Hats!

Truman loves hats. He loves to wear them, and he likes to say the word (sounds like "at"). Here, a few of his recent favorites.


Yes, another version of the Thanksgiving Day crown. He didn't love this one so much. He made it at daycare, so maybe there was some traumatic episode during the creative process. We'll never know.


Cheerfully modeling his new winter hat. (He could be an extra in the Coen Brothers' movie Fargo.)


A more reflective pose.


Modeling Dad's cable knit cap (after having swiped it off the kitchen table).


Dad's hat and the calculator pencil sharpener. Life doesn't get any better than this.

T-Day

It's December already, but we're still celebrating Thanksgiving. (Well, we're still eating leftovers.) Paul's parents and our good friend Wilson joined us for a lovely meal. Truman rejected all of it (even the apple pie and whipped cream! Whose child is this?), but that might be because he helped himself to the cheese, crackers, and hot appetizers we served first. Oh well. We still had fun.



Our holiday "wreath," courtesy of Truman.



Hanging out with Granddad and Grandmommy on the stairs. (Finger in mouth thanks to those pesky 2-year molars coming in!)



A couple of days after Thanksgiving we went to the annual Chuy's Children's Parade. It's a benefit parade put on by a popular local restaurant, and it's essentially Austin's version of the Macy's Day Parade (which Truman enjoyed watching this year, by the way). Truman was a bit overwhelmed by all of the people, bands, floats, etc. It was LOUD.



Paul and Truman take in Horton as he glides through downtown.



Hooray, we found Cooper! Unfortunately we didn't meet up with him until the end of the parade, but he and Truman enjoyed running around on the grounds of the Capitol, which is out of frame behind the black fence.


Hope you had a terrific holiday!

Cooper's Birthday

Truman's friend Cooper (daycare alum, frequent playdate pal) had an awesome 2nd birthday party at a ranch just north of downtown Austin this weekend. Check out Cowboy Truman out on the range:



But first, a photo of Cooper, the birthday boy!


Truman and Cooper checking out the goats. (I think Truman was feeding the goat horse feed in this photo, but the ranch "foreman" told us it was okay.)


Feeding (and chasing) the chickens.



Riding a pony!



He's a natural!


Petting a rabbit! (Although in the interest of full disclosure, Truman unceremoniously dumped this poor bunny on the ground seconds after this photo was taken.)


Trying to rope "Bob," an immobile calf. Made of steel.



Success!


Exploring the "back 80." (In actuality, the ranch was located at the end of a suburban cul-de-sac. So, it was a small ranch. More of a field, actually. But still a lot of fun!)


Enjoying snacks (first juicebox!) and a delicious cupcake.



I was trying to capture Truman's prowess with the juicebox, but I think the appropriate caption should be, "Mom! Enough with the camera!"

Thanks for a great day, Cooper! You've definitely upped the bar for birthday parties.

Padre!

It's hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since our annual trip to South Padre. We flew this year, which made the trip easier overall, and we think Truman had a better time although a fall in the Gulf (fully clothed, covered in sand and saltwater) within the first 30 minutes of arriving meant that he was a little water-shy for most of the trip.


Despite the very balmy temps, Truman insisted on wearing his graffiti jacket pretty much everywhere. He probably sweated off a pound or two during the vacation. (Maybe he's onto something?)



He was also quite enamored of this decorative cabinet in the condo. He spent a lot (I mean A LOT) of time going in and out of it. (We can post this photo now that our security deposit has been refunded.)


Almost the perfect size for him to completely conceal himself from view.



The Palmetto Inn, one of Padre's oldest Mexican restaurants and one of our favorites. Or so we thought. Turns out, Paul thought I loved it, while I thought he loved it. We used to plan our trip around its opening times, but now, who knows? Truman liked it, though, so maybe we'll keep going.



The Palmetto's famous homemade tortilla chips. They're really thick and crispy and good. Maybe they're reason enough to keep going back?


As I mentioned, Truman wasn't a big fan of the "ocean" water, but we're not sure if it was the fall or just the general wildness of the waves. By the last day, though, he enjoyed running into the surf a bit. We managed to lure him into the water for this photo, which is almost a replica of last year's.



Truman and Mom coming off the beach and into the dunes, which was really Truman's favorite hangout.


On our last day we went into Port Isabel (the mainland) to see the pirate ship that's docked there. Truman was not a fan of this pirate.


Nor this one.


On the bridge that extends beyond the docked pirate ship and into the bay. You can just barely make out the Padre "skyline" behind us and to our right.


Truman on the last day. A bit of algae bloom blew in (Red Tide, it's called), and poor Truman developed a pretty bad rash on his legs. So most of our last afternoon was spent in the condo, letting Truman run around in a diaper and doing pretty much whatever he wanted, which included going up and down a step stool (pictured) and watching way too much Elmo on DVD. But that's what a vacation's all about, right?

H'ween

Yes, we hear you grumbling. There WILL be Padre photos. Someday soon. We hope.

In the meantime, here's a brief Halloween update. Truman went as a robot although he didn't really go door to door. But he got a lot of mileage out of the robot costume (very Cold War, in my opinion) at his daycare's Fall Fest and from a brief visit to our friend Wilson's house on Halloween.


In early October, when the idea of wearing a robot costume seemed really exciting and fun.


At Fall Fest with his BFF, Will (a dinosaur), who seems a little happier to be photographed than the robot.



At Wilson's house, and not happy to be in the costume. I think he was in mid-sentence in this shot.


The back view.


After eating a piece of the dark chocolate bar Wilson so generously gave him. It's official: he's addicted.

Truman On The Beach

There are more photos to come from our trip to Padre, but here's a quick video of Truman enjoying a run on the beach.

Padre Teaser

Truman off to his part-time gig dealing blackjack in Vegas. But seriously, some of you may remember the saga of this infant visor that we found in South Padre last year (two years ago, actually. Follow the link and read through last year's post for the whole story). We're off next weekend for our annual trip to the coast, so stay tuned for more pics!

Greetings from the Garden State

We spent five days visiting my family in New Jersey last month! It was great to see everyone, but especially to meet baby Eli (brother of Phoebe, son of Elizabeth and Jason), who was baptized while we were there.



Eli, at two months (give or take).




We stayed with Grand Judy and Pop George. Truman loved visiting with them and getting to play with the Fisher Price toys from our childhood (Grand Judy knew what she was doing when she put those in storage so many years ago!).



With Aunt Elizabeth and Eli on our first day.



Munro! He and his mom Sue came in from NYC to see us. (Munro's about to celebrate turning three, by the way.)



Playing outside on Grand Judy and Pop George's deck. The weather was beautiful!



At Eli's baptism, where Paul and I were "sworn in" as godparents. (We had the easy job!)



On the way to the baptism after-party. Aunt Ellen and Gia, who watched T in the church, must have worn him out! Truman looked especially spiffy in his fall-themed cardigan and black lace-ups.



Playing with Phoebe on our last day.



Goodbye, NJ! So sad to leave, as always. (Apologies to the entire Reilly clan, who managed to escape our camera! Special thanks to Aunt Ellen, who gave Truman one of his new favorites: a baby Elmo book. The obsession continues....)



And thanks to Jason, who took some great photos for us, especially of Truman alone (you'll have to wait for the holiday card!).

First Haircut!

So we bit the bullet and took Truman to Cool Cuts 4 Kids on Saturday. We just couldn't bear the mullet any longer, and we wanted him to look spiffy for out upcoming trip to NJ.



We lucked out by getting Irene. She's obviously dealt with a lot of first haircutees. Even the fire engine seat couldn't fool Truman. Something big was about to happen, and he probably wasn't going to like it.



Trying to make a run for it.



Watching a Bob the Builder video, which he's never seen before. He didn't seem to like it. (We actually suggested Shrek the Third because he had caught a few minutes of this once and seemed mesmerized, but the Cool Cuts people clearly thought we didn't know what we were talking about and said, "No, that's too old for him. Let's try Bob the Builder.")



Things start going downhill, so we bring out the pacifier. (Things actually got worse, but Paul thought it best not to photograph that part.)



Dapper, but not happy.


Survivors of the first haircut.



A recap: Before......



.... and after.


Not a big difference, but a good one.