March of Dimes Walk

Okay, so today I'm am going to attempt to catch up on all the blog postings I've been meaning to do, so there may be a few.

A few of weeks ago, we participated in the March of Dimes walk here, which was held at Sea World.  Addy and Ethan were both born full term, but I had a few friends who had children born early, and I thought it would be a great way to support them, and all the other moms who have gone through that experience.  

Ethan is such an early bird, that he didn't mind being up and at Sea World by 7:30.  Chris and I weren't quite as awake, and poor Addy just wanted to drink her bottle and pretend she was still sleeping bed.                     

    It was kind of a cloudy, windy day, which I actually didn't mind.  It has already reached the 90's a few days here, so I was glad that the weather was mild and we weren't sweating the whole time.  

We got to see the Longhorns at Sea World for the first time.  Sea World was recently sold by Busch, so they no longer have the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales; they have the "Animal Encounter," with horses and Texas Longhorns.  

At the end of the race, they had some characters from a few of the sponsor companies.  Ethan couldn't wait to jump out of the stroller and take pictures with them.  

Best BBQ Ever

Okay, so one of the best things about living in Texas is the food.  My personal favorite food is Mexican, and BBQ is probably my second favorite food.  Chris' favorite food is BBQ.  So, we were really psyched when we watched "Diners, Drive-in's and Dives" on Food Network and saw them highlight a BBQ place about 30 minutes from here.  We've since been at least 5 times, and it's one of those places that gets better every time we go.  

The last time we went, we got a special treat. There were two people on horses directing the cars where to park and providing "security" for the parking lot.  Now, first let me say, that this BBQ place is out in the middle of no where.  It's at least 4 to 5 miles off of the highway, and you can't see anything except fields and long horns from the place. So I have always felt safe there and never really thought security was needed.  I think it was done more for the fun effect.  Ethan loved the horses.  Addy wasn't scared of them, but wasn't really interested either.  

Snakes Alive...or at least they were....

Since moving to Texas, one of my biggest fears has been that a kiddo or dog would get bitten by a rattlesnake.  It's probably not very common, but I'm ridiculously afraid of that. So, today, after Ethan and I had finished planting all of the veggies and herbs in our new garden, I flipped out when Chris said he saw baby snakes!  He said he was pretty sure they were baby rattle snakes.

He grabbed a shovel to try to kill them.  After hitting one of the snakes several times, the thing kept trying to slither away.  I grabbed a butcher knife  (in hindsight, I realize how ridiculous this sounds!), and attacked the snakes.  I hacked one practically in half, and the resilient little thing kept sticking his tongue out and trying to move.

 

 I snapped a few pics to compare to ones online and make sure they were baby rattlesnakes.  Unfortunately for the snakes, they were only innocent garter snakes, which are actually helpful to gardens.  Now I'm praying that I didn't anger the "garden gods" and this won't be a bad omen for the rest of the season.  In my defense, I really did think they were rattle snakes.  Baby rattle snakes aren't born with the "rattles," so I didn't know how else to distinguish them, and had to make a quick call.  Sorry baby snakes!

As if that weren't bad enough, Chris then used the weed-eater a few minutes later and killed a big frog living under our tree.  It wasn't a good day for wildlife in our backyard!  

Playgroup and a Nap

Last week, I volunteered to host a bubble themed playgroup for one of the mommy groups we joined here in San Antonio.  Of course, it was pouring rain that day!  So at the last minute, I scrambled around and found a few simple crafts and hoped for the best...  It turned out to be a lot of fun and I think both Ethan and Addy had fun meeting new friends.  

   

It rained pretty much every day last week, so when Sunday came around and we saw sunshine, I jumped at the chance to enjoy it.  After church, I packed the kids up in the double jogger (have I mentioned how much I love that thing!) and we went on a walk.  This is what they looked like when we got home. 

                               

                               

It was so sweet how they were holding hands!  It's not often that I see moments like this.  Ethan does love his sister, and I know she loves him too...but quite often I hear him yell out to me "Mom, Addy's spitting at me!" And I'm thinking...she's only 5 months and the sibling rivalry is already starting?  

Ethan's Birthday

Our Ethan turned 3 in March!  I can't believe he's already so old!  Chris came home for the weekend (actually it was less than 36 hours that he was home after all of the driving time).  Ethan was so thrilled to have his daddy back!  We just had a low-scale party at the house with a few of his best friends over.  My mom and youngest brother were also able to be in town for it!  He had so much fun.  

Visiting Pensacola

Okay, the guilt has gotten to me.  For the past two months, every time I picked up the computer I knew I should be updating the blog.  For the past two weeks, I felt like I needed to slink past the computer like a kid avoiding my homework.  So, I have decided to quit being neglectful, update the blog, and make another effort at keeping it updated.  Maybe if I set the goal of blogging once a week, I'll be able to keep it up!  Here's hoping!


Since Chris has been in Pensacola, Florida, the kiddos and I have been out to visit him twice, and both times we've "extended" our stay.  It's so beautiful out here and Ethan and I are soaking up all of the beach time we can.  Don't get me wrong, we love Texas, but we're going through beach-withdrawal out there!

We also went to the Naval Air Museum, which was a lot of fun.  They even had Coast Guard planes and helicopters, which Ethan loved!  

We also checked out the fort on base, Fort Barranacas, which had a great history.  The water battery was built by the Spanish in the 1700's, then the land was taken by the French, then the Spanish again, then the English, then America.  When America got it we built the fort.  This fort was also used during the Civil War by the Union.  

Story Time

So we've found 2 libraries here that put on great story time programs for toddlers. In fact, they are called "Toddler Time." At the last one we went to, they had the kiddos go outside and blow bubbles after the stories and songs. It was great, and fortunately, I had my camera.

One of Ethan's good friends who always goes to story time with us.

After another story time, we found this great park! Ethan had so much fun, and he hung from the monkey bars all by himself for the very first time! Yeah Ethan!

I missed the best shot. He was hanging without his feet on the tire, but by the time I got the camera ready, his feet were back on the tire!

Addy's also been growing up so fast! Here are some recent pics of our cute little girl.

This is the first time she actually grasped a toy all by herself. When you pull on the ring, the lion purrs or makes "meowing" sounds. She kept pulling it over and over, although at 2 1/2 months, it was most likely because she couldn't figure out how to let go.

This is the first time she was in the walker. Even though her feet can't reach the ground yet, she's got such great head control that she can sit in it and loves looking at the brightly colored toys. Ethan, who hasn't played with this toy since he learned to walk nearly 2 years ago, decided that he HAD to play with it again. (Later that day I found him actually sitting in it..wish I'd thought to take a picture then!)

The Alamo

Okay, so Chris is gone for about the next 4 months, so I've decided to take the kiddos out and explore around the area as much as possible to keep away the "I miss daddy" blues. I was born in Texas (Austin), and went to elementary school in a town about an hour away (San Marcos). I remember learning all about the Alamo and the heros that fought there as a kid, so I decided to try to instill that love in Ethan. We went down to the Alamo with a friend who has a little boy that Ethan is friends with. He watched a little video about the Alamo and got to see guns shot by Davy Crocket and knives used by James Bowie. I think he had fun.

The Alamo. Many Texans still believe in their hearts that Texas should still be its own independent country. I'm not kidding! I see bumper stickers everywhere showing the Texas flag with the caption "Secede!" I'm not that fanatical, but I do think Texas has a history that is interesting. I mean where else do you find a group of about 200 poorly supplied men who refuse to surrender and instead decided to take a stance against a well armed army of 6000 soldiers from Mexico? While they didn't win, they did at least hold out for 13 days! Pretty impressive, I think!

Addy wasn't too impressed, but she's still got time!

Ethan and his friend, Austin

In front of the Alamo.

While we were there, we looked across the street and saw the Menger Hotel. It doesn't look like much, but it's got quite a history. Teddy Roosevelt recruited his "Rough Riders" here and Babe Ruth and other famous people have stayed here. It's also supposedly home to the ghost of a rancher who owned The King Ranch, which was about 250 million acres. He died here and (for some reason I don't understand) they still have that bed in the room for guests to stay in! (I don't believe in ghosts, obviously, but it was fun to see a place that had been on TV!)

Wow It's been awhile!

Okay, so it's been pretty crazy lately, and getting on the computer has been ridiculously hard! We are starting to get into a little rhythm though, and while life it busy, it's a lot of fun! Addyson is growing up so quickly. In fact, I swear that time goes by quicker with her than it did when Ethan was a baby. She is such a sweet baby, and Ethan already goes around saying "Addy's my best friend."

I'm not quite sure I'm ready to put Ethan in preschool yet, so we've been doing our own homeschool curriculum for now. (Made up by yours truly!) We've learned about space, and turned a diaper box into a space ship for him to fly to the different planets in.

We also learned about birds, and then made pinecone bird feeders.

Ethan also got his first official haircut (by someone other than mommy)! He's growing up so fast!