Zoo to Do 2010

This past Saturday, our friends invited us to Zoo to Do at the Dallas zoo. In a nutshell, it was really cool! When we first walked in, there were a couple of different keepers with animals. One was an armadillo that folded up into this perfect little ball. His head tucked in on the upper right and his tail tucked in to the lower left. There was also a chinchilla, penguins, a snake, and a porcupine.

An armadillo ball.
The porcupine was really kinda cute. His keeper tried to keep him up on his little stoop by feeding him biscuits (BTW, porcupines prefer their biscuits soaked in water), but he just kept throwing them on the floor. He just wanted be held by the keeper...just like a spoiled child!

Penguins. They didn't really do anything cool. They did smell like fish.

Gary and I at the front entrance.

Tina and I with the really tall man.

We made our back to the animal exhibits. There is a new portion of the zoo that is really cool. You get to see the animals really close up.

Elephant.

This was really cool. The front of this truck was outside of the exhibit and the bed of the truck was inside of the exhibit, obviously separated by a piece of glass. There was a piece of meat tied to the back of the truck that lured the cheetahs so we could get a really good look at them.

This was the coolest thing of the night! We got to feed the giraffes lettuce and crackers. They come right up to you and eat out of your hand! You're not allowed to touch them, but I just want to nuzzle this little guy. They're awfully skittish.

Gary, me, Tina and Jonathan

Our first self portrait in a while

"Tinathan" They love it when we call them that :)

The boys

The girls

So, after we mingled with the animals, we headed back to the dinner area. There were about 25 booths set up from great places all over Dallas. We got to sample some food from each one. One of my favorite booths was the coffee one! It was pretty cold outside, so the hot beverage was much appreciated....plus, they spiked our coffee with Baileys. YUM!

We went back to sit at our table and listened to the live auction. There was also a silent auction, but I didn't see anything I was that interested in bidding on. Gary was pretty intent on bidding on something. Suddenly, something caught Gary's eye. He saw "Thanksgiving tradition with the Cowboys" and asked what it was. I secretly thought, "Who gives a crap, it's the Cowboys" Well, the Cowboys are playing the Saints this year on Thanksgiving! Sure enough, it was 6 tickets to a suite on the 50 yard line!! No one bid on it! So, Gary and I briefly discussed whether or not we would bid and what would be our limit. After a nervous hour, we discovered we won the tickets!! How cool is that!?

It was a wonderful night filled with unique experiences, good friends, stiff drinks and great food! And, we get to go see the Saints play!

'Tis the season!

The weather is getting colder and that just reminds me that the holidays are here! I did deem this time of year "fat season", but I really LOVE the holidays. Here a few of my favorite things:

1. Peppermint hot chocolate/milkshakes/latte
2. Fuzzy sweaters
3. Sweet potato casserole
4. Spending time with family
5. Boots
6. S'mores!
7. Sleeping with the windows open
8. Snuggling
9. Scarves
10. Presents
11. Football
12. Turkey
13. Christmas shopping
14. Christmas lights
15. Fresh Christmas trees!
16. Flannel pajamas

Halloween 2010

Happy "fat season"!! That's what I call it. Beginning today and lasting until the beginning of the next year, we will be stuffing our faces! The start of the season was fun. Gavin is old enough now to be interested in things....even if it is for a moment. This weekend, Gary and Gavin carved pumpkins. Well, Gary carved and Gavin checked in every now and again to see how things were going.

Looking at the insides...
Watching Dada scoop it out. He lost interest shortly after this!

The finished product! A Jack-O-Lantern with a crooked smile...just like my boy! And, Gavin in the background not really giving a crap.

We already revealed that Gavin was a fireman for Halloween. But, we did not reveal that Jack was his trusty side kick or his cool ride. Art really does imitate life ;) I made Jack a Dalmatian costume by using one of Gary's old, white shirts. Gary made Gavin a cool firetruck using cardboard and other stuff.

Gavin: "Um...I'm not really sure what we're supposed to be doing here..."

Jack: "Just don't make eye contact and you'll be ok!"

The fireman in his cool fire truck!

The boys heading out...

Gavin's first "trick or treat" at Jeanne and Glenn's. He caught on really quickly.

Those suspenders were too cute! I love his white undershirt!

Went to "trick or treat" at Ian's house. He was the cutest giraffe I've ever seen!

Ian trying to help Gavin put his hat on. Isn't that cute!

Going home.

One last stop at the neighbor. Gavin was mugging down this other fireman.

The boys before we went home.

We were only gone maybe an hour, but we were all tired and Gavin was on a sugar high. Poor little guy! Guess his system couldn't handle all the suckers. We had a great time going around to see our neighbors. It was a lot of effort by team Marchand, but the results made it so worth it. I can't wait to do stuff like this for Gavin (and Jack...sorry) when he's a little older. Who knows what kind of stuff he'll dream up for his daddy to make! I look forward to it.

Happy Halloween!

Blessed.

Today was a bittersweet day for me. My little man turned 20 months old....he is no longer a teen-month-ager (we made that word up this morning) He is an independent little boy! When did that happen? I know it's silly, but it's a reminder of how fast he is growing up. I'm so grateful and so blessed to be able to stay home with him for five days and to have a flexible job that I love and to have a great "school" for Gavin. I will never get this time back, and I'm soaking it all up...as much as I can anyway. I'm also so grateful for my husband...more than he'll ever know. How lucky am I to have a husband to support me and encourage me no matter what I decide? That's only one of the reasons I love him...

Speaking of my husband, Gavin is so into his Dada right now. Around 5:45 every day, he starts to ask for Dada. He knows that Dada will be home pretty soon. Then, when he does get home, it's the Dada show! Gavin wants Dada to bathe him, to feed him a snack, to watch Elmo with him, to brush his teeth, to read him books and to put him to bed. When I tell him it's time to take a bath or brush his teeth, he walks over to Gary, grabs his hand, and says "Dada?" Gary says, "Oh, you want Dada to bathe you?" To which Gavin responds, "Uh huh!" I've done this for sooooo long, but it's good to see my boys bond. It's a good opportunity to spend family time together. I think he really enjoys us both putting him to bed.

We love you so much baby boy. You are so much fun, and we look forward to every moment we spend with you. I don't know what the future holds, but I sure am having a great time with you... and every day gets better.

School Halloween Party

Today was Gavin's school Halloween party!! He woke up a little bit grumpy this morning, but we decided to take him anyway. I knew he would have fun once he got there. He did NOT want to get in his costume.

Dada getting Gavin ready for the party.

Last minute adjustments to his costume. Gavin was so happy Dada was there...so was Momma :)
Finally happy!! Is he the cutest fireman you've ever seen. I'd buy his calendar!

Momma brought a "healthy, sugar free" dessert (??) It was a challenge to be creative with that. I could have just brought yogurt and fruit, but that's boring! So, I made peanut butter mud balls and graham cracker covered bananas. (Note to self...in large groups of children, there WILL be someone allergic to peanut butter.) There were two kids, twins, allergic to peanut butter. Apparently, they can't even come into contact with residual from peanuts, like the oil. So, all the kids that ate the peanut butter balls had to have their hands washed so they didn't leave peanut residual everywhere. Scary! Oops...

There was a feast! Pizza, chicken nuggets, fruit, cheese, pretzels, milk! Gavin loved it! When he was finished eating, he got up, pushed his chair in and threw his plate away! What a big boy!

The room was set up so nice. I heard that his teacher got there at 6 AM to prepare the room. Thank you Ms. Carmen, you did a wonderful job!

We got to sit in for circle time. The kids sing some really cute songs. Every now and then, Gavin would join in with some hand motions.

Gavin wanted to come sit with me after a while.

It was so fun to get a glimpse into how Gavin spends two days per week. I'm glad we found this place...I think it's really good for him, and the teachers really seem to enjoy him. Especially Ms. Lindsay. When it was time to leave, he waved goodbye and gave everyone kisses. We have such an unbelievably sweet little boy. He was exhausted when we got home and took a 3 hour nap!

New Orleans trip

Recently, Gary, Gavin and I went to New Orleans for a friends wedding. Gavin did so great on the plane again! We did have three seats to ourselves. That, my friends, is the the way to fly! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I only have a couple of dinky pictures from my phone.

Saturday night was Yudi's wedding. We had a blast dancing to the old school music and being with old friends. Congratulations Yudi!

My sister has a 10 acre spread in New Orleans with so much land! They even have a lake. The main way they get around is by 4 wheeler. We made the mistake of bringing Gavin on a 4-wheeler because from the minute he woke up to the time he went to bed, he was saying "I want that!" while pointing to the garage. We explored all over my sister's property. We saw spiders, and bugs, and water. Fred, my sister's Catahoula, herded us the whole time. He nipped at the tires and ran along side of the 4-wheeler anytime we were on it! Wasn't hard to keep up...I think the fasted we moved was 7 mph!

My mom, sister, Alexis, Gavin and I went to a wildlife refuge in Folsom, LA...aka BFE! It took us over an hour to get there. Luckily, Gavin napped in the car. This place was really cool! There were four covered wagons pulled by a tractor. You could buy cups of feed to bribe the animals to come up to you. Some animals followed behind the wagon the whole time. At times, it was pretty creepy. You turn around and there's some animal giving you snifters! Some animals took your cup, some would bite your hands (zebras), some you could feed out of your hands (giraffes), some made there tongue a cylinder so you could dump food down it's throat. I don't think Gavin appreciated it too much at this age. He was tired and hot, and it was an hour and a half ride! He had a decent time, though. He love hanging out with Aunt Gina!

One day while in New Orleans, we met dad, Ellie, Michelle and Leonard in the Quarter. Ellie's dad, Paw Paw Howard, has a little apartment in the Quarter, so we met there. We walked along the river to see the boats and the water. Gavin loved that. We also saw a sand bar with "WOH DAT?" written on it by a well intentioned fan. Not smart or not sober...I'm guessing both. I mean, who misspells who? Anyway, we continued to walk and had a picnic of shrimp po boys and gumbo for dinner. After frolicking in Jackson Square, we headed over the Cafe Du Monde for some beignets. Gavin LOVED the beignets (duh?).

Gavin wanted some of Paw Paw's drink, so he made him some "coffee" by mixing up some milk, imaginary sugar and water. Gavin drank it up!!! Go Paw Paw!

We had so much fun visiting with family and friends. I wish they all lived closer...

Nana and Paw Paw in town....

This past Wednesday, Ellie came into town to visit and Gary's dad flew up on Sunday to join her. We had so much fun with NaNa and Paw Paw! The weather was amazing, so we were outside a lot! Ellie is very creative and fun. For example, she drew squares with every one's initials in it, and we all had to go stand in our squares. Gavin knew right away where his square was, and so did Jack. They drew many other beautiful drawings, like sailboats, fish, trees, and the sun. Gavin had fun showing us their pictures.

Ellie watched Gavin on Thursday and Friday while we were at work and then again over the weekend while Gary and I took a much needed mommy and daddy vacation. More to come on that! Gavin did great! He and NaNa had a great time!

Jack had the coolest square, by far!
Dada, Gavin and NaNa standing in their squaresNaNa, Gavin and Jack.

Gavin loves being in the kitchen and helping. On this particular occasion, he was helping Ellie and I make Sunday dinner. He was in charge of washing the potatoes and then putting them in the strainer. He is such a good helper! Anytime Ellie was in the kitchen, he was right there with her!

On Monday, Gary went to work, and I took NaNa and Paw Paw to the Arboretum. They boast the only pumpkin village in the world!! It was all very neat. There were pumpkins (and people) everywhere! There were even houses made of pumpkins. Gavin was mildly overstimulated by all the people at the pumpkin patch (as was I), so we moved through quickly and went to eat our picnic lunch in a quiet spot in the shade.

Gavin and Paw Paw inside one of the pumpkin houses.

The only good picture I got from the pumpkin patch. Gavin was mostly NOT interested in sitting on a bail of hay to take pictures.

On the way to our picnic spot. I took NaNa and Paw Paw through the Women's Garden. Of course, Gavin loved all the water!

Finally at our picnic spot. We found a shady spot to set up. The weather was amazing! For lunch we had Lox and bagels, chicken, cheese, crackers, grapes and water. Very yummy!

Gavin was sharing his lunch with the birds and then trying to catch them.

On Tuesday, Gary took off of work. We took NaNa and Paw Paw to one of our favorite breakfast places, "Einine's babels" (BKA Einstein Bagels). After breakfast, we went on a trip to get pumpkins! Gavin had so much fun running around the pumpkin patch. He climbed on the pumpkins, played in the hay and ran up and down a little "hill". After he was pretty tired out, I took him for a wagon ride around the patch. That was a blast!! We got four beautiful pumpkins and four smaller pumpkins that we decorated with stickers.

After Gavin's nap, we went to the State Fair of Texas!!! It was $3 Tuesdays, so it was packed! We walked around for a while and Gary and Paw Paw got a corny dog. Then, we found the petting zoo. This was by far the highlight of Gavin's trip! He was so excited to see the animals and they seemed just as excited to see him!! We continued to walk around the fair and saw a few other things. It was getting late, so we decided to leave.

NaNa got slimmed!!

True story: This giraffe was in the corner with his head down. I was disappointed because I wanted to get some good pictures of it, but I also wanted Gavin to be able to see a real giraffe. I didn't blame him for being off in the corner...there were A LOT of people around. All of a sudden, he turned around and started walking right towards us!!! Gavin's face lit up as he walked right over to him and Gary!! He stayed over by us for a few minutes and then went on about his business. That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. That giraffe came over to say "hello" to Gavin and then turned around and walked away.

Visiting with Gary and Gavin. I know what you're thinking...it's because Gary has food. Everyone had food!

Gavin love this...thing. He even gave him a kiss.

He liked the goats, too, although they didn't get a kiss. It was so cute to hear him make the goat sound.

Ostriches are scary. Very frightening...and creepy.

Gavin loved the Llama.

Gavin getting a ride from Paw Paw on the way out of the Fair.

The Fair was fun, but we were all exhausted! When we turned down our street, we saw a firetruck in the parking lot of the school. Gary remembered that it was National Night Out, and that there would be a firetruck, cop car and bounce house there. So, we hopped out of the car thinking we would take Gavin to look at the firetruck, then go home. Well, the fireman (and lady) walked over and opened the door to let Gavin sit in the drivers seat. He had soooo much fun! He loved it! He got mildly freaked out when they turned the engine on, but other then that, he loved it!! He honked the horn and sounded the siren. Every time it was another kids turn, and he had to get out of the firetruck, he would say "MORE!" The firemen got a real kick out of him.

Gavin in the firetruck.

Then, the fireman let Gavin operate the house. We all know how much he loves water! He had a blast!!

To top it all off, we went and got some lemonade, cookies and Cheetos. There was a bounce house, but there were several big kids in the bounce house. Once they all left, Gavin and I got in and jumped around. He didn't quite know what to do, but he sure giggled!! Dada even got in the bounce house with us for a bit while NaNa and Jack watched.

I think, so far, this was Gavin's BEST DAY EVER!!! I look forward to trying to top it, but it won't be easy!