And the Potty Training begins...

Josh decided he wanted to use the potty like Daddy. He went into the bathroom, grabbed a magazine and sat there...
...and nothing happened. It's a beginning, and a fabulous blackmail photo (if I do say so myself).

2 months in

It's been 2 months now, and everyone - including all 3 dogs - is still alive.

Sherman is bigger than Sadie - he passed her up a while ago, and he's only 6 months old. His paws are huge, and I get the feeling he'll eventually pass up Sarge in size as well. Right now it is a bit irritating to have a 55lb puppy running around and he is a spaz and a half. When it comes to food, he is the most enthusiastic animal on the planet. But if he is sleeping, I truly think a nuclear bomb could go off and he wouldn't care. He isn't deaf either - he responds to sound anytime it is in the Kitchen. He loves Josh, though it's probably because he drops the most food on the floor and often will simply feed Sherman just because he likes to have his hands licked.

Sadie and Sarge have calmed down into normal dogs. Sadie is always the first to bark when there is something wrong and she always does the rounds at night to be sure everyone is accounted for. She is a very sweet dog and loves me the most, always laying down next to me and on the floor at the foot of the bed while I'm sleeping. Sarge is like a normal dog now that he is on the anti-inflammatory medication and glucosamine for his hip displaysia. He jumps and plays and can almost run as fast as Sadie. He is most definitely Miguel's dog.

Josh is talking more and more all of the time. He loves Sherman and will feed him at any chance (as stated before, just because he likes to have his hands licked). He can't say Sherman - he says it as "But-ton." The other day I heard him say, "shower" and he said it correctly so I asked him to say, "Sure" he repeated it. I asked him to say, "men" he repeated it. I asked him to say "Sher-man" and he said, BUT-TON. He looked quite proud of himself.

Katie is prettier and prettier everyday. As a mom, I am required to say that. She won't smile for the camera yet as she is quite interested in what is going on when we get the camera out. She looks quite interested in things though. She still has a head full of hair which refuses to be tamed.

Christmas was fabulous - Josh loves his scoot around toys and Elmo doll. Katie loves her clothes. The dogs are still working on their big rawhide bones. Life is good for us right now.

Our first "project"

We wanted Josh to make our Christmas cards this year, so I bought some markers and construction paper and a few Sesame Street stickers.

He contributed to some of the best Christmas Cards ever! We really enjoyed watching him too. It was his first adventure with markers. Crayons are for every-day, and markers are for special occasions.

Thank goodness for washable markers.

In their spare time

Daddy and Josh Rock out with Rockband!


and yes - that is Katie crying in the background...I guess she doesn't like to rock.

First Family Visit

The first weekend in November - including Halloween - we were happy to play host to my mom and my sister's family. I was quite excited because it was the first time I was going to see my nephew Gavin, and also because I hadn't seen them in almost 2 years - and Philip I hadn't seen in over 2 years!

We didn't have anything planned...just wanted to hang out. The house was (as expected) a complete zoo with 5 adults, 3 kids and 3 dogs in our small space, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent together. Miguel and Philip played Guitar Hero 3. We all stayed up late every night and managed to sleep in late in the mornings (yes, even Josh). We even had pictures taken of the kids together, with Katie in her beautiful, handmade blessing dress (thank you again, Mom).

We didn't do much for Halloween. People don't seem to go trick-or-treating here. It is more common to see the various church parking lots (any denomination) filled with "trunk"-or-treaters. In fact, our first 2 Halloweens here we never even saw any kids out. We did take pictures of our kids in their costumes though. Gavin made an adorable tiger, Josh was Yoda (yep, again) and Katie was decked out in the pumpkin gear.

We actually went to the Zoo one of the days they were here. It was great! Nashville has a much better zoo than I expected. We ended up buying a membership and for the next year, the Felix family now has something to do that won't cost anything but the gas to get there - and thankfully, it isn't far.

After a week, they all went home and normalcy has returned to our home. Josh misses the excitement, I think, but not the chaos. He has been able to return to his regular routine, which my sanity appreciates.

Katie has arrived

Kathryn Elizabeth was welcomed into this world after an uneventful labor. I will spare you the grisly details (though there aren't many).

She weighed a healthy 9lbs and 7ozs and is 21 inches long. She was 4 days past her due date, arriving on October 16th. She is a bit jaundiced-looking in one of these pictures, but we are hoping we don't have to deal with a return hospital-stay like we did with Josh. So far she is nursing healthily and is much more alert than I remember Josh being.

And yes, she has 2 chins and no neck...

The most common question we have been posed is, "How has Josh reacted to her?" Here is the answer:

Miguel's Birthday and a Baby Update

October 2nd was Miguel's 27th birthday. To celebrate, we went out to dinner for some good southern food. He received a few cards, some games and accessories for his Xbox and a Star Wars Collectible. As always, Miguel's birthday started on September 29th with a "King-for-a-day" event - in other words, we watched College Football all day and he got to choose everything we ate. He even decided no cake, but Key-Lime Pie. I admit I appreciated this as I could buy the pie and cake would have meant my having to allow my feet to swell up to humongous as I baked a cake. His birthday then continued through October 3rd, with his choosing special things for us to do and his being treated even "specialer" than he is normally.

For his Birthday dinner actually ON his birthday, we didn't go too far, because we are still waiting for our 2nd child to make her appearance any day now. We don't often take pictures of Miguel and myself - especially not me in my huge-condition. But, I figured a birthday and probably our last *big* outing before the baby comes, is a good reason. So here we all are.

I've even included a "belly-shot" for you to ogle. I am officially 38weeks, 4 days pregnant in these pictures. That is exactly the day I went into labor with Josh. We'll see how long this one decides to cook. Just so you all know, I predicted this child would be late when I first found out I was pregnant. I figured Josh was such an easy pregnancy, a short labor and an easy baby that this one is bound to be a hellish pregnancy (which it hasn't been, but it's not been as easy as Josh was), a crazy delivery and then the child will be a hellion and drive us completely insane. All because we had the "easy" one first.

I am now 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant and it just seems to keep going. Every day for the past 10 or so days, Miguel has said, "Tonight's the night honey, get ready." But nothing happens. I certainly haven't had the urgent feeling of needing to get everything ready yet, so I think we may truly be in for the long haul.

So here you go, the belly-shot you have all been waiting for:
And for those of you comparing the 38 week shot from last time with this one, please note, I am wearing the same pants in both pictures. I didn't think to try and get me from the same angle. And yes - I feel much bigger this time.