Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Munchkin Videos

We gave the Munchkin the spoon to try it out for the first time this past weekend. She was really good at it!



We blew up the bounce house in our living room. The munchkin and her little pal G had a blast! That's my husband Joe bouncing them around.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Where did November go?

I can't believe that November is almost over already. Figured I better throw up a few pics of the munchkin so everyone can see how big she is getting. How did this happen?!

We have been teaching her sign language and she has been picking it up really well. I can't believe how much she uses her signs for "eat" and "more" and "all done". It has really helped us to avoid some melt downs and to figure out what she needs much more quickly. She loves being able to communicate with us too. There has been numerous times that she has given me the sign for "eat" in times I would have never guessed she was hungry, and if she wasn't able to communicate it to me, and had to cry until I guessed, I might have just written it off as teething. I also can't believe how easy it is for her to pick it up and for her to use it. You don't need to spend lots of money on dvds or anything either, just buy a baby signs book, and show her how to use the signs, over and over until she gets it. The first one took a couple of months (she was just under a year old by the time it clicked), but once she learned one, the others were much quicker to pick up.

It just amazes me what little sponges they are! One of her favorite things to do now is read books. Whether she brings them to me or sits on her own and "reads" them herself. The other day, she sneaked out of the living room when I wasn't looking. I finally found her in her room. She had climbed up into the glider, grabbed a book off of the night stand, and was pretending to read it. It melted my heart. She's becoming so independent! I can't wait to take her to the library some day. I have the fondest memories of my mom taking us.



Her and her little cousin are so much fun together!


Sharing a book.



My friend Anna, along with her little boy met us up at the mall for some shopping/walking/eating/exploring. Here they are playing on some of the little coin operated rides.


Sitting in the backseat of the ice cream truck.


Learning how to drive from BBZ.


Uh oh! Looks like she's about to wreck... BBZ is jumping ship!


Not so impressed with the jeep I see...


Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and Saturday is my birthday... again. Didn't I just have a birthday? It sure feels like it. Although last year for my birthday I had a baby with severe acid reflux and a night out, painting the town, just wasn't an option. This year, however, I am looking forward to some fun! Me and some girlfriends are meeting up for a sushi dinner, then we are all going to head back to my house, joined by the boys, for a little house party.

But before that happens, I am really looking forward to seeing all of the family for Thanksgiving. My family gathering is on Thursday, and we will be seeing Joe's family on Friday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Munchkin and Q's One Year Photo Shoot

We had our photoshoot October 17th. The munchkin was about 13 months old and Q is a couple of weeks shy of one year.

It wasn't easy getting these two stinkers to cooperate! Out of the hundreds of photos we took... I think we definitely got a few good ones though. A new friend of mine recommended a photographer to us. He was so great to work with and took some amazing shots of the girls. We will definitely use him again! Check out Ray's website if you live in my area and need a good photographer! He was very reasonable priced. He also didn't charge us any extra no matter how many people were in the shot, so with me and Amy splitting the price... it was an awesome deal!



























Monday, November 15, 2010

Halloween Party!

Last year we skipped our annual Halloween party. The munchkin was only a month old and planning and executing the event was something I definitely didn't feel up to. This year however, I was really excited about it! We did tone things down quite a bit from previous years, especially since the party would be kid-friendly, but we still had a blast!

The munchkin was a little pink monster. She looked so adorable in her costume. I thought for sure she would keep pulling it off, especially the head part or the feet, but she wore them proudly. And whenever she fell over, she had plenty of padding to cushion her.




The halloween party was the last day that she decided to skip her 2nd nap before we moved her to one nap a day. She was so crabby. I was exhausted by the time she went to bed at 8:00 and I am not gonna lie, was a little bit relieved to finally get to relax for the rest of the evening.

Here's Little Q in her Monster's Inc. costume. The head piece was a little too big for her, it kept sliding down in front of her face, but she was still so friggin cute!




My sis Erin, our "adopted sister Michele", my other sis Amy with Erin's kiddo Aubrey.


I was going to be a vampire. I had the fake, sharp pointy teeth, makeup and accessories, but with the Munckin skipping her 2nd nap and being a bit of a handful, I ended up only wearing the dress. So I guess I was more of a vampire undercover, or a gothic maiden...


Kurt and Amber


Anna and Nate


Amy and Michele.


Me, the Munchkin and Amy.


Brenda was "Pregnant and Barefoot".
She's going to make a cute preggo someday.


The mimes, Michele and Jason.


My BIL Jeremy with Q, Joe and the Munchkin.


This shot was taken not too long before the meltdown she had right before she went to bed. Can you tell how tired she is? Atleast she's consistent, she skipped her 2nd nap, making her super crabby in the evenings for pretty much every major party in the last few months. Her birthday, Q's birthday, the Halloween party... It was definitely time to move her to one longer nap, mid day, and now it's much better!


My sister Erin, her two girls Aubrey and Alex, and her boyfriend Chad.


Why mimes shouldn't make out.


This picture was taken much later in the evening. I have already removed my huge dress in exchange for some more comfy clothes. Q is looking a little sleepy herself.


We had a nice fire going outside and after the Munchkin went to bed that is where my butt was parked most of the time. We had a million kids running all over the place and I finally got to meet the neighbors. They are all really nice. Stacy, Ayla's sitter (and my friend;), came by for a while and had a few drinks with me. With the help of Erin's boyfriend and Joe we had all of the dishes cleaned and most of the mess cleaned up before we went to bed! Many of our neighbors woke up to corn dogs in their mailboxes or sticking out of the stop sign at the end of the street. Hopefully, these houses were far enough away that we were not suspected (and by "we", I do not mean me!). I looked a few days ago, and the one in the stop sign is still there! We are going on a little over 2 weeks now that thing has been stuck there!

All in all, the party was a success. I can't wait till next year when we will actually take the munchkin treak-or-treating.