Little Cowboy

Over the weekend, we headed to the rodeo for a little Texas fun. It was Trey's first trip there, so we put his cowboy gear on and headed out on the short trip to Reliant park for some good ole' Texas fun. Aunt Kacie and her friend Sean joined Mommy, Daddy, and Trey for the outing.

Our adventure started with a very exciting ride on the "choo choo," otherwise known as Houston's Light Rail, but nevertheless, it's the closest thing to a train Trey sees on a daily basis. He couldn't believe we were actually going to ride on the actual train itself. I venture to say that this ride was perhaps more exciting than the rodeo itself.

We visited the livestock show, where Trey enjoyed seeing the cows, sheep, bees, and chickens. He especially enjoyed seeing the new baby chicks hatch from their eggs. Mommy and Aunt Kacie thought the birthing area was particularly interesting -- there were animals who had given birth just hours earlier who were up on their feet and seemed perfectly fine, and brand new baby animals that were already walking. It make us feel somewhat inferior to these other creatures.

Trey also really enjoyed seeing a real, live tractor for the only the second time ever. (Yes, we really are city folk.)

After a little more exploring inside, we took Trey outside to the kid area of the carnival. Unfortunately, he was still too small to ride most of the rides (I could have sworn the height measurements were off!), but we found a little ride he could go on, so Trey and Mommy rode the "pigs." The funny thing was, they weren't pigs at all, but pink elephants. None of us realized they weren't actually pigs until the ride was long over, so as far as we're concerned, it was the pig ride!

After a quick snack, it was time to head inside for the rodeo itself. Trey enjoyed watching the riding, and he especially liked the calf scramble. We were pushing our limits, though, so we didn't even stay for one note of the concert (we left Aunt Kacie and Sean behind to enjoy that part). So, off we went on the "choo choo" back to our house (we live close enough to walk to the nearest light rail station).

All in all, it was a day of Texas-sized fun!

Aquarium outing

Trey's school hosted a fundraising outing at the Houston Aquarium over the weekend, and Trey and I stopped by for a couple hours. Trey had so much fun looking at all the fish. They were all "goldfish" to him; and when we would get to the next exhibit, he would exclaim, "more goldfish!" He loved it. The last interior exhibit housed a couple tigers, but unfortunately they were asleep for our visit.

Trey also enjoyed riding a train through the shark tank (I think he enjoyed the train more than the sharks we saw along the journey), and riding the carousel, where he insisted on sitting on the alligator.

Overall, I thought the Aquarium was grossly overpriced and over-hyped, but Trey seemed to enjoy it, which is what matters. I think we will try to take him to a "real" aquarium sometime later this year.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Trey's school held its annual Mardi Gras parade today in honor of Fat Tuesday. This is one of three parades the school has annually, and it's basically just an excuse for the kids to wear funny hats or masks and show off their incredible cuteness to all the parents.

Trey's class at the parade:

Trey in his festive mask:

Playing in the fountain after the parade, as always:

Playing on the playground after the parade:

Fun Birthday

In honor of Trey's birthday today, and for the second year in a row, I took the day off to treat Trey to a fun day of activities. I'm sure there will come a point in his life when he would rather be at school with his friends than out with Mom on his birthday, but for now, we are enjoying the time together.

After a doctor's visit for his 2 year check up (we won't talk about that -- it was not the most pleasant part of his day due to the need to draw blood for lead and allergy testing), we headed out for yet another day at Gymboree. We had a class to make up, and I knew Trey would enjoy the indoor play once again. And he did.

After Gymboree, we headed to Ruggle's cafe for lunch, where Trey loves the grilled cheese, fruit, and sweet potato fries. It was no different this time.

I wasn't planning on a nap, as Trey hates nap time and I didn't want to force it on his birthday (the sleep "experts" can judge away -- he is just not a big napper!), but Trey fell asleep in the car en route to our next destination. Deciding I could stand a nap myself, I simply laid the driver seat down and took a nap right along with him. There sure is something to be said for regular afternoon naps -- I could get used to it!

After Trey woke up (I admit I could have slept a while longer!), we went inside to Monkey Joe's, an indoor bounce playplace that has lots of "bouncy houses" for kids under 3. We had never been there, but it came highly recommended from a friend, and it was cold and rainy outside, which ruled out any outdoor activities.

Trey loved Monkey Joe's. At first it took him a little while to figure out what to do, but once I showed him the joy of jumping, he loved every minute of it. He especially loved the slides, but decided pretty quickly that the 3-year-and-under slide was a bit too wimpy for him, so off we went to explore the bigger areas. The challenge was that I wasn't allowed onto the bounce areas for the older kids, so I had to stand there and worry that Trey could hold his own. But he did. He LOVED the big slide that literally went all the way up to the top of the ceiling. After about 10 trips up and down that slide, I finally got nervous, and I made him stop. We went back to the (boring) little kid houses for a while, and then it was time to go home.

Trey had a fun birthday, and it was great to be able to spend that time with him. It is so hard to believe he is already two!

Trey is TWO!

Happy birthday to our precious little boy, whom we can no longer call a baby! Trey is TWO years old today!

It is hard to believe that two full years have passed since that special night we spent in a hospital delivery room, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little boy, who we knew would be John the Third but only later came to know as Trey. From day 1, little Trey has been the sweetest little guy, and he has brought us more joy than we ever could have imagined. Two years later, we still look at him in awe, amazed that we created him ourselves (with a little help from God) and that he has grown into such a special little person.

As time goes on, we fall deeper and deeper in love with our son, and the realization of how blessed we are to have him in our lives is never lost on us. We certainly aren't biased in the least, but we really feel we won the baby lottery when God gave us Trey.

So today, on Trey's birthday, we celebrate all that Trey has added to our lives over the past two years, with great anticipation of what the future has in store for him. We love you, Trey!

Trey's Birthday Party!

Trey had his second birthday party today at Gymboree! Everyone had a great time. Mommy in particular thought this party was infinitely easier than the one we held at home last year!!

Instructor Nicki did a great job leading the group in songs and play, and all the kids had a great time climbing around on the equipment, running around, singing, and playing. Gymboree really is a great place for a birthday party.

After all the climbing was done, the parachute tossed up and down the appropriate number of times, and "Happy Birthday" sung no less than three times, it was time for cake and ice cream in the party room.

The theme for Trey's birthday party was monkeys, since all the kids spent their time climbing all over the indoor play equipment. We thought the cake and decorations all turned out great.

Trey devoured his cupcake, face first. He seemed to enjoy this part of the party as much as the play portion!

Most of all, Trey seemed to really enjoy his party. Happy 2nd birthday Trey!!

Happy Birthday Anna!

Normally I don't write about other kids' birthday parties, but this one wasn't just any birthday party. This one was Anna's, and Anna is practically family.

Trey and Anna have been sweet little buddies at school since all the way back in Nursery II, when they were about 8 or 9 months old, and they used to entertain one another during morning nap time while all the other kids were sleeping. Fast forward about 6 months to Movement 1, and their bond continued; the teachers used to tell me that Trey was the only one in the whole class who could make Anna laugh.

And still today, Trey and Anna are the best of friends. Whenever we ask Trey who he played with at school that day, his first answer is always "Anna." When Anna had a tough time moving to their current class, Toddler 1 (like most kids do; Trey, who rarely cries at school, also resisted the move), Trey would go up to Anna, hug her, and take her by the hand. What can we say, he loves her, and we approve. Anna is the sweetest little girl who gives the best hugs, and her parents couldn't be any nicer.

Anna's party was great. She invited everyone to her beautiful home, where all the kids dined on a huge spread of snacks and cookies. The highlight of the party was a full-blown puppet show! The kids enjoyed watching the story of the Three Little Pigs and, afterward, being entertained by a real marionette puppet. It was pretty cool.

But most of all, we enjoyed celebrating with sweet Anna. Happy birthday to the most darling 2-year-old little girl!!

Feed the Hungry

Lately Trey has been doing a lot of role playing. He likes to personalize his stuffed animals and cars, and like people, these toys have all the usual necessities. For example, Trey is always very insistent that his toys take naps (which is funny because he is always so resistant to naps himself). He makes us turn out all the lights and cover them up with blankets so they can go "night night."

Earlier tonight, during dinner, Trey insisted that we also feed Elmo Car. Elmo Car was a gift from Santa, and a combination of his love of Elmo and of little toy cars. Elmo Car is pretty much Trey's favorite toy as of late.

Anyway, Trey went to great lengths (and mess) to give Elmo Car a healthy dinner tonight. It didn't look like Elmo Car ate a lot, but at the end of it, I think he was pretty satisfied.