Passing on a Beloved Tradition

One of my all time most favoritist things in the world is cookie dough and brownie batter. I have loved both of those things since I was Robby's age or younger, so last night when I was making brownies while Robby ate dinner and he asked for a bite, how could I resist??? Of course, it ruined his dinner (not that he was making much progress in eating for the past 15 minutes before that), but at that moment, one of my favorite childhood traditions of getting to lick the spoon was passed on to my son. Based on the huge grins that followed, I would say he liked it :)

Also note my big boy not in a high chair but sitting at the grown up table with a real plate and a real fork :).

On a side note to any preggos out there--my advice on high chairs: do not buy a high chair where the chair padding cannot be removed to wash. We made this mistake, and when I was doing a deep clean as we prepared to pack it away until Juliet needed it, we found that the bottom of the padding was covered in mold. It had to be trashed, and now I have to get a new one.

The Good, the Bad, and the Scary

Robby is in a new phase where he finds many things a little bit scary--even things that did not phase him one bit as recently as a few days ago. For instance, all bugs are now scary and can produce instant tears. The bathtub (which he normally loves) has become somewhat scary. And, parts of movies that never before bothered him at all became scary.

On our way home from out of town this weekend, we put on Finding Nemo (or Melmo as it is known in our house). He has gotten to where he laughs out loud at parts now (particularly Dorie singing and any scene with the Pelican in it), but the scene with the scary flashlight fish freaks him out a little bit.

Here is Robby enjoying the film (note the sweet Argyle socks):

And here is Robby when the flashlight fish comes onto the scene:

(Is it bad that we skipped back to the beginning of that scene to see if he would make the scared face again so I could take a pic with my phone? :) What about the fact that we find it simultaneously adorable and funny when he covers his eyes like this?

Exercising

Bryan has started running at our local track every night, and Robby and I go to play and cheerlead. Robby desperately wants to keep up with Bryan, and nothing pulls my heartstrings like watching Robby half the track behind Bryan pumping his legs with all his strength to try to catch up to his Daddy.

Here are a couple of pics:

Calling Mommy

So, yesterday Bryan, Robby, and I ran by Walgreens to pick up a prescription, and while I was sorting out some things with the pharmacist, Bryan and Robby were happily browsing through the aisles to see what stuff we might need to buy. Then, all of a sudden, I hear this little voice shout, "Amy." Now, I was not sure I was hearing right, and I didn't see anyone calling my name, but then I heard it again and again "Amy, Amy, Amy" until I saw Robby running towards me full throttle to try to convince me to go see the treasures he had uncovered on some other aisle.

Bryan, of course, thinks this new desire to call me by my first name instead of by Mommy is hilarious. I find it alternately amusing and less than amusing. It's cute on occasion, but really hearing him say Mommy still warms my heart. So, I am off to go refer to myself as "Mommy" in Robby's presence as much as possible for the next few days...



(this picture is completely irrelevant to the story, but it is so cute, so I thought I'd include it :)

Staying with SueSue and Pops

Bryan and I are in California this week(end) because one of his best friends from college got married yesterday, so Robby has been staying with Bryan's parents in Houston since Wednesday. We are so excited to get home to see him, but I have to admit to the greater blogging world, I am just a little bit upset with my in-laws. Why you might ask? Let me just tell you what they have managed to do in just five days:

1. They have Robby consistently saying please and thank you. To my knowledge, he has never said either to me before. I thought maybe this was some growth in his vocabulary until my mom told me that Robby also says please for her. (And yes, we work on this regularly, but I thought we were just a little slow to catch on to this concept).

2. They have him happily drinking water (see evidence below). When we try to give him water instead of milk, he throws temper tantrums.

3. They have him eating salad. SALAD!!! And loving it.

Don't get me wrong, I am so happy that Robby was good for them while he was there, but why oh why can't I manage such amazing feats with my child that they manage to accomplish in no time at all?

I can't wait to see if these new behaviors stick once he is back home with us.

SueSue and Pops were very good at sharing pics with us over the past few days, so I thought I would share some with all:

Robby loves the Sand/Water Table!

Twosies with Pops and Uncle Paul

Happily drinking water (I am totally trying the crazy straw technique!)

Riding the train with SueSue

Stuffing salad into his mouth!!

Loving dinner time at SueSue and Pops' House!

Tacky Day

Yesterday was Tacky Day at daycare, so of course we had to get into the spirit of things:

Catching Up

I know that it has been a while since I posted anything, but it has been a busy last couple of weeks. My uncle (who is actually closer to my age than my mom's), came in last weekend with his wife and their three children, and they stayed with us from Friday through Monday. We did all kinds of great Fort Worth stuff including my first ever experience at Concerts at the Gardens where we saw a laser-themed light show with music from great movies, a trip to the Stockyards to see the Cattle Drive and eat at Love's, a visit to our new favorite restaurant Nizza Pizza on University, and of course a trip to the zoo.

They then headed to Eastland where we joined them on Thursday because my brother got married yesterday! It was a wonderful wedding, and I can't wait to get some pictures to post on here of the actual ceremony and of the beautiful bride Jenna.

I will post some of my favorite stories from the last couple weeks soon (hopefully--we are headed out to California for another wedding this week), but in the meantime, here are a couple of my favorite pics from the zoo on Monday (thanks Toby for being such a great and diligent photog!)