Seven Wonders

Then there was one. A couple of days ago, on the 27th, I celebrated my 29th birthday. Only one more year in my twenties. Wow! As usual, my wonderful husband spoiled and surprised me. He loves surprising me; I just have to make it clear that there are some surprises I would not enjoy, which would make for a very unhappy birthday. Fortunately, this surprise was welcome.


After he came home from school, he gave me my first clue and said we were going to see the seven wonders of downtown Houston (according to Josh, of course). After we reached each destination, he gave me another clue and a gift. We ended up seeing some pretty interesting places downtown that I would probably not have seen otherwise. Wonder #1--an art waterfall exhibit. Wonder #2--the underground tunnels that lead to a whole bunch of shops, etc. Wonder #3--an amazing view from supposedly the 2nd tallest building in the U.S. Wonder #4--a beautiful park. Wonder #5--an interactive art bubble, which we actually never found because in typical Houston fashion it started pouring all of a sudden, and we had to take cover. Wonder #6--actually called the seven wonders, they are seven tall artistic pillars. Wonder #7--this was actually a sweet card and a kiss. Unexpected Wonder #8--a parking ticket. We didn't see the very high sign that said there was no parking between 4-6 pm.







At home, Josh surprised me with another gift--a food processor. We've been wanting to make our own baby food, so this is perfect. Plus, I hate cutting vegetables, so I hope this will save me some time preparing meals. Here's a link to what it looks like: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magimix-4200-food-processor-white/dp/B000BWH8P2


We had a yummy cinnamon streusel cake. If you like them, you should try this one: http://www.mccormick.com/recipedetail.cfm?id=12545 The only problem was that we couldn't put candles on the cake because of the crunchy streusel layer on the top, so Josh held some (not 29) lighted candles while I blew them out.

Thanks to everyone on both sides of my family for the phone calls, cards, and gifts! Even Eli tried to give me one of the gifts I wanted the most--an uninterrupted night's sleep. He didn't quite make it, but he did very well that night. The problem is that I've been sick with a cold for the last couple of days, and I've been waking up around 3:30/4:00 every morning with congestion, and I've been unable to get back to sleep. What irony! Even more ironic is the fact that school started this week, and I'm not teaching, but I'm still sick. I guess I can't blame it on my students this time.

I am learning what it is truly like to be a mommy--there are no sick days! Eli has been very good, however. Either he isn't feeling well himself, which is a definite possibility, or he sympathizes with his mom. In any case, he has been trying to let me rest. For example, he woke up this morning at about 7:00, which is usual. I was feeling horrible and wanted to keep sleeping, of course, but I got up and bathed Eli. I started to play with him as usual, but he quickly went back to sleep and gave his mommy two and a half more hours of sleep. I was very grateful, and I'm hoping that it wasn't because he's coming down with what I've got.

Bigger in Texas?

We went to George Bush Park over the weekend. It's about half an hour from where we live. Josh loved it, but I wasn't a big fan of the creatures that were there. I thought my mom would enjoy the picture of the spider since she loves them so much. : ) We actually saw many--too many--but the camera was focusing on the background instead of the spiders on their huge webs, so this is the best one we have. We couldn't believe how big the snail was. Yes, that is a snail, not a small turtle! Maybe everything is bigger here in Texas. And we doubted! There was a dog running in the park that ran right in front of the snake without realizing it. A few more inches and.....well, good thing the dog was fast.

Startling Moves

Both to Josh's chagrin and amusement, I startle quite easily, and last night was one such occasion. After putting Eli to bed, I thought I heard some movement, so I went in to check on him, and that's when I screamed. There he was in his crib staring at me, similar to the picture below.

Sure, you say, he looks perfectly fine. Why scream? Well, I was expecting a sleepy baby who was lying on his back with his head in the opposite direction. He managed to do a 180, roll himself over, and prop himself up on his arms. He seemed quite eager to crawl himself right out of the crib. Normally the scene would have been suprising but fine, but in the dark, when I was expecting something else, it was very startling to see a face staring back at me like that. After all, remember, I am a girl who startles easily. Of course, my screaming then startled Eli because he started to cry. Poor guy! I guess he is no longer content to stay on his back when in his crib. He is quickly telling us that he is eager to move.

Astros Game

On Friday we took Eli to his first baseball game. We met up with Mike and Marci Freeman at Minute Maid Park for a game between the Houston Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks. I'm afraid the game wasn't too exciting since the Astros were slaughtered (the final score was 12-2), but the atmosphere of the baseball game was still fun, and of course, it's always nice to be with friends.

After the game, they had Friday night fireworks, which were almost as good as the 4th of July. Eli was awestruck by the loud noises and bright lights. Truly, the noise was probably too loud (we tried covering his ears, but he didn't like it). Obviously we kept him up past his bedtime. Still, I think he had a good time. After all, he just loves going out and being with people.

1) 2)

1) Mike Freeman with his daughter, Ella

2) Outside Minute Maid Park

3) 4)

3) Past his bedtime or bored with the game?

4) Awed by the fireworks

Josh's Birthday

I said I was behind, and this proves it. Josh's birthday was on the 26th of July, which was just a few days after we got back from our trip. He turned the big 30. Of course, I can only tease him for a year because I will soon follow.

In the morning, we went to the Houston Temple, which is about 45 minutes North of where we live. I had thought about getting a babysitter for Eli, but because we extended our trip, it just didn't happen. We ended up just walking around the temple with Eli. It was still nice even though we didn't go in, but it was definitely hot, especially when compared to the Northwest.

For lunch, we went to Josh's favorite Mexican restaurant, which is nearby the temple. He likes it because you can get really good fajitas for two at a great price--$13.25. Believe me, we are stuffed by the time we finish.

Because we were still exhausted from our trip (time zone changes), Josh just wanted to rest, so I let him nap for the afternoon. Later in the evening, we went swimming. I was going to take him out to dinner for Greek food, which he loves but rarely gets, but we were too full from lunch. We did, however, open gifts and have birthday cake--angel food cake with cream filling and homemade blueberry sauce (made from the bluberries we picked in Washington). Yummy!

So, we didn't do anything big, but we did enjoy each other's company. Priceless!