Denver Trip

We flew to Denver this month making the girls fourth plane trip--and second fishing trip.

They are changing so quickly that each plane experience is completely different than the one before. What I have learned is: 1) babies are easier to travel with than toddlers; and 2) green tea has caffeine and caffeine is not good to give toddlers on plane trips; and 3) passengers who are already freaking out by being on a plane are going to become more annoyed by toddlers excessively trying to touch them or drop bottles in their laps.




Aside from the actual travel, the trip was quite nice. We bought the girls animal backpack/toddler leashes for the trip--which I know some people frown on. (I am certain that those people do not have two toddlers who move at the speed of light). The funny thing is that the girls love them. Evelyn actually started crying when I had to take off her monkey backpack to go through the x-ray machine at the airport. I had keep reassuring her that the monkey would come out the other side and that she would get it back.

We spent the first night at my Aunt Robin and Uncle Charlie's. Charlie is my mom's youngest brother, and they have two kids--Carl and Hudson. The girls had the absolute time of their lives. Not only do they have every toy imaginable, but the boys loved the girls and played with them the entire time.

My Aunt Donna, Uncle Jim, and their kids Claire and Duncan came over for dinner on our first night. Claire and Duncan are both so grown up now, its weird.

The next morning we all went to the Denver Zoo. It was their first experience in a big Zoo. I thought the girls may be a bit young to care about the animals, but they were so excited to see them. They would point at the animals and wanted to look at every one. Evelyn really liked the giraffes and Rowan liked the hyenas.



They had their first ride on a carousel too.


Our friends Amanda and Rachel met us at the zoo and we spent the rest of our trip with them.




These are our annual fishing trip friends, but this year the group went to Mexico and fearing the worst, we passed on taking the girls across the border. So we met up in Denver for a smaller, shorter version of our annual trip.









I really love these friends. They are the kind of people who make you want to be a better person. They are the kind of people who make you realize that your life is really what you make of it. And the crazy thing is, that they're all that way. We went to see a home that Chris (Amanda's husband) is renovating to be a professional kitchen for his catering company. It is awesome. I know its been an incredible amount of hard work and I can't begin to tell you how proud I am that he had the courage to follow his dreams that way. Amanda is the same with her solar power company. And Cris and Rachel are equally amazing in their lives.

The girls had a blast too. We spent one day hiking in Estes Park. I want the girls to have a love of nature. They stopped and picked flowers, they watched ground squirrels and chipmunks. It was great.













On the way back we stopped off at the Stanley Hotel which is the inspiration for Stephen King's novel The Shinning. We rented the film that night. Andre had never seen it. Its a great book, and the film was good--Jack Nicholson was great, but Shelley Duval? She's so annoying, halfway through you're routing for Jack to hurry up and do her in.

The next day we went fishing at another lake. Andre and I spent our time walking around with the girls and just relaxing.

Letting Go

Evelyn has had a hard time letting go lately and the truth is, so have I.

Leaving for work in the mornings is especially difficult. Evelyn starts to cry immediately and Rowan will go to the window with her little hands on the glass watching me walk to my car. Its heartbreaking.

Even going to the gym is a problem. "Oh, she'll be okay," the daycare girls say. Then Evey will cry and cry until eventually we'll hear our names announced over the speaker to come pick up our children.

The thing is, I would love to be home with them. They are just a day old in this picture, sleeping soundly in the hospital bed next to me. At that moment, it felt like we had so much time together. And all those cliques about time passing are sadder and so much more true than I realized.

I do believe that its good for the girls to see their mom pursuing a career. And I strongly feel that a woman should always be able to support and provide for herself and her family. I would want them to do the same. Yet, our separation is no less heartbreaking.

I begin to wonder why Evelyn is taking it so hard. Perhaps, she wasn't quite ready to be born. She was so angry and surely I should have waited another week or so. Then nursing--she wasn't ready to stop that either. Or moving into her own room. It is all somehow my fault, my inability to provide her with security and comfort.

As soon as she cries I pick her up; holding her close to me, then switching to hold Rowan, then back to Evey again. Making up for all the time I can't be there, trying to stretch our time together. It seems so unfair. I imagine them growing up to be lawyers going to work with me. But that's unrealistic. I hold them and tell them that I'll never leave them. (Though I know one day they'll leave us--and we should encourage them and prepare them--and I remember those cliques about time again.)

Andre says they'll outgrow the separation anxiety--I doubt I ever will.

Jamie's new baby and Visit with Pete

Jamie had her baby on the 13th, so the girls and I went to see baby Caden. He is so amazingly beautiful. I really loved holding a little baby in my arms again--Rowan and Evelyn; however, did not enjoy me holding a new baby and cried whenever I tried to.

On Sunday, we went to visit my friend Pete. The girls had a great time chasing his dog around and Pete seemed to have a good time just laughing at them.

Jamie's Baby Shower

Yesterday we went to Jamie's baby shower. She's due this Monday.

Jamie was just glowing and looking so beautiful. I can't wait to meet the new little baby. The doctors say she's having a boy this time.

Matthew and Evelyn. Matthew was the first little kid that I spent a lot of time with and took care of if his mom had to go out. He's the first kid I saw grow up. I remember seeing him in a sonogram, holding him as a newborn, and now he's almost 17. Amazing.

Ranch Dressing

This was too funny not to post. Evelyn licking ranch dressing off her table mat. Umm, ranch dressing. What a Texan.

Andre's Birthday

Andre had a low key birthday celebration this year. In years past we have had huge parties, but it just seemed to creep up on us this time.

So Andre and Tim, who's birthday is the day after, decided to have everyone get together at the Draught House. My mom came too and then took the girls with her to her house for the night.

I made cupcakes and we ordered pizza. Unfortunately it could not have been hotter outside. Even in the shade it was hot.



The following day we had dinner at the fire station. In the fire station tradition, Andre made his own cake--he made a pineapple upside down cake. The girls enjoyed running around the fire station. This picture is blurry, but it was funny.

The Royal Orchard

I need to catch up a bit because some really cool things have happened this summer.

This past June, our friend Fred invited us to spend a week at his family's castle in Virginia.

Fred's great grandfather made an insane amount of money in railroads at the turn of the century. So he built a summer home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virgina. This wasn't their every day house--which was also a huge mansion in Richmond (I don't think the family still owns that house).

The great grandfather decided to tear down the existing house and build a castle. He also built several cottages in the same stone, three tennis courts, horse stables, and one of the first private swimming pools in the US.

He and his wife traveled to Europe via titanic-style cruise ships and brought back 17th century tapestries, 15th century chairs, paintings, furniture--you name it--even armor. This is Andre with an armor helmet and Fred in the main entry way.

The ceilings were ornately molded plaster in the Tudor style. A fresco of a hunting scene went around the top quarter of the walls in the dinning room, and a mural of St. George and the dragon went around the top quarter of the walls in the living room.

There was so much attention to detail that everyday I saw something new. The banisters on the stairs had hand-carved animals and a shield, each representing one of the nations involved in WWI. In addition to this unicorn, there was a bear, lion, wolf, eagle, and gargoyle. Rowan wanted to kiss the bear every time she passed it.


Many of the windows were stained glass. This is one part of a larger stained glass window. This inscription is also on stained glass at Henry Ford's Fair Lane estate. It reads "To no one is given right of delay; Noted in heaven passeth each day; Be not thou fruitless; Work while ye may; Trifling were bootless; Watch thou and pray."

On either side of the inscription was the coat of arms for the great grandfather's family and then one for the great grandmother's family.


I believe they had almost 400 acres and they grew this special apple that the Queen liked. Thus the name--Royal Orchard. They had gardens too. The girls ate raspberries off the vine.

One of the most interesting aspects of the house is all the family history that is everywhere. In most families, people have a handful of pictures and one or two stories about their ancestors. But for Fred's family, this castle has been a place to keep memories. There are volumes and volumes of photo albums. Guest books going back to the original owners. Some entries were about the country going to war (WWI) and some were even poems. They even had Christmas cards from Lady Astor who was friends with the great grandmother. The great grandmother's engraved hair brush is still on her dressing table and all of her silver with her engraved initials. The dishes they used, the piano they played, everything all still intact as if they left just yesterday.

And so to visit the castle is to take a step back in time. In the more modern styled wing that we stayed in they had pictures from family members' weddings. Many of them held at the Royal Orchard. There were group photographs, reunions and just being silly pictures. So you can see how the family line has grown and all the happy times they have had together.

Today the castle is set up as a corporation. Only direct descendants can own shares, so if you're family by marriage and get divorced then you're out. A share allows the family member to rent out the castle or the cottages and it pays to keep up the castle and grounds. Its not open to the public and the family has only allowed the public to see the castle once in 1968. Afterward some items were stolen, so now you can only go by invitation of a shareholder.

This is our group (photo by Bobby Malone).

The girls had such a great time. The first day they ran through every room. They didn't touch anything, just looked, sometimes spinning around. There were lots of things for children at the Royal Orchard. Lots of games, bicycles, a nice swing set, a pool. I think we found three different croquet sets, bocce ball sets, tennis rackets, board games. They'd have a 15th century ornately carved cabinet and you'd open it to find a monopoly game and some cards.

And they had high chairs from every era. The first night the girls sat in chairs that must have been from the 1800's. I don't know how people kept their children seated back then. The next day some of housekeepers found some high chairs that probably came from the 1950s, so they were safer and easier to use.

The castle had just as many cribs to choose from. We had our own wing of the house--it was a more modern servants wing. Every room has a name engraved on a gold plaque, and we stayed in the Grandchildren's Room. It was really two rooms separated by french doors. And the bathroom had a little built in child sized tub that was perfect for the girls. We even found two toddler big wheels for them to play on.

Andre played the bagpipes almost every night which definitely added to the overall castle-feel. He played on the top of the castle--which I think for him added to the overall bagpipe-feel. The last night everyone (well almost everyone) went up to the top of the mountain and Andre played the bagpipes. I stayed behind with the girls, but the sound carried so well we could still hear him playing.

I developed a love for playing croquet and one night we set up little lights at each wicket so we could play in the dark. Andre was winning almost every game so during some games the other players decided to change their goal from trying to win to keeping Andre from winning. He had his ball knocked down the hill so many times it looked like he was playing golf. Of course he'd still manage to make a come back.

At night everyone played various card games, board games, scrabble. We relaxed on the huge wrap around porch, talked, and laughed. It was great.

Evelyn and Rowan at the Royal Orchard

Our good friend Bobby Malone took these pictures on our trip to the Royal Orchard.

The girls and I

I love this picture. Our friend Bobby took it when we went to the castle. I've been meaning to get to our trip to the castle, but I've fallen behind with work, etc. I need a vacation to catch up from our vacation.

Happy Birthday Andre

I think the video says it all. Happy Birthday Andre! We love you!

Catching Up

Well its been a long time since my last post. This is partly due to the fact that Rowan dunked my digital camera into her kiddie pool.

We have yet to get a new camera. In our house, buying a camera, like any technological purchase consists of reading multiple reviews--both consumer reports, online reviews and friend suggestions, then shifting through numerous sale advertisements to find the best possible price, then looking at various store offers until finally getting sick of all the said effort and buying one at the whichever place we happen to walk into.

I generally opt to begin at the inevitable end and just go out and buy one; but for Andre there is an art to making a purchase, especially when it comes to technology.

Luckily Ivette arrived with her camera and allowed us to download her pictures before they left.

It was good to see them. The kids are growing so fast and I couldn't help but think about how small Austin was when I first met him. Just barely walking, younger than our girls are now perhaps.

It not that children grow so fast that is unnerving, it is that we too are aging. Once you get to the point that you are no longer changing in the upward direction, it is easy to imagine that your age is stagnant. "I'm still wearing the same shirt I did five years ago, so what's the difference?" Children, in their own unintentional way, are a reminder of our mortality and how fast it all goes by.

Andre, forever the tour guide, took the family to both the botanical gardens and Barton Springs. The weather was lovely and everyone seemed to have a great time. I so wish I could have joined them, but work has been teetering on the overwhelming side lately.

I also think its nice for Andre to spend time with his family without me. Not that I don't like to spend time with them, but rather that I think its nice for the family dynamic to have moments without all the new additions.

Later that night we had Beatriz and Jaime over for dinner. Beatriz and Jaime are the perfect dinner guests. They are the type of people who have contagious laughs and great stories. Arriving with delectable deserts doesn't hurt either.

memorial day weekend

We tried to compact as many things as possible into this weekend. Unfortunately we weren't able to do it all.

This is Rowan at our friend Dyung and Curt's annual memorial day party. And our good friends Myles and Bri.

The girls were tuckered out after this, so we called it a day and had Thad and Stacie come over that night to watch movies. Then the next day we went to breakfast with a bunch of people, then to a pool party and then to a BBQ.

I don't remember being so over-scheduled before I met Andre. I recall being the type to have just a few very close friends that I did the same things with all the time. Not so with Andre. His love of life and endless abundance of energy is inspiring and fun.

Our girls, I think, are fairly easy to take places and are used to being out and about.

I am inclined to think this is good for them, and certainly hope that I am right. They are our family and therefore go most places that we are. Their comfort is always a top priority, which has resulted in taking along lots of "baby gear."


If camping is trying to live like you normally do--but outdoors; then traveling with toddlers is kind of like that.

If they are going to sleep somewhere, then they always have their favorite blanket and stuffed animal (and pack in play). If they are going to be eating somewhere then they have their (travel) high chairs and any food or bottles they may need.

And always, if the girls are too tired, or cranky, to go to the next place, then we come home. Places and people must be baby-friendly. Oh and also, restaurant time must always remain short.

The benefits of this way of parenting, I believe, is that the girls get to see more of the world around them. They get to experience new places, people, and things. We are so used to taking them places that it doesn't seem like a huge ordeal to leave the house. I think they enjoy it as much as we enjoy them being there.

Wellness Checkup

The girls had their wellness checkup at the pediatrician today.

Evelyn weighs 20.1 pounds and is 29 1/4 inches tall.

Rowan weighs 22 pounds and is 30 1/2 inches long.



Both girls are growing right on track and doing well developmentally.


They had their MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shot today as well.

Our baby goals:

* We are working on getting rid of the "ba-ba" (bottle) and using "big girl cups" aka sippy cups. (Kicking the bottle is a hard habit to break.)
* We are also working on not biting--which they have greatly improved; and
* Staying seated while in the high chair.
* Both girls are talking more and both parents are getting better at understanding baby-talk.

Three Years

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary this Wednesday. Grandma watched the girls overnight and we had an evening on the town. Just two crazy kids in love on a date--except that we were both tired by 9:30 and called it an evening just after 10.

If there is anything I've learned as a divorce attorney it is that the person you marry can make your life very wonderful or very miserable. I am lucky to have the wonderful kind, and even luckier to realize how good it truly is.

That being said, we spent some time reflecting over the past year and made our "Next Year Marriage Resolution," which is sort of like a "New Year's Resolution" for your marriage. We talked about how we could make the next year better; what we need to do less of, and more of, and even--not at all; how to make the girls happier, focused on our goals, that sort of thing.

We also ate lots of good food and found some new places to take out-of-town guests. Andre, forever the foodie, had to have these donut holes from a new restaurant named Parkside. I have to admit, they are amazingly good for donuts.

Gift-wise, we forgo the suggested 3rd year anniversary gift of "crystal or glass," and instead opted for a new dish washer. Clean dishes really are romantic; or at least dirty dishes are very much not romantic.

All in all it was a great anniversary.


This is a little video from our wedding May 20, 2006, in Kyle, TX.

Inside and Out

As I was cleaning my kitchen this morning, the girls were tearing apart theirs. Cousin Sydney gave the girls her little kitchen and we've had it in the garage for a while. It rained off and on all day yesterday and the girls were very bored inside so I brought it in and set it up for them. They really love it and have spent lots of time playing with it.

I remember having a little kitchen when I was a kid and how much fun it was to play with. Its odd how many domestic toys the girls have. They have a lawn mower, a kitchen, a car, even a little house. I suppose it makes sense, kids just want to pretend to do all the things they see every day; but I couldn't help thinking how much cooler it would be to have a pretend spaceship instead.





Our favorite Sunday afternoon activity is to spend the day at the park, and today was beautiful. We took the girls to the dog park area of town lake where people let their dogs swim. There must have been at least forty dogs running, swimming, and playing. Both of the girls squealed they were so excited and several times they would walk off following one. They both say, "Da," when they see a dog, and "Ka" for cats. They are such animal lovers.


Rowan is walking so well now that she would rather walk than be held. Evey is walking really well too, but still crawls when she wants to get somewhere fast.

We walked around the city a bit too. Looked at new stores and restaurants, ate dinner, went for a coffee and just enjoyed the day as a family. We actually went to two coffee shops--Sandra Bullocks' new coffee shop and Jo's. I have to say that Jo's won. I really like Sandra Bullock and I so want her ventures to succeed, but I'm not thrilled about her restaurant or her new coffee shop.

Summertime

We've been enjoying the summer with the girls. Swimming in their kiddie pool, going to the park, and playing all the time. Evelyn has started walking and both the girls are really taking off now.











I took the morning off the other day with Andre and we all went to the park. It wasn't overly hot yet, and it was nice to get out with the girls. Time is just going by too quickly not to stop and smell the roses when I can.









We went to central market for dinner tonight. The weather was perfect for being outside and the girls had a great time playing with all the other kids on the playground.

Our Little Owls

I took this video today of the owls in our backyard. You can see into their hollow from our second story balcony. The two little babies are adorable.

Our Little Owls from Leigh on Vimeo.

Owlets

We have, what we believe is a little screech owl living in one of our oak trees in the backyard. While eating dinner outside tonight we discovered that they have a baby, an owlet.

Andre took a picture from afar, but it is difficult to see it in a photograph and we thought a flash may disturb them too much if we tried to get closer. This is a picture of a screech owl--not ours, but he looks very similar.

The little baby owl would stand on the edge of the hollow and peek out. He is so incredibly cute.

Update: There are two babies!

Hanging out at the pool

The girls enjoyed their first trip to the pool this summer in their new little inflatable kiddie pool.