Family Updates

I just realized today that I haven't posted any news in almost 2 months. The days go by very slow sometimes, but looking back, the months have gone by super fast.

Emily has acquired a whole new slew of words and finally speaks in full sentences. I am literally shocked everyday at her energy level. Trying to wear her out is just impossible, and she tends to get faster and louder and crazier the more tired she gets. Luckily I was able/forced? to learn to juggle 2 kids alone sooner than I felt comfortable. By the time Leo was 2 weeks old we were out and about and I never had time to be afraid. We are ready for the hot weather to end so our outings will be a little more enjoyable:) Emily turned 2 in August, so now we're trying to potty train her. So far she's scared of the potty and now scared of pooping on the floor. She has had a really hard time getting used to all the changes around here and very often acts like a baby and wants to be carried everywhere. I think we're going to hold off for a few weeks on the potty.

Leo is growing into a little chub. I'd guess that at 8 weeks old, he's about 15lbs. and wears the same size diaper as Emily. He's your typical baby...feed him and hold him all day and he's happy. As soon as we can get to our box in storage, I'm pulling out the baby sling. I think he's started to regulate his sleep a little bit with blocks of 3-4 hours of sleeping or being awake at a time. We've all been sick with a cold for the past week, so he could just be trying to recover. He gave us his first smile around 6 weeks, and this morning he started to laugh at me with a towel wrapped around my head. He's such a cutie!

Eli's doing well and excited that we found a house! It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in a nice little neighborhood about 3 miles away from his work, my parent's house, church, and school. The great thing about the house is the space--it is 2200 sq ft! All 4 of us have been living in my childhood bedroom at my parents house for the past 9 months (which is awesome because we were able to save up our money, but a little cramped:) We got an unbelievable deal on the house because it's a foreclosure. I think we've got our work cut out for us, but are excited for the potential. We close September 22, which is Eli's 26th birthday. We're hoping to move in by the end of October.
The other big changes around here are that my sister Mary Clare left for Rome to study with UD at the end of August. One week later my sister Lauren left for Rome too, taking a job as an au pair. My other sisters Teresa and Annie have started school and my mom went to work teaching a spirituality class at JPII, the new Catholic high school in San Antonio. All of a sudden the house is pretty empty most of the time!
Unfortunately I dont have the time to post pics at the moment since Emily is waking up from her nap, but I just posted a new album to facebook that you should check out!

April Pics

Sorry these pictures are a little old and very out of order...

Playing with cousins at Grandma and Papa's house!


Emily's death stare #1

Emily's death stare #2

Don't they look alike?

Climbing into the fountain

Hejjo turned 3 last month!

Easter Sunglasses shot

5 months later and still obsessed with the baby

Easter mass with the Harkins

Harkins girls

Auntie helping to search for eggs

We usually all cram into the staircase for this picture...but it rained the night before

Hey...I found an egg! Notice adorable wings from Nana and Grandaddy

Italian dinner on the balcony. (note...Annie trying to be cool by holding wine glass. also note Teresa holding the rice crispy eggs she decorated)

A bubble popped right on her face...oops! :)

Dying eggs. yes, I married the one drinking the dye...that explains a lot! :)

Bunny ears!

Family photo

Teresa's 11th birthday barge ride down the SA river

Lunch at Rainforest Cafe (that place is awesome!!!)

Grandaddy sharing his birthday ice cream

For her 11th birthday, Teresa donated 11 inches of hair to Locks of Love!

My Godson Charlie's 4th birthday ride on Brackenridge train

It was hot!

Emily loved it...she was very still the whole time

Other party-goers

Emily insisting on eating yogurt by herself.

Our little climber

Annie's 17th birthday present!

Newest addition to the Fagan clan: Theodore Augustine, born March 17th. He slept through his entire baptism day!

Jumping on the bed with Fagan cousins

Fiesta King William Parade

Classic Emily skeptical face

Eli loooved the parade and took a million pictures...

Daddy holding up Em for a better view

Annie's Junior Prom that night

Grandaddy's company picnic at Battle of Flowers Parade

Melty fudgepop:) She had a death grip on my arm

Battle of Flowers Parade

Feeding the ducks with Lucy at Brackenridge Park

Very courageous ducks...thanks to Emily handing them an entire piece of bread...

Christmas Festivities

By Christmas we were settled and anxious to celebrate, and oh did we celebrate!! We kicked off the season with the annual family Christmas party at my parents house, complete with cookie decorating, moon bouncing, and christmas caroling. Highlights included my dad standing on the coffee table to direct 100+ people in singing the 12 days of Christmas, and a very competitive ping pong match between the Flemings and the Mitts.
The next day was my Dad's birthday, so we followed our tradition of going to confession and mass at St. Joseph's downtown, which was so beautifully decorated. That night Will and Jacquie threw a party for Nona (whose birthday was a few days before) and Dad in their beautiful newly remodeled historical house.
Christmas Eve came next as we celebrated mass at Blessed Sacrament with the Pattersons. Our whole family was complete--Paul came in from New York, Lauren and Mary from Dallas. We ate our traditional buffet meal accompanied with games and our annual viewing of the Muppet Christmas Carol. Readings from the Bible and The Night Before Christmas followed by singing under the tree ended the night for a long winter's sleep.
Christmas morning was so fun!! Emily (after having a hard week trying to adjust to her new world) was happy practically the whole day and was thrilled about her new pooh bear bike. Later on in the afternoon my mom's side of the family came over to visit. At the end of the night we had a Wii Fit Tournament going with about 15 people. We were all exhausted by that point and I can remember my mom saying "let's have a wii clean up tournament".
Early the next morning we drove to Austin to be with the Danzes and McConnells and had a really great day with a beautiful brunch. The weather was perfect so the kids could play outside while we sat on the porch to chat. In lieu of a present exchange, we read scripture and exchanged keys with personal reflections of how to maintain Christ's presence in our daily lives. Later on we played a traditional boys vs. girls Taboo game and watched football. The following day Eli and I met his parents out at the Rock (family ranch). Emily really enjoys feeding the donkeys and cows and Eli loves to beat Fred at darts. In the morning we went to mass in Fredricksburg after a mini fiasco with the carseat. We couldn't get the straps assembled correctly since we washed the cover because Emily and I got sick in the car. After we took the family out to breakfast, we headed back to San Antonio.

Our Christmas outing with Nona to the musical The Christmas Carol was that afternoon. The performance was at San Pedro Playhouse, and it was really well done. The costumes and set were fabulous! (as well as the actors!) We went over to Nona's for ice cream with the Brian-Fagans so Emily could play with Caroline and Natalie.
Over New Years I took a trip alone--first time in nearly 2 years not to sleep right next to Emily--to go visit my friend Karen in Chicago. We had such a great time together. On New Year's Eve we went to a really cool jazz bar in the Lincoln Park Zoo area with some friends of hers. The next day we went downtown to the Water Tower for lunch and shopping and John Hancock and saw where she works, which is next door to the Sears Tower. We of course had some Chicago-style deep dish pizza...delicious!! Wicker Park is the area where she lives--the up and coming, trendy and young part of the city with lots of cool shops, restaurants and bars. The weather was pretty chilly with snow on the ground, but no new snow while I was there. I had a short trip and came back to Eli and Emily with a bad case of the flu and just felt horrible about leaving them! (although they were just fine without me! :)

For Epiphany we started a new tradition (in case you haven't noticed, my family loves traditions!). There is an old Irish tradition which honors the women of the family on Epiphany--a mother's day of sorts. So all the females of the family (about 16 in town) were invited to Tia's house for a special dinner and blessing of her house.
Soon afterwards we said good bye to my siblings from out of town and were sad to take down the Christmas tree and decorations. Before it was all over, Eli and I had a nice date on the riverwalk to see the lights downtown.

October Happenings

Here are some random pictures from October. I'm sorry the format is weird...I don't have the patience to fix it!

Emily has been very busy exploring the house and trying to imitate everything Eli and I do daily. She loves to sit out on the patio and watch the cars go by, and really gets a kick out of popping bubbles. She gets so excited when she sees birds and squirrels!

Recently she has learned to stand up in the tub and rushes to feel the running water. She's still fond on the rubber ducky that Eli got her, and gives him lots of kisses.

Emily is very good at throwing all the toys on the ground to make room to climb the bookshelf. Did I mention that she's a monkey?

Yummy Danze spaghetti sauce...not so yummy in the eyes.




Still lots of sniffing when she gets really excited.

Helping unload the dishwasher (no matter where she is in the apartment, as soon as she hears me start, she races over and looks for the sharp knives)

Play dates have become very different now that Emily is old enough to actually "play." I love these cute pictures of her and Caroline looking out the window. Right after I took this, Emily pushed Caroline down to the floor. Poor Caroline! Emily did feel bad though...her eyes say it all.

We have gone to the cap bar at UD a lot lately with Sophia. It's perfect because mommys get their coffee and babies have lots of grass to roll around in. These pictures are of Sophia running away from Emily trying to chase her.

In the beginning of October, Emily and I went to San Antonio to be with my sisters Annie and Teresa while my parents went to New York to visit my brother Paul. Nona (great-grandmother) took us to see the newest addition to my first cousins (#31 i think), Natalie who was born in the summer. I love her fluffy hair!! Caroline at 3 years old is a great big sister, and really enjoyed playing with Emily too. Sean is so sweet and gentle with the girls, much like his 3 older brothers. Emily was so funny--she just wanted to look at Natalie the whole time...she adores those girls!

Of course Emily feels right at home at Nana and Grandaddy's house. Sweetie the dog wasn't as happy, constantly running away from a baby's curious hands. Teresa helped me out so much, from playing dressup, to giving her baths. What a great auntie!