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.  

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.  

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!)

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid!

Ethan's new favorite store is Bass Pro Shops. He and Chris love going in and playing the game where you "shoot" the rattle snakes, skunks, bear, and other targets. Personally, I thought he was a little young to learn all about guns, but he and Chris evidently decided otherwise.

For Christmas, they have a special set up where kids can try out nerf crossbows and a laser version of the Red Ryder BB gun. (Gee..nothing says "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men" like kids practicing their shooting skills, huh?)

Dad giving him a few pointers before letting him shoot on his own.

The gun's as big as he is! (Maybe bigger!)

Oops...the arrow wasn't supposed to go that way, was it? (Good thing it's Nerf!)

"I got it, Dad!"

Getting Ready for Christmas

For the past two Christmas seasons, I've wanted to make a gingerbread house with Ethan, but thought he was too young to really be able to do much. This year, though, I decided we were going for it! I totally cheated and bought a kit, rather than make the gingerbread myself. (Hey, I'm lucky if I find time to take a shower by noon everyday, I wasn't going to spend my ten free minutes a day trying to bake gingerbread this year!) It was perfect! Ethan thought it was great fun to stick the candy on the house, although I think he stuck one piece in his mouth for every piece that went on the house.

Trick or Treating at Sea World

This year, Chris has to work on Halloween night, so we decided to take Ethan to Sea World for their Hallowscream events. We went fairly early in the evening, before it got too scary. As it was, Ethan was pretty scared when he saw a skeleton in the coffin in the haunted forest.

Ethan and Daddy in the pumpkin patch part of the Haunted Forest.

Ethan waiting anxiously for Elmo to appear on stage.

Ethan was so wrapped up in the "Countdown to Halloween" Sesame Street play! He talked about it for days afterwards!

Ethan loved the penguins that were dressed up in costume!

They had a fun little undersea themed area where kiddos could blow bubbles and interact with people dressed up as clown fish, frogs, flamingoes, and much more.

The trick-or-treating part was obviously his favorite. Our normally very shy little boy transformed into a scary dinosaur and was running up to everyone in sight and growling at them.

"ROOOAARR!!!"

Decorating Pumpkins

All holidays are so much more fun the older Ethan gets. He's really excited about Halloween this year! We went to Michael's the other day for one of their family activities and he got to decorate a craft pumpkin with Chris and I. I'm not sure who had more fun, Ethan or Chris!

Last year he was pretty scared of the Jack-o-Lantern Chris carved--I still remember the nightmares he had, waking up in the middle of the night because of the "pumpkin." This year he's all into the jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins, but terribly afraid of skeletons and ghosts.

Japanese Tea Gardens

Right across from Brackenridge Park is this awesome little Japanese Tea Garden. Ethan loved seeing all the koi fish in the pond, climbing up the stairs, crossing bridges, and getting sprayed by the waterfall. I'll admit... the waterfall sounded really impressive--60 feet tall--but no waterfalls here can compare to the ones we saw in Hawaii! The gardens were pretty though, and we had a lot of fun! The only confusing part is that when you enter the garden, the entry way says it is the "Chinese Tea Garden," but everywhere inside, it calls itself the Japanese Tea Gardens! Hmm...