Update

Other than the post about my brother-in-law's wedding, I took a break off from blogging this summer.  So what have we been up to?  Not much!  We took the summer pretty easy.  In case you didn't notice the new ticker at the top of the blog, we're expecting our third baby!  It's due Feb. 15th and we will have our ultrasound to find out the gender on October 5th!  Philip is back at work and taking his PhD classes, and I've started up home Tot School and Preschool with the kiddos again.  Here's an update on the kids:

Michaela:

She's a big girl!  She does NOT stop talking and is constantly asking "why".  It was cute at first.  Not so much after the 50th billionth time....in an hour.

• She's an absolute love.  She constantly tells me that she loves me and asks for "mouth kisses".  At bedtime earlier this year I taught her about "butterfly" and "eskimo" kisses (eyelash and nose) and ever since then, she must have kisses all over her face every night.

She seems to have (mostly) gotten her temper under control.  She still has occasional bouts, but gone are the days of the kicking screaming tantrum.  Mostly when she gets in trouble it's because she talks back to me or tells me no.  Fortunately she is really quick to apologize after a quick trip to time out!

• She is obsessed with ballet.  Like, OBSESSED.  It all started when she fell in love with Angelina Ballerina.  She started ballet at the local community center a couple weeks ago and loves it.

Doing a Butterfly Dance in Ballet

Her best friend is my good friend Jen's little girl Sierra.  Every time she sees her she runs to her and gives her a HUGE hug.  They're in ballet together too, which is awesome.

Best friends!

She loves her little brother.  She won't let me get him out of his pack n play in the morning without her.  She has to be the first to say good morning and give him hugs and kisses.

• She also gets super annoyed with her little brother.  Most days are split between them being overly lovey together, and them fighting like cats and dogs.

She has requested that the new baby be a sister.

Rafael:

What a joker!  He loooooves to hear his sister laugh so he has started going out of his way to make her laugh.  His favorite methods of joking around are hitting himself in the head or putting his fingers in his mouth to make a silly face.

• He's almost 2.  Mommies, you know what this means.  TANTRUMS!  It's his way or the highway.  Not fun, but all in all, less intense that Michaela was at this age.  At least he hasn't made himself throw up yet!

He is a boy.  As in he loves making messes, playing with rucks, making noises for everything, going a billion miles a minute.  You know, all the stereotypical boy traits.  But....he's also a little brother to a big sister.  Which means he loves wearing tutu's, playing with barbies, etc.

Having a Tea Party with his Curious George

• I was worried for a short time because he still wasn't talking about a month ago, but ever since we started doing Tot School, his language has exploded!  He went from having less than 10 words a couple of weeks ago to over 30 at this point!

He's a love too.  He loves to cuddle with mama (except when he's trying to play) and is constantly giving his sister kisses.  On a side note, he calls her "mama" too. :)

• He has a best friend too.  Sierra's little sister Chloe.  They fight sometimes too, but since Jen and I have already pre-arranged their marriage, it's totally expected.

He is insanely mischievous.  He knows this and has developed a ridiculously adorable smile when he's either about to or in the middle of doing something he knows he's not supposed to do.  It's really hard to get mad at him when he smiles like that!

There's that smile!