25 Weeks

At 25 weeks, I'm feeling pretty good.  Our little baby girl is moving around a lot, which only gets more exciting for me.  We don't plan on seeing a doctor the whole time we're here in Texas, so no updates from him.  

Paisley and I go for a long walk every day.  We have a four mile loop we do down by Lady Bird Lake, so that helps to fill up the days, and it feels great to get my blood flowing.  Swimming laps in the pool also feels great, but it's hard to do that with Paisley.

I mentioned before that during the first trimester, all I wanted was to sleep, all the time.  The second trimester brought with it a lot more energy, but I can feel the fatigue slowly creeping up on me again.  Lucky Paisley still takes a good nap during the day!

I got a library card for the downtown public library, so we go to the library once a week for story time, and to pick out new books.  It's fun to get books like "You're Going to Have a Baby Sister".  It gives me and Paisley a chance to talk about the baby.  I think she's far from understanding the idea that there's a baby inside me, but when I ask her where the baby is she points right to my belly, and then very determinedly tries to lift up my shirt and look inside.  

We're still thinking about names.  Still taking ideas too.  We have a small list of ones we like, but nothing for sure yet.  Knowing me, I'll probably have to see her face before I can give her a name, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.  Plus it's so much fun to think about!

And finally, the pregnancy pics.  If my face looks like it has that healthy pregnancy glow, don't be fooled. It's just perspiration, which is never-ending in this lovely Austin climate.  Did I mention how HOT it is here?  

Happy 4th of July!

To start off, I would like to also say Happy Canada Day!  Although there aren't many festivities happening around here on the first of July (and thus not much to blog about), it is always a special day for me.  

That said, we celebrated extra on the 4th of July.  We started off the day by driving out to Round Rock, just to the north of Austin, for the parade.  Before hitting the parade, though, David had a Man vs. Food restaurant to check off the list.  Round Rock is famous for their donuts, including their "Texas-Sized Round Rock Donut", the center of which makes up a regular sized donut.  Of course, we got one, and jump-started our 4th of July with a sugary boost

The famous Texas-Sized Round Rock Donut.  I think Paisley was planning on eating the whole thing!

The parade was lots of fun, even in spite of the heat.  I have to say, however, that parades is one things Utah does bigger than Texas - at least from what we've seen.  With their elaborate floats and lively marching bands, they set a high standard.

Paisley enjoying the parade.

Our favorite part of the parade - a long line of decked out Minis!

 After the parade and a much needed nap for all of us, we went for dinner at Rudy's Barbeque.  Having never been, I was surprised to find that this famous restaurant was at a gas station!  But it only added to the experience.  The line was long, the place was packed, and the food made it more than worth it all!  It was delicious.  I think Paisley ate 1/2lb. of meat all on her own!

 That evening we went to Auditorium Shores, just along the river South of downtown.  There we waited as the place filled with people, to watch the Austin Symphony and the 4th of July fireworks.  We ran into some friends and the time passed quickly.  The symphony was awesome, and the fireworks impressive.

Paisley, trying to figure out what to make of the fireworks.  At first
 she was a little bewildered, then she stairted chiming along with little 'ooh's
and 'wow's, and by the end, every time it got really loud and bright,
she would exclaim "cool!" and  "pretty!"

Stole this from the internet again.  It was a pretty sight.

Our night ended perfectly, except for the 1.5 hour wait to get out of the underground lot we parked in.   After waiting an hour and a half to move 20 feet, we decided to be rebellious and drive out the entrance!  What a rush! Haha. The good news is, Paisley was exhausted enough by the time she got to bed that she slept in the 10:30 the next morning!

Hula Huts, Hiking, and Heavenly Texas Treats

Chuy's Hula Hut

Without doubt, the most exciting time of the week for David is Friday night.  After a long week of work and regular homemade meals, we get to go out to eat.  Usually by Monday he's decided where we'll eat on Friday, and then he spends the entire week anticipating it, looking at menus online, and deciding exactly what he'll order.  This past weekend it was Chuy's Hula Hut.  Chuy's Mexican Grill is a well-known and highly recommended Mexican restaurant, and the Hula Hut adds a Hawaiian spin to it.  The best part is its location, which is right on the water at Lake Austin.  It is beautiful, though lighting makes it hard to get a picture that does it justice.

Us and the view from our table at Chuy's Hula Hut.

One last attempt at a good picture of us.

Mount Bonnell and our Texan "Hike"

On Saturday, we drove out to a place called Mount Bonnell.  I found descriptions of it online, saying things like, "Quite the hike!", "I would do it more often if the hike didn't kill me", and most of all, "DO NOT do this in flip-flops!  Be sure to wear good walking/hiking shoes".  Well, I was a little nervous with the heat and it being so close to sunset time, but we decided to be adventurous and we set out.  Imagine our surprise when we arrived to find the :hike" was nothing but a stone staircase of about 100 steps, railings and all!  I can't say I was too disappointed with a shorter hike, but I have to say the view from the top left nothing to be desired.  It was gorgeous!

The view of downtown from Mount Bonnell

The view of the river looking Southward.

David showing Paisley the sights.

The river looking Northward.  These houses were incredible!

Paisley's turning into quite the little hiker.  She doesn't like to hold onto our hands
 unless she gets to a really tricky part.  She'll say "self" when she wants to do things
on her own, and "help" when she needs it.  It's pretty cute.

These are the steps that made up our "hike".  paisley wanted to do these on her own too.

The Bats

After our Mount Bonnell adventure, we decided to go downtown again and see if we could get a better view of the bats.  Did I explain the bats before?  Well, if I did, I didn't know very much about them.  On Congress Ave downtown Austin, there's a bridge the crosses the river.  In the 1980's, it was reconstructed, and the design included large crevices beneath the bridge that made perfect homes for bats.  At first there was a city-wide panic about them, and there was talk about having them eradicated, until it was found out that the bats were actually harmless.  In fact they do the city a huge service to the city by eating 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of bugs each night!  It also creates quite the attraction as they come out nightly during the summer to feed.  Every night, hundreds of people line the bridge and surrounding areas to watch the bats swarm out to get their nightly fill.  

It's pretty tough to get a good picture of this event, so I stole one off the internet
for the sake of documenting it.

This was the picture we got as the sun started to set and the crowds started to gather.

FHE and the Delicious Ice Cream

You may wondering, does this bucket of ice cream really deserve its own subheading?  If this is what you are thinking, clearly you have not tried Blue Bell Dessert Trio ice cream.  But while I've started a whole new subheading, let me tell you a little more about Monday.  Monday nighst, we have Family Home Evening.  Up till now, we've had about every excuse to be pretty casual about FHE, and we usually just end up sitting together, or doing something fun.  On the worst Mondays, David ends up having to do homework all evening and we're lucky to get dinner in.  Well, we decided this week that we're going to do something different.  I realized that as many teaching moments as you can come across in a family (family scripture study, going to church and just day to day things), there aren't too many times set aside to just talk about gospel principles and the teaching of Christ (yes, I realize those are the same thing).  So we've decided to take a few minutes each Monday evening and take turns teaching gospel principles from Preach My Gospel and the scriptures.  This week, David taught us about the love our Heavenly Father has for us.  We talked about the ways he's shown us his love in our individual lives, and as a family.  It was so nice to take a few minutes and realize how much God has blessed us with, and how grateful we really are for one another. 

And of course, no FHE is complete without ice cream (plus it's probably my biggest pregnancy craving - yes, I'm blaming it on that), so we went to the store and got this bucket of rich vanilla ice cream, loaded with chunks of pecan brownie, chocolate cake, and a fudge swirl.  Yummmm...

THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD

The view of the city from the no leash dog park called, Auditorium Shores on "Town Lake" ("Lady Bird Lake" as it is more formally known as).  Paisley LOVES LOVES LOVES this park.  There are literally like fifty plus dogs running around and swimming in this part and Paisley runs around screaming "Get it.  Touch.  Nice.  Dog.  Puppy.  Woof Woof."  Oh, and David works in the pointy glassy blue building towards the center of the picture.

So, Austin is the bombdiggity.com.  We love it (minus the heat, meaning both the temperature and the NBA team that just won the championship...)!  It's definitely a quirky little town with lots of things going on.  There is no hiding the fact that David loves this town and believes it literally to be heaven on earth.  He rages on and on about this place and basically looks for any excuse to try and convince everyone he knows to move here.  He loves Austin and wants everyone to come to him so that he never has to leave (sorry to the many of you he has engaged a debate with about why you should live here and no where else: Jeff and Sam, Taylor, and family).  But if he himself didn't win your hearts over (yet) or you think that he may be biased, these pictures will definitely help you to understand his reasoning.  Enjoy!  

This is a cool picture David got of the city from our car's side-view mirror.

THE DREAM!  This is no mirage here people, this is THE Texas Memorial Stadium.  We live just a couple blocks north of here so we can see it from our apartment complex.  David always dreamed of living next to the stadium so he could watch the sun set over it and now he can.  This is what dreams are made of! 

Okey dokey, so what makes this town so awesome beside it's nice city line and football stadium (if that isn't enough)?  Well, let me tell you.  This is TEXAS!  Unfortunately, Austin is a little bit different then the rest of Texas.  It is a little on the hippy and liberal as far as culture is concerned and would remind one of the Oregon/Washington/British Columbia area.  Austin's motto: "Keep Austin Weird."  This is rather hard to explain what makes Austin so weird.  Is it the fact that it is the Live Music Capital of the World?  Popular concerts include the ever famous Austin City Limits which takes the city by control for a weekend and brings in about a hundred bands, big and small, old and new, and turns everywhere into a music stage; South by South West another week of concert after concert; or the free Blues on the Green concerts every Wednesday night in the park.  Is it the fact that it is a very politically liberal town in a sea of conservatism?  This town is very green and it shows by the food, the many many MANY bikers that may or may not get in the way as the ride through the city, or just the fact that they recycle.  Maybe it's the fact that this town has lost it's southern drawl and lovin' for boots, jeans, trucks, and country music like it's neighboring towns.  Luckily for David, it has just enough of those to keep him happy even though he would like a little bit more.

Even though Austin isn't as traditional as David hoped, he still managed to get himself a pair of custom, hand-made boots.  Austin likes to be laid back and on Friday's everyone wears casual clothes to work, including the clients Ernst & Young has. So, in order to not stand out Ernst & Young employees wear jeans and boots on Fridays too.

As per things to do in this town, the lake is always a popular place.  At sunset you can watch thousands of bats fly from under the bridge and into the sky.  There is a lot of huge parks to play in with a running trail that lines the lake and is always full of people just running, walking, talking and socializing.  If you're not in the park, however, you're in the river boating, kayaking, canoeing, etc. 

Tan and Paisley during a picnic on the river with some people in
a canoe in the background. 

The train that goes around the Park.

The Barton Creek Springs Pool right in the park.  This is a swimming pool that
has been preserved as a natural sping.

The water is freezing cold, but it is nice because that day, like most summer days
in Texas was well over 100 degrees.

As you can see it is a fun and popular thing to do with lots of families and friends.

Here she is people.  Lake Austin, the place that is desired to be our retirement spot.  Holy Moly it was beautiful.  The neighboring area is tucked into the hills and has some nice homes, with both mansions and more modest abodes.  It was a breath taking sight to see and a place we would both like to live FOREVER!

Moving on to David's most favorite aspect (besides Texas football), the aspect that is make it or break it for a city in his opinion, FOOD.  David sat down and made a list of all the places we had to eat while we are here.  Well, that list ended up growing and growing to be so big that it won't be possible on our budget and lack of time.  Austin wants to keep Austin local.  They love farmers markets and don't love chains.  There are very few chain restaurants here, but there are TONS of original places to eat that only are located in Austin and use Austin grown ingredients.  From pizza to Tex-Mex, hamburgers to salads, and the ever famous Texas BBQ.  

Hopdoddy's - probably the most recommended burgers in town.  The fries were great.  The drinks are specialty soda's made with real cane sugar.  The shakes were outstanding.  The Greek Lamb burger was delicious as was David's classic burger with an egg on top (the gourmet version of Red Robin's Royal Burger).  "Best burger I've ever eaten" ~Tanis Douma  

So what does $20 get you in Texas:  All-you-can-eat brisket, sausage,
turkey, and pork ribs with potatoes, coleslaw, and beans for sides. 

This is a picture of Paisley to show how good she is learning to use a fork as
she enjoys her Texas BBQ.

One of the two barbecue pits where the meat is cooked using a mustard based Barbecue Sauce.

So what is this heavenly BBQ place we have been speaking about?  The Salt Lick BBQ.  As seen on Man vs. Food David had to try this place out.  Texas is a BBQ state, famous for it's Brisket.  Austin, is one of the best and most famous places to get BBQ and Texas brisket.  This place is an establishment that everyone should experience.  It is about 30 minutes out of town, deep in the hill country and very secluded, however, you know when you have arrived.  The parking lot is as big as Walmart's.  There is a playground for kids to enjoy.  Hammocks to rest in.  Fields and pastures surrounding.  Live music playing with lemonade and popcorn to snack on.  And literally hundreds of people from all over, here for BBQ and a good time.  Inside, the pack the place with picnic tables and everyone sits together family style.  They say BYOB (bring your own beer) and people bring coolers of it with all their friends and family.  If you forget, not a problem, they also have their own winery next door or for those of us who don't drink, water.  This was paradise!

Well, that about does it for now (this was kind of a long blog post).  We sure have been enjoying Austin and Texas in general.  Paisley loves the library and Children's museum and is growing so fast.  We LOVE being in the heart of Texas!

Paisley doing her two favorite things: playing with other kids and reading at the
Austin Children's Museum.

This was a pretty picture David got while at a Texas Rangers game in Dallas

This is a video of Paisley and some of the animal noises she can make.  She is kind of shy with the camera and most of the time we can get her to do all of them:

Cow = MOO

Lion = RAAR

Snake = SSSSS

Dog = Woof Woof

Cat = Meow

Bird = Tweet Tweet

Chicken = Bok Bok Bok

Rooster = Doodle Doo

Monkey = AH AH AH

Frog = Ribbet Ribbet

Pig = Oink Oink

and our Personal Favorite,

Rabbit = nose and mouth moving up and down!

ENJOY!!!

Y'all come back now ya hear!

All About Paisley

Paisley loves pictures.  Mostly, she loves looking at pictures of herself on our camera.  In fact, whenever I get the camera out, she starts reaching for it saying "smile, smile". This makes it difficult to get very many good pictures of her.  Here are some lucky shots I got of her when she was too distracted to care about the camera.  

Swimming in the pool at our apartment complex.  Our apartment is the one right behind, so we have a good view of the pool, and Paisley is always asking to go swimming. 

She's getting pretty good at climbing stairs.  Thanks, Grandma Cindie, for the cute outfit!

Last week while David was out of town, Paisley and I took a train around the park.  It was a blast, but unfortunately we couldn't get a good picture of us, so here's the train.

Dad and Paisley playing around with the camera.  I love these two!

On Wednesday this week we went to the Austin Children's Museum.  It was  tons of fun and they had so many cool things for kids to explore!  This was sort of a giant Lite-Brite toy.  Paisley could have spent the whole evening here.

There was a fun physics section that consisted of rolling balls down different ramps and tracks and things.  Tons of fun.  On this particular one, you drop the ball at the top and it goes round and round till it gets to the end.  Paisley wanted to keep tabs on the ball at all times, so she went round and round chasing after it.

Daddy and Paisley going fishing.  

This morning Paisley took me for quite a walk, running up and down hills and all over the place.  She was really set on chasing a squirrel, one of her favorite things to do lately.  Here's a play-by-play of our adventure.

"Mama, squirrel! Get it!"

Running up the hill, making her best chipmunk face.  Or maybe this is just her face of determination.

Oops, fell down.

Ready to go again.

By the time we caught up, the squirrel was up a tree.  She spent a few minutes trying to figure out how she could get it before giving up.

Trying to call down the squirrel a couple of days ago at the State Capitol grounds.  This reminds me of a scene from Rapunzel or Romeo and Juliet.

Smelling the flowers.

Oh yes, this happened the other day.  Paisley had been quiet while David and I were doing other things, when we looked over to see what she was doing, there she was just sitting on the couch in her p.j.'s reading her books. Priceless.