Another Cheerio Lover is Born

Although he still has no teeth, we finally let Milo get a taste of the wonderful world of Cheerios.

Here he is exercising that pincer-grasp.

Giving it the once-over.

The first taste.

Thinking about it for a minute

And going in for more...both hands this time!

Nine Months Old!

It Was About Time!

I finally gave the boy a haircut.

Here are the before pics.

During.

And after. Isn't that a handsome fellow?!?

While we were at it, Nana straightened things up for the girl, too.

Another satisfied customer.

And here they are showing off their new do's!


(FYI: We've decided to let Lucia's bangs grow out. Stay tuned for an updated look in the weeks to come.)

Simple Solutions

Milo has outgrown the baby bathtub, but since he's so mobile it is way too difficult to just put him in the big bath. Our few attempts at this resulted in a lot of swallowed bathwater :( Luckily, Nana is internet saavy, and she discovered this bath seat for that in-between stage. We purchased it and, as Daddy says, "It was worth every penny."

Around and Around

Now that all the hustle and bustle of the holidays has passed, we're back to our old weekend routine: going to the mall. (I guess it's what we do even if we don't live in Dubai.) Last weekend we went out to the Mall of Georgia. There is a nice carousel inside that Lucy loves to ride. She will not, however, ride on a horse. She simply refuses. Instead she loves to go "around and around" like this:

Santa Babies

Getting a clear shot of Milo as Santa wasn't nearly as easy as getting Lucia as Santa. He just moves too much! Nevertheless here are our two Santa babies for you to compare:

Our "Gingerman" Village

Lucia and I definitely wanted to put together a gingerbread house for Christmas. She is mildly obsessed with "gingermen" and so she liked the idea of making their house. I actually came across a kit to make an entire village, so that's what we did!

Christmas 2009

Well, we weren't quite sure we were going to make it to Atlanta in time for Christmas. After a two-day delay, our moving truck finally got loaded and we set off at about 3:40am on Christmas Eve. What is normally about an 8-10 hour drive took us nearly 14. It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds. The kids were well behaved and the stops that we made may have been more for Mommy and Daddy's benefit than theirs.

We (Antonio) made the decision that we would buy a small (four-foot or so) Christmas tree when we got to Atlanta since the apartment (our temporary digs until we find a house) is so small. However, since we didn't actually arrive to the city until around 5pm, the only "small" Christmas tree we could find anywhere was a 24-incher at Home Depot. So we bought it.

Now, don't feel sorry for us. Even though our Christmas tree was tiny, and we were cramped into a one-bedroom apartment, and we had driven for fourteen hours after spending days packing everything we own (don't forget the blizzard that brought 24 inches), we still had a lovely holiday and the kids were just as happy as could be. We even have pictures to prove it!

Here's Lucy getting into the spirit as we unpack the Christmas decorations.

Milo getting into the spirit as well.

Beginning to decorate our 24-incher (that includes the base).

Strategically placing each ornament.

Trying to figure out how to fit so many decorations onto such a tiny tree.

Milo wanted to help out, too!

The finished product.

And later that night, Santa came with Lucia and Milo's gifts.

Christmas morning, Lucy and Milo saw what Santa brought for each of them.

Lucy was excited to see that she got a fabulous crib set for her dolls.

And a new PURPLE baby (which is exactly what she asked for).

Santa brought Milo a YELLOW baby (which is just what he asked for, according to Lucy).

Milo also got his very first sippy cup.

Here's Lucy finding out what's inside her stocking (hair bows and "princess" chapstick).

And Milo was happy with the toothbrush he found in his stocking.

All in all, a wonderful celebration. Here are the two cuties in their official Christmas attire.

Road Trip!

Our road trip from Maryland to Atlanta took us about 14 hours and several pit-stops. The kids were actually very well behaved (thank goodness for DVD players). We left at about 4am and it was nearly 6pm when we finally arrived to our destination.

Here's Lucy toward the beginning.

About halfway through.

Are we there yet???

And Milo...well, his carseat.

Like My New Boots?

Eight Months Old!

Crazy Kids

Moving means lots of boxes and lots of boxes mean lots of fun.

One Fine Tree

While we were still in the area we just had to venture out (in the snow) to see Obama's tree...

And, of course, get a family photo in front of it.