The "Pity"

You see this small gray dome with a flat dot on top of the roof?  This is the best pic I could get of it but ironically enough this is about it's true size as you are driving down the highway at full speeds scanning the horizon and it pops up in the distance.

This is the Bell County Expo Center, otherwise known as the TITTY.  The Titty competition started way back when in 1998, on our first trip up to Dallas from Austin.  Ryan and I had just met that summer and we were heading up to Dallas so I could meet his family for the first time.   And as you come upon the Belton horizon you see it, and if you are really lucky you see it FIRST.  Ryan introduced me to this competition as we were driving and he yells out TITTY and starts pointing all crazy like in the direction of something.  And then I see it, and then I know why it is called the Titty. 

So car rides with us to and fro Dallas are pretty normal and light until you reach the unmarked "zone".  We each have our own well memorized markers, and probably they are in very close proximity to each other, cause as soon as we come in range, the car gets very quiet as we are each scanning the horizon.  First to see it must yell TITTY. 

Basically, I am the winner.  I've been winning since the beginning.  I see it more often than Ryan and REALLY I have the most points. 

Ryan would say otherwise.  He thinks he has the most points.  But I know the truth and that's all that matters.

So last weekend on our quick trip down to Austin to check on our rent house, Ryan had been complaining about his contacts drying out so he took them out and kept driving without them.  The sun was setting and SUPPOSEDLY he was having trouble seeing the cars in front of him.  His glasses were in his briefcase in the way back of the car....we were going to get in to Austin pretty late and had decided to try to push thru as fast was we could with as little stops as possible, so the glasses had to wait.  But the cars were getting blurrier and blurrier, so we had to pull over as quickly as possible to the side of the road to retrieve them.  Need I mention that we just happened to be pulling over IN RANGE of the ZONE......hummm.  Within 1 minute of the pull over, guess what comes up on the horizon? 

You see, this competition is steep.  One must go to all extremes to win, even if it puts you in to Austin really late at night.

We tied, in case you were wondering. 

After yelling Titty at the top of our lungs, the peanut gallery in the back questions WHAT DID YOU SAY? WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?

"Daddy said PITY, Chance.  If you see that building over there you have to yell out PITY.  And if you see it first, then you will win."

Chance: Why do you call it Pity?

Ryan: "Cause that building is just such a pity"

And so it was in that moment that the PITY was born, and the competition gets passed down from one generation to another. 

But I'll always be the winner.

It's a New World

It's like the whole world has finally opened up for the little man this week.  Mobility has taken on a whole new meaning around here. I found him like this yesterday after nap time, on his knees and pulled up on the railing.  Guess it's time to raise that railing back up or before we know it, he'll be climbing over it. 

This week Brooks has finally learned to crawl.  We thought a man of his stature would never be able to bear such weight on his arms, but nature knows what it is doing.  And all this moving around has actually made him lose a pound. 

In addition to almost crawling, he's understanding more and more every day.  He was eating some melon through the little mesh bags and decided it would be a good idea to show it to Chance.  To his surprise (and clearly NOT to mine!) Chance takes the bag and pretends to starting eating it himself.  Brooks proceeds to scream and look straight at me, like mom, DO SOMETHING.  So I ask Chance to hand it back.  2 seconds later, guess what happens again? 

And then there's the UH-OH's that have started as well.  Drop something on the ground and watch mommy pick it up.  UH-OH, over and over.  Cause and effect.  How long will mommy play this game.

We were outside by the pool, one of his favorite places.  But of course he wants to be on the ground, picking up leaves and sticking them in to his mouth.  I've been working on telling him, JUST FOR LOOKING, NOT FOR EATING. And I know the kid knows what I am saying as he grabs the leaf, looks straight at me with a sideways look, and then slowly raises the leaf to his mouth, the whole while looking at me with those eyes like whatcha gonna do now? 

Remembering Zurich

Chance was almost in tears today before our phone call to Mikkel and Felix.  I REALLY MISS MY FRIENDS MOM, he said very sadly.  It's tough on all of us little buddy.  I really miss my friends as well.  I know we'll get thru it, it's just a long and painful process. 

I decided to upload the pictures off of Chance's camera, and was brought back to the day that Chance walked around the apartment, taking pictures of it so that he could remember it.  Here's some great ones.....

The fireplace:

Chance's (very messy!) room:

Chance's bed:

The bathtub:

And last but not least, hold your breath folks, this is a good one.......

Cause we just have to remember the toilet and all that's in it.

Mini Reunion

About the time we were celebrating our year anniversary in Zurich, Ryan's sister Beth sent me an email asking if she could give my contact information to a couple moving to Zurich that she knew through work.  About a month after that, Amy and Wes move in down the street from us with their son Layton and we were friends ever since.  What a small world.  We got to see Layton grow from a 13 month old baby into a 3 year old, and we also got to welcome little Trevor in to the world while they were in Zurich.  They moved home last September, paving the way for us.  And luckily for me, they moved back to Dallas and are now very close to where we live!

So Amy and her boys came over, it was so good to see them after almost 9 months.  Little Trevor is now walking all over the place and him being in our house was such a good indicator of what is to come......and where we need to baby proof NOW.   Like the back of the computer facing out in to the room with cords all over the place, or the breakable knickknacks on shelves that little hands can reach.  I am so out of touch, and at the rate Brooks is moving these days, I better get to work!

Chance was super cute, being the protective big brother, hovering over Brooks as Trevor tried to play with him.  I love that Chance is so good and so kind to Brooks.  He is so lucky to have him.

After Amy left, Chance and I were in his room and I commented that he could earn a star for his allowance chart if he were to pick up his room.  He said, "Na, I'm going to leave it for Layton to clean up when he comes back on Sunday."

QUOTE OF THE DAY

CHANCE: Mom, I really want to call Mikkel and Felix.
ME: Ok.  Let me email Linda and we can set up a time to talk, you know, so we'll both be home when we try to call.
CHANCE: Mom, we are ALWAYS home.

Ok, I get the hint.  Yes the broken foot has been a minor set back!

Sheer Determination

Chance is the kind of kid that you really can't push too much.  If he doesn't want to learn something new, it just won't happen until he's ready to do it on his own.  I guess we are all that way in many aspects, but Chance especially.

I remember the tiring jaunts up to the mountains to try and get that kid to ski.......finally we just about gave up trying after a painful try in Austria and several other attempts.  It took Chance being around his buddies who all were skiing, to figure out he'd just better put out some effort, or he'd be left behind at the base of the slopes.  So when he was ready, HE WAS READY, and magically he was skiing down the mountains at full speeds. 

And same went for learning to ride his bike and his 2 wheel scooter.  I think the motivation this time was being at the park in Zurich our last week there, and all the kids were zooming around on their bikes......without training wheels, and Chance was left running behind them screaming WAIT UP!  As painful as that is to watch as a parent, you realize it's those moments that motivate.  So when we moved to Dallas, we put our snugly little mostly-carfree couldesac to use.  He and Ryan went out there for several days in a row, and after much determination, he was balancing on his own.  I was such a proud mama seeing him really give it his all.  Chance has really surprised me this summer, trying new things and finding an adventurous, more daring side that I haven't seen in awhile.  Once he mastered the dinky little Diego Bike that was way to small for him, Ryan took him to get a nice upgrade.....I'm sure all along secretly hoping that sooner than later Chance will be trailing him on that nice new mountain bike path just nearly in our backyard.  Not sure that Chance is quite ready for jumping rocks and careening thru creek beds, but we're working on it.

And of course daddy had to try out all his moves on the new ride as well.

A Bump in the Road

Last week we headed to Austin.  It was so good to be "home", in the land of the familiar.  There's something about Austin, a feel to the town like no other.  People are active and outdoorsy, restaurants are locally owned with a flair.  The list goes on and on.  Not to mention the REAL Mexican food like fagitas:

And the all time favorite California Club from Thunder Cloud subs:

Chance was so excited over his first taste of queso, that he was desperately concerned:  PLEASE MOM CAN WE GET MORE IF IT RUNS OUT???

I getcha Chance, I never want the queso to run out either.  Now I just need to learn how to regulate myself so that I am not totally full before my meal even arrives.

My dad has recently moved to Pheonix and had never met Brooks, which was the main reason we had taken to the road.  Since the visit was so short I didn't make plans to see many people, thinking that we'd be back this coming Memorial Day weekend.  That is until we hit the bump in the road, but I'll get to that in a minute. 

We went to Zilker Park with Umpa, got to ride the famous train, eat snow cones and enjoy our time together. 

And we were also able to celebrate Drew's birthday while we were there. 

I can't believe my little brother is getting up there in age...he mentioned having his 10 year reunion coming up and my jaw dropped to the floor.  Not so much that he was having a reunion but that it felt as if I just had mine......where has 5 years gone?

Aunt Andrea was in total heaven with the kiddos

Maybe this will entice them to make little cousins for Brooks to play with???

And then there was Mimi's house.....equipped with a new room for Chance.  Ole Mimi does it up right.  Chance was in heaven in "his" new bed:

We were hanging out in Chance's room one day with the little almost-crawler on the floor. 

I'm on the computer and Chance says: EASY THERE, Star Wars! 

Big brother's toys are way cooler.

And then there was the becoming of the WII MASTER.  Chance dreams about playing Wii against Uncle Drew, the world's most prized and cherised Wii Master. 

The kid practices and practices so that he can one day beat his Uncle Drew. 

So after an evening of game play with the Wii Master, I asked Chance: "Is Uncle Drew like the coolest best wii player in all the universe?  His reply: "NO.  I AM THE WII MASTER NOW.  I beat Uncle Drew, so I am the best now."  Uncle Drew, you've officially been dethroned.

So after our short and fabulous visit, I've gotta admit, my pity party got even bigger.  I think I have a long road ahead of me with finding new friends and feeling at home here.  I miss my friends in Zurich terribly, and it tends to hit as I am driving down the road, the 4 lanes of road IN EACH DIRECTION, to the store.......I feel like I live in concrete.  I miss being able to walk to the store, I miss being able to see pretty things and pretty buildings when I am outside of my house.  Austin was at least some twinkle of the familiar.  Here I still feel like I did my first (and only) semester at Texas A&M: a total outsider!

But after a short trip thru Waco to visit my best childhood friend Michelle, I decided at least it's NOT Waco.  And now, I think it's time I find a new attitude.  I need to tackle this place as if it were a new trip destination, do some more research on what's around that's fun to do.  I admit that yes, I've been letting the pity party go on for just a little too long.  I need to find some other form of entertainment other than driving to the store, becoming totally overwhelmed, and crying all the way home.  It's NOT helping.

So yesterday in an effort to squelch these poor me's and as Chance put it: "Mom, you need to be more fun to play with in the pool".  I decided to put Brooks in the highchair to devour some watermelon while Chance and I proceeded to have a splash war.  Well you see that nice big step right there just under the surface of the water there?

  Some how I stepped off of it and the result was this:

Just a minor BUMP IN THE ROAD.  At least that's what I keep telling myself as I look down at my booted foot that I can't bare weight on, look up at the house that still needs desperate organizing from my new home on the couch, and think to myself that I sure wish I could drive down those 4 lanes of concrete to the store!

New Traditions

Brooks is like an alarm clock that never misses a beat, no power outages over here.  It's usually 6:15, and that means one of us has to get up.  Usually it's ME.  So I've begged and I've pleaded, and I've grumpily demanded oh every once in awhile, that PLEASE could I have one morning a weekend to at least sleep in till 7. 

Ryan's decided on "his" weekend morning, he'd start the new tradition of making waffles with the boys.  And ain't they a beauty.  I like traditions, and they say kids need them. 

Now to get the sleepy head up so he can continue the tradition.......

So You Want Me To Save These?

We've been keeping the doors open a lot lately, with the nice cool weather that has been lingering.  Which let's in the occasional fly. Brooks has really taken to them and his little friend that kept landing on his highchair tray kept him amused for quite a long time.  I had to choose.....nasty fly or quiet child.  It's always quite the delima.

So tonight Ryan asks me if I wanted to save the 6 Lemon poppy seed muffins that I had made for breakfast today.  They had been sitting out all day, it was just the one thing that I couldn't some how get to to put them away.

He calls from the kitchen as he's doing the dishes (note: he's doing the dishes):  HONEY, you want me to save these muffins? 

YES, I reply.  I'm too frugal to let them go to waste.

REALLY? You want me to save these muffins that flies have been on ALL day.  There's probably maggot eggs and throw up on them.  And the flies have been sitting on them eating their own throw up.

OK.  So we had one fly in the house who probably flew by to have a little taste.  I was going to get over that, until you have to go and put it that way.

Yes, the Hard Part

It's posts like this and this that make it so hard to leave.  We miss you all terribly.  Some how Zurich feels so much farther away from here, than Texas did from there.