Thanksgiving 2011

This Thanksgiving was a somber one. We drove in Thursday morning and headed to the country to Honey & Poppy's house. Richard was barely hanging on and we knew it was just a matter of time. His smiling face and amazing cooking was definitely missed. I think we're frying a turkey for X-mas in his honor, that's how he liked it. Nevertheless we all gathered one last time and shared a wonderful meal. As with any Thanksgiving we ate way too much. The kids loved the dressing, green beans and Maddie loved the yams.

After the game we came back to College Station and gathered at my Tia Rosalinda's house to watch the Aggies vs. t.u. game. I'm sure you all know it was a huge disappointment for my Aggies. This Thanksgiving was different to say the least. My sister wasn't here with us and neither was the Reyes/Rodriguez clan. Not better, not worse, just different. We shared laughs though and above all the kids were happy.

In loving memory of Richard Pollard

There have been many wonderful things happen in my life since meeting Shawn, but one of the greatest gifts is getting to know his step-dad Richard. He passed away Friday morning after battling cancer this year. In the ten years I knew him he taught me so much. This man broke the mold when God made him. I remember meeting him and having my preconceptions about him. Boy was I wrong! He was kind, intelligent, loving, open-minded, non-judgmental, friendly, knowledgeable, free-spirited people I ever met. He and Suzy were a match made in heaven. 

My life has been became richer just by knowing him.  He gave me and Shawn one of the best compliments ever. I remember he said, "You two have a great relationship, you can tell that you are really each others best friend. Those kind words showed how he genuinely cared about others and the importance of loving each other. He was such an inspiration! He also showed me so much about food and wine. One of our common loves! We swapped cooking ideas, recipes and tasted some great wines together. To this day, I'll always order a simple Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay because that was his go-to wine. I'll always think of him, cheers! He wouldn't sweat the small stuff, he lived in the present. I will miss his spirit because more than anything he was such a joy to be around. He often read this very blog, and encouraged me to keep writing about about my life as well as other things. Again, being kind and nurturing and seeing special talents in others, that was another great thing about him. He was a great husband, father, grandfather and teacher. I could add hundreds more stories on this blog (and I might later)! Richard will always be missed, never forgotten and forever in our hearts.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Max's first Thanksgiving Feast

Max had his first Thanksgiving party at CtR. I promised him I was would come and that I'd pick him up early. Being a Kinder teacher for 5 years showed me how distraught kids can be when mommy leaves and I was not having that!!

The set-up was nice and I was actually a volunteer, but I mainly just talked with the kids. 

 It was cute to see his class walk in holding to a multicolored rope. Max was so much bigger than the others. I forget how tall he is until I compare him to other kids his age.

 At first Max didn't see me, but once he did his face lit up. Such a special moment. I was so happy to be there. It was so neat to see him in a school setting following directions and having a good time. All his teachers were bragging on what a good boy he is. Love that!

 

 Priceless.

 Then Max must have thought I'd be leaving him because he got the saddest look in his eyes, chin started to quiver and tears started to well up in his eyes. I almost cried myself, I hated seeing him sad.  This picture captured that sad face he was giving me. Finally he got over it and ate most of his food.

 Maddie came along for the ride and did a pretty good job in the stroller mostly. She eventually got sick of being in there and I let her sit with the big kids. She fit right in, cannot wait for next year!!

Of course when it was over and parents said their good-byes, the screams and tears came. Max looked terrified. I kept telling him I'd be taking him home, but I still felt so bad for the others. Not sure if I'll come to every event because I'm not sure I can deal with it. Either way I saw his class line up and go back to his class and get his things. We came home and had a great nap. Now we're getting ready to spend Thanksgiving with family!!

Chopsticks

Shawn worked late one night and we had a coupon, so what a perfect excuse not to cook. I dreaded this outing, but I was pleasantly surprised. They ate all their food and loved their fortune cookies. Score, we'll be back to Pei Wei for sure!

 Take 1

Take 2

Dancing babies!

My kids love to dance. Shake it!!!! 

p.s. notice Max trying to push his way in the spotlight. Love my kids, equally cute!!

16 months and she's doing what??!?!

So the days pass and then suddenly I realize my baby is 16 months, that's closer to 1 1/2 than 1. I know it sounds cliché or repetitive on this blog, but that is literally how I feel. A few things I can say about her is that she has some serious spunk. She's loud, loving, sweet, fast, precious and fun! One thing I am amazed she can do is jump. Max didn't jump until after his 2nd birthday, so I was surprised to see her jumping so early. She is fast! Her orthopedic doctor (who we saw to evaluate her legs) said that kids with tibial torsion like her are often clumsy but fast. That is so true, she often trips and falls over her feet, but she gets up and gets going. She also loves to dance. She says a few words like mommy, daddy, Ma (Max), Tytin (Tyson), cookie, dance, me (mine) and many other words I haven't deciphered yet. 

She plays at the park.

 We have Starbucks dates.

 She loves slides.

 She paints (or eats the paint).

 She loves her daddy!

 She loves story time!

 She throws tantrums. 

 She eats with a fork and spoon (sometimes).

 She falls and gets boo boos (her right eye).

 She's a girly girl!

Museum Fun

We ventured out to city for an afternoon/evening of playtime. I was so excited to take the kids to the Children's Museum of Houston for two reasons: it was free AND they were having a ballet folklorico perform. It is so expensive to go to the museum ($8x3 =$24), never mind the gas and time.But I love the place, so this seemed like the perfect time to go. We picked up Shawn from work in the galleria, to drive about 5 miles down to the museum district. The only problem was it was 4:30 and it literally took 45 minutes to get there. Seriously? Traffic and me do not mix. I was agitated, but I got over it once we got there.

The kids love it there! When we first go to the tot spot the attendants "nicely" asked how old Max was since you have to be under 36 months to go in. My baby is so tall people think he is 3 or 4. They think I'm lying when I say he's 2! He and Maddie just ran around. Max loves playing with the cars and filling them up with gas. It was cool to show Shawn some of the things we do while he's hard at work. 

Since Shawn was there we explored all the cool exhibits. The kids loved the science area and of course the car. After we explored the museum we went to see the performance. It was running late, there were a few issues with the music, but the kids loved it. Of course Madeline was ready to run around after 5 minutes. So we only stayed for 3 performances. I'm glad we went, but the trek home was another traffic nightmare. We ended the night at California Pizza kitchen, where Maddie was so tired and cranky, but the food was good. We won't be doing that very often, but we will do it again. 

**horrible video I took of the kids. Max eating some pan dulce and Maddie clapping along.