A Paone Thing

Happy birthday, honey! Sorry you’re feeling sick. Hopefully that delicious hot chocolate and those pancakes Violet made you this morning have made you feel a little better.

We love you! Thanks for being a great dad and a wonderful, patient husband.

Jesse, Justin got your text message this morning. He was very touched. He wanted to call you yesterday for your birthday, but was pretty sick.

Justin and Jude are both October boys and we’ve been having fun celebrating in anticipation of each of their big days. We celebrated Jude’s birthday at Oma’s Pumpkin Patch with a bunch of his little friends. The kids loved the hay maze, the cotton seed slide. Jude was in Heaven getting to ride on all the big farm equipment. He was a little horror on the hayride, but that was my fault for not following my instincts that he was still a little too young for that. Violet is a pro at milking cows and Jude’s good at terrorizing the baby cows in the petting zoo. For Justin’s birthday celebration, we teamed up birthdays with Maria of Sam (Doehler) and enjoyed beer and sausages (and real beer floats) at the Stone Ale Brewery Gardens and Bistro in Escondido. I fell in love with that place and can’t wait to go back. I haven’t seen anything quite like it, the mix of modern architecture, beer and gardens. If you’re ever in Escondido, ask me to take you there. I’d be happy to oblige.

Tomorrow is Justin’s big day. He’s been a little sick with sinus problems, but hopefully he’ll be up and around tomorrow enough to party just a little.  Jude, meanwhile, yep… he’s still teething. Another molar just broke through, poor baby. Violet is a happy little clam…. er, mermaid these days. She’s just being her princessy little self. I scored a few princess dresses and a some cute outfits for her at the annual Parent Connection swap meet. So, be on the lookout for Belle or Snow White (with a real red bow) walking around our home next time you’re over.  You’ll score extra brownie points if you can name the princess right and comment on her dress when she looks down and pats it timidly.  Jude, meanwhile, is busy practicing with his dragon gear. Apparently he’s got a knight or two to take out with some firey breathing in a couple weeks at the kids dress up party.

Here are a few pictures at the Pumpkin Patch

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To keep this from being my absolute worst posting month, I’m sneaking in one last September post. — just a small update. I can’t give any major excuses for my absence from the blog, except maybe really bad internet.  The two constants in my life these days — bad internet and Jude teething. Heh. He just got his first molar this past week. He walks, talks, reads… okay, fine — he just walks and shrieks all throughout the house all day. Other than that, he’s about the naughtiest kid on the block at the moment. We were joking about needing to make him a special play box with plugs, a fan, some extra electric sockets, sprinkler heads, small rocks, a spoon to bang on things, a cell phone and IPOD to throw in the garbage or flush down the toilet the second you’re not looking. He rushes out the door every time it opens and God forbid you try to sneak out of the room without him. He will walk up and bite you on your toes and feet if you’re not paying attention — or give you a nice bear hug followed by a little bite on the shoulder. Ahem. He turns one on October 24th and will celebrate his first birthday (weather permitting) at Oma’s Pumpkin Patch with a few friends. So… that’s the 411 on Jude the Terrible.

Violet is my fairy princess. She’s going to her first official fairy party this coming weekend. Her friend, Carly, is turning 4, so that’s the occasion. She’s decided to be the Christmas Tree fairy. She has also decided that I can be no other than Poppy and Jude must be “little white clover.” Hmmm… We should have a few pictures to post in  a few short days. Violet is still learning to speak clearly, but her vocabulary is quite extensive. -She made her first real trip to the dentist last week and I was so proud of her.  I was nervous of having her sedated unless it was absolutely necessary and she ended up doing fine with the laughing gas. She was so brave and didn’t make a peep. She goes back in in few weeks to get her other two cavities filled — yep, she had 4. The dentist said it was from not flossing.

Justin and I celebrated our 5th anniversary by getting to go have a nice dinner sans two little ruffians. We enjoyed a few hours to dress up and go out to a fancy restaurant for some grown up time. That was fun! It’s been an exciting 5 years. I feel bad I didn’t do a anniversary post this year, but the good news is we BOTH remembered our anniversary in plenty of time to plan something nice together. Progress!

Well, that’s the midnight report. I’m tired and off to bed to wake up tomorrow morning in October, the month of birthday boys, time changes  and holloween parties.   Good night!

I posted on Facebook on time.

I love you though, Tim, and wish you a wonderful new year ahead. Come out and see us? You have a niece and nephew to get to know.

Happy birthday from all of us.

I missed wishing my brother Jason a very happy 21st birthday! How’d that happen? I can’t believe my baby brother is 21 already. Seems like yesterday we were out smashing water melons as mom brought you into this world! I biked home, called the birthing center just in time to have dad say, “I can’t talk now. The baby’s coming right now.” Heh. The famous Wells sense of timing Justin always harasses me about. You were the cutest little red-headed baby and I ended up growing very attached to and enjoyed helping to raise. Ah, I miss those good old days, Jason, but you’re a swell brother now and have finally come of age all these 21 years later. Yep, I feel old now, but Happy Birthday and enjoy the roarin’ 20s. There’s nothing like them! I love ya!

Happy 16th birthday, Teri! I tried numerous times to call you yesterday, but one phone or the other wasn’t working. Anyways, I hope you had a wonderful birthday and that everyone treated you like a princess. Wish I could have been there, but at least Renee is there to fill the big sister role. Happy new year and lots of love us Californites!

Wow, we’re getting up there in age. I love having a sister who’s only a year younger than I. Gives me company for any “age” misery. Nyahah. I hope you have a great new year. Jude’s waking up, so I have to cut this short, but I love you and am treating you to a cyber “margarita” right now. Thanks for coming out here this year and sharing our 2009 Yosemite experience with us. It was really special. We miss you guys. Have a fun birthday though and a wonderful new year ahead.

Love you

I know I’m sneaking this under the wire, but hey, I just got back today from my trek to Yosemite and Grandma and Grandpas.  I hope you have a wonderful new year and I will write you once I retrieve my computer (which I forgot at Grandma and Grandpas) Oh, well… I love you and was missing you looking at all those old pictures. Come visit us? Love you and have a blast for your special day (or I should say, I hope you HAD a blast for your special day seeing as it’s near midnight).

Here’s my list for today:

1) I’ve got my wonderful mother, who I consider one of the best! Thanks, mom for all the years you poured into me and for giving me such wonderful brothers and sisters. I wish you were closer so I could take you out to the new Star Trek movie instead of Teri… ahem… Funny, I didn’t even realize you were a Trekker all these years. Heh. Now I know where I got it from. Definitely not from dad. Anyways, thanks for being a wonderful mom and for how chilled you were about life and all the shenanigans we’d throw your way. I hope I can be the same with my little guys.

2) I met my Justin on May 10, Mother’s Day, 7 years ago. He came from Florida in his green Ford Ranger (secretly the best trucks in the world), a very “special” haircut and goatie, a winning smile and friendly personality. I never dreamed he was my husband to be, but, you know, God works in mysterious ways. So here we are years later. Trucks gone. His hair and goatie are now tamed and he is a wonderful father to the kiddos and husband to me. Happy 7th Anniversary, Justin, and thank you for taking the chance and moving out to California all those years ago. Most of all though, a big thank You, God, for the miracle of bringing us together and making us a family!

3) I’m so so thankful to be a mom! I went through a period where I thought I may not be able to have kids and it made me appreciate little Violet all the more when she finally came along. I would just stare at her and thank God for giving me the best gift in the whole world, being a mom. I still stare are her and her little brother and can’t believe I’ve got little ones. They bring Justin and me so much joy. They drive me a little nuts sometimes, but I’d like to think I’m a better person for what they teach me about true and unconditional love, understanding and all that good stuff you can only learn through experience. Thank you, Violet for the beautiful roses and Jude, your sweet baby kisses/licks are the best in the world. You made my day today. I love you, kiddos!

Check it out, folks! We’ve been trying to get her to blog for years now. My aunt, Valorie Davenport, is one lively, talented writer and poet, but she is also a brilliant, dedicated lawyer who fights for the underdog and has no fear of the big boys. She will willingly take them on any day — if it’s for a righteous cause.  Someone recently wanted to make a movie  about Valorie and her sister, Denise Novotny, also a Houston attorney, called the “Hearts of Justice” about some of the amazing cases they’ve fought.   Anyways, for now, check out her blog and help me bug her to get something about her cases up there. That’s the really fun stuff.