We Back Our Bears

Rain or shine, in victory or defeat, we back our Bears. 

Sic 'em, Bears!

True Test

Thursday will be the first true test of our season.  We are anxiously waiting to see how it goes . . .

Sic 'em bears!

http://www2.baylor.edu/baylorproud/2015/11/worried-about-baylor-starting-a-freshman-qb-dont-be/

Wookie Wednesday

It seems fitting that the last Wednesday before Halloween was a hair raising day for the Gonzalez family.

If you don't have children currently in elementary school, you may not know that this is Red Ribbon Week.  Every day this week, Ted's school is having various dress up days.  Today's theme - Mustache Day.  Don't ask me how this relates to the cause of the Red Ribbon organization; I simply do not know.  But for some reason, it's lots of fun to wear mommy's eyeliner on your upper lip.

Gabriel also had his second hair cut today.  I asked that his hair be cut off his shoulders.  I got that - and a bit more.  So his cute curls are gone, temporarily, but when they grow back in, he should look a little more like a boy and a little less like a girl, thanks to his newly coiffed hair.

Mr. Smarty Pants

LT is fascinated by "Spanish words" now (probably a by-product of our current hometown) and is constantly asking me to say words in Spanish for him.  He also tries to figure out a few of them on his own by saying English words with an accent.  Wanting to show him that some English and Spanish words sound alike, I asked him what English word the Spanish word elefante sounded like. His answer:

It sounds like your mouth is making Spanish words, mom. 

Indeed. 

The Rough Life of a 1 1/2 yr old

Falling asleep at mealtime

 And improvised foot rests

are just a few of the trials faced by a 1 1/2 yr old.  Feel sorry for him yet?  Me either. 

On the Rise . . .

In case you were wondering how our Baylor Bears are doing, the answer is, "Not bad!"

http://www2.baylor.edu/baylorproud/2015/10/at-no-2-in-the-nation-baylor-football-earns-highest-ranking-ever/

Just like Thomas & Percy

LT made a very astute observation today - he & Gabriel are just like Thomas and Percy!  How?  Their ages correspond with the numbers on each engine.  Thomas is the No. 1 blue engine, and Percy, his best friend, is the No. 6 engine. 

I can safely say that I've watched A LOT of Thomas & Friends over the past 6 years, but I don't think I would ever have come up with that apt comparison.  Guess it takes young eyes to take in all the little details.

F is for First Grade; F is for Fun

In case you can't tell, LT is having fun in first grade.  Last Friday was his first half day and the school's first official fundraiser, a fun run.  It was my kind of fundraiser - all the funds went directly to the school, I didn't have to pester anyone for money, LT got to enjoy some good prizes, like that cool T-shirt he is sporting, and he got to spend some quality time outside.  All in all, I take that big smile to be a sign that this will be a good school year.

First Haircut

You'd think with as much hair as Gabriel has, he would have had his first haircut by now. You'd be wrong. We just couldn't bear to part with his cute curls. But necessity won out, and we decided it was high time to make sure his bangs weren't sitting in his eyes anymore.

Unlike Ted's first haircut, which took place at a kids' salon, I carted Gabe off to our family stylist. He was sleepy and my phone battery died at the beginning of his haircut, so he spent most of the time in tears and with a quivering lip (that's his default setting when he's upset, and it tends to be more for show than anything else). When the stylist finished, he promptly stopped crying and said, "Thank you!"

I think he was pretty happy to leave, and we were all happy with the results. 

First Day of First Grade

Here he is - our first grader, wearing his favorite color and his new shoes (the ones that make him really fast).  In classic LT fashion, he went off to his first day at a new school confident and ready to face the day.  And, like typical parents, mom and dad worried about how he would do.  

So far so good - LT has no complaints, likes his teacher, and is making friends.  His cool confidence serves him well and will ensure he has another great school year.

Summer, we hardly knew you.

This past week marked the end of summer and the start of another school year. When summer began, I wondered how we would fill our days, but they managed to fill themselves just fine. Here's some pictures of the highlights:

We had visitors - first, Grandma & Grandpa Gonzalez & cousin Matt came out for LT's 6th birthday. This was his second celebration. We had a birthday party with school friends back in May, but we couldn't let the actual day go by without recognition. In the end, it was a very minion celebration.

Near the end of summer, Great-Grandma Eichelberger & Aunt Carol came all the way from Oregon!  This was their first time to meet Gabriel, and only their second visit with LT. 

Can you tell that they had a good time together?

Most of the rest of our summer was filled with play time:

 In the Thomas tent,

 and minion Crocs,

 eating cherry iced donuts,

 going down slides,

and visiting the aquarium.

Beyond that, we went on one work trip.  While mommy was in meetings, daddy and his boys wandered around campuses and parks.

Summer was fun while it lasted, and now we are looking forward to all that fall has to offer!

And so it Begins . . .

Intentional or not, this picture is indicative of what football season in the Big XII will be like this year:

http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/102042/baylor-trolls-tcu-with-team-photo

Summertime Fun

Around here, summer seemed to come early as LT's summertime activities overlapped with the last week of school.  The first thing on the agenda was a month long swim class.  LT enjoys playing in the water, but swimming is another thing entirely.  I wasn't sure how things would go, but LT quickly showed everyone that he was determined to do his best and try everything.  After the first day, his most repeated question was, "Is it time for swimming class?"

Ms. Jessie worked with LT for the majority of the class.  They were fast friends.

 

That same week, I took the boys to Sea World for a day camp.  This was LT's second year at the camp (somehow I managed to miss it on last year's blog).  We got there bright and early - before the park was open - and enjoyed a private tour of the park, complete with opportunities to feed the sea lions and birds.

The penguins were fun to watch.

 

And the sea lions were lazy.

 

The aviary was really cool, but LT had trouble spotting the birds at first.  Gabe didn't.  In fact, a rather large bird decided his shoulder was a good place to land, which sent the poor child into hysterics.

 

I was able to get a couple of pictures of LT feeding the birds before I had to take a very upset baby out of there.

 

Things have since quieted down.  The boys have enjoyed playing together and trips to the public library.  But LT still misses school and is counting down the days until first grade starts.

Last Day of School

Here he is - one school year older, one school year wiser, and happy to be spending today in "party mode" with his class.  

On to First Grade

Just 9 short months ago, we shared photos of LT's first day of school.  And yesterday, we celebrated the end of that journey at his class' promotion ceremony.  Each student earned a Kindergarten completion certificate and a candy award.

Ted received the "Bubble Yum" award for having a fun and bubbly personality.  He was quite proud of his accomplishment.

After the ceremony, we spend a lot of time taking photos with Ted's kinder buddies.  Here's a few of the images we captured:

And the day would not have been complete without a picture of LT and his teacher, Mrs. Leveck

and his little brother, who has earned the title of "Ted's cute baby":

I didn't realize how much Ted has grown in the past 9 months until later that evening, when I was reading Ted his bedtime story.  We were trying to predict the plot of "A New Pet for Pete" when LT grabbed the book from my hands and said, "Here Mom, let me do it." Then, he proceeded to read me the rest of the story.  In just 9 months time, Ted turned into a big boy who can  read his own story books, work independently, and help others.  We couldn't be more proud.

Who Am I?

I'm one cool cat (do you see my ears on my hat?)

I have a shirt with groovy buttons, I rock my school shoes, and I love to play the guitar.

I'm Pete the Cat!  LT chose this character for today's book character parade at school - the first event to kick off Literacy Week. I might be biased since I made the costume, but I think it's a pretty good likeness.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4LF9XMqdFjo

Don't blink . . .

Or your mega roll of toilet paper will be stretched out across your house.

An Inexpensive Mother's Day Gift

Carly and Chica have a good Mother's Day gift idea for you that I know mom will love . . .

Happy Mother's Day

Luckily, my boys have shown no signs of inheriting their mother's rhythm. 

Ritual Nighttime Conversation

LT: Am I clean, Mommy?
Mom: You need to take a bath tonight, Ted.
LT: AGAIN!?!
Mom (with a sigh): Yes, son.  Again.

Watch Out World!

Gabriel is on the move:


And he's very proud of his new skill:

Two Breaks

Spring Break and Easter Break - the two main holidays for the spring semester - have already come and gone.

Spring Break was a little less than enjoyable.  We passed around a stomach virus (I'll spare you all the gory details), and that superbug attacked everyone except LT and had us down for the better part of the break.

While we'd all like to forget that illness, we did manage to get some memorable photos taken at our local JCP.  Apart from his hospital photos, these are Gabriel's first professional pics.

Easter was far more fun, but far too short.  We started off the holiday with the arrival of this:

Believe me when I say that LT was the happiest boy in the city that Thursday.  The best part about this swingset - LT gladly puts down his electronics in favor of spending time on his slide and swings.

Grandma and Grandpa Gonzalez and Matthew arrived that afternoon.  They helped us celebrate Gabriel's birthday on Friday, and on Saturday, we had our Easter egg hunt.

We always enjoy their visits.  LT especially likes running around town with Grandma, Grandpa, and his cousin, and we like having a good excuse to BBQ and enjoy lots of sweets.  

It will probably be a good while before we enjoy another break like this, but we certainly look forward to it - whenever it comes up!