Cicerone Party

Here are some fun pictures from the Cicerone party last weekend. Eliana just adores her brother and sister (and they adore her in return); I love the picture of her and Thomas eating cake. I really love the outdoor pictures too--especially Eliana's big grin while she's hanging from the tree.

I was noticing recently that Cecilia hasn't been in a lot of pictures when we're out at social events. She was painfully shy from ages 2-4 and now she has hit the other extreme. If there are any children at any event we go to, we won't see her unless she needs something or the party's over. (She's also a goofball.) At least she's having fun!

Look at that Face

We had a really long day on Sunday. We went to a family party over an hour and a half away. On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant. Eliana has a habit of running her hands over her hair and her face. I think she came up with a rather stunning look--check out those eyebrows! :)

Waiting

Here's a cute shot of Thomas and Eliana waiting on a bench while I was checking out at Old Navy.

More Houston

We went to a pool party at the Rossens on our last night in Houston. The Koennings were there too and all our kids had a blast playing together (9 in total). They had a great pool out back. I got to see Amanda and Dawn, whom I haven't seen since our last trip to Houston 3 years ago. We all worked at Texas Right to Life at the same time and enjoyed regular trips to Lupe Tortillas :) (not sure why they put the big pregnant girl in the middle...)

Weekend in Austin

We left Houston for Memorial Day weekend to visit with Mark & family in Austin. The cousins especially liked splashing around the water fountains.

Houston Trip, Day 3

More Amy's ice cream :) Eliana quickly caught onto using a straw so she could enjoy her first milk shake. That night, we headed to the Hills' for dinner. We had a little belated birthday party for the girls and each of the kids got their own individual cake! Lots of pictures of Eliana... look at those eyes, she's just so photogenic. Plus, the older kids had new friends to be off and playing with; we didn't see them much.

Houston Trip, Day 2

On Day 2, we headed to the Houston Zoo, which was so fun for the kids. We met the Hill family there, so the grown-ups got to visit while the kids checked out the animals. They especially loved the giraffes, elephants, and the reptile house. We got to watch them bathe (hose down) and elephant. Then, while we were in the reptile house, one of the zoo keepers came in and threw a whole bunny (no longer alive) into the boa constrictor's cage. The kids all went crazy and then were fascinated watching.

After the zoo, the Hills went home and we took the kids to the train, which was great. For $2.75, you get to ride the train all around Hermann Park (at least a 15 minute ride). We all loved it. Eliana was a riot. Whenever we stopped, she wanted to stand up in her seat. As soon as the train started moving again, though, she instinctively knew she should sit down.