Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

A few weekends ago we went camping with some friends who have a three year old boy. Jennifer and I have known each other since before we were married so things have changed a bit over the years! Somehow they got the impression that we were big campers. This trip was the 2nd we've taken with Elisabeth, and our 3rd trip in 2 1/2 years. I don't know if that counts, but in any case, it was a good reason to brave the outdoors for a toddler sized camping trip. We headed to Lake Houston State Park which is petitioning for a name change, as there is no lake in the park. It is also becoming a city park soon, for better or worse. In any case, it is less than an hour from our house, so that is a big plus. Since Elisabeth woke up Friday morning in her crib she started saying, "Doh namping!" (go camping). She said it all day long, as we packed the car, and headed out only to get stuck in traffic. As we sat there on FM 242 (that is Farm to Market) she kept saying, "Doh namping...

Here's another picture of Elisabeth doing what she loves best: reading books. Grandma Marva is the lucky reader this time. Elisbaeth's request comes out as "Mommy, weed buht to you you." How can I refuse? Her favorite book right now is "Yiyul Bat Yambo" aka "Little Black Sambo." Reasons for censorship aside, this book sure knows how to win a child's love of repetition and animal noises. When the tigers are saying Grrr she says it with gusto 2 lines too early: "Diuhhh!" (no /g/ or /r/ yet for Elisabeth). Sometimes she likes to have Pooh Bear sit on her lap. Sometimes she sits on Piglet's lap. It gets rather crowded, but happy. Other recent favorites have included "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (how can she relate?) and "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." We never finish Mike Mulligan, but I found a great sound recording of the story accompanied by a symphony by Steven Simon. We ...

It is hard to call it fall here, but we're trying. It helps that we do have a few trees changing color, and some with bright red leaves--rare for Houston. A week and a half ago, Elisabeth went to her first Halloween Parade. After perusing a box of costumes from Grandma (that is John's mom, if you didn't know), Elisabeth decided she wanted to be a doggie. I wasn't certain that she would keep the costume on, since the top consisted of a jacket with a doggie head hood. But the cooler weather we had that day helped our prospects. I took her to the park to meet the other kids in her playgroup, or is it better said that I went to meet the other moms in my mom group? Almost as soon as we got there, the top of the costume came off. She ran around most of the time with her red Cherry Festival t-shirt and her little brown pants with a tail. The cutest part was that the tail wagged as she walked. There she was climbing up the ladder and going down the slide (a skill she had recent...