Dad's 32nd Birthday

February 2011 -

For Greg's 32nd birthday (and also Valentine's Day since the dates are one and the same) we went out to eat as a family to Freebirds for burritos and chips - not terribly romantic, but on the up side we had a coupon and it was not crowded! : ) Then we came home to cake and presents. Here are some darling pictures of the three of them celebrating and the kids "helping" Greg... : )

PS The three of us (myself, Jacob, and Catherine think one of the best parts of birthdays is the cake! Greg, however, is not as big of a fan, but is always thoughtful enough to encourage me to buy one for his birthday mainly for us. So as a surprise I made a lemon cheesecake just for him!

Feeding the Ducks!

February 2011 -

I have such fond memories of this day... We headed out to our favorite duck (and geese) park to feed them some leftover bread. (We've done tortillas too which are also well-received.) At any rate we fed the birds, played on the play ground, walked on the bridge over the water, and oh, splashed in some puddles (Catherine!) Then we rounded out the afternoon with a stop at our new favorite haunt - Berrylicious (a frozen yogurt store where you serve yourself and add your own toppings to boot.) It was a really fun Sunday afternoon and the kids brought me great delight. One I will cherish in my memory. The pictures completely speak for themselves.

Making Valentine's Day Cookies

February 2011 -

Just a few pictures of the kids baking with me. We were stuck indoors I think on this particular day due to cold and/or rain... So we dyed our cookie dough red and went to town. It is fun to see them covered in flour and I particularly like the picture where Catherine is holding the rolling pin.
: )

Blankets and Boots...

January 2011 (Sorry I am a bit behind and attempting to catch up since Christmas...)

The kids got these fuzzy matching blankets from their "Aunt Heidi" for Christmas and they just love them... They are monogrammed with their names and Jacob's has Buzz and Woody from Toy Story while Catherine's has Belle from Beauty and the Beast (Aunt Heidi's all time favorite Disney movie.) Here are a few pictures of them snuggling with them.

I also bought the kids some rain boots (and I am sad to say they have already outgrown them as I write this post!) They were by far the most popular footwear purchase to date and Catherine not only can put hers on herself, but has a tendency to prefer them even when there is very obviously no rain in the skies above. The idea was born out of their love to take "puddle walks" thru the neighborhood, but it was just too cold to go barefoot. (It seems that with our current Texas drought we may not be doing that again anytime soon!) I wish I had my camera on a few of these walks as I think the images would've been priceless! At any rate, we have long since determined the best spots in the sidewalk/on the golf course for good puddle stomping and so the kids spend whole minutes running and jumping thru these puddles - so much so that the boots are filled with water when we arrive home and new clothing is required. I often wonder what the cars that drive by us must be thinking! : )

Trip to CA (and Disneyland!)

January 2011
(01/11-01/18)

Shortly after the New Year the kids and I headed out to California to see Bumpa and Grandma Toria for about a week. While I found that they didn't transition easily to their new environment or even the new time zone well, we still had a fun time. Jacob in particular I think does best at home in his usual daily routine. Despite this challenge, we had a nice visit. I think visiting the ocean (several times) and spending the day at Disneyland were the two highlights of our trip. Oh, and it was warm for January in CA! I packed far too many long sleeves and pants given the temperature each day! (And my final PS - we also learned that Catherine is extremely allergic to cats just like Dad and Grampy...!)

I love the pictures of Catherine beach combing with her grandma and also the Disneyland pictures in general.

DISNEYLAND:
As usual the fun began for the kids just with the tram ride from the parking lot to the park! : ) Catherine insisted on walking the entire day much to her grandfather's amazement and they were especially cute in the store following the Buzz Lightyear ride where Bumpa got Catherine a large Jessie doll (which she toted around with her the rest of the day) and Jacob got some favorite Toy Story figurines. With two small children it is amazing how little you can accomplish and so I'm not even sure we made it on 5 rides! At the top of their list, however, was "It's a Small World" (which still had its holiday decorations up) and the train ride around the park (also a favorite of mine.) I would've loved to have gone on Pirates of the Caribbean (different than the one at Disney World), but I didn't want the kids to be frightened so alas. We went for Mexican food after wards, but the kids were so exhausted they BOTH slept on me in the booth the entire meal.



THE BEACH:
The kids loved the waves and just being by the ocean in general. Walking along the shore for me too has such a comforting feel since it is a strong memory from childhood. Jacob was really funny on one of our later trips to the ocean. He walked up to a random group of people and asked them all about their surf boards and gear, etc. (Further confirming my knowledge that we really needed to work on NOT talking to strangers!) The surfers of course loved him and his inquisitive questions. What an imp! Greg in particular loves the picture with Catherine lying in the sand and thinks she looks like a GAP baby model. : )