Thanksgiving!

Wow, I can't believe that it is already December 13th and I am barely getting my Thanksgiving pictures up.  

We were so lucky to spend Thanksgiving with family!  My sister Amanda's in-laws invited to their beautiful home in Philadelphia!  They are so wonderful and we felt so welcome.  You will see from the picture that we made ourselves quite at home, especially Victoria! Thank you Pope Family for the wonderful vacation!

I also have to add that this was the first time I met Amanda's new boy, Baby Asher!  He is exactly as cute and sweet as I imagined!  He is Amanda's son for sure, crocked sweat pants and all! He doesn't give out smiles that often but if you get one it makes your day!  So cute!

I am so grateful for all of my wonderful family, Crane and Martinez!  You are all so wonderful! We can't wait to see you all soon!

Reed it's only 4:45 go back to sleep!

I love my little Reed, but he is killing me! Seriously, this whole week he has been starting his mornings super early. I was just getting used to his 6 am habit and now he has turned it up a notch to 4:45 or 5 this week. I don't understand why neither of my children think they need to sleep. They must get it from Richard, not me! He wakes up happy and ready to start his day. He is not quiet. I have been trying to leave him in his bed in my room, as not to encourage the habit. But he is just too loud. I have to take him down stairs and try to silence him or else Victoria will be up and there goes my day.
This morning I tried to drowned him out with a white- noise machine and I left him in bed with a sippy cup of water and that worked until I heard Victoria trapezing around at 6 AM.
I am hoping this is just a pre-crawling phase. You know how they get all out of whack right before they cross a huge developmental stage, well he is trying to crawl. He gets his bum up in the air and is on his toes army style. It won't be long. He sure is a sweetie though.

Old Fish!

I just wish each of you could play Go Fish/Old Maid with Victoria. For Halloween, Moe's Cantina gave her a deck of "Old Moe" cards and since then all she has wanted to do is play "old fish". And believe me it is like playing with a professional poker player. Tonight, I kid you not, I saw her cheat a little. I caught her sticking a card down her night gown. She didn't say a word when I caught her, she just kept chewing her wad of gum as if nothing had happened. And I thought to myself, "hey wait a minute, I thought I banned her from chewing gum ever since I had to cut a piece out of my hair on Halloween".
It really is funny how excited she gets when she gets a match. She high-fives and says "oh thank you" when you hand her your card. She says "Me?" every time I say "go fish" like I hadn't said it a million times. She really is a crack up!

Happy Halloween from Connecticut.

Well we just finished our first Halloween here in Connecticut. It was a gorgeous Fall day here in New England at 61 degrees. The highlight of our day of course was watching Victoria yell "Trick or Treat" for herself and Reed. She really scored like a bandit in the candy department however, judging from her basket it seemed like she double-dipped  a few times. She was so cute as a Bumble Bee this year and her younger brother was, in her words, a "baby chick." We later met up with their friends for a Trunk or Treat. It was a fun night to see the Bumble Bee and her Baby Chick trick or treat. 

Victoria!

Mommy, you better hide.  I'm going to seek you.

Reed is ready for SPURS Basketball

As we are preparing for a fun UCONN basketball season, we cannot forget about the NBA season starting on Tuesday. Th 2008 -2009 season is an odd year and is time for the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA championship again. As I am excited for the season, No one is more excited than Reed for his first NBA season. I came downstairs one evening to find Reed watching a Spurs preseason game with his buddy and wearing his Spurs gear. Although we live in Boston Celtics territory, he is smart and true to his colors. That's my boy! Go Spurs Go!

 - Richard II

Victoria loves UCONN Basketball

One of the benefits of living in UCONN country is their awesome sports teams. The Mens & Womens  basketball teams are predicted to be awesome once again this year. The Women's team is ranked #1 in the preseason polls and the Mens team in the top ten! Aside from basketball, both the soccer teams are nationally ranked as well as the field hockey and ice hockey teams. We have been to a couple of football games and soccer games, which Victoria really enjoys but most of all she loves going into Gample Pavillion to watch basketball practice. Gample is right across the street from the business school so every time she visits daddy at school she wants to go over and "check out basketball." We are excited about the upcoming basketball season.

Autumn!

This picture just doesn't do Fall in Connecticut justice!

If you can't make it to the grocery store here in Ashford, you might do your veggie shopping in this trailer parked along the road.  They leave the corn, tomatoes, etc. and you leave the money. 

We had a fun walk around the Mansfield Hollow Dam just down the street.

It was a beautiful warm October day. 

Weekend Pictures!

After church pictures!

Victoria at the Ashford Family Fun Day! Yes those are lizard tattoos on her arms! She just had to have them!

Fun at Cabela's before UConn Football Game!

UConn vs. Baylor

Richard is 31!

I just want to take a few minutes to wish Richard a Happy Birthday!  He is 31! WOW! 

I love him so much and I am so grateful for all that he does for me and our family.  He really is a wonderful husband and father.  I know that he would do anything for me and for the majority of you readers!  I don't think he has ever turned down an opportunity to serve and typically he is very thorough and efficient.   His Type A personality comes in handy frequently and compliments my not-so Type A personality.  We balance each other out very well.  He is an early riser which comes in handy on Saturdays.  He always lets me sleep in and feeds and plays with the kids.  I love to listen to the fun they have together.  Richard is fun! I remember the first summer I met him in Alaska was one of the funniest I remember.  However, most of the jokes were at my expense.  That hasn't changed much! I tell him all the time that he needs new material!!

I love Richard for numerous reasons and I feel very blessed that he loves me back!  

I hope you have a wonderful day and I am so lucky to have you as my husband!

Photos!

Grandpa Steven would be proud!

Mystic Seaport

Who knows what she is doing!

One of Reed's first feedings!

This never happens!

Usually Reed is sleeping and Victoria is wide awake.  Victoria rarely falls asleep anywhere but her bed and car seat.

Memorable Moments!

Victoria's smiling face as she exclaimed, "Reed thinks I'm funny!"  It doesn't matter how many times I have told her she is funny.  She only cares if Reed thinks she's funny.

While I was on the phone with Amanda, Victoria walked up to me and said, "excuse me, excuse me, will you dance with me?"  Mind you she had her Beauty and the Beast dress on and she kind of had her hand extended in a funny way!

Victoria gives the following responses to these questions:

Who is the boss? Mommy.

Who is the best driver? Daddy

And of course she gives the appropriate responses to:

Who is the Queen, King, Prince and, of course, Princess?

I need to add that the only reason Victoria thinks Richard is the better driver is because I got lost the other day and she started getting nervous.  We were looking for a Petting Zoo Farm and I had my friend giving me directions, but she just kept saying, "Mom, please, just call Daddy".

She has taken it upon herself to take care of Reed.  If he fusses at all she really does give the appropriate response.  Sometimes she gives him a toy, sometimes she says "no Reed" and sometimes she says, "Mom, just nurse him".  I have also seen her retrieve toys other babies have stolen from Reed and returned them to him.  If anyone gets to close to him she weasels her way in between them protectively.  Her first question in the morning is, "where's Reed". Followed quickly with, "where's Daddy".

I love these two!  I think they are going to be great friends!

Connecticut!

Well, I finally have a second to sit down and relax and add to this blessed blog. I actually don't have a second, but I really feel like this is kind of my journal and it needs severe updating. So here we go.
So, finally we are a little bit settled in Ashford, Connecticut. After a month and a half of transition we are finally here. We spent a few weeks in San Antonio with Richard's parents after we moved out of our place. Then we packed up a Uhaul trailer and headed out in separate directions. Victoria, Reed and I headed to Utah for Maren's wedding and Richard and his father headed northeast 2000 miles to Storrs, Connecticut, home of University of Connecticut.
After two very exhausting days of driving(800 miles one day and 1200 the next), Richard pulled into Storrs. He called me right away with doubts about our decsion to pursue his MBA at UConn. There really isn't much to Storrs on the initial glance.
He found a place and moved our stuff in that same day. He really is amazing! I on the other hand was enjoying myself in Utah with my family. We missed him very much and were so grateful that he was willing to make the trip without us. Let's face it though, who wants to drive 2000 miles with two kids in the back seat. I think they would have added a week!
Now that we are all back together we are enjoying the area very much. We are in such a great spot for day trips. We have already taken a trip to the coast of Connecticut visiting the Mystic Seaport and the next weekend we visited Providence, Rhode Island. I enjoyed the strong Portuguese area in Providence. We found a bakery and restaurant that were awesome. Both Providence and Mystic are less than an hour away. We may try to hit Boston this weekend.
Richard hasn't been too busy with his classes yet so we have taken advantage of all the fun activities near our home. We found Whispering Horse Farms and picked our own apples and peaches for cheap. Victoria just about took a bite out of each one she picked. Today I spent the morning at another farm with a petting zoo and hiking trails. We really are enjoying all of the fun small-town activities here!
Victoria and Reed are in the same room and have adjusted well. Victoria says Bneticut for Connecticut and each time she sees the UConn logo she says, "Go Huskies".
All in all I think we are going to enjoy this chapter of our lives! Cheesy, but true!

Sweet Reed!

I just want to write quickly about how sweet and smiley Reed is.  He is such a great baby.  He rewards all attention with a quick, easy smile.  You don't have to work hard to get him to smile.  I often look up at him and he is smiling at me as if to make me smile.  He laughs on a whim and it is just so sweet. Often Victoria gets a little too close or hugs him a little too tight, for my comfort, but he doesn't seem to mind.  Victoria often looks at me like Mom why are you messing with me, clearly Reed likes this.  She spins him in his gym thing and he just loves it.  After he is fed he just smiles sweetly up at me like I am the greatest!  I sure love this little Man.

Moving!

Well, we are in the midst of moving again! Really, you would think we would settle down already, right? We received some good news a few weeks ago and it means we are headed 2000 miles northeast. Richard was accepted into University of Connecticut's MBA program for this fall. So, we packed up our old apartment and moved everything to Richard's parents garage.
Now in a week everyone will shoot off in different directions. Rosalie and Melissa are heading to NYC. Victoria, Reed and I are heading to Ogden for Maren's wedding. Richard and his Dad are driving, Uhaul in tow, all the way to UCONN. Crazy!
So we are ready for the cooler temperatures and beautiful fall! Victoria already chants, "Go Husky's"!!

Victoria!

Memories

Yesterday was kind of a long day and after zipping up her "underwears" package for the millionth time I must have made a frustrated sigh because Victoria looked at me and said, "I driving you crazy mommy?" It made me laugh. However, it also made me realize how perceptive she is becoming and that I need to be more careful. I don't ever want to think I am frustrated with her.

Victoria likes privacy in the bathroom. She won't let anyone stick around. "Go out please, and close the door."

Thank you Winnie the Pooh!

So I guess I should mention that Victoria is potty trained. I need to thank sweet little Sister Benevidas from our ward. She is a single Mom with 8 wonderful children. Anyway, I invited her and her family to come swimming a couple of weeks ago. With her she brought Estrela's old Winnie the Pooh potty. At first I thought oh no what are we going to do with that. I didn't think Victoria was quite ready and I knew she wouldn't be able to resist the fake flusher on this potty for very long. I think it says "Great Job" or something like that. I should know, but somehow I can't remember despite the millions of times I have heard it since that fate-full day.

Well, we took her to the store and she picked out some Princess "underwears", as she puts it, and there hasn't been any turning back. The first time she went she did her business, emptied the Pooh toilet into the real toilet and flushed before I even realized she was gone. She is pretty amazing!

She is however quite particular about which underwears she is wearing. She prefers Belle, which is a little tricky since this pair has Belle all over, not just in the front. She ends up with them backwards a lot and ends up with a permanent snuggy. This slows her down a lot at the park on the slide. Literally slows her down if you know what I mean!

Anyway, my little girl is turning into a big girl!

Mommy Reindeer!

Okay, my daughter is crazy. For some reason lately Victoria has been waking up and calling for "Mommy Reindeer". I hope she is referring to me. It is so funny. It is like some kind of inside joke that only she gets. Every once in a while she calls Reed "Baby Reindeer". Who knows!

The Cranes visit San Antonio!

Last week we were blessed with a visit from our family! Grandma and Grandpa Crane, Emily, and Gardner and Crista and their family all came to visit. We had an awesome time with them. We enjoyed the Alamo, RiverWalk and Gruene, Texas. We also spent a day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas! It was hot and no one even complained! They were all such good sports.

The real reason they all came was to support us as we blessed Baby Reed. We were so grateful that they were all here for such a special event.

We love and miss our family so much! Thanks for visiting us!

New Photos!

New Photos!

Victoria with her headlamp while caming!
Reed Sure is Smiley!
Watch out Reed Victoria is going to get you!
Victoria's new bed. It now has Princess sheets and she still perfers her crib!

Old Lady!

Victoria doesn't miss a thing anymore. The other day I told her to start calling Richard "Pops". She just kept saying"You Pops Daddy?" Well, Richard whispered to me maybe he should have her call me "Old Maid". So that night when she didn't want to go to bed she starts yelling from her room " I want Mommy. Rachel. Old Lady!" It was so funny!

Today in the car she stuffed her Teddy Bear Gilmore under her blanket and said "I'm feeding Bodie". Bodie being the name she made up for Gilmore even though we all call him Gilmore.

She is just so entertaining!

Utah!

Well, we just got home from a wonderful trip to Utah. We were able to spend lots of time with friends and family. It was so much fun to get Victoria with her cousins Cameron and Addison. They were so sweet to her and she in turn learns from them. They are both so sweet and she is kind of a little bully. We often heard complaints that she was pushing or shoving, but all in all they got along great. Victoria just wanted to follow them around and do everything they were doing.

The weather was beautiful! I love it when it is almost the same temperature outside as in. We miss Utah often, especially when it is already 95 degrees in San Antonio.

Thank you to all of you that made that trip so special!

More Random Photos!

Richard and Victoria at the Spurs game. She didn't make it on camera, but she sure looked cute in yet another cheer leading outfit! She clapped a cheered as she actually paid attention to the game. Her highlight was the Coyote. When he went away she would say, "it's okay he'll be back".
After the game Richard took off her outfit, all but her shoes, and I said it looked funny. It was quite late and she got giddy dancing around in only her shoes. She loves to make us laugh!
We had fun at the Komen's Race for the Cure event!

Reed sure is a cutie!

Random Pictures!

Easter! Who knew a girl needed four Easter baskets!

At Fiesta Texas, Victoria ran right up to Bugs Bunny and took him by surprise!

Aunt Laura gave Victoria this Cowboys cheer leading outfit in her Easter basket. Funny, I think she is Cowboys fan, we aren't so much! But she still looks really cute in it!