{squish}

I'm not sure exactly when this happened. But somehow, practically overnight, my daughter has developed thighs as plump as overstuffed pillows. She has squishy little rolls that cascade down her thighs. And, oh my goodness am I enjoying her wiggle and jiggle. (She is bringing back fond memories of Jack and when I had to get a tub of butter to grease his chubby butt out of his Bumbo.)

Despite appearances, she is not constantly holding her breath......her cheeks are just delightfully chubby. Pardon me while I go and nibble on her some. 

I really wanted to put some of the lyrics to Sir Mix A Lot's song 'Baby Got Back' in this post, but then I realized those words aren't very appropriate to sing about your baby girl. I never really understood how naughty that song was until I started saying the words. But, really, it's also kinda funny. Like the 'you can do side bends or sit-ups,....' line. I  love that 'side-bends' and 'sit-ups' got mentioned in a hip-hop song.

winter

image courtesy of google images

Okay, so it is not THAT freezing here in Florida. But it feels pretty cold in comparison to our typical weather. And if I posted a picture of the beach, it would not have that same wintery feel.

Reasons I Love Winter:

1) Christmas
2) My Uggs
3) My curly hair chills out some
4) Cuddling by the fireplace
5) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
6) You don't sweat at 7am from humidity
7) My kids get a 2 week vacation from school
8) Christmas Music
9) White Christmas
10) My husband looks cute in his coat (or jacket? what's the difference?)
11)Twinkly Lights
12) White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha
13) Scarves!
14) Elf

Reasons I DON'T love winter

1) It's COLD!!!

2) I'm even later than usual 'cause I have to bundle my kiddos

3) It's COLD!!!

4) My skin gets dry

5) It's COLD!!!

6) I don't like to wear jackets

7) It's COLD!!!

8) Flip flops = freezing toes

9) It's COLD!!!

10) I get pale

11) It's COLD!!!

12) No beach. Boo.

13) It's COLD!!!

14) Runny noses and sore throats

Here are some pictures I took with my phone while at the wing (group of squadrons) Christmas party! 

That's Santa exiting the hangar on a fire truck! 

Tyler with his goodie bag!

Jack found the cookie table. All was right in his world that day.

The 1st time Kaiti has ever gotten her face painted, and she ran out of room :) Oh, the Santa hat makes me laugh.

Me and Evie......by a Christmas tree and a helicopter

it's a black fly in your Chardonnay

irony = me deciding during labor that I wanted to have Tyler drug free and totally natural, and 24 hours later, I ended up having a c-section. wanting to try anew with Kaiti, epidural free, only to be told I needed a c-section again. (now I have 4 lines intersecting across my lower belly)

irony = texting a friend that I was really enjoying my new passion for my exercise bike and proudly telling her that I'd been on it every day for almost 4 weeks without a single hitch, and 2 minutes later, the pedal breaks off (and the tools it takes to fix this are things we need to go and get, not one of that 8,074 my husband has in his tool chest)

irony = feeling kinda cute yesterday in jeans and a sweater I have not fit into since before Kaiti, walking with a little pep in my step, and totally tripping over my own feet walking into Wal Greens and falling pretty hideously, on hands and knees, in front of a long line of shoppers

irony = worrying about Jack's growth and development in light of his organs being all mucked up, and he now tops the charts on weight and height, I have to squeeze his 2-year-old behind into snug fitting 3T pants that are an inch shy of being capris

irony = being super proud of a headband I just made for myself, and then someone asks me if my 5-year-old daughter made it

irony = spending the morning straightening my hair for the first time in many months, and holding Evie like an airplane above my head as she vomited BUCKETS right into my freshly straightened locks

my Tyler

We just celebrated his 7th birthday and I am amazed at how quickly time seems to have passed. I can remember clear as day the first moments of his laughter. Of realizing he laughed hysterically at the sight of our black lab running in reaction to my husband's whistle, which had me saying 'again, AGAIN!' to my husband over and over.

Now, Tyler is a book-loving, dinosaur-fascinated, information-absorbing, never-forgetting, super-competitive, sensitive-hearted, laughter-loving, meat-craving, rules-oriented, amazing boy!!

Yesterday he came home from school and was so excited to share all of his great news. The big news was that he did the mile run at school and did it in a little over 12 minutes!! I was so proud of my boy, and he was really proud of his special 'mile-run' bracelet. He also bumped a reading level in class, and he cannot wait to choose from the new level of books. Finally, he shopped at the school's holiday bazaar and bought every person in his family a gift, and used some of his own money. He said he can't wait to see my face when I open the Christmas present he bought me. I have to be honest- when he said that, I started to cry. I just love my Tyler so much!

And here are some photos of my sweet boy that Angie Testa took!

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Sweet Hearts & Soles Giveaway was none other than....

#8 (drawn by random.org)

Valerie said...

"Oh, and I did like this on Facebook, have posted about it there, have this Etsy shop as a favorite, AND am following your blog! (lol, I really want a pair of these shoes!)"

Congratulations Valerie!!!! You get to pick out an item of your choice from the Sweet Hearts and Soles Shop!! And for all those who did not win, Teri from Sweet Hearts and Soles is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders right now! Don't let that deal pass you by :)

Kaitibug!

My sweet Kaitibug. I cannot believe how much she has changed. When she started preschool, she was so painfully shy that she ate her lunch under the table because she could not stand for the other kids to look at her. (Of course, the kids tended to look at her more because she was eating her lunch UNDER THE TABLE, but that was lost on her.)

Now when I go and have lunch with her at school, she is busy chatting up the other kids and it gets lost in giggles with her little friends. She loves her friends! She's really never been a 'toy' kid. She's taken ballet/tap and now tumbling, and is not really over the moon for any of those either. She likes them, and is really having fun with tumbling, but that is not something that just does it for her. Really, all she cares about are her friendships. I love that about her.

I thought I'd share this with you because it cracked me up. Last night on the way to tumbling, it was just Kaiti and I in the car and it felt very quiet. So I asked if she would play the question game with me.....the one where you rattle off questions super fast and the other person has only a second to answer. So I went first with the questions and asked the usual things-- "What's your favorite animal?", "What song do you like the most?", "What's your favorite thing to eat?", "If you could go anyplace where would you go?", etc, etc.  When I was done, she wanted to be the questioner. It cracked me up. Here's how it went.....

Kaiti: Do you like dogs
Me: Yes
Kaiti: Is your hair brown?
Me: Umm, naturally, yes.

Kaiti: Does it bother you when Daddy whistles?

Me: Uhh. welll..

Kaiti: HURRY MOMMY, ANSWER!!

ME: Okay, not that much

Kaiti: Do you like ponytails

Me: Uh, sure. That's all I ev-

Kaiti: Do you like gas?

Me: What? (totally laughing) What kind of gas?

Kaiti: Just ANSWER the question Mommy!

Me: Okay, yes, I like gas just fine. 

Kaiti: Do you like Jack?

Me: Uh, MY SON??? Yeah, I like him. You make me lau---

Kaiti: How many times do you drive?

Me: Like today? Or ever? 

Kaiti: HOW MANY TIMES????

Me: Fine. Eight Thousand!

Kaiti: You like Diet Coke?

Me: Absolutely.

Kaiti: Do you want to play Simon Says?

Me: Right now?

Kaiti: MOMMMMMMYYYYY!

Me: Sure. Yes!

Kaiti: Where are we going?

Me: Tumbling!

Kaiti: Good job Mommy. You won. 

.......and that is my Kaiti in a nutshell! Now for the pictures of my sweet child from our family session with Angie!

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Go quick and enter to win something adorable- CLICK HERE!!!

wordless wednesday

Jack William

Our jolly little guy just turned 2!!! This boy, let me tell ya'...........he is SOMETHING!! If you know our Jack you know that is the only way to describe him.

He cracks us up. We have to turn away often when trying to discipline him because he does something funny or unexpected.

For example, today I was I was kneeling down in front of him and explaining that we do not climb on the coffee table (after he JUMPED off of it) and as I was telling him that is not allowed at all he interrupted mid-sentence and says, "What? WHATTTTTT? (head cocked now, like he doesn't get it) WHAAAT MAMA???" HIs sweet, inquisitive tone and puzzled expression.....like he was trying to understand my reasoning and just needed me to explain it again. Oh! This boy.

His curls have gotten wilder, his freckles have spread across his nose and atop his shoulders. He is HUGE! He is in a size 9 shoe (Kaiti is almost 6 and wears a size 11) and wears a size 3T. He is rough and tumble to the extreme. He loves to play with balls and he has pretty good aim when playing catch throw with his siblings. He loves helicopters (obviously!!!), trains, and airplanes. He is really the prototypical boy-- with a wild sense of humor and a melt-my-heart smile! You can't know Jack and not love him. Just. Not Possible.

As far as the health stuff goes, he is doing wonderfully. There are still some things we of course follow up on and he should be paying another visit the geneticist, cardiologist, and urologist soon. Ironically, all of these follow ups, and I think we are good as far as gastroenterology goes. We know we may encounter problems as he grows-- it is most common to see secondary symptoms of his genetic condition present around adolescence- we feel incredibly thankful that he has come this far without a single surgery. Hard to believe the place we were at emotionally a couple years ago, and where we are now.

Here are some Jack Jack pictures from our recent family session with Angie!

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**If you have not yet entered the giveaway, click over and enter your name---- just a few days left before we announce the winner!!

Prayers Needed

******Update on Baby Drew- He is doing very well!! He made it through the surgery and the doctors feel that they corrected his 2 heart concerns and fully expect him to recover and live a healthy, happy life!!! Thank you for praying!!!




My friends baby, Drew, is one week old and in serious heart trouble. He was flown to Children's Hospital yesterday after Ellie -his mom- noticed he was breathing 'funny'. He has since been diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta and is fighting for his life. He needs to stabilize enough for surgery that could save him. Please, please, please pray! 

Evie Diane

My precious blue-eyed babe is 5 months old today!! Oh, she makes us so happy. She coos and jabbers and laughs and smiles. She is such a delight!! 

She is practically sitting, but still doesn't like to roll over. We're quite certain she is working on some teeth. She loves her toes (uh, who WOULDN'T???), and laughs back when you laugh at her. She does not have much hair to speak of, but her eyes are a beautiful deep blue (for now).

Here are some of the Evie pictures we had taken by Angie Testa recently! Turns out, my little girl is just as cute in pictures as she is in real life :)