Nearly Walking . . .

Laura is approaching the 10 month mark and looks like she will be walking soon.  Here's a short video that shows her trucking around the living room.

And here's a fun bonus - Gabe puts his motor skills on display while mommy tries to capture Laura's initial steps:

Birthday Party

We celebrated Ted's 9th birthday with Grandma & Grandpa Gonzalez & Cousin Matt.  Grandma made LT's birthday cake, which depicted a replica of Dale Jr.'s race car, and some yummy NASCAR sugar cookies.

She also brought this, which made the whole house much more festive:

As always, Ted's birthday requests were simple.  All he really wanted was to eat his favorite foods - cheese pizza & nachos.  He enjoyed both and was a happy camper.  Of course, ice cream, cake, cookies, and presents helped to round out the celebration.

Gabe & Laura also enjoyed the celebration and grandma & grandpa's company.  We all are already counting down the days until their next visit.

Cousins' jam session

Mall trip with Grandma & Grandpa

New swing for Laura!

All the cousins - ages 14, 9, 4 & 9 months

Nine!

How can it be that my baby is already nine years old?  Can it be possible that this smiley, happy baby is now a boy just one year away from his double digits?  Where did the time go?

Summer Visitors

We had the pleasure of hosting our first visitors from Oregon over the course of the last two weeks.  Great Grandma Laura Mae (Laura's namesake) and Aunt Carol arrived the Saturday before Father's Day, just in time to enjoy some Texas BBQ.  

This is what happens when we BBQ - playtime on the swingset.

Their visit was filled with visits local attractions, including the university, the zoo, 

Look at those rosy cheeks - this was a HOT Texas day!

the Mayborn Museum, 

and the mammoth site.  

Before we knew it, it was time for Great-Grandma and Aunt Carol to head back north.  We were all very sad to see our house guests go.  In addition to being great fun, they were great helpers while they were here.   

LT said that the only thing worse than saying goodbye to his family was the closure of Toys R Us that same week.  It was a sad week indeed.  But we do hope to see them again over the holidays, perhaps for that impromptu family reunion we've been discussing.