Turtle Tuesday

Will, Matt, Cole and Reid taking a walk on the beach Thanksgiving weekend.

Reid, flying at the beach.

Mike, Pops and Daddy caught 8 Flounder fish!

Will and Reid at their little dinner table at the beach house.

Ready for Christmas!

Cole's 5th Christmas tree. Reid's 3rd... The most perfect Christmas' since God sent us our boys.



Turtle Thanksgiving

Turkey day is here! We are spending Thanksgiving night at my mom and dad's. Since we're not Pilgrims, I asked that we make something that is non-traditional for dinner. :) Instead of having turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes (same stuff every year), we are having pork tenderloin, homemade mashed potatoes, salad and dessert. Friday, we'll head to Galveston around noon to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at a beach house with my in-laws, Mike, Tara and their boys. The kids are going to have a blast hanging out with their 2 cousins. They'll get 3 days of running around on the beach and slumber parties. I'm looking forward to relaxing and getting to see/hear the ocean (even if it's just Galveston). :)
My Reid has become a back seat driver. He demands that we stop if he sees a stop sign (way before we actually are suppossed to stop). If the light turns green, he says “go mommy/daddy”. If we are going somewhere that he is familiar with the drive (lately it seems like he knows how to get everywhere), he’ll demand when we should turn. If we take a different route, he yells “Mommy, you missed it! Go that way”. He tells us when he sees different places (hospital, Home Depot, Chuckee Cheese, Target, ITZ… you name it- he calls it out). He is constantly telling us what to do or narrating what we do in the back seat. So funny but there are times that Joe wants to put a muzzle on his face! Haha! It hasn't even been 2 months since he got his tubes and his vocabulary has tripled. Still, my sweet boy continues to be timid and quiet when he's in public. When he feels 100% comfortable (usually when it's the 4 of us at home), he is so different. He is talkative, assertive, stubborn, out spoken and tries to bully Cole around. :) It concerns me at times because I want him to be confident and I don't see that when we're in public. His teachers think I'm crazy when I bring up my concerns, so I'll let it go. For now... haha! :)

Being very silly, early in the morning!

Cole knows 35 site words as soon as he sees them on the flashcards. He is so proud of this accomplishment and so are we! He knows his home address, and continues to learn the states. Lately, his Spanish vocabulary is expanding but not because of me or my mom and dad. Every Tuesday and Thursday, he has 1 hour of Spanish at school and he is learning so much! His interest in the language has sparked because he is constantly asking me how to say something in Spanish. I think he is secretly preparing for Mamina's visit! We are so excited because my God Mother and my aunt will be visiting us from Peru next week. My uncle, aunt and cousin will be visiting at the same time from Miami. It will be nice to play with them for a couple of days!

A little less silly.

I got a call from the school Director yesterday. Ms Marlene told me that Cole was sitting in her office because he had a headache. She was laughing because before she could say anything, Cole told her “the right thing to do would be to call my Mommy”. When I talked to him he sounded happy as can be and said “can you call Papi and tell him that I have a headache? Maybe he can pick me up early today?”.

Our Elf hiding on one of our shelves.

Shadow (our friendly Elf on the Shelf) has arrived. He arrived a little early this year and the kids are LOVING searching for him every morning. Joe and I are enjoying finding new hiding spots for Shadow, but I'm sure in a couple of weeks we'll be nice and tired of it. :)
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have MANY things to be thankful for!

2 Weeks

Has it really been 2 weeks since I last posted something? All of a sudden, we are busier than ever. I'm working crazy hours but it shouldn't last long since I just hired 2 employees. We've had tons going on and we are preparing for the festivities of the season. I love Christmas and we are ready. Sort of. :) The holiday spirit is definitely amoung us, but still have tons of shopping to do. I will update longer soon, but wanted to update on some great news!
My dad had his nuclear stress test last Wednesday. The next day, I went with my mom and dad to see the doctor for the results. The doctor told us that he passed his stress test and although the blood flow to a part of his heart is "not good enough", it doesn't warrant bypass surgery right now. YEY!!!!!!!!!! He adjusted his medications, asked him to eat healthy and exercise lightly (continue golfing, start walking or biking). He did tell my dad that if it were up to him, he would prefer that he didn't play soccer or only play as a goalie. Most of you know that my dad is an avid soccer player. He loves the sport and has played a game every Sunday for as long as I can remember. So, this past Sunday my dad played soccer................................ :s He said he's being extremely careful and he even played goalie during the 2nd half (he partly listened to his doctor). :) We just have to trust that my dad is being careful and that he won't over exert himself. We are SO happy and relieved with the news!

Court House Wedding Anniversary

This is what met my windshield when I pulled into the garage today. Joe hung this on the tennis ball that helps me park my car. Joe and I got married at the court house in Austin days before we flew to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for our ceremony on the beach. We consider November 15th (day of the beach ceremony) our Anniversary- not the court house ceremony. I'm not sure how he remembered this date (I definitely didn't), but it made my heart smile. We are celebrating 7 years of marriage and I continue to feel like a lucky girl. The first time I saw him, I just wanted "one date with the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen in person". I got the date (and a couple more), I realized he was 'the one', I married him on a beach the way I'd always dreamed of and he gave me 2 beautiful sons.  We've been together for almost 10 years and he still makes efforts to show me his love the way he did when we first met. His homemade ones are my favorite! He's still my best friend and he still makes me so happy...98% of the time.        :-)
We are celebrating low key by going to Austin for 2 nights this weekend. Friday, Joe and I will go to dinner and stay in a hotel. Saturday, we'll head to my alma mater to tailgate and watch the UT / OSU game with friends. 
Let's hope the Longhorns step it up a little this weekend!

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeen.

Cole went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch last Wednesday. How did we get to where my big baby boy is now able to go on field trips and ride in a bus with his entire pre-k class? Funny because he told me ALL about it (every bit of detail) and an hour or so later, he said “the pumpkin patch was verrrrryy far Mommy. I fell asleep on the way back”. I thought to myself “I can’t imagine that 10-15 minutes would feel far to a 4 year old, but ok?” I was assuming he went to the pumpkin patch by our house (10 minutes from school). The next day, I found out the field trip was to “7 Acre Wood” in Conroe. NO WONDER!? It was easily a 40 minute bus ride! Last week I had to sign a report because a girl kissed Cole. Miss Lynn said she had been chasing him during recess but wasn’t able to land one until right before naps. She also said that he wiped his face and may be entering the “cootie” stage. Already?
Cole’s last soccer game was Saturday. Oh and he had a goal last weekend. I was pretty much “that mom” cheerumping up and down and yelling!

We had Reid’s post surgery appointment and hearing test today at 8:30am. So, I took the day off, took the boys with my dad to the appointment and then we headed to the Houston Zoo. We also stopped for lunch at my new favorite restaurant, Latin Bites. It was supposed to rain, but we saw nothing  but sunshine! The Audiologist told me that his hearing has improved drastically. He said, "when we tested a month ago, his hearing was well below the normal range. Today, it is on the high end of the normal range". He also had a talk with Reid and told him that now Mommy has evidence that he can hear everything mommy says and told him that ignoring won't work. :)
The animals were out and about at the zoo. The kids had a blast seeing the elephants and so did I. There was a baby elephant about the size of Cole and Reid put together. Super cute! They were blowing their trumpets, moving logs and banging on a steel door.

Silly boys. Reid is trying to show me his tonsils.

Baby elephant. It doesn't look small but it was tiny.

Halloween was a blast. Cole was Iron Man and Reid was Spiderman. Kind of boring, but that's what they wanted to be more than anything else.  We had a Halloween party last Sautrday and the kids had fun! Sunday, my Mom and Dad met us at our house (brought them Halloween toys) and we Trick or Treated on the way to Mike and Tara's. Once we got there, the 4 cousins had fun Trick or Treating together. For the older ones, it's been a 4 year tradition. For the little ones, a 2 year tradition and I think they love it! We trick or treated for about an hour. Tara and I were wondering how much longer the short trick or treat trips would last. I'm sure when they are 7-8, they'll want to do it for hours!

Spiderman and Iron Man.

Super Hero Granparents. Where are your costumes? :)

The prettiest girls in the world! :)

I love this picutre of Coop's sweet face!

The "Super Hero Squad". The cousins Trick or Treating on Halloween!



The one that looks like Adolf Hitler is a product of Cole's artistic interpretation of pumpkins.

 

By far, the cutest picture we've ever taken of the kids. They have all been friends since birth and will continue to be friends forever. :)