Tate and Lily

Silliness

2012-02-05T10:27:00.001-06:00

As I was organizing pictures, I came across these two that made me smile....

From Western day at her daycare. A teacher was holding her but she was photoshopped out. Just adds to the silliness.

Love the rays of light emanating from our superstar soccer player. And the goofy smile.

These pics are great, but still can't beat the legendary first school picture of Tate.

She crawls

2012-01-29T17:15:00.001-06:00

Despite our best efforts to the contrary, Lily Jane is now mobile.

I put her on the floor in the middle of her room and turned my back to her to clean out her closet. Only a few seconds later, I felt a little tug on my pants, and I looked down to find a Lily Jane looking up at me!

Conversations with Tate

2012-01-15T22:03:00.001-06:00

Talking with Tate is getting more and more interesting lately....two conversations from this weekend follow:

CONVERSATION NUMBER ONE:

Tate and Lily Jane were both in the bath looking up at me. I decide to take the moment to begin planting the seeds about my future nursing home...

Me: Tate, when you and Lily Jane pick a place for Daddy and me to live when we are old, what kinds of things will you look for?

Tate: It should have lots of balloons.

Me: That sounds nice. Anything else?

Tate: And a bounce house.

Me: Ok, sounds fun. Anything else?

Tate: (thinks for a moment) No, that's it.

Me: Well, I hope you come see me a lot.

Tate: If you have a bounce house, I will.

CONVERSATION NUMBER TWO (PUN INTENDED):

Today, Tate yelled for me to come see him in the bathroom...

Tate: Look Mommy, I went poop in the potty!

Me: (looking in) Oh, that's "diarrhea."

Tate: (looking confused) My poop has a name?!?

Happy 40th Anniversary to Mia and Big Guy!

2012-01-08T23:58:00.001-06:00

Forty years ago today my parents became known as Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dodson.

But today they are known more affectionately as Big Guy....

...and Mia.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-02T22:33:00.000-06:00

Christmas this year was so great because it was Lily Jane's first Christmas and also the first Christmas that Tate was really into it. And I mean REALLY INTO IT. We tried to do it up right for him.

There were Santa visits...

And house decorating....

We decorated our house with wreaths and candles in the windows, but that wasn't enough for Tate. It it were up to him, we would have multiple inflatables and multi-colored lights that changed to the music. He asked me repeatedly why we didn't have a giant Santa in our yard and took to calling our house a "party pooper house." When we drove by the houses with inflatables, he called them "party people."

Christmas parades....

We went to the Grapevine Christmas parade with Tate's favorite friend "Frank" (his name is actually Henry, sometimes "Hank," but to Tate he is "Frank" and Tate is not letting it go). The boys had fun with a light saber/nun-chuks(?) fight. Side note: While doing this blog post I asked Rob how to spell nun-chuks. He gave me the prior spelling and then, after a pause, said "wait a minute, why are you writing about nun-chucks on our blog?" Another side note: I still don't think his spelling is right. Last side note: I'm too tired to look it up myself. Have you noticed I just did 9 blog posts in 24 hours?!?)

The boys loved the parade. And then it rained, giving Tate the perfect opportunity to tell everyone he saw "It rained on my parade!!"

And there were Christmas card photo shoot fails....

....and more fails.

And Christmas cookies...

Note my 8-months-pregnant sister Nancy rolling out the dough with a wine bottle. That's how the Dodson sisters roll (literally) when it comes to baking.

Lily Jane presided over the cookie making.

Tate demonstrates why the Grinch is his favorite Christmas story.

There were family gatherings.

We hosted Christmas Eve Eve for my extended family at our house. Lily Jane loved every minute of it. (dress handmade by Linda)

This is the first gift Lily Jane ever opened, and she knew exactly what to do with it! She tore into that package and then looked for others.

She was a natural.

Tate was there, too. (Rob was, too, but we can't find any photographic proof.)

There was reading of "Twas The Night Before Christmas."

Tate had a blast with Nannysippi who spent Christmas at our house.

And then there were gifts. Lots of them.

Tate told Santa he wanted a microphone for Christmas. When asked why, Tate would always say "because I want to be a rock star." Oh yes, silly us. He got several microphones. Everyone who bought him a microphone will be getting a performance outside their bedroom windows at midnight.

And finally.....Santa came!!!

Tate's loot from Santa. to the left are his rock star theme gifts.

Lily Jane's loot from Santa.

Lily Jane thought this whole Christmas thing was pretty cool.

Telling secrets. (LJ is wearing Tate's hand-me-down PJs from his second Christmas. I happened to see the exact same PJs for sale again, so I bought them in Tate's size for this year.)

Tate's favorite gift was this arcade "Claw" game. He plays it over and over and over.


And the big Santa gift this year was a swing set in our backyard! Rob calls this picture "Nesting Tot, in his natural habitat."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lily Jane's Baptism

2012-01-02T21:52:00.001-06:00

Lily Jane was baptized on November 27 in the same church and wearing the same gown as when I was baptized 35 years ago. The 100-year-old gown was first worn by my grandfather, Robert Dodson, in 1912. It was then worn by my cousins and me and now our children. Lily Jane also wore a gold cross necklace that belonged to her great-great-grandmother, Lillian -- the mother of my grandmother, Mama June, and one of the women for whom she is named. It was a special occasion!

In the heirloom gown with the heirloom necklace

Tate says "hey hey hey, will somebody buy me a sports coat with longer sleeves?!?"

All eyes on Lily Jane


Four generations

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-02T21:37:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! (pretend I posted this in November instead of January....catching up on the blog so I at least have these posts for posterity....)

Soccer

2012-01-01T23:44:00.001-06:00

Tate did not get his kicks out of playing soccer in his first season, but he sure looked cute...

His favorite part were the snacks!

Don't let this action shot fool you. He scored two goals all season, and both were for the other team!

We're focusing on T-ball this Spring...

Halloween 2011

2012-01-01T23:39:00.001-06:00

Halloween continues to be my favorite holiday and rather than write a lot, I will just post some pics....

Tate wanted to be Darth Vader, and this is his very homemade costume. The control panel is a shoebox lid that I painted and pinned to his shirt. The light saber is a pool noodle that he got as a favor at a birthday party, and the cape was sewn by Linda out of black fabric.

Our little pumpkin.

Pumpkin patch visit

Punkin Chunkin

Couldn't resist matching skeleton shirts

Also couldn't resist lots of Halloween outfits for LJ!

At the fall festival at her preschool.

Lily Jane is 6 Months!

2012-01-01T23:32:00.000-06:00

Sweet Lily Jane turned six months old on November 2!

Her stats:
Weight: 20 lbs, 10 oz
Height: 27 2/4 inches

Head: 44.5 cm

She is wearing size 12 mos right now, and just keeps growing!

At six months she loves rolling and scooting to get to where she wants to go. She makes lots of sounds, including the words "da-da" and "ma-ma," although we can't truly claim she knows what she is saying.

She is generally very happy and loves to jump in her bouncer and be held. She laughs a lot and adores her big brother.

But our VERY favorite thing is that she gives hugs and kisses now, in her own baby way, and it melts our hearts every time.

Like our update on Tate at four years, she does NOT love napping, getting ready for bed, sleeping in her own bed, going to sleep or letting us sleep. She also does not love pears or bulb suctions.

Happy Six Months Lily Jane!

One Monster of a Birthday Party

2012-01-01T22:51:00.001-06:00

Tate's 4th birthday party was held at a pumpkin patch with a monster theme. With a young baby and a new job, I didn't put as much effort into this one as I have in prior years, but I still had a little fun with it...

The Monster theme was carried through in the invites and thank you notes (done by my friend Eleanor at Pink Peppermint Paper...love her work!)...

Real googly eyes were used throughout. The thank you notes have a cyclops and say "Thanks. I've had my eye on that.""

The tables were set with polka dot tablecloths and the centerpieces were pumpkins and gourds painted like monsters.


(The food table had monster fingers (cheetos), eyeballs (grapes), and monster theme cupcakes.)

The pumpkin patch offered plenty of entertainment, and the kids got to:

....ride tractors...

...go on a hayride...

...feed some animals....

...and feed themselves...

(I love this pic of cousin Blake)

Tate had a blast with his friends!

His favorite present was a real Darth Vader helmet from his Aunt Brooke

Some of Tate's friends from school came.

And Lily Jane was there, blending in with the pumpkins.

Each kid got to pick a pumpkin, which they took home in a monster bag as their favor.

And at the end, Tate said (completely unsolicited), "I had so much fun today, Mom and Dad. I want a group hug!" And we were happy to oblige!

Tate is Four

2012-01-01T22:43:00.000-06:00

Tate turned four on October 24. They say a child's personality is set by the age of three, so in his fourth year of life we were able to get a glimpse of that personality...and he is:

Sweet

A Ham

Outgoing and playful

And very cautious.

(this video is so typical of how super cautious and careful Tate is. He bounces all the way down the runway only to slowly ease himself into the foam pit. I guess we should be grateful, but it cracks us up. He tells us all the time, "that's just too dangerous.")

He loves.....

Performing with a microphone

Star Wars

Going to School

And Animals

He does NOT love napping, getting ready for bed, sleeping in his own bed, going to sleep or letting us sleep. He also does not love "stuff" on his pizza or cheeseburgers.

Happy Fourth Birthday, Tater Tot!

Jumperoo

2011-10-09T20:15:00.000-05:00

A rainy day today meant the kids were bouncing off the walls, literally.

World Traveler

2011-09-18T22:23:00.003-05:00

While going through our pictures, Rob and I realized that no matter where we are, the pictures of Lily Jane are always in her infant carrier. She could be anywhere! So while checking out alligators in Louisiana last weekend, Rob texted me this series of pictures with the following captions...

Lily Jane at Gators & Friends in Shreveport!

Lily Jane at the Empire State Building!

Lily Jane at the Eiffel Tower!

Lily Jane at the Giants game!

Lily Jane at the Smithsonian!

Just trust us.

Four Months

2011-09-07T22:52:00.001-05:00

Lily Jane is four months old! Her stats:

Height: 24 3/4 inches (50-75%)
Weight: 18 lbs 1 oz (99%)
Head: 16.5 inches (99%)

She's wearing size 6 and 9 months, and I've already had to put away an entire box of clothes that no longer fit her.

She is a super happy, smiley little girl who loves to coo and gurgle and generally "chat." She's growing up so fast, she's already....

Sharing a laugh with her brother

Cheering on her favorite teams!

Going to the prom !

Batting her big brown eyes to get what she wants! (and here she says she wants some rice cereal, and she wants it now!)

We've also had some fun with friends and visitors....

Cousin Lindsey came to town with baby Amelia, giving us all a reason to get together. Represented here are first cousins, second cousins, and first cousins once removed (I think? We need a genealogist to figure out all of the relationships here)

The kid table is certainly the cool place to be

And after the second hottest summer on record in Dallas, we finally had a break on Labor Day and enjoyed a picnic in the high 80s. We almost needed a jacket!

Hooray for Cousins!

2011-07-18T23:29:00.000-05:00

For Nanny-sippi's 70th birthday, Rob's brothers and their families came from the East and West coasts to celebrate with us at our house last week. I didn't get many pictures due to the chaos, but wanted to share a few....

Cousin Cecilia from California (say that three times fast) and Tate instantly bonded and had a blast together. They also got in lots of book reading with Nanny-sippi:

On the actual birthday, we had a party at our house and the grandkids all wore matching "R" shirts (in a bandana print in honor of the Texas visit!) with their names monogrammed on them just for the occasion. Pictured with Tate below are Caroline (9, almost 10, yrs old), Cecilia (2.5 yrs) and Beck (7 yrs). Caroline and Beck live in Silver Spring, MD and Cecilia lives in Fairfax, CA.

Surely another aunt or uncle got a better shot?!? Anyone? Anyone?

Then it was cake time....

And what party is complete without a little dancing? In this picture, Tate may be teaching everyone the "bottom dance." Or this may have been during "Baby Got Back." Both occurred.

Then it was off to Legoland, where Tate tried to distract Dirk Nowitzki with his balloon sword in order to steal away the basketball. He's been watching too many thug Lakers and Heat players:

There were a lot of Legos.

There was also much water park visiting, movie watching, food eating, birthday shopping and, well, just baby chilling:

Two Months

2011-07-17T21:54:00.001-05:00

Lily Jane turned two months on July 2...

I picked the picture above because it best symbolized how she started her second month of life: very fussy, but still cute as a bug. By the end of the month, though, she was all smiles:

Luckily, we made it through the colicky period, and she is now a happy and content baby.

Her measurements:

Height: 24 inches (75-90 percentile)

Weight: 14.2 pounds (above 95%)

She's a chunk! People can't believe when I tell them old she is.

This month she started lifting her head during tummy time:

And started clearly demonstrating that she's a daddy's girl. She smiles every time she sees Rob and adores him...and the feeling is mutual:

She also likes to "talk" a lot, which the doctor even noticed. She makes a lot of very cute sounds and apparently has a lot to say. The doctor also noticed that her head seems to be a little lopsided toward the right, and he suggested we vary her sleeping positions, switch her car seat position with Tate's, read the New York Times and Mother Jones to her, etc in order to give her a more well-rounded brain before a baby helmet would be necessary. We'll keep you posted on "Operation We Can't Have a Right Wing Baby!"

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T01:42:00.000-05:00

We had a great July 4th weekend, the highlight of which was our Hometown neighborhood parade and festival.

Such a quaint, wholesome little neighborhood...just ignore the man on the curb with his kids drinking a beer at 8 a.m.

We decked out the sit & stand stroller for the parade, but sadly lost the "most patriotic toddler" contest to some stinkin identical twin girls wearing giant red white and blue bows. Next year we are taking Uncle Todd's suggestion and sending the kids on a tour of Iraq and bringing them back wearing purple hearts. Eat that you star-spangled twinnies. (Plan B is to adopt some triplets in time for next year's contest.)

After the parade we had a festival and they asked all of the veterans in the neighborhood to come forward. Rob went up there even though he missed the memo that all veterans should wear goofy hats.

Tate played on the water slides and then had some shaved ice.

Lily Jane observed from her patriotic chariot and plotted her "most patriotic toddler" getup for next year. That new tricycle WILL be ours!

Happy Fourth!

Splitting Hairs

2011-07-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

Tate has always been known for his signature haircut which has been described as "anchorman hair" or "church hair." We get his hair cut at Cool Cuts 4 Kids because it has a train table and he can sit in a fire engine and watch Dora and not scream bloody murder like he does at any other salon that does not have the above-mentioned amenities.

The problem with Cool Cuts is that the turnover is high and we always have a different stylist. But I always give the same instructions: "clippers set to '4' on the sides and scissor cut on the top, leaving it long enough for me to brush the bangs to the side." (aka: anchorman hair)

The result has been decent, usually:

But EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to get his haircut right before a visit to Mississippi -- where he will be seeing relatives he only sees maybe once per year -- the result has been consistently off. Mississippi is the land of shaggy frat-boy haircuts and yet Tate has been there sporting...

The Bowl Cut

Mississippi 2009

The Army Cut

Mississippi 2010

The Hairstylist Was Drunk or Standing On A Rocking Boat When She Cut The Front Cut

Mississippi 2011

Sip & See

2011-06-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

A few pics from the super sweet sip & see hosted for Lily Jane by my high school friends this past weekend...

Kellie and Kim -- good friends and FedEx colleagues

Lily Jane has grown so much already that she was too big for the daygown I originally planned for her to wear! This sweet smocked gown was just perfect, though.

Sarah, Valerie and Kasey -- the hostesses and my best friends from high school

I wish I had a picture of the spread...they set up an ice cream sundae bar that was adorable. And although LJ has been really, really fussy lately, she was a dream at the party. (whew) Thanks to my family and friends who came out on a hot Sunday afternoon to honor Miss Lily Jane!

Ole Miss Reunion Weekend

2011-06-21T21:47:00.003-05:00

We took our first trip as a family of four this past weekend to Oxford, Mississippi. We rented a minivan (or "money-van"as Tate called it) for the occasion and drove 1200 miles with a 3-year-old and 6-week-old. Amazingly, we lived to tell about it...

We were there for the 100th Anniversary of The Daily Mississippian, the student paper of Ole Miss. Rob, his father, and I all served as editor of The DM when we were students. Rob's mother was managing editor. The family distinction was referenced several times during the weekend.

Charles Overby recognizes Jimmy, Rob and me at one of the events.
(Why did I even bother straightening my hair in Mississippi??)

Several of our colleagues/dearest friends from The DM also came back for the reunion and we had a fun night out with them remembering some of the crazier moments from our newspaper days. It had been 13 years since we had all been together but it felt like nothing had changed.

Emily Boling Giffen, me, Natashia Gregoire

Rob, Chris Shaw, John Scanlon

One thing that DID change was that we were all up early at breakfast together after a night out...not because we had stayed out all night, but because we all have toddlers:

In addition to the DM Reunion being a family affair for us, it was a grandparents affair for Tate and Lily Jane. My parents graciously came to Oxford to be our "traveling nannies" so we could enjoy the events without worrying about finding a babysitter out of town. This meant that Tate and LJ got to spend time with all THREE sets of grandparents in the same town at one time. We don't think that will happen again until graduations or weddings...and we can't take any more visits like that anyway because of how supremely spoiled they were the whole weekend!

There was Big Guy and Mia (not pictured) taking them for a walk around campus:

There was Poppy and Linda (not pictured) giving zerberts:

And there was Nanny-sippi offering ice cream:

It was also the first time Nanny-sippi had seen Lily Jane:

Tate was soaking up the attention (and presents) while Lily Jane just chilled most of the weekend...

And after a weekend of celebrating the fact we worked for the paper, we actually made it in the paper via news story and not via byline:

Such a great weekend of family, friends and college memories!

LJ Words

2011-06-09T18:55:00.001-05:00

We had fun coming up with "Tate Words" for the blog such as Levitate, Meditate, Regurgitate, etc, etc. Click here to see all of them. I'm reviving that theme for Lily Jane and doing "LJ Words." And our first installment of LJ Words is....

Little Jenny

Summertime

2011-06-07T22:51:00.001-05:00

Tate loves his swimming pool. The best $30 I ever spent...

UPDATE: I just realized that this posting means Tate will never be able to run for Congress...men with shirtless pictures on the Web don't fare well there...

1 Month

2011-06-05T18:44:00.000-05:00

Lily Jane turned one month on June 2...hard to believe it's already been a month, but in a month's time she has ...

weighed in at 9 lbs and measured 21.5 inches at her two week check-up
had a ganglion cyst on her hand and a blocked tear duct disappear
gone through multiple outfit changes a day due to lots of spit up (I think she's just trying to make sure she wears all of the fabulous clothes from friends and family)
brushed up on her knowledge of V6 engines...

become a colicky baby...

(note: the blue headpiece was just there for a photo op while we watched the hats at the Kentucky Derby)

spent a lot of time curled up on her mom's shoulder...

had visits from several friends and family (including Linda who was not allowed to move from this position for four hours because LJ was finally calm)...

become very alert and curious....

and stolen all our hearts!

Huggums

2011-05-22T23:48:00.001-05:00

Lily Jane has a doppelganger in Huggums, my childhood doll:

Huggums was given to me by my aunt Trisha when I was a newborn, and somewhere there exists a picture very similar to this one of me with Huggums. Linda made the adorable matching gowns for the two (and there are matching caps as well, but then we'd miss the fabulous hair!), and I love how similar they look in them -- from the round cheeks to the rosebud mouths to the monkey hair. So sweet!

Lillian Jane Robertson

2011-05-15T09:11:00.000-05:00

Lillian Jane Robertson arrived on May 2, 2011 at 7:22 a.m. She weighed 8 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches long. As she was being delivered, I heard the nurse say "she's got a lot of hair" and then, even louder, "and look at those cheeks!" ... and I knew instantly, before I had even seen her, that this child was mine.

Tate gets his first peek at LJ

We had a lot of family and friends visit at the hospital. Click here to see pictures of LJ's visitors.

Tate passes out pink bubble gum cigars and says "It's a Girl!"

We have been home a week now with Lily Jane, and although my recovery has been more difficult this time around, everything else has been easier. She is very laid-back and easy-going. At one point I told Rob I was concerned something was wrong because she so rarely cried. He said something was wrong with my head.

Getting ready to go home

Tate adores his baby sister and asks to hold her frequently. He runs straight to her every afternoon when he gets home from preschool. Watching him with her makes everything seem right in the world.

In fact, everything IS right and we already can't imagine our life without sweet Lily Jane!

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

What exactly are you calling her?
Her full name is Lillian Jane, and while she is young we are calling her Lily Jane -- a double name. We also shorten it to Lily or just LJ, so really anything goes. We anticipate that the 'Jane' will be dropped eventually, much like my sister Nancy Beth eventually became known as just Nancy to everyone but me. Texas is not as accustomed to double names as the Deep South is, and we had one woman poke her head into my hospital room after seeing our "Lily Jane" door hanging and ask if she could see "the twins Lily and Jane."

The name comes from both her grandmothers -- Lillian Janette (Rob's mom) and Janet Lillian (my mom) who both were named after their grandmothers named Lillian.

Who does she look like?
I'm told by my family that she looks exactly as I did as a newborn, but I had even more hair. (She was born at 39 weeks and I was born at 42.5 weeks so who knows what kind of crazy monkey hair she might have had if she had baked as long as I did!). Tate looked like Rob as a newborn, so we are even. We think her eyes may turn brown like Rob's and can't wait to find out!

Will she have her own blog like Tate does?
No, I have changed the url for the blog to "www.tateandlily.com" and will post about both children there. The old address (taterobertson.blogspot.com) will still get you there, though. Figuring out how to make all that happen only took me about 10 hours of screaming at the Interwebs.

Are you getting any sleep?
No.

Do you have any other pictures?
Well since you asked...

The Nursery

Getting acquainted with her crib for the first time

First Bath

After the bath...baby duck hair!

Off to her first doctor's appointment

A few other memorable notes about Lily Jane's arrival that I want to document for posterity...the night before she was born, Poppy and Linda were at our house. Linda was finishing up the nursery, Poppy (Rob's dad) was working on his laptop, Rob was watching TV and I was posting pictures of her nursery to Facebook when Poppy saw on the Web that a "big announcement" was coming. We quickly changed the channel to CNN and learned that Osama bin Laden had been killed. We stayed up late watching the news, which made our 5 a.m. "showtime" at the hospital more difficult, but at least we arrived knowing Lily Jane would be coming into a world free of bin Laden.

End of an era

2011-04-24T21:21:00.007-05:00

From the Bunny outfit of Easter 2008...

To the eton suit and knee socks for Easter 2009...

To the smocked longall of Easter 2010...

....I knew I was pushing my luck with the boutique Easter clothes. This year, Tate's face told me I had pushed it one year too far. He has achieved self awareness. (sadly, we are still waiting on his father to achieve that milestone)

But his timing couldn't be better...I get to start all over with Lily Jane in one week!

Winning

2011-03-20T22:30:00.005-05:00

So I thought about making this a "Separated at Birth" installment, but that just seemed too mean... but if I DID, it would include a picture of this guy:

...next to a picture of Tate.

But since I would never post a picture of maniac Charlie Sheen on my son's blog, I will just explain that Tate's new obsession is "winning." And by "winning" I mean beating me to the car, beating other cars at stoplights, being the first to get to the kitchen table, etc, etc.

At church a few weeks ago the pastor called for the children to come down for the children's sermon. Tate sprinted to the front, turned around with his fists in the air and yelled "I win!"

He also gets upset when someone passes me on the highway. He says "Mommy, that car is now winning! You need to go faster!" and he says this in a very authoritative, irritated tone.

I've used this to my benefit as well. When trying to get a picture of Tate with his cousin Blake, only Blake would smile. So I said "Blake is winning at smiling for the camera." Instantly, we had a smiling Tate.

I must admit he comes by it honestly. I'm told that when I was the same age, my mom was teaching me how to dress myself and I asked her "How do I win at this?"

So I really can't fault him. Duh...winning!

Texas Weather

2011-02-04T18:43:00.003-06:00

These pictures in our backyard were taken within a week of each other...

From 75 degrees and sunny on Jan. 30...

...to 22 degrees and snowy on Feb. 4....

Tate just knows he is having a blast!

It's Tate's 'whorl' and we're just living in it....

2011-01-29T17:21:00.007-06:00

So my blogging has slowed down lately, and it has a little to do with me being pregnant/tired and a lot to do with my photography skills and Tate's, shall we say, "independence."

For example, on an unseasonably warm January day today, we decided to go on an adventure by riding the train to downtown Dallas and just seeing where the day would take us. It would make for a lovely blog post except that when I went to download the pictures I realized....well, see for yourself...

Riding the train...

Checking out all of the pre-Super Bowl activities...

Sitting on the patio of Sonny Bryan's and watching the trains go by...

I swear that really is Tate we took with us today! He just doesn't cooperate with pictures anymore, so this is all I get...

A Super-Tate Holiday and New Year

2011-01-16T16:40:00.008-06:00

Finally posting some Christmas pictures....

Here he is, not happy about having his picture taken with his presents when all he wants to do is play with them...the themes for Tate's presents this year were dinosaurs and cars.

The other theme for his gifts could be "heroes," as in....

Fireman Tate!

Super Tate!

Tate Skywalker!

After Christmas, we had a visit from Nanny-sippi, and we saw ICE at the Gaylord...

....and checked out some dinosaur stuff at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, among many other things.

And now the new year is off to a good start as we get ready for an exciting 2011. The year 2010 will be tough to beat in terms of changes in our lives....Rob and I both started new jobs: he reporting for the Fort Worth Business Press and me working for a different division within my company that allowed me to start telecommuting, which has been life-changing in terms of work/life balance. We bought a new house in Home Town, a "new urbanism" neighborhood in North Richland Hills, and love all the families and activities in our new 'hood. Tate started at a new preschool where he had been on the waiting list since birth. It's a "lab school" connected to a college and has been wonderful for him. And then, most excitedly of all, we learned we are expecting a baby girl in May 2011.

After all that change, we are trying to enjoy a little peace and quiet before Lily Jane makes her debut!

Happy New Year to all!

Only Santa knows...

2010-12-24T16:46:00.003-06:00

Our card perfectly reflects our year with a 2 year old...
.

Merry Christmas family and friends! We are looking forward to next Christmas as a family of four.

Special thanks to dear family friend Brandi Luig of Muddy Road Productions for the fabulous photography and card inspiration. I now feel a little bit bad about getting her and my sister in trouble when we were growing up...ok, I'm over it.

Coming in May 2011: Lily Jane Robertson

2010-12-18T08:37:00.003-06:00

We are thrilled to announce that a baby GIRL will be joining our family in May. We had planned to have the doctor put the answer in an envelope for us to open on Christmas with our family. However, I am not good at waiting for surprises. And Rob wanted to find out before everyone else did, which I understood. So we had the sonographer tell us...GIRL! And then we were so excited we couldn't wait to share the news, so I took Tate to see Santa and made a little sign:

Rob called his out-of-town family and then we used the picture to tell my family at dinner that night. We have known our girl name since we got married. My mom's name is Janet Lillian. Rob's mom is Lillian Janette. Both of their maternal grandmothers were Lillians. And so, not only is it very special, but I also absolutely love the name. So Lillian Jane Robertson it shall be! I plan to call her Lily Jane but Rob is already calling her just Lily or "LJ." We'll see what sticks when we meet her.

And thank goodness it was a girl because Rob was pushing for Archie or Augie as a boy name which meant I was pushing my family to get new pets to name Archie and Augie just to cancel out those names. (How do you think my parents got a dog named "Eddie" three years ago???)

Ok, enough about all that. I have some girl shopping to do....

Talking with Tate

2010-12-14T18:08:00.002-06:00

Tate says things that aren't always quite right, but I've started figuring them out.

For instance:

"Old Lady" = Old Navy

"Old McDonald's" = McDonald's

"Vader" = Star Wars

"Frosty the Snowman, was a very hungry tale" = the first line of the song, "Frosty the Snowman"

There are many more, but these are just a few examples from tonight. Also, here's a conversation Tate and I had tonight....

Me: Tate, it looks like you need to go potty.

(Tate hops around with his legs crossed)

Tate: No, I don't wanna go potty.

(This conversation repeats itself several times. Exasperated, I pick up the phone and hold it to my ear.)

Me: Hello, Santa Claus? Yes, you see Tate won't go to the potty. Uh huh. Um. Yes, well, ok, I'll tell him. (hang up phone) Tate, Santa Claus says if you keep telling your mom no, you won't get a present.

(Tate thinks for a minute and picks up phone.)

Tate: Santa Claus? Yes. Uh huh. No, I don't wanna go potty. Oh thank you Santa Claus!!

(Tate hangs up the phone and turns to me, smiling.)

Tate: Santa Claus said I don't have to go potty!

Foiled again by a three year old....

Turning Three, Halloween and Other Things That Happened While I Wasn't Blogging...

2010-11-21T22:11:00.007-06:00

Gotta get things caught up before the holidays are upon us, so here are the updates in sped-up style like the recaps of Glee each week:

So here's what you missed in the Robertson family...

Tate turned three and had his three-year-old doctor appointment. The doctor chewed out Jenny because she said "bedtime is a battle" and told her she was headed for an appearance on "Super Nanny." But that's all OK because Tate got a clean bill of health and has a height of 36.5" and a weight of 30.5 pounds, which means he's a little small for his age, but that's all OK because Rob was small until high school and then had a growth spurt.

Two days after the same pediatrician told me to stop worrying about Tate not being potty-trained and that it would happen when Tate was ready, Tate decided he was ready. And he was. And it was done. Just like that.

Then Halloween was upon us and Tate was a spider because he really, really wanted to be one. Even though Jenny bought a really cute dinosaur costume. I mean really cute. But he insisted on being a spider. So Jenny bought a spider costume and put the dinosaur costume on ebay. And then Jenny put the spider costume on Tate and he said "I want to be a dinosaur." Jenny told him he was three and that she would not reason with him anymore and that he was going to be a spider and he was going to love it. (And Jenny is sure that if she mentions all of this to the pediatrician, he will not only invoke the Super Nanny name again, but he will dial up the producers on the spot.) But Tate did love it.

He also loved passing out the candy more than collecting it, and even though I posted this video on Facebook several weeks ago, it's just so awesome that I'm posting it again.

We also went to a pumpkin patch and Tate rearranged the pumpkins and drove some tractors.

Now that Tate is three, we feel the need to list a few things he does, in threes.

Tate loves cars, trucks and dinosaurs.

His favorite books, which he can recite from memory, are "The Monster at the End of This Book," "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" and "Pete the Cat."

His favorite songs are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in the Tree," and "Sugarfoot" by Black Joe Lewis.

His favorite things to say, or -- more accurately -- OUR favorite things he says, are "Nooooo thank you!," "Something's missing!" and "I'll be right back. Don't move."

Oh, and in the middle of all that, Jenny announced she was pregnant and expecting a baby on May 8.

And that's what you missed in the life of the Robertsons....

Baseball mania

2010-10-31T09:46:00.003-05:00

Tate had fun with his uncles and Poppy who were in town from San Fran, DC and Jackson for approximately 24 hours for the World Series in Arlington. Go Rangers!

Birthday Par-tee

2010-10-27T19:02:00.013-05:00

Tate's 3rd birthday was golf-themed, and my friend Eleanor at Pink Peppermint Paper created an adorable invitation to set the scene for the "Birthday InviTATEtional"

We planned to set everything up outside because October is supposed to be the driest month in Texas, and the temps are supposed to be nice and comfortable. Supposed to be.

It poured all day the day of his party.

So we called a mulligan and set the golf party up indoors. We declared the backyard a Water Hazard:

And set up the first hole in our entry way.

And holes two and three were down our hallway....

We moved furniture out of the living room and set up a kid-size table inside. I made the banner using scrapbook papers, and I found the "golf ball" poofs at Party City for $1 each.

My sister Nancy made "cake balls" which we put in green pails on the table to look like golf ball buckets. I used turf purchased at Home Depot as a table runner, and the cake was supposed to look like a 3-shaped golf hole.

As the invitation suggested, the kids were playing golf for the coveted "Sippy Cup." So each child got a sippy cup...

....which they were able to personalize and decorate themselves.

The cake and cake balls were a hit with the kids...

As was playing golf....

Each kid took home a set of plastic golf clubs, a personalized "Sippy Cup" trophy, and a sticker that said "I played a round at Tate's 3rd Birthday!"

The rain didn't stop us from having fun with all of Tate's friends!

The next morning was Tate's actual birthday, so we got out the special birthday tablecloth, plate and hat for breakfast with Nanny-sippi who came in for the birthday weekend.

Happy Third Birthday Tate!!

Three Years

2010-10-24T02:27:00.007-05:00

Tate turns three today! I put together a video of highlights from his third year...

Reading the Paper

2010-10-11T23:45:00.003-05:00

Before leaving for preschool, I found Tate sitting on the couch like this. I asked him what he was doing and, without looking up, he replied "just reading the newspaper."

He was clearly catching up on important current events...

He also has been busting out with some new words and phrases...today he said "something smells scrumptious," and when we were leaving my parents' house he said very properly "Goodbye Mia, I had a great time." ???

Little Slugger

2010-09-26T21:26:00.003-05:00

Tate has been obsessed with golf since he could walk, but now baseball is coming in a close second. At my parents' house a couple weeks ago, he started swinging a vacuum attachment at balls tossed to him...and hitting them! We soon found a plastic bat and used the vacuum attachment as a tee (because we were growing tired of tossing the ball) and then it was all over. We couldn't get him to stop, and now all he wants to do is "play ball." Here is some video from the first night...

Tate Words

2010-09-09T18:47:00.005-05:00

ResusciTATE

As in, what they had to do to me when I picked up Tate and saw him dressed like this:

I dropped him off at school today in a nice red/navy striped Polo shirt with khaki shorts and Nike sneakers. And THIS is what he looked like when I picked him up. Apparently potty training did not go so well today and I forgot to bring an extra change of clothes. (Outfit courtesy of Tate's teachers. Finger in nose courtesy of Tate.)

Busy Days

2010-09-07T21:05:00.005-05:00

With the cooler temps, we've been keeping busy...

We went to the zoo:

Eagerly awaiting the train:

Happy to be on the train!

While on the train, we encountered a sleeping longhorn. Tate kept shushing us every time we'd try to talk because the cow was "sweeping." I got a little bit of the interaction on video. And it kind of makes you wonder who is the adult and who is the toddler....

Then we went to see Nick Jr's Storytime Live show at Verizon Theater with friends Valerie and Hank. The highlight for Tate, though, was wrestling with Hank in the lobby after the show. All the way home he said "Where's Frank?" and when I would say, "you mean HANK?" and he would say "NO, I mean FRANK!!!"

And not pictured from the past weekend are playing miniature golf at Mountasia (I got beat fair and square by Tate!) and hitting home runs over Mia and Big Guy's fence into the wee hours.

It's all enough to make you fall asleep on your feet:

Jackson Visit

2010-08-19T22:34:00.006-05:00

We had a Robertson family reunion in Jackson in honor of Poppy's 70th birthday. It had been over a year since all of the Robertson brothers and cousins had been together and it was a...

wagon-pulling...

watermelon sharing...

cousin-enjoying...

photo-bombing...

treasure-hunting...

treasure-finding...

silly-string-shooting...

Father-imitating...

Birthday-toasting...

family-gathering...

...kind of weekend. Happy 70th Birthday Poppy!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2010-07-31T08:40:00.003-05:00

In Jackson for Poppy's birthday, Tate felt compelled to break into song this morning. More to come on the Jackson visit (and Tate's haircut) in a later post...

And, a faster version....

Up'tate'

2010-06-21T22:15:00.007-05:00

Some updates on the Tater Tot and us...(for documentation sake):

1. He can fully communicate with us and has no trouble telling us exactly what he wants or how he feels, in words. The flip side is that he also fully understands everything we say and can repeat those things, in words.

2. He loves to dance and won't let anyone else dance until he tells them it's their "tuhn." He ends every dance with a little flourish (I MUST get it on tape) and then takes a bow. We never grow tired of this.

3. He has several imaginary pet dinosaurs, including a baby dinosaur that is usually in his pocket. He also often makes Rob go dinosaur hunting for a dinosaur-that-is-actually-a-globe in my parents' office. They tiptoe through the house and creep up on the dinosaur-that-is-actually-a-globe and then, once they touch it, Tate yells "Let's get outta here Daddy!" and they come running out. He never grows tired of this. (Note I didn't say "we" never grow tired of this.)

4. Speaking of my parents' office, yes, we are still here. We are in the process of buying a foreclosure, so it's taking a while. We were supposed to close last week and it got postponed, so we're now hoping to close this week. In the meantime, Tate has been able to spend a lot of time with Mia and Big Guy, and we have gotten a lot of assistance with taking care of him. We've been spoiled!

5. Oh, and I am now a telecommuter, working remotely and reporting into Memphis. I absolutely love it. I made the change in order to get back the two hours a day I was spending commuting, and also to have more flexibility and time to be home with Tate. I'm grateful to work for such a great company.

6. Because of the telecommuting arrangement, Rob has been doing a lot of the daycare dropoffs and pickups. I learned recently that he has Tate yell something new every day when he runs into his classroom. It started innocently enough with a loud "Hey Friends!" But since then Tate has appeared in the doorway yelling things such as "Waddup Homies!" and "Freedom!" and "Hola Amigos!" I am only documenting this so one day when Tate is in therapy the blame won't all be put on me.

So that's all...a new job, new house and newly independent almost-three year old. We're keeping busy!

And a few pictures...

Getting fingerprinted...

And then getting to sit in the police car...he loves police cars and when he saw one pull someone over one time he asked me why. I said "because they were driving too fast." He then said "Drive fast Mommy! Drive fast!!"

Dancing for a very appreciative audience at the baseball game

Happy Boy! (And no longer a baby...sniff, sniff.)

Spoiled?

2010-05-30T21:28:00.008-05:00

So Rob posted this video to Facebook:

And my parents saw it. A few days later, THIS appeared in their backyard:

He's got his grandparents wrapped around his fingers!

Hmm. So what will happen if I post THIS video...

I mean, the kid likes big TVs....I'm just sayin.

A Visit from Poppy and Linda

2010-05-16T22:47:00.007-05:00

Poppy and Linda came for a visit last weekend, and we had a nice little "staycation" in Dallas that included visits to the new Winspear Opera House to see Moby Dick, the Sixth Floor Museum, the Aquarium, and the house that we now have a contract on (for a design consult with Linda.)

We snapped a few shots at the aquarium...

Tate eagerly shouted "I found Nemo!!" at this tank, which drew several more kids over quickly. We've never even seen the movie "Finding Nemo," so that Disney marketing is some powerful stuff!

Hitching a ride on Poppy's shoulders

Checking out the crocodiles with Linda

Having fun with Dad and Poppy

These pictures all nicely disguise the shiner that Tate got during the trip. We stayed at the Adolphus, and our first night there he was running down the hall looking down at the carpet when he ran smack into a pillar. It sent him reeling and gave him a nice imprint on his face for about a week. When we passed that pillar again over the weekend, Tate wagged his finger and said "no crash!" His teachers told me that when they asked him what happened to his face he just said "I had big crash!" and they worried something much worse had happened.

Thanks for coming to visit, Poppy and Linda!

A visit with Flat Stanley

2010-05-02T23:28:00.005-05:00

Tate was very honored to receive a visit from Flat Stanley, courtesy of his second cousin Sarah Beth and her third grade class in Orlando. So we headed to the Stockyards today to show old Stanley some Texas hospitality....

Sarah Beth -- Flat Stanley is on his way back to Florida! Thanks for letting Tate spend some time with him!

Baseball game

2010-04-26T00:24:00.004-05:00

Tate brings good luck to the Rebs when they play LSU. Here, he cheers the Diamond Rebs on to a sweep of the Tigers:

Rob is sitting here telling me to add something about how this was following some homerun that so-and-so hit that tied the game. I just think it's a cute video. If you want play-by-play, talk to Rob.

Easter Egg Boot Camp

2010-04-03T09:51:00.008-05:00

Tate's first Easter Egg hunt with his relentless trainer, baby Blake...

"Do I really have to do this? Seriously?"

"You heard me. We've been practicing for this moment all week. NOW GET OUT THERE AND HUNT ME SOME EGGS....GRRRRR."

"Yes sir. Yes, Mr. Blake....

whatever you say Mr. Blake...."

"Here. Does THIS make you happy?"

"Let's get a closer look. Yes. Now THIS, THIS is what I call a successful hunt. Nice work."

"Oh no! Oh now you've done it. You've ruined it! Eggs have spilled everywhere!"

"And what is this?!?!? A GREEN EGG?!? YOU KNOW I HAAATE GREEN EGGS! Get back to the prison yard."

"Sheesh. Somebody has Little Man Syndrome...."

"Wait a minute. Is he out of his pen and back there behind me?! Gah."

"Oh. Hellooo ladies."

"Hmm. Maybe green eggs aren't so bad after all if they bring the ladies..."

"Ok, we can be friends again!"

Happy Easter!

A Day Out With Thomas

2010-03-22T21:38:00.006-05:00

Amid partisan bickering over healthcare and crazy, rotten weather, we all could use a little Day Out with Thomas...

Elmo!!!

2010-03-14T22:58:00.004-05:00

Some pics from our recent "Sesame Street Live" experience...although the event itself was memorable, the back stories behind these pictures are more interesting...

First, this looks like a simple shot of Tate wearing a cute Elmo shirt:

The Backstory: Not simple at all. You see, I ordered that shirt special for this show. I got it just in time and decided to wash it the night before. About halfway through the cycle, I peeked in to see pink water. Uh oh. I pulled the shirt out and it was completely PINK. I panicked. I threw something. I taught Tate some more new curse words. My mom and I both got online to find a remedy. Rob was sent to Walgreens for Clorox 2. Around 10 p.m., Mom headed to Walmart for Rit Color Remover. We tried it all. We soaked it. We washed it. We agitated it. We washed it again. With each attempt, the pink faded and faded. Eventually it was white enough that it passed Rob's eagle eye test, and Tate was permitted to wear it. Just don't look real close at it...

This picture shows Nancy and Blake attending the event for what appears to be a sweet sister/cousin outing:

The Backstory: It was supposed to be a sweet Mom, Dad and Tate outing. But then the US Hockey team (who knew we even HAD a hockey team??) went and won a bunch of games in the Olympics and were scheduled to play against CANADA for the Gold medal....at the same time that the Elmo show was starting. Rob waffled back and forth about which he wanted to do more: watch a big red furry guy or watch a bunch of big furry guys wearing red. Then we heard a TV commentator call it "the biggest game in hockey history." I didn't even say anything to Rob....I just sent a text to Nancy and asked if she and Blake wanted to join Tate and me at the show in an hour. She agreed, and we had a great time. Blake clapped along with everyone and loved the light show. And Rob got to see the United States lose in a sport he's never cared about. Score Jenny!

We had a great time seeing Elmo in Dallas, but the best part was that Elmo actually remembered seeing Tate there and sent him a little shout-out from DC last week:

The Backstory: Rob's brother Lamar helped write a script for a press conference that Elmo was participating in related to children's TV programming. He was somehow able to get Elmo (the REAL Elmo) to say hi to Tate. Our two-year-old son has a football helmet signed "To Tate" by Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. He has a NASCAR car signed "To Tate" by former Rookie of the Year Denny Hamlin. But this. THIS is what impresses him (and us) the most! Elmo said his name! It just doesn't get any better than that for a two-year-old.

Parenthood

2010-03-02T00:40:00.005-06:00

Things they don't warn you about parenthood:

1. If you say a curse word loud enough for your 2-year-old to hear, you will get a report from daycare one day informing you that he has taught his classmates this new word and they are now repeating it. A lot.

2. If you leave your laptop unattended in your toddler's room while you go to get his fourth-requested cup of water for the night, you will return to find all of the keys removed.

3. If your child is potty-training, you may receive an email at work from his daycare teacher with the subject line "Poopy Underwear." Just be careful that it doesn't pop up on your screen while an IT person is working on your computer.

Snow Day with the Unabomber

2010-02-13T11:19:00.007-06:00

Our snow day didn't start off so well with Tate having a stomach bug and our power going out around 4 a.m. and not coming back for 15 hours. But Tate rebounded before our power did, and we were able to enjoy a little bit of the snow...which Tate kept calling "nose" instead of "snow."

Um, don't look now, but I think the Unabomber is behind me....

Don't worry, I will get him with this snowball!

Got him!

Tate saves the day again!

Tate's birthday party takes flight again

2010-02-06T00:39:00.004-06:00

Tate's birthday party was back in October, and I went a little overboard with it. So I sent the ideas to a blog where I get a lot of ideas, and they featured it last week! Then, my designer friend who did all the design work for the party featured it on her blog, and another blog picked it up and featured it there!

Here are the links:

Creative Party Place (where I go to get a lot of good ideas)

Pink Peppermint Paper (my designer friend/creative muse Eleanor)

Maddycakes (a cute birthday party site that picked up the party from my friend Eleanor's blog)

This PR-professional/StageMom is proud!

All Boxed Up and Nowhere to Go

2010-01-21T23:28:00.004-06:00

We're boxing up our valuables (see above) and moving out of our house this weekend!

We have never really warmed up to our house in Flower Mound, and we're tired of living so far from work, friends and family. So we put our house on the market last fall, just to see what would happen. We got a contingency contract on it in October, and the buyers finally sold their house two weeks ago...but with a catch that they needed to close in 17 days. And oh by the way, I was in Mexico for four of those 17 days. In a moment of weakness, I agreed to such a timeframe and now it's BOX HELL at our house. And no, we don't have a new house to move into. So we're putting our stuff in storage and moving into my parents' upstairs temporarily while we look for the right house and the right neighborhood. Are we insane? Maybe. But we are very grateful to my parents for letting us crash there, allowing us the time to find a place that we love and will stay in for a long time.

We got a little emotional packing up Tate's room last night...the room we so carefully decorated and planned for over nine months. We will miss it, but otherwise it's 'adios' to this place. Onward...

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T09:49:00.005-06:00

Some pics and a video from Christmas...

After a rare blizzard created the first white Christmas in Dallas in 80 years, we decided to stay at my parents' house on Christmas Eve vs. trying to drive back to FloMo.

Tate learned the concept of "PRESENTS!!!" (how he says it) very quickly.

During the impromptu slumber party at Mia and Big Guy's, Tate and Blake were definitely up to no good...and they couldn't figure out how we knew their names every time they turned their backs on us.

But Big Guy was there to corral them. (Blake is a new addition to this traditional picture)

It was all too much for Blake who fell asleep on his Mom's knee. We made Nancy stay like this all night.

We got home Christmas Day and while Tate took a nap, Santa showed up in FloMo. Tate now thinks that every time he wakes up, there will be PRESENTS!!!

It was a great holiday. I put all of our favorite moments in a video below.

Now Rob and I have taken the week off until New Year's, and we are very excited to be spending this time with Tate, even if all he wants now are MORE PRESENTS!!!

Montessori Miracle

2009-12-22T22:58:00.004-06:00

I don't think Tate is picking up on the Mandarin he is supposed to be learning at his Montessori school, but he IS learning more important things, like...

Drinking from a cup!

Wiping his mouth!

Pushing in his chair!

I'll take those things over Mandarin any day, xiexie very much.

(Yes, I had to google "thank you" in Mandarin)

Rough Month

2009-12-20T20:38:00.012-06:00

So it's Christmas week and the space under our tree is still sparse and the blog hasn't been updated in weeks....but we have perfectly good excuses...

We've had a bear of a month...

It's not like we've been just hanging around...

It's tough to balance things this time of year...

No, this month has not been a piece of cake...

We've been trying to stay on track...

But the holidays have us licked...

It's not exactly a stroll through the (North) Park....

So whose fault is it that it's Christmas week and presents still have to be bought and the blog hasn't been updated?

Tate's pointing at her!

Merry Christmas!

First School Picture

2009-12-05T20:26:00.005-06:00

Am I wrong for laughing?

Box head

2009-11-29T14:37:00.003-06:00

I found this clip while downloading the videos on our camera today. Apparently this is what Rob and Tate do for fun when I am not around. So in honor of the start of the Christmas season, I give you proof that kids (and their dads) need nothing more than a box to entertain them...

Review: Audi A4

2009-11-29T00:17:00.005-06:00

I am going to start periodically providing reviews of products I absolutely love or absolutely hate. First up: the Audi A4.

The Audi A4 is the perfect car for someone who loves surprises -- every morning you will be surprised if the window works or not. It's also excellent for the car game enthusiast who loves that game where you punch someone in the arm when you see a "cockeye" car with only one headlight. Yes, when you drive the A4, you will get to imagine all the people passing by you, getting punched in the arm. And do you love the smell of gasoline? Then the A4 is the car for you! You not only get to buy premium gas, but the gas tank will always shut off the pump after only one gallon has gone in. And I can't forget to mention the family-like atmosphere of an Audi dealership. You will get to know those dealership service guys as if they are your brothers...protective older brothers who won't let you go anywhere else with their precious A4.

Yes, my friends, all this can be yours. Seriously. Just go to to CarMax where I just ~~dumped~~ traded mine in.

Next up: Jenny reviews The Toddler Bed. That amazing invention that lets you think that because you have a 'toddler' you should get one...

The Pilgrimage

2009-11-24T20:32:00.011-06:00

We made the trek to Oxford with Tate for his first Ole Miss football game. It was a pilgrimage of sorts that Tate took very seriously in his quest to bring a win for the Rebs over LSU.

We started with the traditional taming of the mighty Mississippi River...

And then consulted with three wisemen at the Memphis Zoo...

He said a prayer at the Wailing Wall...

And even rubbed Buddha's belly for good luck....

He chased out screaming LSU fans (note these are the children of Rob's LSU alum cousin)

He even paid his respects to Mr. Faulkner ...(side note: Tate said this statue "scare me." As an English major at Ole Miss, Faulkner scared me, too, Tate...)

We finally made it closer to Mecca as we peered in at the Grove from afar.

And ended up at the mothership:

Finally, we made it to the game! We cheered on the Rebs for two whole quarters....

And then, after a two-day pilgrimage of bringing good luck to the Rebs, Tate passed out and missed the end of the game. Not unlike most fans at an Ole Miss game.

And, also not unlike most fans, ended up in the arms of a girl he'd never seen before...

But that's OK because the Rebs won! And Tate did his victory cheers all the way home...

Hotty Toddy!

Two Peas in a Pod

2009-11-23T08:30:00.006-06:00

We visited Rob's Aunt Lucie and her children/grandchildren in Mississippi this past weekend. With six children under the age of ten, there was bound to be some silliness...and none better than trying to get a picture of the youngest two, Tate and Anna Rhodes....

OK, we'll sit still for two seconds.

Oh, you want Tate to smile? OK, I can take care of that....

Going in for the tickle.

Tickle!!

OK, let's try this again.

Oh, no, it looks like she's coming my way...

Eeek!

She got me again!

Roly poly, pell mell, tumble bumble....

Tate had a blast with his new cousins!

Odds and Ends

2009-11-15T20:29:00.006-06:00

I don't have any pictures or videos to upload. Things have been busy around our house, but I can't leave Tate the Seal up forever, so I thought I'd throw out a few odds and ends....

1. Cousin Blake was baptized today. It was a very special service, and he was absolutely precious. Read more here.

2. Tate is learning all kinds of new things and surprises us every day. He now knows his primary colors, can count to 10 in English AND Spanish, and can sing the theme song to Backyardigans. I like to think he knows the song because he's a fast learner and not because we let him watch a lot of TV...

3. We decided to try and move Tate into a toddler bed because when you are really busy and have a lot going on in your life, why not throw something like that into the middle of it? It's been a, um, learning experience.

4. Update on our house, which has been on the market: We have a contract on it, but the buyer's house has to sell first. They have had two buyers and we have had two closing dates but BOTH of the deals fell through. We may be living in FloMo forever. So as of now, we are still waiting for their house to sell. We can opt out of the contract if we want, but we are too tired to deal with it. So we wait. And no, we still don't know where we plan to move when it does sell.

5. We have very few pictures of Rob when he was a baby (long story; don't ask), but I came across this one today and did a doubletake because I thought it was Tate.

Maybe it's the hair or the profile or the crazy plaid overalls...but I love when I so clearly see the similarities between them.

6. We are heading to Oxford this weekend for Tate's first Ole Miss experience. For those who are not familiar with Ole Miss, I happened upon this blog post by a total stranger. She captures it perfectly and hilariously so I had to share.

7. Did I mention that I am busy and tired? I met with a professional mommy blogger the other day for work purposes. She said something I keep thinking about....she said, "women in the workplace are not limited by a glass ceiling but by a sticky floor." As I look at my sticky floor and my sticky toddler and my growing pile of work, I know exactly what she means. But that's OK, I'll take the sticky floor.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T10:42:00.004-05:00

Tate was a seal for Halloween this year. I thought this was a cute and 'normal' outfit compared to my original plans and previous years. However, we still got a lot of "You ain't right" comments....

Here he is at the "Trunk or Treat" at Bear Creek Elementary. I taught him to clap his hands and bark like a seal.

At a Halloween party at Buz and Cobina's, he and Uncle Frank had a lot of fun playing together.

A happy seal pup and his dad!

As a side note: I tried to get Rob to agree to go as a "family of seals" to the costume party, but he wouldn't agree. I wanted to wear a big gold foil circle (aka "seal of approval") and I wanted Rob to wear a tight black t-shirt and jeans and carry a microphone (aka the singer Seal). Oh well. Maybe next year...

Two Years Old

2009-10-29T22:35:00.006-05:00

Tate is two. Wow. A few pairs of Tate's favorite things right now....

His favorite two sayings:

1. "I did dit!" -- he says this after doing just about anything...picking up his toys, climbing onto the couch, showing me his artwork from school.

2. "Okay!" -- This is his new favorite word and he says it very enthusiastically anytime we ask him to do something.

His favorite two friends:

1. Emerson -- a little girl at school. Her birthday was a few weeks ago and he sings "Happy Birthday dear Emerson" over and over.

2. Ani -- a little boy at school. His teacher says Ani and Tate like to play together all the time. When she pulls out the non-Montessori toys in the afternoon, they always pick the cars and share with each other.

His favorite two songs:

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

2. The Happy Birthday song.

His favorite two toys:

1. "Choo Choo" table -- he wakes up and says "choo choo" first thing and points toward our game room.

2. Cozy Coupe -- he drives this all over our house and always parks it carefully in the same place every night. When he leaves for school, he gives the car a hug and kiss and says "Bye Bye Cah!"

His favorite two things:

1. "Ah panes" (airplanes) -- he spots them way before we ever see them.

2. "Ig Tuck" (big truck) -- he thinks 18-wheelers are way cool.

His favorite two activities:

1. Playing golf.

2. Playing chase.

And at his two year appointment this week, he had the following measurements:

Height - 34.5 inches (50%)

Weight -- 28.2 lbs (50%)

Head -- 20 inches (90%

Tate Airways Flight 1024

2009-10-27T23:25:00.019-05:00

Tate's second birthday party "took off" this past Saturday as approximately 10 young passengers and their carry-on parents joined us for an airplane theme party.

First, the invitations were sent out to look like boarding passes:

My friend Eleanor at Pink Peppermint Paper did all of the creative and design work, and she is fabulous! She designed the "Tate Airways" logo that says "Flying High Since 2007."

We sent the invitations in red envelopes with a tie closure to look like travel documents. The return address said "Tate Airways" and we printed "Important Travel Documents Enclosed" in a stamp font on the envelope to make it look official.

The location was Founders Plaza, which is an observation area at DFW airport where you can watch planes take off and land. I called the airport for permission and was told they never had a birthday party there before! But it's one of Tate's favorite spots to visit, so we thought it would be enjoyed by his friends as well.

A banner I printed at FedEx Office greeted guests to our picnic area.

Pink Peppermint also designed "Baggage Check" and "Baggage Claim" signs for the gifts and favor bags. The airport doesn't allow you to bring extra tables to the picnic site, so I used pieces of luggage to hold the gifts and favor bags.

My sisters both wore white shirts and black pants to look like TSA security. I gave them badges that said "TSA: Tate's Super Aunts."

For lunch, we served Lunchables. Not only was it easy for a picnic setting, but the packaging looks like airplane trays! I also had individual packages of pretzels, because, you know, that's what you get on airplanes. My sister cut out placemats in the shape of white clouds for the blue tablecloth.

We had some airplane theme toys for the kids to play with.

Cousin Blake brought his own seat. I guess he didn't want to ride 'coach' with the rest of the party-goers at the picnic table!

Note that cousin Blake came dressed in an appropriate "wing man" shirt to serve as Tate's sidekick!

The cake. Um yeah. It was made out of cupcakes and was supposed to be in the shape of an airplane. I'm not so sure. And I picked it up on the way to the party and didn't even notice that Tate's name was spelled "Take." Luckily my Mom did a quick fix on it to correct it.

For the favors, I ordered white bags that look like air-sickness bags (aka "barf bags.) The stickers were done by Pink Peppermint Paper and say "We're Sick to See You Go. On behalf of our captain and flight crew, thanks for flying Tate Airways."

Inside the bags we had rubber ducks dressed like pilots, a glider plane, little plastic parachute men and individual luggage tags for each guest.

After the party, we sent thank you notes from "Captain Tate Robertson."

We had a great time, and the birthday boy loved every minute of watching the "ah panes" land with his friends!

Anniversary

2009-10-23T23:22:00.003-05:00

In honor of our 10th anniversary, I made a photo book for Rob. Here is a sampling of some of the goofier (aka my favorite) pictures that I put in it....

My 25th birthday when I was given a tiara and scepter. Rob's face says it all.

Rob's first visit to Billy Bob's after we moved to Texas. This was our Christmas card picture in 2006.

A Christmas party at Rob's apartment in Oxford our senior year. For some reason we were dancing in his kitchen.

Our first Halloween together. We didn't dress up.

Happy Anniversary Rob! Now, on to Tate's birthday tomorrow...

Disney World

2009-10-15T22:08:00.009-05:00

I'm finally recovering from our trip to Disney World last week...before you think I lost my mind taking a two-year-old to Disney, please note that (1) I was already going for work; (2) Tate is still under 2 years old and flies free and gets in the park free; (3) My parents are awesome and agreed to come as well so they could watch Tate while I was working. (Rob went to Oxford for Alabama game). But all that being said, yes, you would be right if you think I lost my mind taking a two-year-old to Disney.

But he had a blast and so did we. Some pics:

Loving his Pluto balloon animal at the Friday-night carnival

Trying the Ring Toss

Now THIS is a carnival game that Tate can win at. Pick a Duck!

Then it was on to Disney....

Jazz Hands!

Looking cool with Big Guy

Cheesin it up in the Mouse ears...

...and on the Carousel

Getting driving lessons from Big Guy. Hmmm. Big Guy usually points only one finger at the people in front of him, not his whole hand...

Tuckered out. Just like the Rebs were that afternoon.

After Disney, we headed to my cousin Beth's house for dinner with Beth's family, cousin Meg and her son Penn, and Uncle Howard and Aunt Trisha, who gave Tate this car holder (and he hasn't stopped playing with it since.)

After watching a pitiful Ole Miss loss to Alabama, Tate headed to cousin Hunter's room and came out wearing this:

It's a Florida helmet. We can't really blame him.

Then, the cousins came to the hotel on Sunday to swim in the Lazy River. Tate clearly had a blast with Hunter, Beth and Sarah Beth!

And then we headed home on Sunday. I don't have any pictures of our flight home because I didn't have time to take any due to my constant efforts to peel Tate off the floor of the airplane where he kept hurling himself screaming and crying. Yes, we were your worst flying nightmare.

But despite that ending, it was a great time and Tate loved hanging out with his Big Guy and Mia!

Happy Columbus Day

2009-10-12T18:53:00.002-05:00

Happy Columbus Day! Note the applique on Tate's jon jon. Did I say I was going to stop dressing him for the holidays when he turned 1? Oops. I meant 2. So I have two more weeks...

Tate Words

2009-10-02T22:22:00.003-05:00

IMITATE

I dressed Tate. Rob dressed himself. Looks like it was just a red and blue Polo kind of day.

Family Time

2009-09-27T10:08:00.009-05:00

In the last month we have had lots of family time. First we visited Mississippi to see the Robertson side of the family. I posted an album on Facebook, but am reposting a few here for posterity. Tate really loved his Poppy, whether it was...

getting rides in the wagon...

...helping him do some work on the porch...

or crossing wobbly bridges to get to him....

Tate thought his Poppy was great!

Then, this past weekend we went to the Arlington Historical Society's Front Street Festival which featured tours of a log cabin that belonged to my ancestors.

A family tree that was on the wall inside the cabin. My mom's and grandmother's names are on here.

I wonder if P.A. Watson had any idea this bunch of relatives would one day be hanging out on his porch.

A 7th Generation Watson.

From his grandfather in Mississippi to his great, great, great, great, great grandfather in Texas, Tate has been getting to know his roots!

Tater Van Halen

2009-09-19T23:45:00.005-05:00

I got my $9.99 out of this Hawaiian ukelele.

Update

2009-09-08T04:19:00.002-05:00

So I did a night snorkel with Manta Rays tonight. It was a work assignment because I had to know all about the excursion since I will be taking 34 guests there on Friday night. It was pretty awesome.

And therefore I have to amend my previous post to say that work trips can be pretty cool. And my job is cool. It's just the trip's length and Tate's age that are making it hard. A shorter trip and an older Tater Tot would make for ideal conditions.

So, see, I'm not completely crazy.

Blog on Break

2009-09-07T11:16:00.004-05:00

I'm working in Hawaii for the next 8 days without any time for the blog, but once again Rob is chronicling his (mis)adventures as a single Dad on Bongo Tomfoolery. Let's hope he has less to write about since last time I was gone for a week and Tate got the croup. And don't forget to click on his links. They are usually laugh out loud funny. I think he spends more time finding the links than he does writing the blog.

Anyway, I know a lot of people with children must travel for work, but that doesn't make it any easier. And I know that I get to go to fun places like Cabo and Kona and that people don't feel real sorry for me. But I still don't like it. Two years ago, I'd be living it up and planning my next trip. Now, I'm sitting in my hotel room looking at a picture of Tate and wondering what new words he is saying today.

I know a lot of people without kids say they don't want chidren because they couldn't do things like travel. I was one of them at one point. But now I know that it isn't that you CAN'T travel anymore it's that you don't WANT to travel anymore. And if something makes you wish you were home in a toy-strewn playroom with a sippy cup being hurled at you instead of on a beach eating pineapple, then that 'thing' must be pretty cool.

Ok, enough wistfulness. I have some pineapple to go eat.

Tate Words - College Football Edition

2009-09-04T19:52:00.006-05:00

Thanks to friends Lauren and Jeremy who came up with a new "Tate" Word for us by giving Tate this t-shirt on our recent trip to Jackson. We had to swallow our pride to post this one, but in honor of the start of College Football this weekend...

Mississippi STATE

Hey, don't take my picture in this ugly maroon shirt!

See, even my Dad doesn't like it.

Tate tells us how he feels about State...Losers!

Rob asked that I point out that Tate scored as many touchdowns against Ole Miss last year as State did. He also said we can't make fun of the shirt and school that much since the shirt came from an award-winning BBQ champion and we want to stay on his good side....

Hotty Toddy!

Grandfathers

2009-09-01T01:34:00.002-05:00

Tate is one lucky guy to have two doting grandfathers in Poppy and Big Guy.

Tate the Womanizer

2009-08-26T23:13:00.005-05:00

When Rob dropped Tate off at daycare on Monday, one of the teachers made a point to stop him in the hall and tell him that all the teachers love Tate and "he is quite a womanizer." We laughed and figured she probably meant "Ladies Man" or "Flirt."

Um, no, apparently she meant womanizer.

Because today when I dropped Tate off, the mother of a girl in his class told me that last night they were saying prayers and her daughter repeated after her, "God Bless Mommy...God Bless Daddy..." and then there was a pause and the little girl said "And God Bless Tate!"

And when I picked him up today, he went up to each of the three girls who were left and gave them each a hug goodbye. One of them actually cried as we were leaving.

Yep, I think she meant womanizer.

In other news, Tate has become obsessed with airplanes. We have been making frequent trips to DFW's observation area lately where Tate loses his mind every time a plane lands. If you live in the area, it's a great, wide open (free) place to take your kids. (Yes, I've been informed it is also a high school makeout spot. My sister Nancy was the one who gave me perfect instructions on how to get there...hmmm...)

(Even womanizing the sculpture at the observation area?)

Budding Golf Fan

2009-08-16T20:31:00.003-05:00

Tate was apparently paying close attention to Rob all day as he watched the PGA tournament. When the highlights came on, Tate started providing his own commentary. Luckily he didn't repeat some of the words Rob said and only imitated the sounds he made.

Rob's Work Blog

2009-08-14T16:50:00.005-05:00

You read my take on Tate's recent "behavior." Now Rob blogged about it on his work blog, click here. He's going to start regularly contributing to the Children's blog, bringing the "Dad" perspective.

I like how he says "my wife and I stayed patient and tried to learn why he was freaking out instead of just reacting to the freakouts."

I hope the readers don't read my blog for the real story! Shhh.

Tate Words

2009-08-12T23:30:00.005-05:00

ARISTATE

def: Having a slender, sharp, or spinelike tip.

Important Decisions

2009-08-10T22:59:00.007-05:00

A major decision is upon us, and it's just too big for me to decide on my own. So I am asking for your help:

What should Tate be for Halloween?

As a recap, Tate was born a week before Halloween, which happens to be my favorite holiday. Here's a quick trip down memory lane....

Halloween 2007

Tate the Air Freshener.

Halloween 2008

Tate the King

Halloween 2009?? You decide!

I have listed four options in the top right corner of my blog. Please vote. Here's a quick description of my initial ideas. (Feel free to post any additional ideas in the comments section).

1. The Tater Tot -- The inspiration for this is Tate's nickname. I envision some brown felt formed into a cylinder with holes cut out for his arms. A little red fabric on his head for the ketchup. And a treat bag in the shape of a ketchup packet. We have a costume party to attend as a family, so I am already thinking that I can be a carhop and Rob can be a fry cook (since he refuses to dress like a bottle of Ketchup...party pooper.) Benefits: There won't be another Tater Tot in North Texas, for sure! Drawbacks: Brown felt cylinder has potential to look like...well...you know...poop.

2. The Golfer -- This is an off-the-rack Halloween costume that is just too cute. Rob could dress as a caddy. I could be the cart girl. Or a golf ball. Or a tee. I don't know. Benefits: Comfortable and easy. Drawbacks: I would totally be stealing the idea from my friend Courtney who did this a couple years ago.

3. Elvis during the Army Years -- this is actually a continuation of last year's Elvis costume. I was thinking Tate could be a different stage in Elvis' life every year. You know...Army Elvis, Blue Hawaii Elvis, Fat Elvis...it could go on and on into his teenage years. Benefits: No more worrying every year about how to dress Tate for Halloween. Drawbacks: Future therapy bills.

4. Delivery driver for a major overnight shipping company -- When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight (as in awake all night) Tate is your man. His sleeping patterns make him destined to work for my employer (whom I'm reticent to name), so why not start him early? I could get some children's clothing from the company store and give him some boxes to deliver in his wagon (fill the boxes with candy to give others). I could even pay homage to "Castaway" with a little Wilson volleyball in his wagon. Benefits: Starts getting him to bleed purple early. Drawbacks: Gets me in trouble with the Brand police at work.

So what do you think?

Terrible Twenty Two Months

2009-08-08T23:13:00.009-05:00

Tate is a ~~turd~~ toddler testing his boundaries. He is really ~~driving me crazy~~ challenging my parenting skills lately. At twenty-two months he is ~~acting like a rotten two-year-old~~ advanced for his age.

Ok, I am throwing away my PR instincts, and I am just gonna tell it like it is. Tate has a 'tude and it's gotta stop.

He has been going through a phase for about two months where he likes to swing at me. Sometimes he actually smacks me, but most of the time he stands about two feet away and waves his arms in a way that looks like he is casting a spell. We've tried "timeout," but he practically skips to put himself in it. We've tried the evil eye, but he usually tries to imitate it which just makes me laugh. But not today. Today I reached my limit. Today I decided enough was enough. Today he intentionally hit me hard on the face and today I swiftly swatted him on his diaper-covered bottom. It was a soft swat, but his face was stunned, and he ran to timeout (I didn't even have to say "go to timeout") and then sat there and sniffled. And then I felt awful. I told him it was OK to come out of timeout, and he ran and gave me a huge hug. Then he ran to Rob and gave Rob a huge hug. Then he hugged his pull-along-puppy toy. Then he hugged the pile of towels I Rob had just folded. Then he started calling for the cat because he wanted to hug her, too. It was like Jimmy Stewart at the end of It's a Wonderful Life.

And he didn't act up again the rest of the day.

So go ahead and report me to CPS. My child is behaving again.

Babies -- They're Just Like Us!

2009-07-31T20:25:00.004-05:00

Any avid reader of US Weekly knows that the magazine has a regular feature called "Stars -- They're Just Like Us !" The section usually shows pictures of celebrities picking up their dry cleaning, cleaning their car, etc. So I am starting a new blog feature: "Babies -- They're Just Like Us!"

They go grocery shopping!

They shop on the Internet!

(note credit card next to mouse pad...I expect a new train table to arrive any day now)

Cousin Blake

2009-07-28T22:24:00.003-05:00

Tate is very intrigued by his new cousin, Blake. He points to him and says "baby" over and over and likes to 'pat' him...

...and it appears Blake is not so sure about older cousin Tate. But with a birth weight of 10 lbs, 2 oz, I don't think it will be long before Blake can fight back. (and yeah, so I didn't button Tate's pants back up after his last diaper change. It was almost bath time, OK?)

For some great pictures of Baby Blake, check out these pictures on photographer Melissa Zihlman's blog...they are awesome.

Welcome to the world Baby Blake!!

New School, New Worries

2009-07-20T23:10:00.005-05:00

Tate started at a Montessori school in our neighborhood today. He's been in a typical daycare until now...'typical' in that one of his teachers was working on her GED and the other one just quit to become a receptionist at a nail salon because "the pay was better." The new school is a whole new world. How different? Well, for one thing, the music teacher graduated from Juilliard. (of course Rob's response was "Well now we know what happens to the person who graduates last in her class at Juilliard").

So I dropped Tate off at the brand new facility with its pale wood floors and white walls and uniformed kids and Masters-degreed teachers and whispered in his ear, "Tate, this is NOT the place where they are going to want to see your guns." I took him to his class and noted on the class schedule that today they would be learning Mandarin. I don't think they meant the orange.

So how did Tate do? Well as I was leaving, he had already emptied a bucket of blocks on the floor. I went back at lunch to peek in on him and saw him sneaking food off the plates of the other kids who were in line to wash their hands for lunch. When I picked him up, he was in a different outfit than when I dropped him off. They explained that they "don't use sippy cups" and Tate's first experience with an open cup resulted in a milk bath. Who doesn't use sippy cups with 18 month to 3 year olds??? Who is this Maria Montessori chick and why does she hate me?!?

So I am a little uneasy about the whole thing. Don't get me wrong -- I want Tate to have a good start on his education, but I also want him to have fun. And to be fair, they were very kind and warm and Tate was having a blast on the playground when I picked him up. One of his classmates (a 3-year old hussy) gave him a big slobbery kiss on the cheek as we were saying goodbye, so apparently he ignored my advice and gave them a gun show anyway...

So I second-guessed myself for having him in a 'typical' daycare and now I'm second-guessing myself for having him in a fancy school...does parenting ever get to the point where you aren't constantly worrying that what you're doing isn't best for your child?

Learning to impress the ladies

2009-07-12T12:48:00.003-05:00

Tate has learned a few tricks, and they are all sure to impress the ladies. First, some animal noises. Then, some big smiles. And finally....the gun show.

Fourth of July 2009

2009-07-04T10:51:00.008-05:00

This is what he does if you say "give me a big smile!"

Getting ready for the neighborhood parade in his decked-out Cozy Coupe

Life is good when you're two...

Until you run out of gas!

After a hard day of being pushed around in a buggy, it's time for popsicles with Big Guy.

The End.

Happy Fourth of July!!

Father's Day Splash

2009-06-21T13:09:00.003-05:00

After Father's Day lunch, we couldn't resist letting Tate run through the fountains outside the restaurant. It just looked too tempting as we watched the other kids playing. It may be our new favorite "park" in Flower Mound.

Sprinkled

Showered

Drenched!

Gracias Rob and Mama Mia!

2009-06-18T22:45:00.007-05:00

Well, I don't quite know how to follow up Rob's blog posts from the week...I finally finished clicking on all the links. Hilarious.

But I must say, I think he and and Mom were making it all up. (as background, they claim that the day after I left for a five-day business trip to Mexico, Tate woke up wheezing and was diagnosed with croup). Tate was nothing but a smiling, laughing, happy little Tater Tot tonight. He looks just like I left him, so I think they are just wimps who couldn't handle it and made up some story about "croup" and multiple doctor visits so everyone would feel sorry for them.

Actually, I can tell that he was sick, but he had some good care. I beat myself up all week about coming home...it was really difficult, and if several people/vendors hadn't also flown in to meet with us for the site visit, I would have come home. Sounds like I'm making a lot of excuses and justifications, huh? Trust me, I was a guilty mess the whole time...calling our travel office several times to check the availability of flights...reading about croup on my laptop....trying to reconfigure the schedule so I could leave a day earlier...and I'm still not sure I made the right decision. The only thing that made me feel better was knowing he was getting great care from his grandparents and Dad.

But in the end, Tate is fine, and he didn't slap me across the face when he saw me tonight. I've been teaching him to say "Thank you Mama Mia and Daddy" tonight. He had no trouble picking up that phrase.

Thank you Mama Mia and Daddy! Tate and I are both very lucky.

UPDATE: My Dad has posted a video about the week. (If you haven't seen something like it before, adding subtitles to this Hitler scene from "Downfall" is kind of an internet trend lately.)

Lessons from Mom

2009-06-04T09:31:00.003-05:00

I can’t wait until Tate starts talking so I can share all of the little silly conversations we have. Until then, there’s my Mom…

Me: We keep forgetting there is a Fireside Pies restaurant in Grapevine. We need to go back there.

Mom: (wrinkles her nose)

Me: What’s wrong with Fireside Pies?

Mom: They’re just so LIBERAL.

Me: Huh? What makes a restaurant “liberal?” (I’m imagining posters of Democratic presidents... A wall of books...Intellectual games to play while you wait for a table...)

Mom: Oh, you know, they use SUN-DRIED TOMATOES. You know what I always say, the more sun-dried tomatoes a place serves, the more liberal the place is.

So there you have it folks. Just in case you were wondering.

Tate Words

2009-06-02T22:03:00.005-05:00

All of our recent pictures of Tate have him looking very pensive and thoughtful. And so our newest Tate word (for which I had to look up the definition because I didn't trust Rob) is...

COGITATE

Getting our money's worth out of daycare

2009-05-22T22:29:00.004-05:00

Life is good for a toddler in daycare. There's naptime and snacktime and playtime and...massage time!?!????

"Ah...just a little lower, that's it...right there...."

You might be a redneck, if...

2009-05-18T20:02:00.005-05:00

You might be a redneck if your husband opens a bottle of beer, drinks about half of it and then leaves it overnight in the cupholder on the recliner in your gameroom.

(You might be a redneck if you actually HAVE a recliner in your gameroom.)

You also might be a redneck if you don't realize your husband did this and then let your 19-month old play in the gameroom the next morning while you get ready for work and come back five minutes later and notice the overwhelming smell of a bar and then see a toddler holding an upside down beer bottle, with the contents pouring down the front of his shorts.

And you might be a redneck if you holler a string of profanities so your husband, who is leisurely taking a shower, can hear, not thinking that the neighbors can also probably hear.

And you are DEFINITELY a redneck if you blog about all of it.

Wedding in Shreveport

2009-05-09T16:36:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we went to Shreveport for cousin Catherine's wedding. I am learning that now that Tate is mobile (and rapidly so), we don't get to take as many pictures...but here are a few from the fun weekend with Dodsons from all over the U.S.

This is how much of the weekend was spent...chasing Tate. For example, as he runs in front of a friend of the groom giving a thoughtful toast at the rehearsal dinner....

(the rehearsal dinner was a crawfish boil, which explains Tate's shirt.)

At the church awaiting family pictures...

Playing peek-a-boo with the wait staff at the reception.

My Dad's brothers and sister are scattered around the country and rarely have the opportunity to get together. Here they all are catching up (minus Frank, the father of the bride.)

Brooke and Portland cousins Stephens and Tanner.

Playing at Frank and Cathie's house at brunch on Sunday.

It was a fun weekend. Congrats to Cat and Dary!

18 months

2009-04-28T22:31:00.004-05:00

Tate is 18 months old and getting more and more personality every day. For my own records/posterity, his stats are:

Weight: 26.6 pounds (60%)

Height: 32 inches (50%)

Head circumference: 19.5 inches (90%)

At his 18-month appointment, his doctor asked me if I had any concerns and I said "Well, he doesn't say words on his own. He only says things if I prompt him." At that exact moment, Tate picked up his toy cell phone and said "Hello!!!" and then he shut it and said "Bye Bye!!" I just looked at Dr. Beth and said "Um...nevermind...." in a small little voice.

In other milestones, Tate is turning into a little goofball. He knows how to make us laugh and he knows how to work a crowd. For example....watch as he takes a lemon and makes lemonade...or at least makes us laugh....