Kindergarten!

Lucero started her first day of kindergarten at Lee Elementary a couple of weeks ago. Lee is a great school, even if it is named after a champion of slavery. Her teacher is a sweetheart, and her classmates are awesome. However, I miss the Spanish immersion at Escuelita, and Agapito and I are excited by talk of plans for a Spanish/English elementary school. I can't believe that Austin is teeming with French immersion schools, but hasn't got any Spanish immersion programs. Maybe it's just because we border a French-speaking country...

Anyway, my self-righteous preachiness aside, here's the real reason for reading this blog, pictures. Below are before and after pictures from Lucero's first day.

Before

After

And here are a couple of cute pictures from playtime on one of the girls' favorite play spots, the bed.


Besides all of the wonderfully deep existential implications of being mommy to these girls, one of the greatest aspects of motherhood for me has been the sheer fun we have together. My mom loved to have fun with me and my sister. It's nice to feel that I'm not only becoming my mom in the more irritating respects, but also in positive ways. Once she took me to Knot's Berry Farm and we rode the Log Jam in the rain over and over again until closing time. Lucero and I have already made a vow that when Rosie turns 3, we are all going to Disney World. I can't lie...I am pumped.

What's Grosser than Gross?

Well, Sarah Palin. But a close second are the latest rage in baby fashion..."heelarious". They are baby shoes (0-6months) that are made to look like stilettos. Depressing.

Lucero turns 5!!!

We celebrated Lucero's 5th birthday in Harlingen, which is where her mom, Vanessa's family is from. Her great-aunts, Raquel and Petra, hosted, complete with a moon walk. Lucero dressed as the Barbie Island Princess (please let this Barbie phase pass quickly!). Lucero looked pretty darned cute, even if I could do without Barbie.

Here she is looking rather like Queen Elizabeth I, in my humble opinion.


Here she is blowing out the candles on her dinosaur cake. This year's party theme was "Princesses love dinosaurs and stars." And they do.


By the way, anyone looking for something to buy for a princess-obsessed kid should check out the book "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" My friend Kate got it for Lucero last year, and it rocks!

Vamos a la Playa

Here are pictures from our trip to South Padre Island in mid-August (as part of our trip to the Valley for Lucero's 5th b-day). The weather was hazy and perfect, and the water divine. It really was the best water temperature of all the American beaches I've visited. Not bloody freezing like the Pacific or Atlantic, and not like a bathtub of urine like the beaches in Florida.



Are these kids cute, or what?

Escuelita Graduation

I've dropped the ball on this blog situation, but here are some great pics to make up for my lapse. Lucero graduated from Escuelita del Alma, and they held the ceremony on a hot July afternoon. She was a trooper, despite having to wear a polyester cap and gown.

Her class also performed a narrative dance in which the girls were fish and the boys were fisherman. And, as you might guess, the fisherman had to...sigh... catch the fish. Oh well. I'm not sure what I was expecting...maybe the children could have read excerpts from A Room of One's Own.

Rosie's class also performed a dance routine to the Continental 80's hit Vamos a la Playa by an Italian duo you've never heard of. The babies basically stood or lay around looking very cute and/or confused by all the people staring at them from the audience.