First Birthday Fun(ish) Part 2

Considering it was Spring Break and we hadn't really been on "vacation" in well over a year, we decided to take a few days and go to San Antonio to have a little fun and continue Joe's birthday celebration.

We got a room at an historic hotel near the Riverwalk. Operative word being historic. Alex kept saying that she thinks Santa Anna must have stayed there before he battled at the Alamo. She was joking....but the joke continued on for the whole weekend. Everything we saw, Santa Anna must have been there or done that. Drank from the water fountain on the Riverwalk, shopped at the mall, eaten a corndog at the zoo, etc. So we HAD to take a picture when we came upon a wax figure of who else....Santa Anna!!!

The first day we went to the Riverwalk. I really, really wanted to take a family picture on one of the bridges but the girls wouldn't take a picture with me. I'm not sure if I should be offended or not. Here is at least one picture from that day. Do with Joe doing what he loves best. Pointing at where he wants you to take him. It's his new favorite thing to do. He is quite bossy.

The second day, Paul, the girls and my Dad (Do) went to Six Flags. I think Do thought he could hang a little bit more than he really could. He hung in all the way up to the point when they got off a ride and he thought he was going to lose his lunch. Then he had to sit it out for a while. He must have recovered because I hear there were funnel cakes and ice cream after that. All in all, a great day.

We were saving Saturday to take Joe to the zoo. I love the San Antonio Zoo and couldn't wait to show him all the animals. We wake up on Saturday morning and it was windy and FREEZING. But the rain cleared and I was determined to go to the zoo. So we semi-bundled up and headed out. Not a good idea. As you can see from this picture, Joe was so bundled and cozy he couldn't see anything and just went to sleep. I had him in the Baby Bjorn and Paul's jacket around both of us. Needless to say, the zoo was a bust. Maybe next year.

But, we did get to go to my Grandad's house and see lots of my Mom's family. This was the first time most of them had met Joe. Some of our family was visiting from Colorado so it was a special treat for him to get to meet them! I was able to capture Joe's introduction to Grandad. Priceless.

As an added treat, Joe chose this setting to take his first steps! He's been standing up by himself for short periods and we were practicing that and then he just went ahead and took two steps to me! I couldn't believe it! Then I made him do it over again for the camera. I didn't know if he'd be able to do it again, but sure enough!

The reason I say fun(ish) in the title of this post is because later that day (Saturday) Joe got sick and had a fever. He was pretty much miserable after that. (I'm really trying to convince myself this had nothing to do with the trip to the zoo so please don't mention it if any of you were already thinking that). Sunday was his birthday and it was pretty well shot with him being sick. So we were able to get one shot of him in his birthday shirt (that's birthday shirt, not birthday suit) and then we were headed back to Houston. No big fun on his actual birthday.

(In this picture, it appears Joe has taught Do his new pointing trick)

Alex and Maddie also had big weeks this week.

Maddie is dancing this weekend at Nationals in Galvestion. Paul went to see her dance and said she did amazing! Results are out tomorrow so I'll be sure to let you all know about that next time. I was really worried about her ankle but it held up. With this being the last competition of the season, you'd think she'd get to rest up. No such luck. She has her recital and try-outs for her junior high dance team coming up in the next few weeks. No rest for the weary.

Alex's choir had their UIL competition on Friday and did really well. They got 1's which is the best score you can get and the judges said they were the best choir they'd heard during the whole competition! This was a tough one for Alex because her track team pictures were scheduled for the exact same time as the choir concert and she was really torn. It's tough being so good at so many things.....

Not many pictures of the girls on this one (go figure), but here are some good ones of Joe from his birthday week.

This was at dinner Saturday night.

This is a rocking horse my friend Aggie got Joe the Christmas before he was born. He's just now getting interested in it.

Here he is using his new swing. This was one of his birthday presents.

First Birthday Fun - Part 1

We had lots of birthday fun this weekend with Paul's side of the family. Joe isn't officially 1 until next Sunday, but we are going to be out of town next weekend so we had to have the birthday party a little early. Joe's birthday is also very close to Uncle Jimmy's birthday so this was a combined 1 yr and 41 yr birthday celebration. As you can see in this picture, we got them matching crowns....



We got Joe his own little birthday cake to dig into. He went right in smooshing it up in his hands. Then he immediately decided he was NOT too happy about getting his hands dirty. He ate almost none of it (which really disappointed his sisters who were already playing "guess what color his poop will be") but we gave him a few little bites so he could say he did. Here are the before and after pictures.






Some other random party pics.






Joe had a great time with everyone and by the end, was out like a light and got to snuggle up with Grandma Sherri. No amount of noise was going to wake him up. Somehow I don't think she minded much.



Joe also has another new trick we learned about this weekend. He has a little hungry hungry hippo riding toy that can also be flipped up and used as a walking toy. We've always just used it to ride on but I decided to try to flip it up and see what he'd do. He immediately started pushing it along and walking right behind it as if he'd been doing it forever! He go as far as he could until he hit a wall or a door and then cry out in frustration until we turned him around. I was amazed! It makes me wonder what kind of good stuff he does as school and they graciously don't tell me about and let me think I'm seeing it for the first time at home.



Speaking of school. Joe had an "incident" last week. He was bitten on the arm by another baby and it left a nasty big bite mark and subsequent bruise. He was a trooper and never even let on that it hurt. Ms. Sandy said that he screamed when it happened and then she felt so bad that he got to be held and hugged on all day long. You can kinda see the bite mark in this picture



Joe graduated today to the one year old class. His infant teacher, Ms. Sandy, has just been so good to him and has been so attached, I was actually worried about her. Joe brought her some flowers today to cheer her up but we learned this afternoon that she did cry at one point. That makes me so sad! But Joe did great in his new class,even being the youngest. When Paul came to pick him up he was sitting on the floor with the rest of the kids while the teacher was reading them a story. He was just looking up at her and paying attention. He looked like such a little boy! I can't believe he's growing up!

Maddie had her last dance competition before Nationals this past weekend...even with her busted ankle. She was able to dance and Paul said she did fantastic....one of the best times he's seen! Her duet one first place and her solo made the finals! Nationals is in two weeks so hopefully she gets a chance to rest it some.


One last picture. My FAVORITE of the week.

Three words: Mobility Changes Everything

There is almost no time for blogging with this little guy these days! He's into EVERYTHING! I had to negotiate for computer time. So, I'll try to remember everything from the last month or so... and do it quickly.

Joe and I took a little vacation and spent 4 days or so with Grandma and Do in Killeen. The mission of the trip was to clean out my and Joey's old rooms to figure out what we wanted to keep and what needed to be thrown away. I've come to the realization that I was (maybe still am?) a huge pack-rat. I had 6 homecoming mums, all my old cheerleading uniforms, and boxes of notes spanning middle school through high school. Some of those were hilarious! At the same time, I was reminded of old friends and looked them up on Facebook! Ah, the simpler days that I would NEVER go back to if you paid me.

Joe had tons of fun with the Grandparents. He got to show off his new tricks which include winking, waving hi (Paul says he waves like the pope...or Uncle Jimmy), and mimicing kissing sounds. Trying to get video. We'll see how he cooperates. His newest favorite activity is taking a bath in the big boy bathtub! He was in heaven!


Alex's has had a couple of track meets and has a few more coming up before the season is over. She's been doing really well and getting her bearings. She's been running the mile, mile and a half and two mile. I think that first track meet where she had the two mile and then a little while later ran the mile really wiped her out. She has definitely decided that so far she likes cross country better. I think the round, and round, and round the track with the same view over and over again isn't really her style. But she's hanging in and doing great! I haven't been able to make one of her meets yet, but definitely plan to this week. Hope to get some pictures if she'll let me.

She also had her Region choir concert a few weekends ago. This is the choir that is a collection of all the best talent from the local junior high schools. They met all day one Saturday and then had a concert in the evening. They were fantastic. Joe loved it so much he sang out himself, just as everything was quiet. They were video taping the concert to sell. Joe's magical voice is now forever captured for all to enjoy.

Here's a picture of the choir. That's her at the top. Can't you tell which one is her?


The day of that concert was brutal! This was the first (I'm sure of many) experiences where both Alex and Maddie have activities on the same day. We were racing around from Maddie's competition to Alex's concert. It was crazy, but I was so glad we got to be there for both.

I am such a bad blogger that I've not given any updates on Maddie's competitions since the first one. And now, the season is pretty much over! She was a trooper. She danced all season on a bum ankle. She's been going to the doctor and physical therapy, but it's not really getting better. Hopefully, she can heal now that the season is over. But, to her credit, even with the injury, her duet took first place in several of the competitions, and her team dances placed several times as well. This last one, her group won grand champion of the competition for their age group! Let's all hope her ankle heals quickly so she can keep on dancing!






Joe almost seems like a different baby lately. He's got SUCH a personality and is talkative and into everything. He's starting to communicate to us very clearly. Not in words yet, but in motions and sounds. He'll see something he wants or somewhere he wants to go and he'll wave us to come to him and them point at what he wants. He's so smart! He is also quite into food now. He wants to try everything we have. His most recent favorite....Banana Pudding with Whipped Cream (thanks Grandma!)


I'll leave you with a funny Joe story. The other day, Paul was holding him and he was pointing at me, so I came over and we were all standing there in a big hug. All of a sudden, he leaned over like he was going to kiss my forehead. Just as he was giving me a kiss and I was saying what a sweet boy is was, he burped right on my face. It was a good reminder that he may be sweet, but he's definitely a boy.

First Competition of the Season Down!

Maddie had her first dance competition this weekend. This one was just for her solo and duet. She was so nervous because this was the first year she's done a solo. We were really worried about her ankle holding up since it's still been bothering her, but she did AMAZING! She made the top three finalists in her age group for her solo dance and she and her partner were the CHAMPIONS for their duet!!! I think this one really gave her the confidence to know for sure she could do it! (We knew all along in case anyone was wondering.)
I took video of both dances, but here's your health warning. I was holding a baby in one hand and the camera in the other, so....if you are prone to motion sickness you may want to pass. It's mostly good, with a few shaky spots. They were too big to load onto the blog directly, so you can view them using these links to youtube. (**note - you tube thinks I'm trying to pirate music and they removed the audio from Maddie's solo video. So now its just dancing, no music. Sorry....I tried)
Solo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1w9lJVUOwA
Duet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjISOVT16S0

Next week.....all 7 dances. Think happy, happy, good luck & strong ankle thoughts for her!

We have a teenager in the house!

This week was Alex's 13th birthday! She's officially a teenager. Dad is having a hard time coping. Alex on the other hand is super excited! She was so sweet. Her birthday fell on the same day as Maddie's first competition of the season and she spent the entire day there supporting her sister. I thought that was so mature of her. She did get to bring two of her friends to spend the day with her. I'm sure trouble ensued....we just don't know about it.


The next day we had our usual "family party" but this time we all met up at Alex's favorite restaurant which is a Japanese steakhouse. It was during the Superbowl so the place was pretty empty which was nice. Everyone got to visit and enjoy all the chef's tricks. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Alex has been in choir at school and they recently had tryouts for regional choir. Alex did so great! She made the cut and was one of only 20 to make it from her school out of about 80 who tried out. And of the 20, very few were 7th graders. We are so proud of her! I tried to get her to sing her tryout song and let me record it to put on here, but that was a no-go. Sorry.

Track starts next week....more to come on that!

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!