Happy Father's Day

UP dates

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. Seems like lately I have little time to sit down and share my thoughts or update you on what's going on in our family.

Things are good. We are all managing to stay healthy, except for the annoying allergies that come with the season. The weather finally cleared up and we have seen absolutely beautiful sunny days, some warm temps and some cooler temps, which are certainly welcome when heat starts to invade our space. :) We have really enjoyed these days, and by no means miss the month of overcast, rainy days that we have a month or so ago. No kidding, I think we had about a month straight of gloominess around here, but it's all gone. It was great for the plants, and the lawns, but not for me and the kids. We love being outdoors, and finding indoor activities that do not expose you to germs, is kinda hard to do :). Anyway, this year already I think we've made 5 trips or more to the zoo. We have discovered that we enjoy much more the outing when we rise early. We not only have cooler temps, but it's quiet, and we actually get to watch the animals. The first time that we got there about 10mins after opening time, we watched the elephants eat, we saw the rhino eat, the cheetah roam, the tortoises bathe in mud, and so much more. It was such a pleasure to watch Katherine get excited and talk about what she was seeing. Joshua is not quite talking too much yet, although we do hear new words each day, but he too enjoys the zoo to the max. That little man, little as he is, has quite the energy and the muscles. One morning we met up with some friends at the zoo, who had brought their wagon. Joshua insisted on pulling Katherine and Becca in the wagon by himself..and although he got a little help from behind, I was amazed to him actually pull them along :). He loves to watch the animals. Both kids have discovered that they love, absolutely love riding the train when we go. In fact, Katherine will tell you that it's her favorite part of the outing. She doesn't have a favorite part yet, until we've ridden the train and gone through the tunnel.

We've spent lots of time at parks as well this spring already. There is a new splash pad/kids park on riverside that recently opened, and the kids love it. It's a bit crazy, as it seems to be THE place to be at right now, but the kids love playing in the water, and then running around. It's fun for me, but a little stressful trying to keep an eye on both kids--I go into panic mode when one disappears from sight for even a second!

We are looking forward to a couple of summer getaways that are in the plans right now. Especially the GRAND event of the year for us, which is my brother's wedding. My baby brother is getting married, and my baby girl is in the wedding. Our 5 year anniversary is this year, so we are thinking about getting away and celebrating the grand milestone.

The kids continue to grown. Kateli is a little parrot, she loves to talk. She loves to ask questions, lots of questions, and she makes the funniest remarks. I really wish I hadn't neglected this blog so much, I'm sure that I've missed some real funny incidents to write about, not only to share bur for my memory sake! The girl loves to eat out--have no idea where she gets that from ;). Anyway, she's got her own way of communcating where she wants to eat...ultimate favorite, Billy Sim's--not the healthiest, but she loves it there, especially during the week of steroids. Next in line, the "uva place"; it took Dan and I a little while to figure this one out, but we did--the "uva place" is the Olive Garden, and she loves their spaghetti. Then there is "ham and cheese" which usually means subway, or panera, and of course can't forget the "chicken 'uggets", which we now know is either Chick-fil-A or Wendy's. Tonight we grabbed chick-fil-a, on the way out there was a convertible car waiting in the drive thru. As we walked out, she noticed the car and said "mommy, that car is broken" I had to laugh, and then explain to her that it wasn't broken but that it was a convertible--I don't think I convinced her :).

Joshua on the other hand is NOT picky, and has no preference on where we eat, just as long as he eats something yummy. Apparently EVERYTHING is yummy for little man's palate!! He truly enjoys his food, and I enjoy watching him eat. His latest likes, which make me go "wow, he really eats everything" is shrimp in garlic sauce. The little guys just devours them!! We are actually going to have to stop depending on the kids sharing meals, because Joshua is going to leave Kateli with nothing to eat, he eats and he eats fast if he's real hungry. Joshua has grown so much, he is quite the big boy now. But he still loves to snuggle mommy, although I think he would be content to just snuggle his blankie and lay down with his pacifier. He is happy, all the time...well except for his latest tantrums, which have recently started. I think we are definitely getting close to being 2!! He usually likes to share, and he responds very well when asked to do something. He has his moments when he can be kind and loving with his sister, but for the most part he is ALL boy. He thinks saying "I love you" is smacking you in the leg, and smiling!! He has started to use more words, he says 'pease', 'mar', 'ater', 'gua', 'ball', 'chip' and he knows how to pull mommy in one direction to show me what he wants. He is bilingual for sure, you ask him to say 'pelota', he responds 'ball', or you ask him to say 'por favor' and he responds 'pease'....so much fun!!

Well this is it for now...i'll try to be more diligent about updating...thanks for stopping by and catching up...