Eight months old!

This is what Curtis's new smile looks like.

Open up wide! I can't get enough of it.

This little guy is mad-teething lately. His gums still feel gummy, but there's definitely something in the works.

I found a cute owl idea and decided to make one for my little teether.

He went to town.

Happy eight months, sweet boy!

Smarty pants

A few months ago, Graydon learned the alphabet song. I was pleased enough that he knew all of the letters and the order they came in. The other day, he took it a step further.  While reading a letter book, he started saying the letters before I got a chance to.  He named each of them correctly except "G" and "X".  I'm impressed!

Bella has been into "Knock knock' jokes lately.  They go a little something like this:

Bella:  "Knock knock!"
Me:  "Who's there?"
Bella: "Window"
Me:  "Window who?"
Bella: "Window - You forgot to look out your window last night"
Bella: (hysterical laughing)

Her Knock Knock jokes always follow the pattern of something that I forgot to do last night.

Well, Graydon came up with his own Knock Knock joke.  I'll let him share it with you himself.


The counting is a pretty recent development as well.

So proud of this little guy!

Spring was in the air. . .

but we did a very un-springy activity.

ICE SKATING!!!

We went to the outdoor River Rink at Penns Landing on Friday evening; the day when we reached a high of 68 degrees!

Daddy and Bella skated together all night.

Bella sustained a few falls, one that left her in tears. But she got right back out there and had a blast. At the end of the night, there were more tears - only this time because it was because she didn't want to leave.

I have a feeling we'll be back again.

"New beds"

That's what they called these boxes and pillows.  We did storytime "in bed" in the living room that evening. 

I love the imagination of a five and two-year-old.

I heard crinkling coming from the kitchen. . .

I went to investigate and found this:

I shouldn't have left the valentine candy on the counter. 

All set for Valentine's Day

I can't take credit for this idea, but it's really cute.

We accomplished it all - from start to finish - during Graydon's naptime.

Here are the teacher valentines. I learned this one from my mom way back when and it's come in handy many times throughout the years.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Baked with love

I gave Bella the option: cake or cupcakes. We baked a special treat for Daddy while he was at a meeting all morning. I hoped that Bella would pick cupcakes so that we could enjoy a little treat without waiting for Daddy's return. No chance. The little lady wanted a big cake.

I let Graydon snack on some frosting to keep him occupied (and away from the red hots that Bella was using for cake decorations). It all started out innocent enough.

But this is what happened to my freshly bathed boy.

The finished product.

Yum!

Super Bowl Champions!!!

(Photo taken two weeks ago during play-off game). 

Go Packers!!!

Seen around our house this week. . .

A little girl trying to make our house a bit more Valentine-y

Two kids and their computers

A big sister trying to get her little brother to pose for a picture.

A little brother looking up to his big brother

An adorable baby boy

A little girl and her Daddy off to go sledding.

Hope you all had a great week!

Snow Day!

I think the New Jersey folks might be getting a little upset about all of this Wisconsin weather that we are getting.  When it comes to cold weather, I'd have to agree.  But if it's SNOW - no complaints here.  Especially on a snow day such as this.  8-10 inches of snow and weather above 30 degrees.  Perfect!  I even got a little hot while we played outside in all that white stuff.

From start to finish, Bella built this snowman all by herself.  

Isn't it cute!

The next one was a group effort.

Except for Curtis.  He decided to nap this one out. 

Ta da!

I love a good snow day. 

Seven months old. . .

. . . and looking like a 9-monther. At least that's what our pediatrician said.

Curtis at 7 months

We have a tall boy on our hands.

I don't know. To me, he doesn't look a day over six months. ;)

Curtis at 6 months

Or maybe I'm just in denial that my baby is growing up.  

Firsts

Curtis finally gets to taste something besides milk.

The lazy side of me just wanted to wait until we got back from WI.

I think he likes rice cereal!

Green beans and peas are another story.

Look who's sitting up on his own!

This started just a couple of days after we got back from Wisconsin.

Yay Curtis!!!

Wisconsin - Part 3

OK, it's time to get the rest of these photos up.

After a week in Kenosha with the Benetti fam, is was on to Verona for some time with the Kilpses.

Graydon had another wonderful birthday celebration.

With a little help, he blew out his two candles.

My dear friend Jenn and her family live about a half hour from Andy's parents. I'm so happy for any opportunity I get to hang out with her. Our daughters also had a good time together.

Here are the snapshots from our week in Verona:

Popcorn each night is a given. 

Jacob read the bedtime story that night.

The whole family.

Some randoms from our time together. . . 

Jacob and Tyler got new snowboards for Christmas and they shared with Bella.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but there is a slight hill that they played on.  These kids all rocked the snowboards!  Pretty cool to watch.

Fun in the snow!

By the end of our trip, Curtis was sleeping like a newborn again.  It's always hard to say goodbye to family, but I was definitely ready to get him back to a normal routine and get some sleep again for myself.

We arrived back in New Jersey just in time for another snow fall.  Kind of like we brought a little bit of Wisconsin with us.