Balentimes Day

Our Valentine's Day this year was like something out of a tv show, seriously. The night before, we realized that we had both, without letting the other know, planned the whole day for our family. We both had planned a special breakfast, we both had bought presents for the kids, we both had ... you get the idea.  It was completely a moment of you.did.what?!?We had different ideas for the day -- he wanted a 'Mommy is everyone's Valentine kind of day, as he put it, with breakfast in bed for me and the list goes on (incredibly sweet, I know) and I had planned more of a family day with Joe and I doing things for all four of us to enjoy together

We have always alternated with who plans Valentine's Day. And while I know Valentine's Day isn't everyone's cup of tea, we really enjoy the holiday.  We realized this year that with two small children, young and close together, and all that comes along with that, we probably need to communicate a little better before hand about our plans and forgo the idea of surprising each other -- if only for a little while.  Ha! Growing pains.
We worked it all out in the end and ended up with a great day for everyone.
Joe cooked a breakfast (complete with pink heart pancakes!) for all of us to enjoy together.

 We visited our mothers at work so that Joey could bring them flowers and hand out the "balentimes" we made for their co-workers. Joey had to reach down deep to summon the strength to give away the lolipops that were attached to his valentines.  It was a growing experience, but he did really well after he understood what was going on.
 Somehow Debbie escaped my camera even though I had it with me! ;o)

  We came home and Joey finally got the special Valentine's lunch he had been asking and asking for, wait for it ---- macaroni and cheese.  Special, special. :o)

Joey mixed with sugar.
My mom watched the kiddos for us so we could go out to dinner alone.  We went to Samario's this year and it was sooo good! It's starting to get harder after nine Valentine's Days together to find someplace new to go :o).  We exchanged presents -- flowers and jewelery for me and games for Joe since he has a new love of 'game night'.  The babes lucked out in the whole deal of course since they ended up with presents both from Joe and from me. Ha!

It was a happy Heart Day for out little foursome, indeed.

Did You Ever See the Movie 'Mean Girls'?

I'm sure we only find this personality trait amusing because she is seven months old. Ha! ;o)


Don't worry, we do work on 'nice hands' and all that good stuff. And she really does love her baby.
I just had to capture this phase before she grows out of it.

We were at a party this weekend, actually two, where there were other babies.
Grace loves babies -- gets all smiley, reaches, sometimes squeals a little, and is so engaging.
People think it is soooo adorable .. and really it is.. but I know what is coming at the end of the reach. Ha!
I have to strategically keep her just far enough so that she can't make contact and then everyone just oohs and ahhhs at 'Oh my god, looook at her, look at her smiling!"
We love this girl! She totally keeps up laughting.

Sassafrass

Sugar

 Sugar

 Sugar

 Spice



This is our girl.

You can't make this stuff up.

She's on a ROLL!!!

She's 7 months and 4 days old! Seriously?!? Maybe this is normal to be talking so early, but it seems sooo early to me!  I'm going to go Google it! Ha!

Self Adoration :o)

I have this picture as the background on my computer.

Joey came up beside me and I said, "Who's that?!, pointing to the picture.

Joey: That's ME!

Ten seconds later

Joey: Woosh! Woosh!  while jumping up and down.

Me: What are you doing?

Joey: I'm tryin' ta get in dere.

Me: Get in where?

Joey: In your pomputer.... in your pomputer ta be wif him!!!

more wooshing and jumping

Me: Well, how is he doing in there?

Joey: Good.  Him is good.... and him is wealllllly CUTE!

I'd have to agree. Him is pretty cute.

Ma Ma!!!

Also, I have to note that Grace said "Ma Ma" for the first .. and second, and third times today!!!!

I'll update with a video once I get one.

Right now, all attempts look like her staring blankly at me or attacking the camera while I repeat, "Say MaMa.  Maaa Ma" over and over.

You know how that goes.

Okay, here she is (2/8/12) :

It was nap time, can you tell? ;o)

Two ... And A Half!

Edited to add: Oh my gosh! I just actually looked back at pictures of the last time we went to this place. Grace was 16 days old.. meaning I just had a c-section 16 days prior, had a newborn, and an almost two-year-old.  What was I doing gallivanting all over this place?! LOL  I remember a person stopping us as we were leaving and asking how old Grace was, her response was "Good for you, Momma! I'd still be locked up in my house" Ha! I now have the perspective to realize what she was talking about! :o)

Joey turned two and a half last Friday and so we took him to a bounce place to celebrate.

He had so much fun and we were amazed at how much more physically adept he was compared to the last time we went, which was when Grace was a few weeks old.  He was able to do everything on his own.

                                          

Gracie Pie enjoyed herself too.

And so did Joe and I. Ha!

I don't think you ever get too old for this stuff.

 Joey is starting to get so brave.

He was backwards, upside down, head first .. you name it.

You should see him at My Gym.  The teachers love him because you can toss him, throw him, flip him, push him (on things.. they don't push him down .. haha) hard and high and he loves it.  He's not afraid of anything. Well, anything except characters doing things 'wong' that will get them in 'twouble' in books and movies.  He's currently petrified of a video of the Isty Bitsy Spider that shows the cartoon spider going by poop because it's not 'sanitwawy.' He covers his eyes with his hands and begs you to turn it off even though he loved it until Joe pointed out that the spider was in poop.  Such is life.

I can't wait to take him to amusement parks this summer.

The orange tongue is evidence of his 'fecial birtday dwink', also know by some as Gatorade.

Simple pleasures.

We came home, let the children nap, and then celebrated with some cake and pizza.

And Joey finally got to have his cake, or 'birtday' / 'party' as he calls it.

I'm pretty sure he thinks the cake is his birthday.

He kept asking us to 'bwing his birtday into the yibing woom' and to tell him what color his birthday was going to be.

He was happy to have an 'orange birtday.'

This is probably only cute to me, because he's my son. But he was dying for this cake.

Ha!

I didn't have it in me to tell him no.

Half way to three, baby. Half way to three!

Car Show 2012!

Doesn't it seem weird that this is the eighth year we have gone to the car show together?

I can remember being eight years old.  When did I get old enough to say I've done something for the last eight years ...with the man I'm married to .. and have two kids with? 

I felt all grown up this year pushing my double stroller with a baby on my hip while my husband manned our two year old as he tried out how his sippy cup fit in the bwack car .. and the blue car .. and the .... you get the idea.  Wait. Why was no one in the stroller? ;o)

It was grand.

He is just a total lost cause.  He is so wrapped around that tiny little finger you would not believe it.

There's just something about traditions, isn't there?

Things you do year after year, that come to punctuate your life and cause you to pause for a second, reminisce, reflect, and look back at what has happened since the last time the year came full circle.

Maybe that's why I like them so much.

I can't tell you what I was doing three Friday's ago. But I can remember last year at the car show, and our first trip to the pumpkin patch, and the times spent around my aunt's dining room table celebrating the Christmas Eve's of my childhood.

And we want our children to have that.

There is something wonderful about being married to a man who has the same goals and values you do.  And amazingly, on the issues where we stand apart time has served to close the gap.  Maybe this just means we spend way too much time together and we're slowing starting to meld into one person. Ha! I kid, I kid. But in all seriousness we were driving and Joe goes, "I am really looking forward to the Car Show. I think it's just that we do it year after year, it makes it feel like a special day.  Almost like a holiday."  And I fell a little more in love because, seriously? It's just a room full of cars, or a field full of pumpkins, an orchard full of apples, a man dressed up in a red suit in New York after a breakfast of pankcakes.  You can choose to make it special or you can not. And we both want lives full of special for our babes.

And as you would expect, Joey was in heaven.

 He was in and out of about a million cars and very impressed with the cup holders.

The surprise of the day was that Gracie Girl also had her own little world of fun with the Car show.

Her turn to "drive."

Sissy Girl has learned how to reach.

 And she lets her will be known.

In any given situation, you've got about five seconds between the time her eyes meet Mommy and those little arms go a reachin'

The smile annnnnd......

........the reach.

We were at the Car Show for a seriously long time.  Grace just could not make it but Little Man hung tough.

 He is just a ridiculous amount of fun right now.  He's at this part baby/part boy phase with his own observations, connections, and one-liners .. and the baby is fading fast.  Sometimes I think he can feel it too like when he looks up at me in the morning all groggy and says, "Pwease carry me Mommy? Like I a baby pwease?" And I always flash forward to when he's six, and 'too big' to be carried.  I pick him up every time and as I walk down the stairs with both of my arms full I say, "Mommy has ..." and he fills in "Two babies!" I say, "Who are my babies?" and he says "Joey annnnnd Dace." If I forget to say it he says it himself. 

Grace slept through China Town and we drove into the city a bit more to our favorite restaurant in Philadelphia.  I'm not gonna lie, it was a moment for me to be sitting there with 'our family.'  We started coming to this place when we were only dating and I can still remember the feeling of walking around the city with Joe at night when I'd have to stay there for work. We'd stumble into this restaurant as all the shops closed.  And we've been going back ever since.

Joey fell asleep in the car and in an unprecedented event would not wake up when we took him out of the car. He slept in the stroller, through the loud streets, through the transition out of the stroller in the restaurant, and on my lap while we waited for food.

It was really kind of nice sitting there with him like that, all dead weight, and sleepy baby, with his puppy hat.

We were worried about bringing them to the restaurant for the obvious reasons, a six month old and two year old with no naps and a long day behind him, they were obviously tired.  But as we always end up doing, we decided to push the envelope a little and see if they would rise to the occasion. They did, as they always do, and they were both wonderfully behaved. 

It was my favorite visit to the Car Show yet.