Delmonico Family

Motherhood

2011-05-07T19:18:00.001-07:00

Why do I LOVE being a mom?

I love being called mommy, I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing it, I am sure through the years it wont be mommy anymore, more like "MOM", so I am going to cherish their sweet little voices calling me mommy.

I love to see their happiness, it always fills me up with great joy when my children are happy. I love to see their excitement, and the smiles on their face, it is very contagious. I could bottle it up.

I love all the moments, the good and even the bad. There will always be bad moments, but oh how the good ones erase the bad. My children know just how to make me laugh and feel better if its been a bad day.

I LOVE being a mother to the most wonderful children in the world. Being a mother is no easy task, but I am so in love with it. I can not ever imagine my life without them. I love them to pieces.

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful mothers!

Self Defense

2011-01-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

So on Chris's birthday I finally got the nerve to go shooting with him. He just got a new gun the Benelli M2 Tactical Shotgun. Had to get that right for him:) I was always one who was very much against owning guns, especially with young children. He had to convince me for quite sometime to get his very first gun. Anyways, I have yet to shoot that one. Some, or very many may still disagree with having a gun in the home with children, but I have to say that I have never felt safer. There have already been atleast 2 times where, I did not have to use it, but had to take it out for safety reasons, and I felt so much safer having it, then not.

Anyways I was very nervous, we were supposed to shoot the Hk but we went to shoot the shotgun first, I didnt want to even shoot that big ole monster. I told him I was just going to observe. I am glad I tried it, because it really was fun. It was a little scary, and it took me by surprise, the force of this gun, but I would def do it again. It was fun shooting at different things, and I actually hit my targets. I would like to do it again, and if anyone is interested in going out with me, let me know. It would be fun to go with a group. I can definitely say that I am glad that I allowed Chris to get his guns, and I am glad I finally got the strength to go out shooting, so in the case that I ever have to use it, which of course hopefully is NEVER. I will be a little more prepared.

Update

2011-01-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

Jumping back on the bandwagon, slacked for so long. So I am back to update you on the "Happenings" in the Delmonico household.

Chris celebrated his big 30th, something he wasn't so enthused about, but 30's are the new 20's, or so he says. Ah, age is just a number. We had a great celebration just the 2 of us, a day alone with no children, and it was nice.

Tyler turned 4 on January 2oth, he celebrated on the 15th with a Spiderman birthday, his

favorite for some reason. He is becoming so intelligent, it amazes me, he will start school in August which makes me happy and nervous at the same time. He has also started gymnastics, and he loves it. I can't wait to sign him up for soccer.

Natalie is now 4 months old, weighing almost 16 lbs 2 ft tall, and the sweetest little girl. She smiles a bunch, and loves to make noises. She loves Tyler and Emily so much, and you can tell because I try so hard to make her laugh, and all they have to do is talk to her, and she just gives them the biggest smile, and her sweet little laugh. She is a very happy and easy baby. We love her more and more each day.

Emily is 2 1/2 now and quite the diva. I worry sometimes..lol She is very sweet, but ofcourse being a girl, she has those moments..lol Very independent, and one tough little girl. She loves to play outside, and is rough and tough, but yet she likes and acts like a little princess, and loves to dress up, and loves it when she gets new outfits. She is a great big sister, and loves Natalie a bunch, sometimes too much:)

All is well, Tyler, Emily, and Natalie, keep us very busy. We love them very much. I hope to continue to keep up with the blog. Enjoy reading about our crazy lives.

Newest Addition

2010-09-20T19:17:00.001-07:00

I love her sweet little face

They are so in love with her.

She's a lot darker than Tyler or Emily were.

Such a long time since my last post, but most important recent activity in our family is the arrival of Natalie Noel. We are so happy, and to us she is perfect in every single way. Tyler and Emily are so thrilled she is finally here. Every doctor appointment Tyler would ask if she was coming. She was born on September 10 at 8:08 pm weighing 7lbs 9 oz and 20" long. She has tons of, very dark hair, and as of right now we think she will have blue eyes. She looks alot different than Tyler or Emily to me. She loves to eat and sleep, and makes cute little sounds. She has been a very good baby.

I feel so blessed to have 3 beautiful children. They light up our life. I enjoy watching her change already, and we are happy to have her in our lives.

Tyler and Emily can swim

2010-05-23T16:25:00.001-07:00

I have been very proud of my children, that they have learned and love to swim, this summer. Ever since moving to a house with a pool, I had my reservations, and was fearful of the thought of one of them falling in. Tyler learned to swim with his floaties when he was 2 years old, but winter came and we hadn't been in a pool for quite some time. He had almost forgotten how to swim. After many days in the pool, he even learned how to swim without his floats. He wanted to do it all by himself. He loves it so much. He is very fearless, and jumps in the deep end and is practicing how to float on his back. He can do it for a short while, but he loves it! He has also learned how to dive. It's one of his favorite things to do in the pool, to dive for his torpedo toy.

I am also so proud of Emily, who has also learned after only a few times in the water how to swim with her floaties on. She too loves to float on her back. I am glad I have children who love, and are not afraid of the water. It's been so hot lately and it's what we do most of our time. They can't get enough of it. They are practicing with daddy how to do different things all the time, and we are working on learning survival skills as well.

Strawberry Farm

2010-04-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a Strawberry Farm in Mount Dora. I never knew it was there, but it was so much fun. The kids enjoyed picking their own strawberries. The farm had a park they could play on, as well as a hay ride. They even had a zip line that Tyler absolutely loved. It was a beautiful day and they had so much fun. We rode out to the flea market, and Tyler got to ride a pony, and best of all we got to ride an elephant. I wasn't expecting to get on, but the guy told me to jump right on, and so how could I resist. It was one of the neatest things I have expierenced, how often can you say, I rode an elephant. The strawberries are delicious, and I am hoping to make some jam, with the help of my sister. They were also very inexpensive and so much fun to do.

All grown up

2010-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

It seems my baby is getting bigger by the minute, and little things like getting a new booster seat for the car, instead of his normal car seat, and getting his new big boy twin bed help me to realize it even more. Tyler finally got a Twin bed, and he loves it. He feels like such a big boy..he tells me all the time..I Love my bed so much! We are so proud, and he does so well in it. As well as his new seat in the car, he loves to wear a seat belt, instead of the straps on his old car seat. Our next goal is to get Emily in his toddler bed...but I think I am just going to wait for her to attempt climbing out of the crib first...she seems to like her crib, so Im not in too big of a rush.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

2010-01-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

So I havent posted in a bit, but I made a goal to be more Betty Crocker like and to attempt making new meals. Tyler and Chris love hamburgers so I found a really yummy recipe to make your very own buns and I had to try it because I love me some bread. Thought I would share it with you. Look at how yummy it turned out.

Ingredients

4 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons instant yeast1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups buttermilk or milk, at room temperature
sesame seeds for the tops (optional)

Directions

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Pour in the egg, butter, and buttermilk and mix with a large metal spoon until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a shaggy ball. You can trickle in a little water if the dough seems very stiff, until the dough is soft and supple.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop, where you’ll do your kneading. Knead for about 8 minutes, until the dough is soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky. You can test if you’ve kneaded it enough by pulling off a little piece of dough, gently stretching and pulling it with your hands until it’s paper thin, and holding it up to the light: if the dough stretches and holds its shape without breaking, to the point where it’s translucent, it’s done. This is called the windowpane test.

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Roll it around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size (I use an electric heating pad under the bowl, as we keep our house on the cool side.)
Remove the risen dough from the bowl and divide it into eighteen 2-ounce pieces (for slider buns) or twelve 3-ounce pieces (for standard size burger buns.) Shape the pieces of dough into rounds, transfer them to baking sheets lined with Silpats or parchment paper, and cover them with a towel. Let the buns proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until they’re nearly doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of water, for an egg wash. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash, and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like. Bake the buns for 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove them immediately from the pans and cool completely on a wire cooling rack (cool them at least 1 hour before slicing.)
Makes 18 slider buns or 12 regular burger buns.

Important Step to Follow!!

Well except on this particular day the Baker only made one bun, and the pictures above are fake. There is only one bun in my oven, and wont be seen til September 20th, 2010. Did you really think I could make something that yummy? Ya right..We are excited to announce we are excpecting baby #3!!

Hurt Elbow

2010-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

So as if stitches at 2 werent enough, Tyler had to make turning three just as memorable. He left the 2 year old age with a bang on the head caushing him to get 5 stiches right in the middle of his forhead. So he thought he would start off his new year as a 3 year old with something almost as exciting..A very injured elbow. Poor guy landed the wrong way on the trampoline, and hurt his elbow pretty good. Thankfully he did not break or fracture any bones, but it hurts him just as bad. Doc is not quite sure yet if its a torn ligament or just a really injured muscle. We are waiting it out and see how he does, and then see an orthopedic doc. It's so difficult to see your baby in pain, I wish he would stop getting hurt, I feel terrible for him. Boys will be boys I guess. He has been such a trooper though.

Tyler turns 3

2010-01-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

Time sure does fly. Tyler James turned 3 on January 20th. What a big boy he is. He was my tiny little baby boy, who sprouted to 42 lbs and who knows how tall these days. He is becoming too big for me to even lift anymore. He had a wonderful birthday. Small, but filled with tons of fun and smiles. He was so happy for his "balloon party" as he called it. Thats all he wanted pizza, cupcakes and balloons. He loved all of his presents, and we had a fun time just playing in our awesome neighbors backyard on the trampoline. I think this had to be one of the easiest parties I had for him. But he loved it so much.

The day before we visited Sea World with his cousins and they had a blast. It never gets old there. There's always something fun and new to see. The boys loved all of the shows, and rides.

My baby is 1

2009-07-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

I have been slacking on posting blogs lately. So this is almost a week late, but on Tuesday July 21st my baby girl turned 1. I can't believe it. Time really does fly by when you have two. I am excited for the new things she will be able to accomplish with turning older, and I can't wait to see her personality grow. She had a wonderful time, and loved eating her cupcakes. She recieved great gifts from all her friends. We thank everyone for them! I think it wold be nice for her to just stay at this age though, she will always be my baby no matter what.

PLease..Stay Still

2009-07-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

These are the only two pics I could get out of the million I took of this speed racer. She wont stay put for me to take a picture of her. I am trying to get one for her birthday invites. Wish me luck, thought I would share these. She is my cute little princess.

My Love for Coupons

2009-07-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

It has become my new hobby/second job. It takes determination, and dedication, but is so worth it in the end. I never thought so much went in to saving coupons, and being a smart shopper, but it does. It is the greatest feeling in the world, when you see how much stuff you get for so little. I am starting to get better at it, and I am glad I have my partner in crime, my sister to do it with me. It's our new world, we dont shop for anything anymore with out a coupon, and unless we are getting a great deal, we dont buy it. Well this last week was one of the best/worst times I have had with couponing. WEll I say the best because I saved the most to date, and worst.... b/c my sister and I did save so much, I felt that my integrity was questioned and it left me with a bad feeling all week.

My sister and I saved alot at Publix, and we were just given an extra hard time by the manager because she wasnt sure how we were doing what we were. I understood that she had to check and make sure the cashier was doing things properly, but its the manner in which she did it that had me feeling upset, we were looked at as if we were criminals. And although I have a temper, I usually dont use it in such instances, I was as pleasant as I could be smiling and asking what I could do to make things easier, as if I hadnt done so already. I felt so uncomfortble, only assuming that when I did return to shop there again my sister and I would be viewed as girls who try to scam the store or something. So I returned to speak to the manager. I apologized for anything, and I told her I understood she had to do her job, and that I would do the same in her position, accept for the way that she made us feel. I explained everything about what we do to save money, and assured her and explained that we were not scamming the cashier, and that I did not want to feel uncomfortable shopping there. Long story short anyways I called corporate the next day and spoke with a district manager to get the specifics on the rules for using our coupons, and I also called the same manager from the previous night to ask her what she may have noticed wrong with our reciept. The issue she had I addressed with the district mgr, and she apologized to me, and said it was no problem. I just felt good that I stuck up for myself, b/c normally I am timid in these situations, but this time I couldnt let it slide.

So this was my great savings at Publix this week..

My total should have been $175 and I paid $52 savings of $123

My List:

4 Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites

2 Sara Lee Cheesecakes

4 Boxes of Post Banana Crunch Cereal

1 Hungry Jack Pancake Mix

1 Hungry Jack Syrup

3 Bags Bird's Eye Steamfresh Vegtables

6 Hefty Ziploc Bags

2 Land O Lakes Spreads

4 Jars of Claussen Pickles

2 Kraft BBQ Sauce

2 Frenchs Yellow Mustard

3 Raid Bug Killers

2 Arm and Hammer ToothPaste

3 Reach Toothbrushes

3 Reach Floss

2 Kotex Tampons

1 Dove 6pk Bar Soap

2 Sara Lee Pound Cake

1 Peperridge Farm Bread

Produce

Beef

1lb Deli Meat

1/4 lb Deli Cheese

I also saved at CVS with just a small purchase of the same item, but a great deal. I got 16 Soft Lips Organic Lip Conditoner which are normally $3 each.

I got them all for FREE for a savings of $60...Total was free, how cool is that?

Silly Girl

2009-07-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Thought this was a cute/funny pic of Emily and her new love. She loves loves the 4wheeler. She will throw a huge tantrum when you get her off of it. She literally tries to get back on like a pro riding a bike. LOL She lights up when she's on it. When she is big enough we will have to get her one of her own. Thought I would share

Diana's and Erech's Bday Celebration

2009-06-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Dianas birthday is Tuesday the 16th and Erechs is on the following day, but we celebrated as a family on Sunday because my grandma was in town from Colorado. She doesnt visit us often so it was special for us to celebrate all togehter. It was so much fun, filled with yummy food. Erech loved his cake, and boy did the kids have a sugar high later on. We are going to Disney tomorrow to celebrate even more, especially since it will be Diana's actual birthday. I can't wait. Happy Birthday Erech and Diana. We love you

Emilys First teeth coming in

2009-06-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Here are the first two on the bottom, the doc says she will be getting all of hers all at once. This is the start I guess, so cute! Finally at almost 11 months old

It's hard to see I know, but you can start to see the little whites starting to come up.

My sick baby

2009-06-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Update on my little princess. For the past two days she has not been eating, and had a low grade fever, and so I thought for sure teething, but instead of being cranky she was the complete opposite. She would sleep all day, would not move and want to be held and just sleep. I felt so bad, and I became worried when it was almost 3 days of no eating and hardly no drinking. So today I took her to the ER to see a pediatrician and he said it was most likely a combo of a stomach virus and teething. She will probably get all her teeth in at once he said. Her gums were very swollen. I felt so bad for her. She did better once I brought her home and ate some dinner. I hope her teeth come in soon. This was one of pictures I got of her passing out anywhere she was.

So proud of my Hubby

2009-06-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to quickly mention how proud I am of my husband. I could write an entire novel about how great he is, but I just wanted to share how smart he is, and that I am so proud of how successful he is at his job. I recently had the chance to visit his work for the second time, and I am still so amazed at what he does. It is so complicated, and stressful, and so much involved its amazing. He works for the Daytona Beach Air Traffic Control. His job requires so much knowledge of radors, communication with pilots..who may I add dont always have great english speaking skills. Anyways lets just say its a very tough job, so I just wanted to share that I can't imagine doing what he does. When you go to vist, its almost like they screen you for th FBI so you are not supposed to take pictures, even though I wanted to show the neat view from the top of the tower. I got some images from yahoo just to show how cool it is, they all pretty much look the same, at night its really neat b/c you can see all the lit up lights on the runway, and the airplanes flying in. Love ya hunny, your so smart!

Summer Fun

2009-06-13T17:57:00.001-07:00

When its hot there is nothing more exciting than getting wet and cooled off. The kids love the splash park. Emily has gone before but didnt have as much fun as this last time since she could move around. She loved the water and loved attempting to drink it. Tyler has so much fun running around with his cousins and friends. They could't get enough, plus its nice for us to relax, get some sun and not sweat too death. Here they are having fun

Nanas Trip to FL from PA

2009-06-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

Nana bought a slip and slide for us to enjoy in the extreme heat.

Tyler had a blast, Nana was pushing him very high.

Very windy day

Just a few pictures from our visit to St. Augustine, It was also very hot this day, but we had a nice breeze at the top of the castle.

Nana DElmonico came to visit us last week on Friday. I was so glad because before her visit we had rain for 6 days straight. I was hoping we would have atleast a few days of sunny weather so we could enjoy the pool and do fun things togehter. WE were lucky and we got tons of sunny days. Some days were too hot. One day we went to the park and it was so hot we could only stay for 20 minutes. Tyler and Emily had so much fun with Nana. Emily loved giving her kisses, and Tyler enjoyed running around with her. On her last day we were able to go out to dinner with out the kids, and it was so great. We miss her already, and cant wait til we go up for Christmas. WE Love you Nana!!!

My little Emily with a Big Appetite

2009-06-07T16:12:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of EMily. She is the best eater. Well some might question why I would be so happy, but when I compare her to Tyler who would only eat baby jar food til he was 18 months old, and was so picky, I am jumping for joy she is not the same way. Not only does it save me tons of money from not having to but the jars anymore, but it just makes feeding her so much easier. She will eat anything I place in front of her and does well with feeding her self. Well with her fingers anyway. I am working on getting her to get used to using utensils, but fingers are fine for now. I am so proud of my little Emily.

Also Emliy Update

She is crawling so well now, she no longer crawls with one leg tucked in. She goes much faster now, and is doing well with lifting herself up. Took her little while, but now she has the hang of it. And also we discovered today that she is in LOVE with the swing. If we took her out of it she let out the loudest cry, then we felt bad and put her back in, and we went to take her out and she would cry..so sad. She is just growing up and developing such a fun personality. She loves to play games like peekaboo, and likes to make us laugh. She is so much fun!!

Emily is Finally Crawling

2009-06-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Finally at ten months Emily is beginning to crawl. She used to just roll to get what she wanted, but out of nowhere she began scooting. She keeps one of her legs tucked in, but its a start. I am so proud of her. She is also beginning to take steps where before she would keep her legs very stiff, and not walk. With our help ofcourse holding her hands. I love to watch her move, I think its so cute. Go EMily!!!!

It's a start

2009-05-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well today was my first day of shopping using coupons (with actual planning that is..I've used coupns before) and trying to get the most I could for the cheapest. I am no where near being the KCL (crazy coupon lady) that I would like to be because for starters the deals I got today were only used with this weeks Sundays coupons. I didn't have previous coupons that I could have doubled up on. Secondly I tried to organize all my coupons and check out which stores had the best deals, all right before going. On top of that it has been a very gloomy day out, and I did all of this with the kids. Not fun at all. But I was brave, and I managed to get some good deals, and I look forward to putting more time and effort so my next trip will go more smoothly. I am going to plan ahead and go without the children. It's so amazing how much you can save. It takes time, but if you do it at night or when you have that extra time, it's so worth it. I can't wait to start getting stuff for practically free. I know I didn't do that well today but still good for my first day. The total for everything in the picture was 28.00. When I think about it just the Aussie shampoo and conditioner and gels and razors in the front, alone would have cost that much had I paid regular price. So its like everything else in the pic was free. I can't wait..

This is what I got

3 boxes of Kellogs cereal

1 Box of Cheese crackers

2 Ball Park Beef Hot Dogs

2 Aussie Gel

2 Aussie Haircare

2 Boxes of Wheat Thins

2 Bic Soleil Razors

Colgate toothpast

2 Double Stack Pringles

Johnsons Baby Wash

1 Herbal Essence Conditioner

Just Like Daddy

2009-05-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Tyler always imitates daddy, it's so cute

I love to see how much Tyler loves his daddy. He always wants to put on daddy's shoes, and play with his keys and hold on to his wallet to pretend he is Chris. When Chris has his days off and spends the day with Tyler I am completely invisible. He is glued to his dad. I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband who loves his children, and loves to spend time with them. I am so glad that he is a good example to him, because children observe everything we do so its so important for us to show them how to be.

Tyler can swim

2009-04-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my baby. Today Tyler went swimming in the pool with his floaties all alone. He was scared at first, and it wasn't till today that he got brave enough to do it all by himself. He even told me "momma..move". I went swimming and asked Diana to keep an eye on him. When I got up from the water Diana told me to look at him and there he was swimming to me all the way in the deep end. He did so good. I'm still just so amazed, now he can really enjoy the pool. He did not want to leave today at all. Emily had a blast too in her floaty. She loves the water. We are going again tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Mike part 2

2009-04-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

MMMM!

So to celebrate Michaels birthday all together, we went to Texas De Brazil for dinner. It is the best place ever. I could go on for days about the food so I wont even go in detail, lets just say its too good for words. We had such a fun time. If you havent been there def. go, you wont regret it. Happy Birthday again Mike.

Hmm...Is that Chocolate?

2009-04-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Gross, I know, sorry.

Oh my, never thought the day would come. I go to open Tyler's door when he woke up in the morning, and the first words out of his mouth is "momma towel". It was dark so I couldn't see, and I thought he might have thrown up b/c he had a couple nights before. Pants off, no diaper, then it hit me ...So he comes out, and sticks his hands out, and they are covered with brown stuff. On his trampoline was his dirty diaper. He had taken them off and I guess accidentally touched his rear. I know he didn't like it that's why I say accidentally because I think he touched it to get his diaper off, b/c then later in the day I shut the door in his room and noticed it spread all over, I guess he had to smear it somewhere. I also think he is just not liking the feeling of a dirty diaper anymore the past few days hes been going to the potty more often. He even went the other day all by himself, he puts his potty seat down, and climbs up with his stool. He told me to move away so I go on the bed, and I come back and he went #2. He goes alot now, so I am hoping this is the cause if the mess in the morning, b/c I don't want to have to experience this mess again.

To big for the bumbo

2009-04-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

I think she prefers the highchair too

Its Official..Emily is too big for the bumbo. She can still fit in it, but has mastered the art of getting out of it all to well for it to be considered safe. I used it so much with her. It was so much easier to feed her in there then to roll out the highchair from the garage. She had been doing it for a while, stretching her body all the way back, but never got out. The other day had the worst scare ever. I usually sit her in the bumbo on the table with Tyty to eat breakfast cause they will play together. I was getting her breakfast ready, when I turn my head to see her full body stretched out on the very edge of the table, had she not been reaching for Tyler's food, and had I not got there in the exact second I did she would have rolled over and fell on the tile floor. I screamed so loud, and I never regret anything more than this. Had she fallen I would have never forgiven myself. I learned my lesson, and out came the highchair. Its actually so much easier to feed her in that, so man bumbo is out. Its still a great invention though.

Emily is 9 months old tomorrow. What a big girl. She eats just about anything, and is loving more solid foods than her baby jar food. She also uses her index and thumb together really well to grab her food and put it in her mouth. She loves to feed herself. I am working on getting her to drink from a sippy cup because she still just wants to bite it rather than suck, not sure if it's cause shes teething or just not ready. She doesn't crawl, but "rolls" to get around, so cute. And we are still waiting for teeth to come. She has been practicing and is doing really well with saying hi and bye, its very cute. I'm ok with her staying the age she is, she is my perfect little baby. Loves to dance, and jump, and make funny noises.

Happy Birthday Mike

2009-04-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yum Yum

Today was my brother's birthday. He lives all the way in Titusville, which is a lil ways from Ormond, so he wasnt expecting us to come visit him at all. Diana and I with my mom and the kids went to see him so we could wish him a very Happy Birthday and enjoy his favorite German Choolate cake, and cupcakes. He was so surprised. Tons of fun. Happy Birthday Mike. I have the greatest brother, he is very thoughtful, and caring, and super funny. We get along so well, and I am so glad he is my brother. Love you Mike

Just cute pics of my cute kids

2009-04-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

I just love my babies, its fun taking cute picturs of them. I just think they are super cute.

Emily's Doctor visit

2009-04-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

She was so brave...she wanted to eat it the whole time. So cute

We took Emily today to see the doctor because she was sick a couple weeks ago with a cough, and she got better and stopped coughing but her voice has been different and very weak sounded like she had laryngitis. Well she did have an infection and it got down to her lungs...poor girl. I hate to see them sick. We got her some medicine and she will be fine within 5 days. But I wanted to update on her growth since its been a while since she last got weighed.

Emily Ann is

19.3 lbs

27 and 1/4 " tall

The doctor says she is a perfect baby, which I already knew...:)

She is growing so fast, soon she will be 9 months old, I cant believe it. No teeth yet, but they will hopefully come soon she is teething very bad. She is very healthy, and we are very blessed to have a beautiful princess.

More Easter Events

2009-04-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

It was tough getting him out of the truck

Poor bunny it was like 100 degrees out, so I just snapped real quick and this was the best shot I got out of Emily...plus there was a big line of kids waiting

He loved it!

Saturday we enjoyed a very nice Easter celebration they were having at the Bicentennial Park on beach side. It was so much fun, and very well put together. It was a really nice park, they had a large open field, and it was filled with inflatable bounce houses, and a huge slide. Tyler had a blast! They also had the fireman out showing the truck and giving out helmets for the kids. It was so cute because Tyler loved it so much, he did not want to get out. He felt so proud to have his hat on and junior firefighter sticker on. He got to sit in the front seat and play with the steering wheel..he was in heaven. They had so much to do, and it was all free. After a fun day they had a huge Easter egg hunt. Tyler did so well running so fast and grabbed lots of eggs. This is really nice because then mommy can give those eggs to the bunny for him to re-use when he comes to our house for our hunt:) I love seeing Tyler so happy, he had such a great time.

2009-03-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Easter is around the corner

2009-03-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

He got lots of eggs

He found one hidden in that tiny hole

Tyler playing the roll your egg with your nose game.

Coloring his eggs

Baby Shilo, and mommy. I made her put the ears on.:)

On Saturday, Tyler, Emily, and myself went to the church for the Easter Egg hunt, and pancake breakfast. It was so well put together, and Tyler had so much fun. It was difficult in some ways helping Tyler paint his eggs because he didn't quite understand, and wanted to throw them in there, or " drink juice". I had to tell him it wasn't juice. We had very colorful hands when it was all over. The best part for him was definitely hunting for eggs. I was waiting for him to find one egg, and stop there to eat what was inside, like he did years before. But he surprised me, and it was the cutest thing because he did so well, and was running to keep finding more. He would say in the happiest voice " I found it!!, I found egg"!!. Find another one" which means lets find more. He got quite a few. Emily was asleep during the egg hunt, which worked out nice for me so I could help Tyler, cause we all know searching for eggs, is super fun:) But she had a good time playing with Baby Shilo, and we can't wait for Easter at home too. Thanks to everyone who worked very hard to make it such a fun event.

A date night

2009-03-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Thanx to mom for watching the kids

It's been a while since Chris and I have had to chance to go out on a date. So I was so excited when we got some time out together alone. I felt normal for a bit....lol. We went and saw the scary movie The Haunting in Connecticut. I love horror films, or at least until I get home and its dark, and the fridge decides to make all these noises. This movie wasn't as horrific as I thought it might be. It was good though, and we had fun. If your in to scary films, I would recommend it.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears

2009-03-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a very exciting day. We went to the Jacksonville zoo, our little family, plus Diana and Ethan and Erech. They had so much fun. It was nice because we saw just about every single animal, they were all out ready for us. Time flew by so fast because we were having so much fun. The boys got to enjoy the splash park there, and Tyler got to feed the giraffes. His face lit up when he saw their large tongues come so close to him, and grab the leaves from his hand. He loved it! We saw the Black bear, a Lion, zebras, rhinos and elephants to name a few. Emily had fun too, she is always amazed by everything. Ethan and Erech took tons of pictures on their camera, so cute! I would go back all the time if I could, we spent the whole day there, and it still wasn't enough. I really do feel so lucky that we have opportunities like these to spend time with each other doing fun things like seeing neat animals, not everyone has that chance. It was awesome!!

Ethan's First Soccer Game

2009-03-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Tyler waiting ever so patiently

Ethan and his teammates

It was Ethan's first game, I was really excited to go see him play, and he did try, at least he got out on the field. It was funny though because he just let the ball pass right by him...thank goodness his other teammates didn't seem to mind. He tried, I think it may have been overwhelming, but he looked really cute in his uniform and cleats. He definitely looked the part, it would have been fun to see him play, I'm sure after a few more games he'll be more comfortable. Go Ethan!

Thank you crazy coupon lady.

2009-03-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the crazy coupon lady, I was able to go to Old Navy and pick up these really cute pieces for Emily today. They are having a Baby sale $5 pieces. The stockings I got for even cheaper. I love sales. I especially loved it cause it wasn't winter items. I'm in love with the dress I got, its normally $16.50 and I got it for $5. How awesome is that. Plus I saved another $5 dollars for spending $25, so all this for about $20 when the dress alone almost cost that much. You cant beat it, so get down to Old Navy the sale is until Friday I believe. It's baby girls and boys the size goes up to 6-12 months. I was excited so I had to post such marvelous news haha jk. Thank you crazy coupon lady, if you haven't heard of this, you need to put her on your blog, she fills you in on excellent deals, coupons, and a bunch of stuff to help you save money.

Funny Story

2009-03-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

No More JellyBeans for Tyler. So I went to the mall to go have a necklace fixed..not the funnest thing for Tyler to sit through. He was pretty patient waiting for it all to be over. So because he was a good boy, I took him to the candy factory and let him have a small bag with just a few jellybeans and m&m's. So he finished them in the car, messy face, and noises like "mmmmm" let me know he was enjoying all of it, and he hands me his empty bag.."all gone". So we get home, and he goes outside on the patio to see Chris, and sees some play dough on the floor and goes to stick that in his nose, so Chris tells him "no don't do that", and wipes his nose; when out comes two little pieces of jellybeans...Chris tells me to come look, and I was curious as to why he would stick perfectly delicious candy up his nose, when hes eaten them before. Tyler would never get rid of candy...then I hear a sneeze and out comes two bigger chunks of jellybeans....poor guy. How many jellybeans did he fit up there is what I was thinking. We got it all out, and explained to him that things do not go up his nose. So weird, but for now we will stay away from jellybeans.

Swing Swing

2009-03-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

Emily loves the swing, she always has the biggest smile on her face when she gets in. Shes so darn cute.

Lovin the Beach

2009-03-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

The boys making funny faces

Loves it when the water touches his feet

Having fun

Tyler loves the beach. Its so nice and warm out, and its always nice to get a little sun and not be pasty pale. He is so brave, and loves to play in the water now. Thats all he wants to do is jump and run in. He had so much fun with his friends and cousins. We dug a huge hole that doesnt look like it, but took us forever to dig, because digging sand is very tough. That way the kids could have a little pool to swim in, they loved it.

Shuttle launch

2009-03-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Boosters releasing

Shuttler taking off. We r so lucky to see this.

So cool to see. Tyler and Emily got to see it for the first time. We even got to see the boosters release from the shuttle. It seemed like they were so close. Good times!!!!!

Emily's Babble

2009-03-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

How funny is this. She's normally very quiet, but tonight she was very vocal, she had us all laughing.

Florida Heat..Calls for some Beach Fun

2009-03-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

It has been pretty hot the last few days. We have been going to the park, but its been so hot that we never end up staying for very long. So today we had the chance to take Tyler to the splash park at the beach. Its been a while since we have been, so I didn't know if he would enjoy it still. It took him a few minutes to get warmed up to the idea of getting wet, but as soon as he did, he was in his own little world, barely knew we were there. Emily loved it too, she likes to be outside and look around at anything. Then we enjoyed the park they have there, and Emily had a blast swinging. Tyler also got to go down to the beach with me, and he didn't want to leave. He liked running towards the water then running away when the waves came. We had a great time, its times like these that makes me appreciate the Florida heat.

My Family

2009-03-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we last got pictures of all of us together. It's not very easy to do with a 2 year old and 7 month old. So I just asked my sister to take a few for me behind the house. It was very difficult to capture us all looking at the same time, as you will see, but I think they turned out cute. Thank you Diana for doing a good job. This is my cute little family. Me, Chris, Tyler and Emily.

Tyler making Emily Laugh

2009-03-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

Look how funny it is when Emily loses complete focus of Tyler and stops laughing when she realizes shes being filmed, and looks at the camera, I thought it was really funny.

Chris and I have to try really hard to get Emily to laugh, but Tyler makes her laugh with just anything he does. Its really cute how much they love eachother. He loves his sissy, he's even been calling her princess lately, and saying shes beautiful. Its so sweet, he had alot of fun making her laugh.

Sign Language Class

2009-03-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Post to all moms. The City Island Library will be having a class for the next six weeks to teach your children sign language. A mother is volunteering her time at 10:30 am every Monday. I will be going and would like for people to join me. Tyler loves to learn new signs, I have been working with him on some from home. I am so proud of him, he knows atleast 20 different ones so far very well. It really does come in handy, he doesnt sign them to me all the time, but there are some that he uses more than others. If you want more information give me a call. Otherwise I will see you on Monday.

I Do!

2009-03-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Man I felt the need to share with everyone to see who else might have had the same experience. Tyler has been doing this for a while now, and although I am proud of him, and sometimes and I mean sometimes only...its cute. His word of the year is " I do" He has to to do everything by himself. I guess it comes with this age, but I never knew how much of everything he wanted to do. I feel like before I know it, he will be telling me hes packing up and moving out. He has to change himself, buckle himself up, and tons of other things. It only becomes aggravating when he wants to do those things that I can not allow him to do alone, that's when the tantrums come out, and when we are in public, it looks like he is the problem child when really he is not. He just feels so independent I guess. I think I've just heard this word " I do" so many times, I can't get it out of my head. Anyone else experience this??

New Yummy's for the Tummy's

2009-03-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Emily has been trying new treats. She still hasn't fully grasped the art of grabbing her rice puffs with her index and thumb, but she has figured out that a fist full is even better. Shes getting better, but man does she love the teething cookie, and I do too cause it helps out so much. Her poor little teeth need to just break through already. She made quite a mess for me to clean up.

Starting out...nice and clean

Not so clean

Yum! Get in my belly

Emily's Nursery is Done

2009-02-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have been planning and waiting to complete Emily's nursery for quite some time. I knew Emily would be sleeping in our room till she was at least 3 1/2 months or so, but not quite till now. I know I am not going to like having her sleep so far away from me, but it will be very nice for her to have her own room. We have had family staying with us which is one of the reasons her room was not finished. But now it is complete! I have been working very hard on every detail of her room. I made the letters of her name on the wall, and because Chris didn't want me to spend money on a chandelier, I managed to find one at a consignment store and spray painted it white, and added the beading to make it look like a crystal chandelier, saving me tons of money. I told him that I would find a way to get one in her room and I did. I was very proud of myself. I was going for a shabby chic look. Chris helped alot by helping Aaron paint the room the beautiful pink that it is, I thank Aaron very much for his hard work. Chris was also very patient with me, and put up all the wall hangings, and not to mention the chandelier, which he had a hard time with. I am so glad I have a handy man, because if not I could not have done any of this. I am so happy it's done.

Cameron's Birthday

2009-02-23T19:34:00.001-08:00

Jathan playing with Tyler

Me and Rachael with sleeping beauty

Time is flying by way too fast. It seems like everyone is having babies, and then those babies are no longer babies, but smart little two year olds. I remember with Tyler I was anxious for him to grow up, and start crawling, then walking an talking. With Emily I am eager to push on the brakes, and stop her from growing at all. So now that I see all these other babies growing up, I want to do the same, and just stop time for a while. Cameron is now two years old, and smarter then ever, I have to really commend Rachel on what a wonderful mother she is, and what a wonderful child she has. Cameron is so sweet, and calm, and loving in every way. We had a great time celebrating his birthday, Tyler had alot of fun. I love how Cameron's favorite word is "Ya", he just agrees with what you say all the time. It's so cute how he says it. His birthday was at the Trails park, and there was yummy chick fil a nuggets and pizza, and fruits, and cake...what more can you ask for? We were so glad we to have been there. Cameron we love you. Happy Birthday

2009-02-19T14:19:00.001-08:00

I had this idea in my head of Emily all wrapped in pearls wearing a tutu and I thought it would make for very cute pictures. So I put my idea to the test, an I thought she looked so beautiful, We had tons of fun taking them, and she really loved playing with the necklaces. Sorry I had to put so many pictures, but I had a really hard time narrowing down the ones I liked. Photography by Jennifer....lol

My Princess

2009-02-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute pictures of my baby girl, she is so cute, and gets more beautful each day.

First time with bubbles

2009-02-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

Emily's First Park Expierence

2009-02-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

Emily is just like her brother, she loves the park. This was the first time that she went on the swing and the slide, and although she enjoyed the swing more, she really enjoyed being outside. She had a lot of fun with Tyler and her cousins. Ethan was a good helper, and helped me push her very slowly on the swing. She had so much fun. We have gone to the park before but never on the swing. When we go we typically lay on a blanket and play with toys. She had a good time when Riley joined us (her friend who is just a week or so younger). Emily showed her little evil side by continuing to take back her toy from him. It was kind of funny because anytime Riley got hold of it, she was so quick to take it back. It will be so much fun when she can walk and really enjoy running around the park.

Valentines Day

2009-02-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

A day of love! I truly felt loved, for Valentines day Chris bought me a beautiful heart necklace. It was so romantic, he knows how much I love jewelery, and it was sweet that he picked out something that I really liked. He also planned a really fun weekend in Orlando. He made me feel very special. I love him very much, and I am glad that he is my husband.

Tyler had a valentines party at the library and loved it very much, he enjoyed story time, and a puppet show followed by wonderful sweets with his friends. We checked out some good books about showing love, and he loved them. Its his new favorite thing to do, is to have story time with mommy. He colored a picture for daddy. Emily dressed up for the occasion and got extra kisses from mommy. I love holidays!

Emily's Pony Tail

2009-02-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

I think that this has to definitely be just one of the many reasons that I love having a baby girl, and it's that you get to not only dress them up super cute, but that you get to play and accessorize their hair. Emily is not quite seven months yet but I can already give her piggies and finally a pony tail. It is so cute, and I love doing her hair. I think it makes her look a little older though. It's just fun playing around and trying new styles with her hair. I also love her in the flower headbands, I have made a few new ones for her. She is so beautiful!

Ethan's got some moves

2009-02-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids dancing today at the Library, Tyler did a little bit of dancing but I never caught it, Although Ethan and friend Alyssa were dancing animals. It was really cute. Ethan usually acts a little shy when we go to to storytime, but today he participatedd and put his picture up on the storyboard and even danced so I'm glad I got it on camera. Cute huh?

Bath Fun

2009-02-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

Her Long Hair

TyTy giving sissy Kisses

Loves playing with toys

Since Emily has been sitting up better I use the sitting side of her bath tub, and she loves it because she can play with the water instead of just laying down. She is so cute, she loves the water and Tyler loves taking a bath with his sissy. Its really cute when I pour the water over her hair, you can see how long her hair is, its too cute, I took a picture to show off her gorgeous long hair...:)

Emily saying DaDa

2009-02-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

My princess is now becoming a little talker, she loves to hear herself...she says alot of dada dada and sometimes mamama, and nananana.....when you smile at her she laughs and does it even more shes a little performer. I love her so much!!

Don't ask, I have no clue

2009-02-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

He didn't get this from Chris and he surely did not get this from me. I went to go get Emily from bed and I come back to the living room to change her diaper and I look to check on Tyler and this is what I saw. I couldn't help but laugh and grab the camera. There he was one hand down his pants just sitting there as if he was Al from Married with Children...LOL I hope this habit is not a lasting one. He has yet to do it again, thank goodness.

What was I thinking?

2009-02-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when your feeling overwhelmed at the store with two children, and one of them happens to have not taken a nap and is very cranky........

What does a mother who has given up and can't take it anymore do to make her child happy and content when all else has failed??......

You give them something they love and is sure to keep them content, and then after it's all done and you see the end result of your actions,.... I asked myself WHAT WAS I THINKING??? LOL

It was almost the same size as his head

Messy Face

That is the smile of True Happiness

Funny Fact about Tyler

2009-01-26T18:26:00.001-08:00

Tyler Never Caught without His Button Shirt

I was reminded today about an interesting fact about Tyler. He is absolutely, undeniably in love with shirts with buttons. Even if there are only three near the collar, or all the way button downs, (his favorite) he has to have it on. I have no clue why. He gets pretty upset when he has to wear just a plain tee, and if I make him take off his button shirt for a plain one, its an absolute war. Today I got him out of his morning PJ's even though he was going for a nap shortly, so I let him pick out whatever he wanted to wear, b/c it didn't matter if he picked out something goofy. He insisted on a button shirt, and when I guided him towards another shirt (having no buttons) he was very persistent that he wanted the one he had picked out. His face lights up when he sees shirts with buttons on them. He would probably prefer that over any other toy. It's very strange. He loves to stare down at his buttons and twist his little fingers pretending to open and close them. I told Chris's mom about it, and she had mentioned that Chris himself had this weird obsession with dressing up nice, and that when going to school Chris would not want his teacher to see him in just jeans, but nice pants with button up shirts. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Have I created a polo, button shirt wearing monster? Tyler would probably not want me to share this, but I think its pretty funny. So just in case people thought I was weird for always putting him in button shirts, if you have noticed...that's why. Here's Tyler always caught wearing nothing other than a button shirt. LOL

Taxes are done

2009-01-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

I am just so relieved. I have finally completed and sent off our taxes for 2008. I hope to get it within 8-14 days because I am going to get a new couch and decorate Emily's room, and I can't wait. Thank goodness for tax returns. I wanted to recommend using Turbo Tax, it was FREE and EASY! They got me more than through H&R. Yippee!

Book of the Month

2009-01-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

My sister had a New Year's resolution to read at least one new book every month. It made me think about, how I should do the same thing. It just seems that I never make the time to do it. After and exhausting day with the kids, once they've gone to bed all I seem to want to do is check my mail, and watch some T.V. and yes I admit, be a lazy couch potato. That's not good, not at all. Sometimes I just feel so ignorant, because I've only held conversations with a 2 year old and 6 month old all day. Perhaps my brain is shrinking by the minute. My mother in law sent me down some really good books a while ago, and I feel so guilty that I haven't read even one..sorry Deb. I was at a bookstore with my sister and I came across a book that was on sale and so we got one for each of us, and thought we would start our own little book club. I also want to read some of the other books I got from my mom-in-law. The book we started with is a novel called Long Journey Home written by Amber Esplin. We just got it yesterday so I am only on the third chapter, but it seems interesting.

Details: Bridget McKenna has had her future mapped out ever since she was small. But when Bridget's mother dies in a car accident, her careful plans get derailed. Bridget must move across the country to live with a father she hasn't seen since her parents divorced years before. As she leaves behind the life she once knew, Bridget holds onto a single hope: make it through her senior year and then return home. Getting through the year, however, may not be so simple. Bridget uncovers secrets from the past that threaten to steer her toward an uncertain future.

If anyone wants to join us, and would like to make any book recommendations let me know.

Daddy's Big Helper

2009-01-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today Chris was making himself an omelet and Tyler was very interested in the mixing process. Chris let him help stir the eggs, but Tyler wanted to do it by himself, like everything that he does now, Tyler wants to do it all alone. Chris poured the mix into the pan, and Tyler got really upset. He wasn't finished helping just yet. As much as we would have liked to let him hold it and do it himself we thought it would be much cleaner and safer to give him his own bowl, and I just put water in for him to stir around. I never knew that something so simple would bring hours of fun. Tyler could have mixed that water in the bowl for days. He was so happy, I think he felt like such a big boy helping daddy. It was just really cute how excited he was. He's a good helper, always wants to do things by himself, he's becoming very independent.

My new nephew Baby Michael is here!

2009-01-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today Allison gave birth to my handsome nephew, his name is Michael. He was born today January 23 in Titusville weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long. He has very light colored hair, and the cutest face, with really cute lips. We went to visit him today, and we got to see him eating, and open his big eyes. Then of course tons of sleeping. I love him already. Allison did really well, things went very quickly for her, and she was hardly in pain. She is recovering well. We are so happy he is here already, his actual due date was Feb. 4th. We are also happy that Baby Michael will be able to carry on the family name, thank you for being a boy Michael. Can't wait to watch him grow up. Congrats to Mike and Allison~ Oh it was really cute, Allison had mentioned that when he was born, Alicia kept saying "Thank you mommy thank you mommy". She was in the room the entire time, and thought "that's cool". What a brave, intelligent little girl she is. She is going to be such a great big sister, she is so happy he is here too.

Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies

2009-01-22T18:09:00.000-08:00

In the mood to try some new baking recipes. I can't cook, but I can bake, so I am adding some new recipes to my menu. Came across these delicious looking brownies. Love peanut butter, Love brownies, mix the two and I'm in heaven. Give it a try, I know I'm going too. Share some recipes on your blog so we can all try something new.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup margarine, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together peanut butter and margarine. Gradually blend in the brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture until well blended.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in preheated oven, or until the top springs back when touched. Cool, and cut into 16 squares.

Sharing Time

2009-01-22T17:41:00.000-08:00

His favorite pages
He says "mmm" chocolate cake

I used to read a book to Tyler all the time before bed. Lately we have been slacking, well only because he loves to watch an episode of his Backyardigans then he goes to sleep. Today our neighbor came by and gave Tyler his birthday present, and it was a really cute book called My Best Friends. I liked it because it had good pictures, and simple words that I knew he would be able to understand. So I decided to read it to him tonight. I had asked him if he wanted to read the book instead of watching Pablo, and I was waiting for him to tell me no, but instead he said "uh huh", and he loved this book. I had to read it to him twice, and he wanted to hold on to it until bedtime. So I just wanted to share it with everyone because we really enjoyed it. It says really cute things and it teaches sharing, and how to be a good friend. My goal is to read to him every night. When we find some really good reads we will be sure to share it with everyone.

Tyler Loves the Library

2009-01-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Tyler being a good helper and putting his part of the story on the board.

Today Tyler went to the library with friends and his cousins. The library on beach st. is really nice because they have this really large room located inside that is filled with tons of toys for all age groups. The kids love it, there is a bunch of pretend play food that they can't get enough of, and musical toys, and a really big fish aquarium. They also do story time, with a puppet show. I just thinks its really neat and very fun for the kids. They also do some dancing and singing which is Tyler's absolute favorite part. I think I am going to have a musician on my hands, he is always so intrigued by people dancing and singing, his face always lights up. Anyways the storytellers do a really good job of keeping the kids interested. It had a been a while since we've gone to the library, Tyler never really had the patience to sit down and listen to stories. He was distracted very easily, so I wasn't sure how he would do this time. To my surprise he sat down the entire time on the mat in the circle and paid attention to the stories and loved the puppet show. He also helped by putting pieces of the story on the board. I am glad they do interesting things like this for the children so they can develop a habit for reading. It doesn't even cost anything, so the fact they plan this is really nice.

Tyler's 2nd Birthday

2009-01-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

Birthday BoyMade the arch by hand with some help from friends
Handmade decorations..Pablo's House

Tyler's Cake

Had to help him blow out the candle

Loved all his presents

Jumping around

Bouncy House/Slide

Alicia, John, and Jathan

Some of the kids eating pizza

Mommy and Emily

My baby boy Tyler is all grown up .Today he turned 2. It was kind of sad for me for some reason. In my mind I feel like he's not a little baby boy anymore. When I say that he is 2, it sounds so old. Even though he will always be my baby, I just miss the little baby that I could swing in my arms. But he is still the loving, caring, cuddling boy that I love so much. He hasn't outgrown coming up to me to give me hugs and kisses and tell me he loves me. His party was a big success! He loved it, all the balloons and Backyardigans decorations was enough to make him smile from ear to ear. He had tons of friends over. Jathan, Alicia, Ethan, Erech, Tyler, Caleb, John, Blake, Carter, Aubree, Riley, and his sister Emily. We rented an inflatable bouncy with a slide that the kids really enjoyed. It was really cold and windy outside though, but I think the kids didn't mind, they were jumping and running around making heat. He got lots of great presents from everyone. He got books, clothes, toys, backyardigans cups, and a really neat Backyardigans toy chest to complete his room from his Nana Delmonico...he loves them all. So after a day of pizza, cake and candy the day came to an end. I hope everyone had a good time. I know Tyler did. Thank you to everyone who came and helped us to celebrate Tyler's big day. Happy Birthday TyTy.

Emily is sitting

2009-01-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Emily will be 6 months exactly tomorrow, its so hard to imagine that soon she will be 1. she has made me so proud, so I had to share that she is sitting by herself with no support. Ofcourse if something catches her eye, she will turn her head and lose her balance, but she is doing really well. She loves to lean forward to play with her feet. That's another thing she has discovered and loves to play with is her toes. She is such a big girl. Now she loves to sit and play with things rather than lay on her back. She is getting too big too fast.

Mommy and her princess

"Disney Park"

2009-01-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

So for about a week we have been telling Tyler that we are going to Disney. The only way that I knew he would know that it was something exciting that he should look forward to it, is by calling it the Disney Park, since he loves the park. All week long he has been saying "going to Disney Park"? He has been anticipating it for so long, so I could not wait till Friday came. I was so excited to see the expression on his face when we got there, and for him to see all the rides and characters. It's actually also been a helpful tool in getting him to behave, its funny because if he did something wrong all I had to say was "Tyty don't do that or no Disney Park" and he listened right away and said "Disney park". I'll have to find more tricks like this. Anyways I never saw a more happier Tyler in my life, when we finally arrived and parked at Disney. There are a few rides you have to take from the parking lot to the actual park, and I think he thought those alone were fun. His first ride was the carousel, and he really loved that. His favorite ride had to be the Winnie the Pooh ride, and the best was the teapot. Chris had us spinning so fast I thought I was going to barf. I was just waiting for Tyler to throw up all over me, but he was laughing and screaming, saying "dizzy" because he heard me tell Chris, you're making him way too dizzy. He loved it. The day would have gone a little better, but Tyler did not take a nap at all, all day, so he was not the happiest waiting in lines. We did ride alot though, oh and Dumbo was awesome, I even loved it, he was not happy when he had to get off that one, especially since we had to wait 30min. in line. We had a great time, very tired, and our feet hurt. It was awesome, and I am so glad for all the memories we will have, I will never forget it. I can't wait to go again for my birthday. Enjoy some of our pics from our fun day.

Getting ready to go to Disney, He was so excited!

We finally made it.

It's hard to get Tyler to look at the camera.

He helped to spin us around on the tea pots. He's happier than he looks.

Winnie the Pooh ride.

In Mickey's house, he was trying so hard to turn the (fake) lights off. "It's stuck"

He loved the train ride

On our way too see Mickey's House

Tyler and daddy ready to go on our boat ride.

Dark pic, but Tyler is having fun.

The end of the night. He was more interested in his light up toy he got.

Happy Birthday Chris!

2009-01-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

Today on Jan 16th, my hubby turned 28. I tell him that he is an old fart, and he hates the fact that he is getting closer to 30, but really its no big deal at all. For his birthday he got a subscription to a fishing magazine he has been wanting, and money. Guys tend to be pretty difficult to shop for, so I went the easy route, and let him do the work...haha thats so terrible. He didnt seem to mind. To celebrate we went to Disney and took Tyler with us. We had a great time, and had we not been so exhausted we would have had friends over to enjoy some cake, perhaps we will celebrate again this weeekend. Happy Birthday Honey.

My Baby is almost 6 months old

2009-01-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

Time is going by way too fast, as I plan Tyler's 2nd birthday, I am happy because he will be so excited to see all the Backyardigans decorations, but I am also sad because I feel like he's so much older. I have a 2 year old?? Then it hits me how much older my little princess is getting. She is so good that I forget what a big girl she really is. She acts so perfect like a new baby, eats, sleeps, and well you know the rest. She is growing before my eyes. Emily is so beautiful. I love her big blue eyes, and when her little nose squints when she smiles. She only cries when she wants attention, and all she wants is for you to hold her, or let her lay in your lap. She is so amazed by just looking at you, and touches your face because she is so fascinated by what she sees. She is intrigued by the simplest things, we love everything about her. She is my perfect princess.

PeePee in the Potty!

2009-01-11T12:31:00.001-08:00

So I know that he has yet to master the skill of going in the potty, but Tyler has been doing really well when I ask him to go. He wont tell me that he has to, which I dont expect him to. When I ask him if he does he will say yes or no if he wants to, and the past several times he has gone everytime I put him on the toilet. I am so proud of him. We got a new potty seat and some new underwear for him so that he would be even more excited to go. I tried the underwear today, and well as what I imagined would happen did. I was changing Emily on my bed, and after reminding him a million times he has underwear on, and to not get them wet, I thought maybe I'll get lucky and he'll tell me. He kept saying "underwear no wet". So as I am in my room I hear "Eeww Gross" about 3 times. I thought he was talking about his chicken nugget he had in his hand and that he spit some of it up. so I repeat it to him "eew gross TyTy" but when I look around the corner I see pee all on the side of my bed, and on him....So today I was not so lucky, but we will keep trying since he did not like being wet at all. He still goes on the potty which is even better improvment from before where he would jut make the pee sound "ssshhh" and think he did what he had to.

My New Present

2008-12-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

Tyler helping daddy put my elliptical together

So I have been working really hard on getting fit. I walk about 2-4 miles a day, but on the days that I cant get out I still wanted to be able to workout to get to my goal weight. So I have been begging for an elliptical so I can work out all day. I think I have become really obsessed with working out, which is not like me at all. Lately I have been very motivated. So you can imagine that I was thrilled when I finally got my new present. It works so well , and I love it! I can't wait to reach my goal, and my my new machine will help me do it. So far I've lost almost 20lbs.. about a pound away. My goal is to lose abother 25-30. Which I am hoping to do in another 1-1 1/2 months.

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today was so nice. Tyler didnt wake up until 8, but Emily 6 ofcourse. Santa filled the tree with tons of presents. Emily and Tyler were very good this year. Emily was dressed in her beautiful Christmas dress her Nana Delmonico bought for her. She looked so beautiful. Tyler did pretty good opening up the first few gifts, and soon got irritated because he wanted to open them. So I had to help him with the rest. Chris got some shirts, and his favorite thing..his pairing knife. I got new workout outfits, and pajamas that I have been asking for. It was such a wonderful time, and I will remember it always. It was so special to be with my family. Unfortunately Chris had to go to work, but my mom and dad were over to spend the rest of the day with me. I wish Christmas never had to end.

Tyler showing his new tool set

Loves his new phone from Nana and Grandpa Delmonico

All of Tylers Toys

Emily loves all her pretty new outfits

Drum Set

My presents

Chris's Presents

My baby doll

Merry Christmas 2008

We were the firsts one up at 6am

Christmas is Coming

2008-12-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

I cant believe the new year is almost here. It passed by so fast. I love Christmas time, and I love the winter, except winter in Florida is nothing to brag about. It's also Chris's favorite holiday of all time. So this year I feel so lucky because Tyler is a little older and can understand it a little better, and we have Emily to share it with. I was talking to my sister today about how sad it is that it seems like we wait for Christmas to come by for such a while, and then it seems to go by so quickly. I still enjoy it. We won't be traveling this year because Chris has to work which is sad, but we are hoping to go to Pennsylvania in January. I am hoping that it will be snowing so Tyler can play in it, it would be so much fun. A few of my most memorable moments this year would have to be

Tyler turning 1 on Jan. 20t

Emily being born on July 21st

Emily's first Halloween

Just to name a few, I hope next year is filled with happy times, and with positive people. My goals for the New year is to

Lose weight (typical, but I'm really serious about it)

Go to school

Paying off some debt

Have another baby.....lol hah totally j/k

Here are some of the cute pictures I took of Tyler and Emily for Christmas

Tyler's favorite Gift

2008-12-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

Is that not a happy kid or what?

Being the impatient person I am, I had to give Tyler one of his Christmas presents early. His Nana actually bought it for him, and he loves it. It has become one of the best investments yet. He loves to jump all the time. Typically before his present arrived he would jump on our bed, he would say "mommy bouncy in there".. but he loved for us to hold his hands and help him, which gave us quite a work out, and was very tiring. So I knew that when he got this trampoline he wold be thrilled!! It's really nice because he can hold on to the handle and bounce himself. I couldn't wait to see his face, he was so happy!. He goes on it every morning and its good exercise for him too. I recommend this trampoline to anyone, plus it folds for easy storing.

More difficult than I thought

2008-12-13T15:04:00.000-08:00

Losing weight always sounds so good, and easy in your head, but when you have to put your thoughts to action, it can prove to be more difficult than you imagined. This has been the case for me. I was so excited to start my goal to lose weight, and it is proving itself to be very difficult for me. I am not giving up by any means, but I have to complain about it because it helps me to continue through it. I have literally had to give up everything remotely yummy. My morning consists of a shake with a fruit, for lunch another shake with veggies, then for dinner yet another shake with finally..what I look forward to...a 3-4 oz piece of lean meat with some veggies. To someone other than I, this may not sound so bad, but because I am the pickiest eater in the world, I do not eat very many veggies at all. The only ones on the list of low glycemic veggies I eat are peas, and asparagus. So imagine eating a bowl of that twice a day everyday. I know that I will lose the weight, and thats what I have to keep telling myelf to make it. It's becoming one of the most challenging things I have to face in my life, for real....No sweets, one of my fav. things!!! It's hard, so if you ever feel down about your weight think of me, and how Ive gotten so bad that I have to come to this....I'm suffering :)

The Skinnier Me

2008-12-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

So lately I have been extremely depressed about the way I look. I know I have made myself this way, by eating way too much junk, and not excercising enough. After giving birth to Emily I've been at my highest weight, and very unhappy. It's the worst feeling not having anything to wear, and feeling so ugly you can't bear to look at yourself. It' gone too far for me, so I am ready to lose the weight and feel better. I can't wait for the day that I can by a smaller outfit, and feel happy about the person I see. I hope that within the next two months I will be able to lose around 30lbs. I am seeing a doctor to help me, and look forward to excercising. I am going to need major support, cause I will be making big sacrafices, but know it will be worth every pound. Wish me luck

My Princess

2008-12-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

My princess is getting bigger by the second, she is smiling so much more now, and I can't get enough of it. You cant help but smile back at her. She makes me so happy. She is such a good baby that she makes you feel that having another one wouldn't be so bad, but believe me that will not happen anytime soon, just saying. I love her!

Trip to the Museum

2008-12-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

Ethan asked me to build this for him..LOL
This is as far as I got..ha

Working as a team

Daytona had finally opened up a Childrens Museum in the Museum of Arts and Science. On Tuesday it was FREE, and I have to say that I am GlAd that it was because although it was fun, It wasn't worth paying 13 bucks for. I feel bad for saying that because I'm sure alot of effort went into building that section, I guess it just wasnt for Tylers age. Perhaps they will be putting more things there. He did have a really good time though. He got to see skeletons, and play with all sorts of fun things. I can't wait to take him when he's a little older and we can enjoy it a little more.

Pictures for Nana in PA

2008-11-30T20:31:00.001-08:00

Emily's Nana who lives all the way in Pa, bought her this cute little outfit, and Emily finally got the chance to wear it today since there was some nice sun out. Daddy was washing the truck so she wanted to participate outside, and so she got to put her little hat on, which is almost too small for her. She looks so adorable, and she wanted to show her Nana how beautiful she looks. Thank you for her beautiful outfit Nana. Emily loves and misses you!!

Emily' New Way of Sleeping

2008-11-30T20:22:00.000-08:00

Emily and Uncle Mike

Her new favorite way of sleeping

I just wanted to quickly share how cute Emily is. She used to have to be held really snug in your arms in order to fall asleep. Latley she has chosen a new way, and ever so cute way of falling asleep. She wants to be all spread out in your lap facing forward with arms all spread out. We noticed her one day on her play mat on the floor, arms all spread out, and she was past out. It was so cute b/c normally she ould never sleep like this. She love it, so whatever the Queen wants she gets.

All about Tyler

2008-11-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of Tyler he is growing up to be such a great boy. He had so much walking Baby Bear, and he did so good. Sometimes I wih he did have a puppy of his own, but right now it would be too much responsibility. Atleast I know he will doo a good job when he gets his own puppy. He loves Baby Bear and he had a great time with pepop..thats what he call his grandpa, dont ask where the name came from. Tyler is just a sweet boy with tons of love to share.

Giving Her Kisses

Tyler and Alicia Playing with Emily

He's also been so loving to Emily. He wants to give her kisses all the time. He gives her toys to play with and loves to talk to her and make her smile. When I give her a bath he wants to carry her into her bath tub, and I let him hold her, with my help of course, and he feels so happy about it. It just makes me smile to know how loving and sweet he his.

Rock On!!

2008-11-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Diana and Sarah Jammin

My new addiction has become playing Guitar hero. At first when the game came out never did I think that I would be intrigued by it. My sister and her husband bought the game, and after playing it I was pretty hooked, so we had to have one. Its really alot of fun, and now I can acutally have something to play on the Xbox, instead of always watching Chris play something. Lately it has become our game nights with everyone. Its fun to compete with eachother. I still play on the easy level, its kind of tricky playing on medium, I just need more practice.

Ben and Aaron being rockstars!

Give Thanks

2008-11-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

What more could anyone ask for than to spend the day with family and friends, and enjoy good food. Our thanksgiving was lots of fun, filled with tons of food. We had my sister and her family, Sarah and Aaron Riggs, and John B. over. We enjoyed a great big turkey with mashed potatoes, cranberries, corn, bread, green beans, stuffing, and more pies than one could count. Aaron made an excellent chocolate mousse pie, which was a big hit, the kids loved it. It was a very nice time, and I wish it was thanksgiving more often. The things I am thankful for are my family, friends, and for all my blessings, which come from Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. The list could go on. Oh ya, Tyler tried mashed potatoes for the first time. Which is normally not a big deal to anyone else but coming from the pickiest eater in the world, it is, so I was proud of him.

The next best thing about Thanksgiving is that Christmas is just right around the corner. I love christmas, and I can't wait. We will be picking out our christmas tree soon, it will be so much fun decorating it, hopefully Tyler doesnt mess with it too much this year. Happy Holidays!!

J.B. Ready to eat

Our Delicious Turkey
Sarah and my dad

Emily gets her shots

2008-11-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Emily is now 14 pounds!

She only cried for a few seconds. Brave Girl

Ouch!

Tyler loves Dr. Lawindy

My future little doctor

Today emily visited Dr. Lawindy for her 4 month old shots. She got two on both sides..poor girl. She did so good though. She only cried for a few seconds then recovered. We love Dr. Lawindy, he has been Tyler's doctor ever since he was a newborn. He is excellent. Tyler loves to go visit him. Lawindy lets Tyler play with all his gadgets, and he likes to pretend he is the doctor.

My baby is 4 months old

2008-11-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

My Princess in her new bumbo seat, which she loves. Thank you Auntie Kim
One of many of Emily's signiture tongue out poses

Look at her gorgeous blue eyes..thanks to daddy

Here we go again with the tongue..looking at tete Diana

Emily Ann turned 4 months old on November 21st. I cant believe how fast its going. She is more beautiful each day. Its so fun watching all the new things she can do. She gazes at any little noise with her big blue eyes. She smiles all the time, and has begun to giggle more often. She loves sticking out her little tongue and making an owl whoo sound. Its so cute. You will see her infamous tongue pose in alot of pictures. She is the best baby ever! She sleeps wonderfuly, and has slept through the night very early on. She very rarely cries. Only when she really wants some attention. She is very calm and peaceful all the time. I Love her so much!!!

Gobble Gobble

2008-11-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Tyler's Finished Turkey Craft Ethans work of art
Erech very proud of his project

Celebrating Thanksgiving is so much fun. Food is great, and crafts are even more fun. Tyler enjoyed making these fun turkey crafts with his cousins Ethan and Erech. We traced out their hands and feet to make these cute little turkey's. Tyler did a lot of watching as mommy did most of the work, cutting out little hands...not the fastest, easiest thing to do I might add. But he had fun, and loved the end result. I asked him if he was thankful for mommy and daddy, and he said yes. I hope he has many things he is thankful for, and will express them to us later on.

Emily is Trying Baby Food

2008-11-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

Yummy Yummy Bananas

My little princess is growing up. It goes by so fast when you have two children. Since she is growing, little rolls and all, she is trying new foods. Her first taste test included bananas, which she gave 5 thumbs up. She has not quite perfected the fine skill of eating, but is enjoying it in every messy way she can. Its a bit of work, you have to plan it just at the right time with her. If you feed her too late, she is too cranky and makes a big fuss, and too soon, she wont eat because shes not all that hungry. Its a fun adventure, and its fun to see her facial expressions with the new things she tries.

The boys in my life

2008-11-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

My Handsome Blue Eyed Boys

I just had to quickly write about what lucky girls Emily and I are to have such wonderful boys in our life. I feel so lucky because, not in a boastful way, but I feel like I have such a wonderful family. I have my son, and my daughter, and on top of that a wonderful husband. He is so great to me. He is the most patient man I have ever met in my life. I nag him sometimes, because he is not as romantic as he used to be, but I forgive him for that because he has so many other great qualities that it makes up for that one flaw. He is such a great dad, and for that I am blessed. Its so hard to find that great guy, who is great at everything. I know his children love him so much. I truly hope that Tyler grows to follow in his footsteps. Tyler and daddy are such a fun pair, they make me laugh all the time. Did I mention how incredible cute the both of them are?

Finally some cold weather

2008-11-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have to mention that although I grew up in Brazil with 100 degree weather, and have lived in Florida most of my life, I really cant stand hot weather. So I am in love with the little bit of chill we have been getting. Its been in the 60's on average, and thats just right for me. I love being able to put on a sweater, and not sweat to death. Tyler loves it too. On this day he wanted to go to the park so bad that he was willing to bear the agony of wearing all this clothing, not to mention his gloves. He loves the park that much. I thought he looked so cute all bundled up. I love winter, I wish we even had a little bit of snow for him to enjoy.

Our Anniversary Camping Trip

2008-11-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

It has been two years, although it feels like much longer, that Chris and I have been married. This happens to be our first time celebrating our anniversary, because last year we both were so busy planning our temple marriage that we forgot our own anniversary. We were both to blame for that one, so neither one of us got in trouble.. My parents, and sister were kind enough to watch Tyler and Emily for us for two days. We had a great time. We went with Sarah and Aaron, and John and Nikki. Our first night had more downfalls that good ones. Everything that could go wrong did. First it was pretty hot, secondly it rained on us at least twice. Our tent got accidentally wet inside, so we had to sleep on a wet bed with wet blankets. Our last day was great though, it got cold, and we enjoyed great food thanks to Aaron and Chris. I had so much fun, and I wish I could do it more often.

Sarah and I ready to have a blast!

Out on the canoes

Talk about being scared..up close with the gators..

Delicious Abelskivers Aaron made for us to try, kind of like a pancake, but so much better. You add some sugar and syrup on top. Awesome!!

Emily's Ear Peircing

2008-10-16T14:49:00.001-07:00

On Monday October 13th We decided to take Emily to get her ears peirced. I was so nervous for her, and had mixed feelings whether to do it so young, but I felt that it would be more beneficial for her to do it early so she wouldn't mess with it when she gets older. She was so brave, she only cried for a few seconds and it was all done. We went to the mall and Piercing Pagoda did it. They did a really good job and it went very fast. This was her before the piercing, now she looks like a beautiful princess!

Mommy comforting Emily, making sure her earrings are even. She chose princess cut diamonds

Emily with her new bling. She is so gorgeous! I love her blue eyes..My Little Princess

2008-10-16T14:45:00.000-07:00