"Oh, Beautiful...."

Aron and Maddy are ready for the 4th! My friend Kristen and I took the kids down to the Bellagio's Atrium which has been decorated very patriotically for the upcoming holiday. There were miniatures of several national monuments and even some fairy tale scenes. But best part for these two kiddos were the little electric trains, locomotives and trolly cars running throughout the scenery. They made it pretty easy for us to catch some smiles on the camera.

Playdate with Madeline

Madeline is one of Aron's very best friends. He calls her "Ma-the", which is as close as he can get to Maddy. They have know eachother since they were in utero and have a very sweet relationship. This particular afternoon, the stairs were the stage where they made mommies laugh by kicking their feet and later hugging eachother. Adorable.

Our Family

Here we are at Rudy's brother D.J.'s graduation in Bryan, TX during our last visit home. We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and Aron was able to visit with his uncle, grandparents and cousins. Texas is a wild and wonderful place, as Aron is learing. We saw trains and cows, too!

Da Bee, Da Bee!

This is what Aron said when we asked him if he was ready to go to the beach each morning of our vacation. This time together was a real blessing and we are all tanned and refreshed. Playa Del Carmen is home to some of the most amazing of God's creation and the water redefines the color blue! Playing in the sand, jumping in the waves, sunning by the pool, exploring the Mayan Riviera, Aron did it all. He is such a good traveler.
We even worked on his Spanish a little. He now looks for the moon and tries to say "luna", though his version sounds like "mee-nah". We did discover that he loves cartoons en Espanol and caught him trying to count in Spanish along with Plaza Sesamo (sesame street). I swear I heard him say "ocho"!

Easter Buddies

This Easter was one to remember. Aron mastered the art of picking up eggs and pitching them into the basket in no time! We went to a wonderful egg hunt out at Lake Las Vegas with our friends Leah and the Cohen's. Maddy and Aron had a great time "hunting" eggs and then enjoyed the petting zoo afterward. We did another hunt back at the Cohen's home and then enjoyed a beautiful lunch with our friends. Aron and Maddy were so worn out they each took a 2 1/2 hour nap while we enjoyed desert and the quiet!

Our little Indian

This little get-up, complete with headdress, tamahawk, drum and mallet was a gift from Mammaw during her visit. He stomped around and said "Boom" when he hit the drum. The headdress stayed on for about 15 minutes that day, and now he won't have anything to do with it. He'd much rather the dog or I wear it. SO glad I got the camera out when I did!

Springtime?

I thought Monday was the first day of Spring, but this was the view out my bathroom window yesterday morning! The weather out here can be almost as wacky as it is back home in Tejas! They say we'll hit 79 degrees on Friday, and the snow is just about gone on these mountains this morning. Oh, well!

Watch out!

Mom and I took Aron out to the petting zoo at Bonnie Springs last week. Now, being the biased mom that I am, I tend to think Aron is adorable and a particularly sweet boy. Apparently, this deer has similar taste!

Spring Flowers

One of the perks of living in a town like Las Vegas, is that we are able to take advantage of all of the wonderful and free things that are done to attract the tourists! My favorite of these is the atrium at the Bellagio which is re-done according to the season. I have to believe that this was the most beautiful display of flowers I have ever seen! Tulips, hydrangea, orchids, even live butterflies! Aron had a blast and looked oh-so-cute in his spring duds!

A night on the town!

My Mom and Aunt Paula were here for a fun-filled visit during Spring Break. On Saturday night we all got dolled up and headed out for a night on the Strip to celebrate Mom's birthday! Our friend Leah kept Aron while we dined at Maggiano's and saw Clint Holmes perform at Harrah's. Both Mom and Paula walked out of the casino richer than they came in! This is no small feat on a Saturday night! We had a great time and can't wait for their next trip to Las Vegas!

Baby Bear

While doing a little Spring Cleaning this morning, I came across my old Teddy bear in a closet. I pulled it out for Aron and he has taken a liking to him. He said, "bar" and then decided to lay down on the floor with him. I am so glad I had my camera near by, because it only lasted a moment. Such a sweet boy we have!

Blueberry Breakfast

This morning Aron enjoyed blueberries, mangos and pancakes. Apparently the blueberries most of all! He can be quite a picky eater these days, unless fruit is involved. Bananas are a favorite treat. Two days ago I handed him half a peeled banana, which he took a bite of and then walked over to the dishwasher I was loading and put that banana in the utensil holder with his forks and spoons and closed the door! Good thing I saw it before I started the wash cycle!

Daddy's Boy

This was taken a week ago last Sunday when we decided to spend an afternoon at a local park. Aron loves the swings and calls them "Eeeeeee", which is his version of "Wheeeeee". He LOVES his Daddy and is always ready to play with "Da".

Sweetest Gift

I was given the sweetest gift for Valentine's Day....smiles from Aron! Daddy did a good job buying a card for him to sign. It had a dog on it of course and when I opened it, he said "Doh"! It was a wonderful day and I was reminded by both my boys just how full of love our home is!
Aron is very verbal here lately! He says: book, ball, ba-ba (what we call his cup), duck, dog, door, yigh (light), moon, bo-bo (bubbles), bye-bye, dah (dad), nana (banana), tee (tree), thee (three, which he exclaims after mommy says, "one...two..."), and teeth. But who's counting.... The signing is going well, too. He knows dog and bird and does them often. He has done others in the past, but these two seem to be his favorites. This is such a fun stage of development and I am amazed at how quickly he learns.