A Boy and his Dog

Pookie generally claims Oliver as her own, but I think Bitty is more of a match for him in temperament.
Just like Eli was with Pook, "Ohvver" is big enough to withstand Bitty's assaults and gentle enough to allow them.

Run, Daddy, Run!

Today Tracy and all the APD cadets in his class participated in a marathon relay. He was lucky enough to be chosen to run the longest leg of the relay - a 12K (7+ miles)! He did incredibly well, finishing in about 68 minutes. Yea, Daddy!

The event was very family friendly, and we stayed for the whole thing. It was unbelievably hot and humid, though. The kids had a great time playing in the bounce house and bounce slide. Pookie wasn't so hip to the slide for some reason, but Beanie couldn't get enough of it! Fortunately, there were large tubs of ice holding water and sports drinks, which we took advantage of. Bitty just wanted to eat the ice. In fact, he also seemed to enjoy plunging his arms into the tubs, and might have just climbed right in if they hadn't been so tall. Thanks to Leslie for the photos, especially the one we like to refer to as "the essence of Pook." Lookin' a little grumpy there!

Milestones

I still can't decide whether I'm happy or sad about this...while Bitty was visiting Gramma and Grampa in Oklahoma, he stopped drinking his ba-ba AND decided to become completely potty trained! I am totally amazed. I am still using diapers at night, but he wakes up dry every morning. Wow! He is only 28 months old...miraculously, Beanie has decided to stop using diapers at night as well. Thank goodness, because 4 year-olds tend to pee quite a bit more than 2 year-olds!

Before the trip, Bitty refused to use the potty at Cat's house. He told her that he would if she got him a blue potty seat. Lo and behold, she found a potty seat with blue handles and apparently that is good enough. He is using it like a pro!

Welcome Autumn!

Yesterday we met Gramma and Grampa in Fort Worth to pick up the kids. Yea!! We really enjoyed having some time to ourselves this week, but we missed the kids, too. We celebrated by going to the Fort Worth Zoo which was a bit of a disappointment. A large portion of the zoo is under construction, and another large area closed early for a fundraising event (which they obviously need). We won’t be going back there any time soon. Today we have just lounged around and enjoyed being home.

The kids had a great time on their visit, in spite of Bean's getting "lost" the first night. Apparently she woke up in the night. When Gramma heard noises and got up to investigate, she found Bean wandering around in the den. She asked Bean what she was doing and Bean said, "I got lost! I couldn't find you!" So far we have heard about playing soccer with Uncle Brian, going to a football game ("We got to run around and run around!), and - most of all - going to Norman to see the dinosaurs. The kids are definitely tired from their travels, but I suspect they aren't the only ones!

City of Lost Children

Today Gramma left and took all three kiddos home with her for a week! At first I just felt lost…I couldn’t be still long enough to figure out what to do. I decided to go shopping and visit some stores that are not so kid-friendly. Finally, half-way through filling my list at Michael’s, I realized that I didn’t have to be anywhere, that nobody was waiting on me, and that I could…breathe! Relax! Browse! Things quickly improved. Gramma called to say that they had made it home – and that Bitty only peed in the potty the whole way! I headed off to Barnes & Noble…did anyone else know that they sell books for adults there?

A Visit with Gramma

Today we took a trip to the Natural Gardner with Gramma. We got to pet the kitty and the donkeys, and walked all over. The butterfly garden is full of flowers and butterflies right now, and we saw a little brown bunny outside the teepee. It got hot in the afternoon, so after eating at Magnolia Café, we headed to Town Lake Park to cool off in the fountains. This time we brought our bimmin suits, but Bitty still ended up nakey!

Pain and Pleasure

I finally got Bitty in to the doctor today for his…ahem…one year check up. Poor baby, he had to get four shots! All the way home he cried, and kept telling me, “I don' like dose shotsh! Dose shotsh are burning my legs!”

Later, we met Tracy at Central Market for dinner and some music. Pook and Bean danced with the band, though Bean was mostly enthralled with the instruments. I know she was thinking, “If I could just get my hands on that fiddle…”

"Not in the produce section!"

Poor Pookie has suffered through a rite of passage today.

Late Sunday night I woke up with terrible stomach cramps, cold sweat, the whole nine yards. I stayed home and was sick all day Monday…quite an adventure with three small demanding ankle biters. It took me about two hours to make breakfast! Anyway, this morning around 4:45, while I was putting my contacts in, I heard the unmistakable and always unwelcome sound of vomit splattering on the bed sheets. Eww!

At first I thought it was Beanie, who has been known to cough so much she spits up nasty lung products. But then the smell hit me and I knew that this was just good old fashioned throw up. When I opened the door to the bedroom, there was poor Pookie, long hair in her face and full of vomit, saying “Mommaaaaaa!”

For a variety of reasons and mostly because of the unexpected illness, we had to go to the grocery store later in the day. Like most kids her age, Pookie recovered almost completely in between bouts of vomiting. She was riding in the front seat of the shopping cart, and we were in the produce section buying our last few items, when she turned the color of cauliflower and began to whimper. I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom and throw up and she said, very worriedly, "Uh-huh!" We high-tailed it to the bathroom. Just as we got to the door she really began to whine. I whisked her out of the cart with one arm (holding Bitty in the other because we had left his shoes at home), Beanie pushed the door open, and we raced into a stall…just in time! Pookie bravely held her little mouth closed until her bare feet touched the filthy floor and then she let it out...

Town Lake Park Renaming Contest

Last month, I kept seeing info about a new park downtown…unimaginatively called Town Lake Park. We met up with some friends of Tracy’s from the academy and headed down there today. It is AWESOME! There isn’t much to it right now…but there is a great waterscape that all kids (and adults) love. It is a circular plaza with lots of fountains and some small wading pools. At dusk, lights come on around the fountains and in the pools and the water show is accompanied by a light show. Okay, I am not doing it justice, it is just too much fun! The kids had a blast running around. Bitty, of course, ended up nakey pretty quick, and the girls went in their skivvies. Next time we will know to bring our “bimmin’ suits!”

Sleepless Nights

Hmm. And I wonder why I wake up exhausted every day. Total elapsed time: about 30 seconds.

Happy Birthday, Gramma!

Domestic Bliss

During my almost week at home, the kids have played in the back yard pool almost every day. This is what I found today when I went back out with drinks and snacks for them.



“Mommy, I go poop in duh gwass.”