Lost Tooth!

Gloria lost her second tooth yesterday. She let me pull it this time instead of waiting for it to just fall out. She was very brave! And it just so happened to be on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, when we take a little break from our Lenten penances to celebrate a wonderful saint! So, of course, she got a nice treat. :) In the evening we went to daily mass and out to a nice dinner at Carino's with some friends...sort of a last hurrah before baby since my diet undergoes lots of restrictions, like minimal spicy food and dairy, with our newborns!

Soccer time for Stephen!

Stephen has been asking about soccer almost every night since the fall season ended. Now he finally gets to play again! Yay! He had a great time. Even though it was a bit chilly, we all enjoyed watching him!

Waco Zoo Trip

After starting out our spring break battling a cold, we made a quick recovery (thankfully!) and headed to the zoo yesterday. The last time we visited the zoo was when Gloria was Anastasia's age, so we were overdue for a trip. Instead of heading to Houston, we decided to try the Waco zoo this time.

Stephen has been asking to see a real bear for weeks now, so he finally had his chance! He was really excited. We got to see one in action and another still sleeping.

The giant turtle. You can't tell from the photo, but this turtle could have easily given Stephen a piggy back ride.

 Everyone really liked all the snakes. There were lots of them, including many native to Texas. Yikes!

 The eel (photos by Allia)

 Jaguar

 Bison

 This giraffe was really hungry. He just stood there eating the whole time we watched.

 Kudu

 Rhino

 And the ever famous elephant. The kids asked the whole time when we would see elephants, and this ended up being one of the last animals we saw! They still remember the elephants at the Houston zoo doing handstands during their morning shower when we were there!

And some Anastasia-isms from the day:
Hih tah pah pas (Hippopotamus)
A-mango (flamingo)
Looky Dat (look at that!)

Two weeks!

Yesterday officially marked two weeks until this baby's due date. I really can't believe it. In two weeks (or perhaps 3!), there will be a whole new little person in our house. Our doctor seems to think the baby will be early, but I think not...I think he is just hoping so because he will be out of town the week of our due date! We did take this weekend to pack bags, get the bassinet down and take care of a few other baby prep items since we have a break from soccer and all other craziness for spring break. I am not sure how I will care for a new little one and keep up with all the other demands of our family life, but I know God's grace will be with me! So exciting to meet this new little one.

Our own party

I remember at some point, as we dreamed of having a big family, talking with Austin about the day when our family would be it's own party. I think we have arrived. :) At least last night we did. It was Mardi Gras, and in the absence of any parades or other community celebrations, we became our own party. In the afternoon I took the children to Spoons, and after a yummy dinner with several desserts (since we as a family always give up sweets for Lent) we had a dance party in the living room complete with Chicken Dance, Cotton Eye Joe (clean version) and the Shoddish. It was lots of fun and a good chance to burn off all those sweets before bedtime!

The girls were actually the ones who grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. They did a pretty good job!

 Yes, that is me, 8 1/2 months pregnant, dancing in my living room. It was Mardi Gras after all.

We began Lent with early morning mass. May this Lent be an opportunity for all of us to grow in our faith.

"Wim Soups"

I just love toddlerisms. We are doing a lot of shopping and trying on of swimsuits right now. Anastasia calls them "Wim Soups." So cute! We all can't help but smile.

Soccer time again!

We had our first week of soccer practice and games. Allia and Gloria are so excited to be back in soccer! Stephen is still waiting for his to start up, and Mariana just finished her skating lessons. Busy times. The girls both played really well. Allia's team tied 1-1 with the team that won the fall tournament. She even had to play against one of her sweet friends who just joined that team this spring! Gloria scored 3 goals, but I have no photos. They moved her division to the fields across town (unbeknownst to me!), so Austin had to rush her over there at the last minute when we found out, and she missed the first part of her game. I am super unhappy about this change and might not have let her sign up had I known they would not be playing in the same location, but too late now. Here we go! At least we have a week off for spring break. :)