Charlie's birthday (in March...)

I have been told by a few people that I am behind on my blog...busy these days.  And most of these pictures were taken on my phone, as my camera is just one more thing to haul (and potentially leave behind) these days.

My parents rented a house on Captiva Island for spring break this year.  So of course we decided to drive down and take advantage of an (almost) free vacation!  Charlie's birthday fell on a Monday, our 3rd full day in Florida.  We celebrated by going out to dinner at the Bubble Room.  I still cannot believe I am the mother of a five year old--so big!

Yes, this is the best picture I could get with my son.  He wanted to be a pirate. And would not smile.

  Five!  And a big cake to match :)

 Somewhere my mom has pictures of me with my brothers playing in this exact same cage...a few years ago!

 

 

 

 My little diva sweet Julia Jane with my grandma (her "gigi")

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sam!

This little (or not so little) guy has been talking about turning 3 for months...and tells everyone that he is THREE now.  Sam woke up to balloons in his bed, to which he counted (8) and shared half with his brother before we were even out of bed...very typical Sam.  Charlie will even tell people, "My brother Sam is a REALLY good sharer"  He got to open gifts from us before having breakfast--a pretend doctor set, a train from Chuggington, and a Mastermind puzzle kind of game.

Later in the afternoon we went to my parents for a birthday dinner.  Since my dad's birthday is Feb 8th and Sam's is the 9th, I guess we will always celebrate them together!  I can remember being at my parents house for my dad's birthday, 3 years ago, thinking I might NEVER go into labor!!!  Little did we know that Sam would arrive a few short hours later.

Julia LOVES to be held lately and can usually whine her way into grandpa's arms :)

Sam told Grammy that he wants a "chocolate cake with a cherry on top" (we think, because his pretend cupcakes have cherries on top) so that is what he got!  With TWO Lightening McQueens (which he promptly shared one with Charlie)

Grandpa was put out because his name came second on the cake....and probably because Sam gave away his Lightening McQueen.

  

Opening presents with Aunt Becky.  Of course, I failed once again at picture taking and did not snap any of Jordan, Maggie, Kyle or cousin Cole...

At three years old...Sam threw away his pacifier without our prompting (about 6 weeks ago) and has since gone from napping 2-3 hours each day, to napping a few days a week.  He knows most of his letters, and can pick out his name, although it's something we haven't really worked on (3 kids under 5 over here!).  He takes a bit to warm up to people, but can be the sweetest, kindest boy--loves to give snuggles and hugs.  Sam plays well with Charlie, but can also play on his own with just his imagination for a pretty impressive length of time.  He also LOVES to listen to us read and will sit for book after book as long as we are willing!  He feeds Lexie for us most days, and sings to Julia when she is upset (his favorite is the ABCs and she immediately stops crying and watches him-magic).  He does not like to get up in the morning, except on his own terms.  At his  most recent doctor's appointment, he was about 50th in height but 25th in weight; right around 30 lbs.  We can't wait to see what this year brings!

Happy 1st Birthday, Julia!

January 20th of last  year, I had been having contractions on and off for days...a couple of times even time-able but nothing truly painful.  I knew I was in early labor when we went shopping (it was a Sunday morning), went to a friend's birthday party, and stopped by my parents.  We left the boys for the night with my parents because surely, 9 days past my due date, tonight would be the night.

After contractions slowed (AGAIN), I decided to attempt a few hours of sleep so I went to bed.  I woke up a little after 1am with fast and hard contractions and we frantically began throwing things together and getting dressed...in between contractions.  Julia Jane was born (still unnamed, although only for minutes) at 3:36am on January 21st--10 days past her estimated due date, just like her big brother Sam.  So much has changed in a year! 

To celebrate, we had a small party on Saturday with a few friends and family members.  Julia started the afternoon with a cute bow in her hair, soon to be dismissed.  She enjoyed crawling around and waving to everyone present (or, being held by anyone who would take her!)

She did not, however, enjoy the cake (see pictures below).  I think the frosting was too cold as I had stored it in the fridge.  Or maybe she just loves broccoli better--who knows.  Scott tried to convince her that she did indeed like it (by shoving a piece into her mouth) to which she responded by screaming even louder.

She is SO CLOSE to walking and not yet there--she can do 6-7 steps when she wants to and is capable of standing for long periods of time.  Both of her brothers were walking by 12 months but she can out climb them for sure!  (and possibly out eat them too)

Pat's Philly Pretzels (formally a Taste of Philly) made "JJ" out of pretzels, but alas, they made the letters backwards.  Benefit to us--we got to keep the backwards pretzels for free and they made fresh ones while Scott waited.

The pictures are all in random order (some photo credit due to Erin per usual) and I failed to take pictures of all of our wonderful family and friends...some day I will try to make it a priority!  At least I have some of the birthday girl.

For the emotional side--it has been such an amazing year with Julia.  She is truly the center of our family.  We all adore her!  She is so outgoing and friendly, always with a smile on her face.  I am so excited for our mother/daughter relationship to grow, and we are more and more in love every day.

(and a side note...she and Sam could be twins in these pictures!)

 

 

  

 

We had a little party yesterday...

More pictures to come when I have the time to upload them :) Spoiler alert, she didn't like the cake!

Uncle J with baby J

Sweet Julia Jane at 11 months

Pictures of Julia from Christmas day. We have pictures of the boys on 12x12 canvases when they were 10-11 months and we needed one of Julia!  Christmas was grey and cold out so we had a hard time finding good light...but managed to capture a few.  Best ones are from outside (brr) on my parents back deck!

 

 

  

 

 

At 11 months, Julia is still such a joy!!!  She almost always has a smile on her face. 
-Learning to walk (cruising on furniture, walks while holding on to one of my hands, and has taken a few steps on her own)
-Eating like a champ, nursing 3-4x/day
-Weighs around 19 pounds, although official stats will come at her first birthday
-One big afternoon nap, and usually a short morning one too
-Says "dada" all the time but not "real" words yet
-Is SUCH a daddy's girl
-Much more social than the boys were--waves to everyone (while saying "haaaa") and lets friends/family hold her
-Still sleeps with fingers in her mouth, and with her "lovie" (small blanket with satin edges)
-Loves her big brothers almost as much as her daddy, and constantly chases them from room to room