Friday, December 22, 2006

Donate Life Float in the Rose Parade



If you watch the Rose Parade this year, be sure to look for the Donate Life Float (the artist's rendition is above). I purchased a rose in the memory of my organ donor, Sue, which will be part of the "Family Circle" on the float. This seemed like a particularly fitting tribute since Sue's passion was growing beautiful rose bushes. The tag on the rose I purchased says "In loving memory of the angel who saved my life. Please know that I think of you and honor your memory every day." Her daughter called me today because she received the certificate in the mail and we were both in tears. I'm really glad that this opportunity presented itself as a way to pay tribute to Sue. I think of her so often. I am looking forward to seeing the finished float in the parade.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Christmas Train Ride

Last night we went on a Christmas train ride on the Huckleberry Railroad at Crossroads Village. What a fun time! The train was built in the 1800's and runs on wood. It was really decorated nice for Christmas. We went with our friends Carol and Tom and their daughter Emma. The kids also got to sit on Santa's lap and ride a really fast old carousel. Probably their favorite part of the night was eating at Bob Evans afterward because they got to sit by each other and pass food back and forth through the "window" of the booth











Monday, December 18, 2006

We finally saw Santa!!!


We have been telling Joey he is going to see Santa for weeks now. First, we went to our city's Christmas festival, but then got too cold to wait in the Santa line. Then, Santa was going to be at Joey's daycare party, but he was sick last week and didn't get to go. Today we planned on taking him to see the Santa at Somerset Mall, but you need to go in person and make an appointment. I called ahead and they said that they were giving out appointments 3 1/2 hours in advance, so I decided to go while Joey was napping to try to get an evening appointment. I got there at 3:00 and they were already done handing out appointments for the day. So, we finally went to Lakeside mall this evening and waited in a 45 minute line. We rented one of the little car strollers from the mall that Joey is always wanting to ride in and that kept him pretty content during the wait. Anyway, I think the Santa meeting itself was pretty anti-climactic after all of our efforts. He wasn't really scared, but , as you can see by the picture, he also wasn't very interested.


Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Checking out the Christmas Tree


We put our tree up over the weekend. Joey has actually been pretty good about not touching, but he does like to take a close look at the ornaments once in awhile.


Saturday, December 09, 2006

Ralphie's Brother


We went out to play in the little bit of snow that we had on Thursday. I bundled Joey up in his snowsuit. He looked like Ralphie's little brother in "A Christmas Story" - the one who falls over when he tries to walk in his snowsuit. It wasn't really enough snow to do much with, but he loved being outside.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

We have snow!

We woke up this morning to quite a bit of snow. Still not enough for sledding really, but the most we've had this year. It didn't really occur to me that this was really Joey's first time out walking on snow covered ground. When we were walking into Gymboree he kept wanting to reach down and touch it. Then he kept wanting to pick the snow off of his shoes. He was fascinated by it. Maybe we will go out and play a little bit when he gets up from his nap.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

More Blogthings quizzes - I failed 8th grade geography

Good thing I don't have to retake the 8th grade any time soon. I never was good at geography. Give it a try!


You Failed 8th Grade Geography

Sorry, you only got 3/10 correct!

Monday, December 04, 2006

Cookie Baking



Yesterday, we baked our cut out Christmas cookies. This is one of my favorite traditions and I wanted to make sure that Joey was included. He stood on his little stool and watched me the whole time. He especially liked helping to "dispose of" the broken cookies.


Saturday, December 02, 2006

Our New Pet



We put our lights up today, including a lighted polar bear that is new this year. Joey is so excited about it. He kept pointing at it saying "bear", then he wanted to pat it and kiss it like he does with the dog. Whenever he's being bad and we need to distract him, we tell him to go to the window to make sure the bear is still there.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service


Joey recently realized that he can take his shirt off all by himself and now he doesn't want to leave it on. He was shivering tonight, but still refused to put his shirt back on.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Two words in a row!

Joey has been trying to talk a lot more, but has still been at the point of saying just single words. Tonight I was going to the library and this is how our conversation:

Me: "Do you want to go to the library?"
Him: "Yes" (well actually, si, since that is his word for yes - must be left over from hearing Spanish all of those months!)
Me: "Or, do you want to stay with Daddy?"
Him: "Na Na!!" (his word for "no")
Me: "Or, do you want Daddy to come with us?"
Him: "Daddy come!"

Needless to say, Daddy could not pass up that invitation.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

The Greatest Show on Earth!!


Yesterday we went to the circus. We really enjoyed it. I think Dave and I enjoyed it a lot more than we expected that we would. Some of the acrobatics were really amazing. Of course, Joey enjoyed the animals the most. He sat in complete awe during the first half. We had to buy him a hat because he kept trying to steal one from the head of the kid in front of him.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Finally learning No!

Joey used to nod his head "yes" to everything. Now he is learning about No! Usually it comes out as "na-na" and he shakes his head vigorously. He gets really upset with me when I ask him if he pooped his pants.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Idiot Test

I came across this idiot test and finally made it through all of the way until the end (where it told me I was brilliant). It's really funny, give it a try:

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=20316

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Trick or Treat


Joey really had fun trick or treating this year. He walked almost the whole time and insisted on carrying his own bag (smart boy, since Mommy and Daddy were eyeing those Reeses cups!). He wouldn't say "trick or treat" or "thank you", but he did say "Bye Bye" to everyone. He even wore his Scooby hood the whole time. Here is a picture of him returning home loaded down with candy (his little bag was dragging the ground it was so heavy!). Unfortunately, we cut through the back yard to come home and stepped in some "treats" (or were they "tricks?") left by our dog.

Scooby Doo with Shaggy and Velma too!


Here is our family costume. Shaggy AKA Daddy Dave was a bit uncooperative. As you can see he did not wear his wig correctly and wore the wrong shoes for with his outfit. Once we left the house he conveniently "forgot" his wig.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Scooby Dooby Doo Makes His Debut



Today we went to a Children's Health Fair and Joey participated in the "Costume Parade". They would announce each child's name and their costume and they would walk across the stage. I didn't think Joey would want to walk, but he didn't seem to mind. He actually seemed to enjoy standing up on the stage with everyone saying "awww, how cute!". I guess he is not as shy as he used to be.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Our Jack-O-Lantern



It was nice out today so Joey and I went outside and carved his pumpkin. I didn't get any pictures of the actual process because I was too busy trying to keep him from grabbing the knife.

We are the Dinosaurs!




The other day Joey was sitting on my lap watching a Laurie Berkner video on Noggin called "We are the Dinosaurs". He jumped down and ran into his bedroom to get this big dinosaur. He surprises me every day with how much he comprehends.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Showing that Tiger Spirit!


Daddy Dave took Joey to the grocery store tonight and they came home with this Tigers "American League Champions" hat. It is a youth size, but Joey's head is so big that it fits just right. He looks so cute in it.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

My Husband is an Engineering Genius!













Who needs "Bluetooth" technology? Here is Dave's latest "invention" - a hands free device that can be used with any cordless telephone. I really think we need to get a patent for this. (In case you can't see the picture clearly, it is a big rubber band holding it to his head!) Anyway, I caught him doing this while he was on hold with customer service regarding our TV. I live with quite a cast of characters!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Happy Birthday Daddy!



Today was Daddy Dave's birthday. Joey got him an ultralight fishing pole so that maybe next year all of the perch won't get away! He wanted to go apple picking again because we finished all of the apples we picked last month. So, we went back to Hy's Orchard. It was so pretty today with the leaves really starting to turn and they had hot cider and fresh donuts - yum! We decided to stop at Costco on the way home to see if they had a TV that was advertised in their coupon book (we decided that is what we want for a family Christmas present this year). Anyway, we ended up going to three different Costco stores before we finally found it, but we got it. We decided that we could have our present early so that we can watch the world series on the big screen next week. For dinner, we went to Red, Hot and Blue for ribs and they surprised Daddy with a big ice cream sundae (which Joey and Mommy helped to eat!).

Just a Little Bathroom Reading




Joey loves taking a bath. He plays and plays and never wants to get out. Today he decided to lay on his back in the bathtub and relax. He also caught up on some reading.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

What's My Pumpkin Face?

You Are

An Angry Pumpkin Face

You would make a good smashed pumpkin.

The Tigers are Going to the World Series!

How cool is that? Joey cheered like crazy when they scored the winning homerun and he cheers every time he sees the replay.

The Wiggles Guitar!

Last week I picked up this Wiggles guitar at a resale shop for $6. It didn't have batteries in it when I bought it. When I put the batteries in I soon realized that I had just bought the most annoying toy ever! Joey loves this thing. He brings it in the car and even takes it to bed with him. At first he would just hit the buttons over and over, but now he is kind of getting the hang of it. He holds it like a real guitar, dances and does his cool head nod. Here's a brief snippet from the "concert" that we get to listen to every day:

Friday, October 13, 2006

My Lunch Date


I had a lunch date today with a very handsome young man! I've never taken Joey to lunch,just the two of us, before, mostly because it never sounded that enjoyable. But today I thought I would give it a try. He was so funny and so good. Luckily, they had a macaroni and cheese special and he ate almost a whole (big) plate full. He was shoveling it in with both fists, taking time every once in a while to wipe his face and hands and also to wave at people walking past him.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!



I can't believe it is snowing today! On Sunday we were wearing shorts. I guess that is weather in SE Michigan!

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

My New Velma Haircut

I have asked hairdressers to give me a celebrity haircut before, but never a cartoon character. We decided to dress Joey like Scooby Doo for Halloween and I will go as Velma and Dave as Shaggy. Well, my hair was a little long and I wanted to get it cut anyway, so I decided to get it cut back into a bob style to make my Velma costume more authentic. I told my hairdresser basically how I wanted it (without actually mentioning Velma), but then when she started asking me about Halloween, I ended up telling her the real motivation for my haircut. She probably thinks I'm nuts. Now I just need to find orange knee socks and cut Dave's wig into a Shaggy style. I'll be sure to post pictures of our finished costumes!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Picking a Pumpkin
















Today we picked our pumpkin. I don't think these pictures are of our actual pumpkin. The one we ended up getting was 30 lbs. They were priced per pound, so poor Daddy Dave had to carry that heavy pumpkin back to the car AND shell out ten bucks!

Way to go Tigers!!

I guess I am what you would call a "fair weather fan". I just became interested in the Tigers once they made the playoffs. Since I didn't grow up in Detroit, I guess I don't really have the loyalty to the teams until they do something to pique my interest. The last time I jumped on the bandwagon for a Detroit team during the playoffs was with the Pistons in 2004 and they won the Championship. So, maybe I can bring the Tigers the same luck!

Here's Joey's tribute to the Tigers:

My "porcelain" boy

Last night I was messing around with this tutorial on creating a "porcelain" effect on a picture:

Here is what I ended up with:



I don't think you really get a "porcelain" effect because of his dark skin, but I still think it looks kind of cool. I'm thinking of doing something like this for our Christmas card pic.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

My boy has rhythm!

We went to music class again today and Joey is getting a bit more comfortable, bobbing his head and drumming to the music. He danced a little bit, but didn't really bust out all of his moves, like he does here at home. In the nature vs. nurture debate, I would say that nature wins out on this one. He definitely didn't get these moves from me:

My first post

Why start a blog? I'm not sure. My SIL, Susie sent me a link to her blog and I wanted to add a comment, so I set up an account (now I'm thinking I actually could have commented without completely signing up).

Anyway, I am up way too late. I love staying up late at night because my house is so quiet. But, I really do need the sleep because Joey and I need to get up early tomorrow for Music class. Last week was his first class. He was a little bit shy and a little bit timid, but I think it is good for him to interact with other kids to "come out of his shell."

I will come up with something interesting to post here tomorrow, but for now, here are the results of my "what kind of candy are you?" quiz (not surprising that this actually IS one of my favorite candies):




Reeses Peanut Butter Cups



Very popular, one of you is not enough.