Wimberley Visit

I know, I know, I'm way behind... But here's a quick photo version of our fabulous trip to the Texas Hill Country. Most importantly, Oliver got to meet my Nana, his Grandnana:

And he obviously enjoyed it:

Almost as important, Chris and I got a little date to San Marcos, where we visited the Cool Mint Cafe; I highly recommend it.

By the time the weekend rolled around, we had lots of important visitors. Although my grandfather passed away a few years ago, his older brother (who just celebrated his 90th birthday!) and his wife (Aunt Jackie) came to meet their great, great nephew. Oliver and Uncle Ben:

And you might notice Momma Joy, who flew in from Santa Fe, holding Oliver in the photo... They were both content with the arrangement:

Oliver also got to meet his other Uncle Ben (Chris' brother), but those pictures are coming later. Chris got to spend some quality time with the little man:

And we were blessed by a visit from Joy's long-time friend Daniece, to whom Oliver quickly cozied up:

We didn't sit around the whole time, though; we also went shooting on a friend's property. What gorgeous Texas Hill Country!

As this was Chris' first time to shoot skeet, we had a few tutorials:

And, for the record, he was such a pro - he was hitting 60% on his first try ever! After the skeet, we got out the big guns...

Before we left, we of course had to take some multi-generational shots. First, my mom (Oli's Nana), Oli, me, Nana (Oli's Grandnana), and my Aunt Erin (mom's sister):

Next, Chris, Oli, and Momma Joy:

And, of course, Oli and all his mommas...

Good time had by all.... More pictures from the river to come. :-)

Home Sweet Home

I am sure there will be more to come, but I wanted to share some pictures of our sweet Oliver with some precious friends. We've now been in Texas for two weeks: one week in Houston, and one in Wimberley; and we will return to Houston tomorrow for one more week. During our first week in Texas, we had the privilege of introducing Oliver to some very close friends.

First, we so enjoyed seeing our old friends Seth and Stephanie... and (maybe more importantly? tough to say...) meeting their sweet little Ashlynn:

We then started the ever-ridiculous process of trying to take cute pictures of two babies at once. Quite a process. My favorite was when Ashlynn (who is 7 months and therefore a bit more adept than Oliver) grabbed Oliver's pacifier and stuck it in her mouth; poor Oli didn't know what to do:

This was the only one we got (and trust me, we took a LOT) where they were both smiling. Oliver was looking at Steph rather than the camera, but not too shabby otherwise:

Oliver also met several "fake" aunts. Since this poor kid has only four uncles... he's in need of some aunts, even if they're fake. :) First, my old friend (since third grade!) Lindsey:

My former student and current friend, Megan:

And my sweet friend, Tiffany, whose first daughter I helped raise (haha... not really... but the three of us sure spent a lot of time together during her first year!):

He also met our precious French-speaking friend Gladys (who kindly helped my mother practice her francais before coming to Paris!):

And last, but not least, he did meet some other boys... We don't surround this kid with only women! Former co-workers Julia and Jenn have two handsome boys: Teddy and Wyatt. These three are bound to be best friends! (Or at least sit around in the same room while their mothers discuss literature... we'll accept either.)

Why Hooded Towels Are My Favorite...

Need I say more?

Giverny: Monet's Water Gardens

Claude Monet, impressionist painter extraordinaire:

He is probably best known for his "Water Lilies" paintings. Those paintings, as most impressionist art, were his own interpretations (or impressions, if you will) of real objects. That real object was his own water garden surrounding his home in Giverny, about an hour from Paris by train, near Rouen, home of the cathedral that Monet loved to paint. It was located in a charming small town:

And you can imagine, after an hour-long train ride, a 15 minutes bus ride, and 10 minute walk, and a long line for tickets that pregnant Keeley and nursing Rachel were SO relieved to see this sign:

Once we took care of that, we thoroughly enjoyed the flowers (some quite fascinating, in my opinion) in the traditional garden:

Then we crossed the road to tour the Japanese water gardens:

We toured his home:

And were mesmerized by the weirdest looking chickens I've ever seen:

Unfortunately, it was my last day trip with Keeley, who has since moved back to Dallas (so sad for me!!). And, in usual Rachel/Keeley fashion, we didn't even get a picture together! :( Oh well, many wonderful memories made and documented... you are missed already, friend!

Uncle Rhys

To carry on the tradition (see Uncle Richard), I give you another post devoted to two beloved men in my life: my big brother, and my firstborn son. What could be more special?? Rhys came to visit (from Italy, where he is serving with the US Army), and we had a wonderful, laid-back weekend. I am SO glad he was able to come (because who knows how long it will be before we're ready to travel to Italy with Oliver...), and SO thrilled to see Oliver with his Uncle Rhys:

And, I'm proud to say, that despite the fact that EVERYONE seems to think that Oliver looks like his dad (which is not a bad thing, of course), you can't tell me he doesn't look like his uncle in these pictures (and it's not just the bald thing, either):

And that, I believe, means that he must look like me, too, since Rhys and I are practically twins (if you don't believe me, see the picture in front of the Arc de Triomphe here). So, yes, this is my desperate attempt to prove that my son shares features with me other than his incessant hiccups and ability to spread his toes and flip his tongue.