Our Girls!

Halloween

2011-10-31T23:27:00.001-05:00

This year, we decided to take the "little princesses" out and about the neighborhood for Halloween. We used the red wagon to take them from house to house, and they would get out and then scurry up to the door to say "trick or treat". They lasted about 45 minutes before they wanted to come home and look at the candy. They actually got a good amount of it for the short time they were out there. I also have a short movie of the girls trick-or-treating with Grandad answering our door since he and Stella were staying with us during Halloween weekend.

Trick or Treat with Grandad Movie

Owl in Backyard

2011-10-22T23:46:00.003-05:00

We had an owl show up in one of our trees in the back yard today. We only noticed it because the other birds were going nuts trying to annoying it into leaving. It was very high up in the branches and was probably trying to sleep. Addison was a bit scared of it but wanted to see it anyway. Kara pointed at it and tried to talk to it! The smaller birds grabbed some friends and eventually the owl moved far away.

Neighbors Visit

2011-10-19T23:39:00.003-05:00

The girls and I were playing outside while Kelly was running some errands. The neighbors kiddos were outside as well, so everyone came over to play with some chalk and to get some apple juice and cheese sticks at our picnic tables!

Kids First Symphony

2011-10-15T23:28:00.008-05:00

We bought tickets to the children's symphonies this year since both of the girls have expressed a real interest in music. They had lots of great activities for the kids and they could even be loud during the performance(well a little) at the event since it was designed just for their age. Overall, the girls had a great time, but it was a challenge to keep them in their seats for the whole performance. Afterwards, we went to the nearby Discovery Green park to eat and play. While there, they went absolutely crazy for the water fountain area you could play in as you will see in the videos below.

Water Park Video 1

Water Park Video 2

Kate's Birthday at Little Gym Movies

2011-10-02T23:17:00.002-05:00

Here are the movies from Kate's Birthday at the Little Gym where Addison had a blast!

Movie 1(Pirate Song)

Movie 2(Freeplay Time)

Movie 3(Addison does a flip)

Movie 4(Kate Says, which is a version of Simon Says)

Movie 5(The kids knock down a huge block)

Movie 6(Bouncing mat)

Movie 7(Train to get cupcakes)

Kate's Birthday at Little Gym

2011-10-02T22:11:00.014-05:00

Addison's friend Kate from school had her birthday party at the Little Gym, and Addison absolutely loved it! She had a blast with all of the mats, trampolines, and activities that they did. Here are a ton of pictures and movies of her and her classmates having fun.

Below they are lining up to have cake like a train.
The funny part about the next two pictures is that most of the kids wanted vanilla cupcakes instead or chocolate! Addison was one of the few chocolate lovers!

Aunt Stephanie Spends the Night

2011-10-01T22:07:00.002-05:00

Aunt Stephanie spent the night with us and enjoyed some snuggle time with the girls!

Grocery Store Divas(again)

2011-09-21T21:58:00.002-05:00

Here are the two divas at it again at the grocery store!

Kara is Walking!

2011-09-20T21:41:00.000-05:00

Kara has had some trouble walking due to her leg muscles being very tight to the point where it would hurt her to walk/stand. After some physical therapy and positive motivation, she has recently taken off! Here are some videos of here playing some walking games where she tackles Kelly or drops off objects to Kelly and to her sister Addison. She started having success right after labor day and has been doing better each day since!

Kara Walking 1

Kara Walking 2

Kara Walking 3

Addison Posing and the Girls Drawing Together

2011-09-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some quick shots of Addison posing for some pictures her mom was taking(along with some silly shots) in addition to some photos of the girls drawing together at their table.

Kara's Pre-School

2011-09-18T19:29:00.001-05:00

Kara started pre-school this year in the same cottage that Addison was once in! Back at the start of September, I went to Kara's orientation while Kelly went with Addison to hers. Kara had a great time with the other kids, and liked the plastic door toy they had there a lot. Unfortunately, the door was a half-door that the kids would accidentally open into each other on occasion. The place was a lot of fun, and I'm sure she will have just as much fun there as Addison did. In fact, Addison came back from her orientation before we were finished and played with her sister and the younger kids for a while before we left!

Visited by a Horse!

2011-09-17T23:35:00.007-05:00

During the last weekend in August, our neighbors had a friend of theirs stop by with her horse that she keeps at a nearby stable. The horse attracted a lot of attention with the neighborhood kids, and our girls went nuts wanting to see it. We went outside and Kara immediately wanted to touch the horse. Kelly's father held her up so she could touch the horse and get a good look at it. Addison was a bit more reserved and preferred to hang back with the other kids while talking and looking at the horse. Kara probably would have jumped on the horse if given a chance! She has always been very interested in animals and has no fear in most situations.

Horse Movie 1

Horse Movie 2

Addison's "Friend Song" Performance

2011-09-17T23:23:00.002-05:00

Both girls love to make up songs, however, Addison took it to a new level recently by singing her "Friend Song" and playing on her little keyboard at the same time. Below are links to two different performances of the song:

Performance 1

Performance 2

Grocery Store Divas

2011-09-17T23:06:00.003-05:00

The girls always want to ride in the shopping carts that have the cars on the front of them that you can sit in while at the grocery store. They both honk the little horns and have a great time being chauffeured around the store by Kelly and me. Here are some recent photos of them in the cart, one of which has Addison looking especially like a little diva wearing her sunglasses and playing with Kelly's phone.

Imperial March Sung By Addison

2011-09-17T23:00:00.005-05:00

Addison is a big fan of Star Wars from watching the movies, cartoons, and playing the Clone Wars video game on the PS3. Here she is singing the Imperial March(Darth Vader's Theme):

Imperial March Performance

Movie and Pizza

2011-09-17T22:43:00.003-05:00

Here are some fun shots of the girls eating a snack, watching a movie, and then eating pizza!

Kara's 2nd Birthday Part 2

2011-07-31T21:53:00.011-05:00

After the pool portion of the party, we went inside for presents and food.
Kara was a lot more interested in tearing open the gifts than she was last year!

As seen in the above two photos, my sister Stephanie cooked an apple pie with a "Star" and the letter "K" baked into the crust for the party.
The girls are both big fans of Pixar's Cars and Cars 2 movies. Kara really enjoyed her new Mater truck!

As seen above, Kara is still not a big fan of hats.
The cake(and party) were themed after The Backyardigans, one of the shows both girls like to watch. Kara will come zooming into the TV room if she hears the theme song at the start of the show.

After cake, both girls sat down at their table for ice cream with Aunt Stephanie.

After the party was over, some of us were pretty tired and needed some rest...

Here are some movies from the party:

Movie 1 - Gift Unwrapping

Movie 2 - More Gift Unwrapping

Movie 3 - Scooter Fun

Movie 4 - More Scooter Fun

Movie 5 - Birthday Song

Movie 6 - Kara Eating Cake

Kara's 2nd Birthday

2011-07-03T19:36:00.006-05:00

Our third major pool party was also Kara's 2nd birthday party. My Uncle Hector and Aunt Mickey come down from Dallas, along with Kelly's brother John, his girlfriend Liv, Kelly's Mom, Kelly's Dad, and Kelly's Stepmom. Along with my Aunt Anita, it was another full house(and pool)! We started off in the pool, then took a break for food and presents. Kara had a great time and really liked having everyone there. She really got into opening the presents(see the video below), and had a lot of fun playing with everything new. Addison helped out by showing Kara how to ride on her new scooter.

Summer Pool Party Number 2

2011-07-03T16:08:00.005-05:00

Our next pool party was in late June, and was coordinated with the Pluff's coming down from Dallas with their new baby Annabell. The Garners, Cashens, and Krebs were also able to make it with their munchkins for another pool full of craziness. It was great to see everyone and play in the pool. I didn't get as many pictures in this time since I was a little busier with the food then I had planned. I hope to do another of these with my friends before the summer is up.

Summer Pool Party Number 1

2011-07-03T15:46:00.006-05:00

At the end of May, we had our first official pool party with my folks, our neighbors(and their 5 kids), and with Matt Smith's family. We had a total of 11 adults and 9 kids in the pool. Everyone had a great time, and it was a lot of fun to see Matt's family. I had not see Matt's brother Mike in a long time, and I was glad he could stop by. The usual hot dogs and hamburgers were served, and everyone had a great time!

Brief Visit to Aggieland

2011-07-03T15:22:00.002-05:00

The day after we attended the party in Gause(back in May), we went around the A&M campus with the kids before we headed home. We started at the Alumni Center, walked past the stadium, then swung by my old dorm room on the quad. It was good to see everything again, even if it did make me feel a lot older this time around.

Party in Gause

2011-07-03T14:34:00.006-05:00

I'm a little behind on the blog again, so this one takes place near the end of May. Kelly's friend Shannon hosts a get-together at their place in Gause, which is northwest of College Station near Hearne. They have great food, and it is always fun to let the kids run around on all the land they have there. We also got to see Shannon and Isaias's new baby girl Isabella! Eli and Brittney Merz were there, and the have two kids(Ellie & Dane) around Addison and Kara's age. Ellie is also the oldest among her siblings, so it is funny watching Addison and Ellie try to boss each other around. We kept joking that they were both alpha females. We had a great time as usual, and the kids even played in the small pools despite it being filled with cold water from the hose. I found this funny since they won't step foot in ours at home if it is below 80 degrees.

Pool Movie 1

Pool Movie 2

Grampa Ceritelli's Surpise Birthday Party

2011-04-14T00:25:00.012-05:00

At the beginning of April we had a surprise birthday party for my dad at my parent's house. My sister and Mom were able to sneak in a lot of planning without him knowing. We figured he would not be expecting anything since we had already had a small get-together. My sister did a collection of old photographs of my dad from the various decades that were blown up to poster size. She also made a video showcasing even more photos from years past.

The big surprise, however, was that a lot of friends and neighbors from years past that had been living out of town(or even out of state) stopped by for the party. My dad had not seen some of them in years, and was completely shocked to see them. It was a blast, and it was great seeing my Dad so surprised and excited.

Above is Rodney Gullo talking to family friend Carolyn Drake. Rodney and his wife Sandy lived down the street from us in Woodland Hills when I was in elementary school. I used to play with their son Randy when I was that age.
In the center of the picture above is Jim Bellantoni, who was my Dad's department head back when he taught at Stanford High School, flew in from Connecticut. Wit Drake is on the far right, with Bob Davies to his left. Bob came in early with his wife Kathy(on the far left, talking with Steve Salemi) and surprised my Dad on the golf course the day of the party. Bob taught with Dad in the math department at Stanford High School.
Above is Sandy Gullo talking with Kelly and Kara.
Above on the right is my dad's former secretary at Kingwood High School, Donna Belger. To her left is Nancy Salemi, who was another former neighbor from when we lived in Woodland Hills. She came into town from Austin with her husband Steve.
Above is Andy Wells, who was Head Principal(and my principal) when my Dad was Assistant Principal at Kingwood High School.

Above on the right is a better picture of Steve Salemi.

Above is everyone watching the slideshow video my sister did on the TV and also on her computer on the table behind the couch. It was very well done and my Dad got a real kick out of it.

I want to thank my mom and sister for putting this together for my Dad. He really enjoyed it, and it was a complete surprise!

Addison's 4th Birthday Party

2011-04-07T16:42:00.012-05:00

On Saturday, March 26th, we had all of the family over for Addison's 4th Birthday party. Addison of course showed everyone her new castle, and she had a lot of fun playing with it together with Aunt Stephanie.

Kelly is wearing the birthday cake hat that we attempted to get Addison to wear in the picture below. She didn't want to have it on for more than about 5 seconds.
Birthday Movie 1

Birthday Movie 2

Birthday Movie 3

Birthday Movie 4 (Birthday Singing #1)

Birthday Movie 4(Birthday Singing #2)

Addison's 4th Birthday - Disney Castle

2011-04-07T16:08:00.006-05:00

Addison's 4th Birthday fell on a Wednesday(March 23rd), while he had her party on a Saturday(the 26th). So, we gave her one of her presents on Wednesday for fun. She already has a small dollhouse that she likes to play with, and she has been really into the Disney princess movies lately. So, we bought her a Disney castle that has the Disney princesses like Cinderella, Snow White, and so forth. The castle also lights up, has doors that open and close, and even has a doorbell noise.

Castle Movie

Backyard Fun

2011-04-07T15:55:00.003-05:00

We had a nice clear day without rain, so we decided to spend some time in the back yard with the kiddos. Both girls like digging in the dirt, kicking the colored balls, and playing on the slides.

Backyard Movie

Grampa Ceritelli's 70th Birthday Dinner

2011-04-06T23:12:00.006-05:00

My Dad turned 70 on March 10th, and we took him out to Maggiano's for some great Italian food. They have a family style menu there that included multiple appetizers, salads, entrees, and desserts all served as courses. We all were thoroughly stuffed when we left there, and the food was spectacular. My Dad had a great time as we all complimented him on not looking any different than he did 30 years ago!

Kara Eating Pizza

2011-04-06T22:20:00.002-05:00

Here are some quick shots of Kara eating pizza from my local favorite pizza place, J.Christopher's, while mommy had her broken ankle.

Kelly's Broken Ankle

2011-03-13T21:03:00.003-05:00

The day after Addison and I went to the park in late January, we went back as a family to the same park. This was in the afternoon on a Sunday. I was playing with Kara on the ground near one of the play gyms, while Kelly was following Addison around. Addison likes to go from area to area to hop on the swings or play gyms.

While Kelly was following Addison leaving one of the areas she stepped down from a raised area and I heard a pop from across the park. Kelly dropped like a stone and was in a ton of pain. This was a big deal since Kelly is a real champ when it comes to pain. We were pretty sure she broke her ankle, however, we were 10 minutes away from the house with two kids, a red wagon, and no car. So, we decided to have Kelly piggy back on me to the nearest bench while I ran home(literally) with the kiddos in the wagon to get the car. Addison had no idea what was going on and though she was in trouble for having to leave the park early.

On the way home, I called my parent's, who were luckily in Kingwood at that time. They met me at the house, and I immediately drove back to get Kelly. After getting her in the van we went home at first to take a look at her ankle, then decided to go to the hospital emergency room. A few x-rays later, it was clear that she had broken off the tip of her ankle bone. Luckily though, she did not rip any of the tendons and would not have to have surgery.

Kelly was then fitted with a boot that was molded to her foot and given some crutches. This was her first time using them, and it took some getting used to before she could maneuver with them. The good part about the boot was that she could take it off for a shower. We ended up putting a lawn chair in there so she could get cleaned up sitting down!

Kelly's dad and Stepmom were nice enough to swing down to help me take care of Kelly and the kiddos until Kelly was more mobile again without the crutches. I really can't thank all of the family that helped out enough as they went way above and beyond to make things easier for us.

Here is a picture of Kelly's ankle at the hospital:
I'm happy to report that the patient is now mobile without her boot and is well on the road to a full recovery. We have not made a return visit to that park though...

Late January Park Trip

2011-03-13T20:42:00.004-05:00

Addison and I went for a quick trip to the park at the end of January since the weather was bit nicer. There was another family with their nanny there that asked Addison to go down the slides. To my surprise, Addison went with them and had a great time.

Movie:

Addison swinging on her belly

Christmas 2010 Part 2

2011-03-06T23:32:00.003-06:00

Here is the second go around for Christmas when my family came over on Christmas Day. Kara went to take a nap shortly after the gift opening started, so Addison had the spotlight.

Movies:

Christmas Movie 1 This is when the girls first woke up and saw their presents on Christmas Day.

Christmas Movie 2

Christmas Movie 3

Christmas Movie 4

Christmas 2010

2011-03-06T22:08:00.011-06:00

Christmas was nuts this year with both girls going present crazy the entire time. It was hard to get Addison to understand that all of the kid presents were not just for her. We had a lot of the "sharing speech" going on. Kara has been very patient with her sister taking her toys until she received a little pink kids laptop this Christmas that she can hit the keys and it plays songs or talks. When Addison tried to take this from her for the first time Kara screamed at Addison so loud it made her scared and cry. I was glad that Kara stood up for herself , however, I also realized there would be some fun possession issues in the future.

The train under the tree was a huge hit this year for both kiddos, with Addison wanting the remote control constantly. We left the tree/train set up much longer than we should have since they liked it so much.

Below are some movies of all the craziness:

Christmas Movie 1

Christmas Movie 2

Christmas Movie 3

Outdoor Play Set

2011-03-06T21:22:00.010-06:00

Kelly's mom got the girls an outdoor play set for Christmas that has two slides, a tunnel, and a little enclosed area with a door. It is the perfect size for the girls, and they both love messing around on it. We set it up prior to Christmas so that the girls could play on it before the weather turned colder. Here are some fun shots of them playing on it and two movies as well. The first movie is Addison and Kara seeing it for the first time, and Addison is her usual shy self when seeing a surprise.

Play Set Movie 1

Play Set Movie 2

December 5th Birthdays

2011-02-07T00:24:00.006-06:00

We had the birthday party for my sister and myself over at my parent's house back on December 5th. I'm an old man now at 35 and my sister is 28 for the 4th year in a row. My Aunt Mickey and Uncle Hector were able to swing by and say hello as well, which was great. Addison had fun playing Candyland with Kelly and her Aunt Stephanie while Kara went down the little slide outside and played in the rocking chair.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-25T19:44:00.015-06:00

We went up to Dallas for Thanksgiving, and both girls had a really good time. Kelly's Dad's side of the family usually has a few dogs at the family get-together, and this time Kara went nuts playing with Kelly's Grandfather's poodle named Missy. Addison soon joined in playing with the dog as well, however, Kara was outright fearless from the start. Addison is always reserved at first when it comes to people and animals. Kara is just the opposite.

Dog Movie 1

Dog Movie 2

Dog Movie 3

Dog Movie 4

Then we zoomed over to Kelly's Mom's house to see her side of the family. The girls had a great time seeing everyone and messing with Teresa's exercise mat. They would jump on it and crawl on it while playing with their toys.

Texas A&M vs OU Game

2010-12-25T17:53:00.005-06:00

Kelly and I went to the Texas A&M vs University of Oklahoma football game back in the beginning of November along with my old college roommate, Eric. We were hoping this would be a game to remember, and it turns out we were there for a great one. The game was pretty close throughout the whole thing, however, A&M was able to pull off a great win. Below are some quick shots of the game. It had been a while since I was able to attend one of the games, and it is amazing how much that College Station has changed in the past few years.

Halloween Part 2

2010-12-25T15:00:00.007-06:00

Addison was dressed up as Minnie Mouse and Kara was dressed up as a fairy. Addison liked wearing her costume a lot more than Kara did, but they both looked very cute. We went down to the Baptist church since they had an indoor trick-or-treat setup that we really liked last year. They had all sorts of stations with activities and treats spread out over two floors of the church, including outside. My parents met us there so they could join in on the fun.

Halloween

2010-12-25T13:04:00.006-06:00

Yes, we have now hit Christmas, and I'm only updating Halloween on here! Anyway, Kelly's Dad and stepmom came down from Dallas for the week prior to Halloween to have some fun with the girls and to be here for the 31st. Here are some quick shots of everyone at the park down the street the before Halloween.

Below are some attempts at having the girls pose with Kelly's Trick or Treat sign and light up pumpkins:

Twins Birthday Party

2010-11-18T23:41:00.009-06:00

The week before Halloween Addison was invited to the birthday party for the twins in her class at school. We met the father and who I thought was the grandmother. Turns out she was the mother and had the twins when she was 51! They had the party at a kids gym with all sorts of crazy activities. Addison's favorite was climbing over the obstacles they had set up and going down the slides. Kara also had a fun time watching the kids go nuts and climbing on things herself.

Slide Movie

One of the activities involved chasing bubbles, ad you can see in the pictures below.

Bubble Movie

They also had some trampolines to jump on that were a big hit.

Trampoline Movie

They even invited a guy along that could make balloon animals or shapes. Watch the movie to see Addison's flower being made. Kara was tempted by the see-saw that was close in this movie.

Flower Balloon

Another activity was tossing some lighter bouncy balls up in the air.

Bouncy Ball Movie

When it was all done we went in the back and ate some cake and pizza!

Galveston in October

2010-11-10T19:32:00.013-06:00

Kelly's company had a get-together at the beginning of October down at the Hotel Galvez. We stayed the night there at the hotel with both kiddos. This was a little nutso since Kara did not sleep well. I also found it funny that Kelly and Addison both tried to hog the same bed. When we first arrived we attempted to go to the old sailing ship named the Elissa, however, Addison did not want to go on it when we got close to it.

After striking out at the Elyssa, we decided to swing by the candy shop on the strand for a snack.

We then went to the Seawolf submarine which also had a park. It was a good think too, since Addison also did not want to go on the submarine. Addison had a good time on the slides despite some older kids and their dog that were on the steps to the slide not wanting to move out of the way. Addison was the only kid there that said excuse me when she wanted to go by and didn't just shove their way around. Kara had a great time on a blanket on the grass near the slides posing for photos and playing with her toys.

After the park, we went up to the hotel for the party. Several of the employee's kids were there, including the owner's grandson Owen. He is the blond haired kid around Addison's age in the pictures below. The kids had a good time playing on the tile floors, but quickly tired from all the craziness.

New Camera

2010-11-10T00:02:00.003-06:00

Near the end of September, we decided to purchase a new DSLR camera just like the one our friend Casey West had. It was a step up from the point-and-shoot we had with a lot better options for taking clearer and more detailed pictures. We can actually get some "action shots" of them on the move now, and the flash is a lot more powerful than what we had previously. Here are some examples of us messing with the new camera when we just got it:

60th Anniversary in Dallas

2010-11-09T23:50:00.004-06:00

Kelly's Mom's parents celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on September 3rd. We all drove up to Dallas to get together at Kelly's Mom's house. The girls had a good time seeing everyone and entertained the household as usual. We got to play a trivia game based on people and events from 60 years ago in addition to learning about how Kelly's Grandparent's met.

As you can see below, we were a little zonked when we got home and needed a nap.

New Landscaping

2010-11-09T23:39:00.003-06:00

At the beginning of September, we bought some landscaping stones to better outline the flower beds in the front and back yards. We had 3 palettes delivered via a flatbed truck one morning, and the neighbors little boy came out to watch the fork lift drop them off. We had outlined the front two flower beds bordering the house at this stage. Addison wanted to dig in the dirt while this was going on so she could "help". Eventually, we will finish the entire front and back yards beds and take some final pictures.

Kelly's Exam and Addison the Photographer

2010-11-09T22:07:00.010-06:00

Kelly's dad and Step-mom came down to help out since Kelly had an endoscopy done to make sure her pains and indigestion wasn't something more serious. She was in the hospital for about half a day for the procedure, and they didn't find anything wrong. Pictures of the patient are forbidden, and none will be shown on here.

Around this same time Addison had become and expert with our iPhones. She especially likes to take(and look at) pictures she takes with it. Below are some examples of her photography work:

Ice Cream

2010-11-09T21:42:00.004-06:00

Addison has an unusual way of eating ice cream. First, she will take the spoon and dip the bottom of it in the ice cream. Then, she will lick the ice cream off the bottom of the spoon. I think she may do this to avoid "ice cream headache", however, she may just be acting goofy.

Here is a short movie of her eating:

Addison Eating Ice Cream

Return to Moody Gardens and Galveston Part 2

2010-11-08T23:21:00.006-06:00

We were able to stay at Kelly's company's beach house, which was a big help with the kiddos. Addison had a great time playing with the toys they had there, and Kara liked sliding on the hardwood floors.

We also had a chance to go back to the beach. This was a big hit with Kara and no so much with Addison. Kara would zoom towards the waves without any fear at all. Addison, who usually loves going in the shallow waves, did not want to go in at all unless one of us(usually Kelly) was with her. Both of them did have fun making sand castles and watching the water come up towards us to wash them away. This worked out well since we kept Kara from darting at the waves by making a small moat with water she could play with.

Return to Moody Gardens and Galveston

2010-11-08T21:50:00.009-06:00

Back toward the end of August, we made another trip down to Moody Gardens. We wanted to go to the rain forest part of the gardens since we had not been there before. We were pretty disappointed in it over all. There were some animals, however, it was mostly plants. Plants are not that thrilling to kids.

The butterfly exhibit was the largest let-down of all. It was basically a large net with some butterflies in it followed by a small series of puzzles or learning areas about butterflies. Most of the stuff was very uninteresting and it was short overall. We ended up going back to the aquarium out there as well since we knew that part is worth it.

Here is a short movie of Addison riding the end ride at the butterfly exhibit:

Exhibit Ride

Kara Playing Peek-a-boo, Addison playing with GG, and Kara Dropping Stuff

2010-11-08T21:27:00.006-06:00

Below is a link to a movie of Kara playing peek-a-boo with Kelly. She likes to do this with the blankets and also the curtains.

Kara playing peek-a-boo

Here is movie of Addison showing off her game on my iPhone where a cat repeats what you say. You can also click on it and it makes sounds. She is showing it off to GG on the couch and calls it her kitty cat game.

Addison and iPhone

Below is a movie of Kara dropping things on the ground(which she does as a game) and Addison is repeatedly picking them up. They were both having such a good time that we had to get it on film!

Kara and Addison Playing

Return to the Zoo

2010-11-07T22:37:00.010-06:00

In mid-July we went back to the Houston Zoo with just Addison. It was pretty hot out, and we didn't think Kara would be able to make it out there all day in the heat. Kelly's company was having a get-together there with other survey companies as members of this organization whose name I forget.

This guy below was a very rare type of fox. He moved super fast and was very hard for me to get a picture of.
Addison had a great time looking at the animals, but as usual she loved the slides there the best.

Slide Movie

They also had a small water park which consisted of mainly sprayers on fake palm trees and other items. Addison had a good time, however, I kept thinking of the sanitary implications the whole time we were there. The reason this came up was there was a baby who was playing among the other kids in the water his diaper. Not a swim diaper, but a regular diaper! I kept a close watch on Addison here as there were a bunch of older kids going nutso and I didn't want her to get hurt.
See the kid in the red shirt below? Check out the size of that diaper.

Kara's First Birthday

2010-07-16T07:05:00.009-05:00

Kara's first birthday was a blast! We had all the grandparents there in addition to Aunt Debbie, Aunt Nita, Aunt Mickey, and Uncle Hector! It was supposed to be a pool party, but the rain off- and-on that day put that on hold. We grilled hamburgers and Johnsonville Brats(instead of plain hotdogs) despite the rain. Kara was in a good mood, and Addison wasn't as jealous as I thought she would be. Addison did think the gifts were for her until we reminded her that it was Kara's birthday. We did have to reminder her more than once though! Kara and Addison have a lot of fun playing with each other, and did so throughout most of the day. They really had a good time chasing each other through the tunnel for Addison's tent in the front room. You can tell if they are having fun by the ear-piercing screams and laughter.

Kelly handled the gift opening as you can see below. Addison was always offering to help, thinking that most of the boxes and bags were for her. Kara was great throughout this, smiling and mostly being content playing with her new cards, boxes, and gifts.

The confetti pictured above was another favorite for the kiddos.

Here are some quick movies of Addison "helping" to open the presents:

Presents Movie

Presents Movie 2

Here is more of that screaming and chasing I was talking about. Below is a movie of them chasing each other through the tunnel:

Tunnel Chase

We had fun trying to explain that the cakes were for Kara and not Addison. Having her help blow out the candles made it all better. Below is a movie of us singing happy birthday and blowing out the candles:

Happy Birthday Song

The smaller, yellow cake was just for Kara to go nuts with. It took her a while to get started, but she eventually made a wonderful mess of it.

Here are two movies showing Kara and her cake having fun.

Kara's Cake Movie

Kara's Cake Movie 2

Kitchen Screaming and Magnets

2010-06-25T06:41:00.005-05:00

Kara now makes frequent trips onto the tile floor of the kitchen from the living room. Usually she will get excited and "chase" someone(usually me), or she will just want to explore a bit. I wouldn't think she would like the cold tile, however, it hasn't appeared to bother her. Kara has discovered her the bucket of alphabet magnets that he sister used to play with all the time. These are especially fun in the kitchen since you can either put them on the refrigerator or smack them on the tile. Addison would quickly join in anytime Kara was playing, which Kara likes as long as Addison doesn't take away any toys Kara is currently playing with. If Addison gets riled up enough, she can get Kara screaming and laughing loud enough to hurt my ears. Below are some pictures from earlier in the week when they were in this playful mood. There are some movies below as well, however, I must warn you that there is some screaming on some of them.

Kitchen Movies:

Kitchen Chase

Addison takes a quick Break to watch TV

Kitchen Chase 2

Kitchen Chase 3

Magnet Time

Feeding Time

2010-06-22T07:50:00.004-05:00

Here is Addison helping feed her little sister Kara. The mess afterward was worth it for this photo.

Back to the Park

2010-06-22T07:41:00.004-05:00

Addison had wanted to go to the park this past weekend, so we went to the large one in Mills Branch that we had driven by a while back. The park had three separate areas and a large hill in the middle with the greenbelt running between them. There was nobody there since most of the kids were at the community pool up the road. Addison was a little shy about the larger slides unit I went down them with her once. She also rode in one of the swings with me for a few minutes. We found out that Kara does not like to ride in the swings either. She gets that from her sister. Addison also had fun on the little bouncy car they had there. I think this was mainly because it was red.

Here is a quick movie of Addison zooming down one of the slides:

Slide Movie

Kara Going Crazy

2010-06-22T07:28:00.004-05:00

Kara loves to sit or lay in an area and have a good time playing with her toys. She will also go nuts when you clap hands with her or dance with her. Addison can get her riled up pretty quickly, however, this time both her mother and Addison participated. Later, Kelly caught Kara doing some of this on tape which you can see below.

Above is after we came back inside to find Kelly and Kara going crazy. So, Addison decided to join in. Here is the movie of Kara going nuts right before we came inside:

Kara going nuts

Singing the Alphabet

2010-06-22T07:18:00.003-05:00

Addison has been able to sing the Alphabet song for a while now, but we finally caught her on tape. She is a lot more shy singing it on camera than when she just sings it normally for some reason. Here is the movie:

Alphabet Movie

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-18T07:12:00.009-05:00

Kelly's Dad and Stepmom swung down a few days prior to Memorial Day weekend. The girls had a blast since they went in the pool most of that week and we had a get-together over the weekend with my parent's as well. I cooked some hamburgers and hot dogs(bratwurst) on the grille as well. We also had some spicy bratwurst, including the Nolan Ryan and Earl Campbell sausages. The spicy kind is my new favorite. Addison was wearing her new floatie that my mom and dad bought her. It works out really well since she can move around in it a lot better than the life-vest one we had previously. Addison was a bit shy about going around in the "big pool" versus the spa(little pool) at first. However, she now swims around on her own and loves to jump to us from the steps. She will still get tired sometimes and want us to help her move around in the big blue floatie.

As you can see in the movies at the bottom, the adults making big splashes was a huge hit with Addison. She also like to jump off the diving board, which really entailed one of us handing her off to someone floating in the pool below. Kara is really content in the water and will float and play unless she gets hungry. She really is pretty relaxed and content in most situations, which is a relief with Addison going crazy all the time.

Here are those pool movies I was talking about:

Pool Movie 1

Pool Movie 2

Pool Movie 3

Pool Movie 4

Pool Movie 5

Pool Movie 6

Pool Movie 7

Reading and Head Shaking

2010-06-18T06:59:00.005-05:00

Here are some shots of Kelly and Addison both reading on the couch. I like it when she mimics her mother. It's cute.

Here is a quick movie of Addison shaking her head and getting Kara to do the same. Kara loves interacting with her sister.

Head Shaking Movie

Kara in Her Walker

2010-05-28T09:18:00.004-05:00

As part of the baby aerobics we do with Kara, she hangs out in her walker to strengthen her legs. Here is a picture and movie of her in there where she repeatedly gets very tired and then perks up again.

Here is a link to the movie:

Kara Sleepy in Her Walker

Kelly's Grandaddy's 80th Birthday

2010-05-28T08:39:00.005-05:00

We went up to Dallas for Kelly's Grandaddy's(Kelly's Mom's Father) 80th birthday party. It was great to see everyone, and the girls had a great time. Addison of course enjoyed the chocolate cake, and Kara had a great time with one of the party balloons.

Here is a movie of Kara having fun with that balloon:

Kara and the balloon

Addison's First Bike

2010-05-28T08:29:00.005-05:00

We bought Addison her first bicycle since she was doing well with her pink car. She has a bit of a hard time steering and peddling at the same time, however, she is doing well for a three year old. We are hoping to get her using the bike a lot this summer when we go on walks.

Kara Talking/Squirming and Addison's Pink Car

2010-05-26T09:42:00.005-05:00

First up we have some more pictures and movies of Kara. She has really started interacting with everything(including her sister) and also talking more than ever. She mainly says "dada" and "mama" along with some other excited screams.
Here are those movies I mentioned:

Kara Bouncing Movie(with Addison cameo)

Kara saying "dada" after eating dinner

Next we have Addison enjoying her pink car that her Great Uncle Eddie got her back at Christmas. She was a little small to push the pedals on it back then, but now she is tall enough and getting the hang of it.

Here are two movies of her riding in the car:

Car movie #1

Car movie #2

Easter

2010-05-26T09:17:00.006-05:00

Yes, we are a tad behind again on the blog(again). Here are some pictures from Easter when we went to Kelly's work for an Easter egg hunt with all the employees and kids. Addison had a great time looking for eggs and especially playing with the gravel from the parking lot.
They also had a live rabbit there for the kids to play with and for pictures. Addison was a little scared of the rabbit at first, but warmed up to it quickly. Here is a movie with Addison and the rabbit:

Rabbit Movie

Here she is in the gravel parking lot. She was enjoying picking up all the small rocks with her hands and dropping/throwing them around. Who needs fancy toys?

Potty Training

2010-04-01T14:49:00.004-05:00

We have been potty training Addison for the last couple of months and she has been doing an excellent job. A few weeks ago, I went to put Addison on the potty. As I am taking the pull up off she begins to pee...on my hand. I halfway startled and a little disgusted said "No no no..stop pee'ing." She did. I quickly put her on the potty and she finished pee'ing. I began to wash my hands...repeatedly.

Addison says "Oooo, poor Mommy."
Mommy "Poor Mommy because you pee'd on me?"
Addison "Yeah, poor Mommy."

Kara has Teeth!

2010-03-26T10:46:00.003-05:00

The same day as Addison's party we noticed that Kara's bottom two middle teeth had finally poked through! She has been sleeping through the night much more often now, and we hope her discomfort in her mouth is coming to an end. Here are some feeble attempts of getting the teeth on film:

Addison's 3rd Birthday!

2010-03-26T09:53:00.006-05:00

Addison had her 3rd birthday party this past weekend and we had all sorts of family in town. It was great to see everyone, especially those from Dallas that made the trip. Addison woke up from her nap to see everyone she knows downstairs ready to shower her with attention. This made her a tad shy at first, but she soon got over that and started smiling and playing. The overall theme of the party was the movie "Cars" by Pixar and Disney, which Addison absolutely loves.

Addison had fun opening the gifts, although she tended to like playing with the tissue paper more than the actual unwrapping. Luckily, Kelly was there to help out.

Addison received many fun gifts and some much needed clothing. My sister gave Addison a "sit and spin" toy that you can see in the pictures below. This was a real hit with Addison right away.
Here is a quick movie of Addison using the Sit and Spin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CysavOjPCZA

Next up at the party was the cake. The cars on top of it doubled as real toys, which was handy since Addison wanted to play with them.
Here is a movie of us singing "Happy Birthday" to her:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5c96cefYX0

After a quick juice recharge in her new chair, Addison was ready to go crazy again. She had a great time driving her new truck through her Grandad and Uncle John's legs.

Overall the party went really well, and Addison was in a great mood. We are hoping to have some more activities outside for Kara's birthday in the summer. We may even make it a combo birthday/pool party!

Leaves, and a Hidden Dog

2010-03-26T09:36:00.003-05:00

We have had some warmer days lately, and everyone has been able to hang outside more. Kelly's Dad recently introduced Addison to the art of jumping into piles of leaves in our back yard. Addison has always walked on them to hear them crunch, but this took it to another level. She did have to learn that you can't jump into a small pile where there isn't enough padding the hard way.
While we were outside we heard some weird dog noises coming from the back fence. We thought maybe a dog was behind the fence and didn't think much of it. Kelly and her Dad spotted what appeared to be a dog stuck between our back fence and the stone fence that borders the trees behind our house. There is barely six inches of room between the two fences, however, a dog was indeed stuck there making noises. After prying a few boards loose the dog came running out. It had a tag on it with a vet's number and no address. I though this was rather pointless versus having the owner's name, address, or even phone number on there. Anyway, we figured out it had to be a neighbors dog, and after some searching, returned the dog to the neighbor to the back left of our house. They were repairing their own fence when the dog went through the small opening. Here is a picture of the crazy gal.

Daddy's Helper and Squirming

2010-03-26T09:17:00.004-05:00

We'll start this one off with a picture of Addison "helping" me with Kelly's computer desk keyboard tray installation. I told her to get the flashlight and shine it where I needed to put the screws in the desk to hold up the keyboard tray. Instead of doing this, however, she would just shine the light all over and even in her/my face.
Kara has been getting more and more active every day. She loves to roll around on the floor, sometimes running into things like her sister, the coffee table, and also the surround sound receiver. We put down a comforter to prevent and bumps from occurring. Here are a few shots of her squirming and sticking out her tongue. She also does this swimming thing where she lifts up her arms and legs while resting on her tummy. She then flails her arms and legs as if she could just swim along the ground that way.

We also have a few movies of her in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iud6WJJ1yE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f6ZUQC1UZQ

Addison wanted in on the movies for this last one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWle5K2ON6w

Sesame Street Live

2010-03-26T07:57:00.002-05:00

Back in February, we had a chance to go to Sesame Street Live with Addison thanks to Aunt Stephanie getting us some free tickets. We even had a "backstage pass" to meet some of the performers before the show. Addison was a bit intimidated by them up close, but absolutely loved them when they were performing. The theme of the show was using your imagination, and they had a postal worker that would read them post cards from different locations. They would then imagine that they were there and the stage would change depending on the location. They imagined they were in the woods with the bears, on a ship, and other locations. They had one that was under the sea where everything glowed too. Addison had a great time and managed to get a few fun items while we were there. We bought her an Elmo balloon and also a flashlight that has lights at the end of it that spin.

Here are two movies from the event as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNdPRszOStU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsloL5-pDqI

Addison Silly

2010-03-05T07:41:00.002-06:00

My (Kelly) conversation with Addison last night. Addison, Kara and I were in Kara's room getting her (Kara) ready for bed. Addison is running around like a crazy girl, rocking like a mad woman in the rocking chair, etc.

Addison: Mommy, what is this? (holding a toy)
Mommy: That is a rattle bracelet.
Addison: Oh, a rattle bracelet. Mommy, that is so ridiculous!!
Mommy: Huh??? Did you just say ridiculous?
Addison: Mommy, that is ridiculous.

Mike and I laughed. That was the first time she has said "ridiculous".

Update

2010-02-25T11:31:00.003-06:00

Below is a much needed update:

Kara has been doing well. Our little girl has/had a sinus infection. She is still taking antibiotics, but sounds much better. When I took her to the doctor last week they weighed her - 16 pounds 8 ounces. She is our growing little girl. Let's put it this way, Addison weighs 27 pounds now. Addison has always been small. We went to the store this past weekend to by some spring clothes for the girls. Based on Kara's weight, she should be wearing 12 month size clothes and I bought her a few 12 month outfits. We will see how they fit her this weekend and if I need to bring out the bigger sized clothes. She is wearing 6-9months stuff now, but some of the outfits are becoming a tight fit. She is only 7 months old (well, 8 months next week)!!!

Kara is rolling around all over the place and is in love with her big sister. She will reach out to touch Addison. Addison talks to Kara and plays peek-a-boo with her. It is just too cute. Kara has been eating solid foods. She did not like rice cereal or green beans. When we were trying these foods on her I just assumed she wasn't ready for solids yet. However, we decided to buy some of the other veggies and see how that went. SHE LOVES CARROTS!!! Who knew! She pigged out on her first ever jar of carrots and ate the whole thing. To say we were shocked is an under statement. She likes carrots, sweet potatoes and squash. I'm not sure where she gets the love for the last two, since Mike and I do not like them. She is starting to sleep a lot better through the night, however, she still doesn't make it the whole night. Most nights she wakes up just once around 2 am. Kara isn't sitting up on her own just yet. She enjoys sitting in her little support chair on the floor. I'm not pushing her to sit up, since she will sit on her own when she is ready.

Addison is just our silly girl. I can't imagine when Kara is her age and having two silly girls running around playing and telling us their crazy stories. She is doing really well at her Mother's Day Out school. She goes 3 days a week for 5 hours a day. She has learned her ABC's. If you tell her to find the letter "a" she can. To my amazement, she can find most of the letters. Before she started school, we taught her how to count to 10. School has taught them how to count to 20. She has known her colors and basic shapes for a very long time now. I'm biased, but she is a smart little girl.

We've been potty training her and for many weeks (setting an hourly timer for potty time) with little success. She might pee in the potty once a day, if we were lucky. For some reason this week, she has decided to pee every time in the toilet. The light bulb suddenly came on. Some times she will tell us that she has to go pee, and other times you have to ask her. The one thing she doesn't understand is that she has to go poo-poo in the toilet as well. Last night she did that in her diaper. Oh well! I am just glad she is starting to pee in the potty. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Addison got her hair cut...short, a little past her ears. I like it. It took some getting use to at first because her hair had gotten so long, but I really do like the shorter hair on her. Of course it makes her look so much younger.

As some of you may know, Addison will be turning 3 in the next few weeks. Yes, we are having a party for her at the house. Invitations will be in the mail today. I know I know, I'm cutting it a little close. I didn't realize how quickly February has flown by. For privacy purposes, I won't give the date, but if you remember when her birthday is, it will be the Saturday before. Sorry for the short notice.

That is all I have for this update. If I can find the camera one day we might update with some new pictures.

Computer Fun and Booster Chair

2010-02-09T14:58:00.004-06:00

Addison loves to use the computer. What is even more amazing is how good she is at it. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering who her parent's are. She especially likes to use the paint program and story modes on the playhouse disney website.
Now that she is older, Addison is now using a booster chair when she eats her meals at the table. Kara will be using the high chair soon, so we wanted to transition Addison into something more advanced. She can eat off of her own little tray or at table height with everyone else. She has really liked using it since she can sit with the rest of us.

New Year

2010-02-09T14:30:00.004-06:00

Fresh into the new year, we'll start off with a picture of Addison sleeping like her father:
Anyway, Kara has now been using the old circle walker that Addison used. This is the one where the kiddo can orbit a central play center in a circle but not actually go anywhere. We use a towel under Kara to support her better. She enjoys hitting all the same buttons and such that her sister did. As usual, Addison suddenly gets interested in her old toys when Kara is using them.

Day After Christmas

2010-02-09T14:03:00.008-06:00

Kelly's mom came down from Dallas and we had our third Christmas unwrapping the day after Christmas. Below you can see some crazy silver pants Kelly's mom got for Addison to match her silver shoes she already had.
Addison also received a set of Mickey Mouse ears from her Uncle Danny and Aunt Marquetta. She did not take to them right away, and got angry when we wore them. We had to ease her into them, since Addison is sometimes fussy about wearing ha
Below is Addison playing with a pretend makeup kit that Kelly's Mom got her. I have declared that she can not use the real thing until she is at least 30.
Kelly's brother John gave Addison a toy school bus that had passengers you can arrange in the seats. It also makes noises when you push down on the driver of the bus. Addison had a great time with it and would push it around in front of her like it was a shopping cart. This was funny to watch since she was really hunched over the whole time.
Kara's gifts were quickly interpreted by Addison as being her gifts. We had to explain the concept of sharing to Addison, which was not popular right away. Most of the time Kara would play with something only to have Addison declare it to be "her toy". Then Kara would find that toy snatched from her hands by Addison. Explaining the sharing concept to Addison helped, although she would still resort back to the "mine" phrase from time to time. This started off with a small keyboard that lit up and played music when you touched it as seen below. This was a gift from Kelly's mom. You can see the "sharing" going on already.

Christmas Part 5(Christmas Day)

2009-12-28T15:21:00.009-06:00

This continues the unwrapping session from Christmas day when my parents and sister were over. Yes, it has been a while since I updated. Below we have a shot of me with my new multi-wrench that my parents gave me. I took this of myself if you couldn't tell.
I also received a griddle from my parents, that works really well for cooking a lot of bacon at one time. It also cooks pancakes very quickly.
This little guy below was supposed to be part of a bathtub kit for the girls, however, we ended up having a lot of fun playing with him as a and puppet. This was from my Aunt Mickey and Uncle Hector.
Our girls both love Mickey Mouse, and they received a nice book with some good activities in it. This was also from my Aunt Mickey and Uncle Hector. Kelly is modeling this one for us.

Christmas Part 4(Christmas Day)

2009-12-27T10:46:00.012-06:00

My family came over around lunchtime on Christmas day for another round of present opening. Addison had been getting over a fever for a few days, and although her fever broke she still had a sore throat. We set up in the living room, and Aunt Stephanie was a big help in keeping Addison from getting too fussy. Below is a picture of Aunt Stephanie holding Kara before Addsion became jealous.

Addison opened the largest package first, which was a toy train set that could go around the tree. It runs on batteries(which my parents included), makes train noises, plays music, and even came with a remote control(which is awesome). After several attempts to move on to other presents, we had to set the train up since Addison was so infatuated with it.
Addison also received a personalized tv tray from my parents that she can use either on the floor, or while laying down on the couch. She has already used it as a coloring platform and to store her colored pencils.
My parents also gave Kara a suitcase so she can have her own stylish luggage for trips.

Addison also received an easel from my folks that has a side you can write on with chalk and a white eraser board side. It came with chalk and letters that would stick to the eraser board side.

Here is a quick movie of Addison playing with her easel:

Addison Playing at Her Easel

Christmas Part 3(Christmas Day)

2009-12-26T18:21:00.006-06:00

Christmas Day we opened a few more gifts before my family arrived. Addison's Granny and Grampa(Kelly's Mother's Parents), gave Addison a Discovery Kids digital camera for Christmas. She was able to figure it out rather quickly as Kelly pointed out previously. She took pictures all over the place and had a great time with it.

Christmas Movies Part 1

2009-12-26T16:30:00.003-06:00

Here are some movies of Addison playing in her new tent she received for Christmas:

Addison Inside Her Tent

Addison Crawling Through The Tunnel

Addison Crawling Through The Tunnel 2

Addison Crawling Through The Tunnel 3

Christmas Part 2

2009-12-26T14:04:00.016-06:00

Kelly's Dad and Stepmom came over the weekend before Christmas, and we had our first round of present opening. Addison got a Discovery Kids camping tent from Kelly's Dad and Stepmom that also had a small tunnel with it. The tunnel can attach to the tent or be used separately. They also gave her a toy purse with pretend make-up in it. Kara received a hand-held toy that lights up and plays classical music. Her Great Aunt Terry and Uncle Richard got her a pink princess outfit and wand. Both girls also received some lovely new outfits to wear.

Addison refused to take off the princess outfit for days after first opening it. She still carries the wand with her when she goes to sleep. She also has been having a blast crawling through the tunnel and sitting in her tent for meals and just goofing off.

Kelly bought the girls matching Christmas outfits as seen below.

We also gave Addison a Mrs. Potatoehead! She had a hard time with some of the pieces at first, but got the hang of it after a while.

We also purchased a Leapster learning game system for Addison. We bought a Nemo game for it since Addison is a big fan of that movie. I has a pen you can use with the touch screen, and Addison figured out how to use it very quickly.

Snow Day

2009-12-26T10:57:00.005-06:00

We are now going back in time to December 4th. Houston had snow on this day, which was the earliest it had ever snowed here.

Christmas Part 1

2009-12-26T09:57:00.004-06:00

This is a quick post to show off Addison's photography skills. She received a Discovery Kids Camera from her Great Granny and Grandpa for Christmas. She LOVES it. We were surprised as to how well she understood how to operate the camera. There are a few things she doesn't understand, like looking through the eye viewer or the screen to aim your shots. But Oh Well...she is only 2. Here are a few pictures.

We will post more about the girls Christmas a little later when we get a chance.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Pink Hat

2009-12-17T14:54:00.003-06:00

My mom bought Addison a pink hat to keep her head and ears warm now that it is a little colder here. She absolutely loves it and likes to wear it around the house. Here are some quick pictures of her with it on:

Mickey Mouse Yard Decoration

2009-12-17T14:22:00.007-06:00

Addison is a huge fan of Mickey Mouse, so we bought one of the inflatable yard decorations for Christmas seen below. She did not want to sit in front of Mickey with me, so I get to pose solo.

Here is a movie of our attempt to surprise Addison with the new Mickey Mouse in the front yard:

Addison Mickey Mouse Yard Decoration