Homeowners

Well, it finally happened; and we finally did it! We are now homeowners! It's an exciting, but very bewildering for us. After looking at tens upon tens (James says possibly a hundred) potential houses and making offers on four of them, we signed the papers this afternoon on a 3 bedroom and 3 1/2 bath townhome built in 2005 located in the Montrose area. We are estatic about the area, which is 2.5 miles from my office and 6.9 miles from James's. Also, we are close to a bunch of great restaurants, parks, and our friends, Belinda and Steven. We are looking forward to building our lives there and making tons of new memories of our family. James always says that this will be the first home that Andrew will remember {goose bumps}.

Thank you to Nonna, Anita Vega, Papa, and Ngoai. We appreciate everything you have done during this tedious process of finding our home!

We definitely welcome guests and would love to have visitors.

Here are some pictures from the listing on the HAR website. Of course, the furniture is now gone, but this will give you guys an idea until I can post some of our pictures after we move in... hopefully this weekend.

Exterior:

Living room (2nd floor):

Dining room and kitchen (2nd floor):

Kitchen (2nd floor):

Master bedroom (3rd floor):

Master bath (3rd floor):

Second bedroom (3rd floor) (this will be Drew's room):

Third Bedroom (1st floor):

Third bathroom (1st floor):

Thumper

So, Andrew has been recently doing a Thumper impersonation with his leg. When he lays on his stomach, he will kick his leg up and down. It seems to always be his right leg too. I recorded it tonight. Sorry, the video quality leaves much to be desired, but the night vision function was on. When he did it on the floor, it was very cute, no big deal. But when he started to "thump" on the activity pad, we couldn't help but laugh. You can also see another run of him pulling himself up.

FWA

FWA is my new favorite acronym and stands for Flexible Work Arrangement. I had initially asked to go on a FWA when I returned from maternity leave, but was asked by my partner to come back full time for 2-3 months to be staffed on a project as our group was swamped. As the project neared completion, we re-discussed my request, which was fortunately approved. However, my partner asked that I remail full time until the 09/15 deadline. Well, since this week was the first day of a new pay period, my FWA officically began yesterday. I will be working at a 60% workload, typically Tuesdays through Thursdays.

However, it is never as simple as just working those three days. So, if I need to work on a Monday or Friday, I have the ability to move around my hours. For example, I was supposed to have Monday off, but I opted to switch and work Monday to have Tuesday off to take Andrew to a doctor's appointment. After the doctor's, we met Ngoai at the grocery store, came home to eat lunch, played, napped in the "prison", and Mommy even cooked dinner for everyone.

Well, today was my second official day off of my FWA. Drew and I slept in. Then, we ate breakfast. The little guy ate a whole jar of mangos with a little oatmeal cereal and then the rest of a leftover jar of mixed cereal with bananas and apples. I guess sleeping in made him really hungry! The rest of the day we spent playing, sleeping, and all the other usual stuff. And then Mommy had extra time tonight to upload pictures so she could catch up on blogging. :)

It was a really great day; and I am so thrilled to have this opportunity where I get to keep my job, but also stay home with Andrew more. I know I am going to love having two more days with him.

The following was taken this afternoon while we were playing upstairs. Check out the string of drool.

Happy Seven Month Birthday!

Well, Andrew is now seven months old! I think to myself (and now to you guys out there) that in less than six months from now, he will be a year old. I know it's jumping the gun a bit, but I am amazed that the time just keeps passing us by.

Andrew continues to develop at a pretty fast pace. For a while there, he was crawling with a good 4-5 steps of alternating his arms and legs. But it seems he has reverted back to the worm. My guess is that he feels he can get around faster this way. However, there will be short instances where he will do a few steps of the "real" crawling. I don't know if he will ever get to the point when he will forego the worm. I guess only time will tell.

However, sometimes I wonder if he is going to move onto walking. A.J.'s new thing is standing up by himself for a couple of seconds. He will pull himself up on whatever or whomever and then let go. You can see him try to balance himself, but unfortunately, it doesn't last too long. But we are impressed at his ability to maintain himself for the few seconds that he does.

Mommy got home late tonight and Daddy got home even later (we were looking at the house we are considering buying). But Mommy was too busy playing with Drew that she didn't take a picture of him on his actual birthday. :( And now, he is sleeping.

Tomorrow, I will be sure to take pictures....but in the meantime, Happy Birthday, my precious angel.

*Update: Well, it's tomorrow and I am adding these pictures that were taken this morning of the belated birthday boy while we were playing upstairs. I couldn't take a picture of him trying to stand up by himself as I was trying to spot him. So, you guys will have to be complacent with him standing up on his toy until I can take one when I have a spotter.

The Prison

We had learned of the Superyard XT from our friends and parents to Evan, Belinda and Steven. We thought it was a neat little gadget. We even thought so much so as to buy one when Toys R Us had them on sale one weekend. However, James and I were still "on the fence" about it though and didn't open the box right away. I mean, we liked the idea of it, but we also felt bad about possibly putting Andrew in there. We jokingly called it the "prison." James also joked that it wouldn't be like we would be throwing peanuts at him by any means. Well, this past weekend, we caved. Drew has been trying to get into everything and with him scooching as fast as he does, it's difficult to keep him subdued to safe areas.

Since downstairs has tile all over, we decided to put it down there. He seems to be okay with it. He doesn't love it, but it's not like he cries the second you put him down in it. Although, I make this caveat. Andrew seems to be in his clingy attached phase. So, he doesn't like it when you put him in there and walk away. But if you are close to him or within his eyesight, he is fine. He may pull himself up and watch you intently trying to guilt you into picking him up. But what do we do? We get in there with him and play with him. He seems sometimes complacent with that.

One thing that makes me feel better is that Ngoai says she feels totally safer with it around. She is comforted by the fact that if she leaves for a minute, that he won't be possibly hitting his head on the tile.

Here's a picture of the "prisoner" with a smile on his face to make Mommy feel better.

Ike Aftermath

Well, it's been a week or so since Ike. Life is surely different now as we are living in the "aftermath" and so many are trying to recover and rebuild. We watch the news and see how people were affected by the storm, especially Galveston. Many still do not have power, water, or food.

Here locally, League City itself fared very well considering. We look around and see the various degrees of damage. Some houses were definitely hit harder than others...some weren't even hit at all. Our neighborhood, along with many others, is filled with discarded foliage debris (including lots and lots of broken branches and even some entire trees), remnants of fallen fences, and water damaged carpet and sheetrock. Moreover, there are so many roofs lined with tarp. Papa's and Ngoai's house definitely lies somewhere in the middle.

Luckily for us, one of Papa's tennis buddies is in the construction business and yesterday, was nice enough to fit our house in his packed schedule to fix the roof. He was also kind enough to squeeze in the house of next door neighbors, Clint and Jennifer, as well. We have heard that some contractors are so booked solid that it would be at least be another month before they could come.

My parents are exhausted from all the work, but then, before they complain, we think about how it could have been worse. Instead of having to clean up the house for several days, it could easily be that they could have no house to clean up. We truly are lucky and blessed to have been spared.

Here are some pictures of the neighborhood and Drew while we took a morning walk.

Raspberries Part Two

Andrew continues to love doing raspberries, but now has added a new twist...sticking out his tongue. I don't know if it is because of the tongue or because he drools more or just because he has gotten better at it, but now, his raspberries are accompanied by a nice spray of saliva. Hmmm, lucky us.

Here's a photo and a clip of the trademark tongue raspberry. I hope it's clear enough that you can see. I tried to get as close to A.J. as possible in order to get the tongue, but apparently, the digital camera has a hard time focusing (thus, why it's fuzzy at times). My apologies, I probably need to use the video camera instead.

*Note: Thanks, Aunt Anh Thu and Cousin Brennan for the PJs.

Hurricane Ike Evacuation Update #6

Well, the Lenzes have returned back to League City. It was weird, but very sad driving back seeing the damage. We saw a lot of fallen trees, fallen billboard, and fallen debris. James and I also noticed the long lines at gas stations. CRAZY!!

We came home to find Ngoai and Papa cleaning up the backyard. They spent pretty much all day cleaning as did Uncle Hung and Aunt Hong, who suffered minimal damage as well, but worse than us. All in all, we faired fairly well. Again, we keep reminding ourselves that it could have been worse.

Andrew did really well in the car. He only cried twice--both when he was tired and for about five minutes each time after which he promptly fell asleep. Moreover, he was so happy to be home reunited with all his toys. Aunt Hong and Uncle Hung are staying with us until they get power back.

Here is Drew trying to learn to climb the stairs.

Oh, it's good to be home. And even though it's a little different, it's still home!

Hurricane Ike Evacuation Update #5

Day 5 of the Hurricane Ike saga. Ngoai and Papa left today and made it back to League City safely. Ngoai was so happy to see all her fish alive. Unfortunately, there were some shingles off the roof and some water damage to the front part of the house. They spent most of the day cleaning up. They also got power restored, so we are probably going to go home tomorrow.

Today, we went to Toys R Us to buy Andrew a new toy for the trip home...yes, a toy so he won't cry in the car. Can you tell our desperation?! Then, we met Granddad at the new Kerbey Lane. After, we went home and hung out with Uncle Anh Tuan. We watched Monday night football and later, Rob came over to visit.

Andrew also had his second tooth come in. Here are two pictures that hopefully you can see them. The first one is closer, but there is a glare off some of his drool (far right) making it look like he has three, but his two teeth are the two white things on the left. The second one is further out, but I have zoomed in in the third picture. I hope you can make it out.

Hurricane Ike Evacuation Update #4

Today was Day 4 of our evacuation. We spent the morning watching more news and seeing pictures of Ike's damage. It was sad to see all the damage and hear of the loss faced by so many. However, we count our blessings and think "it could have been worse." Jimmy has been texting my brother and been nice to give us updates on League City. There was some areas of high water and power was still out. My parents' next door neighbor, Clint, was kind enough to call Mom after he checked out our house. Fortunately, he said there was minimal damage. He noticed some trees down, but no flooding. We are so relieved!! Everyone we have communicated with (thank goodness for texting) seems to be safe and sound. We are so doubly relieved!!!!

Mom and Dad plan on going home tomorrow with my uncle and aunts. They went out and bought generators until power is restored. We are going to stay behind until things are clear for us to come home. We don't want to subject Andrew to those kind of conditions.

As for our activities today, we met Aunt Sharon, Peter, and Kathryn at the pool again. We didn't stay for too long as Andrew got tired and needed a nap. Afterwards, I took Ngoai and one of my aunts to Lakeline Mall for some shopping. I think Ngoai had been getting a little stir crazy and needed to get some mall time in.

Tonight, we had dinner, but surprised Ngoai, with not one, but two cakes for her birthday tomorrow. The rest of the night, we just hung out getting everyone ready to leave tomorrow morning.

Here are pictures of the birthday girl!! Happy Birthday, Ngoai! We love you so much! We know this isn't your ideal birthday, but hopefully, the year gets better from here on out. The last one is of Drew with one of his rubber duckies. We just thought it was a funny picture.

Hurricane Ike Evacuation Update #3

Today was another strange day for us. On one hand, we continued to watch the news and try to learn the fate of all touched by Hurricane Ike. We learned of its landfall upon Galveston and its trek up to Houston. We saw some of the damage caused by the storm and continued to pray for everyone, especially family and friends still back in Houston.

On the other hand, it is like we are in another world trying to remain positive and enjoy the time we have here as best as we can. We spent the morning with my friend, Amanda, who is recovering from back surgery. Andrew loved her dog, Winnie, and her mom's dog, Riley, even though they were both like five times his size. He was really brave considering how excited they were to see, sniff, and lick him.

Then, we went to eat lunch with Granddad, along with Uncle John, Aunt Sharon, and Cousins Peter and Kathryn. Afterwards, we went back to their house and hung out for a few hours playing with the kids and watching some college football and news. Both Peter and Kathryn were very sweet to their younger cousin especially Kathryn who was very patient with A.J. even when he pulled her hair!

Tonight, Ngoai made an awesome dinner for the family at Uncle Anh Tuan's. Uncle Foo then took the cousins to go play go karts, bumper boats, and laser tag. Earlier in the day, he had taken them to Mount Bonnell and to the UT campus. Daddy and Mommy put Andrew to bed a little while ago and we are headed to bed ourselves as we are beat.

Here are pictures from today: (1) Andrew with Aunt Amanda; and (2) Peter as Anakin Skywalker and Kathryn as Ariel as they showed us their Halloween costumes.

Hurricane Ike Evacuation Update #2

Well, here we are in Austin on Day 2 of our Hurricane Ike evacuation. My dad's family made in town late last night...all 10 of them consisting of my aunt, her daughter, and stepson and my uncle, his wife, and their 5 kids. It's kind of crazy in the house, but it's a good crazy. We are all happy to be safe, but anxious having to now wait out the storm. We are all worried about what will happen to our dear beloved League City and specifically, our homes. But mostly, we wish and pray for everyone's safety.

As for today, we pretty much just chilled at home watching a lot of news, goofed off with the cousins, played some ping pong, and ate a lot. Uncle Anh Tuan went to work while Papa and I worked from the house remotely. Andrew could not complain about being neglected with everyone playing with him!

This afternoon, we went to Uncle Johnny's new garage, ER Automotive {website to come later}. Then, Uncle Footon took us to the Avery Ranch pool along with all the cousins. Andrew had a great time and did good "kicking" his legs in the pool. Most of us are watching this movie right now, which I have to say is quite disturbing...good, but disturbing.

Here are some pictures from the pool and a video clip of Drew's swimming legs as he literally "kicks" it with Uncle Anh Tuan.

*Update: John's garage is ER Automotive.

Hurricane Ike Evacuation Update #1

Well, I woke up this morning to James watching the news. He said Hurricane Ike had turned more north and was coming more towards Galveston. Houston would probably get lots of rain and wind. When Rita had it and we evacuated, it took us 16 hours to drive to Austin with no AC (James wanted to conserve our gasoline). Well, three years later, we were faced with the decision whether evacuate, but this time, we had to consider Andrew. We couldn't put him through a miserably long car ride, I mean, the kid doesn't like them to begin with. After talking to my parents, we decided to evacuate around 11am in order to get the house prepared. James headed to work; and we would pick him up on the way out. I worked from home in the morning and then packed up our things. It's hard to pack up for you when you don't know when you might be returning let alone for a 6 month old.

Anyhow, to make a long story somewhat shorter, we encountered evacuation traffic as Galveston was called for a mandatory evacuation, which placed lots of people onto the roads. It took us 2 hours to get to Katy (normally less than 45 minutes). Then, after 6 1/2 hours after leaving League City, we arrived at my brother's house. Some positives: (1) it took us less than 16 hours; (2) we used AC the whole time: (3) we made it safe and sound; (4) Andrew faired well only crying about 30 minutes of the trip; and (5) most of my family and friends are safe too or are en route to safety, including my dad's sister and brother and their families who are coming to Footon's too.

Well, I am exhausted and off to join my sleeping husband and son. Here's a picture of Drew and Daddy chilling and grateful to be out of the car. We were changing A.J.'s diaper and clothes and thought to let him go free for a bit.

More Orange

Here is Andrew decked out in orange again later this morning, but not quite the burnt shade that Mommy and Daddy prefer. Mommy had dressed him for church, but he ended up falling asleep 30 minutes before we had to leave for mass. Since he hadn't been sleeping well, Daddy and Nonna went to church while Mommy and Drew stayed at home. Well, after Drew woke up, Mommy took him outside for some sun to see Ngoai in the garden. Andrew really likes to look at the plants (I think because of the different colors of the flowers) and the fish. Mommy was a genius that the orange cap just happened to match, but it is getting a little small for A.J.'s growing head.

My disclaimer for the pictures: it's hard to get Andrew to take a picture because he's always trying to get the camera. So, that's why some of these are off centered. Anyhow, I love all his different faces.

Little Longhorn

Andrew was wearing his UT onesie Saturday night in honor of the Horns' game against UTEP. Mommy was playing with him Sunday morning and thought to take a picture of her favorite little Longhorn in the making. Hook 'em.

The Monkey

Andrew has mastered the concept of climbing pillows and other shorter heights. But now, here is our little monkey learning to climb and pull himself up on much taller things. He doesn't have the concept of cruising yet, but we figure it will come soon enough.

The Worm

So, James and I now compare Andrew's attempts at crawling as a slight resemblance of the ole school dance move, known as the worm. It just cracks us up. Here is a clip.

Labor Day

This Labor Day holiday, we spent most of the day just hanging out and relaxing at the house. But Mommy and Daddy got to sneak out for a date this afternoon to watch one of Daddy's favorite superheroes, Batman. Yes, we still hadn't seen it, but better late than never, right? It was really good--dark and creepy at times, but really good. I liked it better than the first truth be told.

But it was Ngoai and Papa who came to the rescue since they watched Andrew (yet again). He was good boy for them so Mommy didn't have to feel even more guilty.

Here's Drew sporting his new Adidas outfit....all day I dream about soccer as Daddy would have it.