Gus 18 months and Lola 4

Gus is a petite wild man. At his 18 month well check he was 1 percentile for weight and 2 percentile for length, yet he is super speedy with his gross motor development. He's climbing everything in sight, toilets, high chairs, etc. His language is limited to some key words..car, cracker, and just this past week started trying to say some of the colors yellow, blue. Points and says "look" a lot and also is obsessed with trains. We are definitely in the "constant supervision stage" I have to watch this little man like a hawk. He is very visual and, often times, stares and sucks his thumb for about 5-10 taking in new situations until he starts to participate. Lola is finishing up her 3 year class at pre-school and has had a really great year with her teachers and little friends. She is enjoying gymnastics and we are hoping to sign her up for dance camp again this summer.

Gus 16 months

Gus, 16 months is highly mobile. He is experimenting with climbing chairs, hitting, pinching, and throwing his body onto the floor when he is not happy about something. After he hits he will reply "ouch" to his own action. This afternoon Lola and I brought him to Toddler Time at the library. He was continually weaving through the crowd, walking to the front of the room, and climbing onto a nearby chair to get to the computer. At one point he walked in front of the crowd and turned, slowly moving his arm across his body, magician like, saying "whoooooah." I will never forget this funny moment and the look on his face as he scanned the crowd. Priceless!

Christmas 2012

      Winter 2012 was a very busy time for our family. In addition to juggling work, school, family visits, Lola's 4th birthday, we decided to start some family traditions. We decided we would do the annual 'drive up the mountain' for the Christmas Tree. Well, since we have two kids ages 4 and under we only made it half way up the mountain. We went to a very pleasant little Tree farm called Helms, right outside of Lincolnton. They have a beautiful property with an impressive giant sized inflatable Santa, acres of trees, wreaths, etc. There was only one minor setback, Frasier Furs only grow at the higher elevations in North Carolina i.e. Boone & Blowing Rock areas. Why had we not thought of this? I tried to convince Mr. Barone to opt for the shed less white pine or the more affordable Cedars or Cypresses, but he was not about to settle. I have been married to him eight years and I had no idea about the Frazier Fur snobbery. Thankfully, the owner had some pre-cut Frasier Furs on the property that had been brought down from a mountain lot. So we chose a pre-cut one instead and it all worked out in the wash. Next year we be sure to make the full trek up the mountain so that we can have the pleasure of watching dad do the work of cutting and dragging the tree, kids and I trailing behind cheering him on, "Go Dad Go!" Other things that kept us busy this Holiday season; Lola's 4th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, and Mima and Grandma Esthers' annual visit.

      Lola was obsessed with Mima's three cats while they were here and it was precious. She would check on them as soon as we arrived home from our daily outings. We did the annual McAdenville lights again this year and took Grandma Esther out to eat many times during her visit here. She was afraid we were going to get thrown out of the Village Restaurant in McAdenville on account of the kid's behavior. I thought they did surprisingly well that evening, however, we are used to being around them constantly so one has to take it into perspective I guess:) Uncle JD and Lola made a very impressive gingerbread house over the Holidays, the production was an all day affair. Yay, we made it through the Holidays with no broken limbs!!

Fall 2012

We attempted our first official sport with Lola at the local YMCA, Saturday morning soccer. This did not go over so well. She enjoyed attending practice and playing the red light, green light thing with her own pink ball, however, she was not into the idea of sharing a ball in a game situation. In fact, the entire season she sat the sidelines with baby Gus wearing her soccer jersey and princess skirt. And it was actually a push just to get her to donn the jersey!! Well, maybe it was her age or maybe soccer is not her cup of tea. This winter she seems to be taking to gymnastics and dance so we will let her take the lead on the sports.

Fall 2012-PWS & Gus's First Birthday

     Lola started the three year pre-school class at Presbyterian Weekday School. She has been at PWS since she was 20 months. She is in Mrs. Rhodes and Rodriguezs' class this year and absolutely adores her teachers and classmates. She turned 4 in December so she is one of the older girls in class. They enjoy Music, PE, and their Science and Discovery room. Lola and her friend Emily are the "computer experts" in the class according to the teachers. Every night before school Lola picks out her "outfit" for the next day which 99.9% of the time, consists of a princess skirt, tee shirt, leggings. We are very pleased with her school and the progress she has made since her two year class.
     Another major highlight during the month of September was Gus's big one year birthday!! We celebrated his special day at Martha Rivers park with friends and family. The weather was nice and the kids enjoyed helping Gus open his gifts and watching him take his first bite of cake. It was a really nice day at the park and we enjoyed seeing everyone that day.

Barone Clan Summer 2012

Summer 2012 was very busy and full of summer camps, swimming lessons, camping trips, beach trips, road races, family gatherings, gardening, summer crafts, museums, and more. We started our "learning garden" where we grew squash, eggplant, and tomatoes, various herbs and perennials. This was our first planting experience as a family and it was really neat for Lola to watch the vegetables grow and help mom by watering the garden.

Grandma Esther's 90th Birthday

In March 2013 Gus, at 6 months took his first ride on a jet plane!! He and I visited Grandma Esther and MiMa in Florida. We were only there a few days but we enjoyed Grandma Esther's 90th Birthday lunch at the Vero Beach Disney resort. He behaved very well during our luncheons and enjoyed the interactions with MiMa's Kittys while there.

Gus and Lola Spring 2012

Gus and Lola kept busy this Spring. They attended their first Easter Egg hunt together and met the Easter bunny himself. Lola and her buddies collected eggs and played with her PWS classmates. In April, we went to Damascus, Virginia for a biking reunion with our old Charlotte climbing buddies. We stayed at a lovely little family-owned cottage in town called Ruby's Rest while the majority of the group stayed in a larger house in town. The kids enjoyed playing with the resident chickens and swinging in the backyard. They did well in the bike trailers, considering it was an 11 mile trip down the mountain. We will gather again for the Creeper Reunion 2013, can't wait.