Holiday's Funniest Videos

We had some fun moments during the holidays…below are some of the best clips! Turn the volume up for the full effect.

J-Man had a blast!!

“Discovering Reggae with Pappaw and Kitten”

"Christmas Morning 2009"

"I Love Snow!"

Happy New Year from The Walti Family!!!

Wishing for Happiness, Fun, and Health in 2010!!!

Christmas #2 & #3 Preview and Jack 2 Year Pics

Whew!  We had such a fun week at Pappaw & Nana Knowling’s and Ama and Pop Walti’s house for our Christmas Celebrations!

Too many pictures to post now, will try to get them uploaded this week, but here is a little preview.  Jack loved all of his gifts (everyone was so sweet and generous to us!) and did a pretty good job on Christmas morning.  He got a bit overwhelmed and I actually saved some of his gifts for his bday in February, as he really only wanted to play with his kitchen and dancing/singing Mickey Mouse!  He also got an Elmo fold-out couch from his cousins Ryan/Drew and we have been trying to pry him off ever since…such a little man just relaxing watching football.

Lovin’ my fancy tool bench, Pappaw!

It snowed!  He LOVED it… 

We also had Jack’s 2 year photos and some family photos taken last week if anyone would like to check them out:

www.melodykratz.com

--Click on Portfolio, Jack’s picture, and the password is “Melissa”.  I am pretty happy with the way they turned out…by the time the family shots were taken, he was not really feeling it, but I really just wanted one of the 3 of us before BW2 arrives…

25 weeks and counting…

Merry Christmas from this Jolly Mrs. Claus!

(At least that is what I look like!)

It is so interesting to me how others come to their conclusions as to what sex baby you are having when you are not finding out the sex – I have gotten guesses from the guy at Starbucks, my friends and family, my neighbors… I have received comments guessing both BOY and GIRL, but I would say majority are saying GIRL – probably just because I already have a boy, but it is fun! We will obviously be so excited either way!

I truly do not have a feeling either way, but in pictures I think that I look pretty much the same – maybe a little smaller this time?

What do you think?

(and no comments on how much older I look...and the hair is growing back out!)

25 weeks with BW2

25 weeks with Jack

**BTW – BW2 is the size of a rutabaga right now. I am feeling great and truly forget that I am pregnant 90% of the time with running after Jack-O! The kicks are definetly strong at night and I have been spending lots of time in the warm bathtub with Epsom salts! Picking up a 30 lb, kicking kid while 6 months pregs is not the easiest thing anymore!!

Have a wonderful Christmas, Everyone!!!!

Christmas Celebration #1

We celebrated Christmas with my Mom, stepfather, and brother this weekend. It was a nice, relaxing visit, even considering that our cable was out – NO FOOTBALL!

We ate well, watched a few movies, and spent time chasing after Jack, who has recently decided that he is entering the “Twos” and is really enjoying exerting his independence - “Jack, DO IT!” – and screaming when he does not achieve his desired end result. Jack loved all of his new playthings including an easel, electric toothbrush, stuffed Pluto & Tigger (see him attacking them below), cars, and more…oh, and sweet new New Balance kicks from Uncle Heath to keep him stylish.

We also took Jack to the Lincoln Park Zoo-lights for the first time which he really enjoyed. The Zoolights hold special meaning for Scott and I, as we visited them the night that Scott proposed…Notice in the pics how bundled up Jack is – this is because again, my independent 2 year old REFUSES to wear gloves, so we have to keep him “cozy” in a blanket for him to shove his hands.

I am thinking that this will be a “cozy” winter for him inside if he decides to keep this up! Or…there is always duct tape?

Playing with his new easel

Zoolights!!

Riding the carousel with Grammy

Thanks to Mom, Dale and Heath – we had a great time and all enjoyed our fun gifts!

Kids say the darndest things…

Lately, Jack has been a regular Robin Williams.

He is hilarious and remembers EVERYTHING, so most of the time, I feel like my days are like the movie “Groundhog Day” as he makes the same comments on the way to Dylan’s, when I pick him up, on the way home, etc…

But, he has really come up with some doozies. I have started a quote book and I cannot wait to read this to him when he is in college someday.  Here are some of my favorites:

In the bathtub last week: 

Me:  “Jack, what is your name?”

J:      “Jack”

Me:  “What is your full name?”

J:     “Santa Walti.”

The other night when we were eating dinner after he spilled his water:

“Oh, Mannn….” - shrug of shoulders and looks at me - “It Happens.”

When I woke him up yesterday:

“I Love Projects!”  (we call his artwork that he does with Katie projects)

Everytime he sees something or finds something that doesn’t work:

“Broken.”  “Needs Batteries.”  “Daddy fix it”

When you ask him what his Pop or Daddy’s name is:

“Good Guy.”

When I got him out of the bathtub last night:

“I pooped.”  “A big one."  “Hard.”  “Show me.”  “Yucky.”

He is so stinking cute – I could just eat him up! 

Mommy and Daddy Days...

It worked out this weekend that Jack got two separate days with each of us. Friday, Scott stayed home with Jack and had a Daddy Day. They ran errands (which of course included a trip to Home Depot...such boys!), played football and baseball, took long naps, and had steak and potatoes for dinner.

Last night, I had my annual Christmas Girls Night Out/Secret Santa exchange with my Chicago girlfriends. We are quickly losing members (thanks, Kate for coming back!), but it was as always a blast! This year's gift theme was "accessories," so everyone went home with some new bling (THANK YOU Jane for saving my appendanges with new hat and gloves!) and then we went for tapas...

Today was my Mommy Day as Scott went to the Colts game with his 2 brothers, sister, Dad and brother-in-law. Jack and I watched morning cartoons, had waffles, ran errands (our errands were to Container Store and Carter's, not HD), painted with shaving cream, had a picnic lunch, and watched Mickey's Christmas Carol - SO FUN. We are really trying to capture these little special moments with Jack while we can on his own, as his life is going to CHANGE in 4 short months! BREAKTHROUGH - we also tackled Jack's fear of the Ba-Ba (sweeper) and he literlaly swept for 20 minutes for me! Now if we can only conquer the frightening hair dryer...

Who wouldn't want this houseman on their staff? HOT STUFF!

Loving this holiday season and Jack seems to be really interested in Santa (still need to visit him, we will see if that gets done this year!), opening gifts, and the tree. Remarkably, we have not lost an ornament to his little curious hands, yet....Jinx.

A lovely weekend at home...

Picking out some toys for his list...

We had a wonderful, lazy weekend at home! Felt good since we have been on the run for the last few weeks. We got a lot done around the house, had some good sleeping in and naps, lots of cooking (so fun for me to have a chance to do!), watched lots of football and even picked out and decorated the Christmas Tree.

Trying to find the perfect one...(granted, it is at Menard's...)

Jack is big enough to put the star on this year!!

Finished product - why can't these be acceptable to leave up all year...such a nice feeling!

We are also home the next 2 weekends - YAY! It is supposed to be from 19-33 degrees and snowy here this week...considering this is my first winter of walking (okay, eventually waddling) to the train station everyday instead of in my cozy warm car - this might really suck! And I discovered that I cannot find my hat and somehow have 2 left handed gloves from different pairs...Oops.

The youngest cousins providing some background music

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh! This year was extra-special as we had a hay-ride, a bonfire picnic, and a party in a very cool barn. The kids (and adults) had a blast together and it is SO FUN to see them all growing up so close together...

Jack did great on the long ride there and back and enjoyed the extra time with "Ama" and "Pop." He also has a new favorite phrase - telling people "He's a Good Guy..." Cute.

Let the Holiday Season begin!

Pop and Grandma w/ the 5 grandkids


Jumpin' with Sam in the puddles

Heather (Sis-in-Law) and I

Even BW2 enjoyed the festivities!!!

Thanksgiving #1

We love our COLTS!

We spent last weekend in Anderson with my Mom, step-dad, and grandparents celebrating Thanksgiving. It was a nice weekend to hang-out and my grandma made my favorite meal of chicken and noodles which I devoured!

Jack enjoyed hanging out with Grammy and G-Gma and we hit up a new park in Anderson which even had a firetruck...he got adventurous also going down the big slide with dad!

Off to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving with Scott's family this weekend - wish us luck on our 8 hour drive (Thank God for a car with a DVD player!)

Happy Thanksgiving - Gobble, Gobble! I for one, cannot WAIT to EAT!!!! :-)

“It” is Real (and very, very active!)

Last week marked week 20 of my pregnancy – I cannot believe that we are halfway!  So exciting!

Check out those model legs – obviously from Daddy!

We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and everyone is healthy and happy!  The baby weighs around 1lb right now, everything looks good, and is still on target with a due date of April 4th (Easter Sunday, so we are considering the names “Bunny” or “Jesus”).  I am feeling great, definitely a little stretched out, but lots of energy and am loving this little one’s pokes and prods, such a great feeling again – it is a very active child so far, so I am assuming that it will take after his/her older brother!

Jack is doing great with it, he obviously does not understand any difference and I am really trying hard not to make any changes.  He is talking up a storm – now saying full sentences and “What Doing?” every 2 seconds and is just SUPER FUN.

Enjoy some photos of the babe…We are off to Pittsburgh this weekend for Thanksgiving and I CANNOT WAIT to stuff myself!!!!  I am starving!  .

I have inherited my Dad’s longer second toe!

Mr. Chatterbox

I discovered last night that I can almost have a full conversation with my 21 month-old son.  Jack talks non-stop and is HILARIOUS, so I wanted to record some of his favorite words and phrases:

1. “Daddddyyyyyyyy – WHAT DOING?”  (repeated OVER and OVER – apparently I was known for saying this a lot growing up)

2.  “Okaaaayyyyyy”

3.  “Mommy, I ate it all up.” (Said after dinner one night)

4.  “Huh?”  (Said after almost everything, especially when he wants to know what something is – after he says it 3 times and I say “you know what I said,” he stops and smiles)

5.  “A-Mommy, A-Pappaw, A-Kitten” (he puts a soft-A in front of everyone’s name like we are an object)

6.  “Oh, Man…”  (always used in the correct context)

7.  “I hep” (help), “I sweep, I throw, I kick” (very into helping right now)

8.  “Pat-Pat” and “Bankin” (Paci and Blanket- which he likes to stick the corner of his blankie in his ear to calm himself down – and we MUST have both, never one or the other)

9. “I tickle” or “I tackle you”

10.  “BOO!” (he likes to surprise you randomly)

11.  “Ove U” (Love You)  or sometimes still “Ra Ra,” which means “I love you”  Obviously the favorite…

He is adorable.  It is fun to talk with him because not only does he repeat what we say, but he repeats the accent that you say it in and the way you say it.  We are really working on 3-4 word combinations and he is doing a great job!

Have a great weekend!!!

18 weeks and counting…

Well, I have officially popped.  There is no hiding it anymore – full maternity gear has come out from storage.  I had about 10 people at work (remember, I have only been with this firm for 2 months) ask me if I was pregnant.  Oops.  Bad timing, I know, but what can you do? 

Our little nugget is the length of a bell pepper this week – hard to believe that I am almost half-way through this pregnancy!  I felt my first real substantial kick the other night, which was great to experience again.  I feel great, have my energy back and am just enjoying a little extra eating and sleeping!  :-) 

We are still talking openly about it with Jack trying to slowly ease him into this new world that he will be experiencing in 5 months.  He is very attached to Daddy right now (I am slightly jealous), which is probably good as I will soon be less likely to rough-house with him and be as physical, which is what he is REALLY into right now.  We now have nightly “tackle sessions” in our house which is adorable.  I love to see my two guys laughing together; just warms my heart!

Gator-Bait

We found this little crocodile on the side of our street – he must have washed up from Lake Michigan– Isn’t he CUTE? 

Jack ended up letting us put the costume on for a few pictures and we had a ball with all of our other friend’s newborn babies!  We got together on Saturday night and Jack was the King for the evening with 4 gorgeous gals to entertain! 

Jack holding Caroline Tomlinson – getting ready for April!!

The three of us had a relaxing weekend at home, which was MUCH NEEDED and I actually got a lot done around the house.

To the next 60 years…

5 years ago today, I married my best friend on a gorgeous fall day in Indianapolis (it was 75 degrees!).

Scott is the perfect complement to my high-stressed and harried ways, and has taught me so much about slowing down, thinking things through, and how to have more FUN!  The past 5 years have been so wonderful and I wouldn’t trade a second – we moved to the “Big City” together, have started 3 jobs, purchased two homes, taken two international trips, had a wonderful son, and are now expecting our 2nd child – I couldn’t ask for a better life!  Chi-Chi!

We are going out to dinner tonight for fondue and a movie to celebrate (Thanks for Auntie Jane and Joe for watching Jack!) and then we are off to a little getaway in a cute B&B town, Galena, next weekend to relax.  This will be our first trip alone since I was pregnant with Jack!  I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

We don’t know what we are going to do for Halloween, but Jack REFUSES to wear his Crocodile costume, so he is now going to wear his Colts jersey and be Peyton Manning.  :-)  We’ll see if he even lets me put some eye-black on him.  Boys!   Katie had a cute Halloween Party for he and Dylan yesterday and they had a great time with Halloween crafts, making rice-krispie treats, and dressing up!  Today they are going to “Pump It Up” for another Halloween bash and I’m sure Jack will be worn out tonight!

 

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

3rd Annual Knowling Family Vacation

 

We had a fantastic getaway to Bonita last week!  The weather was a PERFECT 85 degrees and sunny and we all got to do a lot of napping, golfing, swimming, movie-watching, eating, and just having FUN!

The trip started off a little rough with Southwest not having a ticket for Scott (oversold flight – WHAT?!), so we had to fly into Tampa rather than Ft. Myers, but my Dad graciously drove the 2 1/2 hours one-way to pick us up and our bags were finally delivered at 2pm the next day.  At least we got a free flight out of it!  Jack was awesome on both flights (with no Benadryl!) due to our arsenal of distractions – stickers, movies, snacks and the people around us. 

J-Man LOVED the pool and by the last day was seriously just swimming around the pool by himself like a pro.  A very special thanks to Aunt Kitten (Jack’s new nickname for Kensi), who provided hours of entertainment with her fort building, singing, holding, reading and running around!  They had a blast together.

Enjoy the pictures of our fabulous trip by clicking on the link below.  It is crazy to think that at next year’s trip we will also have a 6 month old in tow!  (And Jack will have his own seat…)

http://picasaweb.google.com/melissawalti/Florida2009#

We love our Avocado

 

Scott, Jack and I eat a lot of avocado, so it is fitting that is how big BW2 is this week!  I am 16 weeks along and feeling great!  I am starting to feel the baby move, which I missed so much after I delivered Jack, so I am so excited to have that feeling back.  Much more energy the last few weeks and overall, just happy to be pregnant again!  Jack is very into kissing the baby right now, so we are taking little steps in getting him prepared, though I doubt he really will be come April when he has to share his Momma’s attention…

We are off to Florida with my Dad for vacation – can’t wait to get some sun on this growing belly!  (Don’t worry, I will spare you any photos of that sight!!)

A busy (but very fun!) Fall Weekend

We were in Indy this weekend for Matt Gonso’s, Scott’s best friend, wedding.   It was a blast!  Matty and Gretchen looked so happy and it was so fun for Scott to hang out with all of his high school buddies from North Central.  Jack stayed with Pappaw and Nana while we got some nights out, and he was WORN OUT come Sunday (so was Daddy)!

We were also able to visit the Children’s Museum, get Jack a sharp haircut, visit the Indy Dream Home, and take a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium with Gonso on Saturday, so we really tried to pack a lot in!

I wanted to make it to the Pumpkin Patch on Sunday before we left since we won’t have any other time left this month to do it, but Jack was too grumpy to go…so we had to make due with my Dad’s yard for some fall pictures this year!  We will just have to carve 2 pumpkins in 2010 to make up for it…

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Sweet Caroline…

I am so excited to write about the FINAL Corner Pocket baby of 2009 –

Caroline Grace Tomlinson! 

Jane and Joe are so glad that she “graced “us with her presence (2 weeks late!) on Monday afternoon and all the Auntie’s couldn’t be more thrilled for another girl to dress up!

 

Momma Jane is also very happy that she seems to have Joe’s red hair – that was one of her prerequisites to having a child, so I am so glad that her wish came true!  Caroline is gorgeous and so serene .  I am looking forward to play-dates and funny conversations with Jane about Motherhood; she and I can get pretty “truthful” (that is putting it kindly) at times and I love our funny conversations!

 

Congrats to Jane, Joe & furry older brother Henry!

The count for CP Babies 2010 is now at 2 – who will be next?  Something is in the water!!

**By the way, Jack now has his choice of the Princesses of CP – Gracie, Jenna, Julia and Caroline….who will he choose to be his Miami Merger bride someday????  :-)

Jack’s New Seat

We have (almost) officially moved Jack into a booster seat at the dining table.  It is a bit messier, but I do have to say that I DO NOT MISS cleaning those darn high-chair trays 3x a day!  Terrible!

He is very proud of his new status and also LOVES to say “Grace,” which we do with the Walti family.  He is adorable – he always reaches across the table, grabs our hands, and says “Grace?” right when we sit down.  So cute and it is so nice to sit down all together as a family.

He is getting too big!!!