Welcome home!

First of all, before I get into the Spanos family news for the week, let me say WELCOME HOME JOEY!!! He's officially home from Iraq as of 3:00 am Sunday morning. We are so proud of him and are so glad he's back home safe and sound. He'll be taking a month off to hang out with Caroline and the kids before going back to work. He'll still have to commute weekly back up to Port Hueneme until September, then he's getting stationed in Coronado so he'll be back at home with the family!

Along with that great news, this was a big week in the Spanos household! The biggest news of all....Alex got her braces off! She was so excited because it had been pushed back a couple of times. Last Thursday was the big day. She came home and went to get ready for bed and then ran to the top of the stairs, toothbrush in hand to announce that she had forgotten what it felt like to brush her teeth!! I can only hope she meant without braces on. I think she'd have less friends if she really wasn't brushing her teeth all this time. Now, one hurdle over, and the next to come. Maddie gets hers ON in March. Here's to hoping Joe has naturally straight teeth like his namesake!

This was Day 1 without braces! Look at those pefectly straight teeth!

Next on the big news front....Paul got a new car! He's been waiting and waiting and then waiting some more. Incredibly patient, that man. He's been driving a 9 year old car around and we finally decided to bite the bullet and get him a new car.....last October. It only took him three months to pick out the one he wanted and get it done. Yeah! And he got to enjoy the perfection of his new car for all of 3 days before someone poked a hole in the bumper. I kid you not. He was so upset. Now, when he told me about it, he said its a really small blemish and most people wouldn't even see it. He only noticed it because he does a walkaround inspection of the car each time he gets in. (um...ok) He knows it didn't happen at the bank because he parked in an empty parking lot and watched the car the whole time he was in the bank. (um....ok) I knew I should have gone with my gut an dinged the door the first day just to get it over with. Just like ripping off a band-aid. Oh well, the deed is done (and it wasn't me) so maybe now he can relax and stop worrying.

Joe is starting to mimic a lot lately. Especially with sounds. The other day I was feeding him some veggies and cereal for dinner and I started going "Mmmmmm" after giving him a spoonful. Then he started doing it after I did it. We thought it was too funny so we took a little video to show you.

On Saturday my friend Rebecca came to visit and brought her two kiddos Hunter and Ann Elizabeth. Joe is just enamored with older kids so he couldn't get enough of them. Here's a cute picture of the three of them at lunch. We went to Johnny Rockets and when the waiters started dancing, Joe just stared at them. He didn't smile. Just stared. I tend to agree that they weren't very good dancers.

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing. Joe is never as happy as when his sisters are here. They just love all over him and he can't get enough.

I'm a Bad Blogger

Sorry for the brief hiatus. I had a bout of writers block. As insane as it sounds, I couldn't think of anything to write about. And then all of a sudden I realized how rediculous that was and have LOTS to say!

Joe's been doing all kinds of new tricks recently! He went from just barely scootching around at Christmas to crawling around faster than you can say "uh-oh don't touch that!" He has also figured out how to pull himself up on the furniture and oh, man is he pround of himself. He hasn't quite mastered getting his feet underneath him and pushing up that way. He uses pure brut upper body strength to get up. He's going to have Popeye-like biceps before too long.

He also randomly waves hi and bye to people. But only when he chooses to do it. Asking him to, is pretty much a guarantee that it's not going to happen. And he's developed a crooked smile. He tries to move his bottom teeth over so they don't touch his top teeth. It's hilarious.

His final new trick of the week is my most favorite. Paul went to go pick him up from daycare one day and the teacher said...."Did you know he whispers?" Oddly enough, we had heard him doing it, but hadn't really connected the fact that it was strange for a baby to be doing! Now that she's pointed it out we think its fantastic! He'll get right up in your face and whisper. And he loves it when you whisper in his ear as well. He gets really quiet and still but his eyes move around like he's thinking.

Maddie's first dance competition is coming up on February 6. This is the first one and the first time she's doing her solo. So, she has kindly asked for limited family participation so she doesn't get too nervous this first time. After that.....it's on. Anyone and everyone come on out! I did ask permission in advance to video the solo and post it on the blog. Assuming I can hold my camera steady enough to not make everyone sick, expect a posting of that in the coming weeks.

February 6 is also Alex's birthday and being the great, supportive big sister she is....she'll be at Maddie's dance competition all day. Isn't that the sweetest?

Alex has been getting ready for track season, working with a professional trainer to build up her speed. She's really putting in so much effort to work on her technique. I can't wait to see her out there competing.

Lots of springtime fun coming up in the Spanos house!

Happy New Year!

Well, we've had a wonderful holiday and now it's back to normal. It's been really great being at home with the kids so much. We've gotten to see lots of his Joe's new tricks. He's getting really speedy with the crawling and today he started pulling up on the furniture. He was so proud of himself! We've now realized that we need to finally mount the tv's on the wall. He's fascinated with the electronics.

We had a couple of visitors here to help us ring in the new year. My niece Lauren and nephew Easton were visiting for a couple of days from California. We had a lot of fun visiting and they are so sweet with Joe and they really look up to the girls. I love seeing them all together.

Easton and Lauren were really surprised at how much Joe "talks" and plays now. The last time they saw him was in October when my brother was home on leave for two weeks. The San Diego branch of the Lanclos family have a New Year tradition to make and eat brownies at midnight. With Caroline being in California, Joey in Iraq and the kids here, everyone had to take pictures and show that they were following tradition. So here's a picture of the Texas brownie festivities.


We all went to the park every day and Joe got some swinging in. He got to show Dad how much he LOVES to swing.



So this reminded us to try him in his swing at home again. He fell fast asleep and Paul called me in to find him slumped over just swinging away. I've been told I'm a bad Mom for taking video instead of immediately sitting him up, but it was too cute not to capture!

Easton and Lauren also introduced Joe to ice cream for the first time. He said "It's no peas, but it'll do." Just kidding....he lapped that stuff up like no one's business. He is his Grandma's Grandson.


We loved having the kids here and can't wait to see them again! Here are some cute pictures of everyone.

Ears

We have apparently determined where Joe's Yoda ears come from. My Mom recently came across this picture of me and said all of a sudden it hit her. He looks nothing like me, but apparently, he has my ears. Poor kid. I never realized my ears were Yoda ears. Guess I should stop poking fun now.....

Joe's First Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope your day was warm and happy and healthy!

We had a wonderful Christmas here at Casa Spanos. We had everyone over for our second annual Tex-MeX-mas dinner. Last year we decided that after Thanksgiving we were all turkey and hammed out so we did fajitas for Christmas. It was so good we decided to do it again. It's always so nice to have everyone together. This year Paul's Aunt Marcia joined us as well!

Santa must have thought we were extra good this year and brought us all really nice gifts. Joe had so much fun with the wrapping paper we could have saved a bunch of money on toys! (I knew that going in....). Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Day.

Joe couldn't decide which toy to play with first!

Our three babies! Look how happy they all look!


Hey look! Someone else was finally taking a picture!

Our family's favorite gift of 2009.

Happy New Year to everyone! I wish you all many blessings in 2010.

Birthday Fun

Sorry for two posts in one day. I realized I never actually posted this one last week in all the pre-holiday bustle. You get a double dose of Spanos fun today.

Saturday was my birthday. I'm not going to say how old. And right on queue, I woke up to a stiff hip. Seriously? That's not a very nice birthday present. Couldn't God have given me something that made me feel youthful instead?


I had but one request for my birthday. I wanted to go out for date night, eat at a restaurant without high chairs, and see a movie. I guess that's actually three requests. Paul and I have tried a couple of times to go out without Joe but something always happened. Last time it was the day it snowed and we were supposed to have frozen roads. This time, no excuses. So we actually made it out of the house! I think after 9 months, my movie picking abilities are a little rusty though. We saw a really sad, depressing movie that made me not want to get old. I'll have to go back to the tried-and-true chick flick next time. Sorry Paul.


Paul took the girls to a concert on Dec 18. It was a concert hall full of screaming girls anxious to see Justin Beiber. Unbeknownst to him, the venue was standing room only and tweenage girls are crazy strong. They got pushed all over the place! Luckily Paul and another Dad were there to make sure the girls were safe. They had a ton of fun.....but no pictures that I'm aware of.

Not so sure about this Santa guy...

I'm realizing why online shopping has such appeal, moreso than I ever have before. We just barely balance everything in our normal lives. Holiday shopping just doesn't quite fit! The girls are excited for Christmas break to start in a few days. It actually snowed here about a week ago (see picture below for proof) so that makes it seem even more seasonal than it usually does in Texas at Christmastime. Alex had her holiday choir concert last week and did fantastic. She's also gearing up for track season to start. Maddie sprained her ankle and is sidelined from dancing until it heals. Dance is such a big part of her life she doesn't know what to do with herself.

Joe has started saying Dada a lot recently. And he says it directly to Paul so we are sure its not an accident. He really boves his Daddy and gets so excited when he walks in the room. I think they are going to be best buds. This is a little video Alex took on her phone of him saying "Hi Dada." Alex gets the best pictures and videos on her phone! I never seem to catch these things!

He's also doing a pretty good job of crawling now. But only when he really wants something. Otherwise, he thinks if he grunts long enough we'll figure out what he wants and he won't have to work for it. So far, that's working for him. He's also pulling up quite a bit too.....but so far, only on me and not on the furniture. (We have to keep his nails trimmed short for that trick. I don't learn very quick as is evidenced by the slices all over my neck.)

My office puts on a Christmas party for the children of employees every year. Santa and Mrs. Clause are there and they play Christmas movies and have all kinds of activities such as baloon animals, games, snacks, etc. I know Joe is too young to enjoy any of it yet, but I thought it might be a more successful first visit with Santa there as opposed to visiting him at the mall with a big long line of people. Joe did so good! He just kept staring at Santa and then looking at us to make sure we were still there. He stayed there for a good minute or two while we snapped some pictures. No tears! Although as you can see in the second picture, I think we saved him moments before the tears were set to appear...



Joe's been getting a cold and cough over the last few days. There's nothing more sad. He's just not himself and he just wants to be held. This was taken during one of his better moments. He was in his high chair and he had his foot propped up. I think he thought it was a lounge chair. Very cute. Yes, that's a bruise between his eyes. Not sure how it got there, but it doesn't seem to bother him. Must be one of those "just-learning-to-toddle bumps." Either that or his little girlfriend, Avery, at the Day Care whacked him a good one.


Hope all of you are well and having lots of fun during these holidays!