The Hoover's

Julian 18 months check up

2012-01-30T18:34:00.001-07:00

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

2012-01-08T11:43:00.012-07:00

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

2012-01-08T10:57:00.020-07:00

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

2012-01-08T10:02:00.001-07:00

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.

Decorating

2011-12-29T19:08:00.007-07:00

We were super excited to decorate the house inside and out for Christmas this year! Julian is at an age where he likes to help, and Bella knows all about Christmas and loves everything about it. Me, Steve, and the kids helped Eric put out all the decorations and lights outside. Like every year, I made hot chocolate and cookies. We sat on our chairs and ate our cookies and looked at our beautiful hosue :)I'd say we did a great job!
A few weeks later, Eric brought home our fresh tree. The tree is my favorite part! I made homemade cranberry/orange muffins and the 4 of us went to town decorating the tree. That day was by far one of my favorite family moments to date. Everyone had a big part in it and had a lot of fun.

Glendale Glitters 2011

2011-12-29T18:53:00.005-07:00

This year we decided to try Glendale Glitters again because the kids LOVE looking at lights, especially Julian. We have to drive around our neighborhood on our way home so that they can see all the lights in our neighbors yards. Glendale Glitters had snow to play in which Bella absolutely LOVED. There were way too many people there, but still fun.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-21T20:59:00.005-07:00

This year was a different Thanksgiving for us. Normally, we eat with the Hoover family in the morning/early afternoon and eat dinner with my Mom and sister and my mom and I share the cooking. This year, we ate at the Hoover family's house with Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and Eric's brother, sis-in-law,and 5 kiddos. It was a great time, we all had a fun day and a full belly :) Bella and Julian got to hang with their 5 cousins and play.

Anthem Tree Lighting 2011

2011-12-21T20:50:00.006-07:00

We decided to go to the Anthem tree lighting ceremony again this year. We invited Nino Steve, The Tortora's and Amy to join us. It was super fun, the kiddos loved seeing the tallest Christmas tree in America being lit. Michelle Branch sang and we even got to see her up close and personal. Afterward, we let the girls run around in the grass to avoid the traffic, and it was a great idea. We got some good pictures of us in the sleigh, and some good play time. We look forward to doing it again next year!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-13T10:47:00.020-07:00

This year, Bella was adamant about being Rapunzel. She has watched 3 movies that interest her: Cars 2, Toys Story 3, and Tangled. Tangled is a movie about the story of Rapunzel, and Bella loves it! So she was super excited about being Rapunzel for Halloween. We had a little trouble finding the costume because every place was sold out, but we ended up grabbing the last one at the 4th party city we visited. I ordered her long blonde hair on line and VOILA her costume was done :) Bella definitely looks better as a brunette :) Eric was in charge of deciding Julian's costumes and he chose Superman. He looked adorable!
We did our traditional trick-or-treating with our friends. Deb and her girls, Amy, Stevie, and Jen joined the Hoover's on our trip around our neighborhood. I really love our neighborhood because we are surrounded by families and people who are really in to the holidays. Our neighborhood was decorated with haunted houses, pumpkins, graveyards, etc. It was super fun and we all had a great time trick or treating together. Can't wait to do it again next year.

SUPERMAN

Julian and Carina ending the night exhausted

Julian's 15 month check up

2011-10-17T10:38:00.005-07:00

Julian's 15 month check up went well. He is growing just as he should, and is doing all the things he should be. He is now 32 inches (70th percentile) and 29 lbs (94th percentile). Dr. Rampley asked if he was doing all the things he should be, and he is. I expressed to her how active he is and how naughty he can be. She has 2 boys and totally understands what I am going through :) She said that he is now at an age where I can use time out if need be.

I am so impressed with how much my boy talks nowadays. He repeats everything you ask him to and is using so many words. Dr. Rampley asked about how many words he has and I couldn't even answer. He is talking so much and using a new word almost every day. He is still sleeping beautifully, eats everything except green veggies, can play and run all day, likes to pull things off the walls or tables, and loves playing with his big sister. Speaking of big sister, Bella is such a good sister. She plays everything with him and rarely gets annoyed by him. They are such good buddies.

Here is a list of the words I can think of off the top of my head that he is using spontaneously:
-mama
-dada
-Bella (his favorite word)
-papa (for food)
-tata (grandpa)
-Dora
-airplane (anytime he hears an airplane , even while inside he yells it)
-poo poo (he has started telling me when he has poo poo, maybe he will be as easy and early at potty training as Bella)
-no no
-eye
-truck
-apple
-banana
-night night
-bye bye
-hi
-hello (loves to say hello over and over while pretending to be on phone)
-shoes (loves to give everyone their shoes and say shoes 100 times in a row)
-dog ( every time he hears a dog bark he screams it or chases Sadie around saying it)
-nice (pets sadie while saying "nice" 10 times)
-ball
-hat (every time he says anyone wearing a hat, he yells it, even at grocery store)
-milk
-wa wa for water
-cup
-up (this one can be annoying because he will say it over and over until you pick him up)
-down
-choo choo
-more, especially when it comes to food
-book
-duck
-baby (whenever he sees a baby, he finds it necessary to scream baby at them)
-hot (always touches the oven even when its not on and says hot)
-dance (loves to get his groove on)
-ashes (this is my favorite thing he says, he says it when he wants bella to do ring around the rosies with him)

He is doing so much and really keeps us on our toes. He makes being a mommy so much fun and amusing. I love my baby boy!

Family Photos

2011-10-17T10:18:00.025-07:00

I have been dying to get our family photos done with Amanda ever since she took a picture of Bella a couple of years ago. She is a good friend of our old sitter Simone. I ran in to her at the hospital after having Julian, she takes pictures of the newborns. I had to keep canceling with her as scheduling conflicts came up, then Julian was sick. Anyway, we finally made a date and were able to follow through. I wanted Sadie to be part of our family photos as well so that the kids can look back at them when they are older and remember our beautiful Sadie. Bella really enjoyed the photo session, she takes such beautiful pictures. Julian was less interested and became frustrated after a while. I am SO HAPPY with the way the photos turned out. She really is a fabulous photographer, and will never use anyone else when we want our photos done again. I fell in love with every photo, but here are my favorites....

Football is back

2011-09-25T16:28:00.012-07:00

On NFL kick off Sunday, we had our usual crowd and then some to join us in celebrating the day as well as remembering 9/11. I made pulled pork sandwiches and everyone brought a side dish. We had a really good turn out, even Tommy and Becky joined us. Here are some photos of the day. GO CHARGERS and COWBOYS!!

NINO WITH BELLA SUPPORTING THE CHARGERS, COWBOYS, PATRIOTS, AND CARDINALS :)

GO COWBOYS!

pictures of Julian

2011-08-24T21:19:00.003-07:00

The first picture of Julian is one that I took of him as I caught him in this mess of toys. His face was saying "I didn't do it mom, I swear!". The 2nd, is of Julian by the pool. He continues to make us laugh and smile with his personality.

My destructive lil man

2011-08-18T20:24:00.003-07:00

In the past few weeks, Eric and I have started going crazy with all the things that Julian is doing and getting in to. He can not be in a room without being destructive and making a mess. Aside from his usual taking all the books off the bookshelf, removing all of Bella's clothes from her dresser, and dumping out Sadie's food everywhere, he has really made a mess of some things in the house. Here is a little list that he has done in the last 2 weeks. I hope one day we can read back on and laugh at these things:
-he pulled the kitchen curtains off the wall (yes, he is that strong), he managed to break the hook as well
- broke the picture frame holding a picture of Eric and I
- pulled all the lint from the garbage can in the laundry room and covering himself with it
-took diapers from the trash and threw them in the toilet (all while wrapped like a mummy with toilet paper that he unrolled on himself).
- broke the shelf on the bookshelf in the playroom
- grabbed the carton of blueberries from the grocery cart and threw them on the floor all over the grocery store produce area
- got in to the garbage can in the kitchen and got spaghetti sauce all over the tile

All of these things are so funny to us (except in the moment). He drives me, Bella, and Eric insane but sure does provide constant laughter. He is nothing like Bella at this age who would sit and read and do puzzles. In reality, she is an exact replica of me , and he is his dad. He is so busy and so smart. It sure is different having a boy, but sure is fun!

Bella practicing her letters

2011-08-18T20:16:00.004-07:00

I have kept pretty good records of Isabella on the blog of her recognizing all her letters and numbers. Since birth, she has shown such interest in print (books), letters, and numbers. I can remember her at 18 months pointing out letters at the grocery store. She now knows how to trace each letter as well as what sound each letter makes. It is amazing to me how fast she picked it up!
I have continued to research local preschools to put her in 2 days a week. The one I wanted is now full, but we are on the waiting list. In the meantime, Bernie and I work with her on preschool skills. Her fine motor skills have much improved and she loves doing work in her workbooks. She thinks its the most fun thing EVER. Such a smart cookie I have...

No more diapers at night!

2011-08-18T20:12:00.002-07:00

For the past 3 weeks, Bella has been going to sleep in her underwear, no more diapers!! She hasn't had a single accident, I am so proud of her! I know it took me forever as a child to stop wetting the bed at night. She has been the easiest child to potty train , as she HATES being wet or messy. My baby girl is not a baby anymore :(

Bella starts dance class

2011-08-18T20:05:00.005-07:00

Last week, Bella started her first dance class. We had planned on having her start soccer since she has such an interest in it, but she has recently expressed so much interest in dance. Every single night she asks for the dance channel on the tv and her and Julian get down :) So I did some research and asked around at my office, etc and signed her up for a combo tap,ballet, and tumbling class at Marilyn's dance studio. She had her first class last saturday and she LOVED IT!!!
She kept looking at herself in the mirror and had to be redirected by the teacher a few times, but she did such a great job. She kept making sure that I was watching her. We are looking forward to her keeping with the class and possibly becoming a dancer like my sister was.

Julian walking super fast

2011-07-19T19:34:00.003-07:00

Now that Julian has a few weeks of walking under his belt, he has since started walking super fast and is now able to stand in the middle in the room without using furniture to help him up. His walk looks less "drunk" and thinks its hilarious when he walks fast. Here is a video of him walking around.

Julian's 1 year check up

2011-07-19T19:09:00.002-07:00

Julian's check up went really well. He is super big which we already knew. He weighted in at a whopping 27.8 pounds and in the 95th % for weight and 31.5 inches and in the 75th % for weight. Looking back at Bella's records, they are the EXACT same height at his age, but he outweighs her by quite a bit. In fact, even now they are only 4.5 pounds difference. Anyway, Dr. Rampley did a full examination and he is in good health. She confirmed my suspicion of him being tongue tied, but there is no reason to worry about it now. She knows what I do for a living so she said just keep an eye out for it. At the time of his appointment, he had just started walking and she was pretty surprised that he was walking since he is such a big boy. She at one point said "is he always this active?". I laughed out loud because my response was "hell yes!". He is sleeping 11 hours at night and taking one 2-3 hour nap, so he sleeps great. He is trying to imitate everything we ask him to. She said to get him off the bottle by 15 months, which we have since done, and told us that we are doing a great job with him. ON a side note, Bella is always so quiet at the Dr. because she is uncomfotable, but she knew that we were going for Julian so she was okay. Bella recently received a Dr. kit with stethescope and thermometer, etc and she goes around telling everyone she is " Dr. Ampley" and wants to check your heart. So I told Dr. Rampley the story and she thought it was the cutest thing since she assumed Bella did not like her.

His favorite words include: more, dada, mama, Bella, dog(daw), ball, all done (awduh), bath (when we say bath time, he says "ba" and literally runs down the hallway to the bathroom), duck, up. If I ask him to go get an item such as a ball or train, he will go get it from the toy basket. He is a very smart boy. His favorite things include: his sister (he really really loves her), Sadie, his mama (mama's boy), snuggling, eating, sleeping, taking baths, swimming, playing anything with Bella, riding on his atv, dancing, yelling in to microphone, and running everywhere. HE can point to his eye and nose on himself and on others. My most favorite thing about him is his smile. He is always so happy and if you lock eyes with him, he immediately smiles. He is such a pleasant baby boy and I feel so blessed to be his mommy. We love you son, we are looking forward to watching you grow!

Baby J walking

2011-07-01T11:43:00.002-07:00

Julian has been using furniture to walk for a few months now. HE has stood alone without holding for a while now too. BUT, when it was time to walk, he'd walk when we held hands, but as soon as I let go, he'd drop himself to the floor. He wasn't ready to be brave. Anyway, 2 days after his 1st birthday, he decided he was ready to take steps on his own. Here is a video of him walking across the room. I love the drunken walk, so cute! Now he is much more confident and gets very proud of himself.

Julian's 1st birthday

2011-07-01T11:02:00.014-07:00

I CAN NOT BELIEVE MY BOY IS A YEAR OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have really wanted my lil man to stop growing, especially since I know that this will be the last child for Eric and I, I want to savor every minute. At the same time, I have been anxious for him to walk and talk. Anyway, on his actual birthday, I made dinner and the 4 of us sang happy birthday to him and we had cupcakes. He got a small toy from us to open. It was a great day...

On June 25th, we celebrated Julian's birthday with a Mickey Mouse themed party at Tempe Beach park. The park has a huge water play area with many splash pads, slides, fountains, etc. The kids and parents had a great time. It was a very warm day so we kept the party short. We played in the water, ate lunch , played in the water, then had cake. Both kids were exhausted afterward. We then swam for a while at my dad's hotel, the kids had a great time. There were about 40 people there to celebrate Julian's special day and he got lots of new clothes, gift cards, and a new atv from his nino and nina. what a fun birthday! We love you so much Julian, I have never met a baby so happy and full of wonder. You keep me, your daddy, and sister on our toes and I hope that it will always be that way. I love you so much my "mama's boy" :0

No more formula

2011-07-01T10:59:00.002-07:00

I forgot to post this a month ago, but Julian is no longer on formula. On Bella's birthday weekend, he ran out of formula and I decided I wasn't going to buy it anymore, he was ready for milk. He LOVES milk. He has had no problem transitioning. My Bubba is growing up :(

Bella's 3 year check up

2011-06-19T13:25:00.002-07:00

Bella's 3 year Dr check up went well. I had some concerns going in to the appointment, so I was anxious to get her there. One, I am worried about her stye like bump that keeps recurring in her eye. She gave me a name for a opthamologist to take her to , so that she can have the surgery. I am not happy about that, but I don't want her to have long term effects from it. 2nd, she has a mole/birthmark that is on her arm that has some yucky hair growing out of it. It reminds me of the big birthmark my sister had on her leg that she had to have removed. Anyway, Dr. Rampley said to keep eye on it and if it grows, etc we will need to get that removed. UGH, my poor baby!!
Her measurements were:
38 inches, which is in the 63rd percentile, and 31 pounds , which is in the 40th percentile. She has turned in to quite the skinny girl, even though she eats and eats all the time! In fact, she almost always eats her entire plate of food. Granted, most of everything she eats is healthy, but the girl can eat! She just stays very active, which I love.
Some of her favorite things to do right now include: playing in her kitchen, reading books, playing with play-dough, coloring, practicing her letters, singing, dancing, playing soccer, anything outside, and running around the house with her brother. She is the best big sister I could ever have asked for and she takes great pride in being helpful to me and to Julian. She really likes to play "pretend" with her toys and likes to add Julian in to the mix, mostly to boss him around. She loves going shopping with me, and I love taking her. It's my favorite thing to do with Bella. Her and I go alone and leave the boys alone. She loves to grocery shop, clothes shop, etc. She is definitely a girly girl! She likes to say her prayers at night, in fact if we walk out before doing them, she gets very upset.
I have started to tour some preschools, as she is now 3 and I think it would be a great experience for her. I am looking at 3 hour classes 2 days a week. I want her to still be at Bernie's house, where she can still just play and run around. I also want her to have a couple hours a week where she can learn. The schools I have looked at have all been academic based and great schools. Eric and I have not made a decisions yet, but Bella is excited about the idea. She is so smart and I want to keep her mind stimulated. We have to make a decision asap!
Some things that Bella is doing: she is talking non-stop! Her vocabulary and speech are amazing. In fact, I gave her a speech and language test that we give our kiddos at work. She did wonderful! Her language score was that of a 4.5 year old.
She knows all her letters and numbers (and has since she was tiny), but now she knows most of the sounds each letter makes. She has even started writing some of the letters. She keeps us laughing all the time with the hilarious things she comes up with. She is so kind and very sympathetic to others. Don't get me wrong, she has her meltdowns and need for timeouts, but once she is in timeout, her meltdown is short lived. She can sure drive Eric and I crazy sometimes, but overall, she is such a good little girl. I just can't believe she is 3 years old, I am so sad about it. I love this age with her and don't want her to grow anymore!!!
Bella, we love you so much, you are and always will be our "baby girl" and we are so proud of you. Thank you for being the best daughter we could ever asked for and the best sister to Julian!

Isabella Rose's 3rd Birthday

2011-06-04T15:45:00.019-07:00

With Bella and Julian's birthdays being 3 weeks apart (and mine in between), we decided to not have a huge party for Bella like in previous years. We really had a hard time choosing a spot for her party this year. I thought having it at a local resort sounded like a great idea! We had my Dad and Tommy and Becky coming from out of town who needed a hotel anyway, and the Pointe Hilton is so awesome, I figured we'd get a room and celebrate Bella's birthday too. The pool is so pretty at the resort, and there is a waterslide. Bella and Julian stayed out at the pool with our family and friends all day. Bella played with Guiliana in the water most of the time, while us adults vegged out and had some drinks. After we had enough of the water, we went up to the room for cupcakes and to sing happy birthday. Bella had such a great time, and I have to say, it was a perfect idea for her birthday.

The next day, we said good bye to our out of town guests, and we headed to Aunty Katherine's house because she was in town visiting from Boston. We swam and enjoyed the awesome weather. Then, we headed to Nino Steve's house where he set up a mini-birthday party for Bella. It was so sweet! He decorated the whole house and made a fabulous meal (which Bella ate every bite of). Then we had more cake and sang Happy Birthday again. IT was such a great birthday weekend for Bella, we are so grateful for all the people who helped making her day special!

Easter 2011

2011-05-14T18:14:00.006-07:00

Easter Sunday was very nice. We started the morning with a beautiful church service. We then came home to give the babies a nap before we made the trip to Grandma and Grandpa Hoover's house for a yummy Easter lunch. We had ham and all the yummy fixings. Bella and Julian opened up their baskets from Grandma and Grandpa and grandma Ruth. Bella was very excited about the Easter egg hunt outside, it was cute. We enjoyed the day outside for a while, as it was a beautiful day. It was a great day!

Julian's baptism

2011-04-22T14:03:00.015-07:00

On Sunday April 17th, we baptized Julian. We have been attending the perfect church for us, and finally scheduled it. We had picked Tommy and Becky as his Godparents before he was born. They are the best Godparents to him, as they love him almost as much as we do!
Anyway, they bought Julian the MOST precious suit, and Becky and I planned the party. We decided I would make lasagne because it is Becky's favorite. I also made spinach stuffed raviolis with alfredo sauce, bread, and a cesar salad. It was yummmy!
The service at the church was absolutely perfect. Julian did so well and let the pastors pour water on him and did so without any tears. The service was so touching and went exactly how I had hoped. We really appreciate the overwhelming love that was given to Julian on his special day.

Julian is saying "more " words

2011-04-21T21:11:00.002-07:00

Julian has really taken off in his language. He understands so many words. I can ask him to go get a specific toy and he will go get it. He is now using more words. His new current favorite words are "more" and "up". I have been trying to get him to say more at every meal time and he is using it consistently. I give him just a tiny amount of food so that he has to tell me that he wants more. It has worked like a charm! This video is his first taste of ice cream. He kept asking for more, so I had Steve grab the camera so we could get it on video. such a smart chunka baby! Enjoy!

Bedtime routine: bath,prayers, and goodnight kisses

2011-04-12T20:57:00.006-07:00

Everyone who knows us well, knows we have a bedtime routine. The kids bathe together, we all say prayers together in Bella's room, we each give kisses, and Bella goes mimis in her bed, and Julian goes off to his bed. Here are some photos I captured of the kids being so sweet to each other during the bedtime routine...

Park Day with the girls and one lil man

2011-04-12T20:42:00.012-07:00

This past weekend, Anthem had a Kids day with a carnival, pony rides, easter egg hunt, etc. Saturday was a rainy and cold day, so we were stuck in the house the entire day. So, we thought Sunday would be a perfect day to get out and enjoy the day. It was a perfect day with 70 degree weather and plenty of sunshine. Me, Bella, and Julian invited the Cox ladies and Jen to join us. We all drove down there together and had the BEST time! The carnival was very cool, but we didnt put the kids on any of the rides. We decided to try and get Delia and Bella to go on a pony ride. I got Bella on, no problem. However, Delia was understandably frightened which in turn scared Bella. We then went to the huge food and beverage area. We had all kinds of yummy food including fried oreos, roasted corn on the cob, fried chinese noodles, and of course some beer :) The girls had so much fun running around in the grass while Julian enjoyed crawling around and eating. We then took a train ride around the park and by this time the 3 kids and us 3 women were absolutely exhausted. It was such a good time out with the girls and one lil man!

Guiliana's 3rd Birthday

2011-04-12T20:23:00.008-07:00

On April 2nd, we celebrated our best pal Guiliana's 3rd party at the Tortora family home. The party was princess themed so all the girls dressed as their favorite princess. Bella wore her Tinkerbell dress, even though Tink is technically a fairy. The girls made their own bracelets and played outside. Happy Birthday Gules, we love you! It was a good time and Bella really enjoyed herself....

Julian is 9 months old!

2011-04-03T14:45:00.007-07:00

I know I've said over 100 times, but Wow Julian is growing so fast!! He had his 9 month check-up and doing well. He is a whopping 24 pounds and in the 94th percentile. He is 29 inches long and 80th percentile for height. Dr. Rampley did a thorough check up and all is well with him.
Julian continues to be very very active. He is now pulling himself up every chance he gets. He even pulls himself up in his crib, which makes me very nervous because his crib is already as far down as it goes. He is getting in to everything and anything. He loves to explore and make a mess. He is very much a boy and SO VERY different than Bella at this age. While both are very active, he definitely takes the cake. He is cruising along the couch and anything else he can use.
His understanding of language is growing by the minute. If you say "kiss" to him, he will lean over and plant one on you :) If you say (with no visual cues)"clap clap" he will do the cutest thing where he rubs his hands together trying so hard to resemble a clap. It really is adorable! He knows Mommy, Daddy, and Bella. If you ask 'where is daddy?", will look at Eric. He also knows the words car and ball and can pick them out of his toys if I ask him to. He definitely understands the word "No" because sometimes when you say it to him, he will give a pouty face or make a loud squeal out of frustration. He will also shake his head no if you say "no no". Stinker!
He does not have the interest that Bella did in books, but will sit for a short period of time to look through one. I try and remind myself as much as possible that he's a boy so he has different interests than Bella.
He is happy 90% of the time. He is most happy when Mommy is with him or holding him, but he will go to almost everybody with no real separation anxiety.
He is doing great with table foods and has just about loved everything that I have given him. Last night, I made spinach stuffed raviolis, and he ate all of it!
He loves playing with Bella and she cracks him up. He has just started to get annoyed with her at times. If she is in his face too much, he will reach out and push her face away or swat his little hand.
He loves to sleep, eat , and get in to mischief! He is such a happy boy and such a joy to be around that you can't help but smile when he's around.

TAKING THE STUFFING OUT OF THE TREE

GOT IN TO THE DOG BOWL AND DRENCHED HIMSELF AND THE TILE!

"Damn it!"

2011-03-27T21:27:00.002-07:00

Had to post this funny conversation I overheard Bella having with Julian. One of the kids favorite things to do is play in Bella's room in the kitchen. Actually, its more like Bella playing in the kitchen bossing Julian around while he sits and puts all her pretend food in his mouth. Anyway, they were playing away when Julian suddenly sneezed. Bella says, and I quote, "Damn it Julian! You sneezed all over my Tinkerbell doll. ughhhh!" I had to laugh, but made sure that Bella did not hear me. I talked to her about not using those words because they are bad words (which she understands). I thought I should blog about it so that she can one day read it and laugh. She makes us laugh every day!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-26T13:35:00.031-07:00

This spring break Eric took the entire week off to be home with us too! It was so nice for all of us to be home and not have a hundred things to do. We started the weekend off by going to Tucson to visit family. We went to Tommy and Becky's and met with my Tia Cristina and cousin Sabrina and her little ones. Bella had a great time playing with Giovanni. Becky made the yummiest dinner. It was a great visit.
Sunday, we went to the Cox family's house for an outdoor fish and chips fry. It was sooo yummy!
Monday, I saw a private kiddo and came home to hang out with the family. Tuesday, Bella and I went to the library to get some Children's museum tickets,and to go to story time. She LOVED it! The teacher does music, dancing, and reads a few stories. It was very cute and reassured my thoughts of getting her in to a preschool setting ASAP. Later that afternoon we went with Nino to the park we are thinking about having Bella's birthday party at. It was so beautiful out and a perfect day to go to the park. I sat with Julian in the grass and got some sun, while Bella ran around with Nino and Daddy.
Wednesday morning the 4 of us went hiking. It was so fun! Eric carried Julian in the baby Bjorn so he got quite the workout. We then came home and got dressed for the museum. The museum is downtown and has many awesome things for the kids to do. There is a giant play area, a pretend grocery store, a pretend kitchen complete with a woodfire pizza oven, many different hands on activities, an art room that has many art projects and painting, etc. Bella was in rare form that day. She was very moody and so we had to cut the trip shorter than we would've liked, but she still had fun. We definitely want to go again very soon.
Thursday, we spent the day at home which was nice. Eric was kind enough to take Isabella to the park for 2 hours while Julian slept so I could relax.
Friday, we watched the u of a game and then went to Grandpa and Grandma Hoover's house. We had dinner with them and just hung out. It was a lot of fun. The kids were wiped by the end of the day.
Saturday, Eric went to a spring training game w/ Steve and our future brother in law Gabe. I took the kids to meet some of my favorite girls for lunch. We then went shopping for Julian's baptism suit.
Sunday, we had breakfast at Uncle Chris's, who is in the navy and visiting home.We went to his house with the Tortora family. Bella and Guiliana played and had a great time.
We had a great week and am so thankful to get time to spend with the 3 people who I love most.

Catching up

2011-03-08T20:22:00.008-07:00

I have not blogged for a long time as things have been super crazy around the Hoover home. Bella had her very first tummy virus :( It was the most painful experience watching her be so miserable. Then Julian got a bug, so Eric and I had to take turns being home with the kiddos. Eric has also been closing the store a lot, so we have all not got to spend very much time together. However that ends next week because we are all on spring break!!
Anyway, in the past month we have had another best pal born. The Cox's welcomed baby Carina on February 5th. She is adorable and I am so glad that are neighbors so that we can spend as much time together as possible. The following weekend was Eric's 35th birthday. We had a poker party at our home with family and friends, and Eric had a lot of fun!

Our boy Julian is crawling everywhere and in to EVERYTHING! He opens cabinets and pulls things off of shelves. He is all BOY! He is still army crawling, rather than the traditional crawl, however he is very mobile. He is now eating some finger foods and some protein. He pretty much eats whatever I put in front of him. He is eating all kinds of finger foods including: bananas, cereal, blueberries, pineapple, etc. He likes to eat, that's for sure! He is understanding more and more words and loves to make many vocal sounds. He shakes his head when you say "no,no" and will shake his head if he doesn't want something. He is still a fabulous sleeper, I keep thinking he has to wake up in the middle of the night at some point, but nope he never has. He loves his sleep and we love that he loves his sleep. We put him down awake and he falls asleep all on his own. He is such a great baby! He is so different than Bella was at this age, it is amazing. He loves to crawl over to the entertainment center and try and take all the movies out. He also tries to pull the speaker wires, or anything with wires. We definitely have to keep a very close eye on him at all times. Bella liked to sit and look at books and puzzles, he likes to pull things and throw things. Ahhhh gotta love boys :)

2 BIG milestones for baby JJ

2011-01-18T20:59:00.002-07:00

First, Julian got his 1st tooth that popped through the gum and stayed popped out 3 weeks ago. It is soo cute! He has been teething like crazy, but other than the tremendous amount of drool and chewing on his hands, you wouldn't even know it.

Second, as of tonight, he has figured out the art of crawling!! He has been able to shuffle back and forth on all fours for weeks now, but tonight he actually moved from one side of the room to me on the other. Bella and I were soooo excited! We kept making him do it over and over again. I kept his interest by using my cell phone as bait because he loves it so much. I'm still in shock that he has figured it out. He sort of did a crawl somewhere between a bear crawl and a regular crawl. It is so cute :)
I was just saying to Deb yesterday at the park that I feel that he is growing so super fast, even more than Bella had at his age. He was never really a tiny baby, as he was almost 9 lbs at birth. He has since grown non stop. I knew he'd be an early mover since he was rolling over, sitting, and scooting early on, but Im just not ready for my baby to be mobile yet :( Julian SLOW DOWN PLEASE!!! You are Mommy's last baby, and I'd like to keep you a baby for as long as I can :)

Our big boy at 6 months

2011-01-09T18:41:00.004-07:00

Julian turned 6 months on December 21st. He had his 6 month check up last week. He is 20 lbs 8 oz (87th percentile) and 28 inches (88th percentile). The Dr. did her regular question asking about his development. She asked if he was rolling over (yes, since 2 months old), asked about sleeping and eating habits, etc. I was also anxious to bring him in because he has had a cold for over 2 months off and on. However, the Dr. looked at his ears and listened to his chest and all was clear. Other than his colds, he has been a healthy boy.
Baby J.J. is :

-sleeping 11 hours at night, and has been since he was 2 months old
-eating cereal and fruits and vegetables and loves them all!
-very close to crawling. He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth
-smiling all the time, he has the biggest smile EVER! he loves people and loves to be held or played with.
- a mama's boy! If he sees me walk by, he will whine or cry for me to pick him up. I think it's the cutest thing but can be a little annoying :)
-sitting in the bath like a big boy, no more baby tub. He is sitting up so well, and has been for over a month and a half.
-Likes to pick up his toys and lift them over his head or throw them. The boy in him really shines through!
-does a lot of vocal play
-loves his sister so much. If she is next to him, he is staring at her and smiling.
-does NOT SIT STILL! he is very active

I've said it before, Julian has made our family complete. Almost every night when Eric gets home, we go in to the playroom as a family and sit on the floor together. This part of the day is my favorite, as we can all be together and just play. Julian has made our family life just that much better :)

Happy New Year-2011

2011-01-08T21:15:00.012-07:00

This year we had our annual New Years Eve party at our house with our closest friends. First, Auntie Jen came by to give her Christmas gifts to the kids. Bella loved her Dora tent and Melissa and Doug Cookie set. Us girlfriends (Jen,Deb,me, and Amy) also did something different this holiday. We did a secret Santa gift exchange that we decided to exchange on New Years Eve when we were all together.
Then the rest of our friends showed up and as always we had a great time with some munchies and drinks. We also did some karaoke which is always fun! It is so nice spending each New Year with the same people and of course our babies. Bella and Julian stayed up as long as they could before it was time for bath and bed. Us Hoover's are looking forward to a wonderful year and getting to spend it with those we love most...

Big girl bed

2011-01-08T18:13:00.003-07:00

Nannie bought Bella a new bed set for Christmas. We took Bella to Babies R Us and let her pick out her set. She was trying to decide between TinkerBell and Dora and she chose Tinkerbell. I was excited because I can keep her green curtains and letters on her wall. Eric and I were reluctant to convert her crib, as she has never tried to climb out and she really does love her crib. She has always loved going to bed and enjoys her own space. But, we figured since she has a new bed set and she was excited for it, we would convert it out. I was nervous because I have had several friends who have had toddlers have a rough time with the new big kid bed in the last few months. Anyway, here we are a week later and she has done great with it! She never woke once and has not wandered out of bed or cried. I am so proud of my baby girl and how big she is :)Next, we are going to paint her room and put up her decorations on the walls.Thank you Nannie!
Bella is awesome and such a big girl. Eric and I keep talkng about how big she is now. It's like once she was potty trained and now sleeping in a big girl bed, our "baby" is now a girl. Well actually, NO...BELLA, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE OUR BABY!!

SNOW IN PHOENIX???

2011-01-08T17:32:00.007-07:00

On Thursday December 30th, Phoenix snowed!! The news had been saying all week that it could snow here, however, since Ive lived here (all my life) I have only seen flakes fall from the sky once. I was on my way to see Katherine at her family's house in North Phoenix. I had both kiddos with me in the car when I see what looks like snow falling from the sky. I immediately pull over to check it out. To my surprise, it was indeed snow flakes! I snapped a picture of the snow on my car so that I had proof because I figured that it would stop any minute. I pulled up to Katherine's and her nieces and nephews, along with Bella were excited to play in it. By the time we got inside, it had stopped. It started again a few minutes later so we all went outside and played in it and snapped lots of pictures. It stopped and started about 3 times and we got a good amount of it, enough to stick to the ground. Bella loved it and we had fun playing in it for a while :)

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-27T21:06:00.014-07:00

This Christmas was especially fun to shop for Bella because she is so in to imaginative play, dolls, and games. This Christmas morning was most special because of Julian and Bella likes to open gifts and gets very excited. Christmas morning the kids decided to sleep in until 8 so we all had to wait to open gifts! Bella got too many gifts to name but off the top of my head she got the following from Santa, Eric and I, my dad, and Cassy : a Barbie vanity set w/ pretend makeup and accessories, baby doll stroller and accessories, Dora candyland, her first barbie w/ car, playdough set, clothes, a keyboard, an easy bake oven, more pretend food,art supplies, etc, etc. She made out big time! Julian got lots of light up toys, a firetruck, and jumper, clothes, etc.
Another special part of the morning was my surprise gift for Eric. A couple of weeks ago, Deb had been given the opportunity to purchase some tickets for the Cardinals/ Cowboys game on Christmas night. She called me to see if I was interested in buying one for Eric. I of course said YES! I knew the game was Christmas night, but I couldnt pass up the chance for Eric to see his Cowboys play. Anyway, I put his ticket inside his Cowboys Santa hat that we have hanging in our house. I put on my U of A santa hat and asked him to put on his cowboys hat so that my sister could take a picture of us in our hats. As he picked up his hat, the ticket fell out and he was shocked!! He was sooooo excited!! It was awesome! My sister bought him a Dez Bryant jersey for Christmas to wear to the game. Eric gets more excited about Christmas than anyone I know. He is so giving and cheerful all the time, it felt good to give him a nice surprise.
So after opening gifts with my dad and sister, we all got dressed for Eric's dad, stepmom, brother, sister-in-law, and nieces and nephew to come over for Christmas brunch and open gifts. We had yummy egg, ham, and green chile casserole, sausage, potatoes, salsa, bagels, and fruit. We then open gifts with them and the kids got even more fun stuff. Bella got her soccer ball that she will need to play in her soccer league next month.
After they left, I cleaned up and got ready for our next batch of guests to arrive for christmas dinner. Tommy, Becky, Marissa,Britney,Deb, Delia, and Katherine joined my dad, Cassy, and I. Becky also bought Tommy a Cowboys ticket and we surprised him with it when the got here. Eric, Tommy, and Cox left to the game and I made our traditional dinner of Birria, beans, and rice. Stevie then came over to exchange gifts and to yet again spoil the kids. Bella got so many nice gifts from her Nino.
By the end of the night, needless to say I was BEYOND EXHAUSTED. It was such a great day with our family and friends and I feel so very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. We had a great Christmas and know that next year will be even better. I look forward to many more wonderful Christmases with my family and friends.... A special thank you to my dad and sister for not only the kids gifts but mine and Eric's awesome gifts. Thank you to Nino Tommy and Nina Becky for the great gifts, and to Nino Stevie as well. You all love our kids so much and do such a good job of making sure that they know it not through gifts, but because of all the time and effort you put in to show them your love. Eric and I are very thankful for that.

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-27T20:25:00.014-07:00

My dad and Sister came in to town on Christmas Eve. Before heading over to my Mom's for dinner, we all baked and decorated cookies for Santa. Bella was really in to it and insisted on cutting out each cookie. I gave Bella the rest of the cookie dough to roll out and play with, which she did for over 20 minutes. When the cookies were done, her and Eric decorated them. We explained to her that they were for Santa and that he would eat the when he came to drop off her presents that night.

We then got dressed in our pajamas and headed to Nino Stevie's house to visit him and his family. We try and go every year to his house to see his Dad for his birthday as well as visit everyone for Christmas. Bella had some fun running around with Steve's nephew Ben. She and him always seem to get along great.

Next, we headed to Nannie's house for dinner and to open gifts as we do every year. Mom made shrimp fettucine, salad, and bread. Bella ate every single bite, it was very yummy! Then it was gift time!! The kids were of course spoiled rotten and we had a great time! We came home to put the kids to bed and put together Santa gifts. It was a great day...

Bella's imaginary friends

2010-12-27T19:15:00.005-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for over a month, but have not had the chance to. So here goes..

Bella has always had a great imagination. She loves to play with her dolls and feed and bathe them. She also enjoys playing in her pretend kitchen and talk on her pretend phone.She will use random items around the house and substitute them for other items.
She has also been telling me for quite some time that she has a dragon that follows her sometimes. Sometimes he goes with her to the restroom, sometimes he's under the couch, sometimes he just plays with her. She says he is small and green. She talks to him and includes him in the games that she plays. I ask if he talks, and she says no that he just says "grrr". I think it is very cool how creative she is. We all know that she didn't get that from me. I can take some credit for her love of books and numbers, but NOT for the imagination part.
Tonight, after dinner Bella precedes to talk to someone who is not there. I asked who she is talking to and she said "Shie Shie". Ummmm okay!! She told me that she is her friend and she was pretending to hold her and help her in the restroom. I took video of her telling me about her and talking with her. She said that she was in the restroom (it was our pantry). It's pretty funny. She is so full of imagination this baby girl of mine! Here is the video of her telling me about her "friend"

Tamale family day

2010-12-27T17:59:00.011-07:00

Every year for more than 30 years, my dad's side of the family gets together the week before Christmas to make tamales. We havent been in many years, but since my dad was able to go this year, I thought it would be great to join them. I drove with the 2 babies to Tucson since Eric was at work. My Tia Alicia sets up tables in the garage for all of us to stand in an assembly line and make the tamales while listening to Mexican music. We have endless food, desserts, and beer. Bella played the entire time with all of her cousins and literally ran around for hours. JJ was passed around from family member to family member and never fussed once. It was such a good time. I only wish that I could, along with my kids, see our family more often. Bella especially had fun playing with all of her cousins. She also had a great time dancing to the Mariachi music, it was so cute! The food was amazing and I hope to bring the kiddos every year to this tradition....

Snow Day 2010

2010-12-27T17:52:00.008-07:00

Last year, Tata was able to take Bella to the snow at Desert Ridge while Eric and I were in Dallas. This year, I wanted to take her again since she loved it last year. Eric was working but Jen offered to go with us, which was so awesome! Thank God she was there to help me with both kids because there was no way I could have done it alone.I am so thankful for her help all the time. She loves hanging out with my kiddos and they love having her around too. Anyway, the day was really warm (almost 80 degrees), so we got there early and played for a while. Bella really enjoyed it, and JJ was too young to enjoy it but did fine. We ended the day with JJ sitting on Santa's lap, lunch, and shopping. It was a great day!

Decorating the Hoover Home 2010

2010-12-19T17:33:00.016-07:00

This year was especially exciting for Eric to start decorating outside since our family is now complete. He was so excited to get outside and start decorating the front yard. The four of us made our way outside all bundled up to watch daddy put up the lights, snowman, santa, penguin, and deer. After Eric finished decorating, he went to plug in both extension cords AND..... on the lights went, then 2 seconds later, they all blew out!! All I could do is laugh because it was almost exactly like our favorite Holiday movie Christmas Vacation. We had to get another extension cord and everything worked just fine. I have to say, Eric did a fabulous job, the best yet!

The following week, we got our Christmas tree. We put Christmas music on, put Julian in the Baby Bjorn (or as Bella calls it, his backpack), and started decorating the tree. This year, we decided to not do purple and silver, but red and silver instead. Our tree looks beautiful!Isabella really enjoyed decorating! It was a nice family effort. Tis' the season!!

OUR FALL SCARECROW THAT BECOMES OUR WINTER SCARECROW

THE BEFORE

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-05T19:16:00.014-07:00

This Thanksgiving was an extra special one because Cas was able to join us, which she hasnt been able to do in a few years now. Also, Jen's parents and brother were in town from New Jersey and were able to join us as well. Our good friends Bobbie and Megan joined us too.

My Mom and I started cooking Wednesday night for our feast. It was nice for both of us to get so much done the night before and clean up afterwards too! Bella and I also made place cards Wednesday as well for everyone's plate. We traced Bella's hand and made it in to a turkey, they turned out so cute! On the actual day, we really didn't have to do much except cook the turkey and make the potatoes and salad. Cas set the table so beautifully.

We had a turkey, ham, a pork loin, potatoes, stuffing, yams, mah's famous grilled shrimp salad, veggie saute, corn casserole, green beans, rolls, and cranberries. It was all so yummy!!

It was so great to have the Saa family with us and Julian and Bella really enjoyed their company. Maria, Bo, and Brian really spoiled the kids and Bella and Julian sucked it all up :) I hope that we can all be together again for Thanksgiving!

Anthem Tree Lighting

2010-11-21T19:04:00.011-07:00

Every winter, the city of Anthem puts up the tallest Christmas tree in the United States and has a lighting of the tree ceremony. Last night, we packed up the kiddos and bundled them up to check it out. It was awesome! It was chilly outside but beautiful.

They had a band that Bella loved watching while on daddy's shoulders. When they lit the tree, Bella was so excited!! Afterwards, Eric and I had yummy coffee while walking around the outlets with the kids. IT was a great night...

On our way home

Alzheimer's memory walk

2010-11-21T18:51:00.003-07:00

Last Saturday, my Dad, my kiddos, Jammie and Guliana, Amy, and Nino Stevie walked the Alzheimer's walk downtown. Every year, I say I am going to do it, and this year I finally did. I set up a team and donation webpage in honor of Nana Delores, who died from Alzheimer's. My team goal was $1000 and personal goal was $500, and I hit both goals!!! Everyone on my team raised money and I was so thankful. My dad came from San Diego to particiapte in walk and our family donated in Nana's honor. THank you to all that walked with me and who donated! The walk went well and it was a beautiful morning. I look forward to next year as I already have a team shirt in mind. I hope next year the kids are as well behaved on the walk and look forward to keep the tradition alive. Here is the picture of Nana I used on my webpage....She was so beautiful...

Julian's 4 month pictures

2010-11-06T22:05:00.002-07:00

So we meant to take Julian's photos at 3 months, but he ended up getting a cold complete with a runny nose, so we wanted to wait until he was well. Anyway, we got them done at 4 months and we could not be more pleased. He did such a great job in the studio and his outfits were adorable. I dressed him in a button down for the 1st few shots, and in his Cowboys jersey and Chargers ball for the second pose. They are adorable...

Halloween

2010-11-06T21:36:00.020-07:00

For Halloween this year Bella was Tinkerbell and Julian was Pooh Bear. The nice thing about Bella's age is that she can pick out her coustume. She was very excited about being Tinkerbell. I really wanted to find a pooh bear costume for Julian, but being that we live in Phoenix, I was nervous about getting a one piece thick costume. However,the evenings have been nice and cool and it worked out perfectly. Julian's Godparents Tommy and Becky wanted to join us for Julian's first Halloween. That was really nice because they each took turns holding him which gave Eric and I a break. We also trick or treated for the 3rd year in a row with Nino Stevie and Jen. THe Cox family and Amy also joined us. Our neighborhood was decorated great. There were many houses with haunted houses and scary decorations. Bella was a little shy when going up to the doors, but we had a great time! Can't wait for next year when JJ is walking!

AT THE END OF THE NIGHT

Julian's 4 months old!

2010-10-22T21:39:00.008-07:00

Yesterday my lil chubs, aka Snickers, aka lil man turned 4 months! He is getting so big! Speaking of which, his 4 month appointment was today and he is a whopping 17.2 pounds and 25.5 inches. That puts him in the 89% for weight and 73rd % for height. Like I said, he is a BIG boy :) When I took him to the Dr., all the nurses gathered around the scale oohing and ahhhing at him. Once in the room, Dr. Rampley insisted on taking him back in to the office and showing him off to her co-workers while Bella and I waited. It was super cute, he sure loves all the attention! She was impressed with how active he was and how much cooing he does. Here are the things is doing so far:

-He is rolling over from back to tummy and also tummy to back.

-He can sit unassisted for about 3-5 seconds.

-he loves to giggle and smile. He is a very happy baby and loves everyone.

-He has started to reach for things , including my hair :)

-He is sleeping from 8 until 5:30-6 every night. He hasnt waken up in the middle of the night in almost 2 months. We put him down in his crib wide awake, and he puts himself to sleep. We have NEVER had to "let him cry it out", which I am so thankful for because that was rough when we did it w/ Bella.

-He will roll across the living room

-he has a few teeth that are starting to come through

-he has started on cereal and he hates it so far!

-He still wants to be held most of the day. If he is not held, he wants us to be near him. He is a real snuggle bug.

-He is predominately breast fed, however does get some formula. He definitely prefers breast milk. He is drinking 7 oz at a time-CHUBBS!

-when he hears his sister's voice, he will look around the room until he finds her and give her a humongous smile that melts my heart.

Julian has been such a joy. He is a very happy baby and in turn makes our entire family happy. He has made our family complete and I feel so blessed to have him.

JULIAN'S FIRST TASTES OF CEREAL

My smarty pants- Isabella

2010-10-20T11:24:00.007-07:00

There have been some funny and amazing things that Bella has done in the last few weeks that I keep telling myself to write down so that one day she can read when she is older. I want her to be able to look back and see all the things that she was doing at a certain age. So here goes:

-She was eating a chip the other day and she pulled it out of her mouth and she said to me "look,Mommy it's Califowwnia". It most certainly did look like the state of California. A little background on this: Eric bought Bella a United States puzzle, and I asked him why he had done this being that she was only 2 years old! Anyway,much to my dismay, she loves it! She has learned where EVERY single state goes, and can tell me about 12-15 state names. She absolutely amazes me. I know that learning the states is not really developmentally appropriate, but she does love it.

-She knows every letter of the alphabet and recognizes them on the tv, books, or when we are out at the stores. For example, her and I were at the library and she would point out to me every number and letter down the aisles.

-She recognizes that in books that they are made up of words. In fact, she was reading her baby bible book and she said to me "look Mommy, my bible has lots and lots of letters". She loves books so much and enjoys the library and checking out her own books.

-she is using anywhere from 5-10 word sentences (yes I count). She is using articles (a, the, an), using pronouns correctly, she knows her first,middle and last name, she knows mine and Eric's names, she can answer questions and is now asking me questions, knows boys vs. girls, knows all colors, knows the difference between little and big.

-she really loves engaging in pretend play. She loves to cook for us in her kitchen and play with her baby dolls. One time I actually caught her trying to feed her baby from her chest. Obviously she sees me feed Julian,and when I saw her do it to her doll, I laughed so hard!!

-She loves to help me cook dinner in the evening. She sits on the counter and stirs whatever it is that I am cooking. She has to be involved in all parts of the cooking. When it's ready, it is her job to go and tell Daddy that dinner is ready. After eating dinner together, she helps by bringing the dishes from the table to the sink. She thinks this is all so fun, I know that wont last long!

-She still has a little lisp with her /s/ and /th/ sounds. I think it's so cute! I keep picturing her in school one day and telling her friends "my mom's a speeth thewapitht".

-She knows that "shit" is a bad word and when I say it she says "no mommy we dont' say shit, we say shoot"!! that really cracks me up when she does that. I know, I shouldnt laugh,but it is kind of funny.

I continue to be surprised about how much information she retains. I have a feeling she is going to love school. I love that she loves to learn and Im going to do my best to keep her learing fun :)

My little nerd at the library

Family Weekend

2010-10-09T15:54:00.016-07:00

Last weekend, My dad and Rhonda came to town. We had many fun things planned for the long weekend. Friday, we had lunch at Five and Diner, then headed to the Sea Life Aquarium in Tempe. Bella had soooo much fun, she really loved it. She got to hold starfish, go inside a bubble and take pictures, sit and stare at the sharks swimming, and much more. The aquarium was very cool and we had a great time. The following day, Eric and I took Bella to Story Time live at jobing.com arena to see Dora and Ni Hao Ki Lan, Wonder pets, and The Backyardigans. Bella wore her dora shirt, dora hat, dora watch,and took her dora cup. Bella had the best time! We went to the 11 am show so there weren't many people. We were able to move really close to the stage. Bella danced and sang the entire time. It was great because each story got the children involved by asking questions or having them dance or jump.Her favorite story was obviously Dora. She was so exctied when she came out. Saturday night, Becky and Tommmy came to Phoenix to help us celebrate my Dad's birthday. I made Italian sausage with peppers w/ pasta. We then let Bella play outside as we all had drinks outside and enjoyed the nice weather. Sunday, we had chorizo and eggs and said goodbye to our company. It was such a good weekend full of family and fun. Thank you to my Dad and Rhonda and Tommy and Becky for a great weekend. Both kids were spoiled rotten and so enjoy the time with our family.

Labor Day

2010-09-25T22:13:00.007-07:00

This post is really late, but I wanted to post some pictures of Labor day of the kids. We went to Meg's apartment with our best pals. Meg has such a great apartment to entertain at. The apartments have a kid pool, a kid water pad area, covered areas with grills,a fridge,and tv's. We barbequed and swam with the kids and our friends. It was such a fun day. Julian loved the water, he even fell asleep. Bella is getting so good in the water. She is not scared in the least bit and can kick and move around. Here are some pics..

Julian is 3 months

2010-09-25T21:49:00.009-07:00

I know I say this all the time but... where has time gone?? Julian is now 3 months old! He seems to grow more and more every day. He still amazes me how fast he was able to hold his head up and move around. He really likes to sit up on the couch. The problem is, he pushes himself forward so someone must sit right in front of him because he really wants to move himself around. He is still eating and sleeping so well. He loves to eat, and I am still breast feeding. He is sleeping from about 8:30 until 6:30. He still is not sleeping during the day for more than about 20-30 minutes at a time, but that is because he sleeps so much at night. He is doing so well at Bernies' house. She just loves him and says she can't help but hold him since he's such a snuggler. He is now laughing and smiling so much. He loves to be around people and as long as he is being held, he is a happy guy. He has rolled over twice now and remains very active. I think this lil guy is going to be crawling and walking early like his sister. In fact, when we go get him from his crib in the morning, he is always turned half way or all the way around from the position that we put him down in. It's pretty crazy that he is already maneuvering around like that. He is still really big for his age and has huge hands and feet. You can see how big he is in the picture below with Annelle's grandma. Here are some 3 month photos...

Julian trying to sit up all by himself

Bella and Julian picture at 3 months

2010-09-25T21:42:00.004-07:00

So as I was uploading pictures for my last blog, I came across these two photos of Bella and Julian both at about 3 months. I couldnt believe how much they looked alike. When I look at Julian, I don't think he looks so much like Bella. However, when I look at old photos, theyh really do resemble each other so much. Here is the picture of each of them side to side, both at 3 months.

Brother and Sister love

2010-09-25T21:22:00.004-07:00

Bella loves her brother so much. She is so good with him, I am so proud of her. She never ever gets jealous and loves to hold him in bed. If we are all hanging out, she insists that Julian sit next to her. I really hope they are close throughout their lives because the brother/sister love they have right now makes my heart melt. When Julian sees her, he smiles ear to ear. Our sitter tells us how protective Bella is of her brother with the other kids. The pictures below are adorable. The first is of Julian wearing Bella's flower hat. We were all playing kitchen in her room and she decided to put this hat on Julian..it's hilarious. The big sister torture begins so early! I can relate, I loved torturing my little sister. The next few photos are of them hugging each other. I love my babies so much, they make life so enjoyable for us..

Football season

2010-09-25T21:09:00.008-07:00

The Hoovers love love love Football (along with almost all other sports), and we get very excited when football season starts. For football kickoff, we had our football friends over for carne asada and had a great time :0 We also get excited for U of A football. HEre are some photos of the kids in their cute football team gear. ..

Future Wildcat Princess

Julian wearing his "I watch ESPN with daddy " shirt

videos

2010-09-06T10:55:00.005-07:00

Below are some cute videos of our babies. The first is of Julian cooing, he is such a vocal lil guy. Next is a video of Bella dancing to Dora. She looooves to dance and sing. The last video is of Julian in the tub. He loves his baths and he gets so excited in it. I know I have blogged about how active he is, but this is a good video to actually see what I am talking about. Enjoy!

Julian's 2 month appointment

2010-09-03T21:45:00.004-07:00

Julian's 2 month appointment was almost 2 weeks late due to the Dr. having to reschedule and me starting back at work. We were anxious to get him in because we were taking bets on how much he weighed. I was dead on, the chunka weighs 15 POUNDS!! I can t believe how big he is. He was 23 inches. He was in 95th % for weight and 50th for height (kind of weird). He had 4 shots..boooo and general check up. The Dr said she is not concerned about his weight since he is breast fed and its easy to digest and he will burn it off easier. Dr Rampley was squeezing and kissing him as all people do when they hold him because he is so squishy :) He is over a pound bigger than Bella was at this age and she was chubby! He is such a fun baby and so happy. He has been sleeping 9 hours at night without waking up, which is awesome because I have officially started back at work. We are on a pretty good schedule now. He is eating every 3 hours, about 6 times a day. He sleeps from about 9:15 until 6:15 am. He eats and then goes back to sleep until about 10 am. However, next week he will go to the sitter so he and Bella will have to wake up early. Should be interesting! I thought I would attach a cute video of our lil guy listening to Mommy sing to him as he sings along :)

Julian is 2 months

2010-08-22T13:26:00.004-07:00

Wow, how time flies! Time seemed to go slowly when Bella was this age because she cried so much. Julian is totally opposite. He still likes to be held a lot but has really learned to love his swing. He is sleeping 6-7 hours straight in his crib, eats for about 15 mins, and goes back to his crib until about 6:30 or 7 am. He is such a good sleeper! He is also a very very good eater. He is eating 4 oz about every 2 -2.5hours. He is pretty much breast fed only and he is doing really well with it. I have enjoyed breastfeeding much more this time around, again due to him not being a screamer. He is still very active and is already trying to crawl. He has rolled over from his tummy to his back during tummy time and does not like to sit still. He is such a joy to have around and I love him more and more every day. I love you my baby boy :)

Fun Weekend

2010-08-22T11:57:00.010-07:00

Last weekend, we wanted to take Bella to Walmart because they were supposed to have a Dora day. My Dad and Rhonda came in to town to join us and to hang out. We met at Walmart and were greeted at the door with a Dora stand and some Dora cupcakes. Unfortunately, they did not have the fun stuff they had advertised about. So we took Bella to the Dora section of the store and Tata and Rhonda bought her a Dora shirt, Dora castle for her bath tub. We then went to lunch and headed home for some outdoor fun. We filled Bella's pool with her new Dora bath toys and turned on her Daisy sprinkler. She used outdoor chalk with Tata and played on her swingset. Us adults had some beers and relaxed. I then made some carne asada and we had a fabulous meal. The next morning we had breakfast and took the kiddos to Desert Ridge for some water play. Bell had a great time and she got another new Dora hat. It was such a short but great weekend with family. THe kids are so lucky to have so much love in their lives :) Here are some photos of our Dora/family weekend.

Update

2010-08-10T23:04:00.008-07:00

So here is an update on Isabella and Julian:
Isabella continues to do wonderful with the potty, she has had 2 accidents and that's about it. She is such a big girl!She has loved her time at home with me, she has been sleeping in until 8:30 or 9:00 every morning! That should be a fun habit to break once I go back to work :) She is super helpful with chores around the house, cleaning up her toys, and just helping me with Julian. I am so grateful for her, she is so wonderful .
Julian is now in to a nice routine. He is eating 4 oz every feeding which is about every 2.5 to 3 hours. I know, I know, he eats a lot! The Dr said to feed him as much as he wants since he is breastfeeding and it is easier to digest and plus he is a growing boy. So in order to keep up with him, I've been pumping much of his bottles so that I can measure out 4 oz and not have to feed him every 1-2 hours. He still likes to be held A LOT! He makes Eric and I exhausted. He is so happy and content as long as he is being held. We have made sure to put him in the swing and in his crib more so that he is not expecting to be held all day. He has been to the sitter 3 times and has done really well.She said she loves him because he is so snuggly. It's so hard not to snuggle his chunka lunka self :) He is up most of the day with just a few short naps throughout the afternoon. He takes a bath every night at about 9:30, gets his last feeding, and is in bed by 10:30. He has transitioned to his crib and is doing fabulous. He sleeps until sometime between 3 and 4 am, gets a feeding and is back to sleep until 630 or so. I then bring him in to bed with me for a feeding and he sleeps with me until Bella wakes up. Of course once I go back to work I will break him of this, but I just want those extra few hours of sleep. He is such a good sleeper at night, much much better than Bella was at his age. Actually he is better than she was even at 6 months! THe best part is that Eric and I put him down after his last feeding drowsy but not all the way asleep and he puts himself to sleep. He doesnt fuss and he just falls asleep all on his own.That is a big deal for us because we learned with Bella how to get her to sleep and we wanted to do the same with Julian.
He is moving like crazy! I will post a video of him soon. Tonight I had him on a blanket on the floor for tummy time and would you believe he rolled on to his back from his tummy!!! I called Eric in the room hoping he would do it again and HE DID! He is crazy my lil man, he is sooo active. He kicks and moves like a mad man. LIke I said before, I knew he would be because he was so active in my tummy. Bella was super active as well, however he takes the cake :) He is also doing a ton of cooing. He will look at us and smile and coo for minutes at a time, it's super sweet. I sure am enjoying him, though it's a lot of work with 2, I wouldnt trade my job for the entire world. To watch them grow up together so far has been a blessing. They already love each other so much and it melts my heart to see Julian smile when he sees Bella or Bella tell me she wants to "snuggle Julian". I love my babies so much!!
Here are some pics of the kiddos....

Potty Training

2010-07-30T16:23:00.003-07:00

With me being home for the summer, I couldn't think of a better time to start potty training Bella. She has been telling us for many months when she has gone in her diaper. I knew it was up to me to just put her in underwear and go for it. We have not used any pull ups, as they feel just like diapers. We went straight for undies.Bella just turned 2, but I picked up her cues of being ready.So I made her a "potty chart" where should put Dora stickers on every time she goes on the potty. I also bought her candy as a reward :) She loves to go and get a sticker afterwards.
She has done so well! We have been at it for about 5 days of just undies. She really has had very little accidents and only one poop accident. She was at the sitter for a few hours yesterday and I kept her in undies and sent her with changes of clothes and more undies. Well when I picked her up, she was in the same clothes! She used the potty there as well :) Today was our first outing at a restaurant and store and again she stayed dry! She even used the potty at the restaurant and went pee. We are sooo proud of her! She has learned so fast and I'm so glad I finally decided to start the process because I really think she has been ready for quite some time. She is still working on telling us when she has to go, it's mainly us asking her if she needs to go, but I know that is coming! I can't believe I just wrote a whole blog about pee and poop, but I am just so proud of my baby girl. Plus, Im super excited to not have to buy diapers for her anymore since we have Julian to buy diapers for.
I am finishing this blog 2 days after I started it, and she has not had ONE accident since I started this. We were at Nino's yesterday to swim and hang out and I brought her potty seat with us and she went at his house too.. no accidents. I think I can officially say Isabella is potty trained!! YAY Bella, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you :)

Julian's Godparents

2010-07-19T09:58:00.008-07:00

Eric and I chose Tommy and Becky to be Julian's Godparents because they have been so good to us over the years and they would love him like no one else could. This past weekend, they came to visit. I made a big spread of food and we we all hung out, ate, drank beer, and enjoyed each each other's company. It was nice to get a break from holding Julian since Becky held him the entire time she was here. Bella sure does love Becky too, she was so sad when they had to leave. We had a great time! Here are some photos...

New pictures and video

2010-07-12T18:57:00.009-07:00

Here are some sweet photos that I captured of the kiddos while we were all home just hanging out. Julian is now 3 weeks and adapting to our family so well. I love my lil guy so much, he is already such a Mama's boy :) Bella wants to hold him and snuggle with him all the time. She loves to "help" feed him or snuggle him. It is kind of scary though because she handles him like she does her doll, which is NOT good. However, she is doing so well with him and is so concerned for him when he cries or fusses. She is the best big sister in the world :)

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-08T16:09:00.013-07:00

The weekend started off with Bella and I meeting Jammie and Guiliana at Desert Ridge for some water play. The girls had fun while us Mommies had some coffee and chat time. Friday night, we went to dinner as a family for Eric's last day at home with us :(
Saturday, Annelle, Carlos,Megan, and Jen came over to our house to visit. It was nice for everyone to meet him. That night we went to Nino Steve's for a night time swim. Bella had so much fun! On Sunday afternoon we went to Frank and Fran's house for a bbq, some pool time for the girls, and to hang out with our friends. It was a lot of fun! Isabella and Guiliana really love each other's company, it is so cute. Bella loved the fireworks and had a lot of fun in the pool playing with Guiliana. Julian had fun too being spoiled by Fran. It was a great 4th OF July weekend!

WATCHING FIREWORKS

Our 1st week with 2 babies

2010-06-29T20:41:00.008-07:00

We are lucky enough to have Eric home with us for 2 weeks. I am so thankful because it has been quite a hectic week. It started with a trip to the Dr. for Julian's 2 day check up. He actually lost 12oz so the Dr. wanted us to come back in a few days for a weight check. I am breast feeding and he wants to eat all the time. I am constantly feeding it seems like. Anyway, she also said he was a little jaundice so we had to take him to the lab for some blood work to make sure he was ok. We have been keeping him next to windows for some indirect sunlight to help with it.
He is a pretty good baby. He sleeps during the day a whole lot, and a little at night. He like most babies, prefers to be held most of the time. He is much different than Bella was. She cried and cried, and it didn't matter if you held her or not, she would still cry. He is not a crier, he will fuss until you pick him up, but does not cry the ear piercing scream that she did. Eric and I have done a pretty good job of taking care of both kids as a team. He wakes up with Bella in the morning at about 8, and lets Julian and I sleep since I am up with him throughout the night. During the day, one of us is playing with Bella while the other is with Julian. If he is sleeping, we are both with Bella playing. Speaking of Bella, we could not be more pleased with how she is doing with the new baby. SHe has not had ONE single jealousy fit (yet) and is so helpful. If he is crying she gets upset and runs over to him and says "it's ok baby, don't cry". It's super sweet. He was sitting in his chair and Bella went over to him, gave him a kiss, and said "I love you Julian". Oh MAN, did I tear up, it was the sweetest thing Ive ever heard. I looked at Eric, he too had tears in his eyes (shhh dont tell him I said that). It was so sweet. We are so proud of how she is taking all of this, she is one special little girl. We know she will grow to be such a great big sister. It is so nice to see the bond that they already share. This week has been a crazy adventure and we are looking forward to things being a little more organized in time. I love my family so much! Well Im off to take Julian for his follow up weight check, here are some photos of his first week home..

Julian's arrival

2010-06-27T10:30:00.018-07:00

As explained in our last blog, Sunday was the day I would be induced. I was up all night waiting for the call. I called the hospital early in the morning and they explained that the hospital was full and that I was the only one on the list and they'd call me as soon as they had room for me. We waited anxiously all day before the call finally came at about 5:30 pm. Eric and I said goodbye to Bella and rushed out of here in 3 minutes and headed on our way to the hospital. During the car ride, I just kept thinking I can't believe I am going to have another baby!
By the time we checked in, took my vitals, etc, it was 7:30. Now it was time to get the party started! They started me on Patocin to induce labor a little after 7:30 pm. I started to feel contractions about an hour later. My friends and family started to show up and sat in the room with me as I started to feel contractions stronger and closer together. I opted to get the epidural and it did help a lot. In a matter of 4 hours,I had dilated to 9 cm. I could not believe how fast I was dilating. I could however still feel contractions on one side of my body, but they were manageable. By 12:45, it was time to start pushing. Dr. Schwartz came in to the delivery room and was ready to get things going. I had a lot of people in the room with me (Eric, my mom, my sister, my Dad, Jammie, Jen, Becky, Marissa,and Amy).I have some really great people in my life that wanted to share the awesome experience with us. Dr. Schwartz was kind enough to allow them to stay. Now to the pushing.... I pushed 3 times and everyone could see Julian's head coming through. Dr. Schwartz asked that I push super hard one last time and I should have a baby. She was right! We had decided on the name Julian many months ago and on the middle name Joseph after my Grandfather passed away in November. So...Julian Joseph Hoover was born at 1:13 a.m. at 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/4 inches long.I was instantly in love the minute the nurse put Julian on my tummy to see. I was so much more aware and less exhausted than I was with Bella so I was able to enjoy the moment more.
I was so excited to have such an easy labor and deliever. However, the easiness stopped there. For the next few hours, I was losing a lot of blood, I was hemorraging. Apparently my uterus does not contract after birth, just like after I had Bella. The Dr. gave me shots, meds, belly rubs, and 2 terribly painful procedures to finally get the bleeding to subside. The following day, things were good and I was feeling so much better. However, my hemoglobin levels were low because of the blood loss, so the Dr. ordered I stay another night and have iron put in my IV. At this poing, Eric and I just wanted to get the heck out of the hospital and get our baby home. Finally, my Dr. released us Wednesday afternoon. We were so lucky and thankful that my sister and Steve (nino and Nina) were able to stay with Isabella to take care of her while we were in the hospital, we're not sure what we would've done otherwise.
We are so thankful for our baby boy. We look forward to being parents to him and to sharing many adventures together as a family of 4 :) WE love you Julian!

JULIAN WITH AUNTIE JAMMIE

JULIAN WITH HIS AUNTIES JEN AND AMY

JULIAN MEETING HIS NINA

JULIAN MEETING HIS NINO FOR THE 1ST TIME

JULIAN MEETING HIS TATA

ON OUR WAY HOME FROM HOSPITAL

39 week appointment

2010-06-19T21:35:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was my 39 week check up. I was dialated a little over 3 cm and 75 % effaced, so coming along. My blood pressure was the same as last week at 125/85 which is a little elevated, but not worrisome. There was also a trace of protein in my urine which is another sign of pre eclampsia. The Dr. said that it was up to me whether or not to be induced. I decided I would like to be induced given the fact that my blood pressure while not scary, I still thought the best decision was to get induced. I do not want to go through what I went through with Bella due to high blood pressure. Another factor was that 2 weeks ago he measured over 8 lbs and I don't want him getting any bigger risking a chance for c-section. Plus,My family from San Diego is in town for the big day and it would be great for him to arrive this weekend. Dr Schwartz said Sunday would be the best day to be induced as it is usually slower at the hospital on Sundays. My Dr. called the hospital and thankfully , I am the 1st one on this list. This means anytime after midnight I will get a call from the hospital telling us that they are ready for me and a bed is ready. Right now, I am sitting on the couch with my family , and we are all anxiously now awaiting the call. It is now 10 minutes until 10 pm, and I am a nervous wreck! I think it is because I had such a horrible delivery experience last time and I don't want to go through that again. Plus, there is always anxiety for Mommy's wanting their unborn child to be healthy. SO as I sit here with my family waiting for the call, so many emotions run through my head. I am worried about my lil man being healthy, anxious for the delivery, scared, and even a little sad that I will be without Bella for a few days. She has been soooo very moody this week and I am predicting she knows something different is going on. SHe has also just turned 2 so that has a huge part of it, but nonetheless she has been driving me crazy. Saying our prayers tonight and saying goodbye to her made me very sad but I know she will be in good hands. She has been sick all week so we will not be letting her visit the hospital which makes me sad. So wish me luck and I am closing this blog with a prayer:
Heavenly Father:
Please get our baby Julian here safely without any complications and allow him to be healthy. I ask that you help me to be calm and strong during labor to bring Julian in this world. Please keep Eric, our family, and friends strong as I will need their strength to keep me going. I am so grateful for the blessings you have given me in my life, for I know I am truly blessed with a great daughter, husband, family, friends, and soon to be son. Please help Bella to recover from her illness fast and keep a watchful eye on her while we are gone. I love you so much, In your name I pray, Amen.

Here is the last picture of me pregnant at 39 weeks :) My next post will be about my labor and pictures of my baby!

My 30th Birthday

2010-06-19T21:08:00.008-07:00

Being 38 weeks pregnant, of course I did not want a big party or anything big. I figured we could have a big celebration where I can actually enjoy it and have beer and enjoy myself. Eric was off for the day so him and Bella made me breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon. It was super yummy. Bella came in my room and yelled "Happy Birthday Mommy" about 30 times. It was super sweet. We ate breakfast together and I opened my gift. We then just relaxed the rest of the day and then we all took a nap. It was really nice. Eric insisted we go out to dinner and because I am sooo pregnant, I did not feel like it. I asked if we could just stay home but he insisted we go. That is when I got suspicious. I kind of figured he had set up a dinner with our friends, and that is what happened. Once I got to dinner, I was so excited to see my closest friends and have a fabulous meal. I am so thankful for my family and friends and I had a nice night. Here are photos from the night..

38 week appointment

2010-06-12T08:44:00.006-07:00

Yesterday was my 38 week check up. Eric and Bella decided to join me. It ended up being a 2.5 hour appointment! My blood pressure was a little elevated at 128/86, normal is 120/80. However, I had no protein in my urine so that's good, as that is a sign of pre eclampsia. Next the Dr. wanted to listen to his heart. As usual, as soon as they put the doppler on, he goes crazy wild and his heart rate shoots from the 150's to the 170-180's! The Dr was trying to get him to settle down, as she wanted to make sure that he was just reacting to being bothered and not that his heart rate is just super fast. She couldn't get him to settle down so she wanted to put me on a heart monitor. She asked that I drink several cups of water, as dehydration could also bring up his heart rate. After doing that, she hooked me up and he was perfectly still. He was sleeping!! She needed him to be awake so that she could get a baseline heartrate while he was awake since everyone's heart rate is slower while sleeping. After half an hour, he was still sleeping, I drank juice and tried to stir him up but he was sleepy :) Finally after a hour, he had made some movements and the Dr. was happy with the results. His fast heart rate was due to the doppler being pushed on him. I tried explaining to her that he is just very very active and that every ultrasound that Ive had he is moving around crazy and his heart rate always fluctuates according to his movements. However, the Dr. wanted to make sure. Before I left, they checked my pressure again and it was perfect.
I was also dialated 3 cm and 60 % effaced. The Dr. also stripped my membranes to hopefully move the labor along as he is getting so big. She told me if I wanted to, she would induce me at 39 weeks, which is next Saturday. I'm hoping he of course comes out on his own.
Eric and I are finally coming to the realization that we will have a new baby in the house very soon! In a week or less.. ahhhh! HOwever, I am super excited to not be pregnant anymore and get him home :) Updates to come soon.....

The swingset is up!!!

2010-06-12T08:29:00.010-07:00

Because of Eric's week long persistence, Bella's birthday gift is finally up!! Of course he had some help from Nino and Greg, but he did most of it by himself after or before work. I can't believe it's done. He finished it last night and it was a perfect night to get it done because it was so nice out that Bella wanted to go down the slide and use the swings right away! Eric and I just sat and watched her, she was having so much fun! Here are photos of her awesome gift from us and my parents. Daddy's muscles paid off!

Isabella's 2 year check up /Family day

2010-06-10T21:57:00.006-07:00

Daddy was home today with us so we decided to make a "fun" day out of her 2 yr Dr's trip. It has become a habit that when we get to the Dr's office, Bella plays in the playroom, but as soon as they call her name to go in, she screams bloody murder. Isabella is not a big crier, in fact quite the opposite, but she gets petrified to go back there that she even shakes :( So Daddy came with us as I need the extra hands.She has learned that at the Dr's office she gets shots so she has learned to hate it.
Bella and I started the day by waking up and letting Daddy sleep in since he's let me sleep in the last few days. She helped me make pancakes. She loves to sit on the counter and pour and stir. Her and I had blueberry pancakes and make banana pancakes for Daddy. Yum!! Then off to the Dr. we went. As always, she was fine when we got there but as soon as we went back she started screaming "NOOOO DR., I don't want it!!" It was kind of funny but sad at the same time. Our Dr. did the usual rundown of a million questions regarding her language, sleep pattern, eating, etc. She informed me to give her less juice if I can and more water. Bella does drink water all day at the sitter and does for us too, but I usually add just a little juice but the Dr. said to give her less. We talked about her temper tantrums that she occasionally has and the Dr. told us that we are doing the right thing with her. Ahhh 2 year olds :) She also said we should get going on the potty training, especially since she has been interested since she was 18 months. So, now that I am home for the summer, that's my next goal. She said Bella may not want to right away being that there will be a new baby in the house but to just take her lead.We'll see how that goes. She wasn't able to ask Bella a whole lot of questions as she was screaming but she heard her saying "no Doctor and I dont want it" so she said she wasn't concerned about her talking :) Bella also started telling Eric all the numbers on the wall and the Dr. was pretty happy about that. She said Bella was a little drama, haaaa NOOOO not at all!
Here are her stats today:
height: 36.1 inches and is above the 95th percentile
weight: 28.9 lbs. and is in the 75th percentile

She has grown so tall and getting so thin. At the age of 2 Bella loves: all fruit, helping cook and clean, all books and puzzles, doing letters and numbers(this is by far her favorite), playing outside in her sand box, swimming, playing soccer with Daddy, snuggling with Mommy,singing Bob Marley (especially "dont worry about a thing"), anything that has to do with Dora, playing with Sadie (brushing her hair, or asking her to do puzzles with her ), going on walks, hanging with Nino and Nannie, playing with other kids (she is very social ), going to ladies night with Mommy, having playdates with Guiliana, and so much more. These are just a few of her favorite things that I can think of .
She knows and recognizes all her numbers and letters, can count to 10 in spanish, counts to 20 in English, knows the sounds of about 10 of the letters, knows the shapes circle, square, diamond, triangle.
She is talking so much. She has just recently started saying longer and longer utterances. Sometimes Eric and I are shocked by how many words she can put together. She's definitely a talker. What makes me most proud of her is that she is so sweet. She reminds us to say Grace before dinner, and prayers at night. She kneels for prayers and always says "Amen" all on her own, If I am upset, she asks why Im sad, If I stub my toe, she will kiss my foot, if we sneeze, she says "bless you ___", she shares so nicely with other kids, she tells everyone "thank you" and will use their name after saying thank you", she says "youre welcome" if you tell her thank you. She has such a sweet nature about her, yet is still very strong willed and can be a stinker. Eric says these qualities are definitely from her Mommy :)

So after her Dr. apt, we went and had a yummy lunch. Then we went to the pool for some swimming. I did some exercises hoping that this baby would come out soon :)She put on her new floaties and played in the water. When we got home at about 4:30, Bella asked to go Mi-Mi (night night). She often asks late in the day to lie down but does not sleep, but this time she did fall asleep. I let her sleep while I made dinner. Then Nino came over so that the boys could try and finish up her swingset. Bella and I sat outside with the misters on under the gazebo and ate popsicles watching the boys. It was a fabulous perfect day together as a family and these are the kinds of days I will forever cherish.

37 week appointment/ultrasound

2010-06-06T09:58:00.002-07:00

Friday was my 37 week appointment. My blood pressure was good, however there was a trace of protein in my urine (which could be a sign of pre eclampsia or other factors such as my diet or dehydration). So the nurse ordered blood work and we will see how it turns out. Im not too worried as my blood pressure was fine. I actually lost 3 pounds last week, which puts me back at 8 lbs total. If you see me, I look like I swallowed a bowling ball, so not quite sure how it's only been 8 pounds. I was still at 2 cm dialated. I still measured one week ahead of time so the Dr. was really interested in me having an ultrasound and seeing just how big my baby boy is. So after some lunch, I headed to the ultrasound. Well, again Julian was not good at cooperating. At this ultrasound they want to measure his tummy,head, legs, arms, etc to get a good feel for how big he is. His face continues to be presses against the placenta which made it really hard to see his face and measure his head. He is so very active that every time they tried to get a measurement, he would move. 2 technicians had to try, and then finally the Dr. I was so uncomfortable, as lying on back for a hour is not comfortable when you have a huge baby in your tummy. Anyway, after over a hour, they were able to get a few measurements. I saw his kidneys, bladder, heart, his hair, etc. It was so fun to see. The techs could not believe how active he is, especially since he doesn't have much room left in there.After his measurements, they predicted him at 8 lbs! I can not believe it! No wonder I am so uncomfortable and in pain. I have a big boy in my tummy! He was in 95th percentile for length and weight. Oh goodness that left me very scared! I want him to come out soon because he is only getting bigger the more time that passes :) What's more important is that he definitely looks healthy and he is quite active. I was unable to get any still photos or the dvd that the company offers of your ultrasound because he was so active. Ahh my lil man gives his Mommy trouble already. I feel such a bond with Julian, especially since he is so active and I can feel him moving at all times throughout the day. We are anxiously anticipating his arrival. Im hoping before my birthday which is a week from Monday, but not sure. I despise being pregnant in this awful heat so I am hoping sooner rather than later :)

Bella's Birthday Party

2010-06-06T09:00:00.021-07:00

Eric and I have been planning Isabella's 2nd Birthday for months. We had originally planned on having a jumpy. However, we then decided since it was going to be hot, we would get a blow up waterslide. It ended up being such a hit. The waterslide had a pool attached at the bottom. It was so cool! We also had a snow cone machine! The party was Dora themed since that is now Bella's favorite. We had pizza, fruit, and some munchies.We also had a Dora pinata, which Bella was super excited about.
What was supposed to be a small gathering, ended up being a party with 40 adults and 10 children! Isabella is so blessed to have so many people who love her, and Eric and I feel so lucky to have such great friends and family. We love you Isabella ROse,Happy 2nd Birthday!

COUSIN GIO

THE SNOW CONE IS VERY COLD!~

ME AND JAME-36 WEEKS PREGGO

DEB & DELIA

COUSIN ADRINA

THE GIRLS WERE WIPED AFTER LOTS OF FUN

Bella's 2nd Birthday

2010-06-03T20:28:00.013-07:00

Isabella's 2nd Birthday was Friday May 28th. To celebrate, my Dad and Rhonda came to Phoenix to help us celebrate. We started the morning off with breakfast and then she opened up some of her little gifts. She has a big gift from them, Eric and I, and my Mom coming so we just bought her some small gifts. Her big gift is a swingset/playground for the backyard. This is what it looks like, and we can't wait to see her face when she gets to see it!

She was so excited to open the presents she had in front of her. She got some clothes, Dora pajamas, Dora backpack, and a beautiful book they had made for her. I ran some errands and let them spend some time with her. It was then time for lunch. At lunch is where she got her 1st Happy Birthday song sung to her. She was soooo happy and tried to act like she was shy. It was super cute. After lunch, we headed to use Aunty Megan's pool. We love it there because they have a kiddie pool, a water play area, and an awesome adult pool. Tata played with her in the water while I did some exercises.It's been a long time since she was in the water, and she loved it! After the pool, we came home for naps. We had her favorite pizza for dinner and then Auntie Jen and Nino came over for cake and ice cream and more gifts. It was a perfect day, she was so happy, and she is so blessed to have so many people who love her. Most of all, Eric and I love our baby girl so very much. She has become the center of our world, and always will be. I say it all the time, but she makes us so happy and we can't imagine our life without her. We love you Bella, happy 2nd Birthday! Here are photos from her fun day.....

35 weeks

2010-05-26T14:22:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was my 35/36 week appointment. I was of course nervous about my blood pressure, as this was the time that I experienced preeclampsia when I was pregnant with Bella. However, it was good :) I gained another pound (11 total). I measured a week ahead of schedule again, so my Dr. ordered an ultrasound for next week to see how big he is and get a better estimate of when I am going to have him. I am dialated 2 cm and 50 % effaced already! Yikes! We are so not ready for him to come yet. Things have been so busy with all the parties going on lately and plus I am still working. Oh and then there's the fact that I have a toddler at home to take care of :) I start going to the Dr. every week now so I should get a better idea when Julian will be here. I am so nervous now that I am dialated because I have a busy next weeks. It's Bella's 2nd Birthday this weekend and it's going to of course be a big affair. I need my little man to hold on for another 2 weeks or so. I will keep you all updated.....

Isabella's 2 yr photos

2010-05-23T17:33:00.019-07:00

On Saturday, we had Bella's 2 year photos done at the beautiful Anthem park. We used a friend of mine who I used to work with that takes beautiful pictures. The day was beautiful and had a slight breeze so Bella's hair would blow in the wind. After the shoot, we rode the train at the park. It was lots of fun! I could not be more happy with the way her photos came out. I should say that Eric and I did not plan on being in any of the photos, however Tara got some candids of Eric and her that are so beautiful they made me cry. Here are my favorites...

Mine and Bella's Mommy-child horoscope

2010-05-15T19:05:00.002-07:00

So I came across this horoscope for Mommy's and children. I can't believe how spot on it is. From my horoscope saying I am the "teacher" of the zodiac, to Bella's love of books and her being a chatterbox. The funny thing is if Julian comes by June 21st, he will also be a Gemini.

MOM'S HOROSCOPE-GEMINI

May 21-June 21As the natural teachers of the Zodiac, Gemini moms can give their little ones a leg up on learning by reading to them early and often. Your mind is sharp and it's likely that you were well prepared for baby's arrival, probably having read and digested every parenting book ever written before your kid was born. Your sense of humor and light-hearted approach to life help bring a sense of entertainment and adventure to your home, and make you a natural at fun, creative play. To be at your best, you'll want some playtime for yourself, too, away from baby, so remember to do something challenging with that brain of yours every once in a while -- take a class, host a book club, or catch a movie with friends. Don't feel guilty; appreciate that all Geminis need some fun time for a balanced life. And resist the urge to fall prey to mommy-competition by, um, embellishing your baby's latest accomplishments -- he's doing just fine developing at his own pace.

BABY HOROSCOPE-GEMINI

Your baby is blessed with a quick, engaged mind and needs constant stimulation. Read to her several times a day, and make sure you have lots of little objects (rattles, squishy toys) for her to play with. Satisfy her natural curiosity -- and fend off restlessness -- with pop-up toys, puppet shows, storytime at the library, and frequent field trips (such as to the supermarket or a fish store). A true chatterbox, your little one may be the first in her baby group to speak. Even if it sounds like gibberish, pay attention: In her mind, she always has something crucial to say.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-12T14:05:00.008-07:00

For Mother's Day this year, Eric was more excited to go out shopping for my gift since Bella is older and can shop :) I got a dozen roses, balloons, and a beautiful necklace of a Mommy holding a baby. It was so awesome. Bella handed me the flowers and balloon and said "happy Birthday", it was super cute. Eric took me and my Mom and Bella to dinner at Maggiano's (yummm). We had a fabulous dinner and afterwards Bella wanted to play outside in the great weather. She and Nanni love to play follow the leader, and that's what they did. It was a fun Mother's Day!

This past year, I have learned so much about being a Mommy and all the fun things that come with it. Of course, I have also taken on the not so fun things (tantrums, etc) but wouldn't trade it for the world! Isabella is the best little girl I could ask for and so smart. Eric and I are always talking about how lucky we are to have her. Now, we have been blessed again with a boy on the way and I know he will also make me so very happy to be his Mommy. Mommyhood is awesome!

My beautiful necklace

Playing follow the leader

Bella and Delia's playdate

2010-05-09T20:57:00.014-07:00

Last night we had baby Delia over for a few hours. It was super cute to see Bella interact with Delia. She was very interested in "helping" me feed her and play with her. She wanted to keep putting the binky in Delia's mouth (Delia doesn't take binkies) and wanted to keep giving her the bottle. She was cracking me up because she just wanted to play the "Mommy" role to her. At one point, I put Delia on the floor sitting up so that Bella and I could sit with her and play. So Bella ran and got her alphabet flashcards and started showing them to Delia and saying "Delia what letter is this?" At one point, she even said "what letter is this? An "H" , NOOOO it's a "R" ". She would then clap for Delia for getting the right answer :) I was laughing so hard because Delia is only 6 months and Bella took it upon herself to "teach" Delia her letters. She totally gets it from me, I think she's destined to be a teacher or in the working with children field. It was so adorable. Eric and I hope that she will be this way with her brother once he is here. Never did she get jealous or upset when Delia was here and the next morning when she woke up, she wandered around our house saying "Where baby Delia?" I should say Delia is around a lot and they go to the same sitter so she loves loves her and she has definitely taken on the Mommy role with her which I love. She insists on giving her lots of kisses and snuggles and doesn't realize Delia is so small and sometimes hugs a little too hard. She is protective of her and I have a feeling she will be the same with Julian. While Delia was here, we went outside on our porch and Eric and I painted Julian's wooden letters of his name for his room while Bella water painted and Delia watched. Here are photos of our play time with Delia as well as painting photos. Julian's letters are now up :)

33 weeks Preggo

2010-05-09T20:51:00.002-07:00

Friday was my 33 week appointment and I'm happy to report all is well. I gained another 2 lbs, which makes it 10 pounds even. I talked to Dr. about the terrible leg pains I ve been having, but unfortunately there's nothing that I can do that I'm not already doing. Blood pressure good as well as everything else. He only measured 1 week ahead of schedule rather than 2 :) So glad all is well! Only a few more weeks and he will be here.. ahhhh!

33 WEEKS PREGGO

31 WEEK APPOINTMENT

2010-04-27T17:19:00.007-07:00

Friday was my 31 week appointment. As I've said before, I always get nervoUs before appointments because I don't want my blood pressure to be high. It was perfect, and no protein in urine! I gained 2 lbs in 2 weeks which puts me at 8 lbs total! I thought it was 9 lbs, but the Dr. said it was only 8. She encouraged me to keep my gain at 15 lbs or less, and that's what I'm shooting for. Julian is measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule still. Which means, I could have another long baby on my hands :) His heart rate was at 135 and he remains very very active. In fact, his movements can get a little frustrating some days because if I am sitting in a chair and he doesnt like my position, he will kick and kick until I move. He does the same thing at night as well. He has officially become more active than Isabella was in my tummy, which is pretty crazy because she was a non stop mover as well. I am a little nervous that I have weeks to go still and he is only getting bigger, which means more frequent and harder kicks! I am much more tired this go round than with Bella, and he continues to give me some tummy aches with some foods. Overall, things look good and we are getting more anxious for his arrival.

31 WEEKS ALONG...

Julian's co-ed baby shower

2010-04-26T20:23:00.034-07:00

This past Saturday, my best girlfriends, along with my Mom and sister, threw us Hoovers a co-ed shower for baby Julian. It was so much fun! I wanted this shower to be very laid back and not with the traditional games. I also wanted our best guy friends to be there as well. We have so many great friends in our life and half of them are men, so we thought it would be even more special to celebrate with everyone. It was a complete blast! The girl made all the fixings, and all I had to do was make the pulled pork for sandwiches. All the food was amazing and the girls did such a great job with the decorations and making sure I had to do very little.
We also played some fun games. The 1st was "How well do you know the Hoovers?" It was so funny to see how our closest friends and family answered the 20 questions related to us. The 2nd game was the bottle drinking game. All the men had 4 oz of beer to drink from a baby bottle. It was hilarious! They all looked so funny! I really can't thank our best friends enough for doing what they did for Eric and I, we are so blessed with the best friends in the world.Isabella was such a good girl, especially since there was almost 40 people in our house. I think she really loved all the attention from everybody. It's never happened that she has her grandparents, Godparents, and all her "aunts" and "uncles" all together in one house. SHe was loving it, as did we.
My sister and Dad were here from San Diego which was also awesome. Everyone is so excited to have a boy in our family. As far as gifts, we got the crib, stroller, car seat, bed set, clothes, some very special homemade gifts, and more. Baby Julian is already spoiled. Eric and Nino Steve painted Julian's room the next day, which makes things so much more surreal. I can't wait for him to be here! Here are some pictures from our fun day...

THE SHADOWBOX MADE BY MARYANN

THE AWESOME BASKET FROM TORTORA'S

DIAPER CAKE FROM THE COX'S

28 weeks pregnant

2010-04-06T16:50:00.006-07:00

Today I had my 28 week prenatal appointment as well as my glucose test to test for gestational diabetes. I am measuring a few days ahead of schedule, as I did with Bella. I gained one pound since 4 weeks ago (7 lbs total) and blood pressure was great. I am super happy! I have had a pretty good pregnancy but I am having some pretty terrible leg pain. They have been so bad that I wake up almost every night with what feels like a Charley horse. The first night, I woke up at about 3:15 wanting to scream it hurt so bad. Eric had just left for work and I was freaking out! I got up and walked around the house with Sadie and tried to get the pain to stop. After about 10 minutes, the pain finally subsided. However, every night for the past 2 weeks, I wake up at least once with some sort of leg pain. I talked to the nurse about it today, she suggested more calcium and to stretch before bed. Ahhh the joys of pregnancy :) I also have more stomach issues with this little guy. If I eat something spicy or too greasy, I will get acid indigestion which I did not get with Bella. My baby girl liked all the yummy foods :) Overall, I can't complain, I'm doing okay and have officially hit the 3rd trimester so the end is in sight. I was talking to a girl at work today and we were talking about how I obviously know I'm pregnant, but it still hasn't hit me that I will have a newborn baby at home and how different things will be. I am excited for Bella to have a brother, excited to take part in the journey of having a son, and of course to add another member to our family. I love being a Mom and can't wait to have 2 kiddos calling me "Mommy".

28 WEEKS PREGGO

Easter Sunday 2010

2010-04-06T16:10:00.028-07:00

This year Eric FINALLY had Easter day off. We started the festivities off with giving Bella her Easter basket from us, aka the Easter bunny :) We made the entire basket Dora themed complete with a talking Dora doll, Dora water painting book, a Dora potty chair, a Dora puzzle, a Dora book, a Dora placemat for the table, and of course some candy. She loved it! I attached a video of her opening it up. After breakfast, we all got dressed to head to Chandler to meet Grandpa and Grandma Hoover, Great Grandma Ruth, and more family for a fun day at the park. It was an awesome park with a water pod, a train, a lake, and a huge playground. Bella played with Daddy and Grandpa at the playground and had a great time. We had a yummy meal of ham, salads, fruit, etc. Bella got a basket from Grandma and Grandpa and also from Great Grandma. Bella napped in the car ride home and by the time we got home, it was time for more Easter festivities. Nani, Nino, The Cox family, Gail, and Megan joined us for Easter dinner. We had another huge spread of yummy food. Bella got another basket from Nino, Nani,and Gail full of clothes, Dora kite, sidewalk chalk, etc. That girl was spoiled rotten ! We also had our annual Easter "lottery ticket hunt" put on by Nani for the adults. It was a great Easter and we felt so blessed to spend it with those we love so much.