Stay Away!

Stay Away!, originally uploaded by melissa.coats.

One ornament down, 500 to go. I may be regretting putting the tree up so early this year....

Calico Crazy

Let the madness begin. These little collectable critters, and of course a home for them to live in, were at the top of Kennedy's Christmas list, second only to a Princess Bike. I just hope I can keep these little guys out of the Moose's mouth. They are outrageously overpriced for the 1" and 2" figures that they are, and if one gets eaten, it bye-bye bunny. They are pretty darn cute though....

Family Portrait

Kennedy drew this family portrait at school. I'm glad her teachers know her daddy's name lest they think Turner is mommy's new boyfriend or something. I think it's especially cute that she thought to include her doggies too.

This was the highlight of our day.

Street Art

This is too cool. Our Google street view just shows the alleyway and a bunch of dead grass.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081112/ap_on_hi_te/tec_google_street_art

We Call Her Moose

There's a really cute kids book, What Pete Ate from A-Z. This has been my life for the last four months. If it is within her jaw's reach, Jolie will eat it. More precisely, she will chew it and/or shred it to bits. I myself have lost some shoes and a bra. The house has lost some carpet and a baseboard. But the most common victims are Kennedy's toys. Small dolls, doll's clothes, shoes, crayons, marker caps, stuffed animals, tea sets. They must taste like child sugar to her or something. The worst part is, she is so stealth, and by the time I realize she has something, it's destroyed. I am constantly picking up things I think she'll find appealing-it's never ending. And of course she has a basket full of traditional, boring dog chew toys (she has one in the photo above, but chewed on that rug not long after the picture was taken). I'm at my wit's end with this dog. She's smart and loving and adorable, but I need some kind of Dog Whisperer intervention, quick. (Turner got some kind of bitter spray, but I can't very well spray down everything our daughter touches. Or can I?) Our other dog, Olive, never chewed a thing. She's looking at us now like "Ya'll deserve it, bringing this moose into my house."

Bubbly Toes

I used to frown upon children with painted nails. It conjured up images of bizarre pageant girls and eight-year-olds dragged to the nail salons, bored out of their minds. Then, during a quiet Sunday at home, I decided to give myself a pedicure. Kennedy wanted to help and when she realized this is what mommy does when she gets her toes painted, she got so excited and begged to have her toes painted too. We made a trip to the drug store to find a polish that was suitable for a three-year-old. She picked Polyester Pink Creme. In other words, bubblegum pink. Perfect.

The actual application went surprisingly well. She was so careful to wait for them to dry, that even a day later she is sill asking, "They're all dry?" Yes, honey, your very first coat of polish ever is all dry. No go run outside and play!

Never a Dull Moment

Austin is such a great city for kids. (And adults with kids.) Let’s take a moment to daydream about all the places we could be right now: A week ago we saw the Cinderella production at the Scottish Rite Children’s theatre downtown -- very cute. Kennedy broke the hush of the theatre by yelling out “It’s Lucifer! [the cat].” A few months ago it was Peter Pan at the same theatre. Come to think of it, she yelled out during the first few moments of that play too with, “They’re flying to Neverland!” This girl really gets into her fantasy worlds -- looks like we have an actress on our hands.
Other events we’ve recently gone to, as I think of them are:

Ice Cream Festival
Kite Festival
Art Festival
Splash Park
Austin Children’s Museum
Natural Gardener
Radijazz
Ruta Maya
Round Rock Express Baseball Game
Gattiland
Fourth of July Parade
Kiddie Acres
Little Buckaroo Ranch
Ready Set Play
And of course all the pools, parks, trails, wildflower fields and pumpkin patches.

Next I have to decide between Cirque, Very Hungry Caterpillar, and the lighting of the Macy’s Christmas tree at our new swanky outdoor mall. More than likely we’ll end up doing all three.