Joey can Read!

I bought Joey some BOB books the other day. He was really interested in them, even though they don't look pretty. But, eat set comes in a box and they are small so maybe that's why he likes them so much! Anyways, we started reading them and he loved how I ran my finger under each word. So he wanted to do that. Then, he wanted to know what each word said. So he pretty much memorized the book, which is a first step in reading. Here he is "reading" the first book, titled "Mat."

Children's Christmas Party

This past weekend was Joe's work's Children's Christmas party. We weren't sure how Joey was going to do with Santa because to a 2 year old, a big man with a beard is scary. Before Santa arrived on a C-5, we played a few games, decorated a bag, decorated a cookie and made a reindeer antler hat.

When Joey saw Santa from far away, he was ok. When Santa started walking towards us, Joey started saying "Go home now, please." He repeated that over and over like he was in a trance and couldn't say anything else.

We walked inside and went into a room where Santa was sitting with all of the presents. Joey still wanted to go home. He saw a few of his friends get presents, Luke got his present, and then they called Joey's name....and Joey ran up to Santa like they were long, lost friends!

We had fun and Joey was so excited to see Santa. After he opened his gift from Santa(it was play-doh), he yelled across the room "Santa, Santa!" It's so much fun to celebrate Christmas with kids!

Getting Ready for Christmas

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we put up the Christmas tree. We started doing that a few years ago. Mostly because we love having it up and looking at it for as long as possible! Joey had fun pulling the ornaments out and looking at them. Everytime I ask him which ornament is his favorite, he changes his mind. Christmas is really fun with kids! Although Luke doesn't do much these days, he does love to look at the lights on the tree and laugh. It makes me wonder what is going on in that little head of his!

After decorating the tree, we made a gingerbread house. Joey had lots of fun and kept trying to sneak candy into his mouth. He is definately my son:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Check out these two turkeys! They certainly made my Thanksgiving a lot more fun!
And yes, I am "that mom" whose kids have matching clothes. I can't help it!

HOME!!!!!!!

After 4 months in Tampa, we are finally home! Well, Joey, Luke and I are. Joe will be following shortly. We are soooooooooo happy to be in our house with our stuff. I love my bed and my couch and my cooking supplies! Joey was so excited to see all of his friends and he told me that "California is neat!" I love that boy!
Luke has adjusted to his new room and suprised me by starting to sleep for 7-8 hours at night! I am loving that! It gives me more time to enjoy my bed:)

Halloween!

We had a great Halloween! Joey, Luke and I flew to Pittsburgh for the weekend. A few months ago, we weren't sure if Joe would be working or not on Halloween night. I didn't want to be in Tampa alone with the kids plus my nephew, Cole, got baptized that weekend in Pittsburgh. So we decided to go to my parents to trick or treat. Joey was sooooooooo excited! He was dressed up like Woody from Toy Story and Luke was Buzz Lightyear. My little Woody ran from house to house trying to collect candy. But the most fun part of the night for him was handing out candy at my parents house. He stood at their front window saying "more kids!" And he ran to the door to open it and give them candy. It was so much fun to see him so excited. We even hooked up the computer to Skype and Joe was able to watch Joey on the computer:)

Here they are all dressed up:

Luke is 2 months!

Today Luke is 2 months old! He looks so much like Joey did when he was that age. I took him today for his 2 month check up and shots. He weighs 14 lbs! He has gained 4lbs in one month. That puts him in the 99th percentile for weight and he is in the 81st percentile for length. This means one thing...we are going to be broke when these two boys are teenagers because they are going to be eating a ton to keep up with their size! The days of Joe eating Joey's leftovers are gone! Tomorrow, Joey, Luke and I are starting our journey home to California with a trip to Pittsburgh. My nephew Cole is getting baptized on Saturday and since Luke had his shots, I am comfortable with flying on an airplane. We will be there until mid next week and my mom is joining us for our flight back to California. We are very excited to get out of this small apartment that we are living in during our stay in Tampa, but we have grown to really like the city. We are going to miss our daily hangouts like Target, Starbucks, the park and the mall to name a few. But with the military, you never know when or if you will be back!

Here are a few more pictures of all of the boys:)

My little angel sleeping:)

Daddy and Joey, best buddies!

Brotherly Love

Joey loves his baby brother. He calls him "Lukie". He loves to hold him and kiss him and lay next to him on the ground. Its a bit much sometimes, like when I am doing something and Joey tries to pick him up. Yep, that's happened. So we have to keep a close eye on Joey to make sure that he doesn't hurt Luke. Here they are together on the couch:

And here is Joey eating his pear. He won't let me cut pears or apples up. He likes to eat them whole, skin and all!

We Survived!

Joe left the country for 2 weeks and Joey, Luke and I were here all alone. Joe travels a lot with his job in California and we have gotten used to it. Usually when he travels, we have our own house and friends to hang out with. We don't know anyone in Tampa. The first week was LONG. We tried to stay busy with going to the park, going to Target, and going to the mall to play at the play area(its really hot here still so going to the park in the morning is hard with a newborn!). At the beginning of the second week, my mom came to visit for a few days. That was a nice break and I was able to get my hair done and go to the grocery store. Finally, 15 days after Joe left, he got back into our apartment at 3:30am. When Joey woke up the next morning and called for me, Joe went in and Joey said "you're back!" We are very happy to have him home!

The Past Two Weeks

Last week, my cousin Tina came to visit. Joey was soooo excited to see her. He talks about her all of the time. During her visit, Joey had her playing and hiding from his invisible polar bear. We also went to the aquarium, park, and a child-free trip to the mall. We had a great visit!

My mom came to visit this past week. While she was here, we went to visit our cousins that live in Sarasota. Joey was so excited to see Charli again. He loves her so much that he ate a chicken finger because that is what she ate when we had lunch together and he doesn't even like chicken fingers! Anyways, while Joey, Rita, Charli and I went down to the water, my mom sat with Luke in the shade and then in the car. We didn't have baithing suits, but still enjoyed touching the sand and sitting in the sun for a little.

Also this week, I took Luke to the dr for a weigh in. At one month, he weighs 10lbs 6oz. He has gained lots of weight in his first month! He loves to eat and sleep. We were having some problems with him sleeping on his back because we both got sick after getting out of the hospital. But his congestion is finally clearing and he is sleeping MUCH better.

Here is my 1 month old Luke!