As Maternity Leave is Winding Down...

As my maternity leave winds up, I have really been enjoying spending time with the kids -- and being able to take afternoon naps!  Here are a few shots of Eve and just so we don't forget that the boys are growing too, a few pictures of them at the neighborhood splash pad.

Here is one of Eve's smiles.  She is just a little over a month now and starting to coo and smile.

Eve at Three Weeks

Here are more pictures of Eve at three weeks old.  She is growing fast,and we know she won't be little forever!

Welcome Eve!

Eve arrived on June 29th at 8:48am and was 7 lbs 12 oz. and 19.5 inches long.  I went into labor around 11pm that night, so it was the shortest and easiest birth so far for me.  Mom and Dad arrived just in time for us to go to the hospital and everything went pretty smoothly.  She is so beautiful and we could feel what a special girl she is as soon as she came into the room.

Andreas can't get enough of giving Eve hugs and kisses and being able to hold her or help in any way he can.  Fred on the other hand is being the typical near two year old -- pretending she doesn't exist and running away from any and all photos.

More pictures to come...these are just a few of the initial random shots.

The Boys - May 2013

I really have been wanting some nice pictures of the boys, so we braved getting them dressed up and taking them in to try and get some good shots.  As always, it is harrowing to try and get both to behave at once (smiling, looking in the right direction, AND holding still) but it is always worth it since they seem to grow up so fast.

Memorial Day, Mother's Day, and San Antonio 2013

For Memorial Day this year we had a pretty low key day, but still wanted to do something different.  So we setup our inflatable kids pool in the backyard in the morning and let the kids splash around in the sprinklers for a bit.  Then we went over to Sam's house for a BBQ for dinner and enjoyed some good company.  We had a great day!

 For Mother's day Saul really went all out and got me flowers and balloons (which I loved)!

And then this crazy/brave man made me a chocolate pecan pie!  With homemade pie crust.  Which I have never even attempted myself.  But his turned out great!  So he is definitely on the hook from here on out, because homemade tastes a lot better than the refrigerated ones.

 

For the record, I did not get to eat the last piece of this pie.  I was told it mysteriously disappeared one night under suspicious circumstances...

 We also took a long weekend to go to San Antonio in mid-May since I had some vacation days to use up.  Sadly, being hugely pregnant and having 2 children under the age of 4 makes for some difficult circumstances (especially for the Daddy), but we all survived.  Barely.  We went to the Alamo first.  Then stopped by New Braunfels for a huge park that the kids loved -- 5 different playground areas and riding on a train -- and had some German food (Saul's favorite part of the trip).  We drove through to San Marcos for some crazy outlet shopping and then called it good.  There was some swimming and good meals interspersed in there, along with Fred getting a terrible cold that spread to the rest of us over the coming weeks.  Car trips and disease are not a good mix.

Here is Andreas showing us his rock at the Alamo.

 

 And the only pregnancy picture I am allowing for posterity reference only.  And yes, it is extremely uncomfortable to walk around looking like this in 100 degree weather chasing 2 little kids.  Around Andreas's neck are his new binoculars he got at the Alamo gift shop which were the hit of the trip!

Andaverde Visit and Wedding

Saul's parents were able to come to Houston for Rachel's wedding, and stopped by our house for a visit.  The boys really enjoyed having more people to play with and we were excited to get to play host for a little while.  We hope they can come back once the new baby is born too!

I think Andreas took the picture below with Saul's phone -- especially since he caught Abuelo y Abuela in the middle of putting on their shoes.

 Saul was able to go to his niece Rachel's wedding (although he got lost and was a little late) and said it was beautiful.  Congratulations Rachel!

Happy Easter 2013

Fred has gotten a really bad cold, so we weren't sure if we were going to be able to do much this year, but the Easter Bunny still came and left a few things for the kids.  Andreas has been a real trooper as we have had to stay in the house for the most part for the last few days.

 Fred did this pose whenever we tried to take his picture.  I guess this is the popular pose for this year.