Christmas Day

Christmas morning we were at our house and Jacob got to open up his presents. We didn't put any of them out until after he went to bed the night before so he was really surprised when he came into the living room. The first thing he did was go grab the "horse horse". Then he noticed the tricycle and that was all he was interested in for a long time. It took quite a bit of prompting to get him to open the rest of his gifts. Finally he did (but he did not get off his trike for a loooong time) then all he wanted to do was play with his "gucks". Everything that is not a car is a "guck" now. Doesn't matter if it's a helicopter or a John Deere, to him it's a "guck". Around noon'ish we went over to Brad and Lesha's for lunch - and David went to work. Had some wonderful turkey and all the fixins'. Got way to stuffed then played some serious dominoes. Of course my 86 year old grandmother won the game...not all the hands, but the overall game. She's just had more experience than the rest of us. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Was a great day.

Christmas Eve

Christmas eve was spent at our home with my parents and Grandma C. Mom, Grandma, and I pretty much stayed in the kitchen making goodies. Dad, David, and Jacob made us a nice toasty fire in the fireplace. It's the first time we used it - was nice!! Jacob of course was right in there with Dad and David helping fan the fire and blowing on it to get it started. A lack of enough kindling was a bit of an issue, but thanks to our "large lunged" men, we had a roaring fire in no time. After Jacob went to bed we brought out all the presents. Of course everything but the stockings were for him. Funny how that happens.

Best Ever Banana Muffins

Folks, I just got through making the "Best Ever Banana Muffins", and boy are they REALLY the best ever! Head on over to Ciao Down and check out "Best Ever Banana Muffins". Your taste buds (but not your scale) will thank you! A huge thank-you (maybe?) to my cousin Shelley for posting this recipe.

New Poll

Note the new poll I've got up.
There's a "discussion" in our house and I'm wondering about the rest of you....what do you do?

My Best Buddies

"Aren't we too cool!"


"Look babies, when you get older you can have some super cool boots like these!"

Are you tired?

You think Jacob may have been just a wee bit tired? He still has his hand wrapped around his spoon.
His cousins are wearing him out! It's hard work for a 19 mo. old to take care of 2 3 mo. olds. ;)

Day 1 with Trace & Trevin

Today was my first day to keep Trace and Trevin. What a good time we had! Jacob LOVED having the "bebes" here. He was so excited when he got up this morning and walked into the living room and saw them. He was quite the "helper" too. Several times he tried giving them their pacifiers (weather they wanted them or not) and wanted to help feed them too. He was also great at bringing me diapers (his, which needless to say are way to big for them) at random times. Trace and Trevin were also intrigued with him already which surprised me. I didn't think they would recognize another "little person" so young, but they sure seemed to. They would watch him and smile and coo at him. He was definitely more interesting to them than I was. Really cool to watch the three of them "interact" with each other. Jacob was sleeping when Lesha picked them up and when he got up from his nap he went all over the house looking for "bebe bebe" and got quite upset when he couldn't find them! So amazing to watch these 3 little boys starting to develop a relationship with each other. Looking forward to another day tomorrow.

Brad's Party

ok, ok, ok, so I'm a little slow at getting these up, but I'm doing the best I can. It's not like we JUST moved into a new house and we have anything else to do besides sit at the computer right?? ;)

So...we had about 45 people over a couple of weeks ago to celebrate Brad's b-day. The house was pretty much busting at the seams, but everyone had a great time (they didn't tell me otherwise anyway!). Good thing it was about 70 degrees that night. All the kids could run around in the back yard while the men picked up some of the 50 million pecans we have and grunted to each other. Us ladies stayed in the cool house and yapped as usual. Standard affair. ;) Enjoy some of the snapshots I took.

House update

One smart mouth member of our family wanted to know "When the Hollywood writers went on strike did you go with them and decide not to write on your blog? Just wondering.". Well, as you can see from the pictures below I have been just a bit busy on the house. Of course I'm not in any of the pics as I'm the one taking them. You can rest assured I've worked my fingers to the bone... and what do I have to show for it - bony fingers. (Or at least red, dry knuckles.)

If any of you ever get the bright idea of putting cork on a wall...DO. NOT. DO. IT. It's terrible to have to take down and makes a horrendous mess. We had 6 inches of cork "sand" and "rocks" on the floor by the time we got it all down. Which took several hours to do by the way. Also, that stuff absorbs all the smells in the house so we were still smelling the smoke (from the fireplace, not cigarettes) from last year. I've also come to the conclusion wall paper needs to be illegal. That's why we had to have Brad spray texture on the hall wall. Talk about an enormous job. THANKS Brad for doing that!! All this rambling that I must say that I do love our new home, it's just a lot of work to update. We haven't even started tackling the bathrooms, kitchen, entry, or dining room yet. That's not coming until next summer at the earliest. After this weekend (when we hope to actually move in) we're just going to enjoy being in a "real house" and be very thankful to be there. It's a wonderful place and we look forward to having lots of company! hint hint

Happy 30th Brad!

Today is my brother's 30th birthday...in honor of such an occasion I'm posting a few of his better pictures. Enjoy!

Trip to FL

Jacob and I made another trip to FL to pack up the rest of our belongings. I thought 99% of our stuff was packed already but it seemed that the other 1% grew while we were gone!! Go figure. So...it was mostly a "working trip" for me and a vacation for Jacob. As usual, all the pictures are of Jacob and none of me because I'm always behind the camera. But no one really cares about me anyway, I'm "just" Mom, it's "the baby" everyone wants to see. "The baby" is such a big boy now, especially with his new haircut. whaaaaaa!!!

HALLELUJAH

We sold our home in FL this morning and purchased a home in TX this afternoon. It's been one roller-coaster of a day! Pictures to come later...I'm pooped!

Homeless

We are officially homeless...for a few hours! Who knew being homeless could feel so good!

Mt. Peak

Ride with Mickey & New Desk

Jacob got to ride with Mickey in his fire truck the other day. Was that ever exciting!



Papa got Jacob a "new" desk the other day...he loves to sit in it. He thinks he's as grown as the rest of us. He had a grand time coloring in his new book.

Collecting Pecans

Jacob and Papa had a great time picking up the "millions" of pecans that are now falling in our front yard.

(Thanks for the rain boots Sarah K. in FL...he LOVES them!!)

What kind of cake are you?

NO Aunt Susan, I did NOT cheat...this was the answer I got the first time.

You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Texas Square Dancin'

This is what we spend our spare time doing. Bet you didn't know we have such tallent.

Faces of Jacob

A few snapshots of Jacob this week...waking up is always such a fun thing, loads of fun was had with the popsicle and blueberries, and just making Mom laugh. All in a days work for an 18 mo. old boy.

Brotherly love...or something like that

They're starting at a very young age..."you bite me, I bite you". Brothers, gotta love 'em.

First Kiss

This morning the sweetest thing happened...Jacob gave me a spontaneous kiss for the first time. Complete with "kiss sound" and everything. I've receive several kisses from him when I've asked for them, but never just out of the clear blue. I thought I'd experienced all the "first kiss flutters" I'd ever have...a little different but just as real feelings this time. ;) A boy sure knows how to make his Mom's heart go pitter patter.

"Ciao Down"

Our family has started an online recipe book..."Ciao Down". These are all recipes we've made and love. There will be an eceletic mix of recipes as we live in different regions of the States and have different tastes. There will also be some international recipes we've acquired through the years from extended family and friends living around the world. Come on in and enjoy!

My In-Laws...(yes, I do love them)

Hey...I found my in-laws on someone elses webpage!! Or maybe it's David and I in reverse rolls? (He really does know Spanish and I really did take one semester in high school...all that I remember is summed up in this "Spanish Love Song".)

David Sr...am I going to get any comments from you?
much love from your favorite Texas Daughter-In-Law

Me llama Kristen.
Mi esposo se llama David.
El hijo de nuestros se llama Jacob.
El fin.

Cousin love

These are a few pictures I snapped the other day. Jacob just loves his baby cousins. They even rank above Nana and Papa...for about 3 seconds. He spontaneously gives them kisses..he doesn't even do that to his Mom!

How Texan Am I?

You Are 84% Texas

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit! You're pretty darn Texan.

How Texas Are You?

Y'all come on down...not only am I from Texas, I'm from East Texas. Hence the "delightful" accent. If you're fixin' to come visit let me know and I'll have you some Dr. Pepper sweetened with cane sugar (not artificial stuff) to drink as we walk through the State Fair in Dallas.

Aunt Susan - I'll try to find the kindness in my heart to even let you come visit and show you some of the finer things in life. Who knows, you may decide you want to move here some day after a great revelation and have one of those bumper stickers that says "I wasn't born in TX but I got there as quick as I could". Yes, folks, those really do exist in abundance here.

Trace & Trevin Homecoming

Brad, Lesha, and babies got to come home Saturday. Of course Aunt Kristen was on hand to take a few pictures. Lesha will probably post more later today but I wanted to get a few up for those of you who are "dying" to see them. ;) Please feel free to leave comments on Brad & Lesha's blog.



(double click on "Trace & Trevin" on bottom left of slide show to view the pictures in their Picassa web album)

THEY'RE HERE!!

Trace Morgan 19" 5 lb 7 oz born at 10:48 PM
Trevin Slade 19 1/4" 5 lb 5 oz born at 10:55 PM

Yep, they're the cutest set of twins I've ever seen!
Lesha, Brad, and babies are doing great.


(more pictures and info. to come when I'm on a computer that works MUCH faster than the one I'm on now!)

Happy Birthday Caroline & Kayleen

Another great weekend with Alison and family...celebrating birthdays is fun. All the kids had a great time...in spite of a very "lopsided" tug-of-war...7 girls against 2 boys. Wonder who one that one? ;) A water balloon fight and bobbing for apples also created quite a buzz. The party ended with a hay ride and all the kids thought they were quite cool. enjoy the pics

Fun with Cousins

We spent this past weekend with Alison and her girls. Jacob had a great time with Caroline (5), Kayleen (4), and Allie (18 mo). Much noise was made by all 4 kids and my ears were ready for some quiet time when I left! We had a great time and will be ready to go back next weekend for the birthday party. Thanks Alison!

After all that girl stuff and pink we had to have some boy time at Uncle Brad's - love those 4 wheelers!

Attempt at Family Picutres

Being the good Wife/Mom I try to be, I decided it was time to get some family pictures taken. The boys, however, didn't think it was such a great idea. David humored me by going along with the plan (after much grumbling). Jacob, however, was a different story. He was not interested. He had places to go and things to do!

First Boat Ride

Jacob got to go on his first boat ride this weekend. He thought it was great. Of course he wanted to be "driving" the boat most of the time. Papa was happy to oblige him.

Trip to Florida

Jacob and I made a flying surprise trip to Florida this past weekend...Happy Birthday Mimi! It was a very fast and furious weekend but we had a great time. Daniel, Cindy, and the kids came down to meet us there too. Jacob and Noah had a wonderful time together. Jacob was Noah's little shadow...everywhere Noah went Jacob was right behind him. We all got to the house abut 2:00 AM...the adults were tried and ready to go to bed but Jacob and Noah had other plans. They played and ate blueberries (Jacob's favorite food) until 3:30. Great Grandpa and Grandma came over Saturday morning for breakfast and were very surprised to see all of us. Saturday was full of mostly just playing at the house then on to G'pa and G'ma's for some GREAT Cuban food. You always leave their house about 10 pounds heaver than when you went. Sunday was meeting in the morning, a trip to an Urgent Care facility - Jacob is allergic to Penicillin we found out - then a trip down to our house in St. Augustine. It kind of made me want to move back...just wish we could pick up the house and move it here to Texas...sounds good to me! (For any of you in FL, NO we don't have plans to come back!) But we really need to sell that house...anyone have friends that want to move to Saint Augustine?? It's beautiful there! Monday Jacob got his first haircut. It was a little traumatic at first then it wasn't so bad. Grandpa did a good job. Where did my baby go?? He left and a cute little boy took his place. Off to Great G'pa and G'ma's to say "see ya later" then back to the airport. Our trip went by way to fast...but they say time flies when you're having fun so we must have had a ball.

The Weekend

We spent this past weekend at my parent's house. Jacob got a new wagon, which he loved, and the rest of us enjoyed our time in the pool. It was scorching hot outside so the water felt great.

Wild Hog sitting

Brad is "wild hog sitting" for some of our friends here. We joined him at feeding time yesterday and Jacob thought it was pretty cool getting to play in their food.

(Note to Mimi & Abuela Torres: the hogs stayed far, far away and the food was just dry corn.)

Bergfield Park

Jacob loves to swing so I take him to the park to play on pretty days. Lately, however, that’s been a rarity here in Texas…seems like it rains every day. He has FINALLY started walking now. He was pretty upset though at the park when I put him down for him to walk without holding on to one of my fingers. Hence the crying in a couple of the pictures. Once he got over the initial frustration he had a great time. He wants to walk everywhere now, including doing laps in our house! He also loves keys and wants them in his hands at all times. And he wants the car keys thank you very much, the house keys just will not do. (the car noises are super cool to make too)

Random July Pictures

Tool Time

We thought this set of sockets, wrenches, and “stuff” was securely shut…but no. Jacob found a way to get it open and had a grand time taking everything out. Of course then I got to have a grand time putting everything back in.

The Children's Park

Jacob and I enjoyed a beautiful day at The Children's Park.

Texas Bound: June 30 - July 1

These are a few pictures taken on our move from Florida to Texas. David had already moved, therefore, my parents flew to Florida to help drive Jacob and I to Texas. During our trip we went through some horrible rainstorms that forced us to pull off the road a few times. During those times Jacob LOVED to pretend like he was driving!

It was harder to leave FL than I thought it would be. During my 5 years there I made some great friends that will forever have a special place in my heart. Thanks for the great friendships and memories!

As they say in Florida..."be careful, you'll get some sand in your shoes" - I will forever have a little sand in my shoes.