Day to Day

This weekend we have just been hanging out mostly at home. Yesterday we went out for dinner and afterwards stopped by Brent and Jessica's house and made plans to meet up with them again this morning. Luke has opened a bit with Jessica, even attempting to say her name last night when we left. I think it has connected in his head that those are Reagan's parents.

Not much is new around here. The boys are still learning more words everyday, and talking so much. They are working on their colors, but everything seems to be the color "ya-yo". When we are in the car and stopped at a red light, Jaxon and Lucas will demand that we go. "Go, go dada, GO!" So we are trying to show them the red light and how it turns green, but they haven't grasped it yet. But we can't help but smile when they tell us to go when we are stopped at the red lights.

Their sense of humor is awesome. Tonight we had the tv on while they were eating and Shaun the Sheep was on Disney. IF you are not familiar with the show, they are 30 second to 5 minute clips of the farmer, his sheep and the dog. Here is a link to get an idea. Well, the boys were quiet and watching the show, laughing at the funny parts! They laugh all the time, but as far as what they laugh at, that is up in the air. Jaxon loves body noises (charming, I know) and that will always make him laugh, but it seemed so mature for them to be laughing at a wordless show.

Security Breach

Not that we need to close the doggie door often, but if the boys have escaped for the umpteenth time, it is handy to be able to close it.

This and That

The boys are still loving sunglasses. This weekend when we went shopping, the Children's Place had these funky aviation ones for 99 cents which I thought Don would get a kick out of. It is amazing how all three boys have a totally different look with them on. Jax is a little more nerd/ maybe police man, Wyatt looks like a little Elvis, and Lucas has the Brad Pitt thing going on -when he puts the glasses on right side up, anyhow.

We are having issues with bulling today; LOTS of pushing and hitting with their cars. Jax still has his boo-boo on his forehead, we are going on TWO months now. He is listening better and keeping the band aids on 80% of the time when he sleeps, so hopefully he should be healed up soon, with no damage done.

Lucas loves to preface things he is going to do with saying "ready" but coming out more like "reb-ee". This pertains to going down the slide, throwing cars, or sliding a match box car down the stair railing. Either way, it means look out!

Wyatt surprised us tonight when Don was signing the alphabet. He was able to name most of the letters that Don signed to him! We had known he knew a,b,and c, but the fact that he knew so many more was just amazing to us!


Baby Reagan is back! The boys were so excited to see her the other day when Nana walked through the door with the car seat. I think she was just in awe of so many little people around her, but the boys were really good with her. We just have to remind them not to touch her hair/ face/ head. They just keep pointing at her and touching, saying "bay-bee, bay-bee Rae-rae". Here is a video for her parents to see the loving she gets when she is here. This is actually the boys giving her space.



School is starting and Michael, Cathryn and Matthew have headed back out to their home in California. The boys are going to miss their big cousins! This is Michael making them laugh...

Wonderful Weekend

Ahh this is the stuff weekends should be made of! Friday night Don and I snuck off for a "date night" thanks to my Mom babysitting the boys. Dinner was at Yolies. The owner is a client of Don's and this is the second time she invited us there on the house. The food is amazing and the service was wonderful with about 4 or 5 different waiters attending to every need. We had such a nice time catching up and relaxing, Don even had a couple beers and he finished off my cocktail. Afterwards we went our for dessert and more drinks (for Don). I can not stress how much this date night helped, even though we didn't know we needed it.


Saturday Don took the boys out to meet his partner Albert for breakfast. He said they did great and had no problems! I went to Einstein bagels (ALONE) and actually got to eat while thumbing through a magazine!! I have no recollection of the last time I felt relaxed enough to leisurely eat and read at the same time. Had to be before the boys were born :) Then we went to a strip mall where I ran in and did some shopping while Don WALKED the boys to the pet store to keep them busy. No stroller, wagon or anything. He had them holding hands with each other to cross the streets and they totally behaved for him. It makes me wonder if they smell fear on me, hah.

That night my Mom invited us for dinner and all five of the boys (Mike and Matt are still out here) just had a blast playing together. Don set up a telescope he brought over for the boys and then we took Michael back to our house where Don and he played the PlayStation till all hours.

This morning we took an impromptu trip out to the Primm outlet stores and did a bit of shopping. That place has gotten much busier then they used to be and in turn they opened many more stores! The boys had a blast running around (read- not in wagon or stroller). Who knew how long kids could keep busy jumping off 3 inch platforms or hiding behind little pillars? On the 30 minute drive home they kept themselves busy by making it "rain" with raspberries and playing with their sunglasses (aka "eyes") before they fell asleep.

(You see where Jaxon's arm is? Thank goodness it was a clean diaper!) After nap time was over, we took a trip out to Nana's house to say good bye to Mike and Matthew since they go home tomorrow. We are all going to miss the kids since they start school soon. Between the three of them, they have been here non stop all summer! The boys have grown very attached to them and love then dearly! It was a great weekend, every minute the boys were up were packed with fun things, and when they slept, Don and I hung out and caught up, too. What more could I ask for?

Rain

This morning before the boys were out of their beds, I was getting ready for the day. There was a rumble outside and for a minute, for a second, I wondered if it could be thunder, but then I figured that wasn't possible. See, Don watches the weather channel nightly and most mornings, too. He wants to know what he is up against the next day at work since he is outside all day, every day. The weather channel is useless to me, unless I would like to know exactly how much over 100 degrees we will be today. I am better off not knowing. Plus it hadn't rained more than an hour or so in more than 3 months!

To see that it was indeed raining with a bit of thunder and lightning to go with it, I rushed to get the boys up so they could see it, also. They have never woken up to rain before. They are so unfamiliar with rain that we tell them it is raining when the sprinklers in the backyard go off just to familiarize them with the term rain. I opened the front door and they just loved watching the rain come out of the sky. "Nain"..."nay-ning?" they ask. Wyatt associated the rain with the watering can, so he went to grab that and put it outside.

After all that excitement we closed the door and our day went on like normal, but I am glad the boys got to have their little rain experience.

Weekend Update

I finally got my hair cut. I was in dire need of a cut and especially a color, so I decided to be bold and get a color change. Not so sure if I can count it as bold being it is closer to my natural color than it used to be. Also, anyone related to my side of the family... If you click on the picture and enlarge it - do you see the face on Wyatt? I think while Luke got the Annarino smile, Wyatt got the Annarino scowl. :)

We have had some very active nights lately. The boys are just all into playing around with Don and they are so cute we don't want to stop, even though it is WAY past their bedtime. The giggles and smiles are just too cute!

Jaxon still has the "ow-ee" on his forehead. We are having major issues with him picking at it. At night when Don and I go check on them, we sometimes find Jax with his hand by his forehead. I am thinking he may actually subconsiously pick at it, like some kids suck their thumbs... any ideas out there to help?

The boys are doing well. T-R-O-U-B-L-E most of the time, and defitenly pushing their limits. We have been working on manners and all three are doing really well with their "tank you" and signing it, too.


I attached a few video just for your viewing pleasure

Ring around the Rosie- their version



A longer video of the boys just keeping themselves busy. Pretty cute stuff!


Rolly pollies in our midst..

Alpha Mom

Today my eyes have been opened a bit. It is the first day in almost two weeks I have had the boys all to myself all morning. Wyatt is swatting at me when I tell him something he doesn't want to hear (or anytime he wants), Jaxon is fake crying about silly things to get his way and Lucas is stealing toys from his brothers only to tell them "tank you" when they cry about it -as if to trick them into thinking they just gave it to him.

I know something is going on in their heads, but finally it dawned on me. In the midst of trying to find out which one of them is the alpha male, they are trying to be ALPHA of the house. How would they know any different (from a two year old perspective, anyhow) then to see who can bully up their way to the top of the ladder?

So as much fun as it is to let everyone do their own thing and have happy (for the moment) children, I am having to be a little bit more bossy today to put their little tooshies back in line. I am after all, the Alpha MOM.

New tricks

It is ironic to me that while I sit here typing at 9 pm - listening to Wyatt sing (more like yell) in his crib- I am about to write about how amazed I am by my monkeys.


On the way to dinner tonight we were driving down the freeway. Jaxon is just looking out his window and tells me "Mama. Mama, 'B'" After a second I realized he had noticed the letter "B" on a billboard we were coming up to. WOW! Then while we were in the restaurant eating, he was looking around and called out the letter "T" from the exit sign. Both of these were unprovoked, he noticed them on his own!

On the way home from dinner, I heard a giggle in the backseat. I saw that Jaxon had inadvertently splashed Luke with the straw from his cup when his straw flipped out of his mouth. Both of them were giggling about it and it made me realize they already have a knowledge of little funny things like that. It is so hard to explain but it wasn't a baby laugh, and it was just between them. It was beautiful.

And last but not least, tonight while Don had the boys give him letter toys out of the tub, he was surprised to see Wyatt now knows about 20 of the letters. Their little minds are picking up so much and learning so quickly. I am so proud of them!

Here is a little video of a minute of our day. Nothing exciting, but you can hear them say "thank you" and look at their cute faces :)

Summer Days

It has been over 100 degrees daily for what seems like months here in Las Vegas. The boys rarely get out during the day because first of all, it is too hot and second, I am
worried they will burn themselves just by sitting or touching something. Seriously, there are beautiful parks all over Las Vegas and they don't get any use until about 6 pm because kids legs and hands get burned from climbing on them. Cars are so hot when you load everyone in that their cheeks are all red and the babies are sweating before you even get the car started.

Thank goodness Nana has a pool. We have been going over for swimming and dinner a few times in the past week or two and the boys are really beginning to love the water. Lucas seemed to be the most worried, but even he has been getting a bit more comfortable and enjoying himself. I think that the boys being able to watch Cathryn jumping in and going underwater helps them see how much fun they can have in the pool.

Here is a little video of the boys jumping into Nana's arms from outside the spa. Little brave monkeys!

Don!

This past weekend Don ran upstairs to grab his wallet while I was putting the boys shoes on them. I remembered my earrings were upstairs and yelled up to Don to please grab them. Like little echos, we heard "Dooon! from all corners of the room. Tonight while I am on the computer, we hear Jaxon's little voice calling out - not to Dada, but to "Don". Don thinks it is hilarious now, but admits it would not be so funny if they were 4 years old saying it. :)

The boys are talking so much lately. Not sentences so much, but words to identify things they see. Animals, letters, names.. so many different words they know. They are even FINALLY beginning to say each others names. For a while, Wyatt has been saying "g-ax" for Jaxon, but that has been far and few between. Luke has begun to say "Why-why" for Wyatt and the rest is just a blur right now.

Another new thing is that in the past Wyatt and Jax have always gravitated towards each other while Luke would prefer to do this own thing. For the past few weeks it has been a free for all with all three of them playing together. Kisses and hugs are given freely to all and they all do silly things to make the others laugh. Just the other day I got them up from nap time and Lucas was still sleeping. Wyatt was distressed that Luke was left in the room and ran back to the bedroom to find out where his brother was. That really made me realize that finally they have all grown closer.

**I have to add one more picture for my brother :)

Family Night

I am feeling blahhh. I lost my creative mojo, haven't scrapped since my last post. But I do love all the alphabet ideas, so thank you for your help! To get back in the groove, I thought maybe tonight was a good time to watch the airplanes and try to get a good "A" picture.

We decided on Little Caesars for a dinner that we could pick up on the way and eat while we watch the planes. But it was waaay too hot to eat were there was no shade, especially on the hot concrete, even though it was 6 o'clock. So we changed plans and decided to take the kids a half mile up the road and eat picnic style. Without a blanket, napkins or anything else, we walked over to a nice shaded area and ate our pizza while the boys ran around -first trying to feed the birds by throwing food at them, and then later they (Wyatt, really) progressed to chasing the birds around.


It was so peaceful and nice. There was no one around us at all, the boys had plenty of room to run and be boys. Don caught a praying mantis and they were amazed by their first bug up close like that. A bit after that, the sprinklers went off in the areas very close to ours (my camera thanks the sprinklers for not going off in our area). Jaxon is not a big fan of the sprinklers, he has been caught in ours a few times and he just freezes up, not sure what to do; so I carried him and Luke out without getting "rained" on, but you can tell from the picture, they were not thrilled at the little bit of water that did catch them.


After everyone was in the car, off to the airport it was! Ten minutes was about all it took, but I got a few pictures I think will be great with a little photoshop help (hahah)

Even the car ride home was nice as Don and I listened to the babbling in the back seat. It was a great family night and hopefully having the "A" picture taken now, I can get back in the groove!

A bit of randomness

We have gone over to "play" at Cathy's house a couple times this past week. The boys play so well together and they all seem to enjoy each other. Last night we brought Cathryn with us so she and Leigha could have a little girl time without all the babies in their way.

I can't say enough how lucky I was to meet Cathy while the boys were in the hospital. It is such a blessing to know someone who goes through just about the same things each day and can relate to some issues that other people would never even think of. And the fact that we can have 8 children all together and the loudest sounds we heard all night were of them giggling and playing loudly, speaks volumes of how well our lives mesh.

In other news, I had gotten tired of the boys pulling books of their shelf so they can lay down in it and go "nye-nyte". As cute as it was, putting the books away five or six times a day was getting on my nerves so I had an idea. With a little brainstorming and the help of my strong handy husband, we made ourselves a bookshelf to hang on the wall.


And lastly, my scrapbooking is coming along pretty well. I still don't have all my pics on discs like I need to, but I keep forgetting to buy DVD's since a wise person told me they hold many more pictures than a regular CD does. Right now I am working on a little ABC book for the boys, but I am having troubles coming up with pictures for the other 2/3rds of the alphabet. I am not wanting to use more names, but if you all can help me think of pictures and words for A,C,E,G,H,I,K, N,O,Q,R,S,U,V,X,Y,Z you would be my heroes!

Fourth of July

My parents have lived in their neighborhood for about 13 years now, and every year there are two or three holidays they like to get together with some other neighbors to celebrate. This year -like many before it- Don and I chose to celebrate the Fourth of July with some of those family friends. It is truly good food, good friends and good times rolled into one.
After eating some delicious BBQ that Louis cooked on the grill, we just hung out back under the patio where (thankfully) Cynthia and Steve had misters on. The temperature was up past 110, so the misters were a perfect way to help us all enjoy each other.
When it started getting dark outside, Don and I took the boys and followed Mom and Dad out front to watch the fireworks. As soon as Jaxon heard the first big BOOM, he ran right over to me and made it pretty obvious he didn't much care for the fireworks this year. Nana wasn't feeling to hot either, so she volunteered to take Jaxon over to her house and keep him inside there. Lucas and Wyatt, on the other hand, really loved watching the fireworks. They tried to scoot closer and closer to all the action on the street until it made us nervous and we pulled them back. Shortly after that, we saw it was almost 9 o'clock and time to get them home.

This year was really relaxing, and it was so nice to catch up to all the people we seem to only run into at these neighborhood parties.

Signing Time! in Las Vegas

Rachel from Signing Time! came to Las Vegas last week for a show! We packed up the kids (Michael too!) grabbed some dinner on the way and had a great night! The songs were awesome and it was so neat to see the boys "get it" that Rachel was right there signing and singing in person. They loved the whole outdoor picnic/concert idea and stayed pretty busy the whole evening between eating their dinners, dancing or playing with Cathy's kids.


When the concert was over, Rachel was sticking around to get some pictures taken with her fans. Cathy and I thought it made more sense just to wait and let the kids play instead of waiting in the seemingly hour long line. When the line was almost gone, we grabbed the kids and got our picture taken with Rachel, her daughter Leah, and Hopkins (the frog). I am thinking Mike thought he was too big to stand in there with us, but we all had a great time!

Here are some videos of the kids dancing to the music

Changes

A few major changes in the works for us. First off, the other afternoon the boys were waking from their naps. We generally let them chatter for a bit and then go in their room to get them. I hear a thump and then Jaxon opens the door and walks out. Less than 2 seconds later (and no thump!) -Wyatt follows right behind him! Jaxon is the one who fell out last time and we have seen him stretch up and lean over the crib sides before. So the crib tents are up now. Only Jax's gets zipped, but the other two tents are ready for action if needed.

Also, we bought potty chairs. Jaxon occasionally tells me when he is pooping, so I figured I would take that as a sign to start teaching him. They already ready a little potty book and sometimes I ask Jax if he would like to sit on the potty. He loves it so far, but it is still a novelty. Tonight before putting them in the bath, we sat them on the potty chairs and Lucas went pee! It was just by chance, I know... I don't even think he knew, but it was a start.