Big Girl Bed

Emerson has been ready to move to out of the crib and into a big girl bed for some time now, and her father and I recently decided we were ready as well, so we took the plunge and converted her crib into the toddler bed. Emerson had done great, as we knew she would. So far (knock wood) she has stayed in bed at night and sleeps her regular hours. You can see how proud she is of herself in her new bed. While I am happy that Emerson is reaching these milestones, it is hard to admit that my baby isn't a baby any longer. She is blossoming into a beautiful little girl.

Chef

Emerson loves to help me cook, specifically she loves to stir. She closely watches me and then copies my movements. I love to cook and am so happy that Emerson is showing the early signs of wanting to cook as well. I hope it leads to many yummy meals prepared by her while I "supervise"!

Take your daughter to work day.....

Emerson loves to be outside. Especially if she gets to do yard work with her Dad. She has her own set of garden tools and is pretty good at pulling weeds. Maybe we should hire her out??

Lucky 13

On August 3, Ricardo and I celebrated 13 years of marriage!!! Where did 13 years go? I still remember everything about our wedding day, as well as the agony of planning it :)
This year, we celebrated by going to have dinner at Chama Gaucha, the local Brazilian steak house. If you have never been to this type of restaurant, go hungry. I was so full that I couldn't finish dessert. Those of you that know me know that is the rare occasion that I can't finish dessert, so it gives you an idea of how much food they bring to the table. We had a great night!
Happy Anniversary Dood!

Jailhouse Visit

In addition to our indoor kitty Monique, we shelter a few "outdoor kitties". On the other side of the window is BWB - black and white bachelor. He's been around the back yard since he was BWK -black and white kitten, and he resembled Monique's long lost love child. We think his previous parents left him behind when the house behind us was foreclosed on. He likes to hang out on top of the patio furniture watching the goings on of the house. Occasionally, Monique visits him. What a good mother :)

Happy Birthday Alex!

Last weekend, we celebrated Alex's 3rd birthday! It's hard to believe that this little boy is now 3...where has the time gone? Alex just get handsomer and handsomer every time I see him. And he's a great kisser.

The theme for Alex's birthday party this year was "Pirates & Princesses". All the kids were able to decorate their own hat, either a pirate hat or princess crown. Here is Emerson in her crown that she decorated all by herself. She had just as much fun pulling everything off the crown later that night than she did sticking it all on.

Alex and Benjamin in the "Pirate Ship". This was Alex's new play structure that he got for his birthday.

Look at how tall this girl is getting! She could reach the blue bars by herself.

Alex had a cool toy that Emerson was just fascinated with. It was a water-globe from Dave & Buster's that had fish in it. The fish would swim around when it was turned on. And we all know about Emerson and her love of fish.............

The best part of any birthday party! Alex had a very cool pirate ship cake that was delicious. Emerson really enjoyed it. Thank you Alex (and Amy and James) for letting us share your special day with you. We love you and look forward to many more years of friendship!

Grandma's New Pool

Rico's mom got a new above ground pool recently and we were lucky enough to be invited over to swim. Emerson LOVES the new pool and had fun floating around in the new pool toys her grandma and grandpa bought her. It was her mother that made her wear the life vest, which she hates.

After her dad was able to get into the pool, we ditched the life vest and had a great time swimming. Between swims, we ate wonderful grilled burgers prepared by Grandpa. With our record drought and south Texas heat, the new pool is awesome and we plan to use it a lot!