Hoedown Throwdown

Our week was pretty uneventful last week as I am still re-cooperating! We had lots of help from Yiayia and the kids did lots of playing on the driveway and in the basement while I SAT. UGGGGHHH I hate sitting!!! Anyway....the highlights of the week had to be the live entertainment I had during all of those "sitting" moments! I just may have an American Idol on my hands! Miss Sophia has decided that she and Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus are one in the same. Weeks ago...she fell in love with the song, "The Climb," and I'm not sure whether this was a mistake on our part or not....but last weekend her Daddy gave her the soundtrack to "Hannah Montana" the movie. In one week's time... Sophia has learned almost all the lyrics to her favorite songs. And this week's favorite appears to be the "Hoedown Throwdown." I had to snap some pictures of her when she was in the garage listening to the music and performing for me! What a kick! She really has the beat and you should see her shake those hips! Oh my.... and then the transformation to the more serious song, "The Climb" complete with singing at the top of her lungs with eyes closed the entire time! I NEED to video tape this...but until then...my pictures from my "not so great camera" (hint...hint) will have to do!





Almost harder than having to sit all of the time is not being able to bake!!! Yiayia helped us bake chocolate chip cookies mid-week just so I could have my fix. And today.. I had to settle for something semi-homemade (and no, yiayia....it didn't require me to be on my feet all day!) Sophia had a great time helping me make these yummies... courtesy of www.picky-palate.com and had an even better time eating them! Yum, yum!

18 months and Camp Thea

Hard to believe but my little guy is 18 months already! He started so small and is so quickly becoming a big little boy! He still loves to give his great big hugs and kisses and gives a friendly "hi" to everyone he sees. As I've said before...he is all boy! His curiosity and fearless nature continue to amaze me. He is a climber, a runner, and even a dancer (with his BIG sister of course). Already he makes requests for his favorite song... "Boom, Boom!" (Probably not very child-appropriate....but it's hilarious to watch him dance to the beat always hopping on his one little foot!)

And even more exciting are all the new words we get to hear him say. Sophia has been his best teacher...and he LOVES to say words for her! So here are all the things we have been hearing him say lately....and of course they sound sooooo cute in his little boy voice...
ball, ba-bye mama, ba-bye dada, ba-bye yiayia, ba-boo (for pappou) EEEEE-ya (for Thea), EEEEE for Willie, bunny, ish for fish, me, bAAAYYY-bE for baby, Jo! for Joe, nigh-nigh, puppy, boo-boo, attempts to say please while he does the sign for it, Oh- for hello or phone, uck for truck, and probably many more that I am forgetting! We love to hear him have "conversations" with us!

Joseph had his 18-month doctor visit last Thursday July 16th. Unfortunately I didn't get to go as I was recovering from my knee surgery. But Daddy said Joseph was awfully brave for his two shots (hepatitis and tetanus). Here are his stats:
Weight: 22 lbs 13 oz (11th percentile)
Height: 31 1/2 inches (23rd percentile)
Head Circumference : 18.58 inches (31st percentile)

He is such a big boy! He is finally starting to eat a little bit better. I love that he loves his fruits (this was something we always struggled with when feeding Sophia...and still it is a challenge at times). He loves his fishy crackers, marshmallows, dried fruit, green beans, carrots, mac and cheese, sometimes his turkey and cheese sandwiches, and of course his milk. And I think he might have a little sweet tooth for chocolate like his mama!

Besides his trucks... he has become rather fond of stacking his blocks and then knocking them over! Here are a few pics of him playing with the blocks.





And as for Camp Thea....well thank goodness to my sister! She is my life-saver! She took Miss Sophia for the weekend and Sophia has had a ball! Thea took her swimming, to the park, to the MIXX for lunch and to visit Nouna and Nouno Dan. And of course a trip to the toy store was yet another highlight. Even though Sophia is not home yet...she has already told me about her trip to the donut store, how she found a frog in Thea's pool and the yummy meals Thea has made for her... hot dogs, spaghetti, scrambled eggs, etc. What a lucky girl she is. I'm sure Thea (A.K.A. "Miley" ) has had her fill of "The Climb" Sophia's current fav song by Hannah Montana. Sophia calls herself Hannah and calls her Thea "Miley." You should see this girl close her eyes and "perform" this song for all of us. She knows the words by heart and even gives a classy bow when finished. What a kick she is. I'm sure Thea is singing this song in her sleep. I wish I knew how to post a video so you could see Sophia's (oops, I mean "Hannah's") performance.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Thea for taking such good care of our little princess performer. You ARE her BEST FRIEND. And Pappou just told me that Sophia says the only other prettier person in the world (besides herself, of course) is her THEA. Love you, Thea!

Here a few pics that Thea took of Sophia proudly sliding down the pole at Loose Park!

2:30

Knock Knock...

Who's there?

2:30.

2:30 who?

Tooth-hurting YOU!!!



Here is our little missy before her very first tooth came out!! She has had a wiggly little guy (bottom center) since May....and today it just got looser and looser! She would not let us try to pull it even though it was hanging by a thread...she was so scared. Somehow, daddy got a good grip, and...

TA-DA!




Whew! She was soooooo relieved! Here she is showing off that new smile!!! See that new little hole on the bottom??? (Yes there might appear to be a hole on the upper row of teeth too....but that is just a space...no lost teeth up there yet...even though she used to think she had already lost a tooth there :)



Here is the pocket we placed the tooth in for the tooth fairy. Sophia decided the tooth would be safer in this. She was given a tooth box when she was born, but she was worried the lid might fall off!



And here is our proud girl ready for bed....and anxiously awaiting her visitor!




Ironically.... I had taken pictures of the little guy just this morning for his own "tooth" post. Little did I know Sophia would lose her very first tooth later in the day. Anyhow....today was Joseph's first tooth brushing with his toothpaste! He loves to be just like his big sister and brush his new little toothers....even if it is an old toothbrush of Sophia's.....(Don't worry... I sanitized it....after Sophia INSISTED that he use her old toothbrush b/c it was blue)!

"I think I have the hang of it already!"





"Hmmmm... I think this is how you hold it..."




"I'd better check out how I look in the mirror"




I guess you could say it was 2:30 ALL Day at our house today!!!

Stinkin.

"That stinkin brother took my garden shovel!"



"Those stinkin commercials between Max and Ruby episodes."

"That stinkin sea witch, Ursula, on "Little Mermaid."

"That stinkin brother again....he's gonna get hurt."





Stinkin.


I wasn't so sure I liked Sophia's new choice of words. Would her kindergarten teacher think it was an appropriate way to characterize? Probably not. I even told her it probably wasn't the best word to use until...it happened....

Stinkin....

I wanted to say it too. Maybe it is contagious. So here we go.... it's my turn now...

"My stinkin knee"
"My stinkin sinus infection"
"This stinkin headache....won't go away"
"Stinkin antibiotics"
"Stinkin allergies"
"Stinkin Kansas humidity"
"Stinkin receptionists at doctor's offices"

The only thing that wasn't stinkin today?

My Little Firecrackers!

I always feel like summer is half over by the time the 4th of July arrives....so in a way I'm a little sad when it has come and gone! But the holiday was nothing to complain about! We spent the afternoon and evening with Yiayia and Pappou....and it was so fun to see the kids reactions to the fireworks. Last year...little J missed out on all the action...he was just too little, but he definitely took it all in this year.

And Sophia....she is sooo funny! What a memory this girl has!! She remembered everything we did last year...and of course decided this year's schedule would have to play out accordingly. Oh my....someone who has a hard time with change...does that sound familiar??? Well, because she remembered watching a movie at Yiayia's last year before the fireworks....guess what we had to do this year...Yep...she was pretty thrilled to have hamburgers and hot dogs, take a bath at Yiayia's and watch Little Mermaid all before the fireworks began. She has been begging me to watch this movie for weeks... I was reluctant b/c I worried she would be afraid of Ursula...the sea "octopus" witch! Sure enough, her eyes were glued to the tv....but she did get teary eyed during a few scary moments and even asked pappou to speed up through those parts!! Poor thing!

Anyway I snapped a few pics of our day! Here are the kids in their jammies heading out to see the fireworks!


Here is Sophia in her new favorite princess jammies waving her flag as we tried to find the best spot to see the fireworks!


Just waiting for the excitement to begin... We had to keep Joe on the move so he wouldn't get too "bored" or fussy. Thank goodness we brought lots of entertainment with us....Thea and Pappou! Yiayia stayed home to take care of Willie!


Here they are...two peas in a pod....Thea and Sophia...inseparable!


Sophia had the best seat...either on Pappou's or Daddy's shoulders!


Sophia was a little nervous about the loud sounds the fireworks made. I don't blame her...they were pretty noisy!


Here we are oooohing and ahhhing over the displays... Joseph loved every minute of it...and wasn't the least bit scared. I loved how he pointed to the fireworks in the sky after each new one went off. The excitement in his face was priceless.




And finally....the last ones...Joseph almost made it through all of them. He watched the finale from the car...perfect view right through the sunroof!! :)

Summer Fun

So much is on my mind these days...I can't believe how quickly the summer is going. The kids are growing so fast...sometimes I really have to stop myself to take it all in. Even my little guy looks big to me. Both Sophia and Joseph have been busy doing summer things. I have been a bit under the weather ( no worries family... I promise not to complain in this post....I'm sure you never hear that from me, right???) and a bit saddened after all of the news about people we have lost this week. So of course I have to pay some tribute to MJ...yes.. he was definitely a bit "unique" to put it kindly,...but what a great voice and tremendous dancer. Dancing to his music with the "boogie sisters" when we were young is a memory I will always have. I'm sad that my kids didn't grow up with his music!! So...of course I downloaded some of my old faves this week for them to hear... But so far...the "Boom Boom" song and Hannah Montana's "The Climb" still ranks at the top of their list! (And by the way...Sophia sings it beautifully!"

So I don't accidentally slip into "complaining" mode...I think I will just post some of the pictures I have taken of the kids so far this summer! The pictures always say more than words anyway!

Swimming pool fun in the backyard.






Mr. Jim Cosgrove AKA "Stinky Feet" gave a performance at Ironwoods Park! It was hot, but fun to watch the kids dance together. Little J didn't last long though and screamed so loud when his favorite sister left him to go dance near the stage that I thought Stinky Feet might just stop mid-song. We had to pack up and go, but at least we made it through a few songs!




It's always fun to get our hands a little dirty when Joseph is napping! We decided to make home-made play-doh...scented with almond extract...mmm and it even smelled yummy!




Thanks to Thea who took Sophia swimming with some friends at her pool so I could rest! Sophia had a ball and LOVES LOVES her fish floatie!




Joseph can't quite blow a bubble yet on his own...but he CAN say the word....and I couldn't be more proud. I love to hear that little man voice saying "bubba!!!"




Oh boy...Daddy's home! Joseph loves to wave "ba-bye" to daddy every morning...but when he sees his white truck coming down the street back home at night....he just can't contain himself! He gets so excited. "Da-da!!! Da-da!!!!! Still love his enthusiasm and those tight squeezes he gives each and every one of us!



And finally....my crafty little girl always keeps my mind busy....I'm forever trying to think of fun things we can do together while our little guy naps. Colored pasta was a fun activity this week! I colored a bunch of different shaped noodles with food coloring and rubbing alcohol...and laid them out to dry on the patio! The next day we made jewelry and noodle pictures with these fun little guys!




Hopefully my next post will show some 4th of July fun...fireworks photos, I hope! We've been listening to lots of "Yankee Doodle" and "You're a Grand Ole Flag" this week...AND Sophia informed me that she was just like Betsy Ross when we were making our flag out of construction paper! She is such a SMART little girl... her mind never stops!!! Keep your eyes open for some upcoming cookies to celebrate our Nation's Birthday!!!