Four Years of Silliness... Happy Birthday Joey!

We can't believe it, but our little man has actually been around for four years! We took a trip down memory lane and put together a short video with pictures from his newborn days to now. I won't lie... I definitely had to break out the Kleenex, and I urge grandparents to do the same. Why don't people warn you how fast this time goes? Well, they do, but it's impossible to comprehend until you've been there!

Lots of these pictures predate our blog, so prepare yourself for an absurdly large, bald head and ridiculous chub. He has a lot more hair now, and he's slimmed down in ways that seemed impossible when we were shoving his thunder thighs and monster forearms into tiny sleepers. He's still our Moose, though, and speaking of chub, see below for our latest "baby book" entry.

Happy Birthday, Joey! You make us laugh each and every day!

The Stats: Joey at 4

Our record-keeping is becoming increasingly digital... here's Joey's vital stats at 4 years old. Can I get away with printing this and pasting it in the baby book?

Weight: 44 pounds (97th percentile)

Height: 42.5 inches (87th percentile)

Clothing size: 5T

Shoe size: 12

How/where is your child sleeping? Joey sleeps in his "big boy" bed, from about 8pm to 7 am, but not without some antics both at night and in the morning.

Is your child still napping? Thank the Lord, he is still napping... and Mommy is determined that he keeps it up until he's at least 8 years old ;) He normally takes a two hour nap after lunch.

Health: Aside from semi-frequent colds, Joey is a pretty healthy little boy who has not had to deal with any serious illnesses, thankfully!

What is your child learning? (numbers, letters, etc) He's a pro at writing his letters, and we're now moving on to numbers!

Organized activities (classes, sports, etc)? Joey loved his soccer class this fall.

Favorite saying? "Aw, maaaan!" and "Mommy, how are you doing today?"

Favorite activities: Drawing, rough-housing, eating, riding his bike, and kicking or throwing balls

Favorite toy: His new Christmas toys, especially his firetruck and his Buzz and Woody dolls (from Toy Story)

Favorite food: Apparently taco salad, since he requested it for his birthday dinner! But in general, he can be counted on to clean his plate!

Favorite TV show / movie: "Wow, Wow, Wubbzy" and "Go, Diego, Go!"

Favorite book: My Big Boy Bed is still the reigning champion, but he also loves various silly books like any and all Curious George tales, The Lady with the Alligator Purse and Goodnight Gorilla.

Best friend? He has yet to become super friends with anyone outside of his family and friends circle... he especially loves all of his cousins!

Preschool plans? He goes to preschool three mornings a week. He's ambivalent about the rush to get out the door in the morning, but for the most part, he likes all he's learning there, loves his teachers, and loves the opportunity to painting, gluing and other messy art projects!

Christmas, Take Two

Our Raley family Christmas this year involved six children under the age of three... it was complete bedlam, especially when it came time to open presents. You can see for yourself if you tip your head to the right.

Christmas, Take One

We spread Christmas out this year, and got to enjoy three separate family celebrations, three days in a row! It was the perfect way to savor a wonderful holiday... we didn't have to experience the "letdown" after Christmas until Monday morning!

On Christmas, we invited Grandma and Grandpa Cecchin over for brunch, along with Mike, and opened presents and relaxed in our jammies! Later on in the afternoon, we headed to Gilroy to see Tim's extended family, and had an amazing Italian feast, complete with pesto ravioli, delicious breads, and a huge array of cookies! Thanks to the Stimac clan for hosting us once again, and thanks to our awesome helpers, Kami and Haleigh, for entertaining our troop of toddlers!

Mike kicked off the festivities in Gilroy by giving Joey a whoopie cushion... genius!




Clara scored with her first "dress-up" dress (and Barbie, no less!) from Sarah and Jeff. She wanted to do a costume change immediately.

Tommy apparently loves to squire around ladies in pink tulle.

The whole Cecchin family captured near the end of the night...

...and the cousins, all in jammies and ready to hit the road!

Thanks again to Tim's aunt Mary for hosting, and cousin Brian for cooking!

Major Tactical Error

It turns out that the firetruck pictured below actually has a water tank that carries water through the firehose, enabling little firefighters to both put out fires and ambush unsuspecting mothers.

Santa really did not think that through.

Some Assembly Required

Our Christmas miracle this season was being lucky enough to have Tim's brother Mike spend the night with us Christmas Eve... he was on hand for the three and a half hour assembly of Joey and Clara's big present from Santa, a play kitchen. Yes, I said three and a half hours. They were well stocked with beers, but still, by the time the last burner was in place, and the last screw had found a home, it was past midnight.

The bleary-eyed elves:





The final product, apparently none the worse for being exposed to mild swearing and threats against its manufacturer.



The irony? On Christmas morning, it took the kids at least 5 full minutes to realize it was even in the room. Here they are, oblivious to the hulking culinary toy directly to their right, enjoying their tea set and fire truck.







At last, Joey saw it, and shouted, "Clara, there's your kitchen! I think Santa said we can share it!"





While Clara set to work on pancakes, Joey tried out some ninja moves sporting his new watch, also from Santa.

We may not have gotten much rest this Christmas, but it gets more and more fun -- and magical -- to witness Christmas through our kids' eyes! Hope everyone else's holiday was as fun! Merry Christmas!

A Star is Born

After watching one too many Christmas-themed movies and cartoons lately, Joey pieced together that we were missing a key decorating staple... a star for the top of our tree. We actually went in search of one in a few stores, but like my hunt for additional tree lights, we started looking waaay too late in the holiday season! So what's a crafty boy to do? Make his own...with help from Mommy, although it's taking a lot for me to admit that publicly. Just look at our pathetic cardboard creation.

Be sure to compliment Joey's painting technique if you see him this holiday season! He's pretty proud!

The artist at rest...



And finally, because we're terrible parents, here's what happens when you hoist Clara up on Daddy's shoulders to let her touch the star.



She's much happier when her feet are on the ground!

In Denial

Anyone else?

Snow Job

We need to do a better job of marketing Santa around here... his brand is in the toilet compared to other mythical beings.

Tim had a late dinner with friends last night, and I decided to nip Joey's normal nighttime shenanigans in the bud with a pre-emptive Santa strike.

Me, as I'm tucking Joey into bed: No playing around tonight. Santa's watching you, and he's going to know if you're being a good boy or a bad boy.

J: What? He can't see me.

Me: Yes, he can. He can see everything and anything.

J: But my blinds are closed and my door is shut.

Me: That doesn't matter. Santa has super powers.

J (shocked): No, he doesn't! Santa isn't as cool as Superman!

Me: Santa just heard you say that.

Joey (looking around with huge eyes): Oh.

I'm happy to report that he was only out of bed once for a legitimate bathroom trip... and that was on tiptoe. If only Santa was around year-round!

Seven

Davis has been called both lazy and fat, but he wears both adjectives well - in keeping with his proud Kelleygreen lineage - and he now has a little protege from his same Gardnerville gene pool. Seven is yellow, but in all other ways, he's a miniature Davis -- roly-poly, intermittently mischievous, and mostly not inclined to exert himself. Luckily, his parents Lori and Bryan seem to like Davis, and know what they're in for: a 100-pound mellow moose.

Joey and Clara and I headed out to Pleasanton to meet this little guy today and see Lori and Bryan's adorable new house! The kids were in love with both the puppy and the tree swing!

Now we just need Lori and Bryan to start a blog so we can keep up with their doggy adventures in suburbia! :)

Welcome Baby Lucy!

We welcomed a dark-haired, adorable new baby into the family yesterday with the arrival of Lucy Byrne Galvin. She looks almost exactly like her big brother Tommy -- here's to a wonderful trip home from the hospital tomorrow morning and an easy transition to a family of four for the Galvins! Congratulations, Meredith and Tom!

Ice, Ice Baby

We embraced the chilly temperatures in San Francisco over the weekend, and met our friends Thomas and Sabrina and their girls at the ice skating rink at Union Square. Tim pulled a rib cage muscle hauling a 45-pound boy around the rink, and then got reprimanded by a rink official for taking a skate-less Clara out on the ice, but otherwise, fun was had by all!

Joey and Gitte loved watching the ice being groomed before the skating session.

Time to put on the skates!

Mela watches from the sidelines...

Finally, Clara took a few spins around the rink in her pink boots, until she was unceremoniously booted off :)

Have I Mentioned How Much I Love Play-Doh?

They get so absorbed in their creations, an hour or two can pass in almost complete silence!

Don't tell the kids, but Santa is delivering even more on Christmas morning!

She's Definitely Mine...

Clara has inexplicably developed an exteme fondness for The Elements of Style -- every English major's Bible and every writer's go-to source for all those pesky questions about punctuation and grammar -- and carries it around with her all over the place. It's almost as endearing as her obsession with my beloved stack of dog-eared Jane Austen paperbacks.

Davis vs. the Bear

Sara actually thought she could hang a stuffed Christmas bear from the front door knob. Rookie mistake...