Parental Worries

We're so proud of this little girl. We received the final results from Saturday's swim meet today. The teams she was on got first place in the 100m Freestyle Relay and second place in the 100m Medley Relay for Girls 8 and under. She got second place in the 25m Backstroke for Girls 8 and under. Unfortunately, she was disqualified in the 25m Breaststroke and she didn't place in the 25m Freestyle (although her practice time in the freestyle would have put her in third place. She seemed subdued when I told her about this, but later I found her upstairs crying in her room. She was upset that she "DQ'd" in the breaststroke, a stroke she only really learned in the last couple of weeks. Both Patrick and I reassured her that she shouldn't expect to be good at this stroke without a lot of practice. Patrick later told me that he had told her coach not to put her in that event because he knew she didn't know it well enough and would likely DQ. She does so well for her size and age and we told her how proud we are that she even tried the breaststroke in a race.

On a lighter note, the swimsuit she is wearing above is new this year. Patrick was all upset with her about how the halter top was so loose and was telling her that she shouldn't be wearing it because she was "hanging out". Well, all I did was adjust the top by tying it a little tighter and it fit just fine. I think Patrick's fatherly instinct to keep his daughter covered up was clouding his thinking about a simple solution. ;)

This big guy never seems to want his picture taken. At least this year he doesn't seem to feel so self-conscious without a swim shirt on, or maybe it's because swim shirts aren't cool anymore or something. Anyway, Patrick and I are worried about him and his soccer tryouts that start tomorrow. Last year he was crushed when he made it to the "bottom" team. This year he has a chance to move up. His coach thinks he has a chance. Patrick not only thinks he has a chance, but he also thinks that Alex NEEDS to move up in order to be pushed to improve. I know this is a relatively minor matter in the world scheme of things to worry about, but I hope and pray that Alex gets placed in a more competitive team after tryouts this week. I really want to see a big smile on this handsome boy's face. Wish him luck!

As y'all can see from all the swimwear in this post, we went to the pool today--sort of a Memorial Day tradition. Eric stayed on the pool steps as usual, but he seemed okay with getting splashed in the face, at least. Alex in particular, kept throwing his football so it would land just in front of Eric and splash him, and Eric seemed to be enjoying it. In keeping with this post topic, however, I just need to mention about how many bug bites he has on his legs. Anthony has taken him outside while babysitting him this weekend, and those shorts stints outside were enough to get both of his lower legs almost completely covered in red welts. It's actually frightening to see how many there are. Fortunately, they don't seem to bother him much, but we certainly made sure to "spray him down" when we went to the pool today.

No pictures of Anthony today. He was home studying for his Art final exam tomorrow, which is actually his hardest exam, believe it or not. He's not having any problems with Algebra 2 (which he actually doesn't have to take because he's doing so well) or Physics, but he found the Art final from the Fall Semester quite challenging. He still got an "A" in the class, but he really wants that "A" again.

Because today is Memorial Day, I have to acknowledge why we have a holiday today. My family and I are forever grateful for all the sacrifices our military and their families have made for us and for our country. My worries are small compared to their families' worries when they are in harms' way.

Loud Noises and Other Interesting Facts

You probably want to know what Eric is doing in this picture. We were eating dinner at Chili's tonight when he started making a certain "noise" over and over again while doing this hand gesture. When Natalie told us that Eric was pretending to be an elephant, Anthony suddenly said "YES!" Apparently, he had tried to make an elephant noise some time in the last couple of days when he was babysitting Eric. He said he had a hard time trying to make a noise that sounded like an elephant but now that Eric was trying to duplicate the noise, Anthony was rejoicing because he had taught his brother something. Maybe I should tell him that he can rejoice when he teaches his brother to read. Making loud elephant noises in a restaurant--maybe this shouldn't warrant any rejoicing, especially when a lady in the next booth comes over and asks us to make Eric stop because her party can't hear each other talk. Of course Patrick thought she was being overly sensitive, but then we're getting a little hard-of-hearing anyway from all of our kids making elephant noises and other loud sounds. ;)

Some other interesting facts about today are listed below:

--We dropped Natalie off at a friend's house for a 7AM playdate. Yes, I spoke to her friend's Dad yesterday and he was the one that suggested it.

--We were all up by about 6:30AM again (for Alex's soccer game). Is it a a true "day off" when you have to get up around the same time as when you have to go to work/school?

--Alex's soccer team made the semi-finals in the soccer tournament today, but then lost to a team that wasn't as good as the one they tied with in the morning. More thoughts on Alex and soccer this week when I post about soccer tryouts scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

--Our priest is retiring after 19 years at our parish. We went to mass today at 5PM instead of yesterday because the Going Away Party was tonight right after mass. There were so many people there that it would have taken at least a half-hour or more of standing in line to get food (Patrick thinks there were around 400 people there), so we ended up eating elsewhere. Natalie got a little teary about leaving the party but the mass had been filled with "goodbye" greetings anyway.

--Anthony seems to notice mostly girls with dark hair. Patrick spotted a blonde checking out Anthony on her way back from communion but Anthony didn't notice her at all. He did, however, text a friend during dinner about a different blonde.

First Swim Meet 2010

Bright and early--Natalie and I were at the neighborhood pool at 7AM this morning. The temperatures weren't so bad then, although it was already well into the 70s. Luckily we found a shady spot near someone else's pop-up tent, but I volunteered to help time the races, so that meant standing mostly in the sun for three hours. It was really, really hot.

Natalie did her best, but she did not come out on top for most of the races. Her team did place first in the 100m freestyle relay and she swam the 25m breaststroke (see above photo) for the first time in a swim meet. She swam breaststroke again in an IM relay, her last race. I was proud of her for swimming using three different strokes this year (the other one was the backstroke).

As you can see here from this picture to the left, the girl in front of her is also a second grader, but she is already eight years old and much bigger than Natalie. She swam in the girls 7-8 years old category this year, so being at the bottom of the bracket, the bigger/older girls were much faster. She seemed to enjoy herself, so it was all good.

As for the rest of the family, Alex played all but about three minutes in two different games in a soccer tournament today. He has one more game tomorrow. Anthony stayed home all morning with Eric. It was so much easier only having to worry about one child at the swim meet this morning!

So Proud

Today I just need to do a little mommy bragging. This morning, Anthony received a special award for exemplifying his school's "core value" of Integrity. His school has four core values that they stress pretty much whenever they have a chance: perseverance, integrity, commitment, and kindness. He was nominated by his Physics teacher, Mr. G. Also, all the Physics students apparently took a "benchmark test" recently. They have to take something called the TAKS test (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) testing different subjects in different grade levels. Each school is "graded" based on the performance of its students on this TAKS test, and state funding depends on these results. "They" are thinking of switching to these "benchmark" tests instead. Mr. G told Patrick after the ceremony that on the recent Physics benchmark test, Anthony made the highest score in the entire school district. I was glad that I was sitting near Anthony when I heard this, because I felt compelled to give him a big hug and to tell him how proud I am of him. :)

Speaking of TAKS testing, Alex had to take the reading, math, and science tests in April. He received "commended performance" ratings in reading and math, which means that he performed "considerably above the state passing standard" meaning that he has a "thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills tested at the fifth grade." In science, however, he not only received a "commended performance" rating, but he got a PERFECT SCORE. How cool is that? Alex told me this in a totally nonchalant way, like he didn't think it was any big deal.

I've already bragged about Natalie's piano accomplishments recently, but I just had to add what a great swimmer she is. The swim meet is this coming Saturday, but I was watching her at her swim team practice yesterday. They were practicing diving off the new starting blocks they just installed at our neighborhood pool (to specific whistles signaling to get ready and to start swimming, etc.). There was a girl her age that was halfway down the lane already when Natalie jumped off the starting block and she not only caught up to her, but she beat her to the finish. The girl is a friend of hers, so she playfully said, "Beat You!" when she touched the end first. She had her proud, smug smile on her face.

I could also brag about Eric, but I'll be home tomorrow and I'm sure I'll have a few pictures to share and stories to tell tomorrow night. :)

Eric's Pool Habits

This isn't the greatest picture, but I had to show off Eric's new swimsuit and he wasn't cooperating. This was taken on Sunday when the whole family went to the pool. This set is from Gymboree and is a size 3T. Most elastic waist shorts are pretty loose on my little man, but these seem secure on his hips, so hopefully they won't come off inadvertently.

He was most interested in playing with the water guns. He rushed up to Patrick, who had the toy bag, and said, "I want a gun." That's my boy. He enjoyed shooting everyone and tolerated being shot at. He did not want to leave the stair area, however, and interestingly, whenever Patrick or I would try to carry him further into the pool, he would say, "I don't want to get dirty." Huh? We don't know where that came from. He loved being carried out into the pool last year, and we hope he will love it again this year. We'd like to get him swim lessons, but that won't work if he doesn't want to leave the stair area.

Closet Clean-Out

I asked the older kids to clean out their closets and drawers this past weekend. I had a feeling that Anthony's closet and drawers would be the worst, but I was still amazed at the amount of stuff. He must have just moved everything when he moved to his own room downstairs. Patrick, Anthony, and I laughed long and hard when we saw some of the neckties. One of them must have been the clip-on tie he used when he was in a wedding at age 3! He got the biggest kick out of the fact that he had a glow-in-the-dark Batman shirt in his closet too. That one might have been worn by Alex last, but that was probably at least five years ago. Then of course there was the size 12 underwear briefs that he hasn't worn in at at least two years (when he started wearing boxers).

Natalie only went through half of her closet, but I was able to fill two big shopping bags with clothing she has either outgrown or she doesn't like anymore. It actually didn't take her long, and I only realized why when I saw the floor in front of her closet. She must have just pulled the clothes all down, taken them off the hangers, but then left the hangers right there on the floor.

I didn't take a picture of Alex's closet but he filled two kitchen trash bags with the clothing. He still hasn't gone through his drawers (and neither has Natalie) but he got lots of hand-me-downs from Anthony. He still has another kitchen trash bag of potential hand-me-downs to go through. I sorted through Eric's clothes too, and filled a trash bag with clothes he has outgrown. This week I plan on finishing Alex and Natalie's drawers.

One more interesting fact--Patrick and I got "hand-me-downs" from Anthony too. I got an adult medium T-shirt that must have shrunk a little when it was washed, and Patrick got two adult large T-shirts that were freebies that Anthony used to wear to bed but that he no longer wants. I have to laugh that everyone in the family will be getting something from those stacks of clothes on his bed shown above--except for Natalie. :)

Alex's Guitar Recital

Alex's guitar recital was yesterday afternoon, and whereas Natalie seems to thrive on performing, Alex does not. He didn't want me to take any pictures of him. He didn't understand why he had to do this recital. He was grouchy and very quiet before the recital but he didn't want to talk about it at all. During his performance, he looked down and looked unhappy the entire time. He didn't smile at all until after his performance when I joked around with him.

Patrick and I thought he did well, although we did notice a small mistake, but only because he sort of stopped and shook his head a little. We could tell that he wasn't happy that he made that mistake but he still sounded good. We both complimented him on his performance, but Alex doesn't take compliments very well. When Patrick and I both told him he looked nice (because for once he actually wore a collared shirt and khaki pants) and he totally brushed us off. Oh well, I'm sure this is just a phase. Alex has a lot to be proud of.

Spring Piano Recital 2010

Yesterday was Natalie's Spring Recital. I took this picture right after she took her bow and right before she performed her two pieces. I felt like a "slacker mom" because I didn't shop for a new dress or shoes for her to wear to this, like my friend KT did for her daughters. I also didn't do her hair. I didn't even remind her to bring a headband. That's why it's so messy. Her shoes were also a little small but we didn't have any others that were dressy enough to match the dress. Ugh!

Patrick and I are always so proud of how Natalie performs. She really "kicks it up a notch" when she has an audience. She usually looks a little nervous, but she doesn't seem to let it bother her. Almost all of the kids memorized their pieces (except for a couple of the older ones that were playing long pieces) and many of them made noticeable mistakes. I know Natalie's pieces pretty well, of course, and she played them at least as well or better than I've heard her play them before. You go girl!

The Spring Recital is also where her teacher presents their awards. Natalie was so proud, and so were her parents! She got a gold medal for getting an "A" on her Theory test. She even got a perfect score! Her teacher also gave her a certificate for always practicing her assigned amount of time as well as effective practicing, meaning that she actually knew her assigned pieces. I had to rejoice at this one because I've tried to step back and stop pushing her so much so she has been practicing mostly on her own. This means that I can feel less guilty that I'm not actively helping her. Natalie also got a blue ribbon for getting a "Superior Plus" on her Achievement Auditions in April and a certificate for her "Excellent Plus" on her Guild Auditions just last week. She was the only one at this recital to have to memorize 15 pieces for her Guild Auditions last week (International Level).

I already told her a few times that I'm so proud of her. I wasn't happy when she told her teacher she wanted to memorize fifteen pieces for the Guild Auditions last week because it meant more work for me too. I left her alone for most of those couple of months or so that she practiced those pieces. I really only helped her in the last couple of weeks. She didn't play them all perfectly, but she played them pretty darn well, especially for a seven-year-old, and she did it mostly by herself. You GO girl! :)

I Want Jelly

We had a slow start this morning, and the kids didn't eat breakfast until 10PM. Natalie had her friend M over to play, and when she asked if she could have a snack and it was 12:30PM, I politely reminded her that her "snack" needed to be lunch. Seeing the girls making their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches was interesting. It's only been recently that we've allowed Natalie to make her own, so she's still a little messy. Still, it's nice that she can make her own now.

Eric had been playing with the girls, so when they asked for a snack, he wanted one too. He still had "snack" on his mind and started asking for a "jelly sandwich". At first I wondered if Patrick had given him a jelly sandwich before and that's why he wanted one--no, he hadn't. When I told Eric that he had to have peanut butter with jelly in a sandwich, this is the face he made--with tears and crying. I thought it was so funny that he would get so upset about this that I took a picture. Anthony thought it was mean to take a picture of Eric being upset. I told him that I was going to use this picture when he gets older, as blackmail. ;)

We did have some happier times later. Eric wore his new Lightning McQueen flip-flops for the first time today. This is also the first time he's worn any flip-flops, and I thought his little feet looked so cute in them that I wanted to preserve this moment in a picture.

When I took the picture of just his feet, he was also smiling--on cue. I laughed because he totally looks like he's posing, doesn't he? Unfortunately, he loved his new flip-flops so much that he insisted on wearing them to church. He was napless and it wasn't worth the fight, so we let him. His older brothers didn't want to bother wearing nice clothes and shoes either, so he matched them.

Socrates Cafe

Alex's GT (Gifted and Talented) class went to an event called a "Socratic Cafe" this week. Their class met with four other elementary GT classes. The purpose of this was to "discuss questions concerning the philosophies they have studied, formulate and state their own ideas and learn from other's ideas."

We were supposed to send him in "Socratic Robes" and his teacher sent instructions on how to make them. Of course, Patrick and I forgot about making them until the night before, and of course we didn't have any white flat sheets in the house. Alex was happy enough with a blue one. We were supposed to fold the sheet a certain way and then use "clasps" for the shoulders. Well, we didn't have anything like that either, so I sewed the shoulders together. He was a pretty good sport and stood still for me. He's feeling a little goofy here because Patrick had to take several pictures before this one.

As far as I know, he enjoyed this so-called "Socratic Cafe". He didn't really talk about it much. My boys are so darned talkative!

Director's Award

Tonight, instead of soccer, we got to go attend an awards ceremony at Anthony's school. It was billed as a ceremony to congratulate the Class of 2010, so this made us think that this ceremony would not be a short one. The little guys in the picture above are modeled after the school logo. We thought it was cool that the seniors were getting these, and apparently, the seniors thought so too.

They announced some awards for excellence in individual classes early on that included a few of Anthony's friends. Then each and every one of the graduating seniors walked across the stage to receive a certificate and one of the statues/trophies in the picture above. On the screen above their heads they listed each name, their awards and scholarships, and what college they were headed after graduation. After that was over, we were wondering if Anthony was still going to receive an award. Thankfully, he did. He received a "Director's Award" where two or more teachers had to recommend that student for the award. He got a certificate and a pin. Patrick and I were very proud. We wondered which teachers recommended him, but since his Physics teacher was sitting on stage and congratulated him personally, I assumed that he may have been one of them.

Last Children's Symphony

Sunday was the last of our series of tickets for the Children's Symphony. This time Natalie decided to play the cello, but Eric wasn't interested. Eric said, "I do not want to pay the geetar." He was napless and he was showing it. Both of them did also make tambourines from small paper plates with bells threaded through holes and decorated with crayons and musical stickers.

This picture just cracks me up. I had my hand raised to get their attention so they would all be looking at me for a picture and Eric raised his hand too and gave his cheesy smile. Patrick and I had originally planned that Alex and Natalie would go with us to these concerts, but Alex hasn't really been interested since the first concert. Natalie wasn't all that keen on going either, but she did. Eric had to go napless for these concerts, but thankfully he has stayed quiet.

Eric loves music but last time he got a bit restless and kept getting on and off my lap. Not this time! This time he sat pretty still in his own seat, and he and Natalie both got conductor batons. Both of them were waving them around when the orchestra started playing and they really had a lot of fun.

Natalie also made this "straw oboe" and had fun playing it. During the concert I asked her if she was interested in playing a band or orchestra instrument later when she gets into middle school (when they start having band or orchestra classes in our public schools here). She nodded and said she wanted to play the bass. I looked at her and told her that because chances were that she would not be very tall, she should consider something a little smaller like the cello that she had played earlier.

I just realized how disorganized this post looks. Oh well-- we had a fun time. The big boys had fun too, playing on the PS3 while we were gone.

Clothing Choices

After church, I took the kids to Target. The boys really needed swimsuits and there were a couple of other things on sale that I needed to get. I can never seem to get out of Target for less than $100. Luckily I don't go more than once a week or every other week. I had some clothing discussions with Miss Natalie while we were there. She wanted to get a plain black shirt and plain black shorts. What in the world? I can't predict her clothing choices anymore. I refused to get her the black outfit, so she ended up choosing a prettier blue shirt with matching skort. I also bought her some pink sandals with "jewels" on the strap, which is much more what I would choose for her. I just can't figure out her clothing choices anymore.

This is a picture of the kids at Haagen-Dazs at North Star Mall. I love getting pictures of the kids all together. We went there for lunch and Eric threw a fit because he wanted Chick-Fil-A chicken and Chick-Fil-A isn't open on Sundays, however, that's another topic for another time. Notice that Natalie is wearing a pink dress. She says that pink is still her favorite color and for once, she allowed me to buy her a dress.

My main reason for going to the mall wasn't Haagen-Dazs, although that was a close second. I wanted to go to Gymboree so I could use my 30% off coupon that expires today. They have this boys' polo shirt that is a blue color that I just love and that I really wanted to get for Eric. The shirt can be found at this link. The matching plaid shorts can be found at this link. I was thinking of trying to get similar colors for everyone in the family for when we get our family picture taken. I was happy that Alex consented to letting me buy him the shirt shown here at this link. Alex almost always wants to wear T-shirts, but he looks so good when he dresses up. One of these days...

So, what did Natalie want? She wanted a boys' shirt. She says she likes sharks, and girls' shirts don't have pictures of sharks, so yes, I bought my daughter a BOYS' shirt, specifically this shirt with pictures of a bunch of sharks. She wasn't interested in any of the girls' clothing. I had to call Patrick, who was at home, to lament about our daughter's clothing choices. By the way, on our last trip to Target, she didn't want the girly beach towel, she picked out the SHARK beach towel. *SIGH*

I was a few dollars short of getting a Gymbuck, so Natalie picked out some pink underwear with a monkey on the front. She has this recent fascination with monkeys. She now owns three sets of Gymboree monkey sleepwear from that same line of clothing. Thankfully, she didn't pick out the boys' shark underwear.

Wiped

I'm wiped today after getting only about an hour of sleep last night at work. I was actually pretty alert during most of that time, perhaps due to the nap I took with Eric yesterday afternoon. I feel like I've lost the day today because I've been sleeping off and on. So, if this post sounds a little random (at least more random than usual) then that's why.

Natalie had her "Guild Auditions" today. This is the one where she "signed up" to memorize and play 15 pieces plus all her scales. She was all smiles when she got home. She was relieved but also pleased with how she did. She said that the judge was "very nice". I'm not sure if he was just nice to her or she thought he was nice because he didn't make her play her scales. She knows those pretty well anyway. We got the results email from her teacher this evening. She got 15 C's and 4 A's, with (C's being better scores than A's). She was given an "Excellent Plus". I'm not sure what the highest rating is, but her teacher said that the judge wasn't giving too many C's, so she considered "Excellent Plus" very good. I'm very proud of Natalie for pushing herself, even though she says she doesn't like to practice. :)

This is a picture of Eric in the car yesterday, just after Patrick and I dropped Anthony off at school. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words. All year, every time Eric would go with Patrick to drive Anthony to school, he always refused to say "goodbye" or even acknowledge Anthony as he was leaving. Apparently, he sometimes even turned away--giving him the "cold shoulder". Anthony just thinks it's funny. Patrick and I are reminded of when Anthony was about Eric's age and he refused to acknowledge or say "goodbye" to his grandparents when they would leave after a visit or me when I left for (or returned from) a call. Eric is also holding a tissue to his knee because he was picking at a scab and it started oozing--ick!

How's this for random? I took this picture when we were at my sister C's house last weekend. The boys were playing with the soccer ball with their cousin N out in the culdesac. I thought this photo is cool because I can see how similar the boys look from behind when they're walking. So different but so similar--aren't kids fun? :)

With The Cousins

It's been a hectic week for us. Between some late days for and afterschool kids' activities, Anthony is going to end up riding the bus four out of five days this week (after tomorrow). A couple of my complications at work were somewhat resolved this week too, and not necessarily resolved completely, but at least resolved for now. It's definitely been a stressful week, so I'm going to post some more fun photos from last weekend to cheer myself up a bit.

I was so glad that I was able to capture a good smile from Eric while he was swinging on the playscape in my sister's backyard. Can you believe that this boy used to refuse to get on a swing? I'm not sure which he loved more, the simple act of swinging through the air, or the attention he was receiving from his cousins. He mainly stuck with the girls this past weekend. My nieces A and E don't have any younger siblings, so they tended to be more attentive than Natalie. All three of them took turns pushing Eric on the swing, however.

Although this isn't the best picture, this shows how similar Eric looks compared to my niece E--similar eyes, nose, lips. They're looking at AB opening her presents. My niece E is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady, like her mother. ;)

My sisters and I got the girls matching James Avery sterling silver bracelets with butterfly charms to commemorate their First Communion. Natalie has been wearing hers (along with her cross necklace) pretty much every day since she got it. I always get a kick out of seeing the girls in matching outfits and/or accessories. Even though I only have one girl, this is like having three. :)

Going To Lola's House

The kids expect certain things when we visit my Mom and Dad. Eric expects to get "rice soup". Natalie expects to get salmon. All the kids expect lots of food, especially mangoes. When we arrived last Friday evening, Eric and Natalie immediately sat down at their dining table to eat.

Anthony just expects food--any kind of food, but especially some type of meat. Here he is eating some barbecue. Notice the earphones around his neck that he didn't bother putting away first before sitting down to eat. In the car on the way to Houston, he was truly multi-tasking. I snapped a picture of him (not shown here) with the earphones in his ears that were also attached to his iPod. He also had his laptop open so he could do some homework. Luckily for him, he doesn't suffer from the same motion sickness that strikes the members of my immediate family. He also had his phone so he could text his friends at the same time he was doing the other stuff.

I caught Alex mid-blink here, but he had the same blank stare that is on Patrick's face. They were both mesmerized by the TV and the Ghost Whisperer show that was on at the time (one of my parents' favorite shows). Alex is eating some "rice soup" at the same time.

I took the rest of these pictures on Sunday morning. I found it interesting that Natalie jumped at the chance to help her Lola water her plants. That yellow object in her hand is a squash that she helped Lola pick. She also helped pick some green beans. Notice that she is wearing jean shorts and a T-shirt. She was going to wear this to the Mother's Day brunch. When I asked her to change into the purple T-shirt/skorts outfit that she had packed, she refused, saying that she hated the color "purple". I don't know why she packed that outfit if she hates the color "purple", and I don't know why she picked out that purple outfit when we were at Target several months ago. She has also worn that outfit many times. This is why nowadays, I don't try to buy her clothes when she isn't with me. She ended up wearing the same dress she wore all day the day before. *SIGH*

Notice the Thomas PJs that Eric is wearing outside. Lola bought these for him along with another matching set. She also bought him some Thomas swim shorts and presented all of them to him on Friday night when we arrived. He loved them, of course. Notice that he is also wearing sandals. I've been pleasantly surprised that he has chosen to wear these exclusively since I bought them from the Gap a couple of weeks ago (and not his usual socks/sneakers). It's just as well since the weather here has turned quite hot (up to the 90s). Lastly, notice the large Thomas train that he is trying to balance in his arms. Yes, he dragged this pull-toy outside with him. I think this used to be my nephew's but now it's at Lola's house for Eric to play with whenever he visits. He even slept with it at the foot of his bed while we were there.

I love photos like this that are taken from behind. (Are you reading this, Catherine?) This is just my mom spending some time with her grandkids and enjoying it. The feeling was mutual.

I'll try to post some other miscellaneous photos in the next day or so.

AB's First Communion

My niece AB's First Communion mass was at 10AM last Saturday. We met everyone at the church at 9:30AM and the church was already almost full. I think there were something like 160 kids having their First Communion. My sister C got there first and saved a couple of rows for our family of 16 (our immediate family plus her in-laws) and she said that she felt like she was at a rock concert with people coming up and asking her if all of those seats were saved.

It was freezing in the church, despite all of the people there. Natalie was wearing a dress with spaghetti straps and she jumped at the chance to wear my BIL's suit coat jacket when he offered it to her. She sat next to my niece E who just had her First Communion last week. Unfortunately, we missed that one because I was working last weekend.

AB's paternal grandparents drove down from Oklahoma for this event. They're wonderful people and it was great to see them again. I have to giggle at this photo, though, because of Natalie thrusting her head into the shot from the row behind. Anthony is also peeking from that other row. This must show that I trained those two to look at the camera whenever it's pointed somewhere in their vicinity.

The boys (including my nephew N) are all in soccer, so for once, none of them had a game. Patrick and I feel like we have to pull Alex's teeth sometimes to get him to "dress up". It's also like pulling teeth to get him to cooperate with photos sometimes. At least my nephew N smiled this time. That must be a ten-year-old thing.

As an aside, near the beginning of mass, Anthony's nose started spontaneously bleeding. I started walking with him towards the foyer of the church when one of the ladies that was helping with the mass saw that he had blood running down his hands and took us to the sacristy where there was a sink and some towels. She apparently was an emergency room nurse for many years and she was a huge help.

My parents were there, of course, as well as my other sister M. We had so many packed in our pews that when they talked about making room for others that had arrived later, we couldn't fit anymore, without putting a child on a lap, that is. We had nine people in our row (including kids) and there were six adults sitting in the row in front of us.

AB wore the dress she wore as a flower girl for my cousin's wedding almost two years ago, minus the red sash. She looked beautiful in that dress and she also looked very excited, even after mass when we were taking photos of her in front of the altar.

I love this picture of AB with both sets of grandparents. I wish I had taken a picture of Natalie with both sets of her grandparents when they were all here for her First Communion. Oh well, maybe one of these days...

Tomorrow I'll share some pictures I took at my Mom and Dad's house. My mom loves to spoil the kids, mostly with food. It's wonderful to see that interaction.

Happy Mother's Day 2010

I took a lot of pictures this weekend, so I'll be posting a few a day in the next few days so as to not overload my MIL's dial-up internet service. I had a nice Mother's Day today overall. We had brunch at America's Restaurant in Houston this morning. They had lamb, beef, chicken, crab legs, calamari, etc. They had pasta with two different sauces and your choice of items to add to it. The kids' favorite seemed to be the crepes, fruit or chocolate. They had creme brulee, tres leches cake, and even ice cream. It was ALL delicious.

I tried to take a few group shots. I don't know what Anthony was trying to do here, but he definitely looks like he's enjoying himself. He got up around 9:30AM and had breakfast before getting ready for the brunch. The brunch reservation was at 10:45AM and he was still able to eat at least two plates full (mostly seafood) and had ice cream for dessert. Alex had a chocolate crepe and some of the pasta with alfredo sauce. He also had fruit and ended up with ice cream for dessert.

I love this picture of my mom with her granddaughters--all beautiful. Natalie had fruit and salmon. Her cousins ate quite a bit too, but of course nothing compared to the boys. They all sat together and had a blast.

What kind of picture do you get when you tell your parents that they should try to smile for the picture? :) Still, I take every opportunity to take pictures of them because I am never sure how much longer they'll be around. I hope I look as good as my mom when I get to be her age. (Love you, Mom!)


The food was fantastic, but the service was a bit lagging. We had to wait quite a while to get the bill, even after we asked for it. The kids got a bit restless, but at least there was a little area that they could play in. Here, the girls are picking each other up for some reason. The girls all loved playing with Eric this weekend, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. The girls like to sing and dance and so does Eric. My nieces especially, seemed to enjoy having a "younger sibling" to play with.

Here, Eric is running back and forth from where I was standing to the wall. The girls were following him and doing what he was doing. What else could a three-year-old want?

This evening, Patrick and the older boys went to a Spurs basketball game. Patrick was hesitant since it was Mother's Day, but it was actually my idea. Some women look forward to being spoiled by their families for Mother's Day. I told Patrick that he spoils me all the time, so I don't have anything left to ask for on Mother's Day. I hope all the other mothers out there had a wonderful day today too!

Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures from my niece's First Communion this weekend.