Just the Five of Us

Talking with an Angel

2011-05-06T23:23:00.002-07:00

All of my kids are named after someone important to us. They all carry the middle names of people who are near and dear to our hearts.

As I have most definitely referenced in the past, my grandmother has always been my hero, my love, my everything. She passed just over 6 years ago. I miss and love that woman every day of my life. She was a living angel. My K carries her name.

Anyhow, it is my belief that my babies have all been able to get to know my grandmother in her new existence as an angel in heaven. Soon after they were born, each of my babies has had moments where they stare off into space, seemingly glancing into the eyes of something beautiful, something that captivates them and makes them happy. Their eyes always glisten, smiles immediately appear and an overall happiness embodies them. It is my grandmother. I am certain. She is looking out for my babies. And newly arrived from heaven, they can hear her. And I know they already love her.

Keeping in mind that there was no living human or any object in the direction she was looking, here is my Annie meeting my amazing grandma...

Glad to be a GRAD

2011-04-29T12:01:00.001-07:00

My baby K went to a short trial run of "play school". As previously mentioned, she was incredibly intimidated throughout the experience. In the end, she never spoke a word during school time. But she spoke highly of her time there and had many good memories of things that happened. At the end of the session, we were invited to a special graduation.

Here she is the morning of her big day...

K was visibly nervous but I was so proud of her for sitting up there in front of tons of people. (4th one in from the left)

The teacher called each child up to receive a "diploma". Each kid was also asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. K had not answered the question when her buddies had asked the day before in class, so I certainly knew she would not answer in a room full of strangers! The buddies asked me to find out what she wanted to be so that they could be prepared for graduation. When I asked her, she smiled so wide and said, "A cooker!" I asked, "As in a chef?" She excitedly shook her head yes. Girl loves to cook!

She was so brave on graduation day and walked up to the teacher when it was her turn. She politely took her diploma and stared blankly when asked the question. Knowing what to expect, the teacher quickly answered for her.

K worked really hard at communicating with her buddies. She never spoke one word but, the last week of school, she did nod her head in response to "yes" questions (still wouldn't shake head 'no'). I know it was a big accomplishment for her, as she asked me if I was proud of her several times.

She has no idea just how proud I am.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

Avocados...ICK!

2011-04-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

Scrub a dub dub!

2011-04-20T13:30:00.001-07:00

First Sink Bath! She had a blast splashing water all over the floor. Yay.

Princess=1+ Daddy=0

2011-04-16T23:41:00.001-07:00

I don't know how this girl did it but she managed to get this man wrapped around her little finger. She is a daddy's girl to a tee. She is his little princess. Such a stubborn, hard-core man and yet he crumbles at his little girl's every wish. Daddy, will you paint my nails like a princess? Ha ha. SUCKER.

I love it!

M'm! M'm! Good

2011-04-14T13:45:00.001-07:00

Miss K was so eager to help feed the baby. She has been asking for weeks, no months, if she could feed her. FINALLY, a week or so after Annie turned 6 months, Mama gave the green light. K excitedly grabbed the ingredients and prepared the baby's first meal.

Ever since that day, K is the one who makes the baby's meals. She gathers all the supplies (bumbo seat, tray, bowl, spoon, bib, etc.). It was only appropriate that I allow her to feed Annie her first meal. K-boo was so proud. She was so gentle and sweet with Annie. Notice K's open mouth while feeding A.

Mama's little helper

2011-04-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

I admit, I underestimated my Boo. She is my lovebug and I thought having another baby would create mucho jealousy. Boy, was I wrong! K has not once shown an ounce of jealousy towards the baby. Never resented her, never complains when the baby needs me, never holds any kind of grudge when she has to wait for me to tend to the baby.

In fact, she has been the biggest Mama's helper ever. She has never once refused to help me change the baby, dress the baby, get me a diaper, or do anything related to the baby. She treats Annie-girl like her own live dolly. She is so naturally maternal. It is so AWESOME having such a great helper.

Happy Half Birthday, Littlest!

2011-04-10T13:03:00.012-07:00

Hooray! Today marks my baby's very first half birthday! I can hardly believe she is halfway through her first year. Wow. She is such a happy girl. Literally every person who has met her, including strangers in stores who see her for 5 seconds, comment on how happy she is. Always has a smile on her face and will squeal with delight when given attention.

Baby A is reaching all of her milestones as expected. She is growing healthy and strong. Her eyes have finally settled in a beautiful pure brown. I love them. She still has very little hair but it is growing in lighter, with some shades of blonde and red mixed in, just like P had. And it is very fluffy! Baby girl also still sucks her fingers. I find it so endearing.

She adores her big sister and brother. She is generally very laid back and sweet. However, she is full of energy and always has her legs kicking away. Annie loves the jumperoo! I can tell she will be a busy toddler..and for that, I am not prepared. :-/

She tried her first taste of oatmeal the other day (As I write this, she is just about 7 months old). I was not in a hurry to give her solids but she tried to grab food out of our hands any chance she got. So....let the fun begin!

Annie is still in a bassinet next to my bed. I cannot bear to move her to her room. With E working out of town, I love having someone in my room while I sleep. Bah. I know I will have to move her soon. She can almost get out of the bassinet.

We love our baby Annie. Love her so very much. Happy Half Birthday, HAPPY GIRL!

Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.

2011-04-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

We are going through some issues with Miss K. She has struggled with this her entire life but we now have a name for her disorder. She has a condition called Selective Mutism. We are on the path to getting her help, but in the meantime, please no more comments about her lack of speaking, negatively referring to her bashfulness (aka "painfully shy") or any other negative labels. It does absolutely nothing for her self-esteem.

Please do not be offended if our beautiful K does not respond to you. She is going through a lot of internal anxiety and phobias. She desperately wants to be able to participate and communicate in social situations, she just cannot. It is not about you or because of you. Please understand and give her time....without judgment.

For the past month, I have been consumed with research and phone calls and meetings. Every counselor or psychologist worth a darn has a waiting list MONTHS long. So, we will wait. And in the meantime, I will do everything in my motherly power to help her.

She is a great kid. She is such a wonderful little lady. I know one day the world will get to experience just how amazing she is. We just have to support and love her until she finds the courage to shine.

An informative video here.
More info here. A song about SM.

What, what! It's my Baby's bday!

2011-04-06T21:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to my amazing, wonderful, one of a kind, awesome hubby! E, my college sweetheart, I love you with all my heart and soul. Thank you for coming to meet me all the way in Spain all those years ago! I hope you had a great birthday. We appreciate how hard you work for our family. I cannot imagine a better father to my babies. You are my best friend. I love you. Happy Birthday!

Play school Girl

2011-03-29T23:50:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine told me about a fabulous opportunity for a play school for K. It only cost me $10 to send her to a program at a local high school. The program was a child development course for the high school kids and it was a great introduction into a school setting.

Here is Miss K on the morning of her first day. She was a tad nervous. Can you tell??

Here she is at school!

K tried her very best to adjust to this new setting but it was a difficult transition, to say the least. She did have fun moments and I am very grateful to her high school buddies, who both had so much patience with my girl. Her graduation post to come...

Monster Truck Experience!

2011-03-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

E was given tickets to the Monster Truck show from one of his sub-contractors. We knew the kids would think this was super cool, so we decided to surprise them. We didn't tell them where we were going until we got there. P was SO EXCITED! Here is his face when he found out...

They gave Daddy big hugs of appreciation!

We got there early enough to tour the field and check out the trucks. The kids thought it was way awesome.

The kids wrote their names on Chalkboard Chuck.

We went up to our fully catered, open bar suite soon after. Suite!! Sweet!

We were all excited for the show to begin. Being rookies, we had no idea what to expect. I knew it would probably be loud, but I figured I would just hide in the back of the suite with the baby and hopefully get her to sleep in my arms.

Um. NO. Not even close. Have you ever been to one of these things before??? Holy cow. The noise that came from those trucks was louder than anything I have EVER heard before. It is absolutely indescribable. There are literally no words that can possibly explain how LOUD it was. OMG. I am still in awe over that noise! My ear drums have not yet recovered.

It was immediately after the first truck roared that I realized we were VERY ignorant, idiot, moron parents to bring a freakin BABY to a monster truck show. Whoops. Fortunately, they sold heavy duty head phones and we were able to prevent any ear drum damage. Yikes. Parent FAIL.

It was a good first (and last) time. The kids loved it, baby needs a hearing aide, and P now wants to be a motocross rider....overall, I would say it was a success!

Little Slugger!

2011-03-19T22:48:00.001-07:00

Bubs started playing baseball this year. Technically, he is supposed to be in t-ball another year but he was completely bored with it and needed more of a challenge. We decided to push him up to coach-pitch this year. Wow. What a huge difference. I wish there was something in between t-ball and baseball because he is with kids who are a lot more advanced than he is. Granted, most of the kids on his team are 8 years old!!! because their parents held them back so that they could be the oldest on the teams. ????

Anyway, our SIX year old has been had a bit of hard time hitting the ball. First two games, he struck out every time. HUGE self-esteem blow. He has a coach that seriously bites and has not helped him much at all. Fortunately, his last years coach has a kid on the team and has taken P aside to help him.

After a few words of wisdom from his old coach and some awkward practicing with his non-coordinated mother, P has been able to get his skills up to par. He is doing SO much better and I am glad because he was really upset there for a while.

Naughty Leprechauns!

2011-03-17T22:38:00.001-07:00

This St. Patty's day, leprechauns attacked our house! They overturned furniture, scattered things about and even left green footprints and shamrocks all over the house!!!

They even turned the milk green!

We had lots of green activities, green food, green inspired games and more going on all day. My non-Irish babies had a fun time celebrating!

Play Ball!

2011-03-09T21:57:00.001-07:00

P-dogg has taken a HUGE interest in basketball. It is apparently the sport of choice amongst kindergarten boys. He plays everyday with his buddies and constantly talks about wanting to be on a basketball team. Cool....except that he is currently enrolled in baseball!!

Every afternoon he dresses in his basketball outfit from last season. He also has another basketball-ish shirt that he makes his sister wear, so they can have teams. They practice with the tiny Little Tikes basketball hoop that we got him back when he was two.

So, when Daddy comes home to practice baseball with P on the weekends, he is often dressed in his basketball gear, glove in hand.

He loves the special attention from Daddy. And E loves playing catch with his boy.

Here is Sister dressed in her "team uniform". haha. She made sure to wear her pink pants, though.

Sister wanted to get in on practice time. She is hilarious when she plays. Zero to No coordination. But she giggles like crazy and has a blast.

And the best part? The Daddy cuddles afterward...

My Loves, My Life

2011-02-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

GRRRowing baby!

2011-02-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Look who rode in the cart like a big girl!!!

Yesterday, Littlest learned how to growl. She has been doing it all day. The kids find it hilarious. I am trying to get it on video because it really is funny. Grrrr....RAWR!

Today I reached into her mouth and felt a sharp little nub. Looks like a tooth is coming in!!

She continues to babble and squeal like an animal! The kids swear she can say words. They are convinced that she has said Mama, No, Yeah, cat. And a ton of others that I can't remember. Annie will unintentionally make some sort of resemblance to a word and the kids flip out that she is ALREADY talking. Pretty funny. So yeah, if you hear them bragging about our advanced 4 month old, now you know why.

Just One More Day

2011-02-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

My grandmother was the most incredible person that ever lived. She was a earth angel and I miss her deeply every moment of my life. I strive to be like her everyday. She was so self-less and loving. She was the greatest person I have ever known. She's been gone for 6 years.

I am not big on cemeteries. Just don't care for them. But last month, I got this random urge to go visit both of my late-grandparents. My kids were super curious to see where their namesakes were resting.

It was interesting, to say the least. So strange to think of them lying there. I wish I could have one more day. To hug them, to talk to them, to introduce them to my kids. I miss them but I am thankful for the memories. My grandmother is my daily inspiration! It is a nice thought to imagine her watching over me and my family. Love you, Grandma!

Gratitude

2011-02-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have been in a rut. For the past 2 years or so, we have gone through so many changes in our family. We have had lots of ups and downs. I think E and I have been stuck focusing on the downs (huge financial burdens, out of town work). The economy has really screwed our vision for our lives together and instead of embracing the changes, we have fought them.

I have been angry that E has to work out of town. I hate not having him home. The hardest part for me is that there is no end in sight. As long as he is with this company, he will never be home during the week. He misses out on so many things with our children. And it breaks my heart. Furthermore, it makes me sad to be alone. I miss my husband so much.

That being said, I think it is time to turn over a new leaf.

I am done feeling sorry for myself. I am over feeling bad about our situation. Yes, it is still going to be hard. But I know in my heart that I have so much to be thankful for. I am incredibly lucky to have all that I have. Most importantly, I am married to an incredible man. He is my best friend and he loves me so much. I also have three terrific kids, who I am crazy about. We are so very fortunate.

I am accepting our new lives, struggles and all. A friend of mine posted the following quote on her FB page...

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. -Melodie Beattie

Gratitude turns what we have into enough.

I sure needed to hear that quote today. Here's to a more positive outlook. Good things are coming. I am open to the possibilities.

Birthday Celebrations

2011-02-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the big four year old, Daddy was able to take a day off of work. He took his princess out for a special breakfast date. She LOVES having dates with Daddy and I know it meant the world to her!

When they came home, I had decorated the house with pink streamers. Surprise!

On their way back to the house, K asked Daddy where they were going next. He told her home and she immediately frowned and said, "But Daddy! Mommy said you would take me jewelry shopping on our date!" Haha. Oops. I DID jokingly mention that once at the mall. My comment was something about her not letting any boys buy her jewelry except her daddy. Well, she remembered. Poor Daddy.

Being the big spender he is, Daddy took K to Target and let her pick out a $5 heart necklace, which she was THRILLED to wear. Phew. Escaped that without too much damage.

Once Brother came home from school, we set out to celebrate at K's restaurant pick. I mentioned to her there was a place to eat called The Spaghetti Factory. The girls jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. The idea that there was an entire restaurant dedicated to SPAGHETTI was almost overwhelming. So it was a no brainer when she had to pick a birthday spot. However, when we got there, she randomly decided she wanted lasagna. Go figure.

She, predictably, was not pleased with all the attention from the singing waiters. She refused to look at them. But this was actually progress from the last time (with my parents), where she buried her head in my arms.

Still recovering from the embarrassment, she did not want to blow out her candle. Fortunately, she has a big brother who was willing to help out.

We had birthday cake waiting for us at home. I had given her a choice of what kind of cake she wanted. I was fully prepared to have to fork out the dough for an already made princess cake from a bakery. I should have known my little chef would much prefer to pick out the ingredients and make her own. So that is what we did. She helped make her cake and was so excited to eat it!

She was much more comfortable with us singing to her and was all smiles when the candles were lit.

She is looking at Daddy and Brother singing to her. Look at how happy she is!

The festivities continued the next day. We took her to Enchanted Island. She was super excited! Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and rained on our parade. At least they were able to ride a couple of things before we had to leave. We promised to take her back another time to finish our tickets.

Almost every picture I have, she has the happiest face. Her eyes are smiling. She was so happy and I am very glad she felt so special. Happy Birthday, K!

An awful thought...

2011-02-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

We were driving in the car last weekend and P starts to educated us on the presidents. He was taught way too many details for my liking about the assassination of Lincoln. Seriously. And he taught it all to his sister. Fantastic.

He then started talking about the civil war...except he didn't call it the "civil" war. He called it something much worse. He thought it was called the "SOBER war". Can you imagine?! The horror!

Resolution Success

2011-02-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

E and I have made a commitment this year to go on one date night a month. We are at 100% success rate so far. Okay, okay, so it is only February BUT STILL. Do you have any idea how hard it is to strap down a babysitter that you not only trust with your babies, but who will come to you?? Or at least keep them overnight? Fortunately, my parents are willing to ~~engage in self-torture~~ help out.

Last month, we sent the rascals to Papa and Mymo's for one night. The kids have a BLAST when they go there. My parents are so wonderful with them. There is always lots of food and fun (aka dirty, messy, wild playtime). EVERY TIME Papa and Mymo arrive to take the kids, they are off and running to their car without so much as a good-bye! I always have to chase them down to get my hugs and kisses. They just have so much fun with them. It definitely makes me feel good to leave them in their hands.

Anyhooters, E and I enjoyed our date night and our uninterrupted adult conversations, which inevitably always end up about our kids. :) Annie girl stayed with us but she slept the whole time, so it still counts as a date. Right?

Meanwhile, P and K enjoyed their time with their grandparents. When we went the next morning to pick them up, they were out riding the quad with Papa.

We left soon after and before we could get far, they were out cold....

Though I am betting Papa and Mymo were out for the count even before the kids were!

Let's hear it FOUR the girl!

2011-02-18T20:36:00.002-07:00

My sweet middle child is four. Some days it is hard for me to believe that she is already four and then other days, she is so mature and smart that I swear she is a teenager.

My Booey. I love this child from the depths of my soul. She is incredible, simply incredible. K is so passionate about the things she loves. Her family is one of the things. She is such a wonderful big sister. I love having her here at home to help me with the baby. She is always willing to give me a hand. I can already tell she will be a good mommy someday waaaaay in the future. She is equally devoted to her big brother. She adores him and makes him feel so special with her constant admiration. She is a good friend to him. He is lucky to have such a loyal best friend like Boo.

She loves cooking (still). She wants to help with breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. She is fascinated by the process of making a meal and is more than willing to try anything new. She is a fun date to take to new food places. She has even tried octopus before and LOVED it. Her favorites: shrimp!, spaghetti and SALAD--the girl loves her salad.

She is very proud to be able to write most of her letters and enjoys our weekly "school time" activities. She is so intelligent and constantly amazes me with her thoughts. She is a really neat kid. This is my K-boo's last year home with me. :( While I am sad that it is already time for her to start her preschool journey, I am really looking forward to watching her bloom and become more independent.

This year my K is four. Four going on thirteen. We love her more than words can say. Happy Birthday, Love!!! You are officially a "big girl" now!

WTH

2011-02-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

So I sat down tonight to catch up on my blog and in the middle of uploading photos, I was DENIED. Blogger says I have used up all of my "free" photo storage space. Wth. I didn't know I had a limit. So I can no longer post ANY photos....unless I purchase more space. Seriously???? I don't even know what to do! Change blog sites? Resize all of my old photos? Would that even clear up the space issue? Gah. What is a girl to do???????

Fantastic random news!

2011-02-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

So my camera has been in the shop. :( We finally got the okay from Canon to purchase a new one! After a bit of drama, they credited my account and I was able to get a BRAND NEW camera!!! Woot, woot!!! So excited! I am now the owner of a 60D and I am beyond elated. Can't wait to get out and shoot. Stay tuned!

Day of LOVE

2011-02-14T23:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Valentines' Day! I know there are a lot of V-day haters out there (or so my FB account declares it so). We don't really celebrate either but I don't mind it as a "holiday". I certainly love my family all year round BUT Valentine's day is just another reminder of how much they mean to me! LOVE each and every one of them with ALL my heart!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-02-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

Last month, our church organized a volunteer event to clean up various communities. We picked a "job" where the kids could help too. We went to an elementary school to build a garden for the kindergarten class. My kids were THRILLED. They have this odd obsession with gardens and have begged us for one multiple times over the years. Neither E or I have green thumbs, nor the time to dedicate to a garden. However, I admit, one of these days it would be nice.

In the meantime, we made a school teacher very happy with a brand new garden bed. There was lots of digging to be done.

And making sure the soil and yummy manure was all mixed properly. (P in camo coat--shocking, I know. K in the pink coat. My kids are not predictable AT ALL)

The kids had a great time and I am glad we were able to take them to do this. We look forward to more opportunities in the future.

Jumping for Joy

2011-02-11T10:00:00.003-07:00

Today I put A in the Jumperoo for the first time. She reminds me so much of her brother. Her legs are ALWAYS kicking. I remember that my sweet P learned how to kick a ball before he could walk. We would hold his arms and walk him towards a ball. He would squeal and kick his little foot. When he was about a year and a half, he used to yell (his version of), "Kick it!" whenever he saw a ball. I will have to find that video...so cute! And now, soccer is his best sport!

Little Annie seems to be taking after big bro. She is going to be a busy girl. She is already jumping away! She kicks her legs constantly. Here is a pic of her first time....

Happiest Baby on the Block

2011-02-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Four-ever Ours

2011-02-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today my Littlest is 4 months old. :( No longer a newborn and growing like a weed. She is such a sweet girl, so smiley and happy. She had a doc appt. yesterday and is at the top of the charts for height and weight.

Her eyes vary from a dark green-olive color to a beautiful brown. I think they will end up a lighter shade of brown. She laughs and coos all the time. She rarely cries and can entertain herself for long stretches at a time (very helpful when you happen to be the 3rd child). She still looks like her daddy, as all my kids do. She drools like CRAZY. Non-stop. It is totally gross but, well, we can't all be perfect. Hopefully she will grow out of that before she starts dating!

Annie-girl is in love with her siblings, as they are with her. Her eyes light up when either of them walk into the room. They are both SO good with her. P, is the amazing big bro he has always been. K-boo is so nurturing and helpful. She has really surprised me with how wonderful she is with the baby. Neither of them have ever shown signs of jealousy or have been upset with A. I am so proud of the big siblings they both are. Annie is a lucky girl to have such a loving brother and sister.

My camera is in the shop :( so I haven't been able to take recent pictures of her. But, of course, there is always my handy cell phone.

We love you sweet Annie Bananie!!

Silent F

2011-01-26T19:35:00.004-07:00

Yesterday P's writing assignment was about his favorite sight word. Weird topic, but whatev. So, I asked him what his favorite sight word was.

P: of
Me: of? Okay, why?
P: Because it has a silent "F"
M: no it doesn't
P: Yes, it does! OF... /uh/ /vvv/. I DON'T HEAR THE "F"!!

Love that kid!

Poor 3rd Child

2011-01-07T20:52:00.001-07:00

Wet T-shirt Contest

2011-01-07T17:22:00.006-07:00

Our littlest lady has completely changed the meaning of that phrase. If there were a contest for babies, she would win hands down. She is the drooliest kid I have had yet. My older two never drooled. Littlest is straight off the set of Turner and Hooch. Starring as Hooch.

Her shirts are constantly wet...not damp, WET. Soaking wet. So gross. The other day at church, we picked her up from the nursery and the grandma who was watching her immediately began apologizing. I am sooo sorry. I don't know how it happened. She must have somehow got water spilled on her shirt. I don't know where it would have come from but her shirt is soaking wet.

Um. Nope. That's just Hooch.

There were 3 in the bed and the little one said...

2011-01-07T14:30:00.002-07:00

"Roll over, Roll over!" (we sing that stupid song all.the.damn.time now)

Miss Thang rolled over for the first time a few days ago. The best part? I caught it on camera! Poor thing is now tortured daily to show us her new trick. She is going to grow up thinking she is in the circus, as her siblings demand she perform on cue!

Also, turn your volume down. Unless, of course, you enjoy listening to my high-pitched, obnoxious baby voice! Consider yourself warned. (On the other hand, if you want to play an effective drinking game, grab a bottle of booze and take a drink every time I say, "Keep trying!")

Side note for the g-parents: I have back posted a bit a while back. If you subscribe to my blog (click on the "stalk me" buttons), it will update you when any new post is up---even if it was a few months ago. *not that anyone here would be THAT behind on blog posts. /just sayin'.

A Toast to the New Year

2010-12-31T22:11:00.006-07:00

Long gone are the late New Year's Eve parties. To be truthful, I don't mind all that much. I enjoy welcoming the new year with my closest peeps. We decided to ring in the new year early for the kids, instead of keeping them up until midnight. So as soon as it was dark, we began our crazy party!

First, we had to make sure we were bundled properly to go outside. Daddy was in charge of the Littlest. Yes, E is a fashionista.

We had sparkling cider for the toast...

Now that fireworks are legal, we had sparklers! P and K were confused as to why we would let them play with "fire".

After playing with the pretty sparklers, we ventured back inside for a banging good time. We did a 7pm countdown and let the kids go wild making noise and screaming, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And certainly the evening would not have been complete without some light saber action from the P-dogg...

2 months Too Fast

2010-12-27T20:26:00.006-07:00

Baby, baby, baby. I love babies. I especially love my little punkin. She is the happiest baby in the world. She really is. In the WHOLE WORLD.

My awesome friend, Diane, has recently ventured into the world of crocheting. She kindly made these precious hats for my Most Happiest baby in the world to wear. Of course, all I could think was PHOTO OP!

And now, I officially declare Annie the Most HAPPIEST AND CUTEST baby in the world.

Bounce Your Heart Out, Kids!

2010-12-26T23:40:00.005-07:00

Oh my. I have so many Christmas posts. I am almost caught up.

So, after we had our family celebrations on Christmas morning, we headed out to Papa and Mymo's to continue the festivities. It was a short celebration, as my die-hard Cardinals fans parents JUST HAD to go to the Cardinals game that day. Fortunately, the game started later in the day and we were able to enjoy a little bit of family time.

Miss Annie settled right into Nana Tillie's arms.

More presents!

And the biggest present was the trampoline Papa and Mymo gave the kids. I, for one, am thrilled with anything that A) gets tons of energy out and B) is outside. Perfection!

As soon as we got home, Handy Daddy went right to work!

Ya gotta love a man that wears a baby WHILE putting a trampoline together!

The kids didn't even wait for E to put the net enclosure on before they tried it out. They loved it!

Crazy Christmas

2010-12-26T23:39:00.009-07:00

Christmas morning, P comes into our room and anxiously wakes me up. I assumed his excitement was about the presents set out by the tree....but, to my surprise, he started frantically telling me the WEIRDEST story. "Mama, there is this blue stuff on the ground by my room. I stepped on it and it disappeared!!! It was so cool!" I looked at him like he had sprouted a third eye. In my half-awake daze, I replied, "Really?" To which he responded, "Yeah!" and as he ran off out of my room, he casually muttered "Oh, and Santa came. He left me a bike and Sister a kitchen set."

I was SO CONFUSED. I concentrated to try and hear what he was doing in the living room, but I heard nothing. I, again, assumed that he had gone back to bed. I was certain he had been sleep walking and talking. So strange. He did not at all mention wanting to open presents. He barely seemed to notice.

I stayed in bed for a few more minutes and finally, I could not take the suspicious behavior any longer. I thought he'd be back asleep but when I walked into the living room, he had turned on the tv and was watching football on ESPN. ????? Even more CONFUSING. I asked him what he was doing and he started telling me about this kid who was in football camp. ???????

So, I went back to bed and waited for the twilight zone to end.

A half hour later, I hear rustling over K's monitor. "Kenz?" I hear P whisper. I immediately perked up and the conversation that followed was the damn cutest thing I have ever heard. I was so disappointed that there was not a record button on my monitor.

He continued to whisper her name, pleading with her to get up. He could not stand waiting another second. Finally, I hear her wake and he immediately started frantically yelling, "SANTA CAME, KENZ! SANTA CAME! There are presents, Kenz! PRESENTS! Hurry, wake up! Let's go get Mama and Daddy!"

Now THERE was the reaction I was expecting. Geez.

K responded appropriately with squeals of joy. I heard them run out to the living room, jumping out of their skin with excitement, once they saw the gifts. I could HEAR their smiles all the way across the house. They ran to our room, where I was waiting with my camera already focused! :)

E and I immediately got out of bed and the Christmas morning chaos began. Everything was as it should have been.

After presents were opened, P turned to E and said, "Oh, Daddy, guess what? This morning there was this cool disappearing blue stuff on the floor. Come here, let me show you..." He ran off to his room. "It is right here...heeeeyyy, wait a minute. It's gone. The magic stuff isn't here anymore."

WTH.

I think my child was abducted by Christmas aliens or something.

Great Skating....

2010-12-26T21:20:00.002-07:00

Mimi and Grampy Bill gave the kids roller skates for Christmas. They have both been wishing for a pair for a while, so it was a perfect gift. They immediately ran outside to try out their new prize. It was hysterical watching them slip and slide everywhere. Hopefully, with practice, they can skate around solo soon! I'm thinking it is time for a trip to Great Skate. Maybe I can even get E to hold my hand during the couples skate song. Woot, woot. 90s romance rewind, here we come!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2010-12-24T21:11:00.002-07:00

I love how excited the kids get to put out the cookies and milk for ~~Daddy~~, er Santa. Santa is kind of picky and we have to be sure to make the ones he likes. The kids find it fascinating that Santa eats cookies at ALL of the houses.

Later that night, P frantically called us to his room. He was worried that Santa would have to go potty and wanted to make sure the big man knew he was welcome to use our bathroom! He insisted we write him a note to tell him so. Haha. Love that thoughtful kid!

Holiday Memories

2010-12-24T20:07:00.003-07:00

Christmas Eve! This year we spent Christmas Eve with E's family at our house. Mimi and Grampy Bill arrived with gifts galore. Our living room was packed with goodies!

We had a delicious lunch and family time and then everyone gathered for the gift opening. We were certainly blessed for many reasons this year.

Of course, there was the ugly ornament contest. Despite everyone's best efforts, Aunt Noodle remained reigning champion. NO ONE can beat this woman and her creepy finds. This "man" ornament has white hair growing off of his face. He is AWFUL looking!

We also sang Aunt Noodle happy birthday! The kids were more than willing to dedicate the time to making a birthday cookie for her.

We gave a special gift to Aunt Shish and Uncle Rommy......Marty the Moose! This little guy is a housewarming present that is passed around to whoever moves into a new home next. We've had it about a year and now that Uncle R and Aunt C have just moved, Marty gets to visit there house for a while! Can't you feel the excitement in this photo??

The kids had fun playing. Wonder what my kids had to drink??

It was a nice time celebrating with everyone!

Ridin' the Party Bus--Kid-style!

2010-12-23T23:15:00.002-07:00

My very good friend from high school and her husband own a party bus company. Typically, these buses are rented out for bachelor parties and wild nights that involve lots of booze and dancing. Wellll, times have changed for us thirty-somethings with children. Our nights of drinking binges and club hopping are long gone. HOWEVER, we can still rock a party bus!

This year we all took a very kid friendly ride around town to look at Christmas lights. It was so much fun. We were chauffeured to all of the best decorated houses. We also made a stop at the ice cream parlor in downtown Scottsdale My kids had a blast. I really had a good time, too.

Never mind the stripper pole in the center of the bus!

Looking at the lights!

Enjoying the ice cream stop...

Thank you for the ride, Herschell Family!

Traditions

2010-12-22T22:58:00.015-07:00

One of our Christmas traditions involves making a gingerbread house. The kids look forward to it every year. Here they are getting pumped up for the sugar fest!

Busy at work!

Can we eat it yet??

Ta Da!

I was there too, Mama!

As a follow up, we took a trip to a local hotel that had a gingerbread village on display!

My sweet tooth K was in heaven at the very thought of being able to eat that village! Poor girl was disappointed to learn she couldn't even take a bite! :)

Baking Christmas Treats

2010-12-21T22:53:00.001-07:00

We made some simple, but yummy, treats for gifts this year. Granted, most of them found their way into OUR tummies. Nevertheless, we had a good time baking together!

Christmas with Pots

2010-12-18T22:10:00.002-07:00

We got to celebrate an early Christmas with Pots and Kyle. It was a nice time seeing them and having them over to enjoy the holidays together.

Siblings By Chance, Friends By Choice

2010-12-18T02:32:00.000-07:00

They started playing peek-a-boo behind the tree in our front yard. Can they be any cuter? I think not.

Okay, okay, so I may be a little, TINY bit biased but they are the absolute cutest, most endearing siblings I have ever seen. Totally (obnoxiously) brag-worthy. I cannot take the credit for their fabulous relationship, as they choose to be that way towards each other on their own. However, I can mention, for the millionth time, that I am so pleased that they are so incredibly close. It makes this mama's heart explode with internal happiness. I LOVE THESE KIDS.

Hello my baby...

2010-12-18T02:23:00.002-07:00

I have so many pictures of our Littlest that I have not yet posted. I have to sort through them and get them on here because, one day, I plan to print out this blog and I want to have them in the blog book! Btw, totally open to accepting donations for that plan too.

Anyhooters, here a few that I love. Newborns are so adorable. So little and precious. She was only 6 days old in the first picture and I caught her sleep smiling. Can I get an "Awwww"??

She is the darn sweetest newborn EVER.

My Wish For You

2010-12-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

My three babies, hand in hand.

This picture symbolizes everything I strive to achieve as a mother. My hope is that they forever lean on each other and hold hands through all of life's struggles and treasures.

Bookworm Buddy

2010-12-17T21:57:00.001-07:00

My big boy is officially a reader. He has been able to sound out short words for a while, but now he can read whole books with relative ease. It is so awesome to hear him read aloud. I can't believe he is such a big boy. One of my most favorite sounds is him reading to his sister. Priceless!

Lovin' My Babies

2010-12-17T21:11:00.002-07:00

I love being a mother. I really, truly do. I am so proud of my littles. I thoroughly enjoy this time that I am able to be home with them. I am so thankful. They are each so wonderful and unique. They have taught me so much about life. I cannot imagine who I would be without them. Gosh, I love them!

Buds

2010-12-17T19:59:00.002-07:00

Tonight is a blogging night. Hubby is working late and I am so far behind. I am finally getting around to this in APRIL. These will be posted back in December of LAST FREAKIN YEAR. Oh well. See what happens when you are busy enjoying life!

On to it....
My kids argue a lot. They know how to push each other's buttons. Sometimes their fighting drives me CRAZY. However, these two little people also have a special bond. I will never get tired of mentioning how they are the best of friends. When they encounter a new, unfamiliar situation, they ALWAYS reach out to each other. Brother is definitely K's protector. She feels safe with him by her side. I know he likes having her by his side too. I love their bond. I pray and hope with all my heart that they forever stay this close.

Kindergarten Christmas

2010-12-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of attending P's school Christmas party. My amazing aunt allowed me to leave K and baby A with her. It was the first time I had ever even considered leaving Miss A, but my aunt was overjoyed to be the first to take her (or at least she pretended to be!).

I was torn between wanting to be at my first born's 1st Christmas party or staying behind with my newborn. In the end, I knew that my baby would be in good hands and I kept my fingers crossed that my little nursling would not need to eat within the two hours I would be gone. As luck would have it, she slept the entire time I was away, much to Tia Lucy's disappointment. :)

Anyway....I arrived at the party, perhaps a few minutes late. I say this because, apparently, my big boy P had already been bugging his teacher as to my whereabouts. He knew I was coming and when other moms arrived before me, he started to get impatient. He is his father's son, you know.

When I walked into the classroom, one of the other mamas coincidentally had a camera focused on my guy. She snapped a photo of his reaction when he saw me. It melts my heart to see the excitement and love in his eyes for me. <3

It was great fun being able to be a part of the festivities. I was in charge of a craft station and it helped fulfill my urge to go back to teaching. I had a grand ol' time working with the kids.

We had pizza and treats and a wonderful holiday party. I am so grateful to Tia Lucy for making it possible for me to attend. I know it meant a lot to P and it sure meant a lot to me. Thank you so much, Aunt Lucy. Love you!!!

Christmas Cookies & Holiday Hearts, That's The Way The Season Starts

2010-12-11T20:51:00.001-07:00

Cookie Day is MY FAVORITE day ever. These cookies are the BEST cookies in the entire world. They are my late grandmother's recipe and every year around this time, I start craving them like no other. So, it was no surprise that I was looking forward to this day. Mmmmmmm!!!!

My dad made sure to have some "fun" kid activities to do, as well.

Once it was time to make the cookies, the kids joined right in.

I have said it before and I will say it again...I LOVE the holidays and spending time with my family. Family traditions make my heart happy! Oh, and I sure do love those cookies too!

Joining the Crazies at the Train Park

2010-12-10T19:28:00.003-07:00

Last year, we had hoped to take the kids to the train park to see the light display. Upon discovering the three hour wait time, we voted against that idea. Well, this year, we were prepared. We went on opening day and were expecting to wait for a loooooong time. We arrived early and the line was not nearly as long as the year before. Yay! In the end, we waited for about an hour. It wasn't too bad and the kids really appreciated the festivities.

While we waited, E and I took turns taking the kids to see various parts of the park. There were lots of characters and a band and, of course, light displays.

The nice conductor took our family picture once we finally got on the train!

The kids LOVED the light tunnel!

Look, Dad!!

Scooby!

I am so glad we were able to enjoy the light display year. Christmas is such a fun time!

Dancing Queen

2010-12-10T19:20:00.002-07:00

This girl LOVES to dance. She is cute as can be, too. Even her extreme bashfulness does not keep her off the dance floor (so long as Mama is within arms reach, of course). At recent family functions, she has even managed to get her daddy to boogie down with her on the dance floor! A girl after my own heart!

The Littlest Lady

2010-12-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

Our Littlest is already two months old. As usual, time is passing much too fast for my liking. I enjoy every second of these baby moments. I distinctly remember taking the time to study all the little details about each and every one of my babies. Annie is no different. I pull her close to my chest and breathe her in. I try to memorize the softness of her skin and her sweet baby smell. I try to memorize the way she looks at this very minute. I want to remember every thing about her as a newborn. I love her so much.

The Littlest smiles and coos all the time. She is a happy girl and we have been, yet again, blessed with a terrific baby. She is sleeping an average of six consecutive hours a night, waking only once after that to eat. I say "average" because the night before last she slept 7 hours 15 minutes (yep, I count the 15), but then last night, she only slept 5. :( Hopefully the FIVE hours was the fluke, not the 7h 15m!

She has mastered the typical baby milestones and is growing well. She is spoiled by her siblings and therefore, is learning to demand lots of attention. Good thing she has two personal assistants (P and K) to help her out.

Her eyes remain light in color. We are all curious as to what color they will end up. Today was her 2 month check up. I am proud to announce that we no longer have a pinhead baby girl. (poor lonely K). Annie's head measured in the 70th percentile! Coming from my pinhead genetics, that is HUGE! :) She was 22 1/2 inches long (60%) and weighed in at 12lbs. 3oz (90%). Our little chunker is happy and healthy!

Annie loves to sleep on her tummy, but her most favorite place to sleep is against Daddy's warm chest. And Daddy sure never objects to napping with his littlest princess. They make a cute pair.

We love our newest with all our hearts!

And the winner is....

2010-12-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

It's official....I win Worst Mother of the Year. Today I forgot my son at school. And not even when I saw the caller id with his school's name did it occur to me that I had left him. I thought they were calling because he got sick and I needed to come get him early. :( What a horrible mother.

In my small defense, today was early release day. I was set to pick him up at normal time; I even planned out the next hour an a half of chores before I had to leave. He gets off early MOST Wednesdays but NOT ALL. Like next week, it is a full day. Today, early release. ^%@#@^#!@. Screwed that one up.

I think I cussed into the phone, when the secretary told me she was calling for pick up for P. Shiiiiitttt. I had just put K down for nap. I yelled for her to come out and get into the car and I scrambled like I have never scrambled before. I was out the door in record time, not even pausing to turn off the tv.

I was prepared for a teary, sad little man, who would most certainly cry, "You LEFT ME, Mama!" and thereby be traumatized for the rest of his life. And the next thing you know, we'd be sitting on the Dr.Phil show on an episode about 40 year old men who still live with their mothers all because of being abandoned at age 6. Ugh. Minus ten points for mom today.

I ran into the office, bracing myself for a meltdown. But no. No. There was no meltdown. He was LAUGHING and joking with the secretary. I was still in panic mode. Didn't he know I had chewed off every finger nail, during the excruciating 15 minute drive there?? Didn't he know how GUILTY I felt about FORGETTING him??? Nope. He couldn't have cared less.

And thank goodness for that. I would have never forgiven myself, if he had been crying. It turns out I have the honor of sharing this Worst Mother of the Year trophy with several other parents, as well. There were like 5 kids waiting in the office. Haha. I DID find comfort in seeing that. At least there will be familiar faces on that talk show.

After apologizing profusely to the wonderful staff that took care of my poor forgotten child, we walked out to the car. He had still not mentioned anything about being left behind. Instead, he was anxious to tell me that he had clipped up to BLUE! Good boy! The drive home he continued rattling off all of the fantastic things that had happened that day. I was relieved that he had forgiven me, or better yet, that he didn't feel abandoned at all!

And now, as I prepare to click on the "publish post" button, I am still trying to figure out why I am writing on my blog about my massive fail????

MINUS 20 points for me.

Down for the Count

2010-12-08T19:06:00.004-07:00

Brothers are a work of HEART

2010-12-07T19:43:00.001-07:00

Life as a mother of three is quite busy. Add to the fact that I am doing it alone M-F every week, means you can bet not everything is done quite to perfection. The only thing I can be certain of is that I tell and show my babies I love them every day and every night. For that, I feel successful.

Picking up the slack a lot of times is my big boy P. What a kid. One day, I was busy doing something and set the baby under her play gym thing. When I came back into the room, I found my boy had crawled under the small play toy with his littlest sister. He was speaking to her in the most gentle, sweetest voice.

This kid truly has a heart of gold.

Say Cheese!

2010-12-07T18:54:00.002-07:00

My kids are amazing. I love them so. But getting them to pose for a Christmas card is damn near impossible. They have both started smiling with this painful, ugly looking grimace. It drives me NUTS. K has no idea how to smile. She sticks her bottom teeth out and tucks her lips in. P always looks constipated! Even when I tell them NOT to smile and just to sit normal, they still look like they are in pain!

Haha. Oh well. I have give up and now I just plan to blackmail them with all of the awful photos I have! :) Here are some that are not so bad....

I have hope that the Littlest will not inherit this disturbing problem.

Blessings

2010-12-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

Isn't she lovely, Isn't she beautiful...

2010-12-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

I love that song and I LOVE itty bitty baby parts!
Ears, feet, hands, dimpled knees and my fav, Buddha bellies!

Visiting Grammy

2010-12-06T12:42:00.005-07:00

We finally made it over to visit Grammy, so that she could meet her newest great grandbaby. She normally has a difficult time remembering our kids, but on this day, she did great. She struggled a bit with names but definitely remembered we had three kiddos!

She was thrilled to meet Annie. She went on and on, gushing over our littlest. It was wonderful to see her with the baby. I, of course, forgot my stupid camera. Doh. But here are a couple of cell pics...

It was wonderful to have a good visit with Gram!!

Parade of Lights!

2010-12-05T18:43:00.018-07:00

Every year the kids are so excited for the Christmas light parade. This year we met up with my cousin and his kids. I love that family so very much. It was crazy crowded this year but the kids didn't seem to notice.

I love that we are able to do fun things like this in this beautiful Phoenix winter weather! The light parade ROCKS!

Brudda and Baby Sister

2010-12-04T23:11:00.001-07:00

Since having Annie, I have been browsing old photos from Brother and Sister. Everyone claims Annie looks identical to her sister. She certainly does BUT she also very strongly resembles her big brother. The have a lot of the same baby facial expressions and mannerisms, especially as Annie is getting older. They have the same chubby cheeks!

Annie making a similar face...

Big Brother no longer has his baby chubs but he is most definitely just as sweet and cute!

Flying High

2010-12-04T20:05:00.001-07:00

P, K and A totally have the coolest uncle EVER. So when Aunt Lise asked if we would like to join her on a visit to Uncle Matt's work, we jumped at the opportunity! This also happened to be the day that we asked Cousin Josh to come hang out with us for the day.

Uncle Matt, aka the ever-impressive helicopter pilot, was waiting outside to greet us when we arrived. He quickly informed us that a special visitor was about to fly in.....

Can you guess who was in this chopper? The kids excitedly waved and we hurried over to see the big star.

(God bless the man who sported the costume but he was obviously an imposter! He even adjusted his beard that started to slide off. Shhhh, the kids didn't really seem to notice!)

After a quick glance at the big man, we headed out towards Uncle Matt's "office". I gotta say, Uncle M has the most kick ass office I have ever seen. He has a bedroom and living room, complete with TVs and video games and a kitchenette. P thought Uncle M was pretty dang cool!

We were allowed to check out some pretty neat helicopters. It sure is handy to know a pilot!

(forgive the smudge across all the pics. Didn't discover that until it was too late)

Proof Annie was there....

After checking out the awesome 'copters, we got to scope out Matt's home away from home. Uncle Matt kindly let P (and Josh) try on his super neat helmet.

Even Daddy got in on the action! And Daddy was special enough to try out the night vision on this bad boy.

The kids were so proud to show off their cool uncle to cousin J. Thanks for a fun time, Uncle M and Aunt L!

Big by Big

2010-12-01T22:56:00.001-07:00

Today, while working on a craft, I told K to glue the pieces "little by little". She looked up at me, frowned and said, "But Mama, is it okay if I just do it big by big?"

So much to learn from this little lady. She is so smart and sweet. She has the longest lashes I have ever seen. She is a wonderful helper and is so proud to be a big sis.

K-boo loves to sing and dance. You should see her in the car. She is my lead singer! It is incredibly cute to hear her sweet voice from the backseat.

Baby Babble!

2010-11-30T23:41:00.002-07:00

I am so HAPPY to have baby giggles in the house again. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when a baby does belly laughs. Annie is so CUUUUUTE!

Annie totally makes noises that sound like words. The big kids freak out when she does this because they think she is so smart for already talking. So, we now joke about her "words". She's advanced.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2010-11-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

We had a "cold for us" couple of days. Brrr was it chilly and a perfect excuse to start up the ol' fireplace. I LOVE fireplaces. When we lived up in Prescott, we had a fire going at all hours of the day during the winter. It was my most favorite way to stay toasty warm.

And yeah, okay, so Phoenix is not exactly cold...but it really was chilly enough to light 'er up! The kids were just as excited!

Unfortunately, there was some malfunction with the fireplace and it stunk up the whole house for a couple of weeks. :( The flu (floo?) was open, so we are not sure what the problem was. Luckily, the cold chill has left the building and temps are back in the 70s. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted!

Home for the Holidays!

2010-11-27T22:16:00.007-07:00

As expected, we were all supremely anxious to begin the holidays. The day after Thanksgiving sent us out to the storage to pull out our Christmas decorations. We had not seen most of this stuff for a couple of years, as last Christmas we had not yet moved into our house and had everything in storage. This will be our first Christmas in this house!!! We moved just after the holiday last year.

The kids were jumping out of their skin with excitement. Every year I am amazed at how much more fun the holidays are with kids. They really make it so special and I love seeing the magic in their eyes.

First, we had to check the lights to make sure they worked!

And then the decorating began!

As I worked on getting the inside all Christmas-spirity, E got to work on the outside. The kids helped in between racing their bikes around the yard. It was a perfect day. Made me appreciate all that I have....a beautiful family, a beautiful home, and so much to be grateful for.

My favorite photo of the day was when P put on the reindeer antlers. This kid is so damn funny. This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.

We are enjoying every moment of the Christmas season!

The Great Outdoors

2010-11-27T12:58:00.001-07:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, E took the kids "hunting" (aka hiking/camping) for the day up north. The kids absolutely love going with E to the woods. They have so much fun outdoors. They met up with my dad and some others. Cousin Josh was there and apparently, the kids had a blast exploring nature together.

Meanwhile, Annie and I had a fantastic day of frugal shopping. I have joined several bargain websites for tips and tricks and I have been able to get tons of fantastic gifts this year for next to nothing. I am so excited about my deals.

Anyhooters, my lovely husband sent me a picture from their hunting trip. Awesome that he thought to do that! It only took eight years to train that man!

Most wonderful time of year....

2010-11-26T21:43:00.001-07:00

I LOVE this time of year! The holiday spirit gets me teary every time. To start the season off right, we began with our weekend "Family Night" ritual....Hot chocolate and a Christmas movie! The kids are obsessed with this and if we should happen to forget, they are quick to remind us every 5 seconds.

Making the cocoa...

Cuddling with Daddy on the couch...

Excited for the movie to start!

Feast Your Eyes on THIS

2010-11-25T23:08:00.006-07:00

P had an early Thanksgiving celebration at school. He was so proud to come home and show off his costumes.

First, an Indian costume...

Then, he dutifully posed in his pilgrim head gear...

He made a placemat that he was very proud of!

Of course, not to be outdone, K and I did a little Thanksgiving crafting of our own. I only have a picture of her Indian hat, though. I love all of the fun activities the holidays bring!

We spent the glorious Thanksgiving day feasting at my parents' house. It was a gorgeous day and Miss A thoroughly enjoyed her very first Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I forgot my freakin camera to document the event. Wth?! Must be getting forgetful in my old age. FORTUNATELY, I had my phone and was able to take a pic of poor 3rd child's first Turkey day (not that she was all that exciting, anyway)...

Happy Turkey Day to ALL!

Forever Young

2010-11-19T19:53:00.002-07:00

I woke up to 2 very excited children on the morning of my birthday. I could hear giggles and with huge smiles on their faces, they asked, "Is it your BIRTHDAY??" Dumb question, really, cause I had reminded them that it was almost my birthday for the entire month of November, not to mention the night before. And yet seeing me nod my half-awake head in answer, they squealed and ran off.

I enjoyed the next ten minutes cuddling with the Littlest, who evidently did NOT know about granting my one birthday wish of a full uninterrupted night of sleep. I'll forgive her this one time.

By the time I got dressed and ready to begin our morning school routine, I was informed that I must close my eyes and not search the house for my special cards that were about to be hidden. I promised I would wait until Daddy was home (boo on DADDY for being out of town!). Fortunately, I was smothered with birthday hugs and kisses--my favorite present all day.

I enjoyed my 32nd birthday to the fullest and had a great day with my family. Although there were not any photos taken on my big day, I did manage to take one cell pic of K with her card for me. I love the narration that comes along with each card or picture I am given. K was so proud of her artwork that she showed me her card during the day and asked if I would still act surprised later, when Daddy got home. Love that girl!

P made me card that just about made me cry. He wrote, as best he could, a beautiful birthday message and also drew a sweet picture inside the card. The way he spelled happy birthday brought a smile to my face. The fact that he wrote, "I luv mom" filled my heart. His sentences reminded me that he is growing up too fast.

We ended the day with cookies and lots of birthday love. My 32nd year got off to a fabulous start! Happy Birthday to me!

(I told E to stand up straight and this is what he did. He looks like a bouncer. We were going on a family walk to the park, thus the baby in the jogger.)

32 years old and a mama of THREE! Weeee!

Sisters are Forever

2010-11-17T22:01:00.002-07:00

I think everyone should have a three year old girl, when they have a baby. K-boo is so helpful. Brings me diaper and wipes for EVERY diaper change. She cuddles and talks to her little sister. She always wants to hold her and help in any way she can. She thinks Annie is her own living dolly. It's fantastic! I don't know how I ever survived without my 3 year old mother's helper. She is an awesome big sister!

Counting her toes and giving them kisses....

No autographs, please!

2010-11-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

Kickin' It

2010-11-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Soccer season has come to an end. It started with me as a big pregnant mama and ended with little Annie cheering her big brother on. Go Team Lightning!

Soccer is one of P's favorite sports to play and it definitely shows. We had several people come up and compliment us on our boy's skills....even parents from the opposing teams! At the end of the season, the coach pulled us aside to tell us how impressed he was with P's soccer skills and, of course, his great behavior. Made a mama proud!

God Bless America

2010-11-11T22:08:00.005-07:00

Happy Veteran's Day! We enjoyed another year at the Veteran's Day parade. My kids were in awe when I explained to them the duties of our soldiers. Thank you to all the men and women who defend and have defended our right to be free. I am eternally grateful.

Daddy and his Newest Princess

2010-11-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

I don't think I posted this picture on here before. I LOVE it. It brings up so many emotions. I love this man. I love the father he is. I love how he loves our kids. He is amazing.

The Rookie

2010-11-10T19:58:00.002-07:00

Oh my. It has officially been a month already. I have absolutely no idea where the past four weeks have gone. They have simply vanished out from under me because there is no possible way I have had a newborn for 4 weeks and 3 days. NO WAY. So, I would appreciate it, if whoever fast forwarded the calendar would kindly STOP it and rewind a bit before Annie is a pimple-faced, hormonal teenager asking to borrow my car.

Speaking of the Littlest, she is such a sweet girl. She has already outgrown some clothes :( and though she has not been officially weighed/height checked, I can certainly tell she is much bigger. Her cheeks are just starting to fill out and her chicken legs show a hint of baby chub.

She still has her newborn blue eyes, which continues to surprise me because I have never had a blue eyed baby EVER. The other two were born with dark gray eyes, which immediately turned brown. Annie is a great baby, though she has not yet learned the virtue of patience. I forgive her, though. I mean, she is her father's daughter after all. As long as she is fed in a timely matter (meaning RIGHT NOW damn it), she doesn't fuss much. However, I literally have .0001 seconds to feed her without an outburst when she decides it is time.

The girl was born smiling. No joke. I remember someone commenting on her "smile" soon after she entered the world. I know it was involuntary in the beginning, but she can now intentionally show her gummy grin. Melts my heart. She is starting to coo. It is the best. I make a fool out of myself everyday just to get her to do it again. I am trying to get it on video but she gets so distracted with the camera that she ends up just crossing her eyes instead.

She makes the sweetest sounds when she eats; it is one of my most favorite newborn noises. She grunts and growls ALL the time. She sounds like a goat.

The older kids love her like crazy. They are so eager to help care for her and offer me so much help. I know they will always be there for her. She is the perfect addition to our insane family.

Happy 1 month birthday, Sweetness. Love you so much! You make me a very happy mama (and even happier if you would sleep through the night)!

And some repeat FB pics for my family that has not seen them....

Here is the pic I used for her birth announcement:

Here she is smiling...

And holding Sister's hand...

And with Mama...

Baby Love

2010-11-06T14:03:00.004-07:00

Here are a couple of videos from the past few weeks. Littlest turns four weeks tomorrow! I CANNOT even believe that....

Fresh from Heaven

2010-11-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Zoinks! Jinkies! Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:46:00.002-07:00

Anyone who has met my son knows who his favorite cartoon characters are. He is, and has been for a while, obsessed with Scooby Doo. He loves watching the movies/cartoons and has even collected the figurines. He saved up his allowance for months, just so he could buy the Mystery Mansion. Obsessed.

So, it was no surprise that he would want to dress up like Shaggy for Halloween. In case you don't remember, Shaggy does not exactly have an outlandish costume. He simply wears a green t-shirt and brown pants. But at P's suggestion, I did think that it would be fun if the whole family dressed up as the Scooby gang.

I originally wanted to dress the baby as Scooby, but when I discovered that most of those costumes were too big or way overpriced (up to $30 sometimes!!!), I nixed that idea quick-like. Instead, she was to be the Mystery Ghost!

After searching thrift stores, our get-up was complete. It turned out great. Most people recognized us but there were a few older folks who had no idea who we were. Isn't K cute in her orange hair? And how about E WITH hair??? And for the record, that is not my real hair, I had a wig on too.

The kids loved trick-or-treating! Here is their first house....

Mimi was able to visit on this special day. She dressed up as a LOSER...

Our neighbors have a special block potluck/wine fest for the grown-ups, while the kids go trick-or-treating.

Most of the parents on the block have kids old enough to go out on their own. Our kiddos are, obviously, too little to walk the streets by themselves....but in the future, I LOVE that our block does this! Mimi was able to stay back at the party with Littlest, while E and I walked the 'hood with Shaggy and Daphne.

I love that we were able to dress up as a family. The kids were ecstatic over the amount of candy they got. It was a great night! Hope you all had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

The Great Pumpkin

2010-10-30T19:41:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin carving time! I love how Daddy is always so helpful with holiday festivities. He is also great about letting me prance around taking photos. What a good sport!

It was a SPOOKtacular time!

There's a FIRST time for everything!

2010-10-29T14:14:00.001-07:00

In an effort to keep up with our crazy, busy, adventurous life, I decided to write one post that documents some of the Littlest's first.... well, that and I realized she is doing the same thing every time in almost all of these pictures--sleeping.

First trip to the park!!
We met up with some friends for a fun park day. Littlest was only four days old and I know in the blink of an eye, she will soon be running around that very playground.

She was not quite a monkey bar pro like her siblings. You have lots to learn, Little One...but please, take your time!

Here is the first time she went to the Children's Museum at 5 days old! She slept through the whole trip! You know what they say, "Every party has a pooper..."

At 6 days old, Daddy attempted to give her first bottle of pumped milk. She was not a huge fan but did eventually succumb to the pressure of E...doesn't everybody??

Littlest is quite advanced for her age. She is already attending homeschool preschool at 17 days old! She fell asleep on her first day. Hope that is not a sign of her future in college!

At 19 days old, Annie took her first trip to the Phoenix Zoo. She even had a date, the Handsome Collin! Nevermind that she slept through the whole thing. Daddy will be pleased to hear that she has poor dating manners.

As you can see, my baby already has a pretty full social calendar. We have had a busy October and with the holidays soon approaching, it doesn't seem as if it will slow down. Not that it bothers the Littlest. As long as she can sleep and EAT, the girl is a happy camper!

It started with a KISS and ended like this....

2010-10-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

I love these little people so very much!

All Things Grow with Love!

2010-10-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

A Spooktacular October

2010-10-28T13:46:00.002-07:00

We have been busy creating Halloween decorations for our home this year. The kids are certainly into the spirit of the holiday and are happy to create. We have been making pumpkins galore and spiders, ghosts and even vampires! Our house is frightfully delightful!

Boo-tiful Ghosts!

2010-10-27T13:34:00.017-07:00

This week we are learning about letter G. Just so happens to be Halloween week, as well! We set up to make these cool G-g-g-g-GHOSTS!

I forgot to ask her to put on a smock. Doh. Luckily, she is my clean kid. If this was P, the results would have most likely ended up on my walls and in his hair. This ghost idea was super cute and she loved it. Great texture lesson too! I think we will probably repeat for snowmen this winter.

Gathering supplies.

Mixing glue and shaving cream.

Adding goop to paper bag ghost.

Adding eyes and mouth.

Cut out and hang and here you have a Ghostess with the Mostess!!

I should mention that I find most of these fabulous crafty ideas from several fabulous mommy bloggers. Soon I will post a list with some of my favorite sites.

The Pick of the Patch...

2010-10-24T13:53:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to go to a different pumpkin patch than the one we usually visit. The kids were so anxious to go and even though it was a Cardinals game day (!), Daddy and I took them anyway. See the sacrifices we make for you kids?? I hope one day you realize just how lucky you are to have such selfless parents like us!

We loaded up the family, which now takes a bit longer with a newborn who always seems to demand to be fed upon hearing the car start. When we got there, the wide-eyed offspring could not wait to get inside. There was a petting zoo (kind of lame), hay rides, mini golf, a pretend roping arena, a hay bale maze, pony rides, and a bunch of other stuff too. What fun!

The kids ran into the hay maze with giggles galore. I have no idea what was so funny. My smart K soon found her way out. She was so proud to be the first one out. Goofy P could not find the right path, so we sent Sister back in to save him. His ADD kept him from following her for more than a minute and once again, K found her way out while Brother wandered into dead end after dead end. We were all laughing. P eventually made it out. Miss K later declared that all you had to do was follow the grown-mups!

The kids thought the potato sack races were HIL-AR-I-OUS.

The Littlest was such a HUGE pain in the ass the whole time......Just kiddin'. She didn't make one peep the entire time. She slept happily in her daddy's arms or in my sling. She was exactly 2 weeks old for her first pumpkin patch trip. Don't ya love her fuzzy little ducky hair?

We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch.

Pony Rides! K was super happy to get to go on her first pony ride!

P thought roping the bull and yanking it around was pretty neat.

And me? I just loved being with my "punkins". Love them all to pieces!!!

Happy October!

Joy Riding

2010-10-22T16:35:00.009-07:00

Fortunately for our family, Papa and Mymo are always anxious to take our kids on adventures. When the state fair came to town, they were ready and willing to pick up the kids for a fun-filled night. Since little Annie was still not yet two weeks old, Mama and Daddy stayed behind to avoid the germ infested event.

Even though we were not able to be there with the kids, my dad had the courtesy of sending me a couple of pictures! Fabulous man, I tell ya! When the kids came home, they had exciting stories to share. Of course, Papa's favorite story was when he sent my poor, unknowing son into the fun house of mirrors. P apparently walked face first into several mirrors. P did not find this story quite as humorous as his Papa.

But overall, they had a wonderful time with their grandparents. Thank you so much for spending time with our babies!

Teacups. K is in the one behind Brother.

They both LOVED this ride:

I am so happy they got to go this year!

The Womb-Mate Gets Evicted!

2010-10-19T22:01:00.001-07:00

Last Day of being pregnant.

Uncle Rom and Aunt Shish bought E and I matching shirts that said, "Bacon makes everything better!" haha!!

Mr. Sandman...

2010-10-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

There's nothing much cuter than a baby yawn....'

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2010-10-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

A week before I was to give birth, K and I went on a special Mommy/Daughter date (while Daddy and P had a boy date). We started out with a yummy treat from Dunkin Donuts. Damn that place being so close to my house. Miss Sweet Tooth was over-joyed to pick out a special sprinkle--she now says it right :( doughnut.

We then headed over to the nail place. K is not an over-reactor by any means (note pic above; she was seriously thrilled). She certainly feels and experiences life whole heartedly, but it is rarely displayed through facial expressions. My K is also very girly, which is honestly shocking because I am not. I have no idea where she gets it from.

Anyway, she has always been into painting her nails and I knew that she would be fascinated at a place dedicated to this very thing. As we approached the salon, I saw her eyes light up. As we entered the salon, a HUGE smile appeared on her sweet face. She saw all of the nail polish lined up against the wall and when told she could pick the color, I think she almost fainted right then and there. Her excitement was so dang cute!

She, of course, picked pink. And when she found out that they would paint a flower on her big toe, she looked at me like I was the coolest mom in the world! The best part was that it only cost me $5 to get her toes painted.

I spent the majority of my pedicure staring at my girl. I love her so much. The nail tech lady even yelled at me to sit back and relax. I couldn't help myself; she was just too stinkin' adorable. Besides, I HAD to take pics with my phone!

Daddy and P stopped by to say hello before they continued on their boy journey. I made E officially document the event. Look at my HUMONGOUS belly!

After getting our toes done, we took a trip to the mall to browse the jewelry stores. ((insert eye roll)). She LOVED it. We ate lunch at the food court and had a meaningful mommy/daughter conversation (no sarcasm intended for once. It was nice to talk with my girl.).

Daddy and P met up with us shortly after and we were able to enjoy some time together as a family of four. I love those two little people and the big guy too!

Bathing Beauty

2010-10-18T16:47:00.002-07:00

Annie's cord fell off after only five days! She wins for the quickest umbilical cord loss out of all my kids. Overachiever.

That meant we were able to give her a full immersion bath very soon after she came home. The kids were so excited to help bathe the Littlest. They helped prepare the water and gather the baby supplies.

I got Littlest naked and waited for Daddy to get back with the towel. In the 2.3 seconds it took him to get the towel, she SHAT yellow, mustardy newborn poop all over me and the bathroom floor. The kids stared wide-eyed, completely grossed out with their sister. I shrieked for E to take the baby, so that I could wash the crap off my arm. He grabbed her and she immediately PEED on him. He jumped back and pee sprayed all over the hall. (I spared you the pictures I took of the ordeal).

I started laughing my ass off. This is our third child! We are supposed to be professionals by now. Yeah. Not so much.

Once we got the bodily functions under control, Bacon was finally ready for her bath. The kids were happy to help wash her, albeit cautious for fear of flying pee and poop.

Littlest hated her first bath. Pissed her right off. Literally. But she has since had another and did not so much as whimper. Or pee or poop on anyone. Progress!

"Can we keep her?"

2010-10-18T14:27:00.003-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came to visit and show your support. We love and appreciate you more than you know!! And yes, we can keep her!

Love Bug Update

2010-10-18T12:15:00.003-07:00

My sweet big girl, K-boo. Love that kid. She is so intense and lovable. She is my cuddle bug. I never have to ask her twice for hugs and kisses. In fact, she is usually the first to crawl into my lap the second I sit down. I love it.

Her personality has really blossomed these days. She is so inquisitive and talks non-stop. Like her brother, she asks so many questions. She still has the most adorable voice and accent. I hope it never goes away because I think it is just about the darn cutest thing I have ever heard.

K loves to sing. She hates the attention but if you act like you don't notice, she will sing her heart out in the car. She has always been like this, even when she was itty bitty. Somewhere on this blog, I have a video of her singing off-key as a young toddler. She is so funny.

K also has an aversion to wearing clothing and shoes. She would much rather be naked and barefoot at any moment of the day. She is so comfortable in her skin. Makes Daddy a little nervous for her future....be it indecent exposure violations or a career as a nude dancer. Neither one makes a daddy's stomach feel calm.

Miss K is a determined little gal. I have learned over the years that "determined" is just a nice way of saying ridiculously stubborn. However you put it, that's my K. And I love her for it. It will take her far but I can't help but feel a tad sorry for the poor lad who marries her. He better learn "Yes, Dear" fairly early on in their relationship! :)

She sure is a tough cookie. She is strong willed about whatever she sets her mind on. It makes E and I laugh sometimes because she is so him. That will make for good times come teen years. Joy. Looking forward to that.

My Boo is also supremely girly. She enjoys most anything over the top girly--princesses, jewelry, shoes, clothes, makeup. She LOVES it. We are still trying to figure out where she learned a love for all things "pretty" cause her mama is sure far from a sparkly, fashionable diva. Well, unless you count a wardrobe of jeans, t-shirts and flip flops as fashionable. K has a blast when clothes shopping. She can look at outfits for hours. She is so much more fun to take shopping than her daddy or brother.

K and I have "school time" every week. I have been doing this for years it seems. First with P, now my big girl and soon to come, Miss Annie. I do enjoy finding new things for them to do. K really likes the special time we have together and thoroughly appreciates the activities/projects. She is learning so much so fast. She can now write her name and a lot of the alphabet. Because of Brother, she is already learning sight words!!?! She is a great participant and I love being able to watch her learn.

At age 3, she is still fighting naps. She's been doing that forever. But the second she lays her head on the pillow, she is out. And 2 hours later, she is a much more pleasant child! That girl NEEDS her sleep......or God help us all.

My K-boo is such a mother hen. She is so in love with her little sister. We had many, many talks about the family changes that would come with a new baby in the house before A was born. I tried my very best to prepare K for the inevitable demands of a newborn. She has been desperately excited to finally meet the baby.

Now that the Littlest has arrived, K-boo is over the moon in love. She is taking her role as Big Sis very seriously and does not hesitate to help in any way she can. She runs to get diapers or wipes for me whenever I ask. She begs to hold the baby. She wants to help dress her, bathe her, and love her every second of the day.

My love bug Booey is such a sweetheart and we all love her more than words can say.

Kindergarten Conference Time

2010-10-15T00:08:00.005-07:00

Today was our very first parent-teacher conference. Fortunately, it just so happened to be scheduled the week after I gave birth so that Daddy could be there too! I had no doubts that our boy would get a good report but it still made my heart fill with love and pride hearing it come from his teacher. Truthfully, his academics were not a big concern of mine. I cared more about how well he is adjusting socially and more about his behavior in class.

Well, P did not disappoint. The teacher continuously praised P's kindness, saying he has such a loving, sensitive heart. *beam* She said he is very perceptive and if he notices she is having a hard time, he will often approach her, tell her he loves her and ask if there is anything he can do to help. When other kids are upset, she said he will offer them a hug and comfort them. She talked so highly of his character that I almost started crying right there in the middle of the conference. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to hear that he is such a loving, thoughtful little boy. I knew all these things to be true but it makes me so proud to hear it from another person. I am so proud of him. He is the neatest kid and has a heart of gold.

Of course, I should not forget to mention that he also has been doing well academically too. He is beyond the first quarter expectations. His teacher said she is going to have to challenge him above the normal curriculum because he is doing so well. His reading skills are getting so much better. He is starting to write complete sentences all by himself. He is adding double digits in math. He had 100% on all of his math assessments except for one. He's a smart kid.

Overall, a fantastic conference. I joked with the teacher that someday he is going to make a great husband to some woman. She enthusiastically agreed. :)

Anticipation

2010-10-11T14:04:00.005-07:00

Watch me grow.....
15 weeks

21 weeks

about 24 weeks

almost 29 weeks

32 weeks!

No more womb! The night before we met Littlest!