Pop Songs

The kids love to dance and listen to music. I often hear them ask me to "turn it up!" in the car when they hear a good song.  They also tell me to STOP Singing during basically every song! Ha, I know I'm not good but God gave me a voice and he's gonna hear it! A few times a week we have a dance party.  They can shake it! Katie's dancing usually consists of running and jumping, spinning, swaying her arms back and forth doing some really interpretive dance.  Michael's moves are more robotic with varying speeds and lots of leg extensions and flips on the floor sort of like break dancing.  Right now their favorites are: Centuries by Fall Out Boy, Sugar by Maroon 5, Maps by Maroon 5, Shake it off by Taylor Swift, Chandelier by Sia, and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Update

A while back I did a post about finding Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  They send a book to both kids once a month based on their age.  It has been something the kids have really enjoyed and look forward to every month.  We have gotten some really incredible books and a few have become favorites among the kids. Also about have of the books have won a medal of somekind; Blue Ribbon Selection, The Caldecott Medal, etc.

Here is our collection now:

Madeline  - by: Ludwig Bemelmans (Favorite of Katie)
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush- by: Tomie dePaola
Not your Typical Dragon - by: Dan Bar-el (Favorite of both)
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims - by: B.G. Hennessy
Little Burro - by: Jim Arnosky
The Boy in Number Four - by: Kara Kootstra
The Snowy Day - by: Ezra Jack Keats
One Cool Friend - by: Toni Buzzeo
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain - by: Verna Aardema
The Perfect Present - by: Fiona Roberton
Llama Llama and the bully goat- by Anna Dewdney - (Favorite of both)
Bella's Rules- by: Elissa Haden Guest
Luke Goes to Bat- by: Rachel Isadora
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon- by: Patty Lovell
The little engine that could - by: Watty Piper
The Tale of Peter Rabbit - by: Beatrix Potter
The Story of Ferdinand - by: Munro Leaf
Ladybug Girl and Bingo - by: David Soman
If I build a car - by: Chris Van Dusen (We have read this the most out of all the other books.  It's by far their favorite and they have even taken to drawing up their own car creations.)

Winter Randoms

Here are some random pictures taken over the winter.....

Homemade beef stew with homemade freshly baked bread to warm our bodies during this cold winter.

Scott and I took a 5 week marriage enrichment course.  Very enlightening and it was nice to take some time for ourselves.

This girl could eat an avocado a day!

This is how we do sushi night! YUM!

Some handpicked truffles from Godiva sent to my sister for V-Day.

Katie and Mikey's Valentines Day cards.  It took Katie one morning to write her name on all her cards and it took Mikey about 4 mornings to write his name on his.  He just can't sit still as long as Katie can.....

....because he is busy doing stuff like this.  Saving earth from Zurg!

Birthday party fun with Andrew from karate.

Catching snowflakes!

Making silly faces while Katie is at dance class.

When bored we do face painting and the kids love to play pretend with whatever is on their face.

A glitter glue masterpiece!

More soup.  Can you tell we like hearty root vegetable soups in the fall and winter yet?!

I found these amazing cupcakes made locally in Norwalk.  Just perfect for a special treat.

We purchased a new toy organizer and the kids went to town making a huge mess out of all the packing materials.  Mikey had to get out his own tool set and get to work!

Ash Wednesday and the kids still look sleepy after I dragged them to church early.

Watching Daddy during a board meeting at work that was streaming live on the internet.

We brought the snow inside to play with!

I made some shepard's pie and this girl thought it was so good she licked the plate clean!

Just one of the many Valentine's Day crafts Michael made us.

Katie's heart project from school.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

We had a low key Valentine's Day.  It was exactly what we all wanted. For breakfast Scott took us all out to IHOP.  The kids picked their own breakfast and ate it all!

Chocolate chip pancake for Katie with a silly whipped cream face on it.

A waffle with regular syrup for this guy.

I was still feeling queasy at night so didn't feel like bracing long waits and big crowds to pay for an over priced and semi okay dinner so we grabbed a huge filet tenderloin and fresh lobster from Stew's and made a feast for ourselves at home.  We threw a few candles on the table and the kids drank out of wine glasses and thought it was so fancy.  Eventually our dinner turned into a science experiment as the kids dissected the lobster.  The way they were acting, you'd think they have never seen a lobster before.  It was pretty funny and Scott and I had a good laugh at how our Valentine's Day dinners have evolved over the years....and we are perfectly happy with how we celebrate it now.

Scott was so thoughtful and came home with roses a few days before V-Day so that they would be perfectly bloomed on Feb. 14th.

I love my flowers.

The kids both celebrated Valentine's Day by having parties in their classrooms at school.  Mikey's class was asking for parent volunteers to help at different stations set up during the party.  I jumped right in and offered to take care of providing treats for the kids to decorate because frankly I don't want my kids to just eat crap ( like store bought cookies) and I figured there were other parents out there who like me would appreciate my approach to providing a healthy treat to their little ones.  I ended up making these (black bean cupcakes) and told the kids they were chocolate cupcakes.  No one could tell the difference.  They were moist, fluffy, chocolaty and not overly sweet.  They are high in protein from all the eggs, have no white sugar and no flour.  I made two different 4 ingredient frostings for the kids to pipe onto the cupcakes....a vanilla and/or strawberry flavor.  After adding a dash of Valentine's sprinkles to the top they were all ready to be eaten.  I also made two batches of rice crispy treats for the kids to decorate in case they didn't like chocolate cupcakes.  No need to worry about your child having a sugar crash from these puppies.  I even had enough batter to make 3 bigger cupcakes and made sure Scott tasted it.  It completely baffled him that they were made with black beans and has even requested I make these for his birthday.  I followed the recipe but added 2 tbsp of cocoa to make them a strong chocolate flavor and added about half of the honey it called for.  Please try them!!!

Mini cupcakes cooling for tomorrows party at school.

Don't they look like your normal flour cupcakes?!  These are definitely deceiving.

I was in charge of the treat decorating station.  I was given 3 kids at a time and between deciding what they wanted, helping them pipe the frosting on and making sure they didn't dump a whole container of sprinkles on top it was plenty of action for me.  I barely got in one picture of Bly and Savannah.  Phew.  The kids did this so fast and I had lots left over that we ended up having a second round of treat decorating.  I was exhausted after this!!!

Katie checking out her loot.

Mikey got lots of valentines too.  I appreciate those that didn't hand out candy.

Sucking on her Mickey lollipop.

It's a GIRL!!!

My doctor prescribed an early ultrasound since I technically have to see a specialist while being pregnant with Crohn's disease.  I haven't had any complications whatsoever with my other two pregnancies but just to be on the safe side I take my doctors advice.

The kids came with us to Greenwich Hospital where we are planning on having the baby to the neonatology department inside of the birthing wing and they held a constant dialogue consisting of many questions the entire time we were there.  It was pretty cute and the hospital workers got a kick out of some of the things they knew and some of the things they were asking.

This experience was a bit different than my previous ultrasounds with Michael and Katie.  It's quite amazing how technology can change in just a few years.  I remember when I had Mikey, we didn't even know what 3D ultrasound was.  He was just a blurry image with no dimension at all.  Once Katie was growing in my belly the technician gave us the option of a 3D ultrasound but at a hefty price.  As long as our baby was healthy we opted not to spend the extra money on that. 

This go round was amazing.  We were actually able to see our baby at 13 weeks and 6 days in regular 2D ultrasound form but also 4D.  I know....I had no idea that existed.  It's just like 3D except you can see the baby in video form, not just still pictures.  We could see her moving her hands and legs, flipping from one side to the other and even doing a complete 180 degrees in my stomach.  We left with lots of pictures and knowing that we were having another girl!  We were just in disbelief that they could tell that early what we were having by ultrasound.  The technician pointed out these 3 little lines that pointed down that signified that she would be a girl and tiny specks that will become her ovaries.  The specialist confirmed everything.  The kids counted 10 fingers and 10 toes and also saw many of her internal organs already visible and growing.  We also all hear her heartbeat with is such a lovely sound. The doctor was also able to determine based on the thickness of her spinal cord that she will not have down syndrome. It's just incredible that they have all these advances in medicine and science.  At this stage she was 5 inches long and a mere 3 oz.  Just the right size for where I am in my pregnancy.

We are already picturing what she will look like and are so thankful for another healthy baby.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.  Papa and Nana have already dubbed her "Sleeping Beauty."

Sending Michael a message!

Katie got a message from the baby too!

Baby M at 13 weeks 6 days.

Busy developing.

Covering her face.

Another photo.

We're having another baby!!!!

After many many discussions, we decided we weren't quite done growing our family.  For years we casually mentioned that someone was missing from the picture.  I myself, could almost picture that person.  It was oddly strange that their presence could be so tangibly felt and yet they weren't here.

We prayed about it and one day had our answer.  God blessed us with another baby.

Here is the baby on Dec. 31st at 8 weeks.  Looking like a blob.

A somewhat better picture where the baby looks like a bean at 8 weeks.

Personal Trainer in the making

It has been a very cold winter so far....emphasis on very cold!  We have had many record breaking lows at night and other nights with near record breaking lows.  Although we haven't had as much snow this year as last year it has been sticking around for much longer with the low temps.

Since I have gotten the go ahead to start working out again and exercising the kids have been seeing me do a lot of pregnancy videos and lifting weights.  They get in on the action whenever they can.  They usually have races or as Katie says "I'm running 10 marathons" around our dining room table each night.  Hoping the temperatures warm up soon so they can start running around outside again!  So for the moment we are making do by getting our energy out inside!

Lifting weights.

Showing us how it's done!

Time for a little yoga and stretching!

Growth Spurt

Remember back when Mikey had his 5 year check up and he had gained a little more than 1.5 lbs. over the past year?  Our doctor suggested that we needed to fatten him up as kids typically gain between 2 and 5 lbs. a year.  Well we went back for our follow up a few months later and he got some stellar reviews.

Essentially, if I had just waited two more weeks for his check up all would have been fine.  Literally the week following his annual check up he hit a growth spurt and was eating round the clock and sleeping great.  I swear this growth spurt caused him to gain 2.5 lbs. and grow another 2 inches!  We were checking his weight regularly and I know he hasn't really gained any new weight between his growth spurt and when we went back to see the doctor 2 months later.

So his new stats are as follows - 37.5 lbs and 42 inches tall.  Putting him in the 25% for both categories.

Super Bowl Spectacular

We had so much fun at at superbowl party we were invited to.  The kids all played together nicely, the food was excellent and abundant and everyone enjoyed the drinks, even me and the nonalcoholic options.

The highlight of the evening was the half time show.  My kids were absolutely mesmeized for the entire show.  I don't even think Katie blinked.  She sure does love Katy Perry.

She of course picked the largest cookie that was there.  I don't think she even noticed it was a Seattle cookie.

The boys hooked on football.

The Katy Perry half time show.

"Mom, when will winter be over?"

We have officially had our fair share of snow here in CT.  Over the last few weeks there has been minimal snow fall here and there.  A week or so ago we all prepared for a blizzard which ended up being a big flop (aka: calling for 2 plus feet of snow and we ended up with maybe 3 or 4 inches).  Starting the evening of Super Bowl Sunday, the snow started falling and didn't stop until late Monday.  It brought along with it some freezing rain, sleet and ice.  Yuck.  The kids have been enjoying playing in the snow and going sledding and for walks.  They especially love the hot cocoa I have waiting for them when they come inside.

Katie could honestly stay outside all day.  It's always a battle to get her to come in.  She could care less if she gets snow in her face, in her gloves or boots.  She's one tough girl.  She also loves to play this new game we came up with called "Snowball Baseball."  I make a snowball and throw it to her and she hits it with her pretent bat, aka: arm.

Mikey likes playing in the snow too, but likes it in doses.  He hates getting snow in his gloves and needs to switch gloves immediately when that happens.

Here's some photos of our outings:

The first snow fall of the season happened when we were in PA over thanksgiving.  She made the smallest snowman.

For this photo she said "Smile, Olaf!"

How do they automatically know to make a snow angel?

She did pretty good getting up.

Ready to sled!

Katie throwing snow in Mikey's face.

 I have such great helpers who love cleaning off my car.

Most recent snowfall brought lots of snow and a winter wonderland.

The best part of sledding as a kid is getting dragged back up the hill by a parent.