Crayons and Keyboards

With a good night's rest under our belt, we woke up Sunday morning with a full schedule of Maryland fun. The morning was absolutely perfect, "cowboy" blue skies with no clouds, and the slightest breeze to make it as comfortable as it could have been.

Uncle Peeb's (Michael), Kristen, Robyn, Jaxson, and I all headed north to check out Butler's Orchard. On the plan ride, I read an article about some of the country's greatest pumpkin patches, and one just happened to be in Germantown, MD - a mere 20 minute drive from where we were.

This was not only Jaxson's first experience in a true pumpkin patch, but it was also Robyn's and mine. We have all been to the local pumpkin markets on road sides and farmer markets, but this was a true working farm with a Pumpkin Festival and working farmer's market on the property.

The setting was perfect for some priceless photographs. The leaves have just begun changing colors, and the colors of fall were all around us. Countless pumpkins of all sizes were scattered across acres of farmland. With wheelbarrow in hand, we set of to find the perfect pumpkin for Jaxson's first pumpkin adventure. Charlie Brown would have been jealous that Jaxson found the Great Pumpkin in the Great Pumpkin Patch. Eat your heart out Charlie.

The night before, while at dinner we decided to do what fellow Maryland'ers would do, and we ordered some crab to enjoy while we watched our beloved Cowboys play. Kristen's younger brother, Ronnie, was kind enough to pick up some genuine Maryland state crabs on his way to join us for the game. This was my first experience at attacking some grabs with wooden hammers and melted butter, and I have to say, for all the work and the mess that they make - it is worth the effort. Some steamed crab with "Old Bay" spice, washed down with some cold brewski's is not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Jaxson still isn't old enough to enjoy shellfish, so the boy had to stick with his Mac 'n Cheese.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of a whole lot of couch laying, football watching, and just simple family time.

He Is A Little Monkey

What happens when you have two uncles, a dad, and a poor helpless kiddo - you stick them in a tree of course and take pictures.

Don't worry, no trees or kids were harmed in this stunt.

Leaving On A Jet Plane...

Jaxson and I firmly planted our feet back on Texas soil yesterday afternoon after spending a few days in the great northeast. Robyn had to travel for some training for her new career in northern Virginia, which is minutes from her two brothers. We decided to make a long weekend out of the event and enjoy a few days of a mini-vacation. Robyn retuns late tonight, and we miss her and are ready for her return.

Red-eyed and groggy, our flight left DFW Saturday morning at 6:30am. So yes, we were at the airport by 5:00am. Bravo to American Airlines on their service to us before, during, and after the flight. They did everything they could to accomodate us and Jaxson and make our traveling go as smoothly as possible. They have installed a children's play area with padded flooring and big soft planes, luggage, and toy cars to crawl all over, which was right next to our departure gate - this was a great chance for Jax to get some of his early morning energy burnt off before catching our flight.

The ticket counter was kind enough to reserve an entire row of seats for us, the flight was only about 50% full, but the gesture from American was great. The little man enjoyed the flight for the most part, especially the elderly gentlemen a few rows back whom Jaxson kept wanted to play "Peek-A-Boo."

After arriving at BWI, Uncle Casey picked us all up and we headed for lunch. Rio Grande Cafe (Unlce Julio's here in FW, under an alias name in Maryland) seemed like just the place to grab some grub and enjoy the gorgeous Saturday afternoon. The area was alive with activity. Walkers, runners, casual strollers, shoppers - what a Norman Rockwell picture would look like if he painted outdoor shopping malls. When Jax was finished, Casey and I took him down to the water to enjoy the grass and to be mesmerized by the ducks and geese that call that lake home. These moments are the ones that everyone remembers. Quiet moments between and Uncle and his nephew. Casey doesn't get to see Jax as much as he wishes, but he definitely makes up for that with the time he does have available.

A Song For My Boy

Lately, I have been listening to alot of Brandon Rhyder, he is a singer/songwriter with a Texas music sound. He has a song titled "My Son" that hits very close to my heart. It is a feel good song that expresses his love and amazement of his son and how he changed his life.

Lyrics are below with a video of him performing the song in College Station, TX.

This is for you my Little Bambino.

“My Son”
Brandon Rhyder

We welcome to this world, a brand new bouncing baby boy
With ten fingers and ten toes, your mommas button nose
You will never believe, how much you’ve changed me
You will always be the star, by God’s grace he gave me

Chorus:
And the beauty of it all, is lying right here in my arms
Falling fast asleep, I can feel your heart beat
Unconditional love, something I have never known
You are my boy, you are my blood, you are my son

We named you after my brother, cause he couldn’t hang around
But I’ll bet he’s on the shoulders of an angel
Laughing and singing right now
He stole my heart, and now he’s given it to you
I always new you’d be the only one, that he’d give my heart to

Chorus:
And the beauty of it all, is lying right here in my arms
Falling fast asleep, I can feel your heart beat
Unconditional love, something I have never known
You are my boy, you are my blood, you are my son

You are my boy, you are my blood, you are my son
We welcome to this world, a brand new bouncing baby boy
With ten fingers and ten toes, and your mommas button nose

I Need A Hand.

Poor guy thought his hands fell off.

"Exactly how did I get here...?"

Boys will be boys.

Life's Little Stepping Stool

We are a mere days away from Jaxson finally walking on his own. He has been slow to get to this point; but last night, he suddenly began using the fireplace as his support - something he had not managed to master yet. He had no problem standing and sitting, but actually moving those two "ham-hocks" that we call legs was a different story.

But, he didn't stop at just walking. He quickly learned that if you hike your leg just a little bit higher, and get butt high enough in the air - you could climb up ONTO the fireplace. Oh brother, the mountain climbing has begun.

But, who needs to use all that energy when you can use your chair and desk as a stepping stool. Within minutes of learning how to climb up onto the brick fireplace, the desk was his ladder. This is a habit that is going to be tough to break - because boys will be boys and boys like to explore.

Step One - The Distraction: "Hey, look over there, what's that."

Step Two: Turn-and-Go

Step Three: The Summit

Um, Dad, can I get some help here? Nobody told me how to get down.

Up, Up, and Away

This post is for Robyn.

Now you can watch your Cannonball guy anytime you want too. Enjoy.

If It's Edible: Fry It, Then Eat It.

Grant it, I am not the healthiest of people in the world and most of the time I would prefer a slab of beef and a beer over a salad, but when you go to the State Fair - you enter a whole new level of gluttony.

Jaxson and Robyn had never been to the State Fair, so we all took the afternoon off on Tuesday and headed east towards "Big-D." All in all it was a great day. No traffic, small crowds, good food, and plenty of people watching.

The little guy didn't enjoy the sun as much as we did, but he was a soldier and toughed it out. We did all the typical state fair "must-dos," plus some extras. Of course, we indulged in the plethora of fried foods.

We started with the staple of the fair - the corny dog. Moved right to the Fried Oreo's - yes you did not hallucinate, they actually fry Oreo's and they are GREAT. From there, Jaxson asked for some nachos - so we attacked that food vendor. Mom and dad washed

that down with a margarita that had about as much alcohol as a breath mint. Then for an early dinner we went "dirty-south" style and made our way to the fried chicken and fried banana pudding. Oh brother, if you like banana pudding - try it fried. Then to finish off the day as we walked to the car, we crushed one more corny dog for good measure (we couldn't let the tickets go to waste).

We didn't eat the entire time. While killing time between nachos and chicken, Robyn wanted to check one of her "I-Wanna-See-This-Before-I-Die-List" items off, so we ventured toward the Human Cannonball area. Not sure if it is the phallic symbol that the cannon represents or if they just have too much time on their hands in between shows, but the Human Cannonball had more kids that you can shake a corny dog at. Good thing is, he made it safely through his stunt while we were there, and even managed to make his wife polish his cannon. (Get your mind out of the gutter, she really does clean his cannon between shows.)

One last thing to do before we left. Go meet "Big Tex." Jaxson actually

seemed curious at the rather large man with the extremely deep voice. Thank you to the nice young lady that snapped our photo, I know you will never read this, but thanks again - you created a memory for years to come and the opportunity for my little guy to say he was their when he was just a wee-little Texan.

Meet Jaxson's Adopted Dad

How 'Bout Them Cowboys.

It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. 5-0 sounds good. Looks like we have a nice showdown this weekend between Jaxson's team and Beckett's Team......

Sign of the Times

Hope nobody feels this way towards my kiddo. After all, he is an absolute angel all the time. (wink, wink)

Hook, Line, and Sinker

With Boo celebrating her 29th birthday again earlier this week, we finally managed to all meet up at the latest "hole-in-the-wall" fish joint in our beloved Fort Worth. More polished than some other eateries we have been to lately, but still a great little spot for some good 'ole fried catfish and oysters.

The Flying Fish just opened it doors about a month ago, so the little guy had to give his stamp of approval or give them the thumbs-down of death. All in all, not a bad little spot. Food was good, but we definitely need to try some grilled entrees before we make our final judgement - fried food is fried food, it is hard to mess that up.

Jaxson was a fan of the food, especially the post dinner home made peach cobbler (served warmed in an ice cold scooner) and the banana pudding, also home made. This kid would turn into ice cream and fruit if we would let him. Boo did a fantastic job of keeping pace with Jax and his frantic style of eating. Not sure if he thinks we are going to try and steal the food out from underneath him, be he is a "manimal" when it come to eating.

All in all, a great dinner with a great atmosphere.

After dinner we headed down the street to Trinity Park to try and walk-off what we just ate and not feel AS guilty. It was a beautiful evening. The park was alive and well with all types of activities going on. Walker, bikers, runners, pick-up soccer and basketball games. Within the park, there is a statue honoring Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain). It is dedicated to all those who read and teach others how to read. Jaxson seemed to take to him pretty quick, maybe this is a precursor to him being a great American author who will change the views of the world with a single book. Or, maybe it just means he is a curious kid who wondered why the man wasn't moving while he walked all over him. I guess we will just have to wait and find out.....

Enter Sandman..

It has now been a few weeks since Jaxson has been able to see the world through the front window instead of the back window, and up until a few days ago he was not able to sleep in his new seating arrangement. Oh, how the times change.

It will start with some head rubbing. Move into a little hair fixation. Followed by some grunts with some smacking from the "chuppy." And then, the inevitable head "bob" will signal all to beware that napping as commenced and he should be left alone. The boy needs his sleep.

(You have to turn your computer on it's side to view this right, the video option is new to Blogger, and I am still learning all the options and how to rotate the videos if I record them portrait rather than in the typical landscape view. My apologies for the slight inconvenience.)

You could also turn your head to side, you may find that easier than actually trying to rotate your computer. If any one walks up on you while your head is tilted and ask why you are looking at your computer that way, tell them it is the new thing to do and they should do it from now on.