May

I can't believe it's May already, this year is flying by so fast! We've had a busy few weeks to a trip to Oklahoma for a mini family reunion followed 2 days later with a trip to Houston. The kids did amazingly well with all the time in the car and Joshua asks me daily now when we're going on another trip. We're going down to Corpus for a few days at the end of the month and they are both really excited about going to the beach. I asked Joshua the other day is he wanted to eat a fish while we're there. He got a very serious look on his face and told me that fish are nice, we don't eat them, we just look :) We'll see if he still feels that way when I give him a plate of shrimp and coctail sauce....my vote is he won't.

We were able to get both kids registered for preschool this month and I'm excited for them to start in August. Joshua talks about going to school all the time and doesn't want to wait that long. They will be going two mornings a week for about 3 hours. I'm really excited for them to make some friends their own ages. I found out a couple of weeks ago a little girl that Abigail goes to nursery with is going to be going to be in the same preschool class so we're going to get them together a few times this summer so they will know someone on the first day.

Tommy is busy with work like always, but he loves what he does and is still enjoying the fact that he gets to make the decisions :) He built the kids a picnic table a few weeks ago and they are enjoying being able to eat outside on it and (one day soon) play with finger paints for the first time. He is building another boat and hoping to have it ready to take out on the lake near our house soon. I have an ultrasound at the end of the month to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl, I'm REALLY looking forward to being able to get rid of a bunch of baby clothes once we find out if we need blue or pink. They are taking over my house and it's time to find a new home for the ones we won't need!
We are looking forward to a busy summer. We have a trip to Corpus planned over Memorial Day, Abigail's 2nd birthday, a few days in Galveston (Kemah, Moody Gardens, the beach) in June while Tommy goes to a conference for work, and a wedding in August. We're excited for all of our little adventures and hoping it will be enough to keep the kids from getting too bored with our everyday activities.

April update

Happy Easter family! We've had a busy couple of months at our house. We found out in mid February that we will be welcoming a new little one into our family at the end of October. A couple of weeks later we celebrated Joshua's 3rd birthday with Grandma and Grandpa. They came up for his birthday weekend and we had fun going to the zoo, having donuts, pizza and cookie cake, and playing with new toys :) I spent the month of March dealing with morning sickness, and was VERY greatful that Mom was able to come and stay with us for a week to help me get the house back together. I had my first doctor appointment last week and everything looks great with the baby. We get to find out at the end of May if it's a boy or a girl, both of the kids say they want a girl, so we'll see if they're right :) This past weekend we enjoyed spending some time together over the Easter weekend. We went to Georgetown on Sunday and had an Easter egg hunt and enjoyed visiting and having dinner with the Bertucci's. We have a trip to Oklahoma planned at the end of April to visit some of Tommy's family, then a few days later we are going to Houston for a wedding. We are keeping busy, but are enjoying every minute of it!

Joshua is such a big boy now! He talks all the time and wants to do everything by himself. Potty training is going well, he seldom has accidents anymore and he's getting better and better at telling us when he needs to go potty instead of waiting for us to tell him to. We've been going to the park a lot the last week or so, he loves playing with the other kids we see there and talks about it for the rest of the day after we go home. He loves to play with his trains and spends as much time as possible in the backyard.

Abigail is almost 2 now....I can't believe how fast my little girl is growing up. She talks all the time and constantly wants to read books and talk on the phone....usually to Grandpa :) She loves shoes, purses, and getting her hair done......she also loves to play with my make-up brushes and tells me she needs lipstick! She's still a cuddly little thing though and loves hugs and kisses. She likes to climb on the equipment at the park and go down the slides by herself, I'm not allowed to help her anymore. She points out every baby that we see and tells me that they are "Abby's babies".......I'm trying to convince her that they have their own mommies and can't come home with us :) We are working on sharing and she is slowly improving. I am working on getting them both into a 2 morning a week preschool next fall so they can have more interaction with kids their own ages.

Tommy is busy with work and his calling at church. He's been even more busy the last month or so taking care of the house and cooking dinner for the kids while I've been sick. He finally got the final approval for his thesis and has had it published so he is officially finished with school!!!! Unless of course he goes for his PhD one day.... For now he's enjoying having his evenings free to get stuff done at home and play with the kids.

And baby makes 5 :)

I went to the doctor this morning and am happy to officially announce that we are having a baby!  After spending the last month throwing up I have been feeling MUCH better the last few days and have even made it out of the house a few times (church, grocery store, park).  We're so excited to welcome a new little one to our family in October...even though I have no idea how I'm going to handle 3 kids under four!  I had an ultrasound this morning and baby looks great and is right on track for growth.  We get to find out at the end of May if baby is a boy or a girl and for the first time I really don't have a preference either way.  As long as this one is healthy and happy we will be thrilled.

Preschool

I think I found a preschool for Joshua!!!!  I kind of stopped looking because they all require the kids to be potty trained, but now it's time to start looking again :)  The place I've found is a preschool program combined with a gymnastics place, they divide the "school day" into several sections including educational activities, art, and gym time where they introduce basic gymnastics exersizes to the kids.  It seems like it will be a good fit for him.  He went to Sunbeams with me at church a couple of weeks ago and really seemed to enjoy the structure, so I think he will definitely be ready for this in the fall.  I'm so excited I finally found a good place, there are shockingly few of them aorund here!

Joshua is doing AWESOME at potty training!  We are on our 4th day now and have only had 2 accidents, both of which happened when he was playing outside with Daddy and was too distracted to come inside :)   He is really starting to figure this whole thing out, I'm so proud of him!  We've even had several successful trips out of the house without any problems.  I odered the kids' Easter outfits today; they are going to be so cute!  I love that I can dress them up a couple of times a year.  I'm hoping that I have a few more years of making them match (at least for Christmas and Easter!) before they're old enough to care about it.

Potty training.......

Ok, I promise I've done this before.......practically every job I've ever had has involved potty training other people's kids.  I have successfully potty trained at least a dozen children, usually woking with three or four at a time.  Why then is it so frustrating to potty train one almost 3 year old???????  He understands the concept, he knows that he is supposed to go potty on the toilet.  He tells me all the time "no potty on floor, no potty in car, no potty at store........."  and he hasn't had an accident except at home.  Why then does he sit in the bathroom for an hour with no result and then promptly pee in his pants????  I kow this is normal but I am going crazy here.  I had enough laundry without all of the extra underwear, pants, and socks!!!!

February

Welcome to February! We are enjoying the cold weather and are looking forward to our new fireplace screen arriving so that we can use our fireplace :) Tommy and I got callings at church a couple of weeks ago so we no longer get to attend our classes.....I am the Sunbeam teacher and Tommy is the Ward clerk. Unfortunately that means that I now have to get the kids ready and take them to church and home again on my own. I enjoyed the brief reprieve I got over the last couple of months, but it is nice to be useful again!


We recently started potty training Joshua. He is excited to get to wear "big boy" underwear and is doing pretty well. He wasn't feeling well yesterday so he came to Sunbeams with me instead of going to nursery. He liked going to sharing time and singing the songs and did really well sitting in his chair during class time. Unfortunately he won't be old enough to REALLY be in the class until next year, but it just made me want to get him into a preschool program next fall even more.

Abigail is as full of life as ever :) I'm starting to understand what people mean when they talk abot having a "spirited" child! She is doing really well in nursery and didn't cry at all when we dropped her off yesterday. She loves to help me around the house and is VERY intersted in the potty since Joshua started using it. She tells me when she needs to be changed and has started telling me when she needs to go. we're still trying to work on the timing though.....she usally goes right AFTER she gets off the potty.
Tommy is keeping busy at work. He is in the process of hiring a new planner and is looking forward to having a full team again. He has officially finished his master's now (his thesis has been approved) and is enjoying not having me bug him about doing his school work every night.

I'm keeping busy with the kids and the cat :) Riley had surgery on his eye last week so I've had to keep him from messing with it and not the the kids mess with him too much. He's healing well and gets his stitches out next week. I'm looking forward to not having to buy diapers anymore and try to remember that while I clean up the inevitable accidents.

Belated December update :)

Merry Christmas everyone!
We are settled into our new house in Harker Heights and are getting more and more comfortable finding our way around all the time. Tommy is enjoying the new challenges that his job brings. He is actually going to have to hire someone in the next few weeks. He is THRILLED to be done with school and the kids and I are enjoying having him around a bit more.

Joshua is almost three now........I can hardly believe how big my baby boy has gotten! He is doing well with his speech development and is learning new words daily. I call him my little parrot :) He loves his new backyard and plays out there for hours everyday. His nursery teachers tell me that he is the best in the class at cleaning up and we are trying to get him to show us that at home more often. He unfortunately doesn't take naps anymore :( but is really good at playing quietly in his room while Abigail takes her nap so Mommy can have some "alone time".

Abigail is 18 months old and all girl :) She loves purses, shoes, jewelry, make-up and bows. She loves to come with me when I'm getting ready to go somewhere and play with my blush and lipstick. She also steals my necklaces and bracelets on a regular basis. Since meeting Bailey she carries her baby doll around the house with her all day long. She feeds it and rocks it and pats it's back, then puts it in her little cradle. She'll come find me afterwards and tell me "shhhhh, baby night-night". She loves to give hugs and kisses and read stories. We're working on using words when she wants something and she's learning several new words a week. When she started going to nursery I realized that she's not a little baby anymore......so time outs are once more in effect in our house......they are infrequent though and she's following directions better everyday.

I am enjoying the new house and the freedom it gives the kids. They love to play in their rooms and in the backyard, leaving me free to actually get things done during the day :) They love to help me and are actually getting big enough that their "help" is actually helpful. Joshua feeds the cat every day and Abigail helps me throw things away and unload the dishwasher.

We are so grateful for the blessings that we have received this year and are looking forward to seeing what the new year has in store for our family.

Wow, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years have come and gone since I last posted.  The stress of the move has been almost forgotten, and the boxes have long since been unpacked.  We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's house and got to meet our first niece, Bailey.  We enjoyed having Christmas morning at home and having the Elders over for breakfast, then had dinner with the Bertucci's and ended the day by heading down to Houston.  We were able to see the whole family over the weekend and were happy that we could be there for Peter's Eagle Court of Honor and to see Bailey be blessed. 

Since then Abigail was talked about babies non-stop and drags hers all over the house with her feeding and rocking them :)  She chatters all the time now and a good portion of it is actually real words!  She has been in nursery for about 6 weeks now and does better every time.  She loves to help me and is getting more and more able to actually do small jobs.  We moved her into a toddler bed at the end of the year and ever since she tells me that she is "big, not baby".  So apparently we only have big kids in our house now, not babies!

Joshua will be 3 in a few weeks.  I can't believe how fast my little boy is growing up.  He loves to play outside and help me take care of Abigail and Riley.   He checks every morning to make sure that Riley has enough food and water and helps me to refill his bowl if he needs something.  He has officially outgrown his carseat and graduated to a booster.  He likes that he has a big boy seat now :)  We have also put away all of his sippy cups and I am happy to say we have not had a spill in several days.

Tommy is happy to finally be done with school, but is keeping busy at work.  We still don't have callings in our new ward, and with both of the kids in nursery we are able to enjoy our classes for the first time in years!  Tommy's parents are coming back to the States for a visit in a few days and the kids are excited to see Gigi and Abuelo for the first time since last June.  We are settling into our new community well and are loving our new house.  We are so excited to see what this year has in store for our family!

Our new house!

We offically have an "executed" contract and should be closing in the next week or so if everything goes well!  I've had several requests for pictures of the house, so I'm going to try to get some up here to show off  :)

It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a wood burning fireplace, a good size kitchen with an island, and a huge yard with tons of trees and a big deck in the back. We are planning to move in just after Thanksgiving!

October news

Our exciting news for the month (and year!!!) is that Tommy was offered a job in Harker Heights a few days ago! He is going to be the Director of Planning and Development for the city, which will be a HUGE step up for him in every way. This isn't official, but we've been told that he will be the youngest person in that position in the entire state! I am so proud of him and so ready for this new adventure to start. We are in the process of putting in an offer on a house and are looking forward to closing on it and moving in soon. We are so thankful for the prayers on our behalf, they truly played a big part in helping him get this job. His new boss told him that by no means was he the most qualified applicant that they had for the position, but he really felt that Tommy was the one for the job and he wanted to train him himself. I know that there is no way this would be happening for us with out the help of the Lord.

Joshua is talking more all the time. His new favorite phrase is "Uh-oh, mess. Clean up!" I hope he likes this one for many years to come! I took both kids to go look at houses today and he loved running in the yards and looking in the rooms. He told me "my room", "Abby's room", and "new house!" depending on where we were. I know that he doesn't really know what it means to move, but I'm sure glad he's excited about it!

Abigail and I went to nursery at church yesterday for the first time. She's not really old enough for about another 6 weeks, but she wanted to stay and the teachers said it was ok.....so we skipped Sunday school and played with toys instead :) She can't wait to be there full time and I can't wait to be able to listen in my classes! She is turning into a big girl way to fast! She wants to wear my lipstick all the time, tries on my high heels, carries around my purse, and brings me her hairbrush and bows and tells me "pretty hair please". I am in SO much trouble in another 10 years! I love it though and am grateful everyday that I have been blessed with a little girl.

Tommy is in the home stretch at school and is busier than ever. His deadlines are forever moving closer and there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Add to it the stress of changing jobs, buying our first house, and moving and you have my poor husband's life right now, lol. He's doing his best though and I'm sure he can hold on for a few more weeks.

I am busy these days house hunting and trying to figure out how to close on a house in a month......tips would be appreciated! I am so excited for this move and for all of the opportunities that it will bring to our family.

We love you all and are looking forward to seeing you soon.

July and August :)

Again.....sorry for the long gap between updates, I'll try to be better! Life around here is going well for everyone. Abigail started walking a couple of weeks ago and is getting better everyday. Joshua is adding new words to his vocabulary daily and is growing up WAY to fast. Tommy just started his LAST semester of school before graduating with his masters in Public Administration in December, and I'm trying not to lose my mind before then :) We got back yesterday from spending the weekend at the batch, and for the first time the kids actually enjoyed it! We went to the aquarium to see the fish and played in the sand on the beach. Joshua really enjoyed running up and down the beach trying not to let the water get his feet then squealing and laughing when it did :) Abigail liked getting buried in the sand and watcing the bird show at the aquarium.
Abigail had a check up last week and is officially 18 lbs. 4 oz. and 29 inches tall.......in other words, tiny :) She is no longer even on the growth chart, she's 3% below it but the doctor is not concerned, so neither am I. She thinks it's great because her "perscription" was to have special things added to her milk, lots of full fat cheese and ice cream, etc. She is happy and healthy and entering the terrible two's a bit early :) She already throws better fits than Joshua ever dreamed of having, but she snaps out of it pretty quickly and is the sweetest little girl I know. We are counting down until she starts nursery, I can't believe I'll actually be able to listen at church for the first time in almost 3 years!
Joshua is my helper these days. He loves to hold Abigail's hand and walk around with her, show her pictures in books, and get snacks for both of them :) We went to nursery to pick him up a couple of weeks ago and he ran to Abigail and walked her over to the toys so she could play too, then he stood guard to make sure no one bothered her! We are still meeting with a speech therapist once a week and he is steadily adding words and phrases. I asked him why he did something the other day and he sighed, held his arms up in the air and said '"I don't know!!". He thinks it's really funny when Abigail says a word or tells him what the animals in their books say, so he tries to get her to do it all the time :)
Tommy is busy, like always. He is in his last semeser of school and working hard to get finished. Between school, work, the property and his new calling (Executive Secretary) at church, we don't see much of him.......but we know it will be over soon! We heard back about the Foreign Service today and it turns out that they had WAY more applicants than they have positions available, so it looks like we will be staying in Texas after all. He has started looking for management positions that he is qualified for and has applied for a couple. Your prayers to help us find the right place for our family would be appreciated.
Not much is going on with me. I'm just trying to get through this last semester and explain to Joshua why Daddy isn't home......this was WAY easier before the kids were big enough to know that he was missing. We are doing well though and reminding ourselves often that in two and a half months it will be over and it will all be worth it.

May and June catch-up :)

Where have the last few months gone? Sorry for the gap between updates but we've had a lot going on :) In May Tommy's mom came back from Baku to take some classes at a community college to prepare for starting her master's in the fall. After that we were kept busy with wedding receptions in Houston, baby Michael's blessing, and Abigail's birthday party. Then June started and we had Dash's birthday party, Danny coming home from his mission, Tommy taking the Foreign Service Exam, and a family reunion in Dallas........ Thankfully things have finally slowed down now! We enjoyed a quiet 4th of July and went to watch the fireworks display that the city put on. Abigail LOVED it! She tried to grab the lights out of the sky then she would clap and say boom! Joshua wasn't quite as excited though......he had fun until the fireworks actually started, but didn't appreciate it getting so loud so long after bedtime :)

Joshua is getting way too big way too fast and is a great helper. He loves to help me sweep and mop, unload the dishwasher, and recently he has been helping me cook :) We made rice krispie treats the other day and he got to measure and pour things for me, he thought it was the best thing ever! He loves his little sister and wants to play with her all the time. They both get upset with me when I have to step in and break things up when they get too rough :) They chase each other around the house, read books together, share their snacks, and sit in Joshua's chair together. He loves to try to get her to sit on his lap, unfortunately she's a little to big for him to pick up easily!

Abigail is 13 months old now, I can hardly believe how grown up my baby is getting. She feeds herself (or the she feeds the dogs at least!) and seldom lets me help her these days :) At her last check-up about a month ago she was 17 lbs. 3 oz. and 28 inches tall (5th% for weight and 10th% for height) so she probably won't be catching up to Joshua any time soon! She is quite the stubborn little lady and has a temper that would fit just fine in someone twice her size, but is usually a happy kid. She loves to snuggle and give hugs and kisses. She will look at books and play by herself for hours. She loves her brother and wants to do everything that he does. I really hope that they keep getting along this well!

Tommy is back at school and beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. He will graduate next May, so we're just trying to keep going until then. He did well on the FSE and will be continuing the hiring process through out the next year or so. If we do decide to accept a Foreign Service post we will most likely be moving to Virginia next summer or fall sometime for training, then continuing on to explore the world :)

I'm keeping busy with the house and the kids. We're looking forward to visiting Tommy's parents in Baku this winter and are SO thankful for Mom and Dad agreeing to watch the kids (again) so that the trip is possible. After looking over the FSO posts we found that Baku is considered one onf the most difficult places to live, so we decided to go visit :) Our thought process was that if we can get around Baku and feel comfortable, we should be ok to go just about anywhere :)

We love you all and look forward to the next time we get to see everyone. We are THRILLED to be welcoming a new little girl into this family and can't wait to meet Bailey(?) in a few months!

The month of April

I can't believe how quickly this year is going by! It seems like we just celebrated Christmas and now Easter has come and gone and summer is just around the corner. April was a fairly uneventful month for us. The kids and I took a trip down to Houston in the middle of a storm to see David while he was home. Joshua was thrilled beyond words to see his Grandma and was so sad when we had to leave. Abigail decided that she loves her Uncle Peter too :) He held her most of the time we were there! We have been keeping busy with projects around the house and have officially finished getting the backyard ready for the kids to play in, just in time for it to get hot outside! We had to rip out a bunch of garden beds that were completely overgrown with weeds and put down grass seed so Joshua wasn't just playing in dirt, not that he would have cared :) Luckily a few days after we seeded the backyard it started raining and didn't stop for a week......Joshua was upset because he couldn't play outside, but it was so nice to see everything turn green and the flowers start to bloom. I've been feeling for a while that there are too many little ones under my feet, so unfortunately the puppies are no longer with us. We found them a new home with some friends of ours who have three little boys. Needless to say they are getting more attention than they have ever had in their lives and have adjusted well to the move.

Joshua is a big help these days. He helps Abigail stand up, gets toys for her, feeds her (yes, with a spoon!) gives her drinks from his cup and helps me change her diaper. I can't believe how quickly he's growing up. It's fun to watch him learn new things and start to explore more on his own, but sad at the same time because he definitly isn't a baby anymore. His time with the speech therapist is going well. She comes over once a week for about an hour and plays with him. He thinks it's great that she comes just to see him! He gives her hugs when she gets here and never wants her to leave. In the few weeks since she started coming he has started saying baby, moo, baa, roar, gobble, cock-a-doodle-doo, Mama (and actually means me!), boom, ball, and ow. There are probably a few more, but I can't think of them at the moment. I'm not sure if these new words are because of the therapist or just because he's getting older, but as long as he starts talking it's fine with me! We (just me and Joshua) went to Baskin-Robbins last night for their 31 cent ice cream cones and he loved it (even though more ended up on the ground and on his clothes than in this mouth)!. He has really started to want one-on-one time with me lately, lots more reading books, coloring, and "helping" me in the kitchen. He even helped me load the dishwasher the other day!

Abigail is 11 months old now....I can't believe how quickly the last year has gone by. She is crawling all over the place and getting into EVERYTHING! She spends more time standing than crawling these days; it's only a matter of time until she starts walking. She still loves to cuddle and gives me hugs and kisses all the time. She loves to play with our new dinosaur toy (you put balls into holes at the top and it lights up and plays music), read books, pull all of the stuffed animals out of the basket, and turn the TV on and off :) She is VERY interested in feeding herself these days and so far has been successful with Cheerios, Gerber puffs, macoroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwhich pieces, Mother Maria cookies, crackers, etc. She is almost completely off baby food and I'm excited not to have to buy it anymore!

Tommy has had a busy month trying to get the semester wrapped up. He turned in a HUGE paper and a final this week and has a paper due next week before getting a few weeks off until school starts again in June. We're excited that he is down to one more year....just one class over the summer, two in the fall, then one more next spring! He found out a few days ago that he is scheduled to take the Foreign Service Exam on June 6th, so his break from school will be spent studying for that! If we do decide to pursue working/living overseas that will officially be the start of a 12-18 month process.

I'm having fun playing with the kids and watching them grow-up way to quickly. We're planning on going to Houston in May for a friend's wedding reception, then College Station for baby Michael's blessing, followed my Abigail's birthday party, then back to College Station the following weekend for Dash's birthday, and off to Dallas the weekend after that for a family reunion :) Needless to say I'm enjoying the little quiet time we have left before all of this starts!
We love you all and are looking forward to seeing you soon. Watch out for the swine flu!!!!! :)

The Garcia Family

How on earth?????

Ok, so I went to get Joshua when he woke up this morning and picked him up to change his diaper like always......but he wasn't wearing one! Somehow he had taken his diaper off, WITHOUT taking off his clothes, and thrown it away. After I got him diapered and dressed I asked him what happened to his night-time diaper. He got the biggest grin on his face, ran over to the diaper pail and showed me how to turn it over to throw the diaper away :) I have no clue how he did it, or how long ago it had been done, but he was dry and I didn't have to deal with a soaked diaper, so I'll take it. That boy never seases to amaze me!

March update

Another month has come and gone. We enjoyed being able to go to San Antonio this month to attend the sealing of a good friend, and were VERY thankful to Christopher and Sarah for watching the kids while we went. We got to see their new house and meet the new puppy (who isn't that small anymore!). We are also greatful to Mom for watching the kids while Tommy and I were in London (and to Dad for sharing her yet again). There is no one else in the world I would have left them with for a week. I missed them like crazy, but they didn't even pretend to care that I was gone :(

Joshua is as crazy as ever :) He enjoyed a lot more freedom with Grandma than I usually give him and is now convinced that he needs to be outside all day everyday. Unfortunately for him it has been raining and muddy since we got home, something he has seldom experienced in his life. He loves to help with the baby, but isn't thrilled that she is getting into his toys these days. We have a speech therapist coming to meet with him tomorrow to see if we can get him to start talking more, so with any luck I won't be able to get him to stop talking soon!

Abigail is no longer my sweet little baby :( While we were gone she started crawling and pulling up on things and I can't get her to sit still anymore! She has started waving and giving kisses in the last few days too! She may not be a little baby anymore, but she's still MY baby and concedes defeat when I catch her (meaning she lets me cuddle her when I want to, something Joshua never did). FYI we're having her birthday party the morning of May 30th, invitations will go out closer to the date.

Tommy is busy with school and work. He is working on getting his final paper started this semester, so he's spent MANY hours at the library doing research. If it works out like they say it should then this should be the worst of it though. He's supposed to do all of the research and gets it outlined this semester, then he just has to put it together.......... We keep telling each other that it will be over in a year!

I'm keeping busy with the kids and the house, like always. The older the kids get the more work they are :) They are getting more fun everday though as they learn to interact more. We love you all and hope to see you soon!

Hugs and kisses,
The Garcia family

Spring break

We got home from a wonderful trip to London and Paris late Saturday night. It was the first time I have voluntarily left the kids, and as great as the trip was, I will NOT be doing it again. It's funny how much my daily activities have come to be centered around them. I kept checking my bag before we left the hotel in the mornings to make sure I had bottles and diapers.......and had to remind my self that I wouldn't be needing them :) The trip really was awesome though. We arrived back at the hotel every night completely exausted with blisters forming over blisters (well I did anyway, Tommy's feet were fine) and woke up early the next morning ready to start over. We got to visit one of the ward's Tommy served in on his mission, see where he lived, and most of the classic tourist stuff too. We took a day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford that was well worth the time we spent traveling. During the drive we got to see the "Forbidden Forrest" from Harry Potter :) We spent one whirlwind day in Paris and got a good overview of the sites there as well. Notre Dame was the only place we spent any real amount of time, but it was beautiful. We found a gorgeous doll for Abigail and a horse and night for Joshua in addition to some pictures and other things. We spent a morning at the London temple with Tommy's parents and were able to enjoy the peace that the temple always brings. We also went to see "Les Mis" and were very impressed with how good it was. All in all it was a great trip and we are so thankful that we were given the oportunity to go. Unfotunately the kids had such a good time with Grandma that they didn't even miss me.......Joshua cried when she left, but not when I did:( Abigail also chose that week to master crawling and starting to pull up on the furniture...... apparently she forgot she was supposed to wait until I was watching to learn anything new. Now I'm keeping busy catching up on laundry and trying to get back into the swing of normal life again, oh the joys of diapers and grocery shopping :) I wouldn't trade it for the world!

The month of February

February was a fairly uneventful month for the Garcia family. We have been enjoying the warm weather and hoping it doesn't get too warm too soon! We have been working on getting the house and yard how we want them and making plans for London :) Obviously some of these things have been more exciting than others! The kids had their check-ups at the doctor a few days ago. Joshua is now 37 inches tall and 34 lbs. (85th %) and Abigail is 27 inches and 16 lbs. 11 oz (10th-20th %). The doctor wants us to talk to a speech therapist for Joshua to see if we can get him talking more :) We'll see how that turns out; it would be nice to finally hear all of the things he wants to tell us! We enjoyed seeing Mom, Dad, and Peter when they came up for Joshua's birthday. They brought him a bunch of balloons which he played with until they were hardly balloons anymore :) He got a climbing toy for outside, puzzles, a golf set, a bead maze, and a gardening set! I made him a cute cake shaped like a bear......he didn't want to eat it, but Abigail LOVED it :) Peter was a big help at bed time. He gave Joshua a bath all by himself! We are greatful that Christopher and Sarah are willing to help out with the kids this weekend so that we can go to a friends sealing in San Antonio. We only wish we were going to be able to stay for longer!
Tommy is really busy these days with school and an increased work load and more responsibilities at work, and a list a mile long of things to do around the house. He is enjoying it though and we constantly remind each other that he only has another year of this. We figure we've made it this far, we better keep on going!
I've just been chasing kids and taking care of the house and all of our animals :) I love being home with the kids and am amazed at how quickly they are growing up. We leave for London on the 13th, so I'm trying to get everything organized that I can before we go. I'm keeping busy freezing meals and trying to make sure everything is ready so that it won't be any more difficult than necessary for Mom. We are SO thankful that she is willing to come take care of the kids so that we can take advantage of this oportunity!
We love you all and hope to see you soon!
Hugs and kisses,
The Garcia family

Abigail

Little Miss Abigail was born on June 4, 2008. She is an absolute doll and wins over pretty much everyone that she meets. She is always smiling (especially if she sees a camera!) and makes friends everywhere she goes. She recently started crawling and pulling up (while I wasn't here......that's a topic for another post) and now refuses to sit still. She's a tiny little thing, but she has enough personality to fill a body ten times her size. I'm amazed that such a little girl can be so LOUD, I affectionately call her my little screamer, wherever she is in the house, you will hear her if she wants to be heard :) She seldom cries, but will call out to you, just to make sure someone is paying attention to her. She can be a demending little Miss, but pay attention to her and you will be rewarded with the biggest smiles and the most infectious little giggle I've ever heard.

Joshua

Joshua was born on March 1, 2007. He is now a lively two year old who is trying to find out how much power he really has in the world :) He loves to play outside, especially throwing, kicking, and chasing balls, climbing, and going down the "big boy" slide at the park. He loves his baby sister, but is somewhat annoyed that she is now mobile as she has started playing with his toys when he leaves them on the floor. He loves corn on the cob, meatballs, grapes, and gummy candies of all kinds. He is learning to drink out of a big boy cup and gets SO excited when he successfully gets through a meal without spilling any of his drink. He loves to go to nursery at church every week, and I love that he gets excited and runs to give me a hug when I go to pick him up when it's over. He is a big help with the baby. He makes sure that she has toys to play with and doesn't get into things that aren't safe for her. He makes sure everyone knows to be quiet when she's asleep and gets me clean diapers for her (he throws away the dirty ones too!). He loves to give her hugs and kisses and tries to share his snacks with her when he thinks I'm not looking :) He is a wonderful part of our family and I am loving watching him grow up.