Do or do not. There is no try.

Sunday night, my family and I went to the Zilker Tree Lighting Celebration here in Austin. It was also a chance to chat with Randy, from Yearlyglot, who happened to be visiting the capitol city this weekend. As we chatted, he asked me, so you’re learning Spanish? I answered, Yes, I’m trying to learn Spanish. He quickly pointed out that I shouldn’t say “try”. And I agree.

This is something that I have been trying to get out of my everyday vocabulary, here in my writing, as well as my everyday speech. I made the conscience decision to do this a few months ago. I find it creeps in to my speech in other ways. “I’d like to do that.” “We plan to do that.” etc.

Thanks Randy for pointing out one of my own pet peeves about myself. I am not just trying to get it out of my lexicon, I am doing it right now!

Train ride

The little man is enjoying his first train ride at Shady Springs, Austin, TX. This was taken a few days ago.

Today we went to his favorite Saturday lunch place, Wendy's, where he likes to get the chicken nuggets. As we were leaving, he said my favorite words: I love you, mommies.

Stylin'

We played with hair gel this morning. Then he wanted to take the gel out. And then he wanted a hair cut. Guess I'll be doing that this weekend.

Wheels on the Bus

Sometimes I need two straws...

360 bridge

We took our son to the 360 bridge this last weekend. His words: "Wow! Big!" He was so excited to be there, and he didn't want to leave.

The perfect gift for Valentines

Get that classic Chicken Soup for the Soul Divorce edition just in time for Valentines at CVS. It's on sale now!

Día de los muertos and Requiem

Two weekends ago, though I was pretty beaten down by a cold, I dragged myself out of bed to go Austin's Día de los muertos celebration downtown. It's a parade and street festival with tents and a stage for live music. It's only a block long, and we didn't stay very long, but all three of us really enjoyed it.



Unfortunately that was the highlight of my otherwise lost and bedridden weekend. Here are a few more photos of the little man on the playground.



This last weekend was a little better for me. Last Friday, the little man wore his handmade Superman costume (thanks J!) to school. He didn't want to wear the removable cape, though, even though I tried to convince him he would be just like Superman and Super Grover. And there were two other Supermans in his class. They were all so cute! That afternoon in his class, they had a little party and both Mama D and I went. Here are a few pictures of the little man before school, struggling to not wear the cape.



Saturday, Mama D played spectacularly with the St. Edward's orchestra, performing Danse Macabre, excerpts from Pictures at an Exhibition, The Noonday Witch, and a little bit of Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

And that Halloween evening, even though he refused to put on his costume, the little man had a great time at J's party. Since this post doesn't have enough photos, here is another slideshow from party.



Sunday was Day of the Dead, and I spent my morning run reflecting on the loss of one of the co-founders of my company to brain cancer. As my lungs burned and I coughed up phlegm (residual from the cold), I thought about what a remarkable life he had. Later that morning, D and I went to Central Presbyterian to hear the performance of the Requiem by John Rutter. It was a Requiem that I had not heard before. The arrangement was made specifically for the Wild Basin Woodwind Quintet. I really enjoyed the music and it was perfect to be in that moment contemplating life and death and everyone.

Pumpkin painting

The little man really likes happy faces. Since he can't draw them himself, he loves it when someone else draws them for him. And if you forget something, like the nose, he will tell you about it. After drawing a few happy faces, he finally started to decorate his Halloween pumpkin that we got last weekend for him. He really enjoys painting, and using all kinds of methods: paint markers, finger painting, and brushes. Hope you enjoy this photo slideshow. It was fun for us watching and helping him paint.

Goofing off at the pumpkin patch

We attempted to take some photos of BabyBoy at the pumpkin patch this weekend. Here you can observe his goofing off skills. First, here he shows he does not want to look at the camara.


Here he is giving his very exaggerated smile. He just started to do this after weeks of me encouraging him to smile so I can brush his teeth.


Lastly, we have the pen cap!

At the Apple Store

This was taken last month at the Apple store. He looks almost as happy as I was getting my new iPod Nano. Actually, I think he is happier. Nothing is like the pure joy of a child.

The little man at day care

Too close!

This is why I don't post too many videos anymore. My son is very aware of the camera and gets too close!

More August photos of the little man

19 months

The little man is now into bubbles, Elmo and stars. He was actually getting into stars at the 4th of July. He knows other shapes from our little shape sorter toy, but I think he is only able to say star. And bubbles he is pretty keen on as well. He loves to blow bubbles outside. Lately, though, it has been too hot to play outside. So we started giving him bubble baths which he loves. Even if he doesn't want to take a bath, I can talk him into it with the promise of bubbles. Elmo is a relatively new development, as in just a few days ago, he started saying Elmo (Ehmo, Ehmo, Ehmo!). We have a Sesame Street t.v. remote control with pictures on the number buttons. We say what each picture is, including the car, kitty, guitar, rocketship, and ball. It also has Ernie, Bert, Oscar, and of course Elmo. Something just clicked in him in the last few days, and he started saying Elmo a lot. Yesterday we went to Walmart, and decided to get him an Elmo plush doll, an Elmo book, and an Elmo DVD. He is just now getting interested in the t.v. He doesn't really watch more than 5 minutes at a time, but the DVDs have really helped me distract him long enough to trim his nails (which was always a weekly battle). I've also noticed of late that he is really getting in the manipulative toys and working on his fine motor skills. He likes to play with the shape sorter, and he also likes to pull apart and put together his Lego blocks. And of course, we think he is such a sweetheart. :-)

The little man is 18 months today!

He is playing with his new tee pee from our good friend K.

Going for a stroll

Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2009

The actual "Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2009" was yesterday, but we have been taking care of sick toddler since Sunday. And that is how it is for us. We are two women in love, partners for many years, who decided a few years ago to start our own family. I didn't start this blog until our son was about 6 months old, but I'm glad to be part of the blogging community. I don't feel like I have much wisdom to share, but just the common experience of being a parent, and lesbian parents at that, makes the world feel a little smaller. I actually started this blog last year so our families could see photos and videos of our son growing up, but it has turned into much more. I have friends from all over that tell me they love seeing the little man grow up.

I'm not as political as I probably should be, so, I don't really write that much about that topic here. But I am proud to be living in this day and age, where we are on the tipping point of acceptance and equal rights. I don't know if D and I will ever get married, but it is so important from a legal perspective. And in living in Texas, without even same-sex domestic partnership recognition here, it is so important for us that other states can achieve these milestones in equality.

Politics aside, we are definitely a family. We are both mommies. Sure, our family is a little different. But we are proud parents, and eager to whip out the photos to anyone that asks. There are days where we say, I can't believe we have a son! He is a miracle to us. And for me, though our life has changed so much with the little man, it feels like this is how it always should have been for us, now that we have him.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Last weekend, we were out running errands, as we typically do on the weekends. We were starving with the kind of hunger only large amounts of fat and cholesterol can sate. So, we decided to head to Mighty Fine Hamburgers. I went into the bathroom to wash three baby spoons for the little man. An older lady saw me and asked, "Are you feeding three kids?"
"No, this is in case he drops one," I replied.
"Oh, you are so prepared!".
"Well, not actually, I just bought these spoons at Target, because I did not plan ahead."

But that was last weekend. This weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. We didn't go out of town, but stayed home. A staycation, I've heard it called. We didn't go to any parades, but silently thought about family members who have served.

A new thing for us as a family, though, was taking the little man along the Lady Bird Lake trail (formerly known as Town Lake trail). The weather was beautiful yesterday and it was an all around perfect morning for a stroll. Those not from Austin may not know that the underside of the Congress Avenue bridge is home to the largest population of Mexican Free-tailed bats. Even though I've lived here for many years, I just learned that the bridge was renovated with special channels specifically for the bats to nest. As we passed under the bridge, it almost seemed like the wheels of the jogging stroller were suddenly squeaky, but it was just the colony saying hello to joggers, bicyclists, and strollers below. Here is a little slideshow of our little nature walk.



Since it was a hot weekend with highs in the 90s, we had hoped to go to the nearby public pool. But alas, the little man is down with a little cold. He just has not been himself, quite cranky and fussy. I think we have really started the long hot summer months here, so, I'm sure we will have many more opportunities this summer to hit the pool.

On the home front, we finally got the flooring installed for the new part of our living room. Here La Princesa is modeling the new floor.


My favorite tweet of the week is actually related to Memorial Day:


Random thought of the week: Due to the marvelousness of iTunes random play, I just noticed that both Marco Antonio Solís and Maná sing "Si No Te Hubieras Ido". I can't decide which I like better. They are both pretty good. Marco Antonio has a superb voice, and the Maná version has a bit more of a rock edge.

Hope you had a swell weekend and hope you are all doing well.

Lunch at Frank and Angie's with D

Austin, TX