Sleeping Beauty

Lucia was so relaxed during her sled ride that she fell asleep!

Winter Fun

It was such a lovely winter day here in Michigan, so we all bundled up and went for a walk. Lucia was so cute all toasty warm in her snow suit! Ethan kept getting stuck in the deep snow- he would just wait there until Jim or I walked over to pick him up!

Little Helpers

Bree and Ethan helping Grandma JiJi feed Lucia the other night. They both did a good job!

Little Miss Sunshine

I still get some pretty funny faces from this child!
Some exciting Lucia news . . . she cut her first tooth this weekend! I'm relieved there is now a reason behind the very restless nights she has been having. Gone are the nights of Lucia sleeping 12 hours straight!

"I'm just vaccuming the dog."

Ethan's replay when I asked what he was doing. You know he has witnessed his crazy mother doing this exact same thing!

Poor Zero just sits there and takes it!

Snow days . . .

A picture of Ethan enjoying some time outside this winter. He received a snow shovel for his birthday and loves helping shovel!

On a side note- I'm ready for summer!

Nose Update

So, I had an x-ray of my nose last Tuesday- and it was broken- a "non-displaced nasal fracture" to be exact. It was a small break in a small bone. I can tell my nose juts out on one side- but that's only because I stare at it in different lights! Hopefully no one else notices :-)

Sweet Potatoes!

I made some sweet potatoes for Lucia on Sunday- her first attempt at real food. I remember when Ethan started eating sweet potatoes, I would give him two ice cubes of food- he would eat that and seem very satisfied.
So, I puree the sweet potatoes, and pour what looks to be about two ice cubes worth into a bowl for Lucia. I start to feed her- boy does she love them! She eats the portion right up looks at me like she wants more. So I pour some more in- she eats that right up and then screams when the bowl is empty like she wants more! So I give her a little more- she gobbles that up and still seems to want more! I had to cut her off- I didn't want her to explode!

I think she is ready for two "meals" a day now- I'll try some fruit on Friday.

Lucia and Grandma

at Ethan's birthday party.

Birthday Party!

A few pics from Ethan's birthday party last Saturday. He loved opening his gifts and playing with his cousins.

Later in the day, he was playing up in his room with his cousins. I went up to check on them, they were jumping on his bed. So I said- "no jumping on the bed!" Ethan looks at me, in mid jump- and says "i'm not jumping on the bed- I'm jumping off the bed!" And jumps off! I couldn't help but laugh!

Is it crooked?

Funny story today- we'll not really . . .
So, Francesca and Jarrod were getting ready to leave after dropping off Ethan's gift. I was holding Ethan as we were saying goodbye- Francesca was sort of tickling him- when all of a sudden he whips his head back- and WHACK- right into the side of my nose! I hear a CRUNCH sound- grab my nose and head to the bathroom.
I have never felt such pain (aside from child birth)- I thought I was going to pass out. I asked Francesca if she heard the crunch sound- she said she did. I look at my nose and notice it's shifted a bit toward the left. Great.
I start to panic a little bit worrying about an important meeting I have tomorrow at work- hoping I don't show up all black and blue around my eyes. Worried that I might have to have it re-broken in order to fix it- or that it might permanently be crooked!
Well, I called the doctor- they said I should come have it looked at. They took some x-rays- my doctor said it looks like there could be a small break in one of the bones, but she's going to have the radiologist look at it. So- I'll wait to hear their recommendations tomorrow.
For now- it's feeling a lot better. I still have some pain/headache pain around my nose- but I don't have any black eyes or bruising . . . not yet anyway!

First Birthday Gift

Francesca and Jarrod dropped of Ethan's first birthday gift this afternoon- a new guitar! Ethan was pretty impressed I'd have to say. Francesca plans to bring her guitar over so they can jam together :-)

Sibling Love

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

Ethan's 3 years old today- 1.11.11! The past three years have flown by- I cannot believe how fast the days go by when you are raising children! Ethan has brought so much joy, love, and laughter to our little world- and I struggle to remember what life was like before he arrived.

Jim and I often comment on how fast the time is going by- especially with two kids now. Looking at these pictures, I cannot believe that just three years ago Ethan was new to this world!

Happy Birthday Ethan- we are so blessed to be your parents!

More Meijer Gardens

Chiara and her children . . .

























Ethan and mamma . . . (Luica was sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her!)













Oma and Luca.

Meijer Gardens

Ethan, Norah, Lucia, Luke, Chiara, Oma, and I went to Meijer Gardens to see the Christmas trees and Train display. Norah and Ethan had a great time watching the train go around the tracks and looking at the miniature buildings from around Grand Rapids that are on display. It was a fun outing!

Cousins

Chiara, James, Norah, and Luke came up to Michigan to visit last week and through the New Year weekend. It was great to see them. Ethan and Norah had a fun time playing with each other, when they weren't fighting that is!














Lucia and Luke are practically the same size now! Luke's stomach is a little bigger I'd say!

Cereal take 2

Lucia's second go at cereal. She gets so excited when she sees the bowl in front of her. The other day she grabbed it and dumped it all over herself before I could stop her! I couldn't believe how quick she was!

First Cereal

Over the holiday break, I tried cereal out on Lucia for the first time. Some interesting faces she makes! She seems to be enjoying it more and more every day.
























So serious . . .