Will turns TWO!

We celebrated Will's 2nd birthday last weekend with Matt's famous BBQ brisket. He smoked that thing on his Big Green Egg for 20 hours. It was yummy and we had lots of family and friends to celebrate with us. By cutting Will's cake, we revealed that we are having a baby BOY! The inside frosting of the cake was blue to let everyone know. Happy Birthday Will!

Christmas Card Pics - Take One, Take Two, Take Three. . .

Oh brother, getting a Christmas card of the whole family is always a challenge. Matt always wants all of us in the shot so it usually takes several tries. One of these is the one, but I'll just let everyone be surprised when they get it in the mail!

Merry Christmas! Alivia (4), Will (2), and Baby Risinger #3 due in April 2010

Thanksgiving Weekend

It is a tradition for us to gather at family friends' houses for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We rotate houses and with each year the group gets larger and larger. This year we gathered at the Sessi's house and had a wonderful meal outside. Matt brought his camera and we got an amazing shot of the entire group. Thanks Mia for hosting such a nice celebration.

What do you want to tell me?

Every night and before naptime Alivia has to tell me three things, in this exact order after I ask her, "What do you want to tell me?":

1) Don't turn off my monitor. (This is a biggie, because she gets really freaked out if she calls and we don't come running, immediately)

2) My light is going to be on. (She has a light that turns on in the AM and after naps that let her know when it is time to get up.)

3) If need to get up and potty, I can just get up and go and not call anybody. (She tends to overuse this privilege so we have to remind her that she is allowed ONE trip to the potty.)

It is really sweet, and makes me laugh everytime she says it (over and over again). I love you my sweet girl.

Meanwhile back in Austin. . .

My parents graciously agreed to watch the kids while Matt and I were in Boston. Mimi always writes a beautiful (and detailed) summary of their stay. Here it is:

Monday Night:

Both kids sad that Mommy and Daddy have left. Have a hard time going to sleep. Alivia wakes up at 3:30 am screaming.

Tuesday:

Time change! Both kids wake up at 6:30 am! Good thing is we have plenty of time to get Alivia ready for school. Emily and Avery come to play late morning. Peyton joins us for lunch. We play outside after naps - a gorgeous day. We have porcupines and baked potatoes for dinner. Alivia takes a Lunchable for lunch and cheese crackers and grapes for her snack. Still hard to get them to bed. Alivia doesn't go to sleep until late.

Wednesday:

Both wake up early again. We are all getting ready to go this morning. Alivia to school, Mimi to Lamplighters Bible Study and Will to childcare from 9:30-11:30. Grandpa is here to help. They see me dip my toast in my tea and now they are doing it too! Alivia takes a Lunchable and blueberries and yogurt for a snack. Will cries when I leave him but has a good time and is all smiles when I pick him up - calling out Mimi Mimi! Will and I go home to eat lunch and then go back to get Alivia. We all came home - very tired and go for naps. Bill comes at 3pm and I go to work until 5 and then to grocery store. We have meatloaf and sweet potatoes for dinner. Kids go to bed better and sleep all night. Alivia wakes up when she hears Bill exercising and she comes and sleeps with me until 7 am. Will has a runny nose - allergies I think - we all have them.

Thursday:

Alivia has show and tell today. She picks 4 different flowers from the garden to take. Pizza day today! She takes pineapple and yogurt for a snack. I give will some Zyrtec when he gets up. another gorgeous day! Bill takes Alivia to school. She delights in having a Pop Tart for breakfast! Will is obsessed with the play vacuum and has vacuumed over and over again. today he asks me to take him to the park! Fire truck and firemen come to Alivia's school on Wed. She had lots to talk about from their visit. We painted fingernails and toenails after nap and painted on my "easel" in the backyard. Will slept til I woke him at 5 pm! I don't think he feels good. Both kids went to bed easily and slept well.

Friday:

Bill takes kids to Cabela's and I go with Frances and Susan E to San Antonio for a birthday party. Bill says kids liked Cabela's especially the fish tanks. Both took good naps. I got back about 3:15. Another beautiful day. Played in backyard after naps.

Saturday:

Bill left early to go hunting this AM. Alivia went to sleep at 10:15 pm and woke up at 6:15 am. She is feverish and I gave her a dose of Motrin - has a cough and slight runny nose. Had the hot steam vaporizer on for Will last night and he seems lots better. Put in ear drops in left ear for drainage and infection - smells bad! Alivia has said every night how much she misses Mommy and Daddy. Will loves to wash his hands in the sink. We ate all our Halloween candy. They never asked about theirs. They were very good about sharing and not fighting - except for Will pushing Alivia every now and then which she protests loudly. Alivia very nervous last night and today - biting fingernails lots. She is anxious for you to return! Went to Doss playground and had a great time from 10-11:30. Pa came, too.

Babymoon in Beantown

Matt and I just got back from a fun few days in Boston. We literally ate our way through that town. Who would have guessed Boston's Italian food would have been so good? Thanks to my friend Brandi's recommendations, we saw all the sights and had great food in between. Here are some of the highlights. It was fun bundling up in hats and scarves for a few days, but I forget what a pain it can be!

The first day we arrived in the afternoon, checked into our hotel and walked along a cute street that ended in a beautiful park. We had dinner at The Grotto (Italian) and I had some of the best crepes for dessert.

The next day we put on our hiking shoes and walked the Freedom Trail. There is a red brick path that you follow through the town for about 3 miles or so. We made a pitstop at Legal Seafood for some clam chowdah (yummy!). That night we had an amazing Italian dinner at this tiny place called Giaccamo's in the North Side (Italian District).

The third day we visited MIT and Harvard's campuses. There is a stark contrast between the two. MIT's campus is very modern (think steel and sharp angles) and sits very close to the river. While Harvard is just how you picture in the movies - red brick and beautiful trees. We ate brunch at The Friendly Toast near MIT. That night we actually ate at Houston's! (I know, how could we? But I was craving one of their salads! Don't tell anyone. . . )

Our last day was spent taking a cruise around the Inner Harbor over to the USS Constitution (ship used during the Revolutionary War) and another WWII battleship. It was great to see Boston from another angle and Matt really liked seeing the ships. That night we went to the North End again for AMAZING pizza at a place called Pizzeria Regina. I am going to dream about that pizza for a long, long time. The funniest thing was when we were ordering I asked for a salad - the waitress quickly reminded me they had nothing there except pizza! Well, after having the pizza, I was glad I did not use any of my stomach room for anything but pizza. The pizza we ordered had proscuitto, mushrooms, basil and ricotta. It was the best pizza I have ever had - seriously.

Halloween 2009

I can't believe Halloween has come and gone already. Alivia dressed up as Ariel, complete with a red wig ponytail thanks to Nanny Alva. Will was a cowboy. Avery was Tinkerbell complete with lighted wings. And Baby Paige (3m) even made an appearance as a butterfly. We had dinner at Aunt Em and Uncle PT's house beforehand and then made a small loop around the neighborhood for some loot. Alivia was totally into it and could have gone all night. Will was a little bit more unsure. . .