l'il Pep a Year ago...

...played in the sun,
checked out some Art Cars with Papa at the Houston Art Car Parade
and inspected her newly-refinished floors.

Friday Dance Party Pics

Catch a glimpse of what Inés and Rio are caught doing on their Friday Dance Parties, Rio, caught on film dancing with his Boppy tags. Meanwhile...
Inés loves shaking it up next to the air-conditioning vent. Clever girl, indeed!

No Reason Shout Out to Great-Grandma Emma!

Rio and Bis-Abuelita Emma enjoy some quality time together. Dare ye say even some coy flirtation!

Taking Tea with Inés and Rio

Inés shows Rio the Art of drinking Tea. Rio, of course, will take anything as teething relief.

Enchanted Beans that grow, grow,grow, GROW!

Even as they sleep, they grow!

Tony vignettes

Due to their silly parents Rio and Inés present the following vignettes of Tony nominees and winners...starting with, Rio dressing up in an Olympian crown fit for the gods and wiggles to "All Over the World" from Xanadu. A kid-pleasing musical that had Inés jumping for glee when Clio alighted on her Pegasus.
Inés revisits her Puerto Rican roots with musical numbers from In the Heights. Yet we could mistake her for Mama Rose from Gypsy, perhaps. Which, btw, we are so happy Ms. Lupone was able to recycle one of her old speeches and tell the orchestra to shut up! A true Mama Rose at heart.
For the love of theater, Rio gives us his most heartfelt rendition of Cry Baby while the Pep consoles him. The "rockabilly prison number" ("A Little Upset") had Inés tapping her feet, coming through like a charm, for Rio.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Inés and Rio would like to send out a heart-felt Happy Papa's Day! to all the Papís, Grandpas, Abús and Abuelitos out there...xoxo. Alas some nice pictures of the kids. Enjoy.
Inés and Papa enjoy some sandcastle-making fun at Galveston Island State Park Beach.
Inés teaches her l'il brother Rio how to wade in the shore...
and Rio instantly takes to sticking his feet through the mucky sand. In the early afternoon, Inés and Papa got themselves tangled while flying their kite yet by the end they got their salty sea legs wet while catching the waves. Rio, in turn, napped through most of it in his sun cabana.

Rio, aka Lil' Snake Pliskin

So here's Rio, sitting on his play rug. He loses his balance every once in a while, but he's getting the hang of it- come on, people, he's 5 months old for cryin out loud- back off! Actually, what we're not showing is that he's figured out how to escape from his Bumbo seat (picture forthcoming)- it's hilarious. He'll wedge a fat little leg under himself and then push off. He either hits the ground like a defensive tackle or he rolls like a ninja. Either way, he cries like a banshee every time. It's one of the funniest things ever. Am I a bad daddy for laughing at my own children?

Ines, hypnotized by video

Cool art shot by Mom. To the Pep's left you can see an awesome wood block set she got for her birthday from her very astute Tio Jamie, who always manages to gift in a surprising yet totally fitting manner. Now she may very well be doomed to architecture school. But worse things could happen. Big big shout out to Grandma Linda for the awesome poodle skirt, which was an instant hit with the birthday girl...

Mr. Rio Eats! (solid food, that is...)

POV shot of Rio chowing down on some pretty tasty baby oatmeal. And by "tasty," I would mean taste-less. Seriously. Any of you tried that stuff? It could use a little something. But Rio thinks it's awesome. To date, he's had banana, peas (I think, but I should check w/ Mom), and egg yolk with a little bit of water. Oh, and he drinks water now.

Obama Supporter

Inés proudly shows her support at the local playground. She figures if llamas are crazy for Obama then she is too! - as dear ole tio Jamie says Obamallama!