What we've been up to ...

Once again I find myself with so much to share on here that I really don't know where to start.

E m i l i a

My sweet girl is 8 months, I CAN NOT begin to realize that, I read it, I say it, I see it but I CAN NOT believe it, seems like yesterday I had a sweet little newborn in my arms and now ... boy now I have a non-stop crawler, a companion who stays with me while I cook or fold clothes or put my make up on. (whenever I get to do that :))  She's the sweetest little girl, smiles constantly, crawls around freely, if she wants something she just goes and gets it, she's my little independent child but yet she's the one that stays with me too.
She's clapping, trying to stand, she still LOVES her bath time or any water related activity.  She had her first swimming experience at her brother's 4th birthday party.  She enjoys eating - wouldn't expect it any other way - still nurses in the morning and at night.  Survived her first VERY LONG ride, all the way to DC.  Got on a merry-go-round and held on tight to the post and love every minute of it.  She does not like to get in her car seat and is very clear expressing it too - she has her Momma's ways, we can't hide our emotions :) which is not a bad thing in my opinion.  What you see is what you get.

 Enjoying an apple

N i c o l a s
My sweet boy is 4, far from a baby, a preschooler, before I know it he will be going to Kindergarten, I'm thankful we do have another extra year before that happens, if he had not been born in September he would have started school next year and oh how thankful I am we can postpone that for another year, I am not ready for that day!  Not at all.  Could I home school? hehehehe no I'm not patient enough and he needs to experience real life out there. 

He loves to play with his toys - Toy Story figures, trains, superheroes, pretending we are in the middle of an imaginary world, he talks about his friends that work with him at the farm house - total imaginary - he told me he was going to sing at a show in Applebee's and one of his teachers was going to be the lead singer.  I hope that imagination doesn't stop!  He loves to go places "as a family", he is always asking "where are we going after my nap?" Yes, he still naps and I treasure that :), "are we going as a family?"  He asks me to pick him up at night when he's tired and I still carry him to the couch in the morning where I have his milk ready - one morning I heard him say "but Daddy, when you fix my milk is cold, I like for mommy to fix it for me" goodness I think I've spoiled the boy but hey, isn't that my job? :)  We are only little once and I did treasure my warm milk each morning growing up, I won't tell my kids that I drank from a bottle until I was 4 or 5 years old and no I never needed braces, thank you very much!!

We celebrated his 4th birthday with a pool party, this was the first time he's had a party outside his house and he was so excited, he loves water, he loves to have a birthday, he prays all year long for his birthday - "... and for all the presents I'm gonna get for my birthday" that is his prayer all year long, I've tried to tell him to pray for people, the first time I told him that he said "and God I pray for me!" :)
Some time has been by since then and now he says "and God I pray for a person named ______" which could be anyone, a friend, a teacher, a family member, so at least he's making the effort to include real people in his prayers!

He is still my picky eater, although when you serve him what he likes he could eat it all and more, his favorite foods are spaghetti, bread, boxed mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, chicken cooked in any way, green beans, apple sauce and his absolute favorite is breakfast - scramble eggs, sausage and biscuits - he will not eat hot dogs, he had started to like hamburgers as long as it is dipped in ketchup, no veggies, some fruit :( he LOVES milk, he could drink it all the time everyday, just like his mom and dad, when all four of us can drink milk I'm afraid a gallon won't last but a couple of days.

 My men ( Emilia is in her stroller sleeping) at our DC trip

I see my days flying by, I find myself trying to contain my kids from growing any faster than it already feels.  I want my children to be children for a long time.  Not sure I'll succeed this battle but to me is worth fighting it.  In a world that promotes independence, self sufficiency and all this do it yourself type of life, I want to baby my babies as much as I can.  I want to teach them that life is not easy yet I want them to remember the comforts of mom and dad and being at home "as a family". 

This is an "ALL TIME favorite picture", it's blurry but it shows how happy they are together

We all grow too fast, I'm sure my mom still remembers the days when I was my kids' age and here I am now, a mother of two, making the balance act between all of my roles in life, some days are hard, some days are easy but every day is worth it.  The struggles help us to grow, to learn, to try again and we continue to live life the best we can with what we have, which is always way more than what we need.

Family picture at Nicolas' 4th birthday party