Meet Patrick!

Patrick is the elf that Santa sent to watch Sabrina and Caleb and report back to him if they have been naughty or nice that day. Every night he flies to the north pole(Sabrina is trying to figure out where he stores his airplane :) reports to Santa and then flies back and finds a new place to sit and observe that day's events. I LOVE Patrick and as far as I am concerned he can move in permanently. Sabrina said that would not be good because he would miss his elf friends and family.

Seriously, whoever invented the Elf on the shelf is a genius and I know I am not the only parent out there who is secretly relieved to have an elf helping keep the kids in line!!

Snow day!!

The DC area had its first snowfall today. After a 1.5 hr!!!!! trip home from preschool(combo of traffic and really really bad drivers who stop on their way up a hill?? and who drive their miata's out in the snow??) and a good lunch, Sabrina and I ventured outside to enjoy the snow while Caleb took a much needed nap. She had a blast out there, throwing snowballs at me, making snow angels and breaking in her new sled.

Watch me instead!!

This is a video of our little man practicing taking steps and walking. We also managed to capture a little sibling jealously. Enjoy :)

Chip off the old block!

As you can see in the video below our Sabby is taking after her Grampy Bill, her Daddy and her Poppy and is proving to be quite the engineer. Scouts honor she built her wagon/race car/boat all on her own. I am no the most mechanically inclined person!!

Caleb the crawler

Some video of our little man in action. Since this video was taken he has become much more comfortable with his crawling and is now officially getting into mischief on a constant basis. He has also learned to pull up to standing which he tries to do on just about anything and everything.

Playing with the little brother!

A video of Sabrina torturing..er playing with Caleb right before bed the other night. Enjoy!!

He's standing!!

As you can see he looks very pleased with himself, I am not sure if this is his first time pulling up to standing or if its the first time I've caught him. Either way its time to drop the crib again!! Now what you dont see is that in the second between me putting the camera down and turning around he was trying to lift his little chubby leg over the railing. And so it begins.....

Ladies Man

This past Monday Sabrina, Caleb and I were invited to our friend Suzanne's house for a playdate with her daughters Megan(5) and Allie (1). Caleb managed to thoroughly charm Megan so much that by the end of the playdate she wanted to hold his hand, give him kisses and she even wrote him his very first love note. If this is any indication then my boy was born with mad skills :) Must be a recessive gene ;)

The note says on top " I love Calab" and in purple and orange " I kiss Calab" with a picture of the two of them holding hands and kissing. Too Cute!!

Little Bo Peep found her sheep!!

Hope you all had as much fun this past Halloween as Sabrina and Caleb did. The day started off with Sabrina and I baking and decorating 48 cupcakes for our annual neighborhood parade and party which was later that afternoon. After lunch and a good nap the kids were ready to put on their costumes for the parade. Sabrina chose the costumes for both her and Caleb and I have to say I'm proud of her creativity and her sense of humor. She chose to be Little Bo Peep and Caleb was her sheep :) The kids all lined up and marched down the block to the party where we won the prize for best costumes for the second year in a row, something which definitely puts the pressure on us for next year!! Both sets of grandparents came over to see Sabrina and Caleb in their costumes and chow down on Kyle's tasty white bean chicken chili and cornbread. After dinner Sabrina and I bundled up and went out trick or treating. We were joined by her buddy Ian who lives across the street and those two three year olds really got into the spirit of the day and stayed out for over 1.5 hrs and had an absolute blast!! Here are some pics from the day!!

Our two treats!
Little Bo Peep looking for her sheep.

There he is :)

Sabby and her buddies from the neighborhood lined up for the parade.

Family shot at the party!

Very patiently waiting for Mommy to be ready to go trick or treating.

First house!!

Little Bo Peep and her Cowboy buddy :)

First day of preschool!!!

This morning Sabrina went to her very first preschool class. She seems to like her teacher, her classroom, play doh and snack time but is still a little unsure about her classmates. Despite a case of butterflies in her tummy our Sabby handled being dropped off like a pro. She waved, smiled and said "See you later Mom" and went off to wash her hands. I think I was more nervous than she was. This will be the first time I won't be there to protect and look out for her and for me that is a hard thing. Only time will tell if we have made the right call with the school and how she adjusts but I have a feeling its all going to work out in the end.

Getting ready to leave for school!

Walking into school with Daddy and Caleb. Sabrina was super excited that her Daddy was able to come and see her off on her first day. He was the only Daddy we saw there!!

Washing her hands in her classroom!!

Twinkle Toes

This past morning Sabrina began her very first ballet class. She LOVED every minute of it and had a grin plastered to her face the entire hour. She loved her tutu and leotard but didn't understand why she did get to wear a crown. Apparently in her mind all ballerinas wear crowns so therefore she should as well. The other moms and I were just alternately hysterical and a little misty eyed watching our less than graceful girls twirl, run and jump.

Watch out Mia Hamm!!

This past Saturday Sabrina followed in both of her family's footsteps and had her first soccer class. Granted it mostly involved running from one end of the arena to the other, kicking over cones and balloons but she had an absolute blast especially with her bestie Katie at her side. Here are some pics of our future soccer star in action.

GOOOOO IRISH!!!!

Here's the proud Daddy with his two kids watching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on Purdue for the first game of the season.

7 mos old!!

Our little man is getting ready to hit the 7 month mark next week. So far he seems to be keeping his sunny, happy personality. He is something of a charmer and always has a smile for anyone who is paying him any attention. This makes him very popular with the ladies-Kyle is convinced he gets his mojo from him :) This past week he has started to say mama; between he and Sabrina that word seems to echo around this house pretty much all day :) Caleb can sit on his own pretty well now but will occasionally "go boom". He is trying to crawl but is currently at the scooting backward stage. His favorite person is still his big sister, he is just fascinated by everything she does and he just lights up whenever she comes near him. They have started to play together somewhat and I am such a sap watching the two of them interact. Sabrina is a generous, caring and somewhat bossy big sister. She will gladly share her toys with him and will often without any prompting just go up to him and sing a little song or give him a hug and a kiss. Its as cute as it sounds. Caleb loves loves loves solid foods and will eat anything and everything. So far peas and bananas are his favorites. He continues to be a great sleeper and is pretty much a dream baby. Here are a few pics from the past month or so:

Big smiles for the Momma!

Happy to be around his big sister

He will let her do pretty much anything to him

Snuggling in the big girl bed is a big treat for him.

Teeth were another big milestone. His two bottom teeth came in a few weeks ago but he will still gnaw on pretty much anything and everything.

Spending some quality time with Poppy learning the ins and outs of golf.

This is his favorite toy. I'm not sure if its the lights and music or his reflection that he enjoys more.

Sometimes a guy needs a little cuddling when your teeth are coming in.

My two blessings!!

Today was a milestone in Caleb's life: he had his first taste of people food! Needless to say he LOVED his sweet potatoes-big shocker right?? In fact he was so enthusiastic he was reaching with both hands and grabbing my hand that was holding the spoon and shoving it into his mouth. For a few minutes there I was afraid I was going to lose a finger or two. I assume it was akin to feeding a baby shark. :) This momma has been to the rodeo before so he was stripped down prior to his feeding. I worried needlessly as he did not allow one drop of food to fall lower than his chin. Here are some pics of our big boy in action:

Caleb making sure the spoon reaches his mouth.
Getting cross eyed watching the spoon come closer.

A little video of the big boy in action

A much needed vacation

The last week in July saw us Michl's in the Outer Banks of NC for a week at the beach with my family. The whole gang, dogs included, spent a week relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Sabrina made it very clear to us that she is a certified beach bunny. If she would have had her way she would have spent every waking minute on the beach looking for seashells, or playing with her sand toys. We proudly watched as our normally timid daughter walk to up to other little kids with her bucket and shovel, introduce herself and ask if they wanted to play with her. Caleb spent most of the trip with Nanny at the house in the AC because it was just too hot for him to be down at the beach, but don't worry he LOVED every minute of the undivided attention he received. He made one cameo at the beach after an hour of trying to squeeze his pudgy self into his swim trunks and rash guard shirt only to burst out into hysterical tears the minute the ocean water touched his toes. Hopefully next year he has a better reaction. I managed to spend lots of quality time parked in a beach chair reading my books(BLISS!!!) while Kyle shot a round of golf and went deep sea fishing with Tony and John. We are counting down the days until next year's trip!!

Sabrina making friends with the Atlantic Ocean
Sabrina the mermaid

Doing what she loves most: digging and playing in the sand! Daddy has lots of fun cleaning her up after hours of sitting in the sand :)

Caleb's reaction to the ocean... :(

The Martinez girls, the bookworms!

The guys leaving to go fishing.

Kyle and Tony playing a game of foosball at a local bar.

Kyle putting his Engineering degree to good use packing up the car with all of our crap, I mean the items that one needs for a week away from home with two small children at the beach :)

Caleb getting the VIP treatment from Nanny

Sabrina and Poppy having a who can get more sand in their swimsuit contest. Sabrina lost :)