San Antonio: The Alamo, Sea World, and The Riverwalk

The Monday after Christmas, we packed up and headed west to San Antonio.  We got off to a very late start and it took us about 4 hours thanks to traffic, but we arrived in very good spirits- Baby B was a complete dream and Pip watched 2 movies. 

Our first stop (after getting checked in to our hotel) was the San Antonio Riverwalk.  We were told that at night it's super crowded since everyone is there to see the lights, to be careful of the walking paths, and you get a fine if you fall in the water.  This did not rest well with me since I would have B in an infant wrap strapped to my chest, but I managed to not fall in the water despite the throngs of people strolling about the narrow 3-foot walking path.  It was kinda cold so it felt all Christmas-y winter.  The lights were beautiful!  We stopped for BBQ where Bob ordered 1/2 a slab of beef ribs and 1/2 slab of baby backs. Several passer-bys commented on Bob's massive meal of meat.  My favorite:  "Whoa, those look like Brontosaurus ribs!"  I wish I had taken a picture of them.  It was truly a sight to see.  We were going to take the river barge tour, but it was getting colder and the kids were getting crankier.  We opted to go home and sleep instead.

On Tuesday, we went to Sea World.  Piper was majorly confused and thought she was going to Disney World and that she could touch all the fish.  After explaining to her for the 100th time that we were going to Sea World and that we weren't sure she could touch the fish, she seemed to be excited about the trip.  We got there right at opening time, so we were able to get most everything done before the crowds arrived.  Pip got to feed the dolphins and take pictures with the Sesame Street characters (not Elmo though, he cost an extra 20 bucks and everyone else was free).  We caught 2 shows:  Clyde and Seymour the Sea Lions and Shamu's Christmas Miracle.  Both were fun and festive! 

On Wednesday, we woke up early and visited The Alamo.  I love history and yet, I knew very little about The Alamo.  We walked the grounds and learned a little more about Texas's history.  I was a bit shocked when we drove past The Alamo.  I was expecting it to be in the desert with dust and cacti, but there it was smack dab in the middle of downtown San Antonio.  It was a little crazy.  Both Bob and I were like, "nah, that's not it, it's a replica".  Sure enough, it was the real deal and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas are darn proud of their Alamo- to them it's a sacred spot.  It did feel a bit surreal being there and I felt bad about taking smiling pics in front of a place where many men fought bravely and died. 

After we visited The Alamo we went back to The Riverwalk and took the boat cruise.  We learned about the city and the architecture of San Antonio.  It was really cool.  We would've lingered longer, but we needed to head back home to pick up Boo from the puppy hotel.  We promised ourselves that we would go back and see the sights we missed. 

Raise your hand if you thought The Alamo was in the desert?  Seriously, it's in the middle of downtown where there's not a cactus in sight!

 

This oak tree was transplanted to this courtyard.  It was massive.



Texas Christmas Tree!  



"Shamu's Christmas Miracle" Show

Pip and Rosita

Pip and Zoe

Pip and Suuuuuuuuper Grover

Pip and Cookie

Feeding the dolphins

Sea World

The Riverwalk

I was very afraid of falling into the water. 

This is a well-known shot of The Riverwalk



On the way home, (both kids were angels) Pip kept saying how she was ready to go back to Texas. She was pretty happy when we finally got home...I wasn't- I had gobs of laundry and cleaning waiting for me.

Why is it that you need a vacation to recover from your vacation?

Merry Christmas 2011

Christmas came...and went at our house.  We woke up mid morning (after a fun evening hanging out with our friends until 11 and the parents staying up quite late doing their parental Christmas Eve duties) to a plethora of presents under our tree, neatly arranged on our couch, and a few were set up in living room.  Santa was super busy at our house!  Pip was excited overwhelmed and opened a few presents before getting tired.  We took a break, had our yummy breakfast casserole, and resumed present opening.  That break was much needed and she happily tore open the rest of the presents.  After comparing our loot, I prepared our Christmas dinner of Rouladen and then we all took a nap!  When we woke up, I finished preparing our meal (which was on the verge of being burned- we slept for a while).  I had to omit a few of our side dishes:  the greenbeans and rolls due to time, but it all worked out.  After dinner, we Skyped with all our family.

This Christmas was amazing!  I loved being able to spend it with our little family.  We did miss being around everyone, but it was still nice to kick back and stay in our jammies ALL day!

When it was all over, I jokingly told my mom that this whole Christmas thing is hard work and vowed that next year we were going to one of our mom's house where everything is already cooked (not burned) and the wrapping paper magically gets cleaned up.

This carpet was a HUGE hit!   Piper spent most of Christmas morning playing trains/cars with her daddy.

Somebody had their very first Christmas!  Baby B couldn't open any presents, but she did love playing with the wrapping paper and watching the blur that is Pip run around the living room.



Opening a present from her grandma and grandpa- lots of clothes and jammy jams.  She also got a sanzzy kitchen set (you can see it in the background) from her Oma and Opa.  She had so much fun making "soup" for us.

This year's Christmas dress, Pip has a matching one.  So cute!

"Oh. my. gosh. she's a pink nightmare!"  This is a velour hot pink outfit from Baby B:  she must know I love hot pink and I love to lounge. 

Pippy picked out this tie for Bobby.  This was her second pick with much prompting from me.  Her initial choice was electric cobalt blue with daisies.  

Bobby got a tool box and a few tools for Christmas.  He wants to be handy.  I love how Baby B is lunging out of her Bumbo for a chance at the presents. 

Stocking stuffers

Hanging out with some her presents.  I got her some chew toys teething toys.

This was actually Christmas Eve.  We were baking sugar cookies for Santa.  Pip went overboard with the sprinkles.  Good thing Santa really loves sprinkles!

Christmas Eve- Bobby preparing the meat for the Rouladen.  We went to 3 different butchers and ended up with 3 lbs of meat.  Who knew getting them to cut 1/4 in thick slices would be so hard?

Back to Christmas Day- Pippy showing off her dancing shoes from Santa



The Christmas Dinner.  It was delicious!  Imagine green beans and rolls to go along with it.

Merry Christmas!

Overheard At My House

I promise a Christmas post complete with gobs and gobs of pictures is coming...soon. 

In the meantime, have yourself a chuckle:

Piper:  This bag is really, really heaby!
Me:  That bag is heavy.  Vuh-Vuh-Vuh- heaVy.
Piper:  NO, that bag is Buh, Buh, Buh-heaBy!


I try. 

Christmas Time is Here!

 Christmas is in full swing here at the McRae household!  This year we decided to have Christmas at our house.  For as long as Bob and I have been together, we have NOT had a Christmas at our very own home- we're always traveling to Colorado or to Alabama and one year we even went to Idaho.  This year I wanted to stay home and actually see my advent calendar make it Dec. 24.  Going along with "the whole stay at home"  Christmas, Bob and I had to actually buy Christmas presents this year.  We haven't had to buy presents for almost 5 years (mostly since it's really hard to pack presents on an airplane with all the baggage fees).  It's been nice getting to go shopping and buying gifts for each other and our kids (another thing we haven't had to do these past Christmases since the grandparents have been more than willing to spoil our children because we were the poor cash-strapped college students).  It makes me smile as I look at the presents under the tree and when I think about the excitement of Christmas morning when Pip gets to wake up and see what Santa has brought her. 

Another thing I've loved about staying home for Christmas is all the fun things we've been able to do together as a family:  baking cookies, making Christmas decorations, buying the tree (we haven't had a tree in 2 years),  decorating a gingerbread house, and driving around our neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights. 

I know I'll look back on this Christmas as one of my favorites because it's OUR Christmas. 

Decorating the gingerbread house.  Last year, Pip enjoyed eating the candy.  This year, Pip enjoyed decorating the house and eating the "glue". 

I love how precise she is with the candy

 



We don't have a star or angel adorning our tree, but a stuffed penguin ornament.  It was placed there as a joke.  Bobby thought I would veto it...guess the joke's on him.  I love it- it stays.



I'm pretending to place an ornament on the tree.  Bobby and Pip did the ornaments. She told him where to put them. In fact, I can't decorate a tree. I don't have the "eye" for finding the right spot to put the ornaments. I suppose I'll be " one of those mothers" who just lets her kids decorate the tree and I'll be happy with what they do because it's probably better than any of my attempts.



Bobby is the lights-man.  I'm not patient enough to deal with the lights.  I get all flustered and end up wading the lights up and throwing them out the window.   But not Bob, he will painstakingly take the lights on and off as many times as needed in order to get the perfect ratio of tree to lights.  My only requirement:  the tree must have lots of lights.  I want it to glow!



Pip called the shots of where to put the ornaments and Bob just made sure she could reach the top of the tree. 






The stuffed "play" Nativity.  I originally had my ceramic, breakable Nativity (the one that Pip has broken twice) on here and then I got smart.  I realized that little hands have ways of finding all things breakable especially when adults place them at eye level.  So I put the delicate Nativity high on a bookshelf and replaced it with this one.  Pip loves playing with it and taking care of baby Jesus.  We've lost him a few times  (as I'm typing this, I believe that baby Jesus is in the car).



The "dining room" decor.  I needed a place to put our stockings and our bar is chest height, so I figured it'd make a great pseudo- mantel.  I think it looks pretty good.  And I LOVE cinnamon pinecones, so I put them in my trifle dish.  I've seen people put ornaments and lights in containers, but I like the pinecones. 



I had the idea to put the cut off branches of our tree on our entertainment center.  I like the way it looks and it's managed to last.  We laughed while we were gently placing the pieces of garland that as soon Pip saw it, that would be the end of the garland.  Not the case- she hasn't even touched it.

Hey, she's not a Christmas decoration!  But she sure is cute.  We had a bit of cold spell last week, so I had to pull out the winter fleeces and hats.  Yeah, it got real cold...like almost 50 degrees.  LOL! 



Ho-Ho-Ho

We had our church Christmas party this past Friday and what a fun-filled evening it was! There was a photo booth where we took a fantabulous family photo  (as evidenced above).  I must say I have the hottest husband in the WORLD lookin' all grizzly adams (blush) and those kids are super cute too.

Pip rushed up to see Santa, but she wasn't fast enough.  We stood in line for what seemed like an eternity.  I kept thinking to myself, "what greedy little children!"  I know, I know...that's the Grinch talking.  It was kinda fun seeing how excited the kids were to see Santa.  Pip wasn't the least bit scared to go up there alone.  She plopped herself right on Santa's lap and told him she wanted a hula hoop and dancing shoes.  Man, I love that kid!

I wanted Pip to look festive and fancy.  I believe we achieved that goal.

And apparently all the kids are making this face nowadays!

Dear Santa

I wanted to write this down before I forgot.

Today I asked Pip what she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas.  She replied with a grin, "a hula hoop."  Then after a few minutes, I asked her if she wanted anything else from Santa.  She smiled, paused for a minute and then sheepishly said, "hmmm, I really want some dancing shoes." 

I think Santa will be happy to fulfill that wish list.

5 Months!

Alright Father Time, you can slow down now!  Baby B is already 5 months.  It seems like it was just yesterday I was writing about my 4 month old.  Sheesh! 

What is Baby B up to now?

*Baby B is still smiling!  Bobby mentioned the other day about how he loved that B smiled with her whole face.  She lights up and those dimples...I wish the pictures did them justice.  Too cute for words. 

*We can sit propped up on a pillow and can even lean away from the pillow and still have great neck and head control.  I love how she turns her head towards sounds and images.  She loves looking around.

*We moved B into Pippy's room after Thanksgiving.  Why didn't I do that sooner?  They, so far, have been getting along quite nicely.  The first night there was a lot of "shushing" coming from Pip. The "shushing" quickly stopped when I threatened to take away her stuffed animals. 

*With the move, came sleeping through the night- AGAIN!  We don't have a monitor, so if she cries during the night she has to soothe herself back to sleep.  I get up in the morning around 8, sometimes 7:30 and it's marvelous! Personally, I think it was me keeping her up at night.  I would go to her at every cry, whimper, or rustle.  Plus, having the food cart in the room probably didn't help B sleep either.  Now, we're both happy and well rested.

*Speaking of well rested, Baby B is taking 2 naps a day fairly consistently.  I've been reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby  (it worked with helping Pip get on a schedule) and decided to stop because it was only stressing me out and making me feel like a horrible mother.  I took a few good points and realized that B is not Pip.  Once I figured that out, napping has been better.  I can recognize where her threshold of "just right" to "overtired devil baby" is and I make sure I'm home before the horns come out.  I've screwed up a couple of times, but I don't get so upset when she starts wailing since I know it's kinda my fault.  We're getting there.

*Baby B has started rice cereal!  I have been looking forward to this time with much excitement.  We started a few days ago and B has been eating quite a bit.  I skipped the whole super watery thin cereal and fed her a thicker consistency.  She loves it so much.  I knew she was ready for it by the way she would grab at our food and watch us with jealous eyes as we stuffed our faces.  Soon we'll be starting our pureed fruits and veggies.  Pip even got in on the action and has tried feeding B- such a good big sister!

*I mentioned that at B's 4 month check-up the doc wanted me to take our dairy and soy to see if it would help with her general fussiness.   I can proudly say that both of us have benefited from a dairy/soy free diet.  I've lost about 5-7lbs and she isn't fussy anymore (with the exception of overtired devil baby).  While it hasn't been a secret that Baby B cried incessantly, I dont' know if I've gone into great detail about how dire the situation had become. 

Let's just say, I love my Baby B...but liking her was a whole different story.  It was really hard going through that period and wishing for quiet and not being able to find it anywhere.  And no one can imagine the incredible guilt I felt as a mother for struggling to find joy with my baby especially during those times. 

Don't cry for me Argentina, things are on the up and up. Even if I can't find relief from a bag of cookies, I have a special "friend"  that I pay to listen to me and I'm starting to get myself back again.  So it's all good.



STATS:

Weight:  I'm guessing about 13lbs

Height:  probably still 25.5 inches

Eye Color:  no longer blue.  I've polled several strangers who comment on how cute B is about what color they think her eyes are and the answer is a resounding:  GREEN!  But since I see her more, I say they vary from gray to hazel to green- mostly they're a dark green color.  She ain't no brown eyed girl.  You can tell especially if you look at Pippy's and compare them to her eye color, you'll see the green. 

Hair Color:  dark brown and getting so long.  I did spot a few golden highlights at her temples. 



Oh Baby B, you are too cute!