November 2009

The month of November was really slow. We spent a lot of time enjoying the nice weather here in Texas. We spent Thanksgiving here in San Antonio and were thankful for the friends we have here to share the holiday with. Thanksgiving weekend was spent at Seaworld. Its nice having a place like that at your backdoor. We went with some good friends. Here are some pictures we took this month.

Jeremiah and Ethan getting ready to watch the Polar Express in 4D at Seaworld. They even had pretend snow falling from the sky in the theatre. Both Annalise and Gracie wore their glasses as well. They loved watching the effects on the big screen.

Jeremiah and Annalise with their friends Gracie and Ethan prior to the Sesame Street show at Seaworld.

The family in front of the Sea World Christmas Tree

Annalise's eyes are getting greener everday and I think you can really tell in this picture.

Hopefully, we will have more pictures to post next month.

October Recap

The month of October was filled with soccer practices, soccer games, and many other firsts. Jeremiah started playing soccer at the YMCA. His team name is the Dragons. He really loves playing and has had a few breakaway goal attempts. There is still about a month left in the season so maybe he will have his first goal yet. It is a lot of fun watching them play. They are like bees around the ball swarming it but once the ball is kicked loose it is fun watching them

Jeremiah and his buddy Ethan. We actually knew them in Ohio, and they were stationed here shortly before us.

Getting ready for kickoff! Since all the players on the each team are U-4 we dont actually keep score so both teams win.

Jeremiah running off the field at half time for a much deserved water break.

Brian and I and the kids participated in a local 5K where proceeds benefited those injured while fighting for our country. Brian wanted to push the kids in the jogging stroller because he thought I could win in my age category. Needless to say I did not want that kind of pressure on my shoulders. I started out way too fast and by mile 3 was dragging but I did get third in my age category and have a pretty nice glass to show for it. Brian started with the kids in the back because he had the stroller but he did beat me by a minute chip time. Basically this means he never passed me but he ran the course faster than me with the stroller. I guess I need to step up the training or maybe I can attribute it to the fact that he is taller than me.

The kids and I after the race.

Brian and I after the race near the finish line.

Jeremiah and Annalise. Evidently both needed gatorade after such a tough race.

Unfortunately, this Halloween both kids were slightly under the weather. Jeremiah wanted to be a night again this year and his costume from last year still fit. Annalise really loves ladybugs so we thought what would be better than to dress her like a ladybug. Our neighborhood is a really great place to trick or treat, and after 3 culdesacs and our street the kids had more than they could carry, and that is not even a quarter of our whole neighborhood. Jeremiah was a old expert at the whole trick or treating activity. Annalise caught on really quickly and was soon knocking on doors and saying trick or treat. She made everyone laugh because she did not want people putting candy in her pumpkin. Instead, she would take the candy from them and turn around and put the candy in her pumpkin. I think she may have been worried that they would take candy out of her pumpkin! All in all the kids had a great time, and Brian and I enjoyed raiding their stash after they were in bed.

Jeremiah the Knight and Annalise the Ladybug. And yes, she did keep the headband antennae on the whole time.

Jeremiah posing with his new sword.

Annalise being miss independent. I think this was the third house we trick or treated at and then right after this picture she did not want to hold my hand any longer.

Annalise and J after a long night of trick or treating.

Whoa, look at the loot.

Of course with both kids having different allergies we had to go through the candy and take out the peanut products for one kid and the dairy products for the other. I really hope Annalise grows out of the dairy allergy. Well we hope you all are enjoying the cooler fall weather. I know we definitely are. Its hard to believe that the year is almost coming to an end. Well my plan is to now update with a montly post.

The Zoo Run

The San Antonio Zoo has an annual zoo run and this year Jeremiah ran in the 0-3 race which covers a quarter mile. He was really excited about it. He even got a racing bib and a ribbon at the end. I think he came in 4th or 5th but of course we said he won and then he said yea, everyone won mom. It will be interesting the day he realizes that the person who comes in 1st is actually the winner.

Jeremiah at the starting line envisioning his victory, okay maybe it was a little early and he was still waking up.

Below is a video of Jeremiah at the start of the race.

Labor Day Weekend

San Antonio Botanical Gardens

Huge wooden spider and web in the Texas wilderness portion. Below Brian and Jeremiah next to a row of 3 gigantic wooden spiders. It made me feel like we were in the movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids."

Annalise and Poppa taking a quick break while Jeremiah checks out the huge ants.

It is always fun when we have family or friends come and visit. This past labor day weekend my mom and dad, otherwise known as Halmoni and Poppa were able to fly down for a quick visit. The kids of course were excited. Annalise kept calling for either Halmoni or Poppa if either one was out of her sight. Jeremiah of course basked in the attention of having both his grandparents here to spoil him. Most of the visit was spent hanging out, swimming, and shopping for the grandkids, but we did do some touristy stuff. The San Antonio Botanical Gardens had a travelling bug exhibit. And if I have not mentioned it before, Annalise really likes bugs. These bugs were huge as you can tell from the pictures. Jeremiah would not touch any of them, especially not the spider even though that was the one he really wanted to see. The weekend went by way too quickly but the visit was great.

Running, talking and first day of pre-school

Today was Jeremiah's first official day of pre-school. He was really excited to go even though he told me he did not like his teacher but he really liked school. I am not sure why he said he did not like his teacher but after he met her today he says she is really nice. Of course, my little baby is no longer a baby. I asked him to give me a hug goodbye and he said "Mom, I really dont want to give you a hug, I am playing." I guess those days are already here. The school is doing a great job making accommodating Jeremiah's peanut allergy.
Getting ready to get in the car for school.

Giving me his best wrestlers stance and cheesing really hard.

Jeremiah loves to run and in about two weeks he will be competing in the San Antonio Zoo Kids Run. He is really excited about it and yesterday he told me he wanted to practice racing so of course, I had to film him. We pretended he was doing a news interview.

Annalise has become quite vocal. I feel bad for not having as many videos of her as we do of Jeremiah. We have a video of Jeremiah at 16 months saying all his animals and animal sounds and I wanted to get one of Annalise as well. So here is Anna at 16 months talking and of course, walking away when she has had enough of mommy asking her too many questions.

From one August to another

How much my littler girl has changed. Looking back she was definitely my plump blue eyed, light haired baby girl. She was such an easy sleeper and so easy going but now she is a full year older and I cannot believe how much has changed.
Last August she was experimenting with rice cereal and now she is a full fledged feed myself finger foods and starting to use a fork and spoon self sufficient eater. Her eyes are still blue but are tinged with green and have flecks of hazel. Her hair is still light and is starting to wave a little but for the life of me pins and bows only last max 30 minutes. Then my little girl pulls them out and says "mama hairpin" before she hands it back to me or throws it on the ground. She is starting to lose all the chubbiness, once she was off the charts way over the 100th percentile and now she is in the 60th. Oh how I miss those big leg rolls. She now weighs only 2 lbs more than she did at 6 months. I think both my children upon birth believe they need to stock up in case a famine hits. She is still the laid back easy going baby but she is also starting to exhibit a stubborn streak.

And her sweet soft baby girl voice is so precious. I know that there are times when I wish she didn't say "mama hold you" but oh how I am going to miss that when it ends. Her vocabulary is growing by leaps everyday. I once was worried that she did not talk as much as Jeremiah did and still doesnt say as much as he did at this age but I am no longer worried. She is starting to sing her ABC's and saying please and welcome more proof that she is leaving babyhood and entering full fledged toddlerdom.

Almost the end of "hot" summer

Well it is almost the end of summer here. That is the hot summer. Texas has several seasons and most involve the word summer. September and October will bring in normal summer temps and then Nov thru Feb is what I would call fall and March is spring and then before you know it is another HOT Texas summer. Well this summer we have been quite busy. Brian has been on perpetual TDY since June, so the kids and I have been hitting the parks, pools, and of course Jeremiah has been playing T-Ball. So here is a highlight of what we have been up to this summer.
There is a park not too far away that has a man made pond where a lot of ducks and geese come to cool off. We went with a couple of friends and played at the playground and then the went to feed the ducks. Long story short, Jeremiah loved feeding the ducks, Annalise would not budge from her stroller and kept shaking her head no and saying "no no no." I guess she could sense ny fear of one of the ducks nipping at us. Annalise tossing the ball with one of our playgroup friends.
Jeremiah feeding a duck, and I am pretty sure this duck ate enough food to last him a week.
Jeremiah and his buddy climbing trees. But unfortunately, about a minute after this photo was taken Jeremiah got bit by at least 5 fire ants who had made their way into their shoe.
Annalise watching kids playing and doing what she likes best, relaxing and eating snacks.Jeremiah and his pal Ethan are having a great time at the playground. For once the temperature was not too hot and they could actually run around without stopping every five minutes for water.
Jeremiah's T-Ball season ended a week ago. He had a great time and was really excited to get a medal from the YMCA. He wanted to try the U-4 soccer for boys at the Y so at the end of September he will be starting that. It was great watching Jeremiah learn more skills as he practiced and played and I think Annalise may have learned a few things too. She likes to practice batting on Jeremiah's batters toy. Do I have a future fastpitch player on my hands? Only time will tell.
Here is Annalise watching J play T-Ball, she usually likes to go sit with the team but the other team was up. In order for her to stay with me I have to bribe her by letting her rifle through my wallet.
Jeremiah getting ready to bat.
And of course most of this summer was spent swimming. We are fortunate enough to have a neighborhood pool and friends who also have neighborhood pools so we never get bored. But here are pics of the kids after a hard days swim eating their lunches.
Jeremiah and his pal Gatlin. These two make each other laugh so much. I really wonder what they talk about.
Annalise who climbed into her stroller and demanded watermelon.

Well we are really looking forward to the cooler temperatures and a fun filled fall. Jeremiah will start a preschool program 2 days a week in September and Annalise will go one day a week. During that time I am going to volunteer at a pregnancy center. I am really looking forward to it and soon Brian will be done studying for his engineering exam. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by here in TX. This time next year we should be moving or getting ready to move. Life in the military never slows down.

Firestation Field Trip

Today we went with our playgroup to a local firestation and got to check out the firetrucks, have the firemen show us their gear and equipment. When I told Jeremiah we were going he asked me if the firemen would be scary? I don't know why he thought that, but I explained to him that they are nice and help people and that he might be able to go inside their truck. He still was not too sure, but then I said his friends would be there, and of course, he could not wait to go. Annalise is another story. She really does not care where we go as long as I bring snacks and I allow her to roam around. About 30 moms and kids from our group showed up. Jeremiah was really excited to see his buddies but became serious once the firemen started showing their equipment. Jeremiah is still the serious observer.

Jeremiah listening to the fireman explain the vice grips. I think that is what they were called.

Jeremiah checking out the fireman gloves. I was surprised that he stuck his hand in the glove.

Annalise was the least bit interested in the fire truck or equipment. She kept saying Moo Moo because of the cows in the adjacent field. She wanted to walk over there. Thankfully my friend who has a daughter the same age, and whose personality is pretty similar (aka leave me alone and let me do what I want) watched both of them run around while I kept an eye on J and her other son. Jeremiah and Ethan are like glue when they get together.

Jeremiah was really excited to get in the fire truck even if his expression doesnt show it. It could have been the sun or the 100 degree heat.

Annalise smiling at the firemen. Hmm..should Brian and I be worried, is she already flirting.

Jeremiah holding the fire hose and dousing some friends. At this point Jeremiah was still dry but oh how naive I am.

Starting to get a little wet from the mist, as you can tell from the picture, I was getting misted as well. Once Jeremiah was done hosing his friends down he joined in on the water fun. Ethan and him would run from one end of the field about 75 feet away and run towards the hose as did other kids while another friend got to work the fire hose. Needless to say, I was not prepared for a soaking wet 3 year old. Thankfully, a friend had extra towels and I had an extra pair of shorts.

Jeremiah and Annalise eating their post field trip snack. As you can see Jeremiah is shirtless. Thankfully, Annalise was content on not getting wet.

Swing Batter Batter Swing

So we are in midseason for TBall and I have finally managed to take some decent pics and videos of Jeremiah. Well actually Brian took the pics and videos nonetheless, I am proud of my little baseball player. He is very serious and I am sure his Coach wonders why Jeremiah asks so many questions. I have discovered through this TBall experience that we have quite a talker on our hands and I may have some trouble when school starts. Hmm..I recall that I used to get in trouble for talking a lot, maybe it's genetic. Jeremiahs favorite part of T Ball is batting and running. He really likes chasing other players too and tagging them with the ball. The part he doesn't like is when other players try to tag him with the ball. My solution, I told him to run faster.

Jeremiah is in the center getting ready to warmup. His team is a co-ed team of 3 -4 year olds.

Jeremiah putting on his batting helmet. At first he did not like wearing it, but once he saw a baseball game on TV and saw the players wearing them when they batted he wanted to wear it.

Of course, the serious 3rd baseman picture. They change positions every game. The first game Jeremiah and his buddy we standing next to this dirt hole and the coach and both myself and Townes parents had to yell for them to stopping playing with the dirt. Boys!

Unfortunately in the video, the coach is blocking Jeremiahs actual hit but it went between 2nd and 3rd base. As you can tell, Jeremiah would like all his hits to be home runs or at least triples. Well a few more games to go and we shall see what sport Jeremiah wants to do in the fall. Will it be TBall, Soccer, or Basketball? As long as he is having fun and staying active, Annalise on the otherhand always wants to play as well and really likes kicking balls around, so maybe she will be my little soccer phenom.

T-Ball and more

Since our return to Texas after our spring travels we have been busy. Jeremiah started T-Ball through the YMCA. He really enjoys playing but the 100+ degree heat is a almost unbearable. If he decides to play again in the fall the cooler (aka 80 degree) temperatures will be a nice change. I must admit we have quite a little hitter on our hands. He does need to work on his fielding but he is only 3 so Brian and I just cheer him on. I wish I had more T-Ball pics but here is one of J right before his first game and right before the camera died.

He is the one in shorts because mom did not know that even if the weather is hot we still wear baseball pants. Interesting side note, there is an AF Academy grad 1997 whose son is also on Jeremiahs team. Sometimes it amazes me how small the world is. Go Phillies (Jeremiah's team)

So when we aren't going to T-Ball practice we try to stay cool. One way we stay cool is going to Sea World. Considering it only takes us 4 minutes to get to Sea World, we decided season passes would be a good idea. Today we went with a friend who has a daughter close to Jerermiah's age and a son close to Annalise's age. We had a lot of fun and I am sure we will be back again soon.

Annalise and her friend taking a much needed pretzel snack break!

Jeremiah and K after lunch getting ready to go to the wave pool. By the way no one encouraged this hand holding. They just liked each other a lot.

In the wave pool becoming adventurous waiting for the waves to start

Excited because the waves are starting!

Can you tell that these two are having a great time.

Meanwhile Annalise cheesed for a few minutes and then her and K's brother decided these orange life vests were more of a nuisance and consequently they needed to be taken off. Bye bye Sea World.

Other than that...Brian is busy studying for the Professional Engineer exam and I am busy taking online courses to keep my certification current. I had five years to start taking courses but leave it to me to wait until the very last year to get it done. Why do I always work better under pressure? Hmm...hopefully neither kid will be a procrastinator like there mom.