Corbin Update

So, this video needs a little explanation.  We were having family home evening and each of the kids wanted to sing their own song.  Corbin chose to sing the ABC song, he sang it the traditional way (not the ending he used in the video) and then bowed and said "Thank you, thank you." .  It was so cute and funny we wanted to record it, but when we finally did (I think this is the third time he sang it) we got this "alternate" ending to the delight of his sister and, well, Juan and I couldn't help laughing too.
 
Corbin is such a little boy.  He loves cars and trains and playing monster or dinosaur.  His latest obsession is his clothing.  He only wants to wear "workout clothes"  and "cool" shirts.  Workout clothes means shorts or pants with stripes on the side.  Cool shirts are a little more nebulous, if they have stripes on the sleeves they are cool, but rather than that I haven't figured out Corbin's definition of cool.  I did try to have him wear his Toy Story shirt the other day telling him it was cool, his answer, "Mom, that's not cool, that's funny."  and not worth wearing apparently.  He currently has a limited number of workout clothes and cool shirts and doesn't understand why he cant wear the same set of clothes day after day.  He does love bubbles and bubble baths, but dirty clothes are just fine with him.  He is a perfectionist and gets upset if thing don't work the way they are supposed to, like eating with a fork, life is just terrible if food doesn't stay on your fork.  He is an extremely loving little boy and gives lots of hugs, kisses and snuggles.  He is definitely into testing boundaries and is extremely determined, willing to throw 30 minute or more tantrums in an attempt to get his way (don't worry, it doesn't work).  Corbin is sleeping better than ever before, on an average night he only wakes up once or twice for a drink of water and a quick tuck back in bed.  This is lightyears better than it has ever been and so exciting for us.  Corbin is  wonderful little boy and I am so glad he is part of our family.  

Our Garden and Bunnies

We added two new 4ftx4ft garden boxes to our back yard this year.  While we were building them we found a small bunny (not a baby) hiding arround our soil bags.  Everyone got a chance to pet him before we let him go.





Here is a picture of us in the process of making the garden.



And here is our finished and planted garden.






I love having a garden again.  Look for more pictures in the future.  

Abuelo y Abuela Flores

Two weekends ago Juan's grandparents came up from Eagle pass and we were able to go to his aunt's house and visit them.  Juan's grandparents are wonderful people and wonderful cooks.  His grandpa makes the BEST BBQ chicken I have ever eaten and anything else he grills is delicious.  His grandma makes wonderful beans, rice and tortillas to accompany the meat.  Anytime we visit there is good food and good conversation, well kind of.  Juan's grandparents only speak Spanish so we haltingly try to communicate, but there are good feelings.  You can't help but appreciate such nice caring people and they love our kids.  Jovi and Corbin are currently the youngest great grandchildren and very loved.  The kids loved that their cousins were there (aka: Corbin's friends) and spent almost the whole time playing outside with them.  We did get them in for a few family pictures.  I love the one of Corbin holding Abuelo's hand, so sweet!








   

Jovi's First Sewing Project

Jovi has wanted to learn how to sew for about a year now.  First I told her she had to wait till she was five, then she turned five and was still asking for lessons.  I kept meaning to teach her, but something always came up.  Three Sundays ago we finally sat down and did it.  She made a simple doll pillow from some scrap material.  She did a great job and was very proud of her finished product.


Jovi is growing up.  In the past three weeks she has lost three teeth, including her two front teet.  Her smile is adorable.  I've been trying to get her to sing "All I want for Easter is My Two Front Teeth", but so far she just laughs when I try to teach her.  Jovi loves to play with friends and makes new ones wherever we go.  I think she is getting a bit burnt out on school, but she is reading, writing, spelling and adding pretty well now.  I'm working on seeing if we can finish our current program by June.  Jovi will be starting swimming lessons with my mom this week.  She is SO excited about learning to swim.  Jovi loves to play pretend with a Fisher Price castle and her disney princesses.  Jovi and Corbin have been clashing a bit lately since Corbin is less likely to want to go along with the Jovi agenda, but they are still best buddies and usually love playing together.  Jovi is very creative and I love seeing the art and and stories she comes up with.  Jovi has an imaginary friend named Dori.  She is a fairy and has been playing with Jovi for about two weeks now.  Juan and I have fond memories of our childhood imaginary friends and are glad Jovi will have memories too.  Jovi is a sweet thoughtful little girl and her prayers at night are wonderful to listen to.  She really cares about people and is learning to love and trust in God.  I'm so glad Jovi is part of our family.     

Camping

Three weeks ago we went on our first family only camping trip.  We've gone camping twice before, but with friends.  This time it was just us to see if we could camp alone.  I think it went pretty well for our first time and we learned a lot for our next trip.  We went to Lake Ray Robberts, only a 30 minute drive from us. They have some great camping spots.  Jovi has loved camping every time we've gone so she was super excited about the trip and so, of course, Corbin was just as excited.  We brought way too much food for an overnight camp out and not enough games for the kids.  We ended up making up our own wilderness style game.


There was a burn ban in effect which we weren't expecting, but after a quick trip to the nearest convenience store and paying 2xs the usual price for charcoal, we were able to cook dinner.  We had the classic, but always good, hot dogs chips and smores for dessert.
 







That night Juan brought out headlights (flashlights you wear on your head) and I think it was one of the kids favorite parts of the trip.  They LOVED walking around looking at stuff with their headlights.  They weren't as fond of the giant beetles that were attracted to the lights, but after assuring them that the beetles wouldn't hurt them they at least stopped screaming and trying to step on all of them (yuck!). 



The next morning Jovi wanted to take some pictures by herself and since we forgot her camera, I reluctantly let her use mine.  She was actually very responsible and I'm sure I'll let her take pictures with my camera again.  Here are a few of her pictures.




We also tried to go fishing while we were there.  Both the kids desperately wanted to catch a fish.  Unfortunately, the saying "the early bird catches the worm" is totally true when trying to buy worms for bait.  We went mid morning and the bait shop was all sold out.  We were forced to fish with fake lures which means we didn't catch anything.  We told the kids it was just practice for our next camping/ fishing trip.  Jovi and Corbin were surprisingly patient while fishing.  They were more than willing to just sit and wait if it meant the chance of catching a fish.





We had a good time camping and plan on going again, maybe even next month to take advantage of the weather before it gets too hot.    

A Family Get Together

A few weeks ago we were able to spend a Saturday with some of Juan's family.  Mari was visiting from Minnesota and Juan's Aunt Virginia and mom came up and we met them all at Alyssia and Ariana's soccer game.  It was really fun watching the game, but Jovi and Corbin were more interested in playing with their other cousins than watching soccer.  The girls won the game, and then we went to a little Mexican restraunt with delicious food.  The kids love playing with their cousins.  It was a really fun day.

Valentines day: Happy Birthday Juan!!

Please excuse my lateness on the following posts.  I'm trying to catch up.  Jovi looks forward to making valentines for Valentines Day all year long.  It is just about the only time I let her use glitter for crafts.  This year Juan was able to help us make our Valentines.




Juan's birthday is on Valentines Day.  We didn't do anything super exciting, but had a fun family party.  The kids were excited all day.  They made cards for him and we decorated the house.  They loved helping him open his presents.  We love you Juan!