showtime!

This morning I let the girls have a 5 minute head start so they could pick out their clothes and I could finish feeding J.  When I came upstairs, this is what I found (gotta love Jeremy bouncing in the background):

http://youtu.be/QGaLnUi6cok


and then there was this:

http://youtu.be/9GCSrlqwj8c



Goof balls! 

John - Sylvie wrote her own message on the chalkboard and asked me to take "a bunch of different pictures to put together for Daddy".  Here ya go!

 

xoxo  Keri

baby giggles and Christmas trees

I'm trying to be better about keeping the camera or video camera handy to catch the sweet little moments.  Tonight, as soon as I put Jeremy down to change him into pj's he started giggling those great big baby giggles that make everyone smile.  I scooped him back up, went downstairs to grab the video camera, and went back to change him into pj's.  

Cue the baby giggles:
http://youtu.be/wL9wfLeJK2k




Stella had the sweetest way of singing Christmas songs this year (by the way, she told me today it is almost Christmas time again because she heard birds singing.  She is also very annoyed that "her snow" is all gone and is not so patiently waiting for more snow!).  Anyway, her most famous Christmas song was probably Jingle Bells, sung:

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Away....  I don't even know the real version anymore.  She also liked to sing the refrain "I like the sleigh ride..I like the sleigh ride" 

She does beautiful versions of "Children go where I send thee" and  "Santa Baby".  I need to remember to capture her versions.  


Anyway, John sent me a video that Stella recorded on his phone, while singing her version of "Oh Christmas Tree" in the background.  It makes me nauseous, but I love it :)


http://youtu.be/PfFkdTt3Dr0




xoxo  Keri

tug of war

Jeremy's favorite game is to hand someone (usually Daddy) a toy, hold on tight, and scream and squeal through a game of  "tug of war".  He was trying to play that game with Stella, but she just thought he was handing her a microphone, and used it to sing songs from the "Sound of Music."  Jeremy was incredibly annoyed with the whole process, but he kept on trying.  Sylvia just leaned back and watched all of the craziness - it's kind of the norm around here.

xoxo  Keri

Bella Big girl

We've been to Costco, Walmart, CVS, the bank, and Sylvie's pre-school all in big girl underpants!  Potty-training is a crazy ride, but last week Stella decided she wants to wear her Dora underpants and keep them dry.  And...so far she has done an amazing job.  I remember with Sylvia, I was sooo afraid to leave the house and always made her wear pull-ups.  With Stella, we're winging it, and she is doing great!  

I really love this photo of my Stella Bella.  She sleeps with this baby doll every nap and every night.  In this photo, she was showing the baby doll which fairy was her favorite on each and every page of the big tinkerbell book.    

xoxo  Keri

Jeremy's nap

 When Jeremy went in for his nap today he was cozy and dry, and..... he didn't know how to crawl.


When he woke up, he was covered in pee, and could do this:


http://youtu.be/V8KKtD0r8lA




 xoxo
Keri

When I looked back on the blog to see if I had videos of Stella learning to walk, there weren't that many entries during that time period, and I got worried I had totally forgotten to capture that stage of her life.  No worries...LOTS and LOTS of videos (and I'm sure, lots of photos too.) 

Here is a video from when Stell was younger than J is now, but far more mobile.  Jeremy likes to sit on that lion and bounce to the music, but is not usually a huge fan of anything close to walking with it.....for now.

I love all the kisses :)

http://youtu.be/gHwDo2np2Vg





Lots of love,  Keri

crazy hair Sylvie

I was looking for old videos of when Sylvie was learning to walk and came across this :)  It is so sweet, and proves that crazy hair runs in the family!  Jeremy is taking a trip to the barber shop with Daddy soooon!

http://thetexfamily.blogspot.com/2008/04/steady-as-she-goes-well-not-quite.html

Lots of love, 

Keri

milestones

Jeremy had some big milestones this weekend.  He had his first full out cold, complete with runny nose, yucky cough, and fever.  Thankfully he is definitely on the mend and doing much better.  The cold was a gift from Stella who had received it from Sylvia.  Who says they don't share! 

Anyway, I had walked into his room to get him after nap on Saturday, and he was sitting up playing with one of his stuffed animals.  I'm not sure when babies normally do that, but it was a first for him, and he was very proud.

A few times this weekend he has made some crawling motions.  He has been getting up on all fours for some time now, but he moved forward a little bit with both his hands and knees.  He doesn't get far, but he is happy to practice - even in the bath tub, which by the way, Jeremy is a super sweet and happy baby, but never happier than when he is splashing and bouncing in the tub.  I definitely need a little video of that!

He fed himself a few puffies and other crunchy things.  That has happened a few times before, but this was with no one encouraging - all on his own.

And finally, he drank a little bit of juice out of a straw cup.  I went back to putting a little bit of food on the end so he would suck that off instead of biting the straw, and it worked.  a little.  but he wasn't impressed.  baby steps.

Below is a collage of the photos from Grammy Lou's recent birthday party.  Lots and lots of fun, and next year will only be that much more fun.  Can't wait :)

Lots of love, 
Keri

Welcome 2012!

Oh how much has changed in a year!  (including my photography skills, a little bit?)

Sylvia was very excited for New Year's, and a little sad that she forgot to ask everyone what their resolutions were, so feel free to comment with them on the blog!  Hers was to "be healthier".  So, we are going to get outside more (once this weather warms up!) and as a family are doing the 14 weeks of mini-challenges outlined here:  (or at least some version of this):  http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/100-days-of-real-food-mini-pledges/

Week 1 is to have 2 fruits or veggies at each meal.  We started yesterday, and so far so good!!

Sylvia finished off the year able to read an amazing amount and able to complete simple math.  She's kind of astonishing, really.  Her favorite Christmas gifts were her new camera and her American Girl Doll.  I haven't checked out the photos that she has taken yet, but I'm thinking there will be some great ones! 

Poor little Stella spent New Year's Eve very concerned that the "rain drop" that was falling would be scary.  Once THE BALL dropped, and wasn't scary, she was very confused and wanted to see it again.  :)

Stella finished off the year knowing most of her letters.  She loves to learn, but can be a little challenging to teach.  The other day I was working on flash cards with her.  She held up the letter G and proudly said "G!".  And what is G for?  She looked at the picture on the back.  "I don't know...".  I think that's a gift.  G is for Gift.  "No Mommy, that's a present!!".  It could be a present, but on this card it is called a Gift because G is for Gift.  "NO, IT IS A PRESENT.  G NOT FOR GIFT - IT IS A PRESENT. PRESENT MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!"  ok, never mind. 

She is so feisty, and makes me laugh out loud everyday.  She has been very excited to wear her new "Flowers" hat.  (Flyers!!)  She squealed in the grocery store a few weeks back because she thought the package of ground beef was worms.  "No buy worms Mommy!!"  She loved "the Christmas season" and as we started to undecorate the tree, she changed her mind and started hanging the ornaments back up.  "It's the Christmas season!!"  Her favorite gifts were all things Dora, and everytime we see anything in the stores with Dora she still says she is going to ask Santa.  "I ask Santa to bring that for my birthday!"

Jeremy stayed up until 11 on his first New Year's Eve; not too shabby for an 11 month old!  He was exhausted, but pleasant.  He finished up his year able to say Dada "Ah-Da", Mama (sometimes), and hello (maybe, not confirmed).  He can now tolerate about 1/4 of a jar of stage 3 food at a time, and will eat puffies and 1/2 pieces of yogurt melts in small doses.  He doesn't crawl, but does get up on all fours and moves by wiggling / scooting / rolling.  He can stand if he is holding on to the refrigerator handle, but can't be trusted alone - he lets go with no notice. 

In the midst of all of the excitement for the Eagles in the beginning of the season, John said they would be lucky to go 8 and 8........hmmmmm.  Well Jeremy is still a big Eagles fan (and Flyers and Phillies), but is excited to wear his Peyton Manning Jersey / onesie that Santa brought for next year! 

Well that's enough for this post, but I'm hoping to update a little more often in 2012.  The time just goes by too fast.


Lots of love,

Keri