Grandma Russo

Today Mike's family is honoring the 10th anniversary of his beloved Grandma Russo's passing. She was a very important person in Mike's life and she is sorely missed. Here is a picture of her holding Mike right after he was born.

Accepted to Arizona

Mike got a call from the head of the department of UofA this afternoon and he's been accepted there! How delightful! He still needs to find out what other options he has before considering moving back to Tucson, but it's awesome to be accepted to two schools! Great job Mike!

Cousin Christopher

This picture is from our trip to Raleigh for Thanksgiving. Amelia was crazy about her darling cousin Christopher, who is a little more than a year older than her. They were so cute together, interacting and playing constantly. I know she misses him!

Amelia's flower and Colin's laugh

Here is a photo of Amelia all dressed up for church. She loves that flower! The photos of Colin are so funny to me because he always puts his hands (usually fists) on his face when he smiles and laughs. He just curls into a little giggling ball. I just love it!

Amelia's Drawing of Daddy

This is a drawing that Amelia did of her Daddy this morning. Isn't it awesome!? I've never seen her draw a person before. I love the googly eyes and arms coming out of the head. I'm so proud of her!

Mike's Good News

So sorry about the lack of photos. I'll get some up soon! Mike visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday. He had nine, 30 minute, one-on-one interviews with professors there. Later that evening the head of PhD admissions called him and said he's admitted to the program! He's so thrilled! It's not his first choice school, but it feels great to have one in the bag this early. It's quite a confidence boost for him! We don't expect to hear anything from any other schools until the new year at least, but UNC was excited to talk to him and let him come early during our trip to Raleigh for Thanksgiving. Hooray for Mike!

Big News!

Well, I just found out today that I'M PREGNANT! Mike and I are thrilled! It's very, very early, in fact I'm only four weeks along, but I've never been one to keep things to myself. We're in Raleigh, NC right now visiting Mike's Grandmother, Aunts, and Uncle. On the flight on the way here I found myself choking up during some very non-emotional scenes in the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Needless to say, after that I became very suspicious. I started taking pregnancy tests a couple of days ago, but I knew it was way too early to start. Finally, this morning I got that fabulous pink line! Mike didn't believe me for a long time. I think this is the first time that he's been with me when I've tested positive, so it was a really nice change from the usual notification by telephone. From the online due date calculator, it looks like the baby will be due around August 3. Amelia was pretty excited about it, and insists that it will be a sister.

I'm Thankful...

Yesterday at preschool Amelia was given a coloring page with the phrase, "I am thankful for ___" on it. The teacher asked each kid what they wanted her to write. She told us that some kids said, "Mommy" and others said, "Jesus." And what did Amelia write? "Dogs." Dogs! This from the girl who, for the past three months, has screamed every time she sees Mom's dog, Ruby. (Ruby is the most docile animal on the planet. One glance in her direction sends her rolling on the floor in submission.) What a nut!

New Portraits

We had the kids' pictures taken for Christmas today and here are two of the best ones. The experience was horrible as usual, but after much bawling, m&m bribes, one bloody lip, and a sweaty exhausted Mom, they managed to be smiling! This is truly the worst part of the holidays!

Amelia's Hawaiian Dress

Ginny brought a beautiful dress back from Hawaii for Amelia a LONG time ago, and it finally fits (almost)! And, yes, that is our Christmas tree in the background. We like to get it up nice and early, and in our defense, we'll be out of town for Thanksgiving and we want it to be up when we get home. It is so awesome to have it up, and the kids have such a great time with the ornaments. Colin has been standing up on his own and taking steps around the tree to see everything, and also to yank down and throw anything he can get his hands on. I'm not complaining, though, anything that gets that kid to walk is a good thing!

Also, Amelia's hair is getting really BIG. When it's wet, it goes down well past her shoulder, but it fluffs up to a huge pile on her head when it's dry. I don't think these pictures really do it justice. A little hair clip in the front is hardly keeping it contained anymore!

Bath Letters

Today the kids were being pretty funny in the bath. They'd find matching colored letters (Amelia was in charge of that part), then they'd bite them and yell, "mmmmmmm." It got a little old after the millionth time, but I had a camera on hand so I thought I'd document it anyway.

Mike and Brian sittin' in a tree...

After scanning a bunch of Mike's family photos, I've accumulated quite a few photos of Mike and Brian kissing! I think it's awesome!!!

To be fair, I'm also including this cute one where you can see more than just the back of Mike's head!

Baby Mike

Last weekend we helped Mike's dad move, and I ran across some photo albums that I borrowed to look at and scan. I found this awesome picture of Mike at one month old. I added pictures of Amelia and Colin at approximately the same age. Both of them resemble their Dad, but Amelia does more than I realized! She definitely has his lips.

Applications are Done

There's not a whole lot going on today, but we're waiting for Mike to get home from Albuquerque (where he's been all week) so we can celebrate! He finally got all of his grad school applications done, which took TONS of time and lots of effort (I helped too!). Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for Mike! We'll hear back as early as February next year for some schools.

Walking!

Yesterday Colin took his first real steps! He was holding on to a big red car at Lauren's house and Amelia moved the car. He stood alone for a while, maybe 30 seconds or so, and then he took three steps to the car. I grabbed him and moved him back and he did it again a couple of times. What a relief! I was beginning to think that he'd never walk! Today he hasn't walked much, he's a little resistant to trying, but he's taken a few more steps. I'm a very happy mom!

Also, Molly, Amelia, and Max were playing peek-a-boo and Colin decided to join in. Instead of covering his face, he covers his ears and then shouts "boo". Lauren thought it was hilarious. Colin still laughs like crazy even though he can see you the whole time.

Costumes

The costumes are done! We tried them on in their entirety for the first time this morning. I think they turned out pretty good! In case it isn't clear, Amelia is a peacock and Colin is a bald eagle. There will be more photos of them to come.

Panties

Okay, I know this picture isn't the best, but yesterday Amelia was getting up and I was changing Colin's diaper and the next thing I knew, two of her toys were dressed in panties! Oddly enough, neither of these toys have legs, so they were really panty necklaces. One is her "lambie" (the toy she loves the most) and the other is this little ghost that came off a piece of candy. She was very proud of her work!

On a side note, Amelia has been asking me for months to make Lambie a Spiderman costume for Halloween. It was such a funny request- she doesn't really even know what Spiderman is! She actually asked that it be a silky and shiny costume, but I told her that felt was the only way to go. I finished it last night so look for your friendly neighborhood Spiderlamb to be appearing in the up and coming Halloween pictures.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend the kids had a great time at Mother Nature's Farm picking pumpkins. They went with all of their cousins, and it was absolutely beautiful outside! Here's a photo of the whole group.

Colin LOVED the jumping castle, despite the bouncing around and head knocking!

Amelia practicing her cow sounds!

All the kids got their faces painted, except Colin, who instantly hated the face painting lady!

The kids got to choose their own pumpkins out of a field and then decorate them with stickers.

Amelia thought this 300 pounder made a comfy seat.

Amelia with Grandma and Grandpa Chin

Sadly, Mike's dear Grandpa Chin passed away last month. Although the kids and I haven't spent a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa Chin (they lived in North Carolina) we knew that he was an amazing person the moment that we met him. This picture was taken in August of 2005 during a weekend visit while we were in Charlottesville. Amelia was going through a difficult stranger anxiety phase, but she went right to Grandpa Chin. I was so surprised at first, but I'm sure she could sense his kind spirit. Later, Amelia was crawling around the house and went down the hall out of my sight. Grandpa Chin stood up and walked down the hall to follow her and a few minutes later they both came crawling back into the living room! We'll miss him and we'll never forget our wonderful Grandpa Chin.

Portraits of the Cousins

Colin and Max

Ok, I know it's lame, but I have no pictures to post. I just wanted to document some funny details of Colin and his cousin Max's relationship. They often scrap over toys, and though Max is much faster, Colin makes him really nervous when he screams in protest! Colin actually slapped Max in the face today over an old cell phone. Yikes. However, Max always gets sad when Colin cries, and he says, "Ci-yee, Ci-yee" (which is Max's version of Colin's name). On our frequent trips to Costco the boys usually sit together in the front of the cart. Colin usually starts by laying his head on Max's shoulder, then Max wraps his arms around Colin and they both say, "Ohhh." Then Colin usually plants a slobbery open mouthed kiss on the side of Max's head, the Max turns his head around and aims for Colin's lips (he's very precise) and by this time we're all laughing and Amelia is sqealing, and they both look at us like, "what's the big deal?"

Rain and Awahwah

We got a little bit of rain this week, but it was very exciting for Amelia! She was wearing an outfit that couldn't get wet, so she stripped down to go run around on the driveway for a few minutes. She just ran and ran, and she was saying, "it's SO wonderful!" It was fun to watch her, and it reminded me of playing in the rain on our street in Fountain Hills. Our street was unpaved at the end, and it used to turn into a little mud bog that we loved to play in. I still love the rain, and I think now Amelia does too!




Poor Colin was taking a nap during the storm. He missed out! He has really started talking a lot and is becoming very social. He is known to give kisses, especially to his cousin Max! Twice this week I was playing with him when Amelia woke up from her afternoon nap. As soon as he heard her voice on the baby monitor, he sat up at attention and then bolted for the stairs to her room yelling, "Awahwah! Awahwah!" As soon as we opened her door, her grabbed on to her bed and laughed his head off while screaming, "Hi Awahwah!" Both times Amelia was so groggy that she had no idea what was going on. It was a funny sight! I'm so thrilled that he loves her. They're a pretty great pair.

Pledge of Allegiance

Here's Amelia saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn't know she knew it until one day during nap time I heard her on the baby monitor saying the entire thing! I think they say it every day at preschool. Sorry about the wobbly camera work!

Basketball

Mike and Colin play basketball a LOT. I think they spend about half of their playtime together working on Colin's dunk! He used to grab the rim and then let the ball go, but now he actually throws it in. Who knows, maybe Colin is destined for a spectacular career with the NBA!

Another Dance Day

Here are some more pictures of Amelia dressed up for dance. I can't resist pulling out my camera every time she gets those ballet shoes on! Today was a typical day in class for her. She hung out by the wall, cried a few times, and got in trouble for flicking off the lights (I don't think she meant to). I know she'll get the hang of it soon, but I wish it would be sooner!

Boom Boom Brigade

Here's Colin in his new t-shirt, which says, "Boom Boom Brigade." I know it's goofy, but it sort of fits his personality right now! Colin has become a bit more aggressive and he won't let Amelia snatch toys away from him anymore. He also yells for his next bite of anything. He's still really cuddly, though, and he finally refers to me as "Mama" now (he's been calling Mike Dada for months).