Cheery Pics

In an effort to provide cheer to myself, I searched the last week's pics and pulled out some of the cuties. Enjoy...!

My little biker dude

duet anyone? They sounded fabulous but Bama was less than thrilled...I wonder why??

What mom? Me climb up on the window sill to pound on the brand new windows...nah!?!

snuggles!

silly me posing for Shelby!

silly Daddy caught in mid speech looking like a lumber jack

Walter sporting the pony or should I say uni?

leaves, leaves, leaves!!!

where's Sophia??

Met My Quota

Okay seriously, this throw up shit is for the birds. I've had enough! I know it's been forever since I've updated and it's all due to sickness and travel and more sickness. Here's the summary...Sophia got sick on Saturday, Charlie went to California on Sunday, Sophia threw up and had a fever (reaching 105 more than once) for 5 solid days. We went to the doctor twice and then Charlie came home. We had a few days of relative peace and residual tiredness from Sophia. Then we did some major renovating of our house (more on that soon) and got packed up to head to Minnesota for Thanksgiving. We had a nice TG, ate lots, visited lots, and...threw up lots. Leo woke up Thursday night puking his little guts out. He threw up 6 times all night long, had a few pajama changes and a bath all in the middle of the night. We headed home yesterday afternoon (a few days before schedule) while I dealt with my own stomach issues huddling in the passenger seat. Thinking we were in the clear because both Leo and I woke up feeling good, we headed out on the town this afternoon to visit Santa and play where Sophia proceeded to projectile vomit all over the mall...I mean everywhere, the upside...at least it wasn't on Santa! Awesome. She has now called her brother's 6 vomits and raised him one and Charlie is just beginning. And this is the beginning for yet another long night for me. I'm sorry for the relative graphic nature of this post, but I'm numb to it now. Hopefully I'll get some cheery posts and pictures soon.

Sick.

sick.

not sick.

Sadly Sophia has quite a bug. I know she's only 3, but she has never been sick like this. My heart just breaks for her. She has had a high fever and vomiting since Sat afternoon and we're still not in the clear. It seems, knock on wood, that the vomiting has finally ceased. Her fever however, is still there. If she isn't fever free tomorrow I guess I'll have to call the nurse...again. We also had our first experience with suppositories...oh the joy. Actually Sophia has really been a trooper about it and strangely I've had more trouble getting her to drink the Pedialyte than I did with the suppository. I mean I do feel bad, that stuff is really gross, but really?? I'm just hoping that Leo does NOT get this. It might break me. Here's hoping that tomorrow is better...! :)

Lookin' Good

My fashionable little man!

a classic Sophia outfit!

she got new Converse that have silver and purple sparkly stars on them, she tested them out in the store and they do indeed make her run faster! ;)

Happy Birthday, Bama!

birthday girl!

Mom got a candy bar as part of her present and here Sophia is saying, "Bama do you think we could share this??"

Aunt Bess, Mom, and Sophia

I love this picture!!

Leo loves to play games with Aunt Bess! She's always ready to sing a song or play peek-a-boo!

Although our waiter was extremely nice, he was not so much in a hurry...here Sophia entertains us while we wait!

Thursday was Mom's birthday. When Sophia asked Bama how old she was, Mom responded with her usual answer, 49. When Shelby tried to balk at this response, Sophia very seriously told Shelby that no, Bama was 49, she said so. Cute. Stacy was working so the rest of us, Charlie, me, Shelby, Sophia, Leo and Aunt Bess all went to Cheesecake Factory, one of her faves! Then Mom, Shelby and I went to see the movie Morning Glory. It was pretty cute but it was just a nice night to celebrate with my mommy.

Play Time

Student Driver

almost at a full out run!

a few sprinkles must mean umbrella time!

Luca didn't want to be left out of the umbrella action!

We've had a few nice days and although we couldn't quite get ourselves together to get to the park, at least the kids played outside for a bit! Sophia loves her umbrella that she got for her birthday and it must stay in the car for her to carry in the store at the slightest chance of rain. When it started sprinkling they had to be protected!

On the Go!

Leo is really on the move now! I am so happy that we are finally entering the walking stage! People always say, with both kids actually, that I'll be unhappy when they walk...I don't understand this theory and am truly boggled as to why it's so pervasive among those "other" parents and grandparents. I mean, hello...he weighs 30 pounds...I don't need to be carrying him anywhere! ;) Additionally, he gets into everything and I mean everything as it is, so making him upright is certainly not going to increase that. We aren't quite to the point where I can hold his hand and he can walk from the car into a store or something, but him walking independently means that time is sooner rather than later. We got him some 'big boy' shoes this week as he was really starting to slip in just his Robeez, which are one of the greatest kid products ever by the way, and it's just so cute to watch him go! Those shoes certainly make him the look the part of a "kid"! :)

Fun Family Fotos!

Charlie and I went to a wedding Saturday night and decided to go really crazy and go out afterwards! Whoa! We met up with Wendy and Chris and some of their friends at... A BAR! Get outta town! It was pretty fun and since we looked so snappy Wendy insisted on taking some "prom" pics! Thanks, Wen...I mean we are pretty cute!

Sunday, Stacy, Cody and Shelby came over to hang and watch the Chief's game. Since we see Cody so infrequently, I feel like we have to take pictures every time! ;) It was a fun afternoon, too bad the Chiefs lost in OT! :(

What a cute Jones Trio!

Getting a Jump Start...

One of our local grocery stores has a 'Holiday Celebration' 2 years running now to showcase new foods, beverages, recipes, etc. that people might want to use for holiday entertaining. At first I thought it was kinda silly, especially since it takes place inside the convention center, but I soon realized just how wrong I was! It's actually a blast and you get a TON of coupons and even more free samples of all kinds of good stuff! Plus this year, the one and only Richard Simmons was making an appearance so I was not going to miss out!

Sophia was beside herself with the sheer size of this chocolate milk and insisted we take her picture! Notice also the snazzy reusable shopping bag that we picked up too!

Leo was so excited to eat this little treat, you can barely see it but it is a mini banana...talk about adorable and the perfect size!

Sophia and Juan pose with the Jelly Belly

(Cari and the boys accompanied us here after the music class)

Again, Juan and Sophia displaying their delicious donut holes on sticks!

I tried to get some good shots of Richard, but I was not about to wait in the ridiculous line, I mean even I have my limits. He was as bubbly as ever in his sequined shirt and short shorts. Plus, he was wearing some thick fashion hose too. Ooh lala! He drew the crowd you would expect and sometimes it's better not to try and get in the way of all that. Most of the pics are a bit blurry, but enjoy the essence of Richard anyway! ;)

After Richard, it was back to taste testing...dessert time!

what a lovely popsicle...I will share it with Brother...

wraaaarwwww...give me popsicle...good!

Seriously she cracks me up, here she force feeds him ice cream...

...but he soon realizes how delicious it is and goes in for himself!

Sophia and the Quick Bunny...Leo was not having giant fuzzy bunnies or giant jelly beans. He's apparently the normal toddler, unlike his sister who literally stalked the bunny throughout the entire hall, and wants nothing to do with these giant creatures. Oddly, she has never been afraid of them, but I don't think he'll follow in those footsteps.

A giant cow seems like as good of a photo-op as any other!

We will definitely return next year, it's just too fun to miss!

Music Class

if Brother would stop dancing and crawling long enough Mom could get a decent shot!

notice the ever-appropriate theme based clothing!

Juan, Cari and Andres

Cari and Leo dance the morning away!

You can't tell but Leo is wearing a musical shirt too! ;)

I've added one more thing to our list of activities...music class! I had heard about a class called Music with Mar from a few people and have been telling myself I'm going to check it out but just never did. Well, last week I heard about a free class just a few miles from home so I loaded up the kiddos and checked it out. Sophia LOVED it! Leo was interested as well and overall it was a great time. Later in the week our friend Cari invited us to yet another free Music with Mar class and I figured I'd test the waters and make sure Sophia was still in love, and she was! ;) She was truly beside herself, so today was our first official class. Our class (it's a franchise so the instructors generally just rent out space wherever) takes place in a local nursing home and it's pretty sweet. All the old ladies just go cuckoo for Leo and they all try and grab him and play with him. I like this idea and it was one of the reasons I decided to go ahead with registering, that and the fact that Sophia didn't stop talking about it and singing the songs! ;) I'll keep you posted but so far so good! We're only going once a week right now but have the option to go as many as 3X/week. With our busy schedule, though, once is just right.

The Dynamic Duo

I couldn't be expected to miss this photo-op with coordinating t-shirts! They are so sweet together. Sophia absolutely loves her little brother and her little brother absolutely idolizes her...I guess that's how it should be. :) Her new favorite thing is to take him into her room, close the door and tell me, "Mom don't worry I have the little one. I'll keep an eye on him." Adorable, really.