Another proud moment....

At Isabella and Owen's school, their teachers send them home with a sheet detailing how their days went. This week, Isabella received this review from her teacher:
"Isabella was an extra good listener today. I'm very pleased to have been able to experience her growth in this classroom. I love how she always wants to include others and always is willing to help the newer students in our class."
What a good girl--she makes me so proud!! Check out her chef outfit!

Dancing queens

On Saturday, Isabella and Nina embarked on a new adventure.....ballet lessons! After spending several months swimming, followed by several months of gymnastics, we decided to switch it up a bit. Anyone who knows me knows that I lack natural grace....unfortunately, so does my daughter. She may be many things, but graceful isn't one them. But both Isabella and Nina did well on their first class, and Isabella only fell over once :) I'm not sure if the Nutracker and Swan Lake are in their future, but they seemed to have a good time. This morning, Isabella treated us to an impromptu dance session which was hysterical. More along the lines of hip hop dance. I don't know where she gets her moves from! I think I have seen a few of them before from the dance scene in Napoleon Dynamite. During her dance, if we tried to talk she would say "no talking during my dancing!" and she meant business. Jamie captured a bit of her routine on the video camera, which I can hopefully figure out how to upload at some point soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the last 2 weeks in the life of the Coffeys.

The funny things kids say

Isabella is constantly cracking us up with the things that she does and says. Some of my favorites are when she mispronounces words...we've gotten a big kick out of our new president, Rock Abama (as she calls him). One day, she heard somebody on the news say George Bush and her response was "NOOO, I want Rock Abama!!" While visiting my mom, I heard her singing about a "baby cabluga whale" (ie baluga). Yesterday, she was reading my sister and I her own version of "The Hungry Caterpillar" and among the many foods the caterpillar ate was sashlami (aka salami). Don't get me wrong, she's an extremely intelligent little girl--I just love when she puts her own spin on a word!

5 months and counting....

We celebrated Owen's 5 monthday on January 6th--cookies included!! (pictures to be posted soon). It seems that since I've gone back to work, time just flies. He is now over 16 pounds and looks more and more like a big boy every day. This month, he became a champion at rolling over--although he rolled over awhile ago, in December he started doing it all the time, multiple times in a row, as though he were putting on a show. He resumed eating his rice cereal and could hold his own in a cereal eating contest. He literally stares us down while we are eating--I feel so bad that I usually ask Jamie to take him out of the room while I finish my food! Only a few more weeks until he can get the good stuff. Owen is a strong boy and can now sit unassisted for periods of time. Although there are no teeth yet, he's continuing to gnaw on anything he can get a hold of (including my cell phone, tv remote, my face, his hands, his toys, and the list goes on and on....). Owen is completely aware of what's going on around him, and loves his big sister and his dog Shamrock, who he tries to pet. When Isabella dances in front of him, he starts to crack up. He giggles all the time, and is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen! Over our 2 day Christmas extravaganza in Syracuse, he cried maybe twice. I continue to stare at him in amazement....it's unbelievable how many skills they acquire in such a short amount of time. There's just no way that I could love either of my kids anymore than I already do. Happy 5 monthday to my precious little boy :)

Christmas 2008

Now that Christmas seems like a distant memory, I figured I should probably catch up on my blog. Once again, I have fallen behind by weeks and weeks. I am such a bad blogger, but life with 2 kids and a full-time job seem to keep getting in the way. Our Christmas this year was a good one. Busy busy busy! Jamie and I both had to work on Christmas Eve, so as soon as we got home, it was a mad dash to get ready to head to his grandma's house, where we spend Christmas Eve every year. Christmas day was a blur, spent shuffling between his mom's house, his dad's house, his cousin's house, and back to his mom's for dinner. This year, we even skipped a house we usually go to in addition to all the others--it would have just been too overwhelming with a 3 year old and a new baby. It was a long and action-packed day, and we all had fun. The kids were spoiled rotten and received more presents than I could even count! Jamie and I made out pretty well too. Every square inch of our SUV was packed with gifts! And all before they even got to see what Santa brought for them! We headed home after a delicious Christmas dinner, and had our own celebration when we returned home at 10:15 pm. It was the only time that made sense to open our gifts from Santa. Needless to say, Isabella opened her presents on her own, as Owen was fast asleep. Because they were such good kiddos this year, Santa was very good to them both. Our Christmas adventure continued on Saturday, when I took both kids home to visit my mom and have yet another gift-opening session. We stayed for several days, and spent time relaxing and catching up with friends. We had a nice time, but Isabella really missed her daddy. She must have mentioned it a hundred times. She was looking out the window at a star and told me to make a wish. Then I heard her say "I wish I wish I wish daddy could be with us." It was too cute. Unfortunately, the hubby only gets Christmas day and New Years day off, so I took the trek to my mom's house flying solo. We returned to be with him on New Years Eve, and spent the evening at a gathering at our friends' house. I am embarrassed to say that we made it till 11 pm or so, and went home and were in bed by the time the ball dropped. I blame it on traveling and a lack of sleep! Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas break and holiday season. 2008 was a fabulous year, with the arrival of our beautiful boy Owen and I can't wait to see what 2009 will bring. Here are A LOT of holiday pictures for you to enjoy.