It's Show Time!

Tonight I pulled out the camera and took some videos of the kids "performing"....after all, that's why we have kids, right? To perform for us and entertain us?! :)

First, we have Mr. Bradlee...

Today at school, his teacher, Ms. Debbie, taught him and another little boy how to bat their eyelashes...their "sweet eyes"....how adorable! :) I take him for his 18 month appointment tomorrow, so we'll have to show all the ladies at the office!

Then we have Ms. Emma....Act 1:

The reason she keeps looking to the side is because she was watching her reflection in the oven door....what a diva!

Ms. Emma....Act 2:

I don't totally understand the meaning behind this song...but she loves singing it...and is quite good at it!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a nice day! Although we weren't all together for the day, we still were able to spend most of the morning together! Once we got the kids dressed in their Valentine's Day outfits, I took the opportunity to get some pictures...

In honor of Aunt Julie, I had to post this picture...her and Scott had gotten Emma a doctor set for her 1st birthday...and sine then, she's received maybe 2 or 3 more...so we keep them all in one big "doctor's briefcase". Emma had the toys out this morning because her bear was sick (!) and Bradlee found the toys while Emma wasn't looking...here he's checking to see if he has any pages from the hospital...don't you just love the pink stethoscope?! :)

Tony took the kids out to his parents' house so Emma could run some errands with her aunt and I headed down to my friend, Julie's, house (the one from the baby shower in my previous blog). She seemed a wee bit overwhelmed with all the baby gifts and such from her shower that I offered to go to her house and help her organize, put things away, offer advice (if asked!) and basically just be with her. She's only got about a month left of bring pregnant, and although it seems like a long time ago, I totally remember how I was feeling a month before Emma was born! We got the clothes sorted and put away (some even washed!), the bassinet assembled, and the bouncy chair put together. We even enjoyed a wonderful turkey chili and homemade corn muffins for dinner! It was a great way to spend Valentine's Day....with my friend I love like she were my sister!!

Superman, Spaghetti & a Shower!

Although I haven't posted any pictures lately, after emptying the memory card on the camera, I guess I have taken some great pictures!

Sometime in the last few months of gift-giving, Bradlee received a pair of Superman PJ's...cape included! I put them on him and he just LOVED them! Then he found one of Emma's headbands and wanted to wear it....so it only made the outfit complete!

One of Bradlee's favorite foods is spaghetti. He would probably eat it every day if he could! A good thing about spaghetti is that he can feed himself...of course, we already plan ahead that it will be a bath night! He really loves feeding himself everything, and usually pitches a fit if we don't give him the spoon right away. He's gotten really good at it and most of the food lands in his mouth!

While we were getting ready to go somewhere, we pulled out the camera and took some pictures...I love this one of Bradlee and me, 'cause he's looking at me like, "What are YOU doing?"!!! I also really love the one with Emma because it really shows what a goof-ball she is. She's so sweet and not only loves to act silly, but especially loves it when you act silly with her!

I mentioned in my last post that Emma and I were invited to a baby shower this past weekend. My best friend of 25+ years, Julie, is due in March! The shower was VERY nice and both Emma and I had a great time. Emma was only "little one" there, so Aunt Julie asked if Emma would hand her the presents to open. Emma took the job with gusto! She handed her gift first and made sure Aunt Julie looked at everything.

For being pretty shy when we first got there, she opened up pretty quickly and was entertaining everyone with her comments! When Aunt Julie opened the cool mist humidifier, Emma comments, "My baby brother has that elephant humidifier! I have one too, but it's not an elephant, it's a dragon...a RED dragon!"

She was familiar with so many things Julie received, it kept her really interested in the whole shower! Emma even won the first game of "Baby Shower Bingo" and got to take home a little tea cup of flowers! Talk about one proud little girl! She's already asked to come with me to visit Aunt Julie when she has her baby. What a big girl. She really is amazing...

Here she is with Aunt Julie, holding her gift for the new baby girl!!

Looking back, I think that was one of the nicest baby showers I've ever been to...and lunch was delicious, too!! The only problem was the MAJOR sugar buzz Emma was on when we left....after Dove chocolates, M&M's, mini cheesecakes, lemonade and cake, Emma was flyin' high!! While I said goodbye to Julie and her mom, I just let Emma skip around the table...at least she didn't even fall asleep on her way home from a diabetic coma! Can't wait to meet the new baby girl!!!

Where did January go?

I cannot believe January is over already....amazing.

Again, I don't have any pictures...although, I may have some that I've forgotten about, so if I find them I'll be sure to get them on here....

January ended with a bang. On the 14th, I got a call at about 8am from Tony's assistant principle. He told me that Tony slipped on the black ice in the parking lot, is going in and out of consciousness and they called an ambulance to come and evaluate him and probably take him to the hospital. He called me back a few minutes later and said they were taking him to Hurley....so I called into work and met him a the hospital. He, thankfully, didn't break any bones or do any real major damage, but he did have a pretty good concussion and bruised the HELL out of the left side of his body, especially his hip. He was able to walk out of the ER, so that was good. Friday I made him get out and go "mini-grocery" shopping with me. He was moving pretty good! Sore, but still doing really well....only taking OTC ibuprofen...so we are so thankful that this was only a minor injury...to make it better, though, I told him that we'll get a whole bunch of money from our supplemental accident insurance (sort of like Aflac), so he volunteered to slip on the ice every month or so....YEAH RIGHT! :)

Bradlee has had 3 molars poke through in the last 3 weeks! He was out of school all last week because he had the runny nose, cough, and was just plain miserable! He let me put my finger in the back of his mouth to check, and the top two and bottom right are all through...the bottom left is swollen, but not through yet. Poor baby! I'm so glad I don't remember how painful that was!!! We didn't have any ora-gel at first, so I used some whiskey we had....just dipped my finger in, rubbed it on his gums, and he was a happy camper....didn't mind the taste or anything and it calmed him down so he could sleep. He chews on his fingers quite a bit, still...

Emma's doing well. She's all excited to be going to a baby shower with me this weekend. The invitation came addressed to both of us, so she felt so special! She also has a birthday party to attend next weekend and of course, there's school and gymnastics still! She's become quite the helper at home, helping to set the table for dinner and making sure everyone has a napkin. She's also the one who "reminds" us to pray before we eat, saying, "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER....." to get our attention. It works, even for Bradlee! He will put his food or cup down and really concentrate on folding his hands, to end with us in a big "AAAAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAN" (amen)! :)

I promise I'll look or take some new pictures! :) Maybe Bradlee will show me his new teeth?! :)

No pics...just an ear update!

I don't have any new pics today, but I DO have an update on Bradlee's ears!

I took him to the ENT today for his post-op check-up. Doc says his ears look GREAT! He's really happy with how they healed and how they look. I told him Bradlee's had only 1 ear infection since they were put in, and he questioned that. Once I told him a molar poked through a week later, he understood. Next time, instead of going to the pediatrician, I'm to call him so he can take a look to make sure the tubes are still okay. Hooray for Bradlee! :)

That's all for the update...have a good week!

Recovering from Santa

It's been quite the few weeks since Christmas, and it seems like we've been back to the grindstone for much longer than a week and a half!

We got quite a bit of snow in the last few days, and even though we tease Tony about Holly always closing when the first snowflake falls, they have not had a snow-day yet! My mom's tradition with the kids is to buy them their winter coats and snow pants and boots each year (that they need them...Emma still fit into her coat and snow pants from last year, but needed new boots!). Bradlee has been the most fun to watch, since it's the first chance he's been able to really get down and dirty with the snow. Emma just loves to go out and play and her new boots worked out great! She even helped Tony shovel our neighbor's driveway! Her favorite part, though, is coming back in for some hot chocolate! Bradlee loved playing out in the snow as well. He had a hard time getting up when he fell over, but it only builds character, right?! LOL He really loves wearing his boots ("BOOOOOOOOOOS") and would probably wear them right to bed if given the chance!



Both Emma and Bradlee have been exploring all the gifts they got for Christmas. I think Bradlee is the most fun to watch. I rearranged the living/play room with their toys and games so they could see them, instead of them being closed in a box or closet. This seemed to have been a hit, because they can now just go get a toy, and play. This is something Bradlee's done very well. On Sunday, I was in the kitchen putting dishes away. Emma was playing with her new Lego Pirates at the dining room table and I hadn't heard Bradlee in a while, so I went to go in the living room to check on him, when I saw that he was sitting right by the door to the kitchen! He had gotten out the "Measure-Up Cups" Aunt Karyn got him and was contently playing by himself with them...stacking them, turning them over, knocking them down, etc. It was so fun to watch him explore the many ways to play with a simple set of measuring cups!!


We were doing so well until he decided that he hadn't been sick in a while, so on Friday, he was sent home from school with hives. They had mentioned them on Thursday afternoon when Tony picked Bradlee up from school, but when I checked him before going to bed and in the morning, they were just flat, splotches on the inside of his thighs and the upper arms. They honest-to-God looked like exczema patches, so I put some lotion on him and sent him off to school! By the time I got him to the doctor on Friday afternoon, he had them EVERYWHERE. Only the ones on his face were raised, the rest on his legs, arms, back, hands and ears were flat and he had no breathing troubles (and with my history, I knew to look/listen for that!). The doctor gave him an antihistamine and a 3-day burst of prednisone (steroid) to help clear them up. In the mean time, we were instructed to make a list of everything he had eaten from Tuesday night dinner until Thursday afternoon...ha! easier said than done!! It's really hard, because, as the doctor told me, 50% of people who get hives never find out what caused them...so, we're waiting on giving him any more chocolate and peanut butter (boo!) until he's at least 2 years old and just introducing the other things on our list one-by-one to see if we can find the culprit!

Hooray for Back to School!!

What a whirl-wind "vacation"! That's in quotes, because I didn't actually have a vacation, the kids and Tony did! I did, however, have 2-three day weekends! Unfortunately, it was filled with sickness and antibiotics! It all started with Bradlee's ear infection on the Tuesday before Christmas, followed by some stomach bug hitting me, my sister-in-law, my sister, grandparents and dad! Then I was put on an antibiotic for an ear infection and Emma had a slight cough/stuffy nose thing....all brought together by Tony's migraine the day before school starts! Whew! Everyone is SO excited to be back to school, though!

Karyn, Emma and I decorated sugar cookies, while Bradlee "helped".

I also volunteered to help out at Emma's school's Christmas party...although, I guess it was a "Holiday Party", being a public school and all...anyways, I was in charge of a craft, so I had the kids make a very cute Santa out of construction, and of course, with a glitter belt buckle! It was quite overwhelming, and I greatly admire Mrs. Walters, Emma's teacher, after working with those kids for just an hour! Santa visited the class, also, and brought each kid a little gift, too! All the kids had a great time!

We talked Emma into being an angel at church for the Children's Mass (on Christmas Eve). Her friend, Evelyn, was also an angel, so it worked out great, since they had someone to be nervous with! Evelyn's mom, Susan, and I were friends all through grade school, so we think it's so neat that our daughters are now friends! They also take gymnastics together! So we got Emma's costume all together, dress, sweater, tights, shoes, wings, halo...and went to the rehearsal so they would know what to do...SUCCESS! Evelyn and Emma walked up the aisle together, hand-in-hand, and went right up and stood in the middle of the altar, whispering in each other's ears and holding hands all the way! SO cute! Emma said she wants to be a shepherd next year, but only if Evelyn is! :)

Christmas Eve was spent with Tony's parents and our friends, Paul (Emma's godfather) and Deb. We had a great dinner and opened (tons of) gifts. Then we all headed home to get ready for Santa! Tony read "The Night Before Christmas" and Emma, Bradlee and I got the cookies and milk ready for Santa. Then into bed the kids went! I think Tony and I were in bed by 11pm! We actually had to wake by the alarm Christmas morning! We got the kids up and Emma, Bradlee and I waited at the top of the stairs for Tony to go downstairs and make sure "Santa didn't fall asleep" (i.e., turn on the lights, get the camera)! What a great morning we had! Bradlee loved just looking at all his new goodies and Emma loved seeing what everyone else was getting!

We all got dressed and headed over to my parent's house for Christmas celebration #3! We opened gifts, and were able to celebrate that my sister, Kathi, is now engaged!!! We absolutely love Garrett, and I told Kathi I'm more relieved that I can say "My sister's fiance" instead of "My hopefully-soon-to-be-future-brother-in-law"! LOL Everyone is really excited and happy for them. Later that afternoon, my grandparents, aunt and uncle and Tony's parents come over and we had Christmas dinner together. Unfortunately, I think Bradlee was still a little under the weather, 'cause when he woke up from his nap, he was NOT happy. He just cried and cried...probably a combination of the ear infection, antibiotic, diaper rash (that came with the antibiotic) and all the people! So Tony ended up taking him home and spending the evening there. Tony actually kind of enjoyed the evening of quiet, and my dad prepared a nice little plate for him with the delicious dinner!

(if you click on the picture, you can see Kathi's ROCK!) :)

Emma and Uncle Moose were the hit of the night, though! Once Emma learned that Uncle Moose knew how to do some magic tricks, they did this whole production for us! Uncle Moose learned that he needs to brush up on his magic tricks now that his great-niece loves to see them! He did a few tricks, and Emma did a few tricks...my favorite one is when she has her stuffed animal facing one way, then she covers it up, and tells you "don't look". She then reaches under the blanket and turns the animal around and then says, "Okay, look!" She rips the blanket off and VIOLA! the animal is facing the opposite direction! I thought my grandma was going to have a heart attack, she was laughing so hard!!

Emma and I stayed pretty late while she played games with my sisters, Garrett and my mom and I helped my dad with the dishes. It was a nice Christmas, but I wish my WHOLE family could have been together!

Tony and I celebrated our Christmas with our friends, Lauren and Scott, on Tuesday with dinner and tickets to see Jim Brickman in Lansing. Jim Brickman is a wonderful pianist and this is the 4th year we've seen his holiday concert. We were so thankful that Lauren and Scott were able to come with us this year! We went out for dessert after the show and had a wonderful time!

We celebrated New Year's Eve at Tony's parent's house, were home around 11:30pm and Emma, Tony and I "watched the ball drop" from the comfort of Tony's and my bed! Then we let Emma sleep in bed with me! :) She loved it! We went back to Tony's parent's (as did my parents) New Years Day and watched (a LOT) of football...then we just spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and getting ready for 2010 to get moving! That's the last two weeks, in a nut-shell! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and that you have an incredible 2010!!!