School time!

We started school yesterday, but it got trumped by Sebastian's 5 month birthday. :) It was quite a morning, but we finished all of our work by 2:30pm, and nobody went crazy, so that was good!

I spent my "free" time this summer helping to build the atrium for our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at church. In the process I discovered this little table, unfinished and in our shed. So I finished it, and it turns out to be the perfect little work/snack space for the younger crowd. We really need a bigger school room!

5 Months Old

Sebastian is 5 months old today! I love this marker because it is typically downhill from here...more cute baby fun, less sleeplessness, etc. And they are just so stinkin' cute!

He is still a very happy, content boy most of the time. Although he has begun the long process of teething, chewing and drooling a lot and is sometimes a little fussy with that. He is down to 4 naps of 30 minutes to an hour each and stays awake about an hour and a half in between. One is in the moby and the other 3 in the swing. I am hoping to transition him from the swing to the crib in the next month or so, but we need to get school going strong before I tackle that! He had two nights last week that he slept 10 hours, which was amazing! Looking forward to another month with our guy!

Random stuff

As I was getting photos off mine and Austin's phone,

Austin took Mariana on a special date to a painting class

 Sebastian hangs out with Fr. Curtis at a wedding earlier this month

 Anastasia in her Bucees shirt from Manah and Pawpaw

 The girls receive dresses from Manah (minus Gloria in CC) and Anastasia sports her new Cheetah skirt

Weekend moments

Lito and Lita made a multi-purpose trip. They returned Gloria, Lito met Sebastian for the first time, and they celebrated Julian's first birthday. Fun weekend!

Gloria's Trip, the rest

Some photos were on Austin's phone, so here is what I was missing (the beginning and end of her trip)...

On their way there, they stopped at McDonald's for lunch. :)

Arrival at the beach house, with Lito waiting

Her first present...mini American girl Ruthie

 At the candy store

Eating on the couch! :0

At the nail spa on her last day

Gloria's trip part 1

Lita has been doing a good job keeping us updated on "princess Gloria" as I have started calling her. She is definitely getting the royal treatment for her week with Lita! And thanks to the Iphone (texts and face time), we have been keeping abreast of all her goings on...sometimes a little to our detriment (wishing we were all having so much fun too!). ;)

Plenty of treats of course

With her new American Girl, Kit (she has a gift to open each day and received several mini dolls before this one!)

 After a trip to the beach

 The first half of the week was at the beachhouse in Port Aransas. Today they are at the house in Corpus Christi...
At the Aquarium

We sure miss this girl but are glad she is having such a great time!

Gloria's trip

Gloria was off with Lita Saturday morning for her 6 year old "week at Lito and Litas" trip! They headed to the new beachhouse first for a few days and then will go to the house in CC. What a big girl! We sure will miss her this week. And she sure will miss Sebastian, so she had to get some last minute baby snuggles in before she left. :)

Happy Birthday, Austin!

We had a crazy week with Austin in DC for work until the eve of his birthday, then mass for the solemnity that evening and Lita in town the next day for his birthday and to pick up Gloria (more on that later). We had a nice dinner with Lita and the Cheas to celebrate our amazing Austin! We are so thankful for such a wonderful husband and father.

 While he was gone, Pawpaw and Manah came to help out, and Pawpaw graciously assisted me (more like the other way around!) in making Austin a BBQ zone with this unused wall in the pantry. Now he has all of his spices and tools at his disposal when he is ready to cook! Thanks, Pawpaw! Austin was thrilled!

 And a cute girl in her party hat

 A little bonus pic of Manah and Anastasia reading together before the Vigil mass.

 

Swinging boy

Sebastian really loves swinging at the park, and the girls love to push him!

Anastasia isms

Some cute ones that Allia and I really want to remember...

The "Beeping"
It took me about a week to figure this one out, but when the cicadas are making their rattling sound in the trees, she calls it beeping. She first came running back indoors after going to play outside, complaining that the neighbor's house was beeping. I thought maybe it was a smoke alarm or car alarm, so I went outside to check it out and didn't hear any beeping. After a few more similar incidents while out on walks, etc. I realized what she was referring to!

Last week we had a false smoke alarm in the middle of the night (yes, it was tons of fun). The next night during prayers, after hearing us discussing our eventful night throughout the day, she prayed for...
"The beeps and the beepers and the whoaeeeeeeee!" None of us could keep a straight face. I think God understood. ;)

Occasionally when we are heading out for errands, the children pack themselves snacks in zip locs. Anastasia has picked up on this. After packing hers, she always asks me to "Screw it" which means zip it closed.

"My tummy's comin' out." I am pretty sure this means she has gas.

Pianist

This girl is determined to be a pianist...among other things that her older siblings do. Every time I call the older girls to practice, she runs to the piano and asks me to turn the light on. Here she even stopped in the middle of dress up, hence the pretty dress!

Exersaucer time

He is so good at holding himself up, we decided it was time to get out the exersaucer!

And another cute face for fun

American girls

Now that Allia has an AG doll, they are all the rave in our house. The girls are constantly playing with them (Gloria with her Texas Girl), putting them to bed, making them clothes, making meals out of play doh for them. Manah let Mariana order an item of her choice from the catalog, and she chose this ice skating set, since she has been taking lessons. It came the other day and is super cute. She was thrilled. The ice skates even come with blade guards!

Sewing

The two oldest girls received this sewing machine last year, and we have finally got it up and working with lessons on use. Now we have sewing craziness as their dolls get pillows, comforters, dresses and more!

Family fun

I have been a little bogged down by the baby's schedule lately, so Austin made a family fun night to get us out of the house! We went to a favorite burger place and then to play some games at Grand Station. Stephen, Anastasia and Mariana rode this little ride. I really love how Mariana is not embarrassed to do "little kid stuff" with the little ones. She just likes to have fun whether it is big kid stuff or not!

Aunt Karen Visit

Aunt Karen made a trip here for the day yesterday to see us. We had a very nice time with her! We hope to make it to visit them soon!

She brought play doh, water guns and crayons which provided lots of entertainment for the day!

American Girl Store

We found out that they do have the "Just like me" dolls in the store. So off went Allia, Sebastian and I Saturday morning for a special trip. It was fun to look around the store at all the different dolls and their stuff. Allia picked the doll that looked most like her and then a few items that she had saved up for.

Our buddy for the trip. He was sooo good!

Home to show off "Alina" as she named her. She even bought her some blue glasses to match hers.

Manah time

Sebastian is enjoying some fresh meat, I mean faces, with Pawpaw and Manah here this weekend. ;) He sure loves to chew.