North Park with the Jones Family/BassPro Shop with Mimi, Papa and LaLa

The weekend before Chistmas we headed to North Park with James, Sara and Emma to watch the trains. The mall was of course a big, huge mess but the train area in my opinion was worth it. The set up was really neat and we loved all the details that were set up. Luka had visited the same train station with Mimi a few days prior but he still had a great time. After North Park we headed to lunch at Chilli's. The kids behaved very well and we were able to catch up since we have not seen the Jones' for a while. I am very limited on pictures as I had to pull these from my Facebook account...It appears that I happen to have more than one walmart.com account where I have been downloading our pictures and cannot seem to remember the account infromation with the most recent pictures...I will post the rest soon! Daddy with the babies
Mia really enjoyed watching the trains go by...

The boys not too excited about getting their picture taken since we had to have more than one attempt due to our goofed up camera...

The girls - Mia was just too busy to stop and look at the camera

That same day we also headed to Bass Pro Shop with Mimi, Papa and LaLa to visit Santa anc check out all their cool Christmas decorations. We did not actually get to say Hi to Santa but we still had a great time hanging out with the family. Once again lots of cute pictures are stuck on walmart.com and will be coming soon...For right now here are a few picture I had from Facebook...

Luka and Daddy being such boys!

Sweet moment between all the fighting that day

Mia writing her first letter to Santa - " Momma how do you spell -every toy at Toyr R Us-?"

Luka writing his letter - "Dear Santa I like toys and candy...please bring me lots of both"

Here they go again - silly boys!

What a fun day that was! Thanks Mimi, Papa and La La for a fun evening together. We love you all!

Christmas with PawPaw & Judy - December 12th

This year we had our annual Christmas party with Mimi's side of the family in Keller. The kids were in a great mood and were very well behaved. They had a blast playing with their cousins and running wild in a very large room with lots and lots of space. The highlight of the day was of course the first of many rounds of presents for our two little munckins! Here are a few pictures from that day...Mimi helping Mia ope her very frist Christmas present this year...

When Luka heard it was present time he was one of the first in line to receive the goodies...


Our little family 2009

Our Little Soccer Stud

Pleaseeeee bare with me while I try to figure out our brand new laptop as I catch up everything that we have had going on for the past month. My original thought was to have everything in chronological order but as it turns out you might get a little bit of yesterday with a little bit of 3 weeks ago...Hopefully by the end of this catch up session I will master this awesome new laptop Santa brought us and from then on it will be smooth sailing.

Here are a few pictures from December 26th.... We have truly enjoyed getting to play around with all the awesome things Santa brought for the kiddos. We are super excited that the kids are actually playing with every new toy throughout the day. Luka has loved his new soccer goals and Daddy is enjoying them just as much. The boys were so stinkin' adorable when we were outside few days ago. I have to admit that Luka is even more excietd than we expected about playing soccer outside. At this point he is all about scoring those goals so if it means he has to pick up the ball and carry it all the way from his goal to Daddy's goal - that is what the kid does. My Dad was super funny today while he played soccer with Luka for the first time. A little bit of background information about my dad...he was a professional soccer player in Croatia so he is extermly proud his grandson owns his own soccer goals....he is also the man who would yell during my soccer games that my team was playing like"a bunch of girls" ( which of course we were yet Dad thought we could do better).. he is very hard core about soccer and is having a hard time processing that Luka likes to carry his soccer ball in his hands, set it up right in front of the goal and then take credit for an awesome goal....

While boys have been playing soccer Mia and I have been enjoying the new bounce house Mimi and Papa got for the kids after we fell in love with it at the McGrew's house several months ago.Thank you so much Mimi and Papa!

Mia getting her one on one lesson with Daddy...

If you want your child to nap really well - this is the perfect investment.

This is what they do after they score...every-single-time!

Luka is very serious about sports even at 2 years old...

Our little soccer stud...

Catch up? YES please!!!

Our computer crashed right after Thanksgiving and ever since then I have tried to post from our very old and messed up laptop. Well, the "old and messed up" part should tell you that has not been exactly easy.

We are doing well, staying busy and enjoying these two funny toddlers of ours. The kids are doing great... between breaking up their fights there are always sweet moments as you will see in pictures coming soon! They are pretty much your typical toddlers who have a very interesting brother/sister relationship. On daily basis you can either get the well mannered children who say thank you and please...who give each other as well as others tons of hugs and kisses...who love to snuggle and take nice naps....and say the sweetest night-night prayers

OR

you can get the "I-will-scream-in-your-face-until -I -get-what-I-want"...refuse to stay in the church nursery...have terrible separation anxiety...refuse to leave time out just to be difficult...cry,cry and cry on those very emotional days...hit, bite, scratch and pinch your little sister or big brother...fight over toys...annoy the dogs...beg for candy...say NO approx. every 1.5 seconds...

Oh the joys of parenthood! It is all a part of the journey and even during those challenging days we are having a blast expriencing life through eyes of our precious toddlers. They are such little hams and truly two of the most hilarious kids! They are mobile, they are busy and they are into everything these days. They talk nonstop...Luka we can understand but Mia speaks her own language and she does not like to keep her voice down. They cheer each other on, get so excited to see each other after being apart, they steal each other's food and drinks and sneak the paci while someone happens to be in time out....

Mia has been teething for a few weeks and that has been quite different from our teething experience with Luka. With big brother we never even knew he had new teeth coming in because he never fussed one bit. Mia Bear is a whole different story. She has been needy, clingy and very dramatic about every.single.thing. We think "dramatic" is just a part of her sweet and loving personality though. She is learning new words and this week the word happens to be CHEESE STICK. She says it and you just can't help but laugh - especially with her cheesy grin that follows the word each time. She has not been a great sleeper either- we think all due to the "teething mess". One post coming soon in regards to our cheesy grin little princess is going to be all about her favorite person - HER PAPA! Man OH Man -does she love her sweet Papa! Her face lights up, she can't say his name enough, carries his picture around the house, gets too excited when we pull up in front of grandparents house, and only wants to be held by him when he is around. You would have to see this sweetness to really understand how much Mia adores Gary.

Luka Bear is going through his own peak of "terrible twos". He has had wonderful days but there have been days when we have had one meltdown after another. I think the past two weeks have gone much better and we are hoping it stays that way. We are really cracking down on discipline and time outs with him. Currently we are working through screaming vs. talking in his "inside" voice, being patient, being sweet to sissy and listening to our directions. Okay, I understand he is two years old and all this happens to be a part of being a kid - BUT he is a smart cookie who has great manners and is fully capable of getting his temper under control. It definitley does not help that Mia is all into his stuff these days and happens to annoy him when he is having a bad day. We are also working on getting rid of the paci over Christmas Break. As of right now he has been 24 hours PACI FREE and is doing great! He has not had much of it for the past 3 days but he has not even seen it since yesterday afternoon. YAY!!! Tonight we also had another huge milestone while I put him on the potty (while getting Mia situated in the bath tub)...I turned around and Luka said " Momma, Luka poopoo on the potty". Sure enough he was telling the truth! YAY again!

Luka has really been into playing sports, loves to shoot his basketball, play golf, baseball or soccer...You would have to see to believe how good he is! Justin is of course beyond excited that his son shares his love for sports. He also plays with cars and motorcycles and L.O.V.E.S to sing. He sings all the time and his current favorite is KWINKLE KWINKLE LITTLE STAR....He sings it at the top of his lungs many times throughout the day. He also loves the Papparazzi song....can't remember who sings it though.... For a few months now he has been able to count 1-10 without any help in both languages and also knows to count backwards in English. He does very well counting 1-20 in English but still needs a little help. Knows all of his ABC's without anybody's assistance - he can sing it and slowly say it for you. Speaks both languages well and understands 100 % of directions in both Croatian and English. He is a little chatter box and daily cracks us up with his cute little sayings. Our favorites right now are:

"Look I deeeeeeed it! "- I did it!
"Give me piece of candy!"
"Let me help...."
"Good boy" ( to Mia) - when she does something we like....
"Momma/Dada please holde ( hold) Mia" - when he wants her away from him.
"Play in high chair "- which serves his getaway island from sissy.
"Kank you so much" - Thank you so much - when he gets something....

Luka also started saying " I love you Momma/Dada...or I love you too" when we tell him we love him. It just sounds so sweet and so grown up. Melts our hearts!

He still loves to read, watch Yo Gabba Gabba but is also willing to watch other shows on TV. He is slowly getting over his fear of taking a bath and is now able to enjoy bath time. He hated getting his hair washed and rinsed but we are doing much, much better. Tonight he did not want to get out and thinks it is hilarious when I pour water on his head.

We have enjoyed the month of December so much as a family. Getting ready for Christmas with a 15 month old and 2 year old is so much fun! We decorated our house inside and out, we had plenty of wonderful family road trips to check out Christmas lights, went to our first family movie night at my school, mailed out our cards on time, had quite a few playdates, celebrated Miss Sydney's first birthday, played at Kids Kingdom, visted the trains at North Park, checked out Santa and all the awesome decorations at Bass Pro shop, celebrated Christmas at PawPaw and Judy's Annual Christmas Party, played with cousins, survived a weekend without Daddy while he was away at Emily and Josh's wedding in Mexico, hung out with Uncle Tono, did some Christmas shopping, and now we are ready to enjoy Momma's two weeks of Christmas Break. We are also planning out our mommy/son and daddy/daughter dates in the next few weeks. So much to look forward to and celebrate this holiday season!

Posting many, many pictures in the next few days!

Today I am thankful....

Today I am thankful for a well-behaved 2 year old who decided to take a short 24 hour break from the "tantrum throwing stage" he is currently in....

Today I am thankful for two toddlers who decided to nap at the same time to allow me some much needed snooze time...

Today I am thankful for my smiling little girl who entertained me during our very long grocery trip to Walmart ( night before Thanksgiving - WHAT was I thinking?)

Today I am thankful for being able to cook for my family thanks to a wonderful "Tamara friendly" cook book Grandma gave me last Christmas...

Today I am thankful for a husband who is smiling...a husband who feels good....a husband who makes a grocery list so I don't have to...a husband who wrestled around with the babies before bed time...a husband who took over bath time while I took a break...a husband who listened to me read my favorite bed time story (Breaking Out of The Bungle Bird) even though babies were nowhere near me after 2 second into the book ....a husband who loves me even though I "occasionally" snore....

Today I am thankful for life, love, family and friends...

Today I am thankful for my parents, sister and brother-in-law who have worked so hard to give me the best of everything; for leaving all they knew and loved 13 years ago to move half way around the world in order for Nik, Dea, Ivan and I to have a better quality of life, better education and better opportunities; for their unconditional love and support during every season of life; for helping me become the person I am today....

Today I am thankful for the family I married into; for accepting , loving and supporting me from day one; for always making sure I felt right at home; for always being there to help; for raising the man I am so very proud to call my husband and the father of my children; for setting a wonderful example of what marriage is all about...

Today I am thankful for friends; for so many who have been there for us over the years; for their incredible love and support; for their prayers and words of encouragement; for celebrating our greatest accomplishments and sharing our most difficult trials; for friends who will mow you yard, bring you dinner, take care of your laundry, and do whatever you need whenever you need it...

Today I am thankful for my work family, those I was blessed to get to know at Shugart and Lister; for people who have gone above and beyond with their incredible support over the years...

Today I am thankful for my husband who has been by my side and has practically watched me grow up over the past 10.5 years; for the love and life that we share; for his strength, faith and patience through our journey together; for his amazing listening skills over the years; for his honesty, support and understanding; for his sense of humor; for cheering me on and sharing all my moments of happiness; for holding me close when I was scared, worried and in tears; for loving me through all of my mood swings, post postpartum depression and just plain “moments of meanness”; for always having the right words to say when I need encouragement and for two of the most amazing, most beautiful and most precious gifts from God...

Today I am thankful for two little people who gave me the title I am so proud to hold; for two healthy, beautiful and very adorable little individuals who call me Mama about 100 times a day; for teaching me patience; for showing me joy and for giving a whole new meaning to the word LOVE; for all the “ I wuw yous”; for all the hugs and kisses; for all the funny stories; for all the snuggles; for all the smiles and grins that are able to turn any bad day into a complete opposite...

Today I am thankful for all those men and women who are willing to put their lives on the line to ensure that my kids have a better and safer childhood than I had; for a country that gave me a better life as well as a second chance at normal childhood....

Today I am thankful for the One who is responsible for all the blessings in my life; for His love, grace, strength and comfort; for never giving up on me even though there were times I was ready to give up on Him; for reminding me that He has a plan and that His plan is good;

"Today I am thankful for Him who is by my side and will take my hand – not some, not most, not nearly all – but all the days of my life" (The Lucado Life Lessons – Acts).

Birthday Weekend

This weekend I celebrated another birthday and thanks to my amazing husband I have to say that this one was the best one yet! So much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate as we end 2009.

I am so overwhelmed when I think how many wonderful people God has blessed my life with.... two beautiful, healthy babies......wonderful family..... most amazing friends...and a husband who I love and appreciate more than he'll ever know!

On Friday I had a wonderful time celebrating my big 2-6 at work! My kids continued to make birthday cards as I was teaching ( how do you get mad about that?), my team treated me to a yummy breakfast...one of my student's mom brought me lunch...I received a Kohl's gift card and lots and lots of chocolate from the kiddos. They definitely know what their teacher likes!

Friday evening we enjoyed a playdate with Lisa, Sydney, Claudia and Camila. We ate, played and had some dessert too. After Lisa and Claudia left with their girls Justin informed me that I needed to pack for an overnight stay on Saturday. I asked him what I should wear and he said that a dress would be appropriate. Here I was super excited about what sounded like the most perfect date night but for all who know me this sent me in a major freak out-stress mode. What? Tamara - stressing? I know!

I had no dress to wear, my hair has been a mess and needed to be colored for a while...It was just one of those days..one of those days when I just couldn't feel less pretty! My husband calmed me down and sent me to get a dress...8 pm on a Friday night I was out of the house as he put the babies to bed. I ended up coming home with two dresses from the store but I also stopped by my sister's to look at all of her dresses too. I ended up wearing one of my sister's dresses and I was so excited Justin loved it just as much as I did.


The next morning thanks to my amazing hubby I got my hair and nails done, I had the perfect dress and was so excited about our evening away. The last time we stayed away from home and had a fancy night like this was the weekend we spent in San Antonio (my 23 birthday that Justin also planned out). Needless to say we were super excited!


We were dressed up, packed up and ready to go around 6ish since our dinner reservations were for 7:00 pm. Honestly- all day I felt like I was going to one of my high school dances - butterflies and all...Justin told me we were going to Dakota's in Downtown Dallas - one of the most amazing restaurants. We went there 2.5 years ago for Valentines Day and I absolutely loved it!

Last night was even more amazing...the food was so delicious and the atmosphere was so romantic - piano playing the entire time, candles, dimmed lights, everyone dressed up...Even the ladies room was impressive -they had disposable monogrammed hand towels that were softer than some of our towels at home. WHAT? We shared a chocolate pudding cake served with ice cream and fresh fruit - OH SO YUMMY!

This is at Dakota's...My camera does not do well in dark places...This picture was taken while we were waiting for our car after dinner. If you look down at the bottom of the waterfall you can see the tables which are actually part of the patio area. The restaurant itself is underground - really, really cool!

After our wonderful dinner we headed to


for the night. I knew nothing about this hotel and was in complete shock how awesome it was once we pulled up.

The hotel is connected to the Reunion Tower...

Talk about feeling like a celebrity for the night - valet parking at the restaurant, valet parking at the hotel...I was just smiling ear to ear the entire night. The lobby was gorgeous and the hallways were covered in pictures of Dallas ( old and new). When we made it to our room we discovered our room was actually a suite with a two bathrooms, two TVs, living area, dining area - ALL just for the two of us! GREATNESS!!! We were on the 15th floor and the view was awesome from each of our three huge windows.

This morning we slept in for the first time in 2.5 years...much needed if I must say so! Once we got up we enjoyed our beautiful suite and gorgeous view of Dallas from our windows. Once we got home we were greeted with the cutest smiles from Luka and Mia. Such a perfect weekend!!!






What a romantic, fun and relaxing birthday! Justin - I love you so much and can't thank you enough for making my 26th birthday the best one yet. I could not have wished for a better birthday. I felt like like such a princess and you totally surprised me with such a perfect, romantic evening away from home.Thank you for spoiling me and making me feel so special! Volim te!

P.S.


The same carriage from our wedding...different horse but it looked like the identical carriage that took us from our reception to the hotel...Awwwww!

Good Times

There is laundry to be done, papers to be graded, lesson plans to be completed, kitchen to be cleaned...but right at this very moment everything takes a second place to what I feel in my heart...

It is Sunday evening and as I type this the kiddos are in their high chairs enjoying dinner and getting ready to watch the Cowboys game with Daddy. Luka is begging Daddy for cookies as we speak...

I have so much that I could be doing right now but all I can think about is how very thankful I am for another wonderful weekend for our family, another day of Justin feeling good, another day of watching and hearing lots and lots of laughter in our household.

Even though I have not blogged much about all the rough patches with Justin's health for the past year and how difficult our journey has been, I feel that days and weekends like this one are just another reminder of how far we have come, how much we are thankful for, how much we have been blessed with and how much more we appreciate these "normal" days, how good our God is....

Justin and I have spent the past several weeks reflecting back on this crazy journey of ours. As hard as it is to go back in time and talk about some of the stuff we have been through- we have been able to share our feelings with one another that at the time were just too much/too hard/too heartbreaking to put into words. All this takes me to what I always want to remember about this very special weekend....

It all actually started on Thursday night when my brother-in-law posted our wedding video on Facebook to share with some of my family that has not had a chance to see it. We were able to look back, laugh and giggle about how very special day June 1st 2003 was for us....I couldn't believe how young we were! I cried and cried and cried...I watched it multiple times!

We have a tradition of watching our wedding video every year for our anniversary but seeing it this month as we are celebrating good times for our family was very special. It was the first time the babies watched the video and it was just precious to see them recognize us even though we both looked about 12 years old.

On Friday, as I mentioned we spent the day at the zoo. After sleeping in a little, getting lunches packed and dressing comfy we headed out around 10ish. It could not have been a more gorgeous day for our "family fun day"... Mia and Luka had a blast and we enjoyed the animals just as much. We liked the Dallas Zoo much better for the kiddos compared to the Ft. Worth zoo this summer.The animals were really close up and the kiddos were able to see them on their own without us pointing in all different directions. We made it home around 3:00 and while the kiddos napped we watched Grey's Anatomy - which in my opinion is considered a date!

"Okay here is the game plan for today, sister"

"Daddy - this way to the aminals!"
Trying so hard to see everything...

Praying before lunch

"Daddy look!"

Watching the giant turtles

Being silly

Mia loved walking around the park where we ate lunch

Luka and his buddy "the eeephant"

Wash, wash, wash those hands!

Such a big boy

Eeeeleeephant!

Watching the penguins

So happy!

WOW!!!!- this was Luka's face for the majority of the trip...Mia was squealing, getting up out of the stroller...Not our Luka - he just had his mouth wide open...no sounds though!

Friday night we headed to the softball fields in Sachse to watch Daddy play softball. He hasn't played in a while and we were excited to watch him fill in on Jeremy's team. We packed up our car and the kids were SOOO EXCITED! Luka wanted to wear a baseball hat just like Daddy and would not stop saying "Watch Dada play baseball". They both cheered for their Daddy like you wouldn't believe. Lots of "Go DADA" and "YAY Daddy". It was so sweet and I just couldn't believe how into it they were. Believe it or not Mia was the louder one! We actually ended up leaving before the game ended because Luka wanted to be with Daddy on the field.

Waiting for the game to start

Then Saturday morning we headed to the Wiggly Play Center in Frisco with Sara, James and Emma...there were bounce houses, climb gyms, ride on toys and bikes, even a little room for just the kiddos to lounge in....we had a blast spending time with the Jones'. We were not planning on eating there but it turned out to be a very yummy lunch.

Playing with Emma

Peek-a-boo with Sara

Climbing up like a big girl

She liked some of the ride on toys

Daddy had just as much fun as the kiddos

Riding his horsie

Mia was so impressed with everything

Daddy and Luka

"What up ladies?"

Waiting for their food

That afternoon after a quick nap we headed to see Uncle Tono's new house and spend time with our family, Tony's roomates and their families...Tony grilled out for all of us and it was as always very,very yummy...THANKS Uncle Tono!

Daddy's hands are full

Up high!

Mimi and Mia

Mia's turn

Papa being silly with Mia

Mia with her Papa

Eating his favorite - cake!

Uncle Tono and Mia Bear

Ty teaching Luka how to catch a big football...hilarious to watch!

Mia & soccer - makes mommy happy!

She kept stealing other people's chairs - they would get up to get something and Mia would get all comfy in it

Saturday night was very relaxing as the babies were worn out from another day of fun ( Mia fell asleep around 6:30 and slept through the night!)...Sunday morning - for the third Sunday in a row we spent the morning getting ready for church. We are celebrating the consistency because we are finally getting our lives back to normal. Now with Justin feeling better, we are excited to be back at church on regular basis. Kiddos are adjusting slowly. Mia is doing great when we drop her off but Mr. Luka has been having a reeeealy hard time. Today he only lasted about 10 minutes in the nursery and the rest of the time we ( Luka and I) watched the church service on the big screen while having our own little picnic (we ate every snack in his backpack). We have been so blessed with an amazing ABF class and we are excited to see those sweet families every week.

Right after church today we headed to the Little Gym in Rockwall to celebrate Jackson Howell's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday sweet Jackson! Being there brought back memories even though they moved from their Rowlett location to Rockwall. We had Luka's first birthday party there, we also had Luka in classes for 4-5 months there right after Mia was born. I remember having Mia in the Chicco baby carrier while trying to get Luka to relax and maybe participate in his fun class...We had such a great time there today! Luka did his own thing with Daddy for the most part while Mia was all over the place.They both sure enjoyed their cupcakes and juice boxes! It was great to see friends and their little ones. We sure did miss the Diaz family though...I didn't take my camera with me but I did manage to get one picture at home...

Party favor from Jackson's "Pirate Theme" birthday party and a mouth full of apple pieces

This evening after taking dinner to one of our sweet ABF families who just welcomed a precious little boy into their lives, we spent the evening goofing around in our pjs,listening to some of our favorite songs, dancing in the kitchen and just having fun.

Last two years have been tough and for me personally it was too hard to put all the stress aside to enjoy these little moments as they happened. That is why tonight and this weekend are so incredibly special. Yes.... sure we had a few tantrums and time outs along the way but isn't that was normal life is about too!

On another sweet note I have missed Justin's moments of random sweetness ( not that he hasn't been sweet but these past few weeks I have enjoyed having my old Justin back).....sweet moments such as waking up early on a Sunday morning to pick up donuts (I will add that he did take Luka with him dressed in his Halloween costume- gotta love Dad's and their dressing abilities!)............OR making me dance in the middle of the kids closet just because our song came on. We ended up dancing in the kitchen too...As we danced Mia came behind us and just stood there watching Mommy and Daddy with the biggest smile on her face. Then she took over and her and Daddy danced for a while. Oh...sweetness!

Dancing with Daddy

Just in case you are wondering what I have missed the most about these past two very rough years ....a whole lot of this......

Justin's smiles and laughs

So thankful for another set of beautiful memories......