Girly Girl

Auntie Staci made Mia this adorable tutu for Valentine's Day and I couldn't wait to get some pics of her in it! It's SO fun dressing up a little girl!! First it was Bailey who had to put up with me dressing him up and taking pictures....then Jake.....and now Mia! Of course she'll probably grow up to hate dresses and all things frilly, so I have to do it while I can! Thanks, Auntie Staci for the tutu and Grammie for helping me take the pictures!!

Naptime?

Jake was supposed to be napping but he heard the gardeners in the yard and he is obsessed with mowers, leaf blowers, edgers, etc.....I heard some rustling on his monitor, which turned out to be the sound of him pushing his head out of the corner of the blinds :)

Cabin with Auntie Julie and Uncle Tim

Another fun weekend at the cabin.....did some sledding, some skiing, and lots of playing! Snow is so much fun with the kids! We had the best of both worlds....there was snow on the ground to enjoy, but the sun was shining.....beautiful weekend!

Into everything!!

Well, little miss Mia is on the move and into everything!! She is pulling herself up on things to stand, and likes to "empty" things....as you can se with the pics!

Month 7 Favorites

Another month....where does the time go?!! Mia is already 8 months old.....she's getting to be such a big girl. She's finally figured out how to crawl FORWARD and is moving all over the place! She is as sweet and happy as can be.....adores her big brother, and it makes me smile just to look at her! She's more food now, but only what she can gum to death, as she still doesn't have any teeth. She hasn't been sleeping very well at night, but hey, a kid can't be perfect, right?!

My Little Valentines

Here are some Valentine pics of my little lovebugs.....they are so cute and sweet....it would be impossible for me to love them more!!

Future Falcon

Jake has had a long time obsession with hats of all types....but helmets are his FAVORITE. So, Uncle Rob has been working so hard to get him a real football helmet from Foothill. And today was the day! Jake won't let go of it.....even wanted to sleep with it. We compromised and let him have it IN his room while he sleeps. THANK YOU Uncle Rob.....he is SO excited.

Green Eggs & Ham

Any of you who have eaten dinner with us recently know that this is a MISERABLE time for Jake....my least favorite time of the day in fact! My apologies if you've had to "dine" with us and put up with this nonsense first hand!! For at least 6 months he only wanted baby type of food...now we've decided he's old enough to understand the concept of "sorry kid, that's what's for dinner". So, we give him what we are having for dinner + 1/2 of a banana so that he won't starve. To make a LONG story short, he hasn't eaten dinner in almost about 3 weeks, no matter what it is!! No dessert, no TV....doesn't make a difference....and this kid does not respond to peer pressure or bribes....what is WRONG with him?! We read a lot and one of his favorites is Green Eggs & Ham.....you'd think he would get a clue from this story?! So, I made him GREEN eggs and ham for dinner last night and you can see his response. I'm beginning to think it's a lost cause. Despite the dramatic picture I may have painted here, please don't worry.....he's not wasting away and I know he'll eat if he is hungry (still eats breakfast and lunch with no problem for all of you who think I am a cruel mom who is starving her child!!). But I really hope this phase ends sooner rather than later.....

Cabin with the Braga Fam

We had a great spur of the moment trip to the mountains with the Braga crew! The kids had so much fun sledding, building a snowman, going on a bear hunt, and going on a road trip together!

First Flight!

Santa brought Brian a remote control airplane for Christmas....he could not have been more excited! He was nervous to fly it because he had tended to crash them as a kid....luckily, his skills have improved! He and Jake had so much fun.....though Jake's favorite part was chasing after the plane once it landed. We've taken it out 3 times in 2 days, and if the battery charge lasted longer, we'd have been out there for hours! I'm sure there are lots more memories to be made with this toy!

Sledding

We took the good old orange sled out up at the cabin....this is the same sled that Brian and Rob used growing up.....the thing is indestructible! We took it down the 18th hole of the golf course and it made for some great sled runs. Jake would have been out there ALL day! Mia had her first time out in the snow too.....unfortunately, she did a face plant into the snow when she reached forward too far :( But she was happy again a minute later. She even went for a sled ride with Daddy too!

Jake goes skiing

We made a trip up to the cabin and took Jake out skiing for the first time. Mia stayed back with Papa and Tutu, so we were able to spend the day with our guy...lots of fun. He was REALLY excited about the whole thing. We were worried that once we got out there, he wouldn't want to do it. But he was rearing to go the whole time! The only thing he was bummed about was that he didn't get to snowboard or ride the "flying seat" (chair lift). He must have said "But Mommy, I really, really, really want a snowboard" about 100 times while we waited in line for our lift tickets. The people in front of us were ready to give him their snowboards for some silence ;) We rode the magic carpet or "magic floor" as Jake called it.....more modern version of the rope tow.....wow, SO much better! Brian and I both took turns with him and we used a harness to try and help teach him. He seemed to be getting the hang of it, but would get lazy sometimes and just flop like a rag doll.......of course he just laughed every time he fell. We were somewhat amazed that he didn't whine.....it was cold, the lines were long, and he could have had legitimate things to complain about....but he didn't! We were pleasantly surprised! Fun memories from this day!

Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas morning with Grammie, Gramps, Julie and Tim.....Christmas Eve dinner at Kerry and Fred's with Rob, Kelli, Grady and Bob....Christmas morning at our house with the whole DeMichiel crew, Christmas Dinner at Jan's house with the whole Emanuele crew (first time all of the girl cousins were ALL together in years!), and day after Christmas with Daddy and Heather....WHEW! A bit chaotic, but lots of fun. Jake "got it" this year and had fun leaving cookies and milk for Santa and waking up to the treasures he had left. It was Mia's first Christmas and she was as entertained by the wrapping paper as anything else! Brian was thrilled with the remote control airplane that Santa left for him too! Great holiday spent with all of our wonderful family!