Snow. Not a fan.

We were planning on going down to NC tomorrow for little Lucy's baptism. Unfortunately they're going to get up to 10 inches of snow and ice, so we decided to postpone our trip. I'm super bummed. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting Lucy! But luckily we fly for free, so we'll play it by ear and head down in a few weeks.

We were going to rent a car and two carseats, but that was totally not working out. It was going to be close to $200 for just 5 days. So I decided to look on their craigslist and found two carseats for a great price. They picked them up and we'll be able to use them when we come down, and save a ton of money, AND not have to drag two carseats through the airport in addition to two kids, a double stroller and a suitcase. That right there makes it totally worth it.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home, seeing a good friend from college, and visiting our friends really soon.

Guest post

I forgot to add, my friend Jenny asked me to do a guest post. To get the whole story, first read

Part 1, by Jenny.

Then read

Part 2, by me.

And leave her a comment!

We have had some issues lately that made me wish we had stayed in the apartment! Home ownership can sure be expensive. And boy is it fun to spend hard earned money on stuff like a clogged pipe or ruined carpet. Luckily we're getting a nice check from our taxes so my dad and Ken are installing a new dishwasher as we speak. We also had some issues with that. We're also going to do some other home improvements, and I'm SO excited about this. This is the first time we've actually had a little breathing room to do anything to the house. And we've been here over 5 years. And the house was built in 1968 and pretty much everything is original. We got a new sink and in a few minutes we'll have a new dishwasher. Yay!

Colts are going to the Superbowl!!!!

YEAH!!!!

Miss Smartypants

9 months!

John Paul is 9 months old today. He's sure getting around! He's been standing up for about a month now, but he gets up really quickly these days, and in the past few days he's started cruising around the furniture. I wonder if he'll be walking by the 10 month update??

He is still such a cute smiley baby. He's developed a few, uh... less than cute habits though. For one thing he is extremely LOUD. He just likes to make himself heard. All. the. time. He "talks" and/or "screeches" constantly, especially when Ken is around. I can't hear myself think half the time!
As I wrote in the previous post, he's started saying some words. He's good at Mama, Dada, Tee Tat (kitty cat) and ball. He says ball all the time, and Mama too. He likes to be with his Mama. For example, when I'm trying to do the dishes or cook supper, he thinks he needs to be held. Or he's hanging onto my pants. If I try to contain him, he makes his loud noises or cries. I usually end up sitting him in his high chair and giving him some food so I can cook dinner!

Speaking of eating, Oh. My. Goodness I have NEVER seen a baby eat this much! He is totally off baby food now - the only thing he'll let me spoon feed him is yogurt. Otherwise he likes to do it all himself, so I've been cutting up little pieces of fruit, veggies, chicken, cheese, etc and he gobbles it all up and makes a huge mess. He can pack it away. I think our grocery bill has gone up at least $20/ week because of him!
He's getting some curls!! Sometimes he has lots of curls on the back of his head. I think it'll look so cute when he gets some more hair.
So, he started sleeping through the night now for a few nights! Like from 7:30-6. I hope I'm not jinxing it! It's been wonderful, even though he's ready to go at 6am. I hadn't had a full night's sleep in 9 months.
I love the Bud!

Whoa!

So today, John Paul woke up at 6am. I brought him into bed with us to nurse him. When he was done, he sat straight up and said, "mama. Dada. Tee tat. Ball." All in a row, all the words I've been telling him to say! I think we have another smart one!

On eating

I know everyone makes New Years Resolutions to lose weight, get in shape, etc. We're joining them this year and hoping it sticks! We've always eaten pretty healthy, but the biggest change for me is that I'm making myself eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and supper. I used to wake up, drink a few iced coffees and then not eat until like 2 or 3 in the afternoon. We're also kind of following the Superfoods diet, which isn't really a diet. Basically it's eating 5 times a day but eating the most nutrient dense foods. The 14 original superfoods are beans, blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkin, salmon, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey, walnuts, and yogurt. They each have their "sidekicks" too. The additional superfoods are apples, avocado, EVOO, etc. There are a ton more. But we just try to incorporate all these into our diet. I've been packing Ken's lunch and two snacks, and also having Madeleine eating regular snacks too. I've been trying all kinds of new recipes and they've been great! I've been having oatmeal every morning with walnuts and blueberries. Oh and great news at our house, I've given Madeleine almonds, walnuts, and cashews now and she is fine with all of them! So I made some almond butter and we've been having some great sandwiches. Today I made us turkey and cheese sandwiches on rye and stuck them in the waffle maker. It was delicious and Madeleine was all over that! We had salmon, brown rice pilaf and kale chips for supper tonight.

John Paul was ALL over the kale chips! (Excuse the pink bib :)

So I've lost 5 pounds in a week and a half, which is fabulous. Really, my goal is to lose about 2 pounds a week for 10 weeks or so.

My favorite part of this eating style is seeing my kids eat super healthy foods all the time. I love seeing Madeleine eating oatmeal with flaxseed and all the other great stuff I put in it. She is SUCH a great eater - she will eat anything I give her. She loves broccoli, greens, salmon, everything! It's awesome. John Paul is turning into a great eater too. I really want to be a great example to them on how to eat healthy, so I hope we stick with this forever.

This is the day the Lord has made!!

Let us rejoice and be glad!!


Welcome to the world, Baby Lucy!!!

The last of the Christmas posts! (Finally!)

First of all, Happy Birthday Mom!!

John Paul had a great first Christmas. And Madeleine had a terrific Christmas! Here's our tree after Santa came :) She also had a dollhouse that we set up in the room so she could see it when she came down.

Stockings and Nativity Scene.

Daddy and a tired little boy on Christmas morning.

Opening her stocking, made by Grandma.

She LOVED her dollhouse. I think I'm going to get her a few extra rooms of furniture for her birthday, right now she only has a few. She loves to play with it, especially now that we have a dedicated playroom... more on that later.

Christmas at Grandma and Papa's house. Madeleine's favorite present - have you ever seen a drummer suck her thumb??

Grandma and Papa with all the grandkids, John Paul, Madeleine, Jude and Eli. Last Christmas they only had 2 grandchildren, this year they have 4! They're multiplying!

John Paul and his favorite present. This is the only toy he'll play with for an extended period of time. If it's not something he's not supposed to have, for example a tube of toothpaste or diaper cream, tylenol bottle, pen, important piece of paper, etc, he's not interested. But he really likes this, and it's quiet so we bring it to church.

It's hard to get a picture of all 4 of them at the same time - 4 under 3 years old!

Eli really liked Ken. He kept asking for him and looking for him if he stepped out of the room.

We had a great Christmas, but I have to say I was pretty happy to get the tree down this year, since I spent every single day trying to keep the crazy little boy away from it. We also got rid of our couches in the family room, moved the other ones in here, and now we have a dedicated toy room. These couches are much smaller and make the room look bigger, and it is so nice to have a room just for the kids to play in. Also my sewing machine is in there so a few times I've actually got to work on a project while they're playing. It's really nice.

I got commissioned to make 4 snowman hats for a blog friend, and I've been working non stop on those. I am on the 4th one and I hope to be done by early next week. Ken and I had a great Christmas break together, we enjoyed our evenings watching movies and having a few beverages :) It was a wonderful week! Now I'm ready for spring.....

Christmas Eve

I should clarify, that when I say I had 3 martinis, they were not "real" martinis. More like fruit juice and a splash of alcohol :) In fact the waitress was totally making fun of me and even brought me a little umbrella for my drink!

So Christmas Eve was our busiest day. In the morning we went to my Mom and Dad's house for Dad's side of the family Christmas. Here's Dad and John Paul.

And here's my stubborn little girl who wouldn't let me take her picture! I love her curls anyway :)
We ate brunch at Mom's house and then took the kids home for a nap, then when they woke up we went to Ken's parents' house for supper. Here's the Bud with Ken's mom, Nanny. Of course the kids were spoiled rotten by Nanny and Pa and their Aunt and Uncle.
Before we left, we changed the kids into their jammies. John Paul fell asleep as soon as we left and slept the entire way home. We drove by our church around 8:15, and decided at the last minute to try to go to 8:30 mass, even though it was WAY past everyone's bedtime. We changed Madeleine back into her dress and she got to pretend to "drive" in the parking spot after we changed her in the car. I think that might have been the highlight of her evening!
John Paul woke up and we just let him go to mass in his jammies. I am not kidding, it was the BEST they've both ever behaved in church. Ever. I think this might have to be a new tradition. It was just beautiful and I actually got to pay attention to the homily!
We performed the song we wrote at the first Christmas Eve party. My cousin took a video on my phone but I can't figure out how to upload it! More on that later :)

The first of the Christmas 2009 posts

Ok this was my birthday, but since it's on December 23, it's close enough to Christmas to be included! Ken took me out to a very nice dinner and Mom babysat. John Paul was already in bed and I loved this picture right before we left. This is her favorite Dora nightgown :)

This is number 3 martini - right Ken? I don't remember :) I do remember the people at the next table though. It was a family with a boy and a girl, probably 13 and 11. Twice during the meal the mom and dad cut. their. kids'. meat. If my kid can't cut her meat by the time she's 13, she's just not getting any!
Thanks for babysitting Mom! When we got home this is how we found her and Bonzo :) Oh and that's my new Droid on the arm of the couch!

So after we got home, we polished up the song we wrote for our family Christmas Eve the next day. It was a good thing we had a few drinks first. Details coming up!