What's wrong with me?!

Our family has done so many fun things lately, but I keep forgetting my camera! I don't usually like to blog without pictures because I figure that's what everyone wants to see. I've decided to just go through my old photos and choose some of my favorites. Enjoy!


MaryEllen as a newborn. I love Brian's face in the first picture... I think every new parent knows exactly how he was feeling. She was only 2 days old in the second picture and you could already see how wise she was.





MaryEllen was 2 here. Some of my favorite pictures ever. Everything was just perfect that day.


Graduation day! We were so proud of Daddy!


Brand new Henry. I can't believe we'll have another little guy soon!

That's all for now. Maybe I'll pick it up from here later on.

A tribute to Pacifiers gone by...

Henry is no longer a "phi- phi" boy. (That's what we call his pacifiers. I don't really know why.) I abruptly decided last Monday that I was sick of them and I didn't want him to have them anymore! I tried the "cut- off the tip" trick that many people have suggested, and trimmed each of them while he was eating his snack. The point I guess is to make it more difficult to suck on, then they will eventually give up and be over the pacifier. Henry took one look at his pile of newly trimmed phi-phi's, picked one up and threw it, then threw a huge tantrum. He flat out refused to put one in his mouth! I ended up just throwing the whole pile away and he went cold turkey. It was a brutal 2 days or so, but since then he actually seems to be doing even better than before. He sleeps better at night, calms himself down better, and is generally happier than he was before! Go figure!

So anyway, Here are some of my favorite memories of Henry and his Pacifier(s).

An awesome Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year!

We spent Christmas eve with Brian's family, having a wonderful dinner and presents and even building a gingerbread house. (Of course, I didn't bring my camera.) We also brought Clara home that day. She had a rough time at first, she was basically scared to death of leaving her little crate. But she has warmed up really well to us and is now getting a bit too rambunctious! Time to start training, I guess. She loves being inside and is prone to ear piercing howling when we put her outside. She gets a little better everyday, and hopefully soon she will enjoy playing outside as much as she enjoys being in the house.

Christmas day was fun also. Brian worked a graveyard shift the night before, so we had to wait for him to get home at 7:30 to start presents. The kids were totally cool just scoping out the room for a little while and seeing all the presents under the tree. Henry couldn't stop saying, "Woah!" (anyone who knows Henry knows that it doesn't take a lot to get a woah out of him.)
We all were so pleased with our presents this year, (It's nice not having too tight of a budget) but I was especially spoiled! Brian got me a new set of Paula Deen cookwear AND an 11 cup capacity Quisinart food processor!!!! I don't know what I did this last year to deserve that, but I'm gonna keep on doing it! It was also great in that each of us had exactly the same number of presents to open. We didn't plan it, it just worked out perfectly. A few times around the room and we were done and ready to play with our new toys. Brian went to sleep for a few hours and then we headed off to my family's house.

Our evening there was fun, but ended with a scare. My oldest nephew (5 yrs old) decided to hide when it came time for his family to leave, and because a few of us actually saw him walk out the door, we all assumed the worst. After checking the house a few times, we started running up and down the street screaming his name. Obviously his mom was freaking out. My brother Michael ended up finding him giggling in one of the upstairs closets, and although we were all pretty ticked, we mostly just felt relieved. (No pics from that night either.) After leaving there we went to see the lights on Dovewood Ct in Orangevale. The kids and Clara loved it, even though it was probably 32 degrees out. It was a great way to end our Christmas!


"Oh my gosh Becky, look at that Buche!"
I made the buche de Noel (Yule log) for brian's familiy this year. It is a very delicious european tradition, that I am happy to be a part of.


Santa Came!!!

Waiting for Daddy.




Happy kids with full stockings!!


Clara in her beloved crate.


Daddy loves the batman blu- ray that MaryEllen got him.


Hello Kitty rain boots. The smile says it all.


Henry got the Yo Gabba Gabba guitar he has been dreaming of. Razzle Dazzle!!!!


The aftermath, and Daddy falling asleep amongst it.