Tea Time with Su Su

Sadie, Su Su and I decided one day that we would head out for tea. We have been to the tea room in Friendswood, but instead opted for the Holly Berry Tea Room in League City. We were delighted with the choice. Sadie grabbed her sunglasses and we drove over. 

Once seated, they brought Sadie some tea (apple juice in a tea pot) to drink along with some toddler friendly snacks (raisins and gold fish). I am so impressed with how well they cater to little ones. Really makes you feel like they are welcomed! Sadie looooved sipping from the big girl tea cup and having Mommy pour "More tea! More tea!"

Sadie sipping tea.

We had sandwiches and salad and Sadie enjoyed a lovely grilled cheese sandwich with veggie sticks chips. How fun that Sadie is getting old enough to go out for a spot of tea.

All smiles!

Su Su helping Sadie sip her tea

We thought it might be fun to ride the elevator after we left the tea room, so we headed to the mall. Usually, Sadie enjoys playing with the car strollers, but we rarely rent them since they are five dollars a visit! Whoa. However, someone working on maintaining the rides offered one to us for FREE! We jumped at the chance, although Sadie only rode for about 4 minutes. She's never been too keen on sitting still - as in ever unless she is completely asleep! So we used it for a very helpful bag holder and rode the elevator several times until it was time for a nap. What a fun day with Su Su!

Our FREE Ride!

Lynnai Comes To Town!

During the Thanksgiving break, we received a call from Lynnai (a childhood friend of mine now living with her sweet family in Colorado). She was in town with her kiddos and wanted to meet up for a few hours to visit before they started back for their own personal Winter Wonderland of Colorado. Before we left to meet them at our favorite Barnes and Noble, we took a few shots of Sadie in the front yard dressed in the red plaid outfit given to her by Jim and Mae, close family friends of the Hamons who live in Scotland!

Sadie's Scottish dress AND bear from Scotland!

A Plaid Princess

Lynnai's son, Dylan, was the ring bearer in our wedding. It was so sweet to see our little girl now meeting him. He's all grown up and such a little gentleman. Sadie gave him a hug and enjoyed listening to him read her the Veggie Tales book. Sadie was also enamored with Lynnai's sweet little girl, Madison, who was younger than Sadie the last time we saw her at our wedding!

Huggin Dylan!

Thank you for reading to me, Dylan!

Lynnai and I didn't skip a beat, picking up where we left off last visit. We talked about the joys of being a mom, life in Colorado, her brother Kendall and were sad when we realized hours had passed and they needed to be heading out (and Sadie needed her nap soon!). Mom couldn't help snapping a picture of all of us together. To think we were friends in kindergarten together and so close all through elementary school. They even moved from Jersey Village over to Clear Lake when we were young. We were in each other's weddings and although we live states away, I still treasure my relationship with this special and Godly example of a beautiful woman - inside and out. I cannot wait until we can head their way some time soon to enjoy their company again.

Childhood friends

The Whole Gang!

Sadie loving on Madison

Granny, Mommy, and Sadie go to the zoo

One of our very favorite activities is to go to the Houston Zoo. This is the second year we have enjoyed a membership and we have "gotten our money's worth," as Gammy would say. Before I had to have my gall bladder removed, I wanted to take full advantage of going on excursions that would prove challenging for the weeks following, so Great Granny said she was up to join us for a fun-filled day of animals at the zoo. Sadie was ready, wearing her Winnie the Pooh pink and white sunglasses, as we pulled into the relatively empty parking lot. Great posed for a quick picture as Sadie eagerly awaited for the stroller to take off towards the delightful menagerie of animals. 

Sadie and Great

Our first stop was to the sea lions. Sadie's vocabulary has exploded so much that she will try any new word offered to her. As we have already had extensive practice saying "lion" (sounds like "riiion") thanks to The Wizard of Oz, saying "sea lion" proved an easy task for our little girl. She pressed her face in between the warm metal to get a better look at all three sea lions who were gliding through the water and playing with one another. After leaving the sea lions we walked over to the Reptile House. Sadie was enraptured with the giant white alligator and enjoyed seeing the frogs. Besides that, insects that blend into leaves are not too exciting for a nearly two-year old. She was more excited by the large copper statue of a cobra found outside the entrance. She spend several minutes hugging the "nake!" and telling it "bye bye!" before moving on.

Watching the Sea Lions

Giving the "Nake" a Hug

We meandered around several exhibits until we found the elephants. Great really enjoyed how beautiful they were and so I snapped a picture of her with one. She said she remembers going to the zoo with her husband, Lewis, and how she has a picture of him standing by the giraffes. I always enjoy hearing little bits of information and memories from Granny about Granddaddy Lewis. Never having the opportunity to meet him, she's my secret window into the past.

Great Granny with the beautiful elephant

After looking at the elephants, Sadie decided it was time to push the stroller herself. Hardly being able to reach the handle didn't intimidate her at all; she confidently took off, bobbing and weaving to the left and right, with Mommy right behind her to make sure she didn't accidentally roll over any unsuspecting zoo patron's toes.

Sadie pushing the stroller herself.

We have all heard the expression, "Take time to stop and smell the roses." I feel that toddlers do not have to be told this. Perhaps we lose some of the excitement and intrigue within our hearts as we age. Maybe this is one of the wonderful pleasures of having children. They remind you of the little things in life that have been wonderful all along - as we are often too busy to stop and appreciate them. I love how Sadie can be surrounded by Asian elephants and Koalas from Australia, but find just as much joy in inspecting the color of a locally-grown flower.

Stopping to smell the...flowers.

We had lunch at some point during our trip. Honestly, I wish I would have taken a picture of what we packed. Granny was conservative and packed the perfect amount of food to fill her belly. Me, on the other hand? I packed more variety for one toddler than was probably needed for a whole mother's day out classroom. Granny laughed at each new option I pulled out of my "magic" Mary Poppins-lik cooler backpack. We had hummus, cracker sticks, and apple, turkey, frozen peas, applesauce, yogurt, cheese, raisins, juice, peanut butter, fruit leathers, and a celebratory pumpkin cookie (just to name the food I can remember!). At least this proves that anyone that ever travels with me will not go hungry due to my excessive snack-packing skills. After lunch, Great Granny paid for Sadie to ride the carousel. This was her first time riding it at the Houston Zoo! She looked at all the animals (sitting on a few different options) before settling on the lion. Good pick. With every time she went around, she looked for Great and shouted, "HI! GREAT!" She was so proud of herself for riding on the lion.

Sadie's first BIG carousel ride!

We then headed to the children's section. Great pulled out some change and let Sadie make a flattened penny souvenir. She enjoyed cranking the giant handle and liked that the penny came shooting out the bottom. She said, "Wow! Penny! See it?!"

Great helping Sadie with her penny

We didn't make it all the way into the children's zoo section because Sadie was distracted by the pretend city. She enjoyed looking out the holes. I watched as some parents prodded kids along in order to go see the real attraction - the animals. I thought for a moment of doing the same. After all, I knew what was waiting was, well, better. However, after having Sadie I have worked very hard to listen to her and understand who she is and meet her needs, not mine. Granny was so sweet and gave me the best compliment ever that moment by the pretend city. She told me what a great mother I was and how patient she thought I was with Sadie. Best compliment ever. We didn't push Sadie to move along because she was enjoying herself. She didn't need to see the bats or foxes to appreciate having fun. Her concept of fun does not have to align with an adult's, or even a five year old's for that matter. She is almost two. She gets to have the perfect fun for an almost two year old. So, we stood there by the pretend city and watched her poke her head in and out of the "windows" until she was finished.

The pretend city and its windows!

Although past time for a nap, Sadie somehow found the energy to give the playground a quick run. Much bigger than her last visit, Sadie went up the stairs with ease and I walked along side the tunnels, taking pictures of her and cheering her onto (and down) the slide. After a few minutes she willingly got into the stroller and we rolled out of the zoo, thankful for a special day spent with a very Great Granny.

Peek-a-boo Sadie!

Halloween Pt. 2: We're Off to See the Wizard!

It took no howling tornado to blow Dorothy our way this Halloween! With The Wizard of Oz being Sadie's favorite movie, Dorothy seemed a perfect fit for our little girl. Instead of trick-or-treating door to door, we opted to enjoy the fall festival at our church, University Baptist Church. We arrived as the sun was going down - just in time to take some great pictures together! Sadie said, "CHEEEESE" as we snapped away, capturing the handmade blue-checkered dress, white tights, red sparkly shoes, and pigtails adorned with tiny red polka-dot bows. Sadie seemed thrilled with her outfit and even recognized that her shoes looked like the "girl's!" (Dorothy) on The Wizard of Oz. Sadie also did a great job of carrying her faithful canine companion, Toto, a brown and black electric dog that yipped on cue with a press of a blue plastic button.

Dorothy and Mommy

Sadie and Toto too!

Four Beautiful Generations

Once inside, we stopped for a quick "photo opp" by the hale bale. Sadie humored us for a few moments as we quickly snapped a shot - then we were on to the kid activities.

We acted as salmon, swimming upstream against a throng of kids clad in costume, and just before we hit the door opening to all the toddler-friendly games and activities, Sadie spied her former Sunday school friends, Evie and Emily. Emily Simmons has been a special friend of Sadie's. They stop in the hallways to give each other hugs as we make our way from Sunday services. Also, every Tuesday / Thursday when Emily sees us she says, "Sissy!" or if it's just me, "Sissy's mommy!" I love that they are friends, that Sadie is making friends as a little girl who will be there as she grows into a preteen, teenager, then young woman. These tiny friends will be her treasures.We also ran into a great friend of mine from my Tuesday night women's Bible study. Michelle was toting the cutest little Yoda in town (her son, Washington).

Evie, Sadie, and Emily

Sadie and Emily

A hug between friends

Washington and his mommy, Michelle

After saying hello to her friends, we headed into the Chapel for Sadie to enjoy all the fun games. She was immediately fascinated with the pumpkin shooting bubbles out of its gregarious jack-o-lantern grin. We then moved onto a couple of games. Sadie took to them immediately having had such wonderful practice the Friday before at Heights Baptist, the church where Granddaddy works. She knew the drill. Follow whatever instructions were given, then you get some candy. She was a natural. In fact, she was so good at this "game" that we had to remind her she only could take one piece of candy, not six. :)

Bubble pumpkin!

Dear family friend, Laura Pearce Ozinga

Slam dunk, Sadie!

After a quick tour of only a few games, Sadie was drawn to the giant yellow bouncy house. As a first time mom, I have learned that these hilariously unstable houses of fun create a toddler high like nothing else could. Sadie raced over to the entrance, and being one of the smallest wishing to enter, watched the bigger kids enter in order to learn the process. With a little help from Mommy and Daddy, she was hoisted into the bouncy area. She quickly found the side with the steps up to the bouncy slide and was delighted when she made her way to the top. She counted down each time she slid, "ONE!! TWOOOOO!!! THREEEEE!!!!" She then slid down the giant swollen slide, tummy first. She was so proud that she did it herself that she repeated her feat at least twenty times.

"I DID IT!"

Here comes Sadie!

"Captian" Mark and James, TCU Frog friends!

Hugging Daniel Gardner, old Sunday school friend!

After sliding down the slide to her heart's content, Sadie happily headed for the games. After spending Friday night "practicing" at Granddaddy's church festival, she was now a professional. I really loved seeing all of the pumpkin themes at many of the games. Sadie enjoyed sweeping pumpkins, matching pumpkins, and throwing beanbags at pumpkins. Each time she finished the game, she quickly looked for the available candy. More than once, I had to help her understand that we grab one, not fourteen. :)

"Nose!"

Matching numbers on pumpkins!

Sweep the tiny pumpkin

Sadie working on the world's tiniest sweet tooth...

Before leaving there was one last stop - the ball pit! It was all fun and games until we smelled something. As a mommy of a young toddler, you just know it must be yours. After checking Dorothy, we found it was not her, but a big furry toddler monster in the ball pit. Yikes. I'm trying hard to think of a worse smell than a dirty diaper from a child you do not know. "Peeeeeeyeeeoooooooo," as Sadie would so aptly describe the situation. Upon exiting the "Stinky Ball Pit," Sadie found her long-lost fuzzy companion, and  UBC Mother's Day Out school friend, the Cowardly Lion. He seemed to channel the furry creature's strength as he nearly toppled our tiny Dorothy over with his "ferocious" hug. :)

Dorothy found the Cowardly Lion! :)

Peek-a-Boo!

The stinky Ball Pit

After we played every game available, Dorothy was thrown upon her Daddy's shoulders as we made our journey for the car. She said, "BYE!!!!!" to several people passing by and seemed delighted with the whole experience. It was relatively late and our stomachs were rumbling, so we drove to Pho 21, our favorite Vietnamese noodle kitchen, just around the corner from the church. Sadie supped on rice noodles and egg rolls as we all enjoyed our dinner. After filling our tummies, we took Sadie home and popped in "Elmo Says Boo!" It seemed the perfect end for Sadie, as she sat on her Granddaddy's lap and listened to Sesame Street's Count regale Elmo with countless Halloween inspired jokes and songs. A fun night for all!

Headed home

Halloween Noodles!

Watching "Elmo Says Boo" with Granddaddy

Happy Halloween, Dorothy!

Our Little Dorothy

 Halloween fell on Monday this year, giving us ample fall festivals to enjoy. Granddaddy works part-time at Heights Baptist Church in Alvin, so when he told us his church would have their festival Friday night, we thought why not go and enjoy it! After all, when else do you get to dress your toddler up like a tiny Judy Garland and parade her around for all to see?  The night started off with family pictures on the porch. We all smiled as Sadie shouted, "CHEEEEESE!"

 Once we arrived at Heights, it didn't take us long to find the fun! A remarkably cold night for Houston (or Alvin, rather), we brought Sadie's pink coat trimmed with felt flowers. We disrobed her once inside so she could show off her Dorothy costume. She was, of course, most immediately drawn to the giant pumpkin sparkling with the help of a white string of lights. "Punkin!" She shouted with glee.

 It didn't take long for Sadie to realize there must be something fantastic to enjoy in the enclosed space, as children and families were spread in every direction across the room. Toddler cheerleaders, preteen robots, and even a youthful Edward Scissorhands were all on display.

Whoa, Granddaddy! Look at all the fun!

 Of all the games Sadie played, she seemed to enjoy the "Horse Races" most of all. She walked slowly up and down the race lines as I gentle prodded her to keep moving. On the sidelines, Gammy and Granddaddy cheered her on. She came in last (racing against two preteen boys isn't easy), but she had no clue, so she finished the races as pleased as punch. After all she was given a lollipop no matter what she placed.

Giddy-up, Black Beauty!

The inside bouncy house was another fun stop for Sadie. She's funny. Although she adores being outside and playing until she drops, she is somewhat cautious when it comes to play time. I only have recently been made aware of this as I have seen the little toddlers of friends and family who will throw themselves into bounce houses, off ramps, or even into walls, filled with abandonment. Even when Sadie's toddler temper flares and she tries to throw herself to the ground, what actually unfolds is a tiny little girl slowly lowering herself to the tile floor, ever so carefully bending her head back until it softly reaches the ground. Kind of anti-climatic when trying to throw any sort of temper tantrum. lol I appreciate Sadie's caution and consider her choices to preserve her tiny bones as wise beyond her years. :)

Cautiously exiting the bounce house

A candy for bouncing? Yes, please!

Dorothy found a scarecrow!

Kisses for Gammy

 One thing we all really enjoyed at this festival was the creativity that went into the toddler games. Instead of regular bowling, Sadie had the chance to throw a giant inflatable ball toward pins of equal size. Also, she had the chance to play the "Good Samaritan Game" where each child was given a Band-Aid to put on a "sick" girl or boy drawn to a poster. I think you were actually supposed to be blind-folded for that one, but thankfully those running the show allowed Sadie to help the poor poster girl unencumbered.

Whoa. Big.

The "Good Samaritan Game"

Gammy, Dorothy, and Mommy

 We noticed a long line forming up on the stage and quickly realized it was for face painting. Although Sadie seemed interested, we thought she was still too small to sit still while it was painted, so Gammy asked Sadie if she wanted Mommy to get her face painted. She plainly responded, "Yes. Do." So, that was that. We stood in line so that I could get an Elmo painted on my right cheek as Sadie and Gammy supervised the painting session.

Mommy receives an Elmo face painting!

Mommy and Daddy with Sadie

 Even thought it was a blustery night, people from all over Alvin populated the parking lot and outside game area as well. There was even a fire truck and petting zoo on hand! Sadie stopped to pet the goats as we heeded the owner;s warning to be careful because the goats are likely to eat your coat.

Sadie pets the goat.

A baby goat that looked strangely familiar. Mia?

Drop a candy corn in the jar!

Put a froggy in the bucket!

Bad to the Bone

 Before we left, we had Sadie go back inside for another round of games since she finally started to understand that she received candy each time she played. Bless her heart. With her granola-crunching mommy, I don't think she enjoyed a single piece. I'm enjoying the fact that her raisins and organic fruit strips were more than enough to please her after a night of grabbing at lollipops and Tootsie Rolls.

Slam dunk, Sadie!

OK. So I only get one?

 A good time was had by all. We played every game in sight, took some family pictures on the bench outside, kissed the scarecrow goodbye, then it was time to go home. Sadie sang, "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" the whole way home. Thanks to Bob and Larry, Sadie has learned the Veggie Tales version and makes everyone in the car crack up with laughter as she screams loudest on the ends of measures or phrases. (Jeri-CHO!!!!!!)

Sadie was way more interested in hugging Granddaddy at this point than smiling...

"Bye, Scarecrow. Bye."

We returned home and Sadie changed into her Ariel pajamas. She doesn't know her name. She calls her "girl." She cozied up to each one of us, giving us hugs as I am sure we closed the night out with a little bit of Veggie Tales fun for all. Happy early Halloween!

Night Night!