Back in July, T&R boarded a plane (with their new addition to the family!) and braved a trip to beautiful Colorado for Rachel’s cousin Kelly’s wedding. The couple was nervous about getting on a plane with a kiddo at first (What the hell do you do if the kid won’t quit crying? and Are we ready to be those people everyone rolls their eyes at?), but with the help of GrAnn (Grandma Ann’s self-given name) the trip was NO SWEAT. Ruby slept the whole way.
Further evidence that Ruby is the best kid EVERRR on the way…
Anyway, the wedding was beautiful as was Kelly. And let’s face it, David’s not sore on the eyes either.
It was SO hard taking a baby on this trip. The couple didn’t get a single second to relax.
Oh. Heh. Right. Most awesome baby ever.
Anywho, T&R had time to visit with Rachel’s family, eat epic pizza with Kara and Charlie,
and see the beautiful mountains.
Mostly, it was great to spend time with family after such a huge moment in our lives.
Congrats Kelly and David! Thanks for throwing such a good party. And thanks Ruby for traveling to well. Time to get you a passport, kid!
This year, T&R enjoyed their anniversary with Ruby at home. The couple is still home from work and enjoying their time with family!
Rachel surprised Todd with a lunch date (Ann watched the little gal so the couple could have some time), and they went a few blocks over to the Culinary Institute of America’s cafe at Pearl. The sandwiches are great and so is the lemonade. Proof:
That night the couple hung out with their daughter and cooked an anniversary dinner together. They chowed down on jalapeño and pecan stuffed pork chops and sampled a little of the wine they had saved from their wedding four years ago (believe it!).
The evening was wonderful. But that’s not all! A few nights later, T&R left the cute kiddo with Ann and went to Alamo Drafthouse for dinner, beers, and to see the much anticipated Finale to the Harry Potter series.
It was good times, and the couple was grateful to have some time out to be silly together.
Whew! These last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement as R&T prepare for their bambino. Part of that whirlwind of excitement has been a bonanza of baby showers.
Back in March, Ann and Kara threw Baby Wright a nesting party, which means close family and friends came over to T&R’s house and helped them make the home ready for baby.
This included putting the crib together, putting up a security light outside so mom and baby can see better when they come home at night, etc. There were also delicious treats to keep the hard workers happy. This included homemade Ginger Beer and these freaking adorable cupcakes:
It was a lot of fun! Thanks Kara and Ann and all who attended!
In May, the couple’s friend RyJack threw them a shower in Wimberley at his beautiful house, Hacienda Antepasados. Ryan cooked a special meal for the group and they ate out in the amazing courtyard as a welcome breeze came along in the evening.
The gifts were wonderful and the company was even better, as the group frolicked at Ryan’s house late into the evening. Thanks Ryan for throwing such a great party. Can we stay at your house forever?! It’s awesome!
Heh heh. Sorry. We’ll be on our way…
At the end of May, Rachel’s work gave the couple yet another shower. Cake and punch was served, and the couple opened gift after extraordinary gift (the baby finally has clothes!). Her coworkers were so giving and have been such a great support system these past few months. Thank you FPC!
With one more shower in the works before the baby comes, T&R are more aware than ever that they are spoiled by great family and friends who are always willing to give their time and love. Oh and cool gadgets for the baby. They gave those things too. They’re awesome. Todd knows from experience. He’s been playing with all of them!
With all this anticipation, this kid better be cool!
This Mother’s Day marked Rachel’s 1st Mother’s Day as a mom (to be)! Flowers and sweets came from family to celebrate the occasion, and T&R admired the flowers and munched on chocolate covered strawberries and mini-cheesecakes over the next few nights.
On Sunday, T&R went over to Mark and Kathy’s for dinner and a swim in the pool. Despite how much maintenance a swimming pool can be, Todd and Rachel miss having one! It was great to get in there! On Monday, Todd’s dad was nice enough to take the couple out for a Mother’s Day meal. Man, we’re spoiled!
Rachel’s mom was in San Francisco visiting Kara, so T&R and Ann had to wait until the following weekend to celebrate. They did so in style, as the trio went to Galveston and stayed at Hotel Galvez.
Friday night found the trio eating delicious Italian food and going back to the hotel for a late night movie. Saturday, the group got up and found their way to the beach for prestine weather and a cool ocean!
After some lounging in beach chairs and a quick dip, the ladies went off to browse in a little shop along the beach and Todd camped his butt on the beach (under an umbrella and with a ton of 100 spf, of course) and took it easyyyyy for awhile.
The afternoon found them doing MORE lounging at the Galvez swimming pool and eating lunch by the pool. Good times!
Although the trio didn’t win Powerball that weekend (they bought tickets and talked about what they’d do with their millions on the drive back to San Antonio), the group had a great time.
So, Mother’s Day: check. Father’s Day: On the way. And with the baby’s projected due date being just three days from Father’s Day, Todd has a pretty good idea what his present will be!
Okay. You might be wondering, “How much fun could Fiesta be if you’re pregnant and can’t imbibe adult beverages?” Well, if you have to ask that you’ve obviously forgotten about all the great food Fiesta has to offer. Between the sausages on a stick, the cheese-stuffed jalapenos, the foot long corn dogs, the taco truck offerings, the funnel cakes, shypoke eggs, Mr. Chicken, and fried frog legs, you can be blissful without booze. Fine, blissful isn’t the right word. Satisfied? Content? Resigned? Defeated? You pick.
This year R&T went to NIOSA with Rachel’s friends from work and to King William Fair with Rachel’s mom and Lynn. The festive music was playing, the food was smoking on the grill, and the sun was out, as Fiesta San Antonio often marks the beginning of warm temperatures.
Especially with all the folks crammed in together! Yeesh. It’s called deodorant, people.
As T&R (and A&L) wandered King William Fair they noticed something interesting. Every single person in the crowd had on orange wristbands EXCEPT them. Hmm. Maybe this had something to do with the fact that the group entered the fair from the riverwalk instead of from the main entrance. Whoops! Turns out they’d accidentally snuck into the popular event. Sorry King William Fair! The check’s in the mail.
Anyway, another Fiesta in the books and another summer on the brink of bearing down on south Texas. Looks like the couple will have to keep Rachel tucked away indoors for the rest of her pregnancy so she doesn’t get too hot! You know, when she’s not running around the scaffolding of old churches and crawling around attics. Man, don’t some doctors put women on bed rest? Where do you find those doctors?
Old man Wright turns 30 this year. Well, he’s had the gray hair and the bad back for some time now. You had to see it coming…
Anywho, this year Rachel kidnapped Todd and took him to Austin for a weekend of silly fun. She checked the couple into The Driskill Hotel, and Friday night R&T hit The Belmont. This is a hip restaurant/bar with a 60′s vibe. You could imagine the Rat Pack in their prime hanging at a place like this, leisurely smoking cigarettes and sipping scotch. The menu had delicious pub fare, and the couple got to see the 4th quarter of a game where the Spurs royally trounced the Heat by 30 points.
The next day Rachel had a couple’s massage all set up. The massage was great. It melted Todd’s brain. That night, Rachel took Todd to Fado, an Irish pub where she surprised him with LOTS OF HIS FRIENDS! Many of them didn’t believe that Todd was shocked to see all of them, but he was!
Thanks to everyone who came and had a Guiness with Todd, and thanks Rachel for an awesome 30th!
This past Valentine’s day, T&R went downtown San Antonio to one of their favorite spots, Hotel Valencia, and ate at their restaurant, Citrus. Chef Balfour had prepared a five course meal for the evening, and the couple got to sit back and watch as delicious course after delicious course came to them!
Good times!
The couple was pretty tame afterwards, getting the pregnant Rachel home to rest, but the night was nice and relaxing. Todd was reminded that it would be the last Valentine’s Day the couple would have alone for quite a few years. He got kinda sappy about that, as he is prone to do.
Anyway, it was a wonderful evening. But wait! As the couple drifted off to sleep they realized they only had four months left before this baby would arrive! And there was still lots to do, man! There’s the nursery and the baby registry to put together, plus the couple was hoping to finish all of those home improvement projects that they’d been avoiding! Yeesh! No time left to sit around and be romantic. Time to get busy!
On their way back from Xmas fun in Illinois, T&R dropped Ann and Kara off in St. Louis and even got to stop in Springfield, Missouri to visit cousin Mark and his new baby! Geez. Once you’re expecting, babies are on your mind all the time and they’re everywhere around you all of a sudden!
Anyway, they also stopped in Kansas City on their road trip back home and stayed with Mr. Adam Shuler. It was the least they could do after Adam has visited them in Texas so many times in the past! T&R got to see Adam’s new house in North Kansas City and got to meet his new(ish) girlfriend, Kristen. She’s totally cool and Adam doesn’t deserve her.
(Note: that snide comment is only meant to test if Adam ever looks at this blog…I’m betting he doesn’t. But Kristen is cool, by the way.)
Adam had a house party for New Year’s and it was a ton of fun. Meagan and Chris were in KC too, so they were able to attend also.
Of course everyone felt sad for Rachel as she couldn’t imbibe booze at the party, but she was content to have her non-alcoholic sparkling beverage and a smooch from her totally handsome husband at midnight.
Here we are at Christmas already! Yeesh. Where did the fall go? Anywho, this year T&R decided to go back to Illinois again since they had so much fun last year. Before they went up to Illinois on Christmas Day though, T&R invited Kara and Ann over a few nights before to their house for some epic sugar cookie making. Get some holiday spirit as you check out Kara and Rachel getting the dough started:
The result was a marathon of cookie making that went on into the night. Rachel and Ann’s cookies were the most beautiful (as always). And Kara and Todd’s cookies? Well, let’s not judge them too harshly. Let’s just say they won awards like, “Most Interesting” and “Most Creative Attempt”. They gave it a shot anyway.
Yes, Todd’s holding his “Reindeer Mexican Flag” cookie in that last picture. What of it? The group had a great time decorating together!
On Xmas morning Rachel woke up the group (as she has made her job since she was a wee-lass), and the sleepy crew made their way downstairs to open up their little Christmas Miracles!
Rachel got some maternity clothes from Todd (they were way cuter than this makes them sound. They were awesome, okay?!) and Rachel revealed to Todd the quilt she has been constructing of his old Metallica T shirts!
It was a great morning!
Afterwards T&R ran off to lunch with Todd’s dad and family (delicious Tomatillo’s mexican food!) before hitting the road for Illinois. On their way out of town they stopped to see Aaron and Lauren in Austin and stopped at Meagan’s place in Dallas to crash for the night.
The next day they got started early and cruised all the way up to Hartsburg, Illinois. The group was lucky not to hit any ice or snow on the road! They were safe, warm, and happy as they tucked themselves into bed that night! Over the next few days the group had the delicious cooking that Irma is famous for (fried chicken and dumpling soup!), and the girls started work on a quilt for T&R’s bambino. Here’s an early version that will likely change a gazillion times before it really exists:
Speaking of bambino, Rachel is finally feeling a lot better and has lots more energy than she did in the first few weeks. We are so freaking excited to meet this kid, we can hardly stand ourselves. We’ve been told we could know the gender if we wanted to, but we’re still set on waiting! It’s still early, but our doctor (another Todd Andrew!) has said the kiddo looks healthy so far!
It was great to be around so much family this holiday season. We love you guys!
T&R
P.S. The author is aware of the over-abundance of exclamation points here. He’s excited okay!?!!
