Daniel and Ethan's First Circus!!

It's been a while since I've put stuff up, but Samuel finally came!!! So we have been spending time with him, bike rides and swimming, card games and family nights. We are showing him around and he's loving it so far. There will be pictures of him to come. But let's catch up.

The day before the move into the new house we went to the circus. I used to go when I was a little girl and totally LOVED it!! I was shocked when Daniel told me that he had never been and super excited to be able to take him and Ethan for their first circus. The Ringling Bro/Barnum and Bailey were in town at the Alamo Dome and we went early enough to catch the pre show.


This is us standing in line waiting to get in. We tried to dress in appropriate 4th of July colors. The circus was a great way of celebrating the 4th because it was during the day. We knew fireworks would be too late for Ethan's 7pm bed time. So we got him this 4th of July romper and headed to the circus.


The sun was pretty hot but we slathered baby in sun block and he was set.


I think he was about to sneeze in this one.


We went to visit the animals first and that was one of my favorite parts.



There were four bengal tigers and two siberian tigers. They were gorgeous and only two feet away!! They would growl and snap at each other. I couldn't get over how beautiful they were.


The tigers are behind us in this picture.


Next were the elephants. They had them separated with electrical wire in one end of the dome. There were six of them I think, but they were huge and so gentle. This one was playing with a tree limb. I couldn't believe how flexible and agile their trunks were.


Here we are!


Here are some Arabian horses, they were so beautiful! There were signs up about how the circus takes extra precautions and puts extra effort into taking care of their animals.


This car is sooo tiny! The captain of the clowns came out to begin the show and he was driving this. It came through the big curtains and drove all around the three rings and we thought it was remote control! But this really tall clown popped out! He had to be atleast as tall as Daniel and when he was done he got back in it! and drove off stage.


Here we are still looking at the animals.


Then we went to the Pre-show and got to stand really close to some performers while they did some amazing tricks.

Daniel and Ethan were looking at the lady high up on the rope


A guy with some poodles doing some cute tricks


I think she has 50 hula hoops!


We got to our seats and waited for the show to begin


Ethan was having a wonderful time. He sat and watched or bounced up and down in our laps to the music.


The show was so exciting that I forgot to take pictures. Here are a few that I got.



Ethan cuddled with me a lot while watching. He was so good!




The only down side of the experience was the poo-bin right next to us. Every time the lid was opened we got engulfed in the smell. But the show was worth it.


Daniel got this picture of us looking at the high wire acts - my favorite!




Daniel and Ethan both loved the circus. Daniel couldn't believe some of the things they did. We were either laughing or oooooing on the edge of our seats. It was such a great time. We might have to start a tradition of going to the circus for the 4th of July.

We Found A House!

Daniel and I started looking for a house to rent a few months ago when we knew our lease on our apartment was going to be ending. We decided we wanted to be closer to a good middle school for Samuel and we wanted more privacy and a yard for the boys to play in. It was hard to look at place after place and have the feeling that it just wouldn't work, until we found this one. It's perfect for us!! Not too big, not too small, right down the street from Samuel's new middle school, great neighborhood and the price is right!! We are so excited!

This is a picture of the front of the house. It has two large trees in the front, two large ones in the back, shrubs, flowers, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, larger kitchen, huge dining room and a great extended living area that's like a patio but enclosed and covered which will be great for Ethan when he wants to ride a tricycle or something outside.

This is a view of the neighborhood from our front door. We have a great lawn to take care of. I've already gone on a few walks around the neighborhood and we love it.

Here we are moving stuff in. It was Ethan's nap time so I put him on a couch cushion in the corner while we brought stuff in. A generous friend from church, Brother Garza, brought over two trailers and his two sons, Desmond and Ambrose, to help us move. Michael Ereti also came with his van and we were able to get it all over there in one trip and in about two hours time. We had breakfast tacos, gatorade and watermelon to refuel. As Daniel put it, "This has been our best move yet." We love that EVERY room in the house has large windows to let in tons of light.

Here is my love in our new kitchen. I'm really loving all of the cubbord and counter space. There is room to put away all of our kitchen things and to bake and cook in with room to spare. We really love it. There is not a dish washer but even when we had one in the apartment we didn't use it so we don't know the difference.


Behind me to my left in this picture is the entry way into the living room where the front door enters. Behind me to my right is the breakfast bar and the kitchen behind that. To the right in the picture you can see the extra large sliding glass doors out to the patio/garage/wash room and back yard. Directly in front is the spacious dining room - our dining table and chairs look pretty small in the large space. And to the left in the picture is the hall to the bedrooms - Samuel's is the first on the left, then the Master at the end of the hall on the left and Ethan's is the open door you can see at the end, and finally the single bathroom on the right.

Daniel snuck this shot in of me modeling the coat closet. :)

This is the size of all three bedroom closets, as you can see from Daniel's measurement, they are all at least 6 feet wide.


Daniel was tired from the long day's move.

We went back into the living room to find Ethan waking up from his nap. We got to work right away on getting his bedroom set up and wa-la!, a few hours later we were able to put him to sleep in his crib, all nice and cozy:



He's totally a thumb-sucker now. :)


And here we are - completely thrilled to be in a house!! Can't you tell?

Sniffles...Runny Nose...Late Nights

Poor baby was sick for the very first time and it totally pulled at my heart strings. It lasted only a week and a half and was only as bad as a stuffed up nose but I totally broke down. I knew it would happen sooner or later but I cried when he couldn't eat or sleep very well and was just so tired. I held him and rocked him to sleep a few nights.


This is us on the first night when he couldn't breathe out of his nose and kept waking up. It was pretty late and I just slept in the chair with him.

Time With Daddy!

Daniel starts his day pretty early and is able to come home before major traffic. We are blessed to have him home more often than most working dads and we love it. Daniel comes home in time to have a few hours play-time with Ethan before his night-time routine.
Here are some pictures of the two of them together:


Daniel enjoys biking to work in order to get some daily exercise in. Here is Ethan helping Daddy get his bike ready for the next day's commute to work. Daniel and Ethan are inseparable during those precious hours of play time in the evenings. Daniel carries him around under his arm wherever he goes and takes every opportunity to teach him about whatever he is doing. Even though Ethan is only 6 months old I think it's making a big difference in Ethan's development and communication skills.

Daniel's home-teaching companion wasn't available a few weeks ago so we put a white onsie on Ethan and a tie that was a bit too big, but he was dressed appropriately and went out with his daddy to go home teaching. The family they visited has a son around Ethan's age and they loved having him over to play.

This is the two of them playing in the new house.
I'm so blessed to have a wonderful father for a husband. He does such a great job with Ethan and is always there to lend me a hand when I need a break.

Funny Faces

When I was around Ethan's age my parents took some pictures of some funny faces I used to make, so I thought I'd put some up here and I can add the pictures of me as soon as I unpack and scan them. Oh ya, we have a printer/scanner/copier now. Thanks Sarah!

Ethan loves the camera!

Now that he has teeth, his mouth feels a lot different than it did before. He chomps his gums together often to test them out.

Grrrrrrrrrr!

Look what I can do!!!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but we have been moving! Here is a little catch-up:

Ethan is almost 6 months old in this pictures and he is already sitting up on his own! He is growing up so fast! He rarely falls over and loves having a better view of his toys, and one that doesn't hurt his neck like being on his tummy. He really enjoys it!

This is a short video (our camera can only handle about 30 sec. of footage) of Ethan sitting up and "talking" today. He loves all of the floor space in our new house. We love it too!

He has also learned how to hold things! He is getting better and better at it all the time. This is a bottle of cold water that he can now hold on his own. We got him a few inexpensive bottles to teethe on. The coolness numbs the pain in his gums and the water keeps him hydrated for these hot and sweaty San Antonio days.