Springtime

This morning when Mike left to spend the day with his Dad I was feeling a bit disgruntled and irritated. After a night with little sleep... Alana's teething... I was awoken at the crack of dawn by my offspring. The last of the Diet Coke had been consumed the day before which no doubt would eventually turn into a headache from lack of my daily dose of caffeine and without Mike I was going to have to entertain all three of my babes without back-up. Throw in some hormones and well, I'm sure you get the drift; it was not looking like it was going to be a promising day.

Eventually we were all fed and dressed and I packed everyone up and headed to the park. What better way to blow off some energy and keep the boys entertained. At first Michael was not happy about my park of choice because there were not many kids, but I made the executive decision to stay. I'm glad I did. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and the boys quickly found friends to play with. One thing about my boys, they have excellent social skills. They are both easy to get along with and just happy to play and talk with anyone who is interested. I love that about them.

After a couple of hours of running around, climbing the monkey bars, and riding their bikes and scooters we grabbed the camera and decided to take a couple of pictures. I even handed the camera to them and asked them to take a few shots of nature. So enjoy the picture of grass taken by Hayden and the flowers taken by Michael.


Now, Michael, who as I'm writing this just gave me a hug and an "I love you Mommy", is enjoying some quiet down-time. Hayden and Allie are napping and there is a nice breeze is blowing in through my window. I can honestly say this has been a great day so far. When Mike gets home we'll BBQ some burgers, eat outside, and we will finish the day as a family. What more can I ask for? It's day's like this that make me realize I have it all. Well, I'm signing off... Michael wants to color with me.

He's a Big Boy Now!!!

The first time Hayden peed on the toilet he was about 16 months old. I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world! My son was going to be potty trained by the time he was two! A potty prodigy! A barely two year old boy potty trained?? It's unheard of for sure but honestly I thought the karmic gods would be on my side since I'd gotten a bit more than I bargained for with all his climbing and mischief.... well, here we are more than a year later and finally the chore of potty training is almost complete. I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch so I'll only count my eggs but he has made great strides towards freeing us from the financial burden of at least a portion of our diaper fund.

For anyone reading this who might find themselves training a toddler boy I will give you this advice. Use "special treats"... it's amazing what a little bit of ice cream or M&M's can do to boost the appeal of the toilet. Even if you have to give them ice cream three times a day for two weeks in the end they'll be trained and the sugar high will eventually wear off.

So, for the last two weeks we've had a naked boy running around our home beaming with a huge smile each time he mounts the porcelain throne to drop the kids off the pool. Never mind however, the money spent on replacing one toilet due to the toilet paper spindle being flushed and Mike's plans for Saturday is to remove the upstairs toilet to search for the "pouf" which Hayden flushed just days ago. So, it wasn't painless but at least it's almost done.

I guess it's time to kiss the "baby" good-bye and welcome my newest "big boy" to our family.

Good Job Hayden!!!

Brownies

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Girl Baby Update

I can't believe Allie is almost 6 months old! It seems like just a few weeks ago she was born. How much faster time seems to be flying by now that there are three kids to chase around. My days are so full now.

It has been amazing having my baby girl. She is the sweetest baby I've ever known. She rarely cries and is just happy to be. Easily entertained, just a look and a "high girl baby!" is enough to make her smile and squeal with delight. Even on my worst day a smile like that could make me feel warm and fuzzy. So, I am delighted to be her Mommy. It's funny really. In the beginning of my pregnancy with her I was so scared and unsure how I was going to deal with having three children. My boys are a lot of work, God love them. Throwing a third one in the mix was terrifying to say the least. Honestly there were days I was dreading having another one. And then when I held her that feeling just faded away instantly. Now here I am six months later and I cannot believe I ever felt that way. I also cannot imagine a life with out my three kidlets. They are all beautiful and happy. Sometimes they make me crazy but I guess that's what it's all about. In the end all I can say is they are the reason I exsist. My true loves.
Back to Allie. She is growing so fast! She's really working her fingers and loves to play with anything she can grasp. Every thing goes in her mouth. If there is nothing to grab onto she is just as happy with her fingers and fist. She drools so much she single-handedly could probably solve California's' drought situation. She has zero interest in rolling over but is sitting up really well. I think it's only a matter of days until she is able to really sit alone without assistance. She's eating baby food now and just tonight seemed to get the hang of it. She is messy but getting it down. She LOVES her big brothers. Every time they come into the room she smiles and pays close attention to their each and every move. I can already see the wheels turning... mind you, Hayden has given me plenty of practice recognizing "that look"... so when she starts walking I may indeed be in for it.

Her hair is slowly growing... She is kind of sporting a Sinead O'Connor look. It's definitely going to be brown but the jury is still out on whether she'll have curly locks like mommy or straight hair like her daddy and big brother Michael. Curly or straight, I cannot wait to put bows in it.

Her name is Alana. We call her Allie. I call her Girl Baby. I'm so lucky.

Easter 2009

Well, it's springtime! Flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and I've been cleaning up a storm around here organizing closets. The weather has been beautiful for the most part; sunny days and warm temps have given me the bug to get ready for summer.

We celebrated Springtime with friends and family this Easter. On Saturday Mike's parents came to visit and have brunch with us. They brought Easter baskets for the kids which were filled with lots of non-edible goodies... thankfully because we are overloaded with chocolates and god knows my boys don't need any thing else to wind them up! Hayden got play-doh and Michael got some new paints which always keep him entertained for hours. Ed took time out to sit and paint with Michael for a while and even Hayden got in on the party and the three of them had a really good time.

On Sunday my Mom, Gramma, Joe, and Aunt Linda came over and we also had brunch. It was a little chilly but we still enjoyed the sunshine in the back yard. After a great meal of crust-less Quiche, Potato Casserole, fruit, and Cherry bread, we all got a kick out of watching Michael and Hayden hunt for Easter Eggs.



The kids had a blast with their new "bubble blowers" the Easter Bunny brought them. My mom took this great picture of Hayden... you can even see the bubble!

After our Easter brunch celebration was over we went down the street to the Merril's house to have Eater dinner with our neighbors. Michael goes to school with their son and they invited us. It was great to get to know the family better. They are really nice people and we are looking forward to getting to know them even better..

Allie just goes with the flow! She's such an easy baby! She just kept right on her schedule through the whole weekend! She did wake up long enough to grace everyone with her presence and to wear the ridiculously cute bunny ears I got her!

The Dying Tunas