Salt & Pepper

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Texas - Volume 3

Luis really became close to some of his professors when he went to Texas Lutheran University. We visited some of them while in Texas, and one professor, Dr. Gonzalez, even invited us over for dinner. Raquel REALLY loved her dog.

Dr Gonzalez, Raquel, & Luis

Next up, we stopped by Tio Luis's house to visit with him, his wife, Amelia, and Lu's cousin, Eduardo. Tio Luis has a small farm. Once again, Raquel was delighted.

That SAME NIGHT, we heard another cousin (also named Luis) was in town, so we headed over. Raquel was pretty much done with the day, but she was a trooper.

(From left to right: Anthony, Dad, Amy (cousin), Jackie (cousin), Leila (his cousin Luis's daughter), Adriana (his cousin Luis's wife), Luis, Raquel, me, Angel (aunt), and Luis (cousin).

Friday, February 22, 2013

Texas - Volume 2

Our trip was perfectly timed. My sister Megan and her husband Blake have been living in Dallas for the past six months. They drove down for the weekend while we were in Seguin, and then moved back to Utah the following week. I'm so glad we got to see them - especially since we won't be seeing any of my side of the family again until August.

Megan & Blake taught Raquel about the ipad, as any hip aunt and uncle would (Luis and I are still in the dark ages. Our last piece of new technology was Lu's ipod touch in 2010, though I am considering buying myself a new walkman one of these days .)

We then took Megan & Blake to see the sights, starting with a monument dedicated to the world's largest pecan, claimed to have been found in Seguin.

Later, we ventured into San Antonio and visited the Alamo. Yep, I'm pretty sure I still don't really know what happened there...

... though it must have something to do with Davey Crocket, because I got this! Jealous? You should be. I wore it as we walked along the River Walk. I bet the passers by didn't even realize it was trendy to wear a coon-skin cap until they saw me!

After grabbing a bite to eat, we got to go see my cousin Alison, who lives in San Antonio. It's been a long time since I've been able to sit down and chat with her and her husband. It was really nice to see them.

That night, we also got to visit Tia Cecelia and three of Luis's cousins.

Tia Cecelia and Raquel

Texas - Volume 1

Luis finished his LAST pharmacy class and now has rotations for the next year and a half before graduation. The school was kind enough to give Luis a 2 week breather before he started into rotations. We took advantage of the break and flew out to see our Morenos in Texas. Warning: I hope you're not overwhelmed by all the names.

So, we opted for a plane ride instead of a 22 hour drive, although the idea of keeping Raquel happy on my lap for three hours on a plane filled me with panic. I prepared for WEEKS and read every baby traveling tip I could find. In the end, she was fine. In fact, our fellow passengers were shocked to discover that a baby had been sitting behind them. Thank goodness for the baby video that kept her happy when everything else got old.

We arrived in Seguin on Saturday in the late afternoon, but after so much traveling, Raquel wanted nothing to do with any of the anxious arms awaiting her. The fact that she'd only met Abuelo y Abuela Moreno and Tia Mague, didn't help. The next day, Raquel was still pretty miserable and confused, so we headed to Landa Park and finally saw some smiles.

In case you are wondering, most of the vacation was spent like this: someone bent over walking Raquel, whilest her many adoring fans cheered her on.

After a day or two, Raquel began warming up to everyone.

Raquel with Abuela

Raquel with Abuelo

Raquel with Melissa (Lu's sister)

Raquel with Esmeralda (Lu's sister)

Raquel with Ricky (Lu's brother)

Raquel with Victor (Lu's brother)

She especially loved Anthony, her one Moreno cousin. (Anthony is Melissa's son.)

I've been wanting a banana stroller (as I like to call them) for some time now, and since we thought it would be useful to have in Texas, we ventured out and found the perfect one! Isn't my little Minnie Mouse cute? I only wish I'd had this at Halloween when she really WAS Minnie Mouse. THAT would have been adorable!

Wanna know something else that's cute? Watching my man play some b-ball! It's been two years since the last game of brotherly hoops. Now I can't wait until we see a match between ALL my brothers. That game will be epic.

(Sorry Victor, this is just too funny not to share.)

Word spread that we had arrived, and the first of Raquel's visitors arrived - Lu's Tia Martha and her daughters. Raquel put on a good show for them. She's got this new quirk where she'll suddenly start laughing out of nowhere or laughing really dramatically when she hears others laugh. It's the best.

(From left to right: Tia Martha, the twins Yojaira and Yomaira, and Perla.)

We hit up the local library a few times while in Seguin. They've got the best little sofas I've ever perched upon.

Luis and I also went on a romantic date to the laundromat. It was my first time being in one, and Luis made it extra special by walking next door to the Dairy Queen and bringing me back a Blizzard. If you're looking for a good date night idea, this one is golden.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Valentine's Banner

I found this idea and said to myself, "Ashley, that looks easy." I agreed, so I made it.

My Baby is One!

I have been so excited for my baby to turn one! What an accomplishment for her to now be a "year-er" instead of a "month-er." (Though, I guess she is still a little bit of a "month-er" until she is outgrows 12 month, 18 month, and then 24 month clothes.)

A few days before her birthday, she received a package in the mail. Almost nothing makes us more excited than packages in the mail! I guess that's one perk of living far far away. Inside the package we found a chunky puzzle and an outrageously cute petti-skirt. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

Normally, we would have to wait to open birthday packages, but I had a feeling there would be some fun outfit inside that Raquelita would want to wear on her birthday. (We did check with Daddy to make sure he didn't think the skirt was too wild for church, but luckily he gave his consent.)

Two days later, it was birthday time and Mommy & Daddy's turn to give gifts. We have been hanging on to some of these toys since pre-birth, so I was super excited to get them out of our hiding spots (not like she's even mobile enough to go looking) and present them to our chulinda.

Not surprisingly, the wrapping paper was a pretty big hit.

Her birthday dinner request was homemade pizza, which she devoured. Afterwards, cake time! I put so much thought and effort into her cake last week, that I let Luis come up with her birthday cake this time. He suggested a piggy face, to keep the farm theme going. I unofficially put him in charge, which meant I was to bake the cake and he to create the masterpiece. Unfortunately, life got busy and I ended up throwing it together last minute. Thank goodness it was a simple idea! I only wish I would've been smarter about the candle placement. Tragically, Raquel's sweet and innocent piggy looks like he's smoking a joint. I'm going to go ahead and blame that on Luis.

After cake and ice cream, our little woman went off to bed. I guess we should've let her stay up because Mother Nature suddenly decided to surprise us with one final present for Raquel...
California Snow!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone! Raquel had a super duper day!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Doce Meses!!!

When Raquel born, I thought about what the year would be like and how much fun all the holidays would be with a baby. I even envisioned what she would be like when she turned one. That day seemed so far away, but now that it has come and gone, it's surreal to see how much she's grown.

It's a good thing Daddy was around because he quickly turned the photo shoot from this...

...to this. She adores Daddy.

Raquel at 12 months

A whopping 16 1/2 lbs and 29 1/2 in.
Her hair is 5 inches long. Love love love.
She has informed me that she will never crawl. It's unrefined. Instead, she cruises around on her feet, holding on to our hands. She also scoots around a bit on her bum.
She is eating all sorts of grown-up food now.
She loves the book, Llama Llama Red Pajama. It's the only long book she'll sit and listen to.
Out of nowhere, she'll start laughing at her own private joke.
She turned one and is suddenly, MAGICALLY, sleeping through the night!
Her newest words are "duck" and "hi."
She L.O.V.E.S. to stand on the bathroom counter (yes, we're holding her) and look at herself in the mirror. She makes faces at herself, waves, and jabbers on and on. It is probably my favorite moment of the day.