Rodeo Behind the Scenes. Part I.

Just so you know ... Kyle and I had a great time at the rodeo too!

As you can see, we didn't don our rodeo duds.  Somehow, comfy shoes seemed like a better idea for chasing, er, walking around, with our little one all morning.

We did bring lots of anti-bacterial cleanser.  We touched a lot of animals!

Rodeo Time.

It is rodeo time in Houston.

Every year, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo comes to town. 

This year, we decided not to take Olive to the performance (bull riding, barrel racing and more ... finished off with a concert).  Instead, we set off early Saturday morning for the exhibit portion of the rodeo, meeting our friends Lauren, William and William Averett for the fun.

We started inside with the 'birthing center' and we saw baby cows, sheep and pigs - all born in the last few days!

We saw baby chickens, and Olive got to pet some rabbits.

We peeked in on more sheep, cows and pigs.

We went to a petting zoo.  (Olive was NOT excited to pet the animals.)

We got our photo taken with a longhorn.

Then we went outside to watch the tale end of some "moutin' mutton bustin'" and to explore a cool exhibit for kids about farming and farm products.  Olive enjoyed collecting carrots, eggs, peaches and wool and 'selling' them at market for some cheese crackers!

We also found some peek-through farms faces. Olive wasn't keen on being a 'chicken.'

Olive was completely worn out; she fell asleep in the car on the way home and snoozed most of the afternoon.

PS - We were (inside and out) in the section of the show arranged for children.  Walking through the long lines of metal pens does yield an entirely different experience than the cute and furry section for kids.

Hi.

Just, "Hi."

Have a great Saturday!

Head Scratcher.

Olive almost always removes her socks and shoes while we are in the car.  I don't totally get it, but I like being barefoot, so ...

Recently, however, we have caught Olive with her socks shoved under her chin.  (Yup.  The white cloth in this photo is not part of her shirt.) 

It makes us giggle.

18+ Months

Yesterday I took Olive for her (late) 18-month check up.

She is now 32.5 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds.  (That is up 1.5 inches and 1+ pounds since January.)

She had three shots which - really - are not her favorite things.

All in all the doctor said she was perfect.  (And I totally agree.)

:)

Probably of no interest to you, but fun for us.

This morning, I went into Olive's room to extract her from her crib.

She lifted her arms. (Olive "speak" for "pick me up.")

Then, she put her hand on her hip.  (Olive "speak" for "I need a new diaper.")

Then, she lifted her arms again.

I asked, "Would you like a clean diaper?"

She rubbed her chest.  (Alternately, Olive "speak" for "please" and "bath."  I went with "please.")

It isn't unusual that Olive would need a new diaper after a long night.  In fact, it is downright standard.  But asking for it (other than a few times when we ask, "Do you need a new diaper?") is new.

We aren't starting potting training yet.  (Goodness, there are enough things going on in our lives right now!)  But this little development is definitely a good step in that direction.

Yep.  I believe this is my first post about dirty diapers.

Bracelets.

One of Olive's favorite Christmas gifts was a $1 set of plastic bracelets from Walmart.

There are many things about them that I do not like.  But I knew she would love them, and she does.

At lunch the other day, my salad came with two rings of purple onion.

Olive kept pointing to my salad plate.  (She is not a big salad eater - largely a teeth issue at this point.) 

I couldn't figure it out.

I gave her croutons and cheese;  I even tried lettuce dipped in ranch.  (She sucked off the ranch, but kept pointing.)

So, I handed her an onion disk. 

Immediately, she inserted her hand and showed off the new bauble on her arm for the whole table to see.

Hi-lar-i-ous.

She played with both rings long after they broke.  They just went from bangle to cuff. 

I am still chuckling.

Wipers.

Olive learns songs at school, and we sing a few with her at home.  I will admit to forgetting to that one verse of "The Wheels on the Bus" refers to its wipers.  Until my brother sent us this video (while we were out of town), we had not seen Olive's 'wipers'.  Her school is helping fill in the gaps when her Mommy and Daddy's childhood memories aren't terribly accurate ... :)

Enjoy!

No.

Olive has learned that dreaded word.  No.

Right now it is pretty cute.

She wags her pointed index finger at Zoe - after Zoe has snatched a cracker from her hand or as Zoe is about to steal a mouthful of cheerios from her tray - "No, no, no."

She sings it as she walks around the house.  "No, no, no, no, no."

She uses it when she (and we) don't have the right other words.

Do you want a cracker?  No

A yogurt? No.

A grape? No.

Some applesauce?  Emphatic head bobbing, yes.

She hasn't (yet) used it willfully and fitfully.  But I am certain that time will come.

:)

Tired.

Olive has gotten into the habit of asking us to go to bed by putting her palm on the side of her face. 

It is super cute and really convenient.  We sure hope she continues to use it!

Roku. Roku. Roku.

We got a Roku for Christmas.

I love it.

It brings the joy of the internet to my tv screen. 

Netflix and Hulu at a moment's notice?  Check!

Pandora singing away sweetly at our next dinner party?  Absolutely!!

For us (and we understand, perhaps not all), this little device is a great way to avoid the time-suck that cable sometimes was for us while allowing ourselves a little bit of relaxation in the evenings or on the weekends. 

TV (and movies and music) by choice ... not death by a thousand channel changes.

Fabulous.

Cutie Pie.

My main Valentine was tied up at the office Monday night with a deadline ... so Miss Olive and I spent a low-key evening at home being each other's non-romantic Valentines. 

We ate dinner, indulged in a few songs off of the "1, 2, 3s" album/video from They Might Be Giants, read some of the cute Valentine's Day cards we received and took a walk/car ride up and down our street with Olive's little, red Radio Flyer car.

It was relaxing.  Right up my alley.  (My cold is still hanging on with both hands!  Supremely annoying.)

I am loving time with Olive.  It is fun to laugh and dance and walk by her side.  To watch her see the world and to wonder in some of the new things she finds.  She is a cutie pie and was a great Valentine!

Balloons.

Olive and Kyle went to a birthday party on Saturday for one of Olive's friends from school.

I decided that nobody wanted a snot monster around their kids and stayed home.

They played and laughed on the indoor play items.  Kyle got to associate parents with the kids in Olive's class.  They had a really good time.

(And the day turned into a double nap day for Olive.  We sneaked in a short nap pre-party and then a longer one post.  I was afraid it would turn into -horror- a napless day, but our little one was zonked!)

One of the things Olive brought home from the party was a purple balloon.  She loved it!  It floated near our ceiling and had a tail long enough for her to pull it down, let it go ... and laugh and laugh and laugh.

We loved finding another simple item that makes her happy.

Rough.

Now.  There are a lot of people out there who have life a lot rougher than us.  I mean seriously rough.

But, my week was rough. I caught a cold (technically an upper-respiratory infection, but isn't that just fancy for cold?), and it knocked me out.  (See, totally rough!) Most of the week I did not leave the house.  And, Kyle was in the 'Lou for work which made it even more of a challenge to not leave the house.

I did eventually drag myself to the doctor, who prescribed some meds, but I am still dragging.

Now I am only moderately miserable while standing or sitting, but when I try to sleep ... well, then the snot comes flooding into my head making it tres difficult to, well, breathe.  I do not know from whence all of this snot comes ... but there are a lot of things that I would do right now for a good night's sleep.

I think the cold may have won.



(Oh and, last night I was singing the praises of Vick - he of the Vap-O-Rub.  And from 11 p to 1a, he was my hero.  Then 130a came - and the snot came flooding back.)

(Also, is it possible that all of this sinus pressure is exacerbating a latent tooth ache?  Miserable, I tell you.)

(I can't write a whole post Negative Nelly style.  It is a gorgeous day here in Houston.  I mean, frolic in the park with your children and dogs gorgeous.  If only I could breathe ...)

A Lease.

A week or so ago we signed a lease.

Not on a car. (Although speaking of cars, man, those lease 'deals' really draw you in.  For only $xxx per month you could drive this car for y years ... but not own it. Arg.)

We signed a lease on our home in St. Louis!  After more months than we had hoped of seeking out potential renters or buyers, we now have a couple of fairly recent Rice University grads moving into our sweet home in the 'Lou.

It is still on our books, but this little development is very positive.  Very positive indeed.