Houston, We have a Toddler!

We took road trip this weekend. The idea was to enjoy our family and the last waning days of summer. And we did do that - in between Katie's bouts of terribletwoititis. For those of you encouraging the creation of a lil' bro or lil' sis for Katie, I invite you on our next road trip. Yes, I do. Interestingly enough, K is smiling in most of these pics, but don't be fooled. She is smiling because she is masterminding her next plot to overthrow the unsuspecting parents.

Daddy and Kate say "Go Rangers!" at the Astro game.


A trip to the gift shop, and now we own a pom pon that doubles as hair accessory.



Wearing our mom and daughter sneaks to the game. Mom, want to take this to the next generation? I can get you a pair!


I took cuter pictures of Katie happily waving from the carousel, but I love the similar expressions they are wearing in this one. This was at the Houston Aquarium.


Yes, it was humid.


Daddy shows off his muscles at the Children's Museum


I know this picture takes my blog from a G rating to PG, but I can not resist! If that's not her maiden name, she LOVES her husband! This was on the road to Kemah. If I lived in her county, she'd get my vote. I wonder if her students gave her a lot of .....
All during our trip, Katie would answer any question we asked with "maybe." Maybe I will try to be more mature in the future. Or maybe not? Jon will probably start his own blog after this!

"This is my best prize ever!" That's what Katie said when her Daddy won this big fish for her on the Kemah boardwalk. Jon was looking a youthful 29 this night to the Guess Your Age Master of Ceremonies/carnie. Fish or no fish, I'd say being mistaken for 29 (as long as you are actually over 29) is worth the money to play this game. I can see how this is a gamble though. I wonder if the M.C./carnie is trained to guess low.
We were calling the fish Nemo, but Katie has never heard of him or his movie. She renamed him Nina.

Go Cowboys!

Big fans of the Boys! -

Halloween - The Real Deal and Aftermath

Here are a few pics Granddad and Grandma, or Mahner as Katie refers to her, took on Halloween.







While K was celebrating at home with the grandparents and cousins, Jon and I were in NYC carbo loading on spaghetti! I saw Elmo - and a few less appropriate costumes - on Times Square.



The next day we ran 26.2 miles.





Then had pizza and dessert.




This video is of Jon after the marathon. Watch the little old lady pass him! A man offered us $20 to pay for a bike cab across the park. Jon looked so pitiful the man didn't think he could make it. Jon gutted it out to the next park bench for a little rest. Then he was fine.

Thanks for helping Jon raise support for Team for Kids and his first marathon!

Back at home, right when we really needed to catch up on laundry, errands, and housekeeping, K and Mommy were hit with nasty colds. This book makes K-T feel better.

I have read it 15 times in 3 days. So if you ever need help with your horse...

Mommy and Me at the Arboretum (and fun with iPhoto effects)

Jon's girls - but where's Abbey?


The pumpkin patch


She'll go in the zoo, but you can't make her pet.


Go Cowboys! Jon really wants to share his love of sports with Katie. He is excited about her wearing her new tee for each game.


Aviator frames from Great Aunt Diane - stinkin' cute!


Giant okra growing at the Arboretum


Do Katie's legs appear long in this pic? Must be Daddy's genes!

But Daddy Lets Me

I believe I made the following pronouncements...

Katie will only eat healthy foods.

Katie will not watch tv until she's 2 - at least!

But look at these two eating sour cream and onion chips while watching baseball...

Last weekend Jon rode 100 miles at the HHH in Wichita Falls. He finished it with a 20.5 mile per hour pace. The next morning he jogged 5 1/2 miles pushing a jog stroller. I'm impressed!

With Jon out of town, Katie and I spent time with Meme and Papa and the relatives in that neck of the woods. I tried and tried to get a good picture of Katie and Bryce (Katie's second cousin or cousin once removed - I get confused.) They were like repelling ends of magnets. Here is the best I got. Makes you appreciate photographers of the young.
Could be a rival for Katie's claim to fame as the cutest baby in the world!

Papa was able to convince Katie to try the swing in his backyard. She loves it now. "Wee, wee!" is her name for the swing. All fear cast aside, she was ready to explore the entire playground near our house this morning. She even went down the slide by herself! I intended to go with her, but she was too fast for me to catch. Abbey went down the slide and ate two packets of horseradish she found in the mulch!

Rangers beat the Dodgers

Tonight was Katie's first MLB game and her first bite of hot dog.

Yea, Daddy!!!!

Katie cheered Daddy on during his bike race today. She was so proud of him. She yelled out, "Yea!" each time the racers circled by. She is going to be a true sports fan. She didn't mind the cold at all. It was 55 degrees with 25-35 mile per hour gusts of wind. The cheering encouraged Daddy to help his teammate get second place. Go McKinney Velo!

Mommy, Katie, and Lauren

Jon was in the lead for several laps.

Checking on his teammates

Maximum effort

Swim Class

Katie started swim class tonight. She caught on to kicking her legs. She loved the water, but seemed surprised that it splashed in her face when she clapped her hands against it. She did not grasp the concept of putting her face into the water to blow bubbles. She tried to drink it. She burped when I pulled her out of the pool. Sorry the picture is dark and blurry. I was trying to exclude the other swimmers from having bathing suit pictures published. Unless you are Beyonce, no one likes to see themselves in a swim suit picture.