We finally got ourselves out of the house on a real date! This is a first since having all three kids. Crazy. My hubby got free tickets to the UNC game vs Miami, so we hit the road for dinner and a game.
My sister-n-law and nephew came over to watch the kids for the evening. (Thanks again!) Our intention was too leave early and enjoy a nice restaurant in the Chapel Hill area before the game started, however, we were running late. We knew it would be almost impossible to get into a restaurant. Out of curiosity, we checked 2 places...at least a 90 minute wait...what?! We laughed our way to Chick-fil-A. Scrumptious! Before we left, we got some shakes, and I must say, they were pretty good and much larger than I imagined. They're now part of my top 5 shakes, behind Cook Out and Dairy Queen.
Off to the game. As we drove, A asked if it was ok if we walked to the game instead of taking the shuttle bus. Sure! No problem. I'm all for saving $10. He neglected to mention that it was a 20 minute walk and it was 35 degrees out. Ok...I'll warm up as we walk....nope. Since we just had shakes, it was as if we were being frozen from the inside out. My lungs felt like they had chunks of ice in them. We warmed up quickly once we were at the sports arena and we quickly discovered how sweet our seats were. No one sat in front of us, just a railing to put our feet up on...niiiice! A couple from A's work sat on his right and I had the sheer pleasure of sitting cozy with Mr. Tipsy on my left. A lovely man, yet reeked of alcohol and had several wild outbursts of enjoyment. He tried so hard to be polite and chit chat with me..."So, do you come to the games often?", "Do you get season tickets?", "Do you get to see the games much?"....I repeated my brief answers, he may not remember me in the morning.
The game really was awesome. If you saw it on tv, you may remember how intense it had gotten. The excitement was ten fold in the arena. UNC won...we had a great time being together.
I took several photos of the event. Enjoy the slide show.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
First Trip to the Dentist
It's amazing. She's old enough for the dentist! It seems unreal.
I may have mentioned this before, but E has always been an extremely sensitive little girl. The littlest things can bring on the alligator tears. So, we knew visiting the dentist would be a traumatic experience. Believe it or not, we started preparing for this special day last Spring when I had an appointment. The whole family came to watch me get my teeth cleaned and we talked E through each step. They even allowed her to move up and down on the dentist chair. During the summer, E watched A during his appointment and then read several books about the dentist. Her original appointment was in the fall, but the office goofed and we had to reschedule. After a moment of annoyance, it was fine with us...more prep time.
Periodically, we'd mention the dentist to E. We talked about things she would see, hear, and taste. We talked about the mask on the dentist, gloves on their hands, a light that shines in her eyes, and the tools they would put in her mouth. We even showed her how to floss.
Finally, the day arrived and E was eager to go.
She held Daddy's hand most of the time.
Checkin' out her smile. This was the calm before the storm. Everything was running so smoothly until the actual dentist came in to see her wearing his funky googly-eyed magnifying glasses. E began crying at this horrific sight and started climbing out of the chair as fast as she could to jump into A's lap. Things calmed down after A told him to take his glasses off. E then left on a high note after fishing through the Treasure Box and then receiving a new toothbrush and colorful flossing sticks.
Beautiful!
I may have mentioned this before, but E has always been an extremely sensitive little girl. The littlest things can bring on the alligator tears. So, we knew visiting the dentist would be a traumatic experience. Believe it or not, we started preparing for this special day last Spring when I had an appointment. The whole family came to watch me get my teeth cleaned and we talked E through each step. They even allowed her to move up and down on the dentist chair. During the summer, E watched A during his appointment and then read several books about the dentist. Her original appointment was in the fall, but the office goofed and we had to reschedule. After a moment of annoyance, it was fine with us...more prep time.
Periodically, we'd mention the dentist to E. We talked about things she would see, hear, and taste. We talked about the mask on the dentist, gloves on their hands, a light that shines in her eyes, and the tools they would put in her mouth. We even showed her how to floss.
Finally, the day arrived and E was eager to go.
She held Daddy's hand most of the time.
Checkin' out her smile. This was the calm before the storm. Everything was running so smoothly until the actual dentist came in to see her wearing his funky googly-eyed magnifying glasses. E began crying at this horrific sight and started climbing out of the chair as fast as she could to jump into A's lap. Things calmed down after A told him to take his glasses off. E then left on a high note after fishing through the Treasure Box and then receiving a new toothbrush and colorful flossing sticks.
Beautiful!Friday, January 30, 2009
Birthday Celebration
This month is such a special one, it's birthday time for you. We'd really like to celebrate your happy day with you. Zip-a-dee-ay and heigh-dee-ho here's something we can do. We'll sing a song that we all know...Happy Birthday to you!
We celebrated my sweet A's Birthday this month and he was so bold to suggest we go out to eat. Hmmm...a toddler, two babies, two booster seats and a highchair, very cold weather which means coats and hats, AND it was about 6:30pm. It doesn't sound like a fun time. But we decided to go for it.
We went for Mexican. The initial arrival was a bit hectic. It was tight quarters in the restaurant as we arranged two booster seats and a highchair, took off coats and hats, sanitized the table and kid seats, broke out the Cheerios, ignored the eyes of half the restaurant, and ordered our drinks. Phew! We brought our booster so W could be strapped in.
Here's O chillin' out. He was so tired, yet did a great job throughout dinner. I really didn't want to have to deal with crying babies while we were out eating. Both boys were awesome.
Cheese! This is E very pleased with her meal. She loves her quesadillas with chips and salsa. To help with the salsa dripping all over, we wrapped a burp cloth around her. She didn't mind a bit.
E loves to sing Happy Birthday, blow out the candle, and shout hooray. What 3 year old doesn't? She and A are shouting and pounding for ice cream pie. Yea!
So we survived an evening out to eat with all the kids, another first for 2009. We had a good time.
We celebrated my sweet A's Birthday this month and he was so bold to suggest we go out to eat. Hmmm...a toddler, two babies, two booster seats and a highchair, very cold weather which means coats and hats, AND it was about 6:30pm. It doesn't sound like a fun time. But we decided to go for it.
We went for Mexican. The initial arrival was a bit hectic. It was tight quarters in the restaurant as we arranged two booster seats and a highchair, took off coats and hats, sanitized the table and kid seats, broke out the Cheerios, ignored the eyes of half the restaurant, and ordered our drinks. Phew! We brought our booster so W could be strapped in.
Here's O chillin' out. He was so tired, yet did a great job throughout dinner. I really didn't want to have to deal with crying babies while we were out eating. Both boys were awesome.
Cheese! This is E very pleased with her meal. She loves her quesadillas with chips and salsa. To help with the salsa dripping all over, we wrapped a burp cloth around her. She didn't mind a bit.
E loves to sing Happy Birthday, blow out the candle, and shout hooray. What 3 year old doesn't? She and A are shouting and pounding for ice cream pie. Yea!So we survived an evening out to eat with all the kids, another first for 2009. We had a good time.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
2009 Brings Several Firsts
Let's name a few...
The Big O
*Solid food- he gags on every bite and wants to cry.
*Began crawling- moves like a bulldog, it's very cute, and became W's shadow.
*Sitting position- can hold up all his weight and can also sit up from a crawling position.
*Pulls up on everything- goes crazy and cries because he can't get down.
*Puts everything in his mouth- constant vigilance...from the tiniest lint to my kitchen table legs, he's made his mark. He has just about chewed his way through the slats on his crib! Ugh!
*Rides in the cart pushed by big sis- though he's much more difficult to push than W.
*Flipped himself out of the bouncy seat- he is banished from the seat now because of his flip and, well, he is way too big for it now anyway. Seriously, the seat about touches the floor. If he bounced, it would most likely break!
*Has 5 teeth now- so watch out, he still likes to chew on your feet.
Little Man
*Standing up on his own from any position- he's got great balance.
*Walks- along furniture, behind a cart, and tries to walk by himself, but skittish to walk alone.
*Eating table food- loves graham crackers and bananas.
*Initiates games- peek-a-boo in the curtains, roll or throw an object back and forth.
*Comes to me- I'll call his name and he'll come to me. If I walk into the other room with his bottle, he'll come to me. If I bend down holding O in one arm, W will come to me, stand up and place himself in my other arm to be carried away. Actually, he has been doing this for awhile.
*Pushing buttons- tv, printer, phone...you name it, he'll push it.
*Blocks- likes to stack and destroy Mega Bloks (big Legos).
*Beginning to climb- this could get dangerous fast.
Big Sis
*Visiting the dentist- we prepared her for months (more detail in later blog entry).
*Drags brothers by the arms to wherever she wants- she tries to do it slowly so they don't get hurt or quickly when she thinks I'm not looking. She knows I don't like it either way.
*Dressing herself up during nap time- this consists of several layers of clothing to the point where she can barely move (couple pairs of underwear, tights, 6 pants, 4 shirts, socks on feet and on hands for gloves, sometimes shoes and random hair clips dangling from her hair).
*Handmade dress from Grandma- she was thrilled to wear it and everyone said she looked like a princess.
*Played Pretty Pretty Princess Board Game- I'm not surprised we're already missing a few pieces...where's Big O?!
*Watched Cinderella- this was not my idea...more details on a later post.
*Watched Mary Poppins- after the initial shock, she's addicted.
*Attending Primary- Is this crazy or what?!
*Plays a computer game on a toy computer- it took some time to learn, but she can now play a game where she moves the computer mouse to direct a mouse through a maze in search for the cheese. A lot of force is behind each move...and heated palms.
The Big O
*Solid food- he gags on every bite and wants to cry.
*Began crawling- moves like a bulldog, it's very cute, and became W's shadow.
*Sitting position- can hold up all his weight and can also sit up from a crawling position.
*Pulls up on everything- goes crazy and cries because he can't get down.
*Puts everything in his mouth- constant vigilance...from the tiniest lint to my kitchen table legs, he's made his mark. He has just about chewed his way through the slats on his crib! Ugh!
*Rides in the cart pushed by big sis- though he's much more difficult to push than W.
*Flipped himself out of the bouncy seat- he is banished from the seat now because of his flip and, well, he is way too big for it now anyway. Seriously, the seat about touches the floor. If he bounced, it would most likely break!
*Has 5 teeth now- so watch out, he still likes to chew on your feet.
Little Man
*Standing up on his own from any position- he's got great balance.
*Walks- along furniture, behind a cart, and tries to walk by himself, but skittish to walk alone.
*Eating table food- loves graham crackers and bananas.
*Initiates games- peek-a-boo in the curtains, roll or throw an object back and forth.
*Comes to me- I'll call his name and he'll come to me. If I walk into the other room with his bottle, he'll come to me. If I bend down holding O in one arm, W will come to me, stand up and place himself in my other arm to be carried away. Actually, he has been doing this for awhile.
*Pushing buttons- tv, printer, phone...you name it, he'll push it.
*Blocks- likes to stack and destroy Mega Bloks (big Legos).
*Beginning to climb- this could get dangerous fast.
Big Sis
*Visiting the dentist- we prepared her for months (more detail in later blog entry).
*Drags brothers by the arms to wherever she wants- she tries to do it slowly so they don't get hurt or quickly when she thinks I'm not looking. She knows I don't like it either way.
*Dressing herself up during nap time- this consists of several layers of clothing to the point where she can barely move (couple pairs of underwear, tights, 6 pants, 4 shirts, socks on feet and on hands for gloves, sometimes shoes and random hair clips dangling from her hair).
*Handmade dress from Grandma- she was thrilled to wear it and everyone said she looked like a princess.
*Played Pretty Pretty Princess Board Game- I'm not surprised we're already missing a few pieces...where's Big O?!
*Watched Cinderella- this was not my idea...more details on a later post.
*Watched Mary Poppins- after the initial shock, she's addicted.
*Attending Primary- Is this crazy or what?!
*Plays a computer game on a toy computer- it took some time to learn, but she can now play a game where she moves the computer mouse to direct a mouse through a maze in search for the cheese. A lot of force is behind each move...and heated palms.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Ironing
From a previous holiday post, you read that E received a homemade ironing board for Christmas, yet didn't know what it was. She has never seen me use one and rarely has seen the iron. Well, I came across this and thought it would be funny to post.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Mouth of Babes
E approaches me with a big smile on her face and says...
"I'm gonna be big soon and when I'm a mommy I can wipe myself!"
~~~~
A scowl faced E comes quickly into the room. "Mom, there's something in my hair!" She promptly turns to show me that she has my round brush completely tangled in her hair.
~~~~
After reminding E not to talk with food in her mouth, she's appalled when W starts to make noise. "Don't talk W. You've got a Cheewio in your mouth."
~~~~
While jumping off a bin over and over and over...E somehow slips and comes crashing to the floor. She quickly jumps up and announces, "THAT didn't happen."
~~~~
Children learn a great deal when they attend Primary. We were surprised at how much after E's first Sunday. As we were going home, she matter of factly stated, "Hi. I'm not E. I'm Jennifer. I like to play baseball."
~~~~
After "horseback" riding with Daddy, E came to me to play. "Mom, you're a cow."
~~~~
"I'm gonna be big soon and when I'm a mommy I can wipe myself!"
~~~~
A scowl faced E comes quickly into the room. "Mom, there's something in my hair!" She promptly turns to show me that she has my round brush completely tangled in her hair.
~~~~
After reminding E not to talk with food in her mouth, she's appalled when W starts to make noise. "Don't talk W. You've got a Cheewio in your mouth."
~~~~
While jumping off a bin over and over and over...E somehow slips and comes crashing to the floor. She quickly jumps up and announces, "THAT didn't happen."
~~~~
Children learn a great deal when they attend Primary. We were surprised at how much after E's first Sunday. As we were going home, she matter of factly stated, "Hi. I'm not E. I'm Jennifer. I like to play baseball."
~~~~
After "horseback" riding with Daddy, E came to me to play. "Mom, you're a cow."
~~~~
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Another Haircut
Yip. You may have noticed in our Christmas photos that W desperately needed a haircut. We wanted to do it before Christmas, but...well. So a few days after Christmas, we finally cut his mane. He wasn't happy about it.
Here's the Before.
How many people does it take to cut a now crying 9 month old? We had three, plus a cameraman.
Look...he's fine! All smiles. What a cutie.
Here's the Before.
Maybe it was a mistake to start with the clippers. I think it scared him and he continued to swat at them. And so the loud whining began.
How many people does it take to cut a now crying 9 month old? We had three, plus a cameraman.
I was cutting extremely fast, hoping it would turn out ok.
All those curls...
Look...he's fine! All smiles. What a cutie.Snippets of Christmas
After discovering the thrill of each stocking...which, by the way, A had the best discovery in his stocking. He was given Flan, a pudding type dessert he ate on his mission in Mexico. Although it was not made in Mexico nor by a real Mexican woman, it was still worth trying and good for a laugh as he almost gagged. Anyway, Daddy and the kids waited at the top of the stairs until I was ready to video the big reveal. Next year we'll take pictures instead. E quickly found what Santa had left her and was content with just that. She loved her cowgirl hat and pretend food for her kitchen. As the kids played with Santa's gifts, we made breakfast.
E was completely thrilled over her "piano". Ever since she could walk she has made her way over to any piano in order to play it. She has always played the keys gently and likes to flip the pages of the hymnal or sheet music. Now that she has her own piano, she can make music anytime.
One of Daddy's favorite presents was a bike trailer for the kids.
W and O got fabulous quilts from Grandma. Each stitched with love!
E also got another homemade gift from Pa and Grandma. It was exceptional. Pa made her a real true blue wooden ironing board with 3 adjustable heights. And Grandma gave her a wooden iron to go with it. How awesome. What's really funny about it is that she had no idea what it was. She has never seen me use an ironing board and she mostly sees me use an iron when I'm sewing. So that's the first thing she said when she saw it...Yeah, I'm gonna sew! Thanks Grandma and Pa. She loves it!
The boys also got a VTech Move and Crawl Ball. It lights up, plays music and animals sounds, says numbers...surprisingly, it's not that annoying. But what's fun is that it rolls around all by itself. Now the boys really have something fun to go after!
As for me, I was given several lovely gifts...beautiful fall decor for the house, several yards of fabulous fabric, a couple books from my favorite children's author, Tomie dePaola, the fantastic DVD movie Jane Eyre, which I've seen 3 times now, and a great big box of Turtles...YUM. I was also given a surprise gift from A and my mother-n-law.
Isn't it great? It's a dress form to help me make clothes for myself. I have never asked for one, but I've secretly wanted one for years. I have even watched tutorials on how to duct tape myself to create my own form and then fill it up with poly-fil. Odd little visual, I know. But look at this! Thanks to A and his mom, I'll be one happy seamstress.
We're very grateful for the gifts that were given to us this holiday. Thank you to everyone!
E was completely thrilled over her "piano". Ever since she could walk she has made her way over to any piano in order to play it. She has always played the keys gently and likes to flip the pages of the hymnal or sheet music. Now that she has her own piano, she can make music anytime. 
One of Daddy's favorite presents was a bike trailer for the kids. 
W and O got fabulous quilts from Grandma. Each stitched with love!
E was excited to receive a homemade ribbon twirler, just like in the Olympics. She was moving so fast this seems to be the best picture. Thanks Aunt Melissa.
E also got another homemade gift from Pa and Grandma. It was exceptional. Pa made her a real true blue wooden ironing board with 3 adjustable heights. And Grandma gave her a wooden iron to go with it. How awesome. What's really funny about it is that she had no idea what it was. She has never seen me use an ironing board and she mostly sees me use an iron when I'm sewing. So that's the first thing she said when she saw it...Yeah, I'm gonna sew! Thanks Grandma and Pa. She loves it!
The boys also got a VTech Move and Crawl Ball. It lights up, plays music and animals sounds, says numbers...surprisingly, it's not that annoying. But what's fun is that it rolls around all by itself. Now the boys really have something fun to go after!
As for me, I was given several lovely gifts...beautiful fall decor for the house, several yards of fabulous fabric, a couple books from my favorite children's author, Tomie dePaola, the fantastic DVD movie Jane Eyre, which I've seen 3 times now, and a great big box of Turtles...YUM. I was also given a surprise gift from A and my mother-n-law.
Isn't it great? It's a dress form to help me make clothes for myself. I have never asked for one, but I've secretly wanted one for years. I have even watched tutorials on how to duct tape myself to create my own form and then fill it up with poly-fil. Odd little visual, I know. But look at this! Thanks to A and his mom, I'll be one happy seamstress. We're very grateful for the gifts that were given to us this holiday. Thank you to everyone!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Getting Ready
The stockings were lovingly taped to the mantle before Santa filled them with treats and placed them at the foot of each bed. The boys didn't really get their stockings in their cribs though. Santa knew that wouldn't be a good idea. So he just put theirs on the floor beside the cribs. Santa knew E would make sure the boys got their stockings too.
E pointing to her stocking.
Daddy reading The Night Before Christmas.
Once the kids were in bed, we pulled out all the gifts to place them under the tree. This year I decided to "Go Green" and not use wrapping paper. I have always been the person saving boxes, bags and bows for the next year. I've never really loved the fact that you spend so much money and time on wrapping, just to rip it up and throw it away...and there's a lot to throw away. Don't get me wrong, I do like wrapping gifts...it's fun. I also like ripping into them. Regardless, this year I decided to sew fabric bags to wrap our gifts. It was super easy and my hubby, A, absolutely loved it. He didn't have to cut paper or use tape and everything was wrapped in record time. I think wrapping presents was one of the many highlights of Christmas this year.
On a side note, E loves the garbage truck. She knows when it's Tuesday and knows when he comes down our street. She'll run to the window so she can watch him dump our trash. They expect to see one another now and they exchange smiles and waves. He'll even honk his loud truck horn for her. So for Christmas she drew him a picture of his truck with very colorful trash all around. I wrote "Merry Christmas! From, Your Friend in the Window" but I'm bummed that I forgot to take a picture of it. E was afraid to actually go up to the truck, but she enthusiastically watched Daddy give the picture to her friend. He was very pleased with the drawing and gave her a tootsie roll.
E pointing to her stocking.
Daddy reading The Night Before Christmas.
Once the kids were in bed, we pulled out all the gifts to place them under the tree. This year I decided to "Go Green" and not use wrapping paper. I have always been the person saving boxes, bags and bows for the next year. I've never really loved the fact that you spend so much money and time on wrapping, just to rip it up and throw it away...and there's a lot to throw away. Don't get me wrong, I do like wrapping gifts...it's fun. I also like ripping into them. Regardless, this year I decided to sew fabric bags to wrap our gifts. It was super easy and my hubby, A, absolutely loved it. He didn't have to cut paper or use tape and everything was wrapped in record time. I think wrapping presents was one of the many highlights of Christmas this year. 
On a side note, E loves the garbage truck. She knows when it's Tuesday and knows when he comes down our street. She'll run to the window so she can watch him dump our trash. They expect to see one another now and they exchange smiles and waves. He'll even honk his loud truck horn for her. So for Christmas she drew him a picture of his truck with very colorful trash all around. I wrote "Merry Christmas! From, Your Friend in the Window" but I'm bummed that I forgot to take a picture of it. E was afraid to actually go up to the truck, but she enthusiastically watched Daddy give the picture to her friend. He was very pleased with the drawing and gave her a tootsie roll.
Dear Santa
This was the first year E knew about Santa. She placed our homemade Turtles on a little plate for him with milk and left carrot sticks for the reindeer. She said she wanted to have carrot sticks too. Then E got busy "writing" Santa a letter. She was intensely working as we watched the minutes pass by.
When we finally offered to help her, we were amazed that she had drawn a picture of mommy and daddy.
Mommy with a skirt.
Daddy with a tie. I am quite impressed with this one. He has ears, feet, a face, and a knee. I had kindergartners who couldn't do this much!
Daddy decided to write the letter for her. She told him exactly what to say. She was really getting into it.
When we finally offered to help her, we were amazed that she had drawn a picture of mommy and daddy.
Mommy with a skirt. 
Daddy with a tie. I am quite impressed with this one. He has ears, feet, a face, and a knee. I had kindergartners who couldn't do this much! 
Daddy decided to write the letter for her. She told him exactly what to say. She was really getting into it.
Prior To Christmas
You know, Christmas really did seem to fly by this year. It may be because we were all sick for so long. It may be because I was busy trying to pull off a successful church Christmas Social. Maybe it was because I couldn't find the right present for my husband, so shopping seemed to come down to the wire. Or could it be that I decided to create and sew new stockings for all the kids along with a new star tree topper. Or maybe it was because I was busy searching for holiday traditions I would like to start with my family. It could be that we were rushing to get presents and cards sent off by a reasonable date. Time just seems to fly by faster and faster every year.
We were told of the Caswell lights last year, but were unable to make it. So, after hearing that our friends went this year, we decided to go check it out. We were so surprised that it was a simple home, a big yard, and millions and millions of lights. We were also surprised that we had to park about a mile away and hike to the place, dodging traffic, and pushing a double stroller in the dark through neighboring yards which had plenty of hills, holes and bumps. It was neat to see all the trees lit up from top to bottom, along with trains, snowglobes, and plenty of kid friendly decor. E ate it up, especially when she saw Santa.
A couple accomplishments for the boys. O has started rolling all over the place to get whatever his heart desires. He has also pulled himself up on all 4 ready to crawl. He rocks and moves his legs, but hasn't quite officially crawled.
W is now capable of riding in E's cart without parental supervision. He fits quite nicely in the front and E thoroughly enjoys pushing him around the house, pretending to take him to the store, the park, or the museum.
We were told of the Caswell lights last year, but were unable to make it. So, after hearing that our friends went this year, we decided to go check it out. We were so surprised that it was a simple home, a big yard, and millions and millions of lights. We were also surprised that we had to park about a mile away and hike to the place, dodging traffic, and pushing a double stroller in the dark through neighboring yards which had plenty of hills, holes and bumps. It was neat to see all the trees lit up from top to bottom, along with trains, snowglobes, and plenty of kid friendly decor. E ate it up, especially when she saw Santa.
A couple accomplishments for the boys. O has started rolling all over the place to get whatever his heart desires. He has also pulled himself up on all 4 ready to crawl. He rocks and moves his legs, but hasn't quite officially crawled.
W is now capable of riding in E's cart without parental supervision. He fits quite nicely in the front and E thoroughly enjoys pushing him around the house, pretending to take him to the store, the park, or the museum.
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