In June, Gabriella took her first dance class ever! It was a tap/ballet combo and she loved it. Of course if anyone knows me then they'll know how excited that made ME. Here is a picture of her on her first day of class. She is still taking a ballet/tap combo class and will have her first BIG recital in May.
In July, we took our 1st family vacation! It was a big deal for us because we had TWO little ones and one LONG drive. But it went well! We drove 10 hours to Houston (Katy) to spend some time with my nephew and nieces. They have always lived in another town so I LOVE getting to spend time with them when I get the chance. It seems just like yesterday when my nephew, Caleb, was born and now he's 14! And of course Gabriella got to spend time with Caitlin and Chloe. I never thought my kids and my brother's kids would ever be close since my brother and I are 9 
years apart. Luckily, the younger ones are close in age and play very well together. And Caleb and Caitlin are great with my little ones so it's just a blast when we get together. After spending time with them we headed to San Antonio for a few days of fun at Sea World and the San Antonio Zoo. Our first day we tried to go to the zoo, but we were tired from the 3 hour drive to San Antonio and it was hot! The kids were tired and cranky so after an hour we called it quits and checked into our hotel. Gabriella was so excited when we got to the hotel room. She thought it was the coolest place. Both of the kids also enjoyed the whirlpool tub we had in our room. They thought it was their own personal swimming pool! We spent 2 full days at Sea World and the kids had a blast. They enjoyed feeding the sea lions, spending one full day in the water park, and watching the shows. They still talk about Shamu and ask all the time to go back. Here is a picture of my silly kids. Eric was so determined to get the perfect picture in front of the sign.... unfortunately it didn't happen because they were more interested in getting inside the park. This was the best picture we got of them.
In July, we took our 1st family vacation! It was a big deal for us because we had TWO little ones and one LONG drive. But it went well! We drove 10 hours to Houston (Katy) to spend some time with my nephew and nieces. They have always lived in another town so I LOVE getting to spend time with them when I get the chance. It seems just like yesterday when my nephew, Caleb, was born and now he's 14! And of course Gabriella got to spend time with Caitlin and Chloe. I never thought my kids and my brother's kids would ever be close since my brother and I are 9 
years apart. Luckily, the younger ones are close in age and play very well together. And Caleb and Caitlin are great with my little ones so it's just a blast when we get together. After spending time with them we headed to San Antonio for a few days of fun at Sea World and the San Antonio Zoo. Our first day we tried to go to the zoo, but we were tired from the 3 hour drive to San Antonio and it was hot! The kids were tired and cranky so after an hour we called it quits and checked into our hotel. Gabriella was so excited when we got to the hotel room. She thought it was the coolest place. Both of the kids also enjoyed the whirlpool tub we had in our room. They thought it was their own personal swimming pool! We spent 2 full days at Sea World and the kids had a blast. They enjoyed feeding the sea lions, spending one full day in the water park, and watching the shows. They still talk about Shamu and ask all the time to go back. Here is a picture of my silly kids. Eric was so determined to get the perfect picture in front of the sign.... unfortunately it didn't happen because they were more interested in getting inside the park. This was the best picture we got of them.
August brought forth Gabriella's first day of preschool! We enrolled her in a 3 day a week program and she goes from 9-11:30. She was actually more excited than I thought. I think on the first day I was more nervous than she was. If she was nervous, she sure didn't act like it! I took her to school, walked her in and she went straight into her classroom...no tears! She is still going to school and loves it. It's amazing how much she has grown in these past few months, though. Here she is on the first day of school and she already looks different!
Then in September, our little boy turned 2. Since he loves Elmo and Sesame Street we had a Sesame party for him. Each table had a different character theme and we had a few games for the kids to play and win prizes. Then to top it off, we had 2 guest appearances. Yep, Big Bird and Cookie Monster came by to take pictures with the kids! I was actually pleasantly surprised that most of the kids weren't scared and wanted to take the pictures. In this picture Caden is a little unsure...He hears daddy's voice inside, but it sure doesn't look like daddy! My husband had this great idea that if he could find a Big Bird type costume then he would dress up. Of course that sent me on a mission to find one! True to his word, Eric dressed up like Big Bird, walked around and took pictures with the kids (and adults!) that were there. The costume may not look exactly like the big yellow bird we see on TV, but when he walked out all the kids knew who he was. My brother-in-law also dressed up like Cookie Monster. Now every time Caden watches Sesame Street he says "Daddy Big Bird" or "Marcus Cookie". So, at least for a while I guess he'll remember them dressing up for his birthday. Either that or he believes that daddy IS Big Bird and that Uncle Marcus is Cookie Monster!
And that brings us to 2009. I hope my trip down memory lane didn't bore anyone and to those who are still reading, thanks for joining in. I hope everyone's 2009 is off to a great start! I hope to update more frequently, so be sure to check in once in a while.
1 comment:
I can't believe how big your brother's kids have gotten! And I can so relate to Eric--the boys already know when I ask them to take a picture that it is going to take a while. I did our Christmas pictures this year and they were great, but after the last one the boys cheered. I didn't think I was THAT bad.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
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