California Cousins Make a Visit

My nieces, Maecy and Gia, visited Texas from California last week for their winter break, and it happened that it coincided with Maecy's 16th Birthday!  I hired a babysitter to watch the kiddos and was able to spend a day with the girls shopping and having a fun time!  

Timothy also spent a few nights (over the weekend) with Nonna and Poppa and got to spend time with his cousins!  We met up for the switch-off (to get Timothy back) and have lunch with not only Maecy and Gia, but Geory (lives in Texas) as well.  The kids had a fun time.  Well, we all did!

Geory and Gia (twins) love on Timothy!

Gia holds Lily.

Now, it is Maecy's turn to love on Lily!

Benjamin and his "Mae Mae!"

Lastly, even Geory wanted to hold the baby!  Geory is so good with kids/babies - he amazes me for a boy his age (13).

Best Buddies Sleep-over

Benjamin and Connor have been best friends since they were babies!  They started daycare together when they were about 4 months old, and a friendship blossomed by the time they were around 15 months.  Benjamin first slept over at Connor's house within days of turning 3 years old, and his attitude was literally, "Don't let the door hit you on your way out!"  I think he cried when we picked him up the next day to return home!  :-) 

More recently, Benjamin AND Timothy spent the entire weekend at Connor's house (a present from Connor's sweet parents after we had baby Lily), and neither one of them were ready to come home!  I promise - we are NOT bad parents!  We love our children!  Truly!  :-)

So...this past weekend, Timothy went to stay with my parents for 3 nights, and Connor FINALLY came over for his first sleep over at our house.  The pictures speak for themselves!

We started off the day at Hermann Park.  Here, the boys are riding the train.

We stopped off at the park and played for several hours, along with a picnic!

We left the park around 2pm, and Benjamin was so tired on the way home, he could hardly keep his head up!  Connor was talking, and talking, and talking!  So cute!  He kept talking to Benjamin, keeping him awake!  At one point, he started telling "knock knock" jokes, saying to Benjamin, "Knock knock" over and over again.  Benjamin just stared out the window in silence!  Finally, Connor said, "Miss Julie.  How come Benjamin won't say, 'Who's there?'" 

When we got home, the boys quietly rested and watched a movie while I fed the baby. 

Around 5pm, we went outside to play and caught the ice cream truck.  Connor opted for Spider Man, and Benjamin.....well, something as close to the color orange as he could get....the popsickle is mango flavored!

Benjamin took a few licks off of his popsickle then it went in the trash (confirmation yet again that he hates sweets)....  So, he rides his bicycle.

After Connor finished all, and I do mean ALL, of his ice-cream treat, he shoots some hoops!

Connor takes a turn riding the bike!  I love this picture - it shows such a playful side of Connor!

And....as always with my sweet Benjamin, there's always time for time-out!  I think this was for playing (and almost hitting) with sticks.....OR....more than likely, talking back once I told him to drop the stick! 

Pizza time!!!!  The boys eat pizza (and Benjamin partakes in mac/cheese too).  Connor ate 5 pieces of pizza!!!

The boys were REALLY dirty after playing at the park AND outside so much, so they took a bubble bath!

After the bubble bath, they had popcorn and watched a movie.  They couldn't even make it through the movie!  Around 8:45pm, Connor was asking to go to bed, and Benjamin was so tired, he didn't even put up an argument!

A bed-time story.

The picture below was taken right before we turned out the light and left! 

We listened to the boys on the monitor for a good 20 minutes after leaving the room.  They were adorable!  They talked about if they are usually scared, and Connor mentioned that he isn't as scared when his brother, Kevin, sleeps in his room.  How sweet is that?

Benjamin impressed me with something he said.  In regards to being scared, he said, "God is always with us.  Do you know that, Connor?  We are never alone because God is everywhere we go."  I am so happy that he "gets it."  You just never know when you say these things over and over and over, and one day, the light comes on!  Yea!

The boys got up around 7am Saturday morning, and after having McDonald's pancakes for breakfast, the boys played a bit.  Then, we headed to a local park for them to play (and work up an appetite).

After having a picnic in the front yard (no picture....because a girl's gotta eat too), the boys did some art-work.  Each drawing a picture.

Connor draws all kinds of stuff!  He really likes using ALL of the colors!

Benjamin works on drawing the Solar System, his latest obsession.

Saturday afternoon, Lauri, Connor's mom and one of my best friends, came over to pick up Connor and play with Lily.  I love this picture - they both look so happy and pretty!

Last, but certainly not least, here is a picture of sweet Kaitlynn, Connor's baby sister, and Lily together.  Every time Lily sees Kaitlynn, she grins from ear to ear.  There's nothing a baby loves more......than.....well, another baby.

We enjoyed having Connor soooo much!  He was not ANY trouble at all!  He's so cute and sweet, and very talkative.  He speaks just like an adult!  We hope to have him back very soon!  I know the boys will love it, as will we.  Until next time.......

A Short & Sweet Valentine's

Before I could get Timothy's pants on, he says, "I'm a socker player!!!!"  He struts around the room for a good 10 minutes acting like he's about to kick a soccer ball! 

Benjamin is set for school....in the same shirt he wore last year (and it's a little small)! 

A rare natural looking grin from my sweet boy. 

Lily is ready to head out to Benjamin's Valentine's Party where I was one of the party planners! 

Self Portrait....I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the party.  And....to think at one time I thought that I wanted to be an Elementary school teacher.  NO WAY!!!!! 

Benjamin decorates his cupcake to take home to Timothy since he doesn't like sweets. 

 Benjamin with his craft that he made - heart rabbit ears.  So precious!

 Lily is blowing bubbles (spitting), and she is laughing about it!

Mommy received gorgeous roses from daddy, and one card from the kiddos and one from him.

(Thank you, Harry!)

 Timothy tries out the rabbit ears at home that evening.

One last kiss goodnight....until the next Valentine's Day rolls around. 



Lily turns 4 months!

Well, I can't believe it, but Lily is now 4 months old!  Since she has been sick, we haven't been to the doctor for her 4 month wellness visit, but I know from our visit a few weeks ago AND from weighing her on the baby scale at home, that she weighs over 17 pounds and is over 26 inches long!  She's a big girl.  According to the online charts, that puts her around the 95th percentile for weight/length. 

At 4 months, Lily is really starting to show her personality!  Some of the things she is doing are:

• *Drumroll*  At 4 months, Lily graduated to her 9-month size clothing!
• Laughing!  She loves to laugh.  I really need to get a video of this and post it - it is the most precious thing ever!
• She smiles a lot!  She loves to be talked to and showered with attention.  She can go from crying to laughing within a few seconds if you just stop and talk to her.  (It's pathetic, really.)
• Lily is my first baby that refuses to take a pacifier and so she has trouble pacifying herself.  She is really hard to get to sleep in the evenings - she fights it with everything she has!!!!!
• She is showing signs of teething - slobbering all over the place and chewing on her hands!  Her pediatrician said we should see teeth within a few weeks!
• She is rolling from side to side, but she isn't rolling over just yet.  Of course, she isn't on a flat surface that much because she likes to be held a lot! 
• She is still on a 3.5 to 4 hour feeding schedule during the day - taking bottles at 8:30am, 12:00pm, 3:30pm, and 7:30pm.
• I can't say that she takes regular naps because we are on the road so much dropping off and picking up boys...and running errands and going to weekly appointments.  So she cat-naps a lot!!!!!  She likes to sleep in the car and in the car seat.
• She is still a great night sleeper.  Sleeping from around 10pm - 8:30am.  On the weekends, when we don't have to get up and get going, she will often sleep until 10:00am.  Which....throws us off schedule a bit, but we are willing to take it just to get more rest.  (We need to get her on an 8pm-8am schedule.....)
• She is a happy girl in the mornings!  She wakes up happy and will smile and laugh at everything!
• She often wakes up around 7am and plays for 30-60 minutes and then puts herself back to sleep.
• She is still sleeping in our bedroom.  Since she's been sick (again), she's been in her carseat - on top of the changing table.
• She thinks both Timothy and Benjamin are funny.  If they talk to her, she cackles with delight!  It's so precious.
• We tried cereal for the first time, and she liked it.  Our biggest problem is finding time to fit her feedings into the schedule.  Once they start eating.....it takes a lot more time to feed!  Both of the boys were in daycare by this time and Creme de la Creme was doing all of the morning/lunch feedings!  :-)

Here are few pictures taken of Lily at 4 months old!

The cold, lazy, sick days of winter!

As most of you know, the last few days have been extremely cold in Houston - staying at or below freezing temps.  I like cold weather, but I have to admit, it's been so cold, even I haven't wanted to go outside!  The kids and I have been hunkered down for the better part of the last 5 days!

Last Wednesday, I took Lily to the doctor for more repiratory/chest/cold-like symptoms, and sure enough, the doctor put her on breathing treatments again - changing her medicine to <hopefully> something more effective. 

His specific orders were, "DO NOT GET HER OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW!  NOT EVEN FOR A PICTURE!"  He said to keep her inside as much as possible, and continue the breathing treatments for 4 weeks.  Poor baby girl - she sounds horrible and coughs so much at night that I can't sleep - even though she typically works her way through it!  (Just for the record, Lily weighed almost 17 lbs and was 26 inches long -- a big girl!)

Add to that...both boys started running a low-grade fever last night.  So....we have been spending a lot of days in our pjs - for various reasons!  Here are a few pictures I've snapped along the way!

Here, Lily tries out her crib while mommy organizes new clothes in her closet!

Just for fun, here's a picture of Lily when she was 2+ weeks old in her crib!  You can really see the 10 pounds she's gained!  It's amazing how fast they grow!  

Benjamin & Lily relax together.

Timothy puts on Lily's bib (all by himself)! 

Lily sleeps.....and covers her face.  A family trait! 

Timothy just sleeps! 

Benjamin covers his face during a scary part of Shrek! 

Happy girl!

Lily is getting soooo big! 

Let's not forget about our sweet Abby! 

Lily sleeps......again! 

Timothy plays with his new "Cars" - car racer from his friend, Gavin!  Very cool! 

Lily gets a kiss from her two big brothers! 

DON'T ASK!!!!  (Actually, the boys were fighting over who was going to climb up and make Lily laugh!) 

Lily's outfit matches the sheets, and she's happy about it!

This is a hat that was included in baby items we brought home from Norway.  I don't know if it was Harry's mom's....or Harry's.....???  So cute! 

It even has little ear flaps! 

 We've worked puzzles!

The boys LOVE to wash dishes - especially when we aren't around to stop them or "control" their efforts! 

Look at how much Lily looks like her big brother, Benjamin! 

Here's Benjamin at 4 1/2 years!  Handsome and precious! 

And, of course, we keep having fun with the bows!!!!!  (Both of the boys wore these jeans!!!!)