Sunday, December 26, 2010

Winter Games



Final backyard snowfall tally: 13 inches in 25 hours
I'm not exactly sure when Hampton Roads became the new Denver, Colorado; but our snowfall over the past 3 winters has been kind of crazy. We called it a fluke the first time. We kinda just shrugged and labelled the second time strange but fun... But Hampton Roads snow for 3 years in a row... okay... we've definitely got a new trend here. Time to pack up and move to Texas. But in the meantime... let the fun begin (... again).












And finally some blasts from the pasts...
previous snow entries from the blog (click and scroll)

Snow Cave


We are so snowed in, it's not even funny (okay... so it is funny.. but still...) and apparently we've got a full day of more snow ahead. Hey, if it had to happen, then the day after Christmas is definitely ideal. The kids can't say that they don't have anything to do. And if they do say that... then it's all going back. That's right kiddos... Daddy kept the receipts.



1 pm update...


3 pm update...




... and it's still coming down.

Merry Christmas















Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve

Preparations for the big day...

Mr. Cool gets a haircut. Gotta look good for Christmas photos.



It's Diva Time.



Cake baking time. Hey, tomorrow is Jesus' birthday, after all. The least we can do is bake Him a cake. Can you say Duncan Hines for breakfast? Can't wait.


Bowls have been licked clean and the cake is in the oven. That's a wrap. Speaking of which, it's time to put the kids to bed so we can do the last minute wrapping that is standard tradition for most parents on Christmas Eve. So until next time, Merry Christmas!

Kiddy Update

Quick update on the haps with the kiddos.

Jazzy Stones XX (20 months, 6 days)
The funny part is, I'm not sure if we can legitimately call it potty training since Jasmine Olivia never actually used a potty (not for more than a week or so anyway). She went straight to the real toilet, which we should've seen coming.... the girl is simply too grown for her own good. Anyhow, back to the point: she's been in panties for about 3 weeks. We pretty much knew it was a done deal when she got out of her bed in the middle of the night to let us know that she had to go. In addition to that, she had started waking up dry more often than not. However we still opted to play it safe; switching to pull-ups for naps and nighttime. But last week she made the final transition to a 24-hour big girl; and with the exception of the mommy jinx* (which is almost as good as the daddy blog jinx) she's been accident free for at least a week. Go ahead and save those diapers for the baby dolls, Jasmine. You go girl.




*mommy jinx = when mommy proclaims out loud, "Wow Jasmine hasn't had an accident in over A WEEK"... and Jasmine proceeds to have 3 accidents in about 2 hours. Since then though, she's been back to Mojave status.

In other news, after taking a few months off, her gums are back in business. She's got 2 more teeth coming in (the two just behind the upper canines) which once fully in will bring her total count to 10. Other than that, she's doing great. Unbeknownst to me, she has slowly started picking up the numbers 1 to 10. I asked Justin to count something today, and Jasmine chimed in before he could... counting up to 10 with about 2 mistakes along the way. That amazed me since she unfortunately doesn't get nearly the amount of instruction time that Justin got at her age. I'm so excited that she's still picking this stuff up on her own. She's also slowly sorting through the alphabet... which we sang to Justin every day on the way to childcare back in the day... and seemingly only about 3 times to Jasmine in her entire life (okay, not quite, but it seems that way sometimes... you want to talk about feeling like a bad parent? Who's got time for the alphabet song? We're too busy trying to survive)...

She's also still pushing her brother's buttons like a champion. And still growing her ability to communicate at a mile a minute (Don't do that Justin... No, that's mine... I wun go (with) Daddy... Mommy I wun eat... Mommy duerme? Justin duerme? I help you mommy... the door (is) locked now Daddy... Beat down coming [don't ask]... Clean the booboo daddy... the list goes on forever).


Justin Milestones XXVIII ( 3 years, 6 months)
Speaking of communication... I vividly remember wondering if Justin would ever talk... and now I can vividly describe how it feels to wonder if he'll ever be quiet. That boy can TALK. But more to the point, he's getting halfway decent at spelling, too. NaNa and PopPop learned that the hard way, when about a month ago they tried to "code spell" one of the few words that he happens to know. They were at a fast food joint when NaNa asked PopPop what should they do with the T-O-Y that came with the meal... to which Justin prompted suggested that he should have the toy (and just to be clear he spelled it in the air for them with his finger... I'll take the toy... T-O-Y... thanks)... I wish I was there to take a picture of their expressions. Would've been classic. Anyhow, he's also got boy, joy, mat, cat, hat, the, stop, obviously his name, and a few other words... and is doing pretty good with figuring out how to spell things based on the sounds that each letter makes. Now we've just gotta keep finding time in the day to develop all of these newfound skills.

Lastly, he also made his first dentist appointment (as a patient... he came one time previously just to check it out). An easy breezy good time. We can only cross our fingers to hope that Jasmine will be just the same... but if she takes to the dentist like they both take to needles at the doctor (these kids will literally cry for spilt milk at home, but won't shed a tear for a 2-inch needle)... then I've got a feeling that we'll be good to go.



Friday, December 17, 2010

Fashion Week

Reason #7,243 that Daddy Days are the coolest: The kids get to dress themselves. Armani? Vera Wang? Dolce & Gabbana? That's so last year... We're talking 2011 fashions here. These kids stay on the cutting edge.





First down the runway, we have Justin with daddy's hat, mommy's scarf, daddy's polo shirt & underwear, and of course daddy's ipod. And here comes the star of the show... Jasmine is wearing her own line of pajamas, draped with Justin's jacket, the ipod her brother had just seconds ago, and an ace bandage wrapped around her head. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think Milan is ready. Cutting edge stuff here. Cutting edge. Enough to send Christian Dior back to the drawing board. Bravo.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Monday, December 13, 2010

Tigger & The Bee

I don't know what the rest of Hampton Roads knew last night, but no one in this house had a clue that we'd be waking up to a winter wonderland this morning. And as you know, this family is not one to miss out on an opportunity for free fun. And so... ladies and gentlemen... here's to a new family tradition. Welcome to the inaugural "First Winter Snowfall Costume Party." Let the games begin!















Friday, December 10, 2010

Founders Inn

Last night we all went to eat at the Swan Terrace restaurant at the Founders Inn. I don't think V had been there since her pre-wedding day stay in the president's suite. As for last night... I would say that the occasion was not nearly as significant as her previous visit there... but that may depend on who you ask. For V, all-you-can-eat pasta (made-to-order right in front of you) at a nice restaurant with well-behaved children (who eat for free on Thursdays) and Christmas lights to boot may very well be a close second to our wedding day. Anyhow, the Founders Inn is just as nice as it was 5 years ago (actually, it was even nicer with their elaborate Christmas decorations). I'll be back on Saturday to shoot family portraits for a client... which gives me 48 hours to try and digest all of the pasta I ate. Scrumptious.



Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Jazzy Stones XIX

Welcome to Graduation
In truth, Jasmine Olivia's crib conversion was a bit overdue... as evidenced by her potty training progress (unfortunately part of being potty trained is having the ability to actually get to the potty) and her multiple escape attempts (which mostly have involved Justin as an accessory to the crime and so far have thankfully all been unsuccessful)... However, the continued ability to contain at least one of these crazy children as needed has simply been too delicious for us to pass up. But alas, she has gained her freedom. And the world will never be the same.












PS... Chances are, you're asking yourself, what's up with the boots?! Amazingly, those were totally her idea. As her first order of business when she woke up, she went to the closet and put them on herself (much to our surprise, she can zip them up and all). I never would've thought that a one year old could have a shoe fetish... but once again, the girl has defied my logic.