Our kids

I'm sure this happens to everyone with children... but it is amazing how after almost 3 years of having kids (1 with 2 children) Mario and I still say to each other at least once a day, "Man, our kids our cute." This must have been part of God's plan. I'll quick update a bit about them.

Joey has been 10 months old since December 9th. He is a little behind MJ in terms of walking (who was walking by the end of 9 months). But we anticipated this with his foot thing, which is fine, now. Plus, all kids are different. I've also lost the bet of when he would begin walking, and it looks as though Mario may win. (He always beats me). Joey is quite impressive on the stairs though. Climbing up is easy (still having an adult spotter is a good idea). Mario has taught Joey how to climb down stairs now. It's so cute! I'm bummed b/c I went to catch a video of it the other day and realized the camcorder was on standbye the whole time. Oh well, I'm sure Joey will do it again.

Both boys have really enjoyed have their dad around for the last 2 weeks. Mario took almost all of December as vacation from work since he had so much stored up and left-over that not all of it could be carried over to next year. It has been nice having him around... I feel like I'm on vacation, too. MJ has really taken to the excitement of Christmas this year. He sings at least 3 different Christmas songs, and recognizes and requests several others. He's equally excited about Frosty the Snowman and Santa (not sure why). We had fun sledding the other day when it snowed...did I blog about that? I hope I did... he really attacked that hill with some authority and would climb on up and go down all by himself.
I shall end with an MJ story which I wouldn't wish upon any parent, but I assume it has probably happened or will happen to all parents. MJ was very tired at bedtime tonight, I thought it would be a breeze putting him to bed. I went downstairs to do some work when I heard him leave his room. I guess Mario and I have done a good job of scaring him into staying upstairs b/c even in emergencies such as this one, he just stayed upstairs in the hallway. My mommy radar was off again, but I eventually went up to check on him, and there he was... poop- all over his legs, in both hands, ankles... and a diaper on the floor. He's taken dirty diapers off before to put the waste in the toilet... this kid does not like having diapers at night. But this was just too gross. I think I made my point clear at how disgusting his actions were. He was whisked to the bathroom for a second shower and bath. And after he was all cleaned he suddenly became the sweetest boy and fell asleep immediately. (sigh)

Oh, I guess I should add my cute Joey story... not disgusting at all... but it inspired me to blog. Joey has a cold (the only one in our family with one at the moment). But this one just sounds so bad, especially at night. You hear him cough and can't help but say "Poor, baby." Well, a bit ago he was coughing so much he woke himself up, so I held him while he finished coughing and then he cuddled with me a moment and fell back to sleep. But in our quiet moment, I had a brief realization of the how amazing Joey's life is, and how blessed we are that God gave him to us. I became a Mommy when MJ was born, so that connection is engrained in me. But here is Joey, another little soul, given to me to care for and raise. I really don't spend enough time in awe of him.

Here are a few cute pictures of the boys from our quick trip to Media.

Busy weekends

Quick updates... wow, this is a busy time of year! Dec. 8th was full of Christmas parties, (we were only able to go to 2 of the 3). First, we were so lucky to be invited by Andrea and Andy Staron to visit the White House. We toured the East Wing and Dining Room/Foyer... I should look at the invitation to see more. But it was so awesome. Here are Andrea and I in front of a display of the White House China for each President.

Small picture of us, but here we are by the Presidential Seal and behind us is their main Christmas Tree. After the White House, we went to the Booz Allen Christmas Party. We don't have any pictures from that event b/c our camera isn't working (thank you Starons for letting us use your camera at the White House)

The last Saturday (15th) we drove up to Media, PA to celebrate Dave's 30th b-day. He and Mario were good friends in highschool and Dave was a groomsman in our wedding. The drive was relatively easy, only 3 hours. We just went up for dinner and back that night, so it was quite the whirlwind. The boys were great the whole time... we were in this awesome brewery in cute downtown Media. Joey almost fell asleep in the corner in his carseat, which is impressive for a 10 month old baby, I'd say. Oh, yes, he no longer actually rides in his infant carseat b/c he's just too big for the straps. But I keep it with me, b/c he loves the thing so much and it's an easy portable crib.

Two is company

.... but I don't want to suggest that 3 is a crowd. I realized the other day how life is perhaps easier having 2 kids rather than just 1. The other day, I noticed how Joey wants to be a part of everything we are doing. Most of his interests seem to be with what MJ is doing. Fortunately for me, MJ likes to play with Joey. They entertain each other well. I then reflected to how life was when it was just MJ and me. I remember how I spent so much time playing with him because he just needed someone to play with. When I was pregnant, I remember thinking how desperately I wanted MJ to have a friend. Tabitha mentioned how her most difficult time as a mom was when she only had one child. Well, now I have 2, and I can see how it is easier in a lot of ways. I didn't think about the effect this would have on Joey growing up. When Joey is bored, he has more people to go find to play with, which gives me more free time. It's kind of nice.

And now I have 3 brother/sisters-in-law as new parents and I get to hear their stories and remember what it was like to be a new parent. (Is this what Tabitha felt like when we had MJ?) I should also add, that baby #1 is very special. They will always be number one. MJ and I certainly had more moments to bond together because for most of the day, all we had was each other... and that was pretty neat. I try to make an effort to give Joey my undivided attention when I can. But I realize, I cannot change the fact that he has a mom, dad, and an older sibling who all love him very much.

They don't seem to mind...

Good friends

To continue my update, I'll share how MJ and Joey have been. Hopefully, they haven't been too disturbed by our major life decisions. They really love hanging out together. Joey continues to be more interested in everything MJ is doing. If either one of them is awake without the other, they look around to see where the other one is. Just this morning I was up blogging with Joey when I heard the familiar thud of MJ jumping out of bed. Immediately, Joey headed to the stairs and started to climb up there to get him. And if MJ is awake and Joey is napping, when MJ hears Joey on the monitor he exclaims "Joey is awake! I'll go get him" and runs upstairs to play with him.

Joey has mastered cruising and even tries to climb things. He can go upstairs with no trouble (but of course still needs spotting in case their is an accident) but that to me seemed an easy feet once they figure out how to crawl. He's excited about bath time and tries to lift his leg over the edge and climb in. That is still too tricky for him. I've been terrible about feeding him baby food lately as I've been distracted. It seemed on our whole trip all I did was nurse him and hand him crackers and snacks in his high chair. This seems to have caused him to need to nurse more at night (pointed out to me by a friend). So I suppose I could work on that. Now that I'm paying attention to it, he really does enjoy eating solid foods during the day.

MJ is doing very well with potty training. I was worried about how he would take the to long road trip, but he did great. No accidents the whole time. I would either have him in underwear or a diaper, but it didn't seem to matter. When we stopped, his diaper was try, and I'd take him in to use the bathroom. Now that we're home he's doing funny things like saying he doesn't want to wear underwear, but I put them on him anyway and he's fine.

I'm still attempting to get them to sleep together in the same room. Any suggestions on how I should approach this? Joey is so good at falling asleep by himself, I just don't want to mess that up. Lately, MJ has given up naps on a few days so at night he falls asleep quickly. Maybe they could do that together?

I suppose I should go do one of the millions things floating around on the list in my head.

Another example of how Joey and my dad look alike.

Serious piano players.

Part of the big crew. How could we forget to take a group shot when we were all together on Thanksgiving?

Did you miss us

We are still alive, in case you were worried. I see it's been over 2 weeks since I did any sort of update, so I have much to catch up on. We've been a bit busy with traveling for Thanksgiving and making big decisions. It was nice to have a 15 hour drive to St. Louis to help talk through some of our big decisions. But if you know Mario and I, we really take time to think through all possibilities before doing something big. We have been debating whether this is the time for us to buy a home which of course depends on several things. The housing market, whether we want to live in Ashburn for a long time, and Mario's career options. I gotta tell you, we still haven't figured it out yet, and are going to revisit our two favorite home today. Perhaps it is best for me to inform you of our decision once it has happened.

Thanksgiving was quite successful. It is so much nicer taking big road trips with Mario and the boys. The boys were great, stops were easier b/c I didn't need to get out a stroller for them, and we could even leave them in the car while we took turns running into the rest area/restaurant/gas station. Plus, it's nice to be able to share driving.

Everyone in my family flocked to St. Louis (we were only there 3 days). Both Erin and Dave and Bobby and Suzanne have homes there. Kathy returned from college, we obviously drove, and my Grandma DeWulf and Grandmother and Grandfather Keppel both came in as well. So, there was lots going on at the Keppel home. My mom accomodated us all very well and turned our home into a cozy bed and breakfast sort of thing. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Bobby and Suzannes house where her parents were staying.

Our camera has been upset with us and sometimes chooses to say that it is out of power when we know the batteries are fully charged. So I took pictures with my mom and sister's cameras when I thought of it. We learned that Joey really does look like me, which since I look more like my dad, would make him look more like my dad as well. I think this picture says it all.

Here are my Grandma (mom's mom) attempting to juggle all of her great-grandchildren.

We rememebered to take one family photo.

I'm not saying Joey doesn't look like a Suarez, but her certainly has a lot of Keppel in him.

Transitions

I've been all about transitions lately. First, the no more diapers for MJ. Which isn't true b/c he still has one when he sleeps. But otherwise, he's in underwear. This has been working very well. Except he's starting to take his new potty training awareness as a way to stay up later at night. I'll put him to bed, and then hear that he's up in his bathroom. He tells me he's busy and has to use the toilet. I've learned to just go downstairs and clean and give him time, b/c I'm not patient enough to wait with him. Every night he's done this, he has actually gone to the bathroom, so he's not joking. But it has been a little annoying. He's still having trouble falling asleep, partly b/c of our movie night on Saturday. Ratatouille is cute, but MJ gets so skittish over anything. I think the way some of the characters yell at each other scared him. He's had a few nightmares about that.

Sunday night I tried to use Joey as a "lovey" to comfort MJ after MJ had gotten out of bed. It was around 9:30pm, and Joey was already asleep in his crib. But I moved him into the crib in MJs room. MJ seemed to like having his brother there. Plus, Joey was able to sleep in a different room. Monday night, I thought I'd try having Joey actually fall asleep in there. But when it came time to put him down, I couldn't do it. He's just so good at falling asleep by himself in his crib in our room, I didn't want to mess with that. But 10 minutes after he fell asleep, I put him in MJs room. Of course, MJ got up and went to use the bathroom, turned the lights on and everything. Sweet Joey was curled over trying to stay asleep, so I moved him back into the crib in our room. I tried again to get Joey in MJs room later, but I don't think it was good for him. I think if I want them to sleep together, at least for now, I'll need to have them both asleep before I make the switch.

The other night I found myself watching Ella Enchanted... how and why this happened is slightly mysterious, and you may laugh. But I was suprised at how my tired brain was able to come up with some thoughts after the movie. If you wanted to watch the movie, you don't really have to, there wasn't much to it. And I don't think I'll be giving anything away by telling you about the girl who's been given the gift/curse of obedience. As I was falling asleep that night, I was reflecting on obedience and my mind began to connect thoughts about married love and the whole wives being submissive to their husbands thing. And it had occured to me, that having to obey something you don't want to do is annoying... but if the person who is asking you to do something is really looking out for your best interest, and really only asking you to do things that are good for you, then obeying is an easy and good thing to do. So, let's pretend God wants me to do be a mom (let's hope - cause the kids are already here), but I don't really want to, I should consider God's infinite love for me and how he would never want me to do something that is not best for me. Therefore, obeying God should be an easy thing to do...trust, obeying...all that good stuff. If only MJ would understand this and just stay in his bed and fall asleep like I ask. I mean, really, I am doing this in his best interest. It's good for him to sleep so he can have energy and play. Ah well...

Honestly, I'm not sure if this makes any sense b/c my mind was babbling these thoughts around midnight as I was trailing off to sleep. But at that moment, it seemed pretty cool.

Here are some shots of Joey making his way up the stairs. Did I mention how on Sunday he got all the way to the top before Mario and I noticed. He and I were workign in the kitchen... MJ was upstairs and Joey was in the livingroom. My mommy radar went off and I thought I should check on Joey. I walk into the livingroom and then hear MJs voice at the top of the stairs, "Come on Joey, you can do it!" And there Joey was, 3 steps from the top. It is a fun game we play now. MJ cheers Joey on and I spot him from behind... but a much better game to play when mommy or daddy are aware of it.

And here is Joey wrestling MJ. Joey really likes his brother and looks around for him if he's awake after his nap but MJ is still asleep. Joey was really climbing all over MJ this time.

Some fun on Saturday

So, despite the ND loss on Saturday, I think we managed to have some fun. We decided to set up this little tikes playground that I found at a great deal on craiglist this summer. Mario thought we should put it up right when we got it, I wanted to save it. Of course, when I decided that maybe he was right and we should put it up now, I had to profess how intelligent he is and how he is awesome at everything. MJ really likes it...and Joey does too, but I haven't let Joey play on it as much. Presently, I just enjoy having someplace to send MJ when he wants to jump and climb as I think is part of the genetic code of all male toddlers. I tend to keep Joey inside while MJ plays (either sleeping or just downstairs). He climbs over to the sliding glass door and bangs on the window trying to get out. Poor guy... if he didn't eat grass and everything else. I might let him wander out on his own.

After the kids were asleep, Mario and I celebrated his promotion at BAH (have I posted that yet? I don't think I have). He skipped a promotion level and went straight to Senior Associate at Booz Allen, which other consulting firms would call a Manager. He worked very hard for this. Along with a hefty salary increase, bigger bonus, and more vacation time, BAH gave us this super big bottle of Champaigne. So we enjoyed that while we watched.... Night at the Museum... it was the movie that came in the mail that day. I actually kind of enjoyed it...but maybe that's the champaigne talking.

And rather than making another post... MJ and Joey came along with me as I voted on Tuesday (like they had a choice). I told MJ he could help me, and he seemed rather excited about it. But in the end he stayed in the double stroller the whole time looking at the new books we just got from the library. I gotta tell you, walking up to vote is fun. The parking lot at the school was full of cars... you'd think there were tons of people voting. I'm sure some of the cars were teachers trying to work somewhere, but really, there are just all those people helping you vote PLUS all the people waiting outside to approach you with things. I totally felt I was being sized up as I walked towards them... "Is she liberal or conservative? She looks young, but she's pushing two kids in a stroller." One guy who came up to me was actually a write in for a Board Member position. I had already planned to add him in and vote for him, so it was neat to talk to him and tell him that. I've been trying to search the election results to see if he won yet, but no luck. Of course, then when I left everyone was thanking me for voting, and I wonder if thied try to guess who I voted for. When we got to the car MJ said, "Mommy can I go and help you vote?" I tried to explain that I was all done. I guess that's a tough concept to grasp.

Joey driving and flashback

I'm trying to remind myself to enjoy watching Joey play more. It's easy to get busy with other things and let Joey and MJ play happily on their own. But I realize they are growing up too fast to just let it all go by. So, here is Joey driving his car. He can pull himself up on things and cruise around. He can also climb up stairs. He tried to climb on the car by himself, but he needed a little help.

I think he liked being able to ride the car.

I noticed that Joey was playing with these magnetic darts on the floor and looking so cute. I then remembered that I had taken a picture of MJ playing with darts and wearing the same shirt. So, here is 1 year old MJ playing with darts and 8 1/2 month old Joey doing the same.... it was even in the same spot in the room (except now in 2007 we have new furniture there). Thanks, Uncle Christian and Aunt Michelle for the dart board gift from Christmas 2005. Some may not think it is in a great spot for playing darts, but it's home for the last 2 years has been hung on the door to our coat closet. Kids love it there and it's easy to move around wherever you want it.

Updates

So, we are 1 week into toilet training, and MJ seems to be doing really well. I'll have to detail this ordeal (mainly so that I can look back and remember how I did this when it is Joey's turn). It's an interesting thing, b/c in the beginning, there will be accidents. So while you think having a kid out of diapers means less mess, it doesn't initially. I've done lots of laundry (mostly on half accidents) but even a little wetness on a kid is not okay. If it was milk, juice, many other things, I'd be fine. Well, anyway, there's been laundry. And then the near misses in the bathroom... But today, we had 0 accidents. He wore the same pants all day, and he's done great when we go out and about. Actually, last Tuesday (day 2 of his potty training) I had to take him out of the house for 2 hours while I went to teach. I think it was a mostly successful attempt, but it taught me that I don't have to fear leaving the house.

I also think that half of the annoyance of toilet training is that it is an emotional thing...at least it was for MJ. On Monday, he started getting it, but then was afraid to go and would hold it until he had a diaper. This frustrated me so much, b/c I figured, he did it once, what could be stopping him from doing this again? I can see how expanding this over several days could drive any parent crazy. I've been afraid to note his minor successes in case they backfire and he reverts back to his old ways. If I post tomorrow that accidents have started again, you'll know why!

In the meantime, there's Joey. Who thank goodness is such a sweet and content little boy. But he is curious, and tries to get into everything. Most things in our house are already baby proofed. But it's fun to see him open up doors and pull out baskets so he can find toys (which are mostly toddler toys, but he likes them too). He really likes the Weeble Castle the Kaza's gave us (Thanks!). Oh, and while I was busy with MJ once upstairs, I came down only to find my little Joey who previously had just been exploring stairs and getting up the first one to the landing, and already turned and was heading up the big flight. I guess it's time for a baby gate at the bottom of those stairs too! I was proud of him. He also had taken interest in reading. If you have little ones like mine, I read to them nearly every day for as long as I could remember. At first, they just sat there b/c that's all they could do. Then they would bat at the pages and impatiently turn them as if you weren't reading fast enough. And finally, they get to a point where it seems they are actually just waiting for you to tell the story. Joey seems to be content with that now, and is enjoying the other skill that comes with that, actually attempting to read on his own. Which when they are younger (at least my kids) reading meant attempting to tear pages and eat books. And now he tries to sit and actually turn he pages. So cute!

Since I realize I have a severe lack of Joey photos (maybe not on this blog, but in our home collectin) I thought I'd put a few up now.

I'm not sure why he is only in a diaper, but it's always fun to show some baby skin every once in awhile. Note MJ's cool Sarge underwear behind Joey.

"I'm cute, and I know it."

For some reason, it's cute when they first learn how to make a mess. It was fun to watch Joey explore like this. Then they get older... MJ knows that knocking letters off the fridge drives mommy nuts.

Halloween 2

Here is our whole crew. Somehow I thought it might be easier for all of us to be together since the daddys were traveling with work. I think may have turned out to be double trouble. But we did have fun! Just think, last year when we did this with Tony and Tara, it was just 2 boys and 2 pregnant mommies (and Anthony). Now here are our cute little pumpkins.

I think MJ and Tony had a good time. We set out later than we anticipated, but as a result, they were ready for bed at the end of the night. I was excited that an older kid complimented our costumes. Some group of about 8 year old boys passed by MJ and said, "Wow, Mario, that's a great costume." I had called Mario's name and they either thought it was his real name or I was just calling him by the costume. Either way, it was cute that they noticed. Then they said that I should have been Luigi, so I pointed to Joey in the stroller. Their response "Awesome costumes!" I didn't mention my princess costume in the car.

Joey and Xavier were quite the troopers considering they did all this and didn't get any candy.

And here are the tired babies at the end of the night. They were playing so well together!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! We stayed in most of the day to continue to work on this potty training thing. I know it's not neccesary to stay home, but MJ has been doing so well with this, I don't want to mess anything up. He spent 2 hours at St. Theresa with me while I taught yesterday, and managed to mostly make it to the potty in time there.

So, we passed the time today and carved a pumpkin. We have a book called Joey the Jack O Lantern. I remember reading that with MJ last year and thinking how we would have a little Joey with us for the next Halloween...and here he is! Whenever he sees a jack o lantern, MJ thinks it should be called "Joey the Jack O Lantern."

MJ did a nice job of helping me. I am learning to give up being a perfectionist (one of the many personality flaws that being a mommy has helped me to work on). This may not have been our best pumpkin, but we did it together. By the way, I am not fond of pumpkin innerds... yuck!

Tara, Little Tony, and Xavier had us over for dinner and trick or treating tonight. Here are my little Super Mario Brothers!