The Garden State

Truman had a great second visit to NJ! Thanks to all of our relatives for welcoming us back!!



Truman and Aunt Elizabeth enjoy an inside joke while Phoebe says, "Cheese!"



Cuddling with Pop George at the kitchen table. (And enjoying Grand Judy's wooden spoon. Thought we were going to have to take it back to Austin!)


Aunt Ellen made a special trip to visit us on Friday. Thanks!



Splashing! The cousins enjoy their bath together.



About to turn two, Phoebe's an old pro with the birthday hat. [We celebrated five birthdays in all: two in March (George and Elizabeth), and three in April (Judy, Truman, and Phoebe). Happy Birthday to all!]



Truman's not a fan of the hat. (We had to bribe him to wear it by offering the pacifier.)



Truman enjoyed his birthday cake in his monster PJs, which caused quite a stir among the relatives. They're really not that scary, right Truman?


Phoebe likes to sit in her Elmo chair and watch her "stories" on TV.



Truman decided to join her, with Aunt Elizabeth (expecting baby #2 in July!) acting as referee.



Sunday found us in NYC visiting Sue and Munro, who showed off his guitar collection.



Serenading Truman, who later accompanied him on the coffee table.



So, so sad to leave. We'll be back soon!

SXSW Redux

We forgot to mention our SXSW visitors! Katherine and Stefan, former Austinites who now live in Brooklyn, came back to town with Astrid, who's only a month or two behind Truman. Katherine and I had a lot of fun introducing them. (And thanks, Leslie, for doing a quick drive-by to see them both!)

Next up: pics from our NJ trip!!

Rock Out

Truman's spring break coincided with South by Southwest, Austin's annual film, music, and interactive festival. Thousands of visitors descend on the city, and it's usually a lot of fun. This year Paul's band, Militant Babies, had a day show at a local bar. We decided to take Truman, which seemed like a good idea at first. Once we got downtown, though, I started to panic as the music got louder and the crowds grew larger. Truman wore his Junior headphones, which attracted a lot of attention. Many people wanted to take his picture, and some went ahead and snapped him without asking. I said yes to only two people: Summer, a Dallas photographer, sent me this photo. Truman summoned the perfect rock sneer for the occasion.

In the end, the band sounded great, Truman (and his ears) survived, and despite my worst fears, I wasn't arrested for being the worst mom on the planet for taking her baby to a loud rock show AND feeding him a bottle while sitting on the curb. And Truman enjoyed checking out some bicycles chained to a nearby sign, but we're still not sure he even recognized his dad on stage. Oh well.

The Walker, Part II

Truman must have some big Spring Break plans that we don't know about. It seems as if daycare closed for the break on Friday, and then he started practicing his walking in earnest. He's been quite industrious over the last two days. Maybe he thinks we're going to Sea World? Or the beach? Or Mexico? At this rate, he'll be toting his own roll-along suitcase onto the plane to New Jersey. I hope he remembers to pack his bottles.

The Walker

Truman took his first steps a few weeks ago, so we decided to help things along by giving him this Tonka 3-in-1 truck (push, pull, ride). He's a super-fast crawler, though, so he still prefers to get around on his hands and knees. Maybe he'll be walking by the end of the month when we head up to NJ? People tell us, "Be careful what you wish for...."

Central Park

Grandmommy and Granddad came to town to celebrate Paul's birthday on Feb. 20. We took them to Central Market, where recently we discovered Truman could be entertained with a free balloon AND a post-lunch trip to Central Park, the outdoor playground. Here, Truman explores the movable blocks on the side of the playscape.


Crawling out of the tunnel....



....and toward the slide.


Hanging out with Granddad.


Reading the Sunday papers.



Eating a mid-morning snack. And not particularly pleased with all the paparazzi lurking around.

(A big thank you to Grandmommy for remembering her camera!)

Valentine

Valentine's Day came early to our house this year. Truman gave us this art-ifact on Friday, which he made at daycare. Is it just us, or do his feet look especially big?



Later Friday afternoon, a small package came through the mail slot. Our friend and former neighbor, Sukey, dropped off this adorable "tattoo" shirt and a wonderful card (couldn't get a photo to do it justice). Even better, we ran into her later that day on a walk with our good friend Wilson. As much as we love our current house, it sure did make us miss our old 'hood and neighbors.


Truman's first Valentine's Day got off to a great start—two cards, each with an Abe Lincoln! Thanks, Grand Judy and Pop George and Great Aunt Ellen and Uncle Bill! (Those Lehmann girls, they sure think alike. Nana trained them well!)


Truman's day got even better because he had his first taste of refined sugar, which he seemed to like. A lot. We let him have half a cookie on Friday and the rest on Saturday. (We're living on the edge, aren't we?) No action shots, sadly, because we were too busy supervising. Who knew sprinkles could be a choking hazard?



Speaking of great gifts, here's T modeling one of his V-Day presents from the Groupps. Doesn't he look "street" in his graffiti-inspired jacket?



And here he is, showing off his Valentine from cousin Phoebe. (We don't always open the mail in the bathroom. Just sometimes.)


And finally, Truman smiles at a great photo of Phoebe, which came with the card. Thanks, Groupps! Can't wait to see you in March.