Birthday Boy!

How is it possible that Joey is now 3 years old? Our birthday boy is a New Year's baby & we are lucky enough to have friends who were willing to spend the last afternoon of 2010 celebrating our boy. Jojo remains our most stubborn child with the biggest heart. His gaze can melt your heart. And his temper can make you cry in frustration. He still loves baseball, golf, jumping in the trampoline & basketball. He remains our only daddy's boy & I don't see this changing any time soon. His laugh is infectious. He is always speaking in full sentences. He is now in swim lessons & loves it but would just prefer to play in the water. He is in the preschool room with Johnnie at daycare & is not only the youngest in the room but one of the bossiest. These two photos were taken at his birth time of 12:41pm & does a good job of showing his personality. You're a tough kid Joe but we love you more than you know Enjoy being 3 but try & slow down a little?

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was filled with family, good food, presents, playing & lots of laughing. All the boys slept in until 6:45am (late in our house). After getting mommy & daddy to get up we all walked down the stairs & listened as Johnnie exclaimed "Santa came." All the presents were opened with exclamations of "It's music, it's books, it's spiderman jackets" & so on. But one favorite of the day for Johnnie & Joey was the $1 stocking stuffer given to Jimmy...the slinky. Hours were spent watching it go down the stairs as they chased it. It was okay with Jimmy though because he was busy playing with his new music chimes & his favorite gift of the day the mini version of mama's vacuum. For the 1st day in weeks it wasn't raining so the boys spent part of the day enjoying their outdoor gifts. Santa brought all of the boys bikes this year but Joey wanted no part of leaving his indoor toys to try his out but the other boys loved playing with theirs. Kayci's boyfriend Christian gave the boys a gift that brought a lot of joy & a lot of laughter. The Gigaball. It's a 5' inflatable ball that you can push around or get inside & roll around in, which is how our boys preferred to play. Daddy chose to wear the ball & I even took a turn or should I say I was pushed into trying it. All our friends & families were too generous this year & there are way too many photos to post but I leave you with this last photo of the aftermath of gift opening in our homes. Thank you to everyone. Merry Christmas. We love you!

Merry Christmas From Our House

Santa was very good to us today & we hope he was good to your families too. From our family to yours we wish you lots of love & happiness in the coming year. Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was full of activity. Cookie making (& yes we do feed Joey- he just sucks in when he concentrates) fondue dinner with family, singing & watching the The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Trim the Tree

1. The 5th night in December the Advent calendar told us to decorate our Christmas tree & we listened. Johnnie was so excited. He jumped right in all on his own as soon as I opened the box of ornaments. 2. But he did allow Auntie Kim to help out a little. 3. And Jimmy learned by watching his big brother.4. And he happily showed grandpa what to do. Such a quick learner. 5. And Joey wasn't so interested until he saw this Pinocchio ornament.6. And I was there too. Mostly rearranging ornaments but also helping the boys put them on the tree.7. A lift from daddy helped put some fun ornaments like the guitar up top.8. Johnnie also asked grandpa for a lift so he could decorate up top as well. 9. But mostly he just enjoyed the lights & the ornaments all on his own. It was a wonderful evening & a great start to our holiday.10. These 2 photos were taken the night we went to see the lighting of the Fort MacArthur Christmas tree. Our family photo & the train ride with mama & Auntie Kim.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

1. My company Christmas party was held this past weekend at the Biltmore hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Thanks to my sister again we were able to enjoy a night out as us all dressed up eating with friends, dancing, spending the night in a luxurious hotel, sleeping in & having breakfast all by ourselves. 2. The house is all decorated inside & out. As we turn the corner to drive up to the house every night the boys exclaim "LIGHTS LIGHTS." (Taken with a point & shoot).3. And once they are done checking out all the neighborhood lights they move on to pointing out the snowmen on the doormat. It has always reminded me of my 3 boys. 4. And of course as soon as we walk into the house Johnnie beelines for the Advent calendar to see what has been left for him. Examples include chocolate, hot cocoa, ornaments, movies, coloring books, activities such as giving money to the "bell" at the grocery store, going out to lunch & helping purchase a gift for a less fortunate child. 5. The small tree that lights up my evening as I type on my computer because it's powered by my computer. 6. Our mantel. All of our stockings are hung & ready for Santa's arrival. The photo in the background is Johnnie at 3 months old. The are a ton of photos of the other boys but they have never been willing to wear the hat so their pictures adorn the house during the rest of the year. 7. Our Christmas Tree. Sunday evening's advent calendar activity was decorating the tree & Oscar (our 6 year old cat) has spent most evenings laying underneath it. 8. My family is always a big part of the holidays. As a family we only give gifts to the boys (& of course they give to them). But the adults choose a Kris Kringle & it's always fun to try & figure out who we each have. 9. The centerpiece that sat on each table at the party. I was one of 7 lucky winners to take one home. Isn't it cute? 10. And I will end this holiday post with this photo that shows how we feel about the holidays. I am very happy & overjoyed about all things involved with this season & well Rick he just participates because he loves us & of course he loves the happiness all of it brings the kids.