Want some whine with that cheese..

When they say paybacks occur with your kids, they are right. I remember my mom getting so annoyed with my whining. I didn't think I did but of course I probably did my fair share of whining. When my children (well just Owen right now) whine it is like nails on a chaulk board. It makes me crazy. Owen is at that age where he does whine a lot and on Sunday he was being extremely bad and I had enough of it. I turned to him and had the following conversation:

Me: Owen you need to please stop whining!
Owen: I know, but I am 4 and I can whine!

Needless to say he got me with that one. Andy and I were laughing so hard from that and what do you say to that. It was a good chuckle that is for sure.

Happy 4th Birthday Owen!

Owen turned 4 on Sunday. His birthday celebration got kicked off by taking in cupcakes to his class at school. He had been talking about taking them all week long, he was pretty excited. He was very specific about the cupcakes - they had to have sprinkles. I had iced them on Wednesday night and he saw them the next morning and he whined "I wanted sprinkles on them". I told him that i had forgotten to buy them but was going to get them that day and that we would put them on that night. That made him happy and once they got fully decorated he was satisfied.

Saturday was pretty low key. We went and got milestone pictures for Owen and Eli. Needless to say Eli was not having anything to do with getting his picture taken. I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the lights and action going on. We did get him finally in some pics by letting him sit in a chair and having a ball of some sort in his hands. Owen at the same age was not very cooperative. There was one picture of Eli with a smile on his face but big ole crocodile tears in his eyes. We also went to the pool where Owen jumped off the diving board all by himself and swam to the side..well with the help w/ a Jacket. He was so excited and proud. Eli wanted to do the same thing but we didn't have the equipment for him. I guess I better go buy him one too!

Sunday was Owen's actual birthday and surprisingly he woke up at a semi-normal time 6:45am (well that is normal to us). For his birthday we took him to Chuck-e-Cheese for about an hour and half. We won 630 tickets, thanks to Andy and Rochelle who came in and got us a ton of tickets in the end. Owen favorite "games" was the Monster Truck ride and the roller coaster simulation. We had the place to ourselves for the first hour and then the chaos ensued. We left with a ball that was deflated by the time we got home from lunch and a bunch of toostie rolls. After Chuck-e-Cheese we went to Ledo's for pizza, much better quality pizza.

The Monster Truck

The Roller Coaster Simulation

Then we headed home to open gifts and have cake. Owen had a blast opening up his gifts. He was loving them all. He got a bat, a new electric train, Cars Lego - to which he responded "I have wanted this my whole life", a Cars race track, a Toy Story trash truck, a Potato Head, some books and a Leap Frog hand held. He was quite enthralled with all the toys and loved them all. The baseball bat and race track got the most play. The race track got turned off when we were outside, at dinner and when he went to bed.

The Race Track

I made Owen a firetruck cake. He fell in love with this video on how to make the cake and so I decided to make it. It wasn't that hard just a little on the time consuming part. He was watching me ice it and he said "Any child that you make this for will think you are a hero" which is the quote at the end of the video. I about fell over laughing, it was so cute. He loved his cake and thought it was the best. I had to go with a yellow fire truck (which are the color of the ones here in Ashburn) since I was having issues getting my icing to be red.. it was a a very pretty pink.

Owen blowing out the candles on the Firetruck Cake

Owen had a great day, although he was pretty upset that we didn't get to go to the pool. Andy kept asking him but he was having so much fun doing other things that he didn't want to go. He finally realized at dinner that we hadn't gone and was quite upset. At this time it was very evident that he hadn't taken his nap (we didn't even try since it was his birthday). He eventually calmed down and decided that he should wear his birthday hat for dinner. Owen was asleep by 7:54pm, the boy usually is up "reading" his books until 8:30.

Eli's First Haircut

Eli has needed a haircut for a while so I finally took him in to get it cut. Unlike Owen who played with his toy and didn't mind the hair cut, Eli was not happy about getting it cut at all. Right as we were putting on the apron he starting saying "Ah doh" which translated from Eli language is All done. Finally I had to put him on my lap to finish the hair cut. I gave the guy a good tip since he had to deal with our very upset boy.

What are you doing to me?

I am not happy at all, Ah Doh!

Don't I look handsome - (Still Mad)

I want to be just like my Brother...

Eli and Owen are really starting to play together. It is so nice in the mornings when they wake up at the crack of dawn they can play together in their room for about 45 minutes with out the need of adult intervention. They typically play well together but there are times when Eli has a toy that Owen wants. At that point Owen will steal the toy from him and then Eli throws a fit, however Owen has figured out that he can usually stop the crying or even prevent it by exchanging toys. Eli typically isn't that tied to a toy.

A few days ago it was baseball week at school for Owen and they wore baseball hats to school that week. Also Owen is loves his puppy dog "stuffy" as he calls it. So as we were leaving their room Eli had to put on a hat and have a stuffy as well. As you can tell Eli looks up to Owen big time. It is so cute, I am relishing these days before they hate each other and are constantly fighting.

Hopefully we will be able to get another picture in a year or so with Baby Cather No. 3 looking up to Eli. Yes you read that correctly, we are expecting a third due January 11, 2011. We will be stubborn and not find out the gender. We will officially be come a brood. We will need 5 toppers instead of the readily available 4 toppers. All the grandparents and Aunt Gigi are very excited. Our biggest challenge will be all of them sharing a room since our place is a two bedroom town home.

They're Here

After being at my parent for two weeks the boys finally returned home. We met my parents half way again in Ohio. It was nice quiet drive up to Ohio, Andy commented the night before that chaos was only around the corner. Our clean house will not go back to "kid clean", which means lots of crumminess on the floor, toys "semi" picked up and sour milk sippy cups that somehow got forgotten about.

When we went to got to the meet the boys they were super excited to see us.. well Andy that is. When we were walking towards them Owen saw us and ran right past me and gave Andy a big hug - i thought oh well at least eli will be excited to see me. Boy was wrong on that one, he was "driving" the car with Papa and he wouldn't be disturbed. My heart broke a little bit because I wasn't getting the love. I just reassured myself I have raised independent kids who aren't needy (at least that kinda made me feel better).

We had lunch and let the boys play on the playground for awhile. Then we headed back, after 10 min my head hurt with all the questions that Owen was asking and Eli point all the "sash shucks" (Trucks). I think Owen must need to get double the words in on a daily basis because he has a lot to stay. I kept thinking surely they will nap. WRONG!

We were able to entertain and get them quiet for the length of a Cars movie. They were overall very well behaved and i can't complain.

Now we have been back into the swing of things for a couple of weeks and life is back to normal -whatever that is.

All is quiet

It has been awhile since I have posted, I know I am huge slacker. We met my parents half way in Columbus to exchange the boys. They have been there for a week now and we are going to meet up again next week. It is so quiet without them but we do miss them. Life is definitely strange with them gone.

They are having a blast with Mimi, Papa and Gigi. They are wearing each other out. I am not sure who is more tired but everyone is enjoying themselves. They have been swimming, gone to the zoo and the magic house in Saint Louis.

We are looking forward for a quiet week but we do miss they boys!

Zoom Zoom

Eli has figured out how to climb onto the "firetruck" and try to ride it around. He doesn't really get very far but he loves to get pushed around. Owen takes it upon himself to push him - sometimes Eli just wants to sit and other times he enjoys the pushing around. Here is one of the first times Eli getting on the truck.

Stay Put!!

Well have officially moved from keeping Eli contained to a very mobile toddler. He now loves to crawl the stars and will do it when you run upstairs very quickly or if you are just in the other room. I know he knows how to get down them but he prefers that you carry him. Watch him go..

Snow Fun!

The boys have enjoyed playing in the snow. Owen more so than Eli. We got the boys a sled and Andy took Owen out sledding last Sunday. Since we got over 3 feet of snow, there was plenty left after 10 days even though temperatures were above freezing. Thank goodness because the sled didn't get here until everyone was back to school. See the video of Owen's adventures on the sled. This one is pretty funny but we have a funnier one where Owen crashes but it is over the 100MB size for upload. Enjoy!

Double Fisting

Eli is starting at an early age to double fist. He loves his milk now. It took a little bit of time to transition from breastmilk to milk, but now he loves it.

Questions

Kids are so inquisitive it is amazing. Owen is always asking questions which is great -most of the time. This morning it was hilarious he was fixated on who makes what.
Owen: Momma - who made that car? Me: Ford
Owen: Who made that one? Me: Toyota
Owen: Who made the road? Me: Construction Crews
Owen: Who made those houses? Me: Toll Brothers
Owen: Who made those cars? Me: Umm I saw a Honda and not sure on the rest..

You get the picture. All the way to school he did this. Needless to say I cherished my quiet ride to work once the boys were dropped off.

Stop - Icky

Why do babies love to touch the most disgusting things in the house. Eli loves the trash can, it might be because it is shiny. The other day I had a trash bag outside the trash can and Eli reached in found the pancake that I had thrown out and started eating it... COME ON it was in the trash. Luckily it was on paper and not really on anything gross.

Eli also loves anything to do w/ the bathroom--- the plunger, the scrub brush, the toilet water - you get the picture. I am constantly closing the door and grabbing all the gross things from him. (It would help if Owen would close the door after using the bathroom). Eli really loves the plunger, he goes in there and grabs it and carries it around. All I can think about what was in the water when it was used last.... ICK! What really got me the other day is when Owen grabbed the plunger and put it on Eli's head! Andy just laughed and I yelled "It has feces on it!" - ewe! At least with the brush there were chemicals on it when cleaning the toilet and the gross things are killed - that is what i am telling myself.




I am sure they will encounter more disgusting things as they grow older but I hope I don't witness it.. ewe!

Snowmaggedon

We have been slammed with a ton of snow over the past few days. Last weekend we got close to 30 inches of snow. We practiced the good Midwest technique of going out and shoveling the snow every few hours. We witness Thunder snow at 5:30 am as well as exploding transformers. It was very impressive, I can honestly say I can't remember this much snow at once. I do know we got a huge amount when we lived in Michigan but I was so little I don't really remember - just the stories.

Between Andy and myself we shoveled about 7 driveways and shoveled our own driveway 8 times. Owen loves going out in the snow and is enjoying every minute. Too bad he doesn't really appreciate the benefit as a kid. He has had fun sledding on the street and climbing the snow mounds. Eli is still too little to really appreciate the snow. He seems to like it but doesn't really know what to make of it.

The beginning of the snow fall about 4 hours in..

The next day but only half way through the storm..

The view out of our deck - again only half way through the storm..

I want to go out there and play..


Time go in, lost a glove and hands are cold.


On top of the snow pile at the end of the street - this still only part way through the storm.


Climbing up a pile of snow



Front of the house after the storm, note all the snow on the front of the windows...


The next day at Bob and Gloria's house.


The sidewalk at church, the snow is taller than Eli!

No More Tears

Since we have moved to the new "school" both boys have been slightly hesitant at times about going into their respective classrooms. Owen's hesitancy has lessened the last few weeks and he willingly goes into his classroom and is pushing me out the door to leave. Eli on the other hand has been bawling every day when I drop him off. Previously he has been fussy as soon as I put him on the ground, but was reassured from his teachers that it was just a show because they told me he would stop crying by the time I hit the parking lot. Eli down this morning and he walked around while I put his things away and I waved to him as I left and he waved back. It was so sweet.

I was shocked that today was smooth sailing, since usually after a weekend they are more clingy and want to hang out with Momma and Dada - they definitely haven't figured out that we are not that cool. I guess they were happy to see their friends today, we shall see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully as J&J states "No More Tears", well maybe a few from Momma since they are growing up a little bit and needing us less.

I love my cuddle bugs!

Both my boys love to cuddle especially when they are not feeling well or sleepy. Owen doesn't love to do it as much but at night. Every night when I put him to bed he says "Cuddle Momma" it melt my heart every time and I cave. I know that time of him wanting cuddles is short lived. With Eli I steal a few extra cuddles when I am putting him down for bed.

Today I get to cuddle all day with Eli, he is having a slight reaction from his shots that he got on Wednesday. He ended up getting a fever of 103 yesterday afternoon and so he had to stay home no matter what, but he still has a slight fever today so that has made him want cuddles. I am enjoying every minute, even though it has made it slightly challenging to type.

Let there be cake -

Eli turns 1 on Thursday, so my parents and Gretchen came in to celebrate his birthday this weekend. Saturday was a very busy day! Eli had swim lessons and both Gigi and Papa tried participating with Eli. All he wanted was to cuddle and be with his mama, he is a little bit of a momma's boy. He lasted about 20 min and finally we called it quits. He fell asleep pretty quickly in the car so he was probably just sleepy - I think he is teething therefore not sleeping very well. We then trecked down to get the birthday cake, which we ordered from a very yummy German bakery. We all went to lunch at Red Robin and Eli enjoyed a corn dog.

After lunch we ran to the grocery store to get last minute items for the birthday celebration. As we were unloading the groceries form the car we found out that there was a shift in the load and is squashed on Eli's cake. We were able to fix it to look fairly presentable, we planned on putting the candle in the middle of the mess and face it towards Eli so it would be the area that he would smash..

As we were getting ready for dinner Owen was very curious about the cake. He kept touching the box and trying to get into it. As I was preparing the lasagna for dinner and my mom was getting things set up I hear Owen "Mama can I help, can I take it (the cake) over to the table".. we heard this a few times. Then all of a sudden I heard noise and turned around to see the cake was on the floor upside down and Owen holding the container- needless to say I yelled about the situation. The cake was ruined and couldn't be saved. Poor Owen was upset too, all he wanted to do was help out but he and Dada got to enjoy some icing.


I probably overreacted (I know my in-laws thought I was crazy) but I wanted his birthday to be perfect. Aunt Gigi and Papa came to the rescue and ran out to get a new cake for the little man.




Eli had a wonderful night although he wasn't very interested in opening his gifts, but he had a lot of help from his big brother and his friend Justin. Eli enjoyed the cake and his lasagna dinner. It was a great evening and we got to enjoy cake tasting.

I Really Really Wanted It

In years past he was excited about the presents, this is the first year that Owen really got the whole present and Santa concept. The video says it all..

The Christmas Tour

We made our annual trip to New Jersey to visit Andy's relatives. As part of the visit, we took advantage of being so close to NYC and road the train in.

We took the boys in to see a puppet show at Macy's and mailed letters to Santa.
Then we headed up to Times Square to ride the Ferris Wheel at Toys R Us and experience the Hershey's store. Of course this was the weekend that it decided to snow like mad. We left NYC right as it was about to snow (and when it was getting crazy busy). By the time we got back to Andy's Aunts house the snow was coming down pretty well. Luckily All of Andy's relatives made it down and we got to have a nice visit.



That night we had to venture out in the snow back to the hotel. There was already about a foot of snow on the ground and there where a lot of stuck cars.. come on people you have to keep moving or else you will get stuck. Thankfully we had a car with a high wheel base and had no problems.

We were lucky to have a hotel right by the interstate and it was nice and clear by the time we headed out.. they know how to clear roads in NJ unlike Virginia. When we got back to Virginia the highways were clear but the primary roads were not great, so that made us nervous about our subdivision. When we pulled up, our road in was better than the primary. We were greeted by a deep driveway. We dug ourselves out and then headed over to my in-laws to dig out their driveway. Needless to say we were pretty tired folks and had two tired and cold kiddos.

It has been awhile...

So I have been a slacker regarding my blogging and I am going to blame it mostly on the holidays, life sure did get busy once Thanksgiving hit. We had something going on every weekend and I decided to go to training for a week in Chicago. Luckily I have a great sister who came in and helped Andy with the boys, otherwise I don't know if I would have still had 3 boys in my life. Gretchen did get hit with reality of being a mom and has decided it isn't quite time to give up the single going out life for diapers. After the first day she had the following observations.. 1) midnight-2:30am is way more fun as a chick in the city than as a mom, 2) night potty training is traumatic for everyone, 3) 3-year-olds move SLOWLY, 4) ride-able fire trucks are used for rolling over your brother, 5) having a 3-year-old look you square in the eyes and giving you an unsolicited 'I love you, Gigi' is heart-melting, 6) having a 10-month-old look at you with big bright eyes and a huge smile at 2:30am is impossible to hide a smile back from. They all survived and fun was had by all.