just pix

Front yard Christmas morning photoshoot. Love the lighting in this one.

 Acting like he's cutting up his food. He knows he isn't supposed to touch the knife, hence the look in his eye!

They both love the easel.

 
Cuddling with daddy on Jack's new pillow pet

BDubs watching the Bears game. Sporting her new orange flower band that she got for Christmas. I got it just to match Bears outfits!

 Afternoon at BDubs watching the Bears beat the Jets

Grace ate and ate and ate during her first Christmas dinner!

Jack hates when you help him get into his car seat. He's becoming quite independent, and most of the time before we even get out of the house, he is making sure you know he wants to climb in the car by himself.

breakfast - loves ALL food!

 breakfast - loves his Cheerios and milk

 hugs for daddy after nap

playing with my new markers on the new craft table

easel and magnets

love my tools!

Grace looks like she's storing up for the winter in her cheeks!

Playing with her new baby doll

3 McCormick boys - Had a nice Christmas dinner and a fun time at Grandma and Grandpa McCormick's house. Jack surely enjoyed himself! Grace ate a lot of food. I'd say she enjoyed her first Christmas dinner!

Playing with his new dump truck

Today we've had a pretty low-key day. The kids hadn't really had a chance to just play with all of their new toys, so we decided to stay home and relax. It was the perfect day for it since it's is cold and windy outside. We did venture out to catch the second half of the Bears game at BW3s. It was a GREAT game!

Grace now can stand for quite a while unassisted. Just waiting on that first step! Our big two year old is going on day 2 with boycotting his nap. Please don't be growing out of your nap, Budgie! :)

On another note, Jack is going to be getting tubes in his ears on January 3rd. I'm dreading this, but we are being reassured by the ENT and our pediatrician that this is absolutely the best thing for him. He gets recurring ear infections, and is on antibiotics way too much. Plus he has fluid on his right ear, making it sound like he is under water. From start to finish, we shouldn't be away from him for more than 10 minutes. It's a quick and simple procedure, and it will hopefully reduce his ear infections.

Jack's Birthday and Christmas Eve

I think Jack had a fun birthday. We woke up and Colin and I made his Elmo cupcakes. We all got ready and went to Monkey Joe's. Jack loves running, climbing, and sliding all over the place there. He got to do it with Devin, which was an added treat for him.

We came home and started getting things ready for people to come over. We just had a handful of friends come to celebrate his big day. He got lots of fun gifts and had a really good time playing with the kids. I took a video of him when we all sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candle, but for some reason only the last 3 seconds recorded. That makes me so upset because this was like the highlight of his birthday. He LOVED blowing out the candle. Anytime someone asks him how his birthday was, he says, "I blow candle." 

 Devin and Jack

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Devin and Jack

 Santa came a day early since Daddy had to work today

 This is Christmas Eve morning - all in our penguin pajamas

 Our tree with all the gifts

 Ellie and Grace at Jack's birthday party

 He loved his cupcakes!

 Mike and Grace

 Grace and Colin at Monkey Joe's

 Devin, Jack, Kelly at Monkey Joe's

 Getting ready for the birthday party

 Elmo theme

 Opening presents from Uncle Mike

 Grace enjoyed playing with boxes and paper more than anything else!

Watching Daddy wash the car

We treated yesterday like Christmas Day. So we woke up and did gifts. I made cinnamon rolls and quiche for us. We hung out and put all the toys together. We found a spot for each of them (for the most part), and the kids went from one new toy to the next. They got so much, and they seem to really like everything. I have pictures of them playing with their new toys, but I'll have to save those for tomorrow since I'm running out of time now. We went shopping for some batteries and other small items, and let me just say... there are some CRAZIES out shopping on Christmas Eve!!!! Some lady at Target bashed into my cart (where Grace was sitting!!!) so hard that it made a loud bang against the wall. Colin said, "hey!" I just looked at her, and she turned and smirked at me giving me some look saying, "well, that's what you get." We came home and ate leftovers, then went to the Children's Mass at 6:00. The kids were well behaved for the most part. Grace was more of a handful than Jack for a change. She just wanted to be moving around and touching people the whole time. The priest came to talk to us before the mass started, and Jack called him Santa. That was somewhat embarrassing, but he didn't seem to mind. 

I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas. I'm painfully missing everyone, but trying to make it a good day.

TWO Good to Be True

Our little man is TWO! I just don't have words... He's grown up so fast and we love that little guy to pieces. He has such a big personality, and we see it coming out more and more everyday. He loves life and is incredibly energetic. He has a love for reading and learning. He's a wild man for sure--everyone who knows him is well aware that he is a crazy, active, and ornery little boy! He's always up for cuddling, hugging, and kissing - such a lover. He's ready for a party anytime and loves to have fun. He's such a social guy, always stopping to talk, and sometimes even hug, strangers.

I can remember so clearly the day we found out that we would be expecting our first baby. I had taken the test before getting into the shower to get ready to go out in downtown Orlando. I didn't think I was pregnant, but for some reason I just felt like taking a test. I had set it on the trashcan and left for a minute. I came back to get in the shower and did a double take as I glanced over at it. I ran it out to the living room where Colin was watching a Cubs game. We were so shocked and happy. I made Colin take me to Walgreens to buy more brands of pregnancy tests, just to confirm. I think we told everyone we knew within a day or two, despite everything we read saying to wait. I think I immediately started reading every book I could get my hands on about pregnancy and raising babies.

In honor of his birthday, I'm posting one picture from each month of his life. They're in order from the beginning to the 24th month. Enjoy!

6 weeks along

Birth

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 year!

13 months

14 months

15 months

16 months

17 months

18 months

19 months

20 months

21 months

22 months

23 months

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minutes after being born - 12/23/08 at 8:48 AM

21.5 inches long, 10 pounds, 15 ounces:

Today - 12/23/10

Will post stats after his well visit next week :)

2 YEARS OLD!!!

Some of his current favorites:

Food: applesauce, yogurt, chips, chicken nuggets, anything sweet!, Cheerios with milk

Movie: Finding Nemo (although he is branching out lately)

T.V. show: Imagination Movers

Toys: books, Little People, any little figurines that he can arrange and organize

Books: We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Shapes, Colors, Numbers, Animals

In honor of his special day, the four of us are heading to one of his favorite places, Monkey Joe's. We'll be back in the afternoon and evening to celebrate, Elmo style. Please stop by if you are around!!

We love you, Budgie! Being a mommy to you and your sister is the greatest blessing God could've ever given me! xoxo HAPPY HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY!!!