a day at the park

Freebies

I have signed up and gotten so many freebies in the mail (samples, mags, coupons, etc...) that it makes it fun to check the mail again. Check out this free "sample" that I got from Sam's club a week ago or so.

the old there's-a-fly-in-my-soup trick

If ever I had a chance to do something with this, it was Friday night. Michael took me to Guri Di Sul in the Woodlands (on my request). It is a Brazilian steakhouse like unto Fogo da Chao. (sidenote of explanation for anyone not familiar: they have an immense salad bar--full of cheeses, olives, hearts of palm, salad mixes, etc... the meal is served from skewers using colored coasters. Green, on one side, alerts the waiter to offer more meat or seafood. Red, to stop. There are many different cuts of meat: flank steak, ribeye, filet mignon, lamb chop, pork tenderloin, bacon wrapped chicken, shrimp, swordfish, bacon wrapped salmon, etc...etc...)

Having been to the "real" one, it was hard to not compare. The atmosphere is fine, but not the same upscale feel as Fogo. The price was less expensive (by a tiny bit), but the food quality was worse, I felt. Their house special beef was wonderful--medium rare and tender and juicy. Most of the others were just a bit tough or overcooked. The service was the most noticeable difference. Somehow, even with all the bustling around, the waiters at Fogo da Chao are silent and unseen, present when you want them but invisible when you don't. I felt like the waiters (especially our table waitress), while friendly, were a bit too apparent and almost hovering most of the meal. Not an intimate dinner for 2.

The most noticeable flaw came after I finished my almost-last bite. There was a dragonfly (dead) attached to my flank steak. Michael and I just laughed. It was so unexpected! A gnat or, in Houston, a mosquito would not have caused surprise, but a dragonfly??? We opted not to make a fuss and just finished our dinner and headed out. We did leave a comment on the comment card though. Sorry the lighting is so bad, but we tried to take a picture just to prove it. (it didn't help to have a hovering waitress the whole time though since we were trying to be discreet.)

Mother knows best

Well, mom was right. We are having a little...

GIRL!!!

PS: She had hiccups throughout the whole ultrasound. :)

a month of pictures

David dearest,

You are 26 months old!

The most noticeable difference this month is in your vocabulary. It is starting to take off--although still rather tricky for most people (other than me) to understand. You do chatter away constantly though!!! You have been quite active using the possessive recently. Everything is Mommy's Bible, Daddy's car, David's blanket, etc... And I can see your mind put together all sorts of related things in such a mature way! For example, after talking about sharks twice maybe months ago on some pjs you own, you saw a lego structure last week at Toys r Us and started yelling "shark. shark." I looked, and sure enough, it was a very stylized form of a shark! Your favorite movie--Cars. (you call "Lightning McQueen" what sounds like "rocking" for some reason.) While out shopping with me, you saw a boy wearing a red "Lightning McQueen" hat, and started shouting "Rocking. Rocking. Rocking."--until I looked and acknowledged that, indeed, it was "Lightning McQueen." (you must see picture below of the hat to understand how really amazing that is.)

Enjoy the rest of the pictures of this month of growth!

precious, fleeting moments

There are so many of these-- The moments that you want to hold onto because you know they will not last. Here are two examples. Yesterday, when getting back in the car, David picked up his matchbox cars that had been sitting in the sun. "Hot," he said and then proceeded to blow on them. He decided I could do a better job and handed me each one in succession for me to blow on. "All done."

It is that same trust of all Mommy's abilities that is so touching. Whenever he bumps himself or otherwise hurts himself, he will say, "Kiss." Right after I kiss him, he looks at me, starts smiling and says, "All done." (meaning all is right with the world again).

Do we trust our Heavenly Father that much?

Caffeine and kicking

M did take a picture of me at 16 weeks (+2 days). I can tell I am pregnant--not just the pooch in the stomach :) , but I also know that the casual observer might not notice. I have only put on 4-5 pounds at 17+ weeks. However, not to be too fooled, this is exactly what happened with D (and all told I put on about 38 pounds total with him). Compare the two 16 week photos below.

Stuffed into my pre-pregnancy-one-size-smaller-than-fitted-to bridesmaid dress

This time around

So many times, I wondered about this new life. I knew I was pregnant, but still this did not seem real. I had heard the heartbeat only once. The first early ultrasound was as clear as mud. I had gained very little weight and hardly any symptoms (other than more than the average number of bathroom trips) since the 2 weeks of feeling yucky early on. Was everything all right?

Perhaps it was so many busy weeks in a row, hardly time to stop still...Assuredly, however, all the caffeine on Saturday changed everything. (I have not been avoiding the caffeine but hardly ever intake.) We were hosting an early morning garage sale; I thought I felt a pressure on my right side. Sure enough, by that evening, there were a few tiny movements. But the next morning, the reality of it set in. I woke up to some solid movements. I realized my baby is no longer the little peanut floating around. This baby is now ab. 5" from head to bottom! This precious new life is almost half through growing inside the womb!

On another note, we have our big ultrasound on Oct. 15. Any guesses? I have a strong inclination one direction, but we will see.

a Successful Saturday

Check out our life group blog for photos of our successful and fun garage sale/family day.