New Pictures

So it's been a week or so since I have posted and I have LOTS of new pictures!
This past weekend we introduced Oatmeal cereal to Joseph and he liked it! It's hard to believe that next weekend we will be introducing yellow veggies to him and that on Monday, March 2nd he will be 5 months old!!

Wow! Time sure flies when you have a little one. Anyway enjoy these pictures and check out the captions on them. Fair warning to all...you know how goofy Mark and I are so you will know the humor behind the Subway picture. ENJOY!!!

Here is Joseph in his swing! I love his smile!!!!

His Valentine's Day gift from us was to put his Jumperoo together and he likes it.

You know the Subway $5 footlong commercial with the song. Well Mark would sing the song to Joseph and tell him he was $5 because he was a foot long. At his 4 month visit we learned that he is 25.5" long so when we got home the commercial came on and Mark tells Joseph, "Buddy, you're a $10, $10, TWO foot long!" So on Valentine's Day we had the $5 footlongs for lunch and I said let's take a picture of him with the two sandwiches next to him and here is the result.

I always ask people who they think Joseph looks like and we always get mixed reviews. All the ladies at my work say he looks like a little Mark; our families think he favors me more; and we say that it depends who is holding him and what he's doing at the time. If you want specifics here it is: Joseph has my nose and lips; Mark's eyes, ears, body type; and I guess my smile except he has a dimple. If you look at these pictures he looks JUST LIKE MARK!!! Let me know what you think in our comment section on who you think Joseph looks like.

"Little Mark"

Or does he look more like me??? In the mornings when we are getting ready we put him in his boppy and give him "little crazy monkey" to play with; I caught him bitting his monkey's feet.

Here he is in his little overalls!! He looks so cute, we can't wait until it's a little warmer and we have some flowers in the garden so we can take some pictures of him in his overalls with no shirt on!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Joseph is this weeks "Picture of the Week"

Thanks to all who voted for him! This week's theme was "Tummy Time" and our little one won!

Well for it being Friday the 13th (cue scary music) so far the only bad thing is the sniffles. Last weekend Joseph started getting the sniffles and then Mark and now me; I can't breathe but that's okay; who wants to smell the cow poo that is in the building! (right now the Stock Show and Rodeo is going on at the AT&T Center)

My dad, who is in DC until March, is going to have some snow this weekend; those of us in our wonderful state of TEXAS, its going to be hot..ish. But who knows; like they always say, "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait five minutes...it WILL change"

Well have a wonderful FRIDAY and I will leave you with some recent pictures of our little man!

Joseph's big smile!

"Go SPURS Go!"

What a cutie-patootie!

First Taste of Cereal

Last night we gave Joseph his first taste of rice cereal! He didn't know what to think of it at first and would push it out; well when Mark started to feed him he really liked it and ate it all up! It was so cute and a little bitter sweet. I'm very happy that Joseph has reached this milestone but I'm also a little sad because he is growing up so fast. Wow, these last four months have really flown by and Mark and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

I'm ready Mommy!

Ok, what is this?

This is not my milk, but it's okay.

Here Daddy you try to feed me.

I'm still not sure about this

Oh, I get it!

Here Daddy let me help you.

What?!? I'm a messy eater.

"Let's Rodeo San Antonio!"

Here are 3 reasons I love the Rodeo:

(1) Rodeo Food - we like to get out of the office during lunch and enjoy what the vendors have to offer.

(2) The artist that come - one of the advatages of working at an arena that hosts the rodeo is that once and a while you get to hear the bands warm up or do a sound check for that night's show.

(3) Watching the transformation of the building from basketball/hockey to Rodeo and back again!! This has to be the best!

For those of you who don't know I work for the San Antonio Spurs, Spurs Sports and Entertainment and we are in the AT&T Center. Not only do the Suprs play here but so do the AHL Rampage Hockey team and the WNBA Silver Stars and of course for two wonderful weeks San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Well, in order to get ready for the Rodeo we have to melt the ice, and remove the basketball court; that takes about two days. Then the dirt comes in and gets packed down and the gates get set up, another two days. When the Rodeo is over we have two, count them TWO DAYS before we play a basketball game! Yes, our AMAZING staff can convert our arena back to basketball in TWO DAYS! Now there is still the smell of manure and there is still a lot of dust but we are game ready in two days. Here is what the arena looks like in basketball configuration and then with dirt for Rodeo. Enjoy!

Game night!

Rodeo moving in!

Joseph's Baptism

On Sunday, February 1st we Baptised Joseph Allen at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Weimar! I know some of you are asking why so here is a short explanation: I was born in Germany and baptized there, so we couldn't really go back and have the ceremony there so we opted to have Joseph baptized in the same church as Mark. It was wonderful! I was amazed at how well he did during mass; he only cried a little twice and then calmed down. When we were singing Joseph decided to spit out his paci and join us, it was so cute! After communion we took him out to the car to change him into my baptismal gown and boy did he look HANDSOME! My mother-in-law lent us the same blanket and booties that Mark used when he was baptized. Through out the whole ceremony Joseph was an angel, he only fussed a little and was calmed down with his paci. When it came time to pour the water over his head he didn't even make a sound; I think was waiting for the rest of the water so he could take a bath. We are so blessed that our families were there to share this wonderful event with us! Please enjoy the pictures and let us know what you think of how Joseph has changed and grown.

Joseph and Mommy

Joseph and Daddy

The Ulrich Family

Joseph with his Godparents

Here we are with my brother Nando and Mark's sister Myra.

Mark's Family, The Ulrich's

My Family, The Guerra's

Joseph's Visit with Tia Grace from NYC

This Friday my Aunt from NYC came to San Antonio to see us! I haven't seen her since Mark and I got married three years ago. Tia Grace is our crazy, fun loving Aunt on my mom's side and we LOVE spending time with her. She is very big on us being proper, polite, kind, loving, confident in ourselves, and most of all spoiling us.

I remember my first visit to NYC when I was seven: it was the first time I had flown in a plane by myself. Before I had arrived Tia had bought me a journal and written my "Welcome Letter." At the end of everyday she had me write down everything I done, in detail and what I thought about my experiences. The day before I returned to Texas we developed all my pictures and I pasted them in my journal. I still have the journal and I like to look back at "see" what my young eyes observed and learned. I'll never forget one of her friends telling me, "Veronica, enjoy every minute in NYC because before you know it your week in NYC goes by faster than a New York minute." Boy was she right! And that's how every visit is with Tia Grace, it goes by faster than a New York minute. You miss her before she's even left.

Here are some pictures of Tia Grace and Joseph. I know that you can see the love and caring in their glances as if you were there the minute it was captured on camera.

"Thank you for coming to visit me Tia Grace! I had such a good time and I miss you already. I can't wait for our next visit!

All my love, Joseph"