Christmas Time with Callie

This has been the most fun Christmas Season ever with Callie. She is so excited about everything. She's had so much fun shopping and "wrapping" the presents.

She even wrote a poem the other night after we read "The Night Before Christmas". I wrote it down, and I'm writing it on here for all of you to see. I was very impressed. She came up with it all by herself!

Santa is coming to town, everyone.
You don't have to say a word.
He comes down the chimney quietly
and puts gifts in every stocking.

We've done a few fun things this week getting ready for the upcoming festivities.

At the Galleria in front of the tree:

With her skates on ready to hit the ice!


Mommy & Callie ice skating

Daddy & Callie ice skating

Decorating our first ever gingerbread house

The finished product!

How exciting! This is her happy face. Scary, isn't it?

Making a jingle bell necklace.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jack is 4 Months Old!

Well, actually, he's 4 1/2 months old, but I'm late getting this posted. The Romero house has lost its mind. Jack is doing great. He had a great 4 month check up. He weighed in at 5 lbs. 13 1/2 oz (up to the 67th percentile from the 43rd), and he was 25 1/4 inches long. He met all of his 4 month milestones except for rolling over from front to back. We're still working on that. He's getting pretty close, but still not doing it yet.

One development that did occur is that the doctor determined that Jack has plagiocephaly. That's a fancy term for a "flat head". His head is flat in the back and on one side, so we were referred to a cranial specialist. After the consultation they recommended that he wear a cranial band (a.k.a helmet) to correct the bone growth. He'll most likely only have to wear it for 7-8 weeks, so that's not too bad. The bad news is that the place we went is not covered by our insurance. The band is $3800, so we have done some research and luckily found another place in Dallas that does this. They, thankfully, are covered by our insurance company. I called to check it out with the pedi today and got a referral letter for the new place. Hopefully we can get in to see them the first week in January.

Jack is eating solids now! He has had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. I think we'll try green beans tomorrow. He loves eating from a spoon! It's so cute because he just sucks on the spoon until it's empty.

He is smiling like crazy and "talking" all the time. Tim asks him if he wants to see Callie, and Jack just smiles and laughs. It is the cutest thing ever!

Here are some of his pictures from this month:

Mostly Words

Hello, world!

It's been a while since I posted. Just a quick update. Things are busy as ever in the Romero house with me back at work, Callie in school, dance, and gymnastics, Tim traveling 2-3 days a week, and Jack practically living in the car seat. :) He's really not in it that much, it just feels like it to me.

He is growing like crazy. He's 15 weeks old and weighs 14 pounds 5 oz. He's smiling all the time now and it is so cute! He's really playing a lot now. It's good to see him "wake-up". We're trying to get him to eat a little more and he doesn't love it. He's content to eat his measly 4 oz and go on.

Here's a pic of his super cute smile!

Hayride and Pumpkin Carving

This past Saturday we had a pumpkin carving party and hayride out at the Altus's farm. It was super fun! I didn't get a big variety of pictures because Jack needed some attention when we were just hanging out and playing, but I did get some cute ones of the actual hayride and pumpkin carving.



Callie & Ben (Collin in the background) on the hayride.


Ben was cold, so Callie was warming him up. :)



I'm not sure what he was doing, but he was having fun!

Craig & Tim were trying to make sure everyone stayed on the trailer. Good job, guys!

Beautiful Sydney . . . I can't believe how grown up she is.

Hi, Ashley!

Drew & Callie - I love this one!

Drew, Callie & Ben - The 3 Musketeers

Tim & Callie cleaning out the pumpkin.

Ben & Andy (his dad) carving their Jack-o-Lantern

Callie, Tim & Drew carving our Jack-o-Lantern . . . it has one triangle eye, one circle eye, and a square nose. Guess we had to get all the basic shapes in there.

Go Cowboys!

Fun Times In October!

Playing ball with Grammy at her house


Playing soccer with Grammy at her house



Tim helping Mother with chores



Callie being Callie

Grandma is REALLY excited to open her presents!

Grandma's Birthday Party at our house

Jack-2 months old

Helping Mommy and Daddy with the baby

Toasting with PB&J sandwiches at our indoor campout last weekend.

Nothing like eating while laying down.

After her most recent haircut. She got fun hair to add to her own!

Before going into the pumpkin patch

Feeding the cows with Jake, Collin, and Craig

Callie, Collin, and Jake at the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch

Callie and Jack

The kids on a tractor-train. Yes, those are carved out barrels.

Cousins: Katie & Callie (on the hayride)

Kristin & Jake on the hayride

Me, Sydney, and Jack (that's him under the blue camo blanket) on the hayride

Back to School

Well, it finally happened. I went back to work. Callie is so excited that I am at school with her every day. I asked her why she liked me being at school so much. She said, "because it makes me love you more". That melted my heart! It's been a pretty uneventful transition for the kids, but not for me. I'm getting used to being back in the fast past world of teaching.

Jack is going to Ms. Brandy's and loves it. He has been happy when I pick him up, and she tells me that he is a happy boy. He's still not doing any fun tricks. When he is on his tummy, he will pick up his head and look around for a while. Also, on Monday, I thought he was going to roll over. He got about half-way there. I hope it won't be too long.

He weighs 12 pounds 9 oz as of Monday night. I love having the scale at home so we can weigh him at any time! Here are a couple of his most recent pictures. I don't know why they are sideways. I thought I rotated them. Ugh!

A few pictures

Here are a few pictures of all of the fun times we've had over the last few weeks . . .




Callie & I at Mary Poppins! This was Tim's anniversary gift to me. It was fantastic!!



Jack after his first bath (at 7 weeks old).



Jack before his first bath.



Me and my kiddos

Callie & her little brother. She loves him so much!

Just hanging out

Tim & Callie on our 12th wedding anniversary. I cooked a nice meal and they got all dressed up. It was so cute!

Tim & the kids

Jack's most recent picture (taken today). He's so big!

Callie & her friend Sydney at dance class last night.

Callie's candy haul after the Prosper Homecoming parade (her first).

Tim, Callie, & Jack at the homecoming parade.

Callie & Jack waiting for the parade to start.

For homecoming week the kids dressed up to a different theme each day. Wednesday was "King or Queen of Homecoming". Callie went as a princess. Surprisingly, she was still wearing this itchy dress when I picked her up.