Oma and Opa visit

Oma and Opa Sprecher were here last weekend so I didn’t get an update out. We had a great visit with them and had some really nice weather and temperatures while they were here. Saturday we were at Kemah on the boardwalk and got rained on a bit but we had a nice lunch at Joes’ Crab Shack. We sat out on the deck over the water and were able to watch the boats come in and out of the channel while we ate. Opa was amazed at how much food one little girl could consume!

This week started with them driving home on Monday morning and they arrived safe and sound later that evening. The rest of the week had the three of us fighting the mullygrubs and feeling like we were all sick with various levels of a cold [bleah!]. Today was adventure day again so we took a drive west of Houston to a little town called Bellville. They had an open market with crafts and such (didn’t find what we were looking for) and some nice little shops and restaurants. Aanika didn’t last long after lunch so we headed home before the rains came and I had a chance to get in a nice little nap when we got home!

Potty training and boo boos

Well, it’s been a pretty quiet week here. The temps went back up and it got nice and steamy and so it made the weekend kind of rainy and gray. We made the best of it though and got some things done in the yard and around the house. The Olympics have been on here at our house every day since they started and they seem to be pretty entertaining for her… gymnastics and the diving seem to excite her. She starts jumping around, waving her arms and running in place like she’s trying to do what they are! Very funny to say the least.

This week she also figured out how to swing like a big girl – leg pumping action and everything! The other fun thing that has been going on, for a while now, is potty training. We started her early (16 months) to see if she’d take to it….if she keeps on like she is, she just might be in big girl pants by the time she’s 2.

On another note, we discovered yesterday that she has a phobia of band-aids! Months ago at her last vaccination appointment she had a pretty traumatic experience. One of the shots was very painful (the nurse had warned me it would be) and she didn’t handle it well. That night at bath time she saw the band-aids and absolutely freaked out…screaming bloody murder – the works. So, to make a long story short, for the next 3 days whenever she’d see something on her body that was round-shaped like the band-aids (her belly button), she would go nuts. Needless to say, Saturday’s booboo didn’t stay covered with the band-aid I so lovingly applied.

Galveston

It’s been a beauty of a week here, weather wise….only in the mid 80’s. Today was no exception so we went off on another excursion to the Gulf coast town/island of Quintana whose history dates back to 1528. There isn’t much left to see of its history because of hurricanes and yellow fever wiping everyone and everything out, but it was fun nonetheless. We took our bikes with us and were able to ride on the beach, had some lunch and even chased down an ice cream man for some frozen goodies.

The photo of Kevin and Aanika was taken on our beach trip today….we thought it was funny because it mentioned Kalamazoo. After our ride, we parked our bikes and played in the waves – the water was 84 degrees! It’s amazing what’s within an hour’s drive of here!

Earlier in the week, Kevin was trying to show Aanika how to do a headstand but inadvertently taught her how to do a forward roll. Now she does it every chance she can! Of course she’s still obsessed with the car and I’ve managed to rig up a way to take her ‘driving’ through the neighborhood….she took her buddy Pandy with us the other day. Her other love in the household is Girlcat. Mind you, she’s 14 years old and had the run of the house her entire life and now there’s this little creature that is intent on giving her hugs!

The car incident

The brand new car

Pretty quiet week for the little one. We went to a neighborhood "National Night Out" gathering on Tuesday evening to get to know some our neighbors - it's a crime prevention thing. It was pretty uneventful except for the one little incident that seemed to irk the daughter. Remember the new car that I told you about? - yeah, the one she's obsessed with - well, I managed to rig something up so that we could pull her in it like a wagon (it's now decorated with red and silver curly ribbons hanging from it). Well, she just thought she was the bees knees and was tickled to death that she was still able to be in her car and not at home. You know, I had a niggle in the back of my brain that said 'maybe you shouldn't take it' but, I did anyway. Fast forward a bit and imagine a STRANGER getting in her car..... The look on her face was priceless! She was completely frozen in place and you could see the look of disbelief on her face. I was able to distract her during this little bit of stress but it didn't take long for her emotions to take over the second time the little girl tried to get in - Aanika showed herself a bit and she managed to give the little girl a shove! All of us adults were snickering a bit, waiting to see the outcome. It turned out to be a non-event but it was a good chance for her to have a lesson in "sharing" - even when it's your most prized toy.

Today we're loading up the bikes and heading to Houston and will be riding one of the trails that is quite popular. Should be a fun day! We had a cold front come through last night so it should be a nice day for riding....it's only gonna be in the low to mid 90's.

Gators and Swings

Saturday was another expedition into the wilds of Texas. We went biking in the Brazos Bend State Park which is about 15 miles from us. That's an easy thing to say but I gotta tell ya, I was chewing my nails by the time we got there....there's Gators in that there park!! Yup, big teef and beady little eyes were staring at us as we rode by his position which was about 3 feet from me. Yikes! Kev figured he was about 6 feet long. We saw another one floating in the middle of a marshy area as well as a littler one (maybe 3 feet) who was sunning himself on a high piece of ground in the middle of a swamp. I wasn't about to stop and take pictures so there won't be any to show ya of our bike ride.

We'll go a more sedate route today with pictures. The photo today is of Aanika's swing that she has in the backyard (no gators there!). It's getting to be an evening ritual of her and Daddy going out to play.

Texas Heat & our "pool"

What a great day! We drove an hour to Galveston Island on the Gulf of Mexico today for a beach outing and had an absolute blast. Aanika LOVED the waves! The water was a balmy 79 degrees, wavy enough to make it fun and there was a great breeze to keep it refreshing. Unfortunately we didn't get her first salt water experience on film but we figure that it won't be her last time there! We're already looking forward to the next time we get to go and are planning on taking our bikes.

We've made Aanika a temporary pool out of a floatable tanning lounger....the community pools aren't open yet during the week. We had temps up around 92 the other day and we had to come up with something fun to do.

Sugar Land House

Well, it's been quite a year so far and I haven't done much updating to the page like I intended!

As many of you know, we've gotten moved in to our new home in Sugar Land, Texas and are absolutely thrilled. We couldn't have been more fortunate with how everything worked out for us. We listed our home and it was sold within the first week, travelled here to find a home and had our offer accepted before we had to travel back home and even had one of my sister's come home from Oregon for a visit before we left. My sister, Maria, drove down with us (what a blessing she was) to help with Aanika and to be my relief driver. Poor Kevin, he and the cat had quite a ride in that truck! It was 3 very long days of fighting the wind, not moving very fast and being just plain cramped, between Aanika and the cat I think that neither of them is looking forward to any kind of trip in the near future! Maria really kept things moving once we got here - you'd think that we've lived here for years! It's really quite amazing....the house looks like it was built for us and for our furnishings. The curtains that were left behind match our couches perfectly, the main paint color is EXACTLY the same as in our condo with a lighter shade in the other areas and it's scale is wonderful for our oversized furniture. We're really looking forward to living here ~ who knows what might be in store for us!