Sea World Fountain

Here's another great feature of the children's area at Sea World - the water fountains that shoot water up from holes in the ground. Dawson loved it!!

Saturdays

I love Saturdays. Each Saturday Randy and Dawson spend some quality time together and I spend a few peaceful hours by myself. I am happy to have an opportunity to relax and do something that I enjoy, and Randy and Dawson have such a wonderful time together on their outings. It's a great time for everyone!

Most Saturdays, I take a book or magazine to Starbucks and enjoy reading something other than a children's book. :-) This week I was feeling especially tired and stressed out (probably from our vacation in San Antonio, which was very busy and not as relaxing as pre-children vacationing), so Randy suggested I prolong my "mom time." I went for a long run in the morning, spent some time drinking coffee and reading at Starbucks, had lunch at Schlotzsky's, and went to a movie (The Brave One with Jodie Foster). It was a fabulous Saturday! But I must say that, as usual, I was excited to come back home to my family. They seem even more fun and adorable after a few rejuvenating hours to myself.

Carnival Rides

The Sea World children's park included a few kid-size carnival rides. Dawson rode each and every one, some of them several times. He seems to enjoy a good thrill.

Riding the egg ferris wheel.

This was Dawson's favorite ride. It slowly goes up and then quickly drops you.

Dawson squealing with delight.

Sea World Playground

There is a wonderful children's area at Sea World that we spent a lot of time exploring. Dawson especially loved the giant playground. We climbed up and down the huge nets, ran over the suspended bridges, crawled through way too many tunnels, and slid down the slides.

Coming down one of the giant nets.

Walking through a tunnel.

Saying "hi' to Dad.

Dolphins

We all enjoyed visiting dolphin cove at Sea World. The dolphins are so friendly - they'll swim right up to you and allow you pet them. And Dawson loved it when they jumped up in the air and then splashed back into the water.

HemisFair Park

HemisFair Park in San Antonio has a great big fort-style playground that Dawson loves. We take him to this park every time we go to San Antonio and he always has a great time.

Funny Faces

Dawson making funny faces in the window of a little house in the museum. He's such a silly guy!

Doggie Door

Dawson really enjoyed going through this doggie door at the children's museum - he did it over and over again. And of course he had to pretend that he was a dog as well. :-)

Open Wide

He's really concentrating on doing a good job brushing the teeth.

Tools

Playing with some tools at the museum. Dawson especially enjoyed banging them together and making lots of noise.

Cool Exhibit

This exhibit was a favorite. It's a giant board full of little pins (or something like that) that you can push in to make imprints of your hands or anything else. They sell much smaller versions at toy stores and Dawson has always been fascinated with them, so to play with this huge one was great fun.

Bubble Room

Playing in the super fun bubble room at the children's museum.

Dawson making his "oooo" face at the huge bubble Daddy made.

Pulling the rope to make a giant bubble.

Peek-A-Boo

Dawson playing peek-a-boo in the little kids parlor at the museum.

Dawson the Pilot

Dawson really enjoyed flying the plane at the children's museum. And he's such a cute little pilot!

Driving the Bus

Dawson driving the trolley bus at the San Antonio Children's Museum.

Daddy's Shoulders

Here's a picture of Dawson on Daddy's shoulders - this was his favorite mode of transportation during our long walks around San Antonio.

A Walk Down the River

These pictures were taken during a walk down the river. This is in front of our hotel, which was on the river but not in the very busy, touristy area. Dawson was enjoying picking up bird feathers and looking for pigeons to chase.

San Antonio Trip

We just returned from a trip to San Antonio. It was great to have a mini family vacation, and while there were moments of exhaustion and fussiness, it was mostly a joyous trip. We walked down the Riverwalk, went to the children's museum, and spent a couple of days at Sea World. And of course, we took tons of pictures which will be appearing on the blog soon.

On the drive home, Randy and I were talking about how our idea of "fun" has changed. We rarely get to to activities that are fun for us, and instead plan activities that Dawson will enjoy. For instance, the children's museum wasn't our kind of fun, but we had fun there because Dawson had fun there. And while we would have liked to see more shows at Sea World and ride the roller coasters, we spent most of our time looking at the animal exhibits and playing in the children's area. But it was a great time because Dawson was so happy. It's no longer about what's personally fun for us, but what we vicariously experience through Dawson.

Blow Out the Candles

Randy's parents came up for his dad's birthday and when Dawson saw that Grandpa had a candle on his piece of pie, he wanted candles too (although he wanted his on a cookie, not pie). He further insisted on 2 candles because he's 2 years old.

Love Pats

Here, Randy bends down so Dawson can give him "love pats." Pats on the back is one of Dawson's favorite forms of affection. He also loves to give kisses and big hugs. He's such a sweet boy.

Silly Games

Randy and Dawson have been playing the silliest game lately. Dawson will ask him, "Where's Mama?" and Randy will ask things like, "Is she under the pillow?" or "Is she in the toy cash register?" Dawson just giggles because he realizes how absurd the questions are, but he'll still go look in the silly places Randy mentions, laughing all the while.

Another silly question game Randy plays with Dawson is when he's asking him what he wants to eat. If Dawson is being disagreeable and saying no to every suggestion, Randy will ask him things like, "Do you want some kitty food for supper?" or "How about some rhinoceros food?" That always cracks Dawson up, and he'll tell Randy, "That's so silly, Dad."

They are so cute together. I love watching them play and interact. Dawson is blessed to have such a fun and loving dad.

Very Happy Boy

These pictures where taken when Dawson's grandparents came for a visit. He was so excited to see and play with them.

Say Cheese

I was trying to get a picture of Dawson with his grandparents and told him to say cheese. He decided that we needed to get Grandma and Grandpa to say cheese. So instead of standing next to them and saying cheese, he took it upon himself to direct them to smile and say cheese.

Hugs for Grandma and Grandpa

Dawson giving Grandma and Grandpa big hugs. He was so excited to see them this weekend when they came up for a visit.

I Know That Word

Like many parents, we sometimes spell words in an attempt to keep what we're talking about secret from Dawson. Well, our little smart boy has caught onto our little trick. He now recognizes several of the words we verbally spell. He long ago realized that B-E-A-R spelled bear (he has a little bear that he is very attached to and always wants nearby). He also recognizes P-O-O-L and P-I-Z-Z-A. And the other night he was wanting some Little People toys and I told Randy they were in the B-U-S and Dawson said, "B-U-S, bus, where's bus, Dad?" So then we started testing him on some other words and, surprisingly, he knows the spelling of many words. He's a sharp little guy.

Playing Basketball

Dawson received this basketball goal a couple of months ago but didn't take much of an interest in it until a visit from Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. Apparently, it's much more fun to play with Grandma and Grandpa than with Mom and Dad. He did pretty well throwing the ball into the goal and wanted us to clap for him each time he made it. He also enjoyed sharing the basketball and would hand it to each of us and say, "Grandma's turn, Mom's turn, Dad's turn." It's always fun to see Dawson so excited and happy while playing a game.

Computer Games

Dawson recently learned how to use the computer mouse and now enjoys playing computer games more than ever. He knows to click on the "e" to get to the Internet and is able to click on "favorites" and find whichever game site he wants to explore. His current favorite is Playhouse Disney, where he enjoys playing Mickey Mouse and Little Einsteins games. He also enjoys Starfall and Fisher Price Online Learning Games, both of which have great games for toddlers.

Gears

Here are some pictures of Dawson playing with his gears. These are fun for all ages - Randy and I enjoy playing with them as well. :-)