A Picture for Today: Early Summer Times

Just wanted to let you know that it is definitely summer here - and the beautiful part of summer. The part where you actually want to be at the park under the sun shade and outside under the tree. It isn't so hot that just the thought of opening up the window shades is unthinkable. Yes... it is another beautiful day in El Paso. Praise God!

And yes, the Batman cape is pretty much superglued to David's neck every moment it can be. Thank you, Pinterest, for the best 3 year old birthday gift EVER (and it was free, which makes it even better)!

Also - We are due to receive our first paternal cousin sometime in the next hours or so! We are praying that all goes well for Uncle Adam, Aunt Hayli, and Little Alida! Yay!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Patrick's First Solids = Food AND Camouflage

Since Patrick is teething along with trying out real food for the first time, he often wants to chew on the spoon frequently during a feeding. Well, as you may know, it is fairly difficult to have a new eater figure out how to get ALL the food off of the spoon, so the spoon he gets to chew on/fling around often has a decent amount of, in this instance, squash and chicken on it. Ergo... Patrick often looks like he is trying out a new sort of baby camouflage by the time he is full!

Check out those HUGE mits! Thanks, Grandpa Pat, for those!

He sure is a good eater, as well as a good mess maker, though!

On another quick note - as you can sort of see in these pictures, Patrick's eyes are still refusing to tell us what color they are going to be. They remain in that mysterious in-between color. Sometimes they look blue, sometimes brown. Hmmmm... we shall see.

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: School Has Started!

If I haven't told you yet, we have decided to school year-round. The basic plan is that we will school on every day that both dad works and we don't have other obligations. This just works better in the military lifestyle/schedule. So... we were going to start after Memorial Day, but Thérèse was getting REALLY tired of waiting, so we started on May 1, and it is going great! 

We are doing Seton Kindergarten as well as miscellaneous add-ons of our own, and T is LOVING it, as I knew she would!

Don't worry - David is SUPPOSED to be cutting up that book. It was a junk book and I realized that I need to pick up some old magazines for preschool projects!

Even Patrick has been getting in on the learning!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: The Result of a Good Movie

So... we watched The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe this afternoon. 

And immediately afterwards, there were three royalty - in full gear - running (one was just lying) around the house!

Thérèse was concerned that one member was missing, so by adding a crown to baby Lucy, Queen Lucy was quickly added to complete the royal quartet!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: The Result of Teething...

Not too much napping taking place in the crib...

... but mom and dad's arms seem to sooth the pain enough to get some zzzzzs.

(PS - I already have 2 little ones on the bottom to show for the whining!) - Patrick

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: T is for Tree!

Thérèse found a new love today: climbing trees!

We had a wonderful May Crowning Mass and ceremony today with Catholic Home Schoolers from all over El Paso. Our own Father Christopher right here on post (who Thérèse simply calls "The Father Who Loves Kids"!) was wonderful, as always, for the kids. And we followed the ceremony with a very nice picnic at a huge park near the chapel. Well, Thérèse saw that some other kids were climbing this tree, so as soon as she had finished her plate she was up there and didn't want to come down for the longest time, even when all of her normal buddies were over at the park. Sorry, Thérèse, but I think we live in the wrong climate for that love... pray that the Army gets us out the the desert if you want to be a daily climber on anything but rocks and mountains!

Hope you did something you love today!

Love, Us.

20130219 - Watch Out, World! Here Comes Patrick!

I ROLLED OVER ALL BY MYSELF THIS MORNING!

Love, Patrick