Things I love

Jaxon kisses. He squishes throws his arms around my and holds on tightly to my neck while smashing his teeth against my lips. Ahhh, he loves me.

When the kids see a big yellow "M" outside of McDonald's they yell "M! Mmmmomma!"

"Hey, Nan!" Jaxon calls when he is trying to get my Moms attention.

Wyatt kisses, lots of slobber and he holds the sides of my face while he kisses me.

I love when Luke holds his shirt up and exposes the side of his belly. This is his way of telling us he wants someone to get his "sugar"

Late at night checking on the boys before I head in to bed. They look so little!

The boys holding out their hands for Don and I to hold them.

Lucas loves to lounge lately. It is so sweet to see him sprawled out on the couch with his Teddy-belle and blanket.

Lucas calls his teddy bear "Teddy-Belle". (We have two dogs, one is named Teddy and the other -you guessed it- is Belle.)

Wyatt is at the point where he will be naughty and quickly give us a kiss or act all cute and funny to try to get out of trouble. Sometimes it works...

If we praise one child for using their fork, (or eating a bean, etc) Jaxon will rush to do the same proudly while waiting to get his praise, too.

When Luke or Wyatt wake up (in the am, at nap time, in between sleep cycles) they ALWAYS immediately ask for Jax (who is still laying in the bed adjacent to theirs).


It never fails to make me laugh to see Don being attacked by the boys. 3 little people can bring that big man down in 10 seconds flat.

Working out at the gym only to look up and see the boys playing on the closed circuit TV

Bed time cuddles with Lucas. He loves to be held and sang to before he lays in his crib.

Listening to the boys sing without being prompted.

3 Hour naps

In the car when all three have their hands up over their heads, saying "More whee!"

We got Elfed!

Look at my boys dance! Click here Muah hah ha!

Bragging on my kids

This week we have gone to the gym three times. That is right, three times. The first time we went Wyatt and Jax cried a bit when we dropped them off to the play center. The second time Jaxon was the only one who didn't want to go. And today all three walked right through the playroom door without a look back. Luke and Jax walked right over to a table with paper and crayons and about 10 seconds later Wyatt looked over like he just realized he didn't say good bye. I blew a kiss to him then we walked out feeling so much better about leaving.

Tonight we went to the Town Square Las Vegas grand opening. There was a Santa parade with reindeer pulling his sleigh and frosty the snow man. A man on stilts and a few guys doing balloon tricks and other neat things were walking around for plenty of eye candy. Jaxon was terrified of the stilt man and Frosty. Terrified. I couldn't hold him close enough and his little body shook when Frosty walked by.


During the hour and half we waited to eat at Claim Jumpers, we walked around. The boys saw a huge Christmas tree, listened to live music, played all over the neat play ground area and ran through the little maze they have set up with fake bushes. They stayed fairly close and held hands when we crossed the streets. For the last ten minutes before our buzzer went off, we stood outside of the restaurant watching the boys keep themselves occupied by ringing the little jingle bells that were being handed out in preparation for Santa's arrival.

When we went inside to eat, we were a bit apprehensive about being seated in a booth. The boys moved around lots in the beginning, but quickly settled down and behaved quite nicely. They really amazed Don and I with how well they stick together when we walk (we haven't had to use a stroller or choo-choo except for store visits, and sometimes not even then!) and for a table of two year olds, their manners are really great (for the most part).

On our way home Don and I were talking about how great the boys are and how blessed we are to have such good kids. Wyatt and Jaxon know the full alphabet - Lucas is working on it his way. Wyatt knows it in sign language, fully. All three know their colors, most of the time. Wyatt and Jaxon know to count to 10 and sometimes even up to 20. Even though they were late talkers, their vocabulary is exploding. Lucas amazes us with what he learns and can repeat so clearly. All three of them just soak in information and really understand what is happening around them. When given a choice between behaving or going to time out (for only about 20 seconds!) 99% of the time they choose to behave (thank goodness!).

I know there will be many times in our future where things are not as simple. But for now, the boys are better than we could have hoped for and bring us huge amounts of joy with their affection and senses of humor. We are extremely proud of the little people they are becoming. We love you, boys!

Lots 'o Videos

Just for giggles...


Jaxon plays the game "operator" with me


Wyatt sings the s l o w e s t version of ABC's ever


Lucas asks "one more time?"


Daddy teaches kids how to give knuckles, five and hand shakes


And last of the day will be the loudest and most obnoxious.
This is a video of the boys trying to make the dogs howl. I love how Jax puts his hands on his eyes instead of cupping them around his mouth...

Weekend Update

We had a busy weekend. Started on Friday when my Mom had a weird spell that made us think she needed to get checked out at the hospital. She went and they agreed she should be there, even had her spend the night. But luckily nothing seems to be wrong and hopefully it was a one time happening.

Saturday we actually managed to get together with Cathy's crew. Although we talk at least once a day, we haven't seen each other in a month and the boys haven't played together in probably two! Needless to say it was high time to get together and catch up.

Sunday we took advantage of the cooler weather (finally below 80 degrees!) and took the boys out to the park to let them run off some excess energy. After nap time we went to Nana's for dinner. It was a full house with Nicki in town and Aunt Leigha, Gina and TJ, too. We all had a nice time and after a quick bath, got in the new sleeper pj's from Nana and Pops and went home.

The whole weekend was packed full of fun and it has been nice to have Nicki here in town to share it with!

Our Big Bye-Bye

This past we took a trip to Southern California. It was cousin Jake's second birthday and it seemed like the perfect time to go on a mini vacation.

Being that they are not big fans of long car rides, the boys have never been in the car longer than an hour or so on a straight shot. Many airplane rides where Don and I could take them out of their seats and let them stretch -or separate whoever needs to be separated- but not a long car ride. We talked about the trip with the boys a few days before we left, telling them about our "big bye-bye" and the beach.

Friday when Don got home from work we were off! Over the mountains and through the desert we went, silently praying the boys would behave and not bother the heck out of each other in their close quarters. We don't have a big vehicle where the boys can all ride with their own personal space. These guys are cramped up fighting over leg room and heaven forbid someone touches their car seat! Days before the trip I was thinking how nice it would be for Don and I to be together in the car for so long, getting to catch up in all the hours we were driving to and from California. Instead we both sat there silently, knowing that the slightest distraction could cause the kids to become aware of something -anything that would make them start fighting or pinching- and we just couldn't risk it.

Finally at 10 we pull into our Marriott hotel. The hotel had a living area with a full kitchen (dishwasher, stove, microwave, refrigerator, etc) and two separate bedrooms off the living room/dining room area. About an hour later the kids were all in their pack and plays (which by the way -we discovered they could climb out of) in the big bedroom and fast asleep.

Saturday morning we decided to go introduce the boys to the ocean. We had talked it up for the last few days, helping the boys pronounce beach and talking about the water and the sand there. All three seemed pretty excited about the concept until we got there. Jaxon walked right out to the sand with Don, he didn't mind the sand between his toes. Wyatt walked a bit but decided he would rather be carried. Lucas wouldn't even step off the side walk onto the sand. Don and I kept walking hoping he would just follow, but we soon realized it was not going to happen that way. Once we were set up at our blanket I realized that it is no surprise for Luke to be this way with the sand. The huge sandbox my Dad and Don built for the boys has yet to be sat in by Lucas, unless he has something besides the sand to put his bottom on.

Jaxon and especially Wyatt loved the beach. Wyatt loved to chase the water up and down the shoreline, racing to pick up rocks or shells before the water came back up. Once he turned to run and tripped over to fall in the water, but I picked him up by his shirt before he got too wet. He just laughed- totally unfazed by the cold water now on his belly and in his diaper.


All too soon lunch time came and it was time to head back to the hotel. After the boys woke from their naps we headed over to Don's Aunt Linda's house about 25 minutes away for some pizza and good conversation. Nathan, Lee Ann and her family would be there, as well as Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob. It is always so good to see this part of Don's family! His Uncle Bill happened to be there too -which was a great surprise for us. After a few hours of the boys playing nicely with Jake and all of us catching up, it was past the boys bedtime and time to go.

Sunday called for a visit with Don's Grandpa before checking out of the hotel and heading over to Jake's birthday party. The boys all played with Jake, taking turns between playing nicely or throwing tantrums over a toys they wanted.

This is a picture of the boys as we were gassing up the jeep for our drive home. They are completely hopped up on lots of blue koolaid (the first time they have ever had it) and under slept by about 2 of his usual 3 hours nap. They were totally insane, laughing at anything and everything they could think of.

It was a great way to end our "big bye-bye".

Halloween Happenings

I can't believe this is the boys third Halloween! It is amazing how fast time has gone by...

WE had an awesome Halloween, better than expected for sure! To start the night off, we went to Nana's where she had made the boys some fried dough (YUM!) and pasta for dinner. At about 6 o'clock Brent and Jessica came with Reagan and Aunt Judy. Off we all went to trick or treat! We were so surprised the boys did fine walking around the block this time. Just a few weeks ago we took the boys for a walk and two out of three screamed most of the way around, wanting to be carried. We held out though, knowing if we carried them then, we would have heck to pay on Halloween night. But tonight they did great -holding hands when crossing the street and staying close together.

The first house we hit was Cynthia's. The boys weren't quite sure what to do, but Don lead them to the door and Cynthia came out with a huge bowl of candy. Since the boys have NEVER had candy, they had no idea they should want some. We showed them that the candy goes into their little buckets they were carrying. On our way to the next house, Lucas tried giving his candy to Reagan and then to Wyatt. By the time we hit our fourth or fifth house the boys were little pros and Wyatt was even trying to dig deep in the candy bowls for some extras. All the way around Nana's block we went, probably 15 houses total visited. Soon the boys started walking much slower and we decided that trick or treating was over for the night.

Back at Nana's the boys started exploring what they had in their buckets. Some people had little teddy grahams and pretzels, one house even gave away play-dough! The boys were like a little eating machine - although I think the fun was mostly in the unwrapping for them. They also liked opening Nana's door to greet the trick or treaters. One woman costume had a fake snake the boys loved to check out and even touch!

On the drive home we had gotten our second wind and decided to trick or treat a few houses on our street. The boys were really into the trick or treating and would walk right up to the doors, knocking on them. I am sure a few people wondered what the heck was going on with all the knocking between the three of them. After visiting with a few of our neighbors it was 8 o'clock and time to head inside for the evening. The boys were all coming off their little sugar high and ready to crash within minutes of having their pj's put on. Ironically enough, they never did eat an M&M.

Costume Time

Today was the first day we had everyone in their finished costumes together! As late as last night Don and I had the boys standing on the kitchen table, trying to pin the front and backs together. Well, I finished the sewing last night just in time for our Moms of Multiples Halloween party this afternoon!

The boys looked great in their costumes, each wearing the color that is generally "their" color for sippy cups or anything else that we need three of. Don is such a good sport about dressing up with them, it takes a very confident man to pull it off as well as he does. I can't wait for Halloween night to see how the Trick or Treating goes!

Dancing, laughing & falling

The boys are just growing by Leaps and Bounds. Sometimes at the end of the day it is hard to think back through the day and remember what new happened, and then days later someone will do something and I will wonder when that was learned. So here is an entry to try to play catch up.

There is a sound machine in the boys room. We keep it on a rain sound when the boys sleep, but there are other sounds, as well as an alarm or radio on it. The boys found the radio button and love to dance to the music. Jax does this adorable dance with his hands closed in fists shaking and moving up and down in front of him (for anyone that has seen Don dance, he is just like his Daddy) with his little body dancing along. Wyatt and Lucas do more jumping than dancing, but it is great to see them get so excited about any music station we happen to come across.


The Falling Game This game was first noticed when Karen and Annie were in town. We were at the Bellagio waiting for the water show and the boys were keeping themselves occupied by throwing their bodies on the sidewalk in slow motion. It almost looks if they are training to be stunt men :) This game gets played any where from our living room, at the Bellagio (as mentioned above), the mall, or as shown in the picture below, anywhere they darn well please since we think it is not worth the battle to make them stop (and they look so happy while playing it).



HELP This is another game the boys like to play. I am sure it started when Don and I asked them if they needed help the first time after they "fell". It surprisingly has evolved to a game they will play at the table. Everyone is seated in their chairs and -even though they are buckled in- they will let their heads fall way to the side and ask for "help". Then someone stops playing long enough to push their brothers head back up to their shoulders, before dropping their own head sideways again.
This help game is also combined with the falling game when the boys ride their little animals (they call them bye-byes) around the house and s l o w l y fall off. Then they will just lay there quietly asking for "help" until a sibling comes along to try to lift their brothers head off the ground in an attempt to help them up.

Jaxon's mind is really busy lately. Last week when I was unloading the boys from the car I noticed a distinct smell. I looked at Jax (since he was closet to me) and asked if he pooped. He said "no pu". I asked him if he was sure and he told me, "No PU, Lukey PU". That goes down in the books as Jax's first sentence. Last week Don had heard Jaxon singing a line from the "Moon Moon Moon" song. He actually said "moon, moon, moon, I can see". That is the most amount of words he has put together yet, so we were pretty impressed -especially since the music wasn't playing or anything. He just sang it since he saw them moon out the window.
Sometimes I'll pretend there is something in my hands and quietly tell the boys to come look. When they get close, I open my hands and tickle their heads. Jaxon loves to play this back on us! He will whisper to us while stooping his little shoulders as if he is holding something precious in his hands and then jump up to tickle our heads. He also thinks funny faces are hilarious and loves to make everyone laugh. He is so contrary in his personality, sometimes taunting his brothers with the forbidden word when he has something they want -"mine" or coming to pat them on their back when he knows they need comfort.


Wyatt is loving his letters and numbers. He has the entire alphabet down -with most signs- and he loves to count! He misses a few digits here and there, but he loves to say them again and again (and again!). He is still quite the cuddle bug and is really a mischievous child. Wyatt loves to tell us "no" and then chuckle afterwards like it was funny that he would even try to tell us no. Wyatt thinks anything is funny, even though he may not initially be amused.
Another thing I am not sure if I have ever blogged was how Wyatt can be going full blast 60 miles an hour and them we can lay him on the ground making the "shhhhh" sound while rubbing his face and he will just about fall asleep in 20 seconds. It is the oddest thing I have ever seen, but he has an amazing ability to just relax himself. He has a definite thirst for learning things and continually surprises us with how he withholds information.

Lucas is blossoming more now than ever. Luke says many words, often repeatedly until we acknowledge or agree with him. He wants to know everything all the time, and gets very loud if he is not happy with the answers. He knows his colors and shapes very well and is slowly working on the alphabet, seeming to want to know more about the world around him than just the standard alpha, number routine. I do see that Lucas is beginning to see the fun in the alpha now that he is recognizing letters more often, but he is a child who knows what he wants when he wants it.

My favorite thing Lucas does is at night time he will wrap himself up in the blanket and say "take you" to me, telling me he wants me to pick him up so we can cuddle before he will lay down. I think he has finally realized that it is fun to participate with everyone. He has become quite the charmer and loves for anyone to kiss on his neck, going as far as tilting his head to the side and saying "neck" as an invitation for some lovins'.


There are so many things the boys do lately that I think are just the cutest things a child has even done. They are so free spirited and happy. There are also times that tempers are flared over a matchbox or other favorite toy of the moment. The boys are definitely going through their twos and testing Don and my authority. It is sweet, hilarious and hair pulling all with in 5 minutes, but through it all, it is AWESOME and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Let the fun begin...

Tonight we had a family dinner at Nana and Pops. When it was time to go and we were on our way out, the boys were saying their good byes to Pops and Nana. Don went out to load Wyatt into the car and I was making sure our messes were picked up when Luke ran back in the house. He went over to the toy corner and made a beeline for the front door with his palms clasped together. Pops knew what little Luke was up to and laughed as he told me Luke was trying to sneak a matchbox out of the house. After chatting with Lucas outside, he gave reluctantly gave the matchbox back to Pops and then asked Pops "please" to see if Pops would let him "borrow" the match box. As Pops gave it back to Luke and Luke smiled the biggest smile ever, Jaxon was walking back into the house.

Pops walked to the door and acted like Jaxon locked us out -then realized Jaxon locked us out. Not so worried since we had the car keys and could get back in, but getting a bit concerned that we just opened the doggie door to the backyard (there is a pool) Don grabbed the keys and the search for Jaxon began. I let Pops and Nana know that Jaxon likes to hide and freak us out, so it was important not to let him hear any panic in our voice (to take the fun out of it for him). First Nana searched the backyard, while Pops and Don looked through out the house. Don went upstairs checking every room and calling down to see if Jaxon was found yet while I was outside glancing around while keeping an eye on Wyatt and Lucas who were in the car waiting.

After what was probably only 30 seconds but felt like 5 minutes- my Dad said loud enough for us to hear "I see you Jaxon, I saw you all along" (he obviously didn't- but he wisely couldn't let Jaxon know he stumped us). As I walked in the house, Jaxon was coming out of the formal dining room (where he had been hiding under a chair). He had a hesitant smile on his face, not sure if he was in trouble- but oh, so proud of himself. I tried not to laugh out loud as I told him in the most casually stern voice I could muster that it is not funny to hide and it was time to go.

I truly think Jax was disappointed that there was no panic and that he didn't get the reaction he wanted. This was only the second time he has "hidden" on purpose. The first being when he walked over to the other side of a car in the parking lot where he was out of our eyesight for about 10 seconds. When I spotted his head and got him, I saw the twinkle in his eye that told me he thought it was funny that Mommy got worried.

Just thinking about what he may do for his third time gives me grey hairs.

Fall Fun

Last night Carl, his kids, my Mom and the five of us all went to another pumpkin patch. Maybe not so much of a pumpkin patch, but it was more of a backyard barn a man had made over to be a fun family place. There were probably 20 horses, 2 or 3 goats, a burrow and a few random other animals tucked in there somewhere.

After feeding carrots to the animals and taking some pictures, the kids went on a horse and wagon ride with Carl and Don. They all seemed to really enjoy it. After a bit more of wandering around, the boys gravitated towards a slide and swing play set. Up and down over and over again they went on the slide.

Lucas got pretty confident on the slide and he had to went on it no less than 40 times. It was a pretty fast slide that we would have to catch them at the bottom or they would fly right into the dirt, but they all had huge smiles while going down it. Before we left they graduated from plain old sliding to sliding with their arms up in the air or even going choo-choo style all three packed in together!

On our way out we got to choose our pumpkins from about 20 others scattered near the entrance. We just grabbed a regular shaped one, not to tall or anything- but it is cool to think that something like a plain old pumpkin has such a fun evening of memories attached to it.

Check out the slideshow to see the fun we had!

The Good and Bad of it

This weekend flew by. It was the kind of weekend were life gets in the way of relaxing. Saturday morning we ran a few errands, one of them being to Target. As we were loading up the kids in the car, my wallet got left on top of the car as we drove off. Since the back window motor ran out and the window was permanently stuck down and had to be taken care of, we didn't notice my wallet was missing until Sunday morning.

All Sunday morning was about retracing our steps, calling and going into any stores someone may have returned my wallet to. Then calling the credit card company and canceling checks, as well as filing a police report and giving a fraud alert notice to the credit bureaus, just in case. A bit stressful, but we just prayed that someone found it and threw it away, verses it getting into the wrong people's hands.

Then Sunday evening came around. The first amazing thing was Lucas said his first sentence. His shoe came off and I was holding him close while putting it back on his foot. First he turned to me and said "thank you, Momma" and then he hugged me (amazing for Lucas in it self!!) and said "I love you, Momma". Awwww. My little Lukey!

The second amazing thing was Don and I went to bed at tenish, turning off the television and lights at about 10:40pm. Not even 5 minutes later, our doorbell rang. I am all freaking out, thinking the worst about someone with all my personal info coming to my door at almost 11pm... but it was an angel returning my wallet her daughter had found in the middle of the road on Saturday. Even though she had obviously had a long day (up and running around even at 11pm) she took the time to personally return my wallet to me.

So even though we spent so much of our weekend time on a broken window and missing wallet, the end results were definitely worth it!

Sunday Fun

Today was a BUSY day! First we started out at the annual picnic thrown by our RE. He never fails to amaze me with his genuine smile when he sees us, usually seeking us out before we get a chance to find him. I cannot say enough nice things about Dr. Shapiro, a fantastic Dr all around.

They had a fabulous picnic there, good food -and I can't think of a time that I had seen as many double strollers as I saw there, lol. The boys played in the sand and ran up and down the hillside to get some energy out. After a bit, we went inside to eat and for the first time ever, all three boys sat on their own chairs (no highchairs or booster seats) and sat there like they have done it a million times before. Don and I couldn't believe how well they behaved, we were so proud! The last place we want our kids to act out of control is in the presence of the RE that helped us get them!

Later this afternoon when they woke from their naps, Nana invited us to meet her at a Pumpkin Patch. The boys have been playing around with a fake pumpkin she had brought over for them last week, so they were excited to go see more pumpkins (and to see Nana, of course).

The pumpkin place had a little petting farm, some rides and a huge slide. After the boys were done baa-ing at the sheep, Nana treated them to their very first ride! Jaxon loved it, he had a huge smile on his face the whole time and Lucas was calmly taking it all in. Wyatt on the other hand wanted nothing to do with it at first, so Don rode along and after a few times around, Wyatt began to realx a little more.

Next came the HUGE slide. Wyatt loved it and was saying (and signing) "more" even before he was off the slide! Lucas is not a slide lover (he has fallen out a slide or two), but he was more than excited to try it again with his brothers.

Their little bodies just flew down the slide, and Jaxon even went down backwards! They showed no fear at all and I was just amazed that they were old enough to really enjoy these things! After a bit of throwing straw around, Nana invited us out for dinner at a nearby buffet.


The boys are talking so well and really soaking in so much of what they see. Just in one day they sat on big kid chairs and went on big kid rides. They know their letters and tell us every time they spot one on a sign. Red, blue and yellow cars are pointed out on the freeway. It is amazing how fast they are picking things up and adding it to their little fountain of knowledge. I am really excited to see how this holiday season goes now that they are showing they are ready to enjoy it all.

Music Men

Since we had the endless trail of kids coming through our house this past summer, we have all become big fans of the Disney channel. The boys love Saturday mornings when Don makes them a huge breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and sausage while the theme song from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is playing on the tv.

Disney on Saturday mornings has turned to watching Disney channel every time the television is on. Don and I now choose Hannah Montana over Jerry Seinfeld (seriously) for our evening relaxing time. All this has only enhanced our listening to the Disney Radio station in the car. The Jonas Brothers, Allie and AJ, Hannah Montana are all favorites, but what really gets the boys rocking out in the backseats...
The "Crazy Frog" (huge smiles on their faces when they hear the first "ding-ding")
"The Cha-Cha song" (we all love to clap our hands to the song)
"Hold on" by the Jonas Brothers (the boys sing "Hi, Don" instead of hold on)

One day we were driving home and Queens "We will Rock you" came on. For two days after (and occasionally sometimes even now) we will hear Luke singing something resembling the tune. It is amazing how music has suddenly become such a fun thing for all of us during the car rides. Even though the kids are sometimes screaming because they want a certain matchbox car or someone pinched them, etc, etc - there are many times watching them in the rear view mirror while they are dancing to the radio is by far the sweetest thing that my mind can imagine. I love our little music men!