Sunday Afternoon & Evening

Sam finally made a big poop towards the end of the afternoon and then, like magic, he was ready to hit the pool. So we went for a late afternoon swim at Daddy's house. "Daddy I go swimming!" and "Daddy I go unduh wahd-air!" he likes to shout.

And for just two years old, he's really a good swimmer. He uses those inflatable arm bands (like these) to keep afloat but he's starting to get the hang of moving his arms and legs to propell himself through the water. He LOVES to jump into the pool, and sometimes goes in feet first but sometimes takes sort of a racing dive. He's going to be a very good swimmer, I'm sure.

After swimming for an hour or so we sit by the pool to dry off, relax and take snapshots.

Back inside, Sam finds the empty egg carton and busies himself with this while Daddy gets dinner ready.

I just discovered this weekend that Sam LOVES to eat fried chicken. When I gave him the first piece I cut little bite-sized pieces off the bone for him. He looked at the plate, and grabbed the second drumstick that I hadn't yet cut up, and he tore into it! No need to bother cutting it off the bone any more, I guess. Sam is full of surprises.

Building Blocks

Sunday was another really hot day, and after his nap Sam didn't seem too eager to go outside. So we just hung out in the air-conditioned comfort and found lots of stuff to do.

Sam loves his fire fighter helmet. Actually he loves helmets of all types: bicycle helmet, police helmet, blanket helmet (that's when Daddy wraps a blankie around Sam's head).

He loves building towers with these big colorful cardboard blocks. He'll tell me "Daddy, I build tower!"

He likes to build the towers so high that he needs to get up on his chair to place the last blocks.

A tranquil pose, just before knocking the whole thing down!

He's a charmer, alright.

Through the window. Hi Sam!

Deep Eddy Pool

Sam was eager to go swimming first thing Sunday morning, so we packed the pool bag and spent the morning at Deep Eddy Pool.

Because the water temp is pretty cold (constant 72 degrees F), it takes a while to get into the water! But after a few minutes the body acclimates and boy oh boy is it refreshing.

So we went for a nice swim and after an hour or so in the water its time to go back to the towel and have some nosh. A few weeks ago I bought a nice big cooler for days like this, and I like to pack it with a variety of healthy, tasty snacks.

Sunday we had fresh, cold seedless watermelon, fresh pineapple and some out-of-this-world delicious honeydew. Plus some leftover fried chicken (Sam likes drumsticks!), pretzels, fig newtons as well as water, juice and a can of Hansen's Black Cherry sugar-free soda for Daddy.

No, we don't eat all that stuff. I just like to have choices.

I'd like to have some pictures of Sam in the water, but I can't really get out of the water to fetch the camera while Sam's still in the pool. So I only have pictures of Sam while we're noshing.

Here's a little info about Deep Eddy:

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Deep Eddy Pool dates back to the 1930's. You can read more about the pool's colorful history at DeepEddy.org.

The water comes from the aquifer underground, the same source that fills Barton Springs Pool, and therefore stays a cool 72 degrees F year round. Operated by the City of Austin, it is one of four municipal pools in town. There's an admission fee of $3 for adults and $1 for little people. The fee plus the cold water tends to keep Deep Eddy fairly uncrowded.

Oh, another cool thing about this pool is that Deep Eddy and Barton Springs Pools are the only public pools in Austin that do not use chlorine. Having lived in Austin for six years, I just discovered Deep Eddy a few months ago and I'm really glad I did. Its one of my favorite spots in Austin now.

Dick Nichols Park

Dick Nichols Park in Southwest Austin is filled with some great recreational facilities. There's a very nice multi-purpose track encircling the park, there are tennis courts, a couple of sand volleyball courts, a great playground for little kids, and the big Dick Nichols pool.

The pool was renovated a year ago and now is one of the few neighborhood pools open year-round. You'll find men's and ladies bath houses on either side of the pool area; they're somewhat basic but they're also clean and everything works: toilets, showers, changing areas.

This is a really decent pool. It has only two major drawbacks: (1) there is no shade anywhere near the pool, so if you're sitting down out of the pool you're going to be sitting in direct sunlight; and (2) if you are sitting down, you'll get acquainted with a million ants real fast.

Why don't they plant some trees and treat the grass for ants?

Still, if you're in the water, you'll probably really like the pool at Dick Nichols Park. Especially at sunset!

First Picture With An Old Camera

First picture taken with a seven-year-old 2.0 Megapixel point-and-shoot camera. Thanks Dad! It's so nice to have again a camera I can just carry in my pocket and not worry about when I take it to the pool or throw it in the picnic bag. Funny thing is, with a little photoshop action, the pictures from this camera are really pretty good. They're not professional quality, but for pool side and snapshots around the house it's a great little camera.

Friday Night Dinner & Play

Dinner at Satellite Cafe. Sam has spaghetti. He shows off his pasta-twirling abilities for his admiring Mommy and Daddy.

Just as much fun as twirling pasta on his fork, I think Sam also loves the messy face aspect of dinner.

And of course slupring a long piece of spaghetti is always fun.

With binkie in mouth, Sam takes to the field with his ball. He's actually quite good at kicking and running and kicking and running.

What a handsome little fellow he is!

"Watch Daddy, I kicking!"

Time to cool off and get some cold apple juice.

I love when I get a picture of him framed by the sky. What a treat!

Chillin' with the mommy.

Looking for more pretzels? Or stealing Mommy's keys?