Dress Up

One of Elliot's new obsessions: bead necklaces. 

He loves wearing these around the house, while he's coloring, playing with cars, sorting blocks . . . 

Note: I've since taken away the smaller Mardi Gras ones since they tended to get tangled easily. Also, we don't let him out of our sight when he's playing with these.

February Snow Adventures

The big snow storm two weeks ago dumped almost three feet of snow at our house. We were plowed out four days later, but in the mean time, Elliot got to have some winter fun.

 The snow was about 1 Toddler deep.

 This car really showed the depth of the snow on our road.

 Lumps at the side of this main road are cars.

Elliot had to get in the action.

Texas in February

Chris was invited to Austin to give a couple of seminars, so Elliot and I tagged along to escape winter for 4 days. E and I found some great kid-friendly museums, parks, and centers. We also found a lovely trail by a creek, but only got a short way on it before it turned completely inaccessible by stroller. 
Our favorites (all free):
1. the Natural History Museum on the UT campus: dinosaurs and animals

 2. The Austin Science and Nature Center: excellent hands-on room designed for toddlers to preschool. Fossils, bones, microscopes, magnifyers, rocks, bugs, turtles . . . A huge sand pit where you "discover" a dinosaur skeleton with shovels and brushes. A "zoo" of rescue animals like a bobcat, raccoon, rabbits, raven and fox.

3. Zilker Park Playground: old firetruck to climb on, musical playground components, a little train  that goes through the middle of the playground every hour (not as cool as Tilden though). And a Prehistoric Garden (nearby).

 Then we went to Bryan, TX (near Texas A&M) to visit Rebecca for a day and a half. After a few hours drive, we finally found a place to hike, and unfortunately the main trail was closed, so we just walked along the reservoir. It was a lovely day to be outside. Along the way, we got take out food in Styrofoam, and met Smokey Bear, as well as Sam Houston's severed head. (SH is a former President of the Republic of Texas, cir 1850).