Christmas 2009

A quick glimpse into our Christmas this year...

The first two pictures below are of the kids all bundled up as we walked around a nearby town center with lights and "snow fall" once every hour. Not too sure what Junior thought of the "snow". It was a good experience but really cold for us all so we didn't spend too long out there.

The next day (Sunday before Christmas) we celebrated with Daddy's side of the family. Wonderful dinner, great company and all the kids enjoyed their gifts! Later that night, Daddy's sister and husband were telling us about an older man in a nearby town that has a train in his backyard and gives out train rides during the holidays. We thought that sounded like a great idea and we followed them there after leaving Mimi and Grandad's house. Gaga fell asleep on the way over there. We got her out of the car but left her in her car seat while the rest of us stood in line to board the train! Junior really enjoyed it and he got to sit next to big cousin M while I had the pleasure of holding baby A. The ride lasted about 7 minutes and I might have enjoyed it more than any of the kids! We will definitely be making it back there next year!

Then there are a few pictures of our snow on Christmas eve! What a beautiful sight!!! Daddy took the picture of our house covered in snow after we made it back from mass. We are glad we decided to go at 6pm instead of 8pm because the snow really started coming down as we were leaving mass. Good thing we live so close to church or it could have been a crazy drive home!

On Christmas morning we leisurely opened our gifts, had breakfast and then got ready to go celebrate with my side of the family. We do not have any pictures of the kids opening gifts at our house because we used the video camera the whole time. Sorry! Once at Nana's we opened more gifts and then headed to my grandparents house to gather with my extended family. A few more gifts to open and time to eat dinner. By this time, Gaga had almost mastered the art of unwrapping gifts. I guess from all the gifts she opened on her birthday and then Christmas a week later will do that! Junior, already a pro, wanted to open all of Gaga's and anyone else's that would allow him. (I got lots of help!) I was actually shocked that while at Nana's house we all took turns opening, oohhing and aahhing over each gift that Junior sat quietly between each of his turns and never made a fuss that he couldn't open more than one at a time! I'm so proud of my little man!

Words can not express the joy we received from celebrating and gathering with both sides of the family during the holidays. We are truly blessed to have such amazing families!

Christmas 2009

1 Year Old

We can NOT believe our sweet Gaga is already a year old. Time sure has flown by and we continue to enjoy every minute of it! She is quite the character! Junior made us laugh when he was little, but Gaga has taken it to a whole new level! She is hysterical!!! We think she knows it too and is always trying to make us laugh with funny noises, faces or talking gibberish!

Things Gaga has learned over the past few months:

• She's a great crawler and is just now becoming interested in walking behind her new push toy (baby stroller she received for her birthday...thanks Mimi and Grandad!)
• She loves to wave "bye-bye" or "hi" but usually you have to leave first and then turn around quickly to see it as she will start to wave after you have left.
• She can verbally say "dada", "mama", and "bye-bye"
• She can sign "more", "milk", "drink", "eat" (which for her is the same as more) and her latest one "help" (which I don't remember ever showing her that one)
• She loves to clap when others clap or when we say "good girl"
• It took her awhile but once she figured out how to get back down from a standing position she was a much happier girl
• She gives great kisses complete with smacking noises and can also blow kisses from afar
  
• She has 5 teeth
• She plays well with Junior (sometimes) and they can entertain themselves for awhile (sometimes)
• We can tell she is starting to comprehend things (for example...I was telling her I was putting on my shoe and she turn around crawled and grabbed for her shoe. And when I told her I needed to change her diaper she pointed to her diapers on the changing table across the room.
• When she isn't getting what she wants, she sure lets you know. She can get LOUD!
  

1 Year old stats:
30 1/2 inches tall
17 lbs. 6 oz.

Happy 1st Birthday, Gaga!!!

We celebrated Gaga's first birthday on Sunday afternoon by eating yummy fajitas, purple cake, opening presents and watching a slide show of Gaga's first year of life. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we couldn't be happier having our loved ones together to celebrate this milestone in Gaga's life! Thanks to all who made it and we missed the ones who could not. Happy Birthday, Gaga...we love you!

1st Birthday

St. Nicholas and gearing up for Christmas

After working all night, I got home woke up Daddy and got the kids ready for a pancake breakfast with St. Nicholas up at our church. Junior seemed to enjoy all the activities including listening to the story of St. Nicholas. Gaga, as usual, went along with all the excitement until we tried to get a picture of her and St. Nick. I have never before seen her so upset! Needless to say, when I asked Junior if he wanted to take a picture with him, he quickly shook his head, "NO"! (That was fine with me, so we could head on home and I could get to bed!)

Listening to the St. Nick story

Attempt at the picture

Gaga letting me know how displeased she was with me for putting her on St. Nick's lap

Before bedtime a couple nights later, we finished putting up the lights on our tree and a couple nights after that we finished putting up the ornaments. When Junior was younger, we never had an issue with him bothering the tree. It just didn't seem to interest him. Gaga is the total opposite. It is a complete and utter fascination for her. We are constantly redirecting her crawl route and she usually doesn't mind!

Junior trying on his "stocking"

This and that

Just a few pics and a few things that Junior is saying these days that makes me laugh!

-You being too noisy.
-We need a new one...that one too old.
-I want to be big like Daddy.

Nana, Junior and Gaga playing

Nana reading to Junior

Great One playing with Gaga

I turned around for a second the other night...

Cookie Day 2009

Our annual "Cookie Day" was this past Saturday. It was held again at my aunt's house and most of my side of the family was able to make it to enjoy. I took my usual position next to the oven to "man my station". I had to make sure all the cookies were at the right temperature and baked for the right amount of time. Easy enough you may think until I tell you that there were always 3 cookie sheets baking at once. One oven fit one pan and the second oven was a convectional and would house two baking sheets of cookies. In between, I was tending to my own cookies to mix up and bake. I made 3 different kinds. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it! We thankfully had no fires in the oven this time. (Aunt A was not there with her snickerdoodles to cause that! Maybe next year!) Junior enjoyed decorating his gingerbread house and Gaga enjoyed my cousin's dog immensely. She would crawl around and follow her anywhere! We managed to take the two little guys out to get some fresh air and run around before eating dinner, a little more playtime and then the long trek back home with many cookies in tow. Thanks to my aunt for letting us invade and destroy her kitchen! Can't wait to do it all again!

Cookie Day 2009

A Little Holiday Fun!!!

A friend of mine had done this last year with her 4 family members (now 5) and I thought it was the cutest ever. As soon as the videos became available again I could not resist starring our family in them this year! They are all different. I had a hard time picking just one to post so I included all of them. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

11 Months Old

Junior's first Putt-Putt game

Daddy and I took Junior putt-putting for the first time recently and we all enjoyed our time spent with just him. Nana was able to spend some time alone with Gaga while we did this instead of Junior occupying all of her time! We played through 18 holes, but I think we were ready to go after 12. Junior did surprisingly well by making most of his holes in 3 putts (1 over par). I thought for sure he would be putting the ball past the hole over and over again. He sounded like a broken record after he sunk each putt..."Where we go now?"...as we would direct him to the next hole. He was also pleased with his success at each hole and so were we!

His first putt

Look at that form!

Our Halloween

Our Halloween was packed full of fun all day. We started off going to the pumpkin patch finally. We tried to get a good picture of the little ones in their costumes with the few pumpkins that were left. Then on our way back home stopped at the ballpark for my company's "Family Day at the Park". They had plenty of food and activities for Junior. This is where we took the picture seen below. We ended the night going trick or treating to a few houses and then called it a night. The kids and we were exhausted by the end of the day. Click on the picture below for a few more pics of the day.

Halloween 2009

Halloween Party

Junior's preschool had their annual Halloween Party/Parade today. All the children put on their costumes and parade around the school. Actually they usually parade outside around the water fountain, but it was too wet and rainy this morning.

Junior went as a police officer and seemed to enjoy the attention and all the parents' flashes from their cameras. A few pictures he looks a little unsure about it. After the parade they participated in a few games. The pumpkin "toss" for Junior turned out to be a pumpkin "pitch". He didn't quite understand the "toss gently" portion of the directions. Then they played "pass the pumpkin" which was like "hot potato" but if the pumpkin landed on them they had to tell everyone what their costume was. Junior was a little shy when it came time for his turn. Then it was time for their snack...jello/fruit cups and juice...Yum!

Halloween Party

"A" town visit

Another busy weekend for us! We took a short trip to visit some college friends, see their houses and meet their new babies for the first time. There was no excuse for us not getting out to see them earlier so we could not postpone our visit any longer.

The S family was kind enough to let us invade their home and stay with them. Just for the record, the C family offered to let us stay with them, but we didn't want to be a bother while they were still adjusting to their new baby girl (5 months). Next time we will stay with them!

We drove in late Friday night and visited with Mr. and Mrs. S while Junior and Gaga got out some of their energy from riding in the car. Little D (1 year old) was already down for the night so we would meet him the next morning.

And sure enough we did meet him the next morning as the door to our room flew open and little D was standing there looking at us with the "who are you and what are you doing in my house" look. He was not the least bit shy as he greeted us by smelling our feet! Yes, you heard me right, he likes to smell people's feet. It's actually quite hilarious! I'm sure his parents are proud of that. He was entertaining to watch and Junior and Gaga loved playing with him.

After breakfast we headed to the C's house to meet baby R for the first time. She was too cute for words and Junior adored her. We played, had lunch, visited and then returned to the S's house for dinner and more visiting and playing. Both R and D were precious little babies and we were so glad to finally have met them. We can not wait to see them again! We enjoyed all the visiting and playtime and of course all the meals. Good thing we left when we did because I think we started gaining a few pounds! Thank you to the C and S families for hosting us in your beautiful homes. We will gladly return the favor anytime you are in town. Click below to see more cute pics of the babes and their parents!

"A" town visit

Just the girls

We traveled down to H town and had a girls weekend, just Gaga, me and Aunt K while Daddy steam cleaned our carpets and sent Junior off to Nana and Great One's for the weekend.

Junior's weekend consisted of riding in a parade with Great One and his military group and going to the pumpkin patch.

When Gaga and I first made it in we stopped by Great Granny's house to visit with her and introduce the two of them to each other. On Saturday we went out to St. Arnold's brewery, had a short tour, ate a yummy picnic lunch and sampled their beers, including the Christmas flavor just in time for the holidays. That night we made it out to one of our favorite places to eat, Amazon Grille (Yum!). Sunday morning we woke up early to see Aunt K participate in a sprint triathlon along with her boss and a few other coworkers. She did an amazing job finishing 8th in her age group! Way to go! Sure makes me want to do one...maybe next season!! And who can forget the last meal we had there before heading to the airport...Chuy's!!! Another yummy place to eat! We burned calories and saved the earth by walking there from Aunt K's house. It is THAT close!

The weekend went by too quickly as it always does when we are visiting each other. But we sure did enjoy ourselves and can't wait to see Aunt K next month! (Pics below of our weekend.) Unfortunately I do not have any pictures from Daddy's weekend!

Just the girls

Junior's weekend at Nana and Great One's

10 Months Old

6th Anniversary and weekend

Well, we thought we would make an anniversary weekend out of it, but time just got away from us and we didn't plan that well in advance. We were busy gearing up for the two weddings we were fortunate enough to attend...both on the same night! The first one was of my good longtime friend since middle school. The bride was beautiful and they both looked extremely happy! Sorry, we didn't get to stay much longer than we did! Congrats to you both!

The second one was for my good friend from work. She and her (now) husband were married in the same church Daddy and I were just one day shy of our anniversary. It was special for us to be there witnessing a wedding in the same church while thinking of our own wedding 6 years prior! Congrats to you both also!

Here we are at L's wedding

We did manage to at least go out to eat and see a movie for our anniversary though. Thanks to both sets of grandparents!!! Nana and Great One watched the kids the night of both weddings and Mimi and Granddad watched them while we went to dinner and a movie. We are so blessed to have both of them near us to let us get out once in a while.

6 years ago today

Today at dinner celebrating 6 incredible years!!! Happy 6th anniversary Daddy!

Then on Monday morning, Columbus Day, we had the privilege to have my great college friend visit us before heading back home. She was in town over the weekend with her husband, almost 2 year old son and baby girl growing in her belly. They were visiting her parents and they graciously made it over to spend a little time with us. They of course did not stay nearly long enough for us to catch up on all we needed to, but it was so good to see them! Thanks A family for stopping by!

State Fair 2009

On one of Daddy's days off, we headed out to the State Fair to visit Big Tex, see the farm animals and taste some fried goodness. We started off with the petting zoo, then off to the farm to see our little farmer in action, visited Tex while eating our Fletcher's corn dogs, then Junior got to choose one ride, then we walked around for a bit and ended with some tornado twisters and of course a funnel cake. Yum! A chilly, but wonderful day at the fair!

State Fair 2009

Baptism Day

Junior's baptism day went a little off track when the house behind us caught fire. This led to us standing outside for most of the afternoon and into the early evening wondering what was happening and looking at all the amazing fire trucks that showed up which then led to Mommy not making his requested dinner...chicken and ice cream! So instead he got pizza. I finally did make the chicken the next day and I am almost certain that we finally did get the ice cream the next day after that. I guess you could say we celebrated over three days and made it a little more special! Thanks to Godmother Aunt K for Junior's baptism gift! We love you Junior...and God does too!!

Junior and Gaga's aunt and cousins came over to play while I made it to a doctor's appointment without extra appendages. This picture of Gaga and her 3 month YOUNGER cousin A was taken moments before we saw the flames behind our house. It was too cute not to share!

South Padre 2009

Our trip down to South Padre ended up being better than we expected. Our morning flight was cancelled which pushed back our arrival the first day to early afternoon instead of late morning. It was not much of a disappointment once we felt the weather when we arrived. It was cold, cloudy and rainy. We spent the rest of the afternoon stocking up on food at the grocery store and then heading to Daddy's grandparents' condo on the island to unpack. We were itching to go down to the water after we unpacked so we headed down to the beach to stick our feet in. With our shoes in our hands we slowly waded in. Then suddenly a huge wave came crashing to the shore much closer than I had anticipated which forced me to back up quickly as to not get too wet. Junior saw me doing this and also tried to back up quickly but failed and fell into the water and came out soaking wet. He was NOT thrilled with his beach experience and that was the end of our beach time that day.

The next day was still more of the same weather and we knew the beach was out of the question. We decided to make it down to the Brownsville Zoo after hearing good things about it. Even though the rain at the zoo caused us to run for cover every now and then we still had a great time. It sure beat sitting in the condo all day. That night, like every night we were there, we headed out to dinner to all of our favorite spots. Blackbeard's, Parrot Eye's, Pirate's Landing, and Louie's Backyard Grill were the ones on our list. Our after dinner treat each night was a yummy blizzard from Dairy Queen. We tried a different flavor each time and Chocolate Extreme proved to be the winner!

The next day was exactly what we had prayed for! The sun made its appearance and so did we down on the beach. Junior was leery of the water as I am sure the first day had plenty to do with that but had plenty of fun playing in the sand and building sand castles. The only times he decided to enter the water was to clean off his shovel or to get more water for his moat. And only then did he barely get his feet wet.

Gaga was the complete opposite. She went head first and never looked back. Her options for entertainment were limitless. She loved the sand! She felt it, rolled in it, ate it, and anything else she could do with it she did. She also loved the water! A wave would come up on shore and she would crawl after it as it went back out. We had to stop her from getting too far in everytime she headed out. And when we would pick her up to bring her back to shore she kicked her legs furiously to get back down in the water.

The next day was much of the same. It was another nice day on the beach and we took full advantage of it. The next day after that we headed home. I realized the first two days for us were better off being non-beach days because after the two that we did have, I was done! After donning swimsuits, applying sunblock, lugging all supplies (beach toys, camera, umbrella, bag, and towels) down to the beach, loading everything back up, hosing the kids off, taking them upstairs, giving them baths, dressing them to go out to eat for dinner and multiply times two, that was enough for me!

Of course now being at home, we desperately want to go back!

South Padre 2009

9 Months Old

9 Month Old stats:
29 inches tall
15 lbs. 10.5 oz.

Labor Day

Since Aunt K made it up to our house this past weekend for Labor Day we spent Monday afternoon relaxing at my parents' house to enjoy her company for one more day. All weekend Junior and Aunt K had been living it up playing until exhaustion, well maybe just Aunt K, and I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of the two of them. So I got a few and one with Gaga.

Daddy reading to Junior and Gaga in the tent.

Junior, Nana and Gaga

Gaga and Aunt K

Junior and Aunt K hamming it up (Junior was in pj's so it would be easier on us when he fell asleep on the car ride home)

Best buds

Too cute!