Happy FIRST birthday, Benicio!

I'm now a ONE year old!!!  Boy oh boy am I up to a lot these days!  I love to take baths and splash like crazy, getting water everywhere and in my face!  I get so excited for bath time, when mama carries me to the bathroom and starts the water, I yell, "Baa!  Baa!" (she thinks I'm saying "bath" but I like to keep things a little mysterious!)  I love crawling all over the couch with my brother and sister and falling on purpose.  Our new backyard has lots of rocks and grass for me to crawl around in, and I could just spend all day outside.  I love to feel the breeze go through my hair and freak my mom out by putting rocks in my mouth and then spitting them out before she gets to them herself.  I have a lot to say, and love to make "ooooh" monkey sounds and bounce on my knees in excitement.  My teeth are really coming in, eight total now, and I'm really starting to look like such a big boy.  I'm so close to walking and take a few steps each day.  The most my mom's counted so far is fifteen.  Thank you for keeping up with me and my monthly shenanigans.  It's been real and it's been fun!  Now, where's that cake everyone keeps talking about?!  Love, Benicio

Big brother Isandro helping mix the pancake batter for Benicio's birthday pancakes. :)

Birthday pancake!!

Gotta love the pinkie finger sticking out. 

Enjoying the weather outside.

Brothers having fun in the bath!  

Their laughs melt my heart.

Cheese ball!

Making his monkey noises!

Lina's Last Day of Kindergarten

I'm so proud of Lina and how well she's handled all the adjustments she's had to go through, not only switching schools near the end of the school year, but moving countries and being immersed in a Spanish program.  After school celebration with some frozen yogurt!

Brushing her teeth before her last day as a Kindergartner!

With her teacher, Sra. Downey, Kyrene de los Ninos Elementary

Way to go, Lina!  Frozen yogurt to celebrate!

Lina holding her Kindergarten certificate.

After the Rain...

We've been back from Ireland about a month and a half now, and the weather has been freakishly cool for being May in Arizona (not that I'm complaining!).  Today was quite rainy, felt like we were back in Ireland!  After the rain stopped, the kids had fun splashing in the puddles.  I think Benicio loved it most of all.  He was in absolute heaven.  I was nervous about him trying to walk on the wet tiles outside, but decided to just relax and let him do his thing, and it was so fun to watch him.  It was all about discovery for the little guy.  Crawling and standing on the wet tiles, crawling in the wet grass, and then joining his sister Lina in a wet, muddy puddle.  He was so excited, I thought I'd never get him out of there!  Needless to say, all three kids went straight into the bath!

He just spent a few minutes at first on one knee, bouncing up and down making "ooooh"-ing noises, raising his hands in the air in excitement.

Look, ma, I'm standing uuuuup!

Already getting soaked and he hasn't even gone in the puddle yet.

Uh-oh, Lina splashed Benicio in the face.  He wasn't expecting that, but decided he wanted to join in on the fun!

Are you ready for this, mom?  I'm about to get DIRTY!

Here I go!

This is so fun!

Splash, splash!

You can see he's making his "oooooh" monkey noise!