10906

That's our new address....or will be, once our house is finished. If you haven't heard yet, we are building a house, and we're hoping it will be done in May. We're REALLY hoping it will be done before Zoe arrives. (Which reminds me, I don't think I ever announced on the blog that we're having another girl! Zoe Kaitlin will make her debut just as we are packing, closing, moving, and finishing school. We like to do things with style, you know. And as much insanity as possible, apparently.)

This shot is from early in January, the first snow we had. Doesn't compare to what we got over the last few weeks, which I unfortunately didn't capture on film. But if the almanac is right, I will get a second chance this winter, as there is supposed to be an even bigger snow storm sometime this year. Joy.

Here's a picture of our lot. We got a great spot that backs up to a water reserve area, so we have a nice view and no one can build behind us.

Our building permit and address! This just went up this week.

And this is Ziva's new big girl bed. She's had it for probably a month now (maybe a little more?) It's super comfy and a "real" big girl bed...none of that toddler stuff anymore. She has taken a few tumbles, and she prefers to sleep on top of the quilt instead of under it, but all in all it was a great transition and she likes it. The only down side is that when she's supposed to be taking a nap, she inevitably spends an hour + reading books since they are in such easy reach. It's too much temptation. Friday we had to stay home because she was sick Thursday night, and after the third time I went to tell her to stop reading and go to sleep, she said "But Mommy, I'm just not good of that." She seems to have developed a belief that if she says she's not good at something, she magically will be off the hook. If only it were that easy. :)

And this is the new storage unit we got to replace her old toy bins. These are great because A) they're just so cute, and B) all the toys stay hidden, instead of piled up in open bins in an unseemly manner. So Ziva's room is all set and ready to transfer over to the new house....we're working on the rest of the house slowly but surely.

Funny story

Today we took Vince to the doctor. He's been sick for weeks and turns out he has a sinus infection. While were waiting in the lobby, Ziva attached herself to an older couple who "took our seats" when I was up at the check-in window and Vince had to run back to the car for something. She was talking to them non-stop and had the lady read her book to her. Right as Vince returned and I was finishing up at the window, we heard her ask the lady "Is that your baby?" while pointing to her stomach. Oh. My. Fortunately, the lady just laughed and said, "No, I'm just fat." I'm not sure how to teach the subtler social dos and don'ts to a 2 year old. After the couple was called back to their doctor, we tried to tell Ziva it's not nice to ask people other than Mommy if they have a baby in their stomach. The guy sitting across from us started laughing, and he said the whole thing was really funny, especially because it wasn't his kid. So we had a funny moment to pass the time this morning.....we were laughing about how you always hear about people inappropriately asking someone if they're pregnant, and now we are those people....or at least her parents!

Christmas pics

We had our family Christmas yesterday, and Ziva opened her presents from Grandma and Grandpa Ramirez. Here are a few of the action shots....she loves her new toys!

She has been playing with "her computer" or her easel non-stop today. I can't count the number of pictures she has painted and colored. She loves it! After we opened presents yesterday, we had a special Christmas breakfast and then later made Happy Birthday cupcakes for Jesus. It was a good day.

Christmas vacation, finally!

Today we were accused of being azy about taking pictures. And I'll have you know, we haven't been lazy about taking the pictures, just about posting anything on this blog. So sorry. Here you go. :)

Today was our first official day of Christmas break (for me and Ziva). My favorite thing about school breaks is that we're home with Vince on his days off. Since he will be working on Christmas, we're doing our little family Christmas tomorrow. We let Ziva open one present tonight, a tent with a sleeping bag, backpack, and headlamp, and she's sleeping in it tonight. Brings back fond memories of (not) sleeping on Christmas Eve with all the excitement looming in the air.

Nothing major in life to report. I'm still pregnant :) 17 weeks today. Most days I really don't feel like I'm pregnant...the only reminder is that I'm already starting to lose my belly button. People keep telling me, "Oh, you look great!" But I'm not buying it. I feel huge. Which really makes me dread the end, but babies are worth it. Anyway, hopefully I'll start feeling some movement in the next week or two, and we will have an ultrasound to find out the sex after the first of the year. And then maybe we'll tell you the name. Probably we will. You all know how we are about secrets.

Here are a few photos from the last several weeks:

We bought our first Christmas tree this year (can you believe Vince and I have never had one in our 3.5 years of marriage? Either we didn't have the room or didn't have the moolah.) To make up for lost time, we bought it about two weeks before Thanksgiving, and yes, we put it up then. But we didn't decorate it....right away. We made the decorating a whole big thing like we did when I was a kid and made cookies and hot chocolate and played Christmas music.

The finished product!

Here Ziva is helping me make banana bread. I think the flour situation got worse before we were done, but isn't that the point of baking?


And here she is with her Christmas story book from Grandma and Grandpa. She loves it and we read it at least once every day. And at the end she almost always says "Thank you!" after Grandma and Grandpa say "Merry Christmas Ziva" Pretty cute.

So there's a start to my (hopefully) vacation blogging time. No promises once school starts back up again, but I will try to put lots of Christmas pictures up over the next couple weeks. Love to all!

Thank you, Jesus, for washable markers

Dinner Conversation

Here's the scene: last night at dinner, Ziva declared she was full after just a couple bites. I took three green beans from her bowl, set them on her plate, and told her that she needed to eat at least those three before she could get down. If she did not eat them, she would go to bed early (we're finding this to be the only consequence that even remotely fazes her). After a while, the conversation went like this....

Ziva: I want to get down.
Vince: You need to eat those green beans or you will have to go to bed early.
Ziva: (a beat) I want to go to bed early.
Vince: I don't really think you want to go to bed early.

(Out comes the lower lip, and Ziva begins to pout and cry)

Vince: Ziva, you need to stop being fake. That won't work on me. (Pouting continues) Do you know who the biggest faker is?
Ziva: Yeah (still pouting/whining/crying)
Vince: Who?
Ziva: Me (STILL pouting/whining/crying)

And at this point, the discipline loses its effectiveness since we're both laughing. And Vince corrected her that no, HE is the biggest faker. At least she comes by it honestly. :)

Announcing...

In case you haven't heard yet from some other means, I'm pregnant! Baby #2 is due on June 3 (which is our anniversary...we always manage to have due dates on significant days!), and we are very excited. We actually planned for this one so we're feeling a little more prepared (although the "shock and awe" of Ziva is something we wouldn't trade for the world!). The timing couldn't be better as far as school goes, and we are just thanking God for how He blesses us. Ziva wants to see the baby in my belly already, and even Vince can hardly wait. Yesterday he said, "I need to go to sleep, but...I want to have the baby!" Cute daddy, huh? My first prenatal visit is November 3, and we should get to hear the heartbeat then. We'll keep you posted on every little milestone!