John's Home

John came home wednesday, but we've been busy and haven't taken many pictures of anything lately, but we are happy he is home. Lucas was so happy and clingy to dada--had to sleep in our bed 2 nights ago, although he didn't really sleep...and neither did we. Olivia is happy with daddy too. He surprised me--he has today off so we can have a nice long weekend together. We just took a nice morning walk before it got too hot ~ 7am today. Forgot to take pictures. But here are some pictures from a few days ago when grandma went to the park with me and the babies...it was a little cooler than the past few days had been, but it was still unbearbly humid and the air wasn't moving at all~






Just in the past few days I have noticed Lucas repeating or trying to repeat words we say. He is learning a lot lately. He puts his dishes in the sink if I ask now! He is kinda becoming a fruitatarian...won't eat much of anything else. He loves bananas, grapes, raspberries, peaches and mango! He says many things throughout the day that are somewhat clear to me, but mostly he says "no no no no no no" while shaking his head. :)
And here Lucas is already studying for his ACT's!



Daddy pictures to come soon!

In Love

circa 04:

Yeah, I'm still obsessed :)

Our Only Camping trip...2004

I was cleaning and packing and found some old discs that had photos on them from the first year we were married, 2004 in NY. Jenny was asking if I had any pics from the camping trip, and unfortunately I didn't take many. I do have these 2 though. We didn't have a digital camera back then, only disposable ones we would use and take pictures with for like a whole year lol. I just thought these were cute and innocent...before major responsibilities came along :) I hope we go camping again sometime, even if I don't get to bring my portable toilet (yes i did bring one then...):

A friend brought his bike, although we ended up taking it in our truck because it was cold and rainy (and he didn't bring his chaps lol).


And these were from Stewart's Pond that we used to go swim at:



And these were somewhere in lake george trying out a canoe (very hard to balance...):

Thanks Susan!

Susan bought Lucas these cute Toy Story pjs. Lucas really liked them of course! Here he is doing a new trick he made up. I love how proud he is of himself--he applauds his hard work. Then he's a brat to Olivia. Oh and he at one point is mesmerized by his clapping hands and his eyes are crossed- it looks so funny! And last he copies my fart noise:

Granny Croce

John's grandma has been in a hospice care place in California, receiving physical therapy and recovering from hip replacement surgery (ouch!). She is doing so well and is 89 years old! John and I had this photo collage fleece blanket made for her on walmart.com--pretty big too! We thought it was a good gift for her as she doesn't really need anything (except love and prayers). I am glad she liked it. :) She is going to get her hair done at the salon like she usually did, and go home to her comfortable chair and family who will try to cook for her, her own delicious recipes! Hope you can go home soon granny! See ya in November!

Optical Illusion

I didn't get this one at first, but the cat can be spinning either way. Eventually your brain is tricked into accepting it as spinning the opposite way you originally thought. Then you start to kinda be able to control it. Squinting (making my view blurry) helped. I dont' know how that works but it did!

Stay Inside...

Another week's forecast...severe weather warning: Heat advisory. Tomorrow afternoon temps will climb into the 100's and added to the high humidity will cause the index to be in the 110's. They reccommend staying indoors with the A/C on, drinking fluids and checking on neighbors.
It's 10pm and it's 88, but feels like 97 degrees with humidity. Ready for fall?

Callie, Olivia, Olivia and Lucas

Callie came over to watch Olivia & Lucas for me a little today while I went to the post office, and she brought along her friend, also named Olivia! They were so sweet to both Lucas and Olivia, but naturally, Lucas got a little jealous when they played with Olivia, so he would just plop himself right in the middle of them to demand attention! Funny, I do that same thing :)




I LOVE this picture...so adorable! He really liked playing with these girls!

Here's a video of the girls playing with Olivia, and look how Lucas tries to be like them lol. Baby Olivia was so entertained and loving the attention! twas fun.

Lucas was sad to see them go:

Then uncle Norman came back over and we all played Rock Band:





But lucas didn't want to be assisted by mommy:




much happier on his own drumming!

Olivia was entertained by all this, and in a good mood--she kept laughing when grandma said her other nickname "farty fatty". lol

Susan played "Cool for Cats" (they dont have jonas bros lol) with Callie:

I played "Livin on a Prayer" with Callie (very fun on guitar!):


And Norman played Megadeth and a bunch of others with Callie:


Thanks for the helps and entertainment Callie! And thanks grandma for making Norcus (I gave them one name because I always mix their names up for some reason!) pizza and thanks Norman for packing up and bringing your game over--and thanks Susan for taking pictures!

Swimming At Grandma's

We took a swim at grandma's yesterday since it has been so hot. We didn't stay too long because I could feel my skin burning in the still intense sun ~5pm, so I knew Lucas shouldn't stay out---there is NO shade or umbrellas at the pool. Lucas enjoyed jumping off the stairs in his tube to me. He still thinks he can go off on his own, but got some water in his mouth a few times. I think he will eventually learn that he can't stand in the water (without the stairs) and that he can't breathe water lol.





Grandma took Olivia in after a little swimming, and then Susan and I took a turn jumping into the deep end to entertain Lucas. He laughed a lot when we jumped in. :)

Look how cool and relaxed he is here--I could tell he was thinking, "oh so this is what it's like to be grown up. Gotta lay here and look cool." He even listened to me when I said "lay down and pose!"

Grandmas + Grandpas

I thought this was a nice video, and it's sad to think about people not embracing that role because they don't want to seem old. I am grateful my mom is there to help, but also that Lucas and Olivia, my children, know and love my mom, their grandma. I wish my dad were here also, but I am sure we will all be telling them the funny memories of dad when they are older.
I am also happy that L + O will soon get to know their Hodge grandparents, and great-grandma Croce. They are all the way on the other side of the country, but we will soon be out there. I am glad grandma Hodge uses this blog to keep up to date with the babies and their developments. And I know L + O will have lots of fun with Stan & Louise.
I hope wherever we end up, that my mom and brothers move close by. I also hope my other siblings will be closer to us too--I am one of 6, we need to make this work! Oh and I am excited to meet my half sis Michelle and her family, and have Lucas and Olivia meet my half siblings from my dad's first marriage. I envision huge family dinners together someday. When one of us has a big enough house to have everyone come visit :) Maybe it will happen someday.

Cool Uncle Norman

I barbecued some hot dogs so Norman would come over and show Lucas how to be cool. He brought his Rock Band game and played a bunch of songs, but I like "Rio" and his rhythm was impeccable so I recorded some. And at the end---Lucas tries to be a drummer too. He was very into the guitar controller--whined when we took it away!








Is this a phone too?

Olivia--she's getting to be in the stage Lucas was where he wants to be fed like a little lamb :)


And then Lucas watched Norman pack up and leave...very upset! so cute...he must be thinking, "why do I always get left behind?" I am sure it's worse because he misses daddy :(

(and that's Susan's new car--brand new Ford Focus!)

DADDY WE MISS YOU!