Baby Envy

For the most part Abby handles being a big sister really well with the exception of a few minor infractions here and there and reminders to be "GENTLE".  She watches out for her little bro and calls him Zacky Boy.  I am guessing she picked this up at daycare but regardless it is super cute.

Anyway, lately there have been a few instances of "baby envy".  Since almost every month one of her aunties has a baby and Zack is the baby in our house, she picks up on how adorable babies are and the special attention they require.  Luckily, she us not really acting out just making sure she gets equal or more positive praise:). She requests "baby Abby" and likes to be rocked every so often.  It is nice for a moment to have her snuggle and be clam:).  We have noticed that when we cheer on Zack, Abby will mimic the same behavior (standing up, eating, talking) etc. We tried to explain that they do different things and Abby can already do all the things Zack can but attention speaks louder than words sometimes (don't get me wrong... She us not lacking in the attention department!).  For instance, at breakfast this morning, Zack was babbling away and said, "dadadada".  We all cheered and then Abby said I can do it too, "dadadada".  So, we cheered for Abby too.  It works pretty well when Zack is a good eater because Abby then wants to be a good eater too.

Today,Zack was looking cute peeping out the window so I took a picture and Abby walked up and said, "take my picture too". Apparently, she is quite observant since she struck the exact same pose! It loooks like he is picking up some of his sisters' curls in the back..uh oh!

Jumping on the Bandwagon

So, I have been wanting to do something with the pictures of Abby in her tutus from Auntie Claudia for a VERY long time but I just didn't know exactly what.  When I was checking out the picnik website that is the big craze these days I finally saw how easy it was to make a collage.

It is crazy to me that she was such a  little peanut once upon a time!

9 months old

Zack is crawling all over these days and getting into everything. He manages to find every wire and his is a magnet to any spot that he shouldn't be in. He is pulling up on everything an he cruises around a little but mainly bounces up and down. He is all smiles and flirts with everyone! I turned around to see so may strange women (and a few men) making faces and "talking" to him and he was cheesin' it up.

He had so much fun playing with all his grandparents and loved Casey and Rob. I love his little hugs and when he reaches for us. It just melts my heart. Both Abby and Zack squeal with delight when they see each other, which is adorable. He is getting a bit more clingy to me lately. He is fine when I am out of the room but he doesn't like it too much if I leave or if he can see me (but not be with me). It makes me feel very loved but I hope he grows out of it soon.

In Pennsylvania I swore he said dada and Marianne heard it again but nothing since then. He does his fair share of grunting and babbling and has the cutest little giggle when you tickle him.



I think that Zack maybe in the running for most difficult baby to bathe and dress. For a while it has been a wrestling match trying to change him or put clothes on him but just since we got home from our trip he is almost IMPOSSIBLE to bathe. He tries to swim and squirms every which way until he can get on his stomach and thrust himself around the bath. The other day he banged into the side of the tub and had a big red mark on his forehead but it didn't bother him a bit. I tried to get a video but I was too nervous with them in the bath to let it go for too long with out having two hands.

We just had Zack 9 month check up today. I had been a little worried about his recent decline in bottles, but the doctor said he is fine and that he is probably just weaning himself. Luckily, he is growing just fine and weighs 18 pounds 7 ounces and is 28 1/4 inches long. He is gaining on his sister quickly. Although he still has some room to catch up on height he is very close in weight. Check out his thighs...I am pretty sure they are thicker than hers, which I am sure neither will have a problem with if it always stays that way.

Back to a Normal Sunday

After a month of open houses on Sundays, birthdays and then the holidays we have been pretty busy.  Today we got up and had breakfast and were out by 9 a.m.  We headed down to the zoo in hopes of getting some quality animal visiting hours in before nap time.  Zack took a quick nap on the way down, which was perfect.  We got to see all the usual animals and they added alligators and we actually got to see the lions and tigers...normally they are sleeping:(.

caught checking each other out...love them!

Playing on the playground

I love the elephants:)

After the zoo we went to Bucas and had a yummy lunch...great place for kids since the place is already loud and there is stuff everywhere to look at not to mention the food is awesome!

Daddy, pleaaaaaaaaase!!!

Disneyland Dad

It was always a joke between my parents that my dad was, "Disneyland Dad" when my mom had to be the "bad guy" (actually, not sure if my mom will actually recall this as a joke).  So last night when we were at dinner Abby was pouring water back and forth between 2 cups and it was looking like we were headed toward disaster so I removed a cup.  Matt emptied the cup and handed it back to her.  I just looked at him and he looked at Abby and said, "you want to go to Disneyland?"  Haha daddy!  We all had a good laugh with that one.  

Disneyland Dad also called our neighbors while we were in PA and asked them to pick up some fireworks for us so he could show the kids.  Last night we decided to set some off.  They started small with sparklers and it was pretty mellow and then all of a sudden we had to duck for cover...literally.
I am so relieved they are illegal next year!!!

baby fireworks

BIG fireworks

Recovering from our Trip

I think we are all finally feeling the jet lag. The first day we got home the kids both took really long naps ( we had to wake them both up) and made it through the first day back at daycare and work and then Matt had his first softball game of the season Monday evening. Today was the first day of real work with kids and meetings for me so we are exhausted and ready for an early bedtime. Matt and I both agreed that the kids beat us today. They had way more energy and wore us down!

I think that I am all caught up with the trip to Pennsylvania after these last few pictures that I wanted to post. These are some random pictures that we took as my parents were leaving and the last few days with Grandmom and Grandpop Martin.

The last breakfast:(

The best little snack...Zack:)

The Girls

The Boys

Abby loved Matt's version that included Abby Lou Who:)

LOVE!!! 37 years and going strong!

Happy New Ears

We were having breakfast and I told Abby that it was new years eve and tomorrow was going to be a whole new year.  She looked at me confused and grabbing her ear said, "new ears?".  From the perspective of a two  year- old, "happy new ears!"

This year we spent new years eve packing up and getting ready to come home. To ring in the new year we went to Hollywood Casino near Matt's house with Matt, Amy and Mr. & Mrs. Rossello. It was a fun night but thankfully not too crazy. We got home at 2 and the kids were up before 6-grrr! 

Our flight left around noon so the morning basically consisted of sweeping the house for all of our stuff and getting ready to go. 

After a full day of flying we arrived in Hawaii at 11 pm (6am eastern time) with virtually no sleep but we made it without any extra delays or hassles aside from the usual chaos of two kids.
The kids slept on the plane and went right to bed when we got home. They were up at 6 so we are right back on schedule. Time to unpack and get ready for work tomorrow.:)

It has been a great year! We feel so fortunate to have two adorable little monkeys, the greatest friends in the world and the most amazing families that we were able to celebrate the ending of another great year with. We look forward to the adventures that 2011 will bring.