11 Months

Our princess is almost a year old!  Holy Moley!  She is so much fun and definitely has a personality all her own.  She is a busy little girl who keeps us on our toes and smiling.  Here are some fun facts about our Josephine.

*She is cruising around the furniture like a pro

*She tries to stand up in the middle of the room without anything to hold on to (and gets frustrated when she can't)

*She is a talker (and a screamer)

*She throws herself forward when she is mad or really tired (she gave herself a bloody nose the other day)

*She got her first sickness (a tummy bug and a virus/cold thing)

*She calls me Mama

*She still has only 8 teeth and she knows how to use them

*She gives amazing smiles

*She sticks out her tongue

*She ADORES her brothers more than anything

*She likes music and to dance

*She likes Doc McStuffins and watching cartoons with her brothers

*Legos are still her favorite thing to get into (it makes her brothers crazy)

James turns 30!

That's right, James turned the big 3-0 last week.  We celebrated as a family on Wednesday.  We made breakfast for James and then after Alex's piano lesson we headed to the museum.  We loved having the day together and celebrating.  On Friday we had some family and friends over for games and food.  James says it was a wonderful birthday.

Birthday pancakes

He got the game he had been asking for!

At the museum

30 Candles!

And he blew them all out

10 Months

I can't believe that Josephine turned 10 months last week!  In less than two months we will have a one year old!  I am already planning for her birthday pictures and party, bit it still seems surreal.  She is growing in leaps and bounds lately.  Here are some recent pictures of our little goober, and some fun facts.

CHOCOLATE!

*She is crawling forward and she is QUICK!

*She is into everything

*She loves playing outside

*She pulled herself to standing this week without any help

*She wants to stand up in the middle of the room, but hasn't figured it out yet, so she is always on one knee, with the other leg sticking straight out (see picture below)

*She is babbling like CRAZY!  She will repeat Bu-bye, Mama, up, Dada and other words

*She is an amazing eater

*She has 8 teeth and has been drooling alot, so I wonder if there are more on the way

*She wants to be in the middle of everything all of the time

*She is very attached to Alex lately (I guess because they are always together)

*Alex picks her up now, but she really isn't a huge fan of him lugging her around.

*She loves her baby dolls (unless her brother's Legos are available)

She is getting so big.  Yes, this is the way she sits all the time now

They are a pair!

Playing with her toys

Color Run 5K

I have to have a personal bragging moment right now.  I had so much fun last weekend doing a 5K with my friends!  If you ever get a chance to do a color run...DO IT!  What could be more fun then getting covered in color while enjoying some time with friends and exercising.  I walked the whole thing and had a blast.  Words cannot describe the fun that was had.  Here are some pictures...some are literally trapped on my camera and until I find the adapter, there they will remain.  I am ready to sign up for the next one that comes my way.

I totally got color sprayed in my mouth!  

Our group...couldn't we be in a teeth whitening commercial!?!

Dreaming Big!

On New Years Eve while we were visiting GiGi, we sat around the table and we asked the boys about what they thought the future would hold for them.  I wrote it all down, but I had misplaced the papers (story of my life).  I just found them, so I wanted to write them in the blog so I would have them forever.

We asked Alex first what life would be like in his house when he grows up.  This is his reply:

  He would have:

     5 cats!  Named Brownie, Paws, Claws, Jonathan and Foxy

     2 dogs named Jack and Alma

     2 fish named Oso and Tough-O

     5 Kids! Named Max, John, Princess, Cinderella and Samuel (the baby)

     A wife that has:

        blue eyes

        blonde hair

        purple dress

        8" tall, then he changed it to 4' 2"

        and knows how to Boogie!

        He also said that her name might be Belle

We then asked Eric what life would be like in his house when he grows up.  This is his reply:

   He would have:

     3 Cats named Batso(cause its a boy name), Curly and Chancy

     2 dogs named Sparky and Dancer

     1 Bat named Batty that will hang from a bridge

     3 Kids named Donder, Blitzen and Aurora.  He said when they get older he'll call them Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

     A wife that will be named Wife-O or Cinderella  and she'll look like a girl

I absolutely love my bays!  Maybe we need to lay off the Disney movies a little.  I am excited to watch my boys grow and their perceptions of life and what the future will hold.  

9 Months!

Guess who turned 9 months old on Saturday?!?  Josephine had her 9 month checkup today and she is doing great.  The doctor was loving all of her sweet smiles and scrunched up noses that Josephine was handing out freely today.  Our little princess is growing up so quickly, it's hard to believe that she is already on the downward slope to her first birthday!

Such a happy girl!  And look at those TEETH!

Here are some fun facts about the little goober!

She has her own form of getting around, it isn't crawling, but it is efficient for her.

She crawls backwards, which REALLY makes her mad when she is trying to get something in front of her.

She eats pretty much whatever we do and loves it all!

She can find any Lego on the florr, no matter how tiny.

She is into everything and VERY busy

She is trying to pull herself up on things, but once she's up, she forgets that she has to keep holding on

She knows she is the little princess and loves to flirt with strangers

She loves her toys and her brother's toys too

She has 7, almost 8 teeth!

She knows how to get her Daddy's attention and he will drop everything to get to her

She smiles for the camers (those really cheesy grins)

She is in the 65% for height and weight and the doctor says she is completely on track with everything.

She still keeps her bows on most of the time, and if they aren't on her head, they are in her mouth.

She thinks that anything the dog does is hilarious!

I often refer to her as an octopus...I swear she sprouts extra limbs and becomes slippery whenever I need to dress, carry, change or do anything with her!

She is full of joy and it overflows to anyone that is near her.

New Year's Weekend

James had one more vacation day to use before the end of the year, so we took a mini trip down to GiGi's house to do some fun things.  We had purchased some activities on Living Social and we decided to enjoy them!

First we took the kids to Crocodile Encounter in Angleton.  It was AMAZING!  Even though it was super cold (for us Texans) it was really cool.  We saw quite a few alligators and crocodiles.  We saw turtles and snakes and all kinds of fun stuff.  We will definitely be going back in the spring so that we can see the animals when they are even more active.  I was trying to figure out a way to have the boy's birthday there, but I really don't think I can get our friends to drive 2 hours for a birthday party.

After we left there it was still pretty early, so we decided to head down to Galveston to do another activity.  We had initially planned to do it on Monday, but it was supposed to rain that day, so we decided to seize the day!  We went to the Pirate Museum.  I must admit, it looks like a rinky dink tourist trap from the outside, but it was SUPER cool!  We all learned a whole lot and had a good time playing in the museum.  I love that our kids enjoy learning and museums.

On Sunday we went to church with GiGi and enjoyed seeing friends that we hadn't seen in a while.  While we were there I had to take Josephine into the hall because she was being a bit...loud.  My friend from high school was also in the hall with his baby.  It was a surreal moment...there we stood rocking our baby girls in the same hallway we had walked through a gazillion times while growing up!  I guess that saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same" is true.

Monday was pretty laid back.  I mean really, what do two Mormon parents with three kids do one New Years Eve?  We eat pizza and watch The Odd Life of Timothy Green!  I highly recommend the movie by the way.  It was nice to be able to relax for a day before heading home.

On Tuesday we went home to wind down before James had to go back to work.  It was really a fun weekend and one that the kids are still talking about.