Minnie & Mickey Say Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse!

I'll give you one guess who chose to be Minnie Mouse and insisted that her baby brother be Mickey...

Jillian, of course! And I think they are just so stinkin' cute in their costumes!

We celebrate Halloween at the Hayes annual Halloween party each year. And for the past few years, we have also gone to the on-campus Halloween party hosted by MSC Hospitality. 

Jackson as the spider in Charlotte's Web and Jillian as Minnie Mouse

Jillian talking to Andrew, who was Wilbur from Charlotte's Web

There were lots of fun activities to do, like ghost bowling...

...and fishing for treats...

...and coloring a Haunted house with Daddy's help...

...or playing Halloween Bingo with Mommy...

...and there was even a fortune teller, too!

The fortune teller asked Jillian her name, and she replied "Princess Jillian Annalise Minnie Mouse." And instead of the fortune teller predicting Jillian's future, Jillian told her a story. It was something about a witch and a ghost chasing her but she ran really fast and said "ahhhh!" Poor fortune teller couldn't really get a word in...Silly Jilly!

Bubs had a great time at the Halloween party too!  Maybe next year he can do some of the activities and get a little treat too!

Tonight, we'll dress up again and these 2 kiddos will go trick or treating with their friends!

But for now, hope everyone has a Happy Halloween full of more treats than tricks!

Love, 

Jillian (AKA Boo-tiful Princess Minnie Mouse) and Alex (AKA Mommy's Liittle Monster/Mickey Mouse)

A Heart Divided

Before we bled maroon and white, we bled orange and blue.

Before we said Gig 'Em Aggies, we said Go Miners.

Before I sported my Aggie Ring, it was a UTEP ring on my finger.

Before building our lives in Aggieland, we met "out in the west Texas town of El Paso."

Julian and me as Orientation Leaders (and die-hard Miners) in 2004

So you can only imagine how I am living this week with "a heart divided." I never thought we would see the day where A&M and UTEP went head-to-head on the football field. But when the 2013 football schedule came out, I was stoked to see these 2 on the same field!

When we think back on UTEP football, it takes us back to a different time 9 years ago...man, so many great memories! Julian and I were lucky enough to go to UTEP when the football program was on the upswing, with then-new coach Mike Price. Our last year at UTEP, we actually had a winning record and Julian and I took our first road trip together to a bowl game in Houston (it was on that road trip that we first said "I love you" to one another).

The football culture at UTEP was different than here at A&M.  El Paso is more of a basketball town (steeped in our winning basketball tradition with the 1966 Miners, still the only team in the state of Texas to win the NCAA Championship, as seen in the movie, Glory Road), but while we were there, El Paso came to love the football part too.  The football players were actually our friends...they sat next to us in class, or for me, they were the same guys I had seen play football since we were in middle school together.  It wasn't hard to get front row seats at the games and our friends/star players on the team would come celebrate with us after the game. The Sun Bowl is a gorgeous setting for UTEP football, a stadium nestled into the mountain side, holding around 51,500 fans.

That's us on the front row, with our friend, star player, Thomas Howard (who now plays in the NFL)

You can imagine how different football was for us once we got to Aggieland. Here, the football players are treated like celebrities/kings. College Station is definitely a football town, and with good reason as Aggie football has had a perennial powerhouse program. Front row seats are reserved for the biggest donors or the red ass Ags who camp out for days to pull for tickets on the first deck. And as for Kyle Field, well, you and 82,000 of your closest friends get together and yell your asses off, standing as the 12th Man, and it is definitely a site to see. 

Us at our first A&M game in 2005

Truth be told, I already know what the outcome of the game will be... 

UTEP's football glory days are gone.

And A&M has Johnny Football.

Julian and Johnny Manziel

But for me, it doesn't change the fact that my alma mater is going up against my alma mater. And my heart is divided.

So this upcoming Saturday, don't be surprised if you see me sport both my orange and blue and maroon and white. I'll support both my teams and honor where I came from and where I am now, too. 

Go Miners and Gig 'Em Aggies!

Fall Family Fun

It is a RARE occasion that Julian has a weekend day off, much less at least one weekend day off for 4 weeks in a row!  And any time Julian is home, we try to enjoy as much family time together as we can.  

So last weekend, we went to our local pumpkin patch with the kids. 

Perfect for our family of 4

This pumpkin patch is located at the Farm Patch and it has lots of fun little features to keep the little ones (and their Daddy) entertained.  

Jillian thought that Dorothy was a princess, so she said she wanted to take her picture as a princess

Dorothy and her Little Lion Brother

 It warms my heart so much to see the sight of my daughter walking hand in hand with her Daddy!

I love my kiddos!

Me and my son

He is a strong boy...strong like the Hulk!

Hiding in the maze

We needed to buy some pumpkins to finish off our perfect fall entryway (pics to come soon).  So Jillian picked this white casper pumpkin for herself and a smaller one just like it for her baby brother!

The CUTEST pumpkin in the patch!

A perfect fall day for the Acosta 4

After the pumpkin patch, we came home and changed into our PJs for family movie night.  We moved the guest bed into the living room (and it may or may not still be there...don't judge!).

We were finally able to watch Despicable ME with Jillian.  Every time we offer this movie option to her, she always chooses something else.  Lately, we tell her this is the only movie option and she refuses to watch it.  So her smart Daddy came up with a plan to get her to finally agree to see this movie...

Daddy: Jillian, do you want to watch Despicable Me?

Jillian (in a whiny voice): I don't want tooooooooooooooo!

Daddy: OK, how about Minion's Rush instead?

Jillian: Yeah, that's a good idea.

Little does she know, Daddy just changed the name of the movie...ha, he fooled her!

Bubs slept through the whole thing

It was the perfect ending to a fall family fun day!

Silly Jilly: The Magic Word

The other day, Jilly, Bubby, and I were at the HEB check-out line. Jillian was asking the cashier if she could have Buddy Bucks.

Jillian (to cashier): Can I have Buddy Bucks?

Cashier: Yes, you can. What's the magic word?

Jillian (looking oh-so puzzled): Ala-ka-zam?

Mommy (holding back the giggles): Jillian, she means she wants you to use your manners...

Jillian: Oh, can I have Buddy Bucks, please?

Silly Jilly, you're right...the magic word is Ala-ka-zam!

Jillian's Homework

When Jillian moved up to the next class at school, it also meant that she would be coming home with something I didn't expect...homework.  I mean, she's only 2 years old...I thought it would be 2-3 more years before we had to do this!

The first night that she had homework, we cleared space at her little table and got to work.  Can I just say that I definitely have a new-found respect for teachers, whether they teach 2-year-olds or 12-year-olds or 22-year-olds!  Her focus was short and my patience was shorter.  But she looked so darn cute working on it, didn't she?  And I had some glimpses into our future (hopefully, her focus and my patience will grow with age).  

But, it's been a few weeks, and I am happy to say that homework time is a fun time for both of us.  I get a glimpse into the fun things that they are teaching her at school and an opportunity to see how bright Jillian is.  And she gets to color and show off her smarts!

This particular day, we were working on color patterns.  She loved it so much, she asked me to make more color patterns on the back of the paper!

Jillian would read the letter in the bubble, then tell me what color starts with that letter, and then she would color the bubble in the correct color.  And she was great at figuring out the patterns.  Of course, the original lesson only had red, blue, and yellow, but she asked me to add purple to the patterns, too.

She was so proud of herself for doing so well at her homework.  I hope she's this happy about doing homework for the next 20+ years!

Happy 2 Months, Alex!

Happy 2 months, Alex!

Sweet baby coos were coming out of your mouth

This past month with Alex has been an absolute joy as we fall more in love with him!  He is the perfect little addition to our family.  Bubs is such a happy baby whose smile lights up a room.  My heart could just burst with the amount of love I have for this little boy!

What does Alex love?  He loves baby kicking his chubby legs, afternoon cooing convos with Mommy, scratchy kisses from Daddy, and watching Jillian be silly. He loves taking a bath, going on cool, fall morning walks, and snuggling in Mommy and Daddy's bed. This boy is a little charmer, as he will coo and smile at everyone, winning them over with his dimples in an instant.

He is still a great eater and a great sleeper.  We put him down for bed by about 8 PM each night, he'll wake up around 3 AM, and then sleep again till around 7 AM.  So I am down to only doing one night feeding! Alex had been sleeping in a newborn napper attached to his Pack N Play, but we recently had to take it out because he has outgrown it.

Getting bigger everyday

And as for clothes, he is out of his newborn clothes and fits into his 3 month clothes really well.  We have his 2-month well-check (and first round of shots) on Monday, but if I had to guess, I'd say he's around 10.5 lbs. and 22 in.  We'll see if I am right!

Alex and Jillian

As for your big sister, Jillian, she is still enamored with you...and I think you are pretty enamored with her, too!

Lounging on your elephant

Baby Alex, "you are our sunshine, our little sunshine...you'll never know, dear, how much we love you..."

Pretty soon, you'll be as big as your elephant

Bubby's Birth Announcement - Vintage Baseball Card

I am absolutely in love with Alex's birth announcement!  It could not have turned out anymore perfect!

When trying to find a design for Alex's birth announcement, I would spend nights searching for the perfect one (after all, I was awake anyway for up to 3 hours during night feedings).  I knew I had amazing photos of our boy from Sarah, but I could not find the right one.

I was thinking that nothing would be cuter than a baseball card featuring our son.  And while I had the perfect picture of it in my head, I had to find someone who could design it. A friend recommended that I try out Becca with Jumping Jax Designs.  She was super easy to work with and quick to get it just right.  And the end result...

It's just the way I wanted to introduce our nearest and dearest to our son, Alex Acosta, future shortstop for the New York Yankees!  (Can you imagine if this actually happened?!  That would be the coolest thing in the world...sigh...a mom can dream...)

If you are ever in need of an amazing design, whether that's for a blog, logo, invitation, or announcement, be sure to check out the amazing work by Becca at Jumping Jax Designs.  And because Becca is a rock star, she's even offering a discount of 10% off anything in her shop if you use the promo code "acostalove."  

Hope you love "Daddy's Little Shortstop" as much as we do!