The Side Yard

Not selling our house yet has set off a whole train of activity around here. Since our destiny seems to be stuck here, we need to make this house and yard a bit more usable for the boys. The side of our house is not being used and it would be nice to have a sand/play area over there. But first, the wall needed to be extended and then it would have to be fenced in.

Don and his buddy Mitch (who also helped us build our planters a couple years ago) started a side wall project that would be half block and half iron fencing. When that was done then Don had to move over to the new end and gate it all in. And when that was done, then Don and my Dad would build the boys a new sandbox. That is LOTS of work for poor Don. LOTS.

It all get scrambled up and the fence, sand box and the gate all got their finishing touches about 20 hours before the party was to begin. It all looks beautiful and Don has sworn off any more digging as long as we own this house.

Birthday Party

So much has been going on lately that there hasn't been time to blog. Getting ready for their birthday party has been all time consuming. So until I can catch up a bit, here are some pictures of their birthday party..

May 22,2007

Happy 2nd Birthday to Wyatt, Jaxon and Lucas! It is a wonder how I can not remember what the first 28 years of my life was like before they came along. Happy Birthday boys!

See Saw

One of the birthday presents the boys got from my parents is this great see-saw. It can be used by just one to all three of the boys at the same time. You can tell by this video that they love it, even though they don't quite have the right rhythm yet. Make sure you turn your sound up.

Gym good and bad

The good: The gym is going well. I like having another option for what we can do with our day, especially since I know the boys will be active while playing there.

The bad: When I pull into the parking lot Luke realizes where we are -tears start falling. He pleads "bye-bye" in an attempt to make me drive somewhere else. Jaxon catches on and it is a complete meltdown. I untangle all three out of their car seats and car while praying they don't run off while I reach in to get the other two out. Since Jaxon and Luke are still having a meltdown, I end up carrying the both of them (kicking my sides and screaming in my ears) into the daycare, while shepherding Wyatt down the million mile sidewalk to the door. Once in, Wyatt will look completely betrayed and outraged and the boys all try to escape out the door as soon as I put them down. The nice girls will take the boys and their waters to the play area while I squat down and get as close to the wall as I can while I sign them in. Then I BOLT out the door.

The good: They have a 15 minute rule. If the boys cry more than 15 minutes, they will call me back and there will be no work out that day. I have yet to be called back because anyone is still crying.

The really good: Imagine my surprise when I called to make an appointment to bring the boys in Friday and they knew who the boys were -and even said they were "cute" (I made sure she knew I was talking about the screaming trio). The girl also said when I drop them off, the crying only happens for about 2-3 minutes and stops once they are distracted with a story or a song.

The best part: I really like going to workout and am glad I don't have to feel guilty about it.

2 years ago

Two years today, I was a bit over 31 weeks pregnant with the boys and had just recently checked into the hospital. Looking back, I can see that I had no idea what the future would bring us.

Three boys...wow.

I remember when I was pregnant I could always feel Wyatt moving. His little fingers would just be taping and rubbing, day or night. Jaxon was a bit of a mover, such a busy baby. Lucas on the other hand was just hanging out, relaxing and not much of a mover. In fact, the doctors office sent me to the hospital once after a visit because "baby c" wasn't moving around at all.

We had our names picked out for the boys, but wanted to wait until we met the boys to name them. Life was going to change so drastically for us, but we couldn't possibly imagine the millions of little ways it would happen.

Bay-bee

Little baby Reagan came over for a visit today. For the next few weeks my mom will be watching her while school is still in session. I was a bit nervous about this initially. The boys LOVE my mom. They are very confident that their Nana loves them, bringing her books to read (which she always does) and climbing and prodding all over her body (Luke loves her earrings). Just today I watched Wyatt sit on her lap like she was a chair, literally just plopping down on her legs without a second thought. All this made me a bit worried they would be a bit jealous of a new baby in Nana's arms.

I had a doctor appointment this morning and decided I would bring Luke, since Luke would listen best to me out in public and he also seems to blossom under a bit extra of one on one time. The other two boys and Reagan were staying here at the house with Nana. The boys did great, keeping themselves busy and behaving well while I was gone.

As soon as we walked in the door when we came home, Lucas was asking "bay-bee?, bay-bee?". I wish I could type in the tone he said it, as the end of the word baby would go up to such a high pitch note in his little voice. He was so curious about Reagan! When it was time for Reagan to have her bottle, my mom held Reagan in her arms with all the boys surrounding the baby. Lucas -in true Lucas fashion- took charge of Reagan, patting her little head, rubbing her hair and giving her little kisses on her temple. He just couldn't get enough of her. They are all so gentle with her and show absolutely no jealous behaviors at all. It is so beautiful to think we will be able to see their little cousin relationship grow through the years.

Noooo!

Do you want to go in and see Belle? Nooo! Come over here and let me change your diaper... Nooo! Let's put our toys away...Nooo!

Oh yes, the no bug has hit our house. Luckily for all five of us, they are still cute enough to pull it off with a gorgeous toothy grin when they say it.

Weekend Warriors

We had a slow and relaxed Saturday. Big plans to go to another fair got scratched when we realized it was just too windy to drive oven an hour away, just to have to worry about it being too much for the boys. Instead we went to The District for their Spring Fling and art show.
We have been working with the boys trying to let them walk with the wagon (instead of always in it) and Lucas was having a blast walking on his own. He did very well staying close by, preferring to "help" Don with the wagon by pushing the back of it as Don pulled it along. After a half hour or so, we let all three of them run in the grass area and get some of their boy energy out before we headed home.
Today was not so relaxing. This morning we took a trip over to Star Nursery to buy some new plants. Don has been working on a side fence area and we needed to replace the boganvillias that died when we had a freeze this winter. Once the boys went down for a nap, Don and I headed outside and worked on the yard for a full 3 hours. We have a little motivation to get it all done before the boys birthday party in a few weeks.
So now both the yard and our backs look a bit more pink =) Pretty in the yard, but not feeling so pretty on our backs.

Fun with Matthew

For the past two weeks, my nephew Matthew has been staying at my mom's house. Since she comes over a couple times a week, he has been here, too. The boys have been too young to catch his attention in the past few visits- but this time it has been different. I think it is because he is here alone and he is paying them more attention then before. All four of them are interacting more, playing together and the younger boys love to watch everything Matthew does. They think little things Matthew does is hilarious, and try to imitate most everything he does.

Earlier this week, Matthew had dinner and then spent the night at our house. After dinner we went into the backyard where all four boys sat at the little picnic table and ate watermelon for dessert. Afterwards, they rode the little cars around the backyard and played on their climber. For the first time ever, they went in order, actually lining up to go up the steps and down the slide. Lucas, ever the "enforcer" would try to help the kids go in front of him- pushing their little bottoms higher (even Matthew's) to speed up the process.

Tonight we met Nana and Matthew at the San Gennaro Festival for dinner. After a hearty dinner of 2 bowls of pasta, a corn dog and corn on the cob (that is just our boys) we walked through the amusement park area. Matthew went on a few rides and the boys loved to wave to him when they would see him on it. First the little Dragon roller coaster, then the airplanes and finally the fun house. Matthew was so excited on the rides and would happily wave with a huge smile on his face. After getting Sponge Bob painted on Matthew's arm and Elmo painted on the boys hands, we called it a night and headed home. It has been so much fun having Matthew around!

Lucas' Transformation

An amazing thing happens when we put the boys in their cribs. Lucas instantly comes out of his shell. Suddenly he is this carefree, big smiling, little imp. He will stand up each arm raised holding the sides of his crib and jump like nobody's business. If he feels like letting us into the fun, he will raise his foot up so we can barely reach him or maybe even tickle his toes.

His little smile is so contagious and his brothers -in cribs one on each side of his- will start jumping and giggling along with him. Usually Luke gets a bit braver and will drop his hands from the sides and jump freely, not holding on to anything. His little upper body starts twisting and he will do a bit of a dance in one place.

Eventually things slow down, I will tell them time to go to sleep and try to coax Luke into a laying position. He will seem to settle a bit and bend down to lay forward, but then he will fake me out with an attempt at a somersault. After I get a hold of his little pj's and lay him down, he will look over at Jaxon to see if Jax is getting ready to sleep or not. If it seems his brothers are headed off to dream land, he will put his little thumb right in his mouth, pulling his blanket up around his shoulders and chin and relax his little body.

What gets into that child when he gets into his little crib? It is because it is his domain? Is it the bounce? Is it because he is between his brothers cribs and has their full attention? I love to see his little face light up and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. What ever it is, it is a beautiful transformation.