School field trip to the Farm

Hey Ever, we're gonna ride the horsies!

Yeah, this post is pretty much ALL about me.

Riding the ponies...nothing makes me happier.

Posing for a photo-op with Mom and Milo.

OK, a token shot of Lil Bro with pumpkins...and here's Zoey looking for the perfect pumpkin.

Chaperoned by Gramma Jean. Thanks for joining us. It was a great day and a lot of fun to have you with us!

Aw, big hugs for Gramma Jean.

It's been a long time since I've been able to carry Zoey around. It sure made Milo feel light, that's for sure!

Best buds on the hay ride.

And little did we know, we brought home much more than produce...we brought home Coxsackie A virus and Enterovirus 71...What fun for the Lopez household! Makes me wanna live in a bubble sometimes. LOL

1st Halloween...and a party pooper!

Surprised we got a smile out of him. This costume is really heavy and he wasn't too happy that it made his new crawling skill more difficult. I don't take much credit...OK, I do take a lot of credit..but it was a Martha Stewart idea just like Zoey's Eagle costume for her 1st Halloween. C'mon, you may not like Martha but ya gotta admit, she sure does have a great staff to round up all those great recipes and crafts.

Some different views.

OK, I'm definitely as proud as a Momma Web can be of this costume. Note the 4 eyeballs (Martha's pattern didn't call for that, it was my addition)...and yep, the really gross spiders have at least 4. To really appreciate it you must know that I'm very arachnophobic...for some reason it's getting worse with age.

Thankfully, we had a party at Preschool on Monday so I got some pics of us all together. And thank you Allison (Ever's Mom, another blogging momma and source of a lot of our photos) for getting some additional footage.

WARNING: Do not open unless you want to hear a whining/crying/hysterical toddler. Mind you, this blog is my version of scrapbooking so I must preserve it (even the ugly moments) for posterity's sake. All I can say is "Thank God I didn't burn the midnight oil actually making her costume". I'd have been even more pissed and I'd probably have forced her to wear it and trick-or-treat...damn it! Thanks Mom for the support! I was really disappointed...seems you probably were more persuasive with me than I could ever be with Zoey.

A busy month...

First tooth for Milo came on the 16th...the other 7 or so followed within the next 2 weeks or so...a very painful and sleepleess time for all especially since (ugh) there's been a lot of sickness here! Croup for the 3rd time for Zoey and Milo's 1st (don't even ask about the Dr. recommendation about very expensive breathing treatments...that we didn't do) Hand Foot and Mouth (or cocksackie whatever it is) colds...literally no sleep for a month!

Well, don't I look all prim and proper?

Yeah, I'm crawling!

Celebrating! Can't you just see those poor swollen upper gums on the left picture? Nothing beats a cocktail of Motrin and Tylenol...and other home remedies.

Zoey and Dada...and Bambie

Me and Lambie after a bath watching Bug's Bunny. (we're so glad she's into the retro cartoons).

Milo's buddy in the mirror.

We built this city...and for you fans of 80's music I'll say: "We built this city on rock and roll" but you don't need to know that it was really built while listening to the Wiggles...it'll ruin the glam!

Oooooh, sand and the Big Sista. My two new favorite things.

Whatcha doing Momma!!!! Answer: TRYING to feed Milo...stop being so interesting!

First food for Milo. And he says..."this slop your putting in my mouth is ridiculous...what's Zoey doing?"

Is this better? Aren't I cute?

And not to get politcal...

This may not be directly applicable to Zoey and Milo other than that it is part of current events during their lifetime...I'm hoping these blogs will still be accessible to them many years down the road as a sort of time capsule. Anyway, here's a video that Kevin sent my way about Fannie & Freddie. If you have any more to add please reference them in the comments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxVZTKq1vA

A Month in the life of Zoey & Milo

Almost 2 and a half!?

4 Month pictures...and the one below I just HAD to buy because of the goofy tongue thing he's been doing lately. Be sure to check out the other blog, I posted more pictures from Kevin & Kristin's wedding.



Lot's of videos...not as many pictures this time...but if a picture's worth a 1000 words, what's a video worth?



Just trying to find the humor in laundry day...but following Zoey's lead on the mis-pronunciation, I still call it "drudgery day". Milo's laugh lightens the load further still...or does he? He does make the basket about 15 pounds heavier!



Has anyone seen the movie WALL-E? We took Zoey & Milo. There's a demo computer game that Vince and Zoey play before bed. Zoey loves to sing the song from the soundtrack (originally from Hello Dolly). And speaking of computers, Zoey has developed some mouse skills. She can access some games by herself and likes to color on the screen with the Paint program...here's a sampling of her work:

And what would a bedtime routine for a toddler be without some rough-housing with Dad?

Since I'm a Star Wars fan I LOVE this t-shirt!

Much play time spent this summer with Lidia and her kids. This is Lidia and Sondra. Lidia's other kids are Sonja, Alejandra and Antonio.

I remember taking baths with Kevin...I don't remember Mom complaining about how back breaking it is to do this! And now we'll close the post with another song:

Name the Baby

Who is who? Probably obvious to tell based solely on photo quality (and the time stamp on one of them).

Just a thought...

Uh, yeah...she's cuddling kitchen tools in her sleep. The other night she had to line up her matchbox cars in a row according to color.

OK, so how much of a kid's early personality, preferences, talents, etc. foreshadow what they will become as adults? I've been told that Vince used to play "banker" as a kid...and that makes perfect sense considering his business and financial aptitude. Kevin read Tolkein as a pre-K tot and he's still an avid reader and scholar. Hmmm, me? I was a clumsy, daredevil, Type-A list-making, horse crazy, music lover...at least I've outgrown the clumsy part.

At what point do you make a mental note of what the kid likes and encourage a potential career or passion and when do you just chalk it up to the toddler neurosis du jour?

Here's the Zoey scenario: She loves cars, adores jumping off anything and is obsessed with whisks...so does that mean she'll be a base jumping restauranteur with a penchant for fine automobiles? Could she be the next Giada Laurentiis? The next Danica Patrick? Or an Olympic diver? Do I even have a say in the end?? Not likely! Or if I do it is both "unfortunately so" and "thankfully so" at the same time.

If you read this...I'd love to hear your comments...tell me your story. What did your parents say you loved as a kid and do you still tend to favor that activity or possession?