Indiana is 2!

Indiana turned 2 two weeks ago. Sweet boy, he just gets more and more fun to be around. Such an easy going, happy kid. He's crazy about trucks and dogs, especially Charlie. He loves being outside, going on walks in the wagon or runs in the stroller. He's both Casey and I's favorite running buddy, and he's got the farmer tan to prove it. I love watching him learn new things and new words. He's progressed to three word combinations, "Bye Charlie dog" and likes to count to two. Anything bigger than two is still two, though. I guess it's singular or plural. He still loves books. I come home most days to a huge stack of books that my mom has read to him that day, and I always read him a few more before bed. Tonight was Sandra Boyton's Snuggle Puppy and Doggies. His 2 year checkup went very smoothly. He's still on the skinny and small side, but consistently growing, so all is well.

We had his birthday party in the park, Construction Truck themed, as little man loves trucks above all things. I had construction trucks, signs, construction tape, cones, etc...which I took no pictures of. I saved most of the decorations to adorn the upstairs playroom which will eventually be Indiana's room. Hopefully, he'll still like trucks in a year.

I did take pictures of the caramel cupcakes, at least I've got priorities. They were yummy and a little something different.

The birthday boy, posing before the party. He got more trucks for his birthday...but he still wants "More trucks!"

Weekend in the Big Easy

My sister-in-law, Aubrey, and I both LOVE to travel. Our husbands, not so much. So, we thought we'd try traveling together. We spent Saturday-Monday and visited New Orleans and it was a blast. I loved the culture, history and especially the cuisine. We most definitely ate our way through the city. 

I'd never been to New Orleans before and only had heresay knowledge of the culture, but we were quickly introduced. For example, I knew that being in the street with open (alcohol) container  container was legal, but didn't realize it was expected.

Immediately upon arrival, we sought out sustenance in the form of a delicious fried oyster po-boy from Johnny's, but first we had to stop for a Second Line Parade, one of two parades we saw in the two days were were there. During Lent, mind you.The line at Johnny's was fierce, but we persisted. The oysters were worth it. Giant, briny and moist under a light, crunchy coating.

After first lunch, we had a second (shared) lunch of a muffaleta and a pimm's cup at the historic Napoleon House. Not made to look old, it is truly 200 years old. 2nd lunch, much more relaxed and cultured, all my style.

We cruised Jackson square and other notables of the French Quarter, like St. Louis's Cathedral and the French Market.

And rested along the way. :-) We did not hang out on Bourbon St or drink a Hurricane or Hand Grenade or Fish Bowl and avoided the ill-attired tourists that did (after we quietly made fun of them). Instead, we walked to the Warehouse/Buisness District and had a disappointing cocktail called a Swizzle Stick at Cafe Adelaide.

Where everyone was dressed as rabbits, even the bride. 

Mostly. (See the tail?) It was quite entertaining. After talking to a few "rabbits," we came to understand that the party wasn't just a birthday party, or just a wedding reception, but merely an entertainment on an un-eventful weekend (pre-St Pat's) so some of the good people of New Orleans deemed it an "Easter" bunny pub-crawl. "Decadance and Decay," accent on the decadence.

After that, we had a scrumptious meal of handmade pork products at a restaurant named, Cochon ("pig" in French). Mmm. Love the piggy. Extra decadent.

Sunday morning, I saw more of the elegant "decay" while running along the edge of the Mississippi river, past the French Quarter and into the old black settlement of Treme, also beautiful in a slightly derelict way. The shattered sidewalks and root-strew esplanade were especially treacherous, my skinned elbow can testify. C'est la vie.

Then we took the St. Charles Streetcar through the Garden District to have a lovely brunch in a garden cafe, Dante's Kitchen, in Uptown.

Bacon sticky bun. French press coffee. Poached eggs and salmon. Bestill my racing heart, it was delicious.

To burn off a few calories, Aubrey and I walked back along St. Charles through the spectacular Garden District. Beverly Dr in Highland Park has got nothing on this place.

We walked Tulane campus with the Spring Break campus tour groups, and rested in Audubon park. The fountain was just so southern and old and lovely, a snapshot of New Orleans itself.

Sunday afternoon, we cooked. After a not-so-brief history of the city, the New Orleans School of Cooking taught us how to make fish meuniere, pralines, and gumbo, using lard to make the roux, "not peanut-butter colored, but darker" and "just keep stirring, until it's just right."

It was a fun class, and the gumbo was delicious. "Gorgeous" the head teacher, Pat, told us. I'm going to try to re-create it this week (minus the lard).

Stuffed, but not yet satisfied, we walked through the Quarter into Faubourg Marigney, to Frenchmen's street and a relaxed jazz club. Very enjoyable.

And to wrap up the evening, we stopped by Cafe du Monde. Very nice. But the beignets at Cafe Beignet are better. We braved a rainy cold Monday morning to compare and sample some Chicory coffee. Both delicious, but we were ready to get home. We'll be back, though. So much more to eat!

Indiana, almost two

A few new things Indiana has been up to:

Talking! All of the sudden, his vocabulary has jumped from a few favorite words: daddy, mommy, dog, cheese, etc., to tons and tons of words. New words constantly, and he can communicate with those words. Not just "more" but "lots more" or "shirt" with "back" e.g., pull my shirt down my back, with vigorous head nods once said shirt is fixed. He's a little sponge soaking up vocabulary and comprehension. He shocked Casey and I by saying the words in a book, Peek-a-Who, before we did. "Peek-a..." "Choo-choo!" Except the zoo page, that was "Peek-a..." "Tiger!"

He's a sponge who loves trucks. He groups things, like all birds are ducks and all large vehicles are trucks, but he loves them all, tractors, bulldozers, Chevy's whatever. He'll stare out the window pointing out every truck that goes by.

He also loves the dogs, being outside and books. He's an indifferent eater most days, as his disregard to the cupcake in the above picture illustrates, but he'll eat a wide variety of things, when he cares to eat. Last night, he had salmon, cheddar cheese, smoked almonds and strawberries for dinner. Oh, and Thin Mint girl scout cookies. I managed to feed him a normal-ish meal of a quesadilla and sweet potato for dinner tonight. As long as there's cheese. 

He's always been fairly social and personable, but he's recently become more affectionate as well, joy to this mother's heart. For a hug, he'll clamp onto you, arms and legs, and even occasionally give you a kiss. But he prefers high fives and fist bumps.  He loves being tickled.

 

And walking in mommy's shoes, wrong-footed. He usually sleeps 12 hours at night, going to bed without fuss at 6:30-7:30 pm, and takes a 1-2 hour morning nap. He's also cutting four more teeth, the cuspids, three of which are already cut, one to go. Even his smile is changing.

We love him so. 

Family Portraits

As a Christmas gift to the family, my sweet sister-in-law, Aubrey, had her very talented photographer friend Shannon Hunt take pictures and portraits during our Meyer's Family Christmas.  Here's some of the result. I know we're going to enjoy these for a long time.

Sweet Indiana!

My niece, Mackenize, was showing some of her

 dance moves.

Indiana thought he'd try too.

Cute little toes.

Mommy-monster likes to nibble those delicious toes.

The camera loves this kiddo.

Dancing while we cook.

Individual family pictures!

A fun perspective

My younger niece, Meredith. Cutie.

My elder brother-in-law, Brandon and his lovely wife, Charlton.

Such a cute picture of Dustin and Aubrey. They're such a wonderful couple.

Step-sittin'.

I love this triangle of kiddos!

Sis-in-laws. I'm so thankful to have found sweet sisters.

A tender little shot of Casey comforting Indiana after he'd fallen down. Good Daddy.

 

The Meyers brothers and family!

 I only wish my mom-in-law, Cindy, could have been there to be in pictures too, but she had the flu. Next time. 

 Thank you so much, Aunt Aubrey and Uncle Dustin, for the pictures!

New York City! - Part 2/2

Day two in New York started with a lazy Saturday morning which I don't think we've had in at least a year. Indiana is an early-to-bed, early-to-wake kid. No complaints, but it was nice to lazy about a little. We were up in time to brave the Subway for our 10 am visit to Ground Zero, and we only got on the wrong train once. Not bad for a couple yahoos from Texas.

9/11 memorial is still very much under construction, so we could see World Trade Center One and pay tribute at the memorial pools. We'll have to make a return trip to see it.

We walked up to Tribeca on a short pilgrimage to find some authentic bagels. I had the traditional: toasted everything bagel, cream cheese, lox, capers, red onion, tomato. Yum.

The plan was to explore lower Manhattan, take the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, walk the Brooklyn bridge. But as Casey was still getting over being sick, we decided for plan B, to take the subway and see the Chelsea food market. Chelsea and Tribeca really struck as very livable neighborhoods, but it's a good thing I don't live near that food market. So many bakeries and specialty food shops...would be too much temptation!

After that, Casey took it easy at the hotel and I walked way down 5th into Koreatown, past the Empire State Building, doing a little window shopping.

Unfortunately, neither Koreatown nor Madison Ave have any cute jewelry shops in my price range, but the Holiday shops in Bryant Park do. It was full of unique little booths with at least 20 jewelry shops, and various treats...like crepes, belgian waffles, French macaroons, a giant syringe full of chocolate ganache (no kidding!), kettle korn, pickles and grits. It was like the State Fair, just colder.  Instead of Scientologists, I was stopped by two girls who wanted to tell me about the Holy Mother, the feminine personna of God. I tried to be nice and chatted with them for a while, but it was pretty wacky.

And it was time for pizza.

 And what a pizza. Yes, Casey had calamari on his side....but mine had delicious eggplant parmasan, and under both of them was the best crust I've ever had. Crunchy and chewy and not soggy in the least. It was great.

But better yet, was coming home the next day to this sweet little boy. So happy to see my banana Indiana.

New York! - Part 1/2

Casey and I went to New York Thursday through Sunday morning to celebrate our 7 year anniversary. My mom-in-law, Cindy, came up and stayed at our house and watched Indiana. It was good to know that he was in loving hands. We got there Thursday afternoon and quickly got to our hotel in midtown with a decent view. Very comfy and classy.

  

We went for a quick stroll through Bryant Park and enjoyed the beautiful architecture at the New York Public Library.

We were somewhat disappointed with our dinner Thursday night. I read three guide books and spent a bunch of time on Yelp trying to find the best places to go...but even the best laid plans sometimes go awry. I bought tickets to the Book of Mormon since we were in the theatre district...but I bought them for the wrong week. We got a refund and went to the movies instead.

 

Casey saw Zero Dark Thirty, which isn't out in Dallas yet, so he was super-happy. And I got to see Les Miserables, so I was very happy with the theater mishap after all.

On Friday, the plan was to walk up 5th Ave, window-shop in the fancy stores, see Central Park and then go to the Modern Art Museum. It was really fun exploring that part of the city.

They were doing some filming outside the NBC building, but as neither one of us watch NBC, we didn't stick around. If it had been the food network, it would have been a different story!

Casey, making a sad face because it was cold, at Rockefeller Plaza. It was pretty cold, but we ducked inside to get warm often.

Like in the shoe department at SAKS 5th Avenue. It was a dreamland of shoes.

Trump Tower was a nice place to warm up too. They even have a Starbucks inside, so you can drink tea and watch the 5 story indoor waterfall.

Where did all of the big rocks in Central Park come from?  Seriously...does anyone know?

It was funny seeing the sight of so many tv shows...I kept expecting to see a CSI NY crew out there.

For the sake of Eloise, we had to go into the Plaza. I loved the chandeliers.

In case you need a gift idea for Casey, this lovely specimen is only $2,000 at Bergdorf's.

Next, we went to the Museum of Modern Art.

The Scream and Starry Night were the big draw, and they were nice. Casey asked and The Scream last sold for $119 million. Yikes.

But my favorites were some of Monet's waterlilies and a few Kandinsky's. They had a series of five amazing Kandinsky canvases commissioned by Chevy's founder for his Manhattan apartment. Man, what an apartment that must have been.

We had dinner Friday night at a very elegant Italian restaurant, Ai Fiori: canapés of steak tartare and house made cheese, velouté soup, panna cotta with sea urchin, slow poached egg with the most amazing chicken broth I've ever tasted, ravioli with duck confit, bouillabaisse, a venison chop with gnocchi, granita over panna cotta, and lovely bit of chocolate cake with poached pears and pear sorbet. All was delicious, and some outstanding. Even the coffee was wonderful.

After dinner, we walked back through Times Square, which was a zoo. I cannot imagine why someone would want to crowd in there on New Years Eve.  We ended up finishing up the evening at the hotel's piano bar, serenaded by the very nice piano playing of Jacques and the slightly horrible singing of Marie.

Saturday's NYC adventures...to be continued!