Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

December is Here

Where has the year gone? The past few months have flown by. Well we have been fairly busy and you can assume that has been part of the reason for the poor updates to our family blog.
Here are bullet points regarding all of the things I should have blogged about if I had the time to sit and write and post photos:

1. We spent Halloween in Austin with the Baltera's. For the first time we dressed up the whole family as a famous family. I did post a photo of us dressed up as the Simpson's family. We had alot of fun with this. It has been requested by Addie that we go as the Adam's family next year. I have already begun working on this.
2. In November, on the 15th, I completed my first half marathon. The experience was so much more than just the accomplishment of finishing the 13.1 miles. I will definitely be signing up to run the rock 'n' roll SA half marathon next year. I may even run another between now and then. My life is changed for the better for being a part of this. I am definitely a runner now. It is a part of me that I am proud to have added.
3. We spent Thanksgiving in Corpus Christi with all of the Forces. Grandpa fried a turkey and us ladies were responsible for the trimmings and the pies. I baked a Jack Daniels pecan pie. Like the half marathon, this is a repeat. But I wouldn't say it changed my life.
4. ADDIE IS READING!!! She started putting letters and sounds together before she staerted school but the formal education of her kindergarten class was just the stimulus she needed, she reads everything and now she loves it almost as much as coloring. Also she has become shy in her 5 yrs. She'd rather read and color all day long than meet anyone new. She will have to get over this fear as her parents are social and getting more so.
5. Emaleigh is talking. Her words/phrases include: Morning, sit down, love, Addie, Mommy, bottle, bar, ball, cookie, eye, teeth, dog, up, bath, shoe, sock...and so much more. We are going to have a new chatterbox really soon
6. Currently Kevin is in the lead in the chatterbox area. I guess after 5 years of going to the PD Christmas party he has grown enough relationships. Maybe he got tired of listening to me chatter. This time it was I who was waiting for him to shut his trap so we could move on to dinner or even go home. But this I am thankful for. I am glad that he likes all of the people I work with. I pretty much do mean ALL OF THEM.
7. And Lucas James is 4! December 9th. He keeps talking about his other birthday, he's sure he has two. I will let you know when birthday 4 number 2 rolls around when I can figure that out.

Sorry no photos, sorry it has been so long.
Love

Simpsons Family

Skippy Jon Jones

Now that Addie is in Kindergarten, Kevin and I have homework all over again. We are asked to read with Addie every night. I think we used to read to her fairly regularly, but not as much as every night. Last week I sent Addie to her school bookfair with a little money and an order to buy two books. One of the books was a Fancy Nancy flip book. We have yet to crack that one because the kids all love the other book, Skippy Jon Jones and the Big Bones. I just ordered that one because there was a dinosaur on the front. I thought it could be for Lucas. The kids love this book and ask me to read it everyday now as soon as we get back to the house after work. It is a really silly book about a Siamese kitten who thinks he is a Chihuahua paleontologist. When he creeps though the imaginary jungle that is really his closet full of the neighbor’s dog’s bones, he speaks to the little Chihuahua (imaginary) friends with a Spanish accent. The book is totally cute and I recommend it to everyone.

Photo Blog

Amy sent these images yesterday. I know I am slacking again on keeping the blog current so I thought I would post some photos of my kiddos and their cousins to hold you over until I actually write again.

this is Ms. Olivia Baltera

Here is Dominic, too cool to take off his hat at the table but I think he is just coloring. Don't call the courtesy police on him yet.

these three play very well together

Emaleigh doesn't like to stop what she's doing to smile on my time.

Andrew and Lisa's Wedding

They got married in May. I wanted to blog about it. I don’t know why I have not yet, but here is what I remember.

Emaleigh wore the dress that Addie wore when Kevin and I got married 4 years prior. It fit her perfectly, she was a pretty princess. Emaleigh started walking a couple of weeks before the wedding so she wanted to be held not so much. Addie Belle wore the dress that she wore when she went to the daddy and daughter dance in February. She loves weddings. She called Lisa a princess. She was awfully curious about the princess’s tattoo. Andrew and all of his groomsmen were princes. Addie told us she will not cry when she gets married and she also let us know that when she gets married she will dance with all of the princes.

She and Lucas made fast friends with the flower girl who has a name but the pretty much just called her the flower girl. She was a mini celebrity to them. Lucas was handsome in khaki pants and a white polo shirt. They all had a great time and it was I who crashed the hopes and dreams of dancing into the night. It was a very sweet wedding in a little secret spot in the Texas Hill Country. Andrew and Lisa have since moved into their now home and Andrew has already begun faking illness to get out of attacking the honey do list.

Pictures Can Lie

These nearly angelic images give no real idea about the trouble these two can get into...and fast.

The day this photo was taken of Lucas, we were at my company picnic. There was a bouncy castle there and Lucas bounced four out of five hours. How Mary managed to snap a photo of him standing still is beyond me. He has grown out of his really strong desires to find trouble and get into it. Now he just has tons and tons of energy. So I take him running with me. Some people run with their dogs, I run with my three year old. Sometimes.

Emaleigh has an incredible love for climbing. Greater than the other two ever did at 1 yr old. Lucas was known to climb into his high chair if he was hungry before he was able to tell us. It wa his way of communicating. Emaleigh climbed onto our kitchen table last Tuesday when the kids were eating dinner and started stealing food. I keep saying, maybe she's hungry. Stuff like this happens alot, but she will never eat her own food. I mean I can prepare three of the same and she still prefers Addie's food.

She is going to keep Kevin and me on our toes for a very long time.