E + G + C

Easter 2012: Eggs (that aren't for breakfast) & Chocolate!

2012-05-23T17:09:00.002-05:00

I'm almost 2 months behind in my post which is about right. As forgetful as I am these days let's see what I can even remember from 2 months ago. The photos have reminded me that boys enjoyed discovering eggs that had hidden treasures in them especially when those treasures were 'chocolate cake'. They think everything that is chocolate is 'chocolate cake'. Four Easter Egg Hunts was probably one too many this year, next year we'll go for two. The first was at the boys' day school. It shouldn't really count because we missed the hunt but the boys were still given chocolate filled eggs and got to play in bounce houses and with the animals. Hunt #2 was our neighborhood egg hunt which is always fun. The boys again got to play on bounce houses, ride up and down the driveway in plasma cars and participate in an impressive egg hunt. Gibson caught on to the idea of collecting a bunch of eggs and then opening them. Edward, however, wanted to open and inspect each one after he picked it up off the ground.

Hunt #2:

Hunt #3 was at Westwood Country Club. Gibson was only able to grab one egg in the madhouse (we will probably skip this one next year).

Hunt #4 was after church on Sunday. Thankfully many of those eggs were stickers!

More of sweet Carmen in her Easter dress:

Carmen is ONE!

2012-04-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

Carmen reached a couple of milestones before her first birthday. Her first tooth made it's appearance about March 17th and shortly thereafter she started taking her first steps. A few days ago (April 6th) she really started walking substantial distances. I'd have to say she is officially a walker now! She also has a second lower tooth and one top tooth is now coming in.

Carmen celebrated her birthday for at least two weeks. The celebrations began March 24th when she and her cousin Leslie had a joint birthday party down in McAllen. Lots of Skloss Aunts and Uncles met Carmen for the first time! Here are a few photos from Party #1:

Carmen and Leslie both got kitties for their birthday! Notice their matching '1' and '6' shirts too!

Party #2 was at our house on April 1st. Friends Pierce and Hudson joined us for a great time! Kathryn and I can fill up a table with kids pretty fast now!

Too bad we didn't get a photo of Hudson!

Gibson blowing out her candle.

Rodeo 2012

2012-03-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

This post is a couple weeks late, oops! One of our Spring Break 2011 activities was going to the Austin rodeo with one of the boys' best buddies, Pierce. (Sorry for the terrible iPhone photos.) They got to pet the animals, watch a pig race and they especially loved riding the choo-choo (all by themselves). They really wanted to get on the huge roller coasters that turned upside down and spun around, but they didn't meet the height requirement.

Edward has been into picking his nose lately as you can see. Pierce is looking sweet as always!

Thought I'd throw in a photo of Carmen swinging at the park too.

First time at the Zoo!

2012-03-13T18:44:00.000-05:00

For a Spring Break activity we decided to go to the Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary today. The rest of Austin had the same idea. Even though it was packed, the boys had a great time seeing the animals. They especially loved feeding the goats and riding the choo-choo.

Uncle Jack's Birthday!

2012-03-11T22:43:00.003-05:00

The rain stopped and the sun came out just in time for Uncle Jack's birthday party! The boys could not have had a better time. They played with balloons, ate lots of pretzels and 1 1/2 chocolate cupcakes (each) and had a great time outside in the big backyard.

Carmen with Cousin Robert

Edward (with Cousin Camille) LOVING on Solo, the boxer.

Gibson throwing rocks with Cousin Sam. Notice Edward in the back with Solo. ;-)

Having fun (with dog poop on his shoe) on the trampoline I had as a kid.

A little wrestling.

Playing ball with Sam and Uncle Jack.

Playing ball with the big boys.

Here's a video of some trampoline fun:

Gorgeous day for the Kite Festival!

2012-03-04T16:32:00.001-06:00

Since Gibson felt so badly late yesterday I never thought he'd be well enough to go to the Zilker Park Kite Festival today but alas! What a difference 12 hours makes. Gibson has been sick with a recurring fever since Tuesday morning and last night was the first night he made it through the night without the chills and a fever. Hooray!! He felt so good this morning we decided to take the boys to the festival (Carmen had to take her nap). It could not have been better weather. Not too cool, not too warm, blue skies and a perfect-for-kite-flying breeze. Edward and Gibson were mesmerized by the all the kites and people. We also headed down to the lake to feed the 'ducks' but really we didn't even see a duck, they were all coots and a few pigeons. Here are some photos. I am also including some I took some of Carmen today. We still can't see any teeth coming in yet but she is getting closer to walking. She's standing for short periods on her own and taking one small step towards something stationary. I predict she'll be walking by her 1st birthday!

Unfortunately all the beautifully colored kites don't show up in the photos.

See. No teeth.

Standing on her own!

Carmen is 10 months!

2012-02-01T16:44:00.000-06:00

The many fabulous faces of sweet, happy Carmen on her 10-month day!

This one is showing you we still have NO teeth!

"apple" and "bye-bye"

2012-01-30T18:02:00.001-06:00

These are the two words Carmen now knows. Now, I'm pretty sure she doesn't really know what an apple is, but she does seem to understand when it is appropriate to say "bye-bye". I tried my best to get some video of her saying both.

Carmen saying "apple": http://youtu.be/Kn0rIo0ohJ4

Carmen saying "bye-bye": http://youtu.be/Tmz1Hb6Cry4

Grandma's glasses

2012-01-17T18:03:00.000-06:00

The boys have had a long standing fascination with grand 'Mama's' glasses and now they think it's fun to put them on.

Videos below:

Gibson: http://youtu.be/u7VQfWMub-g
Edward: http://youtu.be/weCiU3JdIUs

Carmen is crawling and pulling up to standing!

2012-01-17T17:42:00.000-06:00

New Year's Eve Carmen decided to crawl! In similar fashion to her brother Edward, her motivation was to get to the cell phone. Just today we noticed her pulling up to standing in her crib. Here are a couple videos:

Carmen crawling: http://youtu.be/ZBCzgMXwNpk
Carmen pulling up: http://youtu.be/dxEzvyC0QwU

Another trick she has learned as a 9-month old is to play Peek-A-Boo: http://youtu.be/SBsMuNxhjo0

And here are just some cute photos of cardboard box rides:

Grandma, Aunties and Cousins come for a visit!

2012-01-03T15:01:00.001-06:00

Edward, Gibson and Carmen had a blast playing with their cousins for a few days. Gibson got some monster truck pj's from Auntie Beverly and Edward grabbed them and wanted to put them on. This was a major shock since we haven't been able to put any clothes on him for a couple of months now. He is wearing these pj's very often now - I think we have turned the corner!

Girl cousins ROCK!!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T14:45:00.000-06:00

We had a relaxing low key Christmas. Everyone stayed in their pajamas most of the day. Of course Edward was mainly just in his diaper since he is still in his "NO CLOTHES" phase. The train table was a big hit and Carmen loved her activity carousel.

Mama Frances made her traditional Russian Cottage Cheese pancakes for Christmas breakfast - yum!

The ornaments the boys made at school decorated the chandelier.

Post-dinner family photo with everyone showing off their red wine teeth. Edward of course with no clothes on. You can almost see the lime green duct tape that we have been putting around the waist of his diapers for some time now to TRY to stop him from taking them off.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Mama Frances's 77th Birthday!

2012-01-03T14:33:00.000-06:00

Karol, Susi, Paco and Diego came in for a fun afternoon of mexican food and cake at Hula Hut!

Gibson had an especially good time learning how to play video games from Diego.

Watch here: http://youtu.be/SOF0fnPpPTk

First Photo with Santa!

2011-12-14T11:18:00.000-06:00

Of course Gibson and Edward would not have any part of Santa so Ronnie and I had to hold them. Edward obviously took it a little better than Gibson. Carmen of course took it all in stride! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Carmen is 8 months old!

2011-12-01T20:16:00.004-06:00

Sweet, easygoing and HAPPY!! What pure joy!

Here is a video of Carmen's latest favorite sound to make:

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T15:04:00.000-06:00

It was the first Thanksgiving with the complete Skloss Family present at the table: Mommy, Daddy, Edward, Gibson and Carmen. Grandma 'Ma-Ma' Frances cooked the meal and Grandpa 'Pa-Pa' Ira as well as cousin Brittanie also joined us. Gibson kept us laughing and Edward nagged Brittanie for 'more meat' as she tirelessly cut up piece after piece of beef tenderloin for the carnivore. Carmen happily ate her mush as she watched everyone else eat much more interesting morsels. Sadly I did not get photos of the wonderful time at the table but Brittanie at least got a few iPhone shots from the afternoon:

The next day I at least got a photo of the boy's artwork from St. David's and Tarrytown that decorated the dining room.

Carmen can drive!

2011-12-01T14:48:00.000-06:00

I'll let the pictures do all the talking . . .

Notice Sampson is along for the stroll . . .

Edward, Hudson, Gibson, Pierce and Carmen! Whew!

Edward and Gibson are TWO!!

2011-11-21T14:45:00.001-06:00

Edward and Gibson had a great time at their birthday 'costume' party a few weeks ago. It could not have been a more beautiful day and fun was had by all. Orange and purple balloons were tied all over the playground and on the chairs at the kids table. The company I rented the tables and chairs from also had a kid roller coaster and a see saw which were a big hit. Devo the Clown told stories, performed some magic and did some face and hand painting. My cousin Sam, who is senior in high school, set up a very sophisticated photo booth and took the wonderful photos below. I couldn't have been happier seeing those two boys (and Carmen too!) enjoying themselves so much.

The invitation.

E and G with their cousin Leslie.

Carmen's first time behind the wheel - she was hooked!

Cousin Leslie and Aunt Stephanie

What a fantastic witch!

Pierce's puppy dog costume and matching face painting (see below) was TOO cute!

Yeah for girl cousins!!

Here are a couple of photos from their 'real' birthday. Their teacher at Tarrytown Methodist helped them make birthday party hats and they celebrated with rice krispie treats with the other kids. After school, Pierce (and baby brother Hudson) came over for a treat also.

Edward wanted to wear Gibson's hat at snack time.

School Photos and more

2011-11-16T12:25:00.000-06:00

Last month the boys were bombarded with scheduled photo sessions. They are most certainly at a stage where they do NOT want to sit still for a photo. That being said, we still ended up with some good ones.

This one definitely wins the prize. It is from St. David's Day School. The photographer's finger puppet was the perfect prop. Below are the others from St. David's. Note: Gibson would not get out of my lap so unfortunately I am the backdrop. Also, neither of them would get in their class photo which was too bad because it would have been so cute!

Gibson was crying in the Tarrytown Children's Day Out school photo so the only one we have is of Edward:

The boys and Carmen had a photo shoot with some of the other kids from Stamford and Woodmont streets but alas, E and G would not get in the photo so Carmen was the only Skloss representative. Allison Edward's son Luke was kind to offer to 'hold' her.

Carmen at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T15:05:00.001-05:00

Sorry, couldn't pick a favorite so had to post all of them!

Stomach Bug 2011

2011-10-23T15:05:00.000-05:00

I hate to even post about this awful experience at our house but it is worth documenting. Evidently a stomach bug and also a cold was going around the day school circuit in September. Edward had a brief fever the week or so before Gibson got sick and thankfully that was all he experienced. Gibson was not so fortunate. He got hit with a major bug that started Sunday night, September 25th. Monday he had four more episodes of vomiting followed by many days of high temperatures (THREE bouts of 105 degrees!), aches, no desire to eat and difficulty sleeping. It was pretty horrible. One night he even experienced what I determined to be a night terror - he was sleeping seemingly well in our bed when all of a sudden he shot up and started crying and screaming and wanted out of our bed and out of our room and did not want me to hold him or anyone near him. He was looking at me but it was more like a blank stare. I tried my best to hold him and console him but he only kicked and screamed and cried harder. I set him down in the living room and he crawled over and faced the corner and continued to get upset and push everyone who wanted to console him away. (At this point we were thinking we might have to make an ER visit as his temperature was also reading below normal - 94 degrees.) Ronnie called the night doctor and he did not seem to be overly concerned. After a few minutes, Gibson finally reached out for me to pick him up, he calmed down and then crawled back to his spot on our bed and went back to sleep. Whew. This bug took no prisoners. Everyone who stayed over at our house for the next several weeks ended up getting sick: Grandma-ma Frances, our sitter Lindsey, Ronnie, me, Grandma Virginia, Brittanie and finally (and let's hope he's the last) Grandpa-pa Ira this past week, almost 4 weeks after Gibson initially got sick. I only took one photo during this time and it was when Gibson was finally starting to play and act happy and normal again. It's not the best photo but to me it is a fantastic one!

As if this wasn't excitement enough we experienced our first 911 call the week Gibson got sick - Friday, September 30th. Edward decided to nose dive out of Gibson's crib while they were playing and we think landed on his head. We were concerned that he wasn't crying enough given the fall and most importantly that his eyes were starting to close at one point. He checked out just fine when the paramedics arrived. Edward even gave them a few high-five's and got upset when he couldn't go get into their fancy truck with lights and horns. Ahhhhh . . . . . I'm afriad this is going to be life with boys.

And Carmen is still HAPPY!

2011-10-23T14:26:00.000-05:00

Carmen at 5 months

Carmen at 6 months

And more smiling, happy Carmen . . . .

9/6 Tutu courtesy of Anna Teagarden, Kate and Leah

9/14

9/18

9/19 Outfit courtesy of Sherry Beeman and Bill Kerley :)

10/9

10/18

First Day(s) of School

2011-10-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

The boys absolutely love both of the schools they go to (Tarrytown Methodist on Wednesday/Fridays and St. David's Episcopal on Tuesday/Thursdays). Here are a few photos of them before going to school their first week.

Three's Company

2011-10-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

Here are some rare photos of all 3 sharing a moment together!

Poor Gibson had one of his black eyes in this photo (his cheek hit the arm rest of the couch when he was running back and forth on it - ouch!).

Summer Wrap Up

2011-10-22T14:52:00.000-05:00

Finally, there is a moment when I'm not too tired to catch up on posting some photos! I know summer was months ago, but the boys really enjoyed their trips to the pool in the 105 degree temperatures. And when it cooled off to the 90's we'd occasionally go to the park. Here are some pictures and video . . . .

Carmen even went to the pool one day - our first full family outing!

Pool videos:
http://youtu.be/_gcWwgiSaAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwbH5opFTU

Post pool puzzle time back at the house. Their faces are still red from the miserable heat!

Park video:

http://youtu.be/WN7TL5RGAP8

We also had quite a bit of playtime with our girlfriends Park and Pierce!