Happy St. Patrick's Day

Any holiday is a great day to celebrate with kids and the kids really got into St. Patrick's Day this year!!

Joseph made a leprechaun trap at school so he shared with the girls lots of information about leprechauns and the mischievous things that they may do and how he was planning on trapping them.  Joseph and Ella hid their piggy banks and their most treasured possessions (Ella's baby and Joseph's legos) to make sure that the leprechauns wouldn't take them.  They also loved the idea of being pinched if you weren't wearing green and were pretty excited when Daddy arrived home from a meeting only wearing blue and gray so they all were able to pinch him!!  Daddy soon changed into his green!

Here is Joseph's trap that he made at school with the addition of the three leaf clovers/weeds from home.  He put them inside thinking that the leprechaun would think they were four leaf clovers and want to get to them!  He strategically placed the trap next to his GREEN ninja turtle slippers that night hoping that the leprechaun liked ninja turtles because they were green and would want to check them out.  I love watching his little mind work!!  

 

 Unfortunately, the trap didn't catch the leprechaun but it did catch some lollipops in the trap and a few St. Patrick's Day necklaces in sneaky places around the house.

Joseph had his class bear, Redwood, home with him for the week so he wanted to take a picture with him celebrating St. Patrick's Day to include in the journal that went back to school with him the following day.

 

And, then, of course, Ella wanted in.  

 And, then the crazy faces started.

 Julia in on the fun, too!

At the park later that day looking so big!

 We celebrated with green eggs that morning (which nobody liked) and Rich requested corned beef and cabbage for dinner so I even made that along with green milk for everyone.  The kids actually loved the beef so we'll have to keep it as our St. Patrick's Day tradition.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day from our three little leprechauns!!

18 months-Julia Ann!

Oh, sweet Julia!  How are you 18 months already?  Closer to 2 now which is just so crazy to believe. She continues to be pretty laid back; although definitely is able to express what she wants and doesn't want and will let everyone know it!  She has thrown a few temper tantrums when trying to get her dressed for whatever reason but normally if distracted or left alone she calms down quickly.  We have put her in timeout a few times and she responds pretty well to that-she'll cry for a bit and then come out and give a hug and say sorry "orry."  She has started to protest getting into the car seat, at times, which always makes for a fun time!  She still likes her paci to sleep but doesn't need it/want it all of the time in the car anymore-sometimes you'll hear it being thrown forcibly out of her car seat hitting the window or the inside of the door.  She is talking more and more eery day although her favorite word still is "Elllllllaaaaa"  If you ask her what her name is she'll reply, "ella" and she is constantly calling "Elllllaaaa".  It is SO cute!!  Joseph is always teaching her new words and was super excited a few days ago when he taught her "lock" and she said it correctly. She loves to sing/hum "Jingle bells" still and totally sings in the car especially to "Hakuna Matata" (a family favorite at this time!)

At her 18 month appointment on March 17th, she weighed 24 pounds, 1 ounce which is in the 68th percentile and was 2 feet, 7 inches tall, which is in the 22nd percentile.  

She is becoming more of a picky eater, especially at dinner it seems, as she will often leave her protein and vegetables left untouched on her tray.  Thankfully she normally eats eggs with spinach for breakfast and I can get her to eat a veggie at lunch so at least I feel like she is getting her fill.  She has started to drink milk more often, and prefers almond milk vs. cow's milk but still isn't a huge fan of either.  She does love dessert though and if Joseph or Ella are having dessert we often have them hide it from her or she'll yell until we normally cave in or remove her from the table.  She loves her snacks and will often bring me snacks from the pantry (which she has figured out how to open the door to.)

She is sleeping great at night-from 7:00 until 6:45-7:00 in the morning and since the time change it has actually been closer to 7:30 in the mornings.  She naps one time a day for anywhere between 1 1/2-2 hours.  She loves cuddling with her pink puppy "stuffy" (as the kids are now calling stuffed animals) and every time I put her in the crib she rolls over and hugs it tightly which is so sweet.  

She is extremely active and loves to climb on everything-from the tall kitchen chairs, to the arms of the couches, to the top of any play structure that we visit.  She has jumped off an opening of the play structure at Joseph's school trying to get to the fireman pole twice-once I caught her and the other time she fell on the wood chips, but thankfully was ok.  It is about a 4 foot opening-hoping she learned her lesson but highly unlikely.  She is definitely at a tiring age at the playground but she loves it so it is worth it.  

Her favorite book is probably "Goodnight Moon" and she always points to her own socks when reading the part about goodnight socks.  There have been times this past month where she has shown an interest in using the bathroom-it normally happens right after Ella goes and she'll point to her diaper and the toilet so I take off her diaper and will put her on the toilet but then she doesn't like it.  Last week I did pull out the little potty and she has sat on that a handful of times but normally sits quickly and then stands right back up (and then repeats that about 20 times!)  She loves brushing her tooth, although normally with Ella or Joseph's toothbrush.  She always wants what they have!!!  

She is extremely snuggly and always nuzzles her head right into your neck when holding her.  She still wants to be carried a lot and will say "up up" repeatedly until given into.  It also never fails that while I am working out at home she is climbing all over me making the planks a little bit harder!  

She definitely has a twinkle in the her dark, beautiful brown eyes and she makes our days brighter every day.   

Messy photo shoot on her 18 month birthday-March 8th.

 

 At the park later in the day on March 8th

I told her to open her mouth and smile and this is what I got!  

 She LOVES wearing these sunglasses!!!  Thankfully the Easter Bunny is going to bring her a cuter pair more her size!

 Although, she does look pretty adorable in them!

She still has the beautiful curls in the back and the front is starting to get more full!!!  

We love you sweet Julia Ann and happy 18 months to you! 

February-come and gone!

 February seemed to go by in quite a blur with the move on February 4th but it flew by and we were able to sneak in a few fun activities other than just unpacking boxes!  Rich had the kids one morning and as always when he is in charge, a trip to Starbucks was on the agenda!

 Rich is in the middle of training for the San Diego marathon at the beginning of June and sent me this picture one morning on a long run-not the typical picture that you think of when San Diego comes to mind but so pretty!

 Joseph at baseball practice on one of the chillier days in February working with one of the coaches on his throw.

 It's hard to believe that at the beginning of February we were still in the condo-it just seems like a lifetime ago-but we were, and I finally mastered getting all three of them to smile at the same time!!

 Rich and Joseph met up with the Martin boys (Matt and Zack) and some other friends of theirs for a fun night of pizza and monster trucks!  Joseph had a blast and talked about it for days!!

 The battle with ballet continues in the month of February.  Her regular teacher was back the first week in February so with a lot of coaxing she went into class and ended up enjoying herself.  She was the teacher's helper and didn't cry at all which was great...plus the bribe of ice cream after class helped!

 On our way to the Westwood club one afternoon.

 Ella really wanted to paint my toes and they were in dire need of a pedicure so it worked out perfectly!

 We were at a birthday party for one of Joseph's buddies from preschool on Staruday, February 13th and the kids all had a blast!  Ella bounced almost the entire time, I hardly saw Joseph at all during the party since he was running around with friends and Julia enjoyed the watermelon and bouncing with Ella!

 Rich was gone for a few days in February and Ella locked her bedroom door (she was not inside it) and I had the toughest time getting it open.  I was using a wire hanger and it just wasn't clicking for me so Joseph said he would try-sure enough, the first try he opens it right up.  He was so proud of himself for being "the man of the house!"

 It was really warm for a week or so in the middle of February so we headed over to the Westwood club one afternoon to let the kids swim.  They have a baby pool (1 feet deep around) so they were happy just to mess around and get wet and I was happy to not have to get in (still a little chilly for me!)

My mom took the kids for a full day on the 11th to give me some time to organize/shop/continue unpacking in the house-it was a huge help, and, of course, they had a blast!  

 We ended up staying up there for dinner since Rich was gone and Joseph saw my mom take out shrimp which he "really wanted for dinner" and we had a quick swim in the hot tub/pool before dinner.  Poppa was throwing the kids and Julia wanted in on the fun, too, and loved it!!

 Ella's turn!

And, Joseph, who was almost jumping out of the hot tub!

 Back at dance on February 17th.  This time we were lucky enough to have Nani join us since she was on spring break and it was family observation week.  We were able to sit in the studio with her which at least got her in but then she wouldn't move away from Nani for the first half of class.  When it was time for ballet, she decided that she was ready to join the class and seemed to really enjoy the rest of it.  It is so strange how something just clicked in her after almost a month of classes that she no longer enjoys it and it has definitely been a challenge getting her to go (almost exhausting!) but we are sticking with it until the 8 weeks are up.

 All smiles now!

 Since it was family observation week, the siblings were invited to join in on the end of class fun.  Joseph and Julia loved it...maybe we'll sign them up instead!!

 Back at the Westwood club swinging for the afternoon.  The club is literally around the block from us which is wonderful!  I envision us spending a lot of time there in the upcoming years!!

 Friends of ours gave us a slide which kept them busy for a good part of a Saturday morning while rich and I worked outside in the yard.  Julia was trying to catch Ella and Joseph!

 This is Julia's new favorite place to hang out.  Joseph and Ella have been spending A LOT of time playing with the water guns inside the fence by the pool.  They stand on opposite sides and try to squirt one another-always end up soaking wet but have so much fun!  Julia has decided that sitting on the bench is not good enough for her anymore and prefers standing, normally shirtless, of course!

 Joseph and one of his building creations...a helicopter!

Just hanging out one day before school together.

 Love her smile but not how big she is getting!

 We got together with friends from preschool one day at a park and they were told to pose and all started hugging one another.

 Hanging out at Joseph's baseball practice on February 23rd looking SO grown up!!

 Finally!! The last ballet class!!!  That is the only way that I was able to get her to go this week and I actually think she was excited to go because she said, "This is my last dance class and I never have to go back to ballet!"  While watching her during the class she was having so much fun and I actually thought to myself that maybe I should sign her up for another session but then I came to my senses after class when she said, "Yay!  I don't have to go back to ballet!"  It was cute while it lasted and maybe we'll try again in a few years, but this definitely taught me that I never want to push a child into an activity that they don't want to do because it is exhausting!!!

 If you look closely you can see ducks in our pool!!  The kids stood like this for a long time watching them!  Thankfully the pool was drained the next day to be resurfaced so hoping the ducks don't reappear once it is completed.

 To finish out the month we took a fast road trip to Arizona to celebrate the life of my Uncle Dennis.  Dennis passed away from a stroke and from a long battle of Alzheimer's.  He was only 67 years old which seems way too young but we feel very fortunate that we were able to make the trip to be there with family and to remember him.  Uncle Bubba drove with us and the kids overall were really good for the 6 hour drive.  We, along with the Ozecks and my parents, spent the night with Uncle JP and Aunt Carol on Sunday night and had a great time visiting with them and catching up-I wish I took some pictures but we're lucky enough to see everyone again in April for Brian and Hollie's wedding so I'm sure a lot of pictures will be taken then!
Here is sweet Julia relaxing in the car...

The month sure did fly by and I feel like I spent the majority of it at Target, World Market or online purchasing things for the new home but it is definitely a great feeling to be in and to start to feel settled.