Our Bedtime Routine...In Video

This post might be a little tedious for some of you readers, but it is pretty entertaining if you have time to watch the videos!!! I wanted to post our bedtime routine at this stage in life just so I can look back and enjoy it later (and not forget how it was...I think I'm never going to forget these moments, but it's so easy to do!). Well, have fun sneaking a peek inside our normal lives...

WRESTLE TIME!!!

Anthony and Lucas LOVE wrestling with Daddy! They burn off some "late night" energy every evening before bedtime. I think Lucas loves it even more than Anthony at this stage. He really believes he can take Daddy on!

Italian Nursery Rhymes

Some of you may not know that Mario primarily speaks Italian with the boys at home. We just want them to be "submerged" in another language as much as possible to increase the liklihood that they will retain at least some of it!!!

(Please excuse the nose-picking...we're working on that!)

Bible Story

Last year we got Anthony the "Read with Me Bible" by Zonderkidz. It's got great illustrations, and the stories are geared for ages 2-5. I mostly love how it really stays true to the Word--it's condensed and simplified, but not watered down.

(Lucas isn't usually in his crib at this point, but I needed him contained so I could shoot the video!)

Hymns

Several months ago, we starting adding hymns to our bedtime routine--Anthony loves music, and what better way to foster that than filling his mind and heart with songs that are truths from God's Word? He has really enjoyed it from the get-go, but lately he has been really (I mean, REALLY) fond of "Holy, Holy, Holy". He almost knows every word of all four verses, and loves singing them all throughout the day. This video totally cracked me up because Lucas is falling over right as they are singing "falling down before Thee"--haha!

Memory Verses

Mario has been working with Anthony on memorizing Scripture. He started with John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9, and he now knows them by heart. Lately he has been learning 1 John 1:9. It's amazing what kids can absorb at this age! Although he may not fully understand the words, we believe God's truth is still impacting his heart.



And I couldn't resist just a few more pictures of some bedtime shenanigans. These were taken one night when Mario wasn't home, and I was putting the kids to bed by myself.

This picture makes me laugh--what you DON'T see (because I didn't get a picture of it) is that Lucas likes to stand there and lay his head on the bed while Anthony is jumping--used to make me a nervous wreck, but now I'm kind-of used to it! :)

sweet night-night hugs

monkeying around




say "cheese"!!!






things just keep getting sillier and sillier until mommy turns out the light!

Summertime Fun VI -- Our Trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo

In early September, we took a family outing down to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It was Lucas' first time, and we knew Anthony would LOVE seeing the animals--he is definitely old enough to appreciate it now. We didn't take as many pictures as we would've liked to...somehow a busy toddler who wanted to be in and out of his stroller and a baby who was overheating or bored (or both!) kept Mario and I with our hands full...imagine that!

our arrival at the zoo. i think anthony was shouting "potty"! at this point we were still on attempt #2 at potty training, and we told him he had to yell "potty" when he needed to go.

anthony and daddy check out the zebras

close up--beautiful!

i think the giraffes were anthony's favorite

watching the fish...they are mesmerizing. he probably could have done this for hours!

maybe i should get one of these for my house?!?

lucas enjoyed the shade...it turned out really hot when we went, so we had to keep finding areas for him to cool down.

the sharks--he didn't look see-through in real life!

sweet baby boy--he was a trooper...it was a long day

our turn to pose on the golden kangaroo

okay, you totally cannot tell what's going on from the picture, but this little penguin kept swimming right up by the glass and showing off--i think he enjoyed all the attention he was getting!

stopping for a lunch break before we head home for naps

anthony did NOT want his picture taken at this point...we were on the brink of "the point of no return"--you mommies understand what i'm talking about! just look at those tired eyes!



We had a ball! Anthony is STILL talking about it, so I think it was a hit!

What a Cutie!

I have to have a shameless bragging moment...Lucas is just the cutest baby ever!!! He is growing up way too fast! Amidst the craziness of caring for both a baby and a toddler, I need to take a few moments to just focus on the fleeting moments of babyhood--they seem to disappear entirely too quickly. So, here are some (mostly) September pictures of my sweet baby boy...

just hanging out

happy boy



messy mouth



tasty

"discovered" the grass (he usually sits on a blanket)

FUN! Something else to put in my mouth!

first tooth!!!

learned to pull up to a stand right before he turned 8 months

spending time with Daddy

sweet

another view of that tooth

standing is second nature now--pulling up on EVERYTHING!

"playing" ball in the backyard

peaceful sleep

a quick video of Lucas smiling...he is like this 95% of the day!!!

God made him with such a sweet personality!

cute video of one of Lucas' first attempts at eating Cheerios.

what a little ham!

August Pics

Just some cute family pics from the first couple of weeks of August...

Anthony wore my white bead necklace for a few days straight! :)

Lucas is eating more solids and graduates to the highchair.

Love them playing together in their diapers. Lucas thinks Anthony is the greatest!

sweet, sleeping baby

Lucas begins sitting all by himself

so proud

getting some "daddy time"

always has that little mouth open!

Love you guys!!!

Summertime Fun V -- Water, Water Everywhere!

Anthony had a TON of fun water activities this summer...some in our own backyard, and others out and about. He had a ball at Audrey's birthday party in late July. He is STILL talking about swimming at her neighborhood pool and eating cupcakes. :) Mario took Anthony to her party, and I attended our Community Group--it was all happening at the same time. Mario took these pics!

chatting it up with the birthday girl

a little swimming

a little splashing

apparently, he was VERY helpful when it came time for Audrey to open her presents! :)

Happy 2nd birthday, Audrey!

what a fun day!

Just a few days later, we met up with our playgroup at the splash park. It was Anthony's first time, and he really enjoyed it! Some friends brought some shovels and buckets to play with, and he thought it was great!

wow--look at the fountains!

oh boy--this is going to be fun!

lucas hung out in the shade in his stroller

does he look a little bored to you?

Anthony spent quite a bit of time looking across the street at the construction trucks. I think he enjoyed this just as much as he loved the water!!! :)

Lucas' Army Crawl

At the very end of July, Lucas began crawling. It started out as an army crawl....and it's been an army crawl ever since! ;) Oh, he CAN crawl on his hands and knees--we've seen him do it outside in the grass or on the concrete when he doesn't like his belly scraping the ground. He just chooses to do it this way most of the time. It's just him.......just like that hair of his!!! ;) This was one of his first few attempts.

And some other cute pics from around the same time...

LOVE IT!!!