Good ol' San Anton'

We spent the last few days in San Antonio taking care of some business. First there was the business of attending a dinner honoring Joey's Da as a distinguished alumnus of St. Mary's University. Then there was daddy's work business to take care of. And of course there was Joey's usual business of meeting and seeing everyone in SA!

Here is Joey feeding Da a little hot dog snack before the St. Mary's dinner - I guess Joey knows that you never can tell whether or not the food at those things is going to be any good!

Joey and mommy went to visit our friends the Stepans. Here is Joey meeting Trevor and Ethan for the very first time.

One of daddy's childhood friends, Kyle, came over to the house to catch up and meet Joey. As you can see, Joey was very intrigued by the leaf that Kyle was wearing on his head.

Joey with his ladies - Oma, Mima and mommy.



Joey and Da share a goodbye hug before we hit the road back home.

First haircut

We took a family outing to the salon yesterday so that we could all get beautified for the start of spring. And most importantly, Joey got his first haircut! Although he was a bit unsure of what the heck was going on, he was a real trooper and looks more handsome (and sadly, more grown up) than ever. We were even able to catch a few strands for his baby book. A big shout-out to Kirk (who has been doing mommy's hair since I was Joey's age - no, not really but it feels like it) for being so patient with us and for giving Joey such a stylish little look!

Here we are describing to Kirk the look we're going for.

Joey giving Kirk a very suspicious glance as if to say, "What do you think you're going to do with those scissors?"

Here is Kirk giving Joey some texture up top. I think this is one of the few moments when Joey sat absolutely still.

Group 'before' shot - we all look different now with our new haircuts.

Whew! Beauty is hard work. This is Joey at the tail end of his 2.5 hour nap after the haircut.

Happy Easter!

Joey participated in his first Easter egg hunt last week with our neighborhood playgroup. Joey wanted me to tell everyone that the weather was beautiful, the company was delightful and he had lots of fun. He promises that next year he will be more interested in looking for eggs and not so into eating the grass and mulch.

Here's Joey with his first Easter basket and a big ol' egg.

Joey and friends - these are some of the younger babies in the group.

All of the playgroup babies and mommies. Big kudos to the hostess for being brave enough to welcome all of us into her home!

March Madness

As sports fans are well aware, this week kicked off the NCAA men's basketball tournament. And like his daddy and mommy, Joey has also caught a case of March Madness! On Friday afternoon, we went to Joe's Bar & Grill downtown to enjoy some libations, queso and live game action.

Here's Grandma trying out shuffleboard for the first time.

Uh-oh, think we all got hustled by the g-ma...she looked like she knew what she was doing!

Cousin Michael holding down our corner booth.

Joey and his posse (from l-r) cousin Scott, cousin Michael, mommy and Grandma (with daddy behind the camera).

Do the choo-choo crawl!

We thought that Joey would be one of those babies who would skip crawling altogether, but he decided recently that he would give it a shot. Now, of course, he's a little speed demon when he's on all fours. His new favorite activity is to chase his little toy train around the house.

Baby steps!

Joey started taking a few steps on his own this week and we were able to capture it on camera today. All he needs is something to hold in his hands (which, by the way, is what his Aunt Janet did as a baby - rumor is she held beer bottles).

This Week - A Photo Retrospective

It was a pretty boring week in our household, but that didn't stop us from taking pictures to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Aunt Katie kicked off her spring break with a Joey visit.

Back at the piano. Do you see the improvement from the last time he was at the piano? I think he already looks more poised and confident. I'm kidding, by the way.

Joey sported a rocker look this week. He wore his black shirt (which reads "For Those About to Talk We Salute You") and also modeled some baggy jeans which kept dropping down to reveal his hard-core Big Bird diaper.

Our little Longhorn...you'd think that with Joey's head being in the 95th percentile, we'd be able to easily find a cap that fits. But apparently not - everything is still a little big on him but we don't care. With the Horns' baseball season in full swing, the basketball team about to enter March Madness and football two-a-days just around the corner, we want to get Joey into the burnt orange spirit.

Remember the Alamo!

Last Friday Brian had a work meeting in San Antonio so Joey and I tagged along again. We of course spent some quality time with Mima and Da, but since we were staying at a hotel on the Riverwalk, we also did some of the touristy SA stuff. For those of you in the know about SA cuisine, we ate at Las Palapas, Chris Madrid's and Los Barrios...all in one day!

Here is Joey on his first visit to the Alamo.

We think that Joey has recently figured out that it's his own reflection looking back at him in the mirror. The hotel had mirrored closet doors and it gave Joey the perfect opportunity to kiss his little cute self.

We know that many of you with children are well aware that packing for a baby is quite a chore, but our packing for this trip was ridiculous. Look how much stuff we had for an OVERNIGHT trip!

This has nothing to do with our visit to San Antonio but I just wanted to share this cute picture. Is there any doubt that my baby is no longer an infant and has already crossed into the world of toddlerhood? Where did the time go???

And then he kissed me!

In the last few days, Joey has started kissing my face at night right before his bedtime. It is the sweetest thing - he grabs hold of my face with both of his hands and then he plants his face into my cheeks or lips. The first time it happened I thought he was trying to bite my nose, but now I realize that it's a baby kiss! We haven't gotten a photo of it yet (because what baby needs a camera flash in his face right before sleepytime) so you'll have to take my word on this one.

Kitchen cabinet craziness

Mommy finally took the time to turn one of our kitchen cabinets into a "Joey-friendly zone" and so far it's been a great tool to keep Joey entertained.

No pictures, please!

What should I go for now?

I'm thinking that Tupperware looks tasty...

YESSSSS!!!