My Birthday and more!

The fun continues over here! We celebrated Valentine's, my birthday, AND went to Sesame Street Live all in a 4 day span. Party! Here are some pictures from the last week:

 We have a little path behind our place with some water (nasty water so don't get too jealous). It is a fun path to walk and every time we get home now Amelia says, "A yittle walk mommy? yittle yittle walk please?" So we walk back to the water and throw in a few rocks. It's a fun routine.

 Maya is obsessed with the stroller these days and I love to see what little toys she collects in there.

Or some days she climbs in herself.

We made these valentines for grandma and grandpa. Amelia had a cute valentine exchange with her playgroup. She kept saying, "I give candy to my friends" and was so excited about it. It was 45 degrees at 9 in the morning which Amelia whined about and sat wrapped in a blanket on the park bench. We Texas people sometimes forget that the mornings are pretty cold here, it gets up to 70 by the afternoon. 

 The girls got these straw glasses and heart-shaped pancakes.

 I made Juan a "Date Nights at Home" jar. 

 And Juan got me some flowers. We celebrated by going out with the girls, buy one get one free at Qdoba if we kissed at checkout. Deal!

Maya made this face every time she was ready for another bite. She is pretty hilarious.

 Sesame Street Live! It was so much fun. Amelia loved every second, and she really hasn't seen Sesame Street much. It was just all the colors and they know how to work a crowd full of kids. Definitely going back again.

I adore this picture. First of all, can she be any cuter? And Amelia and Elmo, I guess they are best friends.

 And my birthday! Juan woke me up with breakfast in bed. Sausage mcmuffins (home-made) and eggs and a cheese danish (not home-made, he didn't go that far!). All my faves. The girls were so excited to help and Amelia came running in saying Happy Birthday! which sounded like Poppy Daddy, haha.

 Their dresses laid out for church, still melts my heart. I love having my two girls.

 Juan also invited friends over and made a fantastic meal, including this amazing fruit salad. Can you believe he cut all that up?

 Maya's really starting to love the attention from all of our friends, particularly the guys. We have a bunch of friends over for The Bachelor on Mondays and she makes the rounds, hamming it up with everyone.

 Juan picked out cake balls to make as my present. And when he told me, I knew they wouldn't be pretty. I can't successfully do cake balls. He burned the frosting and just kind of spooned it on, isn't it cute though? I really love Juan. And they were really tasty!

 Besties and gym buddies.

 And my love.

Parents in Town: Dallas

We made a little trip over to Dallas, without Juan during the week. We had never been and it was great! Although by the time we got home I just wanted to be in a contained space with the girls and not have to chase/discipline/yell at them. It is hard with Maya walking too now!

 We visited the fountains downtown. This was kind of a bust, I guess they don't run all the fountains in February :) 

 But the girls loved it.

 And we got some cute pictures.

 Our big stop was Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Here is Amelia in front of the fountain. She loved it.

 And the locker room. 

 The girls ran the field for a while. They needed to get out some energy after a few meltdowns during the tour.

 Love this action shot of Maya.

And Amelia. She is so fast.

 Amelia's smile is pretty funny these days.

 We went to the Dallas temple also. I love visiting the temple, even on the outside. I can just feel the Spirit of it and Amelia can too. I am so happy to be teaching my children to recognize how wonderful the temple is. It is what makes us an eternal family.

The girls were so happy to be reunited with Daddy.

Parents in Town: Overnighter in Austin

My parents will be in town for almost 2 weeks so Juan and I took advantage of the family babysitters and we got away on a mini vacation to Austin for a night. It was our first time away since having kids. We got to sleep in until 10 am and eat at a fancy shmancy restaurant and at one point I literally thought I had left Maya somewhere, it was so second nature to me to always have those little rascals by my side. Thank you mom and dad, it was a wonderful mini vacation, only 20 min from home.

 And the rest of this post should be a paid advertisement for the restaurant we ate at, because it was so good. We started out with the guacamole, it was whipped and creamy and wonderful, which I don't always prefer, but this was good.

 Next up, Panza de Puerco (berkshire pork belly, blue cheese, piloncillo caramel, apple-brown butter purée, tequila-poached pear, tomatillo salpicón) Who orders things like this? I did. And it was AMAZING.

 Carne Asada Tacos. Delish.

 Juan got their Carne Asada steak.

 And people, this little dessert. It will be calling me back. Boca Negra (flourless chocolate cake, chile de arbol, ancho, caramelized banana, brown sugar-banana ice cream). The cake was spicy, like you had to take a drink spicy. It was crazy. And we devoured it.

I love this picture. We went to breakfast the next morning at Kerbey Lane Cafe, and loved it. But I just love how we look well-rested, and fresh, and happy! It was a fun time away.

Parents in Town: San Antonio

My parents are in town! We are going to be going on adventure after adventure in the upcoming days, so I thought I'd get a head start on blogging our first stop: San Antonio.

 This walking thing is not getting old. I could watch her all day every day.

 We went to the San Antonio Zoo! It was perfect because both girls are free. In fact I plan on living it up in the next 5 weeks before Amelia turns 3. How many free things can we get her into?

 Love this picture.

 Maya loved the fish and she can give us a semi-fish face. Adorable.

 Amelia was so fun with the animals. She was talking like crazy about each one.

 

 Amelia has been taking selfies and I think this one is a piece of art. 

 And here she is looking like a teenager and giving me attitude.

 Back to San Antonio, we took a boat ride down the River Walk and the girls were in heaven. Maya couldn't believe it was happening, she was so happy. I had a tight hold on her, otherwise she would have jumped overboard!

And the Alamo. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of Miss Amelia in her bright yellow leggings.