Christmas

We celebrated Christmas in Albuquerque this year. A few of the highlights:

1) Getting to go see the llamas, sheep, horses, and cows near Grandma & Grandpa's house. My parents live in a zoo!.....and Daniel loves it!

2) Riding a 4-wheeler for the first time down the ditch bank with Grandpa. I'm not sure who loved this more - Daniel or Grandpa.

3) Bella & Miley - my brother's two dogs. Daniel loved chasing them all over the yard.

4) Santa Claus brought a tricycle. I thought that Daniel would go a little berserk when he saw it, but instead he stood there, looking really nervous. I'm not sure what was going on in his head, but he stood about 8 feet away and twisted around for a little bit, not really sure what to do. We finally convinced him to go near it, and he played with the tassles for a bit. When he realized there was a bell, we'd won him over. He hopped on and loved it! He's already learned how to pedal it by himself.

5) Santa Claus also filled his stocking. He got a set of "dirt diggers", play-doh, truck stickers, a paint book, two fruit rolls, a chocolate Santa Claus, and pecans. He loved the chocolate Santa Claus, and we couldn't convince him to slow down on it. He ate more chocolate that morning than he's probably eaten in his entire life. He was pretty stoked about the pecans when they came tumbling out of the stocking too. If you're not aware, this child loves him some pecans! He likes to have David crack them open, and he'll do almost anything for them.

6) Daniel got to make the traditional coffee cakes with Grandma this year. He loved putting his hands in the flour and did a good job kneading the dough. He also really liked eating the coffee cakes when they were done!

7) My parents always do a nice dinner on Christmas Eve. When we were little it used to be shrimp and steak - "cow steak" to be exact. (We were used to eating deer steak all the time, so cow steak was a big deal!) They've gone a little fancier lately, and Daniel enjoyed his first surf 'n' turf meal of lobster and steak this year. I guess he doesn't realize lobster is a special meal because he asked if I was cooking that for dinner earlier today!

8) Grandpa's popcorn. Grandpa received white cheddar and green chile popcorn for Christmas. I think Daniel ate 1/3 of the bucket. Grandpa let him have some for the car ride home, and we couldn't even make it out of the driveway before he was begging to eat it.

9) Time with Uncle Brian (the one with hair), Aunt Heather, Uncle Josh, Aunt Pam, and Bryson. Since he doesn't get to see that side of the family as much, it's always special. He spent some time taking Bryson's pacifier out of his mouth and then sticking it back in. He seemed fascinated by this! Luckily he didn't lick Bryson this time. When we were visiting them in Roswell, he went to give him a kiss, and when he came up, Bryson's forehead was all wet. Daniel said, "I licked him a little bit" as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Strange kid!

Here's a pic of Grandpa with the two grandsons, followed by a pic of the cutest nephew in the world!

10) I almost forgot the tractor ride! The neighbor brought his tractor over and took Daniel and David for a ride around the block.

11) Gifts from everyone other than Santa included a remote control car, a boat for the tub, and a little piano.

Was this child spoiled or what?

Carol of Lights

We took Daniel to his first Carol of Lights this year. There was really nice weather that Friday, so it was perfect! He got a little tired waiting for the event to begin, but as soon as the speakers started blasting Manheim Steamroller, he shot his hands up in the air with his Texas Tech guns. He was a little mixed up about whether this was a Christmas celebration or a Texas Tech game I think. Anyway, he looked pretty cute with his guns up in the air! He didn't say much, but looked in awe as the Saddle Tramps came by with their flames and especially when he saw Raider Red, Santa Claus, and the Masked Rider! He seemed to like the Christmas carols, but he did ask me if they were going to play the Itsy Bitsy Spider too! Now every time we hear a carol that was played there, he says, "They're playing Texas Tech music!"

After the ceremony David and I were planning to go out with a few friends and Abuela and Abuelo were going to take Daniel home. They had told him that they would drive by the big Christmas tree on their way home so that he could see it. Well, the traffic was bad on that part of campus, so they just decided to go straight home. They were halfway to their house when Daniel said, "Are we going to pass that big Christmas tree yet?" They got caught trying to sneak home without going to the tree! Abuela taught Daniel to say, "No me hagas pato, Abuelo!" which means, "You can't fool me, Abuelo!" They turned around, fought their way through traffic, and actually got out to take pics by the Christmas tree!

South Dakota

Because our trip to Chihuahua went fairly well and because plane tickets to South Dakota are ridiculously expensive, we decided to drive to my cousin's wedding in Chamberlain, SD, in November. That trip was about 1000 miles each way. Daniel added Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota to the list of states he's visited! We stayed in 5 different places in 6 nights! Daniel would ask things like, "Where are we going to sleep tonight?" and "Does Nebraska have beds?" The first night was in Oklahoma, and on our way in to the city, he said, "I'm not really sure if Oklahoma has toys." Always sweatin' the big stuff!

Daniel did pretty well on the drive. I spent almost the whole time in the back seat with him while David drove. Abuelo & Abuela gave him an early Christmas gift - a VTech mobigo - that helped a lot to keep him busy for at least a little bit of the trip. We also spent a lot of time reading books, looking for letters on signs, and singing. Don't get me wrong - Daniel didn't love being in the car for that long. He kept pointing out the window and saying, "Is that out there South Dakota?" He asked fairly frequently while we were driving through Kansas, and we kept saying, "No, baby, that's Kansas." Finally he yelled, "I don't like Kansas!"

He was also kind of confused about how everything worked in the car. I had packed dinner and lunch for us the first day. When it was dinner time, I told Daniel that we were going to eat dinner in the car. He thought about it a minute and then asked, "Did we pack a microwave?" Later when I was peeling an orange for him, he looked at all the orange peels and said, "Did we pack a trash can?" Though it seemed like we had packed half of our house, we actually hadn't brought those few things!

Daniel got to meet Grandma Fox and many of our other relatives from that side of the family for the first time on this trip. He had been looking forward to meeting Grandma Fox, but that may have been because he thought she was actually a fox! She enjoyed coloring with him and sharing blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

It was insanely cold while we were in SD - as in 2 degrees with a wind chill of -15 degrees, as in Daniel would literally scream every time we walked outside. So we spent most of our time indoors. Daniel liked chasing Grandma and Aunt Darcie up and down the stairs and through the halls at the hotel as they exercised. He also liked playing by the pheasants in the lobby. He got to see his first live pheasant at Grandma Fox's house!

The only major meltdown was during lunch one day at the hotel. I judged his sleep schedule incorrectly, making him stay up later than he should have, and he ended up throwing a pretty good-sized fit in front of my family as I carried him upstairs. So fun! I think that's about the time Grandma Fox stopped saying that he was so "well-behaved." Ha!

The wedding was also fun. There were two highlights for Daniel - getting M&Ms aka 'those pink things' from Grandpa and eating a cupcake. He went a little crazy for those sweets...

We were so happy we got to see our family and hope we get to do it again soon!

Chihuahua

We went to Chihuahua in October for the wedding of David's cousin, Marisa. Daniel and I hadn't actually been to Mexico since he was 6 weeks old, so the trip was due! It's about a 9-10 hour trip, so thankfully, my mother-in-law rode with us most of the way. She brought Abuelo's iPhone with puzzle apps and some other cool road trip stuff to make our trip less crazy.

We got to spend some time with his visa-abuela, which was a really nice blessing for David and I (and I would imagine my mother-in-law, as well). I don't know that Ela or Daniel will remember the trip, but I will. He always gets a little freaked out with new people, and it was even harder in Mexico since he doesn't understand Spanish as well as English, but he did okay with Ela. Though he didn't want to sit on her lap or anything, he would point to her and whisper, "That's Ela" to me every time we saw her.

There are usually 50-60 people at our family gatherings in Mexico, so Daniel was probably a little overwhelmed. It was nice to have some quieter time with David's aunt and uncle (Paty y Victor) with whom we stayed. Paty repeated "Paty beautiful" over and over to Daniel to see if he would call her that! Unfortunately, Daniel kept calling her "Ela" (Paty's mother!) Oops! He also got to spend some time with his second cousins, Sofi and Roberto. It was funny to see them play together. A couple times, Roberto asked, "Porque hablas ingles?" (Why are you speaking English?) And Daniel would look at me and say, "He's speaking Spanish!"

Daniel had quite an adventure with Roberto when they took off in the little battery-operated car around the block. He was having a good time and was pretty impressed with Roberto's driving (he kept staring at him, like, "Are you seriously driving us around???").....until they crashed into a tree. Apparently Roberto's not a very good driver yet! Daniel refused to get back into the car, and now when he tells the story, he says, "Roberto CRASHED into a tree, and Daniel cried, 'I want my Mommy!'"

The ride back to Abilene was not so easy since Daniel was pretty worn out from the traveling. Even with Abuela helping in the backseat, he threw a pretty good fit at nap time. Despite that, we hope to go back soon. It's always nice to spend time with family! I'll try to add pics at some point......no promises as to when that might be!

Daniel with Ela, Roberto, & Sofi (the great-grandkids)

Ela's grandkids and great-grandkids

Posting Procrastination

So I need to post pics and stories from our trips to Chihuahua (in October!), South Dakota, and Roswell, but our pictures are a mess. David and I are not good about taking pictures, downloading them, and storing them where they should go. We take occasional pics, but we never know which camera they're on, and we never, ever remember to download them. And I just didn't want to post the stories without the pics because, let's face it, the pics are the best part! So I've been neglecting the blog. I've finally decided that I should just write some of the highlights from our trips down before I completely forget them, and I'll try to go through later and fill them in with pictures. Here goes.....

My Little Turkey

I picked up Daniel from the sitter's the other day, and he was wearing this hat. Too cute not to share! Happy Thanksgiving!

Football Player

The week after going to the Tech game, Daniel was ready to play football. He came out of his room with a winter mitten on one hand and while holding another, asked me, "Mommy, could you help me put this glove on?" I put it on his other hand, and he said, "Now I'm like a football player!" He started running around the room, then paused and said, "Mommy, where's my helmet?" Well, we don't have a football helmet, but we do have a gladiator helmet, so we pulled that out of the closet, along with his football. He ran all over the living room in that gear. He would throw the football up and then fall on the ground "like a football player!"

TTU vs Baylor

We went to the Tech v Baylor game in October with David's family. This was Daniel's first football game! I was surprised that he made it through the whole first half without having to leave his seat. We stayed and watched the bands at half-time and then spent the rest of the game walking around and enjoying his first lemonade icee.

We had really good seats (thanks, Uncle Brian!) for all the front-row action. He loved seeing Raider Red and the Masked Rider. He was really good about putting his guns up and saying, "Go Texas Tech!" He also liked the huge TECH flags that they waved, and he made his own with a blanket and stick when he got home the next week. We even made it on national TV! That's what you get when you're in the front row and you've got a cute kid!

The game was at the state fairgrounds, so we also got to enjoy the petting zoo and a little farm they had set up for toddlers/preschoolers. The petting zoo was really cool - they had goats, cows, a giraffe, ostriches, kangaroos, zebras, all sorts of things you wouldn't normally find in a petting zoo! Daniel seemed to like the goats the best.

The farm was really cool too. He got to put on a little apron and take his basket around to work on the farm (collecting peaches, eggs, wool, etc., planting crops, milking a cow, and even driving a tractor)! At the end, he sold all of his goods to a "farmer's market" and earned a "dollar" that he used in the store to buy peanut butter crackers. This might have been the highlight of the trip!

Pumpkin Patch

I'm going to try and update some of the pics from October - oops! Here is our trip to the pumpkin patch with the Calvo's. Daniel and Riley really enjoyed it this year. Last year it was a bit windy, and they were a bit young, but this year it really was perfect! They ran around picking up as many pumpkins as they could, and then they got to pick some to take home. (Later Daniel helped me pull out the seeds and turn the pumpkin into pumpkin bread!) We also enjoyed a hay ride while we were there. Daniel thought it was pretty cool to be pulled around by a tractor, but the big hit of the day (for Daniel at least) was "driving" the John Deere tractor they had. He could have stayed on that thing all day! He doesn't look super happy in the pic, but believe me, he loved it.

I Cannot Tell a Lie

We've figured out how to get the truth out of Daniel - not that he's really trying to lie to us. He's just grumpy sometimes. When Daniel hasn't had enough sleep, he tends to say "no" to everything you ask him. David will ask him, "Did you play with your toys today?" Daniel will say, "NO, I DID NOT PLAY WITH MY TOYS TODAY!" Etc., etc.

We recently stumbled upon a truth serum though. And our new game goes something like this:

David: Did you play with your toys today?
Daniel: NO, I DID NOT PLAY WITH MY TOYS TODAY!
David: Raise your hand if you played with your toys today.
And Daniel's hand shoots into the air!

It works almost every time! Apparently he hasn't figured out how to control his arm yet and it must tell the truth at all times. I hope he keeps that up as a teenager. It could come in handy!

My Sick Baby

So my baby is sick. Not the sniffly nose kind of sick but the throwing up and diarrhea kind of sick. He threw up twice today - once at the sitter's (oops) and once in David's arms. Poor baby has never really thrown up before - except that one time that he threw up Jazz food in the middle of the night, but that doesn't really count because none of us (including him) even realized it until the morning. So it couldn't have possibly been that bad. This time he's really sick. It makes me feel terrible. I wish that I could take all his pain away.....

He keeps getting these little bubbles of gas that cause him a lot of pain. After I talked to him about that this morning, he's been repeating every time he has pain, "I have a gas bubble. Sometimes everyone gets gas bubbles that hurt." Such a sweet little boy.

Here's praying that he's better by Friday so we can go to Mexico. Is it possible that Montezuma started his revenge early???

The Ghost of Aunt Cristi

We've been crazy busy around here. I need to post pictures from the pumpkin patch, the Tech game, and the state fair, but Daniel and I were sick last week and this week I worked like a crazy woman (or at least almost full-time!) So I'll give a quick post about Aunt Cristi's ghost, and I'll get to the pictures soon!

So.....Aunt Cristi has been apparently haunting Daniel. She's showing up everywhere! Every morning he wakes up and says things like, "Aunt Cristi is in my crib," "Aunt Cristi, why you hidin' in the curtains?" or "Aunt Cristi keeps hidin' all over the place!"

A few days ago he told me, "Aunt Cristi is my daughter. She in my tummy growing, just like Wheezy's growing in Aunt Pam's tummy!"

Another day we were getting out of the car to go into the sitter's. I closed the door behind him, and he said, "Aunt Cristi's still in the car!" I said, "Are you planning to take her in to Ms. Sarah's?" He replied, "No. She can stay in the car."

Last night he was pretending to talk to her on my phone. He hung up and said, "I talked to Aunt Cristi." I said, "Do you want to really call her?" He looked at me like I was some kind of moron and said, "I already called her!"

And on and on and on.....He's got Aunt Cristi on the mind.

Terrorizing the Neighborhood

The first thing that Daniel wants to do every morning, and I do mean every morning, is go out on his truck. (We also go out every afternoon and evening.) I don't know if I can explain how much he loves this activity, but I'll try.....

So, he has this truck (thanks, Uncle Luis) that he can push around as a dump truck or he can move the dumping part back and ride on it. Every morning, he waits and waits for the sun to come up. Then he says, "The sun's up!!! It says 'good morning!' Wanna take your truck out?" So we take the truck out. I try and make him wait until close to 8 am as it makes this loud noise as he runs through the streets and it makes all the dogs bark at us. I don't want the neighbors getting furious! He typically starts out riding it (versus pushing). He rides to "the worker's house" to see if they're out working on the house. If they're not working, he likes to walk around the house and pick up random pieces of insulation or tubing. If they're working, we keep going. We typically end up at the edge of one of the fields behind our house, and he starts filling his dump truck full of whatever he can find (sticks, flowers, trash, weeds, rocks). He hauls his big finds to another area, dumps it, and starts over. The process only ends when I make him come in, and it almost always ends with me carrying the truck in one hand and holding his hand in my other.

Paletas

It was so beautiful out this weekend that David thought it would be nice to sit on the back patio and eat paletas. Luckily we have a little paleteria pretty close to our house, so Daniel and I went to pick some up. The three of us shared a lime and a watermelon paleta. Daniel was so excited about them! (We had read a book about paletas not too long ago, and he remembered what they were.) He would lick them and then smile with a great big goofy smile. The cutest thing was when he would take a bite that was a little too big though. It was so cold in his mouth that he would get a quick look of pain, start waving his hands frantically back and forth, then begin to smile as his mouth warmed it up and swallowed it down. Yum!

Q is for Koala

Daniel was playing with his foam letters in the tub tonight. He was asking me to say the different sounds of the letters. He's getting a little better at learning the phonemes, but English is just not fair sometimes!

Daniel: What does 'Q' say?
Me: Q says 'qu' like qu, qu, queen or qu, qu quick.
Daniel: Or qu, qu koala.

Rainy Day

Yesterday I had to work late. David picked up Daniel and couldn't resist going to buy him some rain boots and taking him out for a fun time in the puddles. Daniel couldn't be happier running down the street in the rain and stomping in the puddles. When I came home and helped him take off his boots, we poured out at least 1/2 cup of water from each one! The first thing he said this morning (still pitch black outside at 6 am) was, "Wanna go out in the rain."

Ant Bites: Part 2

So if you'll remember back in May, Daniel had a pretty bad reaction to an ant bite. He broke out in hives, or as he said, "you turned pink!"

Yesterday, while I was preoccupied talking to the new neighbor, Daniel stuck his hand in an ant pile in our front yard. The neighbor saw him do it and quickly alerted me to the problem. I ran over and started flinging off the ants from his hand, but he got bit - 3 times. That's the bad news.

The good news is that he didn't have an allergic reaction! Yea! David had read that some kids only have an allergic reaction the first time they're bit, and I guess that's what happened. I'm so happy we don't have to stress about the ant bites anymore....well, sort of. I guess it's still a little bit of a problem that I didn't realize my 2 year old child was sticking his hand in an ant pile, but I still think this was good news! :)

Trade Up

Did you ever hear about that guy that started with one red paper clip and kept trading up until he eventually got a house? I think he moved from the paper clip to a pen shaped like a fish to a doorknob and so on and so on until he got a house - seriously!

Anyway, I think that someday Daniel may acquire his first home in that same way. We were walking to the car after church on Sunday, and he started his "trade-up." He typically takes one little piece of treasure home with him from wherever we go. Mommy allows "just one." So Sunday he started with a little rock. We walked a few feet, and he traded it for a stick in the shape of a Y. We walked further, and he traded it for a nut that was cracked down the middle. A little further down the road, and he made the final trade for a non-cracked nut. I think he would have kept trading up, but we had made it to the car.

2nd Birthday Celebrations

Daniel's 2nd birthday was September 9, but I feel like we celebrated for a week straight! We started with a trip to Lubbock over the Labor Day weekend. We got together with Abuelo, Abuela, Uncle Luis, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Cristi. I had figured we'd open presents and eat cake, but Abuelo & Abuela turned it into more of a party! We ended up having a little birthday party and invited Brian and Cristi's other 2 adorable nephews, Kolbe and Reagan, as well as their parents and grandpa. Here are some pics from the party:

Abuelo & Abuela bought a giraffe pinata, and the boys enjoyed taking turns trying to open it. None of them were very successful.

David had to finally help Daniel. When the giraffe's legs started falling apart, Daniel started bawling. He was so upset that the giraffe was breaking! I guess we should have explained the whole concept prior to cracking it open. He cheered up when toys started falling out.

Kolbe, Daniel, and Reagan enjoying dinner - or at least forcing a little down in order to be allowed a piece of cake later.

The much anticipated birthday cake.

Daniel blew out the candles all by himself! He did really well during the whole singing of "happy birthday," but started crying when everyone clapped at the end. It was too much!

Enjoying the red velvet cake.

Daniel opening presents. He received a Mr. Potato Head and forbidden snacks from Uncle Luis, an AquaDoodle and big-boy underwear from Uncle Brian and Aunt Cristi, a dump truck and a Highlights subscription from Abuelo & Abuela, & 4 new books from the Asmussen's. He hasn't even opened all the presents from my side of the family yet! That will come next weekend in Roswell when we extend the birthday celebration for one more week!

Group hug!

Sanchez side of the family

So then we had Daniel's actual birthday. Here are some pics of our spoiled boy!

Mommy made a special breakfast of peanut butter and berry waffles. He ate it up!

Ms. Sarah (his sitter) had helped him make a birthday crown the day before. She said she let him pick the activities all day, which I'm sure he enjoyed. She also gave him a Thomas the Train puzzle!

After breakfast, we spent most of the day outside because that's what Daniel wanted to do. We also went to the library (one of his favorite places) and played with the new AquaDoodle a lot! We opened a few more presents that afternoon. He got a new outfit and Tikki Tikki Tembo (a book Mommy loved as a little girl) from Grandma and Grandpa, money from Great Grandma Fox, a toy plane, shirt, and book from the Gonzales' and some PJs and vitamins from Mommy and Daddy. Before you think we're torturing our child by only buying him PJs and vitamins, you must understand that Daniel has been looking forward to taking vitamins for a long time! He's been telling people for months, "When you turn 2, you get to take vitamins!"

And to spoil him even further, in the evening we all went to Sonic, and Daniel ate his first ice cream cone. It was fun teaching him how to lick the ice cream!

Sonic has a sand volleyball court and playground, and Daniel loved rolling around (literally) in the sand. By the time we left, he was covered in sand, as all the sticky ice cream allowed it to stick tight!

It's raining, it's pouring...

I love to watch Daniel run in rain puddles. It makes a great big mess of his clothes and, later when we come in, of my floors. But I love it anyway. He's so incredibly happy when he runs as fast as he can through the puddles on the side of the road. When we came home from work today we spent a long time running - well, he was running. I was walking quickly....he's not that fast yet! He ran and ran and ran until he slipped on some unseen mud at the bottom of a puddle and fell flat on his back, soaking himself to the bone. He cried. Then he got up and ran some more. The only reason he finally stopped running was to play in a pile of mud that he found.

Lawnmower Shadow

I think Daniel's starting to understand that he's a boy like Daddy. He's wanted to follow him around more and do all the cool things that Daddy does, like mow the lawn. So David let him help for the first time the other night. I thought it was too cute to see him wearing his ear plugs and pushing his mower around, just like Daddy.

New Favorites

Two of Daniel's favorite new things:

1) Daddy piles up all of the pillows in the middle of our bed. He throws Daniel onto them. Again. Again. Again. (Too bad about tonight....They were doing this right before bathtime. Daniel was naked. Daddy's pillow got wet!)

2) The new "teeth brushing" video that Daddy found. Poor Daniel's only allowed TV during teeth brushing time, and this has been his frequent request:
http://wimp.com/museumnight/

Picnic

Daniel's really getting into pretend play, and his favorite thing to pretend (since our trip to Austin) is to have a picnic. We have a picnic almost everyday! It usually involves getting out a blanket, laying it on the carpet, and smoothing it out so that it's "really nice." Then he has to invite Bear, the two Spicy's (his dogs), the occasional penguin or giraffe, and, of course, Mommy or Daddy. We all sit around, and Daniel makes us something to eat. He's pretty good about changing up the menu. We've had pasta, tacos, pancakes, etc.

The other day I walked in our room to find David and Daniel under a tent made from blankets, pillows, string, and clothespins. The two Spicy's, Bear, David, and Daniel were all enjoying a picnic in the tent, complete with background music. Daniel was busy making pizza with broccoli and zucchini on top and would serve everyone with a spatula he'd managed to sneak from the dishwasher. Luckily they let me join the picnic (even serving me some pizza), and I could have stayed there all day.

A Glimpse of Life with 2

Riley is one of Daniel's few friends, and they spend quite a bit of time together. Her mom and I enjoy getting out of the house together and have been trying to plan play dates every few weeks. David and I were lucky enough to babysit her the other night for a few hours, and it was so much fun! It gave us a glimpse - albeit a small glimpse - into the world of 2 kids. It would, obviously, be much easier to adopt Riley (who knows how to walk and eat and play already) than to have a newborn enter the scene, but still.....

I only ran into a couple bumps. First, how do you carry Riley and a carseat and make sure Daniel doesn't run into the parking lot as you walk to the car? Stroke of brilliance - have Daniel "help" carry the carseat so he has to hold on to us. No problem! Second, how do you open the oven with two little ones running around? Daniel has a special spot he stands on when I open the oven, and he does't dare move from it, but Riley, of course, didn't know that rule yet! It took me awhile to get dinner in the oven. I had a couple attempts that were foiled as she came running toward me, and I finally ended up quickly throwing it in as her back was turned.

Overall the night was fun. The best part was watching them enjoy dinner and bath together. They giggled and laughed all through dinner as David helped with the entertainment. At bathtime Daniel wasn't too keen on all of Riley's splashing, but she had a blast!

Thank you, God

We've been encouraging Daniel to help us in our prayer before meals. We typically say the standard Catholic prayer before meals and then add a few other "thanksgivings." Daniel's getting the hang of it, and tonight his prayer sounded something like this:

"Thank you for Mommy and Daddy.
Thank you for Daniel.
Thank you for the food.
Thank you for the milk.
Thank you for the spoon.
Thank you for the cup.
Thank you for the corn.
Thank you for the peas.
Thank you for the green beans.
Thank you for the carrots.
Thank you for the lima beans.
Thank you for the flowers.
Thank you for the butterflies.
Thank you for the candle.
Thank you for the water.
Thank you for the lemons.
Thank you for the house."

At this point, David cut in and said, "Remember, Daniel - when you're done, say 'amen.'"

To which Daniel continued:

"Thank you for the grass.
Thank you for the lawn.
Thank you for the windows.
Thank you for the doors.
Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Daniel.
Amen."

San Antonio & Austin

Last weekend we took a trip to San Antonio and Austin to see family and friends. We enjoyed staying at David's aunt and cousins' house on Friday night. Pita, Elsa, and Sara were so sweet to Daniel and fed us like royalty. Pita even gave up her master suite for us - too nice! Daniel enjoyed learning how to hit a golf club, watching Elsa play the guitar, watering the plants, and feeding the fish.

Pita and Daniel watering plants

On Saturday we headed to Austin and met the Cisneros family there. It was so nice to see them and spend time with their beautiful kids! We met at a park where we played for awhile. We rode a green train around the park, and that's pretty much the only thing Daniel can tell you about the trip - he loved the train ride! We got to go through a dark tunnel, and we saw a man playing a guitar while we rode by. (Daniel has told everyone we've seen this week about these two random facts!) Carlos had brought a remote control airplane, and the boys had fun flying it around while Dany and I rested in the shade. We enjoyed several picnic lunches and went swimming at the hotel pool. (Well, the Cisneros boys went swimming while Daniel splashed his feet in the water. They were good little swimmers!) Such a fun trip, and I hope that we'll do it again!

Diego climbing up high

The Cisneros family sees a squirrel!

The 3 boys enjoying their ride to the hotel room...and some chupa chups

Our son and our godson

Daniel playing on the firetruck at the park