Happy Leap Day jojo

In the blink of an eye you went from being a newborn who could barely keep his eyes open while nursing to this little guy who has opinions about how he wants to be held, how he can't stand being bottle fed & so on. Joey was born on the 31st of December & being that there are not 31 days every month, we have to celebrate the last day of each month & so my little guy you are 2 months old on this EXTRA special day of the year.You have a tendency to be super fussy when you get slightly tired or hungry but you are much happier now than you were at the beginning of the month. You are reacting to our smiles & noticing objects we dangle in front of you.Your 2 month baby well check up went well. You weigh 12 pounds & are 23 1/2 " long. You were happy while the doctor checked you, but then Nurse Shirley gave you shots & you were really unhappy then & for the rest of the day. You finally calmed down when daddy & Auntie Kayci held you this evening. Hope you enjoyed your extra day!. Love you!

10 Things I Love About my 17 Month Old

1. He wakes up bright & early in the morning ready to go. When you walk in his room, he stands up in his crib & starts talking very excitedly (except those rare times when he's crying).

2. His abundance of energy. He doesn't walk. He is always running with his little arms waving around & runs his shoes into the ground (as you can see from these shoes that I have finally retired).3. When we walk in to pick him up at daycare he jumps up from whatever he's doing (dancing, eating, reading), runs over to get his coat & runs to the door & says bye to everyone in the room.

4. We are constantly trying to teach him how to say new words & it seems as though he's learning new ones daily. So whenever we ask him to try & say something he mimics us. BUT when we ask him to say Kim or Kayci (his aunties) he remains silent. I'm pretty sure he does this on purpose because he looks so proud of himself while he sits silent.

5. He loves his aunties like they are 2nd moms to him. Big smiles whenever he sees them & sometimes tears when they leave.6. Watching him & my hubby spend time together.7. When I had a baby I always looked forward to playdates & today 3 of my girlfriends brought their kiddos over to play. Johnnie is finally enjoying having other children to play with even if he is going through a possessive phase. We couldn't get all the kids to look at the camera, much less smile but as they grow & I continue to take photos it will be sweet to watch them grow together.(Ariana-7 1/2 mos, Bella-11mos, Johnnie-17mos, Kate-3 1/2 holding a screaming 8 wk Joey & Tyler- 3 1/2).8. Recently he has been able to sit still for minutes at a time watching shows like Sesame Street, Zoboomafoo & his favorite, Word World. When he's really enjoying what he's watching, he stares very intently at the tv... a little scary but at least he can concentrate.9.If you know me, you know I take a lot of photos. Johnnie is a great sport & will almost always look at the camera when I ask him to. I love when he smiles but I also love capturing his intense face & his little curls.10. The love he already has for his brother. Jo-Jo & Baby is how he refers to him now. He has figured out after 8 weeks that hitting him upside the head is really not okay. Instead whenever Joey cries, Johnnie thinks it will make him feel better to throw a blanket over him, his head included. I tried to get a photo of them both smiling, but since Joey rarely smiles that wasn't going to happen & I feel lucky to just get them both looking forward. Aren't they cute? And the bonus pic for today. Joey's official 8 week photo. A little smirk.

The Evil that is McDonald's

A tired mom, dad at school, 2 crying overtired boys & the lack of desire to cook dinner. This is how I ended up in the drive thru at McDonald's on the way home from running errands. Chicken Nuggets & french fries to share between mom & son. It seemed innocent enough, but McDonald's is evil. One taste & he was hooked. What is it about this place that kids love after 1 taste? One bite & he couldn't get enough. My boy who eats peas & cauliflower by the handful just started shoving french fries in his mouth & before he was even done chewing would start saying fresh fry (he can't say it right, YET) to get the next one. Don't get me wrong, this girl loves french fries, but I guess I just assumed that since he loves veggies & chicken he would just think this was another food that was just ok. Boy, was I wrong!

10 on Tuesday

1. I am obsessed with the show What Not to Wear. Especially since right now I don't have a lot of clothes that fit my post baby, nursing body.

2. Having my sisters come over almost everyday makes dealing with a baby that cries a lot more bearable.

3. On that note my baby Joey is now 7 weeks old & is only usually crying a lot during 2 awake periods during the day. 4. Here is Joey's 6 week photo that I didn't post last week. I can't believe how much he changes each week.5. Looking forward to a quadruple date night with my high school friends & their husbands this Saturday. Adult conversation here we come.

6. Enjoying the book the Plain Truth.

7. Really happy for the rain so I don't have to water the grass, but disliking it at the same time because it means no daily walks with the boys.

8. I went on that 1st run. Only made it 2.5 miles, but it felt great.

9. I love to see my dad bonding with his grandsons.10. One of my favorite things about having children is watching my husband interact with them ( or just nap with them).

A Little Piece of Me

Breakfast was over, both boys were napping & I decided it was time for me to find the gym. For those who knew me before I had my 2 boys you know I was once a gym rat. I would spend at least an hour a day there 4-6 days a week. But then I had children & the time to get to the gym became few & far between.

Tomorrow marks 6 weeks since I had my surgery & gave birth so it was time. I chose to do the stairclimber (the one like rotating stairs) & figured I could handle 30 minutes since I used to do this all the time. Magazine in hand, level 5 chosen & I'm climbing away. So far so good. Then 7 minutes in, my thighs started to tremble & I couldn't believe I used to do this for up to an hour. My how things have changed. Well I made it the whole 30 minutes, was drenched in sweat & couldn't be happier that I felt a little like the old me even if it was only for a short time. I can't wait to get back to the gym again hopefully to run this time. Hope you feel a little like your old self once in awhile too.

Just wanted to leave you with this photo taken of Joey & me to celebrate his 6 weeks of life.

Can you believe it's already February?

Our weekend started off so nicely with Joey getting his 1st bottle from his daddy, reading time with the boys, a new love for Johnnie (Bella), a sad ending to a great football season resulting in Rick shaving off his beard & leaving this hilarious moustache & Joey turning 5 weeks old. Hope your weekend was as full of love & laughter as ours was (& some tears for the Pats)!