Itsy Bitsy Spider

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'

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elmo!!!

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

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.