Hi everyone! It's been a while so I want to fill you in on the latest. We have been pretty busy lately. Julianna is officially pooping in the potty and flushes it down to poopy world. Pretty funny right?! She is showing a lot more interest in letters and finds letters around the house and says "Here is a 'd' for daddy!" She knows o,t,s,e,a,x,m,j, and d. She has names for her babies and calls the big baby the "daddy" baby, and the has a couple of "medium" babies. Ethan is doing well. He is thriving in school and is reading books at a 2nd grade level now. I am trying to work on my schedule so I can help out in his classroom once a week. He LOVES school and it makes me very happy. His 100th day of school is approaching and he is very excited. Ty ty is great. My little lover. He loves snuggling up to me and I am just eating it up. He loves cell phones and remotes and gets really mad when they are taken. Every single solitary thing he comes across goes in his mouth, so as you can imagine it's been a little busy in our house. It's fun to see how things are coming together in his brain. Today he saw something under the couch and wanted it so he layed down on the carpet and stuck his arm as far under the couch as he could while he had his neck cocked to the side. It was so cute how he figured out how to get the toy. Soon he will be in a helmet to correct his crooked head shape. I wish I had known how important tummy time really was (you think I would by my 3rd kid!). He will be going to physical therapy once a week to help his neck mobility. At least these problems can be resolved now you know? I anticipate a great year for us. Some of my goals are to do more science and cooking with the kids, less tv (thanks Liz for the NO TV DAY idea; I'm going to implement that in my house once a week), and I want to volunteer at the Broward Children's Hospital once a month. They are in desperate need of help for people who will do kid's activities. Last year I was going to volunteer and it never happened...this year I don't want the opportunity to pass me by. I'm also thinking of starting a "Playgroup in the Park". I want to lead different educational, thematic based lessons that incorporate reading, play, science, math, music, and gross motor activities for the toddler/preschool age children. I would charge a small fee for an hour. The parents/nannies would have to be present, but could get a break for an hour. Who knows? I'm working on seeing if this would be feasible. Once again I had this idea last year and didn't follow through. It looks like that is something I need to work on! I could make a little extra money for the fam too! Avery is doing great! His schedule for the past month has been 5-about 10/11/or 12 and he is usually home by lunch. Can you believe it ?!?! It has been the best rotation BY FAR. He has also gotten to "get back in the gym" a little (our small condo workout facility :) but still he is physically feeling better. He has been amazing with helping with the kids too. Thanks Hun! You definitely deserve it!!!! Hope you enjoyed the update!

Merry Christmas!!

On x-mas eve we spent the afternoon with my grandma and grandpa and uncle bill and in the evening with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandma. We had our traditional cuban dinner with the pig roasted in the pit, black beans and rice, yucca, and plantains. Christmas day, we opened presents, made cookies, and had a traditional italian meal with meatballs and stuffed shells with Kristy and Paul. Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family!! Hope you had a great day. Enjoy our pics!!

Our family vacation

We had a bunch of fun on our 4 day vacation to Orlando. The 1st day we went to the Magic Kingdom, 2nd day Animal Kingdom, 3rd day back to the Magic Kingdom with the Goths, and 4th day to Universal's Islands of Adventure. Ethan had absolutely NO fear and rode Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, the Mt Everest ride, and Spiderman. He wanted to go on the Hulk sooo bad but wasn't tall enough. He watched Daddy go instead. The weather was great and it really was a "magical" time to go. We got to see a x-mas show and cool parades. Islands of Adventure was so cool. They had a Dr. Suess area that was awesome!!! I also got to ride the Dueling Dragons roller coaster. I could go on and on, but we really did have a fun time.

Tyler's 1st haircut

Yeah, I got ripped off....$19.90 for a stinking baby's haircut, but it was worth it to see him in the little race car chair with the cape on. He LOVED it!!

Happy Hanukkah!!

Happy Hanukkah to everyone!! What a special night. Thanks to all of our friends for coming to our house to celebrate. Thanks for contributing to the Pajama Program too. This year, 237 pairs of pajamas, 144 books, and $400 were raised!!!

Bye Bye Pacifier!

It's official...no more pacifier or diapers! We threw julianna a "paci" party and gave her a cake and balloons and everything. She threw a diaper and her pacifiers in the trash and we made up ridiculous songs about pacifiers as we wished them away. She ate it up and then screamed when bedtime rolled around...

Thanksgiving 2008

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Palm Beach Gardens this year at my Uncle Billy and Aunt Paula's house. My grandma was there (you can see her getting ready for dinner as she is putting her "bib" on), my aunt and uncle, cousins Anthony and Michael, and us. It was a blast and the food was great as usual. We rode bikes after dinner and roasted marshmellows. Anytime I go to their house, it brings me back to my childhood; memories of playing hide and go seek, "spying" on the adults, our "cousin conferences" where we would map out how to spy on everyone, and playing basketball. I hope my kids can make memories of their own in that house too.

Halloween

Ethan as the Hulk

Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street

My little sock monkey

Sorry guys!!

Ok, ok, I know it's been a while. I am the worst!! I have been slacking so bad!!! I knew when I first signed up for the blog that I would probably be really bad at it and I was right!! So anyways, everything's been pretty crazy lately. Avery's been on a trauma rotation where he is on call every 3rd night. He was on CNN.com and on the local news and has seen a lot of crazy things these past couple of months. Ethan is thriving in school and in martial arts and got student of the month at both schools in nov. He is learning how to ride a bike without training wheels too. Julianna is still potty training and it's going....ok? Let's just say i've been cleaning up a lot of poop! She loves art though and is coloring in the lines and cutting so well. Ty just got a haircut yesterday and was such a riot at the haircut place. He got to sit in a car and had a cape on and couldn't stop moving around and smiling. He got his hair gelled up into a mohawk and then to the side and he looked soooooo darn cute I couldn't stand it! I am in crazy mode because in a couple of days, we are going to DISNEY WORLD!!!! We got a really good deal and alot of free stuff, but have to go to a 2 hr timeshare presentation. Hey, it's worth it. It's going to be a suprise so I can't wait to see the kids reactions. Ok, I'll post pictures after Christmas..I promise!!

Avery's comment

As you all know Avery works like a dog and hasn't had a lot of free time (especially to work out). He has just reassured me that "The new in is: all fat, no muscle." He had some funny poses to go along with this comment as well. Funny hun.

Ethan's comment

Ethan is really picking up on a lot lately. Avery was covering the pager for the hospital last month and was on the phone returning pages a lot. The other day Ethan went into my drawer and got out my old phone. He puts it up to his ear and goes, "This is doctor Goldberg returning a page..." Avery was so proud!

Cute Kid Pics

Ty during Shabbot dinner. Here he is wearing a pink bib (sorry Ty). His newest thing is he loves to hold his baby spoons. He holds onto them for dear life and DOES NOT like to get them taken away.

Ethan's latest martial arts pic, learning how to defend himself.

Ethan does something called sparring as part of his martial arts curriculum. He is all decked out in his gear.

Isn't this just great? Lately Jewels has loved art. On this day I suggested we paint (great idea huh!) That seat is now permanently stained. Thank goodness the color came off of the table though! If you think this is bad, she likes sneaking into Ethan's art box and getting out pencils, pens, crayons, you name it and running around the house "writing" on EVERYTHING. Once I pick up on it, she squeals and goes crazy with her writing utensil till it's confiscated. Isn't 2 just a lovely age?

Can they get any cuter!?!?

My Birthday Pics

My Banana Cream cheesecake. So good.

Cheesecake Factory with the girls. What a fun night!!! I love my friends and family!!!

Uncle Bill was so nice to take me out for a B-day lunch. He took me to one of my favorite places in Miami called Books and Books. We had lunch there and then went to his house where he suprised me with a homemade cake. Uncle Bill, it was delicious and thank you so much for your efforts. You're an awesome uncle!!!! Here they are playing cards.

Jewels in the bounce house at Jungle Island.

Ethan and Julianna with a couple of alligators.

Ethan and Ari with a parrot.

Ari came to Jungle Island with us and had absolutely no fear when it came to touching animals. Here he is trying to rip off the head of an iguana. This was his second attempt.

Daddy and Ty at Jungle Island on my b-day.

Here we are after church on my b-day with our great friends Vern and Chad.

Bunny and Ethan creating a "shark" with nature items found at the park.