Houston Children's Museum

One Friday in March Charles unexpectedly was able to leave early from work (the offices were getting moved around, so they got kicked out for the movers.)  Our friends and cousins, the Fieldings, were heading down to downtown Houston to the Children's Museum, so we decided to go with them.  They have an awesome place for babies and small toddlers that James could just explore at will.  He loved it.  Isn't it amazing how early they know what to do with a steering wheel!?!

 This place was PERFECT for Charles and Henri.  They had fun building cars out of legos and then racing it down the track, making rockets and shooting them to see how far they would go, making paper airplanes.  They could have stayed there forever making and testing things.  It really was just perfect for these two!

 We were there for as long as James could handle and there were lots of places that we didn't even get to explore.  They have lots of exhibits like this to experiment with.  Here is a bridge that Charles made.

RODEO!

In March we went to the Houston Rodeo.  This is the biggest Rodeo in the world!  Henri loved it!  He still talks about it. Climbing into a big tractor is quite a job for a little boy!

Henri LOVED the petting zoo.  I stayed outside with James (who was sleeping in the stroller) and Charles went in with Henri.  I was kind of expecting for them to come out in a few minutes, but they were in there for a long time!

 There was a lot to look at!

 Henri really has a soft spot for animals!  Too bad he is so allergic to them he breaks out whenever he gets near one!

We have loved this double stroller!

 Henri found a wild bull to test out

Charles' one wish was to get a turkey leg!  Yeah. It was big.

Long Driveway

One thing that we have loved about our house is our long driveway.  I didn't know that was something to think about, but it is the best thing.  The boys and I spend a lot of time there: riding bikes, coloring with sidewalk chalk.  Often, we have neighbors come over and have a party.  Last summer we played almost every evening with our friends!

Layover!

In early March Mike and Becky were on their way home from a cruise.  They had a layover in Dallas, but there was a thunderstorm and so their plane got sent to Houston. The plane landed and pulled up to a gate, but wasn't letting passengers out and then Mike asked if they could get off because they had a place to stay in Houston.  So, they hopped off and spent the night with us!  It sure pays to live 20 minutes away from one of the biggest airports in the US!  This is the 2nd time in a year and a half that we have gotten to see family because of a layover!

Jane, of course, dropped everything and come up to sleep over and see them too!  What a fun, unexpected weekend!

Pasta Face(s)

James is such a good eater!  After Henri I am still amazed almost every time I feed him.  "Wow," I tell myself, "some babies actually open their mouths for food!"

Henri is getting better at eating too.  I actually hand feed him more than I do James, but I can get him to eat almost anything now.  So, it isn't that he is picky, just that he can't be bothered to eat.

Henri's Allergy Testing

Poor Baby Boy!

He was a champ though.  And, despite how it looks, the consensus was actually that he is not allergic to several things that he was allergic to last year.  Not allergic to cow's milk, thank goodness!  That is what this boy lives on! Still allergic to peanuts though.  Boo.

Is There Anything Cuter...

Than a baby in snowbibs?

No, there isn't anything cuter!

James' Closet

James lived in our closet for the first 10.5 months of his life.  It was in the middle of January when Charles unceremoniously moved James up to one of the guest bedrooms upstairs and out of our closet!  Here are some pictures of his cute 1/2 closet that he spent his babyhood in.

 One of the reasons that we knew that his house would work for us was that it had a big master closet.  Most of the homes in Texas have the master bedroom downstairs and the rest of the bedrooms upstairs. It doesn't really work for Charles and I to have a baby in our room, but I like having them close, plus I didn't fancy hiking upstairs in the middle of the night several times.  Anyway, we were happy to find a closet that could fit all of our clothes on one side and all of the pictured baby-gear on the other side.

Daniel and Melissa's Wedding

Daniel and Melissa got married on February 16th.  (James' first birthday- which we missed!  He was home with Grandma Grace and Henri.)  Outside of the new and beautiful Calgary, Alberta Temple.

Charles' parents and sister, Annabelle and I.

 Annabelle and Charles

The happy couple.

Congratulations Daniel and Melissa!

Canmore, Canada

Charles' brother, Daniel got married in Calgary in February.  We took the opportunity to have a little getaway in Canmore for a few days before the wedding.  First stop: Tim Hortons.

 After we got some lunch we headed out to Canmore.  This is the view from our window:

 On our one full day there we did some exploring:  This is the Lake Louise parking lot.  Charles couldn't help but make some "donuts" (or "cookies" if you are from Idaho.)

 Our car and the view of the mountains

 Lake Louise was beautiful.  It was also a great time to go because there had been an ice sculpture contest a few weeks before and a lot of them were still very intact.

 On our way back to Canmore we drove around Banff to check it out.  The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel was beautiful and we hopped out to enjoy the scenery.

 While we were in Canmore we also went dog sledding.  It was a fun experience.

 You won't find many pictures of me petting a dog.

 A viewpoint we enjoyed during dog sledding

 The most famous mountains in Canmore are "The Three Sisters."  It was a delight to look at these beautiful mountains for a few days!

 When we stayed a few nights in Calgary we stayed in a fun, old hotel downtown

 This is the view from our hotel window.

It was a fun getaway for us and we were so glad to get our feel of the beautiful mountains out west!