pssst, posts about travis will no longer appear here, but can only be seen on his facebook page (and on my facebook page)
i know it's been a while and really, after my last trip to dallas in between christmas and new year's, i have not been traveling, but things are looking to change.
february 1 working @ home office
february 2 weekend; in the evening see ron white @ cobb energy center
february 3 weekend; no plans
february 4-5 working @ home office
february 6 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to san juan, pr (staying @ doubletree by hilton hotel san juan)
february 7-8 working @ client site in san juan, pr
february 8 in the late pm travel back home
february 9-10 weekend; no plans
february 11-15 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
february 16-17 weekend; no plans
february 18-19 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office; in the late pm travel to orlando, fl (staying @ disney's boardwalk inn
february 20-21 attending yardi psg conference in orlando, fl
february 21 in the late pm travel back home
february 22 pto; birthday party pepper
february 23 weekend; no plans
february 24 weekend; in the pm birthday party @ balmoral
february 24 in the late pm travel to englewood, co (staying @ undetermined)
february 25-27 working @ client site in englewood, co
february 27 in the pm travel back home
february 28 anniversary-palooza (secret)
march 1 pto; anniversary-palooza (secret)
march 2-3 weekend; no plans
march 4 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 5 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to englewood, co (staying @ undetermined)
march 6-7 working @ client site in englewood, co
march 8 travel back home
march 9-10 weekend; no plans
march 11-15 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 16-17 weekend; no plans
march 18-22 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 23-24 weekend; no plans
march 25-29 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 29 in the evening see incognito @ center stage theater
march 30-31 weekend; easter; no plans
april 1-5 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 6 weekend; denise & pepper participate in the 5k of the color run atlanta @ atlanta motor speedway
april 7 weekend; no plans
april 8 working @ home office; in the evening drive to chattanooga, tn (staying @ hampton inn chattanooga-airport/i-75)
april 9-10 working @ client site in chattanooga, tn
april 10 in the evening travel back home
april 11-12 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 13-14 weekend; no plans
april 15 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to orlando, fl (staying @ sheraton orlando downtown hotel)
april 16-18 working @ client site in orlando, fl
april 18 in the evening travel back home
april 19 working @ home office
april 20-21 weekend; no plans
april 22-23 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 23 in the evening drive to chattanooga, tn (staying @ hampton inn chattanooga-airport/i-75)
april 24-25 working @ client site in chattanooga, tn
april 25 in the evening travel back home
april 26 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 27-28 weekend; no plans
april 29-may 3 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office; possible travel to orlando, fl
may 4 weekend; no plans; if not previous weekend then possibly go to a day out with thomas @ tennessee valley railroad in chattanooga, tn
may 5 weekend; no plans
may 6-10 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
may 11-12 weekend; no plans
may 13-17 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
may 18-19 weekend; no plans
may 20-24 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
may 25 weekend; birthday party travis
may 26 weekend; no plans
may 27-28 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to orlando, fl (staying @ sheraton orlando downtown hotel)
may 20-30 working @ client site in orlando, fl
may 30 in the evening travel back home
may 31 working @ home office / mazda to dealership for routine service prior to weirdroadtrip2013
june 1 start of weirdroadtrip2013; drive to new orleans, la (staying @ the cornstalk hotel)
june 2 spend the day in new orleans, la
june 3 drive to houston, tx (staying @ family); meet with family
june 4 drive to san antonio, tx (staying @ holiday inn san antonio riverwalk); meet with friends
june 5 drive to el paso, tx (staying @ hilton garden inn el paso/university); meet with a friend
june 6 drive to phoenix, az (staying @ hyatt regency phoenix)
june 7 spend the day in phoenix, az; meet with friends
june 8 commencement ceremony @ phoenix convention center, phoenix, az
june 9 drive to las vegas, nv (staying @ new york new york)
june 10 drive to grand canyon, az, visit the grand canyon skywalk and the south rim (staying @ holiday inn express grand canyon)
june 11 drive to holbrook, az, visit meteor crater and petrified forest national park (staying @ holiday inn express holbrook-navajo blvd)
june 12 drive to page, az, visit the painted desert and antelope canyon (staying @ courtyard page at lake powell)
june 13 drive to santa fe, nm, visit four corners and visit friends in durango, co (staying @ hilton santa fe historic plaza)
june 14 drive to woodward, ok (staying @ hampton inn & suites woodward)
june 15 drive to lonoke, ar (staying @ holiday inn express i-40)
june 16 drive to dallas, tx (staying @ undetermined)
june 17 drive to san antonio, tx (staying @ embassy suites riverwalk)
june 18-21 work @ client site in san antonio, tx
june 21 in the pm drive to beaumont, tx (staying @ undetermined)
june 22 drive to canton, ms (staying @ undetermined)
june 23 drive home, end of weirdroadtrip2013
june 24 working @ home office; in the evening travel to chattanooga, tn (staying hampton inn chattanooga-airport/i-75)
june 25-27 working @ client site in chattanooga, tn
june 27 in the evening travel back home
june 28 working @ home office
june 29-30 weekend; no plans
then, in september my parents are going to vacation in the usa.
september 2-7 in new york city, ny
september 8-24 in cumming, ga
during their visit we will watch denise & pepper compete in the following:
september 14 run for your lives in dalton, ga
september 21 copperhill special train ride from etowah, tn
something else to look forward to:
october 19 lewis black the rant is due @ cobb energy centre
there will be more to follow as soon as my calendar starts fleshing out!
pssst, posts about travis will no longer appear here, but can only be seen on his facebook page (and on my facebook page)
a new update to my/our calendar is way way way way way way, yes that is six ways, overdue!
october 8 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
october 9-11 working @ client site in dallas, tx
october 11 in the early pm travel back home
october 12 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
october 12 in the pm go to the cumming fair to get our fill of rednecks & hillbillies ;-)
october 13 weekend; in the evening see sinbad @ cobb energy center
october 14 weekend; in the early afternoon go see the pride parade @ 42nd atlanta pride festival honoring national coming out day
october 15 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
october 16-18 working @ client site in dallas, tx
october 18 in the late pm travel back home
october 19 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
october 20-21 weekend; depending on the weather go to georgia veterans state park in cordele, ga, to enjoy a day out with thomas
october 22 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
october 23-25 working @ client site in dallas, tx
october 25 in the late pm travel back home
october 26 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
october 27 weekend; dinner with friends @ cheeky
october 28 weekend; no plans
october 29 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
october 30-november 1 working @ client site in buckhead, ga
october 31 halloween! (gotta practice my walken)
november 2 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
november 3-4 weekend; no plans
november 5 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
november 6-8 working @ client site in dallas, tx
november 8 in the late pm travel back home
november 9 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
november 10-11 weekend; no plans
november 22 thanksgiving/adopt an occupier part II
november 23 black friday shopping @ north georgia premium outlets
it is imperative that there will be more to follow
pssst, posts about travis will no longer appear here, but can only be seen on his facebook page (and on my facebook page)
vacations are over, my assignment in denver is over, things are coming to a close while others start: pepper goes to high school this week, i will be traveling to dallas on pretty much a weekly basis until the end of the year.
july 30 in the really early am travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
july 30 working @ the yardi dallas office
july 31-august 1 working @ client site in dallas, tx
august 1 in the late pm travel back home
august 2 going to dds/dmv to renew driver's license; working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
august 3 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
august 4-5 weekend; no plans
august 6 in the really early am travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
august 6-8 working @ client site in dallas, tx
august 8 in the late pm travel back home
august 9-10 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
august 11-12 weekend; no plans
august 13 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
august 14-16 working @ client site in dallas, tx
august 16 in the late pm travel back home
august 17 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
august 18-19 weekend; no plans
august 20 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
august 21-23 working @ client site in dallas, tx
august 23 in the late pm travel back home
august 24 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
august 25-26 weekend; no plans
august 27 working @ home office; in the late pm travel to dallas, tx (staying @ the fairmont dallas)
august 28-30 working @ client site in dallas, tx
august 30 in the late pm travel back home
august 31 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
september 1-2 weekend; no plans
more to follow (i'm sure) ...
pssst, posts about travis will no longer appear here, but can only be seen on his facebook page (and on my facebook page)
we are close to recovering from our weirdeurotrip2012, but pepper is still on the go: she left for vermont on june 22 to stay with aunt lauri and then on july 7 she travels to pittsburgh to stay with her dad for 3 weeks. she returns into the fold on july 28.
july 1 weekend; euro 2012 final: forza italia!
july 2 work @ home office for denver client
july 3 load denise & travis in the car and drive to denver, co; first stop columbia, mo (staying @ staying @ hilton garden inn columbia)
july 4 drive west, arriving in denver, co in the late pm/early evening (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 5 work @ hotel for denver client
july 6 drive to salt lake city, ut (staying @ salt lake city marriott university park)
july 7 drive to logan, ut for a wedding (staying @ hampton inn logan)
july 8 drive back to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 9-12 working @ client site in denver, co
july 13 traveling to woodward, ok (staying @ holiday inn express & suites woodward hwy 270)
july 14 traveling to lonoke, ar (staying @ holiday inn express & suites lonoke i-40)
july 15 final drive to home
july 16 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 16-19 working @ client site in denver, co
july 19 in the pm travel back home
july 20 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
july 21-22 weekend; no plans
july 23 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 23-26 my last week working @ client site in denver, co
july 26 in the pm travel back home
july 27 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
july 27 in the pm attend norcross office summer event
july 28-29 weekend; no plans
on july 30 i start a new client project, in dallas, for a subsidiary of the company whose ceo's life the tv show dallas is modeled on. this should prove interesting :P
this is the last entry in the tj chronicles saga! i know, this is a sad day for everyone ... but, you will be able to follow the adventures of travis in facebook ... if you are lucky enough to be his friend, that is.
i would like to dedicate this entry to a summary, both in words and in picture from both denise (blogger) and me (facebook), of the weirdeurotrip2012 from which we just returned.
without further ado ...
day 0, friday may 25:
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day 1, saturday may 26:
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day 2, sunday may 27:
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day 3, monday may 28:
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day 4, tuesday may 29:
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day 5, wednesday may 30:
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day 6, thursday may 31:
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day 7, friday june 1:
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day 8, saturday june 2:
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day 9, sunday june 3:
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day 10, monday june 4:
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day 11, tuesday june 5:
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day 12, wednesday june 6:
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day 13, thursday june 7:
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day 14, friday june 8:
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day 15, saturday june 9:
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day 16, sunday june 10:
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day 17, monday june 11:
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day 18, tuesday june 12:
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day 19, wednesday june 13:
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day 20, thursday june 14:
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day 21, friday june 15:
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day 22, saturday june 16:
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day 23, sunday june 17:
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day 24, monday june 18:
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i hope you enjoyed it!
wednesday, june 20, 2012
pssst, posts about travis will no longer appear here, but can only be seen on his facebook page (and on my facebook page)
we, as the weird-z family, have something to look forward to: our european vacation, dubbed WeirdEuroTrip2012!
the complete schedule of this hubbubalooza is available as a google doc!
may 26 travel to london
may 27 arrival @ lhr
may 27-may 31 staying @ ethos hotel oxford
may 31 travel to london, staying @ hilton london euston hotel
june 1 travel to amsterdam airport via brussels by eurostar/thalys (yes, through the chunnel)!
june 1 pick up rental car @ hertz
june 1 drive to biddinghuizen, staying @ landal waterparc veluwemeer for 14 days
june 9 birthday party travis & denise & rené
june 15 drop off rental car @ hertz
june 15 travel to paris by thalys
june 15-june 17 staying @ novotel paris la défense
june 17 change hotels, staying @ hilton paris charles de gaulle airport
june 18 travel to cincinnati, oh
june 18 5.5 hr layover @ cvg
june 18 travel to atlanta, ga
if there's people that want to meet us, be it in england, holland or france, you are more than welcome to come see us while we are there. we will have traveled a lot of miles (with a 3 year old!) and we want a little bit of relaxation while we're on vacation if you don't mind :P
then, when we get back the schedule is as follows:
june 19-22 work @ home office for denver client
june 23-24 weekend; no plans
june 25 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
june 25-28 working @ client site in denver, co
june 28 in the pm travel back home
june 29 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
june 30-july 1 weekend; no plans
july 2 work @ home office for denver client
july 3 load denise & travis in the car and drive to denver, co; first stop columbia, mo (staying @ staying @ hilton garden inn columbia)
july 4 drive west, arriving in denver, co in the late pm/early evening (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 5 work @ hotel for denver client
july 6 drive to salt lake city, ut (staying @ salt lake city marriott university park)
july 7 drive to logan, ut for a wedding (staying @ hampton inn logan)
july 8 drive back to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 9-12 working @ client site in denver, co
july 13 start drive home (staying @ undetermined somewhere in oklahoma)
july 14 continue drive home (staying @ undetermined somewhere in arkansas or tennessee)
july 15 final drive to home
july 16 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
july 16-19 working @ client site in denver, co
july 19 in the pm travel back home
july 20 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
july 21-22 weekend; no plans
pepper has other plans once we get back, because she leaves for vermont on june 22 to stay with aunt lauri.
then on july 7 she travels to pittsburgh to stay with her dad for 3 weeks.
she returns into the fold on july 28.
as you can see, we have tons of stuff going on, so stay tuned for more updates which i am sure are to follow ...
i know, i know, long overdue ... just been very busy, but the good news is that i have post-processed all pictures i hadn't done yet and there were over a 1000!
without much further ado, here's 12 pictures from the last 5 weeks.
travis in his now most favorite spot, on the entertainment center messing with the dvds, after eating his favorite food, bwead teela:
he is still loving bath time, but his skin reacts more (and worse) to water in wintertime, because it has been unseasonly dry:of course, he still hams it up, too:even though, and i'm not sure if you can tell, this is a totally fake laugh:
dead asleep:like a monkey, travis still likes picking up or holding things with his feet/toes:when he gives it, travis has a beautiful, radiating smile:and his laugh is truly infectious:
eating a cadbury cream egg:this is his face after eating yo-yo (yogurt):playing on the floor, a "train riding the train tracks":his luscious and bedhead hair:
during a recent, unofficial measurement, travis now weighs about 41lbs (18.5kg) and 40in (101.6cm), so he is as big as a 4 year-old and he is not even 3!
we have ordered a booster seat, both for in the car and for our upcoming trip to europe, because he is fast outgrowing the car seat he has now. even though we hoped this car seat would last us 5-6 years it still has been great, since we've been on 5 long road trips since we've had travis.
now it's on to the next level. this goes for everything. we hope to put him in daycare for a couple of days per week, just so he can interact with other kids his age, or older, since he is lacking that at home. even though he is very comfortable around us, he does need some outside stimulation as much as we, but denise the most, need some reprieve from him. the terrible twos and threes are no joke!
saturday, march 10, 2012
pssst, don't forget to scroll up & down for new & previous posts about travis
i haven't posted anything sooner, because my travel plans have been pretty much the same for a long time. but, the end of the project is in sight - only 7 more weeks until the week of go live!
february 11-12 weekend; no plans
february 13 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
february 13-16 working @ client site in denver, co
february 16 in the pm travel back home
february 17 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
february 18 weekend; pepper's birthday party & sleepover (potentially)
february 19 weekend; no plans
february 20 presidents' day - no plans
february 21 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
february 21-23 working @ client site in denver, co
february 23 in the pm travel back home
february 24 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
february 25-26 weekend; no plans
february 27 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
february 26-march 1 working @ client site in denver, co
march 1 in the pm travel back home
march 2 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 3-4 weekend; no plans
march 5 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
march 5-8 working @ client site in denver, co
march 8 in the pm travel back home
march 9 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 10-11 weekend; no plans
march 12 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
march 12-15 working @ client site in denver, co
march 15 in the pm travel back home
march 16 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 17 weekend; in the evening see ralphie mae at the cobb energy center
march 18 weekend; no plans
march 19 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
march 19-22 working @ client site in denver, co
march 22 in the pm travel back home
march 23 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
march 24 in the early am fly to washington, dc; during the day attend the reason rally; in the pm fly back home
march 25 weekend; no plans
march 26 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
march 26-29 working @ client site in denver, co
march 29 in the pm travel back home
march 30 load the wife & kids in the car and drive back to denver, co; first stop columbia, mo (staying @ staying @ hilton garden inn columbia)
march 31 making our way more west, arriving in denver, co in the late pm/early evening (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
april 1 weekend; no plans
april 2-5 working @ client site in denver, co
april 6 slow start travel back east, first stop topeka, ks (staying @ holiday inn express hotel & suites)
april 7 make out way to st. louis, mo (staying @ angie's)
april 8 last stretch home
april 9 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
april 9-12 working @ client site in denver, co
april 12 in the pm travel back home
april 13 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 14-15 weekend; no plans
april 16 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
april 16 GO LIVE!!!!
april 16-19 working @ client site in denver, co
april 19 in the pm travel back home
april 20 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 21-22 weekend; no plans
april 23 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
april 23-26 working @ client site in denver, co
april 26 in the pm travel back home
april 27 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
april 28-29 weekend; no plans
april 30 in the early am travel to denver, co (staying @ homewood suites by hilton denver international airport)
april 30-may 3 working @ client site in denver, co
may 3 in the pm travel back home
may 4 working @ home office and/or working @ norcross office
may 5-6 weekend; no plans
i have no idea how long i will have to stay on after the planned and forced go live date, but after more than a year, i think it's been more than enough. at least once i'm done in denver we, as the weird-z family, have something to look forward to: at last, our european vacation, dubbed eurotrip2012!
complete schedule available here!
may 26 travel to boston, ma
may 26 3.5 hr layover @ bos
may 26 travel to london
may 27 arrival @ lhr
may 27-may 31 staying @ ethos hotel oxford
may 31 travel to london, staying @ hilton london euston hotel
june 1 travel to amsterdam airport by eurostar/thalys (yes, through the chunnel)!
june 1 pick up rental car @ hertz
june 1 drive to biddinghuizen, staying @ landal waterparc veluwemeer for 14 days
june 9 birthday party travis & denise & rené
june 15 drop off rental car @ hertz
june 15 travel to paris by thalys
june 15-june 17 staying @ novotel paris la défense
june 17 change hotels, staying @ hilton paris charles de gaulle airport
june 18 travel to cincinnati, oh
june 18 5.5 hr layover @ cvg
june 18 travel to atlanta, ga
if there's people that want to meet us, be it in england, holland or france, you are more than welcome to come see us while we are there. we will have traveled a lot of miles (with a 3 year old!) and we want a little bit of relaxation while we're on vacation if you don't mind :P
anyway, i will update the agenda with hotels as i am able to make the arrangements.
first edition of 2012, happy new year!
now that the holidays are behind us we can focus on daily routines again after overeating and overdrinking. not that it made a difference to travis, because he didn't really grasp the concept of christmas just yet, although he didn't mind getting presents.
this is travis playing with one of his gifts (outside of the frame) on the desk:he finally got the hang of his pop-goes-the-weasel sock monkey:i call this the brad pitt, a look designed to make him look a lot dumber than he is:
bathtime:you have seen a variation of this particular picture numerous times before, but travis still loves taking a bath and playing in the water:he goes crazy if pours the water out of his cup:i think i will "blow up" this picture because it is just full of win:travis typically concentrates very much when he is in the process of filling his cup and pouring it out again:getting a little upset, because he can't seem to grab and hold on to the water coming out of the faucet:but happy as a clam making splashes in the bathwater:
these next pictures i have already shared on my facebook wall, because it was just *too* cute when he asked for a nutella sandwich, so here they are again, without any commentary:suffice to say, travis likes bwead ateela!
travis still also likes going and being outside. here he is playing with a ball:anatomy of a travis throw. first he counts one, too, fwee:then he lets go:and then he looks at the ball intently, as if to will it higher:throwing the ball into the sun:and still the sun shines in his eyes:this picture is taken against all basic principles of photography, but i turned out quite alright:and another one in black & white:this is travis getting a little angry at me for taking pictures:the travis death glare:once his big sister came home from school and played with him and his ball he was OK again:personally, i love this shot of our two youngest:and this concludes another two weeks in the life of travis :-)
saturday, january 7, 2012
the xmas edition!
and what a christmas it was, hoo boy!
it started, on friday, with prepping gifts, or, getting rid of a ton of bananas that were doing an #occupyourfreezer:
yes, you are seeing 20 small and 2 large loaves of banana bread, and how they looked after baking, a nice golden brown:
it almost looked too good to give away, but we are not about the #occupythegrinch:
on friday night, after travis went to bed we also set up the tree. typically we would set it up the day after thanksgiving, but since the cats are into the bottom branches of the tree, even though it is a fake, plastic tree, and the skirt we thought we'd wait a little longer. and of course, there's travis who has a difficult time understanding the word "no" and its meaning.
this is the top of the tree:
the tree has a pretty white bow:
lookit, it is i:
you knew i had to do it, an abstraction of the lights in our christmas tree:
this is the entire tree, minus one ball ... yes, travis got to it; he took one off of a tree branch, held it up and then tested to see if it would bounce when dropped onto the hardwood floor ... guess what, it didn't:
a couple of packages of banana bread and a small jar of christmas spices:
the foil wrap with the red ribbon looked pretty nice:
travis does not understand the concept of christmas, yet, so he was oblivious to all that was going on around him. here he is playing with a tonka toy train, which he calls thomas:
here he is banging thomas on the desk:
and playing quietly on the floor, finally giving me one of his great smiles after me goading him for hours:
after christmas eve's dinner we and our guests, chris and sam from carrolton, spent some time in the kitchen talking about all sorts of stuff:
another abstraction of the christmas tree lights:
one of our prized christmas tree balls, a clear ball with a rainbow ribbon inside of it:
travis woke up at 8.30 on christmas day and instead of taking him down, i made pepper make his bottle and took him in our bathroom after i got him up and changed/cleaned him. denise was still sleeping after staying up into the wee hours of the morning and i knew that if travis would see the presents under the tree he would be unstoppable.
after about an hour we had to take travis downstairs and as soon as he saw the boxes he was over it like white on rice.
the first thing he saw was a cars puzzle of lightning mcqueen:
this is the rest of the christmas packages:
denise, pepper and travis opening their gifts:
for travis there was the cars puzzle, a curious george game set and a cars board game:
this is the cars puzzle completed (travis helped pepper complete it):
travis leafing through the curious george numbers book:
denise seeing santa's present, a dvd collection box of all of christopher titus' 4 stand-up routines, signed by the man himself:
travis also got a cars/lightning mcqueen tent:
pepper got books and a new nintendo ds with a game, a hello kitty nail kit and some other stuff. denise also got house slippers, which are photobombing this shot:
the tent set up:
travis coming out of the tent, after chasing his big sister through it:
but as far as travis goes, the big winner of this year's christmas was the train set:
it sings the alphabet, it has an elephant up front, you can shoot blocks into the carriage on which you can sit, clearly this thing is the awesomesauce:
driving his train past the cars tent:
saying "train":
and back on the train again:
and riding around on it:
breakfast was on request, because it's christmas:
travis kept on playing with his train:
it really is a nice piece of work, very intricate, even though it's probably made in china ... don't mention it to #ows or the 99% ;-)
travis showing me the block with the double-u/worm on it:
and like with all of his toys, he gets close to the surface on which it sits to observe how it works:
dinner preparation started around 11am with the bird (duck? duck? goose!) being prepped for the oven, after more than a day brining in a cooler in the garage. below is the stuffing for the goose:
sweet potatoes boiling in the foreground:
braising red cabbage in the background:
steaming brussel sprouts off to the side:
and this is the goose cooking in the oven:
(i should have cleaned the inside of the oven window, i guess ...)
watching titus episodes in anticipation of dinner:
travis still/again playing with his train, as he has been pretty much all day:
dinner table, set:
the goose (and i know it looks like it is charred, but that's how goose cooks) and underneath the skin it was pretty tender:
the dinner table with the plates loaded with sprouts on red cabbage (green on red, get it?!), a bowl of mashed & creamed sweet potatoes and sliced goose breast and some wings:
here we are digging in, even travis helped himself eat:
although everything tasted very nice, everyone's favorite, i think, were the mashed taters:
most of us cleaned up our plates:
after dinner we watched some more titus before our guests, chris and sam (remember?) headed back home.
my christmas was complete by knowing that travis, denise, pepper and in their own way, campion and ellen, had a nice christmas at our weird place. naturally, i got presents too, but for me the biggest present was to see travis completely geeking out over his train.
and now i am geeking out over this blog, since i am actually publishing it before i said i would ... because i am *that* much of a geek :P
sunday, december 25, 2011
