February 23 - Are You Sure This Light Isn't a Swing?

Greetings dimpled munchkin fans! I'm considering renaming this blog "Our feisty diva and fearless daredevil." Jules hasn't napped for as long as I can remember (her motto is-why nap when I can keep playing?) so by the end of the day, she is very overtired and extremely sensitive. If her emotional swings are any indication of how she is going to be as a teenager, we are in for a rough few years. Master Luke on the other hand...wow. Everyone always says boys are more work at this age and get into everything. Whenever I hear this, I usually nod my head 'yes' while secretly believing they are exaggerating. Surely, my  super active Jules (who never seems to stop moving and loves to run around the house..nonstop) is just as rambunctious and active as their little boys? 

Well, I now believe those moms. Luke (he just looks sweet and innocent with those dimples..don't be fooled!) has discovered electric sockets (we need to get better covers because he can get the classic plastic ones off), electronics in general (he finds great joy in pushing any button with a light), the stool (wow mommy! Look at me, I can move this pretty much anywhere to reach almost everything), the toilet (mommy-this is great! I can pull all the toilet paper off the roll, shove it in the toilet and flush! Super fab!), the garbage can (mommy! I just threw your keys out. Hehe. What's that? You and daddy bought a new can with a lock so I can't get into it? Hmm..give me time and I'll figure out how to open it), and let's not forget his new favorite, climbing onto the kitchen table (Mommy! Check this out! I'm a monkey. I can swing on this light just like Curious George! I can also grab the basket of napkins and toss them in the air like leaves blowing in the wind. Woo hoo! Check this out. It's Daddy's laptop. This looks like a great place to jump up and down or perhaps dance). Let's just say the light in question has been moved higher (so it is no longer accessible) while the laptop and napkins have been moved. I swear I have to watch that child like a hawk. 

I hope everyone is having a great week. Grammie came to visit a few weeks ago and it was fabulous seeing her. We went to a nice lunch at a tea house (super cute) and did some shopping, and of course, played with the kids. We love you Grammie, come back again soon!!

Baking with Daddy and Grammie

Jules

A few fun pictures from my recent Vegas trip!

Christine and Whoopi

Jill and Michael (possibly Michaela) Jackson

Christine, Jill and the sparkly Bellagio horse

Christine, Jill and a random statue at Ceasar's Palace

Christine trying to pose like said statue..didn't quite get it right

*You may be wondering...why is Christine wearing glasses? In honor of breast cancer awareness month, I was sporting pink eye for 2 weeks. So, glasses only for me for awhile. :) 

February 9th - Pure Love

Yesterday morning around 6:30am...Jules climbed into bed with J.D. and I, gave me a big hug and said "Mommy, I love you." My heart melted. I love this little girl more than words can describe. I also love my little man..honestly, cutest little boy ever! Seriously, we have the most adorable dimpled munchkins in the entire world. 


Happy Thursday everyone!

Julia (the exaggerated smile...I think most 3 years do this!)

Luke 

Julia feeding Luke yogurt the other night-adorable!

Luke climbing on the couch..his favorite pastime. 

He loves to brush his teeth!

February 6 - Beautiful Winter Day

Hello everyone. It is a beautiful winter day here in Houston. When I say 'winter'...I mean 60 degree weather but it seems chilly after our high 70s/low 80s recent temps. I was out of town last week in Florida so it is great to be home with the family and play with the kids. 


We had a relaxing weekend: gymnastics on Saturday, playdate with Emma Saturday evening and a playdate with Hannah last night. J.D. and Nic watched the game while Tammy and I watched the kids and we all chowed down on some delicious chili. The boys were happy with the final outcome while I was not. You are probably thinking..What?! You are from NY. Don't you route for the Giants? Well, we never watched football in our household growing up (I'm still not sure why exactly, since all of my brothers love football) so I never became of fan of any particular team. And anyone who knows me knows I have a weird aversion to anything relating to the Manning brothers...so, sorry. I almost always route against them, regardless of the opposing team! 

On a completely different topic, I want to talk briefly about the poll about Christmas lights. I was the person who voted "I like both." Throughout the years I'm always shocked at how opinionated people can be about lights. Here are some of the things I heard this season alone.


In relation to colors:
*fun and exciting
*trashy




In relation to white:
*classic and beautiful
*boring and unoriginal


Wow-they are lights. I think they are all beautiful! 


(I went through old pictures recently and had to re-post these ones of Jules-so adorable!)

January 27 - A Jumpin' Good Time

Emma's birthday party was last weekend at the Jumpin' Jungle and the kids had an amazing time. I counted over 30 kids at the party so when I say it was a madhouse, I am not exaggerating! There were kids running around EVERYWHERE (I have yet to meet a child who doesn't love that place). Julia and Hannah played a lot together at the party and were dressed like twins (skinny jeans and purple t-shirts). Luke also discovered his love of the big slides. At first, J.D. took him in one of the jumping houses and he was very hesitant. I then took him up the slide and once we flew down it, he was hooked. I think between J.D. and I, we slid with him over twenty times. He LOVED it!! After jumping and sliding for an hour, we all chowed down on pizza, cake and ice cream. The older kids all received cute party favors (the masks were a huge hit). Luke definitely takes after his daddy and loves sweets. At one point, he wiggled out of my arms, ran up to the cake table and pointed to the cake making sounds that I understand as "I want that cake woman-give it to me!" 

In other fun news, we were at Emma's house for a playdate recently and Luke sat himself down at the little table to eat his dinner. It was beyond adorable! Occasionally he'll eat at the little table with Julia for breakfast, although I prefer the booster seat (that he is strapped into) so he doesn't get up and start playing mid-meal. As you can also see from the photo..Amelia is lying in wait for food to hit the floor (or to be thrown to her) or for Luke to leave the food unattended so she can steal it. Sneaky, sneaky, Amelia. We are on to you!

Let's see, what else is going on these days? J.D. was in Boston last week for work and his trip went great. He didn't enjoy the cold, snowy weather but I was very jealous he got to experience real winter, even if it was only for a few days! It was has been incredibly warm here recently. I'm talking mid-70's. It is nice weather for the park but it just doesn't feel very "winterish" and I'm scared that if it is already this warm in January, we'll be hitting 100 by early March. I'm heading to Gainesville next week for work and it will be great to see Jill, Hannah (and their respective kids) as well as all my Gainesville work friends.

Happy Friday everyone! And to those who read my book blog, I know I am very far behind. I have several review to do, I will try to get it done this weekend. 

Luke going down the slide (it's not the clearest photo but you can see the pure joy on his face)

Twins

Family Movie Night (every Friday night..and no, Luke does not sit there quietly-he happened to be playing with my phone for a few minutes, usually he's running around like a wild man)

Julia loves her roller skates!

  

Luke has a thing for playing inside cartons and boxes

January 17 - Little Climber

Happy Tuesday! We had a great 3 day weekend filled with trips to the park and several play dates. We're experiencing unusually warm weather for January (mid 70s today) which isn't my favorite winter weather (Jules and I both love the cold!) but is great for playing outside. In kids news, Luke is now able to climb up on the couch from all angles. Once he's up there, he loves to push the pillows and blankets down. He has also figured out that he can move the stool around and reach things on the counters. He definitely keeps us on our toes!




Enjoy these pictures of the kids and have a fabulous week!

Luke is very attached to Mommy

Mr. Dimples (pictures from November but he looks so cute I couldn't resist posting it!)

My gorgeous niece Victoria

Andrew playing in the leaves

Victoria & Great Grandpa (another one from a few months ago, such a great pic!)

January 11 - Katelya the Mommy

Hello everyone. I'm known by a few names: Julia, Julia Elisa, Jules..but I prefer to be called "Katelya (pronounced Kate-La) the Mommy." I wake up every morning around 7am and check on my baby. Her name is Sienna (sometimes it is Arianna, but it's been Sienna for the last week) and she sleeps in a princess tent in my room. She sleeps in a cradle and has her own blanket and tiny baby doll. After I get her up, I take her to my mommy so she can help me get her out of her jammies and put on her clothes for the day (shirt and pink jumper). I then read her a morning book. My mommy tells me I have a penchant for slamming doors so by this time, my baby brother is usually awake and we all go downstairs. 

I put Sienna in her highchair and feed her breakfast. This morning, she had watermelon and LOVED it. After breakfast, I drive her to school on my horse. Her school (which also seconds as our downstairs half bath) has several students. The teacher is a puppy. Once she is settled, I give her a kiss goodbye and it's time for my breakfast. Every morning, I have a bowl of maple and brown sugar oatmeal (I help by getting the packet from the pantry) and a bowl of Cheerios. Plus a glass of milk or juice. My brother usually has a waffle (he used to eat a banana but he has a bad reaction to them) and milk. After breakfast, we get dressed for school and my mommy chases me around the house trying to brush or re-braid my hair (she usually braids my hair at night and sometimes it's a little messy in the morning). 

My mommy takes us to school every morning and I am always super excited to see my friends and my teacher, Ms. Alvicia. I LOVE my teacher. Depending on the day of the week, we do lots of fun stuff. Spanish, PE, computer class and of course-playing! My mommy picks us up at the end of the day and I am super excited to see my brother. My mommy picks up my brother first so when I come out of my class, I run to them full speed and give my brother a giant hug shouting "hey dude! I missed you buddy!" Once we get in the car, I say hello to Amelia (our furry baby usually travels with us around town) and we head home. 

Once home, I pick Sienna up from school and then it is snack time. Luke and I currently love strawberry nutri grain bars and cheese slicers. Mmm. After our snack, we play, dance (my mommy is very fond of dance parties in the family room) and sometimes I'm allowed to watch 30min of tv. I currently love Curious George and Olivia. Then it's time for dinner. My favorite foods include macaroni and cheese, torts (cheese tortellini), ravioli, pretty much anything with cheese. My mommy rarely serves these dishes though..but I ask every night if that is what we are having. 

After dinner, I have to tend to my little baby Sienna. I feed her dinner and than take her upstairs for bedtime. I change her into her pj's, read her a book and then put her to bed. Then, it's bathtime for Luke and I. As you may or may not know, I'm love to sing and singing in the bath is my absolute fave. I love to make up songs and stay in the bath as long as possible. Next up-brushing teeth, braiding of the hair and putting on pj's. I get to pick who reads to me (usually daddy) and we read 3 books. I try to negotiate a 4th and sometimes my parents agree. I currently love my Angelina Ballerina books, Olivia and several ballet themed books. 

xoxo-

Katelya the Mommy

Little Climbers

Jules & Hannah love to climb trees

Mommy and her little dude

Luke - Growing up so fast!

Future Soccer Star

She went across all the rings by herself-several times!