Velour suits aren't just for Santa

Christmas cards finished - just need to mail them tomorrow. Whew. That's quite an undertaking. The list's getting a little hefty so I might farm this project out next year. Anyway - I'm feeling pretty good about myself and so here's a silly story about Charlie for your entertainment...

We were Christmas shopping yesterday and Charlie had a little "pullups leak". Fortunately we were at TJ Maxx so Andy said, "No biggie. Let's just buy a pair of pants and change them here!" So we went over to the clothes section where Charlie 'selected' an aqua velour two-piece jumpsuit.

He said "Oh, this one's nice. And it's sooo soft!"

I tried to steer him toward a less mafioso look, to no avail.

"No - this one!"

Andy wants to get him a gold chain to go with it. He also slept in it last night, and he wouldn't change today either.

The result...

Traveling, bikes and birthdays...oh my!

So close to Christmas and New Years, makes me think how much I'm looking forward to 2011. But it's been a great year, even with the bad things that have happened . We're finally to the point where we can deal positively with all the negative.

What's happened since July...

We enjoyed a very fun trip to New York this summer for our dear friends' son's bar mitzvah. Charlie told us that he was not going to sleep in NYC. What did he know, he was 2.5 years old, right? One week and zero naps later, we learned to believe him. We all had an amazing time.

hitting tree with a stick, ellis island

hanging in a pub, lower east side

ferry to ellis island, statue of liberty in background, cheetos in foreground

Then school started back up. The "bike derby" meant that he needed a bike. He practiced for a day and while slow, he was able to bike in the derby.

And again, Halloween found us with a scary dragon.

Owen and his mom and dad trick or treated with us.

In November we did the train to Fort Worth again, this time with Uncle Dave and Mimi and Grandad. Perfect trip there, great weekend and lots of fun had by all. Train trip back

Charlie's birthday was "wrecking ball"-themed. Which meant we had to invent an invitation a game and a cake....because nobody has ever had a wrecking ball party. Pretty proud of the results. (props to Meagan Hansen, Owen's mom, on the bday photos!)

And finally, our visit to the "red velvet devil" went better than last year. See you in 2011!

Finished. Finally. 2010 Christmas Card is ready. Whew.

Retro Snowflakes Christmas

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I was thinkin' I'd post, say, about once every four months...

Well, we're back in the saddle again.

March sort of flew by, then April completely sucked. That little disaster ate up most of May. First week or so of June was loaned to deadCENTER, and now that we're halfway through it, I'm feeling like I'm truly emerging from my post-grief fog. (So there. Suck that, indecisive, teenage birth mother. )

Here are some cute snaps that I've taken over the past couple months.

getting ready to attack the key lime pie at iguana/taco tuesday.
chillin' with baby cole at the cabin in medicine park.
thoroughly enjoying his blueberry smoothie.
this one's for the ladies.
it's bubble face!

Love to all, and thanks for hanging in there with us.

Love, Tracey and Andy

Catch up time. This time, we focus on dining.

So much has happened in the past few weeks. Mainly getting sick and missing swim AND school. So we'll skip that and hit the high notes. First up, new awesome truck courtesy of Jeff Moyers. This is a J Crew convertible bronco with a hand-painted driver. I think Andy liked it more than Charlie!
Here's Charlie and Dad at Zorbas. The lentil stew is always a big hit. Add fries, even better.
Attention: children in photo aren't really as sad as they appear.
Big day at the Hair Cafe in Midtown! Charlie didn't want to leave, but was persuaded with a walk to Brown's Bakery next door. PS: The girl in the photo is Mona. She's absolutely gorgeous. When we left, he said, "Mona pee-tee". We'll be back!
This is the doughnut he was promised. He abandoned it and I took over. (What good are bribes if you don't get to benefit?

Ice Madness

Andy laughed when I bought a week's worth of panic groceries yesterday. We'll see who laughs last when Charlie and I are enjoying cozy homemade soups and delicious pizzas and he's eating the crumbs at the bottom of the bag of Sun Chips. (Just kidding - we'll share.) And while I'd like to not be an 'I told you so', I'm going to have to mention something along those lines upon his return. Especially since I've been trapped in ice jail all day while he's been gallivanting around town in a big heavy truck. ("Gallivanting" does mean "working one's butt off", right?) If you haven't figured it out yet, the OKC is having another one of our famous "ice rains". I think this one will be backed up by large amounts of snow. Oh the fun we're having! Anyway, I figured I'd post some vids of the kid before we lose power.

In this one, Charlie is watching a video Daddy bought him which shows various things being blown up (old water towers, etc.) I think this particular explosion might have been of an old grain silo. Of course, I'm basing this assumption solely on his lackluster expression up until, and then shortly after, said explosion. But man you let him watch a water tower fall....WOO BOY!

His newest bedtime postponement ritual includes spontaneous acoustic sets with dad. It's pretty much impossible to deny him this when he walks in the room with this little guitar in his hand and a grin on his face. So it happens a lot.

Write faster! Faster, dammit! You're never going to win like that.

And really - don't worry about the weather and our power. Andy sprung for a generator so we'll be just wine! I mean fine. Fine. (takes sip)

On another note, the cute vintage silk top I ordered from Etsy.com came in today. It's cuter than expected. And even more so when not part of a blurred self-portrait. I am saving it for a warmer, drier, day. Say sometime in March.

Anyway, here it is:

More bad weather is on it's way...

I think Charlie speaks for all of us.

Fort Worth Party Train

Hello friends and family!

This is probably going to be a bit of a split post. On one end, it's for our moms and others who want to see everything Charlie does when they're not around. On the flip, it's pretty much a breakdown of how to take the train from OKC to Fort Worth for friends who've asked about the details. So if you're not interested, I'd suggest skipping straight to the pics!

The Train:

We left OKC's Santa Fe Depot on the Heartland Flyer at 8:30ish on Saturday morning. For the record, that parking lot AT the station is not where you park. Santa Fe Garage (the one you use for Skirvin) is the closest and I think it was $6 overnight. Keep in mind that you'll have a walk. So if it's raining - like it was when we got there - that's good to plan for.

We were prepared for a long ride and brought along toys, snacks, books, etc. The whole trip was four hours. In a car, it's only three. You stop in Norman, Purcell, Ardmore and Gainsville. But only for a few minutes. There are little boat/airplane bathrooms, changing rooms, and even a cafe. Note: we didn't think it would, but the cafe does sell alcohol. Tiny bottles ala commercial airplanes, which we did take advantage of on the way home Sunday night.

So here's how it breaks down for those of you who plan to do this. You leave pretty quickly after you get on, so don't dally. You line up to board in OKC, so getting a good spot in line is a good idea too. So try to get into the station around 8 a.m. Reserved seats aren't really so. It's just a reserved car. So if you care about where you sit, and who with, you want to be first in that line. Reserved seats are on top floor. Unreserved seats seemed to be underneath. Like in stowage. Much better views from above and I'll assume its a little quieter too. $150 RT for all three of us. Investigate how to book your trip here: (http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=OKC)

Charlie was SO excited. And barring a minute or two of complete two-year-old behavior, he was great on the train. Most of all, we were so happy to do this for him. He loved it and now he'll be able to tell his kids, 'When I was a kid, my parents and I would take the train to Fort Worth..."

The Hotel:

We actually stayed here with Charlie last year. The waitress remembered us. Well, him. But I digress. This hotel is about a block off the train station. We got in about 12:15, walked over and checked in. We got there just in time to completely miss the rodeo parade, which was a bummer. But we had our share of lobby people-watching. It was a little girl cheerleader convention. I am convinced that the mothers of these poor little girls could write books and books on projection. For the most part, they were still small enough so one could avert one's eyes from the sexy costumes and makeup their Frappucino-guzzling mamas painted on them. Wait - the hotel.OK - big huge open lobby and giant atrium room to soak up a little sunlight even when it's chilly out. Good food too - same menu everywhere in hotel. We pretty much sampled the entire thing. Wings, veggie pizzas, meatball sliders and pasta all pretty good, esp. for food service. http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/FTWFWHF-Hilton-Fort-Worth-Texas/index.do

What to do:

Sundance Square is just a couple blocks off: http://www.sundancesquare.com/ The Flying Saucer never got our business, but we wish it had. There are lots of bookstores, cafes, street entertainment/musicians....plenty going on to keep a little guy's mind active. Sunday was lovely - got up to about 70 - so we took a cab to the zoo. http://www.fortworthzoo.com/ Cab rides = no car seats. This was a first for Charlie! He loved it. The zoo is top-five rated in the US, and they had great exhibits and smart design. We all loved it. I was especially interested in getting Charlie to see the elephants since we haven't seen ours (they've been spending so much time in Tulsa.) Most of all, he loved the "monkey show". Such nice weather made for very active chimps. VERY active. Side note: look for a baby monkey in the near future...

All in all, we had a good run. Loved it. Recommend it. Let's go again!

Keeping busy on the train.

Daddy and Charlie gettin' kind of sweepy.

Chillin' at the hotel.

"Danger" is my middle name.

Plugs at each seat. Never run out of juice for your son's favorite bubble-pop app!

New shoes!

Another great school week in the bag. Add in a couple swim ("fimm") lessons, a trip to Science Museum, dinner at VZD and a train ride to Fort Worth that we have planned for this Saturday, and you've got yourself one happy little Zeeck. (And Charlie isn't too bummed about it either!)

I plan to post some from that train ride/Fort Worth-with-no-car trip. It's just one night, so how bad could it be? Oh really...that bad, you think?

Wish us luck!

Yippee! A sale at Dillards!! No, no. This was just a test run through the mall in his brand new kicks. The exercise of running the entire length of the mall - twice - was worth every penny of these unfortunately prices Stride Rite shoes!

In-store fashion show. Wadies? Wike my shoes?

A light snack before our lunch came out at Mediterranean Imports. Rewards for being so good at school. So good at lunch? That'll win you a trip to the mall to shop for shoes. In other words, 'beware being too good around me!'

"Washable" markers tend to linger when applied to supple baby flesh. But with this cute little "Mom" tattoo that daddy helped him with, I could honestly care less.

Eyes pwotected. I'm weddy to help daddy with his work!

Just thought these leeks were too pretty not to post. Charlie just called this pic "food".

Thank you, thank you.

Right after we shot this, Charlie turned to me and said, "Don't matter if you can play or not. What you gotta learn, mom-mom, is to connect with your audience. Show them your gratitude. Even if they're just pretend."

He's wise beyond his years.

And that's what we call a "blogging hiatus."

Wow - when was my last post? Halloween? In my defense, I have been a busy little momma since then.

Here’s a quick recap of the episodes you've missed:

I had surgery and shortly thereafter turned 40. Charlie turned two and we threw him a little soiree for 50 and for some reason I wanted to cook it all myself. Maybe because I wanted burned Roman chicken. Then Charlie started speaking in sentences. Then, Thanksgiving. Afterward, Charlie caught a Tummy bug. (Totally unrelated, although that turkey looks pretty bad.) Christmas parties, Hanukkah parties and parties for no reason at all. We got snowed in on Christmas eve by a freak blizzard and Christmas Day was subsequently cancelled. Had about four make-up Christmases, wrapping up on New Year's day. Charlie got his first haircut. On Monday of this week, we celebrated a drama-free first day of preschool. Had (loved) his first swim lessons. That was followed by an even more amazing second day of preschool. Which brings us to riiiight abouttt now....

And here's the whole shebang in photos. A chronologically-mixed bag, just to keep you on your toes.

Yes, this is Oklahoma.

Hat, check. Monkey PJ's, check. Dad's clogs, check. Let the snowplay begin!

Check out the snowman's buttons. I colored in the first two but he did a pretty tidy job on #3.

Loved the lights this year.

This is what cream puffs look like when you bake them properly.

This is a batch of improperly baked cream puffs. They look like sugar cookies. Note: should you ever find yourself in this situation, choose to "make lemonade". Or in this case, Tiramisu. Cream un-puffs substituted nicely for ladyfingers!

Profiteroles, ready to go.

This is a pic Charlie took of his own foot and texted to my friend Kelly, along with a note made up of variations of the letter "L". I had no idea this was going on until I received Kelly's response: "Is your foot swollen?"

Even headphones are cute when they're on Charlie!

This is the juicer that Andy's been making us juice with every day since November. Don't I sound healthier?

Bella helped Charlie light the menorah.

Photo booth fun at Christmas party.

Sick baby.

Soo, so soooo sick.

Getting some new tips to share with us.

A pie I made for Thanksgiving. Thank you, new food processor, for making apple pie pretty again!

This looks like I cooked it in the ground, but really really delish. This is the first turkey I've ever made, by the way. It received rave reviews. One word: brine.

Big two year doctor appointment. 97th percentile height, 50th for weight. No more shots for a couple years. Not bad....

A big part of turning two is waking up to a larger-than-life birthday cake in your yard that you can climb into and jump around with all your friends.

Pre-burning of chicken. It was later, when I added the 10000 other ingredients and had enough of it for 50 people that I burned it. Ahhh, memories.

Pretty ziti all in a row, ready to go in the oven.

Look at me! I'm on a morphine drip!