Hanging Of The Greens

Christmas has always been my very favorite time of year! We started out this Christmas season with Bianka's hanging of the greens at her church. All of the nursery school and Sunday school children made Chrismons(ornaments telling the story of Jesus)and had a special Sunday night service to hang them on the church's tree. Bianka was SO proud of herself. She made a lamb ornament using heavy paper and cotton balls. It was very cute. The children had to learn some Christmas songs that they sang for the congregation and the pastor told a story called the Christmas Candy Cane, which Bianka loved because we put candy canes on our tree. I hope my children have a love for Christmas like I have when they are older. Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Alexis and Bianka's First Bon Fire!

Last night my mom and dad had a hotdog and marshmallow roast at their house. Bianka was excited to roast her first marshmallow and have hot chocolate outside with everyone. It was a lot of fun. My mom and Dad and my sister Heather were all there. Heather took care of the baby while Josh and I played with Bianka in the leaves and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. My dad spent all day making roasting sticks, and they were well used! I think just the few of us used two bags of marshmallows! As with anything my mom does she went all out and had two pots of chili, noodles and baked beans in addition to the hotdogs. It was the perfect Halloween Cookout!

Alexis's Check Up

Well all good news from the good doctor this month! Well almost all good news! Alexis is now an even 17 pounds and is 26 inches long! She is still a Chunky Monkey no doubt about that! The doctor said that her development is right on track, she is lifting her head wonderfully now and is rolling all over the place! He couldn't hear any murmurs or arythmias in her heart and her hernia seems to be getting smaller every visit! He said that the birthmark on her head is not growing at a rapid enough rate to be concerned about it. We did discover though that she has acid reflux! Imagine that! He suggested feeding her baby food three or four times a day and putting her in an elevated bassinet to help her sleep better and decrease her spitting up. Other than this her check up was absolutely normal. She did get four shots ( OUCH!! ) and is a little fussy without tylenol, but thank God all is well! Hopefully no more worries!

Halloween

Three is the perfect age! It doesn't get any better than this, you would have thought that Bianka had won the lottery every single time someone gave her a piece of candy tonight. When we got home and dumped it out, she was in heaven! The joy something so simple can bring to a child is a priceless thing. Bianka was Tinker Bell tonight, and was absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself. Alexis was a pink kitty cat, who was the most adorable baby ever. Both of the kids had a blast, Alexis was happy because we carried her most of the way, and everyone stopped to talk to her. I swear we walked miles! My friend Jessie brought her nephew Cameron to go trick or treating with us which made Bianka even happier ( she loves Cameron ). Mom and Dad came over before we left to see the girls and their Aunt Heather came over afterward to check out all of the candy! All around the night was a success! I love Halloween!!

Bianka's Open House

Tonight was Bianka's preschool open house. Bianka was SO excited that Mommy and Daddy and Alexis were going to see her school and meet her friends! She showed us all around the school and told us about everything, they have a job chart and a calendar and LOTS of crafts and pictures of all of their activities so far this year. Bianka's teachers were there to answer any questions, and of course I had a ton! They said that Bink is doing extremely well and participates in everything. They gave me a list of all of their songs and finger games so I can know them and we can practice at home. I am SO proud of Bianka, she loves school and has all of these cute little friends and is really getting over her shyness! She is growing up so fast! After we went through the classrooms we went downstairs and had hotdogs provided by the nice people at the church. It is so hard for me to believe that I am already attending these functions, it really doesn't seem that it is possible that Bianka is old enough yet! My babies are getting big!

New Dance Pictures!

Well I know that I have already put up a post about Bink's dance classes, but I took some pictures at her class tonight that were just too cute not to publish! Bianka is doing very well in the class and I am slowly but surely getting closer and closer to not having to be in the classroom with her. I am almost a waiting room mom! Whohoo! Well I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Alexis's First Cereal

Last night Josh and I gave Alexis her first bowl of cereal, and let me tell you she ate it like a pro! She gobbled it down, and didn't get any on her! She just smiled the whole time and acted like she has been eating for years! I think that she definintly needs the cereal! We took her to the doctor yesterday and at three months and three weeks old my chunky monkey weighs in at 15lbs. 11ozs.! She has doubled her weight over two months early and she is exactly half of Bianka's weight! She is HUGE! But yet still so beautiful! Well hopefully Alexis keeps doing well on the cereal and next month we will introduce fruits.

To Grandma's House We Go!

Well last Thursday we packed up the kids and just about everything we own(three suit cases, Bianka's couch, a hundred toys, etc..) and made the trip to see the family in Evansville, Indiana. It was SO much fun! Bianka slept the whole trip and the baby only ate once. It was really a good trip, we got to Rick and Julies late Thursday and everyone was excited to see us. Brandon and Kossandra came over to see Alexis and Bianka. It took Bianka about a day to warm up to everyone as usual, but after that she was very well behaved, as was the baby. Both of the kids had a little cough all weekend which made it kind of stressful, but it was fun none the less! Bianka decided that she is in love with her Uncle Brandon, which is all I have heard about since we have gotten home. Uncle Brandon was IT, she had to sit by him and hold his hand and he couldn't leave her sight! It was SO cute! We went to lunch on Friday with Bianka's Grandma Sherry at Hacienda and then we went to visit her house. Saturday we had a birthday party for Brandon, Rick, and I. It was a lot of fun. Josh's Mimi and Papa and his cousin Angie(with little David) all came over for cake. It was really nice, Bianka had a blast. Grandma Julie bought her a bubble gun, which makes Julie Bianka's new favorite person( She was already pretty high up on the list anyway)! We took Bianka to the Fall Festival Saturday night and she had fun! Her Aunt Kossandra and her Daddy won her four new stuffed animals($100 later, haha) and she got some cotton candy. Then Sunday morning Bianka woke up bright and early to make breakfast with Grandma Julie. This was probably the most fun she had all weekend! Jules gave her a butter knife and three containers of frosting(yes I did say frosting)and told her to ice the cinnamon rolls! Bianka was ALL OVER this! She had a blast! She had everyone in the house helping her ice these rolls! It was SO cute! And surprisingly enough she did a really good job! Then Sunday night we went to see George, Emily, Chloe and Calle. We had a really nice visit with them and we got to see the new addition to their family, Mrs. Sparkles, their new water dragon! Well all in all it was a wonderfully successful trip and we all had a lot of fun. Hopefully we can make it back sooner this time to see everyone!

Ohio Heritage Festival

After dance class today we decided to walk around the street festival that was going on downtown today. We didn't get Bianka a half a block down the street before this teenage girl yelled over the crowd to Bianka to come over and get her face painted to match her outfit! Bianka was in HEAVEN! If that wasn't enough there was a HUGE Spongebob Squarepants bounce house, a huge slide, and a maze. Bianka did all three surprisingly by herself. My little girl that is scared of everyone and everything climbed up the gigantic slide and jumped and slid down it three times! She then went in this huge maze by herself and about gave me a heart attack. Josh tried to follow her on the outside of the maze but eventually lost her, we called and called for her but she didn't answer so I got a little scared. I thought she got lost inside and would be a hysterical mess, but to my amazement I went in to find her laying down in one of the tunnels just singing a song to herself! Only Bianka! Me running through that little kids maze must have been a sight to see!

Bianka's Dance Classes

Bianka started her dance classes last Saturday and they are SO cute! The teacher is Miss Dee and she is just wonderful with the kids! She has been teaching dance for sixteen years and her daughter is the assistant instructor. So far Bianka has worked on several cute dances, including her favorite, peanut butter and jelly. Bianka does really well at following the movements, although I haven't convinced her yet that Mommy doesn't have to dance with her. This morning she insisted that I had to put on a leatard to go to dance class too! I did a lot of smooth talking to get out of that one! The dance costumes are absolutely adorable and I am going to break us buying them. The owner of the studio hand makes all of them for the younger classes. The are expensive but well worth it! I assume Bianka will have one of each of the costumes before the end of the year. I am really looking forward to June when Bianka will participate in her very first dance recital. It just doesn't seem possible that my baby is this big already! Time Flies!

Alexis' Surgery Consultation

Well today was the day that Josh, Alexis and I made the long trip to Columbus Childrens Hospital for Alexis' surgery clinic appointment. I am extremely happy to report that as of now she doesn't have to have any surgery at all for her umbilical hernia. The doctor said that although the hernia looks extremely large the actual hole in the abdominal muscle is VERY small. Josh and I read up on these types of hernias and in actuality it is not the actual intestine coming through the hole it is fatty substances. As you all know Alexis has ALOT of fat storage as she is my Chunky Monkey! So the doctor said that due to her rapid growth and weight gain the hernia just appears to be large. The doctor also assured us that this hernia is causing her absolutely no pain and that she probably isn't even aware of it. If the hernia does not heal itself by age two we will have to make the trip back to Columbus to have it repaired surgically, although the doctor said that she is almost positive that this will not be necessary. All good news, THANK GOD! I know that it would have been a very small surgery, but this is my baby we are talking about. I can't stand her getting shots let alone a surgery! Well as far as little Alexis' development she is lifting her head quite well, laughing, cooing, and if you make her mad enough she will roll from her belly to her back. She has an attitude on her just like her sister(God help me when they are both teenagers!)and a temper that is worse! She is a very vocal very happy baby most all of the time, and she is warming up to the rest of the family. She will actually let my Dad hold her now! Baby steps I guess! Well all I can say is that I have been blessed with two of the most beautiful babies in the world. ( I know that every mother says this but it is true in my case...HAHA) Alexis is also now sleeping through the night, and I couldn't be happier! With all of Bianka's activities during the day I need all the sleep I can get. Having a three year old is exausting! I love every moment of it though!

The Walsh Family Reunion

Today was the Walsh Family Reunion at the Dawes Arbatraium(Sp.?) in Newark, Ohio. There was a wonderful turnout of mostly people I do not know, but a lot of people that I do. Bianka had a BLAST! I am telling you that this kid is a little social butterfly! She didn't stop the entire time! I was very happy that everyone got to see little Alexis, most of them for the first time. She was a happy camper for the most part, a few crying spurts but nothing big. Bianka was SO excited when Megan got there. I keep threatening Mindy that I am going to move in next door to her so Megan can watch Bianka all the time! I wouldn't ever have to worry about her! I was also very excited to see the other two new additions to our family, Jarren, (who is 20 days older than Alexis) and Luca ( who is 10 days older than Alexis ). Our family makes really cute babies if I do say so myself! Well in summary we all had fun, the food was great ( especially Aunt Ardella's ), and it was very nice to see everyone from the family. I would call this years reunion a success! See you all next year!

Our Little Diva

I have just recently realized how little control we have over what our children do and how their personalities take shape. As parents we like to think that our children have interests and cute behaviors because of our oh so wonderful parenting skills. This is simply not true! This is just a lie we tell ourselves to make us feel good. Children are completely their own person from the start! I would love to say that Bianka has inherited everything wonderful from me and Josh, but the only thing that she has inherited is my attitude. And for any one who knows me, you know that isn't a good thing! She shocked me to no end when we were in Wal-Mart and she picked out this little kareoke machine that you hook into you TV and you can see and hear yourself through the television. I have to admit that it is really cute. Bianka has always liked to dance around so I figured why not! It would be fun. Another thing that everyone should know about me is that I was a tomboy all the way. Sure I liked to sing and dance, but NEVER in front of people and never the way Bianka does it! I never wore pink, and up until I had Bianka I swore that she wouldn't like pink or dolls or anything girlie that I never found any interest in. YEAH RIGHT! Little Miss Bianka is one of the girliest little girls I have ever seen! She only wants to wear pink, she only wants to play with dolls, and when she got ahold of that kareoke machine she put on her pinkest, most girlie play dress and put on a full blown show! She wanted everyone to sit and watch her sing and dance, and of course we all did. She twirled and spun and jumped and sang to her little hearts content. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen in my life! She even chased the cat down and danced with him in front of the screen! She had the time of her life. It was at that point I realized why it was a good thing that children don't take on all the same likes and dislikes as their parents. Yes we would all probably get along a little better through those dreaded teenage years, but what would we ever learn from our children? What about them would surprise us if they weren't their own person? I love my daughter for being absolutely opposite of me. Every day is interesting and our differences make me smile, I learn by learning about what she likes, and someday she will learn through what I like as well. I look forward to every new challenge she throws my way. So this is a note to all of those parents out there that try to produce little clones of themselves, don't. It's not worth it, let children be who they are and develop their own tastes however different they may be. Let them try things you never tried and give them the opportunities you never had or wanted, they may surprise you. I have said it before and I'm sure I will say it again, my children surprise me every day. I wouldn't change that for the world and I love them for it! Who knows I may have the next little dancing diva right here in my house! We will see I guess!

My Horrible , No Good, Stinking Rotten Day!

Thursday was by far one of the most incredibly horrible days of my life. Nothing was emotionally devastating or life threatening, neither of the kids were sick, but bad luck just seemed to hit me all at once. I think a mad little fairy was following me around making things happen for his own sick little amusement. Damn Fairys! Ok I will start from the beginning. I took Bianka to school, everything was fine up until that point. She was happy and excited, we had a really nice breakfast together, which doesn't happen very often because morning is usually so busy. For the first time she decided she didn't want to go to school and threw a little fit. Not that big of a deal but sappy old Mom here had a little cry over it when it came time to leave her. I just felt so bad, silly huh. I know that she was fine as soon as I was out of sight. Ok so after school was over and everything was fine my Mom called and invited us to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. Sounds good right? It was really good, until we left and I backed right into a brand new Pontiac Vibe. There was only a little scratch on the car and I thought it was no big deal, but being the good person that I am I went inside and found the owner of this shiny new car. I apologized to him, asked him to come outside so I could give him my insurance information and this grandfatherly looking old man proceeded to scream at me and basically call me white trash! I was amazed! I didn't know what to do or what to say, I think out of mostly shock I just started to bawl. Then my wonderfully outspoken mother told that nasty old man what she thought about him! I love my Mommy! Mom and I then proceeded to Wal-Mart because my shop-a-holic three year old wanted to go shopping. All was well again and we had a lot of fun in Wal-Mart. Bianka found this incredibly cute kareoke thing called Star Station that you hook up to the TV and you can see yourself sing and dance right on the screen. I was very happy with our little shopping trip. Bianka was very good in the store and Alexis slept the whole time. We left Wal-Mart and parted ways with my Mom because she had to be at work. So I got the kids in the car and again being the good person I am I was walking the cart to the cart corral when I slipped on a spot of oil. I smacked my front teeth off of the cart, twisted my knee and fell to the ground smashing my head into the concrete! I was stunned! It is the one and only time I have EVER seen Wal-Mart parking lot deserted. Nobody was around to help me and both of the kids were screaming in the car. Bianka was hysterical! So what did I do, what any good mother would do, I picked my bloody bruised self off the ground and ran to my children. I got Bianka calmed down and Alexis settled with her pacifier and then found an old McDonald's napkin to hold on my teeth until I found my cell phone to call mom back to help me. Well it was no surprise to me after the way that my day was going that my cell phone was no where to be found. Figures right? So what else was I going to do, I couldn't lift either of the girls the way my knee felt, so I got in my car and I started to drive home. Needless to say I was shaken up by the days events so far and probably was in no shape to be driving with kids in the car but I had no choice. I calmed myself enough to where I wasn't crying and turned on some of Bianka's music on my ipod, and acted like absolutely nothing was wrong. Both of the girls fell sound asleep before we were even two miles from Wal-Mart. I thought about stopping at my dads work to see if he could come over for a little while but decided against it because he had just returned from vacation and I was sure he was very busy. So I was almost home, one turn from my house when this idiotic little girl with WAY to much makeup on ran the stop sign. I am not talking a rolling stop here I am talking at least 40mph on a residential side street, just as if the stop sign just didn't apply to her sports car driving spoiled little self. I almost hit her right in her passenger door and it would not have been a pretty accident. My minivan would have just demolished that little car. I swerved to miss her and without even realizing what was happening I ended up over the curb, over the sidewalk and in this nice little old lady's yard! I just cried and cried! I must have sat there for ten minutes! I have no idea by what grace of God that I didn't hit that girl but thank God I didn't. I pulled of the lawn and by some other act of God I didn't leave one little mark on the nice lady's perfectly manicured lawn. I would have felt terrible! . I FINALLY got the one turn and one street over to my house with no further incident and locked myself in. I figured whatever curse was put on me would have to fade in a day or two. I didn't leave the house again until this morning! So far so good, hopefully I never have another day like that! I am very happy to report that my teeth, knee, and head are all fine. I was sore all over for a couple of days and my knee is still a little sore but no real damage done. Well everybody I hope you all had a good laugh with this, my husband and father did. ( After they made sure everyone was ok of course) Someday I may look back and find it hilarious but as of now I still can't see the humor in my horrible, no good stinking rotten day!

Diet Update

My diet is going good so far although I haven't braved the scale yet, I figured I would wait until the one month point for that. My pants are fitting a little bit looser and my checking account is thanking me. Josh is loosing a whole lot more than me, which just motivates me more. I hope to have lost at least five pounds by the first of October. And just a note to anyone who thinks core secrets with the palates balance ball looks easy PLEASE try it! I thought it looked easy, and it WAS easy to do the workout.............then I woke up the next morning and could barely walk! My legs, abs, and my arms hurt like I had worked in the gym for hours! I am HOOKED!

Brownies

To see through a child's eyes is wonderful! Being a busy mom and wife sometimes you forget the simple joy in just doing everyday things. I was running around like crazy today, taking Bianka to school, cleaning, cooking, picking up and dropping off Josh, needless to say it was a regularly busy day. I couldn't seem to get things done fast enough!( I even forgot that today was my birthday until my Mom called and said Happy Birthday!!) Ok, so I was cooking dinner and had to get something out of the pantry when this box of brownies came flying at my head, all I could do was laugh and think, Happy Birthday To Me!! After I picked it up and put it back in the pantry Bianka asked me if she could help with dinner. I told her not tonight because everything was on the stove and of course she can't get near it. Then I had this little kid giddy feeling and I remembered how much I loved to help in the kitchen when I was little so I went to the pantry and got out that box of brownies and asked Bianka if she would like to make desert. I wish I could get so excited over something so little,she was BEAMING! I put dinner on hold and I made brownies with my three year old daughter. It was the most fun I have had in the longest time. My clean kitchen was covered in brownie batter, my daughter had chocolate all over her cute cloths, up her arms and down her legs, and even in her hair. I had chocolate all over my cute Ohio State shirt, and I didn't get anything that I wanted to get done accomplished. On most normal days this would stress me out and might even just get me angry, but today was different. Don't ask me why but it was. I forgot how much fun it was to not worry about the mess, not to worry about what has to be done. Making brownies with my daughter was the best birthday present I could have ever gotten. Thank you Bianka for letting Mommy look through your eyes for a little while. I Love You.

SURPRISE!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!! My absolutely WONDERFUL husband threw me a surprise birthday party Saturday night! My brother Perry and his kids and my sister Heather and Amy, my Mom and Dad, Jessie and Nemo, and George and Emily were all there! I never expected it! Josh grilled dinner and had an ice cream cake for me and LOTS of presents! I got a new 5 megapixel digital camera, speakers for my ipod, a remote for my ipod, Grease on DVD(only my all time favorite movie!), and an adorable apple coffee mug and a stuffed animal to match my kitchen decor! I had so much fun! I am so lucky to have so many people that care about me and be there for my birthday! Do I have the best husband ever or what??

Bianka's First Day!

Much to my surprise when it came time for Bianka to get out of the car and go with the teacher for her first day of school I was the only one crying! I really expected that Bianka wouldn't actually want to go to school when it came down to me leaving her there, boy was I WRONG!! Bianka turned to me and said bye, then ran to the teacher! I had to chase her down just to get a picture of her big day! I am SO proud of her! She said that she had fun and that her teachers were really nice. She made two new friends but she couldn't remember their names!(haha) She made a really cute Clifford out of red construction paper(she was very proud of it), and she said that the best part of the day was when they played with blocks. I wasn't sure that this preschool thing was going to work out, but I guess kids surprise you every day and mine are no exception! My baby is growing up!

Chloe and Calle's Labor Day Visit!

George, Emily, Chloe, and Calle made the long six hour trip to see us this weekend! We all had so much fun! Bianka and Chloe just LOVE each other. I really wish that they lived closer so our girls could grow up together. Calle is absolutely ADORABLE, and such a good baby! I don' think I heard her cry all weekend! I really enjoyed spending time with Emily, something we don't get to do a lot of due to distance and children. Their visit was the PERFECT end to the summer! I hope that they all come back soon.

For My Girls

When I was a little girl my Dad always told me the very same bedtime story every night, He recently sent it to me in an e-mail and said that I need to learn this for my girls, honestly it made my day. Anything that can make me smile that much as stressed out as I am is worth posting. Thanks Dad!

Once there was a little girl who wouldn't say her prayers, and when she went to bed at night - waaaaaaay upstairs - her mommy heard her holler and her daddy heard her call, but when they turned her covers down she wasn't there at all. They looked up in the attic and alllllllll around about - and do you know what? THE GOBLINS WILL GET YOU IF YOU DON'T WATCH OUT.

Bianka's Is Going To Preschool!

Our little miss Bianka will start attending Community Nursery Preschool next Tuesday! I can't believe it! She is VERY excited! We went to meet her teachers last Tuesday and they are very nice. She will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 11:30am. There will be about ten other kids in her class, hopefully they will survive her ( she plays a little rough, like mother like daughter ) ! Bianka also starts dance classes on the 12th. Two of the little girls from her preschool will also be attending that class. She can't wait and I think this is a coming a little too soon! But hey, I guess thats life! The picture included in this entry is of Bianka at her gymnastics class that ended last week. The little boy is Dominick, who Bianka has a HUGE crush on, isn't he cute!!

Alexis' Doctors Appointment

Alexis went to the doctor on the 31st and she now weighs a whopping 13lbs 14oz and is 24 inches long! She is my Chunky Monkey! Dr. Rush said that she looks perfect except for her little umbilical hernia, which we have to get checked out by a surgeon. I don't know when that appointment is yet but I am TERRIFIED! Hopefully they will not want to perform surgery, but I think that they will. They also gave my poor little princess FOUR shots! FOUR! I think that is a little much, but whatever the doctor says, right?

GAS PRICES SUCK!!

Gas prices are OURAGEOUS here! I couldn't believe it today when I saw that it had went up to $3.29!! I have talked to friends in Evansville, In. and it is $3.40 there! This SUCKS! No one is going to be able to leave there house soon!

Bianka's Spongebob Party!

Bianka's Spongebob Party was a HUGE success! Everyone had a blast! I can't believe that my baby is three!! Bianka's favorite part of the party was the pinata, and Spongebob Squarepants himself called and sang her happy birthday! She was so cute, she couldn't believe that Spongebob called her! I hope next year goes a little bit slower, this year was way too quick! It seems like she was just born yesterday!