Happy 2nd Birthday, Eli!

Today is Eli's 2nd birthday. Two years ago today our lives were changed when we welcomed our second baby into our family. At times it doesn't seem like its been 2 years. While at other times, I can barely remember life without Eli!

2 years ago today

1 year ago today

Today

Happy 2nd birthday, Bubby! Mommy loves you so much!

Fritz's

Vito and I had a weekend away from the kiddos this past weekend. We missed them terribly, so we celebrated being home with a family trip to Fritz's Restaurant. What a fun place! Fritz's is a train restaurant. Orders at Fritz's are called in from the booths on a telephone. A server brings the drinks, but the food is delivered by "Skat Cat" on the overhead track. A mechanical arm stops your order at the platform above your table, which then lowers to deliver your food. This rig is a bit noisy and everyone watches when a meal is delivered.

Needless to say, Eli was overjoyed! He had so much fun watching all of the trains buzzing around the place. Olivia was a bit more timid, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself.

I might add, I was quite proud of my little guy who shouted "PeePee!" in the middle of the restaurant. A trip to the restroom ended successfully with Eli's first "deed" in the big potty. I'm so proud of my boy!!

Starbucks

So remember my last post? When I told you I was to be starting a new class along with everything else in my life. And when I said I was crazy . . .

As I sit here at Starbucks doing homework (well, with a brief break to post this blog), I am reminded how crazy I really am. Yes, I'm doing homework at Starbucks. It seems to be the only place I can get to on a Saturday evening when I'm behind on homework and just have to do it. I'm only two weeks into the class and already behind. Two weeks into it, I'm resorting to leaving the kids home with Vito and retreating to a tiny table at the nearby coffee shop. Two weeks into it means six weeks more to go. Six weeks of Saturday nights at Starbucks. Hmm, put it that way and it doesn't sound too bad!

This was my week . . . meeting after meeting after meeting. Its a good thing I like the people I was in meetings with and that I love my job. I may have gone postal come Thursday evening if it weren't for those two aspects! I suppose this adds to the craziness I speak of.

Lifting my grande, non-fat caramel macchiato to a hopeful upcoming week of less craziness.

Crazy? Yes!

I start a new class tomorrow. I have a few classes to take in order to complete my course of study for ordination and one starts tomorrow. So why not add one more thing to my life. Crazy? Yes! But also ready to be ordained. A few classes, one more year, and I'll be able to check ordination off my "to do" list! I did my first assignment tonight with energy and motivation. Please pray that energy and motivation last past tonight! Ready or not, here I come!

While Daddy was at youth group tonight, the kids and I had a bit of fun. The evening started out kind of grumpy for all three of us. But after a change in attitude from Mommy, we all had a pretty decent evening.

Here's Eli with a tat of his lady. :-) Yes, he picked the tattoo and the location of where to put it. And he proudly held his shirt open for the picture!

My two goofy kiddos watching me make their dinner. This is Eli's new "say cheese" face!

And here they are making silly faces. :-)

SUCCESS!

I wouldn't be a good Mommy if I didn't blog about this achievement!

Eli went pee-pee in the potty this morning for the first time! We've been sitting him on the potty for weeks now, but he's never actually gone. He'll tell us if he's wet or dirty and he'd rather wear undies or pull-ups than diapers. So I know he is showing some good signs that potty training isn't too far away. I've always been told that boys don't train very young, but I do think having a big sister helps us in this area. He wants to be just like his Sissy.

So, this morning we had a great achievement! We all celebrated with clapping and cheering, and Eli got his first sticker on his potty chart.

Here he is standing next to his chart. He doesn't seem as excited as I am about this! (By the way, I think he looks a lot like his daddy in this picture.) :-)

Down 2.3 . . . 37.7 to go

New year, new me. Yeah, I've said it before. But this year . . . yeah, I've said that before, too!

So far, though, I'm down 2.3 lbs. Only 37.7 more to go. I'm motivated and excited. We got the new Wii Fit Plus with some Christmas money and its been fun the past three days. I feel energized and ready to keep working out!

We've also started eating better - all of us! Trying new veggies and cooking more balanced meals. It feels good eating well.

So, here's to a new year and a new me.

Speaking of weight, Olivia is getting close to hitting the 40 lb mark and I'm pretty sure she's grown taller in the past few weeks.

Eli still hasn't caught up to big sister, but he's catching up. I think he's less than a pound lighter. I found some pants at Target last week that I couldn't pass up. They are the kind that roll up to turn into shorts. Except on Eli, since he needs the bigger waist, these are super long and roll up just to the exact length he needs for pants! Perfect! Last year I passed them up in early spring thinking I'd get them later on only to find them sold out when we needed them. So off we went into the dressing room to try them on and choose the 5T pants! 5T! He's not even 2 yet!

I must do better at taking pictures to post here!

New Year's Eve

Vito is at the church tonight ringing in the New Year with the teens. So the kids and I decided to make gingerbread men. Well, more like gingerbread men, women, bears, and snowmen. Olivia had a blast helping roll out the dough, cut the shapes, and decorate! Eli enjoyed eating the dough, making a mess, and eating the cookies!















Hard at work decorating.
















The finished products! Minus the one Eli ate instead of decorating.


I asked Olivia earlier today what she thought would happen in the New Year. Her response . . . "Maybe Santa will come again?" I bet she's right!

Happy New Year! I hope your 2010 brings more than just another visit from Santa. :-) May you experience health and true happiness this year.

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas in Oklahoma City with Jenni's family. We usually go to Amarillo, but due to the birth of little Noah, we all met in OKC this year.

Thanks to the blizzard on Christmas Eve, we were all snowed in at different homes. Scott had to spend the night at the hospital where he works. We were all quite happy to be together on Christmas day when we all finally made it to Sara/Ryan's house around noon. We spent some time with Uncle Rick and his family, too. And everyone packed an over-night bag for Christmas night. No one wanted to be stranded so we all camped out on floors and couches at Sara/Ryan's house. It definitely was different this year, but we were all together. I can't ask for anything more than that.

Olivia and Eli were both so much fun this Christmas. Last year, Eli was just 10 months old. But this year both kids were able to get into the spirit of Christmas. Olivia can tell you the Christmas story nearly word for word. In fact, she gets pretty upset when Daddy elaborates and doesn't get straight to the point of the story! Yes, we do Santa and all of that fun, but the real reason of the season is the birth of Jesus Christ. And its so exciting to hear our little 3.5 year old tell the story and get excited about baby Jesus' birthday!

Olivia (3.5 yrs) happily playing at Aunt Sara/Uncle Ryan's house.

Eli (22 months) just being himself!

New Cousin!

It's been so long since I've blogged. I've gotten used to relying on facebook only, but its so hard to tell the "stories" of life on facebook. Maybe it will be my 2010 resolution to blog more. :-) We'll see how I do.

We were privileged to spend Christmas in Oklahoma City where both of my sisters and their husbands live. My youngest sister, Sara, and her husband, Ryan, just welcomed their brand new baby boy, Noah, into the world just days before Christmas. After a week in NICU with antibiotics, he was able to come home on Christmas Day! Despite a blizzard, little Noah was able to join us all for Christmas. Yay!

Olivia had anxiously been awaiting Noah's arrival. She knew that first Noah was coming, then Santa was coming, and then it was Baby Jesus' birthday. This was an exciting time in the life of a three year old! Olivia couldn't wait to finally see Noah and hold him. In her words, "I'll hold him gentle on his head and his bottom. Maybe he'll fall asleep in my arms."

Well, she finally got to hold him. And to her delight, he did fall asleep in her arms!

Eli was pleased with his new little cousin, too. We were even successful at our attempt for a cousins picture! Here they are . . . Olivia (3.5 years), Noah (10 days), Eli (22 months).

Welcome to the family, little Noah!

Swinging

Eli never liked his swing. He just wasn't a swinging kind of baby. It's still sitting in our study though, so I thought I'd put him in it. He wasn't real fond of it, but I still got one smile out of him. Too bad now he's too big for it. Anyone want to buy a swing? :-)

Our Little Ballerina

Here are some pics of Olivia last Saturday before her first "dance" class. I didn't get any pics at class because she was so shy that I had to do all the exercises with her. We hopped like bunnies, jumped like frogs, stretched, skipped, and galloped. Well, at least the other 3 girls and I did, Olivia didn't do much of anything but stand there!

Someone was tired

This one speaks for itself.

Morning Ritual

I originally took the pictures because I thought it was cute how they like to spend time together. But, I didn't realize it until I downloaded these pics, but I guess we have a morning ritual. LOL Here's a couple of pics (taken 3 days apart) of Olivia and Eli just after waking up. They're most likely watching Mickey Mouse (Olivia's fav these days) and are obviously not awake yet.

Food!

This kid loves to eat. Anything and everything! Here, Olivia decided Eli needed a bite of her quesadilla and sour cream. I'm not sure he knew what to think about it--but he didn't seem to mind. :-)

These pics were taken around the first of August, which was only a little over a month ago, and this onsie is now super tight on him. He's growing so fast. His 6 month check-up was on August 29 and he weighed 25.1 lbs and was 29" long. He's off the charts in both height and weight. The doc said he doesn't expect Eli to slow down any time soon!

Much Needed Updates

Here they come . . . lots of updates. Vito is at "game night" at church, both kids are in bed, and I have computer time all to myself!!

These pics were taken on July 30 of Eli wearing Vito's hat. He looks SO grown-up. It's hard to remember that he's still only 6 months old. Then, on the other hand, it's hard to believe he's already 6 months old. Isn't he the cutest little boy, ever?

So, I lied.

I haven't posted weekly. I know, I know. In fact, I haven't even downloaded pictures in a month or so. But there is so much to update. Eli is 6 months now and is sitting up entirely by himself. He loves to sit and enjoys playing with blocks and anything else he can pick up and put in his mouth! He is always so happy and is just a great baby. Olivia is potty trained now - yes, completely potty trained! We're so proud of her and so happy to not have 2 kids in diapers!

I'll try to get pics downloaded and posted here soon. We're headed to Amarillo for the Labor Day weekend--maybe I'll have a bit of free time then.

Until then.

More Pictures

The blog was taking a while to upload pics last night, so I thought I'd try again this morning. Here are some more for your viewing pleasure. :-)

Professional Pics

Livie's sitter is starting a photography business. She offered to take pics of the kids and here's what she got. Olivia is now 2 and Eli is 5 months old.









































If you live in the KC area and are interested in some great pics at a good price, check out Jami's website at www.capturedbyjami.com.

I'm in love . . .

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture! Its a few weeks old now, but its still so good. I can't believe how big my kids are getting. Every day they both do things that amaze me. I'm definitely in love and in awe with two kids named Olivia and Eli.

Our Trip to Nampa

A few weeks ago I had to go to Nampa, ID for work. Being that Nampa is where Vito and I met in college and where Vito's sister, Kim, lives, we felt the whole family should go along. We had a great time visiting with Kim and her family. Here are a few shots from the week.


Olivia taking a bath with cousin, Ariya.














The whole family plays games - here we are playing dice with the kiddos.














Olivia loved shaking and rolling the dice!














Swimming with cousin, Ariya.














Close up shot - I think her eyes are turning green.














Eli chilling on the couch with Auntie Kim.