Sweet Tooth

It is no secret that Leah has a sweet tooth. Last weekend Joe made some cornbread muffins, and all we've heard all week is "Cupcake! Cupcake! Cupcake!" from Leah. So the other night I decided to just give her one at dinner, she had them the night Joe made them but apparently forgot what they were. I told her it was a muffin and set it on her plate. She went to town shoving half of it in her mouth before she realized it was cornbread and not a cupcake. Out came the muffin, all over her bib. The look on her face was priceless.

This week was our last swim lesson the this session. I think we are taking a break from the Saturday morning activities for now and will pick something up again later. Leah loves the water and did great, even when we dunked her. We are really looking forward to this summer and hitting the pools!

Potty Training!

We are ready to start potty training! Any advice, tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Tex Ecks - Part II

Cousins! Cooper, Alex & Leah

Riding the train.

I forgot how hard it was to get a shot with two babies looking at the camera.

Leah meets horses.

This weekend Leah and I made a trip down to Austin to see Pete & his family. It was a great trip & we had a lot of fun. The weather was a little cooler than they forecast, but that's probably a good thing because I would have a major case of spring fever if it had been!

We got in Friday before dinner and Saturday went to Zilker Park. We rode the train there & played on the playground. There were a lot of dogs at the park which thrilled Leah. That night we made a quick stop by Melissa's dad's place. He has horses, a cow and two dogs. Guess which Leah was the most excited about? Then on Sunday we went to a nice park by their house before we had to get on the plane.

Despite his rough start, Cooper is a smiley 6 month old developing just like he should. His next surgery will probably be before April. Alex is 14 and is your typical teenager. Pete & Melissa were wonderful hosts & let us break in some of Cooper's things. :) We want to make another trip sometime with Joe and check out more of the sites in Austin.

Elaine Marie

Wow, what an eventful couple of days I've had but it doesn't compare to Crissie & Steve's. Wednesday night Pete, Alex, Leah & I drove up to Chicago because Crissie was being induced the next day. We were going to watch the girls for them and I think everyone expected the baby to be here sooner rather than later. As luck would have it I forgot the memory card for my camera at home so I only have pictures from other people & not of the fun we had waiting for Elaine.

Crissie was there all day and I went up to the hospital to say hello after the girls were in bed. About 20 minutes later at 10:04, Elaine was here! I had great timing. It was a neat experience to share with Crissie (and Steve). She is a big girl, 9 pounds and 7 ounces, 20 inches long with a rather large head. She is a sweet baby and Katie and Anna were very excited to welcome her home.

The Tex Ecks - Part I

Pete & Leah at the City Museum

Jake & Alex

Leah & Jenni climbing

Pete, Leah, me, Em, & Jenni

Busy bees...

We have been busy! Where do I even start? Over the holidays we bought a new car. We got a 2008 Honda Accord. Joe has to turn his company car in, so we needed a replacement. We were able to take advantage of the bad economy & got a great deal.

While we were off for the holidays, Joe put cabinets in the laundry room for me. The extra storage space is great and it is nice to be able to close the doors on all our stuff instead of it sitting out on one shelf. THEN - Joe painted the kitchen. I picked out a nice, pastel green and it turned out a lot darker than I expected. I've gotten used to it now and think it will look nice with the burnt orange & light brown accents I plan to get.

Last weekend the desk we bought was delivered (again, taking advantage of the economy). In our first house Joe built a nice desk to fit into a little nook in one of the rooms, but in our new house we don't have a nook like that and we needed something different. We hope the new desk will help, or at least encourage us to stay organized.

A few weeks ago I painted my toe nails for the first time in a long time and Leah was very interested in my red toenails. Last weekend I painted hers. She has been talking about her toes ever since.

Today we had a dusting of snow so we took Leah out in it. She had a good time cleaning the snow off everything. That is her favorite thing to do inside, so she was thrilled. The cold didn't seem to bother her but she was pretty bundled up.

I hope everyone is doing well and I will keep updating the blog. My brother Pete and his son Alex are coming to visit the week after next and I am sure I will have a lot to say.

In a rut

I've been in a blogging rut, but I promise I will have an update this week. We have had plenty going on, I just haven't kept up with writing about it.