All Kids Happy

Aidan and I stayed home on Friday.  He was feeling pretty sick with a cold.  Much better today and so is Milo.  Suki is 100% and growing like a weed.  These are some nice pictures.  The top two from the weekend and the bottom one is tonight.  Milo isn't sure he's happy with all her 'playing around' and goofing off.  He looks at her like, "I never acted so immature."  But, when he is tired, he's ready to snuggle.  :)

Soccer Game 1

Aidan had a great time today at his first soccer game. They won 2-1. I had an AVID tutor training today, so I had to run over from the administration building in our district to catch the game and then run right back to the training after it. That kind of stunk, but I am so glad I was able to go.

For the first game, he did great. I didn't do any coaching and I don't have any need to. But, one thing I saw that needed to happen was that the kids were just looking at each other like, "what do I do?" And to me, kids know what to do automatically, but if they don't know each other and they aren't friends yet, then they won't have fun. So I got 3 or 4 of them together and introduced each other, they did some high fives and got excited. Aidan said, "Let's do this thing!" And right after that they scored 2 quick goals and they began having some fun together. that was neat to see.

A few things I loved and a few things I hated. I loved that even though Aidan got hurt early when he had his foot stepped on and fell, he then went right back in to the game. The part that I hate is that there were so many freaking adults on the field that they kept running into the kids. Very dangerous. Aidan got pummeled by the referee and that happens, but it was sad to see other kids go down because parents can't just let the kids play.

I don't understand why they would blow a whistle and stop play, then have the kids stand around and wait for throw ins and kicks by the goalie, etc. They should swallow the whistle, get the adults off the field, and let the kids just have fun. I think practice was more entertaining for him than the game. At least snack was something he was excited about.

Definitely I'm going to buy him a goal and a ball for the back yard. Not to create the next Pele, but so that he can go out there with Mom and I and just play and have fun. That's what it's supposed to be about. When the weather breaks here next month, we'll definitely get out every afternoon. But, it's still so hot and humid that it is hard to do every day.

Looking forward to next week. Norma is excited because she gets to bring snacks. :)

See all the pictures from the game here: Aidan's First Soccer Game Pictures

King's Harbor Fun

We went to eat at a place called Zammitti's in King's Harbor just a few miles from where we live. Great food and great fun after we ate.

See all the pictures here: Pictures of Aidan at King's Harbor.

Go Texans!

Aidan and I are getting ready for a Texans win over the Ravens today.

Aidan's First Karate Tournament!

Aidan had a wonderful time today. All the hard work he has put in all summer and fall went towards competing today. He did his forms - steps, kicks and punches. And then he got to do sparing. He lost his match, but he was going up against a SIX year old. Aidan is 3 (he'll be 4 at the end of the month). But, I was so proud of him. He landed two punches! Amazing. I thought for sure he might run out of the ring against a kid almost twice his size. Aidan made us proud!

Check out all of the pictures here: Karate Tournament Pictures







Aidan scores to the chest with a punch! Way to go big man.

Mom and Son

Aidan's New Camera

So Aidan got the camera that he wanted. Posted about it earlier this summer: "My Boy the Photographer

Here are some of the cool pictures that we have taken with the cute little camera. Many of them are blurry, dark, too light, etc. But, it's "Aidan's World." ;)

PreSchool Preview

Tomorrow Norma is heading into school for her session of professional development. It was supposed to be today, but the tropical storm delayed things. We decided to take Aidan in for his preview of preschool tomorrow. So I am going to stay home, take him in for a few hours and then pick him up. It's his test run.

Aidan is pretty excited. He is going to have a ball with his teachers and all the kids his age. I am so happy to see him going through this. It is totally what he needs right now.



He's not our little baby anymore.

Astros 4 - Mets 0 ... Astros Sweep!

We had a great day yesterday at Minute Maid Park and at Discovery Green. Aidan didn't get a nap, but he did go to sleep early and exhausted. A full day.


Aidan at that whole hot dog. Norma and I had NO ballpark food. We are being so great with our new diets. I am seeing a big difference. It's funny. We spend all day begging Aidan to eat and all day trying not to eat anything ourselves!



Discovery Green is wonderful. It's not as big as I had hoped. They are building two new huge skyscrapers right around the park. Which is kind of messed up. Struggling economy? Not in Houston! But, the area that they put the park on is awesome. It just isn't big enough. Houston is a huge city and the number of parks is so small. Sad. But, why am I complaining about something that they did a great job putting together. After all, it wasn't even there a year ago.

The day didn't cost us very much money either. (Not that it is the most important thing but...)
Tickets - $15 (7 a piece for Norma and I and $1 for Aidan)
Food - $20 (which is pretty ridiculous that a hot dog, 2 drinks and cracker jacks are almost 20 bucks. We also picked up 2 drinks at Discovery Green)
Parking - $10 (we parked very near Discovery Green, walked over to the game and then walked to DG afterwards. Worked out perfectly.)

So all told - around $50 bucks. Can't beat it. Before we left Norma and I loaded up on salad so we were 'kind of' full. We are both getting a little tired of salad. But, we are doing our best to motivate each other. I am definitely feeling great. So that is motivation alone.

Anyway, a great day. As summer boils to an end (and Edouard rolls towards us!) we are very pleased with what a wonderful summer we have enjoyed. We are so lucky!

If anyone wants to see all the pictures from the game and Discovery Green:
Astros Game Pictures

Aidan in my AVID hat

My crazy boy in my AVID hat!




Today we are heading downtown to go to an Astros game. We haven't been all year. I was about to purchase tickets online for $1 seat for Aidan and $7 seats for Norma and I in the nose bleed sections... but the extra costs were more than the prices of the tickets! Ridiculous. So I think we'll walk up to the stadium and buy them. We should be ok. The Astros are not doing so well, even though they are pulling in great crowds still, it shouldn't be sold out.

Plus, we have Discovery Green to go to if the game is a no-go. It is brand new and there is a lot for kids to do. He would have a ball... but it is going to be close to 100 degrees today. So I doubt we would be there long. Still our trip downtown would not be a waste of time.

It is really great that downtown Houston is growing like it is. There is so much more to do. When we first came to Houston in 1994 there was nothing happening downtown on the weekends. Heck after 5pm on a weekday it was a ghost town. I am really happy I had a chance to work down there for 4 years like I did. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the city and understand the dynamics of it. How many people out there are just too nervous to drive into a city and navigate their way? And how much are they missing out on?

We put up with a lot of crap living close to a city - pollution, traffic, etc. So I think these kinds of things - Discovery Green, Astros, Rockets, Texans and Aeros games, the many museums, and all the shopping - gives you something to balance out the crap parts. :)

Minute Maid Park is really a great place for kids. The Astros have done a remarkable job with it. Obviously they aren't playing well this year (but they will be going for a sweep of the Mets today!) but they are still pulling in big crowds. That is because of the Train (See a video of the conductor here), there Minute Maid Squeeze play zone for kids, and of course, Junction Jack!

I'm sure we'll have a great time today.

Pictures at Lake Houston

Tonight we went to a Bar-B-Que place that we love - Spring Creek. But, Norma and I did not have any bar-b-que. :( Instead we had monster salads. We are sticking to our diet. It was nice though to eat a salad out and not have to make one.

Afterward we took a drive and I took a few pictures.





This last picture is one that Aidan took! Amazing. Most of them didn't come out because he was screwing around. But, this was a nice one.

Top Kick Picture

Love this picture! He looks great.

A "Happy" Day

Aidan at McDonalds after karate. He is proudly displaying his transformer that he got in his happy meal. Not much on the planet makes him happier. The marketers at MickyDs now how to get it done.

Aidan did great at karate tonight. There were only 3 kids there (summer time keeps kids away for one reason or another) and he got lots of attention and help from Master Peavey. He really is improving every single class. Tonight they worked on learning how to keep rolling up to a sitting position. Aidan struggles with that when he does his forward rolls. They also practiced falling/diving which was interesting to watch him teach it.

As a teacher, I can't help but break things down and think critically about "How could he teach this or that?" The guy is pretty good. He really makes things simple for the kids and when they don't get it he breaks it down into smaller parts for them to understand.

Right now he is enjoying the movie TMNT - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He is asking Norma every two minutes, "Who's that guy?" Pretty funny.

(oh yeah, the picture doesn't look like McDonalds. Ours here in Kingwood are very different than I have seen in the past. Our McDonalds on North Park has a lot of wooden seats, chandeliers, and neat lighting. It is getting older, but it still has a nice classic look to it. Very different than the usual MickyDs.)

Kemah and Galveston

Over the last couple of days we have been having a little mini-vacation. First we drove down to Kemah Boardwalk for our first excursion. Lots of fun for Aidan. He had a ball on the train, carousel, and playing in the fountain water.

Then we drove down to Galveston and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Baymont which was ok, nothing fancy. Our room was clean, the shower was hot, and the continental breakfast was free. We went to the beach in the afternoon and had a great time. Aidan didn't really remember going last year. So this year was really special. He had such a wide-eyed look to him. He loved every minute of it... other than when he swallowed a mouth full of ocean water! That made him throw up. Understandably.

He loved playing in the sand. Aidan kept belly flopping on ever sand castle Norma tried to help him build. He said, "He liked crushing them." He also loved picking up shells. I explained to him where they came from and he immediately had to run to his Mom to tell her the news... as if she would never have heard it before. So cute.

We will probably take another trip down to Galveston before the summer is over. But, we don't have a lot of time left! It's already July 18th. Amazing how quickly the summer is flying by.

Slideshow of all our pictures from Kemah and Galveston

Here are some of my favorite pictures (there were many):






What a great time!

**i have been struggling with finding a singular host online for my pictures. buzznet does not have a batch upload tool (where i can load many pictures at a time), flickr is $25 a year, and i have been pleasantly surprised by shutterfly. What do you use or recommend?**

My Lil' Dragon!

Here is my Lil'Dragon!






Tonight Aidan got his uniform top. He was loving the fact that he has his name stitched on it. About 1/2 way through the class tonight, Aidan looked at the Master and said, "My name is Aidan... see." (and pointed to his stitched on name) It was pretty funny because he for the past month of his classes we really don't think that the Master knew Aidan's name. After tonight I am sure he does. :)

Aidan did a real good job tonight. He really enjoys it. I can see his confidence growing. He does a lot of the exercises with a big smile. I asked him tonight, "What is your favorite part of karate buddy?" He smiled and said, "Running!" He loves when they run around the mats and run around and play follow the leader. They also run from one side to the other and race. He gets a big kick out of that.

It is really cool to see his competitive nature come out. He wants to win. It's not like Norma and I are forcing him, he wants to do it. Pretty neat to watch.

Havin Fun at Chuck E Cheese

Aidan at CECheese today. He had a nice time, but it was SUPER crowded so we left a little early and came home to make our own pizza. :)

It is amazing to see how much bigger he is since the last time we were there. He's now able to reach the pedals pretty easily on most of the rides.

He is becoming quite a little athlete. I really believe that karate is making a big difference in his development, muscle tone, and coordination. Of course, he runs into things, bangs his toe/knee/hip into everything just like his Dad. But, he wants to play catch, run up and down the hill in the park, and play, play, play. His legs are starting to show some muscles!

He's not the little baby anymore.

Sunday Fun at the Pool

Lunch @ Chilis

Today we had lunch at Chilis. We don't normally eat out a lot. We do get some drive through stuff and always have Chinese takeout on Saturday's for lunch. But, Aidan hasn't really been able to sit still long enough to have lunch or dinner out. Until now. He was great today.

We were ready with a couple of Transformers toys and some Spongebob books. Aidan kept himself entertained most of the time and he ate a lot of his grilled cheese sandwhich.

It was really nice to sit as a family and have a meal at a restaurant. :)

Aidan's Big Boy Bed

We finally have a nice bed for Aidan. He destroyed the crib that Norma's sister gave us. So we put a matress we had on the floor for him. We felt it was safe, in case he rolled out of bed. But, Aidan is getting bigger and more independent. We felt like a new bed would be perfect for him this summer. He is loving it.





The first night he said, "Thank you for my bed. I love it." It made us both feel good.