9 months old

Oh gosh how time flies. As I sit here and listen to the laughter of my 2 little babies I can't help but wonder where did the 9 months go. I think about things they have done and things we will do. I don't ponder on the things they should be doing because frankly it will come in time. They don't drink out of cups (I have only offered water to them in a cup twice) They have only had juice once. (What's the point it's not like they are thirsty) They eat stage 2 and 3 baby foods but not the chunky stuff. (I tried but they gag) I read on my monthly newsletter to introduce a 9 month old to bits of toast. Are you serious, are they nuts there is no way I am giving them toast.
In the words of my mother in law "have you ever seen a kid in high school doing it" by this she means that the baby will give it up one day I have personally never seen a high schooler with a binky, sippy cup or diapers. I try not to follow the standard "your kid should be doing this" motto. I try to make it through each day with a smile and a shower. If I can do both of those things then I am great. I don't know where this rant came from I guess reading the newsletter of milestones, development and what your kids is doing now kind of set me off. I feel better now. Thanks for reading hehe
I do think they are trying to change their schedule. For the past 2 days they have eaten lunch at 1 and gone down for a nap at 2 (yesterday was an exception) Today they weren't even showing signs that they were ready to eat at noon. I decided to hold off. I fed them at 1 and let them play until 2, gave them their bottle then put them in bed. Not a peep, Preston slept until 3:15, Lily until 3:30. They used to eat lunch at 12 and get a bottle at 4 then eat dinner at 6. Now I guess they will eat at 1 then not eat until 5:30. Just when everything seemed to run smooth the babies have to change it up on me. I guess we will see how the next few days go.

Last night I was all alone in this house. Ashley was at an over night camping trip and Aaron was offshore. Around 11 the lights started flickering and it came a down pour. I was worried about Ashley because I have never seen it storm here where the lighting strikes every second and the thunder rattles the windows. So of course I stayed up until 2 am worried about here and listening to the babies whimper after every clap of thunder. Ashley informed me this morning that they were cozy in the cabin instead of in their leaky tents. *huge breath of relief*
Must go now I hear a rumble in a babies tummy.


Oh I need to show some pics of our cakes. Well that's another post. We didn't make it to our last class. Stay tuned.

Sleep anywhere

Today at nap time (2 pm) I did the usual, I gave the babies their bottle and put them in their beds. Preston started crying but I told myself I would give him 10 mins. Ok 5 mins later he stops and Lily starts, once again I say 10 mins. She stops, Preston starts but this time he didn't stop, now Lily is crying. OK maybe there will be no nap today. I do what any mother would do who feels sorry for her little crying babies, I go in and get them. I say ok, your interrupting laundry time, you get to go play in the play room since you are obviously not taking a nap. Preston jumps around in the jumper for about 20 mins when I hear silence. Did his legs give out........ no......... he fell asleep. Look how freakin cute he is. Lily was just sitting in the exersaucer blabbing away wondering why he wasn't responding. Now finally both babies are taking their nap. Better late than never. Sheesh what an afternoon.

Blog layout

I have many inquiries about my new layout. Normally there would be an add at the top left corner but I removed it from the html code, sneaky sneaky. Anyway here is where I got it. They have lots of really cute ones but I didn't have the time to browse through them all. I looked into getting a professional layout but they are really pricey.
http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/

I can't wait to see all YOUR new blogs now.

Not to be out done by Lily pie! and other random stuff

Preston is working on saying DADA!







Here are a few pictures and videos from our playgroup:

She always has her tongue out, so cute.

Lily swinging.........

Preston swinging......

The babies love getting out in the fresh air. I just put them on a blanket and they are entertained by the kids. Our last playgroup we didn't get done until after lunch so I just gave them a bottle to hold them until we could get somewhere to give them food. We met up with Aaron at Wendy's. They ended up eating food at 1 pm but, hey whatever works right?

Lily trying on a hat before we go to the beach. (she is still in her pj's) Check out that farmer's tan!

Sunday evening Ashley and I went with her friend and her friends mom to see Dark Knight. It was really good. Heath Ledger did an awesome job as the joker. He was actually really scary.

I totally forgot to mention what my wonderful husband did on Saturday morning. He got up with the babies and had them fed and breakfast cooked when I woke up at 9 am. I love when he does this it gives me a few more hours to sleep and really gives me more energy. It's amazing what a few more hours of sleep will do for you.


Look what I finally found at the grocery store:

We love tater tots and I have been on the look out for them since we moved here. I also found Pace Picante sauce. Still no Blue Bell :(

We are doing well. Ashley has 2 soccer games per week so we all head out to the soccer field to cheer her on. The babies do well. We feed them their food here then give them their bottle at the field while they are in their stroller. I have started putting their pj's on before we leave because it makes it easier just to put them in their bed when we get home. Before we would have to change them when we got home which woke them up and got them all excited thinking it was party time. I am so glad we have been taking them out with us since they were about 3 months old. It has helped now since we are a family on the go.
Ashley started her day camp this week. She selected a few to sign up for a couple months ago. She has a kayaking one next week that she is really looking forward to. Today they are going on a 10km hike. 6.2 MILES!!!! I hope she has her walking shoes. Yikes. Tomorrow they will end the camp with an overnight stay at a local park. I am so glad to have our last cake decorating class tonight. We have learned alot but there is alot of at home preparation.

Playtime with sissy...

Not much to update

We had a pretty relaxing week. It rained for a few days so we stayed home. When the weather cleared we met up with a few girls for a playgroup at a local playground. Ashely went with us this time. She had a blast running around with all the little kids. She played soccer with them and helped them swing and play on the see saw. The moms all said I have to bring her every time now. She is such a little mother but she will never admit to wanting kids some day. Silly girl she will have kids. Friday I took Ashley to get her hair done. Everyone here has some sort of color in their hair. The kids are allowed to wear it to school so it's no big deal. I told Ashley I didn't care what she did to her hair but that when school starts I wanted it to be toned down or back to normal. So she went all out. She dyed it black, pink and orange. It's "wicked" as they all say here. She loves it and if she is happy with it then so am I.

Saturday we went to the beach, even Aaron went with us. We saw one of Ashley's friends from soccer so we invited her over to hang out. They had a good time making a camp fire, talking and just doing whatever teenagers do. It was nice to have a friend over and keep Ashely from "being bored" lol

The babies are awesome. It turns out that they don't have check ups here until 12 months when they get their next round of shots. I have made their appt for their check up and shots for when they turn a year but I want to know how much they weigh. I will probably get a scale just to see how much they weigh.

Do you think Lily is too big for the swing:

Preston relaxing in the stroller:

Daddy's girl

Lily has always had a deep love for her daddy but has never been able to show it until now.

some baby pictures

Just some pictures we took today.

Yesterday practicing sitting up.

Jazz fest and Whale watching

We are so random here. When the weather is nice we do things on a whim. Friday when Aaron got home from work we went downtown to eat sushi and went to the St John's Jazz Fest. There was a stage set up on the harbour and you had to pay admission to get in. We decided to lay a blanket on the grass on the hill in front of the stage, outside the gates.....free show..... sweet! It was a nice relaxing night and full moon coming up over the harbour was awesome. It helps to be prepared with this family. In my car I have a bag with a towel, blanket, extra baby food and clothes.
Saturday we stayed home because the weather was foggy and rainy. Sunday we woke up to a beautiful blue sky. We went and ate breakfast then headed down to Cape Spear, the actual most easterly point in North America. There is a museum, 1836 lighthouse and a World War II battery. The WWII battery was cool because there are still underground bunkers leading to underground barracks. We saw a few whales off the coast. Actually we saw more than we did when we paid for our whale watching boat tour. There were 2 times when we saw 2 or more whales together, mostly just the blow of water from their blow hole. Some were closer to the shore than others. At one point we saw one dive so we could see his hump and tail. Take a look at "Staci's web album" to the left for all the Cape Spear pics. We headed home and built a camp fire so we could make smores.
Take care until our next adventure- Staci

Elton John

OMG can I just tell you how excited I am that not only is Elton John coming to St John's but that I got tickets. Whoooo hoooooo. They went on sale at noon today and I got mine at 12:08. It is now 1:28 and the website says they are SOLD OUT!!!! Elton John is one of the people I have always wanted to see in concert. I also want to see Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney, who I hear are going to be in Houston together!!!! Oh well. One day..........
We have also booked our trip to Houston in October. I can not wait to see everyone.
The babies are doing so well. They are both sitting up very well. Preston is very close to crawling.....forward. He still get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Lily is a mess. If Preston has a toy she looks at it and scoots all the way over to get it. Especially his binky she doesn't even like them but if he has one she wants it. The other day he had one in his hand and one in his mouth. She took the one out of his mouth and he quickly popped the one from his hand into his mouth. It was like he was saying haha Lily I have another one. :)
Yesterday I went to a playgroup at a local park. It's a group of women I have been talking to on a local website. There were I think 8 or 9 of us and what seemed to be about 20 kids ranging in all different ages. It was nice to meet other moms and get out and have some adult conversation. It was hot and the babies started to get fussy after being there a few hours so we headed home. While we were at the playgroup I had Lily on the blanket and was getting Preston out of the stroller. I turned around and Lily was sitting up. She must have gone from a side laying position to a sit up position. It was the first time she did it and I didn't get to see her. I am sure she will do it again though.
Ashley is kicking butt in soccer. She was a striker in yesterday's game and got the ball alot. She does really well passing and moving the ball. She hasn't made a goal yet (or even tried) but she will.
Take care- Staci

Cute videos

I finally got Lily on video doing her bababababa. Everytime I turn the camera on she would stop doing it and start laughing.

Take 1

Take 2

Our cakes!

Ashley and I went to our cake decorating class last night. We were required to bring a cake iced in light blue and all the colored icing and supplies we needed. We decorated our cake in class. Not bad for our first cake.

Ashley's

Staci's

Our weekend in pictures

We started out by driving around the neighborhood to take some pictures.

Saturday we went to the regatta

Sunday we decided to make some burgers. Here are the babies in the shopping cart.

It was so nice that we fed the babies on the deck.

An update

Thursday was our 4 year wedding anniversary. Aaron and I put the babies to bed Friday night and went to dinner at Magnum & Stein's, downtown. It was so good and very nice to get out and be adults. Ashley did very well and had no problems at all. We will have to do this more often now that I know the babies will stay asleep and Ashley doesn't mind staying for a few hours. Of course we paid her though.
Today we started out eating breakfast at a local church before heading to the St Philip's Regatta. For those that don't know, it's a boat race. They had music, games and the races. We just got home so it has been a long day. We really enjoyed being outside though.
I need to take some recent pictures, the babies aren't doing anything new lately.
Love you all and miss you lots!

Staci

I have uploaded some new pictures but there are 45 so here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/stactheacetx/NiceWeather

I am so glad the weather is nice. It gives me something to look forward to once we are waist deep in snow. I have also had some time to scrap book. I added a scrapbook link to the left. I have all my stuff set up. It is so easy just to go down and start scrappin and not worry about cleaning up. I can just continue where I left off when I get interrupted. There isn't too much going on around here. Just passing the time during the day trying to keep 3 kids occupied.
Ashley and i went to our cake decorating class on Tues. It was so much fun. When we got there we realized it's 4 classes for the whole month of July. We learned how to load the bag with icing, put icing on the cake (properly) the different texture of the icing and which tips to use for flowers, leaves, dots etc. Our next class we will be bringing an iced cake and decorate it in class. This is some serious cake decorating. We are in course 1 but plan to take course 2 and 3 also.
Aaron is good. Just working. I love that he has an 8 to 5 job. He doesn't travel at all, he is home every night for dinner and helps put the babies to bed.

A really hard time

Every day I hug my kids and make sure they know they are loved. Lately, especially the past few days I have been doing it more often. I don't know why I am having such a hard time with the kids getting older. For example: Ashley asked if she could go in my closet and borrow one of my shirts. Sure no problem until I reminisce back to when I used to borrow my moms clothes and it was only a matter of time until I was all grown up. Ashley is growing into such a smart, beautiful young lady right before my eyes and it scares me so much. I don't know where the time went. The babies are no different. Yesterday I took all the clothes they have outgrown out of their closet. Once I took out the old they were left with about 5 outfits. I went down to the basement and pulled out the 9 month clothes to fill the empty space in their closet. Lily is wearing 6-9 months still but Preston is totally in 9 months. He can still wear some 6 month
t-shirts but that won't last too much longer.
It doesn't help my emotions that Preston is now completely sitting up on his own, Lily is scooting all over and Ashley is wearing my clothes. I guess these are just blips on the milestone radar. There are still so many more to come.

Another awesome day

My goal is to get a good picture of all of my kids. Here is the best one so far. This was yesterday on the forth of July.

Our babies are getting so big. I literally cried while putting these pictures in here. I love them so much.

Today we went to the beach to get our feet wet. The rocks are a little hard to handle.

We had an awesome day. We went to the local beach and then to eat some fish and chips. The fish and chips place was packed, line out the door. We decided to pull out the blanket. Aaron waited in line and ordered while Ashley, me and the babies relaxed on the blanket. It took about an hour for our food but we skipped rocks and played on the beach until then. We had an awesome day. I love hanging out with Aaron, Ashley and the babies and being outdoors, especially when the weather is nice.

Happy America Day

Happy 4th of July. I sure wish I was at home eating some of may daddy's great brisket sittin back drinkin a beer!!! Ahhhhhhh

Ok I can dream right. Well the weather here is awesome it's 74 and sunny. We went to run some errands while Ash was at the rock climbing place. On our way we saw a sign that said Mark Day Canadian Idol, come celebrate. Well this guy that's on Canadian Idol is from our small town of Portugal Cove. We drove by the park but there weren't many people there. They staff guy said he will be there between 3:30 and 5:30 so we decided to head home since we were starving. On our way home we were practically run off the road by a limo, firetrucks, police officers, tv crews and a whole slew of people honking their horns. Mark Day had arrived. We still went home but it was pretty cool. We will watch it on the news tonight. I guess it's like American Idol when they go to the people's home towns and there are cameras and bands and people everywhere.
We will watch it on the news tonight.

flower bed and beach pictures

It was 79 degrees yesterday so we put on some shorts and hit the beach. Ashley actually got in the water and said it was freezing. The babies had a blast and slept great they woke up at 8 this morning. Oh and this is a lake not the ocean.

New video

The babies are supposed to be drinking their bottles and going to bed but they have other plans.

Canada Day

Canada Day socks.

The crowd watching the band.
Canada day on George st
Preston lost his pants.
Silly Lily

We went to downtown St John's for the Canada Day celebrations. Of course we didn't see any fireworks because they didn't start until 10 pm. It was fun. We got to listen to some traditional Newfoundland music.

Pictures from when we stayed with Michelle

I forgot about these pictures. We took lots of them while we stayed with Michelle and Chris.

Babies taking a bath.

Lily with the silly hat.

Preston being funny.

Jordan playing dress up.


Water fun





















Our crew waiting in line to check in at the airport.