Fort Worth (Part II)

After our train ride, we went back to Parin's and Aunt Emmy's place.  And they had another surprise for me!  They'd gotten all the stuff for us to make our own individual homemade pizzas!  With Parin's help, I made pizzas for all of us.  Uncle James and Ms. Anne came over, too, so I made pizzas for them as well!  It was so much fun!

The next day, we had to leave.  Our vacation was over.  We were all a little sad.  But before going, we attempted to get a good picture of me and Madelie with Parin and Aunt Emmy (M's Nanny).

Hello Nanny & Parin! (Part I)

The last weekend in February, we took a road trip to visit Parin and Aunt Emmy in Fort Worth.  As it happened, Mommy was asked to work for Louisiana Tech's Career Fair that Thursday.  So we left our house on that Wednesday afternoon and drove to Ruston.  We had dinner with the Kings, some close friends of Mommy's, and stayed in a hotel.  I love staying in hotels!  The next morning, Mommy left to go to the career fair, and Madeline and I hung out with Daddy.  When it was time to go meet Mommy, Daddy packed us all up!

We met Mommy after the career fair on Tech's campus.  Then we met up with Mr. Matt to take pictures.  We roamed campus taking pictures for a while.  Mommy grabbed a few quick shots with her phone, too.  (We'll share Matt's pictures soon!)

Then we loaded back into the van and off to Fort Worth we went!  Madeline and I were both excellent travelers!  We slept most of the time, but when we were awake we were very good.  Madeline got a new arch of toys to put on her carseat, so that kept her entertained.  I mostly watched DVDs and colored.  When we were about 80 miles from Parin's and Aunt Emmy's house, it was around 7 PM, so we stopped for a potty break.  It was a really big travel plaza that had a BBQ joint and a Sonic.  Mommy begged me to get some dinner at Sonic, but I refused.  I was determined: I had to get to Parin's to eat with him!  So eventually Mommy conviced me to at least get a snack; I opted for an Icee (green, of course) and a bag of popcorn, one of my favorites.  But I told her I wasn't going to eat them unless I got very hungry.  Good enough.  We loaded back into the van, and just as Mommy was getting me strapped in, I said "I think I'm pretty hungry now!" 

When we got closer to Parin's house, he and Aunt Emmy met us at McAllister's Deli for dinner.  I refused to eat.  At that point I was determined to get to their house: I had to see Franklin (their dog)!  We made it to their house, settled in, and crashed for the night.

The next day, they both had to work.  So we stopped by Parin's office for a little visit and went to Panera for lunch with him.  He gave us tickets to the Fort Worth Children's Museum for some afternoon fun.  And fun we had!

There was a huge train table area, complete with holes you could go in to build the tracks around you.  Mommy helped me construct some tracks.

There was a huge permanent spiral track for the trains, too.  Daddy showed me how to run them down the sloping spiraling tracks!

Then I found the grocery store!  It was the absolute best thing yet!  There were carts that were just my size.  And a lot of groceries, too... canned goods, fruits and vegetables, meats, drinks, everything!  Mommy was really impressed that I knew what almost everything was, including all the produce. 

I even took Madeline shopping with me!

Once I had a cart full of groceries (or Madelines!), I headed over to the check-out counters.  I placed all my purchases on the belt, moved them forward, scanned them, then pushed buttons on the register!

After going to the museum, we went back to Parin's and Aunt Emmy's house.  Madeline and I took naps. 

Then we all went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  It was really yummy! 

The next day we headed toward Dallas to Ikea.  Mommy and Daddy wanted to get a shelf for Madeline's bedroom.  I got to get some more pieces for my train set there.  After Ikea, we met Uncle James and Miss Anne at Chick-fil-A for lunch.

After lunch, Parin had a BIG surprise for me!  We drove to the Trinity River Park.  There, he showed me a train I was going to ride!  I love trains, so I was super excited!  It's miniature railroad that runs on Saturdays through this park.  The ride is about 45 minutes long.  We got our tickets, then had to wait a while.  Once we got on, we had a great adventure!

 

Madeline is 5 Months Old [on Thursday]

Madeline will be 5 months old this Thursday!  We can't believe how big she is getting!  She's sitting up on her own super well.  She can roll over (when she wants to).  She holds her own bottle.  She giggles and laughs and is always happy!  If we give her a toy, she has a great grip and loves to play with things that make noise.  She still loves her Taggie and is starting to really like her soft baby doll Grangie and Paw-Paw Mike gave her.  She loves to see me, watch me, and hear my voice.  If I tell her to kiss me, she does!  When she hears me come in the room, her eyes light up and she looks all around until she finds me.  And for two nights now she's eaten carrots.  I think she really likes them!  Tonight she was really getting excited with every bite!  Madeline still likes to put her hands in her mouth, but I constantly remind her not to.  I don't think she listens to me very well.

So, like with me and my blue chair for two years, it was fitting that this past Sunday, still all dressed up from church, Mommy sat Madeline in her chair for her (almost) 5 month chair picture! A llittle later I came in and joined the fun. There are really no captions needed, so enjoy our wonderful pictures! [Mommy was super excited that we both sat still, close to each other, and smiled while both looking in the same general direction!!]

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy wanted to take a picture of me and Madeline in our cute Valentine's Day shirts that Grangie made for us.  I told her I would, but only if we could do it by the fire.  With the fire going.  Okay, she obliged.  So here we are!  It took several different shots, and we had a little storytime in the middle, but Mommy says she got a few good pictures.  I hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

Since Mommy and Daddy had to work today, they gave us some Valentine's presents yesterday.  Grangie and Paw-Paw and Aunt Barbara and Uncle Donald gave us some, too.  Thanks!  They gave me a new Thomas the Tank Engine DVD and an M&M contain that [Mommy didn't realize when she bought it] also dispenses sticker and has a stamper!  It's three presents in one!  :)

Food for Madeline

Sunday morning, after church and while Madeline was sleeping, Mommy made some baby food for her -- her first round!  I got to help put the labels on all the containers!  She ate the carrots at lunch... just a few bites until she gets used to it... so far so good!

An Afternoon at Gram's House

Saturday afternoon we went to Gram's house to celebrate birthdays for Gram, Papa, Ms. Michelle (Papa's daughter), and Mr. Andy (Ms. Michelle's boyfriend). All their birthdays are really close together, so we just got together for them all at once.

Gram and Papa got me a new chair to sit it.  It was pretty comfy!

And even though it was cold, I got to go outside two times for just a few minutes to feed the ducks.  They weren't around much, but when I saw them from the window, we went out to feed them some bread.

Mommy and Madeline hung out inside, too.  Mommy and Daddy didn't want me to get any sicker, so I had to stay inside mostly too.

Lowe's Saturday: Music Box

It was another Build-and-Grow Workshop this weekend at Lowe's!  This Saturday, I got to make a Valentine's Day Heart-Shaped Music Box.  It's great!  When you open it, it sings music, and when you close it, it stops!  I'm very proud of it!

And, while we were at Lowe's, I reminded Daddy Jer that we needed to get some birdseed.  I had worked very hard on my [albeit, very small] birdhouse the day before, and I needed some birdseed for the birds to come and eat!  I carried the big bag all by myself!



A Trip to the Mall with Mommy, Grangie, & Madeline

Mommy's van is in the shop today, so we spent the morning hanging out at home. Grangie called us to see if we wanted to go to lunch. Of course I did! So she picked us up and I got to chose where we went. I asked for the Mall, and Grangie said sure! So off we went!

When we got to the mall, Mommy was getting the stroller ready for Madeline when she had a thought... Madeline has been sitting up really well on her own, so she decided to try and see if she could sit in the stroller without her big carrier. And she did! And she loved it!



And a little bit later, when she got hungry, she just lounged back and drank her bottle. She held it herself. She is growing up so independently!



After we ate lunch, we got to go to Build-a-Bear! I love making animals there! I chose a lady bug for me and a sweet bear for Madeline. First I stuffed them and put hearts in them.






Then I had to give them baths! I chose an outfit for each one with Grangie's help, and we checked out. Next door is Godiva. I asked very nicely for a heart candy, and since Mommy gets one free piece a month, I got to go in and pick one.


We love our new animals!







- Please excuse any errors - Posted with Mommy's iPhone