Update

Hello all. If you've read Courtney's blog then you probably already know what's been going on in our world for the last week or so (if not, you should; there is a link to the right with tons of great pictures!). I thought I would throw some pictures and videos out there that you haven't already seen.

Here is Addilyn at Schlitterbahn (the super-fun waterpark in Galveston). Addilyn and I were "resting" while Tyler and Courtney were trying out one of the slides. (I think this one definitely makes it into my all-time top 10 favorite pictures of Addilyn)

Here is some awesome hair while we were at the park. Rock on baby!
And lastly here is a silly picture of Addilyn as she was learning how to use a spoon (which I have a video of later in the post). This is the pose she made for me when I got out the camera; I kind of wanted to shout, "Ta Da."
So here are three videos for your viewing enjoyment. The first is of me enjoying "The Cliffhanger" at Schlitterbahn. If you listen carefully you can hear me scream like a little girl. The second video is the one where Addilyn is learning to use a spoon. She managed to polish off almost that entire container of baby food this way and without any major spills so we were pretty impressed. And finally we have the long awaited video of Addilyn walking. In the last couple of weeks she's finally taken an interest in two-legged transportation and is starting to really get the hang of it. She is even able to walk and carry things now (as the video illustrates, sort of). Anyway, enjoy!

Ice Skating at the Galleria

Chick Drummer to be

Addilyn at the Beach

Be Inspired

Tornado

Manhattan and the Kansas State campus got hit with a tornado on Wednesday night. It looks like it did quite a bit of damage to a housing division (where Erin's former boss lives), a business park (just blocks from our 2nd apartment), and some buildings on campus (including the engineering building). We just found a pretty awesome link to a video of the tornado hitting the K-State campus. It looks like this is what was being broadcast on ABC out of Topeka while the tornado was actually doing it's damage. We haven't decided where the camera was placed but it's still fairly impressive (even if it is very dark and kind of blurry). If the video doesn't work click the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVtsI60ZqJE

Wow.

OCEAN FUN

Look we're at the ocean.

Addilyn likes the beach.

Wavy Day

So pretty

Dolphin fun

As many of you know, my (Erin) mother has come to visit us this week. It's been pretty fun to show her all the sites, especially since this was her first time seeing a palm tree (outside of a mall courtyard). She's only been here since Tuesday but we've already been able to take her to Memorial Park (the uber-large park in downtown Houston), the Galleria (the uber-large and swanky mall in downtown Houston), IKEA (the uber-large discount everything store in downtown Houston), and the boardwalk at Kemah. Today we are going to the Space Center to tour the site and see the educational center designed by Disney. It should be fun and since this is my first time to get to go on site, I'm really excited to see what all Tyler has been talking about for the last month.

Last night was our trip to the boardwalk with my mother and while Tyler, Addilyn and I have gone there almost every Thursday since our move, this trip was especially exciting. We ate at a very good, but over priced restaurant right on the boardwalk and were able to eat our meal with a beautiful view of the bay. I think we had just finished our salads when someone walking by starting pointing and exclaimed, "Look, dolphins." Sure enough, when we looked closely we could see a couple of dolphins swimming sometimes as close as fifty feet from where we were seated. It was really, really, really cool. We spent the rest of our very good meal enjoying a beautiful breeze and watching for the dolphins to pop up from time to time. Tyler tried to get a picture of our lovely dinner guests, but didn't have much luck with his cell phone. Since we were unable to capture the wonder of the evenings events, Tyler has so graciously recreated it for you.



On an unrelated note, here are a few pictures for all you Addilyn-ophiles out there. Here she is enjoying a favorite game of "chase the ball around the house." It's simple yet surprisingly entertaining for everyone.


And finally, I'll leave you with another lovely video in the "Addilyn Eating Things" series. In this one she finds the container of goldfish after someone careless leaves it out after lunch.