did you know...

...that at Applebees, kids eat for FREE on tuesdays AND they have a clown for entertainment???

WELL, NOW YOU DO!

so fresh and so clean!

i braved a trip to the dentist today... not for me, but for BOTH kids! natalie was long due for her cleaning and check-up, and little russell had not yet had one. so it was time to go!


at natalie's first trip to the dentist, she was very hesitant and frightened. she had to sit in my lap and barely opened her mouth. she cried just a little which was fine because crying meant that her mouth was open for the hygienist to clean her teeth! about a year had passed and lately she's been talking about going to the dentist VERY excitedly! today she went in like a big girl, sat very still for two x-rays, and then sat all by herself for her cleaning and exam. she also really enjoyed watching wall-E which was playing on the television up on the ceiling! i couldn't have been more proud of her!


i was more worried about russell's first visit... of course, he had seen the dentist twice before, when he bumped his front tooth (how can we forget!) and both times he wasn't very cooperative. this time, however, he did really well! he did sit on my lap for the cleaning but when the dentist came in for the exam, he sat all by himself! he was very well-behaved and not once did he shed a tear!


the outcome was two brave, well-mannered kids with clean, health teeth! i don't know why i ever doubt my kids, they are good at proving me wrong! :)

here's a [poor cell phone] picture of natalie in the chair. i didn't get one of russell because when he was sitting by himself, i was too busy paying attention to what the dentist had to say.

cecil field air show

laughing hyenas

for some strange reason my kids thinks the show America's Funniest Home Videos is HYSTERICAL! they crack up laughing everytime someone gets hurt!

the lighting is terrible, but as soon as they started this laughing frenzy i ran to get my camera and started filming...

***scroll down to stop the music so you can hear them laughing***

hanging out at grandma and grandpa's house - they LOVE the playground!

clifford spotting in jacksonville!

we heard clifford was going to be at our local bookstore, so we decided to go check it out this morning.

russell was a bit more shy than natalie but i was just glad i was able to get him in the picture one way or another!

they both got new clifford books that clifford "signed" with his paw print stamp :)

sponge bob!

regardless of the fact that i find this show quite funny and entertaining, i don't let my kids watch it. they might have seen it once or twice here and there and they definitely see sponge bob pretty much EVERYWHERE we go. -- i mean really, is he popular or WHAT???

despite the fact that they don't watch the show, my kids LOVE spongebob! so i buy them little things here and there, like their bathroom rinse cups, a puzzle, etc. but the other day when natalie ran into the corner of the wall, we pulled out a spongebob icepack that we inherited from aunt susie when packing up the cooler to head home from virginia. she was so excited about using it and the moment she was feeling better, she grabbed her new drawing board she got from the easter bunny and started to draw spongebob. i had to take a picture because this is only the 3rd time she drew him and this was the day after her "booboo" and the ice pack had already been put away.

and while natalie was drawing, russell stood at the window watching the rainstorm.

happy blessed easter!

after mass today, we had both families over for a cookout. the weather couldn't have been more perfect! natalie and russell went on another easter egg hunt and then had fun playing with their cousins.

russell was in one of his "moods" and this was the best family picture we got

look what the easter bunny brought!

nana's coconut easter bunny cake =)

happy birthday, dear susan

i just had to share this card i found for my dear sister-in-law, susan. there isn't a more perfect card for her...


doesn't it look like her???


and in honor of susan's birthday, i chose a rockin LOVERBOY tune, who i am told she worshiped as a teenager. And for those of you who grew up in MY era, you may remember this song from the Saturday Night Live skit with Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley as Chip N Dale dancers... ENJOY!

we love you susan! hope i didn't embarrass you too much ;) besides, i know you're good at getting me back!

happy easter eggs!

yesterday was the day we dyed easter eggs. natalie had been looking forward to this for DAYS! she was so excited. titi celena happened to stop by and was a huge help :)

all he wanted to do was play with the water

here's natalie writing her name on the egg

showing off their eggs!

we'll be using these eggs in our easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday...

but we are having another egg hunt today with our friends isaac and isabella :)

a day in the life of russell

* russell wakes up about an hour later than his sister every morning. he definitely inherited this trait from his mommy :)


*although he is not completely potty-trained, his pull-up is dry every morning and he makes a nice long peepee in the potty!


* russell LOVES food. it is such a joy to feed this kid because he'll eat just about anything. unlike natalie, who has a short list of foods she WILL eat, russell has a short list of foods that he WON'T eat! he loves fruits and veggies too, which is such a blessing -- apples, grapes, strawberries and cucumbers are some of his favorites


* his favorite toys are his cars and his legos. and he has several LEGOS CARS too :)


* russell likes to play independently but also loves to "rough house" with his sister! they chase, tackle, wrestle each other...natalie loves it too, but of course, she's the one who usually ends up getting "hurt"...


*he is a sturdy and careful kid and hardly ever gets hurt... but i always know when something's wrong because he'll cry that "hurt" cry which is different from the standard whine. like the time he bumped his tooth... twice...


* he is a little particular about his wardrobe. some times, not always, he will protest an article of clothing that i just put on him. sometimes i just ignore it and let him get over it (because after all, MOMMY picks out the clothes in this household--at least, for now...) but there are times when i will just give in because he is so serious about not liking his pants or whatever it is


*russell is moody. plain and simple. (also gets this from his mommy...)


*he HATES getting his hair cut. i took him to a kids salon for his first cut a long time ago and even with a movie playing and a lollipop in his hand, he screamed and cried the entire time. two years later he is STILL giving us a fight!


* russell just started to show an interest in coloring, especially in his mickey mouse book, but he doesn't care to do it for long. he also really LOVES to paint and do crafts!


* he is a good little helper in the kitchen and loves to help mommy when he can


* russell has made leaps and bounds in his vocabulary over the last year, but we still have a long way to go. he still attends speech therapy every other week and we are working on getting him into a different program, called Child Find, which the state provides to children who are "developmentally" behind to get them ready for school. some days i worry about his [lack of] talking but at this point this isn't a major concern. and it helps when i hear from other people about how their kid didn't start talking until they were 3 or 4, and they're completely normal now! (if any of you have a story like this to share, by all means, i would appreciate the encouragement! :D)


* russell is so incredibly sweet. he gives the best hugs (wraps his arms around your neck tight) and don't even get me started on those sweet kisses with his fat lips! all i have to do is ask (even in spanish) and he is very generous with them


*he hates brushing his teeth. he will tolerate it up until i try to get the brush behind his front lower teeth, then the battle's on!


* russell falls soundly asleep within minutes of "lights out" (most nights), just like his sister... and mommy couldn't ask for more :)




the little things about russell that i love:

- his dreamy light brown eyes
- his ever so kissable lips
- his beauty mark to the left of his left eye

- the peach fuzz on his jaw line
- his "sponge bob square/fred flintstone" feet (that's what i like to refer to them as)
- the sweet baby smell of his head that i can smell on him no matter if he is freshly clean or has skipped a bath

- the special bond that him and i share. it must be that mother/son connection you always hear about but i can't help it, he is hands-down a momma's boy


this is how he plays with his cars. every day.

natalie...

...spent the night at grandma and grandpa's house again last friday. these are a few pics my mom sent me:

my mom said she told natalie she wanted to take a picture of her, and natalie got on the floor and struck this pose:

after bath on friday night, my mom braided natalie's hair and she slept in her braids (something i used to do when i was little so that i could have "curly" hair the next day).

these are her braids (and it looks like she is wearing a flower hat with that pot behind her!):

natalie played play-doh with her grandpa. here she is lookin all stylish in her snow white dress and cute apron:

and here is natalie's "curly" hair :)

soaking it in

on saturday night we had one of the craziest thunderstorms ever. at around 2am i was awakened by the rumbling of the thunder AND the flashes of lightning. it lasted for over two hours and i was so sure that the kids would wake up screaming and scared to death, but they slept right through it! as i lay in bed, it was like watching a light show. our bedroom curtains were drawn but this lightning was so bright, it was lighting up the whole room, and it was one after the other! along with the insane lightning, there was the constant rumbling of thunder that didn't seem to end! i was a little frightened (more so i was terrified that our AC would get hit by lightning, which actually DID happen to us about a year ago!) but what a magnificent experience altogether!

as if last night never happened, sunday was one of those glorious spring days -- another one of those "perfect park days", so guess where we headed...

one of our favorite parks in the beautiful san marco area of jacksonville, right across the street from the river:

peek-a-boo natalie

i wished i could take this gorgeous magnolia tree home with me

i love this old school slide!

russ was imagining all the things he could build onto a tree like this!

rose garden inside the park

we walked over to the river

it was extremely windy so the water was very choppy

the beauty of jacksonville truly lies in its waters