We're not dead...yet

I promise I have more entries coming...they are currently in development. Do not give up on me just yet.

Coming soon:
Josh's birthday!
Kookie Katie
Josh can get out of his own Bed

and probably more, but that's all i have planned for now...STAY TUNED!

New Years Eve Mega-Party!

Ok, so it was only our little family and it ended when the kids went to bed at 8, but it was a great time. I made the best Nachos ever, we ate junk food, wore silly hats and the kids made a lot of noise. Miguel opted to get the kids noisemakers - on purpose. He also watched football and we all listened to some great music. It was a fantastic time.

Miguel and I made it to the New Year...barely. We were both worn out from the Mega-party...ok, we're just getting old.


Katie looks a bit possessed after I removed the red-eye, but aren't they cute? Yes, that is a temporary tatoo on Josh's arm. He is potty-trained but we're still occasionally rewarding him with stickers and tattoos...Star Wars themed, his favorite.

Here are our most recent full-family pictures!

This was the best of the photos...which I agree isn't saying much, but we're all in it! Katie was trying to escape and you can't tell that I'm pinning Josh down too. Good times. I fully respect those who've braved the professional studio; it was easier taking pictures of the 3 dogs together than those kids.

Christmas Twice! and Grandma's Visit

We managed to have 2 Christmases. One from a secret Santa who brought the kids toys and the normal Christmas.

A couple of days before Christmas, a good friend of ours brought over a few bags of gifts for the kids. She was just the elf for our Secret Santa! So, Santa, if you're out there, Christmas was wonderful and the kids LOVE everything they received.

Since Grandma was coming to town, we originally planned on saving Christmas until she arrived on the 26th. On Christmas morning we revised this plan and chose to open the secret Santa gifts and gifts from my parents on Christmas day, and then everything else after Grandma arrived.

The Plan turned out wonderfully. Josh ran around asking who the different presents were for and he carried presents from under the tree to each person. He loved every minute of it, including "helping" Katie open her presents. It was a lot of fun to see Josh so into the whole thing. He was Mr. Impatient at times but overall, considering he isn't even 3 yet, he did very well. If you ask Josh what he got for Christmas, he'll reply, "Presents" and upon further pushing, he'll say, "Toys".

The favorite gifts of the year: Josh loves the fuzzy lined Crocks he received from the Abueos, and the fancy Lightsaber from us. Katie loves the Raggedy Ann Doll from Grandma & Grandpa and the VTech laptop from Secret Santa. My favorite gifts for the kids were their fleece blankets and the fun bath towels from Secret Santa.

Grandma Lupe came to visit for 5 days and Josh was in HEAVEN. He played and followed Grandma around everywhere. His favorite thing was getting Grandma to "fight" him with his lightsabers.

Katie didn't know what to think about having someone else in the house, and would really let everyone know (loudly) how she felt if she couldn't see a parent in the room. At least she was quite happy with Grandma as long as she could see a parent.

All in all, it was a fantastic Christmas, and very memorable. Thank you very much Secret Santa. You made our Christmas very exciting and put smiles on all of our faces.

A Wonderful Visit with Friends

We had a visit from our friend Susan this weekend and it was fantastic. Josh loves her and talks about her all the time. Katie...well, Katie is going through the I'm-14-months-old-and-only-want-my-mom phase of life, but she certainly warmed up to Susan quickly.

Friday night was the Branch Christmas Party, which included the Christmas Program. Josh was talking about how he was going to be a sheep for weeks. I was getting quite excited, as he did very well in the 2 practices they had. Friday arrived and we finished dinner at the party and the primary kids were all called to put on their costumes. The stage was set and the kids were paraded into the room to await their turn on stage...and Josh was not wearing a costume!!! I didn't understand until I noticed he wasn't very interested in participating. Oh well...maybe next year.

We did, however, manage to get his "sheep-hat" onto Katie.

Saturday was a full day of standard Saturday duties (such as grocery shopping and picking up dog food) as well as heading out to Target (just because) and ending with checking out the Christmas lights at Opryland Resort. They have 3 huge indoor gardens within the hotel which they dress for Christmas every year. It's fun, crowded and we were quite excited to take Josh this year. Miguel stayed home with Katie while Susan, Josh and I headed out. Josh stayed in the stroller the entire time (an amazing feat). He "ooh-ed" and "ahh-ed" and seemed to really enjoy himself. His favorite thing about the Christmas season seems to be the "Christmas Yights."

The weekend ended with my speaking in church (oh the horrors!!!), and a relaxed evening making Banana-Blueberry bread and enjoying the company of Susan. Somehow I even managed to work in a nap after church! It was a busy, enjoyable weekend and we can't wait for her to return.

ABC...Spaghetti-os?

We recently were given some canned goods, and with it came 2 cans of Spaghettios. My kids have eaten spaghetti, but never from a can, so I decided it could be amusing to see how Katie and Josh reacted. Josh didn't really care, he ate it because it was dinner. Katie doesn't care what she eats, so long as she gets food.

While we were eating, Josh starts singing the ABC song and Katie starts singing and dancing along. We thought it was funny so we captured it on camera. Josh was quite irritating as he attempted to be the only star of the show (as usual).

Disclaimer - Katie does usually wear clothes while eating, but since it was a spaghettio experience we were trying to save on cleanup work. She was tossed directly into the bathtub after she was done.

These silly kids were playing underneath Miguel's desk the other day and I thought it was cute. They have such happy smiles, I know, I'm biased, but I though the world would enjoy this.

Miguel asked me to include this picture because of how happy Josh looks!

A Trip to the Park

It was cold, but we had a fantastic time. The playground was wet, but Josh didn't care because for some reason he's quite a cautious child...I suppose he is his father's son.

I took the kids to the park at the local library. It is the closest park to our house and it's a pretty good park, as far as new parks go. I miss merry-go-rounds and equipment you can hurt yourself on. I miss slides that are hot from the sun beating on them. I don't like fiberglass slides that shock you as you scoot yourself down, and cause your hair to be standing on end by the time you're at the bottom. Oh well, I'm sure kids find ways to hurt themselves on the new stuff too. It's a good thing this park-thing isn't about me. Ok, I'll get down from my tiny soapbox and move back to the topic I started with.

Anywho - Josh ran around climbing everything. Katie was quite content to watch Josh as he climbed and ran and hollered, "Come on Mama, over here!" as I followed him around. Katie isn't scared of the swings. Josh didn't want to go on the swings unless he was on my lap. It's the same with slides, he isn't interested unless he has someone with him. I'm sure he'll grow out of it. He will go on the smallest of the slides at the park, though. At least that's a start.

Notice the mohawk? I wonder if it will last the winter. It's pretty cold here already...I guess we'll see.