Christmas has come and gone

Hello all,

Well Christmas was a hectic time with so many different events going on I feel like I have to take more time off to recoop. On Christmas Eve we went to church and the kids got up on stage were Amelia said the darnest thing:) http://media.aspireone.com/mediaplayer/fcc/
about a 1/3 of the way in. Then off to the Hadj's house to enjoy a roasted chicken, beef pot roast, spiced carrots, an asparagus casserole and a house salad with a little pizzazz. There we had a gift exchange where we got a beer mixture and a helicopter mini remote one that has since been terrorizing the dogs!
Christmas day was an 8 am until 12pm adventure of gifts, food and fun Amelia has fully embraced the ripping open of presents and is showing Stephanos the ropes. After a great morning of playing we headed to the parents for an amazing upsidedown pizza with all the toppings mine had three types of meat and two cheeses with a wheat dough which surprisingly wasnt bad but what fun then after the secret santa of which the hadj family recieved a cooking theme with various other gifts we proceeded to play in the santa shoots and ladders puzzle that was so much fun. i couldn't believe santa spent over 100 hours preparing it with a scavenger hunt in downtown hb and a full game board and 14 individual challenge events of which the bobars came out on top.
The next day was spent going to disney on ice where amelia and stephanos took in all the cool performances. I think we were all delirious but we soon got our second wind and the bobars and roberts came over to kick straty's butt in settlers another board game which lasted into the late evening. What a funfilled weekend thank you for my gps range finder I used it yesterday and really liked it.

Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been a while

Hello to anyone that still checks this blog. Unfortunately with all the things going on and how busy we are neither of us have been able to update this for the last month and a half. Well a quick synopsis with some pictures to follow later Stephanos turned 1 year last month and has been walking ever since. Amelia has learned to whisle and play the kazoo. I have been slowly introducing them to basketball and football but right now amelia is more interested in Tinkerbell and Minnie Mouse. Last month i took a week off and the kids and i went to san diego while jenny worked on making the garage a play room and an office which she has accomplished too bad it is so cold:) When in san diego we went to Sea World, the safari park and the zoo as well as played in the sand by the condo. a two bedroom on the beach with a kitchen for 220 bucks total for a week unbelievable. Well i will try to do better it seems like we are so crazily bussssyyyyy.

Stephanos' Baby Dedication

Yesterday Stephanos had his Baby Dedication at FCCHB. It was a great day. I get so emotional when it comes to Jesus and his children. Both kids looked so darn cute in their new outfits Auntie Sarah picked up. Amelia loved how her dressed made a swoosh noise and her new sparkley black tennis shoes made tap noises. The four of us gathered on stage with many other mom and dads. Amelia couldn't help herself...she started dancing all around. She was so cute. We got to stand up next to the Bruce Family who dedicated their son Carson. Hopefully Stephanos and Carson will be buddies. Stephanos was funny. All he wanted to do was get down and walk. He's still trying and is very determined. After church we headed to Seacliff for a fun lunch and putt'n around the putting green. The day was so beautiful and the evening was a fall cool one. We took a walk in the park to enjoy the beauty we live in. We are very fortunate to live by God's nature and enjoy it as much as we do. We are also so blessed for our two little ones and thankful to be surrounded by our family.

Labor Day Weekend Camping!

We did a little camping last month with the Schmitt family. That weekend Amelia had a life changing event. Ava who's only a few months older then her asked about her being in diapers. She told Amelia it was ok, because she was still a little girl and that she herself was a big girl. Well Amelia just adoring Ava, wanted to be a big girl too! Since we call her "Big Sister/Sissy" she thought she was a big girl. She told me she wanted to wear Minnie panties and "be like a big girl." Ever since that weekend, everything is big girl! "Look mommy, I can do it myself, like a big girl." She's claimed her independence and is wanting to try things on her own now. I applaud her for her confidence I don't want to not to try, but sometimes she's still my little baby girl. Last night after Disneyland, she informed us she was going to get big..."when I get older, I'm going to drive and get old....." I asked her if she'd drive myself and Auntie Sarah (who was in the car) shopping when we get older. She said yes. Even to take Auntie Sarah to get her blue hair done and Uncle Dean's fake teeth. My little girl is getting BIG!!!!!

Palm Desert and Idyllwild

We had a great time staying out in Palm Desert at the worldmark in Indio, we had a nice 2br suite at our favorite child friendly resort with multiple pools and fun in the sun not to mention a golf course out the front door. One day we drove up to Idyllwild and ate at our favorite greek restaurant in the mountains. Amelia kept saying we in the mountains.

Labor Day Weekend

The 6 of us packed up the trailer and headed to an exotic location....Traabuco Canyon about 30 minutes from the house where we met the Schmitt family along with various other friends to do some eating, swimming and play some games. Even though we were so close it really seemed far away. Unfortunately Stephanos got sick when we got home and has a 102 temp so off to the doctor today to make sure he is alright. We also met with the family for lunch at the country club and had some good pictures.

We're back from New Jersey.....

During our 10 day visit to see Yaya and Papou in New Jersey, Yaya took us to Cape May. We ate lunch at the Lobster House, YUMMY! Then we walked through the Main St and saw some beautiful Victorian homes. Afterwards we hit the beach. It was a warm and sunny day. The kids loved playing and watching a ton of dolphins dance in the ocean! I'd never seen so many! Amelia stood up, faced the ocean and started to sing and dance to the dolphins. Waving her arms, pointing her toes in the sand and just singing her heart out. It was so precious. All the while, brother watched his sissy, shaking his arms and shouting out. What a joyous day.

Final days of nursing...

Welp, I'm winding down to my final days as a nursing "pumping" mommy. It's a sweat farewell but sad too. I dried out at 9 months with Amelia and thought I had failed as a mommy. I tried vitamins and everything under the sun to keep my flow going, but it wasn't happening. Two nights ago, Straty's parents took me to Whole Foods to buy formula. I ran into a Dula (probably not spelling it right) who said "oh no, don't even buy the formula or you're going to use it." She picked out the herb teas for nursing mommies. For two days I drank A LOT of tea. No increase in supply and the stress of Stephanos not getting enough milk kicked in, oh along with pain. You see, this same lovely lady said "keep him on the boob as much as possible." Last night at 11pm when he bit me with his new teeth, REALLY HARD!!! That was it, no more "boob." (hate that word now, not because of this though.) Anyway, Cyn went to the store today and bought the formula. I'm so proud of my son, he took it like a champ and made me feel less guilty. He looked at me like, it's gonna be okay mommy. He such the lover! Thinking positively, I will be gaining about 3 hours of my day back, not counting the heating of breast milk and cleaning the equipment. That's huge, because the "mommy, please don't make baby milk, play with me," is killing me. I'm also hoping to focus hard on getting rid of some baby phat now. It's a good thing. I have been pregnant or pumping for almost three and a half years now, minus 5 months somewhere in between. I wonder what will happen to this body? Could it get any worse?:) I have enjoyed these past years, even though at times I'm selfish and wish I had my old body back and a little quite time, but I wouldn't trade the "I wuv u mommy, I'm ur girl!" for nothing!!!!! Or that big ole loving smile from my son. I'm looking forward to what our next phase of motherhood looks like!!!!

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner with Auntie Carol & Uncle George, Uncle Jimmy, Cousin Tommy, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, Cyn, and Straty's parents. We went to Toscana a fabulous Italian restaurant. Amelia and Stephanos enjoyed the attention and love from their East Coast family. Uncle George gave Stephanos his bottle and held him for a long time! Stephanos of course enjoyed it. I have to tell you this...when we returned home, Uncle Jimmy handed me a folded up $ bill and said "buy the girl a bathing suit with this." I hugged and thanked him and stuffed it into my pocket. Later tonight I cleaned out my pockets and there was a hundred dollar bill. I thought that was so cute: "buy her a bathing suit." He so precious. I just love watching the kids with family. Amelia was a pistol with cousin Tommy! She had such a fun time hiding from him. Cousin Tommy with Trouble, just like his Uncle Nick!!!! Amelia is still putting spoons on her nose, thanks Uncle Nick!!!! xoxo Tomorrow we head to Jersey City. Girls on the road!!!!! Pray the coolant stays in the car.

Trip to the East Coast

Well the kids and I made it to New Jersey yesterday. They were amazing!!!!! It's hot and muggy here. Reminds me of our summer gatherings in Champaign as a child. Straty's parent's front door smells like my Grandma C's kitchen. The locust humming outside and the thick air reminds me of our evening walks, just to cool down, but not really, since we'd end up sweating, but it was still cooler outside then inside. Then our bath:) We'd all lay out on blankets in the living room: Shannon, Shelby, Me, Krista, Sarah and Missy. Sometimes Casey. We had some crazy fun summers. I remember running through the back of grandma C's backyard through the neighbor's backyard over to Grandma H's house for a little A/C, tang and sweets:) Then back to Grandma C's for some homemade fried chicken (how she cooked in such heat is beyond me) and that yummy mashed potatoes. It's been fun remembering my childhood and the fun times we had. I miss my cousins!!! I hope Amelia and Stephanos have such wonderful relations, as I did, with cousins. We'll see what memories tomorrow brings. In the meantime, I'm enjoying a few minutes of silence (well except for the news playing in the background) :) It took Amelia and Stephanos ONE house of crying, negotiating, singing, praying, begging!!!!!! only to end with a story about a little girl who was afraid to go to bed and finally closed her eyes. She dreamt she had a fabulous day with Minnnie! Amelia and Stephanos calmed down and went to sleep. I got to take a shower!!!!

Papa took us to the Circus!!!!

I remember as a kid in IL, we would go and wait for the elephant train. They'd off load them right before our eyes and walk them to circus location. It was so awesome to take Amelia and Stephanos to the same circus. Of course the elephants were favored by most. It was so fun to have Jessie join us as well. Amelia just loves her. Thanks Papa for the circus. As Amelia said as we drove away, "That was a fun day Mama." Indeed it was!!!!!

Amelia's first big bump..

While Amelia was tripping, heading face first into the playground platform, she was stopped in the head by a pole. Darn pole! That's what happens when you try to run away and not listen to your parents!!!! She's fine, but is fashioning the fabulous purple/blue bruise on her forhead. Thank goodness the gynormeous bump went down!!!