State Fair of Texas 2009

We took advantage of Josh’s school closing (due to too many people having “flu like symptoms”) and went to the FAIR…my favorite time of the year! It was CeCe’s first time (postnatal) to meet her new bff, Big Tex, and to experience the amazingness of this wonderful place!

Josh’s uncle worked for Fair Park for a million years so he gets VIP treatment every year. We got free admission and balla parking, right inside the park by the Music Hall. AWESOME!

We got married at the Music Hall so we decided to take CeCe by the fountain where we took all of our wedding pictures. She was a little scared at first of the loudness of the water but quickly got over it.

Our mission was to get to all of the fried goodness as quickly as possible. But first things first, Fletcher’s and Big Tex! They never let us down :)

Then, Josh tried the:

Sweet Jalapeno Corn Dog Shrimp – Shrimp on a stick is coated with a sweet and spicy corn meal batter, then deep fried to a golden brown and served with a spicy glaze. (Located at the Belgian Waffle stand on the NE corner of the Esplanade.)

Review – Good, but not worth the 12 coupons, $6.

Then we headed to the Tower building in search of sweet tea.

Tip: Cinnamon Rolls stand has sweet tea for 6 coupons AND you can keep going back for a refill for only 2 coupons! You can even switch it out for lemonade!

I tried the:

Texas Bar-B-Que Boomerangs – Tender, hickory smoked brisket, chopped and mixed with BW’s special sweet, smokey flavorful BBQ sauce. Brisket is scooped into a light pastry won ton wrapper, folded, sealed and deep fried to a delicate crisp golden brown. Served with your choice of sauce: BBQ or BW’s Flame Thrower.

Review – Mmmmmm! Yummy!

Then we were off to taste the Winner of Most Creative in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition:

Deep Fried Butter – 100% pure butter is whipped till light and fluffy, then specially sweetened with a choice of several flavors. The tantalizing mixture is surrounded by a special dough and quick fried. (Located on Nimitz Drive.)

Review – We both thought it was very tasty; Josh said he will probably not go back for seconds.

We walked through the Food & Fiber Pavilion and enjoyed a free quesadilla sample (yummy). We stopped by the butter sculpture which was still work-in-progress (little disappointing). We thought about taking CeCe to see the Children’s Barnyard but they don’t allow strollers and she’s not quite at the age where mommy and daddy don’t have to hold her the entire time. So maybe next year!

Then we decided to make our way back. We got last year’s favorite, Chicken Fried Bacon, as our last treat! Walked through the Arts & Collectibles building then to the Auto show. We stopped for a little break and let CeCe walk around for a bit!

So that was our Fair Day. We have coupons left over so on my next trip, I’m trying the:

Texas Fried Pecan Pie – A mini-pecan pie is battered and deep fried to a golden brown. Served drizzled with rich caramel sauce, then topped with whipping cream and chopped candied pecans. (Located on Nimitz Drive near the entrance to the Creative Arts Showplace Theater.)

and the:

Green Goblins – Cherry peppers are hollowed out, stuffed with spicy shredded chicken and guacamole, then battered and deep fried. Served three to a skewer and topped with queso. (Located at the entrance to the Thrillway.)

Can’t wait!

First Steps!

We can officially call CeCe a walker!  Over the past few weeks, she has progressed from standing to cruising to taking a step or two.  But that was it.  She didn’t have much confidence about going more than that.  But we just kept working with her and cheering her on.  So when we got back from the lake, we tried again.  She went from 1 or 2 steps to 3 or 4 and just kept getting better and better!   She’s still very wobbly but before long I know she will have it down and we will be running behind her!

Pickles and Pumpkins

We had a fun-filled weekend in East Texas.  Josh had to take the final portion of his CDL training and he had the option to do it in Mabank which is close to Josh’s Aunt & Uncle’s house.  We decided to make a trip of it and packed up for the weekend.  Turned out to be a weekend of milestones for CeCe!

Friday was the anniversary of GaGa’s passing, Josh’s grandfather, so on our way out, we stopped and ate with family at Panda Buffet in Terrell.  It was by far the best chinese buffet I’ve been to.  I think I had one too many plates…..or 5, but who’s counting?!?

We got to the lake around 9pm.  CeCe fell asleep on the way so we put her to bed when we got there.  We stayed up for a little while catching up then headed to bed.

Saturday morning, Josh left for his training and we hung around the house until he got back.  We went to lunch where CeCe experienced her first taste of pickle!  She did the classic sour face which was pretty hilarious.

 

After lunch, we stopped by Blue Moon, a local nursery, so CeCe could check out the fall decorations!  We wheeled her around in a wagon.  She was getting sleepy by this point but still had a good time.

 

Not sure who this is supposed to be.

The Addams Family

Marge Simpson

Homer Simpson

Elvis

 

Sonny & Cher

 

I Dream of Jeannie

After naps and dinner, we went for a sunset cruise on the lake.  It was CeCe’s first boat ride!

This was on the ride home…what a weekend!

Our Lil’ Leopard

Tonight we went to watch a former student of Josh’s play volleyball then afterward we watched her brother play football. CeCe had a great time! She was paying attention and clapping. Happy to report both teams won! Yay Lovejoy :)

Aaaarrrrgggghh!

Someone has taken my darling girl and turned her into a pirate baby. I’m almost embarrassed to post these pictures because they definitely do not showcase her beauty. She started making this face lately where she scrunches her nose and in person, I have to admit, it’s pretty cute. But when I’m trying to snap a picture of her smiling and this is what I get, it’s not very pleasant.  Can’t you just picture her hooking her arm and saying Aaaaarrrrrgghhh, Ahoy Matey!?  It would be fitting if she was gonna be a pirate for Halloween.  We would get some great pictures.  But we already decided on a duck! 

She’s such a goof!  But, I want my sweet, little, precious, angel face back!

Weaning

My days of nursing are numbered.  We are in the second week of what seems like a long process but I know it is well worth it.  I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it.  For the most part, I’m sooooo ready, but a small part of me wants to just keep on going until I can’t anymore or until she’s not interested.  Nevertheless, I’ve made the decision  to stop at one year.

So here’s how it works, at least how CeCe’s pediatrician recommends it to go.  Every two weeks, a feeding is dropped starting from the least important to the most.  My first dropped feeding is after her afternoon nap or if she doesn’t take an afternoon nap, after 4pm.  We are closing in on the end of the second week so on Monday, I will drop another afternoon feeding.  Then work my way up to the morning feeding then have the night feeding be the last to drop.  This process is supposed to allow enough time for CeCe to adjust as well as my body.

So far, she has been doing pretty well.  The difficult part is that since she’s teething she wants to be comforted and to her that translates into wanting to nurse.  So, I’ve just been distracting her with hugs and kisses and toys!  And it’s fun because I’ve been teaching her ‘kiss’ so mommy and daddy have been getting lots of sweet kisses lately! Yummy :)

Overall, breastfeeding has been a wonderful experience.  I’m so grateful that God has given me the will to keep going and has provided enough to completely nourish CeCe for this long!  Sometimes I feel like I have had to sacrifice A LOT but in the end one year is nothing compared to the many benefits that she and I have received and will receive.  I have definitely experienced motherhood to the fullest extent (so far) and I’m really proud of myself!

Wish us luck for the upcoming weeks!

Learning to Read

Lately, CeCe has been really into books.  We brought a bunch of books into her play area and rotate them in and out throughout the day.  And Josh reads to her before bed.  Before she would not sit still long enough to even get through the first page.  But recently she has been getting more interested and even helping!  She loves turning the pages and she’s also become quite good at lifting flaps in the flap books.  I think it’s pretty neat how fast she picked up on it.  I’m so proud of her!

She even likes to ‘read’ to Tony!  Check the video out here!

Tug O' War

I've been waiting for this day! CeCe always tries to go for the ONE toy that Tony has that he can't chew to pieces. So when he wants to play with it he has to keep it away from her. Poor Tony, most of the time it's stashed away in our room so she won't get to it. But when it is out, he always brings it over to her area so it was bound to happen! It was so funny watching this.