Taking a Break

After a little while of racing each other and playing chase games while shouting something about a "pineapple head", the boys will put their bikes down and lay on the sidewalk. One by one they went, first was Lucas, looking so cute. I took my phone out to take a picture and immediately his serene expression was gone, and here came the, "really mom, I am more than a pretty face" look.






In just moments after that picture of Lucas, Wyatt and Jaxon joined him on the sidewalk. They were all laying there chatting like four year olds do -and then they noticed the clouds above. I wish I could remember what they thought those clouds looked like, but it was weird things, like "our house" or "lots of bikes" and more things that come straight from a four year old imagination.

I did not bring my camera, but this moment was too cute not to capture at least with the camera on my phone!

Biker Boys

It is amazing to me that just days before Christmas I had three little 4 year old boys. And now that I see them riding their bikes and new scooters (thank you Uncle Carl!) around, they seem so much older and bigger to me!

The boys LOVE their new bikes. Morning, noon and night, they want to be outside riding around on them. Amazingly, they also love their bike gear of helmets, knee pads and elbow pads. Between the three of them, I can not count how many spills were saved by their elbow or knee pads. On only the second day of riding around on their bikes, Wyatt fell off his bike and I am pretty certain I saw him flip upside down like a somersault as he fell. The back of his head banged into the curbside, so I am glad we decided to go with the helmets after all. It seemed like overkill in the beginning (and was quite the expense when multiplying it by three) but well worth it. We also purchased some orange traffic cones that we put out while the boys ride. The boys love to ride down the driveway, so it helps to give the boys boundaries of where to stop as well as let the neighbors know there are little ones around.



Wyatt is about one inch shorter than the others, but the difference really seems to hinder him on his bike. He seems to have the hardest time getting his weight behind the pedals when he starts to ride. Once he starts though, he is on a roll and stays steady. But when he does fall, he loves to point out that his safety gear stopped him from getting hurt.



Lucas is our pit crew man. Whenever he sees one of his brothers needing help -whether they fell off their bikes, or got stuck- he jumps off his own bike and quickly runs to the rescue. After a quick push or lift up, he runs back to his own bike and rides off. He also seems to be set "free" while riding. He likes to start races and games of chase while on the bikes. His playful side really seems to shine while he rides around.

Jaxon also has really taken to the riding down the driveway. He tests his limits, driving very close to Don on one occasion and constantly giving his brothers a close call with his near drive bys. We are unsure if he is being daring or just happens to be the close so often, but we are glad there haven't been any crashes yet.

All the sudden they seem so big! It is crazy that just putting them on bikes can add so much to their age!

Merry Christmas!

This year the subject of writing Santa a letter started coming up in late October. I am not sure how they even fathomed the idea of lists, but they had their list of what they wanted. The subject of asking Santa for toys came up on just about every long car ride. Since the list included about 20 Thomas trains, we decided our rule would be they could ask Santa for ONE present each.



Each boy picked one train (which we knew would happen) and Don and I decided it would be great for Santa to get them a bike as well. Unfortunately, any time we brought up the subject of asking Santa for a bike, they boys objected to it, saying that they wanted to ask Santa for a train. They are single track minded boys, so we just went with it and hoped they would be happy about the bikes (and trains of course) on Christmas morning.


First thing on our Christmas morning, I heard Jaxon's feet running in the hall. He ran up to our bed and excitedly whispered, "Daddy, Daddy! I looked downstairs and I see BIKES! Santa brought us bikes!". We woke up and got excited with him, but told him he would have to sit tight until his brothers were awake and we could all go downstairs together. Luckily they woke up soon after and we all got ready to go see what Santa had left them.

They were thrilled to see not only did Santa bring the bikes, but he also packed their trains in their stockings! The boys were so excited and ready to call it a day at that! We reminded them that there were more presents waiting for them, including one special present for each boy. This would be the first time we ever gave one child a toy to be their toy only -for them to decide about sharing it. Jaxon got a punching bag, Lucas got a Thomas the train laptop, and Wyatt got Diego's Rescue Pack.



It was a fun morning followed by a trip to Einstein Bagels and a day of bike riding. A very Merry Christmas indeed.

Not quite Christmas

Christmas morning arrived with no rush and craziness like most homes. Don was working and our plan was to go back to my parents for breakfast and then to open presents there. Santa would come to our house on the night of the 25th, so Don could be there to see the kids get their presents form Santa. Luckily, the kids are too young to know details like these, not to mention I doubt they had a problem with three planned days of present opening instead of two.

Phenomenally, even though Don had to drive two hours to and from work on Christmas day, he was home by 10am! When I heard he could be home that early, the decision was made to wait for him at home instead of meeting him at my parents house. The boys were so excited to see him and after he showered, we were on our way to celebrate!

When we got to Nana and Pops house we cooked up a yummy breakfast. There was no rush to get to the presents, and the whole morning just felt so peaceful and enjoyed it at our own pace. After breakfast, we moved into the front room to pick our spots to open our gifts in.



The boys opened their gifts slowly at first, wanting to open every package that they received, fully taking it in. Their pace picked up a bit until the last gift they got that they opened like a piranha eating for the first time in days! Razor scooters, dominoes, a big pop up Thomas train, an ant farm and so much other fun stuff just got such big reactions out of them all.


For the rest of the day we watched Planet Earth movies (one of my gifts) while making dinner and playing with the boys new toys. Dinner was a yummy ham with lots of wonderful sides including my special stuffing. Our tummies and hearts were full (so full we never had pie!), and the only way we could get the kids to leave Nana and Pops after such a great day was with the promise of Santa coming to our house that very night.

Christmas Eve 2009

This Christmas Eve we spent the evening celebrating at Nana and Pops house (my parents). It was a great night with family friends, new neighbors and the regular family crowd of cousins, aunts and uncles all around.

The food was fantastic and plentiful! Aunt Judy brought her famous "Hurl dip", that as always hits the right spot. Lucas was just looking forward to eating "orange chips" (Doritos) and got much more than he bargained for with all the cookies, chips, crackers, and other finger food he could reach. Don made his Oreo cheesecake again, and my mom filled out all the main food including pot stickers and some yummy bbq beef sandwiches!



Most of the night, the kids were out of site playing with one another, the boys happy for any opportunity to play with their cousin Reagan. We would see them come around the kitchen when they wanted another handful of food, or help Nana cook some more food, but it was so great to catch up with all the other adults while the kids occupied each other.




Soon it was time to watch the kids open their presents. Of course they were thrilled with the cool little skaters and marshmallow shooters they had received. After the presents came a quick sugar rush and Pops seemed to be right in the center of it all. All four kids were climbing up his standing body and doing somersaults off him. Soon enough, it just turned into plain ole wrestling and before the boys (or Pops) got hurt one way or another, we wrangled them up and headed out the door. After all, tomorrow was a big day!

A new Santa in town

After last Christmas, we went to Target with hopes of finding a bargain on Christmas decorations. Don was thrilled when he spotted a lone Santa suit for under $15. We got home, put it in the garage and forgot about it until this year rolled around. When he found it the other day, he tried it on to see what it entailed. The kids were downstairs, so I took this picture of him. Once Don was in his normal clothes again, we called the boys up and told them Santa was in our house checking to see who was being nice and, "Look! I got a picture of him as he snuck out of sight!"



The boys all gasped when they heard and saw that Santa had been checking on them. When I emailed the picture to some of my friends, it was decided that Don would dress up that night at their Christmas open house. There would be a ton of kids there (even a few triplet families together make many kids to play with), so it would be a perfect addition to the night.




That night at Joselle and Drew house, Don put on his Santa suit (and makeup eyebrows) and passed out candy canes to the kids at the party. Right away Lucas asked me quietly, "is that Daddy?" but seemed to be the only one of our boys who knew. When we went to take the group picture, Luke was hesitant to get in the picture with all his friends and Santa. I had to bribe him and say the picture was needed so Santa would know who was on the nice list, and then he jumped right in. Anything for Santa!

Tidbits

We are gearing up for Christmas around here and life just feels good. The boys are at an awesome age, they are so much fun and seem to be either making us laugh out loud or driving us insane, only moments apart.



It seems all the sudden they are so crafty. I gave them a pack of paper, scissors and a couple glue sticks and they kept themselves busy for about an hour. The things they made were -interesting- to say the least, but they were so proud of their creations.



For Christmas at school, they decorated cookies and then did a cookie exchange. So we came home with THREE plates of sugary cookies, topped with gummy bears, m&m's and lots of sprinkles. Even though I tore them away from the cookies after about 3 or 4 each, the boys were on a crazy sugar high for about an hour after eating them.


And even though the sugar high is seriously insane to watch them go through, we love it. It is funny to hear them laugh at anything that has been said or done. They will just run into the couch head first, throwing their legs up in the air and laugh straight from their little bellies.


They are the best of friends. Monkey see, monkey do X's 3. They are our little monkeys, and we couldn't be happier with them.

Today we...

We spent THREE hours at Bass Pro Shop where the boys...

-decorated cookies
-shot a plastic buck with a dart gun
-visited with Santa
-had their first can of soda (it was grape and too hard to resist!)
-played with the mermaid in the aquarium




And after all that, we showed the boys the "paw prints" in the cement walkways through out the store and tried to find -or would you say hunt- the animals.


Then Don and I went to go see CHER! We got the tickets through the program that my parents signed Don and I up for our anniversary. We had no idea where the seats would be, assuming they were way in the back (they were free seats after all!). The seats turned out to be fantastic, we were the seats closest to the stage on the stage left side and a few times were as close as only 10 feet from Cher herself!

Santa Baby

After waiting outside Santa's house for about a half hour, you can see the boys excitedly looking in, knowing their turn was next.



The boys couldn't wait to tell Santa what they wanted. All three were Thomas the Train related.

Wyatt told him he wanted, "ice cweam Thomas and the ice cweam truck"

Jaxon said, "pinchy toes and the breaks and the chugas"

Lucas requested "Lady with the chugas and the breaks"




This year has been lots of fun. They get how exciting Christmas is and still are at an age where ONE present from Santa is enough to keep them happy. They love all the Christmas lights and with so many deaths this past year in both our families, (as well as losing two family dogs) we have talked a lot about heaven and they really grasp the concept of baby Jesus' birthday. Well, as much as a four year old can, anyhow.

This holiday season seems to be one of much happiness!

Preparing for Christmas

Besides the normal shopping at Toys R Us or online, we have been getting our home ready for the holidays.




Nana helping the boys put together a ginger bread train.


The boys decorated our Christmas tree.


I made an ornament wreath (using this tutorial).


Don built the manger for our nativity scene with a little help from the rest of the family.


And last, our Christmas lights are finally up!

We match!

As I was making the boys lunch on Sunday, I heard them get excited as they noticed that they all had the same shirt on.

"We match! We match!"

Wearing the same shirts is not a new concept around here, they have a few shirts that are exactly the same, but they were being so good and especially lovey towards each other on Sunday. I looked over my shoulder and they were hugging about wearing the same shirts.



See? Totally hugging and exclaiming "we match" and then hugging some more.

I am not sure what had gotten into them for the few minutes here, but I will take this random hugging and being sweet to each other over the random crying and fighting any day!

My Weekend Out

For the first time in over 10 years, I went away for a weekend by myself. My cousin Anne in New York invited me to stay with her and I took her right up on her offer. We did things like go to eat at a place the kids would never allowed me to go, as well as drive by my Great Grams house.



The weekend included a night of chatting and laughter with some of my closest cousins.



A day learning a family recipe of homemade raviolis, followed by a big Italian family dinner of everyone sitting around the table laughing. And ended with watching You Tube wedding videos.


A day hanging out with my grandparents who have built and lived in the same house since they married some 60 years ago.



Followed by an evening with my brother, Dad and the best pizza and wings in all of New York. And the next day I got to catch up with my step mom and have a real conversation in the first time in about 8 years and all without the many interruptions that come with kids and men.

The weekend was wonderful and the only thing I would have changed was to have more time to spend with everyone. To really catch up with my family and get to sit and chat with them instead of a hello on the go was so good for my soul.