Thanksgiving

A wonderful holiday filled with lots of new memories and a lot to be thankful for. God is good.


Just had to include these after the Thanksgiving feast nap photos



O's birthday is on Thanksgiving every six years.

Corpus Christi marina


At home enjoying the fall weather

Caught up!

Finally got around to those posts from when I was computerless...and then some. In case you are interested, here's what you missed: The flower girls, my conference, Halloween, a cooking lesson, random Karina post , swim class, and a school holiday. Whew!

Elena is 6

This is the most emotional birthday of one of my girls thus far. Elena recently had a growth spurt. I was in denial and was still dressing her in size 5T. When I finally admitted that they no longer fit I went shopping and it was then that I realized that Elena had moved up to the "Girls" section. No more shopping in the toddler section with single digits and the letter "T" Her clothing is now in a whole other section with different styles and fashion sense and not to mention a few dollars more ;). How could I possibly have a six year old?

But I am thankful. Elena has filled our lives with joy these last 6 years and she continues to do so everyday. Elena means light and some how the compliments we receive about her are always related to that meaning. Last year her art teacher commented that Elena was a ball of sunshine. This year her Kindergarten teacher said "Es un placer tener a Elena en mi clase; ilumina mi salon. (It is a pleasure having Elena in my class she brightens my room). Elena really does light up our lives. She is happy go lucky and optimistic, always smiling and passing on that contagious laugh.

Some milestones:

Elena can READ!
She pumps on a swing
She skips
She makes her bed
She showers w/o help
She shows empathy
She puts dishes away

That's all I can think of now. I'll post more if I remember. We love you Elena! Happy 6th Birthday!!!

Birthday morning





Lunch and birthday celebration at school

She still amazes me

She sleeps...

after I transfer her to the stroller from the car and while we listen to Sunday mass on the speakers of the outdoor church courtyard. :) I see so plenty of other babies do this but since none of my other babies did, I am still caught by surprise and wonder, will she wake up this time?"

A day with the girls

On this day Elena had the day off so I enjoyed a day with all of my girls together just like the good old days. My moms group had a field trip to Kiddie Acres, a small amusement park that is perfect for their age group. Even Karina took part in one ride! Scroll down to find out what ride she took. Oh, and I must note what a change in personality Marisa takes on with her older sister along. Typically she is slow to warm up to new settings with large groups but with Elena around, she is immediately comfortable. This makes me smile to know they have this close and comfortable relationship.








We ended with a wonderful picnic at the park across our subdivision. Perfect breezy weather and sunny skies under a grove of trees.

When Daddy is away...

and there's not an extra set of arms to hold a sick, clingy baby, the baby joins me while cooking. ;)


I still have soo many posts to catch up on! I've considered not posting them but as I look through the archives I'm so glad to have all these memories. I'll get to it...soon.

Let's cook

I recently hosted a cooking class for my Mami Latina group that was led by a good friend of mine who is a chef. The class was awesome and I learned how to cook simply which is just what I needed. Don't be deceived from the pictures, I'm not really the cook. This was incredibly fun! Gracias Irene!








Even Karina enjoyed the meal!

Abuelos visit

Occasionally my parents come to visit after my Dad's eye appoinments in SA. On this trip they watched the girls so that we could have a date night. We headed downtown to listen to some live music and enjoyed entertainment by Alejandro Escovedo and James McMurtry. It was a fun night for Omar and I and a nice change not to have the "babysitter curfew." We also took advantage of the beautiful weather and gave them a tour of Zilker park via the train.