The Falcao Family

One Down, One to Go!

2012-01-28T13:28:00.005-06:00

Guess who is totally out of diapers and wearing underwear 100% of the time??? Our big boy Anderson!

For over a year now we've had a kids potty in every bathroom, and every once in a while we would ask them if they wanted to go. Sometimes they would say yes, sometimes no. We weren't pushing it, because honestly with twins diapers are really convenient! In addition, there was always something coming up (Florida road trip, Thanksgiving flights, Christmas parties etc.) so we were able to put official potty training off without giving it a second thought. When the first of the year rolled around we realized we had no more excuses, but we couldn't commit to it. Around that time, Anderson started telling us more and more that he needed to go potty, so I finally cracked open the book I bought a year ago and a plan was set in motion. The book was "Potty Training in Less than a Day." I was really skeptical, but it gets about 400 really good reviews on Amazon.com, so I thought it was worth a try. Last Wednesday I sent Emery to school and kept Anderson home. We spent the morning following the book's guidelines, and by lunchtime he was going pee pee on the potty on his own! This method teaches them to be 100% self sufficient at going potty- so he doesn't need to involve me, he just goes! I was pretty sure he would have no problem with going #1, but I was really worried about #2. The first day I was able to see the signs and got him to the potty in time, on day 2 he told me he needed to go but was still a bit hesitant, by day 3 (yesterday) he proudly went twice and so far today he went without even telling us! He had one pee accident within the first few hours of training, one drizzle accident the second day, and has been dry since then! I just can't believe that he went from diapers to underwear in less than a day- even at night! Hopefully it will continue to be this easy!

We aren't sure if Emery is ready yet, so stay tuned to see when our house is completely diaper free!

Fun Week

2012-01-23T15:06:00.008-06:00

We had a fun week last week and an equally fun weekend. Today while the kids were at school I organized two years worth of their clothes that don't fit anymore. That wasn't fun, but we were talking about last week, weren't we??

Tuesday was a beautiful day, so I took the kids down to Zilker park for a picnic. I also brought along their soccer ball and t-ball equipment, so after lunch we got that out and had an excellent time playing in the sun. I love watching the kid's personalities develop. Anderson spent about an hour kicking the soccer ball around the park, while Emery happily collected rocks that she wanted to paint. Anderson attracted a bit of attention with his soccer skills, with a few other people in the park commenting about how good he was! Maybe we have a future soccer star on our hands?

On Thursday I decided it had been way too long (almost a year!) since the last time I did a one-on-one date with the kids, so I dropped Anderson off with grandpa Falcao while I took Emery out. We went to a cool place called Kid's Cook where she decorated her own cupcake (with pink frosting of course!). Next we went to lunch and then to play at a playground. We had a really nice time, and Anderson enjoyed his time with his Avo, too. This week I'm going to try to take Anderson back to the cooking place- I think our little chef would love it!

Speaking of my little chef, these kiddos have LOVED making smoothies every morning. FINALLY something Anderson will reliably eat for breakfast! In addition, it's healthy- wooo hooo! They love to help put the fruit and yogurt in, and then can't get enough of it to drink. I even get to sneak in some carrot juice, so I'm more than willing to make them any time they want! Anderson has been doing better at other meals, as well. Right around Christmas he discovered that he loves chicken, so he'll now pretty much eat chicken cooked any way. This is a huge relief, because for a long while there he wouldn't eat meat or cheese! We had a little vegetarian on our hands! Things have been much easier since this discovery, although I will admit it was so nice eating lunch with Emery on our girl's day- I could go wherever I wanted and I didn't have to worry about if she would eat it! :)

Friday afternoon we met up with some girlfriends at Phil's Ice House for lunch. I was a little nervous, because the last time I went there with the kids Anderson wouldn't eat anything and the playground was too big for them. This time, however, it was perfect! Anderson happily ate his chicken tenders, they were tall enough to climb on the jungle gym, and the company was great :)

On Friday night we went out to a family dinner and then took the kids to Mozart's coffee on Lake Austin for a "pecial drink." The kids were acting so adorable and sweet, and we had a great time watching them dance and play while we enjoyed some espresso and the lake view :)

Saturday was a BIG day. First we had a birthday party to go to (Happy Birthday, Harper!) and then we went downtown so Eric could compete in the "Start-up Olympics." (Can you spot me and Eric in this video??? Eric should be easy since it is his company- Mass Relevance- that is highlighted playing one of the games. I'm more in the background wearing royal blue. Jessica is in it, too- if you can recognize the side of her head and her shoes! :) ) It was a really fun event! The company that Eric worked for when we first moved to Austin (uShip.com) organized it and they did a great job. The Falcao's came and were nice enough to take the kiddos home with them around dinner time. Probably a good thing, because that's when the debauchery of Beer Ping and Flip Cup really began! I had such fun spending time with Eric's co-workers. It was a long day followed by a long night of partying :) We were a bit sluggish Sunday morning- things improved, though, when we went to pick up the kids and were treated to a pancake, bacon, eggs and potato breakfast at casa Falcao! They watch our kids and cook for us- sweet! :)

The rest of the day we lounged around a bit but once the sun came out we went back to Zilker for some more soccer and rock hunting. Anderson was going crazy with the soccer ball, running from one side of the park to the other and back again. As soon as we got back, he would want to go again! We were calling him the drill sergeant because he was really pushing us! One time I was walking to keep pace with him and he said to me "Run mommy! See me, I'm running. Do it like me!" :) LOVE HIM!!

Bubble Beard!

2012-01-15T20:49:00.005-06:00

This girl is really starting to realize she can make people laugh by being silly. Future actress/ comedian in the making?

Fun on the Backyard

2012-01-15T20:41:00.009-06:00

First Soccer Class!

2012-01-08T21:35:00.010-06:00

We were very excited to take the kids to soccer on Saturday morning- even the Falcao clan tagged along for the fun! Both kids clammed up the second we got on the field, but luckily they warmed up once we showed them a game of jumping over hoola hoops! Both kids did great and we were pretty impressed! For some reason it took some work to get Emery back on the field after the water break, but once she did she had fun again. Anderson had a great time kicking the ball and making goals :)

So now that we've done ballet and soccer we asked the kids what they wanted to do- Emery said both and Anderson said soccer. We'll ask them again in another couple days to see if those answers are still the same!

Emery was cracking us up because she was VERY reluctantly participating in the beginning. She had the silliest little frown on and her arms crossed, but she started having fun pretty quickly! This video is a bit slow to load so give it a minute.

The Wreckage

2012-01-06T22:55:00.002-06:00

Eric and I were very excited to give Anderson his "big" present on Christmas- an airport set complete with building, planes, trams, security trucks etc. Unfortunately once we opened it we realized it was super cheap and junky and would be broken within minutes. We decided to return it and let Anderson pick out his own toy. No amount of steering him towards better made toys worked, because he was devoted to a play cargo plane that he'd spotted. We got him what he wanted and promptly put it together when we got home. Unfortunately it turned out to be about the same quality as the airport set, and quickly fell apart. We don't know how it happened, but it looks as though the plane crash landed on our stairs! We have lovingly started referring to it as "the wreckage" and haven't bothered to clean it up. It's a silly little joke to us now, so I think we'll leave it. I'm sure Anderson and Emery will find it entertaining again one of these days even though it is broken- they can make a toy out of pretty much anything!

Why are kids toys so cheaply made?! I now totally get why some parents only buy their children wood toys- at least those ones won't break after an hours worth of play!

First Dance Class!

2012-01-06T22:22:00.003-06:00

For a few months now Emery has been fascinated by ballet and dancing. Once of the main reasons we took the kids to see The Nutcracker was so Emery could see what ballerinas look like in real life. Taking her to the show only intensified her interest, so we figured it was time to look into a dance class! To be fair, we decided to send both kids to the dance class to see if they like it. At first they were both a little bit hesitant, but after a while they warmed up to it. Anderson especially seemed to like it, although Emery is the one who can't stop talking about how much fun she had! We are also trying out a soccer class tomorrow, and at the end of this week we'll ask them which one they want to continue. I'm pretty sure I can guess which ones, considering Emery is already saying she wants to go back to ballet class and Anderson says he wants to play with the soccer ball. Oh well, no one could ever accuse me of "genderizing" my kids! Nature vs. Nurture, baby!

Here is Emery in her adorable ballet outfit from Auntie Sarah, and a short clip showing the kids during dance class. I just love how Anderson totally goes for it, while Emery is more reserved :)

Christmas 2011

2012-01-02T20:52:00.005-06:00

Now that the guests are gone, the Christmas decorations are put away, and all the cookies have been eaten I can finally sit down and blog about our fabulous holiday!

After hosting 70 people at our house the weekend before Christmas, throwing a dinner party for our 10 family members felt like a cinch! It was great having Christmas Eve on a Saturday because it allowed us to prep some in the morning, run a few last minute errands and then chill out at home before the fun began. Eric bought a new dancing game for the wii, so as soon as everyone came over we munched on appetizers and laughed at each other's moves. Jessica let us open her Christmas present to us early, which was another dancing game (Just Dance) which was much better and I have to say, hilarious! That game makes everyone look good dancing (I'm sure the wine helped, too!). The kids enjoyed playing, especially Anderson who insisted on it being his turn, every turn. I was "busy" cooking so luckily no one was subjected to my moves, but I am looking forward to playing the game in private when there's no one around to laugh at me :)

Dinner was fun and everyone looked fabulous in their crowns from the holiday crackers I bought. I love those things! They are one of my favorite traditions we had growing up- makes the mood even more festive. The kids did a good job eating (have I mentioned Anderson seems to have turned a corner and is a MUCH better eater all of a sudden? Halleluja!) and had fun drinking the sparkling grape juice that Auntie Sarah brought over. I only had one fancy plastic cup, and Emery was very upset that I gave it to Amelia (it's usually her cup when she comes over but for some reason Emery just now realized it was very different from hers!) In order to avoid a major meltdown, I let her drink her "champagne" out of a pink martini glass that we have. She looked so chic :)

When dinner was over we skyped with family in St. Louis and then it was time for the kiddos to open their first Christmas present. Every year I buy the three of them matching PJ's, and I have to say that this year's jammies were the cutest by far. A&E were little elves and Amelia, who prefers nightgowns, got a Mrs. Claus dress. After the obligatory photos the kids sang a hilarious version of Rudolph for us and then it was time for Uncle Jason to read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." We put out cookies and letters for Santa, reindeer food for the reindeer and then sent those babies to bed! Anderson didn't fall asleep right away so Eric went up to snuggle with him. When they laid down, Anderson asked him, "Did you see Santa?" Eric replied "No, Santa only comes once you're asleep, so you should go to bed." "You too," Anderson said. Eric says it was the cutest thing ever- it was moments like that which made this year the best Christmas yet!

The kids woke up at about 7 on Christmas morning, and unfortunately Anderson's diaper leaked, soiling his new PJ's! This happened to me their first Christmas, too! This year I decided to just quickly wash the jammies in the sink and then pop them in the dryer (I spent enough money making sure they had matching pajamas so I could get some adorable pictures- so I was determined to make sure I got what I wanted! :) ) The kids were content playing in our room while we waited for the dryer, and pretty soon we were ready to go downstairs. I made the kids sit at the top of the stairs so I could take their picture, but they were almost too excited to sit still! Once Anderson saw his Mickey Mouse doll ("I see Mickey!") it was all over! We let them down the stairs and both ran over to their stuffed animals and gave them big hugs. We opened stockings first and then Santa's presents. Anderson got a green truck and Emery got a Barbie Doll (I'll tell the story behind that another day!). Around this time the Falcaos came over and the present frenzy really began! We had a lot of adorable moments while they were opening their gifts and of course after each one they wanted to open it and play. It took them a little while, but once they got into it I think they realized they LOVED getting presents!

When all the presents were opened we all packed up and went to Sarah's house for our traditional stocking stuffer exchange. Each person buys everyone else a $3-5 stocking stuffer, so it's great because you get really useful things. This year I got chapstick, head bands, mixing spoons and chocolate. It was awesome! We ate a yummy breakfast of lox and bagels and our family's traditional Kifle (thank you Sarah for making that pastry so I don't have to learn!) and then parted ways until dinner.

When we got home from Sarah's we all got dressed and took some cookies over to a nursing home nearby. I was really worried about how the kids would do- with toddlers they could be super sweet or cranky. You just never know! Luckily both kids were so sweet and kind, especially our best boy who hugged just about every person in there. It was really nice to do something to show the kids that it isn't all about receiving gifts. It will definitely be a new tradition for our family- it made me so proud to be their mom!

After a nice nap for the kids and some downtime for us we headed over to Eric's parents house for dinner. On our way there was the most beautiful sunset that the kids kept pointing at and asking to see more of. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they notice things like that. It was a perfect moment.

Dinner was fabulous and we talked and laughed late into the evening. I am so glad that our "Texas Ten" is like one big family- it's nice celebrating all together.

It was a wonderful day- couldn't have asked for anything more except for it to have lasted longer :) The kids are at such a fun age- just old enough to have some independence that allows us to enjoy some adult time while they run around and play, and just young enough where they still need cuddles and special mommy/daddy time. I can't wait for next year- I'm sure it just gets better!

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We got to experience "Christmas 2.0" when my parents came into town a few days later :) We enjoyed a big Indian food feast at our house and then the kids opened their presents. We are definitely going to have to do some work in the playroom- these kids got so many new toys this Christmas!

My parents were nice enough to babysit on New Years Eve so we were able to celebrate with some friends that live up the street. We had a fabulous time playing Mexican Dominos and drinking margaritas and rang in the new year around their outdoor fire pit.

Before we knew it, my parents were gone, the decorations were put away and the holidays were over! It's a bit sad because my favorite time of the year is from Halloween to New Year's, but I guess I could pretend and say I have my 30th birthday to look forward to in a month :)

Photos from Christmas

2011-12-26T23:05:00.007-06:00

Here are some of my favorite photos from Part I of our Christmas! My parents are currently en route to Austin, so as soon as they get here we'll have Christmas #2! Lucky us :)

Click here and enter the password "Family" to see the photos!

Christmas Video Sneak Peek

2011-12-25T23:57:00.003-06:00

We had 6 cameras and a flip video recorder working overtime to capture all of the fun of the past 24 hours, so as I go through everything and pick out my favorites I'll give you these two videos as sneak peeks :) Needless to say we had a blast!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-21T14:25:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve! We are enjoying a cozy day at home, getting ready for family to come over tonight to celebrate. We've gotten dinner prepped, made two different kinds of cookies, played the wii and generally enjoyed keeping warm inside because it is cold and rainy out! The kids are now napping so Eric and I are enjoying some downtime before the festivities begin tonight. This is one of my favorite days of the year- I hope you all enjoy time with your family today and rejoice in the reason for the season :)

Busy Brunch Weekend

2011-12-18T22:52:00.002-06:00

I have no idea how we fit as much into this weekend as we did!

Friday:

On Friday afternoon I brought the kids over to Eric's parent's house so I could run a few errands and then have a date night with my main man. After a nice happy hour/office warming party at his company's new space, Eric and I headed out to the mall to do some Christmas shopping for the kiddos. This is the first year that we aren't giving the kids one big joint gift, so we were off to buy princess stuff and ballerina stuff and trucks and toy towns. I don't know how it happened, but somehow Emery is super GIRLY, and Anderson only wanted a "green truck" for Christmas. After some debate over genderizing them too much, we gave in and got them things we know they will love :)

Saturday:

On Saturday morning we were up bright and early to start setting up for our party! After picking up our table and chair rentals, we got the kids from grandmas and then ran a few errands. Once we got home it was "Go Time!" We prepped the food, set up the tables, decorated and then began to wonder how we were going to keep the kids from messing everything up before bedtime! Luckily, I had an idea- at 5:30 we loaded them up in the car and went to see a small production of the Nutcracker Ballet. Both kids loved Amelia's dance performance in the spring and Emery is all about ballerinas right now, so we were pretty confident that they would like it. Thankfully they did, and so we successfully bought ourselves a few extra hours of keeping the house toddler-free! After a quick dinner they were off the bed and we were back to making pasta, fruit and green salads, casseroles and prepping everything for Sunday morning.

Sunday:

We got a lot done Saturday night, so we were able to sleep in a bit before getting busy. Unfortunately the kids were being pretty clingy, so we called in for reinforcements! Auntie Sarah and the Falcaos came early to help us with last minute things and to entertain the kids. Guests started arriving at 10:30 and from then on it was party time! We had a blast catching up with everyone, and thankfully we didn't run out of food. Somehow we fit 69 people into our modest house and it never felt too crammed! Everyone seemed to have fun- I know we certainly did!

Half way through the event our kids went with Auntie Sarah to a cookie decorating party so we were able to focus on our friends and then chill for a bit when the party was over. When the kids got home it was nap time- for all of us! After a nice rest something came over me and Eric and within no time we had the rentals packed up, all of the dishes cleaned, and the house put back together! The kids went to bed around 8:30 and we ate leftovers and relaxed while watching a movie.

It was a great weekend- totally worth all of the work!

PS- Eric and I make a great team! We had a blast getting everything ready and didn't have a single fight haha! :)

Impromptu Santa Visit

2011-12-14T23:17:00.005-06:00

The kids are still on California time (we're playing around to see if we like the later wake-up/nap/bedtime) so after a nice family dinner, we decided to go check out the Buda Trail of Lights. We've never been, and since Austin isn't doing their trail anymore, we thought we would see how the Buda one compares.

It was a little bit drizzly out, but luckily that just meant there weren't a ton of people to bump in to. The trail was fun, and we got the unexpected bonus of a visit with Santa! Emery was absolutely against visiting Santa this year, but Anderson really wanted to so we were in a bit of a dilemma. I was planning on taking the kids to the mall tomorrow morning, but was really worried about how Emery would react. I wasn't going to make her go up to him, but she was going to have to wait with us until it was Anderson's turn.

She stayed back with daddy while I went up with Anderson. He was so adorable- went right to Santa and gave him a hug and then had a nice conversation with him about what he wants (a toy truck). When he was done Santa gave him a candy cane and one for Emery too :). It's not the best picture in the world, but it beats standing in line with two toddlers, especially if one of them was frightened!

The Holidays are Here!

2011-12-12T20:39:00.005-06:00

We get back from San Francisco and all of a sudden it feels like we're behind on getting ready for the holidays! I am so glad we had the forethought to put our Christmas tree up before we left. In addition to the normal Christmas preparations, Eric and I decided we wanted to do something fun for our friends and family so we're hosting a holiday brunch (if you live in Austin and we know you then you were invited!). We've been busy getting ready for that and visiting with my mom who was in town, but we're also having fun doing holiday things with the kids. Last week I took them to a Christmas performance by the Austin Hand Bell Ensemble. It was really fun! The kids loved it- especially Anderson who couldn't take his eyes off of the director.

On Saturday night we went to the Luminations event at the Wildflower center. If you have never been I highly recommend it. It was beautiful and they did a great job setting up things for the kids to do. I can't wait to go back next year.

Last night the kids watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and were definitely more interested this year than last It was a success, although "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" was a big failure! I didn't remember that Abominable Snowman is such a primary character. The kids were terrified- ops, maybe we'll try it again in a couple years :)

Thanksgiving Photos

2011-12-06T23:42:00.006-06:00

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-06T21:45:00.006-06:00

WARNING: Longest post ever but I wanted to remember it all!

Ah, home sweet home! We got back last night after being in California since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! It feels like we were gone forever. There were lots of highs and lows, but we got to see great friends and family and meet Mickey Mouse, so all in all it was pretty successful! I'll post pictures in another post, for now here's a breakdown of what we've been doing.

Part I: Thanksgiving with the Family

On Thanksgiving the kids were a little bit overwhelmed with the 50 or so people at our first stop, especially since we woke them up early from their nap so we could get over there. Tia Guida and Tio Vital always make the yummiest food, so we didn't want to miss out on anything! After a while they warmed up a bit, so Eric and I were able to take turns catching up with family while the other one watched the kids. I still wish the kids had let me eat more, though! It was so good!

Next we went over to Eric's grandparents house where the kids absolutely fell in love with their second cousins, who are all teenage boys! Anderson particularly enjoyed chasing after them while doing his Shrek "ROAR." It made for a loud Thanksgiving dinner, but at least we got to eat without kids in our laps! Thanks to Tia Belia for taking on the primary job of feeding us all!

We got back to Eric's grandmas house pretty early since the kids were still on TX time, so by 7 the house was quiet and we were fat and happy. Eric and I decided to be crazy and headed over to Wal Mart to take in the shopping chaos. It was pretty crazy, although since we weren't looking for anything specific it was more of a spectator sport for us.

On Friday we went to Eric's grandparents house for leftovers at lunch time and then we took the kids down to our old neighborhood in Long Beach. We walked on the beach for a little bit and then dropped the kids off with their grandparents so Eric and I could go to one of our old favorite sushi restaurants. We had fun, but I ended up getting sick and didn't feel well for most of Saturday. If you can remember way back then, the kids were actually still recovering from their stomach viruses when we arrived in California (Anderson threw up while we were waiting to be picked up at the airport and then Emery threw up twice Thanksgiving morning) so I may have caught that. Not sure if I'll be able to eat sushi there again, though :(

I started to feel a bit better Saturday afternoon so we headed down to Orange County to visit with my high school friend, Kelly. The kids up until this point had been pretty challenging since they were not used to all the people and the time change and the nap issues, but thankfully they were really well behaved so we were able to enjoy a nice dinner with my dear friend.

On Sunday we took the kids on some errands, got In-n-Out (of course!) and then sat at one of Eric's childhood parks. There were two pumpkin carriages to play on, and since the kids love Cinderella, they were in heaven! Later we went over to Eric's uncles house for a great BBQ dinner. The kids got to play with their cousin Isabella and it was such a treat to see them all running around together.

Part II: DISNEYLAND

Although we loved seeing all of our friends and family in both SoCal and NorCal, Disneyland was the absolute highlight of our trip. In fact, if I was to write out a list of my top 10 favorite days this one could easily be on that list!

We got to Disneyland a little later than we hoped after the logistics of our car rental, picking up Titia, dropping off our borrowed car, and then checking into our hotel next to DL. That was ok, though- we had Tia Jessica with us, Miss Disneyland expert! As soon as we arrived Anderson saw the big train, so he was adamant that we did that first. Before we rode away from Main Street, though, we took the kids to City Hall to get their "My First Visit" buttons. I had no idea they did that- so special! Once we checked out the Christmas tree it was time to go on our first ride! The kids LOVED the train, and as soon as we got off in Toon Town Anderson wanted to go again (we never did get the chance, ops! Next time :) ) Once in Toon Town we saw that Minnie Mouse was just arriving at her house. We just watched from outside, because I was completely convinced that Emery would freak out if we got too close. I had absolutely no expectations for getting pictures of her with any characters, especially based on our Santa Claus experience last year!

After playing around for a bit we decided to go on "It's a Small World", which truthfully is not my favorite ride. One time when I was a kid we got stuck on the ride and the song played over and over and over! Well, wouldn't you know it- we got stuck again! Luckily this time they stopped the music, and pretty soon we were on our way again.

By this time we were reaching a make it or break it point. Anderson was starting to act a bit tired (quiet and cranky) so we had to decide if we were going to go back to our hotel so they could nap, or march forward and hope for the best. Well, I was having too much fun so I voted for carrying on! Eric and Tita agreed, so we tried to get Andy out of his funk. Luckily we came upon a neat globe fountain thing in Tomorrow Land (sorry, no idea what it's actually called) where Eric made a game out of the kids getting us wet. That turned everything right around and all of a sudden he was as happy as could be! After a bit we decided to refuel with lunch and then spent some time on Autopia and the Finding Nemo ride (which really scared the kids :( ).

On our way to Disneyland I told the kids that this was a very special day and that they could have anything they wanted (hey, they're two- they are happy if you give them a straw to play with so luckily I knew we could most likely deliver on any of their wishes!) After the Finding Nemo ride the kids started asking for ice cream, so we were happy to oblige! After we all shared a huge sundae it was time to head over to Fantasy Land. Emery was ecstatic about going in Sleeping Beauty's castle! All along I told her we would buy her an Aurora dress while we were at Disneyland (she already has a Cinderella dress) so we popped into the shops to try to find her the perfect one. She didn't really show any interest in any of the dresses, so I wasn't going to push it! That saved us $70 haha! :) When we came out of the shops Anderson's eyes got huge- he had spotted the Carousel. Leading up to Disneyland he had begged to ride every carousel we came upon (I guess they are pretty popular in SoCal) and we knew he was going to love this one. We were right- both kids had a blast. I thought for sure they would want to go again, but Anderson was already planning his next ride- the Dumbo ride. Emery went with daddy and Anderson came with me and Titia. They were thrilled with the ride and asked to go again when we got off. The line was a little long so we didn't go again but we thought it was a good time to go visit Santa.

Now, Titia had told us that in all the years she had an annual Disneyland pass that she rarely saw any princess characters. I was so sad to hear this, because I had convinced the kids that they would see Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. How else do you explain DL to a two year old? I had no idea, so I told them that's where their favorite characters lived. Instead of taking the short cut to Santa's house, I asked if we could go back out through the castle with the hope that we would see a character. Sure enough, as we were leaving Sleeping Beauty was standing there taking pictures! We got in line and the kids were so excited! Emery looked like she was in awe, and I still wasn't sure how things were going to go when we got to the front of the line. As we were waiting, Titia exclaimed "here comes Cinderella!" and I'm sure I gave a huge squeal of delight! I pointed her out to Emery and she just couldn't believe her eyes. Unfortunately Cinderella was walking in the opposite direction, and I didn't know whether to chase after her or stay in line :) I don't know who was more excited- me or the kids! I was so happy for them to get to meet these characters that they love so much.

Anyway, when it was our turn to meet Aurora both kids walked right up to her! Emery wasn't timid at all- yay! They gave her hugs and then when we tried to take their photo we had to call Anderson's name a bunch of times before he took his eyes off of her. We think he was in love :).

As soon as we were done, Emery asked "Where's Cinderella?" Uh oh! Now she was into it, so of course we all were! We tried to track her down but we couldn't find her (but we did say hi to her Fairy Godmother), so instead we went over to meet Tinker Belle. As were were waiting in line we got a glimpse of that silly fairy behind some leaves, and Emery quietly told me "I want to go say hi to her." Their sweetness and innocence brought tears to my eyes all day. They really were feeling the magic of the experience.

After we met Tinker Belle and her friend Vidia (who Amelia dressed up as for Halloween!) we were finally going to go see Santa. As we were walking away, Titia spotted Cinderella again! This time I grabbed Emery and followed her! We were first in line when it was time for photos, and Anderson went right up to her at full speed with arms extended for a big hug! As far as I was concerned the day was a success at that point! Luckily it was only half over. :)

We met up with Titia's friend (hi Katie!) and went to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I was concerned the kids would be scared, and they were a little bit. They didn't cry or anything, but Emery will tell you now that it was a "wittle bit scawy." At this point we parted ways with Titia and got the kids some popcorn (per their request- remember I was in a spoiling mood!). We decided a mini break was in order so we walked back to our hotel for refreshments and picked up our jackets. As we were leaving the park Mickey Mouse came out! The kids were first in line again to meet him, and we were able to take an adorable picture of the three of them together. By the time we got back to the park a little while later it was time to find our spot for the parade. It took a while to reach us, but once it did it was great! The kids were pointing out characters and asking to see more each time a float went by.

When the parade ended we took the kids to a huge souvenir shop so they could pick something out. They originally chose a Mickey and Minnie stuffed animal (much to their adorable daddy's delight :)) but later decided on a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet instead. That was fine, again- anything they wanted! As wer were checking out they spotted some lollipops so of course we had to buy them :). We went back to the park to get our spot for fireworks and just as were were walking down Main street Sleeping Beauty's castle was lit and it started "snowing." I swear we were at the right place at the right time all day! The kids loved the snow and the music, and I think that must have capped off the day for them because within minutes they were both asleep in their stroller! Eric and I finished off their lollipops and walked around feeling so happy! We watched the fireworks (Emery woke up for them but Anderson didn't flinch) and ended our day with one last photo in front of the Christmas tree.

With toddlers, you just never know what you're going to get. I was trying really hard leading up to this day to manage my expectations and not get too excited because there was a chance the kids wouldn't be into it at all. I am happy to report that the day was so much better than I ever could have wished for. It made me feel so lucky to be a parent, and so happy to share these experiences with Eric. We are so unbelievably lucky to have these two kiddos, and we can't wait for many more magical moments with them.

I fell asleep replaying the day over and over in my head.

Unfortunately the next day started bright and early at 4 am!

Part III: San Francisco
Now, as seasoned travelers with these two kiddos I fully expected this trip to go off without a hitch. Boy, was I wrong.

I won't go into all the details, but in short I made a bunch of rookie mistakes (namely skipping naps most days) due to the nature of relying on public transportation. Because it took so long to get anywhere (walk to bart, take train, transfer to bus, walk to museum etc) I wanted to maximize my time with the kids once we got there so I decided to forgo naps. Big mistake. My kids need to nap, or they are grumpy, which results in a grumpy mom, which the kids feed off of. Needless to say none of the three of us were our best versions of ourselves last week! Luckily Eric had some great meetings and enjoyed the work he needed to do, so the trip wasn't a complete loss ;) The best part for me was getting to spend time with some of my childhood friends, Sarah, Jami and Chris. We had some yummy meals together and even drove out to Sonoma to help J&C cut down their Christmas tree.

One day me and the kids ventured out to Oakland (an easy bart ride) and played at a drop-in art center. The kids loved painting, playing with play doh and making crafts. Mommy loved that for $8 per child they were entertained for hours and there was no mess to clean up! We even took Eric there over the weekend because the kids were begging to go back!

There is definitely a lot to do in San Francisco, I just think it would have been much easier if we'd had a car! Luckily we rented one for the weekend so that made things a bit easier.

Other highlights include a dinner at Benihana (the kids loved it!), going on a horse drawn carriage ride, watching the kids get excited when our train would arrive, playing in Golden Gate park, and eating In-n-Out in the car while the kids slept :)

The kids (and me!) were definitely ready to come back to our "Texas House" as they call it. It was a full day of travel yesterday but the kids did great.

Noteworthy quotes from the kids:

Emery, pointing to some graffiti: "Mom, painting? That's not paper!"
Anderson, in an excited voice at every bus or bart stop: "Is this our stop?"
Emery, after a couple days riding in bart/muni elevators: "There's no pee pee in this elevator" as we rode the elevator in Nordstroms.
Anderson, as I'm pushing him and his sister in the stroller up the steepest hill ever on our way to a museum: "I'm tired."

Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-11-22T21:03:00.005-06:00

We are leaving for California tomorrow and won't be back until December 5th! We are going to spend Thanksgiving with Eric's family in southern California and while we're there we are going to see friends, eat at some of our old favorite restaurants and.....go to Disneyland!! The kids love Tinker Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Mickey Mouse, and since they are free while they are under 3 years old, we figured now's the time to go! We are all very excited- Eric and I aren't sure if the kids are more excited or us. We can't wait to see it through their eyes. :)

On Tuesday we are going to head up to San Francisco and the kids and I are going to play around the city and visit with one of my best friends (hi Jami!) while Eric works. A couple weeks ago Eric's company announced big news with Twitter (fun fact: I took that photo of the CEO- I guess I'm a published photographer now hehe) so he's there to celebrate and network. We've been wanting to spend some time in San Francisco for a while now, so we're really excited this worked out. We rented an apartment on airbnb.com and I plan to zoom around the city on public transportation with the kids. Wish me luck!

Because we won't be back until December 5th, we decided to put our tree up before we left. We invited the Coleman's over to help us decorate (our own little mini Thanksgiving :)). It was a good end to a crazy day! The kids are both suffering from a stomach bug and I can't even tell you how many diapers I changed today. I think they are being extra fussy because of it, so I played referee all day while they fought over EVERYTHING!

Things I Love

2011-11-14T15:00:00.006-06:00

- I love that when Anderson eats raspberries he puts them on his thumb first and then eats them.
- I love that I overheard Emery and Anderson putting their dolls in time out "because you're not listening well today."
- I love that Emery told me "It's ok, few more minutes, don't cry" when I told her to stop playing with her food and eat it.
- I love that Anderson told Emery to "hold on a sec, be patient" when she was demanding something from him.
- I love that Emery got super excited when she saw "ballerinas" on tv yesterday, exclaiming "I want to do that!" Then she made me replay it 4 times!
- I love that Eric taught the kids that you have to eat to be "strong." That genius move got the kids to eat their whole dinner on what was a rough night last week.

Here's Anderson proving how strong he is after eating his whole dinner:

Emery saying "I want to do THAT!"

Having Fun with My Daughter, my Son and the Sun

2011-11-10T21:30:00.003-06:00

Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:54:00.005-05:00

When I picked the kids up from school today it was very obvious that Anderson had a fever. Remember last year when Emery was sick on Halloween? I could not believe it was going to be the second year in a row where one of my kids missed out on the fun! When we got home from school I took his temp and sure enough, 102.1. I gave him some meds and sent him to bed. All afternoon he was clingy and mopey and kept saying he wanted to stay home instead of going trick or treating. At about 5, when it was time to get in their costumes and go over to avo's house, daddy came home and all of a sudden he got his second wind! He was ready to go and thankfully they both ended up being able to enjoy the fun. Anderson spent most of his trick or treating time chasing after Amelia, while Emery was happy to lag behind while being pulled in the wagon. She insisted on riding in it even between two houses! Silly girl! It was a fun night, but I am tired! Here are the pictures to tell the story:

Macaroni and Trees

2011-10-27T20:43:00.003-05:00

There are so many things I love about this video: Emery's enthusiasm about her art, her error in calling "pepperoni" " macaroni," and Anderson's narrative in the background. :) It was devastating when I accidentally deleted it off of my phone! Thank goodness I have a genius husband who was able to retrieve it for me! It's definitely one of my new favorite videos :)

Our first Pumpkin!

2011-10-26T21:23:00.005-05:00

Today we made our first family Jack-O-Lantern! Daddy was in charge of the face, mommy cleaned out the insides, and babies colored their own little ones. Eric made sure to roast the seeds, which was his favorite part growing up. :)

Sweetberry Farms 2011

2011-10-25T20:27:00.006-05:00

In addition to Amelia's big birthday Tea Party, this weekend the whole crew went out to Marble Falls to the Sweetberry Farms (our annual tradition). The kids fed the goats, which they likedmuch better than last year . Emery loved feeding the goats one piece at a time (which resulted in a lot of licks from the goats!) whereas Anderson preferred to let them eat out of his cup.

Later we took some pictures and then the kids got some face paint. It was really hot out (why do we always choose the hottest day to go?!) so we didn't last very long, but it was great fun as always!

Five Years?!

2011-10-25T20:19:00.006-05:00

How was it that just yesterday:

Amelia was born.

And now today:

She is a lively, outgoing, silly, kind, loving, creative five year old?!

Five years ago Amelia and I created a pact that she was only allowed to live a maximum of 20 houses away from me. I think she lives 19 :) So far we're keeping good on our word to each other. I hope even if life circumstances change and we don't live as close as we do to each other now, that I will still get to be a big part of her life because let me tell you- I love watching this girl grow! She is fabulous!

Yay Nami!

2011-10-21T22:47:00.008-05:00

Nami and Poppy are in town this weekend to celebrate Amelia's 5th birthday. It just so happens that Nami also had her last radiation treatment this week! Breast cancer sucks! We're so happy that the bulk of her treatment is over, so we thought we should celebrate! We surprised her with dinner, pink balloons, pink flowers and everyone dressed in pink to show our support. We love you Nami and are so glad this blip on the radar is in the past! :)

Beach Photos!

2011-10-10T22:45:00.006-05:00

The family portraits that we took on the beach turned out really cute. I'm so glad we took them :)

The Drive Back

2011-10-09T22:41:00.005-05:00

The drive back from the beach went really well. The kids spent pretty much the entire time watching DVDs (and having me change the video every 30 minutes!) and playing with the various drawing toys I brought along. On Friday we decided to stretch our legs by walking around one of the plantations in Louisiana. It was a beautiful place and a good opportunity to be out of the car for a while. While we were there I had to change Emery's diaper while she was laying on the grass. A little while later she exclaimed, "There's a bug in my diaper!" It was such a random but specific complaint that I immediately pulled her paints down and sure enough, there was a huge ant in there! I can't believe she was able to express herself so clearly. Such a smart girl!

We stopped for the night pretty early because we were too tired to go on! The babies had already fallen asleep in the car, and didn't even twitch when we took them inside the hotel. The next morning we hit the road early and were home by nap time :). We had a really fun trip and will definitely go back to the Destin area in the future!

*** I added pictures from our trip to the posts below :) ***

The Beach: Thursday

2011-10-06T23:07:00.009-05:00

Today being our last day at the beach, I thought we could spend our usual morning outing looking for some cute souvenir for the kids. After going to three different places (holy moly- who buys all that ugly crap?!) we finally found some semi-decent t-shirts for the kids. By then we had worked up an appetite so we enjoyed one last basket of fried seafood goodness.

Pretty much as soon as we got back to the house the kids were ready for their naps, so we had quiet time until almost 3:00 pm when we finally decided we needed to get moving or else we were going to miss out all together on one last trip to the beach! Emery is so funny- some days she skips her nap all together, and then some days she takes epic three hour long naps! Today was a long nap day.

The ocean was really choppy and a bit violent today (crazy considering our first day here it was like glass- not a wave in sight!) so we spent most of the time chilling out on the sand reading and watching the kids play. There was a nice family next to us with a five year old little girl who had a great time playing with the kids. I think the little girl reminded the kids of Amelia, so they had a blast following her around and being silly with her. Emery was being so silly- whenever the little girl would go back to her family Emery would ask me "Where did that lady go?" I kept having to explain to her that she wasn't a lady- she was a little girl! I don't even want to know what she thinks I am if a five year old is a lady!

Once the sun started to go down we decided to live it up for our last meal and took the kids to a nicer restaurant for a traditional steamer pot! We had crab and shrimp and the kids had pizza haha. The food was yummy and the kids did pretty good, even though Anderson definitely got tired towards the end. Funny story: their meal came with two oreo cookies so we gave one to each of them. Anderson refused to eat his, so I ate it- which of course made him cryyyyyy for his cookie! We left the restaurant with a toddler screaming "I want my cookie!" so I told him he could have one when we got back to the house. As we were walking up the steps to our place I told him I was sorry I ate his cookie and he said, "Yeah, get your own." I don't know why I thought this was so funny but I laughed so hard that it made him laugh so luckily our day ended on a good note- him getting his cookie and me getting a good memory :)

The Beach: Wednesday

2011-10-05T21:17:00.007-05:00

Today was one of those days we hope we never forget. Nothing spectacular happened, but it was a day full of little moments of joy that has left us feeling a little bit sad because it's over. The kids are at the most wonderful age. They say the sweetest things out of the blue, are curious about everything, and are really starting to understand certain things about the world. They give millions of hugs, and would prefer to be in our arms versus anywhere else in the world. They play pretend with each other- usually a game only they know the rules to, and while Emery entertains herself during play by singing, Anderson concentrates 100% on whatever task he is working on at the time.

We got a slow start out of the house this morning and so we ate a late breakfast at a popular place nearby. We all enjoyed our meals and were so stuffed that we weren't even that hungry when dinnertime rolled around!

Somehow we were successful today at getting the kids down for a nap (as opposed to every other day on this trip so far), so the whole family got a nice afternoon snooze in! Once we were all awake we packed up and walked over to the beach. We flew two kites today, drank pina coladas (even the kids enjoyed a non-alcoholic treat!) played at the splash pad, and watched our kids play in the sand contentedly for quite a long time. We LOVE these moments, but dang they are so hard too! Before we know it these two little wonders aren't going to be so little anymore! Waaaaa....

After dinner back at the house we went back over to one of the little villages we visited earlier in the week and walked around for bit before settling in to listen to some fantastic live music. The kids were a little tired, but instead of being crabby they were wanting to snuggle which was fine by us! We had just learned about Steve Job's passing, so we were wanting to hold on close to them anyway.

When the music was over we drove back home and the kids went quietly to bed. Last day of vacation tomorrow :(

The Beach: Tuesday

2011-10-04T21:23:00.005-05:00

Today was an awesome day! This morning we drove down to Seaside where The Truman Show was filmed. It really was a lovely city. The houses were just adorable and it would be a really fun place to vacation. We walked around the town, played at the playground and then finished up our trip with ice cream :)

After another awesome lunch at our dive seafood place we headed back to the beach! We spent a really nice day flying our kite and playing in the sand and water. The kids even allowed us to read a little bit while they played nicely. Pretty soon it was time to head back to our beach house to get cleaned up. I decided I wanted to try to take some nice family photos at the beach, so I forced everyone into cute outfits and back to the beach for sunset. Luckily the photos turned out great, so the fuss was worth it :)

By the time we got home the kids were waaayyy past being ready for bedtime, so after a quick dinner down they went!

The Beach: Sunday and Monday

2011-10-03T18:55:00.011-05:00

Sunday:

Yesterday we woke up to 40 degree weather! First order of business was to run to Target for jeans! (Avo- I had to go down to a size 18mo on the jeans you got them and even those are too big! Our kiddos are petit!) Luckily we hadn't planned on going in the water in the morning anyway, so it didn't ruin our day! Instead we went to the Destin Seafood Festival. It was a blast! Located in a picturesque boardwalk area, the festival had live music, food, drinks, petting zoo, balloon makers etc. We walked from one end to the next trying to work up our appetite and by the time we turned around to get serious about eating (there were a million food options, all equally mouth-watering!) Anderson had fallen asleep in the stroller! It was so cute and we laughed remembering that he took his naps just like this in his stroller while we were out walking around Paris this time last year. I guess some things don't change :). To let him sleep for a bit we enjoyed some special time with Emery, listening to music and snuggling with our best girl. After a while we got too hungry to wait for Andy to wake up, so we found a nice table and took turns getting food while the other sat with our little man. We both loved our lunches and Emery ate a good amount off of each of our plates. Just as we were finishing up Anderson woke up. We couldn't entice him to eat our fish and crab cakes (no surprise there) so we packed up and headed back to our "beach house," as the kids are calling it.

When we got home we decided to try out the lazy river. It was freeeeezing, so we thought we would try out the beach instead. Luckily the ocean was a bit warmer, so we played in the water for a little bit. The kids didn't last too long since it was still pretty chilly, so we had some relaxation time back at the condo. We made tacos for dinner and pretty soon it was bedtime!

Monday:

Woke up to another cold morning, so my original plan of spending our mornings at the pool needs to be modified! I'm definitely bummed about the weather- last week it was in the high 80's and so far it's been no where near that while we've been here. Luckily it gets warmer in the afternoons, so it's just a matter of finding entertainment for the first 6 hours of the day!

Today we drove over to this cute little golf community called Baytown Warf. We walked around for a bit and let the kids play on the playground. Once we were hungry for lunch we went back to the area where the seafood festival was held to try out one of the restaurants. Unfortunately every pace was super touristy and waaaay overpriced. We weren't really interested in spending $100 on lunch for what would most likely be mediocre food, so I started asking people who looked like locals. Finally I found a true local who knew just the place when I said I wanted a more "dive-y seafood place." He directed us to exactly what we were looking for- a tiny little joint right on the water where you order at the front and then sit at one of their picnic tables. Perfect! The food was awesome and it was an easy place to go with the kids. We'll probably go back, since it seems like most of the places around here are tourist traps.

After lunch we attempted to put the kids down for naps back at the beach house, but they were having none of that! We eventually gave in and spent the rest of the day at the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon of playing in the water, digging in the sand and flying our turtle kite (thanks Coleman's!). We had BLT's back at the condo and the kids went to bed nice and early :) Time for some grown up time consisting of cocktails and Bananagrams! Love vacations!

Going to the Beach!

2011-10-01T20:45:00.008-05:00

Yesterday we started our journey to the beach at around 3:30pm and made it 8 hours to Louisiana. I purchased dual DVD players for the car, so the kids pretty much watched Shrek and Tinker Belle (their new obsession!) until they finally fell asleep around 8:30. We drove until close to midnight and after a couple hiccups at the hotel, we all fell asleep.

The kids were up at about 7 and we hit the road at about 8:30. We had some extra time, so we decided to take a 30 minute detour to New Orleans! On the way I was excited to see an alligator in one of the swamps!

It was definitely deja vu once we got to New Orleans since Eric and I were just there two weekends ago, but it was really fun to go there with the kids (they make everything better and more fun, don't they?!). We walked around the French Market and then had a very NOLA lunch of muffaletta, red beans and rice and a shrimp po boy. After lunch we HAD to take them to Cafe du Monde, especially since they'd been there before- when they were in my belly! This time they actually got to experience to powdered sugar goodness, and they definitely enjoyed it!

After eating we hit the road and the kids did great watching their DVDs and coloring. After a little while Anderson told us he went poo so to make sure he was telling the truth I investigated his diaper. To my big surprise, we suddenly had a major blow-out on our hands! I won't go into details because ew, gross, but I will say that today was the first time one of the kids had a bath in a gas station sink!!

Once back on the road we were at our destination in no time and we are so happy with our rental! It is an adorable condo right on a lazy river. The complex has a ton of pools and is beach-front. After unpacking a bit and feeding the kids dinner we took a family walk over to the beach and oh my goodness- the sand is like sugar!! We've been to a ton of beaches all over the Caribbean and Mexico and nothing compares to this! It's gorgeous! The kids loved it and we got to the beach right at sunset. We even saw some dolphins swimming by! I can't wait to take the kids there during the day tomorrow (because there was definitely a cool ocean breeze tonight!).

On our way back to the condo Emery told us she had an "ouchie" on her hand, and she wasn't kidding- she had about 7(!) splinters from the boardwalk! :( Poor girl! You could tell from the way she was holding her hand that she was in pain, but she didn't cry at all! I quickly went to the store to buy tweezers and when I got back our best girl showed us how brave she is by holding very still and letting me get at the splinters. Some of them were really big and thick (and painful!) but she did so well while I was getting them out. She is so wonderful!

Bedtime soon followed and our fun pool and beach days begin tomorrow! Sorry, no pictures- I forgot a usb cord :( I'll add them later.

Lacking Motivation

2011-09-25T20:30:00.009-05:00

Sorry there haven't been many updates lately. I've definitely been lacking motivation lately for this blog. I know it's important though so I will try my best to throw up a post and a few pictures every once in a while. Mostly I'm just enjoying life with our two crazily fabulous 28 month olds! They keep us laughing every day with the adorable and
brilliant things that they say and do. Have I mentioned that Emery tells us we need to "whipser" when her baby dolls sleep? I've been meaning to put that on here so I don't forget. Their speech is getting better and better every day so I'm sure that one could be gone any time now.

September has been the month of trips- we are 2 down and one still to go. Early in the month I took a trip with some girl friends to Port Aransas. We rented a cute little beach house and had an awesome time drinking and laughing and soaking up the sun. I missed my family but it was a nice break.

Last weekend Eric and I went to New Orleans while the babes stayed with their Avos. A few months ago Southwest was having a $40 one way deal, so we couldn't pass it up! We gorged ourselves on beignets, gambled at Harrahs, took a cooking class, ate some amazing food and enjoyed some alone time :). Eric was getting over a cold so we were back in our hotel by 9:30 both nights! We are so old!!

This weekend we celebrated Auntie Sarah's birthday with a yummy dinner at Chuy's on Friday night. We sat outside in the gorgeous weather and let the kids run around and play with all the other children there. We had such a great time chatting while the kids played :). On Saturday we went to Amelia's first soccer game. It was such a hoot! All these short little people

chasing after a ball haha. Amelia seemed like she had fun and it was fun to watch her with all of her friends we've known for a few years now. Today we walked around Town Lake even though it was back in the 100's! When is this heat going to go away?! Later, Eric watched the kids while I got together with some girlfriends and then we finished up the day at Chipotle for dinner. It was a fun weekend!

On Friday we leave on a road trip to Florida for a week! We have rented a condo that walks out onto a lazy river and is within walking distance to the beach. We are going to build sand castles, search for shells, watch for dolphins, eat some fabulous seafood and enjoy some family time with just the four of us! It won't be Paris (which is where we were the same week last year) but I'm sure it will be fabulous! :)

Nature vs. Nurture

2011-09-15T20:07:00.002-05:00

It always surprises me when the kids express marked differences in the way they play and the things they they like to do and eat. They have been exposed to the exact same foods and toys since day #1, so we are a real life example of the power of "nature"!

Now that the weather is actually comfortable in the mornings (still HOT in the afternoon's- I think we're on day 86 of triple digit heat this year) I've been taking the kids to the park a lot more. Emery has been battling a cold this week and so instead of doing our usual play date today and risking the other kids getting sick by the close contact, I figured some fresh air would do us all some good. (Emery also stayed home from school on Wednesday so she and I had a really nice girl's day. We even got to have lunch with daddy!)

I have some pictures on my camera of the kids playing with their dumptrucks and shovels but I can't, for the life of me, locate a USB cord in this house! I think the kids have been hiding them...

I did, however, take this cute video on my phone. Anderson found some communal cars to play with and Emery turned the wall into a balance beam. Nature at it's finest! :)

Vroom & Balance Beam from Eric Falcao on Vimeo.

Pray for Rain!

2011-09-06T20:17:00.003-05:00

We need rain reeeeaaaaalllllyyy badly here in Texas. There are wildfires all over the place, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed nearby. A friend of ours got a 5 minute evacuation notice on Sunday and wasn't allowed back into her neighborhood to see if she still had a house until today. Thankfully her house was spared, but many of her neighbors weren't as fortunate. We had crazy winds here this past weekend, and coupled with ultra dry conditions it was a recipe for fire. There isn't any rain in the 10 day forecast, so I'm ready to get out there in my backyard and do a rain dance! This is crazy.

Besides the constant fear of fire (we made a list of things we would take if we found ourselves in a similar circumstance) we had a really nice weekend. Yesterday we all went over to the Falcao's for a yummy labor day dinner. The kids got pretty crazy towards the end (overly tired, I'm guessing) but it was great food and great company.

We have had something like 79 days in the triple digits here in Austin this year (so far ugh) but thankfully I think Fall is starting to peek around the corner. Today was a beautiful day and this morning even had a hint of a chill!!! :) I took advantage of the early morning coolness to take the kids to the park. We had a really nice time, and it was great to actually participate in their play with them, as opposed to just sitting on a bench sweating to death while they run around. :)

Unfortunately more 100 degree days are in the forecast, but Fall IS coming (along with rain, hopefully...)!

Random Stories

2011-08-31T21:10:00.004-05:00

- Sometimes I feel bad for the kids because they are twins, but mostly we think they are so lucky to have each other! They always have someone to play with, a partner in crime, someone to hug them when we aren't there, and another (although miniature) person taking care of them (bringing them snacks etc.) Today we took the kids to the park and they took turns standing at the bottom of the slide and yelling "BOO!" as the other one came down the slide. Then they would both laugh and laugh.

- I'm not sure they have their own language, but there are many times during the day when I can't quite understand one of them and their sibling will help me by telling me what the other one is asking for. They understand each others words better than we do.

- The kids are major talkers (have been for months) and their pronunciation is getting better and better. It definitely makes me sad when they stop saying it the "Emery" or "Anderson" way and start saying it the "right" way. I miss the way Anderson used to say "schni schnack" when he wanted a snack (we call it a "snacky snack"). I'll really miss when Emery doesn't say "naken" for "naked" and "blanken" for "blanket." Do we have to correct them?! It's so darn cute when Emery says "I'm naken!"

- Eric was about to leave for work one day this week and as he was about to walk out Anderson ran out of our room and yelled "Wait! Meet Daddy lunch?" down to him. It was soooo cute!

- The kids are loving school. Emery cried the first day at drop off, but since then they have said "bye mom" and walked right in the door. I'm so glad they like their class, but I also feel like "well, ok, bye." At least I make them give me kisses before they go play with their toys. They are so over me ;)

First Day of School- 2011

2011-08-24T15:27:00.004-05:00

The kids did great today at school, and although Emery cried for a bit when we left they had a great time with their new teachers and friends. They didn't nap at school, which was fine by me because I got to pick them up after having 5 hours to do with as I pleased and then now I get two hours of quiet time at home while the babies rest. Awesome!

Here are the pictures from last year.

And here's this year!

Very Very very Fun Week!

2011-08-21T21:30:00.004-05:00

We had a really fun week and weekend, I don't even know where to begin! Early in the week we had the Best BBQ Ever (and continued to eat the leftovers for two days afterward!). We met up with friends for several play dates, we met the kid's new teachers and said hello to their old ones, we dropped the kids off at their grandparent's house and they had a blast in the pool while we had a date night, we went to a small water park in Round Rock, and then today we went on a bike ride, played at the play ground, ate some yummy food, took long naps and then went to the circus! It was quite a week/weekend. A great way to officially say goodbye to summer as school begins next week and a new routine starts!

Here's Anderson in front of our huge pile of meat at Franklin BBQ. Oh goodness- it is so divine!

Anderson was excited from the moment we sat down, Emery needed to warm up a bit to the whole circus thing.

Once she warmed up, though, she was totally into it! She was dancing around and pointing out neat things to us.

Anderson was having too much fun to bother with having his photo taken :)

Dog Days

2011-08-17T21:38:00.008-05:00

Summer is coming to an end but apparently no one has told the weather that! This heat is so, so bad. I am so, so ready for cooler days. I think I am so brain washed by this summer that even 99 degrees feels like a relief compared to what it's like most days.

This evening it was pretty nice in the shade (again, 99 degrees is "nice"- yikes!) so the kids wanted to play outside. They were being such hams for my camera! I love it!

Tomorrow night is Open House! We'll get to meet the kid's teachers and see who will be in their class. I have no idea how they are going to handle having new teachers. They talk about their teachers from last year so often. We'll find out soon enough- school starts a week from today!

Pretty Nails!

2011-08-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back Emery and I went out just the two of us to spend some time together. One of the places we stopped at was the beauty store, where Emery picked out a bright pink nail polish (quick dry!) so I could paint her toes.

We finally got around to painting them this week, and I must say she looks so adorable! We originally only painted her toes, but the next day she asked me to do her fingernails. She is such a girly girl- I've already had to touch up a few places that wore away and were unacceptable to her! Luckily we went back to the beauty store today and picked out a more subtle pink.

What do you think Anderson thought about sister's nail polish? Well, of course he wanted it too! I painted his toes pink, but let him pick out another color (blue) today so he could be different. I gotta say, though, I thought it was pretty hilarious when he was running around screaming "roar!" while sporting pink toes!

Interview & Butterfly Kisses

2011-08-15T21:24:00.001-05:00

em·er·y/ˈem(ə)rē/

2011-08-05T23:49:00.003-05:00

Anderson has gotten really good at pronouncing Emery's name and makes a point of really enunciating every letter. We tend to pronounce her name as "Em-er-ry" as opposed to "Em-ry." Well, it has come to our attention that our daughter seems to have an alternate pronunciation that she would prefer. Problem is, we can't figure it out! I finally caught her telling us how to pronounce it on video, and still I'm not quite sure what she wants! "Om-ry"?? "Am-ry"?? It's hilarious that she actually looks like she gets frustrated with me because I can't get it right! This is not the first time we've had an exchange like this over her name! Hopefully one of these days I'll get it right!

Random Musings

2011-08-05T23:03:00.005-05:00

- When I was talking to the kids about giving up their pacifiers last week (a week ago today- yay!) Emery had a moment of complete clarity about what was going on. She was snuggling with her paci and looking very sad and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I asked her if she wanted a hug and she replied with a sad "yes." Once she was on my lap, and my heart was breaking, she said, "I'm so proud of you, mommy." Even though I'm sure she didn't really know what she was saying, it was still really nice to hear and allowed me to continue with my plan.

- Speaking of the paci's (or lack there of), Eric and I have been really surprised about how well the kids have done. We had a couple issues this week at nap time, but for the most part it hasn't been that big of a deal. I think they are still learning how to fall asleep without it, but each day gets easier and easier.

- Emery has been asking us to play the "pretty song" whenever we are in the car and we can't, for the life of us, figure out which song she is talking about! We've gone through every song on the cd's we listen to and none of them are the one she wants. I feel so bad that we can't figure it out- she gets so devastated about it!

- Anderson is ADDICTED to taking showers. He loves to play with the water on the wall and he begs to go in with us. He took a shower every day this week! He's probably the cleanest 27 month old in Austin!

- One of the kids (I won't say which one to be nice :)) broke one of our important family rules. This happened at the splash pad and it was groooooosss. All I'm gonna say is I ended up throwing away his/her shoes right then and there! Ewwwwww.

- We had some of Eric's family in town last week/weekend so we got to eat a ton of good food and had great family time. Anderson ate his weight in beans at the Salt Lick and both kids loved playing with their cousins.

- We are in major "Organize This House!" mode. I've gone through cabinets, bought extra shelves and baskets, and basically cleaned out every hidden crevice of this house! We are going to do some paint projects, some minor DIY remodeling projects and finish up some outstanding repairs (remember this? Yeah, we still haven't completely repaired that door!) in the next few weeks.

- Tomorrow is our 6 year wedding anniversary! To celebrate we are dropping the kids off at grandmas and then going to go wine tasting, get massages, and have a yummy dinner here. Can't wait!!

MY GORGEOUS GIRL

2011-07-30T22:49:00.006-05:00

Bye Bye Paci's

2011-07-30T22:25:00.004-05:00

I never thought we would get here, but today is day #2 of being paci free in this house! We had been talking about it for a while, but I always found some kind of excuse to put it off. Finally last night I came to terms with the fact that my kids are 27 months, and we have no immediate trips or events on the horizon, so I had no valid excuses! After searching the internet for ideas, I decided we would go to Build-A-Bear and have the kids pick out a special "Paci Bear" and put the paci's inside. I talked it up and got the kids excited for it. We sang a special song, and when daddy came home the four of us went to the mall and made a big event out of it. Anderson was really excited about it and easily handed over his paci's when it came time. Emery, on the other hand, was a little bit more hesitant. I think she really understood the magnitude of what we were doing, and so she spent a little extra time loving on her paci before she finally gave it over. Once the bears were made and we said "bye bye" to the paci's the kids had a great time bathing their bears and dressing them.

The REAL test, however, was when it came to bedtime!! To our delight and surprise, Emery went right to sleep and after about 40 minutes of talking to his new bear friend Anderson did too! Not even a bit of crying at bedtime! It was awesome!

Unfortunately at about 1:00am Anderson woke up crying for his paci and shoving the bear in my hands saying "open, open!" but we just snuggled with him and brought him into bed with us and after about 20 minutes of tossing and turning he finally fell asleep. We didn't hear another peep out of either child until their normal wake up time!!

Naps today were a little short, so I'm not sure if that's because they were without the pacifiers or what. Tonight they went to bed without incident. Hopefully the rest of the night will go well!

Honestly, I am SOOO heartbroken! I'm really glad they are handling it well, but I'm so sad that we have closed such a big chapter in their lives. I carried a pacifier in each pocket of my jeans for the first 9 months of their lives! One of my favorite moments of the day is when I go check on the kids before I head to bed and watch them suck away at that silly pacifier. Even though they are much older now, I can still see that little 4 month old baby that they used to be. Sigh.

Weekend Update

2011-07-24T22:20:00.006-05:00

We had a great week followed by a great weekend. We had a bunch of play dates, visits to the splash pad, time lounging around the house, and I even took the kids to the movies! This weekend was busy but relaxing and we are ready to face another week :)

The kids watching "Shrek." They definitely enjoyed it, but got a little restless after about an hour. We left early but since it was a special $1 movie, that was ok by me!

Being silly waiting for the final Harry Potter movie. It was GREAT! Thanks Avo for babysitting!!

Today we went to a friend's birthday party at My Gym. It was really fun! The kids LOVED running around and exploring all of the obstacles.

Tonight we took the kids to listen to the Austin Symphony's free concert in the park series. It was hot out, but really fun. We took a picnic and enjoyed the people and the music :)

"Donkey's Funny"

2011-07-18T10:31:00.004-05:00

We watched a lot of Shrek on the train- the kids basically had it on a loop, which actually was fine with me. I think it is a darling set of movies and has some good humor for adults, too. Emery thinks Donkey is hilarious! In this first video she is telling me a story about riding bikes "all day long" and is watching Shrek in the background.

In the past she would only laugh when tickled or in response to something we did TO her. Her sense of humor is really developing, as she will now laugh at things like we would. She has a good understanding of when a person or movie is trying to be funny. And her laugh is so sweet!

St. Louis Trip Recap

2011-07-18T10:13:00.009-05:00

We had a great time in St. Louis, and thankfully our train ride home was fun and uneventful. Here is our trip, in pictures.

Anderson practiced driving the boat.

We played outside with cousin Allison.

We cruised around the lake.

We played on Nami and Poppy's back porch.

We went to the pool and clubhouse with Nanny Allison.

We played outside some more. (The term "we" is loosely applied here- momma doesn't like being hot!!)

We hugged on Nami and Poppy.

We slept on the train on the way home.

We ate a lot on the train and walked up and down it many times.

We colored on the train and watched Shrek a million times!

Emails to Daddy

2011-07-11T19:51:00.004-05:00

Here's what we've been doing in St. Louis:

Subject: "Texas Babies"

Subject: "Dress Up Time"

Subject: "On the Boat"

We've been having tons of fun. Nami hasn't been doing so well after her recent chemo treatment, so definitely say a little prayer for her! We miss Eric terribly but he is off having fun in San Francisco on a business trip, so we wouldn't be home with him anyway!

Ummmm......

2011-07-07T20:30:00.004-05:00

....that was rough. No energy to tell a story, so here are the bullet points:

- Arrived at Amtrak station, was told there was a freight derailment so we were going to have to take a three hour bus from Ft. Worth to Longview then back on the train. Bummed, but figured it was part of the adventure!
- Got on train, our sleeper car was awesome, went to breakfast, awful service but oh well, good food.
- Came back to room, put Shrek on, everyone happy. Ask attendant to change our room to sleeper style so kids can nap, says he'll be right back.
- 40 minutes and two really unhappy toddlers later, I go find the conductor and have our attendant paged. He comes back, said he forgot. Changes room. Babies won't sleep.
- Arrive in Ft. Worth, long walk to bus, both kids want to be held (in addition to our three bags). No one tells us what's going on. No one offers to help me (except other passengers, but NOT Amtrak employees). Sit on the bus for an hour before leaving. 3 hour bus ride, Anderson sleeps for a bit, Emery plays by herself. Reaffirm my belief that I have the best kids ever. Everyone was amazed with how they did. Get to Longview, sit on bus another hour, no one tells us what's going on.
- Finally get on train at about 7:30pm. Eat dinner- rude and slow service, but good food. Get back to room we all fall asleep. Yay!
- 4:30 am banging on the door- attendant tells us we must get up, there's been another derailment and the buses were waiting for us and we need to move NOW. Rush to get packed and wake two babies up without freaking them out. No one helps me, but everyone tells us to get going.
- Get on the bus, wait another hour and a half before moving (glad we rushed off the train!). No one tells us what's going on. 3 hour bus ride. Kids did GREAT!! Love them so much.
- Arrive at new (our third) train at 9:30, ask attendant if she knew when we would be arriving in St. Louis, says she just got to work so she doesn't know. Ok.
- Ate breakfast, kids starting to lose it. Go to find attendant so she can change room to sleeper style, find her in the dining room- she tells me she'll help me when she's done eating her breakfast (didn't she just get to work? Break time already?)
- 30 minutes pass, our room is changed and the three of us crash.
- Lunchtime- dining room service is awful. Waiter gets mad at me for letting Emery line up the ketchup packets (it was keeping her quiet and she is TWO- hello?!) I finally have it and complain that they are SO not kid friendly, and he informs me that "this is still a restaurant." Huh?
- FINALLY arrive in St. Louis at 2:30pm- 6 hours late. Wait around forever for our bags and then the baggage guy is a complete jerk (no surprise there). Almost lost it all together, but held it together!

I have already called Amtrak to lodge my complaint and get my money back, so we'll see what happens. I chose to go on the train because I thought it would be easier and more fun than flying (since the kids could walk around and we could go eat etc.) but it ended up being so much worse than a few hours on the plane. I still have to go home on the train next week- I soooooo hope my experience is different next time! I'm usually able to see the humor when things like this happen, but it was so far past funny and past annoying and just 100% anger-making! AND I missed being there with my mom during her chemo treatment, which was the entire POINT of this trip :(.

Here's a picture of the kids before all hell broke loose :) It could have been so fun if 1) there weren't any derailments and 2) the Amtrak staff would have had at least an ounce of kindness or compassion or gave a sh*t about their customers or took any pride in their jobs.

Happy 4th Day of July

2011-07-05T19:40:00.010-05:00

Because it has been so dry in Austin, the city (and surrounding cities) decided not to do fireworks this year :( It didn't much feel like the 4th if July without the fireworks show, but we still managed to have a great day!

It started off with a neighborhood parade. The kids love firetrucks right now, so I'm sure being in a parade with one was the bees knees!

We followed the truck while the kids waved their American flags.

As we were walking, a neighbor who was working in his yard decided to join us- he said "what's more American than mowing your lawn?!" So true, but I think he needed a beer in his hand!

Me and my best boy.

Emery was afraid of sitting on the truck. Not sure what that's about!

The kid's wanted to put their little toy firemen on the truck. They definitely look like they belong ;)

Later, Tia and Clay came over for pool time and dinner.

We had an all American meal- fried chicken, potato salad, beans and a green salad (followed up with apple pie and red velvet cake- YUM!)

Fried chicken, droooool.

This will be our second fourth of July in a row that ended with some kind of wii related disaster. Last year our TV got hit and died, and this year Anderson got hit, and luckily didn't die- but he did have a split lip!! He was very brave, though, and promptly ate his weight in mac and cheese and dessert :)

Tomorrow the kids and I are going on out Great American Train Ride! I am partly super excited, and partly super nervous! I hope it goes well- it is a 22 hour train ride from Austin to St. Louis. We have a sleeper car, and I plan to watch DVDs, do art, visit the lounge car and dining car, sing, meet people, be silly and have fun! Wish us luck!

Art in the Park

2011-07-02T19:41:00.003-05:00

Last week we met up with some friends downtown for "Art in the Park" put on by the Austin Symphony. It was really fun! Even though it was DRIPPING hot and humid, the kids and I really enjoyed it. For just $0.50 a child plus $0.10 per cup of lemonade, it was definitely worth the sweat. The first part was a performance that was emceed by a jester, including a quartet, story teller and singer, and then after there was face painting, storytime and music. We found a shady spot near the live music and enjoyed our lunch while listening to them. Every time the quartet finished a song the kids asked for "more please!" so we'll definitely be going back :) If you're interested in going, it is every Wednesday during the summer (except for next week in observance of July 4th).

Ashes, Ashes

2011-07-01T06:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had a play date at our friend's awesome community pool. My kids were having a blast even after our friends left, and wanted me to sing "Ring Around the Rosie" over and over again so they could "all fall down." After about 20 times I had a great idea- I taught the kids to play the game with each other so I could sit back and watch (and take a video!). They pretty much sang their own version- "Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down" on repeat. So freaking adorable. I love it when they have a great time playing together. :)

Sing Please Momma

2011-06-30T15:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday during snuggle time after the kids naps, Emery turned to me and said "Sing please momma." Who could say no to that sweet voice? Anderson seemed to be in a singing mood, too, so we had some duets :)

Predictions

2011-06-27T22:33:00.008-05:00

Last week I spent some time in St. Louis with my folks and while I was there my parents asked me what my prediction today would be for A&E's future career's. Emery's isn't as clear to me yet (surgeon because she has great dexterity? artist because she loves to create?) but I did have a clear prediction for Anderson. In fact, when I got home and asked Eric the same question he immediately predicted the same thing!

Anderson is always pretending to cook something. Everything becomes a bowl, and anything serves as a spoon to stir with. The funniest thing, though? He walks around the house holding his creations with a pot holder! So here is our prediction at two years old- we think our best boy is going to be a chef! That would be awesome, because we love to eat :)

Summer Days

2011-06-27T22:16:00.009-05:00

When the kids were in school the teachers constantly told me how much Emery love love loves art. I was really sad when summer came, because I knew I couldn't think of all the cool daily art projects like her teachers did. I've been doing art at the kitchen table with the kids while they sit in their high chairs, but it hasn't been an ideal set up. This weekend I found a little kid's picnic table on craigslist for $15!! It's awesome! We tried out our new craft table for the first time today and the kids loved it! YAY!

"Do you mind, I'm trying to create!"

Falcao Men

2011-06-27T22:11:00.003-05:00

We had everyone over for a BBQ on Father's Day and I was able to snap this photo of the Falcao men- Avo, Daddy and Anderson practicing for when HE is a daddy :)

Prayer Request

2011-06-18T22:29:00.002-05:00

Many of you already know this, but a few days before the kid's second birthday my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. They caught it early and she had a successful lumpectomy (while we were in Italy- that was surreal!!) but to be extra cautious the doctors recommended she go ahead with chemo so that it doesn't come back. She had her first round (of four) last week. She could use your prayers and good thoughts.

She is the bravest woman I know and I am so proud of her for doing everything possible to kick cancer's a$$!! We (me and the kids) are going to spend as much time as possible in St. Louis this summer so we can be with her, so my posts might not be as frequent. I'll try to post pictures and/or video whenever I feel the motivation strike! It's definitely been waning lately, but when I look back on previous posts chronicling our life I am so thankful I've kept up with this blog! I will try to persevere, even if it seems like there are bigger things going on!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2011-06-18T18:02:00.006-05:00

Eric turned 29 this week! To celebrate, we had a family bowling night. It was so fun! We bowled, ate yummy alley food, sang the birthday song and enjoyed some yummy cake! It was really fun to celebrate it with our {growing} Austin family!

Two Year Old Rules

2011-06-14T15:32:00.002-05:00

We've been having a slight hitting/pushing/biting problem, so I've been teaching the kids "rules." They know them by heart and are preeeetttyyy good at remembering them during play.

Night Night Book

2011-06-13T20:42:00.003-05:00

The kids COMPLETELY blew us away tonight! Titia gave the kids the "Night Night Book" for their birthday and it quickly became one of their favorites. It's the last book we read before bed time, and they always love it. I decided to see if they would help me read, and they totally knew the words! They can't count 1-2-3 but they know this book! Maybe "1-2-3" is too elementary for them ;)
I yelled for Eric to bring the camera so I read it again so we could show all of you. It's a rhyming book so hopefully you'll be able to guess what they are saying since it is in two year old speak and a little difficult to understand! The only one who messed up the words was me! After a rough afternoon with them (very needy and making messes everywhere!) this was the absolute best end to the day! I'm still smiling about it!

Summer 2011

2011-06-10T17:37:00.004-05:00

First, go back and look at these photos. Then, head over to my photography website to see today's photos!! Here's a teaser:

Busy Summer!

2011-06-09T08:11:00.007-05:00

We've been keeping very busy this summer!

We've been to splash pads:

We've played at the park:

We've done art:

We've met friends at a bouncy house place:

We've played dress up:

And then, when the day is over, I've had mountains of photo editing to do! So long story short, blogging has been hard! I'll try to post pics when I can :)

Fun in the Sun!

2011-05-31T19:08:00.008-05:00

Yesterday we went down to San Antonio for the night to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. Being a stay at home mom feels like being at the office 24/7 sometimes since I am home, well, pretty much 24/7, so Eric was nice enough to indulge me in my desire to mix things up a bit! The resort was awesome! The grounds were gorgeous and the pool and lazy river were really fun. The kids had an absolute BLAST! We bought them little life preserver tube thingies and they quickly realized how much fun they can have jumping into the pool! They wanted to jump over and over and over, and we had no problem playing with them! Luckily they liked floating with us down the river, too. Emery loved entertaining us by "pool dancing" while we floated. They were both doing really well keeping afloat and kicking to get to where they wanted to go.

After the kids took a nap (late since they were having so much fun in the pool!) we went to La Fogata for mole enchiladas. HEAVEN!! Last time we were there the kids were in the middle of their Yo Gabba Gabba addiction, so their behavior was hooorrrriiible!! This time, they ate nicely, played with their stickers, and allowed us to enjoy our meal. It was soooooo darn good.

After dinner it was back to the pool and then s'mores by their big campfire. This was the kid's first experience having s'mores, and I'm not sure what they thought of it! Emery seemed part interested, part annoyed with the gooey marshmallow. That being said, everything got eaten so at least some of us enjoyed them!

This morning we went back to the pool for a bit and then came home. We had such a nice time. I absolutely love our little family of four and enjoy every second we get to spend together making happy memories.

Anderson preferred to count before jumping in the pool ("5, 2, 5, 2") and Emery liked to say "Ready, set, jump!"

Here is Emery "pool dancing." She really got the hang of it!

End of the School Year

2011-05-27T22:40:00.004-05:00

Thank goodness summer is here, because I don't think I can take any more end of the year goodbyes, recitals, and graduations! I cry every time! Wednesday was the kid's last day at the mother's day out program. I had such a hard time saying goodbye to their teachers. We were so blessed to have had them this year! I am so grateful to them for loving them like we do! I hope I like next year's teachers as much- they have big shoes to fill. :)

Tonight we went to Amelia's pre-K graduation and she was just oh so adorable! I can't believe she's going in to kindergarten next year....

Our Fabulous Kids

2011-05-24T21:16:00.002-05:00

Our kids are just so freaking fabulous. They bring so much joy to our lives! They learn something new every single day and make us laugh as we explore this world with them! Here are a few tales:

Anderson
1. Anderson went poo poo on the potty today! He told me he needed to go, and then he did! We haven't started formally "potty training" yet, but he just loves to go! He's doing really well with it. I think we better get serious because there is definitely a window of opportunity open right now.

2. Today Anderson was coloring with markers and when we were finished he matched the lids to every marker color correctly! I don't know why that seemed like a big deal to me, but I was so proud of him!

3. He's in a "momma's boy" stage right now and I LOVE it!! He'll be playing and then out of nowhere says "Momma!" and comes to give me snuggles. It is the best thing ever!

Emery
1. I am taking the kids on the train to visit my family in St. Louis in July, and the kids are so excited about going on the "choo choo." Emery loves to talk about it, and the other day she picked up her play cell phone and said "Hello Nami, we go choo choo!"

2. When we are driving around and I apply the brakes harder than usual, she almost always says "Whoa momma!"

3. We keep the diapers and wipes in a drawer in one of our end tables. The kids sometimes like to empty the drawer, so when Emery went over to open it I told her "No, Emery." She looked at me, pointed at her baby doll and said "baby poo poo!" Oh, ok, well I guess she needed the diaper, then!

Amelia the Ballerina

2011-05-16T21:57:00.002-05:00

After we had our joyous reunion with our wonderful babies (they are SOOOOO cute!) we ran some errands and then all took a little nappy nap. :)

Once everyone was awake it was time to go to Amelia's first recital! Oh she was just so adorable! Anderson and Emery really enjoyed watching all of the dancers, and asked for "more, more!" between performances. When Amelia came on they got so excited- they love their cousin!! :)

Italy Day 6, 7 & 8

2011-05-16T19:39:00.008-05:00

Day 6:

Well, the bad news is I got really sick the day of the cooking class and we had to cut it short. The good news is Eric had fun for the first half (while I laid on the chef's couch haha) and learned a couple great recipes!

We started out meeting up with our teacher, Shirley, at a local coffee shop where we discussed the menu for the day. After we decided what we wanted to make, it was off to pick up the ingredients! We followed Shirley around town to her favorite markets and then off to her butcher. It was pretty fabulous! There were cuts of meat in various stages of aging hanging from the ceiling and a case full of homemade sausages and smoked meats. After we got what we needed it was off to Shirley's gorgeous house in the hills above Cortona.

Right about the time we got there I started to feel really nauseous, so within minutes I was sitting in a chair, and then laying on her couch trying not to barf!

While I was laying there I could hear Eric learning how to make focaccia, tiramisu and stuffed tomatoes. When we paused for lunch, we decided to end it there because I knew I wasn't going to make it the rest of the day :(. I was really bummed and felt so bad to make Eric leave, but in the end it was definitely for the best. Plus, we only had to pay half haha.

After some time back at our room I started to feel a bit better, so we walked over to the piazza and sat for a while on the steps watching the world of Cortona. People drinking wine, families gathering for dinner, kids playing soccer. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

We had a fabulous dinner and then strolled the main street and ate some gelato. The day ended on a definite high note!

MEAT!

Gorgeous local veggies.

What a man!

Whisking meringue by hand!

Our fabulous lunch!

The piazza.

Day 7 & 8:

I woke up feeling reaaaaallly bad on Friday morning (Italian Montezuma's revenge?!), which was really bad timing because that was our big travel day. I could barely get out of bed beyond getting to the bathroom to barf :(. The idea of driving down the hill to the train station and then a 4 hour train ride while feeling like I did was enough to make me contemplate living in Cortona forever! Eric was very nice and helped me to move as slow as possible, and without too much nausea we made it to Milan in the late afternoon. The rest of the day was spent in bed (which I guess was ok- every Italian that we met said there was nothing worth seeing in Milan!) and then we were up bright and early Saturday morning for a verrry long day of travel. I was feeling great, so the flights were no problem at all.

We got home around 8:30 after picking up Carl's Jr. haha. We pretty much went straight to bed and then woke up early the next morning, anxious to pick up our kids!! :)

Cortona Church Bells

2011-05-12T07:26:00.000-05:00

In Rome and here in Cortona we have heard beautiful church bells. Here's a video from yesterday.

Italy Day 5

2011-05-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

Today we traveled down into the valley to tour a local vineyard and then have lunch. It was a beautiful day! The winery has been around for centuries, and it was so different than touring vineyards in California! Their main wine cellar was covered in black moss that the owners got permission from the Italian government to keep- it helps with the aging of the wines! If you even mention the "M" word in the US everyone freaks out, but here it is a treasure!

After a fabulous tour, we sat down for lunch with some of the other guests on a gorgeous patio overlooking to Tuscan countryside. The couple we sat with was very nice and we had a fabulous meal chatting with them and enjoying the awesome meal and delicious wines. It was a lovely afternoon.

When we got back to Cortona we napped and read for a while at our B&B and then walked out to the main "road" to get dinner. We made friends with the table next to us (two couples from Dallas- go figure!) and ended up chatting with another man from England who was sitting near us as well. We have really enjoyed meeting all sorts of nice people, especially because the Italians don't seem to want anything to do with us! I guess I don't really blame them- we are just a couple of the hundreds of tourists they will see this year, but I was really hoping to get to talk to some Italians to learn more about their culture. Oh well...

Tomorrow is our all day cooking class! Can't wait...

Out tour guide, Lorenza.

They age one variety of their grapes for 10 years! What results is a super sweet, syrupy wine. At 180 euors for a half bottle, it was not included in the wine tasting!

Our view during lunch.

Italy Day 4

2011-05-10T15:28:00.004-05:00

I seem to have caught a cold, so this is going to be a short post- I'm tired! Today was mostly a travel day. We got up pretty early, packed and left for the train terminal. After two trains and a slightly scary bus ride up a road that had a lot of switchbacks and a driver who was talking on his cell phone, we made it to the quaint Tuscan hill town of Cortona (if you have seen "Under the Tuscan Sun"- it's that town.) The little town is really cute, with lots of narrow streets and steps. Our B&B is very nice and quiet! Compared to the hustle and bustle and all night night life of where we stayed in Rome, this place is dead! After a nap and some reading, we went out to get dinner around 9:00pm- still early by Rome standards! Almost every restaurant was closed here! Luckily we found one trattoria that was still open and we had a very yummy meal. Ok, bedtime!

The train ride was really nice. The countryside was just gorgeous and it was cool seeing some of the other hill towns in the distance.

Eric, watching the countryside go by.

The view down into the valley from Cortona.

The "main street" in Cortona.

Italy Day 3

2011-05-09T16:10:00.008-05:00

Last night turned out to be a late night. When we went downstairs for our caipriniha we ended up befriending the table sitting next to us. We had a great time talking to them and learning about their various countries (Scotland, Spain and England) and discussing the world's view of Americans. By the time we said goodbye and got settled for bed it was close to 3:00am! It was very hard to wake up a short four hours later for our day at the Vatican, and I have been paying for it with sore eyes all day!

I had reservations at the Vatican Museum for 8:00 am, allowing us to bypass the already growing line of visitors and go right in to the museum. There were some interesting artifacts but I think we were mostly there to see the Sistine Chapel. We forged ahead of the large groups of guided tours, but it was still packed when we got there. The guards had to keep shushing everyone, but the noise would carry within seconds of the scolding! The chapel was pretty incredible, with every inch of wall and ceiling covered in brightly painted scenes. It wasn't exactly what I expected, but really beautiful nonetheless.

On our way out we purchased a few rosaries for some special bambinos in our life, and as we did I questioned the saleswoman about the possibility of having them blessed, but she said it wasn't possible. I joked to Eric that if I saw a priest I was going to accost him and ask him to bless them for us!

By this time we were starving and in desperate need of some caffeine, so we popped into a "bar" and had two cappuccinos and a couple nutella croissants. Yummy! With our bellies full and our brains buzzing, we walked over to St. Peters square, passing the now half mile long line for the museum that had formed! Note to future Vatican visitors- make reservations for the 8:00 am entry! You'll thank us later!

The line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was equally as long, but moved very quickly. We were approaching the front doors within 15 minutes or so. The basilica was amazing- unlike anything we had ever seen. Not only was it just gigantic, but absolutely gorgeous with it's ornate decorations, huge statues, and shrines to one pope/saint or another. Pope John Paul II's remains were moved to a shrine here last week, so that was obviously a big crowd favorite. As we moved along the outer edge of the basilica we came upon a portion of the church dedicated only to prayer. A guard blocked the entry and only allowed in those who looked serious about praying. We definitely were, so we walked right in and sat down. Now, I pray. Not eloquently, but I pray. Today, sitting in St. Peter's Basilica, yards away from the remains of someone who actually walked with Jesus- the words just came to me. I had an intention in my heart as to what I wanted to say, but for the first time ever, really, the exact right words came to mind to express those intentions. It was wild, and I was so thankful that they did!

When we left the prayer room we walked to the front of the church near the alter and noticed that a mass was just beginning. Again, we were allowed entry by another guard (we're Catholics after all, we know the secret hand shake ;)) and we took our seats just as the first reading began. It really is amazing how we can be thousands of miles from home and in a country that speaks a different language, but mass is exactly the same! It was really special.

After the mass ended we finished up our tour of the church and joined the bottle neck to get out. As we were leaving, my unblessed rosaries in my bag were still on my mind. On our way out to St. Peter's square I noticed two priests standing off to the side talking to each other. We watched them for a minute and Eric joked that they were probably the "devils advocate" because they looked so serious! I wasn't deterred- I had a gift for my kids to think about! A moment later, I turned to Eric and said "I'm going in!" I walked right up to the priests and said "Scusi, parlez anglais (that's FRENCH for do you speak English!) um, I mean parla inglese (got it- that's Italian!)?" They looked at me a bit annoyed, a bit accustomed to such antics and replied "yes" together. I trudged on, "Would you mind blessing some rosaries I bought for my children?" After a short but audible sigh, one of them replied yes, so I opened up my bag to fish out the rosaries. As I tried to get them out, the priest said I could keep them in the bag (haha) and then said the blessing right there in St. Peter's square! It was actually quite nice- asking God to bless these rosaries and all that use them to pray. Then we did the "in the name of the father, and of the son" etc. and it was over! I turned around triumphantly to Eric, beaming in my success. As I walked up to him he said "What happened? I couldn't watch!" I'm not sure if it was admiration or embarrassment (there's a fine line sometimes!) but he just responded with a "Wow, Falcao, that was ballsy." Hey, anything for my kid's!

With my blessed rosaries we walked home and crawled back into bed for a nap! We woke up a little while later to growling tummies so we found some lunch and then came back to our apartment. We relaxed around our little casa and watched some tv shows we downloaded, napped a bit more, then walked over to Piazza Navona and sat for a while. When we got hungry again we got in line at a pizzaria right near our apartment. When you see a line outside of a restaurant with 10 or more people in it- it's a sign! The line moved a bit slowly, which was fine except for the annoying American couple behind us who complained and made fun of people almost the whole time. When it was our turn to be seated, and the host brought along the people behind us to seat us at a table for four, I turned right around and got back in line! I did NOT want to sit through dinner with people like that! Instead, we were seated with a very nice retired couple from Los Angeles! What a small world! The husband went to a rival high school to Eric's! How crazy is that?! Anyway, we had a delightful dinner with them, and were so happy to share their company.

After dinner I convinced Eric to go to see the Colosseum all lit up at night, and it did not disappoint! The Romans really do an excellent job of lighting up their monuments at night- it's totally worth visiting them during the day then again at night because the experience is so different.

Anyway, we are now back in our apartment, ready for bed and ready to head to Cortona tomorrow! We aren't sure if we'll have internet access while we're there, so our travel journal might be delayed a few days. Ciao!

Ahh, breakfast!

St. Peter's Basilica

Swiss Guard

The Alter

What is up with that sticker on the door to our restaurant tonight? We just can't escape Texas! :) Unfortunately, we also saw the Texas A&M logo scratched into a column at the Colosseum. People are so annoying.

Colosseum at night.

Italy Day 2

2011-05-08T16:40:00.007-05:00

Today we had reservations at the Borghese Gallery at 11:00. I had to make these reservations months ago in order to secure our spot.

We woke up at 11:30. Ops.

Change of plans! Once we got out of the apartment we walked over to Camp de Fiori and walked around the little market that was set up for the day. There wasn't really anything of interest, except for the cool vendor selling bulk spices! I felt like we were in Morocco!

After sitting down and enjoying a nice espresso in the bright morning sunshine, we made our way through the cobble stoned streets to the Pantheon. The ancient Romans sure knew how to build imposing structures! Built in 126 AD, you could feel nothing but awe that it is still standing! I can't image being a visitor to Rome from a tiny village of straw huts back in those times and coming upon a structure like this! Incredible.

Moving on, we followed the crowds to one of Rome's most famous fountains, the Trevi Fountain. After sitting for a bit with the throngs of Italians and tourists, we continued on our meandering walk towards one of Rome's creepiest sites, the Capuchin Crypt. Hundreds of dead monk's bones make up this catacomb, and a true, if not humbling quote is displayed: "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be...".

We emerged from the crypt feeling a little down-trotten, so we felt the only way to pick ourselves up was by some good old high end window shopping! We joined the masses at the Piazza del Popolo and walked past Gucci and Versace towards the Spanish Steps. By then we were feeling like we needed a little refreshment, so we grabbed some gelato and headed home.

Once the sun went down and we had a chance to shower and get pretty, we walked back over to Campo de Fiori for dinner at a place with a fixed menu and good ratings. It was good, but not as good as our meals yesterday! We felt like some more walking, so we walked back past the Pantheon and on to the Trevi Fountain. These places were gorgeously lit for nighttime, and locals and tourists alike were out to enjoy them. We sat at the fountain for a while, taking a few photos and throwing a customary coin into the fountain to ensure a return trip to Rome.

On our journey home we noticed there aren't as many crowds out tonight- perhaps we'll be able to go to sleep earlier than 3:00 am tonight without cries of "Mama mia" outside our window!

Happy Mother's day everyone! I miss my babies terribly but I am enjoying the time with Eric. It's amazing how quickly something as simple as holding hands becomes second nature again once you don't have children to hold and diaper bags to juggle!

Eric just said "let's go get a caipirinha from the Brazilian place downstairs." I guess our night isn't over yet...

Spices!

Espresso on the Camp de Fiori.

The Pantheon.

The dome inside the Pantheon. The ray of light was just beautiful.

Trevi Fountain.

Gelato!

Trevi at night.

We'll be back!

Italy Arrival

2011-05-07T18:25:00.005-05:00

Sleeeeepy but wanting to blog so we can look back on this some day soon and smile.

Flew to JFK early Friday morning and decided to go into the city since we had a 6 hour layover. We walked around Manhattan a bit and then made our way to ground zero. It is just unfathomable what happened there. It was really hard to digest the fact that almost 3 thousand people lost their lives right where we were standing. It was even harder to image what it looked like before the attacks. It is mostly a construction site now, but you could definitely feel the weight of what was.

Next we headed over to the New York Stock Exchange and past the Federal Reserve bank and tried to get a security guard to show us the gold :). He didn't, but he did share with us that the bricks are much heavier than they seem. Nice to know!

Before we took the subway back to JFK we had to have some NYC pizza! We found a little place and enjoyed a slice and a chicken parmesan sandwich. It was yummy and it definitely felt like New York City!

Back at the airport Eric gave me an awesome Mother's Day Gift by letting me have the last seat available in business class :). While I dined on gourmet food and reclined to an almost laying down position, he was stuck back in "steerage." I felt a little guilty, until I went back to visit him and found he was three sheets to the wind on free wine that the flight attendent gave him!! We both had an easy flight and were able to get some sleep overnight.

Our arrival in Rome was good- definitely less hectic than when we landed in Paris last year with two screaming babies with leaky diapers! No customs officials yelled at us this time, luckily! After a train and a bus, we made it to our apartment which is located near the Piazza Navona. We could not have picked a better spot! Not only is the apartment cute and cozy, but it is on a cobbled stoned street that is interconnected with a bunch of other narrow pedestrian streets. There are restaurants, coffee and gelato shops everywhere, and we are an easy bus ride (or walk) to several important sites.

Once we got settled in and showered, we went around the corner to have our first Roman meal- pizza and pesto pasta! It was to die for, and the beginning of what I'm sure will be a belt busting week!

After lunch we hopped on a bus to go to ancient Rome. We toured the Colosseum thanks to a podcast that we downloaded by Rick Steves, and the continued his tour into the Forum area. Byt the end of that podcast we were definitely dragging, so we skipped back to our apartment for a nap. We fell asleep around 6:15 and woke up a few hours later to jovial sounds coming from the street. Too jovial for morning, we thought, so we looked at the clock- 11:30pm! It was party time on the streets of Rome, so we rallied and went down to join in on the fun. There were people everywhere walking through the cobble stoned streets, eating and talking. We ate a late dinner and then grabbed some gelato and walked around the piazza. Now we are starting to crash again so I think it's time to say goodbye to our first day in Rome. Ciao!

Eric waiting for the train to take us to NYC. Have I ever mentioned how much he LOVES public transportation? He's so silly!

Our street- Eric is standing at the door to our apartment building.

Our first Roman meal. Yum.

Roman Forum.

Colosseum.

Us :)

Two Years?!

2011-05-03T20:55:00.005-05:00

My babies are two years old today. I just don't even know what to say. Every day is more fun than the one before, and every day these kids continue to amaze me. Yesterday Anderson went pee pee on the potty, grabbed the tp, wiped and dropped it in the toilet. I could not help but cry laughing. We have never shown him to do that- he picked that up all on his own. Today, both babies told me they wanted to go "night night" at naptime and went upstairs. Emery keeps talking about "kite day," meaning her birthday party day. After bath time the other night Anderson grabbed my face between his hands and gave me the sweetest kiss. Not to be outdone by cuteness, Emery did the same thing.

We are just the luckiest two people on earth to have such sweet, funny, smart, beautiful, healthy, happy babies.

We celebrated the day by starting out with a family picture marking the two years almost to the minute that we've spent together. After daddy went to work I took the kids out to breakfast and then over for one last visit with their great-grandparents before they flew back to California. When we got home the kids immediately told me they wanted to go to bed. An hour or so later Anderson woke up crying, so I brought him downstairs for snuggle time. Within minutes he was fast asleep on me, and stayed that way for almost two more hours! What a great gift he gave me on my two year anniversary of being a mom.

When Emery woke up, the kids colored for a bit and then daddy came home early so we could all go out to dinner together. After dinner, ice cream sundae's and playtime on the playground we came home to a surprise visit from Titia! The kids opened some birthday gifts and then were off to bed. It was a great day! Even though I have made it a point to enjoy every single day, two years have gone by really fast. What can I possibly do to slow things down?!

Blogging Break

2011-04-30T22:26:00.002-05:00

To all our fans out there (aka Auntie Sammy and Cousin Allison haha), don't be surprised if there aren't any blog updates for a while. This week is going to be ridiculously crazy, and on Friday Eric and I are heading out of town for a week- without the kids!! YIKES.

We may blog from our trip, but you probably aren't interested in hearing about Italy if the babies aren't there ;)

Kite Party!

2011-04-30T22:10:00.006-05:00

My babies will be TWO YEARS OLD on Tuesday. I just can't believe it.

To celebrate, we invited everyone over for a kite themed birthday party, complete with pizza and ice cream cake. It was such a happy event, and we are so thankful to all that came. It's with all your help we have survived and thrived these past two years, and our kids are so lucky to have you in their lives. :) Here's the party in pictures:

Maybe Emery is thinking "It's a drag having a twin borther."

I guess not. "It's FUN having a twin brother!"

All the kids had fun playing in the kiddie pool and sprinklers.

Two mini ice cream cakes for two not-so-mini two year olds.

Mint Chip ice cream cake!

They actually liked the cake this year!

But Emery was nice enough to share some with me.

Gotta lick every smidge off the spoon!

Then it was back to the sprinklers!

Everyone helped with our kids while Eric and I mingled with the adult guests. Thank goodness for grandpas!

Even after everyone left, A&E still wanted to play outside.

Hi, we're two.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T21:05:00.017-05:00

It has been a really fun and busy weekend, and I think I'm paying the price. I definitely have a cold coming on. BAD week for this! I hope it goes away! Here's what we did:

On Saturday we went to the City of Buda's Easter Egg Hunt. It was so well organized, and in addition to the hunt had bounce houses, petting zoo, barrel train rides and face painting. I can't wait for next year- the kids enjoyed it, but next year I think they are going to go crazy!! Here's Emery before the egg hunt:

Anderson is anxious to start the hunt!

Emery grabbed handfulls of candy, Anderson was happy to get a select few.

"Can we do that again??"

Lets get our candy on!

Last night we had the kids place their empty baskets on the fireplace in anticipation of the Easter bunny coming. Emery got really scared when we were doing this, looking around for the bunny! (She gets really afraid of people dressed up as characters) Once we convinced her that the bunny wasn't actually there at the moment, she calmed down.

The kids woke up right at 7, so the whole family went downstairs to see what the Easter bunny brought! Here's the video we took, and a little insight into life for boy/girl twins- if we are behind on the laundry, sometimes Anderson has to wear Emery's PJs and sometimes Emery has to wear his. And sometimes they end up in very funky tops and bottoms, but that has nothing to do with the twin thing! Also, for the record- daddy let them have their pacifiers! They usually stay in the cribs and pretty soon they will be gone all together! ;)

After enjoying a quiet morning, we went to the Coleman's for an Easter egg hunt in their backyard.

Then we headed inside to open their baskets.

After church we had lunch at the Falcao's. The kids got SO MUCH awesome stuff today! Here's a small sampling of what they got:

After lunch we had another hunt in the front yard.

By then Anderson was a pro at opening the eggs- he knew there was awesome stuff inside!

HAPPY EASTER!

Scene and Heard

2011-04-21T22:03:00.001-05:00

Scene: Emery walks past with an obviously dirty diaper. Momma asks "Emery, did you go poo-poo?"
Heard: Emery, deflecting the blame, "No, Andy poo-poo."

Scene: Anderson finishes a free sample of bread at the grocery store.
Heard: "Please more momma more please momma momma more"

Scene: Emery falls down while walking up the steps into the house.
Heard: Before we have a chance to ask she says "I'm ok"

Scene: Momma trying to pose the kids while simultaneously taking their picture.
Heard: Anderson says "Cheeeeessseeee......burger"

Scene: Emery in the car, in the stroller, playing in the playroom, basically anywhere.
Heard: "Goooo fly a kite" or sometimes "Daddy fly a kite" or "Poppy fly a kite" or "shish kite ouchie" (because our fish kite is broken) or "elbow kite" (it's a rainbow kite, but she always says "elbow")

Scene: Leaving the house.
Heard: Both kids, without prompting- "Bye bye Teddy!" (our shish)

Scary Mom Moment

2011-04-21T21:50:00.000-05:00

I had the scariest mom moment yet yesterday- Anderson got stung by a wasp and I unfortunately watched the event unfold. I was on the patio and the kids were in their play house. I saw Anderson swat at a wasp and in the next moment he was screaming grabbing his side. The wasp was still buzzing around in an aggressive way, so in addition to wanting to comfort my boy and provide aid, I had to get him out of there fast before he got stung again! And guess who was sitting right next to him?! My baby girl! I was so afraid that the wasp was either going to chase us and sting either one of us after I grabbed Anderson and ran him inside, or it was going to stay and go after Emery! I shoved A inside and returned for Emery and we all got inside without any more stings.

THANKFULLY Anderson only cried for about a minute before he started begging to go outside again. Ha- momma was done with outside for the day! The sting site swelled for a little bit and was red around the area, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. Thank goodness he isn't allergic. Ugh, I'll never forget the look on my poor boy's face :(

Yo!

2011-04-21T21:39:00.000-05:00

I caught this video of Anderson while we were in the car the other day. Is this how I sound to him when I'm on the phone?!

Joy

2011-04-19T20:44:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the kids find the weirdest things funny. Today after Anderson's nap we were having snuggle time and we accidentally slammed a book shut. He thought it was the funniest thing! Luckily I had my phone nearby so I could catch it on camera!

Pure joy, for Nami:

Camping!

2011-04-17T21:22:00.004-05:00

This weekend we took our annual camping trip with the Coleman's (minus our neighbors who usually go too :( ). It was a blast! The weather was fantastic- cold at night and warm during the day. Luckily we brought along some colder weather clothes because it was definitely chilly! The kids didn't seem to mind, though- they slept just fine. It was momma who kept waking up to make sure they were covered adequately!

Our campsite was near a playground so the kids enjoyed playing on the slide and the swings. There was a pond and a lake nearby in addition to the San Marcos river. People were fishing, tubing, renting paddle boats, feeding the ducks and geese and enjoying the day.

The kids were hilarious at bedtime. After we put them in our tent we could hear them talking and giggling for at least an hour before they finally fell asleep. On Friday night they stayed up until close to 9 just laughing and playing with their little lanterns! I finally had to go and tell them it was time for bed. When I unzipped the tent, they both scurried back to their beds and put their heads down! Such silly babies- just like teenagers being caught out of bed! :)

On Saturday while the parents sat around and talked, the kiddos played nicely on their own. Amelia drew and pretended her tent was a castle, Anderson entertained us by wearing sunglasses and pretending a bucket was a hat, and Emery ignored us all and covered herself in dirt- literally!

Can't wait for next time!

Ducks

2011-04-17T21:03:00.002-05:00

Last week I took the kids to feed some ducks in our neighborhood. I'd been saving the ends of our wheat toast so I had four pieces to share with the duckies. A&E have somehow discovered that they don't like crust, so I didn't think they'd mind.

When we got to the pond we looked around for a bit and finally found a few ducks snoozing under some trees. I tried my best to entice some over with the bread, but they just weren't interested! I guess since there are always other people there feeding the ducks they prefer white bread like the rest of us ;). Emery didn't mind, though- I saw her sneaking the piece for herself! That works for me! I'd rather feed my own kids than a few ducks anyway. Anderson got inspired too so between the two of them they ate all of our duck bread!

Weeked in Review

2011-04-10T22:54:00.008-05:00

Saturday:

Fun family day- including a visit with the grandparents, frozen yogurt with the kids, pool time with the Colemans, and yummy Greek food for dinner. OH! And getting our new fish :)

Sunday:

Photo session with cousin Amelia, lunch at our favorite place (costco- duh), pool time with Miss E and baby J, working in the yard/garage/house, frozen yogurt with the kids (do I sense a weekend tradition starting here?), steaks for dinner and lots of photo editing!

Finally, a video I shot of Emery in the car (sorry if you get motion sickness!). Sometimes she does what we call "role call" and will name everyone in the car, or everyone in the family etc. It's so cute! This time our new fish is included!

Beautiful Girls!

2011-04-10T20:44:00.003-05:00

For more blue bonnet photos- visit my photography website!