On the mend

Here's a health update for our fans who might be wondering....just when I thought things were better yesterday, I went to get Milo after nap and he was covered in the yuck too :( Poor baby. Thankfully, he has only had one little gagging episode since, and just 2 sick diapers. He's nursing just fine, and Dominic is now able to eat and drink successfully as well. So things seem to be improving, nobody seems to be losing the contents of their stomach anymore. And so far, Bronius and I are feeling fine as well. Thanks be to God! I pray it stays that way!

We had a really nice day at home....the kids were so low-key that we were able to get some serious Saturday cleaning done. Disinfecting, dusting, moving some furniture around, scrubbing bathrooms and the kitchen down, reorganizing the art shelf and laundry room....and then everyone took a good nap, and we woke up Daddy started his AMAZING "get well soon" chicken stew in the crock pot that ALWAYS delivers its promise (whole chicken with carrots, onions, garlic cloves, parsley, potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and some other things I'm forgetting) and Dominic and I baked oatmeal cookies. Then we bundled up the kids and took them for a ride around the block in their wagon, and we took a quick trip to get some firewood and rent a movie. Then we had our stew, enjoyed the fire, and listened to Prairie Home Companion. Honestly, this was the ideal "stay at home" day for me!!! I always forget that sick days can be very work-intensive, but the nice perks are quiet, calm, sweet sweet children who want to snuggle and go to bed without any protests! :)



Dominic bowing after the puppet show he put on for me





My accomplishment today. Converting the beautiful changing table that Elizabeth gave us (THANKS ELIZABETH!) into Dominic's new art storage corner. There's even room for my cookbooks on top! (a work in progress...I'm still working on our clutter problem!)

Freaky Friday

We're having a weird day here. After making dinner last night, Dominic blew on the flame on the burner on the stove while I was cooking, and apparently I forgot to turn off the gas (because the flame was gone, and so I assumed the gas was off). I was almost CERTAIN I had turned off the gas. I have left the burner on low one or two times during dinner, but never just the gas. So at any rate, I left for a meeting and Bronius put the kids to bed, and apparently gas was leaking for 2.5 hours. I come home and smell it immediately and freak out. Bronius tells me everything's under control, everything will be fine. However he wakes up at 2 am with an epiphany, convinced that there's a gas leak in the attic. So we're both freaked out and afraid to fall asleep (and definitely not turn on a light switch). We eventually decide we don't smell anything, so we should probably be okay. We fall asleep until 5:30 am when Dominic awakens throwing up! And then Milo woke up. And no one went back to sleep. And Dominic threw up 5 more times. Bronius is worried he is throwing up because of a gas leak, I'm fairly certain it was something picked up from school. We call our gas company and they send a rep over immediately to check the house out. So Dominic is hurling, and the gas guy is combing the house with his gadgets trying to detect any leaks. He tells me NOT to toast the bagels OR put the clothes in the dryer until he's done checking. He's done, everything's fine, and Dominic's tummy settles for a half hour or so. The storm has passed, for the time being. Then I hear that Bronius ran out of gas on the way to work and had to walk to a gas station, walk back to his car, fill it up, and then he got to work one hour later. WEIRD DAY! I'm going to go rest while I can and pray things get better in the afternoon!

A Dominic funny

Background: There was a weird rattling sound the rear a/c vent when we got our van from Austin. Because we were in a hurry, the dealership told us we could bring the van back anytime and they'd take care of the problem for us. Thinking it might be covered under warantee anyway, we went to our local Mazda dealership and they took apart the rear a/c and found a dead MOUSE in there. They informed us that was not something covered in the warantee so we'd have to take it back to Austin. So three months later, we finally make it back out to Austin, with our petrified friend in-tow (bless his soul). Worried that the dealership wouldn't do the work for us or might charge us for the work involved, we don't mention that we know that we're toting a stowaway in the van. However, Dominic at some point has picked up on what is going on, and we had no idea of this.

Dominic to the salesman: "Do all these cars have provlems?" (looking at cars with their hoods up)
S: "Well, uh yes!"
D: "Our car has a BIG provlem."
S: (chuckling) "It does?"
D: "Yeah. There's a mouse. In HERE." (smiling smartly and pointing to the grill)
S: "Oh really?" looking at me

I sort of played it off and walked away, not knowing what to do! When we came back to pick up the car, neither of us knew what to expect. The salesman told us that our son was GIFTED. That he must have ESP, because they had found a mouse in our vent! I'm sure we'll be telling this jewel in our family for years to come....

Fave Reads for Jan 2009

Fox in Socks - Dr. Seuss (great rhymes!)
Go to Sleep Groundhog - Judy Cox (right in time for Groundhog Day)
The Zoo at Night - Martha Robinson
The Doorbell Rang - Pat Hutchins (good counting book)
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World - Marjorie Priceman
Pretend Soup (and other recipes) - Molly Katzen (we got the idea for chocolate banana and chocolate strawberry smoothies from this book!)
Every Friday - Dan Yaccarino (great story for a Dad and son)
Bats at the Beach- Brian Lies
Nathan's Balloon Adventure - Lulu Delacre
Smash! Crash! Jon Scieszka

I've been looking around for a preschool-friendly book about the solar system, since Dominic is really interested in the planets. If anyone comes across one, please let me know, and any favorite books you've been reading lately!

R.I.P. Afternoon Nap

I suppose this has been coming for awhile now, and I'm not sure that it's permanent because Dominic napped all last week but Friday, and hasn't napped since then, so I'd like to mark the occasion with a little note here so that I remember when naptime died. It's so hard to say goodbye! Especially when I used to nap during that time and it would fuel my energy boost for the rest of the night. Sighhhhhh. Bye bye nap, hello coffee.


* Edited to note, for my records, that Dominic napped again this week. So he's in a miss one/take one pattern.

A Mother's Rule of Life

So it's no surprise that non-school days, while relaxed and enjoyable mostly, are comparitively much more unstructured for Dominic than days at school. So as a result, I spend the majority of the day bouncing from room to room doing stuff, and catching up on the computer throughout the day, and I haven't been very good about making time to just play with the kids on these days. It's SUCH a balancing act, because as you all know, the house does not clean itself, as my Mom used to say under her breath when I was a teenager and she didn't think I heard her :) And since every attempt I make at tidying or communicating with the outside world is thwarted, I thought that if I grouped my tasks along with a task for the kids that maybe everyone would be pleased!

With Dominic only napping when it tickles his fancy, and school coming around the corner for me, we're in need of an adjusted routine. So a friend reminded me of "A Mother's Rule of Life" and this is my "rule", a work in progress, for the time being! Just thought I'd share! (And I tag anyone who reads this to do the same so I can see your rule! Except I don't know how to tag.....haha)

Non-School Day schedule:

7-7:30 am - change diapers and jammies, breakfast, make beds
8 am - have prepared activity for each child, then load/unload dishwasher or laundry
8:30 am - catch up a little on lap top in living room
9 am - play with kids together
9:30 am - 10 am - lay Milo down for nap, give Dominic a quiet activity while doing that (like making ice cubes, his latest obsession)
Spend Milo's naptime doing something with Dominic, then finish getting ready yourself.
11 am - 12:30 either an outing, or prep for lunch, eat lunch
1:30 pm - get Milo settled for nap, set Dominic up with activity
Read stories with Dominic, and let him be in his bed for quiet time from 2-3 pm
3:30 pm - snack time for everyone
4-5 pm - start a baking, cooking or cleaning activity WITH Dominic. Have him help with some aspect of getting dinner on.
5-5:30 - go for a walk outside, visit with neighbors, get mail
5:45 pm - get dinner on the table
6:30 pm - baths for kids
7 pm - bed for Milo, stories & prayers for Dominic
7:15-7:30 - bed for Dominic
7:30- 9:30 - tidy up house a little, start assignments, SHOWER (hooray!)
9:30-10 - catch up with Bronius, have night prayer.


Reminders:
*plan meals and activities the night before, set up what you can ahead of time
*avoid prolonged computer time, do it in little chunks throughout the day
*always set Dominic up with an activity before nursing Milo or getting him down for naps
*involve Dominic in fun aspects of housework, make them teachable moments
*save laundry piles for the end of the night when you can sit DOWN on the couch and watch a favorite taped show

Milo at Austin Children's Museum

Fresh air

Please write to Congress about FOCA

Please read the information below and join us in prayer and fasting January 11-19, 2009.

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) will be signed into law if Congress passes it on January 21-22, 2009. If signed into law, ALL limitations on abortion will be lifted, resulting in the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, will be required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens, Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals - more then 30% of all hospitals in the U.S.

2) Partial birth abortions will be legal and have no limitations.

3) All U.S. taxpayers will be funding abortions.

4) Informed consent laws protecting women would be eliminated

5) Parental notification of abortions on minors will no longer be required (regardless of age).

Just as important, the government will now have control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, Down Syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are allowed to have.

Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly true. As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one.

PLEASE JOIN US IN saying a novena (9 days of prayer) and fasting from January 11-19. For Catholics, the prayer of choice is the rosary for the special intention of stopping the FOCA. For non-Catholics we encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intention for 9 consecutive days. We hope and pray this will branch and blossom to become a global effort.

Please do the following 3 things:

1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people within 3 days or less (so as many as possible can start praying on January 11th)

2) Say a novena from January 11-19, asking God to prevent the FOCA from becoming law in the U.S.

3) Fast at least 2 days during this novena (either a complete fast of bread and water, or a Lenten fast of no meat and meals limited to 1 regular meal and 2 lesser meals during the day).

There is also more information about FOCA at the US Bishops' site.

Write to your congressman or congresswoman and tell them your thoughts at Senate and House.

Congratulations, Melissa Ann!

Today we celebrated Melissa Ann's baptism, the daughter and first child of our special friends Eric and Danielle. We were so privileged to be asked to be Melissa's godparents, and we are excited about watching this sweet baby grow and being a part of her faith journey all throughout her life! Congratulations baby Melissa, God bless you on the most important day of your life! :)

Around the house moments

Self portrait of the artists.







Dominic enjoys his tabletop easel!






Our version of a boxcar.

Dominic interview

We were playing with pens and paper while Milo was napping, and I decided to do an interview with Dominic about some of his favorite things these days. I thought I'd share them here! If you end up interviewing your child/ren, share! I'd love to read these! :)





Dominic's Favorites - 3.5 years old

Color - green
Number - 4
Letter - A
School friend - Jiwon
Snack - chocolate and strawberries, and cake (recalling our fondue experience)
Thing to do inside - blow up balloons and throw them in the air
Dinner - salad and corn
Planet - earth
Animal - elephant
Holiday - Halloween
Job at school - pouring
Song - What's the Weather
Shape - Circle
Thing to paint - pumpkins
Thing to do outside - swing and slide and hang
Park - Central
Story - Caps for Sale
Thing about church - singing
Prayer - Our Father
Bible Story - manna from heaven
Christmas song - Jingle Bell Rock and Away in a Manger
Thing to do with Daddy - when he throws me high up to the air
With Mommy - nature walks
With Milo - try to make him laugh
Movie - Wall E
Word- Hello
Sport - baseball
Place in town - the Mall and the Bounce
What makes me sad - someone bothering me
What makes me happy - drawing


I wanted to ask more, but Milo woke up after a half hour. :) To be continued!

Family visitors

Here are some pictures of our family that came from NYC and London to see us over the holidays. We were sad to see them go, but so thankful for the time spent together!




At my parents home, Steve, me and Les with Uncle Dennis, my Dad's brother, a (mostly) retired ENT doctor in London.
















Uncle Dennis with Dominic
















Uncle Dennis with Milo















And now over to Senele's house.....


Dominic and cousin Erazmas
















Dominic and cousin Zina
















Bronius with his big sis Milda

Dominic is 3.5 years old!

I've waited so long to write an update about you, Dominic! You have been such a good sport in these last few months, Daddy and I am so proud of all that you've accomplished and we tell you this daily. You are 3.5 years old next week, and here are some things you are doing. You love your tinker toys and legos, all you want to do ALL day is build, build, build, and PAINT. You produce at least 50 paintings a day, all masterpieces, of course. We are turning them into birthday cards and may seriously have to consider renting gallery space at the rate you are going. ;) You have been doing so much on your own the last six months - brushing teeth, putting on shoes, potty trips, and putting toys away to name a few. You are enjoying school and making good friends there, you adore your teachers! At school you love doing your jobs, but I think you most enjoy serving snack and cleaning up afterwards, and playing outside as well. I always find you on the playground with sticks and stones in your hands. You are very helpful to me with baby brother at home. You will run to get burp cloths, diapers and toys for Milo, and you're always ready to console Milo or cheer him up. You love to give Milo "raspberries" and play "get him" with Milo, and show him how things work. We love watching your relationship blossom! You love reading stories, and your favorite game is "I spy." You like making up jokes (most of which have no punchline, but that's just fine) and asking questions about everything. We just recently helped you say good bye to your pacifiers....and you were a great sport about it. You're interested in composing letters in blocks, playdoh and marbles...but not pen and paper yet. :) You know your prayers very well, and when in a willing mood, you will pray with us. You LOVE to hum and sing, and you are constantly humming songs. You inherited Daddy's violin a few months ago and you really enjoy pulling it out of the case and "practicing." You do it with great attention, focus and gentleness...soon you will be ready for lessons. We love you so much and we're very proud of you!

Milo is 8 months old!

Our sweet baby boy is 8 months old!!! Milo, you are in such happy and curious stage this month, so wiggly and bouncy, and yet such a delight to cuddle with. I love watching everything that you find interesting. A motorcycle driving by, a football flying through the air, a dog trotting on the ground....everything fascinates you. I love it when Daddy brings you to our bed in the morning to play with us a little bit before the day starts. I love your chubby little hands and how they grab my nose (and pull my hair). You're such a bundle of fun! Here's what else you're up to month.... you nurse about 6 or 7 times a day, sometimes more, and you have solids in some form or fashion at least once. Lately you love picking up rice and eating it, and bits of banana, avocado and bread. You are SO eager to eat what we are eating! And it makes you mad if we don't let you have some! Sleeping - you are sleeping 7 pm - 11 pm at night, and then after a feeding you sleep till 6:30 or sometimes 7 am. You nap about an hour in the morning and about 2 in the afternoon. You're not crawling yet, but you are still lunging....it won't be long, I don't think! You love playing peek a boo and "get him" with Dominic. You are putting EVERYTHING in your mouth and I am SO glad you're not on the move yet, or you'd seriously be eating everything in sight. We are so proud of how you are growing, we just wish you'd slow down a little. ;) Happy 8 months big boy!

Happy New Year 2009!

I got to enjoy an evening of jazz, fondue, champagne, gorgeous lights, and charming company - and I didn't even need to leave the house :) Happy New Year everyone, wishes of good health and happiness in the coming days ahead for us all!

Zoo trip 2008

We try to take an end of the year trip every year, we started this as a couple and we're on year 8 now. It's definitely a tradition by now :) We used to make them overnights, but we decided to simplify this year since we've traveled so much these last 2 months. We went to the Cameron Park zoo and had a wildly good time. ;) We found a Greek Mom and Pop restaurant and had a picnic at the zoo, and then made a stop for ice cream afterwards. The sun was shining all day and it was gorgeous weather. Milo napped beautifully in the stroller and both kids took a snooze on the way home (it has been 1 week FYI since Dominic took an afternoon nap!) We loved watching the elephants, I stood mesmerized in front of them and had to be pulled away. Among the new acquaintances we met today were hairy scorpions, a nice variety of slithery snakes, and the most amusing white-handed gibbon apes. God's creation never ceases to amaze me, and inspire my imagination. How creative God is, and how wonderful that we humans are the pinnacle of His handiwork! Anyways, all musings aside, go to the Cameron Park Zoo if you haven't! It's lovely. So well-maintained, easy to get around in, and far away from the hustle and bustle. Very affordable as well, kids 3 and under are free!

Merry Christmas!

We're back online now, after our Kucios celebration with Bronius' family and also our stay with my family for Christmas, and we had a wonderful and blessed time together. Bronius' family however, is still jet-setting in Cancun as we speak, and have yet to return. :) We are looking forward to seeing them at the end of this week. We feel so rested, and really eager to greet the new year with all of our hopes, dreams and prayers. In the meantime, we're trying to find ways to continue celebrating the remaining days of Christmas in our home. May the blessings of Christmas continue to bring joy and hope to your days!

Here are just a few pictures....



Me admiring the incredible painting Bronius made for me...an interpretation of the Luncheon of the Boating party by Renoir in the style of Marc Chagall.



A family picture of the Motekaitis side, missing two siblings and their families, at Senele's house (Bronius' Mom).












My Dad with Milo at their home.

















Uncle Steve helps Dominic get suited up as a knight.















Dominic with Aunt Les' new puppy Howie.

















Dominic doing a dinosaur dig at the Museum of Natural Science.

Home is where the hearth is

We have all been enjoying the roasty, toasty fireplace this month! Granted, it's back to 70 degrees today, but tomorrow we may see snow again, you never know!

I can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow. The Advent season is always so busy that it always seems to go so fast, so we're trying to slow things down and let peace find us in our hearts. The waiting has been so long, and the time for rejoicing is so near. I pray that the anticipation of the birth of our Savior will bring light, warmth and encouragement to our hearts as we approach Christmas! The peace of Christ be with us all!

Christmas Caroling

We went door to door with neighbors to Christmas carol tonight. Yup, our family DEFINITELY isn't afraid of looking weird. ;) Some neighbors were surprised and some neighbors surprised US with treats. We had a great time spreading Christmas cheer!

Bread pudding

I made a bunch of butter and jelly sandwiches and had cut them in shapes for Dominic's school Christmas party, and I didn't even think about what to do with the crusts. My ever resourceful husband left a bunch of recipes up for me to see in the morning on the kitchen lap top for bread pudding. Brilliant man! So I got straight to work! I had never made it before, and I was pleased with how it came out. I added pomegranate seeds to give it a little punch and a festive appearance, but it did not turn out very sweet. And I didn't prepare any vanilla sauce with it. So I'd recommend if you try this recipe and you prefer sweetness, then prepare a sauce to serve it with or add more sugar. This is turning out to be an EXCELLENT breakfast.

This recipe yielded two dishes for me, so bring one to a neighbor :) I think we'll make this for breakfast on Christmas day, it's just so warm and yummy. Okay I'm going on and on. This is actually modified from the food networks recipe for peanut butter and jelly bread pudding, which didn't appeal to me, so I left out the pb and j. I'd include a real picture instead of the food network's one, but mine is half eaten already... ;)



Ingredients

* 4 cups whole milk
* 6 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 cups coarsely chopped bread crust, from 1 (20-ounce) loaf white bread (or the same amount of day-old bread)
* any fruit on hand, preferably dried fruit. Bakers chocolate works well too!
* Unsalted butter, for greasing pan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13 by-9-inch baking pan.

Put 2 cups milk, the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl, then whisk in the remaining 2 cups milk. Stir in the bread and set aside to soak for about 10 minutes. Pour this mixture into the prepared baking pan. Place spoonfuls of your favorite fruits or ingredients into the bread mixture, pushing them in a bit with your spoon. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pudding is browned, puffed, and a little firm. Let cool. Cut into squares to serve.

Dessert Night and Ornament Exchange

With ever busy schedules, our little playgroup does not see each other very often these days. But we were sure to make time for the important things in life tonight - good company, and dessert! This was a desperately needed night out for me and I had a great time ladies! I am thankful for the good friends which bless my life, pictured here, and not pictured here!

No-sew fleece poncho

I LIKE the sound of that! Ideally, I'd love to crochet or knit one, but I have not yet acquired those skills. Cutting fleece however, I have mastered. A good friend put this notion into my head and now I will not stop until I have a poncho! Even if it means I have to make it (oh dear!) Professionally sewn ponchos retail at $150-$250, although some are on sale at certain sites and I found some cute stuff on etsy.com. But I just can't let myself spend any more money this month!!! The weather has not been cold enough to consider something like this until recently, and now I desperately need something to just drape over Milo when we're going from here to there and don't feel like lugging the stroller around. I'm going to give this a go, and I'll post about it if it works!

Here are some sites with info if you'd like to try!

Gypsy Mama

Magic City Singers

The launch

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ........ PACI LAUNCH!

By George, we did it! We said that we would do it and indeed we did! (for all you My Fair Lady fans) We tied up Dominic's pacifiers to a cluster of balloons and let them go out into the wild blue yonder, yesterday! Unfortunately, we did not account for the wind, and Bronius tried to warn me that because we launched from our backyard, that we would not see the balloons for very long, with all the houses obstructing our view. We had barely let go of the balloons and the wind whisked them away and they went careening in the opposite direction! We chased them to the front of the house and watched them bobbing over the roof tops....gaining plenty of speed, but hardly any height, so if you see some balloons in a nearby tree...........

To celebrate, Dominic got to watch his first big kid movie with popcorn and cocoa with us, Wall E, and he LOVED it. Fantastic film, I highly recommend it. Dominic had a little trouble falling asleep last night...he wasn't asking for his paci, but he just played and sang and talked in his bed...for two hours. So I had to go in and remind him that everything was fine, that it was really exciting that this was his first night in 3.5 years to fall asleep without his paci, and what a big boy he was, and it seemed to do the trick! Congratulations DOMINIC!!!!!!!!!! :)

Just a really long footnote about why it has taken us so long to get rid of the paci. that sounds like a long list of excuses and probably is: Dominic has been using his paci at naptime and bedtime and we've just been lazy about helping him say goodbye to it...he hasn't really needed or wanted them for SOME time, but after getting a new baby brother, a new bed and room, then starting school, we didn't want to shock his little system with too much adjustment. And then we had so much trouble with Milo's sleep, and we were scared we'd have trouble with Dominic's sleep if we took the paci away too, and that scared us out of our minds, and then both of them were sick for so long, and then we took a big road trip and the paci helped him be content the ENTIRE time - and yada yada yada. Finally I became decisive and realized this would go on forever and so we quit cold turkey yesterday. I must say, I'm relieved to see that the world has not stopped! :)

MORE!

Flurries!

We're having our own little winter wonderland over here in Texas! It's so magical! However, I am glad we do not have to deal with this regularly. My parents shoveled their share of snow for years in Wisconsin, and apparently, it does get old (hence our move to sunny South Florida). But not here, not now! :)

Meanwhile, I'm on day 3 at home with a baby with an ear infection and a 3 year old with bronchitis, so, I suppose it's a good day to be indoors. We're eating warm goodies and re-discovering fun, old toys to keep the day interesting! I'm off to make a hot meal for our favorite dinner guest, Daddy. Please pray that the kids feel better soon!

Fave reads for Christmas (2008)

Here is what we've been enjoying this month so far, I thought I'd share! We really love Leo Lionni, he's definitely the author of the month around here!


The Christmas Star - Marcus Pfister
B is for Bethlehem - Isabel Wilner
St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend - Julie Stiegemeyer
The Little Drummer Boy - Ezra Jack Keats
The 12 Days of Christmas - Jan Brett
On The Night You Were Born - Nancy Tillman
Frederick - Leo Lionni
Inch By Inch - Leo Lionni
Matthew's Dream - Leo Lionni
Castles, Caves and Honeycombs - Linda Ashman
Christmas Around the World- Emily Kelley

Milo is seven months old!

Baby Milo is 7 months old today! Here are some bits about what he is up to these days...

Eating - Milo nurses about 6-7 times a day, and I try to give him some solid food for lunch or dinner. He's still being acquainted with solids, he is very interested in real food though!

Sleeping - Milo gets 2 naps each day, and 3 if one of them was short. He sleeps about an hour in the morning and about 2-2.5 in the afternoon. He goes to bed at 7 pm, and wakes around 10 for a feeding, and then sleeps till 6 am. I never thought I'd be so excited to wake up at 6 am! Anything's better than 4! ;)

Playing - Milo loves to grab spoons and he forcefully pulls cups out of people's hands. He thinks every glass of water in the world was poured just for him. It's really cute. He tries to grab our food, he really wants to eat the real stuff! He LOVES when people sing to him, and clapping hands, he gets so excited about that.

Milestones - Milo is sitting all by himself...mostly. He still tumbles, and rolls, but I have been surrounding him with pillows. And he is very happy with this arrangement. He is free to see all that is going on and grab what he wants to play with at will. Dominic loves interacting with him in this new way now! Milo has two bottom teeth, and I suspect some top ones are trying to emerge.

Personality - I'm still getting to know Milo, and maybe it's the stage he's in, but it seems he wants to be held, yet doesn't want to be held, simultaneously. It's very tricky to figure out what he wants sometimes, like laughing and crying at the same exact time. He is becoming quite squirmy too! I am wondering where our cuddly moments have gone already! He is a smiley baby who really enjoys attention. He's a good sport about having to be on the go, and I try to temper that with one-on-one time with him while big brother is at school.

Stats: still haven't been for his 6 month vaccinations, but I'm hoping to be scheduled for those next week and I'll have stats then!

Advent 2008

I am still catching my breath from our vacation, trying to unpack and get this household up to speed again, so I haven't had a chance yet to mark the beginning of Advent on our blog here! I am trying not to get too excited and run in too many directions at once, but there is so much I want to do with Dominic now that he is older and can participate in our traditions and probably appreciate them more! I am going to work on a Jesse Tree with him this week, and I'm including a little description here of the traditions behind the Advent season and the wreath for anyone who may be interested. This is taken from a blog that I absolutely adore and visit frequently to be inspired! www.showerofroses.blogspot.com. Now I'm off to think up some ornament ideas for the Jesse tree :)

Blessings of peace and joy to you and yours as we welcome the Advent season, and create a sacred space for the birth of the Savior of the World in our hearts and homes!


The Advent Wreath


I love the tradition of the Advent wreath. It so totally packed with symbolism! It is such a great way to teach the children even more about God, Christ and the Christmas season.

The round shape stands for God's eternity. Like God, it has no beginning and no end.

The greens used to make the wreath are EVERgreen, and therefore unchanging, just like God.

The four candles symbolize the four centuries that man waited for the coming of our Savior.

Three of the candles are purple since Advent is a time of penance. It was because of our sinfulness that we needed a Savior, and so we must prepare ourselves through sacrifice and penance during Advent for Christ's coming at Christmas. However, we know that Christ HAS and IS coming again, and so our penance is a joyful one! We are joyfully anticipating and preparing ourselves for the celebration of Christmas, as well as Christ's second coming. Therefore, one candle is pink to represent our joy.

On the first Sunday of Advent we light one purple candle. On the second Sunday of Advent, two purple candles are lit. On the third Sunday of Advent, which is called "Gaudete Sunday", we light the pink candle since "Gaudete" means "let us rejoice!" And then, on the fourth (and final) Sunday of Advent, all four candles are lit. The gradual lighting of the candles is a visible sign for us. We can see the light growing brighter the closer we get to birth of Christ, who IS the light of the world!


Each Sunday of Advent, we pray as a family at the dinner table around our wreath and sing O Come Emmanuel.

Prayers taken from "The Little Handbook of Prayers."

The First Week
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray Thee and come; That, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue from approaching dangers brought on by our sins, and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

The Second Week
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thine only-begotten Son, that through His coming we may be worthy to serve Thee with purified minds. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

The Third Week
Incline Thine ear to our prayers, O Lord, we beseech Thee; and make bright the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

The Fourth Week
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we beseech Thee, and come; and with great power come to our aid, that, by the help of Thy grace, that sins may be hastened by Thy merciful forgiveness. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

Destin Slideshow

Back from the Emerald Coast

Well after months of packing and planning, we are back from our Emerald Coast Thanksgiving vacation. I still can't believe we pulled it off! I really thought I might chicken out of the 11 hour drive. My WONDERFUL HUSBAND did 99.9% of the driving, and was a champ about the whole thing. And since we're throwing around inaccurate percentages, I stayed awake with him for at least 80% of the trip! (mostly because I couldn't recline my seat due to Milo's carseat being behind me). We drove through the night on the way down (insane, don't recommend it, but we got there in record time, in time to see the sun rising over the gulf and just as Whataburger opened up so we could grab breakfast tacos). The kids slept most of the way, save for the moments we pulled into gas stations and we were all blinded by the lights. Milo stirred on and off because he had a dry cough, poor baby, but it was an uneventful drive, thank goodness!

We arrived in Destin and settled in to this fantastic beach house that was three stories high, and for ONCE everyone had their own rooms, which was nice for Uncle Steve who always ends up on a random couch without any blankets when we all get together. Once everyone arrived, we got out to the beach as much as possible, and thanks to our little golf cart, we made several trips over each day, and amassed several piles of sand from our shoes at the front door as a result. ;) Sarah and Josh made amazing fresh, healthy, hearty and organic meals for us around the clock, and we all took turns with housework, so it really felt like a vacation! We played tennis, board games and watched movies, and had family prayer, and it just felt like old times. I am so thankful for this time we all had together. We all REALLY needed to get away from our busy schedules and just enjoy life.

The kids slept REALLY well, considering all the madness. Dominic always started out in someone else's bed and we would move him down to our room to sleep with Milo once we were going to bed, and that worked out well. We all coslept in a King bed and I really treasure those memories most of all. I was anxious about how that part would go, thinking no one would get good sleep, but it really went well. Dominic and Milo slept in between us and would often wake up at 6:30 and just play quietly until we woke up at 7 in between us. Those are such sweet memories for me!

It was a fast trip, and thanks to my CHAMPION marathon driver husband, we are home safe and sound, as are everyone else. I am so thankful we got to do this, I hope we can turn this into a tradition now that I know I can survive an 11 hr car trip with kids! :)