Beck's First T-Ball Game

The Cheering Section
Beck's First At Bat

I had to rush through and blog the other stuff that we had done so I could get to this! Tonight was Beck's first t-ball game and it was SO MUCH FUN. The kids were an absolute hoot. They were playing the grass, laying in the outfield and there was one girl that kept chasing down our players to tag them out. It was awesome. My parents were able to come with us, and Beck was so excited that he won his first game. Jeff took him to buy two packs of baseball cards for the two home runs he made. He still is missing big chunks of understanding the game, like run to first base when you hit the ball and he forgot to run home when he was on third base. Thankfully there was a space so he didn't get an out. Most of the innings ended with 5 runs, although we actually had an inning that we got three outs! Wonders never do cease. There will be a lot more games this season, so I'm sure I'll have some great pics. GO BRAVES!!

The Boy's Checkup

Mom was kind enough to take an afternoon off to help me wrangle the boys at their 5-year and 3-year check ups. Beck is doing great, he's literally off the charts on his growth and is the size of an average 7 year old. His eye sight and coordination is great and he met all of the milestones. Bristol is doing great, he's at the 90% percent on height and 50% on weight. He had a horrible ecsema outbreak and ended up with some new cream and antobiotics. Good times! He also met all of his milestones and is doing well except for his darn skin.

AT&T Center

On St. Patrick's Day we skipped out of work/day care and went to the AT&T Center for the kids to play basketball and then returned to the Center for a Spurs game that night against the Timberwolves. The kids had a great time and the game was a lot of fun. It was nice that Jeff didn't have to go out of town until Wednesday, so he was able to catch the game with us. During the break we grabbed some great Mexican food at Mi Tierra with the Frohocks who survived their first lunch with Beck. :)
This event is definitely a hit and one of the reasons why we love the Rec Center so much. Oh, and the Spurs won and this was basically our lone attempt at a break on Spring break. (And thanks to Trina for sharing her awesome pics since the batteries in my camera were dead. Imagine that!)

UT Baseball

In the five years I went to school at UT, I never went to a baseball game. Football and basketball, yes, but baseball was never really my thing. UT Athletics was having Scout day so we got some really cheap seats to the game against Missouri that were right on the first base line. Jeff and I thought it would be fun since Beck has his first t-ball game coming up and there were lots of teachable moments like, 'See when he hits the ball, he runs to first base' and really tough stuff like that. We had popcorn and peanuts and enjoyed the weather which was amazing after the 4th inning. As you can see, Bristol even snuck in a cat nap. The best thing was UT was down most of the game and rallied back in the bottom of the 9th to win it. (And Bristol woke up from me jumping up and down when they tied it. :) How exciting!!

Talent on Parade

After starting out with the alarm not going off and waking up when we were supposed to be there, arriving 45 minutes late and not having tights for either dance - Madalyn's second competition, Talent on Parade, was at the Performing Arts Center in Kyle this weekend. Madalyn's on the 'Darlings' dance team which is the starter team for Dance Unlimited's competition teams. They absolutely rocked the TOP competition. The Darlings compete with three group dances - tap to Devil in a Blue Dress, which they won first in their division - jazz routine to Trouble, which they won third in their division- and last the group production of Hercules which won second place. Madalyn came home with a trophy, 3 blue ribbons, 3 medals and their team won $150 for winning their category. They talked a lot about how to spend the money which it looks like they will 'bling out' their robe cover ups.
The three older teams also did a great job and won tons of awards. Dianne was even brave enough to have her three 'pre-teams' compete and they all placed as well. It was a very successful run for Dance Unlimited and we couldn't be prouder of Madalyn and the rest of the Darlings.
I will just say that aside from the alarm not going off and being totally rushed all day long (I didn't know that I could eat a hamburger that fast) these competitions are a huge undertaking and I'm glad there are only 4 this year. When it was over I was shocked that it was still light outside. We ran in at 9:15 and didn't walk out until 6:15 - it's a total time hole, and I don't know if my nerves can take any more. Thanks to Mom and Brandy for helping keep me sane, and to Beau for helping me make fun of the lyrical dancers. I just don't get that type of dance... :)

Showstopper Pics

Here are some pics that my friend Lanette took at the competition. These are awesome, and hopefully we'll have more at the next one. Like I mentioned, they did a great job and we were all impressed with Madalyn's improvement from last year. It's amazing to watch her do all of these moves and poses and dance like a crazy girl - especially with her back. She's a rock star, but we already knew that. :)

Girl Scouts Cinderella Ball

Today was the Cinderella Ball with the Girl Scouts at Texas Old Town in Kyle. It's a great event location - Shelly Dennison's and Nicole Stoffel's weddings were both there- and they were kind enough to donate it for the day. So, Jeff took Madalyn to dinner at her favorite place, Logans, and then to the dance. They got to hang out with her fellow troopers and their dads, and Madalyn even got to hang out with Sydnee her Big Sis from the Dance Team. They danced to the Cupid Shuffle, Macarena and Jeff even requested 'It Takes Two'. Good times! It was their first Father/Daughter dance and they both really enjoyed it.

Valeria's First Birthday

Beck taking a whack at Elmo

Emily Hernandez

Madalyn, Bristol & Valeria

Madalyn & Valeria
We had two birthday parties this weekend, Ryan Tang turned 2 and Valeria Guzman turned 1. I worked with their moms at E&Y and they are still good friends. I didn't get to Ryan's party until the very end, and didn't get to take any pictures but the kids had a blast! It was at an indoor inflatable party place and our three wore themselves out. Then we headed to Aimee and Gerardo's for a backyard party complete with a balloon arch. There couldn't have been anything better than hanging out with friends watching the kids play and enjoying the amazing weather.

Basketball and Dancing

On February 28th we had a crazy busy weekend. We had our last basketball games and Madalyn competed in the Showstopper dance competition in San Antonio. Which meant we left the house early and didn't get home until super late.
Ella played with the Monarchs this season and Jessie was kind enough to let me rope her into helping me coach the team. The girls 3-5 are WAY easier than the boys 3-4, but its definitely still like herding cats. Ella did a great job and I think she that enjoyed it, or at least she spared my feelings and said that she did. :) Beck continued to do well this season even though he moved up an age group. He was back with his friends and more than half of the team is from Blanco Vista. They still don't keep score for and Beck and Ella's games, and thank heavens because Madalyn's games are enough to give you a heart attack. She also moved up an age group this season which meant she was playing with girls from 9 to 12. As you can see from the pic, we had a girl on the team that was 5'8 with my 9 year olds-crazy! We had a good season and won 2 of our 6 games. It was a really fun season, but I have to say its a relief for it to be over. :)
Madalyn had to rush from the dance competition in San Antonio to make it back for our 7 o'clock game. (note the makeup in the pic) The Darlings team won golds for their tap to Devil in a Blue Dress and jazz dance to Pink's song Trouble. They also won 3rd for their production dance to Hercules- where all of the kids from all of the teams particpate. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pics at the competition but there is another one this coming weekend with all of the same costumes.
And last but not least, we went to a housewarming party at Danny and Kim's new house. They bought a super cute two-story in Kyle near Madalyn's old school. I have to say that Danny's Mexican Martinis are enough to try and get them to have parties every weekend! Congrats to them though, we just hope that we'll be next.

Viva Las Vegas!

One of my favorite clients - AIDS Services of Austin had one of their big fundraisers for the year at the Austin Music Hall on February 21st. After a long day of basketball games I pulled a presto change-o at the gym and was ready to party. We had an amazing time with great food and great friends. The party was at a new venue this year and it allowed them to have a fashion show that was AMAZING. I've included a pic here of the finale with the Diana Ross impersonator. Super cool and way fun, I've never been to something like that and now I understand why all of the celebrities are lining up at fashion week. It was also nice to have a date night with Jeff. I love any reason to buy a new dress and to get dressed up- it's a plus when its for a good cause though!
Best thing of the night was the silent auction. We got a lot of really cool stuff from it last year and I was dead set to win a Quan Cosby signed DVD and t-shirt from the Fiesta bowl this year. It was in this really cool ceramic football tray that had Doritos and queso in it - great presentation. I loved the tray a kept raising the bid and won it for $50, and when I picked it up the tray was plastic. D'oh!