Edomm-Garcia Wedding

In June Brian and I FINALLY took a vacation! We went to Puerto Vallarta for his sister's wedding. Leading up to it, Brian was very anxious about the whole thing. First, we were going to leave the kids here. I'm sorry - I was NOT going to have a vacation in Mexico with my children. This was not even a negotiable item. :) Second, we were leaving the country and going to the drug capital of the world, Mexico. Nevermind that drugs are not really an issue in PV. Just about everyone I spoke with about our trip leading up to it was nervous about the drug stuff. I tried not to think about it so that I wouldn't be nervous. And third, we are the worst homebodies EVER! So planning a trip and packing and making sure everything is where people can find it incase something happens is a HUGE deal for us. But we made it! I had a great time, and I'm pretty sure Brian did, too, looking back.

I did not enjoy the half day of traveling - both to PV and returning to DFW. Personally, I think it is overrated. I was so tired by the time we arrived in PV that all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. I guess it was vacation and there wouldn't have been anything wrong with it if I had done that.

The first day we laid pretty low. We went to a restaurant at the resort that was set up buffet style. And, of course, we started to drink. We had lunch with Brian's dad, and we had dinner with his mom. After dinner we took a stroll on the beach.

The second day we spent by the beach and pool. Neither of us burned, which was great! I actually did get drunk in the pool. It had a bar in it...what do you expect?! ha!

That evening was the Welcome Dinner. It was at a restaurant that was basically straight up the hill from the resort. The drive there and back was very interesting! Here are a few pics (by the way, I was horrible about taking pictures the entire trip. These are courtesy Aunt Jann).

The Happy Couple - Antonio and Emily

Brian and Carrie - This is the best photo of us of the entire trip. There is one posed picture from just before the wedding. yeah...that's how we roll I guess.

Sunset - Isn't this amazing?! This was the view from the Welcome Dinner.

The BIG Day!!! Saturday I went into the city with MIL (Allison a.k.a. Grandmother) and Jann. They found a jewelry store that they liked, so I tagged along. Brian wanted to sleep in, and I was more than ready for a change of scenery. I was determined not to buy anything, but walked away sparkling. Hey..my anniversary was coming up! Another story to come on that. I got some diamond studs and a diamond pendant necklace. They go with EVERYTHING, and I wear them when I remember to put them on (and when I have time). Emily wore the necklace as her Something Borrowed, too! Beautiful!

The wedding was GORGEOUS! Brian and I got married in Vegas - I was not up for planning a big deal. But before each wedding we attend, I feel a little regret and wonder if we did the right thing. And then usually right when the ceremony is over (I'm talking as everyone is walking back down the aisle), I know we did the right thing for us. I just get caught up in the hype of a wedding before the show. BUT with this wedding, when it was over, I thought to myself, "we so could have done this!" It was simple, elegant, and just beautiful! Emily looked like a princess (as Jacob told her a couple of months before the wedding when we saw the dress for the first time), and Antonio was so handsome! Just after the wedding they took a stroll on the beach.

Then there was the reception! It was definitely one of the most fun receptions I've ever been to! Sarah, Mary, and Amy also had super fun receptions! First we all sat down to eat dinner. By the way, there were only 20 of us at the wedding total. It was perfect for a destination wedding! Anyway, dinner - yum-o! Then Antonio and Emily danced. It was one of the sweetest things ever! Not gonna lie - I cried! They are just so damn good together! Then everyone got to dance and boy did we ever! The wine was flowing, and I had my fair share. There was no after party for me.

We had a really great time and are so happy that we were able to be there to share Emily and Antonio's big day with them.

The Garcias

Pictures Continued

This one is SO sweet! Jacob is the BEST big brother!

I love this one, too!

4 and 2 Year Pictures

Sarah and Derek have some friends, Jesse and Rachel, who do professional photography. I think they are extremely talented! So I had them take the annual birthday pictures of the boys. Here are a few of my favorites!

Boys Birthday Party

On the weekend between the boys' birthdays, we had a birthday party at a bounce house place. They had a BLAST! It was so worth it for that alone. But man, we came home with so many toys that it was a little embarrassing! I mean, my kids don't NEED any more toys. Crazy! We still have not let them play with them all.

So here are a few pics. We sold the entire idea at school as a party for Jacob, and then to the family we told them it was a party for Andrew, too. It was so nice for so many of Jacob's friends to come out to play for a bit!

Look at all of those boys! Jacob's class literally has 3-4 girls out of like 20 kids. Poor teachers!

Towards the end of play time, my kids started running around the place. Jacob held Andrew's hand and pretty much dragged him around the place. But Andrew just laughed and ran as fast as he could to keep up with Jacob. There were times where he would fall down, and then Jacob would just fall down, too! They just laughed and laughed! I was happy to see them having so much fun together.

Jacob is 4!

(yet another way I failed him - one picture - a lot of video)

Last year, I had a hard time with Jacob’s birthday. This year I was ready for it to be over. We had already had my birthday, Andrew’s birthday, the boys’ birthday party, and now Jacob’s birthday. The end of Birthday Hell could not come fast enough.

One way we completely failed him on his birthday is that we didn't sing Happy Birthday to him at all! I mean, he got it at their party (crap...another blog post To Do), and his class sang to him. But we did not. We went to Jason's Deli for dinner (his favorite place!). He chose to have ice cream there instead of cake at home. It wasn't until bedtime that I realized we did not sing to him.

I do have to say that Jacob is growing into such a wonderful boy! Here’s what he is up to these days:

• Height: TBA


• Weight: TBA


• Jacob is still our little helper. He loves to help out around the house all the time. Vacuuming is his favorite. He also likes to help us when we go shopping by putting things in the cart.


• Jacob’s speech has improved so much over the last year. He stutters periodically, but it’s not as bad as it used to be. He also now actually says the J sound.


• Jacob has an amazing imagination! He loves to pretend to be a police man which means he also loves to arrest us. No one is safe. He even got a police man costume for his birthday complete with binoculars, handcuffs, a baton, and a whistle. Yes...a whistle!


• Jacob is a GREAT student! I could make a book from all of the Happy Grams he has brought home from school. He NEVER has timeout, and he listens to his teachers very well. His teachers tell us that their lives would be easier if they had a room full of Jacobs. I'm not gonna lie...it makes me nervous for the teenage years.


• Jacob LOVES soccer! We are going to sign him up for Fall Soccer!

Andrew is 2!

Andrew was 2 on April 7!!! I was doing really well with the whole thing until Thursday morning when I got to work. Then I got a little weepy and sad that my BABY was 2. It didn’t last too long, though. Andrew LOVED his birthday! First, he got to open presents, and he totally got that part of it. We gave him one big gift and a couple of small gifts. His favorites were the Radio Flyer Retro Rocket and Woody the Cowboy. He completely ate up all of the attention from Brian and me all day. Jacob, on the other hand, was not a fan of Andrew having so much attention. I could not believe how badly he took it all. We finally sent him to his room to chill out. All in all, we enjoyed the day very much!

So here is an update on my sweet Andrew:

• Andrew is a very sweet, but very stubborn little boy. He knows what he wants, and that’s exactly what he wants. He is very independent. It’s such a great quality to have!


• Weight: It's been too long - I'll update this when I have access to his info at home


• Height: See above.


• Andrew is really good about playing by himself if he needs to. It’s the beauty of the second-born I guess.


• He enjoys reading books and coloring books….and the floor, and tables, and anything that should not be colored.


• Andrew LOVES music! He dances, sings, and plays instruments. He has started to randomly sing his ABC’s around the house. He will sing along to silly songs in the car, and when he hears a guitar in a song, he will pretend to play one.


• He is finally interested in Potty Training. We have not had any action in the toilet, but he enjoys sitting on the potty (at appropriate times). I’m ready for him to get it so that we can move these diapers out of here! :)


• UPDATE: July 29, 2011: Andrew could not care less about actually using the potty. I am convinced he will grow out of diapers and pull ups before he actually uses it. Even when we put him in underwear, he does not complain when he has accidents. AMAZING! I was sure he would take to it immediately because he is so independent. I was WAY off on that prediction. Also - I think the kid is left handed. yay!

Presents!!

Riding his Rocket Ship! He loves this thing! Does he look like someone else to anyone?!

Jacob's face says it all here for how he felt all.day.long. Is it bad that I giggle at it?!

MMMM! Birthday Cupcake!

This picture says it all for how much Andrew enjoyed his day! He's on his rocket ship, coloring in his new coloring book (which has markers that will only put color in the coloring book), and holding his new Woody doll!

Look Who’s 30!

I turned 30 on March 25. Normally, I don’t make a big deal out of my birthday, but this year, being 30 and all, I wanted to have a party. Lucky for me, one of my best friends has a birthday 2 weeks before mine, and she turned 30, too! So, with a lot of convincing on my part, we had an Offensive T-Shirt Party at my house. It was so much fun! I just wanted to share a few pics.

Mom and Steve. I was dissed by both siblings - Sarah's shirt said, "I'm the younger, hotter sister." This is from the beginning of the night btw.

My family - including Cardboard Rose!

The Birthday Girls!! I've known Megan since preschool! I cannot imagine my life without her!

Andrea, Justin, Megan, Bethany - I went to Middle School with these people and Megan went thru High School with them. So happy we are all friends again!

The Mullen Girls - Megan and her sister Heather

My other bestie, Cassie, and her husband Brian (a.k.a. Kurt Cobain)

Who do you think had the most fun?! (hint: it was not Sarah or me) Where did that cheesy smile go?!