(A little side note: many of you long-time blog followers may notice the switch of POV between Izzy and myself, Izzy's mom. I realize this may be confusing at times but it's very difficult to wrangle Izzy away from her very busy day to sit down and update her blog. A 3 1/2 year old is tough to collaborate with, you see, so we make do in her scattered absence, hence the POV switches. It may help you to make puppets to keep track of everybody as my high school English teacher once suggested for our reading assignment Julius Ceasar. Go on and make some. We'll wait...)
Puppets at the ready? Great! Onward and upward...
Summer in Austin is well underway, along with the crazy heat that comes with living in Texas. Trying to stay cool has become somewhat of a sport in the Ortega household. We try to head out as early in the day as possible to avoid the heat... hahaha, wow, almost got that out with a straight face, "avoid the heat." No such thing around here as it starts to get hot as soon as the sun is up in the a.m. but we do what we can... sigh. Anyway, lots of fun in and around the sun to be had!
Splashing around in the backyard pool
In answer to your question: No. I never feed this kid.
Um, we may need to invest in a bigger pool if I want to learn to swim properly.
Showing off my new gear magnets. They're all the rage. In some circles. Well, yes, in very small circles but they're cool just the same!
In June Miss Izzy had her first dance recital. She nailed it! And how could she not in her Princess Leia buns, I ask you?
The gymnastics portion of the show...
The awards ceremony...
Cue the National Anthem!
And now it's time for a Nico break:
And we're back to Iz...
Water fountains at the Triangle Farmer's Market! Holla!
After the market we usually head to a nearby restaurant. On this occasion, Which Wich. What is "Which Wich?" Well, for heaven sake, it's the best darn sandwich shop around! Check it, yo!
Thankfully, to help combat this excessive Texas heat, our neighborhood pool is right across the street from our house. We make good use of it!
This year we celebrated Father's Day on Saturday at Eastside Cafe. What an unexpected surprise to find a lovely downtown restaurant with an enormous, bountiful garden in the back!
Eggplant! (Well spotted Izzy!)
Celebrating the daddy in our little family
The day after our Father's day dinner, Chris and I headed out on our first kid-free overnight excursion to the charming town of Frederickburg to celebrate our eight year wedding anniversary. After the initial pang of leaving our babies (albeit in the very capable and caring hands of their grandparents) we had a fun roadtrip to our destination.
A farm we passed along the way. Can you imagine a farm full of hummingbirds? I bet it's magical... and they all ride around on unicorns and eat cupcakes all day... sigh... magic.
Settler's Crossing-- the Bed and Breakfast property where we stayed. The best part about this place is you get to stay in your own little house (there are 7 historical houses to choose from.)
The owners' house (very cool!)
The Von Heinrich house where we stayed.
A stop in downtown Fredericksburg to check out the local cuisine such as:
Um, anything for vegetarians?
I'll ask this drunk M&M...
Back at our little house...
Enjoying our own private patio.
Behind our house.
Little known fact about me: I am a donkey whisperer.
And a pony whisperer. I often find myself in various places, downtown, the grocery store, wherever, when, out of the blue a pony or donkey approacheth. Random, I know. It's like they're drawn to me. Animal Planet wants to do a show on me, whatevs. I'm kind of a big deal.
Chris and I scoped out the little unoccupied cabin directly across the street, er, dirt road from our house. It was a lot smaller than our house but waaaaayyy cooler! Very "Little House on the Prairie"! Oh, is that not cool? Well, whatever, I was geeking out about it!
And now a moment of nature:
See? They follow me everywhere!
Another view of the cabin:
Gotta go pony and donkeys... see ya later!
Back at our house...
When you're in the country you have to microwave your popcorn shirtless. True story.
Our cozy living room decorated with antiques. Actually the whole house was filled with antiques. Apparently back in the day they had direct cable and flat screen t.v.'s. Who knew?
Alright, ya got me... I am not a donkey or pony whisperer. These critters roamed the property and were quite used to city folk (such as myself) approaching them.
Here they are in our front yard.
A lovely dinner at the Navajo Grill.
And now a tour of our house:
Git yer gun!
Jacuzzi tub? Wow, this is roughin' it!
Upstairs rooms:
The second bedroom
Our bedroom
Back downstairs...
And this completes the tour. Thank you! Gotta text my peeps!
Touring downtown Fredericksburg
A horse!
Back in Austin...
Playing at The Big Bounce with our pal, Milan.
Too cute!
Best buds :)
An attempt to recreate The Big Bounce at home. On our couch.
Fourth of July was spent at Nana and Grandpapapi's house. It was a quiet affair as all fireworks were banned due to the ongoing drought we've been experiencing. Dogs everywhere rejoiced.
Nico and Milan supplying the tunes
In July we celebrate not only our country's Independence but also the birth of a special little guy, we all know and love: Nicolas Christopher Ortega. July 14th marked Nico's first full-year in the outside world. And you know what that means? Par-tay!
Chef Nico and sous chef Auntie Meyna
The work-in-progress birthday cake and it's model.
Nico in the playroom with Henry and Edie
Daddy BBQ-ing at the party
Robin and Brett chatting
Posing with the birthday boy... Hey, now this is "Izzy's Blog!" Someone's missing!
Oh, okay, that's better! Snap away!
If Nico looks less than pleased it's because 1.) He doesn't much care for his picture being taken (there were tons of pictures being taken at the time) and 2.) He just woke up from his nap and is a little overwhelmed by all the hub-bub. Izzy did the smiling for him, though. Thanks Iz!
Train cake! Choo-choo!
Mmmm, ice cream!
Okay, Nico... here's your chance to dive into a cake resplendent with frosting and full of sugar!!! Ready? Set! GOOOOOOO!!!!
Alright, well, that wasn't quite the cake dive we were expecting but it's cool. You have many more years to perfect it.
Presents!!!
Awww, mommy got a choo-choo train! Hope she shares it with Nico...
After party smoochies xoxo
Yay for balloons!
Harses, harses, harses... (a reference to "Sleepless in Seattle." C'mon, people, keep up!)
Nico the Giant smashing countryside and falling fences in his wake.
Nico, you do know we're vegetarian, right? Are you trying to tell me something?
Deja Vu? So now you are going to view the next series of pictures and probably say, "Didn't we just see these?" and the answer is, no, dear blog viewer. No, these are different pictures taken from different cameras but at the same occasions... Thanks Auntie Meyna and Miss Suruchi!
Toe-tappin' at the recital
Birthday snuggles from Nana and Grandpapapi
I heart Nana
Father's Day love
Yay! Auntie Meyna!
It's my party and I'll pout if I want to!
We were so happy that Uncle Brett and Auntie Meyna were able to stay for Nico's first birthday. We love you and miss you! Sydney is too far away!
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