Merry Christmas To ALL!

Ok.... wow! Christmas is just around the corner.  I think I'm as ready as I'm going to get.  Looking forward to Christmas morning with my family and having my brother home again this year, he wasn't able to be here last year.  Carmen is going to have SO much fun opening her gifts this year.

She is changing DAILY.... I can't hardly keep up.  She's a very busy little girl.  Repeating things we say all the time.  She loves to dance and sing.  At night she always has to say "nigh nigh" to her brothers & daddy & give kisses & "huggies".  She is always making us smile.

The boys were really glad we got some snow and have been having fun riding their 4-wheelers in it.  We need a lot more to go sledding.  We'd love to take them skiing this year too, I think they'd really have fun.

A couple things have changed in our lives since my last post.... For starters after 9 years with my Yellow Explorer we decided it was time to trade it in before we invested money into many repairs.  Now I drive a Blue Explorer, with more bells & whistles than I need, but it is fun & the boys really like it.  

The second change is that I've started my own Thirty-One Business.  I'm really excited about it and eager to make it a success.  It offers me the flexibility I need to stay home with the kids, yet earn some extra money that we so desperately need.  Plus I get to help people organize their life in style!!!  What could be better?

If you'd like to see the products available you can view & shop my website at: mythirtyone.com/julesg.  OR if you'd like to host a show or a catalog party let me know!!!  Amazing deals in January! (the new spring line will be available to view January 4th).

We had fun going and picking out the perfect Christmas tree!!! We even got to take a hayride back through the woods to search for it!  Wish it had been snowy, but it was still fun!  The kids were very helpful.

Carmen enjoyed helping Morgan and I with our Annual Christmas Cookie day this year!  The boys got to help after school.  They made sure I'd have some left for them to frost when they got home.  Not a problem because we always make a BUNCH!  And the help is always welcome.

Dominic and Gino both enjoyed their parties on the last day of school and were eager to start their Christmas break.  We were all ready for it to begin this year.  Andy also had vacation time to take so he is off with them... it will be nice to have some quality family time over the holidays =)

Carmen loves going to their parties.... she always makes herself at home in Gino's class, thinking she should be in Kindergarten (but her mommy isn't ready for that!).

Our Elf, Boomer came back again this year after Thanksgiving and has been busy hiding all over our house.  Carmen gets SO excited when she spots him!  She gets a big smile on her face & points to him saying "BoomBoom"  It's so cute.  Than she likes to point him out to her brothers if they haven't spotted him yet.

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOUR'S MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

As Another Summer Ends....

Well, August came & went pretty fast!  Here it is September already! 

Let me recap the month.....

A year ago we were blessed with an amazing baby girl weighing in at 8lbs 4oz & 18in long & who is now 24lbs 7oz & 2ft 5in tall & has two teeth! My how much can change in just one year. 

Carmen turned ONE and had a FUN FUN party!!!  She received SO many wonderful gifts (THANK YOU ALL!!!) and had so much fun celebrating with friends & family.  

She really enjoyed her yummy cupcakes too!!

She got her 1st purse, 1st baby doll, 1st pair of shiny silver shoes, 1st princess chair & 1st 4-Wheeler!!!

What a lucky little girl she is =)

She is walking ALL over the place & "talking" up a storm, though we're not always sure what she is saying.  Andy says when she can really talk he's in trouble.  When he comes home from work she gets SO very excited to see him & follows him around (we assume) telling him about her day. She even uses her hands while she explains (very Italian of her).  

She's changing & learning so many new things everyday!  I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.  We just love her to pieces & feel so very blessed to get to enjoy life with all three of our kids... even when things get crazy around here (& they do often)

She is right at home on her own little 4-wheeler... 

she still loves to ride the RZR & on Dominic & Gino's 4-wheelers.

AND after all the fun of Birthdays & summer...... it all must end & school begins.

Dominic is now in the 3rd grade & is doing very well,  already bringing home A's & A+'s on all his work.

Gino also started Kindergarten this year.... He did great at first, than decided he didn't want to go.  We had some rough mornings, but he always came home smiling & telling us how much fun he had & how many new friends he was making. 

 And than finally on Friday, NO TEARS!!! I think he's going to do great!

He even enjoys riding the bus home with Dominic.

It's very different at home with just Carmen.... much quieter.  I think I will get used to it pretty quickly though, don't worry.  She gets really excited when her brother's get home, I'm pretty sure she misses them.

HAPPY FALL EVERYONE! Time to enjoy hay rides, bonfires, apples, pumpkins & leaves!!! ..... after all the homework is done that is =)

Happy Birthday to Gino & ME!

HAPPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY GINO BEANOS!!!

Thank you to all who were able to come celebrate with us & who sent cards!  He LOVED going to the mail to see if there was anything for him =)  He's already spent some of his money on some new food for his kitchen & two new Wii games.  He's one very happy little boy.

Carmen enjoyed some time with her Papa K.  She's getting much better at letting other people hold her these days.... though she still looks to see where I am at all times.

I also had a fun Birthday (turning 29 again was GREAT!)  

Two of my girlfriends arranged to take me out to dinner & a movie (while Andy stayed home with all three kiddos & fed them supper & put them to bed.  He did great!).

Carmen continues to learn new things everyday!  She's attempted a few steps on her own ..... SO fun to watch her learn this new milestone!  She has two teeth now on the bottom & eats EVERYTHING she can.  She wants whatever we are having, even drinks from a big cup at dinner.  She is the happiest little girl ever!  Always smiling & laughing at her brothers.  Which of course makes us all smile & laugh right along with her.  She's very contagious  (& she gives the BEST kisses).

Whatever the boys are doing Carmen wants to do too!  She had fun playing in their red-neck waterslide they made.

She's also started climbing.... on the fireplace, trampoline, steps.  Nothing stops her now!  She tries to talk, just not always so sure what she's trying to say.  

But not to be fooled by her cuteness..... she is equally as ornery!  The second you turn your head she's into something!  Pulling things out of cupboards, knocking everything off the side of the bathtub, pulling all my picture frames off the shelf, getting into the trash, messing with outlets..... it's never-ending!  Glad I have the boys around to help keep an eye on her.

One of her favorite things to do is stand at the gate at the top of the steps and throw anything & everything downstairs.  Luckily her brothers gladly play this game with her.  

Next month will be a big month for us all..... Carmen will celebrate her 1st Birthday, Dominic will be entering 3rd grade & Gino will be starting Kindergarten (whew!).  I already feel the emotional roller-coaster creeping up on me!  But with each of those also promises new fun adventures & I'm looking forward to it!

Summer Summer Summer Time!!!

Wow!  Summer..... & what a busy summer it's been so far!  But it's been fun too.

Dominic just celebrated his 9th Birthday & wants to thank everyone who sent cards and/or came to his party!  

He had a GREAT time & has already spent some of his money on a new Hunting Wii game.

He enjoyed helping me "clean up" after making his Birthday cupcakes =)

They still enjoy riding their 4-wheelers any chance they get & also take good care of them.

They now have a racetrack down in the pasture that they enjoy zooming around & jumping..... oh boys.  I say this now, though Carmen will be right there with them every chance she gets soon as she can ride her own 4-wheeler I'm afraid.  She is still crazy about them.  When she hears them start her little legs start kicking & she heads towards the garage.

Carmen is now 10 months old.... SLOW DOWN, I say, but she just keeps growing & learning new things daily.  She's a very happy baby & has a very contagious giggle!  


She's already a daddy's girl & loves her brothers too.  Andy gets home & she can hardly stand it until he shows her some attention.  She's going to really miss the boys when they go back to school in the fall (me too with Gino starting Kindergarten...oh my, I'm still not ready to think about that yet).

She is crawling EVERYWHERE (and very quickly).  She pulls up on everything & get's into everything....Nothing can stop her. She leaves a path of destruction wherever she goes.  


Her favorite thing is to drop things so that her brother's will pick it up for her.  She says mama & dada & has one tooth finally!  The second one is almost through, wish it would hurry!  We love her to pieces though & are very blessed.

My brother Brandon is on the move again, but found time to stop by for a visit. The boys enjoyed watching him perform some fire tricks at our bonfire.  With strict warning to never try them!

He also met Carmen for the first time & of course I had to make him hold her for a picture.... 

yeah this explains how THAT went =)

We've enjoyed some pool time on some of these crazy hot days we've had.  Dominic is swimming great!  Gino started out with his wings, but already stopped using them. He swims great underwater & even goes off the diving board & slide.  Carmen prefers me to hold her in the water, rather than in her float, but that's okay because I know next year she won't want held.

The boys enjoyed their first camping/fishing trip with Andy & their friends Jamie & his three kids last weekend.  They made a campsite down in the pasture & I didn't see them again until morning. They even went on a night hike.    

Looking forward to all the fun
 July is going to bring!

Ready For Spring!

Well, our baby girl is now7 months old.... She has brought SO much joy & laughter to our family and it just keeps getting better!

(She LOVES her toes!)

The boy's love to entertain her & are very helpful.  She actually looks around for them if they're not around & gets super excited when she sees them.  And I'm afraid she's already becoming a "daddy's girl" because she just lights up whenever she sees him!

(ok, so she's not always entertained)

We recently went to the Cleveland Auto Show, took all three kids & didn't lose any!!!  It was a good time.  We had fun wishful thinking.

Dominic continues to make the Honor Roll at school & we are SO proud of him ..... we are very thankful that he does so well in school (with little effort I must add.... unlike me who is learning from HIM).

Gino is also still doing great in pre-school.  He is registered for Kindergarten now too.... I can't believe he's going off to school in the fall.  I am ok now, but probably not so much come August.  I'm sure he'll do great though.  He has really enjoyed all the activities & making friends at Panda.  Unfortunately the one friend he sat by & talked about all the time isn't coming to pre-school anymore, but hopefully they will reconnect in Kindergarten.

I have managed to take zillions of photos of Carmen in a short time.... I am out of control!!! But she is so stinkin' cute that I just can't help myself =)  I love her to pieces even though we are still not getting much sleep.     Between teething & her just being stubborn (must get that from Gino). But after having a pretty fussy start she has become a very happy baby!  She's not a big fan of sitting down to eat much yet (you wouldn't know that by looking at her of course! lol), though there are some foods she likes if she's in the mood. She is becoming more mobile everyday.... trying to reach for things & pull up on anything around her.  She also puts everything & anything in her mouth, specially magazines! She loves tearing them apart & making a mess.  The boys can really get her laughing & it makes my heart smile to watch them =)  She wants to crawl really bad but hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate her legs & arms.  I'm trying not to rush it, but in some ways I'm looking forward to it.  The boys will have fun chasing her around ....though I think she's gonna always be trying to keep up with whatever THEY are doing.

We had Carmen baptized on January 15.  She did great! And it was nice to be able to share it with our family.  She looked absolutely adorable in the dress my mom made for her! 

We've had such an unusual winter & spring!  But we've been making the most of it.  Unfortunately the boys didn't get to play in much snow.... but they've been making up for it by getting to ride their 4-wheelers a lot (which they LOVE to do), playing in their "mud"box & going to the park.

They aren't the only ones who love riding..... Carmen gets SO excited whenever she hears them starting up their engines.   I usually have to take her for a ride in the RZR too.  She sits on my lap & hangs onto the handlebar.  But you don't dare stop, or she gets awful mad =)  As you can see, Rocky also enjoys going for a ride.... you'll often find him in the passenger seat.

She turned 6 months on Valentine's Day, so I had fun taking MORE pictures (obviously I'm addicted to my camera).  She doesn't seem to mind too much though!

I did use a couple pictures & entered her in the Parent's Magazine.com "Most Adorable Kid" contest & she's in the running to win!  So PLEASE take a minute & vote for her!  Thanks!!!
http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/1220742

Andy had his spine/neck surgery on February 6.  All went well!  He was home for about 3 weeks than back to work full-time.  He's still needing to regain some strength & work out the muscles that were affected, but the pain in his arm is gone now, so that's a huge relief!  Let's just pray it doesn't happen again.

Well, I think that gets you caught up!  I will try to keep my updates sooner & shorter =)

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!!!!