Free Day!

Isabelle and Sophia sing a lovely Starbuck's song
everyone loves free cone day!

mmmm, vanilla, her favorite!

Leo looks away in disdain because he is not allowed ice cream

Yesterday was a double whammy for free stuff! First Starbuck's, a real favorite of Sophia and me, was giving away free sweets with the purchase of a beverage. It was a promotion to showcase their new sweets in which they don't include any more gross stuff like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Now, anyone in a 20 mile radius has heard my speech on HFCS, as I think it is evil incarnate and I refuse to buy products that are manufactured with the stuff. So, I was more than happy to support such a cause with a beverage I probably would have purchased anyway! ;) Sophia enjoyed her free pumpkin loaf and some singing with Isabelle. It was a perfect day to sit outside and enjoy our treats.

Our second stop was Ben and Jerry's as it was Free Cone Day. Now really, who can pass that up?! Not us for sure! Sophia's top choice was vanilla, as always, but I must admit that B&J has one of the best vanillas I've ever tasted! I went with a very delicious, although out of season, pumpkin cheesecake. And since we're on the subject, B&J also use only all natural ingredients like real milk and cream and real sugar, none of that HFCS for them! I must say that you really can taste the difference between ice cream that is made with good stuff and ice cream that is made with junk. I'm kind of an ice cream snob, I think!

Finally, the day was so super nice that we ended it with lots of playtime outside. Our backyard is a bit of a swamp so I opted to stay on the driveway where Snoopy got the ride of his life and Sophia and Leo enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine!

Are you sure she's a safe driver??

wheeeeeeeeee...that was pretty fun after all!

Sophia is getting so good at peddling! She is really making progress and once we have a string of nicer days I know she'll start to really rock out!

chillin' like a villain

such a good helper for mommy

hey mom!

Happy Birthday, Papa Leo!

a rare photo opportunity with Uncle Jim

Leo is giving Aunt Chris all the facts

The girls had a great time together even though Julie and Sophia are being monkeys! I should expect nothing less! ;)

Aunt Cathy rocks!

2 Leos and a Charlie

HONK!

Papa Leo had lots of little helpers with his candles!

We all helped Leo celebrate his birthday this weekend! We met for dinner at Tanner's, his request, and went back to Anne's for cake and ice cream. A good time was had by all and I think his best present was to have all his kids in one room for his special day!

Leo and the Beanstalk

So, don't even start with me about the possible food issues I'm creating while I stuff my child during his slumber! Ack! I'm creating an eating disorder, I just know it! He gets so darn tired by the end of the day and just the thought of food makes him mellow out and fall asleep, it's the boob effect by spoon! Anyway, I can't NOT feed him b/c then he won't sleep through the night, so I'm picking my battles early and I choose eating disorder. The other video I didn't publish shows me giving him beans for the first time and he sort of opens his eyes at the different taste and then goes right back to sleep!

This was just too sweet not to share. They are both so in love with each other! Leo is absolutely mesmerized by his sister and will sometimes refuse to eat because he's just watching her move about (and move about she does!).

Happy Birthday, Massimo!

Massimo, the birthday boy! He turns 5 this week!

Sophia checking out the zip line

the very careful climber

sliding is super fun!

Jodie, Kelly, Julie (+1), Me

mmmmm, cake!

LOVE this picture!

I'm putting it on their wedding invitation!

Massimo celebrated his birthday in style yesterday! His party was at Jumping Jax, and although I'd never heard of it, Sophia had herself a good time! I had to go on the slides with her a couple times before she felt comfortable enough to do it herself, but then she was off and running! She was also brave enough to do the zip line a few times and she even navigated an inflatable obstacle course where you have to climb a "rock" wall and then slide down...and she did it all on her own! I am really beginning to marvel at how grown up she's getting! I know that climbing an inflatable rock wall isn't some great feat, but every day she's doing more and more things I didn't know she could do and she doesn't even blink an eye! It's so fun to watch!

Disney on Ice

Tiana (Princess and the Frog) waiving to Sophia

admiring Belle's gown

The Little Mermaid doing Under the Sea

Lion King

Tinkerbell is amazing!

silly Tink

Tinkerbell brought Spring

I'm sure it's illegal to post most of these pictures, but oh well. Hopefully The Man won't come down on me, I mean it's not like I'm making any money off of them! We took Sophia to see Disney on Ice this week and boy was it an adventure! We got some really awesome discount passes from our pediatrician last time we were there (I think he was mostly taking pity on us, but I'm okay with that) so we figured why not check it out! This was Sophia's first experience with any type of show. Knowing that she's a bit of scaredy cat, I was nervous, but she did make it through. The first scene was with the Cars characters and she did not like them at all! They made a lot of vrooming noises and there was smoke and fireworks and it just about set her over the edge. She kept saying, "I want to go back upstairs and go home right now!" After them it was The Little Mermaid, and she was much more acceptable! Sophia is beginning her princess phase. (I think it's a combination of the fact that she has some friends who are in it and that she got a set of Princess books from a friend of mine for Christmas. She loves those books. They come in a handy carrying case and she takes them with her a lot places. Incidentally, her favorite princesses are the princesses of color; Mulan, Pocahontas, and Jasmine, I find that interesting!)She continued to be nervous and did continue to want to leave but we made her tough it out. She was having a good time, it's just that she needs quite a bit of time to adjust to things and she had never quite experienced something like this before! Every time something scary came on, like the Sea Witch and the mean lion in Lion King, she began her wanting to go home chant, but resumed to her normal self after those scenes were over. She loved the Tinkerbell finale and overall I think she had a really good time. She enjoyed recounting the details to her grandmothers and uncle. We might even sign her up for another show that comes through town!

The Un-Luck of the Irish

packed in Marsha like a bunch of sardines!

umbrellas are fun!

determined to make the best of it!


will cuddle for warmth

We can't get to the car fast enough!

oh wait...will break for Snoopy!

hot chocolate to warm the soul

I don't know why everyone is complaining, I'm feeling great!

Alas, this year's St. Patrick's day just couldn't live up to last year's...but we always have next year! The weather was fairly dreadful, but we made the best of it! I love Jodie for many reasons, but a big one is the fact that she, like me, is game for anything. If we have an idea we stick with it, for better or worse! Actually, I'm being somewhat dramatic (what, me dramatic??) , it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty chilly and wet. Part of the problem was that we were all under dressed. We layered the kids pretty well, but we thought it was supposed to warm up. It didn't. And it rained. And it was windy. We stayed for a few floats, but in the end it just wasn't worth it. The kids were cold and complaining and we decided to head on home. The highlights for Sophia were as follows...

• the horses: she was way excited each time a horse came by and there were quite a few
• wizard balloon: she has declared herself "the royal wizard" (it came from Barney, need I say more) and there was a giant wizard balloon dressed in green robes and a long white beard. She talked about it until it was all the way down the street and out of sight
• the big potty: a giant toilet shaped balloon...it was a float advertising a local plumber, pretty cute actually
• "dancers": anyone who was part of a marching band or had music playing was a dancer. She kept saying "I want to see more dancers!!" Leo hated the marching bands by the way...the drums were just way too much for him, poor guy! There were also some seriously adorable people dressed up in recycling bin costumes (the theme for the parade this year was "going green") and they did a little dance number and were way cute, she talked about them to daddy a lot too!

The highlights for Leo were as follows:

• being strapped to mommy's chest the whole time: I mean really, who wouldn't love to snuggle mommy all day!?
• every passer by cooing at him: this kid is a giant flirt and enjoyed all the attention!
• lots of movement and bright colors: he enjoyed watching all the floats go by with balloons, bright colors and music
• going home and being warm: his poor little feet were icicles by the time we got back to the car, and he even had on shoes and a blanket! :(
  

I really didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked (so unlike me, I know!) but it was just too darn cold to do that...I was in survival mode! After this weekend, when it's supposed to snow, I'm hoping that spring is really on it's way. We're being teased with temps in the 60s today and tomorrow, c'mon spring! (I think that if I keep ending my posts this way it will eventually happen, right?!)

P.S. Happy birthday to Kathleen whose birthday is on St. Patrick's Day! I miss you and I'm glad the weather in your neck of the woods was beautiful!

Will You Kiss My Ear?

Sigh.


I was really stoked this morning, figuring it was the time change and all, that Sophia slept until almost 9 o'clock. But, she woke up in a funk. I thought it was because I was already downstairs with Leo and she likes to cuddle. About half an hour after she got up, she looked at me all teary eyed and said, Mommy will you kiss my ear, it hurts.


Talk about sad. I immediately dialed the doctor's office and luckily we got in at noon. Both ears are inflamed and have fluid, but the left is much worse. I know it happened b/c Leo gave her his RSV and as I mentioned, ear infections are a common side effect, but seriously, it just is starting to wear me down.


The shining light in today's experience, though, is the fact that I got a $25 gift card to Walgreens for a new prescription, thanks to the nice pharmacist who just gave me a coupon when I didn't have one for myself. (this is the same pharmacist I recently called an idiot, but don't tell him) Three of the four of us are now on antibiotics and we're just keeping our fingers crossed for Charlie.