10 on Tuesday- Party Weekend

1. Johnnie is 3 days away from turning so we had a birthday party for him this past Saturday.

2. We had a doggie bouncer for him & all the kiddos. As soon as it was set up he convinced his daddy & me to bounce with him & then he spent time throughout the day bouncing.3. This year he was willing to blow out the candle (with daddy's help) & tried the blue icing, but he refused to actually eat the cake.4. Of course his aunties were there to celebrate his big day & one day I'm sure he will actually cooperate & look at the camera to take a pic with us.5. After his fun day with great friends his gramma who flew in from Connecticut for the big day gave him a back & head massage with his new trains. He just kept asking for her to do it with bigger & bigger trains. And the next morning he picked up the train, sat down & waited for her to do it again.6. The day after the party we went to the park with gramma & Joey got some quality time with her. 7. Bimpa came too & Johnnie was really excited to show him the boats that were in the water.8. We set up the train table the Vuoso's gave us & put some of his new birthday gifts out for him to play with. We had actually hoped that he would stand next to the table instead of on it, but at least he was enjoying himself.9. Johnnie got this truck from our friend Chris & he spent all evening running all through the house with it & he even spent some time showing Joey how it works.10. Johnnie & Joey playing together with some of Johnnie's new toys. I can't believe he won't be 1 anymore, but it has been so exciting watching him grow especially with his little brother.BONUS: Joey is 38 Weeks Old now. Teething has been very painful for him & has kept him up many nights, but he is just so darn adorable with his two new bottom teeth.

Because Our Lives Aren't Crazy Enough

In case this picture wasn't actually worth a thousand words, here's another one. I'm 17 weeks along now. Due March 2nd. This was a little unexpected, but definitely reason to celebrate. We always knew we wanted a 3rd baby & even though it has happened a little sooner than planned we are so very happy & just so excited to know that we will have another baby to love early next year.

Saturday Happenings

Rick spent today at school & then went to the Ohio State vs USC game which left the boys home with me all day & of course their Auntie Kimberly most of the day. Johhnie enjoyed typing on my computer this morning while his little bro spent time cruising along the furniture. After My Gym during Johnnie's nap, Joey spent time POSING for the camera. Each time I pointed the camera toward him he would look directly at the camera, let me take the photo & then start crawling toward me. At one point he was playing with his puppy chair & it brought back memories of the photos I took for Joey's announcement at 2 weeks old. Then this afternoon during Joey's nap, Johnnie drew with markers & colored with crayons while I edited photos.Doesn't he look like such a big boy here? He was having so much fun especially once I let him dump all the crayons out in front of him. We wished daddy was home today but we managed to have fun & look forward to family time tomorrow!

10 on Tuesday

1. 17 days from now baby Johnnie will be 2 years old. TWO! Can you believe it? I can't. And as the day approaches I find myself thinking about being pregnant with Johnnie.

2. 8 Months pregnant. 3. He changed so much that first year & one of the moments that stands out most is when he learned to walk. Before he was even 10 months old he was taking his 1st steps. Then before he was 11 months old he was trying to run but just succeeded in looking like a walking Frankenstein.

4.5. I have decided that dinners on Sunday will be stir-fry from now on. I used to try & make big elaborate dinners but have now decided that I'm just too tired after a day of menu planning for the week, grocery shopping, making Joey's baby food for the week & planning lunch for a very picky almost 2 year old.

6. Sunday morning we made oatmeal for the boys. Now that we are trying to feed Joey more solid food, we are able to let the boys share food.

7. 8. Now it's Johnnie's turn.9. Last night Joey tried & loved shepherd's pie for the first time. What's not to love I guess? Mashed potatoes, carrots, beef & peas (I can do without peas but at least he loves them).

10. A Joey lesson learned for the week. Last night Joey woke up crying around 2 hours after he went to sleep. I decided to give a little tough love & to let him cry it out. After a few minutes he went back to sleep. Then 1 hour later he woke up crying again & I decided that he should cry it out again, but a few minutes after crying it woke up Johnnie so Rick & I went to separate rooms to calm the boys down. Well I tried to nurse Joey because this ALWAYS makes him happy but he was inconsolable. Turns out he was teething & needed Motrin & teething tablets to nurse himself back to sleep. Oh well. From now on I will just go make sure he's okay. It may mean more middle of the night wake ups but at least he won't be in pain anymore. Poor baby!

10 on Tuesday- Labor Day Weekend

1. Joey is 8 Months Old now. 17 pounds 2 ounces. Steadily gaining weight & getting bigger. Babbling. Crawling Everywhere. Following Johnnie around the house. Very happy. Cries only when he's hungry or very tired. Sleeping 11-13 hours every night with one feeding between 3:30-5am. Constantly chasing the kitties & always making us smile! Auntie Kimberly & I took him to Redondo Beach to capture his photo. He enjoyed crawling through the sand in the shade until he got to the sunny part & then he stopped because it was too hot.2. Dumping sand on mama's shoes. 3. Everyday during school, Johnnie does arts & crafts. This consists of coloring, pasting stuff on paper & making outfits. Here is the outfit they made last week. A little poncho & hat.4. He even made a hat for Joey.5. Johnnie has finally started eating whole pieces of fruit like grapes & strawberries. No more cutting it up in to tiny little pieces. He sometimes forgets to chew but at least he's trying to eat like a big kid instead of a baby.

6. The boys are trying to play together these days. Mostly Johnnie just plays while Joey giggles & watches. Notice that Batty is right in the thick of things AGAIN. 7. Joey is constantly pulling himself up to a standing position. The couch, his exersaucer, the entertainment center & sometimes push toys. This weekend he pulled himself up on this toy & then looked at us like he wanted help so we put him on it. Look how excited he is. 8. As much as Johnnie loves his brother we still have to watch him constantly with Joey because he gets jealous when "his toys" are being played with. He won't try to hurt him but he will pull the toys away sometimes causing Joey to fall over.

9. Here's that toy that Joey was on & of course Johnnie decided to come over & squeeze on & control it. Joey doesn't seem to mind though.10. But it's obvious that Johnnie loves Joey. Joey better be careful. He may fall in to the splits if he's not careful. When Joey climbed up, Johnnie hugged him & said "I love you Jojo". Hope your Labor Day weekend was full of fun & sun.

10 on Tuesday

1.This time last year I was busy chasing around an 11 month old. He had been walking for 2 months already so anytime we set him down he would strut around. On this particular day we were at the Coffee Bean & Johnnie was dancing to the music. Every time I see this photo now it makes me smile because it looks as though he's in a club asking the ladies to dance.2. Now our little guy is one month away from 2. He no longer struts around but instead runs nonstop throughout the house. He is still always dancing though.

3.He loves watching movies, especially Cars.

4. He hasn't had a haircut in a few months so whenever he wakes up or gets sweaty his hair is completely curly. Definitely takes after his daddy on this one.5. He loves his baby brother but he's still very jealous if he's having too much fun with daddy. He just joins in. And he doesn't seem to mind Joey's feet in his hair.6. Joey is now 34 weeks old. He LOVES food. I can't even explain how much. But all pureed food. So now I'm trying to introduce solid foods to him.

7. We gave him puff cereal first but they just kept getting stuck to his hands & never ended up in his mouth.

8. So now we have moved on to Biter Biscuits. After the first lick he paused & sat there thinking about whether or not he liked it.9. He didn't think long though. Right back in his mouth it went.10. And if you suck on it long enough it breaks in to multiple pieces. Good job Joe. Now if we can just get you to eat solid non-messy foods.

Friday Fun

Our evenings are usually just dinner, baths, books, the occasional daddy jungle gym play (notice that even Batty participates), nursing & bedtime. This afternoon we got home early enough for me to spend some time taking photos of Joey while Rick entertained Johnnie. First I took photos of Joey crawling toward toys wearing the hat Johnnie made in school today. He's very determined & will usually work to get what he wants & boy is he happy when he gets it. That's pure joy on his face. Then I took him outside to get some fresh air & of course some more photos. I put him down in the grass but as you can see from the look on his face he didn't like the feel of it much. So I put him on a blanket & playtime resumed again. Now if I could just get home early enough everyday for the extra play time to happen...wishful thinking for now. And today is a very special day. My grandma's 88th Birthday. Hope you had a nice day. Here is a photo of her with Johnnie when he was 8 months old.

What I Can Manage

Who knew it would be so difficult to keep up with a blog when completely obsessed with everything going on in the Olympics. As much as I enjoy them, I need them to hurry up & end because I'm tired & I'm ready to get back to a normal life that doesn't include staying up till all hours of the night watching the games & then spending the whole next day trying to avoid hearing who the winners are since I'm not always caught up. Oh well. Every 4 years, right?

Lately Johnnie has been very toddler like. He ignores you if he's watching a show or movie. If you stand in front of him, he leans around you to keep watching & says...MOOOVE! He now loves everything that used to be his that is now Joey's, including the exersaucer. It's funny to me that his little legs used to sit straight down .And he also feels that he should be involved in Joey's feedings. On this particular day I was feeding Joey oatmeal & Johnnie came right over & sat in front of him to get some bites too.I just hope that one day he will want to be this close to his brother just to play.

And for a bonus. Joey's 33 week photo.

It's Been Busy Here

While checking other blogs I realized I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks. I didn't even realize. It's been a busy 2 weeks around here. We have had a playdate with close friends who have a son 6 months older than Johnnie & a son 3 months younger than Joey. Rick has gone back East to record music & to hang out with friends. Joey has started crawling forward, especially if there is food in his sights & Johnnie is talking nonstop now that he only uses his pacifier at naptime & bedtime.

Johnnie & Cal.Joey & JonahJohnnie reading with grandpaJoey is fascinated with the kitties. As soon as they walk in the room he can't get enough of them. He crawls over & tries to tackle them. Only Batty will actually let Joey touch him. And as you can see in this photo they both look so pleased. Joey is really starting to enjoy his nightly baths.And it's not Friday but all this talk of Joey crawling made me think back to when Johnnie started crawling so here is a Flashback photo of Johnnie at 7 months old.