Annie's last days in Houston

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A very fond, sad farewell

Annie and I have been truly blessed by the amazing group of mothers and kids that is our mothers' group. Today, the entire gang turned out with their families to say farewell to Annie and her family hosted by the brave Chris and Mike (parents of Annie's friend Cooper). It was complete with amazing food, amazing cake, and the best company a kid (and parents) could ask for. Plus, there was a pool, which will make any day for Annie. It was a bittersweet gathering but more sweet than bitter, and we left feeling pretty darned lucky for the last two years we've had with this great gaggle of families.

I feel sad that Annie's memories of our time here may fade as she grows older, because it has been pretty unforgettable for me. I've spent many a park play date, lunch, ice cream, and bubble time with these comrades as Annie has grown from 8 months (when we met Chris and her then 3-month-old Cooper) to her now over 2 1/2 year-old self. When I say we're going to do something with our "friends" she immediately lists off names of who could be there, "Maybe Sara Kate be there? Or... maybe Jackson be there? What else?" It's going to break my heart when she asks (and I know she will) to see one of her friends once we're in Louisville and I can't produce them. We've explained to her that we're moving and won't be living in Houston anymore, but there's only so much reality a 2-year-old can process. Annie's grasp of time and space is still a little shakey. Yesterday she thought we'd be seeing Nana and Grandbob in Louisville. But we've signed her up for the music classes that follow the same program that she's doing now, so there will be a little consistency there, albeit with a new teacher in an entirely new setting. But I hope she'll also be excited by the transition as we are. We'll finally have a backyard for her, some semblance of fall, and if all else fails, some good bourbon to dull the pain (I jest). If there's anything I've learned about Annie, it's that she's a trooper. I'm always amazed by her resilience. Maybe she'll teach me a thing or two during this move. I am sure going to miss our friends.

Oh, to be a kid again

As we near our move, and our apartment is looking more and more like a basement that hasn't been cleaned out in 20 years, Annie and I are pretty desperate to get out of the house during the day. Today, we thought Annie would enjoy going on Jay's commuter bus (the complex sponsors a bus that takes people to the medical center which is why we've been able to live on one car these past 2 years) and meet Papa for lunch. Had we known what joy mass transportation would impart on our child, we would have certainly done this sooner. She sang the entire way there, so excited to not be in a car seat (or any restraint device, for that matter), and cried when we got off. Her tears were soon alleviated once she got to go up an escalator, and, to top it all off, we got to go to the CAFETERIA. Annie was awestruck watching people mill around choosing their various fast foods and brownies. I should just take her to a busy airport from now on when I'm out of things to do with her. She would probably be mesmerized for hours. Jay also shared his bread pudding and pink lemonade with her, which she promptly guzzled long enough for me to dig through my enormous diaper bag and find the camera, turn it on and capture her in action. I expect her to come down from the sugar high sometime next week.

In other news, we had our 18-week appointment, which Annie also got to attend. This is the one where they do an ultrasound measuring all the various parts of the baby to make sure it's on track, and where they can tell you the gender if you so choose. We so chose not to. Annie was kind of interested for the first 20 minutes but then she just wanted to get down and investigate the jelly on mommy's tummy. "We don't eat that," was her refrain. I can't really blame her; only about 2 seconds of the ultrasound actually looked like a baby. Those 2 seconds are shown in the photo here. A face shot and a profile. Kind of freaky, but I'm sure it will be a lot cuter when it comes out. (You can click on the photo to see it bigger.)

Other than that, we are packing away, getting signed up for utilities, researching car prices, and preparing for our increasingly sadder departure from Houston. This Sunday my mothers' group is throwing us a farewell party and we'll see how these pregnancy hormones hold up to what's sure to be an emotional event. I'd buy stock in Kleenex if I were you.

Thank you! Thank you very much. Be here all week.

Forgive the stage mom in me towards the end, but please do notice the return to the piano for the big finish.

Alike but not the same

Annie has figured out the meaning of the word "similar." Yesterday she said as she was walking up the stairs to our apartment, "Chocolate is a kind of candy," and I interjected, "Yes, but not all candy is chocolate," (much to her shagrin, I'm sure), so then she continued: "... and jelly beans are a kind of candy, and jelly beans and chocolate are SIM-A-LARR." I can not capture in type what painstaking time she took pronouncing those syllables, but my heart melted a little. Then, today as we're walking home from the park with her friend Sara Kate, a pickup truck passed by (because, remember, we sill live in Texas), and she looks right at Sara Kate and says "That was a pickup truck, Sara Kate." (Just in case she didn't know.) And then continued, "Cars and pickup trucks are SIM-A-LARR." This isn't groundbreaking, I realize, but it does show how much Annie's mind is developing beyond just her language skills. She's a great talker, so it seems her brain is all "Check, got that whole talking thing... what else is there to do?" She's also obsessed with knowing what letter words start with, and she's getting good at sounding it out so she can guess. Part of our daily car or meal chats might include, "What's "tree" start with, Mama?" And I always respond, "What do you think?" and she'll say, "Tr-ee, tah-, tah-, T!" It's very cute.

On the pregnancy front, I can safely say at 17+ weeks now that I have definitely felt some kicking or head butting of some sort and it's not just gas. It's so different from how Annie moved. She was the "butterfly flutters" you read about, tickling my insides with her little feet, where as this one is more Thumper from Bambi. Jay and I are both a little worried at this baby's activity level. Every time I've had an ultrasound or they listen to the heartbeat with one of those microphones, the baby moves around like its got ADHD. I guess it realizes that it has a will-be-3-year-old to keep up with as soon as it arrives, so it's getting in shape early. Also, just as a note in case anybody's wondering, we're not going to find out the sex of this baby as it's our last and we wanted to mix things up since we did find out with Annie. Let the betting begin.

Lastly, our stuff gets picked up on the 20th, and we will be leaving on June 24th. Southwest finally woke up and is now accepting pets on board, so Annie and I will take the howling Roscoe and Jay is going to drive the trip with Mason. Until then, we are trying to get in all of our good times with friends and familiar places. And as you can see below, I've figured out how to post Shutterfly slideshows to our blog, so I'll try to do this regularly. If you're looking for more pics, you can always visit our Shutterfly share site. It's like seeing them here, but you can see the comments that explain the photos, so they're SIM-A-LARR but not the same.

Annie May and June 2009

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