Halloween 2009

This Halloween was much better than last year. There were no melt downs by Evan or his cousin Cate. The only thing "bad" about this year was the weather, although it wasn't cold it did rain, thankfully we got some trick or treating in before it really came down.

Evan was Spongebob again this year, since he didn't wear it for very long last year. Joni was Minnie Mouse. She didn't like her ears, but everyone still knew who she was. At the beginning of trick or treating she had no clue what was going on, but she really wanted to carry her bag. By the end I was carrying the bag, too heavy for her. She would go up to the door, get her candy, hold on to it until the next door then put it in the bag so she could get the next candy. It was so cute. Also Evan and Cate had gotten so far ahead, with Uncle Jim, that we lost them so we went by ourselves.

Joni is 18 months old

Well where has the time gone. I can't believe it has been a year and a half already. Today we went to the doctor and Joni is growing right along. She is now 32" tall and weighs 25 pounds. It won't be long before she weighs more than Evan does. She had to get two shots today, Hep A and flu shot, thank goodness.

Also found out today that she needs to see the Orthopedic to make sure she isn't going to end up bow legged. She might get that from Pop Pop Larry, since he is. So I need to make that appointment. Other than that she is doing well, the ears are clearing up from her ear infections, but we have another infection to deal with from the antibotic, which will hopefully clear up in 7-10 days with medicine. So we finish up one medicine and start another.

It won't be long before she is two, time is going by way to fast.

We took Evan fishing again

Since today was going to be a great day we decided to take Evan fishing again and it didn't disappoint. He caught about eight fish this time, two of which were catfish. Evan didn't know what to make of them, as you can see in one of the picture. They were also the first two to be caught in the pond , which Pop Pop Larry was happy about. The rest of the fish were bluegill.

After fishing we had another surprise for Evan, he got to ride on the four wheeler. First daddy took it for a spin to get used to riding again, then Evan got his turn. He really liked it and when he is big enough will get to drive it himself. Mommy also rode for the first time, took it slow but did it. Joni got a slow ride as well, she really liked it, in fact she was trying to drive it.

Day at the Water Park

Today was a great family day, we don't get many of these since money is tight. A couple of weeks ago I received an email about a free family day at Downpour water park in Algonkian, so we couldn't pass this up. A local church and organization were sponsoring it, all you had to do was bring in a new backpack to donate to a local charity and got all day free to the water park, miniature golf and the moon bounce. It was our first time at the water park and it was a blast. For me it was weird being back there, since I was there a lot as a kid, when it was just a pool.

They still had the big pool and the baby pool was transformed to this big water play area. It had a couple of little slides, water features everywhere some even had wheels that you could turn to adjust the water pressure and a huge bucket that filled up with water and dump about every 5 minutes or so. It comes down with such force that my bathing suit bottom almost came off, but it was fun. Evan actually did it and wasn't afraid.

Joni had a lot of fun as well. She didn't mind the water falling on her head, she would actually walk through a couple of them. There was also this other section that had water features, but you were on the concrete not in the pool. It had fountains everywhere and had the cone shaped buckets that filled up with water and dumped on you, Evan and Paul did this one. There was also a Flower shower, which Joni liked.

Where the diving boards used to be were to giant tube slides. We couldn't go on those because the kids weren't tall enough. Evan might be able to go next year if he has grown any by then. They also had a couple of slides that looked like tree trunks for smaller kids, who could swim, go on. Evan loved going on the one is the shallow end because he was tall enough that he didn't go under. The other one was in the deeper end, which we saw the lifeguard jump in twice within 5 minutes to save to little kids whom couldn't swim. Why there parents let them I don't understand?

Anyway it was a lot of fun and will have to go back next year for sure, just wish I had remembered the camera.

Joni's 15 month checkup

She is doing great. She is 31" tall and weighs 23 lbs 4 ozs. She is following right along the curve. The doctor was happy to hear that she is off the bottle and eating exclusively table food. So to daddy - she is not eating too much, since she is active and goes to the bathroom so much. My little girl does like to eat and so far there is nothing she doesn't like.

The other thing the doctor noticed was that she has about 4 teeth coming in at once. She said that her teeth should be strong and they will all start coming at once since she is a late bloomer. At least she isn't as fussy as she was with the first two.

One last thing was it is too early to tell if she is bow-legged or not. Since she just started walking her legs haven't had a chance to straighten out, but her left leg is curved more than the right so they will monitor it over the next few months to see if there are any changes. Sometimes it could be a late as 5 before it is determined.

So all in all she is growing like she should be and a little ahead. YEAH to Joni!

Evan caught his first fish!

We took the family to Pop Pop Larry's property in Rixeyville, VA to go fishing. Since the first time we went we bought Evan his own pole, so he really wanted to use it. We couldn't have picked a better day. The weather was amazing. It didn't get hot and there was a nice breeze blowing the whole time.

Anyway Evan seemed to be a natural, he casted off like a pro, right out into the middle of the pond.

Here he is fishing,

then not even five minutes later he had his first fish -

Then came the second, third, fourth and fifth.

Mommy even caught a fish too, I think the last time I caught a fish was in the ocean on a family beach trip. This was much easier.

Daddy caught one too, but he was too far away from the camera to get his. Poor Pop Pop Larry didn't catch any, he thinks his hook was took big.

Joni was enjoying the scenery and watching us cheer Evan on. It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun.

This is one of the many dragonflies that were hoovering

Great Falls Park

Today we took the kids to Great Falls Park for the first time. I really wanted to go since it had been raining so much, I knew the water would be raging. The waters didn't disappoint. Evan couldn't believe his eyes. When he first saw the water, he said WOW man that is big! Then he said can we go fishing?

At one of the outlook we saw about five cranes in the water, this was just one of them.
Joni really enjoyed it as well. Every time we stopped at a lookout she was screaming to get out. She really wanted to get out on those rock. Maybe that is a sign of the future, no she just wants to get into everything.
After taking a look at the falls we decided to walk over to River Bend so Evan could see the Dam. At first he didn't want to go because he didn't know what a dam was. Once we explained to him, he was excited to see it.
Here is the dam:
And of course he had to throw a rock in the water.

It was such a beautiful day to go as well. We went early enough that we missed the crowds of people that we there when we left and it wasn't hot yet either. I was surprised that I escaped with out one bug bite. I thought for sure walking through the wet woods I would get something.

Joni eating with a spoon

Joni really enjoys feeding herself with utensils now. This is something I used to freak about with Evan and is probably a reason he doesn't like to get dirty.

Memorial Weekend 2009

We had a busy weekend this year and it just involved the four of us.

On Saturday we took the kids to Burke Lake. Paul and I used to go there when we were dating and ride bikes, can't do that anymore. Anyway we walked around the boat dock and down the pier and saw some small fish and one turtle trying to get a worm on the end of a fish hook. Thankfully the person got it out of the water before he latched on. Then we continued to walk around the HUGE lake, if we did the whole thing it is 4.5 miles. After walking we took the kids on the train and I took them on the carousel. We were going to have a picnic but I think Evan was too pooped out and was ready to go home. So shortly after arriving home Evan's new friend, Augusto, stopped by and they and Joni, her first time, went out in the backyard and played in the sprinkle then later the hose. Augusto sister Roxanna stopped by and she ended up getting soaked in her clothes, but they all had fun, which is what matters. Now my poor little girl, Joni, ended up with major scratches on her knees and lower arms from crawling around in the wet grass.

On Sunday we went out to breakfast, which we haven't done in ages. After that we decided we would try to take Evan fishing since he really wanted to do it the day before. So we tried to find him a kids fishing pole, unsuccessful, but not giving up. So we came home and packed a cooler and headed out to my father-in-law's property in Rixeville, VA anyway knowing there was a fishing pole there we could use. We used Larry's pole and actually caught one fish. I tried to get a picture of it, but by the time I got over there it wiggled it's way off the hook. Evan was upset that he didn't get to cast, but the pole was so long we were afraid he was going to throw the pole in. So we must find a kid pole. That is our mission tomorrow, if it isn't raining too bad.

So until next memorial day!

Joni's one year checkup

All is well with Joni. We went today for her one year checkup. She is now 29 3/4 inches tall, which is the 75 percentile. She weighs 21 lbs and 7 oz, which is 50 percentile. Her head did not change but dropped to the 50 percentile. So she went up in percentage in weight and dropped in the other two. I also found out that I do not need to give her 8 oz of milk at once, as long as she gets between 12-16 ozs a day, that could be why she started throwing some of it up, too much at once. Also the doctor said her top teeth should be coming in anytime, she could see them. Also babies that are older and get teeth tend to not have the teething issues. Let us hope on both of these. I don't need to worry until 15 months, if she still doesn't have more teeth by then.

Evan got a bonus visit today, unexpected. I just mentioned that he will have to be register next month for kindergarten, so when did I need to come back for his TB test. Well they did it today, he was such a wimp this time. I was very surprise. After it was all done, I said see all that for nothing and he agreed. Then Joni had to get two shots herself, which she only cried for a little bit.

Now here is the funny for the day - After all the shots were done and we were getting ready to go - Evan asked the nurses for their phone number - boy he sure is starting early. The one nurse said why do you want my number are you going to take me out for ice cream. Evan said no, I want it so you can come to my house. If this continues he will have a lot of "girlfriends".

I am glad all is well and hope it continues.

JONI IS 1!

Well we survived the first year, it was a rough one and I believe that will continue. She has come a long way. She babbles all the time and is now saying "hi" and "bye" while waving. She loves walking with her walker toy, but hasn't figured out how to turn when she gets stuck. So she just yells until someone comes to help. She has started to stand, very briefly, by herself. I think she will be walking anytime now.

She still has just two teeth. I don't know where the rest are, but they better hurry up so I can have my happy baby back again. Joni got all mixed up on our visit to my parents house the end of March and hasn't been right since. I thought she had a ear infection a week ago because she kept sticking her fingers in her ear, but no. The doctor says a lot of times they feel the pain from the back teeth, but don't know where it is coming from so they go into their ears. She does have a tiny cyst on her upper gum, which is related to teething.

Evan and Joni are having more happy moments together, which makes mommy happy. I think now that Joni can interact, Evan is liking her better. I hope that will only grow.

Visit to the Easter Bunny

Today we finally got to see the Easter Bunny. It was Joni's first time and I think Evan's 3rd time. Evan was so excited to see the Easter Bunny and was not scared at all. Joni was not afraid just had a look of "who is this" on her face the whole time. I am glad she didn't cry.

Joni is eleven months

WOW!!

My baby girl is finally crawling and pulling to a stand. She is also a fast walker when holding someone's hands. It will be anytime that she starts walking on her own. She is still babbling those same few words. Also still has the same two teeth, where are the rest?

Joni is finally crawling

Joni has finally figured it out. She is crawling in the right direction. She is so much happier now because she can go where she wants, well at least where she thinks she wants to. No more getting stuck. I love watching her make the new discoveries.

My first attempt at cutting hair

I decided that I wanted to try and start cutting Evan's hair since it is so expensive to have it done professionally. So a while back I purchased some hair clippers with colored attachments. I used it about two months ago just to trim around his ears, but today I went for it. I must say I was very scared to do it, but I don't think it turned out too bad. A little short in the front, but it will always grow back.

Evan, the polite young man

Yesterday we went out to eat at Joe's Pizzeria to support the woman's group from our church. We ran into quite a few people, one person was Ms. Martha. She hadn't seen the kids in a long while, so she sat with us and chatted for a bit. I introduced her to Paul, whom she never met, they shook hands and said hello. Then a few seconds later Evan spoke up - Excuse me, my name is Evan, then he extended his hand for a shake as well. It took me everything to not burst out laughing. It was just the cutest thing and he is such a gentleman, sometimes anyway.

Joni is ten months

WOW how time flies, I can't believe it has been ten months already.

My how much she has changed in those ten months. She doesn't even look like the same person. She is "talking" a lot, mostly da da da and a few ma ma mas in there. I also think she is trying to say kitty cat. She loves to eat and has tried everything I have put in front of her, which is totally the opposite from Evan. I hope she stays that way, it is so much easier.

She hasn't learned to crawl yet, at least not forward. She does the military crawl in reverse and gets mad when she gets stuck, which is a lot in this little house. She does love to walk, holding onto my hands.

Joni's Hair

Joni has had so much hair since she was born, I finally decided to see what it would look like in a ponytail. So here it is - sooo cute!