it gets worse?!??!

Oh how I wish we could go back to February and enjoy the snow. The best thing about our snow day was that everyone (except my dad, because he decided to go to work instead of staying home to have fun) was outside playing and walking and building snowmen. Even Jack, who undoubtedly walked to school barefoot in the snow uphill as a young child, stayed home. These days, when you drive or walk through my neighborhood, it is worse than a ghost town. I am the only one brave enough to play outside and my mom goes with me.

The hottest month of the year in Texas begins tomorrow, and local forecasts say this August won’t disappoint. great.

This week, the Austin area will have record or tying-record heat, with forecasts showing temperatures within one to two degrees of record-setting temperatures, National Weather Service forecaster Marianne Sutton said today. Surprise: the weather service predicts temperatures between 102 and 106 degrees tomorrow.

And, just think, we only have three more months of summer!

Don

This evening, tropical storm Don was supposed to make landfall and bring us some rain. Don was a dud. It did bring us a cooler day though. In the morning, we got to play outside for an extra hour. In the evening, it was only 90 degrees so my dad took me for a long walk. The middle of the day was spent reading, playing, and napping. We also made a trip to the bookstore to play with the trains.

While we were at the bookstore, we checked on the progress of the new Whole Foods they are building out here. We are SO SO SO excited about that . . . and not just because they have a lot of tractors and excavators and bulldozers at the construction site. Imagine how convenient it will be to have a Whole Foods nearby!

I took my tractor outside to sit on it for a while this morning. Nevermind that I am in my pyjamas and slippers but sometimes we just get in such a hurry to get outside that we do not dress. Every minute is precious when you are racing against the thermometer. The fun usually has to end at 95 degrees.

I also practiced my fake smile this morning. As usual, I wore my real smile when the camera was put away.

baking

Yesterday my mom and I made delicious blueberry oatmeal muffins (all organic ingredients, of course). My job was to stir. My mom says it is important to stir everything by hand when baking and don't overmix otherwise you get dreadfully flat baked goods. yuck. My muffins are fluffy. I was quite impatient for the entire 20 minutes that they had to bake. I ate three muffins yesterday and two today.

The first photo was taken in May. I have always enjoyed to wear the oven mitts and help when I can. Now I am a full-fledged baker.

Speaking of baking, it continues to be unbearably hot here. The second photo was taken in December when I went to see Santa. I am reminded of just how cute I was in my jacket - for the entire two weeks of winter that we had. My mom noticed today when she was shopping online for the next size of summer clothes that the GAP is already peddling parkas. ummm who is going to buy a parka when it is 106 degrees most days? Not me! I just need a new swim shirt so I don't catch on fire at the pool.

ice cream is a vegetable

As my mom was preparing her grocery list for Whole Foods today, she asked me what I wanted. My reply: ice cream.

She then clarified that she was asking about vegetables. My reply: another ice cream.

Ice cream it is! breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

happy (belated) birthday

My great-grandmother celebrated her 87th birthday yesterday! Here are two photos from our visit last summer.

The first photo is us (cute me, my grandma, and my parents) enjoying Beacon Hill Park. This photo is extra special because my mom is in it. She usually takes all of the photos. We had such a nice day strolling around the park and looking at flowers and trees and birds. Victoria is ideal for that kind of thing with its perfect temperatures and everything is abloom. I probably don't need to include a reminder here of how much I love to be outside so it is like heaven to me when I visit the northwest.

The second photo shows how chubby and little I was last summer. Could that really be me? cute baby.

I haven't seen my grandma since January. My math may be a bit off but I am pretty sure this is the longest we have gone between visits. She has come here several times and I have gone to see her three times. I always talk about going to Seattle on the airplane. I say "love airplanes" and "love Seattle."

I remember my grandmother really well because she always sends me magazines and cards and photos of herself. When the phone rings, I always guess that it must be her.

I have been writing my grandmother letters lately too. Today when I was writing a card, I drew all over the chair in the living room. ooops. Good thing it was the chair with the busy fabric so maybe no one but me and my mom will ever know.

Happy birthday! I should have had cake or at least ice cream.

hungry

It is a good thing that today was ice cream day. Was I ever hungry.

My mom made lasagna. my favorite. When it is 106 degrees outside, it is hardly lasagna weather but we try to make something big on Sunday so we can have leftovers for the early part of the week. It can be challenging to cook with a toddler running about.

You can tell this picture is several weeks old because I am in my highchair. I have graduated to a regular chair (again). For dinner, I had sweet organic bi-color corn grown somewhere in Texas (as shown in the photo). I also had chickpeas, trail mix (my absolute favorite right now), carrots (like a whole pound of them while waiting for dinner and more with my meal), sunflower seeds, and lasagna. When I had finished my meal, my mom reminded me about ice cream day. yay! I had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and my parents had Maple Blondie. I licked my own bowl clean and my dad's too. Then I asked for another piece of lasagna. I would have kept eating all night long.

I might be having a growth spurt. Let's hope I have enough food in my tummy to make it through the night. Just last week, I slept through the night three consecutive times! not bad for a two year old!

Who is this Reagan guy?

This is better than a birthday!

The International Ice Cream Association encourages consumers to celebrate National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 17.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious (ummmm, ok, if you really think so) food. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."

Do you think me eating five pints of Ben and Jerry's would be an appropriate ceremony/activity for today? I do!

How can you argue with a president who decided that ketchup is a vegetable? (Nevermind that tomatoes are not even vegetables.) I do not eat ketchup but this kind of thinking is what I would much rather see from Republicans.

freedom sweet freedom

Today was my mom's last day of work.

She has mostly been home with me anyhow but now it will be all me all the time! And I will be happy not to have to sleep under the glow of her laptop while she finishes projects late at night.

Sadly, we will not get to enjoy waking up late tomorrow (not that I ever sleep in much) because my mom has an eye doctor appointment and my dad and I have to take Remus to the vet. Pray for Remus. He is nervous.

25 months

We have decided to carry on with celebrating my monthly birthdays. 25 today! I did not get any special treats for my birthday today and soon you will understand why.

Here is a photo of me after my bath. I was listening to Johnny Cash and dancing.

Last night Trinity came over for dinner for an early birthday celebration. My mom made see ya later dip, potato cheddar soup, and salad. I had my usual plateful of veggies, seeds, and nuts to accompany my dinner. We also had a yummy dessert of cookies and ice cream (for me and Trinity) and pie and ice cream for my mom and dad. I also realized that I really do like cherry pie again so I ate most of my mom's; Trinity couldn't finish her dessert so I helped her out. After Trinity left, I was so wound up that I vomited (and maybe I overate just a bit). I leaned over the edge of the bathtub and barfed just like my mom did the time she went to Thai Passion and got food poisoning from the Pad Thai. My dad is always the one to clean up the barf in the bathtub.

Today I started the advanced class at swimming. It really isn't that advanced. In fact, I am bored already. Private lessons might be my best option.

my love affair with ice cream

On Friday, Whole Foods was having a one-day sale on organic cherries. What a deal at only $2.99 per pound. As it turns out, they also had cherry pies on sale. So we bought two. And you cannot even think of serving pie without ice cream.

The first photo is me trying in vain to get just a little bit more ice cream out of the cup. This time, I selected Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie. (I only eat Ben and Jerry's.) That flavor doesn't really go well with cherry pie at all but my mom soon realized that I had tricked her and had no interest in the cherries or the pie, really. It was all an elaborate ploy to get some ice cream in my tummy.

Here are several photos of me and my dad acting goofy when we were hopped up on sugar.

sunny and warm

For whatever reason, my mom sometimes checks the 10-day forecast. It is quite curious how many ways they can describe nothing but hot miserable days ahead. mostly sunny and very warm. clear skies and hot. warmer than yesterday. it gets hotter by the minute.

While we do go outside and enjoy the cool (less than 100 degrees) mornings, most of the rest of the day is spent inside until after dinner when my dad helps me water my plants. (Oh yeah, I go swimming a lot too.) If you could believe it, my flowers have survived and I might even say they have thrived. I will plant some more! I am a great gardener. Don't tell anyone but we did use 3000 gallons more water this month than we did last month and my mom has really cracked down with rationing. I blame this excess water use on our dishwasher being broken for weeks. My mom and I fixed it this week, by the way.

The pictures above show how I am passing the long hot housebound days. Today, I constructed train tunnels from my board books. You can see that the kids riding the train had as much fun as I did.

my dog

If you look at this photo of my dog cuddling with my dad at Christmas, you might think they are good friends. not anymore. not after this morning.

This might be the funniest thing that ever happened. (By the way, I describe many things these days as best ever. best meal ever. hottest day ever. nicest dog ever.)

Every morning when my mom has her bath, my dad and I stay in bed because we like to sleep later and it just usually works better for my mom to get everything organized for the day before I am set free. When my mom is ready for me, she comes back to get me (or go back to sleep with me) and brings Remus with her. This morning, I was sitting at the edge of the bed eagerly awaiting Remus. My mom opened the door and I squealed like an overly excited little girl. Remus got startled and flew directly over me toward my dad and vomited right on his head. all in a single leap! It was the most remarkable sight ever.

happy Canada Day

I don't have any good pictures of me celebrating Canada Day. After spending much of the day naked, I did briefly wear my Canada shirt but it had to be changed after I ran around in the sprinkler and then played in my sandbox. Water and sand is a losing combination.

My Canada Day plan was ruined. There is a new family owned restaurant near here (just opened on Monday) and we were going to have pizza. My mom called to place an order but their pizza oven isn't working today. sad. Business seems to be going surprisingly well for them though. Since that plan was ruined, we celebrated Canada Day with Ben and Jerry's for dessert. good enough, I suppose.

What really ruined my day was when I woke up at 6:22am certain that George Bush was here to see me. He wasn't. I called and called and called out for him but he did not materialize. (He has a birthday next week! Maybe I should convince my mom that we need a cake.) So, there we were awake early in the day. We made smoothies (I drank mine and most of my mom's) and had granola (I ate two bowls) and then we went outside to play and for a walk. Then it was nap time. We slept for almost three hours. nice. Then we played and read and snacked and had dinner and read some more and, before we knew it, another day had ended.

These two photos will give you a good idea of how most of my days end: with me barricaded in my fort refusing to come out. I would almost prefer to live outside and I really don't care that it is well above 100 degrees.