Phew. Life is almost normal again.

We survived Hurricane Ike. We decided to stay here in Houston during the storm, as well as during those tough days without power thereafter. Thankfully, there was no damage to our home. Phew. We lost one 60 foot pine tree in our backyard, but miraculously, it missed every house it could have hit. Most of our neighbors were not so lucky -- many homes on our street had multiple trees come through the roof, and then had severe water damage when the heavy rains arrived shortly thereafter. A friend showed me these pictures of our area taken immediately following the storm. I think those first 12 pictures are a good representation of what things look like around here.

Lesley had food poisoning through most of the 12 hours of Ike's wind and rain, but the good friends we have staying with us trumped that -- Sarah 'decided' to go be in labor just as the storm hit. Little Andrew arrived perfect and beautiful and healthy though he was 4 weeks early and arrived in the very moment that the eye of the storm was over our neighborhood. We are all thankful that he was born at our local hospital, not here at our house. Double Phew.

We feel that Heavenly Father really protected and watched over us these last two weeks. So much of this could have been far worse. A cold front arrived just days after the storm, and kept us unseasonably cool and comfortable during most of the last 9 days without electricity. Still, poor Ian suffered from the worst case of heat rash I have ever seen.

We got our power back on Monday, September 22. Our Internet connection was restored tonight. Life has seemed almost normal for a day now. I love having cold milk and cheese in the fridge again. However, most of our neighbors are still without power and many stores are still sparsely stocked. And there is still so much more cleanup work to do around here. It has been wonderful to witness neighbor helping neighbor, and I expect the will be months more of that ahead. More details and pictures soon.

Hurricane Ike

A Category 3 Hurricane is headed for Houston and is expected to make landfall late tonight (Friday) or early tomorrow morning. But you probably already knew that. I bet you are here because you are wondering is how the storm affects the Larson family.

Our home is located far enough inland that we aren't concerned about the storm surge. Click here to see where our county is in regards to the coast. We are on the Southernmost side of the county. No evacuations have been issued for our area. In fact, we have been asked to shelter in place so that residents nearer to the coast can make an easier exit.

We are worried about the very high winds and rain that will accompany the storm as it passes our neighborhood. We live in a densely wooded area, with many large trees on our lot, and felled trees may present a problem if the winds are as strong as predicted. Loss of power is very likely, and with 'round the clock heat in the high 90's with very high humidity, I am not sure how long this pregnant woman and toddler will be able to hold out without AC. Our plan is to leave Houston after the storm if power will be out for an extended period of time. That is, if there aren't too many trees blocking our path.

Don't worry too much about us. We will let you know how it all goes. I like to read this blog by the Houston Chronicle. Check it out to see what is going on with us over the next few hours.

10 Reasons Ian is the Coolest

1. He got his first skinned knee this week at the park. That seems to seal his arrival to toddler-boyhood.

2. He calls out for "Mom" now when he needs somebody. (You were right Tori! Though I still cease to exist on Saturdays and when Scott first gets home from work.)

3. He just fell out of his Tonka Truck (because he was standing in it) and then scolded the truck, "No-No Truck!", complete with finger wagging. He also pretends his Tonka truckbed is a recliner.

4. He strings together several words to make mini almost-sentences. Like "Yunch, Jelly, Iiiit, Okay!" ("Let's go eat peanut butter and jelly for lunch") And he says many of his words sorta jumbled and backwards, like Sit Down = more like "Das Sown!" And he always says that one like it's a command.

5. He announces every burp and toot by saying, "Bup!" and "Toot!", respectively. I did not teach him this. But at least he is now ready for Cub Scouts.

6. He grunts "Umph!" along with me as I lift him over the baby gate, or as he leans over to pick something up. I do accept responsibility for teaching him this.

7. Ian punctuates many sentences with "Okay!", especially if he is requesting something. Like, "Shoes, Go, Outside, Okay!" It is very persuasive.

8. He can identify a tube of "Gas-gar-a" (mascara) and even prefers to play with a tube of the good kind.

9. Ian says "Thank you!" and "Mmmmm!" when he takes the Sacrament each Sunday.

10. Today a gigantic wasp flew by him, and he gleefully began yelling "Birt! Birt! Teet-Teet!" and chasing after it. I stopped him and explained that it wasn't a bird, but a very nasty bug. However, he picks up any bug he sees, so I may have made it worse.

Ian really is the coolest little kid. I love being his mom.

Tax-Free Diapers

A few weeks ago, Texas had a "Sales Tax Free" weekend for Back-to-School items. This mostly covered backpacks, pencils, tennis shoes and sweaters, but I was delighted to discover that "baby underwear", aka diapers, were also included. So we stocked up on our very favorite brand. Here Ian is enjoying the spoils.

Babies

Looking at some old photos of Ian has made me really, really excited about having another infant in our home. Isn't he a cutie? I can't wait to meet his brother.

Around 8 months old

Around 3 days old

Around 2 months old

Around 4 weeks old

Around 5 months oldAround 4 weeks old

Around 3 weeks old

Labor Day Fun

It was so fun to have Daddy home for the long weekend! And thanks to Gutav, the weather was humid but not as hot as usual.We spent a few minutes on Monday in The Woodlands at Market Street and Ian enjoyed his first exposure to the fountains.

Water sprays sporadically out of the 20 in-ground fountains. Ian tempted fate wandering around and looking straight into the fountains. Somehow he kept avoiding getting sprayed in the eye by mere seconds...
...at least for the first few minutes we were there. Then they got the best of him.

Then he wandered from fountain to fountain, shoving a piece of bark inside. Maybe he was hoping to plug them all up.

He also tried plugging it with his feet.Eventually he warmed up to the spraying-water concept, and had a great time drinking it, splashing around and dancing to the outdoor music.

Our friends came along with us, and they bought us a fantastic smoothie. Once Ian tried it, the fountains all but disappeared and he parked himself on a retaining wall and drank the smoothie 'til it was gone.

It was a great weekend. It was so hard to let Scott go back to work on Tuesday!