Julian 18 months check up

Julian had his 18 month check up and all is well. He is of course a big guy (70th %ile) for height and 32 pounds (97%ile) for weight. He is doing everything he should be, and then some. I have to admit, I didnt expect him to be doing some of the things he is doing as fast as he has. I know developmentally, boys can be a little slower at first then girls. He is talking sooooo much! In fact, he does not ever stop. Riding in the car with him is sometimes annoying. Our drives include "mommmy, mommy mommy mommmmmmy, a truck" as he points to trucks on the road. He does this throughout the entire car ride pointing at buses, balloons, etc that he sees on the road. He is putting up to 3 words together consistently and has even done 4 words. My favorite things he says is "I don't know". I don't know why (no pun intended) it is so funny to hear him say it, I think it's his intonation when he says it, or maybe that he's only 18 months and says it. My other favorite phrase he says is "I love you". He picks up a new word on a daily basis and is literally always talking. The other big thing he has been doing for several months is telling us when he has to go potty. Just last week, he went poo poo in the toilet for the 1st time. He told me he had to go, just like he normally does, and insisted I put him on the potty, and sure enough, he went! It was only he and I home, but we had a party and danced around so excitedly.
He continues to destroy things around the house and he needs to be supervised every second or else he will for sure make a huge mess. He is very social and loves most people. He is affectionate and has a sweet nature. The boy rarely cries and is pretty easy going. He is the exact clone of his father in that he is always moving, even while eating, and is pretty even tempered. Of course, he also looks identical to Eric too. He would eat all day if I'd let him, so I have to pretty much put his eating to a stop at meal time. The Dr. was not concerned with his weight because he is so active and I don't feed him any junk food. He is the best sleeper I could ever wished for. He sleeps from 8-8 every night with a 2-3 hour nap during the day. It has been quite a fun experience raising a boy after having such a dainty, chill kind of daughter. I know I always say this, but I really do wish I could stop his growing process and keep him here at this stage for a while longer. He is so fun and such a big boy, yet still a baby. I don't want him to be a big boy yet.
Some other things he is doing:
-he is a climber ( he can climb right up the play set we have in the back yard like no big deal). his fine and gross motor skills really are amazing
-He has little to no interest in books being read to him. He will look through them himself and name what he sees, but does not have enough attention span to sit and read a book with us.
-He loves riding around the house on his ATV with his sister
- He is obsessed with his sister. She is the first thing he asks for in the morning. On Saturdays if Eric takes Bella to dance and I stay home with him, the entire time she is gone, he is asking for her. I pray that the remain close forever.
-He likes every single fruit and some vegetables. He asks for an apple daily and will eat an entire apple whole.
-He does not enjoy tv at all.

He continues to make this family laugh daily and I know I am so lucky to have such a wonderful son.

Train Park Winter Wonderland

We didn't get the chance to visit the train park before Christmas because of the kids being sick and everything else going on. SO, after Christmas Eric and I both had off so we took the kids one night to the train park to see the lights and ride the train. We had to wait an hour in line, but they had the characters Elmo, Pooh Bear, Tigger, and others walking around visiting with the kiddos. Julian and Bella really loved seeing them, although Julian made sure that I was holding him when they came over to him. We had coffee and snacks to keep us busy too. The wait was worth it and the train ride was so much fun. It takes you slowly through lots of different cool stations like Dora, Bob the Builder, Snoopy, etc. You also get a little bit of snow that comes down on you. The kids were in absolute shock with all the lights and fun they had on the train. I'm sure we will do it again next year!

Tamale Fest 2011

Every year, my dad's side of the family gets together the weekend before Christmas to make tamales. It's always such a fun day complete with lots of snacks, food, drinks, and fun! Cassy, Gabe, my Dad, and Sandy came from San Diego, and Gabe was able to meet the entire family. It's a great time to catch up with everyone and let the kids play with their cousins that they don't get to see each other very often. The funny thing is, it used to be me and my cousins being the small kids running around and now its my kids! This year, my cousin decided to have shirts made for the special day. There were over 50 of us helping to make the yummy tamales. They turned out sooooo good! After dinner, we play a dice game called CLR. Guess who won the pot of $90. ERIC DID! The day was SO much fun and ends up being my favorite tradition of the Christmas season.

Christmas 2011

This Christmas was different for us. It was our 1st Christmas not in Mom's house and our first without Cassy and Katherine. Despite the changes, we still had a fabulous Christmas. Christmas Eve, we had dinner out with my mom at a yummy Italian restaurant. It was fabulous. We then went home and put the kiddos to bed so we could start building the toys. JEEZ,we had lots of stuff to put together. The 4 of us built Bella's car, a train table, and a work bench. We were up til 1:30 in the morning, but with some wine and beer, it went fast :)
The kids loved their gifts Christmas morning, they got so many awesome things. Their favorite things included: the car, train table, a Dora microphone set, a MobiGo, art activities, movies, college fund money, clothes and shoes, etc etc. Nino came over and joined us in taking the kids on a ride in the new car.
The Hoover family joined us for a Christmas brunch. I made an egg casserole, cinnamon rolls, Eric made waffles, fruit, and bagels. We all exchanged gifts and enjoyed each others company.
For dinner that night, I made a prime rib which was absolutely fabulous! We had such a great Christmas and surrounded by the best family and friends.