One month and some odd days

It's officially been a month (and then some) since Bryan and I started the Engine 2 Diet. It's been an entire month since either of us have had a single bite of meat, or any other animal by-product for what it's worth. A full month of eating nothing but good-for-us, delicious vegetables and whole grains. And if you thought we were ready to stop now, you thought wrong.

The changes we've seen in the past month have been really astounding. I've lost close to 10 pounds - all from changing my diet. Though I should be exercising, I haven't changed my activity level one bit. Bryan's lost closer to 15 pounds. We're both seeing vast improvements in our energy levels. And we're thoroughly enjoying what we eat.

Becoming "plant-strong" has opened us up to the whole new world of dining options. Austin has a multitude of fantastic, locally-owned and unique restaurants including a wholly macrobiotic, vegan restaurant and the very best (all natural) cakes ever - all of which we probably would have not likely experienced without starting the diet.

I've discovered that I'm not sure a bad cook after all. The recipes in the book are genuinely pretty easy to follow and always turn out delicious. We haven't had one disappoint us yet. Well, in total fairness, the desserts could use some help. I've decided to leave it up to the "professionals" and satisfy my sweet tooth cravings with a vegan cookie from Whole Foods or a vegan cupcake (the best) from Mr. Natural.

A lot of people have asked what we're feeding the kids. They're about halfway transitioned to the diet. We've cleaned out our kitchen of most of the "bad" foods and replaced them with healthy snacks. We haven't weaned them off of cow's milk (though we usually let Brick choose if he wants "regular milk", soy milk or rice milk) They still eat whatever's prepared for them at school. For dinner, they eat what we eat. We rarely prepare something special for them, and when we do, it's usually leftovers from another night or a meat substitute of some kind. They're eating healthier at breakfast too. In fact, one of Brick's favorite foods has become hot whole grain cereal ("oatmeal" to him, even though it's not) with fruit. He'll eat every last bite of an adult size bowl.

We're enjoying the diet so much, we've committed ourselves to "round 2" - another month of plant-strong, Engine 2 goodness. Seriously, it's THAT good.

Home

9 days
2 states
4 flights
2 layovers
2 overweight suitcases (+1 to carry home all the goodies from Santa and his helpers)
2 carseats
1 double stroller
1 diaper bag
1 camera bag
1 laptop bag
1 backpack
1 children's carry-on
1 rental car minivan
560+ miles of driving

1 very Merry Christmas!

Finally back in Texas ... It's good to be home

Merry Christmas

We're travelling for the holidays, and will be back to blogging after the New Year. Hope everyone's having a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

So much to be thankful for

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. Calla kicked off our weekend by taking her VERY first steps on Wednesday. Much like her brother, Calla's not really taking her time learning how to walk. All of a sudden, she's taking steps every chance she gets. She's mastered getting from the ottoman to the couch, or from the couch to Daddy. If I had to guess, I'd say we'll have a full-fledge walker on our hands by her birthday - definitely before the new year gets here.

Thanksgiving morning, Bryan got up early and cooked us an awesome breakfast. We watched the parade while eating breakfast. At one point, we saw a commercial for St. Jude's Children's Hospital that said "Give thanks for the healthy children in your life..." So, I commented, "I'm thankful for my healthy children." Brick responded, "I'm thankful for my healthy Mommy and Daddy." It was so heartwarming.

After breakfast, I was laying on the floor watching the parade, and Calla was hovering over me. Out of nowhere, she did a big belly flop right on top of me. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

Since it's just the four of us, we've kind of made a tradition out of visiting the Hyatt Hill Country Resort for our Thanksgiving feast. This year's spread didn't seem quite as impressive as it's been in years past. For one, they were lacking two Thanksgiving staples: mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie! We're already making plans to have Thanksgiving at the house next year.

On Friday we braved the malls and did a little Black Friday shopping. We got some great deals on toys for the kids, new jeans for Daddy, new boots for Mommy, and let's not forget the best Black Friday deal of all ... DIAPERS.

Saturday we headed downtown for the Chuy's Children Giving to Children Christmas Parade. It was a perfectly chilly but sunny day, and we were running late, so our spots for viewing the parade were pretty limited. Luckily, we ran into some friends of ours and got to hang out with them.

And since no post would be complete without a few pictures, here's a couple of the kids' (first) visit with Santa this year. We've been trying to prep Brick, getting him ready for the idea of telling Santa what he wants. With us, he's been alternating between "Bob the Builder" and "Handy Manny". Well, when the big man finally asked him what he wanted, Brick totally froze. You could see the wheels turning in his head ... "Bob the Builder or Handy Manny. Which one should I say?" Finally he blurted out "Handy Manny!" I think it's safe to say Santa was listening, and there's a Handy Manny toolset in Brick's future.




On the other hand, Calla wanted nothing to do with Santa.



I guess when you're this beautiful, it's okay not to like Santa.

NiNi and Nonno

I know I'm behind on my posting. Turns out, I'm even further behind on my editing. It's been a busy couple of weeks. We had a whirlwind visit from Bryan's mom and her husband Nick this weekend. I tried my darndest to get a shot of them and the kids together, but this was the best we could get out of the kids.

Another fun "Austin-esque" weekend

In case you've failed to notice, our family likes to take full advantage of the diversity and activity Austin has to offer. It's rare that we spend a weekend just sitting around the house. This weekend was no exception. On Friday night, Bryan and I saw a movie, in the theatres, together for the first time in almost a year. We caught the new Indiana Jones flick at the Alamo Drafthouse. The Alamo Drafthouse is a unique movie-going experience. For one, they serve beer (and food) and delicious $5 milkshakes made with real Blue Bell ice cream. You've gotta get their early though. Bryan and I almost skipped out on the movie because the only two seats we could find together were in the very first row. Fortunately for us, some folks a few rows back moved over and made some extra room.

Saturday, we hit the pool to celebrate Tyler's birthday. Brick thinks Tyler's the greatest. He insisted on wrapping his present in blue AND red paper, and decorated the paper all by himself. Although, he kept saying all day that he was "going to take his birthday from him," Brick was well-behaved throughout the party.

The evening, Bryan suggested we all head out to the Hill Country Galleria since they're having a summer concert series of sorts. We had no idea who'd be playing, but the live music in Austin rarely disappoints, and we don't have many opportunities to enjoy it with the kids in tow. So, off we went.

While we were waiting for the "headliner," Bryan joked about it being some big-name band .. turns out, he wasn't too far off. We were both a little shocked when the emcee introduced Fastball. In fact, I convinced that we just misheard the announcement and commented that he must have said "Fast Bob." A few bars into "Out of my Head" and I realized, "Wow. He really did say Fastball." Gotta love that about Austin. Where else could you see a Grammy-nominated, nationally recognized band at a mall, with maybe 100 other people in the audience, all for free?!

Back from the beach

We had an AWESOME Memorial Day weekend. We decided sort of last-minute to indulge in the long weekend and take a mini-vacation to South Padre Island. It turned out to be a fantastic idea. We left work a few hours early on Friday to make the drive. Calla is not the super-trooper car rider that Brick is. When she'd had enough of being in the car, she let us know - which was an odd experience considering how calm and sweet-natured she usually is.

Booking last-minute had its perks. We rented this huge, penthouse condominium right on the beach. This place was easily big enough for three families. One of the rooms was a photographer's dream. It had big open windows on two sides, both of which were covered with shear white drapes. When the subject was exposed correctly, the backlit drapes made a stark white backdrop. I had a fun time playing in that room for a few shots.





First thing Saturday morning, we hit the beach. We were not at all prepared for the task of carrying two young children and all their miscellaneous stuff through hot sand. I wish I had taken a picture of Bryan toting three beach chairs, a beach umbrella and Brick plus all his beach toys, but I was too busy carrying Calla, a gallon of Gatorade (gotta stay hydrated) and a bag full of beach towels.

After all that work, you'd think we would have stayed on the beach for more than an hour, but we didn't. The kids were tired, Bryan and I weren't feeling well, it just made sense to head back to the condo for awhile.

That afternoon, we headed the Mexico. Yes, Mexico. South Padre is just 25 miles from Matamoros, Mexico. We were too close to pass up the opportunity, so we conquered our fears of being stranded in a foreign nation, paid the toll and walked across the Rio Grande into Mexico. We spent an hour or so browsing the downtown market before we headed back to the homeland. Brick managed to receive more than a few compliments from the locals who were all enamored by how "bonito" he was. He even picked up a balloon courtesy of the nice cab driver who took us from the border crossing to downtown.

That evening, I tried to do a photoshoot with Brick on the beach, but he was totally uninterested, and I think I left out too late to take advantage of the "good" early evening lighting. I ended up with a few cute shots









We also had an opportunity at a nice family photo taken by a couple passing by. Note, I say HAD. The actual photo could have been better - Brick and Calla are totally uninterested and in the original shot, Bryan had his eyes closed. I won't post the original picture because then my Photoshop magic may appear too obvious.



That night, Bryan mixed up some daiquiris after the kids settled into bed, and like the real party-girl I've become, I fell asleep on the couch with a half-finished daiquiri in my hand. Good times.

The next morning, we headed out to the beach again. Only this time, we were prepared. Bryan made several trips downstairs to haul and setup our things while I stayed inside and got the kids ready.

Sleepy Calla enjoyed several naps on the beach and made a truly adorable beach bum.





Brick braved the waves and got fiercer every time he went back into the water. At one point, he turned to me and said "I don't need your help." as he pummeled through chest high waves, and I jumped to protect him from being knocked over. I can't really say that I've had many moments in my life better than hanging out with Brick in the waves.

That evening, we closed out our vacation with a dolphin watching cruise and a totally overpriced meal at Pirate's Landing. But it turns out the $20 fish and chips was worth it after all because if you ask Brick what his favorite part of the trip was, he'll think for a minute, and then he always answers "The pirates!" And that's the kind of stuff memories are made of.

Two weekends worth

As I mentioned, I'm a little behind on blogging and even further behind on editing my photos. We've been having a lot of fun on the weekends, and haven't had a whole lot of time for much else.

A couple of weeks ago, we attended an air show at Camp Mabry. It turned out to be really cool. Brick LOVED every second of it. He was too cute. On the way to the show, we got him excited by talking to him about how he was going to see big helicopters. His excitement about getting to see some helicopters some how turned into "I want to sit in a helicopter," which turned into "I want to fly a helicopter." I can't really fault the kid for being ambitious. We did get to fulfill the second request.



He even got to sit in a giant tank. Again, he loved it. Maybe you can't tell, but this is the face he makes when he's REALLY excited about something.



We also had our picture taken with the Freedom Chopper built by OCC. It's our first family photo since Calla was born. Classic, isn't it? At least the bike looks cool.



This past weekend, we went to the Wiener Dog Races in Buda. That was also loads of fun. While we were waiting in line for the shuttle bus, Brick kept commenting on all the dogs. So, we snagged a line from Go, Dog. Go! and told Brick we were going to a big dog party! That's exactly what it was. There were dogs everywhere. And lots of fun for Brick too.



He got to say hello to H-E-Buddy (representative for a local grocery store chain - He's a grocery bag, for anyone who can't tell). Brick was so confident when we met Buddy. He stood by him for a picture with very little encouragement and even stopped to give Buddy a big hug.





Brick also got to ride a pony for the very first time. Daddy stayed close by, but Brick held on all by himself, and adored every second of his ride. Oh, and check out Brick's shoes! Aren't they great? He's becoming a true Austinite in his mandatory summertime flip-flops. I think it's so cool that he's old enough now for some flops.



Brick also got to ride on this cool little tractor train they had. Notice how some of the kids are riding with their parents? Well, not Brick. Bryan tried to squeeze into the car with him, but Brick refused. He insisted on riding alone, only to freak out moments after the train started moving. They folks running the train were kind enough to let us calm Brick down and put him back in his seat, where he sat stoic throughout the rest of the ride. Afterwards, he told us he really enjoyed it, so we'll just take his word for it.





And finally what would a wiener dog festival really be without ... the Weiner Mobile?!



On our way back to the car, I made a critical error in judgment. Taking the shuttle is a bit cumbersome when you have two kids, a double stroller, a diaper bag and a camera to tend to, so we decided to walk. Hoping to avoid some of the traffic on the main road, I suggested that we walk down a side street, not remembering that on the way there, our bus got on to that side street by taking the highway.

We walked WAY far out of the way only to find ourselves trekking through a neighborhood that we weren't totally sure would cut through to the lot where the car was parked. We finally found a hole in the fence at the end of a cul-de-sac. So, imagine if you will, Bryan and I hoisting our two kids, in a stroller through this hole in the fence. We were sincerely joyful and elated when we all made it through safely and could see our car. I seriously think what should have been about a mile's walk turned into about 5 miles. I'm still soar!

New set of wheels

Last weekend was a rather indulgent one for Bryan and me. We hired a babysitter, for one. But rather than catching a movie or a childless bite to eat, we relished the free time while picking out a new car.

It seems like the Jeep never fully recovered from its unfortunate crash of almost a year ago. The brakes needed work, something with the transmission was leaking, three of the four window regulators broke within a few months of each other, and at $500 a pop, we were getting tired of fixing them!

We pretty much set out intending to buy a Lexus GX 470. We'd done the research, and it was the only luxury vehicle that we liked, in our price range, that offered third row seating (or so we'd thought). Of course, we don't have enough kids to warrant the necessity of a third row, but we were thinking it'd be nice to have when the grandparents come to visit. Since the likelihood that I'd be the one sitting in the third row was pretty high, I became the official third row tester.

Turns out, the third row in the Lexus was useless. Like I said, we'd done the research, so we'd seen the reviews saying the third row was useless. I guess we just figured, "How useless could it really be?" Well, it's just that useless. I don't even think it'd be comfortable for a small child to sit back there, and it's certainly not intended for an average-sized adult. Another ding against the Lexus, the third row doesn't fold flat. So, now we were faced with the option of toting around a useless third row that would always be taking up space in the back of our vehicle or to throw out third row as one of our required options.

Throwing out the need for third row seating, totally opened up our car possibilities. We test drove the Audi Q7, which was surprisingly spacious (and had a third row). But the interior lacked the fit and finish we expected from a luxury brand, and Bryan could not get passed the exterior of the car (It kinda looks like a station wagon, on steroids.)

We talked about our absolute favorite SUV, which led us to BMW of Austin. We were actually checking out an '06 model X5, when Jay (our sales guy) was pointing out the differences between the '06 and the newly redesigned '07 model. He stated that the '07 was a little bit longer to accommodate for ... Can you guess? Third row seating! As soon as we heard that, we knew we had to test drive it. The third row is still pretty tiny, but the middle seats can be adjusted forward, giving a small adult a good enough amount of space in the third row. And as a bonus, the third row folds flat, so no hogging space in the back of the car when we're not using it.

This thing is seriously space-age. I had to giggle when my mom asked me if it was "fully loaded." As I tried to graciously explain to her, it's a BMW, they don't really make them any other way. In addition to the third row, this thing has iDrive - a really innovative system used for controlling the car's other functionalities, an integrated phone that syncs to our cell phones using Bluetooth technology (seriously hands-free calling at its finest), an iPod and USB jack (sweet) and a comfort access remote, which means we don't need to insert a key to open the car or to even drive it; you just have to have the remote on your person, near the car, and the doors will unlock when you pull on the handle or the car will start when you press the Start/Stop button. Yes, it has a Start/Stop BUTTON - I'm telling you ... we feel like the Jetsons when we're driving this car.

So, without further ado, here it is... Our new car... We couldn't be happier with it.

Life is good

Warm weather seems to have settled into Austin. Today was gorgeous. Bright blue skies, temps in the 80s, lots of sunshine. We spent the morning with some friends at the playground, where the kids turned the volleyball court into a giant sandbox.

Calla was all smiles all day. And while Brick was napping, I was able to get some fun shots of her big, giant grins.





This afternoon we pulled out Brick's wading pool. The kid LOVES the water. I think we're going to enroll him in some swim lessons pretty soon. We can't wait until the neighborhood pool opens up!



Brick got to watch a few minutes of Dora before Bryan got home. Lucky for me, his intent gaze made for a decent photo op.



Then we finally headed off to Carlos and Charlies for dinner. Living this close to the lake definitely has its benefits. There's nothing quite like good food and beautiful sunsets.

Quintessentially Austin

One of the things we LOVE about Austin is there is always something going on around here. Last weekend was a prime example. I know this post is a little overdue, but I didn't have an opportunity to edit these pictures until recently.

Saturday we headed downtown for the Texas Independence Day Parade.





It was a pretty traditional parade with lots of bands and displays of patriotism.



Somehow over the years, word must have gotten out that parades are a terrific opportunity for senior citizens to dance around with random objects. There were several groups fitting this motif in this particular parade.

There were The Plungettes. And yes, they dance around with overly decorative plungers. And they genuinely seem to like it.





We also had the pleasure of seeing The Beachers. They came in all the way from Sunrise Beach, TX just to be a part of the parade and dance around with elaborate beach chairs.



During the parade, we spotted the Austin Segway Tour. We see these guys around town all the time. Bryan and I are itching to do one of these tours. We've already experienced Austin through the eyes of the duck. It was a hoot. How could it not be equally as fun to learn about our great city while riding a a self-balancing personal transportation device?



The funny thing about this crew is they rode up one side of the street looking like an ordinary group of tourists catching a glimpse of our awesome parade. And then they came back down the other side of the street wearing these flimsy foam Statue of Liberty hats that were being passed out by the friendly folks at Liberty Tax Service. I wish I'd gotten THAT shot.

After the parade, we took advantage of our proximity to the Capitol to take a few fun shots. I personally think the Capitol is such a beautiful building. I'm not sure I could ever really get tired of photographing it.



And like many others in Austin, I've taken some variation of this shot of the interior of the Capitol dome several times. But this honestly might be my favorite one yet.



Sunday was the 80th Annual Zilker Park Kite Festival.



The skies were totally overcast, so unlike last year there weren't many great photo ops. On the bright side, there was TONS of wind, so we were able to redeem ourselves and get our miserable excuse for a kite off the ground - WAY far off the ground. See that tiny speck in the upper right portion of the picture below? That's our kite.



The string was so taut that every kite that was unfortunate enough to cross its path was instantly severed. This dragon kite put up quite a fight. It must have gotten tangled with our kite 5 or 6 different times. But ultimately, it too was defeated by our bully kite.

Fun at the park

Gramps and Nonna are in town this week to celebrate Brick's birthday. Today, we visited the park. Brick figured out pretty quickly that Gramps is really just a big kid and insisted that he play on the playground with him.



Then Gramps showed Brick how to spin on the swings. Gramps would wind up the swing and let it go, while Brick threw his head back and enjoyed the ride.







Finally, Brick got a shoulder ride around the park. I think it's obvious from the look on his face that this may have been his favorite activity yet. All in all, it was quite an enjoyable outing for Brick.