23 months!

Dear Chuy,

The great blog catch up continues... you are much older than 23 months at the time that I am writing this, but let's see if we can't jump in our 'wayback machine' and do some remembering about what we were up to... ready? GO!

We went to Aquarena Springs in San Marcos to celebrate Mother's Day together. We took a glass bottom boat ride, strolled around an aquarium and enjoyed the day together. Turns out Aquarena Springs used to be way cooler with a swimming pig and dancing mermaids back in the day, but Six Flags and Sea World moved in and changed everything.

I will say I was a bit disappointed to hear that the swimming pig no longer swam, but we had fun regardless. Here you are showing your appreciation for your mother on Mother's Day...

We shared my body for 40 weeks, you could at least pretend to like me on Mother's Day...

Your sports obsession continues and gets stranger by the day. I went to the kitchen to grab you some more water and in the 25 or so seconds it took to do that, you grabbed the remote control, turned the channel to ladies golf, and managed to start recording it... really? The only sport more boring than golf has got to be ladies golf...

Here you are with the dog pound... I like how you are all piled up in the corner of the crib... and to think, just a few short months ago, I was terrified to let you sleep with any stuffed friends in the crib, but you're a big boy now, so, I think you can handle it...

Your buddies Syl and Viv hosted a mommy meet-up at their house right before Easter. They happen to have a piano... you happened to love it... good boy... no drummers...

I like how all the other kiddos are happily hunting for eggs while you are having a blast throwing ping pong balls as though the are baseballs and you're playing in the World Series... too funny...

On Easter Sunday, we took a trip up to Lakeway to have fancy brunch with our family friends...

Here you are before brunch in your Easter best... gotta love that clip on tie...

Our fancy brunch! The only person missing is your Auntie Vic, who was taking the pic of the rest of us...

Super happy fun time family portrait on Easter... Look at that lake! No?

They had a petting zoo at the restaurant... You l.o.v.e.d. it - mostly because there were ducks to chase and geese to feed... good times...

Your Daddy graduated from college! Did you hear me? I said GRADUATED from COLLEGE!!

Pretty darn big deal... Your Uncle Matt, Bachan, Auntie Vic, and Clover all were there to help celebrate! Poor Auntie Vic, always taking the picture means you're never in the picture!

You and Clo spent the bulk of your time at Daddy's graduation trying to escape from Daddy's graduation...

Daddy's Graduation party - quite the array of guests - a pirate AND a cowboy attended...

I'm glad to see you've been practicing your Handsome Boy Modeling School moves. Your teacher at escuela, Ms. Niecy, says that you're going to have to get a job soon to support your lunch habit... looks like professional male modeling might be a good option...

23 months old means you're only 4 short weeks from being a 2 year old. WHAT??? Are you kidding me??? What have we done...

Love,

Mommy

p.s. Everytime I look at the picture I think you've got your best Joe Pesci voice on and you're saying 'ay... oh... fuggit about it'...

22 Months!

Dear Chuy,

I'm playing a little bit of catch up here on your blog - you are way older than 22-months at the time that I am writing this, but that's cool - we've been busy l.i.v.i.n...

Check out your awesome tiger pants - wouldn't you rather I make sure you own stuff like these pants than make sure your blog is always up to date? ...that's what I thought...

So, what were we up to in your 22nd month on the planet? Well, looks like we finally got around to planting some new plants in the backyard. It snowed this past winter for the first time in many many years and your Daddy and I both talked about how we should probably bring the plants in, but neither one of us put our words into actions and, therefore, had to get some new plants for spring...

You really enjoyed using your baby rake and wearing Daddy's gloves to help us plant. I think your favorite part was the watering - you even liked to pretend water the plants - so cute...

We've been spending lots of time outside in the backyard - mostly because it's not 100+ degrees yet... it will be soon and for many months to come, but for now, it's so pleasant outside...

Thanks for saving some kisses for your Mommy - I sure do love them!

You got a super cool action adventure tent for Christmas and man oh man do you love it! Looks like Daddy is enjoying the action and adventure of it all too...

I absolutely love this picture of you when we were playing peek-a-boo in the adventure tunnel... plus, you're wearing your duck-billed plaid-a-pus tee - a Mommy favorite...

We met Auntie Yaz, Uncle Chris, and Baby Weezy at the park for breakfast tacos and playground fun. I think you're favorite part was the slide. It was hard for Moms and Dads to let you do your own sliding, but you're getting big enough that you can handle it all on your own...

You've really been into wearing Daddy's hat lately. It does look pretty darn handsome on you...

You also think it's hilarious when Mommy wears Daddy's hat - I think it looks better on you and Daddy...

You may be a big huge toddler man now, but you still enjoy stuffing yourself into one of your toy bins with all of your friends...

It is absolutely crazy how fast the time has gone. I am in awe of how much you grow and how much you learn on a daily basis. You are an awesome, unstoppable force of nature and it is amazingly, fascinatingly wonderful to be the person you call Momma.

I love you,

Mommy

p.s. This is your new friend Bootsy. You have much love for him and I'm glad he's part of your dog pile every night in your crib...

21 Months!

Dear Chuy,

Now that I'm finally getting around to writing your 21 month blog, you're already 22 months old... can you believe it? You're almost 2 years old... 2 YEARS OLD!!!! Still can't believe that my sweet precious little tiny baby is an almost 2 year old. Nuts.

Lately, you've been into hanging out in the back yard, which is awesome because we have a huge back yard that we barely ever used and it is perfect for burning off extra toddler energy. You'll be climbing these trees by yourself in no time.

I found this totally awesome baby rake at a local garden shop. I thought it would be so cute to see you rake the leaves with a rake your size... not use it as a weapon to ward off your own mommy... so mean...

Here's a pic of you and Daddy playing soccer/ rake as the train goes by. You sure do love that train!

This particular evening, you decided that your high chair is for babies only and that a mature man like yourself should sit in a big chair to share fake pears with Daddy...

Tooth brushin and throwing mad plaid styles...

Your sunnies... you call them 'EYES!' and that's what you say until we put them on for you... then you request 'OFF!!' until we take them off of you, at which point you say 'EYES!' until we put them on for you, then...

This picture was taken before the great bath accident of 2011, wherein the baskety thing on a pole that holds our soap and accessories kinda got loosened by one Mr. Toddler man and then it kinda fell into the tub where it kinda bumped you in the nose. Now baths are around 7 minutes of screaming terror... good times...

Oh snap! The Rodeo came to town and we were all over it. I heard they had a monkey named Bandit that dressed up like a cowboy and rode a dog around a track. Once we arrived, there was no Bandit, but there were many other awesome attractions...

Like PONY RIDES!!! You were so amazingly excited to ride the pony. I honestly felt really bad for those ponies that day, but that's another story for another day.

PETTING ZOO! Oh man, you were running around like a crazy person petting all these poor poor animals...

A real live Texas Longhorn! This thing was huge. I had to get a pic of you with it - it's not everyday we see a real live Texas Longhorn despite the fact that our friends in different states think we all wear hats and boots and ride horses to work...

You are on a non-stop crash course with turning 2. I still can't believe how fast this has all gone. It seems like only yesterday I could put you on a blanket and you would just hang there and play with your toes... it also seems like a lifetime ago...

Love,

Mommy

20 Months!

Dear Chuy,

20 months! You're almost Two-Years-Old... what? Huh? Really?

I would say all the usual things like 'I can't believe you're almost two', but unfortunately for me and your Daddy, it's pretty darn obvious that you're almost two. Even your teacher at escuela, Ms. Neicy said that 'you've gone and caught yourself a case of the twos'... couldn't have said it better.

Your most favorite word in the entire world is 'no'. Followed by a close second place of 'mine'. You have also been combining these words to make super awesome sentences like 'NO MOMMY... MINE!' When you're not in a terrible two mood, you are still the sweetest most awesome baby on the planet. When you are in 'the zone'... well... sweet baby... you're kind of... a monster. But let me just say, I love my sweet baby monster with all of my heart...

In other news, you've got a new cousin. His name is Baby Bryce and he is super cute... Here you are with your cousin Logan inspecting the new arrival...



You also enjoy bringing toys to the dinner table. We tried (briefly) to take a stand and not allow toys at the table, but, you know, sometimes, you have to pick your battles, so, we've decided that hitting the TV with an empty paper towel roll is most definitely off limits, and instead, it's totally cool to bring toys to the dinner table. Win-win.

One day, as we were leaving escuela, your teacher gave you a small apple. I thought that you would just hang onto it, maybe throw it around, but since I always peel and chop your apples into baby bites, I had no idea that you know how to just eat an apple...

Speaking of apples, they don't fall far from the tree in our house... cute hats for all Corcoran boys!

Um... since when did you sign a contract with Abercrombie and Fitch? You must be a student at the Handsome Boy Modeling School with a drop dead gorgeous handsome face like that...

We took a trip to the park to ride the Zilker Zephyr train and afterwards, had ourselves some ice cream.. yum!

You and I went on a grand adventure this past month. Since Daddy had a dental hygiene convention to attend (which was cancelled due to snow), you and I hopped a plane and went to see Auntie Gigi and Uncle Charles in California!

Here we are on the beach - it was your first time to see the ocean and you made a beeline for it. I had to run to grab you so that you wouldn't just dive right in and swim away.

We did some power shopping while we were in town. Here's a pic of 'baby's first trip to H&M' - Mommy's first trip to H&M too... Mommy had much fun there. Looks like you and Auntie Gigi had some fun too!

Your Auntie Gigi sure does love you to pieces...

All your friends from Sesame Street came to town to put on a show. I've never ever seen you more excited than when Elmo first stepped onto the stage. It was a moment I will never ever forget.

Poor Daddy, no matter how hard he tries to not think about dental hygiene, it follows him around like a bully with yellow eyes...

I can't believe that I almost have a 2-year-old son. Even when you're being a complete Grump-a-saurus Rex, you're forever and always my sweet booty dew...

Love,

Mommy

P.S. I tried three different times on three different days to take a sweet smiley Valentine's Day picture for your card and this is the best one I got...

19 Months!

Dear Chuy,


19 months, huh? That's crazy!


I am, once again, a little bit late getting to the blog this month, so, yet another bit of catching up to do... how's about we do it with a handy dandy photo montage?


Your Grandpa and Granny Sandy came to visit a week or so before Christmas. None of y'all would look at the camera, so, here is a study in profiles... I'm so curious to know what you're thinking in this pic - you look so serious...



We went over to our buddies Swede and Catherine's house for some fondue fun. Here you are taking a break from the dipping goodness... oh how we love to dip things in cheese in our family...

Christmas Eve was spent over at Clover's house - we had much fun, lots of tamales, I think there were 4 different kinds of pie there (and yes, we sampled them all), and you and Clo both got awesome reindeer courtesy of your Nana Libby (Clover's Nana).

This pic is one of about 273 taken on two different cameras and up to four iPhones in an attempt to capture the two of you dressed in Christmas finery... in front of a Christmas tree... smiling at the same time...

I think we did pretty good capturing the moment and I wish we had a picture of all of us being complete crazy people behind the camera as we tried to get you both to smile...

Christmas morning was just us three as a little family and it was fantastic! Santa was very kind to you (and me) - bringing you lots and lots of toys and a cool art easel and bringing me an awesome Shark steam vac... woot!

The first gift you went for was your buddy Elmo, or as you call him, "MELMO!!!!". Santa was kind and left MELMO!!!! unwrapped so that you could play with him immediately upon discovery.

Your Bachan got you a most awesome Dyson vaccuum - it actually works, has attachments, and makes a cool noise. You have much love for your new vaccuum and you are most definitely your Father's son...

Auntie Regina sent the cutest Christmas outfit ever. We all love penguins in our house... specially when they're wearing tuxedos!

She even sent penguin socks to match... cause she's good like that...

On New Year's Eve, we invited some of our friends over for chili and tiramisu cheesecake...

Once again, the crazy parents decided that we needed a picture of all three of you baby-types together, sitting still, and possibly smiling... Weezy has you and Clo beat on the sitting still. I do like how you managed to steal that poor baby's teething giraffe. You toddlers are tough.

Here's a pic of the kids table at our New Years shindig - you, Tanner, Tristan, and Clo all enjoying some chili and cornbread!

Here is a very rare photo of the three of us together all at the same time. These types of pics don't happen very often...

So, here we are - it's almost February, you're almost 20 months old, and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. You are so chatty and funny lately it's an absolute joy to be in your presence (with the exception of the few times that you need to just lay on the floor and scream for no reason...).

I can't wait to celebrate 'Baby's Second Valentine's Day' with you and as always, I'm so excited to see what new tricks you'll have up your sleeve in the next month.

Love,

Mommy

P.S. I'm completely fine with you dumping the contents of that cabinet on the floor all at the same time. Why? Because you love to put them all back and close the doors when you're done...