March 2009

Texas Storms

I have lived in Texas almost 26 years, and I have seen lots of storms in that time. Snow, hail, rain, thunder, etc., and all the various clouds that go along with them with all the various shades of purple, green and everything in between. But I have never seen anything like this... looks kind of like an upside down ocean or something. Anyway, these clouds were really cool so I took a picture.

Let me assure you that the storm that followed was not so cool. :)

Thank You, Mom!

When we moved in our house, my mom sent over 9 boxes of my 'memories'. From babyhood to college, anything that I wanted to keep was fair game and was tossed in a box. A couple years ago, I got the 9 down to 7. With the great closet cleanout, I vowed to go through them and whittle it down from 7 to 3 or 4.

What could I possibly have saved, you ask? Every card ever received (I still do this for us and our kids); impressions of my teeth pre-braces; my 2 year molars that were extracted prior to said braces; notes from middle school, high school, and college; my childhood "art"; bookmarks; key chains; photos; medals; t-shirts; certificates; ticket stubs; and a very worn 'talking' teddy with disputed ownership.

The box count is now 4, and I have really enjoyed the stroll down memory lane over the last few weeks. Thank you, Mom, for letting me keep all my 'treasures'! Love you!

Lovey's First Day not at School

Zachary decided to leave Lovey at home this morning. I thought, OK, guess I'll be driving home really fast to get it after I drop him off at school. He did great, though, and didn't ask for it once. My baby is growing up!

First Tooth

Sophie has been teething forever. Seriously, months and months. But today, during rest, out popped her tooth. Zachary was the first person I told and then he felt it (very carefully with the help of mommy). Auntie called so we told her next and then we saw Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa M for dinner.
It's on the bottom, but I can't tell if it's the right or left because she doesn't show it yet when she's smiling.
Hopefully the next ones won't hurt her so much. She had been on a solid food strike for the last couple of days b/c it hurt so bad. :(

February Pictures

Me + Elfa = Friends

Mom and I elfa'd our guest closet on Saturday and it is amazing. We have plenty of room for all the stuff and our guest room can actually be a guest room. NICE!!

Demolition Wednesday

Today, I ripped out all the existing shelving in our guest closet (aka where we stash all our stuff). It was truly amazing. Lots of hammering and pulling and managed to get it all down by myself. Then Mom came by with spackle (great word) and a putty knife and I patched the nail holes and the couple of places where I made dents in the wall.
All in all a very cathartic day! If you need demolition done, just call. I'd be happy to do it!

The Great Debate

Teething Biscuits - Evil or Greatest Thing EVER?

When we were kids, my mom sat us in the middle of the kitchen floor in nothing but a diaper to eat a teething biscuit and then sent our beloved dog, Charlie, to come clean us up when we were done. (and then we would get a real bath) Boy would Charlie have LOVED Sophie!

This girl does a teething biscuit proud. She shoves it in her mouth and gnaws at it till it's running all down her bib, arms and just about anywhere else. Then she drops it because it's so slimy, we give it back to her, and she goes at it again.

On the one hand, it is truly one of the most disgusting foods to clean up after. On the other, we can have a family meal with everyone eating at the same time. So for right now, I have a love/hate relationship with the teething biscuit. If only it were summertime... she could eat them outside and I could hose her down after... something to remember...

Say Cheese!

Today was picture day. Everyone did well, even through 3 outfit changes (yes, I am crazy). We were looking at the photos and realized that the flash didn't work in the ones of Sophie in her baptismal gown. Steve and I, in our most infinite wisdom, decided that we should just get her back in the whole getup and redo the pics. It's a slightly monumental task, given that Sophie was about 2 seconds away from meltdown and Zachary had just plain had enough of behaving.


We managed to get her all dressed and back in the photo room. She took some time telling us exactly what she thought of this whole situation, and then finally decided to cooperate. I can assure you, we will not be taking more photos till she turns 1.

Sophie 6 month check up

Weight - 17 lbs, 13 oz. (82%)
Height - 26 3/4" (83%)
Head Circumference - 17" (70%)

3 shots (Prevnar, Flu, and DPT-Polio-Hib Combo) and oral vaccine for Rotavirus. Plus Mommy got a flu shot. I did my flu shot first so Sophie could see how to be brave. She started crying when I got mine. Oh well.

Overall great visit and we go back in 3 months for the 9 month check. No shots! Yay!

First Storm

There's one each year - the first storm of the season that catches you a little off guard. Ours happened to be when Steve was in Indianapolis. :(
I'm trying really hard to get Zachary asleep before all heck breaks loose outside. I think it might have worked and get down stairs to start cleaning out the storm/junk closet and ready our supplies. I'm talking to Steve on the phone and it starts raining/hailing and realize that I can't hear if Zachary is crying while I talk to him, so we hang up and I keep working. Satellite goes out (big suprise) and so I relo headquarters to the guest room. Flashlight - check; phone - check; remote - check; closet cleaned out - check; space on the bed for z & me - check. Then i hear the screaming. He never went to sleep and was terribly frightened so I come to the rescue and bring him down stairs with me. The storm finally subsides and I show him on the radar where our house is and try to explain what the different colors mean. I show him the special storm closet. I tell him that if he gets scared by the storms in the night to run quick into my room and I will keep him safe. I tell him that if I'm not there to go straight to Sophie's room and I would be with her. I promise to come get him before I go downstairs again. All these promises extracted, and a few songs and back rubs and finally he goes to sleep.

Now to figure out where to put everything that was in the junk closet?!?!

Happy Birthday Part 4

Poor Steve just can't catch a break. For a guy who doesn't like to celebrate his birthday, he had 4 celebrations, including this last suprise at work. While he was in a meeting, some elves were busy decorating his cube. Pirate themed, no less. Thanks to all the work buddies for helping make this a memorable day!

Happy Birthday Part 3

We celebrated Daddy's birthday with the Moroneso family tonight at our house. Simple meal of pizza, salad, and cake. Can't get much better than that!
Daddy loved the ABC's of Daddy photo book that I put together for him from the kids. We are so lucky to have him with us and that he loves us so much!
Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Sophie's Baptism

Sophia Grace Moroneso was baptized this morning at the 11 AM service. It was the first time she had sat through church, and she did great! We were so happy to have our families there, and my dad made a super yummy celebration lunch for afterward.

The baptismal gown has been worn by all Moroneso grandchildren, the bonnet was a gift from my mom, the locket was Grandma M's, and the bracelet was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa M. After church she changed into a beautiful dress from Nana and still wore her bling. :)

Happy Birthday Part 2

Steve decided he wanted to go bowling to celebrate his birthday! Zachary was so excited and had the best time "balling" with Daddy. He kept trying to convince us that he had been before, by himself, when he was 2. He also loved playing the video games with Grandma M and Daddy. It was a very very fun day!

Fort Worth Stock Show

We braved the stock show. Sophie was not pleased, but it was loud so you couldn't hear her crying most of the time. Zachary really enjoyed looking at the little animals in the children's farm (especially the cute newborn pigs). Today was the cow and pig showing day, so the animals were all getting their hair 'done.' You haven't lived till you've seen a cow getting a blow dry!

After chowing on hot dogs, we worked our way through the horse area with a pit stop for Sophie and Zachary to the petting zoo. Big thank you to Ashley and Brian for taking Zachary in the petting zoo. I think he ended up liking it!

Let's Go Steelers!

Both my kids' first Super Bowls involved the Steelers! And both times they won! Woo Hoo!!!

January Photos

She Sits, We Score!

Sophie is sitting up now, which is such a joy! She is very happy to see the world from an upright position. She doesn't fall real often, and is learning to reach her toys pretty quickly. Poor girl gets embarassed when she kabooms, but a few hugs and kisses make everything better.