Big Brother

Everyone needs a big brother, and I am so happy my younger kids have such a good one. Caio is such a good kid. He talks a lot about how important it is for him to teach the younger kids how to be good or to do something he is already good at doing. He isn't perfect--he really isn't even very close :-), but he is good. There is a lot to be said about the word good.

I also love how much he wants to be bigger even though he is still so young. He is always talking about how much he wants to go to work with Daddy and earn money for our family. He refers to things as being a little boy and when he gets big enough to go to work. He wears his future missionary badge he got from his grandma to church every week with pride. He wants to serve a mission because his daddy did. He saw a missionary picture of my husband on his back with his head, arms and legs in the air, so Caio does that pose every couple of days and says he is practicing so he can be a good missionary.

Recently, when Marcio told him he couldn't play the Wii, he came to me and said, with a deep sigh, "Daddy won't let me play the Wii..." I just nodded and said that maybe that was for the best. His response was, "I can't believe he would tell me that! I just can't believe he said 'No.' All I wanted was to play for a little bit." He was so serious I wanted to laugh. The whole thing was too cute. He wasn't getting angry or being beligerent, he was just trying to share his frustrations, so I let him know that it was okay to feel that way, as long as he obeyed and was nice about it. Then he looked at me and said, "Mom?" "Yes?" "What does believe mean?" It was so funny. I explained it and then he began to laugh and we talked about other things.

At his last dentist appointment a few weeks ago, the dentist told me Caio had a loose tooth. Then he explained to Caio that he has a grown up tooth coming in to replace the one that was falling out. After that Caio started refusing to use plastic silverware because he said he needs to use "grown-up" spoons and forks, because he thinks he is almost grown up now that his grown-up teeth are coming in. Since then his first tooth fell out. The Tooth Fairy gave him a whole dollar! I only ever got a quarter for my teeth. I told him there must have been a mistake and offered to trade my quarter for his dollar.... he didn't take me up on that. ;-D

All About My Girl

I love my little girl so much! I am so happy that Heavenly Father sent her to live with our family. Tonight I just wanted to ramble about her for a little bit. :-D

Jordan loves my brother's fiance like crazy. She loves to show off for her and play with her, and his fiance is very cute with my daughter, and nice enough to play along most of the time. One day I heard Jordan saying, "He can be the Daddy (my brother), and you can be the Mommy, and I will be the SWEETHEART!" I did everything I could to keep from laughing out loud.

Whenever people ask who she belongs to, she says she belongs to Mommy. Contrary to what one may think, I never started that one--it all came from her little head. "Who's cutie are you?" "I'm Mommy's cutie!" "Who's princess are you?" "I'm Mommy's princess!" The only time she gives a different response is sometimes when she is asked who's silly goose she is, then she is Daddy's.

Lately she talks all the time about how "Awesome!" or "Cool!" something is. I get all happy every time. It is funny hearing her cute little voice saying things that sound too old for her. She uses other big words that catch us off guard, too, but I can't seem to think of them right now. The truth is, she normally says so many cute or funny things right in a row that I can't remember all of them five minutes later. I just do my best.

She also is full of randomness that keeps us giggling. Monday, Marcio asked her if she was cute and she said, "No I'm cool. Because when people punch me, I punch them back harder. But then I feel really sad inside." Haha. Well... We love her so much.

-Ginger

Overdue...

I missed writing for a whole year. Perhaps I should say I took a year sabbatical. Or maybe I should just admit that I got a little overwhelmed and tired of posting for a while. Whichever way I look at it, though, I wish I had kept it up. I looked through my blog recently and realized that I have stored a lot of memories on my little blog. Now so much has happened in the last year that I will never remember, and I wish I could.
Since I posted, our family took a trip to California. It was amazing. We spent a week visiting family and hanging out at the beach and the pool. We did some walking around Downtown Disney and made some great memories. I didn't realize what a great trip it was until May came, and the whole family started craving another trip to CA. We just couldn't seem to stop talking about it. I could almost smell the beach I missed it so much. I hope we go again next year.
Not long after we got back we discovered we were expecting baby number three. Life wasn't super easy through the waiting. There were a few concerns about the baby and a job lay-off which resulted in a brief period of unemployment, but Heavenly Father blessed us with a healthy baby boy and a good new employer.
The kids have been wonderful. Caio is so smart and so excited to be as grown up as he can be. He is such a big help and I love having him around. We are also discovering that he is a very artistic person and we are excited to see that skill grow and mature. He is strong and healthy and good. Jordan talks up a storm and is the second mommy in our house. One of her nicknames is "Princess" and she is all girl. She is the biggest help with the baby, because she is so maternal by nature. She keeps us giggling with all of the funny things she says or thinks about, and we love to see what a sweet girl she really is.
Our newest addition is Baby Spencer. He just turned five months old. I think he is my happiest, easiest going baby so far. He is smart and active. Exactly what you would want to see in a five-month-old. Whenever Jordan comes around, he can't stop giggling and grinning with anticipation of her interaction. When Caio comes, Spencer smiles and watches his big brother's every move. And when Daddy comes home, everyone hears Spencer's loudest, wildest laugh, even before Marcio has gotten close enough to kiss and tickle; after all, everyone in our house knows what Daddy does when he says hello to Spencer. :-D
Life is really good right now. We are happy and everyone is in good health. Marcio and I just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. It has been better than I ever could have dreamed. I am serving as a Mia Maid advisor in our ward and Marcio is a counselor in the Elders' Quorum. I can't think of anything more to share here, but I plan on posting again soon.