Lunch with Emily

I love cheese!

Juice in my sippy cup.

What is that?

So many things to see!

Hello! It's getting close to Christmas now. Hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday season!

Yesterday Emily and I had lunch at Einstein's Bagels. Emily loves going out to eat because she can look at everyone and everything. I like going out too. It breaks up the day and it's a change of scenery for us. Emily's 20 months today and growing like a weed.

Holiday Happenings

At Manny's in Dallas.

Emily meets Sophie the great dane.

Hello! I should be napping while Emily's napping but I decided to blog a bit. Besides, I keep telling myself that I'll get a break when Jon gets home. Last weekend we had so much fun going to two parties! Woo hoo!

First we went to Mark and Leslie's annual cookie exchange party at their new house in Dallas on Saturday. I'm so grateful they have these get togethers because that's the only way we ever get to see them! This year I brought cranberry cheesecake bars and cranberry white chocolate chip cookies. Yummy! Most people brought cookies from the store but there were some other homemade goodies that we really liked. Emily had a blast playing with the other toddlers. She kept up pretty well by crawling really fast. I hope that by seeing other kids walk, she'll start walking too. Mark and Leslie have a great dane named Sophie and Emily really liked her.

On Sunday afternoon we headed to Manny's Restaurant in Dallas for Ken's retirement party. Jon and I worked with Ken during the 2000 Census so I got to see a lot of people I used to work with. Ken was so surprised when he walked into the place and saw all of us! Everyone loved Emily and she had lots of fun meeting new people. The food was good but I should've ordered a margarita when I had the chance!

I've got one more holiday gathering this Friday at Marianno's in Arlington with some of my friends. And that'll do it for holiday parties until Christmas and New Years.

We Need a Little Christmas

These bows are very pretty mommy!

I took them all out of the box for you!

These lights are tangled.

Hmmm, how do I get them on the tree?

Hello! Our tree is up and has a star for the first time. Emily is fascinated with it and love the lights. We had to put the ornaments up higher so she wouldn't pull on them. Emily also likes to play with bows and ribbon. It's pretty funny how she organizes them and puts them in a bag and then takes them out again.

Happy Thanksgiving

At the table with lots of food and family

Emily, Theresa and Billy having fun.

Jon and Bill.

Emiliy and Will, our chefs!

Best buds and brothers.

Oh my goodness where has the time gone? I just wanted to write about our holiday in Llano, TX. It was so great to see practically all of Jon's family gathered for Thanksgiving and Bill's 75th birthday! Our nephew, Will and his girlfriend, Emily, cooked the meal and it was delicious! So thank you for that! The weather changed on Thanksgiving day and it got cold really fast. Our little Emily had a lot of fun exploring the house and laughing with her grandpa.

I know Bill really liked having everyone around him. Here are some pictures from Llano.

Catching Up

Hi everyone! Gosh, it's been too long since I've blogged but things have been busy. First, I'd like to say that just because I'm a stay at home mom doesn't mean I have loads of free time. Quite the contrary. Emily takes up most of my time. I can barely check my email or Facebook accounts some days.
Well, September was such a busy month not only with trips but Jon and Emily both got sick. Jon had a bad sinus infection and Emily had an ear infection. I was able to stay healthy enough to take care of them. At the end of the month we flew to Corpus Christi. It was Emily's first plane ride and she did great! Jon had a presentation to do so we decided to tag along. It was nice being home again. We didn't do too much which was good. And we did get to see our awesome friends, Mark and Cyndi.
So far in October we've been to the Hall's Pumpkin Farm and took lots of pictures. We also made it Llano to visit Jon's family. And while we were there, it was my turn to get sick. It was about time and hopefully I'll be done with this sinus infection soon.
Emily's still trying to walk on her own but not quite getting it. She can cruise and stand up so I know we're getting close. Emily is quite the talker now. She babbles and makes sweet singing sounds. She loves to hear us sing and she loves to watch Sprout's Sesame Play with Me on television.
The holidays are coming up fast and I want to decorate the house. We're not sure where we'll be this year. I'm thinking we'll be here for Thanksgiving and then we'll travel to Corpus Christi for Christmas. It could all change. I'll post pictures soon. Thanks for checking the blog!

A visit with good friends

Sitting on the table.

Emily tries to get some chips and salsa!

Colin, Jenny and Kelsey.

Hello all! Our good friends, Jenny and Colin, came to Dallas last weekend and we got to have lunch with them. We also got to meet their daughter, Kelsey, who is an absolute sweetheart! Jenny and Colin were so excited to meet Emily and brought her a Fancy Nancy book and a doll. Jenny, Colin and I go way back to our college days at Texas A&M. I also lived with them for a few days when I moved to Dallas in 1998. It was so good talking to them and just catching up on life. We ate at Blue Mesa in Addison and Jenny and I had our frozen blue margaritas!! I really hope we all meet up again soon.

Pictures of Emily

Emily has rediscovered the exersaucer.

I love cheese! "Chiiiizzz!"

This lid's not so bad either.

My sippy cup.

More chhiiizzz please!

Thought I'd post some new pictures! Enjoy!

So what do you do all day?

Hi there! Sometimes I really get annoyed with that question. But it's not like I get that a lot so I guess I'll save my smart response for another time. But in case you are truly interested here's a day-in-the-life of me and Emily.

It's about 7am and I've just woken up and debating whether or not I should get out of bed or just stay there until Emily wakes up. My body feels stiff, especially my back. I've either had a fitful night's sleep or I've slept pretty good for a few hours and just want to stay in bed a little longer. I glance at the baby monitor and see that there's no sound. Now it's 7:30 and I decide I'd better try to wake up by washing my face and putting my contacts in. My back is still stiff and I try to move slowly. I think, "how am I going to pick up Emily with my back so stiff?" I move to the living room and quietly open the window shades and turn on the television. I usually watch The Today Show unless there's a good old movie on AMC. Finally I make it to the kitchen and stare at the coffee maker hoping it will make coffee on its own. Then I grab a bowl of cereal and sit on the sofa to eat.

I hear Emily making sounds in her crib. I'm quite comfy eating my cereal and watching tv on the sofa but I should probably go get Emily changed into a dry diaper. So I finish my cereal really fast and go into Emily's room. She is lying on her mattress with her favorite mint green stuffed puppy in her mouth and there are two big eyes looking at me. She sits up and smiles and then falls back on her mattress. She rolls around and then sits up again and reaches for me. It really is so sweet! After I change her diaper I bring her and her puppy to the living room and place her on the floor while I make her breakfast of oatmeal mixed with fruit. The coffee pot still has not produced a cup of coffee for me so I start it up.

After breakfast I usually do some fast cleaning in the kitchen and then sit down with my cup of coffee in the living room to watch tv and Emily. I'm still wishing I could go back to bed but I know that in a few hours I'll be wide awake. Emily plays with her toys and crawls around a bit and then it's time for her morning bottle of milk. She likes for my to hold her while she drinks and I don't mind that at all. At this point it's probably 8:30 or 9:00 and we are still in our jammies and my hair's a mess.

Depending on what day it is, I try to get ready in my bathroom while Emily plays in our room. Once I'm somewhat presentable I get Emily into her clothes and change her diaper again. Then I make sure the diaper bag has snacks, juice/water, change of clothes, baby food and spoons, diapers and wipes and toys. Plus I pack my wallet and phone and a lipstick since the diaper bag is now my purse!

On Mondays we go to storytime at 10:30 at the Euless library. I park the car and put Emily in her stroller and we go inside the library. After storytime we leave the library and I either go to the Starbucks drive-thru for some real coffee or I get something for lunch and then go home to feed Emily. Once Emily's fed I let her play for about 30 minutes or so. I change her diaper and help her relax for her nap. Now it's noon and she's in her crib trying to get sleepy. This is usually when I eat my lunch and space out in front of the tv. If Emily hasn't fallen asleep by 12:30 or so I go in and check her diaper and give her some milk. This usually works and she falls asleep.

Now it's almost 1:00. I'm not sure what I should do. I try to nap for a few minutes or read a book. I plan dinner and get on the computer. Or I'll pick up Emily's toys. If I'm lucky, Emily will wake up around 3:00. I'll change her diaper and give her something to drink and a snack. We'll play for awhile and then I'll make Jon's lunch and start making dinner. Jon's home by 4:30 and that's dinner time for Emily. Jon eats dinner and then plays with Emily until it's bathtime. During this time I usually eat my dinner, clean her tray and go hide somewhere for some "me" time.

Emily's in the bath by 5:45 and I'm working out in the living room. Once I'm done it's my turn for a shower. Jon plays some more with Emily and now it's almost 7:00pm. We are all watching tv or playing until Emily's snack time at 7:30. By 8:00 Jon and I usually read to Emily in her room while she flips through her books and plays with her stuffed animals. By 8:30 we put her in her crib with music playing and go back to watching tv or talking or whatever. Then I go back into Emily's room and turn off the lights and put her in my lap and give her some milk. This is the time we say our prayers for our family and friends. Finally I put her back in the crib and say goodnight.

Ofcourse things don't always happen this way or at the exact time. Each day and night is different. But we do have a routine. I try to make things fun for Emily and Jon's so great for playing with her and teaching her to catch a ball.

Well, that's all for now. It's naptime for Emily so I'd better go rest or read a book!

Emily's 15 Month Check Up (or Screamfest 2010)

Yes, it's that time again. Time for a visit with our pediatrician. Our ped. is so wonderful but Emily just does not like him. Emily weighs 23 lbs. 6oz and is 32 inches long. She cried and screamed when her ears, eyes and mouth were checked. She did not make it easy for me to hold her while our ped. examined her. And that was before the shots! Poor Emily had a rough morning and so did I! I've never been clawed so much by such a small person.
Emily is doing well so far even though she hasn't walked on her own yet. She is drinking from a cup and trying new foods. Yesterday she tried broccoli and loved it! She is imitating my facial expressions and laughs a lot. Her smiles just warm our hearts. She still loves books and she loves music. I'll post more pictures of her soon. Thanks for checking my blog!!

Lordy Lordy not quite yet 40

Me on my first birthday. Grandma Rivera is holding me while my mom's in front of us.

Oh gosh I'm going to be 39 on Saturday!! How did this happen?? When I was younger I thought 30 was so old. I remember my parents turning 30 and thinking I'll never get to that number. I'm not sure I'm ready for 40 so this year will have to be fabulous. At least Jon and I will hit the big 4-0 together!

Story Idea

Fun with my Pooh towel.

Crawling super fast!

So fresh!

I'm Towel Baby!!

Save the dishes!

So I've been thinking of writing some stories for Emily to read when she gets a little older. I'll call them "The Amazing Adventures of Towel Baby". Emily loves to have towels on her head especially the bath towels with hoods! She laughs and crawls really fast when she's got one on. It's like she's a super hero discovering her super powers. It's really funny to watch!

Llano trip June 25

Hello! Where does the time go? I've been meaning to blog since we got back from Llano but somehow I get pulled in different directions.

We left for Llano early Friday morning and Emily did very well in the car! We stopped a couple of times on the way for a diaper change and to feed her. We decided to go to Llano because Jon's relatives were visiting my inlaws. Bill's sister, Kathy and her husband, Bruce were there along with Bill's other sister, Pat. We hadn't seen them since our wedding!

Emily did very well with everyone. Once we got to the house we unpacked and then headed to Inman's BBQ for some lunch. Our 3 year old great nephew, Kyle, was there so we were entertained. It was so nice to visit with everyone. Jon's sister, Kris, stopped by the house to see Emily too.

Early Saturday morning Jon went fishing in the river and caught several fish while Emily and I slept in and had breakfast. Then we took Emily down to the river. It was a good time to go since it hadn't got really hot yet. Emily enjoyed being in the water. After that we gave her a bath and gave her a snack. Aleta, Kathy and Pat were going to town and invited me to go too. So after I washed up and got dressed, we all headed to downtown Llano for some shopping.

It was fun going to the small shops and seeing lots of cute stuff. We also went into Fuel, the new coffeehouse. I had a java chip frap and a brownie - yum! We sat around and talked for awhile and then Aleta drove us to a new quilt store in the middle of nowhere! It was a very nice store and Pat and I sat and talked while Kathy and Aleta shopped. After that, we headed on over to Miller's Meat Market to get some things for the cookout later that afternoon. When I got back to the house Emily was napping in the master bedroom. We all sat in the kitchen and snacked on chips, salsa, queso, crackers, etc. Plus we had iced wine coolers.

For dinner Aleta grilled burgers and they were good!! For dessert we had apple pie, peach cobbler and ice cream. It was fun hearing stories from Kathy, Bruce and Pat about growing up in Potsdam, NY and about their kids.

Sunday morning we left to go back home. It was a very nice visit.

Fun in the Pool

Happy Summer!

Here are some pictures of Emily in here pink pool. Jon got in with her and she loved it!! We'll have to do that again.

Emily will be 14 months old tomorrow!! Hopefully she'll walk soon. We're still working on that. Most of the mom's in the storytime group said their babies started walking at 14 months so we'll see.

Trip to Corpus Christi, Tx

Hello all! Shhhh...Emily's napping so I have to be quiet while I blog. Last Wednesday we took a road trip to Corpus Christi to see my folks. Emily did well on the trip for the most part but got antsy towards the end. It took us 9 hours to get there! We were so tired from being in the car and it was hot! I think we're going to call this road trip the Whataburger Trail because we literally stopped at a few Whataburgers on the way down and on the way home.

Mom and dad were so happy to see us and Emily. That night was a bit hard for Emily since she had to sleep in her pack-n-play and wasn't used to it. It was rough on me too since she and I shared a room. But eventually we got some sleep.

Thursday morning we all went to the Texas State Aquarium. Emily liked the fish and she even got to see a dophin show! Jon and I left Emily with grandma at the house at lunchtime and went out to North Padre Island by ourselves. We picked up a couple of Subway sandwiches and drinks and had a picnic on the beach. It was much cooler on the beach and the water felt so relaxing. Jon took his fishing reel and caught three fish in the surf!! It was a lot of fun but I was so drained from the trip and not sleeping well the night before. Uncle Ruben and uncle Rudy came by to visit us that afternoon. It was so good to see them and they really liked seeing Emily.

Friday we strolled around La Palmera Mall (a.k.a Padre Staples mall). I could not believe the upgrades that they made! I practically grew up going to this mall almost every week so it was nostalgic to be back. Jon, Emily, grandma and I then had lunch at TGI Fridays before going home to rest. Emily really liked exploring grandma and grandpa's house. She got into everything and follwed grandma around everywhere.

Saturday came and we all went to eat lunch at a place called Laguna Shores (?) out in Four Bluff. It's a casual place that is right on the water. The food was really good too. Afterwards we went home to try to get Emily to nap. Our good friends, Cyndi and Mark, came by to visit and brought Emily her birthday gifts - a stuffed unicorn and a fairy tale book. We talked and talked. I hadn't seen Cyndi in a long time but we talk on the phone and email a lot. Soon it was time for dinner and we had Miller's BBQ - yum!

Sunday we all went to church at St. John the Baptist and then had lunch at Luby's Cafeteria. That afternoon Jon and I went back out to the beach and this time it was crowded! We barely found a place to park. We walked along the beach and got our feet wet. It was amazing to see how many families were out and how many tents they brought. Once we got home and washed up we decided to go out to dinner at La Playa. Jon and I had frozen margaritas with our dinner and we talked about our trip and when we should come back again. On our way home we got a pint of ice cream from Marble Slab to go with the pineapple upside down cake that mom made.

Monday morning we packed everything up and said our goodbyes and we were on the road again. But before we left, we were able to watch my dad on tv playing with the CC Veteran's Band!! He came back from the tv station in time to see us off. Happy Memorial Day!!

I'm so glad we spent a few days in Corpus. A weekend is just too short. I'm hoping we'll be back in the early Fall.

All Things English

Ok, I have to blog about my latest book craze. I've been reading the novels of Philippa Gregory about kings and queens of England and I can't get enough! I am now reading "British History for Dummies" or something like that. I can't remember the title. It's a fast and funny read even though the book is huge. I've always been impressed (or obsessed) with all things English since going to the Texas Renaissance Festival in High School. When my brother was stationed in England and we got to go see him, I was just so excited!! It was a dream becoming a reality. I'll always remember that trip in 2000. And I've become a fan of Showtime's The Tudors. It's really good and really bawdy. I mostly like the settings and costumes. I'm so interested in the royal families. I used to follow the life of Princess Diana until her death in 1997. Now and then I'll read some news about the present royal family but I'd rather read about past kings and queens of England.
I'd like to return to England and spend more time there visiting places like Stone Henge and ancient castles. Oh which reminds me, I've got to see the latest Robin Hood movie that's out now. I really like that literary character and his stories. I think the best Robin Hood movie was the one with Peter Bergin and Uma Thurman. Can't forget Men in Tights either!! "We're men, we're men in tights! Always en guard defending the people's rights."

Mother's Day

Hello! And Happy Mother's Day! I'm a little late blogging about it but here it goes. Jon and Emily and I went to eat lunch at Carraba's Italian Restaurant on Sunday. That's when we discovered that Emily loves bread!! We just gave her a pinch or two of the bread and she wanted more. I had penne pasta with sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and shrimp. It was great!! For dessert I had chocolate cake. Pretty good meal.

My mom came to stay with us for a week since Jon had to go out of town. We had lots of fun going to story time, the mall and other places. Emily slept through the night while mom was here. Woo hoo!!

Emily's Photo Shoot II

Ok, here's a few more shots of our Emily.