The Nutcracker

Here is a little Christmas treat for you! I have been giving Gabriel lessons on the piano since July and he is doing very well, but his playing by ear is really impressive. In the following video, Gabe plays the march from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker". Enjoy!!

A Little Christmas

This past weekend we did the traditional visit to the mall Santa so the kids could tell him what they would like for him to bring. Gabriel has asked for a microscope and Selah asked for a "feeding chair" (a high chair for her baby dolls). I was so surprised that Miguel wasn't the least bit scared of Santa. We couldn't get a smile - but at least we didn't get a scream!

Yes, Santa, besides getting ready for Christmas, the Serna Family is also getting ready for a move!! Byron has accepted a job as Laboratory Director at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Denton (about 40 min north east of us). I am very proud of my sweet hubby and we are all excited about moving into a HOUSE! Please keep us in your prayers as we are looking for a house, packing, and doing the Christmas thing all this month!

(By the way, "Trttwig" in the above letter to Santa is Turttwig - a house gecko Gabe caught at Papa Serna's house in October and has been living in a terrarium in Gabe's room. Gabe LOVES this little guy and takes such good care of him. We can't let him free - in the process of capturing him, Gabe accidentally injured his little foot permenantly - he is much safer in his cozy cage.)

All month long Gabe's reading lessons are going to be coming from Christmas stories. This week we are working on How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. We have read the book, done a story map, and talked about rhyming words. For fun, we made these fun Grinch masks.

Miguel is in the Christmas Spirit, too. He is our own little "Santa Baby"!



Gabriel's Bowling Party

To celebrate Gabe's 6th birthday, he invited 6 friends (all girls) bowling at the local bowling alley. They had a great time bowling with bumpers and "slides". I think all 8 of them (including Gabe and Selah) got at least one strike and had so much fun!!

GiGi made an awesome bowling cake:

He looks like a pro!

Miguel wanted to bowl sooooo bad!

Wait! Is this a party crasher?!? Oh, no....just Selah in disguise!



Mig loved the glasses! He looks like the old man on Up!

Wish we could have invited everyone!

Gabe is Six Years Old!

Wow! It's hard to believe that we became parents six years ago! Gabe celebrated his birthday last week. He is a happy and smart little guy. Right now he is totally into lizards and anything science related. He loves to read and finishes about 3 chapter books a week. What a blessing he has been!!

Zoo with Cousins

Last Saturday the Froese's came up to Fort Worth and we all headed over to the zoo! What fun! Gabe and Selah are always up for time with the boys and everyone had a great time!!

The white tigers are always one of my favorites.

The scenery was pretty this time of year:



The birds are one of our favorite spots - it has not been a good trip unless we have fed the birds!!

My, what a crew!!

Uncle Jeff took Gabe, Selah and Mig to the gift shop and bought them all a souvenior. Gabe got this spear and proudly carried it through the zoo. Selah got the pink monkey - which has hardly left her side since!

We want to do this again soon!!

My New Favorite Picture

THIS is my new favorite picture. Not only do Mig's eyes look so beautiful, it also is capturing a moment in time that goes by so fast! When I am not holding my little monkey, he is usually at my feet looking up at me, pleading with me, please, mommy, hold me.....I love this!

Halloween 2011

This Halloween we went to our Sunday School class's Halloween party. It was so much fun!! The hosts had decorated their house with all kinds of creepy crawlies.

Gabe's favorite was this spider that popped down any time there was a loud noise:

The mice were crazy! Here they were enjoying the "Play-Mouse Mansion":

There was nothing creepy about these cuties, though!! The girls were adorable...these are some of Selah's best friends - especially the cowgirl and "Olivia".

Selah dressed up as Rupunzel from Tangled - a very popular costume this year. These two stuck together the entire evening - big Rupunzel and little Rupunzel.

After some yummy food, we loaded up for a hayride around the block - Mig's favorite part of the evening!

We ended the evening Trick-or-Treating. Selah told me, "This is the BEST Halloween I have ever seen!!"

Our Rupunzel - long hair and all:

The most handsome astronaut ever:

My little pumpkin (who wouldn't stay still for a picture):

What a fun Halloween!!

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we drove out to Flower Mound where they have a free pumpkin patch! It is so much fun! There is a hayride, a little train ride, character cut-outs, hay mazes, bounce houses, face painting and more! We had a blast!

Hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!!

Party Time!!

We celebrated Miguel's birthday party on the 8th of October with friends and family. We cleaned up the garage and transformed it into party central. There were hamburgers and hot dogs, presents, a pinata, and cake!! We all had a great time and Miguel was blessed by the gifts and guests!

Triplet cuties!! So glad Mig's cousins were there!

Tali was super interested in the bright pinata ribbons!



Cake time!!!

Mig enjoyed every last bite of that cake! BOY was he sticky!

Such fun!! Happy Birthday, Big Mig!