One and a Half

18 months! Today Jake is 1 and a half! It hardly seems possible. The last few weeks have brought an explosion of language. It seems like every day another new word comes out of Jake's mouth. I sometimes find myself looking at him wondering if "that" word just came out of his mouth! Speaking of "that", he is pointing to things saying either "is" or "at" if he wants something. Jake has started calling Papi "Papa" and says Mammo. After being with my mom and dad all weekend I thought I heard Jake saying Grampa and Gramma yesterday.

Jake continues to be curious about everything. It's impossible to try to sneak something past him. He is very aware. It can be exhausting running after him all of the time, but it is so fun to feel his sense of wonder and to watch him exploring.

When Jake really likes something he wants to do it over and over. He could sit and listen to a book being read and when we get to the end of it he says and signs "more". He could read the same book 10 times in a row. Jake's favorite book right now is "The Little Engine that Could". He loves to dump and fill buckets with toys and he loves water play.

Yesterday I had the kids to the doctor for a sick visit and Jake weighed in at 25 pounds and Samantha at 28 pounds. No wonder people often ask us if they are twins! It's hard to believe that our babies are growing up. It is so fun to watch them together as they become closer and closer. They really are enjoying playing together and running after one another.

15 Years and Counting!

We had a great time at home with my mom and dad for Thanksgiving. Despite the fact that the kids had colds (that's what we thought at the time), we still had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Luckily it wasn't until Friday and Saturday that they kids really showed signs on not feeling well. I didn't do well at all at taking pictures this time, but I do have this photo of Jake folk dancing with my Aunt Lucy, mom, and my cousins Kristie and Bethany. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at our church this year as a family, which actually ended up being very nice. It gave us a ton of space to accommodate the family, and it gave the kids lots of space to run around in the gym. My Aunt Lucy does folk dancing, and if you've ever been to a family gathering, you'd know that there is usually some type of musical activity post meal. This year was folk dancing, and Jake happily joined in!

Saturday after Thanksgiving, Chris and I went to my 15th high school reunion. I had a great time catching up with classmates. I keep saying what a great group of people ended up being there. Everyone seemed genuinely interested in talking with everyone else, and it was a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures from the night!

Tammi, Hillorie, Emily, Jess

Chris, Emily and Nathan

Misty, Emily and Aimee

Kristen, Emily, Tammi, Hillorie, Stacy, Jess, Chrissy, Kim

UBS Thanksgiving Parade Spectacular

Last weekend we headed into Stamford with my friend Aimee and her family to join them in their annual tradition of watching the Thanksgiving Parade. This parade is the "practice" parade for the balloon handlers in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We had a gorgeous day and had a great time looking for all the balloons. Thanks Aimee and Pete for including us in on your fun!

Aimee and Addison

A few of our kids favorites:

The best seats for watching the parade!

Thankful

What we are really thankful for around here are antibiotics! Last week as we headed down to PA for Thanksgiving, both kids were hacking away in the back seat. Chris and I exchanged "this is great" looks, and crossed our fingers that we weren't up against more sickness. Jake had just gotten over a 3 day viral infection, and everyone had colds. Long story short, after coming back to CT after Thanksgiving, I got both kids into the doctor's yesterday morning, figuring they would tell me it was another viral infection that would go away within 24 hours. Boy was I wrong! After numerous calls to the doctor over the holiday, I am so glad I took both kids to be seen even though Samantha seemed to be on the mend. Both kids have pneumonia and ear infections! So, now we are on 10 days of antibiotics which has been really fun since Jake has decided to clamp his mouth shut and protest loudly. Pictures and updates of our Thanksgiving week are coming soon (hopefully).

Claudia Meza in da house!

North Korea Readies Missiles as Military Drill Begins

North Korea has placed surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in the Yellow Sea, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, as the United States and South Korea began joint military exercises that have upset neighbor China.

The agency also said North Korea had moved surface-to-air missiles to frontline areas, days after it shelled a tiny South Korean island killing four people. The North's official KCNA news agency warned of retaliatory action if its territory is violated.

"We will deliver a brutal military blow on any provocation which violates our territorial waters," KCNA said.
Officials from South Korea's Defense Ministry and the joint chiefs said they could not comment on the Yonhap report. "It is impossible to confirm the report as it is classified as military secret," an official said.

The exercises, in waters far south of the disputed maritime boundary, are being held in the face of opposition by China and threats of "consequences" from North Korea.

The chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly will visit China from Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency said, while a senior Chinese diplomat was in Seoul for talks.

Washington says the drill is intended as a deterrent after the worst assault on South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Officials and journalists on the island, Yeonpyeong, were briefly evacuated to bunkers on Sunday, a Reuters witness said. The order was later withdrawn.

The nuclear-powered carrier USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of over 6,000, has joined the exercises and will be accompanied by at least four other U.S. warships, an official from U.S. Forces Korea (USKF) told Reuters.

South Korea has deployed three destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine aircraft, Yonhap news agency reported, adding the exercises were being held far south of the disputed area where the artillery firing took place on Tuesday.

"The drills have started and of course the carrier joined the exercises. But I cannot give any further details," said the USKF official, asking not to be identified.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has told ministers and aides to be ready for further "provocation" by North Korea during the military show of force.

South Korea's marine commander on Saturday vowed "thousand-fold" revenge for the North Korean attack that killed two servicemen and two civilians.

North Korea said that if there had been civilian deaths, they were "very regrettable," but that South Korea should be blamed for using a human shield.

It also said the United States should be blamed for "orchestrating" the whole sequence of events to justify sending an aircraft carrier to join the maritime maneuvers.

Regional giant China -- under pressure from other powers to rein in North Korea -- has said it is determined to prevent an escalation of the violence. But it warned against military acts near its coast.

Hot damn! This should be fun!

WHITE FANG

BOOM!

BRAINCLOUD

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH

9PM. FREE

Sunday!

Sean Battles' new band, Sexo Tropico is making their debut this Sunday, along with sets from great newcomers, E.B. Harris and the Afterlife Revival, and a special stripped down set from Pony Village. Should be a great time. Come on over!

PAK FA Update : Second Prototype Fifth-generation Fighter to Fly Before Year End

Flight trials of the second prototype of Sukhoi's fifth-generation T-50 fighter aircraft are due before the end of the year, Sukhoi holding CEO Mikhail Pogosyan said on Monday.

The first prototype of the aircraft made its maiden flight in late January and has conducted 40 in total, Pogosyan said.

"The flight trial program is moving ahead faster than we expected," Pogosyan said.

He said talks with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on the joint development of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft are due to conclude before the end of the year.

Earlier reports said an agreement would be signed in December.

The new warplane is expected to enter service with the Russian Air Force in 2015.

North Korea Warns Region is on Brink of War

North Korea warned Friday that U.S.-South Korean plans for military maneuvers put the peninsula on the brink of war, and appeared to launch its own artillery drills within sight of an island it showered with a deadly barrage this week.

The fresh artillery blasts were especially defiant because they came as the U.S. commander in South Korea, Gen. Walter Sharp, toured the South Korean island to survey damage from Tuesday's hail of North Korean artillery fire that killed four people.

None of the latest rounds hit the South's territory, and U.S. military officials said Sharp did not even hear the concussions, though residents on other parts of the island panicked and ran back to the air raid shelters where they huddled earlier in the week as white smoke rose from North Korean territory.

Tensions have soared between the Koreas since the North's strike Tuesday destroyed large parts of this island, killing two civilians as well as two marines in a major escalation of their sporadic skirmishes along the sea border.

The attack — eight months after a torpedo sank a South Korean warship further west, killing 46 sailors — has also laid bare weaknesses in South Korea's defense 60 years after the Korean War. The skirmish forced South Korea's beleaguered defense minister to resign Thursday, and President Lee Myung-bak on Friday named a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the post.

The heightened animosity between the Koreas is taking place as the North undergoes a delicate transition of power from leader Kim Jong Il to his young, inexperienced son Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and is expected to eventually succeed his ailing father.

Washington and Seoul have pressed China to use its influence on Pyongyang to ease tensions amid worries of all-out war, and a dispatch from Chinese state media on Friday — saying Beijing's foreign minister had met with the North Korean ambassador — appeared to be an effort to trumpet China's role as a responsible actor and placate the U.S. and the South.

The U.S., meanwhile, is preparing to send a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to South Korean waters for joint military drills in the Yellow Sea starting Sunday.

The North, which sees the drills as a major military provocation, unleashed its anger over the planned exercises in a dispatch earlier Friday.

"The situation on the Korean peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war," the report in the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.

A North Korean official boasted that Pyongyang's military "precisely aimed and hit the enemy artillery base" as punishment for South Korean military drills — a reference to Tuesday's attack — and warned of another "shower of dreadful fire," KCNA reported in a separate dispatch.

China also expressed concern over any war games in waters within its exclusive economic zone, though the statement on the Foreign Ministry website didn't mention the drills starting Sunday. That zone includes areas south of Yeonpyeong cited for possible maneuvers, though the exact location of the drills is not known.

China strongly protested an earlier round of drills in the region but has been largely mute over the upcoming exercises. Beijing could be withholding direct criticism to avoid roiling ties with South Korea and the U.S. and to register its displeasure with ally North Korea.

Washington keeps more than 28,000 troops in South Korea to protect its ally from aggression — a legacy of the Korean War that is a sore point for North Korea, which cites the U.S. presence as the main reason behind its need for nuclear weapons.

Beauty Home Interior Design this Year

Beauty Home Interior Design this Year

Beauty Home For Vacation

Beauty Home For Vacation

Royal Mansion Home Design

Royal Mansion Home Design

Home Beauty interior

Home Beauty interior

Most Beauty Home

Most Beauty Home

Home in Singapore interior Design

Home in Singapore interior Design

Beauty Home Interior Design

Beauty Home Interior Design

Home in Turkey Design

Home in Turkey Design

Beauty Home in Design

Beauty Home in Design

Elegant Home Design Interior

Elegant Home Design Interior

Beauty Home Design

Beauty Home Design

Most Expensive Home in The World Now

Most Expensive Home in The World Now

Most Expensive Mansion Florida

Most Expensive Mansion Florida

The World's Most Expensive Home

The World's Most Expensive Home

Beauty Home With Smiwing Pool

Beauty Home With Smiwing Pool

Most Expensive Home in World

Most Expensive Home in World

Home Sweet Home

This weekend we found a great house to call home! Here is the house that we will be calling home for our first several months living in NC! We are so thrilled with it and have more than enough space for visitors! It is ours as of December 1st! Chris will be there getting all of our stuff from storage moved in while he is working and living there. The kids and I will come down the week after Christmas!

Blocks of Love

Today we went to a Blocks of Love, a Lego event to build support for children and families affected by cancer. There were displays of Lego structures built by kids, areas where kids could build and create with Lego's, as well as Santa and the Land of Misfit Toys. Samantha and Jake got their photo taken with Santa. Both protested, but Samantha ended up doing very well. As you can see from the photo, Jake wasn't too excited to sit on Santa's lap!

Here are a few other photos of the Lego structures and Samantha and Jake playing at a Lego table.

Sweet Tea

Yet another reason to love the South!

Favorites

Express Yourself

The kids were gifted this large note pad (thanks Uncle Andrew!) Samantha has been very into drawing on these large sheets of paper. Here are a few of her masterpieces:

Tender, Love 'n Care Country Night

DJ Gordon Organ & DJ Split Rail Fence

Thursday, November 18th

9ish til the cows come home. Free!

Sunday

If you're at all into video work then this is definitely something to check out. Mack McFarland and friends work to create a very trippy and hard-to-catagorize video show experience with Weird Fiction. Joining them will be Church No. 9, a new permutation from members of Better Homes and Gardens and Blue Cranes. Hope you can make it!

Monday!

Woah! First LKN show in over two years! Hard to believe, but the last time she played solo was here October '08. This should be a stunner, you guys. The woman was cut from the sky. So powerful and awesome. Can't wait! Palo Verde and The Tyrants will all make for a super good time. Tonight we will be charging a very reasonable $3 cover to help Lauren put out her spankin' new record. If you've never seen LKN do her thing please come. You won't be sorry.

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of a photo taken on my camera at our family photo shoot. I am hoping we can get a good Christmas card out of some of these photos! I am sure we'll post many photos here once we get them!

The 3 Musketeers

August 2010

November 2010