Move it! Move it!

Mama Lupe

Who Has it?

Pretty Nana Girl

Michael's Art Review

Big Boy Michael

Congratulations Michael you've been accepted to preschool! Today our big boy was accepted to preschool. Time is going by so quickly it seems like tomorrow he will be going off to college. As excited as we are for Michael, there's a hint of sadness just because he's growing up so quickly.

Best Mistake

Phone Call

Stroll to the Park

Bedtime Routine

Of course parents know routine is key for children especially when it comes to important aspects of their little lives and our sanity depends on it. For example, SLEEP!

Sleep affects our children for the good and for the not so good. Michael can clearly articulate what he's like when he decides to skip his afternoon nap. He comically screams. Today he catnapped in the car which resulted in no afternoon nap. You can only imagine what our afternoon looked like. However, on a positive note, he fell asleep very quickly tonight.

That's why early on we established our nap and bedtime routine.

Nap time:

Lunch

Potty on his toilet and diaper change

Kisses

airplane in bed

nap time

Sweet and simple!

Bedtime is much more elaborate:

Prayers

Brushes Teeth

Diaper change and potty in the toilet

jammies

sleep sack

airplane into bed

kisses his mama Mary statues, baby Jesus, and St. Francis picture

Gives Mama, Dadda, and Nana lots of kisses

Finally, Night-Night

Nana's much for simpler

Diaper change

kisses her statues (This is really cute)

nurse and prayers

Night-Night (She really doesn't like to go to the sleep)

Of course when they go down early, we all have a better day. Thank goodness for routines!

Where did that come from?

Tony and I are constantly asking each other, "Where did he get that from?" So, the other day Tony was repeatedly calling Michael and out of nowhere Michael shouts, "I'm on my way dadda." Tony and I just laughed.

Another day I hurt my finger and Michael sweetly said, "Mama I'm worried about you."

Today Nana was crying and Michael responded, "Nana stopped crying, I want you to be happy." Funny boy! Where does he get these things?

Nana Girl's Signing Continues

Nana Girl is signing! She isn't a performer, so she really makes us work to get her to sign. In this video she is signing "more" and "finished" with a little help from her brother.

Where's Nana?

The Apples of our Eyes

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's!

Love,

Michael & Nana

A Visit with Oma and Nono

A Visit to Oma and Nonno's House

Can you tell our kids are adored by their grandparents?

More pictures to come.

Public Announcement!

Friends! For the past two weeks one of our children or both have been sick. So, I'm declaring a public announcement, as of Monday, February 14, I hereby state that we are all officially healthy. Ok, who wants to schedule the first play date with us?

Conversation

The other day Michael and I had a conversation that went like this:

Michael who taught you to pray?

Dadda?

Who taught Dadda how to pray? (Silence)

I questioned, "His Mama?"

Then I asked,"Who taught Mama how to pray?"

His response, "Her Mama."

Michael's Busy Week ...

This has been one busy week for Michael. Monday he had his first dentist appointment, and Tuesday he was tested for preschool. We can't believe he will be attending preschool in the Fall. Where has time gone?

Tuesday morning we were a bit worried because Michael had gone to bed an hour past his bedtime, and if you know Michael, he needs his sleep. The morning was frightening, screaming, yelling, timeouts, and we even thought about canceling. We even asked Michael whether he wanted to cancel. He vehemently said, "No."

Despite all our fears he did wonderfully! When we arrived he was the perfect gentlemen. We walked over to the yard and Michael ran to play as if he'd been there 1000 times.

After a bit of playing he was tested. Once again he ran into the classroom as if he owned it. The first thing he did was run to a small crucifix and kiss Jesus and then he kissed Mama Mary. His teacher was touched.

He was mostly tested on listening, following directions, and fine motor skills. The teacher commented how careful and orderly Michael completed each task. One task involved pouring water and he was so very careful not to spill. So careful in fact that his teacher spilled a little to show him that it was ok and taught him how to clean up. Once they finished a job, Michael always asked to put it back.

Now we just have to have him completely potty trained before school starts. Since we've started, he regularly uses the potty during his scheduled times. We're making progress.

Dentist Videos

Michael's First Dentist Appointment

Today Michael visited the dentist for the very first time and he did a fantastic job. The dentist staff recommends children to start visiting the dentist when they are 3 but we saw a spot on Michael's tooth that concerned us, so we made an appointment.

The doctor was impressed with Michael's behavior and complimented Michael's manners and said it was nice to hear a child say thank you and look him in the eye. The doctor said since he did so well, he could come back in 6 months for a cleaning. We have a video but we're having some problems so tomorrow I'll try to download some part of it.

Hail Mary for Nina

One Day After Mass

Miss Nana

Miss Nana is our sensitive child. She's sweet, shy, and has the biggest cutest smiles. Tonight I was sharing with Tony that Nana is a girly-girl. She has the cutest way of crossing her ankles. Michael makes her cry about 100 times a day. Not because he's mean, but she's so sensitive.

She's still a mama's girl and usually fusses until she's in my arms, but I know this will change and Tony is looking forward to her becoming a dada's girl. Nana is crawling all over the place and usually has one destination-mama. She crawls wherever she hears my voice.

One day Tony was swinging Michael into the car seat and I noticed Nana intensely watching him. So, I did the same thing to Nana and she loved it! Now when Tony is rough housing Michael, he includes Nana. Of course, very slowly and gently.

We love our sweet girl!

Mr. Michael

Lately Michael's talking up a storm and doing some cute things, too. Here are a few examples:

He dropped his bowl on the floor, pointed to the bowl and said, "Be careful mama don't fall."

Michael passed Nana and said, "Excuse me, Nana."

He also tells us what he likes and doesn't like. "Michael no like that."

Today he took off my glasses and pulled my ponytail. I asked him, "Michael why do you want to hurt mama?" His response, "Mama, Michael no hurt you. I love you."

Ok, so our Christmas tree is still up, but he said, "Michael put angel on top," and "Michael help Mama put ornaments tree."

He's also learning the Hail Mary. So far he knows, "Hail Mary full of the grace, the Lord is with you." It sounds really precious.

He says grace all by himself. He folds his hands and says,"Amen." If an ambulance passes by he folds his hands and prays.

Yesterday we were reading a book where there was a guitar, drums, and key board and on his own he said when Michael is a big man, "Michael play guitar at Jesus house. (Mass)

In addition to all of this, he's saying thank you without being prompted. The other day he said,"Dada thank you for my time out."

Everyday Tony and I just laugh or are surprised by how much he is saying.

MIchael's Spanish

Getting Out

We're looking forward to being healthy again, so we can get out of the house and have some fun!