Anne's Cake

So here is pictures of the beautiful cake Anne did while Lisa and I were out and about downtown Houston. Isn't my sister talented?! And the amazing thing is that not only does it look beautiful, but it tasted delicious. I was glad to help eat the cake scraps and leftover filling. Each tier was a different flavor, and each tier had 3 layers of scrumptious cake & filling. There was chocolate/vanilla swirl with coconut filling, chocolate with chocolate filling and white with raspberry filling. I think that's right - all tasted amazing! Great job sis!

Children's Museum with Aunt Lisa

Aunt Lisa came to visit from Georgia, courtesy of her son Brian's internship with Delta. Hooray for family working in the airline industry - thanks Brian! Anne had to make a wedding cake, so Aunt Lisa and I ventured out with the 3 youngest kids. We spent the day at the Children's Museum painting faces, exploring, watching baby chicks, and having fun. I was surprised Danny knew what to do with the telephone since he's only seen cell phones. Hard to believe the kid has never seen a phone with a cord! After a fun morning we went to Hermann Park and had lunch and then looked for ducks at the Japanese Garden. There were some tired kids (and adults) on the drive home, but it was a fun day AND a great visit from Aunt Lisa.

Rocking Chair

Our friends gave us this little wooden rocking chair. Their son, who is now in 4th grade, had outgrown it long ago and they thought Danny might like it. When Grandma Hong was visiting she helped . . . OK, she did it and I watched . . . redo the cushions on the chair. It's not as kid-looking as it was before, but I kind of like the miniature 'adult' rocking chair and the new fabric on the pillows matches our sofas really well. You can tell Danny has a lot of fun with it! My favorite is when I find him reading a book and rocking in it. That doesn't happen often enough, nor does it last long enough, that I've been able to catch a photo of it. Hopefully soon !

Introducing Dizzy

So several weeks ago, my friend Terri, who watched Danny while I was teaching, posted some adorable pictures of a puppet she had made for her boys. I commented and asked if she was talented enough to make a beagle puppet. To Danny and my delight, the next time he visited she introduced us to Dizzy. Danny has so much fun with Dizzy the beagle puppet, even if he can't keep him on his hand very long. Dizzy's favorite activity is to play fetch with the ball popper. Danny thinks it's pretty great to have a beagle who doesn't take the balls, run outside with them, and chew them up. Dizzy puts them right back in where they belong. We now have Daisy, Dozer, and Dizzy . . . any other ideas for D names? Thanks Terri! Danny sure misses coming to your house!

NBA Playoffs

Danny is hoping to earn a Championship ring soon.

Cocoa tastes yucky

Recently Danny was "helping" me make a Texas sheet cake. I'm not sure why this cake is called a Texas sheet cake - maybe because it's big and flat. I had the recipe long before I became a Texan. So anyway, the recipe calls for quite a bit of cocoa. As he often does, Danny wanted to taste several of the ingredients. He sat on the counter tasting, watching me add a few, trying to stir, tasting more. Soon he came to the delicious looking cocoa. He dipped his finger in, tasted, and then with a disgusted glare shoved the entire box of cocoa of the counter. Needless to say, we had a powdery mess. I'm not sure what possessed me to let Danny get off the counter while I attempted to clean up the mess - we soon had cocoa foot prints all over the floor along with Danny's cocoa-y PJs. At this point there is nothing left to do but laugh and get the camera. He decided the finished product (uncooked batter - yes Heather, I let him eat the raw egg too) was pretty tasty and I'm pleased to say our floor is now cocoa free.

G-Pops and Grandma Angie

Danny is so lucky to have had so many visitors this year! G-Pops and Grandma Angie came down from Idaho for a long weekend. We had a great visit and I think they especially enjoyed the warmer weather! In honor of Earth Day we spent Saturday morning at the Houston Zoo and wandered around Hermann Park and the Japanese Gardens. Sadly, my camera battery died before we got to the park. One highlight of the zoo was the free Jamba Juice they were handing out. Danny had fun walking around with G-Pops and Grandma. G-Pops really won him over by giving him tasty snacks whenever possible. :) Danny also enjoyed riding the monkey on the carousel. After a long morning we were starved and so we went to Fungs Kitchen for tasty Dim Sum. Of course we all ate way too much, but it was sooo delicious. Danny's favorite is the rice and shumi. Later we had an adult only night out to Tex Mex food . . . yep, more eating. Sunday night Hong father and son made a delicious Chinese feast including steamed fish (head on) and fuzzy melon soup and we had Billings over to eat. It almost surpassed the Dim Sum in tastiness! Maybe next time Danny can help with the Hong father/son cooking. We had a fabulous visit and can't wait for G-Pops and Grandma Angie to come again! Thanks for a fun weekend!

Why we love the UT MBA program

Matt finishes his MBA in June. We can't wait! However, there are some perks to the MBA we will miss. Classes are held at the Houstonian - a classy hotel downtown that we would probably not stay at otherwise. Definitely not. Last year for Christmas Matt got me a spa day at the hotel and guess who I got a pedicure with? Goldie Hawn. Yep, the actress. Granted, she had screens around her for privacy and I only saw her as she was leaving, but it's as close as I've been to a Hollywood star. George Bush used this hotel as his personal address during his presidency. So, on weekends when Matt is studying away and working hard in his classes, Danny and I like to go down and take advantage of the hotel perks. Matt brings us food from their tasty buffets, we walk around the wooded trails, and we play in the pool. As you can see, Danny LOVES the pool and its fountains. Once in a while dad is able to come play too. The only thing we don't use at the hotel is the bed. Danny doesn't like to sleep at hotels - even real nice ones. We usually have to go home to get any sleep. So while we will be very happy to have Matt back on weekends when his MBA program is done, we will greatly miss the fanciful Houstonian life.

Grandma Hong's Visit

So I don't know why I can't seem to blog right after things happen. Grandma Hong came to visit a few weeks ago . . . actually almost a month ago. Danny had lots of fun with Grandma at the park, Gymboree, walks, and swimming. Sadly he was sick most of her visit (after the swimming) so his favorite thing to do was just snuggle and rock with her. I think Grandma was happy his illness made him a little more snuggly than usual - otherwise he won't sit still very long at all! He misses his Grandma's early morning rocks and still loves the quacking book she brought. Thanks for a fun visit Grandma!

Mr. Daredevil Danny

Sorry, you'll have to turn your head to enjoy this clip. At playgroup I was visiting with other moms and all of a sudden Danny had climbed to the top of this enormous slide - the biggest one at the park! I think it's at least 100 feet tall. OK, maybe only 15 or 20. But when I take into account Danny's size . . . a 20 ft. slide is 7 times his height. Would I be so brave? He always goes down slides on his tummy like this - the same way he goes down the stairs. Of course Danny also liked the other climbing contraptions too - he is practicing his skills for our Costa Rica trip this summer! :)

Grandpa Dan and Danny

Danny's name didn't just come from a baby name book. We chose Daniel after Carrie's dad and call him Danny, after one of Matt's best friends growing up. Daniel is pretty lucky to share this grandpa's name since he's such a cool guy. We hope that when Danny grows up he can be as compassionate, hard working, selfless, intelligent, and FUN as his Grandpa Dan. And if he's lucky, he'll get some of Danny Murphy's sense of humor on top of all that.

RODEO Animals

One of the highlights of the Houston Rodeo is of course all the animals. Danny had a great time on the pony ride (Thanks Grandma!) with Brenna. We didn't get a good photo of it, but as he rode around, he held on to the saddle with one hand and then lifted his other high into the air like he was a real cowboy riding a bucking bronco. It was so funny - next time we'll have to get him a cowboy hat! The petting zoo was not so interesting to Danny. The overfed animals were lazy and not too excited about the food he tried to give them. He would go up and pat them, just like he does with the beagles at home, and then wander away. Of course he was happy to be wandering outside of his stroller for a little while, but I think he thought the petting zoo animals were boring compared to his hyper, hungry beagles at home.

Rides at RODEO Houston

Grandma and Grandpa Couch spoiled Danny and I a little while they were visiting with tickets to go on a few rides at the Rodeo. Well, really Danny was only big enough to go on one - the caterpillar roller coaster. He seemed to enjoy it pretty well - no crying, but no huge grins. He just seemed to be taking it all in. Obviously I thought it was pretty fun. Tragically, I accidentally taped Easter footage over the video of the roller coaster ride. :( Luckily we did have some still shots though. Danny really enjoyed just looking at all the different rides and lights and listening to all the sounds. Needless to say, he slept well that night. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Couch!

Fair Feasting

A few weeks ago Grandma and Grandpa Couch made their annual trip down to go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We had a great day - perfect weather, carnival rides, animals, and FOOD galore. Sadly, Matt was sick and busy with school so did not go. He assured me he gets his fair share of fair (ha ha) in September at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. One highlight of the fair for Danny was the tasty food. It was one of the first times he'd eaten popcorn and he shoveled it in as fast as he could. Rest assured he did not eat the entire corn dog that was larger than his head, but he did have fun gnawing on it for a little while. I'll post more blogs about the Rodeo Houston adventures soon. Thanks for a fun time Grandma and Grandpa!

Saving Blogs

Does anyone know how to save blog pages to a flash drive?

Little Helper

It's so nice to have a little helper, even if his willing helpfulness usually creates more work for me. For now I'm trying to appreciate that willing attitude since I know it probably won't last forever. Here Danny is helping me set the table. I put the placemats and plates. Danny put the crinkled napkins and silverware. The napkins were not crinkled to begin with. Notice in the picture he is placing one of the forks at the far end of the table. Perhaps for an unexpected guest? He also likes to help load and unload the dishwasher and take the lint out of the dryer. His favorite "chore" is still helping to feed the dogs. Usually he sneaks a piece of the dog food for himself. Who knew dog food could be such a scrumptious toddler snack. What are your little helpers favorite chores?

Danny the dino polishing his teeth

Our friend Terri's boys had outgrown this adorable dinosaur towel so she passed it along to Danny. I thought it was pretty cute to see the little dino brushing his teeth. Our routine goes something like this - "Do you want to brush with ducks or cars tonight?" And Danny chooses his toothbrush. I don't remember how we ended up with two . . . I think he got one in his stocking. After adding toothpaste I remind Danny, "Mommy's turn." Then we sing the Raffi teeth brushing song. "You brush your teeth, ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch . . . " If it's a lucky night Danny opens his mouth wide and lets me brush. If it's a more typical night he opens momentarily and then clamps shut. So then I model the tooth brushing and usually he opens wide after that. After a quick brushing then I say, "OK. Danny's turn." And he puts his toothbrush under the faucet and then brushes himself. Usually his "brushing" consists of sucking the water off the toothbrush and then trying to get me to turn the faucet on for more water. And then our toothbrushing is done.

Dapper Dan's Easter Duds

Danny was the best dressed at church on Easter Sunday. His Grandma Couch got him a cute short pants suit. Both Carrie and I felt that we need to repent of our pride since we both thought he was the best looking little boy on the whole planet. I secretly wish that I could get away with wearing shorts to church.

Danny received a super cool bubble gun in his basket. I highly recommend it. They are cheap and are at least 100x more effective than trying to blow bubbles with your lungs.

Our Easter feast was bounteous. We had Ham, Funeral Potatoes, asparagus, Swiss Onion Loaf, and a Couch family tradition, the deviled eggs that look like actual chicks. It's a little freaky to eat something so cute.

We hope all of you had a great Easter!

Piano Prodigies

Danny loves to help me practice the piano. His friend Allison has recently discovered that she too loves to play the piano. The two played and played. They would climb off the bench, play with different toys for 5 minutes, and then scurry back to the piano to play more. Now any time Allison comes over to play she heads straight to the piano. I think they play a lovely duet.

Texas Primary

I have been doing a unofficial poll of the upcoming Texas presidential primary. It's called the morning jog poll. I count up the signs on my neighbors lawns when I jog in the morning. Currently the poll is 6 signs for Barak. No signs for anyone else. Looks like Hillary is in Trouble in Texas. Since Romney is out, I'm thinking I may have to follow my Sister's advice and get on the Obama bandwagon.

Matt