Catch Up

I always fall behind with some of the things I want to blog about so here are a few of my catch ups.  I just figured out how to get pictures off my camera so these are so random.

Taylor was looking mighty serious about her new nerf gun.

 There is nothing better than a baby sleeping.  Brooklyn is not a cuddler so some of the only cuddles I can steal are when she is asleep.

 Brooklyn loves her brother so much.  She will laugh at almost anything he does and she gets so excited when she hears him coming she can barely control herself.  Its almost like watching a puppy when its master comes home.

 Taylor had a wacky wednesday outfit that she really got into.  She would probably dress this way every day if I let her.

 Basketball season was fun (and painful) to watch.  Ethan and Taylor improved so much over the season and I was so proud of them.

 While the boys did a father/son campout the girls had some fun of our own.  Taylor got her ears pierced and we watched girlie shows and painted our nails.  Taylor was a real trooper when she got the earrings.  In true Taylor style she was shaking like a leaf but didn't make a peep.  I love this brave girl.

 Ethan and Taylor looking so glamorous at the store.

 Brooklyn is now sporting two adorable little teeth.  Although they are not fun when she decides to bite, they are so cute when she smiles.

Ethan's school had an 80's day a little while back.  The kids had such a fun time getting dressed up and goofing off at the dance with their friends.

The Primary at church always puts on such a fun Easter egg hunt.  It reminds me of a swarm of insects taking over the park as the kids run across the field scooping up eggs.  Even Brooklyn looks excited to be there.  Usually she is happy any time she is in the front carrier and gets to be outside.

 In crossing more things off our San Antonio bucket list we went up to Landa Park one Saturday.  We had a great time playing at all the little parks and riding the train.

 I love the look of determination on Taylor's face.

 Ethan has gotten into posing this way for pictures for some reason.

 And Brooklyn again just happy to be outside watching all the action.

 Brooklyn liked this train much better than her last train ride because they didn't blow a whistle throughout the ride.

Brooklyn loves to copy people and the kids have so much fun with it.  I just love these little people to death.

Fearless

In continuing with my plans to do lots of fun things before we leave San Antonio we decided that we would use a visit from my dad as a good excuse to go to the Natural Bridge ropes course with the kids.  They had a high ropes course for Ethan and Abe and I thought my dad could help Taylor on the lower course for kids.  And Brooklyn and I could keep our feet on the ground and take pictures.

Here is my sweet family as they got harnessed up and ready to climb.  I knew Ethan was very brave (and I little crazy just like his dad) so I was pretty sure he would be fine but I thought Taylor was a little more like me and would like to be safe.

 She started off enjoying the course with the help of her grandpa but she soon decided it was too easy and she was bored.

 Here Ethan is as he started off.  He never hesitated.

 My heart was racing just watching these troopers from the ground.  I love to see the determination on his face as he did everything.

Taylor started asking to go on the bigger course and I tried my best to talk her out of it.  I had no desire to head up with her since it takes all of my inner strength to keep myself from freaking out when up high and I knew I could not be responsible for someone else.  So grandpa said he would go up with her if she really wanted to try it.  What a great grandpa!

 And boy was this girl fearless!  Here she is at the top of the 5 story course and she rocked it!  She did everything without any hesitation.  I decided to do the zipline so I was up on the course watching her and I kept watching for some indication that she didn't like it.  It scared me so much to watch her that I kept silently hoping that she would just get down so I could breath normally again but she just wanted to do more.  She even got her rope stuck once while she was up at the top and she patiently waited for her grandpa to come help her get unstuck.  No shaky knees, nothing.  Just pure fun.  She had her own little cheering section as all the people in line for the zipline waited while watching her.

 I was so impressed with everyone.  What a fun day!

 And I did have fun on the zipline even though just getting up the 5 stories and waiting in a long line up high felt a little stressful.

 My dad was in town for a conference for work so we spend one afternoon hanging out at the pool/waterpark at his hotel.  I was excited when he said that he was staying at the JW Marriot in town because I had heard it was a great pool and they weren't kidding.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day that wasn't too hot but just warm enough.  Brooklyn was too big for the bathing suit I thought she would fit into so she decided to rock her bikini.  What a cute belly she had hanging out.

 The kids had a blast on the water slides and the lazy river.  I think they ran or bounced at full speed the whole time we were there.

 Brooklyn loved splashing in the water and trying to pull her hat off.  We had such a fun weekend with beautiful weather, a lovely walk on the Riverwalk, good food, and great company.  I can't believe we are only 7 weeks away from moving out of this great city.  There are so many things that we will miss!

The Blue Bonnets

Spring in Texas means blue bonnets are out and they are always so pretty.  We have never taken any pictures with them so we decided to add that to our San Antonio bucket list.  So on Easter Sunday we made the trek to go take some pictures. Of course with Easter being so late this year the blue bonnets were almost gone and there was a nice little rain cloud coming in very quickly so these are the best we could do.

 For those not from Texas, the blue bonnet is the state flower so the kids have been taught in school that you don't pick it or you will go to jail.  They had a cow when Brooklyn reached down and grabbed one.  Her laugh almost made it seem like she knew she was doing something wrong and didn't care.  She is so precious.

 We tried to get a good family shot but Brooklyn would get distracted if there wasn't someone behind the camera calling to her so it never worked out.

Happy Half Birthday

Where has the last six months gone?  It has been such a busy, fun time.  It has been so fun to watch Brooklyn grow and see the enthusiasm her siblings have for her.  I love watching it all through their eyes. They love her so much.  Christmas day Brooklyn figured out how to roll from her stomach to her back and a few weeks ago I happened to have the camera out when she got from her back to her stomach.  I tried to upload the video but Blogger doesn't like it.  I love the smile on her face when she did it.  This little girl melts my heart with her snuggles.  Her favorite thing to do is to wrap her arms around my arm as I try to change her diaper on the changing table.  She just laughs so hard, like this is the best game ever.  It is so easy to get a laugh out of her.  She loves dancing around the kitchen, pulling hair, being with her brother and sister, and being outside.  She loves the front carrier so she can see everyone around her.  If I try to hold her on my hip she always tries to turn and face out.  One day she is going to get dropped pulling that little move but so far so good.  She loves to stare at strangers until they look at her and then give them a big smile.  She doesn't mind strangers holding her as long as she can't see me.  She is my only kid that hates baby cereal so I have my doubts that she will ever eat baby food until she is old enough to skip to the good stuff.  If you put a piece of real food anywhere near her she will grab it faster than you can blink but rice cereal will sit on her little tongue for a while and then she will blow it out.

 Oh how I love that crinkled up nose when she laughs hard.

 She loves to suck on her fingers but rarely her thumb.  She would be happiest if she could get all her fingers in her mouth at the same time.  But she does like her pacifier a lot too.

  Her little (well actually it is really long) tongue is always sticking out.  If she is all bundled up in the cold she will stick it out and wiggle it around like she is checking the temperature with her tongue.  She definitely got her long tongue from her dad.  I can't believe how she can bend and twist it.

 Happy Half Birthday baby girl!  We are so blessed to have you in our home.

San Antonio Bucket List

I can’t believe we are counting down the months until we move from San Antonio.  We have absolutely loved it here and are very sad to be leaving such a great city and such wonderful friends.  It has made us think about all the things around San Antonio that we haven’t had a chance to do yet.  Hopefully in the next several months we can cross a few more things off our San Antonio bucket list.

My mom came into town in January and we had a chance to ride the train near the zoo.  The bigger kids had a nice time but Brooklyn cried every time the horn went off or when they lowered the gate and the bells went off.  She might be like Taylor would refuses to use automatic flush toilets and automatic hand dryers because they are too noisy. 

Abe did get to take the kids to their first San Antonio Spurs basketball game.  They were so excited to go but the late night and bad seats might have made it a little less exciting once they were there.  

We went to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo this year.  Taylor was ready to throw in the towel after smelling the hog area but she warmed up to the smell of livestock eventually.  We had so much fun enjoying the beautiful weather, eating hot dogs, riding rides, and petting animals.  I wish I would have had my camera in the petting zoo.  They had the cutest baby goats ever.  I sort of wanted to take one home for a pet.

I can't say enough great things about all the fun things to do in San Antonio.  I hope we can knock a few more things off our list before we move.  But time is going by so fast.  I can't believe it is already March and we will probably move in July.  So much to do in 4 months.  We have already started working on our Yuma bucket list :)

Christmas

We had a very low key Christmas this year with no plans to travel.  It was very nice, though I do miss seeing some family during the holidays.  We always get the joy of kicking Christmas off with a celebration of our best Christmas present ever, Ethan.  After his earlier party with friends it was a very small celebration at home with some cake and presents.  I can't believe my baby is 7!

We felt very lucky to have Abe around for the holidays.  We usually have to share him with the ER, at least for a little while. But this year he had time off around the holidays and it was great.

 Even Brooklyn had a few presents for her first Christmas.

 We decided to try something new for Christmas dinner and we made homemade pasta and sauce for Christmas dinner.  It was delicious and fun to make together.

But the best part of the meal would have to be the Turtle Cheesecake.  With the allergies that the kids have (and that I have to stick to while nursing Brooklyn) it is hard to find desserts that are amazing but this one is impressive.  Homemade caramel just made this cheesecake phenomenal.  It was so good that I had to make another one a few weeks later to share with my mom.  Well worth the effort.

But probably the person with the best Christmas was Abe because he got a fancy new truck right after Christmas.  We are all pretty sure that he loves this thing more than anything in the world (but he promises that he does love us more).  Anyone who knows Abe knows that he has wanted a truck for many years (since he sold the last truck he had to buy a family vehicle).  I really thought he was the only man truly obsessed with trucks but I have come to find out that he is not alone.  I can honestly say that no one has ever come up to me and asked me the engine size of my mini-van or how much the towing capacity is.  But random strangers will eye Abe's truck and ask him all sorts of questions.  Good thing he sits in there for hours probably memorizing the owners manual for just such occasions.  I even watched a group of construction workers all stop working and just watch the truck as we drove by.  It is a strange phenomenon that I will never understand.  But it makes Abe happy so I will just go with it.