No more paci = tears

...and they are not from Maddy either, they are from me.:(

I feel like my baby is getting so big! I didn't really shed tears but I felt like it. I cut the tip off her paci and told her that when you get big your paci starts to break. Well that was it, she is over it. She put it in her mouth for bed last night and handed it right back to me and said she didn't want it. DONE! I can't believe it was so easy. Although it was my big goal for the summer, it still makes me feel sad since that was the only baby part of her left. Everyday she amazes me by the things she says. She is so smart. She will remember things that she hears and repeat them later. The other day she was saying "kill me" "kill me" and I thought, where the he%* did she hear that. She doesn't watch anything violent and doesn't hang out with big kids. Later that day as Brody is rolling around while I'm trying to change a poopy diaper, I found myself saying "Brody boy you are killing me." Oh my gosh!!! I had to chuckle because she had obviously heard me say that before. I don't say it anymore. :) She is so sweet too. She tells everyone she loves them. I asked her yesterday if she liked her brother and she said, "No mommy, I love him SO much." My heart melted right there. I love her so much and feel so blessed that I am her mommy. She makes me smile every day!

8 months old

Our little Brody boy is eight months old today, August 27th! I can't believe how fast time flies and he is growing up before our eyes. He already weighs what Maddy weighed at a year. He is nineteen pounds. He idolizes his sister. He thinks she is so funny and she lights up his world. If she walks into the room he starts laughing. He wants to crawl SO bad. He gets on all fours and rocks until he attempts that hand forward and falls on his face. He loves books, and his dog Kota. He says mama and dada. Maddy really wants him to say sissy but he isn't quite there yet. He is the best baby! I often wonder how I got so lucky to be his mommy. He is calm and sweet. He cuddles and gives hugs. He has added so much joy to our lives and I can't imagine our family without him. We love you Bro Bro.

Pool days

These hot summer days have led to LOTS of afternoons in the pool. We love to go over to the pool around 4 and stay until dinner time. It is a nice way to cool off and have fun in the afternoons!

Brody is loving the water and starting to splash a lot.

Our little fish. Maddy never wants to get out.

The sun is too bright for Brody boy.

How is this face??

Just relaxing watching the kids swim.

There is nothing like a treat at the pool. Two of her favorite things.

Lions and Tigers and Bears....but no penguins

Maddy has loved the movie Madagascar this summer and so we wanted to take her to the zoo. I got her really excited by saying how we could go see the penguins (and smile and wave to them). She loves that part of the movie and repeats "Just smile and wave boys, just smile and wave." Well- lo and behold there are NO penguins at the San Diego Zoo. Uh oh!!!! We still had a blast and explained to her that the penguins live where it is really cold so they couldn't be at the zoo. She was over it pretty quick and moved on to the other animals. Brody liked watching the elephants and the hippo. Other than that, he was just the mellow, amazing baby that he is! We had a great family day watching the animals, eating lunch and being together.

Just hanging out in my stroller.
Um- is this donkey going to get me? That is what Mad kept wondering. She kept looking back at it during the picture to make sure it wasn't too close.

Posing with the elephant.

Daddy and Maddy

Mommy and Maddy. Brody is taking a snooze in his stroller during this time.

Riding the polar bear.

The polar bear played with this ball forever.

This hippo was asleep in the water like this. It was pretty funny.

LoVe

Five years ago I married the love of my life! Our anniversary was August 14th and we left that morning to go to Vegas to celebrate. It felt weird to lay by the pool and read instead of chasing kids or being in the water the whole time with them. We had a great time just being together. Friday night we had a great dinner at Little Buddha at The Palms and then went to see LOVE, the Cirque de Soleil show with the Beatles songs. It was amazing! We loved it! We also won some money that night and went shopping the next day for some new sunglasses for me. It was a relaxing weekend with just the two of us. Happy Anniversary Babe! Thanks Mom and Dad and Nancy and Stan for watching the kids.

A visit with Nana and Papa

My mom and I took the kids and my nephew Greyson to visit Nana and Papa last week. We went to their house for lunch and to visit the fish pond. The kids love going too because they get to ride in Papa's golf cart. It was a fun day in Fallbrook!

The other mother

Brody is lucky to have two mommies- me and Mad. She LOVES to help in any way she can with her brother. I am so lucky!! Lately, she loves to pretend to feed him after watching me do the real thing in the morning. This video is too cute if you listen carefully. She tells him "Good job" and "Oh, you got something on your face." It is hysterical. Then she says that he is eating green beans and sausage, which she loves, but then changes it to rice cereal and bananas. At the end, the video is QUICKLY cut off as my leg flies up because Mad almost fell off the couch. Great mom I am! Brody is so easily entertained by his big sister. He thinks she is the greatest thing on Earth. He keeps his eyes on me the whole time. It is so cute! I love to watch these two interact with eachother.

Success

Swim lessons were a success! There were only two days of crying and the rest was great! Maddy loved it! She learned how to kick to the edge of the pool, hold her breath and get to the side if she fell in. She loved swimming with her new friend Makenna. For some reason, she really liked to make this funny face when she was swimming. I think it helped her to know that she was keeping her mouth closed. We are very proud of her. Now everyday she wants to go swimming. She loves the water!

Kinder Friends, Kinder Friends What Do You See?

...I see Mrs. Shwam looking at me!

That's right folks- I am teaching kinder next year...and am really excited! First off, I got my job back after being #99 on a list of over 300 teachers, not including the first and second year teachers. What a crazy time it has been in my district. After teaching for seven years- still got the pink slip. Then I got a grade level change from second to kinder and I am looking forward to it. So you can save the "you are crazy" comments, until I start complaining that maybe I am crazy because for now I am HAPPY!!! (Well except for having to leave my own two lil punkins and go back to work but I can complain about that later).

Smurf Hands

This is what happens when you leave your two and a half year old alone with a blue stamp pad for two minutes...

While scrubbing her hands FOREVER, she cried, "I don't want blue hands!"

Who do you think this is?

Maddy or Brody???? YOU DECIDE!

Who loves her daddy?

This is often how Mike finds his shoes in the morning before going to work.

Somebody LOVES her daddy! SO CUTE!

Auntie Lou was home!

We love when Auntie Lou comes "home" from her home in SF!! We miss her so much. We had a great weekend with her. We went to a baby shower, laughed a lot, layed out, ate yummy food, drank cool drinks, rode scooters, laughed some more, cried for our kitty, read mags, watched the kiddos play and laughed more. We love you Auntie Lou and can't wait for you and Case to come "home" in a month!

Brody giving Auntie Lou his cute smile!

Only Maddy can rock the helmet in a white dress and gladiators!

Grey is VERY excited that Mad figured out how to ride.

Showing his skills!

Taking some time in the car.

Swim Lessons

Maddy had her first swim lesson this morning with Coach Dan. It is ten days in a row and she should be swimming. We shall see. I knew it would not be easy for her to go in the water with a stranger. There were many tears, but she did a great job! Dan makes the kids feel very comfortable. Maddy and Makenna are in the water at the same time. I can't wait to see how she does tomorrow and the rest of the time. I am sure each day will be easier. I can't wait to see this girl be a fish in the water.

Very excited before the lesson!

NOT excited during the lesson!