Walking "Crew"

What is one the best parts about living in Austin? Well besides the hills, I do have to say the lakes! Town Lake/Lady Bird lake is my favorite! It is just so relaxing yet rejuvenating to walk around the lake and stare at the beautiful scenery, downtown Austin skyline, and all the kayaker's and canoer's in the lake.

Every Tuesday, and many other days during the week, two of my friends and I walk the kiddos around the lake in the morning. We pack a picnic lunch, eat at Zilker, and then let the kids play at the park. This weather is just PERFECT so we have been enjoying it! Now what are we going to do when June, July, and August come around? Yikes, we may have to walk at 7 am before is 110 degrees!

Sloane, Ben, and Crew

AKA-"the walking crew"

A New Place to Play

It has been beautiful spring weather here, and not a day goes by that we do not enjoy it. It doesn't get much better than sunny and 75 everyday. Here in a few months we will be house bound again when it hits the 100's, but for now, we LOVE the weather.

Last summer Crew was just crawling, so it was hard for us to go outside. Now, his new favorite place to play is the backyard. He stands at the door crying to go out! Fine with me, I love being outside! Crew rediscovered his bubble mower and mows the whole yard daily, ha. And, I was picking up some of Bella's messes, and Crew decided he wanted to help. Well, not with that, but he wanted a bag too. He worked for almost an hour to put mulch, leaves, and little sticks in a grocery sack. Guess the littlest things are the most fun for a toddler!

May we all be entertained with the little things in life!

Mowing backwards.

I think I'm done with this mowing thing.

Filling up his grocery bag.

His feet are blurry because he moves so fast, ha!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

From our little leprechaun to you...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Dear Paci...

Dear Paci,
As much as I have loved you these past 18 months, its now time to depart. I don't want you harming Crew's teeth, so its time to say adios! I was worried that this would be a hard separation since Crew was so attached to you, but with a few snips each day, you got too hard for Crew to hold in his mouth. Now our relationship is now OVER! Yippee!

I will NOT miss looking for you all over the house (even though I had about 5, you always seemed to get lost). I will NOT miss having to buy a new pack each time I went to the store, since Bella loved to chew you up whenever she had a chance. And, I will NOT miss having to sanitize you everyday.

I WILL miss my little mute button, you helped keep Crew from crying in a store/church/or when I am on the phone. What I WILL miss the MOST is that my little boy is not a baby anymore, just one more step to becoming a big boy.

This is kind of a "bittersweet" goodbye. Thanks for all you memories over the last 18 months.
Sincerely,
Mommy Kim

Enjoy some pics of the Crew and his paci through the years, well past 18 months...

Big 18 month old Crew, playing in the dirt in his work boots at our new house.
Definitely all BOY!!

Who Knew?

For Valentines Day I got a "Dinner for 2" from Whole Foods. Let me just tell you... best thing ever!! It came with tons of gourmet food, all you had to do was warm it up. Could not be better for a mom with a toddler! Anyways, one of the side dishes that came with our meal was KALE. Neither Brett or I had ever had it before, so we gave it a try. It was cooked with raisins and apricots, so it tasted pretty good.

I looked for it at the store yesterday and found some right by the lettuce/spinach area. To be honest, I had not idea how to cook it, so I came home and googled, "how to cook kale" (what did we do before the internet?) I ended up sauteing it with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and some extra virgin olive oil. It turned out pretty good! As I was doing my research I was amazed with the health benefits that Kale provides, here are just a few:

Nutrition Know-How

• Three servings of leafy greens each day has been found to slow cognitive loss by 40 percent.
• Kale is packed with phytochemicals like sulfur-containing glucosinolates and isothiocyanates that help ward off cancer.
• The fiber in kale helps absorb and sweep out DNA-damaging chemicals and other toxins that enter our bodies.
• Open-leafed plants in the cabbage family, like kale, have higher amounts of vitamins C and A and carotenoids than plants whose leaves don’t see the sun. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that also support proper functioning of the immune and reproductive systems and lower the risk of cataracts.
• Kale is an excellent source of minerals, including calcium, and manganese, a mineral the body requires for many physiological functions.
• One cup of kale provides 1,300 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K, which is important for healthy blood coagulation and maintaining bone mass.

• Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-cook-kale.html#ixzz0xJLnfWem
  

I think this just may be something I add to my morning smoothie, and weekly dinner menu... just to make sure we get all benefits!
I gave some to Crew to try and I think you can tell what he thought of it by the picture. I think it will take some getting used to for him, but hopefully he will come around. The health benefits make it too good to pass up! So load up on some Kale, your body will thank you!

Kale, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and olive oil

Tilapia dinner with roasted potatoes and kale

What is this stuff mom?

Rodeo Time!

On Tuesday morning I was checking my email and Crew came in to try to help. He tried closing the computer screen and I tried to open it and it cracked. (FYI- not the best thing to fix on a computer, $450, yikes!) So, I decided it was time for us to get out of the house. We took a road trip to Katy for the night to see my parents.

It was such a nice day on Wednesday we took Crew to the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I don't think I have been to the rodeo since I was in high school, and boy was it fun! They had so many different activities for kids. Crew loved the petting zoo, pony rides, looking at all the animals, and even learning how to farm. We had a wonderful day, enjoyed some good bbq, and our little cowboy was so tuckered out from all the fun, he went right to sleep as we were walking to the car. Wish Brett could have been there with us too, but I don't think we could bear the HUGE crowds on the weekend with a toddler and a stroller.
*On a side note, Crew's shirt and boots were both Brett's when was little. They fit Cowboy Crew perfectly- so neat that he can wear them!

Our little cowboy ready for the rodeo.

Petting zoo animals.

Llamas
(Crew liked to put the sawdust in their fur)

Don't ask me what animal this is?
Ideas?

This is FUN!!

"Hank" the pig taking a nap.

Papa waited in line for 45 minutes for Crew to ride the pony.
(Thanks dad!)

Crew LOVED the pony ride! He smiled and giggled the whole time!
(I took off his boots, yep, a cowboy riding in his socks.
I was afraid the boots would fall off when he was riding.)

Ride 'Em Cowboy!!

Crew didn't want to get off the pony, he liked the ride waaay too much!

Farming

The farmer explaining to Crew how to plant the onion seed.

Diggin' a hole for the seed.

Every seed needs a little water.

Learning how to milk a cow.

A BIG tractor!

Grammy and Papa with Crew
(he wants to get down and WALK, does not like being held, ha!)

Powdered sugar anyone?

As I am getting dinner ready, look who got into the pantry and had some fun! He's got the "guilty" look on his face too, ha! A little powdered sugar is soo fun to play in-brought a big smile to my face! =)