halloween haunts

hello, goebbert's pumpkin patch, and hello halloween!

 amalea wanted to be an animal feeder this year

 isabel was enthusiastic to ride atop a camel

 merida the brave princess vs. the candy-crazed zombie cheerleader

and the chase begins!

 take careful aim brave princess

 gotcha! right in the gut

a victory

i'll stick to capturing candy this year

 wow to candy!

 yahoo to candy!

warrs of the dance

for the 2011-2012 dance season, the girls danced their little hearts out. 

amalea was on a competitive team called the mini stars in which she performed in three different regional/national competitions. she performed a pom-pons routine called "rockstar".

 she also performed a hip-hop routine called "swaggerific".

 isabel was in the twinkle toes dance class. "all that jazz" was her tap routine.

 her ballet routine was "you raise me up".

wwiii

"hi, it's me squirmy, before i even got my fetal name and only at a mere 8.5 weeks. here i am on the fine afternoon of thursday, april 5, 2012, when my parents first met me. later, i met my two big sisters, who showed mixed emotions from astonishment to annoyance."

"here i am again at 13.5 weeks on wednesday, may 9, 2012. my whole family got to see me on the big screen. after witnessing this stunning acrobatics show, my eldest sister, amalea, aptly named me 'squirmy'."

"oh yeah, keeping with the feisty spirit, i throw a 'thumbs-up' in celebration of being halfway here on monday, july 9, 2012. yep, the big two-oh weeks."

 "i would like to show off my glorious profile. please also note my proficiency at flexibility: you can clearly see my toes pointing directly at my nose. amazing!"

 "on sunday, march 11, 2012 my dad made my mom pee on a stick to confirm that i was there. awwww, love from the very beginning."

"this is what i do to my mom's belly: 

8.5 weeks

13.5 weeks

 17.5 weeks
(on saturday, june 6 i reached out and touched my mom through her tummy...and she felt it!)

20 weeks

(tee-hee, i gave my mom an outie!)"

 "talk to you again soon."

one hand's worth of living

half a decade old is a mighty accomplishment for isabel.

concentrating hard on her wish...

 ...will it come true?

 the worst part of turning 5: kindergarten shots. sad, puffy eyes and tears.

so-cal vacation

end of april/beginning of may 2012 found us in sunny california.

disneyland was our 1st stop.

amalea and her sticky out ears trying to fly with dumbo. 

 snow white was truly curious about amalea's decorated feet.

 the wee princesses in front of sleeping beauty's castle.

 isabel hearts pluto.

isabel also hearts tasty treats.

 at the rock climbing wall in the redwood creek challenge area of disney's california adventure...isabel the daredevil began by climbing straight up (with the goal of going over?).

rodeo drive is meant for princesses too.

 victoria beach in the city of laguna beach - a tower fit for rapunzel.

perry the platypus x2 and the girls in front of a fog-enshrouded hollywood backdrop.

 mer-people sighting on huntington beach.

crazy 8s

 happy birthday amalea!

to appeal to all, amalea had a squinkies and pokemon themed birthday.

here she is blowing out the 2nd half of her many, many candles.

no celebration is complete without some lost teeth.

the party finally ended after she lost her 8th tooth.

goliath goes to heaven

early this spring we sent our baby animal to heaven. 

a happy moment to remember forever: amalea and goliath frolicking in nature.

goliath was aided on his journey above with a bubble-blowing ceremony.

fly high, little guy.

we will always remember you.

merry happy christmas new year

the holidays were spent in austin, texas with the torrente families and babcia and dziadek.

hanging out with isabel at the children's museum

cooking up a storm with amalea

prehistoric times are precarious

the alamo in san antonio with cousins

cousins all caught in poses exposing true character:

isabel the dramatic

alex the thinker

ania the easy-going

amalea the lovable

cousins poised atop stepping stones at zilker park botanical garden

troll hunting under a bridge

oh look, an isabel in bloom

us

bringing 2011 to a close