Oh the crazy things...

So the kids have been in rare form lately...we just have to laugh. Monday at swim lessons, well before the swim lesson even started I warned the girls to not goof off on the step...so of course they didn't listen and Bella was on the bottom step swinging around the pole. I could see Gabby getting curious and kept thinking about going to the bottom step. A bit later Bella convinces Gabby to jump to her, so of course Gabby jumps to Bella and they both fall off the step. Bella attempts to push Gabby to the step, but then that pushes herself down. I go in just as the girls have gotten to the steps coughing up water...hopefully they will learn their lesson but doubt it.

Then the girls are getting ready for bed and I walk in to give Gabby a kiss just as Joel says "where did you get the water? You can't reach the sink. Did you drink out of the potty?". Gabby lowers her head and shakes it yes. Well I figured Joel had this one and I wasn't kissing her after that, so I went and laid J down while Joel was on disinfectant duty.

The other night Gabby asked where Daddy went. I told her he went to the store to get some beer. She quickly replied that her boyfriend was getting beer too. I asked her how old her boyfriend was and she just giggled. Then last night she walks into the kitchen and announces her boyfriend is in jail. Joel and I looked at each other and said maybe we need to rethink this relationship. She laughed and said he's just in fake jail. Oh we are in trouble.

Jeremiah is all over the place. I'll have to post photos later, but he has more ways to get around. He rolls, army crawls, lungs, spins in a circle, and pushes up on his arms and wiggles his feet. He's getting pretty fast. He is just he happiest guy.

So those are a few of our crazy stories lately.

Jeremiah's 6 month & Bella's 5 year pictures

So I've been a little delayed taking Bella's 5 year pictures, so a few weeks ago we went shopping and she picked out her outfit (being very opinionated), we also had to get the little man a new shirt that was a little bigger since he's now growing into his 18 month clothes. We headed downtown and Bella of course modeled everywhere. Jeremiah fell asleep on the way so he just napped while I took Bella's photos. When we were done he woke up. He was a little sleepy and distracted by the grass, but we got a few shots. When we got home he was all giggles and smiles so I spiked up his hair and got a few more.She looks so grown up and tall in this photo....where has the time gone?

Gabby accepting Jesus

Gabby kept talking about Jesus being in her heart today. On the way home from dinner she asked if Jesus was in all the animals' hearts. Joel said yes, in which she replied "they can't even talk". When I was putting them to bed I asked Gabby if she wanted Jesus in her heart and she said yes. She prayed for God to forgive her sins and to come live in her heart. She was so cute.

Joel Completed Another Half Marathon

Today Joel finished the PF Chang's Half Marathon again. We didn't get to see him running...mainly because we were told to go the wrong way and it took us 40 minutes to get the finish. I don't know which is more exhausting running 13.1 miles or walking a mile with three kids...two on foot. The girls were troopers and Jeremiah had a nice nap until we were all reunited in the family area. The girls keep telling everyone Daddy won the race and got a medal.Bella is student of the week, so Rosie got to go to the race with us.On another note...here are some cute pictures of the kids. The girls just LOVE their brother and he sure does LOVE themJoel was tossing him up last night and he loved it.I finally got a picture of his two bottom teethBella and RosieGabby was playing with her Rapunzel braid yesterday and scratched her eye. She pulled it down and the combs that were attached got her right eye. Papa fixed her up, but she was worried people would make fun of her. We were trying to go to dinner so Joel could get some carbs before the race, so we assured her that Daddy and Mommy wouldn't let anyone be mean to her. She finally agreed to go, but as we were leaving she said we needed to bring the paddle in case anyone needed a whoopin'. No one said anything to her so she was fine.

Moving into 2012...two big steps

I have to say that our little man is on a mission to move. He will push himself backwards, but the past few days he'll do a little froggy, jumping move and get his knees under him...and tonight he got his front end up and started rocking. It is going to be soon and he's not going to stop. I can already see him chasing down his sisters. His second big milestone is that he said "Daddy" today. He said it twice and Joel was there otherwise I would have denied it. Oh he's growing too fast!

Looking back at 2011

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone and we are looking at a new year. Looking back it has been a full year.

Bella accomplished two seasons of soccer and is gearing up for her third in February. She really has enjoyed it and is always hustling. She finished up gymnastics in the fall and in the spring had a gymnastics competition...where she lost her first tooth on the way home. She lost a total of two teeth this year, but has another loose one so I'm sure 2012 will bring the tooth fairy back to our house a few times. Bella started swimming on her own this summer too. In the fall she started a semi-kindergarten program and I can't believe she'll be in big school come August. She loves to write things and asks how to spell everything. She is doing a great job reading us the books she brings home from school. Art is something she practices all the time and she loves her art set from Nana and Papa. She also had her first dance recital and was amazing. The biggest gift this year was her accepting Christ a few weeks ago.

Gabby has just grown into a spitfire. She has a rationale and answer for everything. She is still our comedian. She is getting better at her letters. Tracing dots help and she can almost do a G on her own. She also started gymnastic in the spring and soccer in the fall and loves scoring goals and she might start gymnastics again in the spring, but we'll have to see. She loves being a big sister. In the spring she was in ICU and we hope that she will stay healthy in the upcoming months. So far she has done great with keeping her asthma under control.

Jeremiah will be six months this week. How the time has flown by. He is starting to sit a long time by himself and has discovered how great food is this week. He is an eating machine and still our smiley guy. He has started to giggle at funny noises we make, but right now seems to want to make his own noises.

As work has had a lot of ups and downs this past year I am excited that things seems to be evening out and we have a great staff right now. I am happy that Joel is enjoying his job. He works really hard to provide for our family and I'm glad he has found his niche.

Looking ahead this up coming year Joel is hoping to run the half marathon in January and a full in San Diego the beginning of June. We are hoping to make it a small 9th anniversary weekend. In May we are planning on heading to Disneyland for Gabby's 4th birthday. Jeremiah will turn 1 in July and Bella will start big school the beginning of August and will turn 6 in October. Our big hope for the year is that we will be in our own house. We will see what God has planned. Happy New Year.

Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone...almost as hard to believe that Jeremiah is almost 6 months. We had a fun and relaxing Christmas. I didn't get out of my pjs until it was time to go to the Zoo Lights.We went to Christmas Eve Service at 1 and then came home with an attempt to have the girls sleep; however, naps never happened. We headed over to my parents and had enchiladas and buckeyes. Joel and Jeremiah were so handsome in their matching hats.Let's just say that Jeremiah was more into the noise the paper made than the presents. We got home around 8 and put out cookies for Santa, apples for the reindeer and the girls letters to Santa.In the morning they were excited to see that Santa brought bikes for both of them and a bouncy for Jeremiah.At the end of opening presents our family room was a mess of boxes and toys.The girls went outside with Joel to ride their new bikesGabby put "Baby Jesse" (or baby Aurora) in her basket and rode around.That night we went to zoo lights. In the past going Christmas night was the perfect time because it was empty. Apparently the word has spread and it was pretty packed. We still had a great time looking at all the lights.