Twas the day before Christmas Part 2...

Santa was so much fun during his visit to our house. He brought Christopher and Aida their Christmas pajamas all the way from the North Pole. He instructed Aida and Christopher that these were the special PJ's that they needed to wear on Christmas eve. He showed them a special christmas scrap book of the elves, reindeer and Mrs. Clause at the North Pole. And he also brought the special Reindeer food that Aida sprinkled on the lawn that help give the reindeer their magical flying powers.

Here we are looking out the window for Santa's sleigh....and flying Reindeer

This is the north pole scrap book. Aida is trying to help Santa show Christopher...

Thanking Santa for his gifts...

Christopher and Santa...his first Christmas

Just one of my sweet baby boy looking at Santa and his big sister....

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Twas the day before Christmas.....Part 1

Twas the day before Christmas....and SANTA CAME TO OUR HOUSE!!!!!! This honestly was one of the most magical Christmas moments ever :) My daughter is really into Christmas this year and she is so excited about Santa coming. So we were lucky enough to have Santa visit on Christmas eve morning...this was just a wonderful memory for all of us...Christopher was a champ too. Didn't even cry and really was very curious about Santa...we were all shocked and so proud of our little guy. Here are some pictures of our special Christmas Eve.

Aida answering the door...who is it?

She opened the door and yelled "MOMMY IT'S SANTA!!!" Those dimples tell the full story of how overjoyed she was.

Inviting Santa into our house for a visit. This was really just where the fun began.

I will post more pictures in a second post on the Santa visit. There were just too many special moments for just one post...and I we need to make sure we get in bed so Santa can come to our house tonight!!! After the great visit this morning we surely don't want him to even think about skipping us because we aren't sleeping.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

My New Camera!!!

This Christmas, Alex and I decided to get the Canon Rebel as our new camera and I love it! I am sooo hoping that I can learn how to use it and that I can really pick up my photo taking. It has been so hard to get motivated to take pictures this past year because my old camera was a real drag. We'll see how much more the blogging pics up. In the meantime here are some pics that Alex and I shot while we are learning to use the camera. The pictures are so crisp and the shutter speed is really fast...I am so hoping I get some super cute ones this year with Christmas.

Here are the munchkins just being playmates at the house...

Happy Picture Taking!

Vegas Baby!

This weekend Alex and I met Mike and Courtney in Vegas for a quick get away. We had so much fun. We stayed at the Wynn, which was just beautiful. Ate at great restaurants and drank delicious wine. We also attempted to gamble or donate money to the black jack, poker and slot machines - although we broke even, so we came out OK. Here are some pictures in the lobby of the Wynn before we went to dinner one night. Such a great weekend to remember.

Christopher's First Boo!

I have decided I am not going to try to catch up with the blog posts because at this point catching up with anything is just not going to happen -- however, I do want to share some cute pictures from our first Halloween with Christopher. Our lives have been so crazy with my travel schedule at work and Alex's work and school schedule that the few hours we spent trick or treating was a real treat and so much fun! Aida picked the theme this year. She was going to be a "Pirate Princess " and Christopher was going to be a "Parrot." Since her theme was perfect in every way -- I decided not to mess with it and to go in search of the cutest pirate and parrot costumes ever...

It was such a fun few hours. Christopher fell asleep in the stroller quickly and Aida went trick or treating with the neighborhood kids and had a blast. It is so much fun watching them grow and experience the holiday's. Now off to Thanksgiving -- Gosh the time is all going by way to fast.

The little pumpkin turns 7 months!

7 months ago this precious baby boy changed our family for the better. He has been a total joy every minute. When I look at these pictures it just makes my heart melt. At 7 months Christopher is rolling over on both sides, reaching, cooing, eating baby food like a champ, and laughing all the time. He smiles so big and loves his sister so much. He lights up the house.

We love you baby!

How we do bath time...

With two little ones most of the activities in our house need to be fun and fast. That is how we do bath time too....Aida loves to give her little brother a bath and making sure he doesn't have any "stinky germs" as she likes to say. I can't believe that Christopher is turning 7 months next week. I hope that they both love taking baths together for a little while longer at least. It is one of the many things I love about coming home every night. Aida usually needs some convincing about bath time but once I tell her that Christopher is joining her, she gets much more excited. These little moments are so special and very precious. These are the little simple things that make my heart smile and coming home after spending so much time away even more special.

First Day of School 2011!

Today was Aida's first day of school for the 11-12 school year. It's hard to believe that she is 4 years old and such a big girl already. After many days of "prepping" Aida for the first day of school this morning it was finally here. She woke up on her own, ate her yogurt and chocolate milk for breakfast and then got dressed, brushed her teeth and put in her bow for the first day. I have been traveling so much lately that being able to spend this moment with Aida and my family was a treasure. I had a few moments to just be a "mommy." To enjoy the special times with Aida that we could never recreate. I felt very fortunate today to have a few quite , and special moments with my kids.

The whole family went with Aida on her first day -- Aida, Daddy, Christopher and Mommy. It was so special to have everyone with her. When we arrived in the classroom the very first thing Aida did was run to her teacher Ms. Hilda and give her the biggest hug I have ever seen. Then I heard one little boy in the class say "Ms. Hilda -- look at her bow, she is so beautiful!" We think you are beautiful too Aida -- but mommy wasn't quite ready for this to be the first thing the little boys said about you in class today. Daddy is determined to keep an eye on those boys! Anyway...here are some pictures of her first day.
She loves to work independently and she loves to do her work with her classmates.

Aida and me! Aida and Ms. Hilda

Her welcome back hug! Look at how cute all of these cute kids in her class are! It was such a great day.

After school, Grandma came with us to pick up Aida and we headed to her favorite place - McDonald's. Baby Christopher slept through it all...the perfect ending to a great first day.

We love you Aida!

Chocolate Milk...

To know anything about Aida is to know that she LOVES chocolate milk. She is a fan of all different types...our girl has loved chocolate milk since her very first sip and when we run out of dark chocolate ovaltine in our house....things get dicey.

We went to the mall to have some indoor fun of our many 106+ degree days here in Dallas and look what we found....Aida was in heaven...we had to take a picture.

Mike and Courtney's Wedding Shower!

Over 4th of July weekend Mom and I hosted a little shower for Mike and Courtney. It was a really nice evening to celebrate their big day coming up in September. Here are some pics of their fun night...


Aida hanging out with the bartender...she drank her ice tea out of a wine glass and chit chatted with him for hours...I hope this is not a sign of future things to come.

Lots of party guests on our new patio...

Mike and Courtney before the party!

The cake was delicious. It was Mike and Courtney's favorite, red velvet with cream cheese icing. Yummo...

We had so much fun hosting their friends on this special night. We hope you have a lifetime of happiness Mike and Court and we look so forward to being a part of your special day!

2 Beautiful Kids....

Here they are Christopher at 5 months and Aida at 4 years old. I dont think it gets any better...

Christopher Alexander's Baptism

On May 14th we had the pleasure of baptism Christopher Alexander. It was a wonderful day surrounded by family to celebrate our beautiful baby boy. Christopher was so perfect and he looked gorgeous in his special christening outfit. My brother and his fiance Courtney flew in for the special day and all of Alex's family came from College Station. Their travels are just a testament to how much this baby boy is loved. We couldn't be more thankful for Drew (Alex's Brother) and Courtney Piper my brothers fiance for being the Godparents of our baby boy. The day was perfect, surrounded in love and a great memory for the baby.

Blessing to you always Christopher...we love you

Mommy and Daddy

Happy 4th Birthday Aida!!

This weekend was Aida's very happy 4Th Birthday weekend! We had so much fun. Her birthday fun started on Wednesday with cupcakes and presents and grandma's house. Then on Saturday we had all of her friends to her Rainbow themed birthday party at McDonald's! Aida knew since Christmas she wanted a "rainbow" birthday party and so that is just what she had. We invited all of her friends to McDonald's for happy meals and birthday cake. The party was super fun and all the kids had a great time playing on the play land. Aunt Re made her special birthday tutu and bow and she looked perfect! This really was one of the most stress free birthdays we have had -- the key is having it at a "place" where you don't have to set up or clean up! We had a great time and Aida was a very happy little birthday princess. Here are some pictures of all of our fun : Opening presents at Grandma's house while Baby Christopher watches on...

Doesn't his look say "ummm where are my presents??"

Blowing out our Rainbow Cupcakes...

Smiling for the camera..

This is our precious Rainbow Birthday Girl outfit!

Hugging our friends from school....

While baby brother sleeps through the fun...

Aida and her friends!

Action Shot....

All of her friends eating their happy meals!

Singing Happy Birthday...got to love the Rainbow Cake

After the party all of the cousins took naps and then went into our backyard to play in the pools. Baby Christopher got in the pool too...He loved it!

Look at him in his precious baby flip flops! I couldn't stand it...

Here are the things I want to remember most about Aida's Birthday this year...

1. That she kept telling everyone she was turning 10 and got really offended when you reminded her she was only 4

2. How set she was at having a "rainbow" birthday party...she knew she wanted this since Christmas of 2010!

3. How much she wanted to make sure that Christopher was coming to the party too...

4. How cute she was playing with all of her cousins and friends. She really just enjoyed all the fun and played so hard.

Happy Birthday Angel Face...