Is it really only February?

Well call us CRAZY... but as you all know 2010 has been quite eventful for us so far. The new year has brought us a new handsome son, a new adventure and baseball season for DJ in Japan, and a new home! Talk about excitement all in about a 6 week span and somehow we are all still surviving :)
We are slowly but surely moving into our new home. We have been staying at my parents until things got a little more organized. So far the transition is going well and Tessa is loving all of the space she has to roam around. The piles of boxes are slowly getting smaller but they still seem to be never-ending! Maybe DJ is lucky to be missing out on this part?!?!

Below are some pictures of Tessa playing in our backyard. She loves to "water" the flowers and play with the grapefruit and oranges from our trees. She thinks they are really cool balls!!! Go figure. She is becoming such a silly girl. Her "big" personality is coming out. It is so much fun to watch her become her own person :)

Beautiful Blogger

First of all I need to thank Michelle for introducing me to the blogging world. I would have never started a blog without the idea and pressure Michelle gave me when I found out that my family would be living over in a foreign country for half of the year due to my husband's work. Now thanks to her I can keep in touch with my friends and family no matter how many miles apart we all may be! I used to always give Michelle a hard time for all of the little things she does (blogging, family websites, facebook etc.) but now I am just as bad as she is. Thank you Michelle for pushing me to do this. It has forced me to write down all of the wonderful memories our family has made. You are the best!

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2. Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4. Share 7 interesting things about myself.
5. Nominate 7 bloggers.

Seven Interesting Fact About ME:
1. I REALLY think I am crazy for moving all by myself with a 16 month old, a 1 month old, and no husband to help me!!!
2. I can't wait until I can workout again and get my post prego body back in shape... if its even possible!!
3. I really think I have the best most supportive and helpful family ever... I thank God everyday for all of them!
4. I have gotten to be a stay at home Mommy and think it is the best thing ever... even on those days I want to pull my hair out
5. I don't get the big hype about Valentine's Day... you should show your loved ones how much you love them everyday. (Maybe that's because I have never gotten to celebrate a V-Day with my hubby...EVER... I don't think we have even been in the same state or country for it. But he knows I think he is the best husband and Daddy in the entire world)
6. I want to do something different with my hair but have no idea what to do... any ideas?
7. I look forward to my long hot showers every night... its my only alone time :)

My seven nominated bloggers: Sorry, but none of my friends have blogs.. hint hint and the ones that do have gotten this award so I don't have 7 :( Maybe if my friends get on the wagon and get to blogging I will
1. Sandy, the only one who can laugh with me at my crazy Japan stories because she is living them with me, Just to See You Smile
2. My cousin Lyndsay who still finds time to blog with 4 kids and a dog, Candelario Crew

Meeting Brother

Because of the H1N1 scare, anyone under the age of 16 was not allowed to visit us in the hospital... INCLUDING SIBLINGS!!! So Tessa was not able to come meet her new brother in the hospital and I didn't get to see her for 3 days :( Thank goodness Tessa has such a good Nana, Papa, Auntie, and cousins to entertain her while we were gone. We were also lucky that the hospital was close by so Super Dad could take her to lunch and put her to bed every night. This all helped the weekend go by quickly for her. But we were all excited when we got to come home on Monday to return to life. The hospital room was not very comfortable and was getting really boring with the restrictions on visitors.

So on Monday Tessa got to meet her Baby Brother... and she absolutely LOVES him. She laughs every time he makes a noise and she is constantly waving at him. She is very gentle with him and loves to just stare at him. She even squats down to his level so she can look at him face to face. She is really adjusting well to having another "person" around. We are so proud of her!!!

All ready to go home

Daddy is excited to sleep in his own bed and not the hospital chair!

Being wheeled out to the car

We are all so excited to go home and see Tessa!

Tessa meeting Brady for the first time... priceless!

Welcome Brady Sean

For those of you who don't know, on January 8th our son Brady Sean Houlton was born. He was a healthy 8lbs 1oz and 19inches long. He has a full head of dark hair like his Daddy and so far dark blue eyes just like his sister had when she was born. He is such a good boy. He sleeps well and is a big eater. He had no problems with eating like Tessa did, thank goodness. He actually is such a good eater he is already back to his birth weight before he is even 1 week old. He is very laid back and loves to just hang out in his chair or on the couch. We are all enjoying having him as a part of our family. We are so blessed to have such beautiful, healthy children. It's amazing how just looking at your own child could bring you so much joy!!!

DJ in his paper scrubs waiting for the docs to call us in.

During this C-Section they dropped the curtain right before they pulled the baby out. It was neat being able to see him being born. DJ was able to see everything but I was only able to lift my head up so I could only see the baby's head being pulled out. Once the baby was out everyone was excited but they forgot to say what the sex of the baby was. Everyone knew because they could see... I could only see from the chest up. I finally had to say "Hey what is it?" And then I finally heard...

It's A Boy!!!

Just a few hours old!

Welcome Brady Sean!

He passed his hearing test :)

1 Day Old

My Gym

This off season Tessa got to do her first My Gym class with Daddy. Every Tuesday morning the two of them would go to her Waddlers Class at My Gym for an hour. The first few times she went, she was not to fond of the idea. She was a little timid to try things and wanted to be with Daddy. Let's just say she wanted to do her own thing... hmm, I wonder where she got that from?!?! But by the last class, which was last week, she was doing awesome. She would participate and try out the new activities :) Daddy was so proud of her. It was the best thing for the two of them to do together. I love watching them have Daddy Daughter time :) DJ is such a good Daddy. Every Tuesday he would get her up, dressed, and fed and then off they would go while I got a day to sleep in!!! But now that DJ is leaving they will have to wait until the next off season to take another class. Tessa will miss it!

Here are some pictures from her last class...

Swinging in the swing with Mr. Bill in the background.

Having fun

She loves to stand on her head and look upside down between her legs :)

DJ said he couldn't get her out of the balls... she was having too much fun!

Christmas Celebrations!

This post is a little late but I just got some pictures from our Christmas parties this year :)
(Hint Hint to those of you who are supposed to email me them)

We were lucky to celebrate Christmas with all of our friends this year. We got to spend time with friends of mine from high school, college, my 2 bunco groups, and my best friends from work (when I did work... hee hee). We also got to see some of DJ's friends from high school. And we were able to see our group of good friends at our annual Christmas Party. So we were fortunate to be able to see so many of our friends and family this holiday season :) I guess that is why we were so busy all of the time!

Tessa (14 months), John (15 Months), Tyler (6 months), Abbey (2)

Matt, Julie, Abbey, Katie, DJ, Tessa, Heath, Michelle (Tyler was in bed), Candice, Jason, John, Sonja, Mike

New Year's Day 2010!!!

We went to go visit my family at my sister's house. The whole crew had been there since the night before celebrating New Years. Unfortunately, DJ didn't get to join us. He woke up with flu like symptoms and decided to not get everyone sick :( So Tessa and I had to celebrate without him. The good news is it went away fast and he was up and about later in the evening! Tessa and I had a fun time. Tessa got to play with all of her cousins and the dog, Cody, which she loved. She would follow her everywhere and try to pet her. Tessa was very gentle with Cody, but still thank goodness she is such a good dog!

Cousins: Keegan (21 months), Tessa(14 months), Cole(5), Ryan(6), and Caden(4) (Abby was napping)

The 3 Youngsters: Keegan, Tessa & Abby Playing

Tessa is learning how to play with the boys :)

With a new year ahead of us, we know 2010 will have many adventures ahead for us. Just this month alone we are getting a taste of what will be a very busy year for us. The first will be the birth of our second child which has been scheduled on January 8th. The next will be us moving, keeping our fingers crossed until we know for sure, closer to my family. And at the end of the month, DJ will be leaving for his 3rd season playing in Japan. Of course this is a great opportunity for our family, we are just sad that the off season has come and gone so fast this year. And of course, our family alone is not looking forward to being apart for the next couple of months. It will be a real challenge for all of us! As for the rest of the year, we are looking forward to see what it will bring. But one thing is for sure we are very thankful that we will all be able to share the adventures together :)