This is the face...

This is the face that holds me down when I should be up doing laundry, the dishes, sweeping, mopping, cooking, scrubbing, working out and generally doing anything other than laying in bed. I came *this* close to falling asleep this morning after pleas of "SNUGGLE! SNUGGLE!" lulled me back into bed.... I would have fallen blissfully asleep to Mason's little quiet little chatter had it not been for the looming deadline of school ahead. And I really could have been convinced that on this cold, rainy day Mason didn't really *need* to go to school. He's had a little cough. This is pre-school, for cryin' out loud! But then I remembered how much he DOES truly love school. In spite of my desire to soak up every second of fleeting snuggliness it was really in both our best interests for me to break it off and blow dry my hair. After all, Mason loves going to school. It's a good routine and he learns alot. And, besides, I really wouldn't have made it to the gym today if I didn't have to drive half way there to drop Mase off at school!

Family Day 2010: Dallas Aquarium

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Family Day celebration on February 6th. This year we went downtown to the big Dallas World Aquarium. Mason is currently REALLY into fish so we thought he'd like that. We thought we might even end up buying a family annual pass, but, unlike many other venues around town that offer such passes, the Aquarium does not offer any reduced price/free guest passes or parking discounts. Even so I really considered doing it since our entry fee was nearly $60 and an annual family pass was $199... but after going through I was glad that we decided to wait. Mason isn't quuuuuuuite ready for going there too often. The entire top of it is composed of a huge rainforest and while you are walking through it there are LOADS of lines... lines + 3 yr olds = trouble. The day was still fun. Mason enjoyed looking at the huge wall aquarium. He could have hung out there for hrs... if we had goldfish on us! Mason made friends with turtles, giant catfish, manitees, and all sorts of other creatures. It was funny b/c they really did look like they were coming to say hi. One of the COOLEST parts of the trip was that there was a street musician outside the Aquarium playing the sax. We probably could have spent the afternoon watching him and Mason would have been happy as a clam!

It's Conclusive

The tests are conclusive. He IS the father. Oh, wait.. that was never in question... Well, I'd like to point out what a total "minnie me" situation we have going on here at Casa Espinoza. Mason's hair even grows naturally into that faux-hawk. Mason really needs a haircut in this picture and you can see that the hair in the middle just grows faster than the rest!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Why am I blogging about Valentine's Day early? Why am I NOT blogging about how wonderful our Family Day was? What is this picture? Why, it's the Westin Paris. By now you are thinking I've lost my mind. No. My fabulous husband gave me an early Valentine's Day present last night. The best kind. (Get your mind out of the gutter...) The kind that is FREE! And even better... it involves a passport! It was announced last night that Joseph qualified again for TPC! We are going to Paris! I am super excited b/c I waited 4 yrs for a vacation and then I get 2 about 6 months apart! I just had to brag about what a super star sales person my husband is. He works really hard and it's so nice to see him rewarded for it.... or as he put it 'we did this together'... so it's nice that I get rewarded, too! :o)

Family Day 2010

Gavin
Originally uploaded by kellyaespinoza

We recognize the anniversary of Gavin's induction into angelhood each year by having a family day. We really milled over what it was that we could do to handle the day best... for a long time. Year 1 Joseph was away on business and I became overwhelmed with emotion and baked until we were just about broke. Then I packed up Mason and we delivered all our baked goods to the NICU with a card for the staff thanking them for the work they had to treat Gavin with the best care they could. I decided after that to wallow a *liiiiiiittle* less and appreciate what we do have just a liiiiittle more. It's not that it isn't an emotional time for us... but I decided that I wanted to spend the anniversary doing something that my child(ren) would enjoy and really enjoy them enjoying it. I wanted to spend the time together doing something fun b/c if an anniversary like this can't remind you that this isn't a dress rehearsal, then I don't know what can!

This year we are going to the Dallas Acquarium! Mason is SO into fish right now that I think he'll absolutely LOVE it. In order to deal with my grief I am making massive quantities of the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls to take to the NICU staff (that's the other thing we do each yr.... show our appreciation) so we'll be dropping them off while we are in the area. We also have big plans to watch Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Saturday should be big fun around Casa Espinoza!

In other news... Mason went to see Dr Dan for his 3 yr well visit. He's now 36 lbs and 37.5 in tall! Big boy! Everything looks good. He was SUCH a good boy for the exam. I really couldn't believe it. He didn't get upset at all except for the shot he had to get... and no one likes shots... but he quickly regained composure when lolly pops and stickers were offered. (And I don't even know WHY he likes lolly pops so much since he doesn't actually eat them! He just likes to hold them!)