Happy Birthday dear Jojo

12:41pm One year after you entered our lives. You have added so much to our lives. You have such a mellow personality & such a great sense of humor. You love your big brother & you two are really starting to play well together. You are walking (waving with your right hand while you do it), talking (mostly babbling except for mama & dada), hugging, kissing, sleeping through the night, loving food, enjoying showers & just being an all around sweet baby. I am sad to know that you are only getting older & are no longer a baby but I am happy to watch you growing & exploring. Scroll down to see photos of Jojo enjoying his birthday cake tonight. He dove right in shoving a huge piece in his mouth. Smiling. Clapping for himself. And finally trying to take the cake right off of Johnnie's tray.We love you. Happy New Year!

Ten on Tuesday- Holiday Catch Up

1. I am always taking pictures & this vacation was no exception. We had a really good time with Christmas Eve, Christmas, Joey's Birthday party & just hanging out with friends & family. After this whole week of being sick Joey is finally feeling better & back to his normal self.2. These were just hanging out in front of the house. Not something we see everyday in Los Angeles.3. Later in the evening after Joey's party was over & mostly everyone had left, Joey had the privilege of being read to by his "uncle Mike". Not an uncle by relation but he has been Rick's best friend for 22 years. 4. I had to convince the Bolanders & Kellys that they really wanted to participate in one of my photo shoots. With a little coaxing (begging) everyone cooperated & had a great time. Here are some of the photos. Rick's sister (Krys) & niece (Isobel). 5. Rick's mom & stepdad joined in the fun too. 6. Rick's dad & stepmom came down from Vermont to visit us. Not only did they want to see their kids & grandkids but I think it gave them the opportunity to warm up a little.7. My friend Kristy of 22 years drove in from Boston for the birthday party & a visit. Thanks for making the trip Coop. It was so nice to see you & I can't wait for our next visit. Oh yeah. Thanks for the books. They both keep asking to have TEN LITTLE LADYBUGS read to them.8. We woke up on our last morning there & decided we needed some music to liven things up. Even Joey wanted to dance.9. That evening gramma & Joey spent some time playing. Peek A Boo & the tickle game. Joey spent most of his week back East sick so it was really nice to see him playful & happy. And really who wouldn't be happy playing with gramma?
10. Our last night there Rick & I wanted our Carvel ice cream fix so we got Johnnie all bundled up & headed out in to the cold to get our soft serves. BONUS PIC. I was able to capture this beautiful Connecticut sunset while out there.

It's My Party & I'll Cry If I Want To

We were lucky enough to celebrate Joey's 1st birthday 4 days early with our East coast family & friends. Guests traveled from all over Connecticut & New York, Boston & Vermont to celebrate this special day with our little guy. Joey was sick so he spent a lot of today crying. So sad for two reasons. Obviously because we don't want him to feel bad & also because everyone who came didn't get to really see our chill baby boy. Johnnie was sick today so after one family photo he spent the rest of the party sleeping. It was so nice to see so many relatives. Including my grandma. All of Joey's living grandparents. Some of his cousins. And many others. Joey's birthday cake was made by cousin Isobel's daddy. It sure was tasty & so cute. He made Joey his own little car to eat, which he enjoyed for a few bites. He spent the rest of the day being a little cranky & crying off & on. He was really only content when I was holding him or he was holding me. Hope you feel better on your actual birthday but you sure are one lucky loved little guy.

White Christmas

I already posted our Christmas morning but wanted to share our afternoon. Be warned this is a picture heavy post but it's not often I get to take pictures with this beautiful scenery. We live in sunny Southern California but were lucky enough to spend Christmas on the East coast this year. And as luck would have it we were blessed with a white Christmas. We couldn't waste this opportunity so we went outside to sled. Isobel demonstrated how to do it for us. Then it was daddy & Johnnie's turn. Johnnie held on for dear life & absolutely loved it. I enjoyed the outside too just standing & freezing. Johnnie decided it was too cold outside so he went in for the day. Then Joey came out smiling, felt the snow, cried & went right back in for the day. He still has a cold & wasn't really enjoying the cold day.My sisters & dad also spent the holidays on the East coast visiting our grandma, aunts & uncles. So when they came over for the afternoon of course I had to get some pictures of them playing in the snow & then one of us together. And just because Rick & I rarely get photos together.

Christmas Morning

Not a very catchy title but at least you know what the post is about. Merry Christmas everyone! Joey & I were the 1st ones up & even though he doesn't understand what's going on yet I brought him in to the living room to see what Santa might have left behind. He enjoyed crawling over the gifts but never tried to rip any open. Johnnie was the last one to wake up since he was still on West coast time but after he finished eating breakfast it was off to open gifts after reading Santa's note. Johnnie as always was very helpful. He made sure Joey knew how to open gifts & of course he had to make sure Joey knew how to play with the gifts. As you can see he did. Joey even enjoyed explaining his toys to grandpa Joe while Johnnie showed daddy how to use his new Doodle Pro. Rick is wearing the Patriots jersey his sister gave him. I wonder if I'll be seeing a lot of that throughout our marriage. All the kids had a great Christmas morning with way too many gifts including cousin Isobel who was reading parts of her new book to her mom. All this gift opening left Joey a little exhausted & with some head tickling from grandma he was out cold. Grandpa & Auntie Kim & Kayci were also on the East coast for the holidays visiting our grandma, aunts & uncles. They came over for the afternoon to spend the day together & to have Christmas dinner. Having them with us made my Christmas complete.