The Gutierrez Family

Mysterious Pictures...

2012-02-06T10:12:00.005-06:00

Maggie absolutely loves to get a hold of the camera and go on a picture spree! Sometimes she actually gets some pretty decent shots, other times she is expressing her artistic individuality. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Juice Box:

The dog tail:

The Sister:

UNT visit

2012-02-06T09:51:00.002-06:00

We took the girls on a tour of the UNT Campus. It was a nice warm day. The campus was quiet and there wasn't much happening. We spent a lot of time playing in the fountain by the campus library. Thankfully no one fell in! We also stopped by the One O'clock lounge. The girls climbed and played while Gerson read the latest campus paper. After we were done walking around campus, we took the girls to the square and to Beth Marie's for yummy ice cream! Unfortunately, I neglected to get any pictures of us at the square, boo!

September 2011

2012-02-06T09:27:00.002-06:00

I realized the other day that I had not uploaded pictured from my camera for about 6 or 7 months. After uploading the pictures I found lots of fun pictures and memories that I need to document! Someday I might get the hang of this blog and make it more of a priority! But for now I get to play catch-up!!

In September, we took a long weekend and went up to Grapevine. We thought it would be fun to take the girls to the Rainforest Cafe. There was all kinds of cool Rainforest Animals and fun aquariums! The girls were really enjoying themselves until all the gorillas came to life!!! There started howling and loud music started playing and it really SCARED the girls. Needless to say, we had to rush through our meal and get the girls out of there as fast as we could!

Next stop was Lego Land. There were fun areas for the kids to build different things. An all Princess area with pink legos and castle pieces caught Maggie's attention right away. There was a 4-d movie that Maggie and Gerson enjoyed and a few rides that they got to go on together.

Sophie spent most of her time on the Karaoke Stage and playing in the duplo area.There was a fun climbing playground area with a a STRICT Sock rule, but Sophie wouldn't put socks on so she wasn't able to play on it. She didn't seem to mind too much, she found another slide in the duplo area and was happy as could be! They both keep asking to go back, that is a true sign that they had a great time!

October

2011-11-06T09:20:00.001-06:00

October is always a fun month, but also very busy! This October was no exception!! It is the start of the holiday season!! Here are the highlights from our month!!

With Preschool, comes holiday parties and treats for friends! For Halloween, Maggie and I made some "Halloween S'mores" to pass out to her friends. I wish I could take full credit for this cute treat, but I must admit I found the idea on Pinterest. I love when other people share their creative genius!! The treats were very easy to make and Maggie was a great helper!! I must admit, they were a hit with all the kids and parents!!!

Halloween means pumpkin carving! Boo!! I really do not enjoy carving pumpkins. It is messy, it is time comsuming and it is hard!! I am probably the world's worse pumpkin carver!!! But this year was different!!!! One of my friends gave the girls a "Pumpkin Head" witch set. The sets are made by the Potato Head people and are the easiest, cutest way to decorate a pumpkin with little kids. There are many characters available and look forward to adding to our collection!! The girl were big helpers on this too! Very easy for them to participate and they were so proud of the result!!

Every year around Halloween, IHOP has free scary face pancakes for kids. The pancakes come with candy corn and cookies for the kids to decorate with! And did I mention they are free? We took a family trip to IHOP for breakfast and had a good time. Sophie wasnt really into decorating her pancake, she just wanted to eat all the pieces of candy and cookies!! Maggie was a little more into it and had to concentrate very hard! She was very excited when her scary face pancake was complete!! This will definitely be a Gutierrez Halloween Tradition!!

Finally the month comes to an end and that means Halloween and Trick or Treating. We have the annual "Trunk or Treat" at church and then get to enjoy traveling through the neighborhood knocking on doors. Since we had 2 opportunites to dress up this year, the girls of course could not wear the same costume!!! They enjoyed Halloween so much this year and looked absolutely adorable in ALL of their costumes!!

Trike-a-thon

2011-10-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

Maggie's Preschool hosted a Trike-a-Thon to support St. Jude's Children's hospital. The week leading up to the trike-a-thon, the teachers taught bike safety. Maggie was very upset one evening when we went to the park to ride her bike and her daddy forgot her helmet!!! She takes her bike safety seriously!!! The day of the trike-a-thon, each class had a time slot where the kids were able to ride their bikes around the parking lot. Maggie was little scared and wouldnt ride without help. She made it around 4 times, but then called it quits after that. It was cute to watch all the youngsters zooming around and having fun!

Maggie started PreSchool

2011-10-24T14:50:00.002-05:00

My sweet little Mags got to start Preschool this year. We enrolled her in a private school right down the street from where I work. She goes 3 days a week and is loving it!!! I am so glad that we were able to get her in. Maggie's preschool started a week after the local public schools and that was the longest week ever!!!! She didn't understand why her friends couldn't come over to play, they were all at school (most of them started kindergarten this year). She has already learned so much and really enjoys the time she spends there. We are so blessed that she has this opportunity and it should make the transition to Kindergarten a breeze!

Singing in the rain...

2011-10-24T14:44:00.001-05:00

The drought this summer really made it hard for us to get outside much. The girls absolutely love to be out doors!! We were blessed one September evening with a short spout of rain. It cooled down the temperature and provided a few minutes of good old fashioned fun! And the girls finally got to use their umbrellas for rain instead of as a sun shield!!!

July 2011

2011-10-24T14:35:00.000-05:00

Next Stop Sea World! Can you think of a better place to go during the hottest summer ever? It was great to beable to jump into water whenever things started to get too uncomfortable. Sea World has a neat section just for kids with fun rides and the Sesame Street Characters are all there. While we couldnt convince Sophie to take any pictures, Maggie was thrilled to have her picture taken with Zoe.

We took the kids to the River Walk and enjoyed an evening of Latin Music at the ampitheater. We were able to sneak in a few cute photo opportunities!

For Independence Day we went to the Belton Parade, a tradition we started a few years ago. We made it through the whole parade without melting!. It was too hot to do much of anything so we spent the rest of the day at the city water park!

June: Children's Museum

2011-10-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

As part of our family vacation this summer, we made a trip to the Children's Museum in San Antonio. It was a fun experience and the girls got to explore many things. Their favorite part was the Mini HEB Store. There were kid sized carts, grocery and produce items, and even cash registers to check each other out. We really spent the majority of the time there.

They also got to learn how to milk a cow, a worthy skill to learn. I doubt that they would have been so good if it were actually a live cow!

The museum stop was definitely the best part of the trip

Happy Birthday Sophie!

2011-06-29T08:54:00.010-05:00

My little Sophie turns two years old today. Its hard to believe that my baby is now 2. She is such a joy and I have enjoyed watching her grow the last 2 years. From a sweet little baby...

To an independent 2 year old...

We had a nice family get together and Sophie wanted her friend Owen to come. She had so much fun opening her presents! She loves wearing her sunglasses and keeps asking to take the fish that Mimi & Poppy gave her out of the water.

She seemed a little unsure when we started singing to her,but really enjoyed eating the cupcake!

And of course we cant forget the pinata-that would be like Easter with no eggs or 4th of July with no fireworks!! Always a big HIT!!

It was a fun time and I am glad that the people we love most were able to be there to share it with us.

Old friends and new friends

2011-05-20T20:12:00.004-05:00

When I was in college, I went through roommates pretty quickly. I think I may have been a little difficult to live with at times, but in my defense, there was also lots of fun times as well. I have 2 good friends, who were also my roommates at one time, that I still keep in touch with and am so blessed to still have their friendship. Miranda lives way too far away in Arizona, and Exsa lives up in the Ft Worth area. Miranda and Exsa came to visit in April. It was so nice to get to see them and spend time together.

I finally got to meet Miranda's husband and little boy. Miranda's little boy, Donovan is just about a month older than Maggie. They got along so well and played together so nicely and really were just the cutest little things ever!!

It was a great visit and I look forward to many more to come!!

A new front door

2011-05-20T19:44:00.006-05:00

One of the items on my list for the year was to get a new front door. The door that came with the house was ok, but not really my taste. The wood trim on the outside was all rotten and I was not a fan of the dark wood. Actually I think it was pretty darn ugly! Dont you agree?

I ordered exactly what I wanted- a solid 6 paneled door with 2 full sidelights-nothing over the top fancy, but classic and nice. I really wanted a red door, but was not willing to pay an extra $800 for the door company to paint it. I have a beautiful red color picked out-its just finding the time to get it painted! Yikes that is a challenge! Here is the before again:

Here is the during:

And the after (minus the red paint):

Soccer

2011-05-20T19:14:00.005-05:00

My husband has 2 passions-dancing and soccer. He was thrilled that Maggie finally got to play soccer this year. And was even more thrilled that he got to coach her soccer team. The city had a 5 week long indoor little tikes soccer league for 3 and 4 year olds. I was a little worried that Maggie was going to crush Gerson's dreams when she came to me during the first game and said "Mommy, I dont want to be a soccer player, I want to be a ballerina." Gerson was persistent and Maggie ended up having a really good time. It was so fun and cute to watch! Maggie and "Coach Daddy" are both looking forward to next year!!

Easter Celebrations!

2011-04-25T09:17:00.005-05:00

Easter this year was super fun and super busy!! It all started with an Easter Egg Hunt at my work. I had promised Maggie we could go and she was really looking forward to playing on the new playground that was just put in. There was a ton of kids, so we didnt stay for long, but it was fun and got the weekend rolling.

Friday evening was our church Easter Social. Hamburgers, hotdogs and Easter eggs! Yum yum. My Relief Society activities comitee and I put together Resurrection Eggs, aka 12 Eggs of Easter for all the families in the ward. They are a great way to teach/learn the Easter Story. Unfortunately I didnt get any pictures of them-maybe next year :)

Saturday we went to a friends for brunch and yet another egg hunt!! The girls dont ever seem to get tired of hunting for eggs!!!

Sunday was nice a quiet. We didnt make any plans for a family dinner or anything and I didnt mind too much, espiecially since we have been so busy all weekend. I made the girls some new dresses for Easter and I have to say they sure did turn out super cute!!! I got the girls dressed a little early to try and take some pictures. I got a few good ones, but I am no photographer and they are not very good at listening to me! That's ok cause they sure are adorable!!!

Animarl adventures, part 2

2011-03-17T20:53:00.007-05:00

Waco has a great little zoo that is a short drive away and very reasonably priced. It is 52 acres and has typical zoo animals and then a large section dedicated to Texas native animals and wildlife. Uncle Ryan accompanied us, he said he hasnt been to a zoo in like 15 plus years!! The weather was nice, but I am little red faced this evening (i brought sunscreen, but neglected to put it on!)
Maggie's favorite part was the slide. They have a couple slides and play areas through out the park and Maggie could have stayed there the whole time!!! OF course I only have a sideways shot of Maggie doing her favorite thing! Ugh!

Sophie's favorite thing was the giraffe. She loved watching them and didnt want to leave! They are definately interesting animals!

Sophie got alittle grumpy part way through the zoo, but got over it pretty quickly.

Uncle Ryan was a big help and seemed to enjoy himself.

My favorite part was spending time with my beautiful little girls!!

Animal adventures part 1

2011-03-17T20:30:00.007-05:00

I had the opportunity to take the girls out to a little farm that someone in our church owns and lives at. That particular sister is always bringing farm fresh eggs to church free for people to take. I love it-cause eggs are one of my most favorite foods. Anyway- the girls had such a good time and it was so fun to see them running around and interactin gwith the animals. They were not shy or timid at all!

First we saw the bulls. We werent able to go inside the fence-which was probably pretty smart, but they ran up to us at the fence and the girls enjoyed watching them eat their lunch.

Next we strolled through the field past some donkeys and over to the ponds. There were some fish, frogs and even a turtle but I am not sure if the girls really saw any. They just had fun running around!

Next we visited the goats. There were 2 baby goats that are taking a bottle and the girls got to help feed them their bottles. Maggie did a great job. When the goats got too much milk, they started sneezing and rubbing their noses in the dirt.

Sophie was super excited!!

And then she realized she was out numbered!!

Finally, we saw the chickens. The girls got to feed the chickens some bread and even got to see where they lay their eggs. Their was about 6 eggs in the hen house for the girls to take and carry back to the house. Sister Garcia had plenty of eggs in the house and let us each take home a dozen of eggs!

We had a great time and really appreciate our friends at church opening up their home to help teach my little ones about the farm!!

Snap shots from the month

2011-02-28T09:09:00.007-06:00

I realized this morning that I had faltered when it came to keeping this blog update, not as bad as in the past, but I have got to keep up with my new year's resolutions!! Not much has happened this month. We were all sick for a few weeks and sat around being grumpy and tired.

It had been sooo cold we decided to bring the Little Tikes CUbe in the house so the girls could actually play on something and get their energy out!

We had a snow day! Sophie was not interested in playing outside! She just wanted to be held.

Maggie had a blast and really wanted to build a snowman, but the snow just woulnd't pack enough for even a snowball.

Oscar really seemed to love it too!!

For Valentine's Day we made Kai-lan snuggle pillows and chocloate covered strawberries! Yummy!!

A few days later, we were basking in 80 degree weather and loving the sun. One Sunday before church, the girls were so cute and still clean in their dresses, I just had to take some pictures!!

A new decade!

2011-01-23T21:03:00.015-06:00

I had the opportuninty to celebrate my 30th birthday this weekend! Its funny that I used to think 30 was old!! How silly! 30 is the new 20! My husband took part of Friday off and thanks to an awesome uncle watching the girls, we go to spend some adult time together. We went down to my most favorite store, Ikea. We actually got to spend time walking through the store at a leisurely pace and I got to pick out a light fixture for my kitchen! Yeah!!!

For dinner, one of my friends gave me a gift certificate type thing for an amzaing resturant in Austin, Hudson's on the Bend. The atmosphere was wonderful with mood lighting and modern art displayed (one painting of a tricycle was for sale for $2500.00, incase anyone is interested!). The food was delicious and there was not a child in sight!! Gerson and I had a wonderful time enjoying each others company and had great conversation while feasting on an amazing 3 course meal. It was a great night!

Saturday, I enjoyed some girls time and wnet to a local craft show with a couple of girl friends. We then enjoyed a yummy lunch and some afternoon shopping. It was a fun time and I think it would only have been better if I had gotten a pedicure!!!

While I was celebrating the start of a new decade, I was thinking of the last 10 years and all the accomplishments and memories I have collected. I thought I would share a few of my favorites. I have been extremely blessed with a beautiful family and the opportunity to receive 2 degrees.

I received 2 diplomas from the University of North Texas, my bachelors and my masters degrees. I chose not to attend my hight school graduation, but I sure did go to both of my college graduations!!

I met and married the love of my life, 3 times! I say that jokingly, but its mostly true. February 22, 2008, Gerson and I went to the justice of the peace and were lawfully married. It was just us and Maggie (plus a friend to keep control of maggie and take a few pics) and it was a sweet occasion.

April 19 2008, we had our ring ceremony and reception for our family and friends. It was quite a party with a live mariachi band!

In April 2009, we were sealed together for all eternity in the Dallas Temple.

I gave birth to two beautiful little girls!! They are a joy and a miracle!

Maggie was born December 20 2006, she just celebrated her 4th birthday. She is a beautiful, stubborn, smart little girl-she is a lot like me!!

Sophie was born June 29, 2009 and will be turning 2 soon. She is talking so much and is so sweet-sounds alittle like me too!

I would say those are some pretty amazing accomplishments!! I cant wait to see what the next 10 years hold for me!

Fire Fire! Is my house on fire??

2011-01-10T13:18:00.007-06:00

I was sitting in the living talking on the phone with my sister when I heard a loud horn honking. I looked out the window and saw a fire truck!

My first thought "Did Sophie call 911 again?" and then I remembered I was on the phone. Then I realized, "My brother is a fire fighter and its probably him!" He stopped by to give his neices a personal tour of the fire truck! The only problem? Maggie was too afraid to come outside! Seriously, how many kids get a firemen to come visit them with a firetruck at their house!?! Sophie did let Uncle Scott hold her, but started crying when they got in the truck!

It was a super sweet gesture, not to mention super cool!! and hopefully the next time Uncle Scott stops by in a fire truck, the girls will have more fun!!!

A new addition..

2011-01-10T11:50:00.005-06:00

The last few months I have been wanting to get a dog for my girls, but I had a hard time making a decision. I didnt want a puppy and have to deal with the chewing and messes in the house, but I didnt want an older grumpy dog that wouldnt be good with the kids. In December, I was told that the county animal shleter was going to be closing and they had several animals that needed a good home. The timing just didnt workout for us, between holidays and travleing, I couldn't see us getting a new pet and then leaving it to go on a trip as soon as we got it. Then a friend of my parents had a dog jump in her car while she was loading her groceries in the Wal-mart parking lot. I never called her about the dog and just didnt feel like taking it. So finally Saturday evening, my sister called me and said she had found a dog hiding under her van. She already has two dogs and couldnt keep this one, so I talk my husband into letting my sister bring it over. Now Gerson has never had a dog in his life! and he really didnt want me to get one for us, but with the sad boo-hoo story of a lost dog and an artic front moving in seemed to open his heart just a little. As soon as Becca and Seth showed up with the dog, he latched on to Gerson. We decided on the name Oscar for this sweet daschund.

The girls were very excited when they woke up the next morning and love having the dog around. They seem to be having more fun with his stuff then with him!! They enjoy getting in the kennel and apparently prefer to drink their water from a bowl then a cup!!

We took a trip to Petsmart today so Maggie and Sophie could pich out a collar and leash for him. I saved him from pink and directed Maggie to a cute green collar with brown polka dots! Then of course Maggie saw the sweaters and we had to get one, especially since it is so cold and we have had that cold front move in. Once again, I saved Oscar the embarassment of having to wear pink and we settled on a tasteful red and gray strip sweater.

Oscar is good around the kids and tolerates their unending affection, but I think is has attached himself to Gerson. He follows Gerson, sits next to him on the couch (UGH!!!), tries repeatedly to sleep on our bed next to him, and has been whining ever since he left for work this morning. I think Gerson has become pretty attached to Oscar as well!!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-03T13:46:00.000-06:00

Warning: this is a wordy post with limited and mostly unrelated pictures-forgive me and bear with me!!

Another year has come and gone and it is the time of year to make our resolutions. Every year they tend to be about the same and I think most people have very similar resolutions. I usually resolve to get organized and to get healthier. Both of those are on my list for this year, but I already got a headstart!
I spent most of last week and weekend purging and organzing my house! The upstairs tends to be neglected most of the time. I had BOXES of baby clothes in the attic and the guest bedroom closet was full of my brother's belongings. We were swimming in toys and clutter! I am happy to say that everyting has been reduced and we dropped off bags and boxes of things at goodwill and a big pile a crap was just picked up by our local trash collector. I have a box of baby clothes to give to a family at church and then some clothes to sell on ebay( which I have seperated into lots and picked up some boxes at the post office this morning!)!! Can I tell you how much better I feel and how much more pleasant it is to walk into my kids rooms and not feel like I am walking into an overwhelming mess?!?! Awesome!! I really wish I would have gotten a picture of the mountain of clothes in the floor, but I didnt!

Getting healthier is never fun! As I told my grandpa last week-its sure is a whole lot more fun to get fat then it is to get skinny!!! But I am proud to announce that I am well on my way to a new healthier me! Since the birth of Sophie Lyn I have lost 40 lbs!! Holy Crap! Thats a big number! but the sad part is that I have 30to 35 more to lose to get to my goal weight; however, I do feel good about my progress and am excited about losing the rest. My grandpa gave me a great compliment last week and said I was "starting to look like Leslie again".

Other resolutions include keeping this thing updated. I am going to try to take my mother's perspective and look at this like a journal. Along with this goes the resolution to take more pictures of my beautiful family .I have 2 unpublished posts waiting for me to add pictures-that is my goal this week, but I do resolve to do better and try for a PUBLISHED post per week.

Lastly, my house!

It has come along way and I love our home. But we still have alot to do. I hope to finished the kitchen, entry way (paint and molding), and add much needed curb appeal (new front door, plants, shutters, paint, etc). I have 12 months to get this accomplished-I need to remind myself of that cause otherwise I tend to want to get it all done NOW!

I could go on and on with goals and resolutions, but dont want to get overwhelmed and then not do anything! I wish you all luck and hope for success on your New Year's Resolutions!!!

December

2010-12-10T22:38:00.017-06:00

December is a great month during the best time of year. I love the holiday season, I enjoy cold, blustery days, and I love the twinkle of Christmas lights.
Maggie and Sophie LOVED helping decorate the tree. Thank goodness for shatter proof ornaments! Maggie enjoys turning on the lights and Sophie give the ornaments kisses.

I finished a new advent calendar on November 30-just in time! Maggie LOVES to open the boxes, its always the first thing out of her mouth when she wakes up in the morning, but she has to wait for Sophie to wake up before we open the box. I put either candy or windos clings in the boxes.
In some of them are little cards that have different activities in them. Maggie gets really excited when she sees a little tag. Here are a few pictures of some of the activities from our Holiday celebrations:

Maggie wrote a letter to Santa.(we are just waiting for him to write her back-I really need to get to that!). She said she wants a castle with princesses, new boots, and a radio.

We went to the local Christmas parade. They sure are cute in those hats!! Sophie learned how to say Santa that night.

The girls put out boots for St Nick day (we were actually a day late because I got sick with the stomach bug and didnt have a chance to get to the store to get goodies!, but they didnt seem to notice)

We had our church Christmas Party, which included a visit from Santa. Sophie did not like Santa at all!, if only she knew it was Poppy then maybe she wouldnt have been so upset!!

We got to celebrate Maggie's 4th birthday!! She is so independent and has very distinct opinions! She wanted a Toy Story Party and wanted to invite her friends from church. She said she wanted to play Muscial Chairs and I found a "Pin the Tail on Bulleye" game.

Of course we had the pinata...

And delicious pink cupcakes!

The day after Maggie's party Gerson and I took a trip down to the valley. He wanted me to experience the Pasadas and meet more of his family. The Pasada celebrations were rich in tradition and very much centered on the birth of Christ. It was an enjoyable time!

Christmas Eve we spent at my parents. We tried to get a family photo-easier said then done, but we got a few shots that were decent.

We did out traditional gift exchange and feasted on delicious mexican food! YUMMY MY FAVORITE!! The girls had fun opening their presents and were super excited!

Christmas morning was filled with more excitement and present opening. Maggie got her radio from Santa and Sophie got a bright red wagon.

It was a very full month and we had a great holiday!!

The best birthday present ever!!

2010-11-11T16:37:00.000-06:00

Every year when it gets close to my mom's birthday, my dad always asks us girls what he should get for her. We are usually warned by our mother to let our dad figure it out for himself and to not tell him what he should get, but this year was an exception. Mom told me if dad asked then to tell him she want a "Silhouette" craft machine. It is pretty simliar to the Cricut, but you dont need cartridges and it hooks right up to your computer. So a couple weeks before Mom's birthday I got a phone call from Becca, she was on her other phone with Dad and he wanted to know what to get for mom (surprise). I relayed the request for a silhouette and the next week guess what mom got for her birthday? Today we finally got a chance to get it out and learn how to use it. It is super easy to use and I was able to get these super cute blocks done! I used a 2x4 and 2x6 cut into random heights, painted them and decopodged the cut letters onto them-super easy!! They sit nicely in my kitchen window!!

I know it wasnt MY birthday present, but I still think its the best present ever!!!!

Halloween Weekend!!

2010-11-01T13:44:00.000-05:00

Halloween is a super fun time of year! I remember when I was growing up, my dad loved Halloween and had so much fun decorating the yard and house. He has scary music playing and all kinds of scary decorations. Halloween brings out the kid in everyone! Sophie was a ladybug, Maggie was Jesse from Toy story and G was Woody from Toy story. I wore my trusty cat ears and tail that I have had since college!

We started our Halloween festivities on Thursday night at my friend Laci's house. She did an awesome job with yummy food, fun games for the kids and even a little hay ride!

Saturday night, we had the Halloween Carnival at my church followed by Trunk or Treat. Since I am the activities chairperson, I was consumed with this carnival! I have been working on games, prizes, etc forever!!! Lots of stress came with this activity, expecially since I have 2 little ones and I was in a continuing education course Friday and Saturday from 830 to 430, but the turn out was amazing and I got lots and lots of postive feedback! Mom won best costume in the adult category!

I was amazed at how many people jumped in and helped out when I need them and clean up went super fast!! We were home before 9pm, which is amazing and I am sure all the parents with little one appreciate that it wasnt a late night (espcially with church and 9am the next day!!)Anyhow! It was a great time and the girls were soooo good! We had a photo booth for family pictures. The sister who took the pictures did an amazing job, well she is a professional!

On Sunday night, my sister Becca and my nephew Seth came in for Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. We were going to skip, especially since it was Sunday and Maggie was sick and running a fever since Saturday night, but I called my sister and found out that my nephew was super disapointed. For unforseen reasons, they were not able to make it to the carnival and he really wanted to come in and see the girls and go trick or treating! Of course, free candy can perk up anyone-even a 3 year old with a fever.

We ended our Halloween celebrations on Monday night with a new tradition from the Mexican culture. Gerson taught us about Dia de los Muertos. Mom and dad came over and shared funny stories about loved ones who had already passed on. Gerson shared about his grandfather. He shared that his grandpa had gone blind and they(probably him and his brother) would hide in their grandpa's room to scare him. His grandpa would start swinging his cane around trying to hit them and then they would start singing the pinata song!Boys!! We ended the night with some yummy sweet bread Gerson had picked at the local Mexican market.

It was a long, mostly fun weekend and we cant wait until next year!!!!

Chicken anyone?

2010-10-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, mom and I were on our way to gatesville for one of Seth's footbal games. His game was at 1, so we stopped at Sonic to get the girls some lunch. I turned around to check on Sophie and she had fallen asleep, with a chicken strip in her mouth!! Hilarious!!

My dream job...

2010-10-13T13:37:00.000-05:00

So i was getting pretty good about keeping this thing updated, but as life happens my camera is malfunctioning! I have to admit that an entry is definately more interesting with pictures than without!! I did manage to take a few snapshots with success!!

At the beginning of this month, Gerson and I took to kids to Alvin, Texas for my mother-in-law's birthday. Of course I did not have my camera, but found one picture from our last visit there.

(Like I said, my camera has been malfunctioning. Notice the black edges for the shutter?)

Maggie and Sophie had a blast playing with their cousins and anytime Gerson gets with his mother is a blessing. On the way home, the girls were soo tired they practically slept the whole 3 and a half hours! Heaven!!! Gerson and I got to enjoy eachother and have a nice conversation! That rarely happens without multiple interuptions from the girls! Any way the topic of our "dream jobs" came up. My husband stated he has always wanted to be a sports announcer and a professional dancer. I doubt the dancer will ever happen, not that he's not a good dancer, but he will not be dancing around with girls half my age (and size) and half dressed. The only dance show I could make it on would be "dancing like a dork" and I dont think that show has much appeal to the networks!

I had to think about my dream job for a while, but I finally decided. I would love to be a professional crafter or a party planner ( i am sort of getting to do that as my church activites director)!! Many of my friends think I am creative, but I really just really on other peoples ideas and creativity. Maybe one day I will have enough brain power left over at the end of the day to come up with my own ideas. Here are a few things have done over the past few weeks while waiting for my dream job to become a reality!!!

These two are things that I made last year, but still had to show them off. I love the Trick or Treat block, made from a batch of wooden blocks somebody gave to me!. All I did was glue them together and then paint!

I saw a pumpkin topiary at Hobby lobby and didnt want to pay the price, so I used some left over pumpkins and a small urn pot from my bedroom.

I fell in love with this wreath from an amazing blogger ( http://jonesdesigncompany.comruffle wreath {a tutorial} ). I think the burlap is great for the fall season!

These letters were a knock of my my friend Val! Super cute and easy, plus cheap when the letters are 50% off at HobLob

My girlfriend Laci and I have decided to try to get together weekly to get some crafting time. Last week we made these cute little pumpkins out of toliet paper and paper towle rolls! I want to make more and do something with them, but for now they are sitting in my messy craft room :(

I have also been doing some sewing, but none of those are finished yet!! So stay tuned!!

Happy birthday, Dora!!

2010-08-16T11:47:00.000-05:00

AS many of y ou may know, Maggie loves Dora the Explorer. Last year for Halloween Maggie was Dora and Sophie was Boots. Super Cute, I know!!

Well, apparently it is Dora's birthday!! They made a special birthday movie and of course we had to record and will probably watch it everyday!! But we also had a little birthday part for Dora. We invited my friend Laci and her son over. LAci brought some ballons. which the girls loved! We made pink cupcakes (picked out by Maggie, even though when it was time ti eat them, she didnt like them!). We had party hads and some coloring pages! The kids were so cute! It was a fun little birthday party!

Look what i did...

2010-08-16T08:10:00.000-05:00

So i had a somewhat productive week last week. I feel like those dont happen very often.

First off, I hate wallpaper (have I mentioned this before?) My master bathroom walls were covered in lovely wallpaper-super easy to take down (yeah right) so six month after I started stripping the 2-3 layers of wallpaper, it is all gone and the walls have been freshly painted. Looks much better!! YEAH!!! I refreshed the trim and molding and have lots more projects on my list for that room, but at least something on that massive list is marked off.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

All of my bathrooms have that builders grade mirror in them. Nothing fancy, just a plain mirror. For the half bath downstairs I decided to get some etching cream and put a border around it. I am not wild about it, I feel like it needs something more, but it is a bit of an improvement. Pictures are not the best, but hopefully you can see the frosted band.

I have been wanting to make some dresses for the girls and never quite get anything done. I am starting some this week at my church sewing group. We have a sister who is an AMAZING seamstress and she is taking us through some projects, but I was eager to make something, so I called mom and she came over to help me with a pillowcase dress. They really are simple and easy and within 2 hours we had one finished. Next time shouldnt take near as long, now that i know what I am doing. Mom was great she didnt really do any of the sewing, she explained and taught me and tended to my two crazy children, but I did everything on Sophie's little dress! So cute!!

Lastly, I made a small accomplishment this week. I have exercised everyday!! What? Really. I will walk up to mom's and pick up her for a walk and then jog home (its all down hill on the way home). I get in about 1.5 miles which is an ok start. Mom has been wanting to start walking, hoping that that will increase her strength ad mobility faster, but it has helped me get off my butt too! So yeah! One week down-lots more to go!

A great way to start the weekend...

2010-08-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

(So i had tried to post this blog last friday, but somehow change a setting and could post anything!! I finally figured it out!)

Gerson is always being asked to volunteer his time for community events sponsord by TWC, and being the generous guy that he is, he tends to always says yes. This means that I get to tag along and chase after the children with limited assistance from my busy husband. LAst friday was one of those events (a movie in the park) and I dreaded going. I almost told him to go by himself, but I knew my girls need to get out of the house and run off some energy. When we got there we realized the event was happening at the same park that the splash pad is at so we had to go back home and get the girls bathing suits. The girls really had a good time and playing in the water and sharing popcorn I am glad we went!

In the dark

2010-07-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I have issues with me cell phone. My phone got dropped in a cup of water and quite working. So I pulled out an old one to hold me over till I could get a replacement. The old one is horrible. I get no bars in my house and when I dod talk on it, I have to be on speaker phone or the other person cant hear me very well. So i order a phone off ebay about 2 months ago and appranetly it was being shipped from China, no joke! I have yet to receive that phone and now I have to order another. It really hasnt been that big of a deal because I am home most the time and just rely on the house phone. But starting Monday that house phone was not working, so I thought i would send G an email and have him put a work order in, but guess what?!?! THe internet was down too!! My grandma was giving me a hard time at famly dinner cause my blog background is gone and i need a new post! 3 days later and we are back in business! Life sure is nice nowadays with techniology, how did people survive before cell phones and internet?

paradise

2010-07-12T06:47:00.000-05:00

Gerson and I just returned home from a wonderful vacation to Puerto Rico. We left the girls here at home with Aunt B and mom & dad. It was beautiful and super relaxing! The pictures don't do it justice!! Our room had a balcony and I went out and sunbathed every morning and listened to the waves!

Old San Juan is full of culture and beauty! There are two old forts, lots of statues and monuments, the old city wall and one of the gates is still intact, and lots of color!!!

We did lots of walking!! We rented bikes one day and did alot of riding around seeing awesome sights and feeling the breeze off the ocean. We stopped when we got hot and jumped in the water to cool off. I survived the bike riding with only one close call to being hit by a bunch of cars, but luckily they stopped and let me pass (probably because they saw my husband leaving me behind). Other than that I just had a really sore butt!!! Not used to sitting on a bike all day!!

I was adventurous and ate lots of purto rican and carribean food. It was good, but I could only handle so much deep fried balls of meat! Gerson thoroughly enjoyed every last bit of food on both our plates!!!

While we were there there was a culinary festival going on with lots of food, vendors and music! And the last night we went to a festival celebrating the culture through music, dance and art. We had a great time and enjoyed it all. I wish I could post all the pictures but there is too many!!

The best part of the trip? Getting home to my beautiful girls!!!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

2010-06-28T07:39:00.000-05:00

We celebrate Sophie's birthday this weekend with a fun and exhausting party. Its amazing how quickly this last year has gone by. Family and friends filled the house with laughter and cheer.
Preparations started early with me making the pinata( i swore I wouldnt make another one after Maggie's last birthday, but the things you do for your children!!) and Ms. Mary making the cupcakes and Sophie's cake (decorating cakes is not one of my talents-I leave that to the pros).

The kids all had so much fun running around and playing in the water. The pinata took forever to bust, but it was fun to watch and Sophie even got in a few whacks!

Sophie didnt enjoy her cake as much as i had hoped, but she was pretty exhausted by the time we got around to the cake!

We all had a great time and we are so happy the so many people could joins us and celebrate!! What a joy it has been to see both of by girls grow and blossom. I am so grateful for them and look forward to many more birthdays!!

Beautiful Girls!

2010-06-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to put up a few pictures of my little beauties!! . They are a joy and a blessing and I love being able to watch them grow. I am so thankful I have fun cute stories to tell about my girls and all my stories aren't all about work! I sacrifice about 10 hours a week away from girls, but am thankful its not more!!

Sophie will be 1 in a few weeks and she is just adorable. She has been walking for about a month and is starting to show alittle attitude! She is curious and loves to follow her big sister around. She loves jumping on pillows and anything soft. She loves to eat and loves sitting in chairs and swinging her feet. Gerson and I cant quite decide who she looks like, but I think she might favor me a little more than him!! Wishful thinking?

Maggie is as independent as ever. She is a bossy big sister, but not quite as bad as Ruby from her favorite cartoon Max & Ruby. She loves swimming and playing in water. She turns super brown from just a couple mintues in the sun! She has been asking and begging to go to school, so the hunt is one for a part-time preshcool for the fall. She really enjoys going to her daddy's soccer games and cant wait till its her turn to play.

Progress!!

2010-06-11T11:28:00.000-05:00

The last few months have been spent getting settled in and fixin up our fixer upper!! Before we moved in, my brothers and dad (but mostly scott) laid floor in the 2 living areas and we did ALOT of painting!! We had a hard time trying to fill this big ol' house with what we had so I got to do alittle furniture shopping! The family room is almost done. I am trying to figure out a few more things to put up on the walls and decorative touches, but we are very close to done. I found some fabric that I loved and made the curtains, pillows for the couch and floor cushions for the girls.

FAMILY ROOM BEFORE:

FAMILY ROOM AFTER:

The kitchen started out as partially mint green walls and tiled floor, which didnt really got with the wall color. The tile was nice and already done so we didnt mess with that. My husband has been asking me and asking me for a red room or an orange room. Lucky for him, I found a gallon of valspar paint in lovely orange for 5 bucks!!! We pick white cabinets and butcher block counter tops to go with our "Rustic/mexican" themed kitchen. MY favorite is the farm house sink. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. We still had some trim work and filler pieces to put in, plus lightning and maybe an island. Any suggestions?

KITCHEN BEFORE:

KITCHEN AFTER:

WOW SIX MONTHS?!?!

2010-02-02T10:48:00.000-06:00

SO I am a total slacker when it comes to my blog. It doesnt help that my computer is broke and my husband is super "Bugdet conscious" (thats a nice way a saying cheap). The last six months have flown by!!! I will give a quick update, more details and pictures to follow soon-I promise!!! Both the girls are growing so much! And they are so much fun. Maggie is sassy and wild and Sophie is so mild and easy going. I am back at work for 2 mornings a week. Gerson is still working for Time Warner Cable and loves his job. THe most exciting news is that we bought a house!!! It needs a bit of work and I am sooooooo happy the my brother Scott is around. He has already been so much help!! We all cant wait to have everything done and be moved in!!!

THANKS MOM!!!

2009-07-28T17:41:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to thank my mom for letting us crash at her house the last few days! Saturday afternoon our air conditioner quit working! UGH!!! Talk about hot and uncomfortable! and definately not a place for my girls to be hanging out! So my mom graciously let us come stay with her till we got it fixed. Maggie had a blast and played mimi to death, as well as a Shrek dvd and Dora's Super Babies Dvd! Sophie flashed her first smile and cooed her first coo for mom! lucky!! I was there to see it though, so I guess its ok! Anyway, we our home now and trying to unpacked and organized! But again I just have to say THANKS MOM!

Concert in the park

2009-07-28T17:33:00.001-05:00

Killeen puts on a summer concert series every summer with different music showecased every couple of fridays. Last friday night they had a salsa band playing-so of course we had to go. THe weather was really nice-well it wasnt sweltering! We thought maggie would have a super fun time seeing how she loves music and dancing so much, but the band didnt really interest her (or me!) so she spent the evening running around playing with other kids. Some of the older kids were rolling down a grassy hill and maggie wanted to try to do it. She could quite figure it, so G tried to teach her. She never really got the hang of it, but I think she had a good time trying. And Sophie, of course, spent the whole evening sleeping!

Maggie's baby dolls

2009-07-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

Since Maggie had become a big sister, she has turned into a good helper and has found her motherly tendencies with baby dolls. Previously she was not at all interested in them. She now carries them around, puts them in all of ssophie's things (bouncy seat, swing, bassinet). Today she was asking for a stoller for her baby- lucky for her a local toy store was going out of business earlier this year and a snatched up a bunch of stuff for super cheap and have had them in the closet. Well guess what I bought? A little stroller for Maggie's baby dolls!! She was so excited when i pulled it out for her this afternoon- she has been pushing her babies and stuffed animals around all afternoon!!

BIG Bows and Flowers

2009-07-28T17:15:00.000-05:00

I dont know why, but for some reason I am totally obessed with headbands with big bows and flowers on them for Sophie. I never really put bow and headbands on maggie, not sure why, but i am trying to make sure that I keep palenty of pretties on Sophies little head. I have found a few at a little baby boutique in Temple, but wasnt willing to pay the price of $15 to $20 buck for one headband. So i found some of the crochet headbands (adorable) on line for super cheap! I got 16 different colors for less then the price of one at the boutique! I am trying to get some put together, my first was a bright pink flower with a big pink rhinestone in the middle! There is nothing cuter than a baby with a big ol' flower on her head!!

Awe pictures!

2009-07-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

What else can you say but awe!!!

Jumping and Swimming!

2009-07-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Maggie had turned into a water bug!!! Once I stopped working, we spent everyday in the pool- its just too hot and I was too big to do anything else. Maggie loves the water and everyday is getting more brave and trying new things. She is jumping in from the side with no one catching her and she will do it over and over!! She love to play silly games and her favorite is when Aunt B and Seth come over to swim!

Happy 4th!

2009-07-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July to everyone!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We spent a quiet weekend at home and my family came over in the afternoon for a little bbq and some swimming. Maggie had a blast! She loves to get to play with Seth and everyone in the pool. Ryan had to work, so G got to run the grill today! Luckily we just had hamburgers and hot dogs! We all missed Scott and Ed this year and keep them in our prayers. We hope for their safety and cant wait for them to get home. G made sure we all had our patriotic gear on this year! Maggie actually kept her pony tails in all day!!! Enjoy the pics!

Gerson really did it this time!!

2009-07-06T08:44:00.000-05:00

Gerson took maggie into town with him on Saturday morning to get me s few hours of quiet time. He just said they would probably go to the mall and walk around. When they got home a few hours later, I noticed right away what he had done! He took Maggie and got her ears pierced!!!! He has been asking me since she was born when I was going to do it and I refused- I said I would wait until she asked me and she could take care of them and clean them her self. Well, he just finally did it. So now I get to fight with her 3 times a day for the next six weeks trying to keep her ear from getting infected. Aunt B was very excited, she siad we need to take sophie and do it too! MAggie walks around and points to her ears and says "I hurt", awe! Poor thing! She sure does look cute though!

Introducing Sophie Lyn

2009-07-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

Monday June 29th was a wonderful day. Our little sophie has finally made her way here! The doctor scheduled me to go in Monday to induce Sophie, my blood pressure starting getting alittle high and we had safely made it to our 39th week, I was totally ok with inducing! The process went very quickly. I was checked in and hooked up to the medicine by noon. The doctor came by about 1 and attempted to break my water, but didnt get all the layers (apparetntly there is more the one, i dont really know). The contractions atrating getting pretty strong shortly after that and all we could do was wait. Mom and becca had come and we were all just hanging out waiting. Around 330 the nurse checked my progress and said I was dialated to about a 6,but it was hard to tell for sure because my water still had not broke and was kind of in the way. Everyone was getting hungry and so I sent mom and becca to go get something to eat, G had brought some snakc and lunch with him. About 10 minutes after mom and beeca left, my water broke! I told the nurse and guess what-it was dialated to a 10 and sophie was ready to come. We had to hurry and call mom and becca and the doctor and Sophies was born by 430. She was 7 lbs 12 oz and 18.5inches long. She has lots of dark hair and is a joy! Maggie is dind pretty good with her new role as big sister, but we have lots to work on and need to find our groove/routine. G is home till next tuesday, which is great and i am making sure he stays busy and i get a little time to relax!! Here are a few pictures, I will definately be posting more along the way. The last picture is G as we were driving to the hospital, I think he was a bit nervous, but he played it very cool and did a great job during the while process!! We are so happy and blessed to have our family growing and hope you all get to meet Sophie soon!!

Maggie loves ice cream!!

2009-07-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

So what kid doesnt? I just took a few snaps a maggie enjoying an ice cream cone! It is her absolute new favorite treat!! Isnt she adorable?

CHocolate Cookies!

2009-07-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, we were spending a Sunday afternoon doing nothing! So I told G to get maggie and come to the kitchen and we would make homemade chocolate cookies-it would be maggie's first time!! G kind of looked at me with a wierd expression on his face and walked slowly into the kitchen. As maggie and I are mixing all the ingredients together G just kind of watches and then he starts asking strange questions, like "So what are you doing?" and "Is that good?" (after I have taken a bite of cookie dough) and "How do you make the cookies round?". Well come to find out- G has never made homemade cookies before either!!!! WHAT!! I thought that was crazy!! We didnt take any pictures while we were making the cookies but I got some of Maggie and G enjoying thier first batch of homemade!!!

Sea World

2009-05-30T14:28:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day weekend we had a chance to take maggie to Sea World for the first time! The weather wasnt too hot and we went on the one day when there was no rain! Yay! Maggie seemed to really enjoy herself. Her favorite part was playing in the water, of course, but she liked the shows and loved to to see the dolphins and the peguins. She has told everyone about them!! She was so good and pleasant all day, except at the 4-D Pirate movie-first she broke her 3-d glasses and then we had to get up and leave because she got a little scared and was crying from all the little extras the make it a 4-d show!! Everything said and done, we all enjoyed ourselves and I think G even thought it was pretty cool!!

Look at my garden grow!!!

2009-05-18T21:59:00.000-05:00

I am so excited about the progress of my square foot garden. I went out today to pull of couple of weeds and guess what I found!?!?! I found squash and zuccini!!! There are 2 baby squash , 1 baby zuccini and another zuccini that looks like it is ready to eat!!! It looks better than the ones that I saw at HEB this weekend!!! All my plants are growing so well and I am just super excited, especially considering my track record with plants. I always try, but I havent been super successful! Just thought I would share the most recent progress!!! YAY!!

movie in the park

2009-05-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

This weekend we had a chance to go to a movie in the park that Time Warner Cable was hosting. G and volunteered to help out through work. The weather was pretty pleasant with a nice breeze. We set up a blanket in the park and got to enjoy eachother company. Maggie had such a good time eating popcorn, snocones, and playing with hulahoops. There was also "The Magical Grandpa" who made balloon animals for the kids- maggies didnt last very long, it blew away and popped!!! We were there for several hours, so she didnt quite make it through the whole movie, but we all had a good time! We look forward to the next one and hope some of our friends can join us!!

Temple Trip

2009-05-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

April 25th, Gerson and I were able to go to the Dallas Temple and be sealed together as a family for all time and eternity. What a wonderful day!! My parents were our escorts and assisted us whle we were there. Maggie was a doll and so good during everything! We were able to have a few close friends and members of our ward join us. I am so happy we finally made it and look forward to the road ahead. I am so proud of my husband and all the progress we have both made.

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend has come and past and Maggie is an expert egg hunter. last Monday we did an Easter Story Easter Egg Hunt for our family night and she was so excited when she realized there were actually things inside the egss!!! She had so much fun she kept wanting to hind and find the eggs and carried her easter Basket around all week. Saturday we had our church Easter Hunt in the mornign and went to Mom and Dad's church in the afternoon. She prefers to open the plastic egss as soon as she finds them so we had to keep reminding her to put them in her basket and then we would open them all together at then end. After she fell asleep Saturday night, i Started getting her Easter Basket together from the "Easter Bunny". My poor hunsband was totally confused, apparently there is no easter Bunny in Mexico!! Isnt that sad!!! The easter Bunny never brought him any goodies during his childhood! Maggie was very excited when she saw her basket in the morning! I put way too many bubbles in it, though!! Then on Sunday afternoon we got a phone call from my brother Scott, who is in Iraq!!! YAY!! He was given the evening off and was able to get to a phone and call us. He sounds good andwill hopefully be home this summer sometime. Well thats our Easter in a nutshell!! Hope everyone had a great Easter!!!!

Strawberry Pickin'

2009-04-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

The last 2 Fridays Maggie and I went down to a local pick your own farm to get some strawberries. I first went with a couple of my girlfriends and then Mom, Becca, and Seth joined us this last week. We had fun picking strawberries and I have been slowing making homemade jam, fruit leather, and strawberry pie. I was able to help my friend Laci make her first batch a strawberry jam (without any mom assistance, mine or hers!). We made some delicious jalapeno-strawberry jam! yummy! Any way enjoy the pictures and maybe if you are lucky you may get a taste of the yummy jam!!

Topsey Exotic Wildlife Park!!!

2009-03-30T15:04:00.000-05:00

I am a little late with this post, but better late than never!!! A few weeks ago we all took a family trip to a local exotic wildlife park. We all had a great time (even though mom said i was a big chicken, but at least I rode in the back of the truck-g didnt even get out of the cab of the truck!!!) Maggie thought it was fun to see all the animals and finally fed the camel at the very end! The best part was the crazy camel! He totally tried to get fresh with mom!!! The last picture is the camel trying to get the last of the feed out from between mom's legs!!!! IT was great!!!

My Square Foot Garden

2009-03-30T14:48:00.000-05:00

I decided to try the Square Foot Garedning method this year. I wanted something simple and easy and so far its working out!! I am also leading a gardening group at church and several women are giving it a try. My seeds are starting to sprout and hopefully I will have lots of fruits and veggies soon. I have planted onions, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers,, tomatoes, lettuce, squash, zuccini, cantelope, and watermelon! I will keep updateing with my progress!!!

One year later!!

2009-03-01T16:50:00.000-06:00

G and I just celebrated our one year anniversary!! Wow, what a year!!! This weekend we went down to San Antonio to celebrate. Mom graciously watched Maggie Lyn for us, even though she had been sick and tired all week and Dad was still out of town for work! (THANKS MOM!!!) Friday evening we enjoyed a good dinner and some nice quiet adult time sitting by the river walk talking. We went salsa dancing Friday night (g's favorite) and spent Saturday shopping (my favorite)! San Antonio is our new favorite place to go. There is so much culture and so much to see and do. We had a great time and look forward to many more years together!!

Maggie and Jared!

2009-02-16T07:29:00.001-06:00

Maggie has become obessed with a little boy at church! She loves to play with Jared and every morning she wakes up and says "Wanna go play Jared!!" OVER AND OVER!!!! We went to hang out with Jared and his Aunt Holly on Friday night. Maggie was trying to steal some kisses!! Of course I missed the best picture where they were both giving each other a kiss, but that's okay. Today is Jared's birthday and we are going to his house this evening for a little b-day party! Maggie is super excited! Anyway- Happy birthday Jared!

It's another girl!!!

2009-02-16T07:14:00.001-06:00

Good Morning!!! Many of you already know the exciting news, but I thought I would post it anyway. We had our ultrasound on Friday and found out that we are having another girl!!!! G was right again! We are both super happy and cant wait for little Sophie to get here this summer! The picture on here is of her sweet little face! Enjoy!

Soccer Monster!!!

2009-02-01T19:19:00.000-06:00

Gerson LOVES soccer!!! When he was 6 years old he was riding the buses by himself around town to go play soccer. He played all through school and even coached the North Texas boys soccer team for a couple of years. He is trying to pass his love of soccer onto Maggie. She has her own soccer ball and whenever she kicks it she yells "GOAL!!!" We went to a local high school soccer game this weekend and she had a blast running around kicking her ball. She started yelling "Go boys go!!!". G can't wait till she 4 so he can coach her soccer team!!

Potty Training Gone Bad!!

2009-02-01T19:10:00.000-06:00

We have been trying to get maggie lyn to go pee pee in the potty like a big girl. We have had a few really good days, but they all mean nothing now that maggie had a traumatic experience with the toilet. G and I were working on the kids bedroom painting and moving furniture round. As we were working we heard a loud noise and making starting crying. When we found her she was sitting backwards in the toilet!! Needless to say we have not had and more success with the potty!!

the cutest girl in the whole world!!!!

2008-12-26T19:20:00.000-06:00

Maggie is such a joy in our lives and I just wanted to post some random pictures of her just being cute!! She loves the camera, although she isn't always the most cooperative when it comes to taking pictures. She is just a doll!!! Enjoy the pics!!!

maggie's kitchen set

2008-12-26T19:07:00.000-06:00

When I was young my grandpa made us the coolest kitchen set ever!!! He made a set for each family. Over the years my mother painstakingly moved it from house to house, even across the ocean from Germany!!! She has had it in her storage shed for years. Becca tried to get Seth to play with it, but he is definately a boy!! He was not interested. This summer my mom and I got the kitchen set out and cleaned it up and painted it!! It is super cute. Maggie loves to play with it, she got play food, dishes and pots and pans for her birthday and really enjoys pretending to cook and loves to bring me plates of food!!! I remember how much fun I had with it and look forward to many years of fun for maggie and her siblings!!

Maggie's turned 2!!!!

2008-12-26T18:56:00.000-06:00

Maggie turned 2 years old on the 20th of this month. We had a little party for her at the house and then went to a local bounce house place so they could run off all the energy from the candy and cake. Gerson did all the planning this year and I think he did a great job!!! It gave me a welcomed break which I so needed , especially since I have been so sick. The theme this year was Dora The Explorer - who Maggie absolutely loves!!! She got so many Dora toys-I dont think she quite knows what to do with them all!! Maggies cousins came up from McAllen( otherwise known as mexico town), Seth Aunt B, and all the grandparents, even old poopy and grandma came over. Miss Mary, Maggie's babysitter, made the cake and her famous cookies! maggie wanted a cookie as soon as G walked in the house with then. She reached up on the counter and grabbed what she thought was a cookie, little did she know it was actually the candle for her cake and she didnt not like the taste of the big bite she took. If you look closely you can see a chunk missing from the candle!! Maggie loved singing the "Happy Birthday Song" and had a blast opening her presents!! I think the highlight of the party was the pinata. Maggie's abuelita specialed ordered a Swiper the Fox pinanta from Mexico and it was huge!!!! Even my dad got in on the hitting!!! We had a great visit with Gerson's family and are so thankful they could make it into town. We can hardly believe Maggie is already two!!! She is a joy and a blessing, even though I do call her the crazy child!!!

Christmas Crafts

2008-11-29T15:22:00.000-06:00

My ward Christmas party is coming up on the 5th of December. The theme is Jars of Giving or Jars of Love (cant remember which!), But out activities director has been collecting jars for months. She asked for some volunteers to help make center pieces for the tables out of some of the donated jars. I decided I needed a little extra creative juice, so I loaded up all my jars and craft supplies and went to my mom's house. We made 6 snow globes, a santa head, a christmas tree and a super cute snowman (mine and mom's favorite!) We had a great time and they turned out super cute!!!!

Waco Zoo

2008-11-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

Maggie and I went to the Waco zoo today with my parents! We had gone before when maggie was only about 8 months old and I think she had a much better time on this trip. Maggie was really good and seems to enjoy looking at the animals and she kept her harness on the whole time!!! A new record!!!

Let me try again!!!

2008-11-01T19:16:00.000-05:00

I tried last summer to get a blog going, but as you can see I had very little success. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in my life!! But alas- I am going to try again, per several requests. Maggie Lyn is almost 2 years old now!! She has entered the "Terrible Two" Stage and has more energy than should be allowed. She loves to dance and listen to music and play with bubbles. Maggie also loves spending time with her mimi and poppy and her cousin seth. G is working on Fort Hood doing human resource management for a contract testing company (snooze) and I am still working at Kidz Therapeze, a pediatric outpatient clinic for children needing rehab services. I recently cut my schedule down to 3 days a week so I can be more of a mom and less of a career woman. And now for the exciting news!!! G and I are expecting our second baby!! YAY! Number 2 should be here in July of 2009! I will try my very best to keep every updated and not let another 15 months pass before I make a new post!!!

Water Bug!

2007-08-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

I was worried that Maggie wasnt going to like being in the water. She cried and fussed everytime we got in the big pool. One day, we went to a friend's house (Vanessa and Zander) for a pool party. The kiddos played in a little pool and Maggie loved it!!! I had to go buy a little pool for her and now she has so much fun splashing and playing in the little pool!!