Ho, Ho, Ho

Mommy took the day off from work so that she could join Daddy on the kids' first real visit to Santa Claus. Ike was very excited about Santa. When he sat on Santa's lap, he told Santa that he had been a good boy. Santa replied that he already knew that Ike had been a good boy. When asked what he wanted Santa to bring him, Ike responded "Presents!". Santa told him that he'd bring some surprise presents then. Ike thanked Santa and gave him a big hug. The kids took a pretty picture with him, and then Santa gave Ike two coloring books (one for Ike and one for his baby sister). Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas!

Busy Bees

Gosh, it's been about three weeks since my last post. Time flies by when you are busy going to birthday parties and holiday parades and shopping malls!
Here are the highlights that will get you up to speed:

• Elizabeth Eckelberg turns 5--Party with face painter/balloon animal maker
• Scott Luza turns 4--Party at bounce house with Elmo meet and greet
• Sealy Fantasy of Lights Parade
• Wallis Holiday Parade
• Aggie crawls--Six-month-old Aggie weighs 15 lbs. even at check-up.

So Many Parties, So Little Time

We attended yet another birthday party on the 19th. We ate pizza, and all the kids decorated their own cupcakes. Ike kept wanting more, more, more of the dinosaur and car sprinkles. Good times, good times. Ike is a lucky boy to have so many friends with great parties.

If I Ran the Zoo

We all went to the Houston Zoo on the 17th. Ike learned a new word, Okapi. We saw the new baby giraffe, the baby elephant, and a three-legged dik-dik. The kids (and Aunt Kristy) really enjoyed riding the new wildlife carousel in the children's area of the zoo. We were lucky in more ways than one when we caught the last ride on the zoo train. The train broke down right as it was pulling back into the station!

A Bunch of Weird Eggs

We have been keeping busy the past couple of weeks. The "cousins" drove down from Portland, Oregon to visit the 15th-21st. Ike loves his cousins, and he especially loves the ladies. He seemed to play better with Anna and Megan than with Ian.

Bring It On! (The Food, That Is)

On Saturday, November 11th Mick and I dined at Fogo de Chao with the Boppies (Blow Out Preventor Engineers) courtesy of Cameron.

Meat, meat, meat. Oh how many meats you eat!

I had a fantastic time and can't wait until next quarter to get treated to more fine dining.

Party Boy

We all attended Logan's 3rd birthday party on Sunday, November 5th at the Sealy baseball park. Ike had a fun time in the inflatable train after he quickly figured out how to climb up and slide down. The kid has been to so many fun parties lately that he is going to have high expectations for his own birthday. We need to start planning (and saving) now!

Halloween Spirit

This morning Mick was in the Halloween spirit. Aggie dressed in her cow outfit. Mick appears to be Sherlock Holmes, and Ike is Sponge Bob Short Pants. Ike's dragon/dinosaur outfit is not suited to wear all day at school, so Sponge Bob Short Pants it is. We will hurry home tonight to try Trick or Treating. Ike is excited about being a "dinosaur".

It's a Party...a Pizza Party...

While Mommy and Aggie stayed home and rested, Daddy and Ike had a blast at Lauren's 5th birthday party at Monkey Bizness on Sunday, Oct. 29. They had pizza, cake, and juice boxes! Ike can't stop talking about the slide. Daddy got quite a workout carrying Ike up the steps to ride the slide several times. What fun!

It's a Baby Shower!

On Saturday, Oct. 28, I co-hosted a baby shower for my friend, Amy Goodman, at her home in Waco. The shower turned out really nice, and a good time was had by all.

The Great Southwest

Mick was off co-presenting at the National Council for Workforce Education conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 22-24. While there, he visited Santa Fe and Los Alamos.

Aunt Laura's Visit

Aunt Laura visited us Oct. 14-18. She played puzzles and blew bubbles with Ike, and we showed her all the fine shopping and dining the Metro Houston Area has to offer!

Mick and Ike played hookie on Thursday so they could attend the 2006 Austin County Fair Parade in Bellville, Texas.

Tuesday, Ike came home from daycare with a fever and this bizarre rash. I thought "what kind of freak disease is this kid bringing home now?!"

A frantic call to the doctor's office resulted in this advice: "Take Tylenol and call me in the morning".

We visited the doctor Wednesday morning. The verdict: "a virus". Take Tylenol for fever and Benadryl for itchiness. Please pay the receptionist on your way out.

Ike has appeared to feel fine throughout the entire ordeal, and he was full of energy while we stayed at home Wednesday, as you can tell from the photo.

Daddy returned Sunday from his "business" trip at Harvey's Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino. We are happy to have him home. It appears that he enjoyed himself somewhat after the NCGE Conference.

Miss Aggie first turned over a few weeks ago. Now she's flipping around everywhere, and we can't keep her in one spot. She wants to be on the go, go, go!

Last week, we had several afternoon thundershowers. This one left us with a weird sky and huge double rainbow.

Howdy!
Welcome to our new blog. It is our hope that we will be able to keep you informed of the goings-on at the monkey house. And away we go....