Medicine of Immortality "It's a cold, and it's a broken, 'Hallelujah!'"

Cute Capezza KidsPosted by Rachel on March 4th, 2009

My wee onesPosted by Rachel on March 3rd, 2009

I love being a mom and watching my kids grow and learn. Amidst all the challenges of parenting, I still feel like there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing with my life than raising my little, dear ones. They are so sweet and precocious, full of life and surprises, and every day Kyrie or Antonio always manage to say or do something that makes me laugh, or feel proud, or just fill me with happiness. Where they both are in their stages of life are really fun & challenging right now, too. Antonio is learning new words, finally forming a major attitude (something his big sister had perfected before her first birthday), running, climbing, and trying his best to jump. Kyrie has been talking pretty much like a pro for a while, with a few cute impediments (she can’t say her R’s, and there are a few other mispronounced letters & words), and has been adding funny and bigger words to her vocabulary—sometimes used in context, sometimes not—such as when she asked Rick, “Papa, do you like polyphenols?”

Some of the most fun parts of parenting Antonio right now are:

Enjoying his little sense of humor, as he tries to do things that are silly and cute
Hearing him add a new word to his vocabulary almost daily
Watching him run as fast as he can
Observing as he plays well with his big sister
Seeing how excited he is when Papa comes home from work

Some of the most challenging aspects of parenting Antonio right now are:

Dealing with his major attitude and temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way
Trying to get him to take naps
Dealing with a clingy baby while I try to get other things done
Nursing him constantly, even though he’s 15 months old (almost!)

Some of the most fun parts of parenting Kyrie right now are:

Teaching her about letters, phonics, and reading & writing
Listening to her as she chatters constantly about everything
Seeing what a big helper she is
Enjoying all her affection (she’s very cuddly and sweet)
Seeing what a good big sister she is
Laughing at all the silly things she says
Seeing her artwork improve over time

Some of the most challenging aspects of parenting Kyrie right now are:

Dealing with her bossy nature (she’d like to think she’s in charge)
Getting her to stay in her own bed all night (we had this down pat a year ago, but regression happens)
Getting her to pay attention

Really, Kyrie has gotten to be a much easier kid, for now at least, and Antonio is becoming more challenging as he really becomes a toddler in every way, leaving babyhood behind. But part of the fun is dealing with each new phase, with everything it brings!

Antonio sings “Happy Birthday”Posted by Rachel on January 9th, 2009

My kid is a genius, I tell you!

Antonio’s First HaircutPosted by Rachel on December 29th, 2008

Before:

After:

(Dude, what just happened?)

(Papa is trying to put some finishing touches on it)

Antonio’s Birthday PhotosPosted by Rachel on December 17th, 2008

Antonio had a great day on his birthday last week, despite an icky cold. We had the fam over to help us celebrate his first birthday.

Favorite Pictures from 2008Posted by Rachel on December 15th, 2008

I’ve been organizing some of my photos on the computer today and I have really enjoyed remembering all the great moments we’ve had this year. 2008 has been a crazy, wonderful year for us, full of changes. Here are some of my favorite snapshots from this past year.

1. January:

I love this photo. It’s one of the first ones I took of both of my kids where they were both smiling at the camera. There’s something so playful and fun about it, and I just feel so blessed to have these little ones in my life.

2. February:

Okay, not surprisingly, another shot of my two kids. This is one of the first ones I took with my new camera, when I was still figuring out settings and such.

3. March:

Need I say anything? The sheer cuteness is reason enough to love this snapshot.

4. April:

This is Kyrie sitting on the grass as we watched a water-skiing performance at ULM. It was a warm and beautiful day.

5. May:

Yep, this is the first one that isn’t one of my children. We took a day trip to Seattle in May so that I could meet two of my online friends. We went to the Aquarium earlier in the day.

6. June:

Kyrie swinging at Auntie Bekah’s house. Yes, in her underwear.

7. July:

Antonio spent much of the summer in nothing but a diaper.

8. August:

We ate lots of delicious fresh vegetables and fruits from my mom’s garden. Kyrie is enjoying a freshly picked carrot.

9. September:

She’s such a darling.

10. October:

We went to the Arboretum and had tons of fun in a huge pile of leaves.

11. November:

This is Antonio watching the first snow of the season, on Thanksgiving Day.

12. December:

I only have two photos from December uploaded onto the computer. This is the best of those two. I need to upload more. But I still like this one.

Antonio’s VocabularyPosted by Rachel on December 3rd, 2008

So Antonio might be more reluctant to give up crawling as his main mode of transportation (despite the fact that he can walk), but his vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds! Kyrie wasn’t really a talker before her first birthday, so I’d say Antonio is ahead in this department. Here’s a list of the words that he can say in context:

Kitty (one of his first)
Mama
Papa
Baby
Puppy
Ball
Uh-oh
A-boo (for peek-a-boo)
Hi
Pretty
That
Go! (He says this after his big sister says, “Ready, set…”)

He just keeps adding more all the time. He even said “Hi, Papa” to Rick last night. He’s our smart little guy!

All About AntonioPosted by Rachel on November 6th, 2008

Just thought I’d give a much needed update on my little guy.

He’s decided that climbing is a much more important skill to master than walking. He’s standing alone quite a lot of the time now, but hasn’t dared to take any steps without holding onto something for support. He is, however, climbing everything he can think of to climb. Right now he’s sitting backwards on a small rocking chair and bouncing up and down.

He’s giving kisses now, which is beyond cute! He even puckers up and makes a little smacking sound. Sometimes he’ll scrunch up his nose when big sister decides to lay a big smooch on him.

He loves to play peek-a-boo. When he has a blanket, he’ll put it over his head and hide for a little, then pull it away with the proudest look on his face. If he doesn’t have a blanket to work with, he just puts his hands behind his head and is convinced that he’s sufficiently hidden that way. It cracks me up!

He’s also getting very talkative these days. He loves to babble, and tries to say a couple real words, too. He says “diddy” for “kitty” and sometimes says “Kakoo” when he’s playing peek-a-boo. One of his favorite words is “bood,” which seems to be the default for everything else. He also says “Mama” (only when he’s really upset) and sometimes “Papa” (sounds a bit more like “baba”).

He giggles a lot, but also has quite a temper. An emotional guy, for sure. And that’s about it…I need to go make sure he’s not getting into some sort of mischief.

Some October PhotosPosted by Rachel on October 19th, 2008

Just some autumn snapshots. Clicky.

Indeed, I have taken more photographsPosted by Rachel on September 19th, 2008