Fun summer picks

Zoo! We've been to the Indy and Cincinnati Zoo's this summer. Sebastian LOVES the trains.

Cousin Sophie and Sebastian during our last Houston trip in May

Eating yummy food at Luby's. Ok, now I'm hungry.

Mariana and I at work. We are sporting our fav Stella & Dot necklaces. We are both stylist. If you are looking for FUN jewelry. Check out stelladot.com/kelleyrodriguez

=)

Neighbors

I grew up in the Suburbs of Houston so I know what it's like to play with all the neighborhood kids. We had 7 kids so all the other kids of course came to our house. In my adult life I've only lived near downtown in major cities - San Francisco, Austin, Sydney and Houston.

Now I'm in Bloomington and we live in a great community with lots of kids. It has been such a JOY to see Sebastian interact with the kids and for all of us to enjoy the warm weather and warm hearts of our friends.

Here are some of our FAVS. Ruby, Cooper and Rocky Rich. We've had lots of fun with them!!

Guitars

Mid-Dec 2009 - This is one of the first times Sebastian picked up a guitar and he knew exactly what to do with it. He's been playing one every since. Every morning before school and every night he strums his little sponge bob guitar. His favorite songs are "hey hey hey...good-bye" and he's made up a song called "Ruby and the Bus" about his favorite 8 year old neighbor Ruby and you got it a school bus.

Seeing that Sebastian LOVES music, Felipe bought him a guitar from College Mall. Sebastian requests that Mommy plays the guitar in sync with him. I'll have to post a video of it. Just ignore my singing.

Winter in the Midwest

Thanksgiving in Chicago. Our first trip and it was COLD. Bitter COLD. No snow yet though. We had a great time with the Kolenda Family. It's going to become a tradition - we are heading back there for Thanksgiving again this year. Plus, Suzanne + Allison will be joining us. Good times!

We had a good amount of snow in Bloomington 09-10 winter. Sebastian and I spent all of December and some of January in Houston so we missed a lot of the storms. I was impressed with the snow plows, the snow would hit and they would start their work. Our little Texas cars and lack of snow driving experience didn't keep us grounded.

More Chicago! During our first trip I made Felipe take us to see Oprah! We didn't exactly watch a show (she was off) but it was great to see Harpo Studios. I've been a fan since I was 16. The studio is a lot smaller than I though and it's a few minutes outside of downtown. The area has been built up recently and is surrounded by cute condos, restaurants and shops. Wonder what they will do with Harpo Studios when the show ends??

The second picture was taken downtown Chicago during our trip in March. It was still VERY COLD. Look at the picture and stick your head in the freezer. Ok, now you know how we felt. =)

More recent pictures!

This was at an apple farm this past weekend in Mooresville, IN


Astors game this summer. Love this shot of both Felipe and Sebastian.



Sebastian at the Bloomington mall


Discovery Green this summer in Houston

Gruene, TX over 4th of July

What a summer!

This summer was very busy and came with a few major changes (that is why the blog has been on hiatus for the past 2 months). We had 2 special visitors this summer. Kara lived with us for 3 months while she was interning at the Houston Astros. It was her dream job and one she took very seriously. She worked in the office and at EVERY home game so we really didn't see her much.

Felipe's mom Esther also came to visit for the month of July. It was her first meeting with Sebastian and very special since he is the only grandchild on the Rodriguez side (at the moment!). During her visit we baptized Sebastian at John Wesley United Methodist Church. This is where all 7 Mohr's were baptized. It was on my parents 40th wedding anniversary so it was a special day. Sebastian also turned ONE on 7/18. I can't believe it's been one year - it just flew by.

The big news is Felipe accepted the offer from Indiana University Kelley School of Business (great name huh?) MBA program. This means as I type I am living in Bloomington, IN. We moved at the beginning of August. Prior to the move, one week exactly, we took a Mohr family vacation to Estes Park, CO. The trip had been planned for 2 years, so the move was not going to stop us from enjoying some needed R&R.

In Estes, we go to spend time with Suzanne and our family friend Demaris. Sebastian got sick at the beginning of the trip - high fever - so a few sleepless nights was NOT fun. He had his MMR 1 yr shot a week before the trip and we think that had something to do with the fever.

Everyone went to Estes Park except for Kara. She stayed behind and continued to work for the Astros (super dedicated at 21!). My dad rented the family reunion cabin at the YMCA of the Rockies so it was HUGE! We each had our own room, with a key and our own bathroom!! Can't get better than that.

Other fun upcoming news is Jimmy + Jennifer will be having a baby VERY soon. He/she (it's a surprise) is due this week.

The road trip from Houston to Bloomington was actually not bad. I drove with Sebastian and Felipe drove the Penske truck with all our belongings (also his car!). We made lots of fun stops along the way (Hope, AR / Memphis, TN) and got to see a bit of middle America.

I am happy to report that I am able to keep my job working at Richards/Carlberg!! I feel very lucky and blessed that I got approval to work remotely. The heavy weight of MBA loans isn't too bad when at least one person is working. =) We have found nice school for Sebastian and he is settling in. The transition wasn't very easy, but we are doing the best we can.

I travel back to Houston 1x / month and get to work in the office and see the family. My mom watches Sebastian which is GREAT for all.

Ok, that is it! I'll try and update more photos soon!

Let's play ball!

Wed, 6/3 we all went to the Astros baseball game with Ian and Uncle Jason. Lots of fun and Sebastian loved it! Aunt Kara is an Astros intern this summer so we got to watch her in action.

Sebastian has gone to college football games + the Rockets play off game and I have to say baseball is one of the easiest professional games to take babies. The game is a good speed and you can just enjoy the time!

Rodriguez updates!

Things are moving so fast I haven't stopped to add any pictures to the blog. Between email, facebook, blogs and twitter I don't have time for it all! However, I'm going to try and make a better effort to the blog because it helps to see how far we've come and Sebastian is growing up so fast.

This was prior to work this morning - sometimes I don't realize I dress us alike. I had to get a picture of us with our stripes. I love stripes!

Highlights the past few months:

SEBASTIAN
- He is crawling everywhere! We have to keep a very tight eye on him.
- He's standing on his own but hasn't taken a solo step YET
- His back molars are growing in. I know they hurt so hopefully they will not cause too much pain

- We took him to the Bellaire pool on Memorial weekend and he wasn't quite as excited as I though he would be about it. The water was a bit cold and he wanted to be very close to Mommy. Overall, it was a fun and beautiful day. We finished it off with a nice swing in the park.

KELLEY
- On Mother's Day I competed in my 2nd triathlon. Out of 66 women in my age group 35-39 I got in 33rd place! I beat HALF of the other participants!! =) I finished 200 yd swim (in a lake), 9 mi bike, 2 mi run in 59 minutes!!

Also, here is a great picture of my co-workers at Richards/Carlberg. I work for a wonderful and busy advertising agency. Even with the economy our agency is doing GREAT and we are very busy. We are all blessed!

FELIPE
- Felipe got into SMU Cox and IU Kelley MBA schools and we are waiting to hear from Rice! I am so proud of him!

FAMILY

- Kara turned 21 on 5/16 and moved in with us in our downstairs bedroom. She is working at the ASTROS!! all summer as an intern in Sponsorships. She LOVES the job - it's really her dream job. Here we are celebrating her birthday.

almost 8 months!

I ran into my cousins at the rodeo!

Mommy & me

check out my new shades...

my mom put me in this silly hat

Daddy & me!

Houston Rodeo 3.07.09

Watching the concert

We checked out the animals together!

We're a bunch of cool cats!

I love my daddy!

Recent play dates

Sebastian has been busy visiting friends and meeting new ones this past few months.

Jan 09 Memorial Park: Amelia, Sofia and Sebastian. He is very upset the girls are so far away.

Jan 09 Sherry's house: Mateo, Katelyn, Sebastian - all 6 months and sitting up!

Feb 09: Sebastian + Jackson. He was 2 weeks old!

Little Intern

Last week Sebastian had a fever so I had to pick him up from school and he was to stay out for 2 days. With 2 full time working parents we had to adjust our schedule!

On Tuesday I worked from home and on Wednesday brought him up to work. He was my little intern and helped so much! He went into my Luby's status meeting with the client and demanded "bring back kids eat free!" Then he was in one of my rep meetings negotiating for better rates. Look out advertising world - here Sebastian comes!


Here Sebastian is learning Public Relations 101 with David Nesmith, Richards/Carlberg PR

Every hard worker needs a little nap now and then



I promise, I really have a fever!

8 Years

In 2001, I packed up a HUGE 50lb bag (most important travel rule I learned - pack 1/2 of what you think you need and bring 2x as much money) and moved to Sydney, Australia for 4 months. I thought I would live off the land, hang out at the beach, maybe work at a bar and just enjoy not doing a 9-5 job. I was 27 and thought - this is the life!

HOWEVER, I found out very soon that I actually do like having a 9-5 job, living off the land isn't THAT fun and you really can't go to the beach everyday. Good life lessons!

During the last few weeks of my trip, Suzanne and I (Suzanne was my wonderful travel partner) went to Sydney's version of Napa Valley. I purchased a bottle of wine at the winery Tyrrell's that suggested aging it for 7-8 years prior to opening.

Suzanne came to visit last weekend from Denver and after 8 years, 6 moves, 2 cities, a marriage and a baby - I FINALLY opened the bottle. It was worth the wait, tasted pretty good and was so nice to celebrate life.


Suzanne opening the bottle, the cork was not cooperating


We had to strain it, yummy! CHEERS!