Fun in the Neighborhood

Today was an absolutely gorgeous Austin day. After having lunch with some of my girl friends I took the kids to a nearby park and let them climb all over the playground. They did really great- although momma isn't quite ready for them to be putting themselves in dangerous situations like that! We didn't have any tears, though- from any of us so it was a success!

When we got home we played in the play room for a while and then daddy came home early! Yay!! Since it was still beautiful out we took the kids and the dog for a walk down to the play ground in our neighborhood. Again, it was scary for me but fun for the kids! (Those openings at the top of the jungle gym are so scary! I'll be so happy when they learn to be more careful!). It was a perfect day.

Good Dog

Would it surprise anyone to learn that Anderson's first two word sentence is "bad dog!"?! HAHA!! Reese has heard that a lot this week- she's eaten a lot of things she shouldn't have including something that would turn your stomach over! (EWWWW). She's also woken the kids up by barking a couple times after I worked really hard to get them to sleep for their naps.

But, Reese is Reese, and right when you think you reach the end of your rope with her- she does something sweet to get back on our good side. Here are two videos I shot today. I can't believe she tolerated all this harrassment! Good dog!

Christmas Pictures

Click on the photo below to view all of the fun photos from our fabulous holiday :)

Christmas Morning

We had a fabulous weekend full of great food, awesome presents and wonderful family time! The kids definitely got into gift opening this year- they sure did have a ton of things to open!! They got a kitchen with food, pots, pans etc., a new doll and a talking bear, a shopping cart, a fire house, a kid's sized broom, a tea set, building blocks, a tool belt, two potty chairs and a bunch of other cool things! Here's a video of them opening the potty chairs from Tita. The kids have started showing curiosity for the toilet, so we've already started doing "Potty Practice." They love it! Maybe we'll get lucky and potty training will be really easy :)



Here's a video of the kids already starting to play with the food for their kitchen. They didn't even realize the kitchen was wrapped up in a blanket behind them!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from The Falcaos....















...The Ropers....















...And Us!

Busy Baking

Oh my, today was a busy day!

This morning I had a lot of fun with the kids. I pretty much got right to work baking as soon as the kids started eating breakfast, and when they were done they played around the kitchen while I baked (lemon squares at that point). A few weeks ago I taught the kids how to say "help" when they need something. It is really adorable- especially because they don't pronounce the "p" part, so it just sounds like "heh, heh!" As the kids toddled around the kitchen and pushed their toys in laps through the living room, I kept helping them when they were stuck, helping them when they fell, and helping them when the stuffed animals that they were pushing kept falling off the car. After about five minutes of "heh, heh" regarding the stuffed animals, I had the genius idea of attaching the animals to the cars. The kids thought it was hilarious and after a while wanted to ride with them, too. These kids are so cute. They must have worn themselves out because they soon went down for a 2.5 hour morning nap! Just when I thought they were giving it up....

While the kids were sleeping I caught up with friends but after a while I ran out of things to do! I wish I'd taken advantage of the down time, because the rest of the day was crazy busy! After dropping the kids off at grandma's, I went to three different grocery stores to get food for this weekend. I am usually that annoyingly happy person on crazy busy shopping days like this, but today I was a grump! No idea why- I just didn't feel like shopping!

Three hours later I finally got back to the babies and when we got home daddy was already there! I love it when he gets home early :)

The rest of the evening was spent making part of our dinner for tomorrow, tonight's dinner, ginger snaps and pecan pie (with homemade crust!). This concludes my baking palooza- in addition to everything today I spent yesterday making Portuguese sweet bread :). I don't know what has gotten into me!

Holiday Week

We have been in full holiday prep mode over here this week. I've been doing some pre-weekend baking, and tomorrow will be spent doing some last minute grocery shopping and more baking! The babies are going to spend some time at grandma's so I can get the shopping done quickly- thank goodness they live nearby! :)

Yesterday it got as high as 80 degrees here, so it was a beautiful night to meet daddy downtown for dinner. We also played outside for a bit, which the kids LOVED! In the evening, I took Amelia on our annual Christmas present shopping trip so she could get her parents some presents. She is so hilarious- everything that comes out of her mouth is either hilarious or brilliant. She told me all about how birds migrate and why. The fact that a 4 year old even knows the word "migration" blows my mind! She's awesome!

Today was cooler than yesterday but we still had plans to meet some friends at Zilker park. Unfortunately the kids didn't go down for their morning nap until almost 11- so we missed all the fun :( I hate to say it, but they might be starting to give up that morning nap. Oh that makes me so sad! No more going back to bed for momma, either. Luckily I haven't really been able to do that for a while because of their school and other interruptions, so I guess if they truly are giving up their morning nap I'll adjust!

Here are some pics from our fun in the backyard yesterday. Nami and Poppy arrive tomorrow so the holiday weekend can officially begin- yipppeeee!

2009 vs. 2010

2009:



















2010:

Santa 2010

Our visit with Santa this year basically went exactly as expected- Anderson sat there looking confused and Emery clung to me for dear life and screamed the entire time!

This was what I was guessing would happen, but I tried my best while we were in line to get Emery excited about sitting on Santa's lap. By the time we were next in line, Emery was answering "yeah" when I asked her if she wanted to sit with Santa. The second we took our step towards him, though, the crying began and she grabbed on to me as tight as she could! Anderson sat right down, so I just crouched down next to Santa with Emery in my arms and had them take the picture. We had them take a photo with just Anderson, too, and ended up buying that one. Luckily daddy was snapping away, though, so we at least captured the moment!

The rest of our weekend was really great- Erics's company Christmas party, the Coleman's Christmas party, shopping and celebrating Eric's good news :)

HUGE NEWS!

When the babies were 6 days old and we were all still living in the hospital, Eric had an opportunity to develop an idea he had for a company. Unfortunately it was a bit time sensitive, so together we made the decision that he should work on it during our time not spent in the NICU. Imagine, two new babies in the hospital, a wife recovering from major surgery and starting a company all at once! It was a crazy time in our lives, but somehow we look back on it fondly!

The company that he began became his Tuesday night project. Every Tuesday night he would go straight from work to a coffee shop with his co-founders and work until the wee hours of the night. Many Tuesdays the only time Eric got to spend with us was a few minutes in the morning.

For 19 months now they have been working away, balancing home life (luckily quite well!), their day jobs and their side project- but no more! The "side project" that was evenings and weekends will now be Eric's "day job"- two different venture capital firms have invested in it! This is such exciting news for Eric and his co-founders, and our family too. I am extremely proud of Eric and so happy that the company that he began during such a crazy time in our lives is the one that is taking off. It feels a little bit like it's another one of his babies, in addition to Anderson and Emery! They were all born at the same time :)

Here is the full press release if you are curious!

Exciting days ahead! Way to go, honey!

Austin Zoo!

Today our play date was canceled and the kids had a very late morning nap, so by the time the afternoon came, we were going stir crazy!! The weather was really nice today, so I decided to take the kids to the Austin Zoo. I didn't have high expectations for it since it is a "rescue zoo," but with children under 2 being free, I couldn't beat spending $8 for a few hours of entertainment. I was pleasantly surprised! They actually had some pretty impressive animals, and dang they were close! I've been to a bunch of zoos in my life, but I've never been this close to lions, tigers and bears!! Here is our experience in pictures:

Emails to Daddy

I guess I'm purging all the stuff on my iphone tonight! Here are some recent email pictures sent to daddy and their subject lines:


~ "Look at the bite our boy gave Emery!"


















~ "I climbed up here all by myself!"


















~ "Hanging with mommy at the brake place"


















~ "Cool at the pool."















~ "Look daddy- I fed myself with a spoon!"



















~ "On our walk."



















~ "Dear Santa: there's only two left!"




















~ "Poor guy."



















~ "Your daughter is so silly!"















~ "Fashion Icon"

Emery's Words

The kids have definitely started to "use their words" more, and their voices are so sweet! I just love hearing them practice and will try to capture these special moments on camera as much as I can. Here are some of Emery's words:

Say "Ahhhh"

Although the kids definitely argue and fight over toys, they are also really sweet to each other. Emery will bring Anderson his milk or pacifier when he's upset, and Anderson excitedly says "yea!" when I ask him if he wants to go wake his sister up.

Sometimes when the kids are playing, Anderson will bring over a water cup for Emery so she can have a drink. It always makes me crack up, because he looks just like his dad when we were first starting to feed the kids with a spoon. I finally caught it on camera today at Costco. :)

Baking with the Babies

I love December! The house feels so festive and there's something special about having a beautifully lit and decorated tree (albeit a fake one) in the house. Every evening I've started the tradition of playing Christmas music and dancing around the house with the kids until daddy comes home. Today I decided to make some cookies and the kids were happy to help out! Each one was anxious for his/her turn to pour or mix and when they were finished in the oven they eagerly tasted the fruits of their labor!

Just the Girls!

This morning I could tell Emery was on her way to getting sick, so I decided to keep her home from school and have a mother/daughter day! We started out by going to the book store and reading a bunch of books. Then we went to breakfast and bonded over our french toast. After a few errands, we came back home so my baby girl could nap. When she woke up I gave her some lunch and then it was time to go pick up brother! The time went by super fast, but it was really nice to get to spend some quality time with her. I get one-on-one time with Anderson almost every day while Emery takes a longer nap than he does, but I rarely have time alone with my best girl. Today was really nice- I can't wait for future girl's days when we get our nails done and go shopping :) I LOVE HER!

After school we spent some time at the grandparent's house and then came home and played in the back yard until daddy got home. Both kids were obviously sick by the end of the day, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. Eric and I are sick, too, so it only makes sense they would get it!