wife and kids came by. Gail is as sweet as ever and Jacob and Joshua are huge! The kids ran around and got dirty and had a big ole time. Back at the hotel, Nita got the kids down and I was able to meet an old college roommate for a cocktail. Tork was in the building.
The next morning we packed up the car and headed over to the Houston Children’s museum. Now this place is massive and has tons of things to do. We didn’t do it any justice with our two hour trip there; this is really an all-day experience. And as with both evenings at Patrenella’s, Nita’s brother came to see his niece and nephew. They love them some Uncle Mario. Getting Connor to leave was tough. He wanted to stay and of course Josie was falling asleep. Connor was upset and it was made worse when told we were going back home. He said in a very exasperated tone, “HOME? I want to go back to the HOTEEEEEEL. PLEASE, let’s go back to the hotel.” What have we created? I’m definitely not letting him fly first class… oh who am I kidding?
One other thing of note, the kids have a pretty great sense of humor too. Not just fart jokes and body humor, but a decent understanding of situational humor. There were several times this and last week when we were just belly laughing at the things the kids were doing and saying. Connor actually knows how to push Josie’s buttons too. He’ll tell her she can’t have something just to watch her get upset. But then he’ll do something to protect her physically from something else. Cute stuff. Also, Josie wants whatever Connor wants…unless it is pointed out that she’s mimicking him and then she wants the opposite. An example was coming home from Houston we had some gummy candy. Connor would ask for a color and Josie would ask for the same. This went on for three rounds and when Nita asked Josie what color she wanted, I said, “Whatever color Connor just got.” Josie abruptly said, “I DON’T want a red one mommy, I want a green one.” That’s her momma right there.
So with the new school year starting up and a really great and adventurous summer behind us, I wonder what firsts are in store for us this fall.
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