Carys's First Trip to the Houston Zoo

With Carys becoming a full-fledged toddler, walking everywhere and learning her animals, TJ and I wanted to take Carys to the Zoo before she became a big sister. We waited until the middle of June when Houston is very steamy but fun was had by all.

Not all the animals were social, maybe it was the Texas heat but we had to search for a lot of the animals and many were never to be seen. The one animal that was not shy was the eland.

From the hooved animals, we moved onto the Children's part of the Zoo and it was perfect for our toddler. Windows were at her height and there was slides! Carys loved looking at the porcupines.

The Children's Zoo had a boardwalk that continued into a closed habitat that made me think of Jurassic Park 3, the pterodactyl exhibit. There were two doors and a chain link curtain we had to go through, so we knew we might see some birds, but we did not expect to see a bald eagle within 3 feet with no glass between us! It was so neat.

What a cute baby bald eagle!

The next part had river otters...with Carys's favorite thing...a slide!

Ironically we went down the slide to see the river otters, just for them to go back up to the top of the exhibit! They were very cheeky river otters!

The next section had prairie dogs, they came in lots of different sizes. Here are the small ones.

Look at the size of these prairie dogs!

To get to the prairie dog hole, Carys and I had to crawl through a tunnel. It was the second tunnel she has ever crawled through and it was a hit. She kept going back and forth.

Look at me, I am so cute!

Then we went to the petting zoo. Carys is still not a fan.

Carys got to go on her first carousel ride with her daddy. She switched between the giraffe to the manatee to a camel at the end.

Off to the lions...tigers...and bears...oh my. The lions were very photogenic, the tigers were never to be seen and the bears were sleeping with their backs to us.

There were a lot of Asian Elephants to be seen, but the funniest one was taking a dip in his pool. He was having a grand time, sticking out his trunk for a breath while doing the sidestroke.

Carys had the best view in town.

She was getting the best view of the giraffes!

We stayed for about 3 hours, and she was spent. She crashed the second we got into the car. Next time we go to the zoo, we will be a family of 4 and maybe I will finally see those elusive red pandas.

Mother's and Father's Day 2010

The celebration of Mother's Day was very low key this year. 2010 has not been the most fortunate year for the Stellers. Both of my Steller grandparents died within a couple of months of each other and my dad traveled to Watertown NY twice to bury his parents leaving my mother in Houston to continue her chemo treatments to bust cancer. So my sweet husband made a nice dinner for my mom and me on Mother's Day consisting of his famous chicken parmesean. We did snatch a photo of me with my sweetheart Carys and her soon to be sister, Ava, I am 7 months pregnant.
Father's Day was a little more upbeat but still somber. Carys and I went with Grandpa James to brunch, enjoying pancakes, steak and eggs!

TJ went golfing with his friend Rad to celebrate Father's Day but we did have a nice visit with the Lowells where we snatched a few photos of Carys with her daddy.

Carys was able to walk to the "beat" with her friend Charlotte. Does anyone else see the Beatles re-creation here?

Daddies...Rad with Charlotte and TJ with Carys.

We look forward to many more Mother's and Father's days to be spent with our family and friends.

Carys's Big Girl Room and Ava's Nursery

With the end of the school year, TJ and I could start our summer projects. Number one on our list was to change our guest room into Carys's big girl room and keep the nursery for our expected arrival in July. I saw an aqua room in a Pottery Barn catalogue and really liked it with bright pink and brown. I thought it would be a very good combination for a big girl room. We decided to buy a twin bed with trundle instead of a toddler bed, knowing that she would only be 6 inches above the floor.
We transferred over her name that will eventually be hung once we get the matching bookcase.

We kept her butterfly theme.

A place for her books and toys!

Carys made the transition to her big girl room very easily. I started her with naps in there, then one night she just did not want to sleep in the crib. She has been in the aqua room ever since.

That left the nursery to be switched from Carys's butterflies to Ava's flowers and birds. Here I am 9 months pregnant with Ava.

A for Ava, our delicate bird.

A cheerful flower to greet her visitors!

A few gifts for the new baby.

Her bookshelves are stocked with books from our friends and family for both girls to enjoy!

The beautiful mural of our family starting our tree from Adina still makes the nursery very special.

We changed the sheers to flowers and moved the butterflies to the aqua room.

Lots of time rocking and changing diapers have been accumulated here.

We are ready for Ava!