Jumping Boy (and Random Sisterly Background Noise)

We spent the last weekend at the lake, where it was SO COLD FOR THE END OF JUNE! That did not stop the kids from wanting to go swimming. Who wouldn't want to swim in 90 degree water? Even if it is only 55 degrees outside and windy. But it was a good thing we did decide to let them swim, because this was the day Robbie decided he could jump into the pool all by himself. No help from Mommy or Daddy or Sisters. All. By. Himself. You can see that he can also get himself back to the steps alone. Try to ignore the noise being made by the girls. I don't know what game they were playing, but it involved Mommy and Baby and Tango-ing. Yes. They were doing the Tango in the pool. I have no idea.

Driveway Rockers

This one was shot a few weeks ago by Daddy. It's a repeat for Grandpa, but it will be new for the rest of you. (The art work in the driveway is courtesy of our awesome babysitter...)

Two down, so many more to go...

Katelyn lost her second tooth shortly after she lost her first, which is to say, a few weeks ago. Just getting around to showing you the photo now...

Happy Father's Day (Photo Blunders)

All I wanted for Father's Day was one good photo of the three monsters so I could send them off to the Grand Dads. Is that really too much to ask? One photo?

Apparently, for these three jokesters, it is....see for yourself. And these are just some of the several. Of the twenty I took, only one was semi-decent. (And no-it isn't here. That was reserved for grandparentals' eyes only).

Happy Father's Day all you fabulous Daddys out there!

Big Day for Padyn

It's hard to tell, but Padyn and her BFF got their ears pierced today. She is pretty proud of herself...feeling very pretty.

Super Quick Update

For my personal records, I must get down in writing that yesterday, Friday, May 25th, Robbie decided he must now wear underwear. This was not my decision. In fact, I cried just a little on the inside (mainly over the increase in laundry that is now to come). But there it is. One accident so far. But he still doesn't tell us when he needs to go. I have to set the timer every 45 minutes or so to remember to take him. He always tells me he doesn't need to go. Yet, once he is sitting on the toilet, pee always comes out.

I'm not excited about the vigilance I now have to demonstrate to keep my floors pee-free.

So. Much. Fun.

One Down, 23 or so to Go

It was a hot dog that finally did in Katelyn's first loose tooth. One bite and we had a big bloody mouth on our hands. Fortunately, the blood did not phase Katelyn at all. She just looked surprised, then pleased, then pulled that tooth right out of her mouth. And here is what we have now...

...a very excited 6 year old.

First of Many Dental Visits

Now that the big man is 3 years old, there are many things that are changing in his life. The major one is that that he no longer gets his pacifier. So far, it has not been too painful of a process. (But please do not speak of this matter to him. It only causes hysteria and tears. The paci has become that which must not be named). But on the bright side, I will now allow him to chew gum. His first two endeavors in that realm ended well, so I believe that this is a trend that can continue.

Today Robbie experienced another perk (only to some) of being 3-visiting the dentist. The first visit to the dentist usually just consists of having Dr. M look in your mouth and having the hygienist show you all the "fun teeth toys." No one actually expects to do a cleaning or any serious dental work on the first visit.

But Robbie was such a willing dental patient, that not only did Dr. M get to look at all the boy's teeth with his magic mirror, the hygienist actually managed to clean and put fluoride on his teeth! And there was no complaining or crying on Robbie's part. He was a very, happy, willing participant in this process. See for yourself....

Of course, the movie on the ceiling piped through the headphones might have helped a bit...

This afternoon he actually asked to GO BACK to the dentist. Can you believe that? What a kid.

Happy Birthday to Robbie!

I am very behind, I know. Robbie turned 3 on Tuesday, we had his party Wednesday, and here is it Friday and I'm finally posting something about it! Not much...more later. Happy Friday!

Back from Spring Break

We just sent our spring break down in the desert. It was so fabulously wonderful to get away from the rain and cold and into the heat and sunshine. The video depicts what we spent most of the week doing. Literally...jumping in the pool. Even when it was windy, overcast and 68 degrees, we spent much of our time jumping...




I don't know if you can hear it, but Robbie LOVED this game. It was his idea to jump in the pool all the time. Every time we pulled him up from the water he would say, "I wanna do that again!"

Happy 6th Birthday Katie Bug

I firmly believe that we are born with our personality. My daughter continually confirms this for me.

6 years ago today, she came into the world abruptly and swiftly. She decided it was time and out she came, whether I liked it or not.

Not much has changed 6 years later.

Katelyn marches to her own drum. She always has. It is a good thing that she has always been so cute...

katelyn at 15 months
She is a performer who doesn't really want to be in an actual performance. She is an extrovert who doesn't want to play with her friends. She loves clothes and shoes and hair ribbons, but continues to wear the same outfit until I make her put it in the dirty clothes. And don't even start me on brushing her hair. She wants chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that she is not ever going to eat. That she is puzzling is to put it mildly. But yet...with that craziness comes great, positive emotion. She LOVES to see you. She will kiss you until you think your cheeks will fall off. She is excited about stuff...not everything, but lots of things. She moves from sad to happy very rapidly. It's easy to convince her that life is good. She loves almost everyone.

And today was her day. She had been ramping up for it for the last 2 weeks. "How many days NOW until my birthday, Mommy?" I thought she might blow a gasket this morning, she was so excited. But no. She made it through the day, the cake, the treats and the presents. No tantrums or drama to speak of. She even went to bed without a fuss even though we could not find her brand new American Girl Doll Kitten.

Wow. I guess my baby girl really is maturing. Who knew?

Happy Birthday, Katelyn. We love you dearly. Even when you make us want to pull our hair out. We love you dearly.

Video Friday-Lip Sync #1

So, last week I finally entered the new world and got an iPhone. Now, I have Siri running all my errands and I can record my kids whenever I feel like it. It's fabulous! I think the video option is my favorite favorite feature. I caught two gems last week. Yes, we are in the car, but it is parked and not even running. Safety first, of course.

A little background before you watch. A couple weeks ago, Auntie introduced a couple new songs to the kids while she was so generously taking care of them for the weekend. The kids, but Kate especially, latched onto these songs and Kate refuses to let go. I was forced to purchase them and we listen to them constantly. Very quickly, Kate developed a lip sync routine to them. Here is her rendition of The Band Perry's If I Die Young.



Next, you can watch her brother copying her...

Video Friday-Lip Sync #2

Here is Robbie doing the same. You can see he is constantly checking out his sister to make sure his choregraphy is correct.



Happy Friday.

Get it Right, Mom

The verbal exchange between Robbie and I this morning...

Mommy, I want sum murky!

Ok, let's get you some milk.

No, Mommy. It's MURKY.

Milkie.

Yea! Good job Mommy!

It's nice to have your own cheering section in the morning.

Dance Style or Candy?

Kate found "Davis Duck" in our local TJs this morning, therefore earning herself and her brother a lollipop. I, being the good mommy I am, immediately put Robbie's in my pocket hoping he would forget about it.

But no.

As we were walking to the car, my son yells:

Mommy! I want my hip hop!

Let Us Pray

On Tuesday night, just in time for Lent, Robbie prayed his first prayer all by himself. Sure, it was a replica of what we pray with him every night, but still. All on his own. Here's how it went down.

Scene:Kate, Robbie and I all lying (squished) on Robbie's car bed. Books are read and I've just asked Kate to pray. I'm about to start praying with Robbie and he says...

NO! Let ME do it!

Ok, Buddy. Go ahead.

Tank you God for Moooommmmyyyy and Daaaddddyyyy and Paaaaaadyyyyynn and Kaaaaaaate and ROOOOOOBBBBBBIIIIEEEE!

At this point, I think he's done, so I start to say, "And..." but I am rudely interrupted....

I NOT DONE YET!

Ok, keep going...

An for my fends. Hep me sweep well unight. AAAAMEN!

Amen.

You're Going Down and other hits...

Remember how I said that the Disney show "Phineas and Ferb" has taken a hold of our household and refuses to let go? Here's one bit of proof...Robbie has developed his own dance styles and routines to the different P&F songs, he knows which character is singing them, AND he is trying to lip sync to them. I know the video is long and you don't have to watch the whole thing. I filmed the first bit with his back to me because I didn't want him to see the camera and stop. If you watch all the way to the end, you see that he finally figures out that I'm filming him and demands to see it.

Many Months Worth of Updates

I don't think I am a blogger anymore. I'm not sure what the acceptable definition of a "blogger" is, but I'm sure it must include something about posting photos, links or text on the internet more than once a month. I don't apologize for falling off the blogging bandwagon. There are many reasons for it; some easy enough to explain, others, not so easy. And while I am not going to bereate myself for not publishing daily, weekly or biweekly photos and updates, I do believe I need to at least give it a go once a month. How else will I know what to write in my scrapbooks when I actually get around to them? (Currently I am working on 2010, yet haven't even started Katelyn's "First Year" book.) But I'll tell you, keeping my blog up-to-date was not one of my New Year's resolutions. Just so you know...


So, here is an update of the last couple weeks and months to catch you up a bit. I'm sure I will forget many important pieces, but you'll get the idea of our current existence. These are in no particular chronological or importance order.

• I went back to work about 20 hours a week the week before Christmas vacation. I am working as an aide to the English Learner Specialist at the girls' school. The specialist is an old friend of mine. We used to teach together in days gone by and have trained teachers together for the last 10 years. So, it's not your typical teacher's aid position. Which is just fine with me. All the things I love about teaching without all that pesky stuff like report cards and grading essays.


• I work while the girls are at school, which means Robbie is with a sitter 3 days a week, 1/2 day two days, full day one day. She was our regular sitter before, and now she is really our nanny. Robbie loves her, but the first couple weeks were rough. By Friday morning as I was getting ready to go, he would cling to my legs and tell me not to go. Now, he has settled into his routine. I leave right before lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, so he is ready to lunch with M., take a nap, then I am home when he gets up!

Speaking of Robbie, there are many many many things to say about him. I probably should do them all separately...

• Potty training has begun. I wasn't really looking forward to it, and didn't want to push it, but it sort of happened and now we are on good path. After several months of pulling our hair out over Robbie's slow gut (read:pooping every 7 to 10 days, and being really pissed off about it), we finally make a dietary change. We totally upped his fiber and cut his white flour intake. It took a little bit, but he started pooping more regularly. Then, we finally figured out that when he pulls up on the back of his pants, he needs to poop. We started sitting him on the toilet...with my iTouch. Don't judge me. With the girls, it was M&Ms and stickers. For Robbie, it is Angry Birds. And we haven't looked back. We haven't changed a poopy diaper in over a month. The peeing on the potty took a bit more time to pick up, but just last week he started telling us when he had to go. Today is day #2 of a dry pull up all day. Those Angry Birds are miracle workers!


• Because of the regular pooping, Robbie is now a much MUCH happier little boy. No more crying for hours or holing up in his room to lie on his tummy all afternoon. No more screaming while having a bowel movement. No more fussiness for days on end. So so pleasant.


• Robbie has also undergone another language explosion over the last month or so. He doesn't just repeat sentences, he initiates conversations. He sings songs, reads books, and tells you why he wants something. He calls for his sisters to come play with him. He asks for specific games, books and toys. He seems to finally have caught up verbally with where his sisters where at this age. I think the most noticable change is he now says, very clearly, " I DON'T know!" instead of "Iuhknow." I kind of miss it.


• But unlike his sisters, he is super cuddly. We love that.
  

Now, onto other news...

• Phineas and Ferb has been a constant in our house for the last several months. I was told about what a fabulously awesome show it was a couple years ago by my friend, but since we didn't have cable, I just assumed we would never watch it anyway, so I didn't take it to heart. Well, we discovered it through instant Netflix probably back in the summer, and we now know every song and most episodes by heart. Even Robbie will sing and quote it. Daddy and I have been known to tell the girls they can't watch a particular episode because we haven't seen it yet and want to watch it, too. It's that fun for us. We now own two CDs and a movie. I thought they would have tired of it by now, but nope. It has staying power.


• Katelyn seems to be outgrowing some of her more annoying clothing sensitivity issues, but they are far from gone. While she will now wear different clothes every day, and occassionally socks, the tags must still come out and there are many articles of clothing that she dismisses without even trying on. Her tantrums over other things come and go. Currently, they are in. But while her reactions are big and out of proportion to the slight or injustice, fortunately, they do not last too long. When she's done, she's a happy kid again.


• Padyn is content in third grade. She goes through a chapter book every couple days, yet I have to force her to study her multiplication facts. She loves learning about the planets and our solar system, and even tried out for a speaking part in the upcoming 3rd grade play. (She got one). She is usually very helpful with her brother and now has to make her own lunch every day. It only took a couple weeks for her to stop complaining about it!


• We have yet to ski this winter (seeing as how there has been no snow) and both the girls are eager to hit the slopes.


• Daddy and I just had a kidfree get away to San Diego for a long weekend. It was a much needed parental time out.


• We had new windows installed in our house back before Christmas. It now feels much cozier and quieter inside.


• I'm still getting used to all the trees we took out of our yard in November. The ones I have to plant keep falling over in the wind. I'm not sure they are going to make it until the spring. One that I planted has already passed away, its root ball having been too shaken up in all the falling over it did while still in it's pot.


• Katelyn is already asking when summer is coming so we can go swimming.


• Padyn is amazed at how quickly the school year is going.


• I keep writing "2013" on my checks and documents. Who knows?

Robbie is calling to me. Must be another no nap day. But I will leave you with my most recent picture of the kids. I took it last week for my dad's birthday.

Photo Friday-Christmas Family Photos

Lots of photos at Christmas time means lots of shots of family members, some combinations we don't get to see often. Here are a few I shot...

padyn and kate

kate and robbie everyone-my sisters, brother in laws, mom and stepdad, cousins and us

colleen, me, mom and christie

bella and padyn

trevor, christie and bella

christie and trevor (trevor LOVES his mommy!)

the girls with grandma

padyn, kate and bella with gretchen, my mom's new addition

trevor, robbie, my dad and step mom (the beanies were a stocking present. thanks, papa)

Happy Friday.

Lightening McQueen Christmas

Christmas of 2011 will go down in Robbie's history as "The Christmas of Lightening McQueen.' Here are just a few pictures him with some of his new speed demon products. I say "some" because these photos do not capture the new blanket and pillow for his bed, the socks, the jacket, the white board, the book, or the remote control Lightening. These only show....

The "Shake Car Lightening"

Two of the three Lightening matchcars

The Lightening McQueen PJsThe first Lightening toy he opened

Today, he told me that he wanted to see the other Cars movie. I guess he finally figured out that there is another one. I don't know how, because that was one of the few Cars things he did NOT get this Christmas....the Cars 2 movie. I guess that will be on his birthday list.