big boy Everett! (and a belated Austin post...)

A month ago my main man turned two.  I have been meaning to sit down and write him a note (well, his mom) about how special he is to me and how much I love having him in my life.  It is hard to believe that this is his second birthday that I have come into town for.  (Remember this?) It is NOT hard to believe that it was TWICE as nice as his first fete.  That mama of his really has a way with details. :)

Stoplight brownies, train whistle party favors, real toys atop his delicious cake, and propeller marshmallow treats!  She thought of it all!

I just love staying at the Seach house and watching my best friend take the world by storm, one mama moment at a time.  She was nursing Caroline (that new bundle of joy!), picking up barbecue/brownie mix, and taping train tracks on the floor in party prep mode without blinking an eye.

Of course, Everett is growing and changing each day.  His independence, affection for baby sister, and sense of humor continue to impress me.  I never wanna forget his little mannerisms, and even gave Vanessa a quote book that I'm sure will be full in no-time. :)

• affectionate to everyone - kisses people on the lips confidently!
•  His tractor is the perfect sidekick.  At the breakfast table, in bed, in the bathroom.  GO TRACTOR GO!
•  Throwing the ball at someone usually means it ends up behind him, and he cracks himself up!
•  sayings - "done," "uh-oh," "Oh yeah," "Potty, mama, potty!"
•  When something is over - it goes "night, night" - at the end of Mr. Rodgers he explained that Daniel Tiger needs to go to bed.
•  GASP! 
• anything yellow (usually a jellybean after the potty) is called "BUS"
• "HAND" means - come and hold my hand so I can get where I am going :)

Not to mention, little sister is beautiful.  I know we all say "She's so pretty!" when our best friends are holding a pink, cuddly girl with a bow stuck in her hair, but I really mean it.  Caroline's dark eyes, precious smile, and beautiful skin already have heads turning.  She is just as in love with Everett and is so personable - watching intently everywhere you carry her, and locking eyes with everybody in the room. 

• She is working her tongue and eyebrows constantly - her face is so expressive! 
•  WIGGLE WORM
•  She finds DD's voice or Everett's voice and follows them with her eyes
•  Her smile is constant!
•  I love her giggle and laughter

I cannot wait to see these two siblings grow even closer!

{holding hands - he said, "hand, baby"}

The trip to Austin last month was double fun because all of the Casanovas (plus the new men in our family) were in town together for the first time since we relocated West in 2007.  What energy.  We realized (yet again) what a blessing it is to be closer together, and to have the luxury to put "family first" over and over again.  It had only been two weeks since we all left from winter break, but we couldn't get enough of each other. 

{party pics: Louisa Stegmann/4SquareDesign} 

The unbelievable NOLA wedding from October just wasn't complete without one more fabulous FIESTA in honor of these two...

We danced (shocker!), drank, ate, and sprang from our seats to catch candy out of a precious pair of pinatas. 

I got to hold hands and hug my third grade teacher, watch my mama and her women dancing and screaming in circles with the change of each song on the iPod playlist, and watch my father and brother smoking cigars with Cuban men I have looked up to since grade school.  We relived our schoolbus days with the girls from our neighborhood who used to sled with us down icy hills when school was cancelled and recreated those famous "Noche Buena at 1409" memories in the middle of January instead. 

Of course, Vanessa was there too!

{beautiful women}

 

"Cuban Kids" reunion.  Now some of us even have our own kids! 

There's something special about moments when everyone you love is all in the same room.  There's something hard to explain about being surrounded by your village in the flesh.  It's hard to put it into words, hard to type out exactly how powerful memories like that are.  Instead they are tucked inside of my heart so that I can pull them out and look back on these moments the way you pull out an old picture :) Which is probably why I might never be able to finish the rough draft of the Casanova+Jaynes wedding post I started 5 months ago....

  (photo credits to Heather Rowland and Brittany Smith Jones)

I can't wait to hit the highway again to head back down to the ATX.  This weekend we celebrate two grown up gals.  It's hard to believe that 10 years ago I was changing diapers and chasing little swimsuit-clad, sunscreen-covered twins down the sandy shore at South Padre.  

 

Wow.  Time really does fly. 

The not-so littles

My very first Thanksgiving tribute post was for my dear sister Kathleen and today I want to roll my other two favorite people into the same entry today.  

Today I am thankful for: 

23) my sister Laura

and

24) my brother Christopher

When we were kids Kathleen and I were so much taller than the two younger children in the family and my mom used to refer to us as the "BIGS" and "LITTLES."  It's a little bit silly now to think back on those nicknames as my brother (the baby of the family) has outgrown us all - and outgrew some of us way back when. :)  But I think I will always think of us as 2+2=4 - at least when I remember growing up.  There's something really special about our foursome and the sacred traditions we hold dear.  Back in Kidnation (what we called our upstairs quarters) the magic began with movie watching on pillow pallets, holiday traditions, jam sessions in the playroom, and sharing bathrooms/closets/computers/you name it.  

It is really hard to be home together without our Kikster, but I have had a lovely time with my two younger siblings today.  They got in yesterday and it has been non-stop.  There were moments full of  puns, times when we broke out into musical songs and laughed at each other's jokes.  Today Laura and I nearly survived an "emergency" trip to the store for a gallon of milk and couldn't stop laughing/crying at the sheer chaos!  

Side note: Today my mom mentioned watching one of our favorite holiday movies together (Hint: Tim Allen in the 90s) and my sister Laura and I both shouted "NO!" in unison - feeling that it was sheer sacrilege without our fourth counterpart.  Kathleen, I have to say that we are EVEN more excited about seeing your face at Christmas than the food we will enjoy tomorrow (which by the way we are pretty excited about.)  

But I just want to send out some gratitude for my Lulu and Topher.  I cannot believe how much they have grown and even though there are times where they make me feel SO OLD, I am so blessed to be a part of their lives and to have them in mine.  They enrich my world each day - be it group-texting during the week, a phone call from out of town, or a shoulder to lean on during tough days.  

What would I do without Laura's constant banter, her love of couch-time under pillows and blankets?  Who else in our family would wear their pajamas all day with me and not feel guilty for a second?

Laura gives such wise advice and shows so much patience with everyone in our home.  

She also might be the only other Casanova who talks ALMOST as fast as I do. :)

Christopher, who else can recite all of Talladega Nights without needing to stop?

How do you know so much about EVERYTHING?  

Even though you are turning into a bro, I love how you aren't too embarrassed to hug your sister.  

Who can I count on each time I come home to burn me a new CD of amazing jams? 

Thank you for siblings, big families, brothers, sisters.  

I am so thankful that we are just as close NOW as we were back in our Kidnation days. 

h.o.m.e.

Today I am thankful for: 

21) my parents.


It has been nearly 10 years since I graduated from high school.  I have NEVER lived close enough to my family to "drive" home and what a treat it is.  My new school also gave us the entire week off for Thanksgiving and let me tell you - I'm never going back to my old holiday schedule.  

After a week on the couch throwing up, my mom and dad treated me to a steak dinner, baked potatoes, champagne, and homemade pie.  To say that it was the best food I have eaten in a long time is definitely an understatement.  

I got in after a long morning on the road and had such a pleasant time hanging out with my mom before everyone else gets into town.  We giggled our way through the grocery store, swapped knitting patterns on the couch, and even got to Facetime with my baby godson, Everett.  (He is getting SO big and we got to see his teeth and watch him crawl - thank you, iPhone!)


When my dad got home we poured through all of the food magazines I brought with me (have I mentioned I am OBSESSED with Bon Appetit?) and got to work on a lemon chess pie (the recipe is from Billy Reid, this southern men's clothing designer who my dad loves, so of course, he had to bake with a bowtie on!).

I take after my father VERY MUCH and when we are together we often get a little bit silly.  It was sort of like a cheesy cooking show. :)   

We made ate a delicious dinner, made several toasts, watched bad TV, and talked about how excited we are for Christmas and New Year's with the whole family.  


My parents are simply incredible people.  They have created such a wonderful home for us in this new-ish city, are amazing entertainers, prove constantly to be great role models and listeners, and I can not even put into words how cool it is to be a Casanova.  

So thankful for them this holiday season, and to be living closer to them, which is a dream come true.  

iPhone photo dump: food, family visits, fellowship

Sunday night again and I am feeling a miles ahead of where I was two weeks ago. Amazing how you can adapt when your life calls you to. I have been trying to snap pictures here so I can remember to blog about them and to make sure I am keeping in touch with everyone.

With September comes the end of "whites" (even though I will be wearing mine well after the fact) but I wanted to include a quick pic of my new white jeans - on SUPER sale at the Gap. We're talking less than $10, and the last pair left. I was pretty proud.

Sarah (the roomie) and I have decided that as of right now our routine includes, eat, sleep, drink coffee, teach, and eat again.

are those pumpkins i spotted at the grocery store?  fall food is on the way! dinner after bible study on tuesday nights is a new weekly highlight discovered a new brunch spot today - tapas, sangria, empanadas, oh my! 
James and Sarah made dinner - bacon, pesto and mozzarella paninis!the best burgers in town - twisted root company margaritas on monday night with some of the most fabulous teachers in town 

And I am so excited to add pictures of my favorite cousins to the blog. Michelle and Robert Lewis came to visit me in Dallas for the big LSU game. RL and I met up for a beer the night before and I was lucky enough to see them both for brunch before they headed out of town. Cousins are so neat - siblings you only get to see every once in a while - which makes it so special! It seems like just yesterday we were all in our pajamas at Mimi's house asking her for candy before bedtime and running around like crazy people in their backyard on the swings. I just loved seeing all of the LSU fans (made me miss crawfish and gumbo!) and hearing RL lead the entire place in a "Tiger Bait" cheer made me grin so big. Our Paw Paw would have been proud.

I cannot believe what grown-up, incredible people these two have become. We missed their little brother Joseph and are already planning a "Lucky Seven" (that's what my grandfather calls all of us) ski trip without any parents! Woo hoo!

TIGER*BAIT

I had my second lake getaway this weekend - this time a cabin full of strangers, board games, too many coolers of snacks and baked goods, and life-size beanbags galore!  There's something about loading up two 15-passenger vans, playing banana-grams on your sandy towel, and grilling out hamburgers on a breezy Saturday.  

   

The adventures continue - dallas dating scene, supper club, arboretum concerts, back to school night...
Happy Monday to everyone tomorrow!

iPhone photo dump...week of many firsts.

Sunday night has me all kinds of worn out so instead of posting with words I am going to use pictures this time around. I have been playing around with Diptic and have always been a sucker for a great collage. :) We'll see how this turns out.

I have had quite a week - met all of my students, their amazing parents, gone out and celebrated a successful first week, had a cowboy kind of night at the rodeo, and got to see my favorite Dallasites tonight for a family birthday celebration. I have never had more hugs, tears, cheers, and fears rolled into five days in my life.

I am practicing patience and gratitude side-by-side. I feel like I've got everything I was hoping and praying for this past winter as I prepared for this huge change, and at the same time and I find myself needing to catch my breath and reminding myself that things don't come without hard work and challenges. You aren't going to get anything perfectly. Nobody is 100% ready on day one. I jumped from small town to big city, traditional school to alternative curriculum, living alone to roommate, being far away from family to living down the road from "cousins" and a family birthday dinner, and relationship-land to single-mingler.

I do have to say that each morning I wake up and cannot wait to see what I am going to learn, what I am going to try, and where I might end up.

So.... I present to you the Sunday Phone Dump Volume 1:

back to school get-up * spirit day earrings * Target flats * 6 a.m. self-portrait 

personality boxes * first day with bells and whistles on * new school tote bag 

ice house evening * school-night dinner * happy birthday jessa 

rodeo friends * national anthem * chicken fingers * cowboys-in-training 

bakerella Dylan * my favorite third grader * dinners at bobby and tutu's 

ahhhhhh-stin.

or as some would spell it - AUSTIN. as in TEXAS.

What a wonderful weekend I was able to share with so many people on my "journey back home" last weekend. It was my last slice of summer vacation, an amazing reminder of the wonderful place where I was lucky enough to grow up, and a mix of so many strong emotions rolled into one!

I started off taking care of my godmotherly duties with Baby Everett and his sweet mama, Vanessa. I know I blogged about this sweet baby before, but get ready for some seriously cute pictures on a regular basis because I just canNOT get enough of this little guy. I saw him about 6 weeks ago, but he has already changed and grown so much!

and so begins the Everett montage....

in the kitchen with dad

we introduced the baby to butter and sugar this weekend - sorry mom!

favorite place: bathtub. He's definitely gonna be a swimmer! :)

newest trick - sitting up

so handsome in his homemade smocked outfit

toes!

sunbathing.

I have decided that I want to do 'bathtime' everyday with this little booger!

But seriously, what a special time to spend with this sweet, new family.

Never in a MILLION years did I picture myself holding Vanessa's SON on his baptism day when we were back in 5th grade playing "MASH", learning about boys, and using Instant Messenger in 1996. WOW! Vanessa and Anthony are already turning out to be wonderful parents and have created such a warm and happy home for themselves and their family. Vanessa threw a beautiful brunch for everyone after the service and I was so impressed by her cooking, hostess, flower-arranging, and preparing self. She is great at being an adult. :) Not only that, but it was fun to have some downtime with both of them (we definitely enjoyed ourselves some Maudie's mexican food and a little mini-happy hour with Anthony's home-brewed beers). I had not seen Vanessa's parents since her wedding and it was great to catch up with "Mimi" and "Jasper" as well. We went over to their house and swam in the pool and it was so great to see these two honorary parents again. I spent about 50% of my middle and high school years in their backyard - and what flashbacks we were all having!

The baptism itself was INCREDIBLE. Held in the same church (by the same man) as the Lee-Seach wedding 4 years ago, the small gathering of loved one was "small and perfect" (as Vanessa put it) just like Baby E! We got to stand around the font all together and got to bless him individually - sharing hugs, kisses, and pats along the way. Nick (the godfather and Anthony's younger brother) and I were so proud to be playing a huge part already in this little guy's life. I cannot wait to watch him grow up and to see him regularly now that I am back in Texas. (I already have his first birthday party penciled into my calendar! yay!).

After lots of love, hugging and kissing on my favorite mini-man, I headed across town to see my other favorite "baby boy" who is actually all grown up. My little brother Christopher headed off to college in Austin at UT this weekend and he and my parents were in Austin to move him in and get him settled - and of course to socialize with all of our old family friends.

What a special event (again! are you seeing the pattern? i am one lucky gal) I got to watch. I was a bit overwhelmed with emotions when I saw my parents and Kif at dinner the second night I was in town -
~how amazing is it to see your parents twice in one month's time?
~how did this little guy who used to drive me crazy in the playroom turning into such an adult?
~how has our family been so blessed through every transition we have had?
~how much have we grown and changed since we moved to Lubbock?
~how special is it to be so close to your siblings?
~how awesome to have moved "back home"?

babyface!

Needless to say, I had a bit of a teary-eyed meal with the family that night. My parents and I sat around and remembered all of the cute things he used to say ("SCHWEEET!") and all of the silly things the four kiddos used to do upstairs in our little world after school and on the weekends. I remember feeling unsure about having a boy land in the middle of girly-barbiedoll-land. But boy, have we all come so far! I cannot believe he will be going to frat parties, he won't be at home to answer the phone every time I call and my parents are out working in the yard, and that it is actually 2011 - the year we have talked about since he came home from the hospital!

We had all of our favorites that night -- Mexican martinis, choriqueso, the salsa we have been trying to recreate at home for years, and my favorite....the flautas plate.

After some rest, shopping OF COURSE at the outlet mall as Casanovas tend to do, a beautiful brunch at the you-have-to-try-this place, (did I mention we went to see Glee3D after dinner? No, I am not embarrassed to admit it), and lots of group hugs..... I made one last stop on my way back to D.



Did I mention that one of my swim-team buddies owns this place?

Don't forget to get your kiwi-strawberry with cream. :)

On my drive back all I could think is....I am so proud of Everett and Christopher and hope they know I am their #1 fan.

And now it's back to school time!
I have spent an amazing week with these ladies and am so looking forward to a great year.