Sick Daze and Birthdays

Seems like forever since we last posted. We blame part of the delay on germs: Truman has been sick two weekends in a row but seems to be feeling a lot better. We spent a lot of time trying to amuse the patient—even breaking out a birthday gift early. (It was that bad.)



Then Valentine's Day arrived, and with it, Abby Cadabby, one of the newer generation of Sesame Street pals. Truman is quite taken with her, so we thought he'd enjoy the doll. Here she is posing with one of his other obsessions, Elmo. (We have yet to upgrade from Elmo figurine to Elmo doll.)


Truman, dazzled by his new friend.


We also let him play with Mom's Pee-wee Herman doll. Pee-wee's talking mechanism doesn't work any more, but Truman still seemed to enjoy examining him. Here I think he was trying to figure out the make of PW's spiffy glen plaid suit.


More bonding.



Things perked up this past weekend: the sun came out, Truman felt better, and most important, Paul celebrated a birthday! We enjoyed a double shot of the Mitchells. Here's Truman enjoying some time with Aunt Linda and Uncle Harvey.



And celebrating with Dad over peanut butter pie. We're working with Truman on the whole blowing-out-the-candles thing since his birthday's less than two months away! Big party booked at the Children's Museum. Stay tuned!

Like Father, Like Son

Enough said.

Friends

We've already had a bunch of fun visits with friends in the New Year.


Our good friend Wilson stopped by with Barbara and her daughter, Kristen, his NH relatives. We always enjoy getting to see them when they're in town, and they're big fans of Truman. (You can see how comfortable he is with them!)



Although Truman and his BFF Will are no longer at the same daycare, we've tried to keep the friendship going. We saw Will and his family at their very fun party on New Year's Day, and then we had Will and his mom Tina over on MLK Day for a playdate. (And although it looks as if Truman's thrilled to be sharing his car with Will, he actually had a bad case of "mine-itis" that day. The terrible twos are a'coming....)


Solo shot of Will. Too cute!

Glasses

Contemplating his future life as a rock star (with a little help from Mom's sunglasses).


Trying on Mom's new reading glasses. (Yes, you read that correctly. I have a toddler AND need reading glasses? How did THAT happen?)

Christmas

So, we had some camera problems on Christmas day, but we do have some pictures from our trip to Dallas, thanks to the advanced camera technology there.

T got in the spirit thanks to a new hat courtesy of Grandmommy and Granddad:

We had a a couple of days there, so we spread out the gifting. One day it was a very cool slide thingy from Uncle Harvey and Aunt Linda. It features balls and penquins and frogs and gravity. It was a big hit:

The next morning it was a toy truck from Grandmommy and Granddady. Also check out T's new pajamas that arrived just in time for the cold snap.

Also while we were in Dallas we did some visiting. Mrs. Rees came by to see us. Although as you can tell T doesn't like to be interrupted by the paparazzi while he's eating, he did have a good time showing off all his toys to Mrs. Rees and discussing the ins and outs of Sesame Street.

We also went by Caren Prothro's house to see her and Vincey. I'm not sure what Vincey is pointing at, but it got a laugh out of T. Perhaps he was pointing at Santa as he flew back up to the North Pole.

We had a nice time over there and even got some free snacks out of the deal. Plus, T got a t-shirt from Mrs. P which will make an appearance in a future post.

Hope everybody had as merry a Christmas as we did!

New Year, Old Photos

The holidays were a blur of work, holiday-ing, and no blogging (obviously). Christmas photos to come. In the meantime, here are a few from the vault (well, from last year). Enjoy!



Our friend (and author and former NJ neighbor) Amy Schapiro made an unexpected trip to Austin in early December and generously fit a visit into her busy work schedule. She and Truman hit it off easily.

We updated (upgraded?) Truman's footwear last month and added a pair of rain boots to his closet. He insisted on trying them on the night they were delivered (thus, the bedtime attire).


And continued to want to wear them the next morning. Yes, he actually put this ensemble together himself. And wore it out of the house on his morning walk.


A more recent photo of Truman enjoying his Radio Flyer fire engine, a Christmas gift from Grand Judy and Pop George.



Finally, we just had to share this photo of our wonderful Japanese Maple, which flowered for the first time since the two hail storms in 2008. We're so glad it's still alive. (The photos don't do it justice, but the leaves were really something.)

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.