Have you met my walker??

Each day he takes more and more steps! He has the Frankenstien arms, takes little tiny steps, and is easily distracted and falls but he is so proud of himself and enjoys the applause :)

He went down the slide for the first time the other day and LOVED it! He even figured out how to climb the steps to get to it.

We took the 2 littliest to the aquarium on Friday since it was such a perfect day. Ava became very enchanted with this mermaid. She sat in her lap for 10 minutes and just carried on a conversation with her and made me take a few pics with her too!

Dad gets all the fun this week!

This was definately the week that John got all the fun! That's what happens when you have a nursing baby and 2 girls who care nothing about football!

We live in Tampa where you may/may not know the S*uperBowl will be here on Sunday. They have the NFL experience set up this past weekend and next to see all things football and meet players and do challenges.

John and Johnny had a wonderful day out enjoying the perfect weather and of course, football!

They did a challenge together

Sorry, I have no idea who this is but they got his autograph!



And then the fun continues as he got to go on a field trip with Madeline to the zoo. Again, another perfect weather day

This is an actual turtle swimming by....I didn't think it looked real either

Maybe this week can be mine?!! I'll let you know ;P

A day at the park

We took the opportunity with the kids being out of school for MLK day to hit the park....the weather was wonderful and perfect and it was a great day to spend together as family. We did a lot of hill climbing, played on the play set, had a picnic lunch, then threw the ball and hula hoops around. It was the perfect day :)

All the tree roots were exposed from the hills and erosion....they liked to play "jail"

The girls sitting under a tree!

This boy was never happier! He could have climbed those trees for hours

Ava even did well on the steep hills, she was not one to be left behind!

Boy did my legs hurt after all the climbing!

Happy 10 months Bugga Bugga

My littlest man is 10 months old this morning! Life has brought so many changes for us since his arrival and the world has become a turbulent place. But our faith and our hearts remain strong and our home has become happier and brighter since he joined us. I love this little guy and he makes me proud to be his mama.

The ears, definitely from his mama, sorry about that bugga!

The contagious smile that can lighten a room, the bashful look when strangers speak, the fuzzy blond hair with specks of gold, the adoring eyes of his siblings

The little lips that I love to kiss, the milk breath that I love to inhale and warm my heart with, the furrowed brow that most certainly belongs to Daddy

The little pudgy hands that love to stick in my mouth as I nurse him, that love to pick up dog food and try to eat before being discovered, that crawl at a ferocious pace to get outside in the grass, that love to pull the tail of the cat, and hug on his brother and sisters.

And the chubby feet that are so close to walking, that wouldn't fit into the bottoms of his new jammies because they were too big (feet had to be cut out of PJs!), that one day will walk across the graduation line, walk his new bride down the hall, walk his newborn across the threshold of it's new home....but for now, these are all mine and I will kiss them everyday and smell the wonders of baby feet that will disappear too quickly



note: the date was incorrect on my camera, these were taken 1/13/09

family fun

We went to the circus!!! We go every year, our town is the first stop for Ringling Brothers so we don't miss it. We have been going every year since Johnny was 1 and they look forward to it. This year all the cousins went to so we made it a family outing with dinner afterwards.

My boys

All 7....Ryan and Nick are twins, Ava, Lauren, Madeline, Ian, Johnny....all enjoying ice cream after dinner in Channelside

These girls are so lucky to have each other to grow up with

Where my heart belongs

Happy New Year

What are your resolutions this year? I am not gonna say weight loss because I am already in the process of doing that....I am down 33 lbs since April and have another 13 lbs to go to be at my Weight Watchers goal....currently my short term goal is to lose 4 lbs by the end of January, I am pretty sure I can do that now the holiday temptations are gone! I am kicking butt in the exercise area also but I do want to shoot for my first marathon by next year (2010). I have always wanted to be a runner and my strength and endurance are improving daily so I definitely know I will be ready by then!

I made my resolutions very simple....I am going to walk the dog more often and I am going to do more random acts of kindness. Both are very doable and both yield such powerful positive results for others than myself. Wish me luck!