Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Today, my grandmother turns 80 years old.  We weren't able to visit her to join in the big celebration the family had this weekend, so we are celebrating her here.

LT's first (and only!) visit to Great-Grandma's house.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Return of Spiderman

Halloween is a long way off, but Spiderman has already made a return appearance.  We found some Spiderman pjs at the Disney Store yesterday, and, of course, we bought them.   LT thinks they're wonderful, and I doubt we'll be able to peel him out of his new get-up any time soon

Happy Mother's Day

From our little mad scientist.

Vote!

Ted's cousin is participating in a competition as a part of Austin's Fashion Week.  She's a member of a team that includes designers, a hair stylist, a photographer, and a model.  Her team has put together a "look" and is competing against other teams for the People's Choice award.  

Please vote for her team by visiting the following website:  http://fashionweekaustin.com/mash-up-teams/.  Click on the image for "Revival of Denim" and cast your vote!

BTW, Ted's cousin designed the jewelry you see in the image.  To see more of her creations, visit her Etsy store:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/FelizGarcia?ref=seller_info

Thanks!

Easter

Ted's parents came out for a visit over the Easter holiday.  We spent the better part of Friday roaming the city, with stops at the Alamo, the Wax Museum, and the Mercado.

The presidents - current and future.

Matthew and Grandma had their hands cast in wax at the Wax Museum.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the final product.

 Before our guests had to leave on Sunday, we had an Easter egg hunt complete with several dozen cascarones.  This was Little Ted's first experience with the confetti eggs, and he really enjoyed cracking them on his own head.

Convincing him to crack them on someone else's head was a little more difficult, but Grandpa finally convinced LT to try it out.  He was very polite about the whole process.

For the Husker and Football fans who read this blog . . .

. . . this is our favorite recent feel-good, newsworthy moment.

Bowl Head

This is our son.  In these photos, he is wearing a bowl on his head, as you

 can plainly see.  His father swears up and down that this is something he gets from the "California" in him. 

Sadly, I must admit that he is right - at least partially.  I did indeed teach him to wear his bowl on his head.  Not on purpose, of course.  It happened entirely by accident.  We were being silly one day, and I placed the bowl on my head.  This began the bowl wearing phenomenon.

So yes, wearing a bowl on his head is something our son did get from his mother.  But let me assure all Texans who might read this blog - it has NOTHING to do with the "California" in him.

:-)

Spring Break

Today marks the official end of our Spring Break.  Unlike our college days, where breaks were work free, we now practice "working holidays."  That said, we were able to enjoy some down time with Grandma Gonzalez and Cousin Matthew, who spent the last half of the week with us.

On Thursday, we headed up to Austin and spent some time at the State Capitol.  Uncle Ted got to introduce Matthew to the Capitol, the Texas Supreme Court, and the grounds surrounding the Capitol.  Needless to say, Mattie had a good time - and he learned a thing or two about his state government!

Below are some pictures of our outing, including shots of the boys playing in front of the TRS building in Austin and relaxing on our back patio at home.  Little Ted really enjoyed having another kid around - he doesn't often find a playmate who is willing to spend as much time with him as his Cousin Matthew will.

Comfortable Seat

Sometimes, a comfortable seat isn't a seat at all. In this case, LT has turned a wagon full of stuffed animals into a chair.

Valentine's Day

Did you ever see the movie The Red Balloon when you were a kid?  Well, at my school, it was a go to on rainy days (along with the animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).  In any event, I sometimes feel that my son is the little boy in that movie.  He loves balloons, and he loves to have them trailing behind him wherever he goes.

Because he loves balloons so much, daddy thought it would be a good idea to get him some balloons for Valentine's day, along with a Curious George plush and book (LT's been a Curious George fan lately).  I put in the balloon order, and on Valentine's day, we went to the grocery store to pick them up.  Never have I seen so many men at the grocery store at one time.  Once we fought our way through the crowd, LT got excited because he knew what we were there for.  I secured the balloons to our basket and headed to the register while LT blew kisses at the balloon bouquet behind him.  He was happy.

These Valentine's balloons have been amazingly resilient.  One of them is still flying high in LT's room, and he likes to take it for walks around the house.  All in all, it was a good Valentine's day.

If Spider-Man were a Mexican Wrestler . . .

He'd look something like this