HOLIDAY CHEER!

Christmas PJ's! We borrowed this Christmas tradition from Matt and Tiffany. Its fun to get cute PJ's for pictures Christmas morning. I think the kids will enjoy this tradition as they get older, if not at least the pictures will be really cute!

It seems Santa deemed our household Nice for the year and we all got something we really wanted. Of course our parents and Aunt Sarah spoiled us and helped to make our Christmas special. It was fun to see Drew, he really got into the swing of things by his 2nd present, after that he could not be stop ed and thought all wrapped presents were his. It always seems that Christmas sneaks up on you and is over in a blink. We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas as well.

These are Drew's Batman PJ's. "Drew Batman" yes he thinks he is Batman and "So Cat" Sophie is Catwoman....

Of course the Holidays are all about family and spending time with everyone. Christmas Eve we all got together at my Mom and Dads for Great food and some games. Its fun to see all the cousins together they really do get along with each other and it will be so fun seeing them grow up together. Hm mm.... I wonder if there will be any additions in the next few years and if so how many?

Picture by Tiffany Hogan

Bring Me Some Figi Pudding

Well if not Figi Pudding how about Prune Baby Food. Sophie has been on solids for a month now. She did not take to eating solids like Drew. However I think she has figured it out now. You might not know it by her face but yes this was a successful breakfast! On Sophie's I like it and will open my mouth for you foods are: Prunes, Squash and Peas. Yummo!

Since we started solid foods with Drew he has been an expert he loved everything he tried (like Mikey). Well he is such an expert now that he refuses food. "No food Mom!, No Eat Mom!" It always has to be his idea. I always tell him do you know how lucky you are to be able to say that. Drew's I will eat food sometimes: Pizza, Chicken Nuggets, Rice, French Fries, Juice or Strawberry/Chocolate Milk. Nutritious right?

CHIRSTMAS PICTURES

We had the kids pictures taken last week for Christmas and Sophies 6mo. You would not know it by the photos but Drew was a huge Pill! I have to say Cassie at Sears (Fashion Place) did an awesome job. I had given up but she stuck with it and we ended up getting some good pictures.

Note to Grandparents and Aunt Sarah : you will be getting photos for Christmas, however they might not be these exact ones....
Anyway I wanted to post some of them, I thought they turned out cute.

HALLOWEEN FUN!

For Halloween we had a Trunk or Treat at the LDS church in Stockton. They had Carnival Games for the kids and a Chili cook off for the adults. I did not get a chance to have any Chili but Rob was a Judge and said they were all very good. I think he could get used to judging food contests! There was a great turn out the church was packed with kids! After about an hour of Games things moved outside to the parking lot for kids to go trunk to trunk filling their bags with candy. It was just perfect for our family right now, I know some people don't care for it and I can see their point however Drew Loved it and Mom and Dad did too!

Drew was Bob the Builder this year. I made his shirt
Aunt Sarah gave him the Bob Belt and Hat earlier in the year so it worked out nicely. He really looked cute.

Check out the video post below, its Drew chasing down Batman. Drew is obsessed with Batman, Joker Man and the Transformers. Thank goodness there were no transformer's for Halloween, I don't know what would have happened... Drew's head might have blown up!

Sophie was a Butterfly, I found this costume at The Children's Place for $10 you cant beat that! We only got this picture of Soph on Actual Halloween night so the other pics below were taken today, We tried to get Drew to dress up too but he was not having any of it. She looked so cute the little hat was holding up her cheeks, she did get tired of it and needless to say it did not make it the whole night.

This picture has nothing to do with Halloween but she looks so cute in this coat so I had to post it.

Aunt Sarah....

So this post is in honor of Aunt Sarah! The Dress Sophie is wearing and the Shirt Drew is wearing are from her. The dress is a little big but hopefully she will be able to wear it for a long time to come.

This is Sophie with the extra large Flower on her head. She was all smiles this morning... must have been the dress!

This is a shot of the adorable ballet slipper tights I found at Old Navy Outlet in Park City last weekend.

Sophie likes them too!

This is a great shot, you usually see this face when she is standing on your lap and leaning in trying to eat your face. Do you think this is an expression we will see in a future tantrum? Oh....I hope not!

Drew used to love getting his picture taken now he cant be bothered. However when he decides its ok below is the "cheeser" you get.

Thanks for my Halloween Shirt Grandma Purvis.

Thanks Grandma Purvis!

Below are a couple of photos of Drew. As you can see, he thinks he can do everything Sis can do. He is having a hard time understanding why he cant play with all of her toys too.

Park City Weekend!

The whole Bill Hogan Family went to Park City this weekend to stay at Bill & Jill's time share. We have been doing this since I was in grade school maybe 1985..... Anyway we always have a good time. I have really enjoyed sharing the tradition with my husband and kids. Admittedly it is getting smaller every year the condo that is. Thank goodness Brent and Mary decided to get one for the same week or else I am afraid we would have been sleeping on the floor. However after staying in those beds the floor might have been better! I remembered to bring my camera although the new battery I thought I put in it only lasted a couple of minutes before it died so the following pictures were all I got for the whole weekend. =(

All this kids have such cute smiles... I love Cody's in this pic.

I love Drew's face in this pic. He did not want to take pictures so this was his "cheeser".

I was so mad about my camera, at least I got a couple.... Tiffany came up with this craft to do with the kids. They all got to paint their pumpkins and Tiff made all their names out of vinyl. They turned out so cute. I wish I would have got a photo of all of them finished. We also learned how to make Pies from Mary,Tiff also had a craft for all the women to do wood blocks with a metal family square on them. Tab showed us how to make a delicious Fall Harvest Stew and my Mom had us make flannel boards. It was a great weekend. I look forward to many more! If you are wondering what I shared with the family... my craft was by proxy the pumpkin painting.

COMPARE & CONTRAST

Drew 5 Months, Funny at the time I did not think he was so big. But to look back now and compare to Sophie he was gigantore (sp?)!




Sophie 5 months, She is not a large has her brother at this age, and it looks as if Drew might have been sitting on his own... Which Soph is not, I really need to do better with tummy time!


I was just looking through some old photos and thought it would be fun to put photos of the two at the same age. When Soph was first born she looked Identiacal to Drew, let me see if I can find a couple of photos.

Sophie mins. Old & Drew mins. Old

Awe.... Memories. I'm guessing that most newborns in the same family look alike. Its just so fun seeing how they change and become their own little person.

Sis' Seat!

I decided to buy a Bumbo for Sophie, I thought it would be a different kind of apparatus I could put in the rotation so she would be able to sit up by herself and get a different perspective! She seems to like it but the Jury is still out. However I do know one person who loves it!

For some reason Drew thinks its a potty chair.... I guess that is what's on his brain these days.

Drew has been doing so well potty training, we have even gone out a couple of times. Tomorrow will the the true test. I am going to SLC with my Mom... We will be gone for hours, not sure if I sh0uld put a pull up on him for the ride into SLC or what. This shall be interesting! My Dad had Drew Sunday helping him with the Cows he had got so busy that Drew had a #1 and #2 accident and started pulling poop pebbles out of his pants to show Grandpa. That was about the time Grandpa decided Drew was done helping.

I was trying to get some work done on my computer when I heard both Drew and Sophie giggling I turned around to see Drew pushing and pulling Sophie in her swing. Its hard to tell Drew to get out of her face or leave her alone when she is loving every minute of it. I think it has finally sunk in that Sophie is here to stay and Drew is fine with that. He Loves his Sis and she Adore's him.

Life in 20 Minute Intervals

So we have been potty training for a week. I am pleasantly surprised at how well it has been going. It helps that I set a timer for every 20 minutes, when it goes off Drew picks out a book and we head off the the potty, weather he has to go or not. In the last 2 days he has actually been telling me when he has to go, "Mommy, Poot" he says. When he does go he is so excited to help "dump" the pee into the toilet and then he helps me rinse out the potty bucket. He gets a reward of a big gummy candy or a Starbust when he does go pee. He has not managed to go #2 in the potty yet, however he has not had a #2 accident since the beginning either. I guess he holds it for his nap time diaper of his overnight diaper. By the end of the night Drew and I are so exhausted from the 20 min. intervals that we are so ready for sleep. Sophie has been so patient through this whole process, sometimes the 20 min. cuts into her feeding time but it is getting better! It feels like I don't have any time to get things done when that timer goes off so often. I have to remember its only for a short time and Drew is all the better for it. Next step Outings with a potty trainer! Oh how I hope nothing too embarrassing happens!

Tag you're it!

I was tagged by Tammy so here it goes.

6 random facts about myself:
1) Favorite time of year Fall.

2) Guilty Pleasure looking through tabloid magazines!

3) I can say my ABC's backwards (I think most hogans can, my Grandpa Hogan taught us how)

4) I am a planner and a list maker! Rob hates this he wishes I would be more spontaneous. I wish I was as well.

5) I am not a morning person and could sleep until noon. Ah the good ol' days before responsibility came in the form of children!

6)I love sweets (as if you could not tell) and one of my favorites is Banana Splits. We went to Sonic the other day and I finally tried their Jr. Banana Split. It is so adorable I actually took a photo of it so you could see. Its just the right size you don't feel guilty after eating it. That is my camera case behind it. So cute and most important delicious! and a b argain at .99


Ok Tiffany and Tabitha, Tag you are it.

Potty Training 101 errrr... 080

So today is the day! We are potty training. It's 9am and no accidents so far, ok so he has only been up for an hour. However I will take that as success so far. I am setting a timer for every 20 minutes, we go into the bathroom and he sits on the potty while I read a book or two. I have been giving him a gummy treat after each potty visit. I'm not sure what reward I will give him for actually pee/poop. I do have stickers and I thought maybe he could put a sticker on a chart for each one... Any suggestions are appreciated! I will keep you updated on the progress. He put his Thomas underwear on his bear yesterday and thought that was really cool. I'm hoping he gets it, I think he is ready I mean he is 2 years 3 months.... He probably should have been potty trained by now.

This Week (so far) in Pictures

This is actually Drews mask. Bubba as he calls it. For the longest time I thought he was repeating me saying Bubba for brother. I finally figured it out when he saw a Batman costume and pounded his chest. Bubba, Bubba! Its fun errr... frustrating trying to figure out his words not to mention the wierd way he says most things. One of the joys of being a Mom I guess.

He has been a very thoughtful and loving brother. He will bring Sis his favorite bear and or kitty to hold while she is in her swing. He always gives her hugs and kisses and pats her on her head, all the while I'm saying soft, not on the lips or get out of her face. Soph loves watching everything Drew does and smiles and laughs a lot when he is around.

Just today Sophie was on the floor and Drew comes over with blankets, lays down next to her puts the blankets on both of them and says Night, Night. So cute, I just hope this is something that stays, them being so loving with each other.

Drew has been on a roll lately. As you can see he has no pants on, and it's not because I didnt dress him today. Infact he loves taking off his pants whenever the right type of pants are on. The last couple of days since it has been cold he has been in sweat pants with the elastic waist..... He has had his pants off everyday it seems. Not to mention he has been obsessed with his diaper, sticking his hands inside always and sometimes pulling things out! The anwser is yes, what ever he can pull out he does. Drew is standing on his toy box that he has recently become his stage. He is in the middle of his Banana Song Dance. My silly little monkey!