Aunt Erin and Uncle Dan

Juan, Ana, Javi and I went to Richardson last weekend to visit family, friends, and to see Erin and Dan!  We hadn't seen E or D since their wedding in May, so we were very very excited!   We had a great time at Grammy & Grampas house.  They love playing with Annie, swimming in the backyard "pool" and getting lots and lots of kisses from their family.

We did a lot of relaxing and hanging out over the weekend.  Javi even helped Dan with a little bit of his work.  Javi is really good at pressing just the right series of keys on the computer to do some strange functions and type very interesting characters.  You have to be very brave to let him mess with your computer.  He loves it though.

Ana and Javi just learned how to pull up on things.  They both really started doing this on Friday - the day we left for Dallas.  They quickly became professionals, pulling up on EVERYTHING.  This is not fun at nap/bed time.  All they can think of is standing up and it's hard to get them to lay down and settle into sleep.  Hopefully this phase will pass soon.  They did the same thing when they learned to roll over and to sit.  Eventually they figured out that it wasn't really all that exciting and sleep was more important :)   Here's a naptime picture in their nursery at Grammy & Grampas house.

Ana and Javi also love playing in their pjs in the morning.  I usually keep them in their pajamas through their morning nap, so they get some good comfy playtime in the mornings.  Hasn't Ana's hair gotten thick and long?!  I've heard several comments over the past few weeks about how she's starting to look more like a little girl and less "baby".  Noooooooooooo!  She's still my little baby!  Javi on the other hand... he still has that little baby face.

We were also lucky in that Juan's parents were in Dallas last weekend.  We got to spend some time with them and with Aunt Jenny and Uncle Pedro.  (I was forgetful and didn't take my camera... all of the pictures here are from Erin's camera.)  It was fun letting Ana and Javi crawl around Jenny & Pedro's house.  They loved exploring and leaving their little baby handprints all over their windows.

Javi and Ana still each have 2 teeth.  I think they're working on breaking some more in, but nothing yet!  Javi has been drooling and drooling so much lately.  Hopefully they come in soon so I can let him go a few days without a bib! 

It was a fun weekend with family!  We hope to see everyone again very soon!!

New Format

I was a little frustrated at my old blog format because it was making the posts appear so narrow.  I hope you guys are okay with this new format.  I tried to keep the changes minimal!  I also added two new tabs at the top of the page.  One will contain recipes and the other will contain posts about baby things I've found to be useful.   (edited to add: nevermind on the new tab idea.  That was just a pain in the butt.  I will just put recipes and baby things on this main blog...)  :)

I have a few friends who are expecting right now or who have babies younger than Ana and Javi.  They've been asking what products I've found useful and my opinion on good toys - so I'll just include everything here.  I plan to continue updating this with my toy and product reviews - both good and bad - as Ana and Javi continue to grow.

Oh, and I came up with a multi-billion dollar toy idea the other day.  I need to do a little internet research to find out if it already exists.  If it doesn't already exist, I will soon be marketing my idea and retiring to Tahiti.  ;)

Crock-Pot Experiment

I love my crock-pot so much that I should probably start a separate crock-pot blog :)  Or, maybe just a new tab on this blog where I can put recipes... I like just throwing random ingredients into the crock-pot and seeing how it turns out.  Today I am experimenting with a new recipe - Fajita Chicken Tacos.  I will update tonight to let you know how it turns out! 

Fajita Chicken Tacos
1 package    HEB Fajita Marinated Chicken Breasts
1.5 cups      Chicken Broth (low sodium)
.5 can           Corn (we used the other 1/2 of the can last night)
1 can             Black beans, drained.

I'm cooking on "10-hour low" all day...  we'll see what we have at the end of the day!

Thrilling blog entry, huh?  :)

Edited to add:  The final product was okay... it was easy and good enough to eat, but I don't think this will be a regular crock pot recipe.

Doctor and Fun Videos

Ana and Javi had their 9 month well-check today (a week early).  They are both still big babies!  Ana weighs 22.5 pounds and is 29 inches long.  Javi weighs 25 pounds and is 30.5 inches long.  They are both healthy and happy - that's all we could possibly ask for!  Our next appointment is for their 1 year check-up.  It doesn't seem possible that they are that close to being 1 year old.  Where does the time go?!

Ana and Javi were being so funny tonight.  They were crawling around the living room together and laughing and laughing.  They definitely keep us on our toes now - especially since our living room isn't totally baby proofed yet.  I've posted two fun videos, below, that really show off how good they are now at crawling.

7 Years

Today, Juan and I are celebrating our 7 year wedding anniversary.  We celebrated by watching Mad Men on our DVR, eating leftover spaghetti and meatballs, and then Juan had a conference call for work.  Don't feel too sorry for us though, we went out last night for a special celebration dinner.  We ate at one of our favorite restaurants in Austin, Jeffrey's (http://www.jeffreysofaustin.com/).  It was delicious! 

We had to wait for our table for just a minute or two, but that was plenty of time to have a brush with fame.  Lance Armstrong came into the restaurant just after us and walked by us as we sat on a bench waiting for our table.  I held back and didn't ask for a picture or autograph.  :)  That's supposedly one of the nice things about Austin for celebrities - they don't get too many "fans" bothering them while they go about their lives. We also sat in a dining room with "Jeffrey", the GM of the restaurant (some woman...), and Jeffrey's parents.  It was pretty fun.  They even had a personalized menu for us that said, "Happy 7th Anniversary".

Steve and Emily stayed with Ana and Javi.  It was very nice of them.  I warned them about some of Javi's recent evening antics - he has been waking up in a baaaaaaaaaad mood at 10ish almost every night (especially if he's too tired when he goes to bed, which he is frequently right now since we're cutting out the evening nap).  So, last night at 10 he woke up screaming.  Poor Emily hadn't heard him like that before.  She handled it like a pro and just snuggled with the little dude until we got home.  What would we do without Steve & Emily?!?!  I really don't know!

Today was a big day here.  Ana got her first tooth!!  We went to the Remington's house to play with Reid, Sophia and Jacob this morning.  Ana found a cool dirtbike toy to chew on.  I think that must've been what helped to get that tooth to pop out.  Potty talk ahead... skip to the next paragraph if you don' want to hear it --> Poor Ana had a rough weekend in the bathroom department.  Baby girl has been on a "p-foods" diet for the past few days (pears, prunes, peaches, peas... good to get things moving).  Today her tummy finally let loose and we went through about 150 diapers.  Fun fun ;)  She feels much better though, so that's what's important. 

I snapped this picture of all of my babies (Ringo included) with their dad yesterday.  They were relaxing in the evening while watching a baby sign language DVD.  I'd just given Ringo a bath and he really wanted to snuggle with everyone.  He didn't even mind when Javi started head butting him.  He's such a sweet puppy with the babies.  He loves going in their play room and just laying on the floor with us.  He even "scratches" on the mesh door in the gate so we will let him in.  Ana and Javi loooooove him.  I swear that Javi tries to say "Ringo".  It comes out as "go", but it's whenever Ringo walks by!  I might just have to count that as his first word.  haha!  (Juan's heard it too... it's not my imagination.)

Javi decided to prove just how smart he is by going to get his favorite book when I asked him to.  Please ignore my baby talk.  :)  Isn't he one of the two smartest babies ever?!

I'll try to get a picture of Ana's tooth tomorrow.  I also need to post some video of her crawling and pulling up on things.  She is such a strong and fast baby!

Oh, we also have Ana and Javi's big 9 month well-check appointment with the doctor tomorrow (a week early)!  It will be fun to see how much they have grown since their 6 month appointment.  Anyone have any bets on heights/weight?