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.

Hanging around at the Zoo and Playground

We have been enjoying some good weather in Houston for the past few weeks, so we have been able to go to the zoo and have a few outings at the playground.  The boys love running around and exploring everywhere they go.  Fred especially loves the slide.

  Andreas has also been picking up some interesting habits.  His favorites are to say things like "Are you kidding me?", "This is ridiculous!", and "I can't want to ....".  We are hoping he outgrows these quickly.  However, he also has a very jolly "Suuurrreee!" (sounds like shooooore) and says "I love you!  I missed you!" when I come home from work, so hopefully he doesn't outgrow those quickly.

  Fred is not talking very much yet, but he does say Meeska Mouska (from the mickey mouse clubhouse show -- his favorite), No, and Night Night.  He likes to make noises, just not English ones.  But he is so sweet.  He will be running around the room, but if you open your arms he will pause long enough to come and snuggle with you for exactly 30 seconds before resuming his run around.  The funny thing is he will do this repeatedly if you open your arms, so he is very accommodating to his Mommy!  My next big plan is to teach him like I did Andreas at his age -- to bring Mommy's medicine (Tums).  It saves me a lot of trips and tires them out faster!

  Our little girl is kicking and active and everything seems to be going fine, so we will keep our fingers crossed!

Saul is going to have to learn to fix hair....

Our big surprise today is that Andaverde baby #3 is a little girl. We asked the ultrasound lady if she was sure, and she started pointing out all of the body parts. We are so excited, but we know this will be a big change. Fixing hair, buying dresses, and dolls?!? This is going to take some getting used to!

Fred turns the big ONE

Fred turned one on Saturday, so to celebrate we went down to Galveston and spent some time at the beach. It was still quite hot and the water was warmer than bath water and did not provide much relief. Fred crawled around chasing birds. He has been walking around for a few weeks and had his first steps about two months ago, but he still has more speed with his crawl.
By the time we got home both of the boys were tired zombies, but that did not keep us from having our homemade tres leches cake! Sam, Trent, and Zoe came over (Tiffany was sick) and helped us celebrate.
Overall it was a glorious day to celebrate our glorious boy Fred! He is almost always in a good mood and so inquisitive at this stage.