I never have anything clever to put in the title area so I am just leaving it blank...so there! Just wanted to document a few things, mostly for my benefit. Josh started to clap on Sunday, December 13th. It is the cutest thing ever! When it's just me and the kids for dinner, Maya and I like to clap for him every time he has a bite to eat. Then he gets really excited and starts clapping big time. If you give him a lot of praise his little face will turn red. He also got his first tooth this past weekend! He has actually been sleeping better than ever so I didn't think he was teething but Nick felt the little tooth in his mouth on Sunday. Maya was 13 months before she got her first tooth, we had to mash everything up for so long. I'm excited that he is getting teeth so he can eat normal table foods, he gags on everything still. No pictures yet.

I took the kids to the mall on Monday to finish up some Christmas shopping and we saw that there was no line for Santa. After some convincing, Maya was ready to meet him and have her picture taken. It cracked me up. She walked up and said in her tiny voice, "Santa, I want to have a lipstick for Christmas" he didn't quite hear her and said, "What's that little girl? A barbie doll for Christmas? I'm sure we can work on that for you." Then she looked up at me all frazzled like, "Uh oh. This is going to be the worst Christmas ever!" I told her to speak up and she was finally able to tell him what she REALLY wanted this year. The picture turned out really cute but I can't get our scanner to work. I will work on it later.

Busy, busy, busy

It seems like we have been going non-stop around here. Nick is taking 3 nights of school this semester so he can finish IN ONE YEAR, I have been busy getting things ready for the New Year in Primary, Maya is busy with school, Josh is busy being the cutest baby ever, etc. etc. But I thought I should take a minute and post a few things.

Josh had his 9 month appointment yesterday. I am sad that he is growing up so fast but am loving every single minute I have with him. He seriously lights up my day and is just the happiest little guy ever. He is *this close* to getting some teeth and has been drooling up a storm but nothing yet. He continues to show interest in table foods and seems ready to move on from the ground-up baby foods but he isn't so good with mashing things in his mouth so we are limited to the little Gerber puffs that disintegrate in his mouth and TEENY pieces of bread. Otherwise he gags on whatever you give him and his pukes up his entire meal. His hair is growing like weeds and he's already had haircut number two at 9 months old.

He is getting so big:


Weight: 20 pounds 7.5 ounces
Length: 29 inches

We are still loving Maya's preschool and continue to be involved in any way we can; including the never-ending fundraising events. Last month we received a catalog with different foods in it, everything from appetizers to desserts. We bought some good things and will do that again. Then this month they are having the Scholastic book sale. A friend and I were talking about how when we were in elementary school you could get so many books for $10 bucks. Not anymore. Here is Maya and her $10.00 book. We walked into the gym and she walks right over to the girly area. This book had a nail polish attached to the cover so that was that! Didn't even bother trying to convince her to look at other books.


P.S. She still hasn't even read the book/looked at the pictures. No joke. That was the most expensive nail polish I have ever bought.

Thanksgiving

I just got back an hour ago from taking my mom to the airport. It amazes me that two people can spend so much quality time together and not get sick of one another! I love her so much and she is just the best mom/friend/gramma ever. The only thing we differ on is spoiling the kids too much but that is normal with every grandma right?!? We had a great time shopping, eating, playing, and just catching up. She took Maya swimming at the rec center a few times and that gave me some nice one on one time with Josh. He really liked that! He is turning into a complete mama's boy and I love it!! We had a full week with my mom before my dad flew out to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was wonderful to have an actual family dinner for Thanksgiving! My dad is hilarious and so much fun to hang out with. We rented movies, played a mean game of scrabble, built forts, ate way too much food, and just had a blast! My parents tried to take Maya to a movie one day but she got completely freaked out by how loud it was that they left before it even started! Here are some pictures of their visit.




Being silly with Grandma


Playing with her Dollar Tree treasures from Gramma and Papa




Checking out the deals for Black Friday


Had to take a picture of the awesome turkey Nick made!


Poor Josh didn't get to sample much from the dinner table this year. We think he may have a milk allergy as he rashes up any time he eats something that contains milk/dairy. We gave him a tiny taste of mashed potatoes and his whole chin turned red. He liked his sweet potatoes just fine though!


J was up at 6am on Black Friday so I bundled him up and went to Target and Toy's R Us to get a few good deals. I got this Christmas tree for $25! It's pretty sad looking but it will work out fine for a few years. We had fun setting it up and decorating it with my parents in town.


The kids got their gifts from G&P early since they won't get to see them on Christmas. Maya has officially been introduced to the world of the Littliest Pet Shop. Oh boy!




Josh looks huge here.









We miss you already Gramma and Papa! Why are you leaving me with this crazy person?



J/K "Bro-sy"...

We were at the doctor's office today and after I took a urine sample, (No, I'm not pregnant...just the new mommy to some little kidney stones...LOVELY!) Maya looked at the sample cup and said, "Wow momma, that was really cool!" I was laughing so hard. She was also watching me as I was sitting down doing my thing and she said, "You're doing it mom!! Great job!"

Love my kids!

Josh Laughing/Talking

This little boy has been a real butthead lately. Last night he slept very few hours and was up for the day at 5am. But he has the BEST laugh in the world, seriously. I cannot stay mad at him!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Halloween Photos

Saturday was a huge success...we had a blast going trick or treating and Maya got a ton of awesome candy! So glad she likes to share. Josh made a very cute horsey...




I love how they are holding hands here.










Visiting our sweet neighbor, Molly.



On Saturday morning we had to rake the leaves in our backyard. We have a huge tree so it took a few hours. We got some really cute pictures of Maya playing.

Preschool Party

Maya's Halloween Party for school was today. She was excited to dress up and show both of her teachers and all of her little friends her costume. I tried and tried to pin the ears so that they would resemble kittie's ears but I don't know how successful I was...I also tried to pin down the top of her head because it seriously poked out like a conehead. It looked a little better but as I was trying to fix it I realized what an un-crafty person I am. I wish I had it in me! Some of the things I see people make with their hands and creativity is bewildering to me. I am so jealous. Anyway, we got to school and Maya was in a so-so mood...kind of acting weird and unsure of the whole party thing. The teachers asked all of the kids to come together for a class picture and when Maya spotted a little boy dressed as Spiderman with painted spiders all over his face, things took a turn for the worse. She has been so scared of everything this year! It's crazy!! So, she didn't join them for the picture, which was kind of sad. It was fun to stay and help with some of the other moms. We love her school and teachers! Putting her in this school was probably one of the best decisions we've made! Maya's classroom Maya loves both of her teachers but I think she especially likes this one! Mrs. Hassinger is a really sweet lady. We painted Maya's nails a few weeks back and when we went into school M ran up to show her. The next day in class her teacher came running over to Maya to show her that she had painted her nails too. She told us that it was 11pm the night before and she said, "I have to paint my nails for Maya" so she stayed up really late to get it done. She is awesome! Mrs. Curmi, we love her too! She does so much for the kids and is a great teacher. Josh had fun too.