Happy Thanksgiving

This week we traveled to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving.

Before we left, we had a lot to accomplish. The highlight was I got a haircut! Mom and Dad said I look much older with my new 'do.

We were also really excited and had great weather, so we burned off lots of steam at local parks. We went to three playgrounds we don't go to that often: Central Market, a playground with dinosaurs, and a huge playground with a climbing structure that looks like waves.

Monday finally came and we got up very, very early to catch our airplane. We usually bring a stroller with us but this time we instead rolled Hazel around in one of our car seats we strapped to a suitcase. It was a pretty sweet ride. Then when we got on the plane, we were lucky enough to get four seats (we had only three tickets and though Hazel might have to ride on Mom's lap), so Hazel rode in the car seat the whole time. About halfway through the flight, she fell asleep. I did a great job on the plane too. Mom and Dad surprised me with an early Hanukkah present – a Scribble and Write toy that I used to practice writing letters. I love it so much that, along with some Oreos I talked Mom into sharing with me, it kept me busy all three hours.

Since we have been at Grandma and Grandpa's, we have had a great time. There is so much to keep us busy. Mom, Hazel, Gigi, Grandma and Aunt Lauren got haircuts. We have had tons of fun seeing lots of family. Mom-Mom, Pop and Aunt Jane visited with us; we spent lots of time with Gigi, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Ryan and his dad, Jim; and we visited Aunt Cindy and Uncle Steve at their Irish shop. Tons of other people visited us on Thanksgiving too. It has been great!

Grandma and Grandpa's house is really fun. There are so many good things to play with, like wagons and a firetruck and doggy to ride on. Grandma and Grandpa's kitties are super fun to watch and pet, and we have had a blast running around in the huge backyard. Mom and Hazel even found a bird's nest that fell out of a tree and a bunny. After a few days, I figured out how to get into trouble with things like crawling under the baby gate to get up and down the stairs at will, turning on and off various lights, and going outside by myself to visit the outside kitties.

Also, we have eaten so much good food, it might be easier to roll back to Texas than fly. Grandma cooked tons and tons of delicious goodies for us, we had lots of Rocco's, Pop and Mom-Mom took Dad, Mom and Hazel to lunch at Cross Keys, and Grandma even showed me and Dad how to make pecan pie.

There were a few other highlights from our trip. Last Wednesday Hazel and I went out with Grandma to a recycling center and a hike in a park. Friday we hung out with Dad, Grandpa and Uncle Daniel while Mom and Grandma went wedding dress shopping with Aunt Lauren. It was a good day. They took us out to lunch, where Hazel and I decided to start eating as much ice cream as we could hold in our bellies on this trip. Strawberry is our favorite. Later, Hazel fell asleep on the couch with Dad while I took a tractor ride with Grandpa.

The next day we hung out with Mom and Aunt Lauren in the afternoon while Dad hung out with Uncle Ryan. When it was time for dinner, we headed to the Famous Hot Weiner with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lauren and Mom. It was very fun and another opportunity for strawberry milkshakes.

Monday we headed to Wolfgang candy factory for a tour and snacks with Grandma, Aunt Lauren, our cousin Mianna, Mom and Dad. We saw how they make chocolate covered almonds and pretzels and then we ate some! After lunch and a nap, we picked up Gigi, who took us to feed geese and ducks some corn. They were very loud and hungry! It was fun watching them. Hazel especially loved it -- she kept calling the geese "ducks" -- and it was nice spending a little extra time with Gigi.

Wednesday we head back to Austin. It is hard to leave all this behind, we have had so much fun, but we are looking forward to seeing Peepa and a visit from Bubbe and Papa this weekend.

Here are the pictures from our visit.

And the tiebreaker is...

...we're having a boy!

For those of you who didn't know, we're getting a new baby and it turns out he'll be a little brother! Mom and Dad are hard at work trying to figure out his name.

When Mom and Dad told us the baby is a boy, I ran to Mom, jumped into her arms, and gave her a big hug. I was excited! When Hazel saw his sonogram photos, she started making monkey noises.

We think he's cute, especially his tiny feet. The doctor told us he is developing normally, weighs 14 ounces, and will double his size in the next month.

We can't wait to meet him! The due date is still April 4.

Brunch buffet

This morning, Hazel, Mom and I met up with Zhenya for a brunch buffet at Cannoli Joe's.

It was great! They had loads of Italian food, plus breakfast food and best of all, dessert.

Hazel and I ate so much a lady came up to our table and asked Mom if we ever stop eating. She said every time she looked over at us, we were shoveling it in!

Hazel especially liked the spaghetti and broccoli and I ate lots of fruit, tried some pasta and topped it off with apple crisp and ice cream.

While the food was awesome, the best part was catching up with Zhenya. I told her she is nice, which she proved by letting Hazel gum her up with her food encrusted hands. Zhenya took these fun pictures of us with her phone.

Trick or treat!

We've had a busy few weeks around here. After Grandma left, Mom's friend Sarah and her friend Jen came to visit. We had a great time catching up with them and eating at lots of fun restaurants around town -- Central Market, where we got to play on the playground, Huts, and Austin Java.


Then we all got sick. We had fevers and were just generally under the weather. Hazel and I bounced back pretty fast but Mom ended up with a nasty sinus infection. It all really messed our Halloween weekend up. We missed Dad's work party, my school party, and a trip to Six Flags last weekend. Luckily we still had a few chances to dress up. We donned our costumes twice for free food at one of Dad's favorite haunts, Freebirds.

Sunday I carved a new jack-o-lantern with Dad and we headed out for trick-or-treating. I dressed up as a duck and Hazel dressed up as a bunny. Before we left, Dad and Mom coached me about what to say when people answered their doors. I had it down and was getting really good at yelling, "Trick or treat!" But when we went to the first house, they asked me what to say and I yelled, "Candy!" Everyone laughed, but it got the job done. By the next house I remembered to say "Trick or treat," and Hazel was really great at it too. We LOVED eating the candy. My favorite part of trick or treating was running up to the house and ranging the doorbell.  At some houses, I rang the doorbell over and over again.  Fortunately, we have very understanding neighbors.

This past week was pretty mellow in comparison, and we spent most of our time trying to get back to normal since being sick. After missing three days when I was sick, I headed back to school Monday. I was very happy to see my friends and teachers. Hazel went back to her school Tuesday and they moved her up to a big girl classroom. She really loves it. They do a lot more there. She gets to go outside to play each time she goes and they do more crafts. She still goes about twice a week.

This weekend we made up for lost time and headed down to San Antonio for our postponed trip to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. It was great. I went on all my favorite rides: airplanes, fruit salad, a roller coaster, school bus, the big red cars, and a smaller car with a horn I liked to honk. Hazel came on some of the rides too and seemed to really enjoy them this time.  I climbed around on a pirate ship playscape and we watched a live Wiggles show. We all had a blast and are glad we didn't miss out on the chance to go since we missed it last weekend.

Click here for photos of our Halloween weekend, Six Flags, a trip to the park this week, and Hazel riding around in our laundry basket.