Yoga, cookies, a week (almost) without Dad, and trying to keep up with Hazel

We've had an exciting week or so and haven't posted anything on our blog in a while.

Two Fridays ago, we decided to try something new -- a mommy & me yoga class. It was great. Hazel liked clapping along to some of the songs we sang and I did downward dog a few times at home, after we left the class.

I've grown really tired of Gymboree and was screaming, "Stay home!" every time we went for the past couple weeks, so we decided to join Austin Stay n Play, the place with the yoga class, instead. It's fun. Not only do we take yoga there, they have an ABC 123 class we went to a few times and most of the time we can just play with their toys, make a craft, or eat our lunch there. Our favorite thing at Stay n Play is a huge duck. It's bigger than me!

Unfortunately, yesterday we learned that Stay n Play is closing at the end of June for a few months and then will be in Round Rock. That's too long of a haul for us, so we'll have to find something else to do.

The same day we tried yoga for the first time, we went to a party at Dad's company. Mom and Dad broke down and let me have some cookies. I ate three or four and then really spazzed out -- I started shaking, let out a whoop, and ran to Dad. It was hot out and the chocolate chips were all melty, so I ended up wearing some of it.

Hazel had a great time at the party too, but she stuck to healthier food choices. Taking full advantage of all four of her teeth, she munched on watermelon and corn on the cob.

We were glad we had the chance to go to Dad's work party because the next day we had to see him off until Thursday. He had to go to Germany for a work meeting. We kept busy though. In addition to our usual stuff -- school and Stay n Play -- we went to a birthday party, which I did not like because it was at Gymboree.

We also went all the way to South Austin to go to a park and eat at the Mighty Cone with our friend Zhenya. It was really fun, but so hot and tiring. Lunch was the most exciting part of the morning. We saw a guy get arrested while he was walking down the street and there were tons of flies. Mom kept swatting the bugs away, which I thought was hilarious. I kept cracking up laughing and then I started swatting them too. It was really funny. We also loved the MC french fries. Most of all, it was fun seeing Zhenya. I think she had fun too, because she cuddled Hazel a lot and helped us with our lunch.

Another fun thing we did while Dad was gone was eat lunch and play in the splash pad at Terra Burger. It's been so hot here, the only reasonable thing to do outside is to get wet.

We are really happy Dad is home! To celebrate, we got some new bath toys. I have really been protesting my bath for the last month or two, so Bubbe suggested Mom find some good bath toys to cheer me up in the tub. I am really into reading letters and numbers and spelling the 8 words I know how to spell right now, so we picked up a set of these foam ABCs and 123s. I love them. The first day we had them, I nearly fell into the tub leaning over to play with them. When I dropped my duck in, I had to get in too. I am glad I did. I really like spelling words on the wall. We also got a set of fish I can catch with a net, but Hazel and Mom like it more than I do. Dad brought home some neat toys for Hazel and I as well - an alligator and a mouse that are really fun to squeak.

Mom had to work a lot this weekend, so we spent a lot of quality time with Dad and we all went to Terra Burger again for dinner Saturday. The only thing Hazel and I really like there are their fries, so we mostly eat food we bring from home while Dad and Mom eat TB sandwiches, but we both really enjoyed playing in the water again and were more adventurous about it this time.

Otherwise, my talking has picked up, big time. Last week I told Mom, "I love you," after she said it to me when she was tucking me in to bed one night. I have also informed her that I would like to learn to play the oboe and piano one day. Dad and Mom said if that is what I want, it will happen.

When I went to school last week, Mom tried putting me in a different class that usual, but I was too surprised to do it. Evidently, now that I will be three, I am supposed to be in a big boy class. We talked about it a lot this weekend and today when she dropped me off, I was ready. I went in there like it's been my class all along. I kept up with everybody and had a great time. Mom is very excited that I understood what she had been saying to me and is really proud of what a cool big kid I am.

Hazel is doing amazing things too. She is still eating tons and growing a lot. If you ask her what a monkey says, she says, "ah, ah!"

She is also determined to walk all of a sudden. Saturday night she let go of the side of the tub and stood all on her own, without holding onto or leaning against anything. She's really been into using our alligator walking toy and has been walking while hanging onto furniture a lot more. Yesterday she let go of something and took a step and fell over, but today was most exciting of all. She stood up in the middle of the room, without pulling herself up on anything! Then a few minutes later she let go of something she was holding herself up with and took a couple of steps to Mom!

We think she'll be walking any day. We have learned that when Hazel decides to do something, she does it pretty quickly.

It's all been really fun. For some photos of our exciting times, click here.

What has four teeth and is always hungry?

It's not what, but who -- Hazel!

Hazel has been eating like a maniac lately. The other night she ate for two hours straight. We think she must really be getting ready to grow. For now, in addition to growing a cute little buddha belly, she has also been growing teeth. She's now up to four -- the two she's had for a while in the bottom front and now two on top in the front. It's a good thing she has them, she is able to eat more things in time for her wild eating/growth spurt!

Mom and I have been under the weather. We must have caught Hazel's virus from the other week. Mom came down with it last Wednesday night and was better Monday and I came down with it Thursday and was better Tuesday. It was a real bummer and we are glad to be over it.

One thing that was good about being sick is Mom finally let me watch a little TV! We've been watching Sesame Street clips from the first season, which was in 1969, on Hulu. My favorite is Ernie singing about his Rubber Duckie, which I have seen before on Mom's computer, but I also like this one, which I call "Cows," and a series of clips that teach about numbers and end up with a man falling down some steps with a bunch of cakes. Now that I am excited about reading the alphabet and numbers, Sesame Street is right up my alley.

We are glad blueberries are in season. We made blueberry waffles one day but I couldn't wait for them to finish, so Mom gave me a bowlful while they were baking. This picture shows the result, along with my new hand gesture, "peace out."

Hanging around

We have had a pretty busy couple of weeks since Grandma and Grandpa left. That first week we stayed busy with our usual things: we went to Gymboree and the park a few times. One day we were stuck at home and collected all the pillows we could find to build a gigantic pillow mountain. Hazel showed us how much she has been learning at Gymboree about climbing that day. She scampered straight to the middle of it. Nothing slows her down.

I have also been having a great time at school. I am really getting the hang of going there.

Last week was pretty exciting for Hazel. She threw up all over the place at Costco Monday afternoon and then ended up in the emergency room Tuesday night with a really high fever. Luckily it was just a virus and she is fine now, but it was a tough week. She didn't feel good and she and Mom were really tired so except for the days I went to school, we stayed home.

By Saturday, Hazel was better and Dad said we weren't staying home anymore anyway, and he took us to Tot Shabbat. Sunday morning Mom took us out to the park. Then in the afternoon we went to a pet store, where we saw guinea pigs, ferrets, mice, fish and turtles, then to Amy's Ice Cream. It was a great day.

I surprised Mom and Dad some more when I discovered how to get around all of their child-proofing. I started by opening all of the kitchen cabinets and Mom's computer desk, but I really got their attention when I figured out how to open the doors that had door-knob protectors on them. That meant I could go outside the front door when I wanted, and I could leave my room after bed time, which I did a few nights in a row. Unfortunately, Dad seems to have temporarily outsmarted me again. He and Mom put a gate in front of the front door (I still haven't figured out the gates...yet), and Dad replaced the door knob on my room with one that locks from the outside. I noticed right away and keep saying "door knob" whenever I walk by it.

In my spare time, I have been perfecting my computer skills. You might recall that Aunt Laurie and Uncle Jonathan gave me a little laptop for Hanukkah. It has loads of fun games on it. The ones I like best are alphabet and number games.

Here are some more photos from Grandma and Grandpa's visit.

Here are some photos of our last couple of weeks.

And, here's a video of me playing on my computer.

Goodbye Grandma and Grandpa

Last weekend, we had visitors from Pennsylvania -- Grandma and Grandpa. We had a great time with them. The first few days, Grandpa was here and we went everywhere! We hit the Children's Museum Friday morning, then hit Mom's favorite restaurant, Guero's, for lunch. I loved dipping chips in salsa and feeding them to Grandma and Mom. Grandma gave me tres leches and flan for the first time. I loved it! After we all followed that trip up with a long nap -- Mom took hers in the girls' birthday hammock -- Dad came home from work and we all headed to Grandma and Grandpa's hotel for a dip in the pool and a barbeque dinner outside. It was a quick dip though. It was pretty cold, so only my toes made it in.

Saturday was a good time. We started out with breakfast at another of Mom's favorite places, Mozarts. I showed Grandpa the boats. Then we headed to Zilker Park to ride a train called the Zilker Zephyr, to look at a salamander exhibit at Barton Springs, and to play on a huge playscape. I especially liked riding the train with Dad. We saw turtles, fish and a guy playing a guitar and harmonica at the same time. Grandma and Grandpa spent the afternoon at a festival downtown, then we met up again at a place I haven't visited since last summer, Terra Burger. I had a great time running around, eating yummy chicken nuggets and fries, and climbing on the playscape. I even went down a big slide by myself.

We were sad to say goodbye to Grandpa Saturday night, but Sunday morning Grandma moved in with us for a few days! We took it kind of easy -- we were very tired and Grandma hurt her ankle Saturday -- but we had a good time relaxing with her. She read lots of books to us, we took her to Gymboree and Taco Cabana Monday, and Hazel got to spend the morning with her Tuesday when I went to school and Mom went to work. She took Mom birthday shopping Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday morning we went to a great park. We thought we'd just dig around in a big sandbox, but there was a great water area I played in. Grandma walked Peepa around and Mom pushed Hazel in a swing. When I went down for my nap, I had to say bye to Grandma because she had to go home to see Grandpa.

One thing that is funny about Grandma is that she likes sleeping on the floor. Specifically, she likes sleeping on my floor. When I went to bed at night when she was here, everything in my room was normal. But when I woke up in the morning, there she was, sleeping on an air mattress. It was fun waking her up with my snuggles (aka banging my toys around and whooping at the top of my lungs at 6:30 a.m.) and I decided to pay homage to her a couple of days after she left by sleeping on my floor in her spot with my blanket and pillow. I miss her a lot!

After our visitors left we had to come up with fun things to do on our own. Thursday Hazel and I went to school in the morning, then in the afternoon, it was too hot to go outside so we headed to Gymboree. We recently signed Hazel up and this was the first time she could play too. She loved it! She climbed on everything and especially liked a hollow barrel-shaped structure. She kept crawling back and forth in it, laughing the whole time. We can't wait to go again.

Friday we had nothing lined up so we put on our swimsuits and headed back to the park. We were better prepared this time, with shovels and buckets. We all wore our swimsuits and water shoes, even Hazel! Mom said Hazel's water shoes are the cutest things she's ever seen. We got them so Hazel can crawl around on the concrete and not hurt her toes.

When we got home, my speech therapist came over while we were eating lunch. She says I am talking so much now, we don't need her anymore. Dad and Mom say this is very welcome news and everyone is proud of me. Not only am I talking a lot, I am reading letters and numbers now too! I know all the letters, I can count to 10 and I can even spell "dog." I am really keeping Mom and Dad on their toes. Today I figured out how to open the kid locks on the kitchen cabinets. I celebrated by moving the rice cooker to the middle of the kitchen floor.

Today was Mother's Day so we gave Mom the gift of sleep. Instead of getting her up at the crack of dawn, Dad got up with us today so she could sleep in. We were going to all hang out at the pool after that but the weather didn't cooperate so she worked instead while we hung out with Dad in the morning. We went to dinner at a crazy Chinese restaurant and Hazel wrapped up the day by pooping in the tub, which really freaked me out. Happy Mother's Day!

Unfortunately, most of the pictures from the past week were on Grandma's camera, and we had some technical difficulties getting the pictures from them. Mom and Dad managed to take some, which are here.

New 'do

Before




After

Bye Bye Bubbe

We had a good time wrapping up Bubbe's trip last week. Monday we got to spend some quality time with Bubbe while Mom went to get some tires replaced, then we all went to Gymboree. After our naps, we went to celebrate Mom's birthday at a cool restaurant called Threadgills. Hazel gave everyone a laugh at dinner. We were feeding her tiny pieces of bread since she only has 2 teeth, but as soon as we turned our backs for a second, she grabbed a giant roll and started chomping away, as you can see in the picture.

Tuesday we had lunch with Dad at work, then took Bubbe to the airport. We were all sad to see her go.

As soon as Bubbe left town, nice weather rolled in so we spent lots of time outside last week. Sunday we celebrated our friend Clark's birthday with him. He had a party so great, a little horse even came to it. I didn't get a chance to ride it, but I was able to pet it. It was fun.

After that, we went to a big party at the Jewish Community Campus. We got there in time for the last five minutes, but made the most of it by climbing on their big playscape for a while. It was a beautiful day.

Today was not so fun because Hazel had to go to the doctor for her one-year well visit. They measured her and found that she now weighs 17.09.5 pounds (fifth percentile), is 28 1/2 inches long (25th percentile), and her head is 42.5 cm around.

Meanwhile, I have lots of new words. I've been saying Mitch and Hazel for a while, but now I can say my full first name, "Mickell." I've also been saying things like "Godzilla" and "noogle" (noodle). Mom taught me how to say Godzilla when Hazel knocks down towers I've been building with blocks she got for her birthday. That's a favorite.

Here are some pictures from Gymboree and other playtimes, and here is Hazel's latest growth chart.

Happy birthday Hazel!

Today was Hazel's birthday! She turned one today. To help celebrate, Bubbe came into town. We've had a really fun time. I've gotten really good at answering the questions "How old is Hazel today?" and "How old are you?"

Saturday, we went to Fuddrucker's for lunch, where I happily ate all of Mom and Dad's fries. I also sat in a booster chair, which is now my preferred method of seating at restaurants. Mom got me a pair of sunglasses, so I'll stop grabbing hers all of the time, and I have been wearing them everywhere. They were very popular at Fuddrucker's. Hazel has been doing a great job of drinking water out of cups and got to do that at lunch. Hazel and I also liked watching all of the other kids running around.

Bubbe noticed that Hazel's hair was getting long in the front, so she helped Mom give Hazel her first hair cut. It was only her bangs, but it looks really different. You can see her new look in the picture above.

I've been showing Bubbe how good I am at dressing myself. She's particularly impressed with my wearing multiple colored socks. Aside from my feet, I am quite creative with socks.

Monday is Mom's birthday, and as part of her birthday, she got a massage Saturday afternoon. While she was doing that, Bubbe and Dad took Hazel and me to Jungle Java. It's been rainy here, so I've been cooped up inside and had a ton of energy to burn off. I really had a good time at Jungle Java and impressed everyone by going down the big slide (on my belly). Saturday night, Bubbe stayed with us while Mom and Dad went out on a date. They seemed pretty excited.

Sunday morning, Dad and I went to soccer, where I am continually improving at kicking the ball. Then we all went out for Hazel's birthday lunch at Waterloo. We met my friends Clark and Benjamin, their parents, Clark's grandparents, and our friend Zhenya there. I had some delicious pancakes. Hazel had a great time and loved all the attention.

Sunday afternoon we took Bubbe and Dad to see the peacocks at Mayfield Park, which Mom, Hazel and I visited Wednesday afternoon during a nap strike. That day, I learned to make a cool peacock noise and saw them spread their feathers out. This time, Bubbe and Mom took a lot of pictures. We also took a short nature walk through a jungle.

Sunday evening we had another big birthday bash at home. Hazel got a cake (I helped blow out the candle), and a bunch of presents. She's enjoyed all of the new books and stuffed animals.

Next up: Mom's birthday tomorrow!

Here are pictures that Mom and Bubbe took this week.