Carlos turns 4!

On January 11th Carlos officially turned four. This year he requested a Nemo cake, which of course is not the Disney character of the moment. I was not able to purchase a new Nemo shirt for him, but I did find a Nemo costume on clearance at the Disney Store in San Marcos. He was ecstatic to wear a costume.
I was ambitious with his cake and decided to make a Nemo shaped cake. I used two circles and got to work cutting out the shape. I was quite pleased with the shape of the cake. I made some buttercream frosting and didn't get the orange bright, but overall I was quite pleased with how our Nemo homemade cake turned out. Thanks to Jules for all the help!
We were able to find a small clown fish pinata, that Julie and I tried to convert into a pullstring pinata. The pullstring part was a fail, but the kids enjoyed the candy, and Carlos has a Nemo pinata fully intacted for a souvenir. Thanks to Sammy we also found some Nemo fruit snacks.
Carlos is very lucky when it comes to presents for his birthday. A lot of toys are on clearance and he can generally fill in the rest of his christmas list. When you asked what he wanted for his birthday he would mention all the Toy Story characters, especially Buzz. He got a talking Woody for Christmas, but no Buzz. By looking at his presents you would think he had a Buzz party. His favorite presents were Buzz rocket, Pooh, rc car, kid laptop, two Buzz figures, and pocket bacs.

Birthday food for the day:
Breakfast...papas and eggs with catsup.
lunch...chicken nuggets and mac & cheese
dinner...sopa and spaghetti

Memorable quotes of the day:
Carlos woke up and I was downstairs. He came to the rail and said "Good Morning mommy! Today is my birthday, right?" I answered "yes, it is birthday boy." He got the biggest smile on his face said "yeah" and came down as quick as he could.
Sammy was upset when Carlos picked Nemo when I said they could watch a movie, and said "the birthday boy doesn't get to pick everything." John David replied "yes he does!"
Emma talked about a princess party all day...had to keep reminding her that it was Carlos' birthday and it was a Nemo party. This is her attempt to play with Carlos: Emma "I Cinderella. Nene, you prince. Dance with me"
Carlos "humph"
Emma "ok I dance by myself"
then she proceeds to tell me "Nene don't wanna dance with Cinderella."

I will miss you

This past saturday the big boys packed up and went to spend the night at grandma and grandpa's house. Carlos has only spent the night once and has not really declared an interest in sleeping over, so he just stays with us and Emma. He always goes out to tell them bye as they are leaving. This time he also told each one of them "I will miss you." He said it in a very sincere voice, and he was sad to see his brothers leave. I can only wonder if he will tell them the same thing when they leave to go to school every morning.

Oh my, Carlos is three

It is hard to believe that my baby is now 3 years old. He got an early start and was a bit fussy, but he was all better by the time we hit the stores to get his birthday stuff. He was very excited to help look for Wiggles stuff for his cake. We didn't find any...so mommy had to do with some internet research. I think the cake turned out pretty good, considering that I put it all together around three in the afternoon. He even took a nap with his Elmo hat on.
When people started arriving he was very excited to see everyone. Gavin helped him open his presents and there was no drama. He was quite excited when he got some jammies, Elmo video and a fishbowl. He also enjoyed sharing his mcqueen checker board with Sammy and Ethan. We had a hot dog party with chili for frito pies, and of course cake and ice cream. He kept asking about his cake, and enjoyed that quite a bit.
There was a rough end to his day. By the time he went to bed it was almost 9pm. SO he was definitely tired, and he was sad because I took off his necklace he had been wearing all day. I told him he could have again in the morning, but he was not very happy about it.
I want to wish my cutie a fabulous year! He will continue to grow leaps and bounds this year and i look forward to enjoying those moments.

Elmo gets dissed.

Yesterday I went to work, and when I came home my hubby told me that Carlos requested a Wiggles cake. I was shocked and asked how this happened...apparently his brothers asked him if he was going to have an Elmo cake and he replied no Wiggles. I had pulled out the Elmo cake pan, and was ready to make an Elmo cake. I originally thought no big deal...but apparently it is a bigger deal...I can not find Wiggles even online. I was trying to figure out my options before I headed out....but there are no options. I called a couple of places with no luck today, so now I am like a deer in the headlights trying to figure out what to do. wish me luck in my search tomorrow.

I love trash by Oscar the Grouch

I think this is Carlos' favorite song...I'm sure you are asking why. Mondays are our trash days...so he essentially runs to the window all day to check to see if the trash has been picked up. Once it has been picked up he is eager to bring in the trash can. Then when we are out in the car, he is always on the look out for trach cans...he will scream "trash" everytime we pass one and let me tell you he doens't miss one.

my butt

That would be baby boys new phrase. He did it for the first time this past tuesday. He was upstairs taking off his clothes so he could take a shower, and he came out to the landing and mooned JP and I as he laughed and said "my butt." A couple of times a day I find myself telling him to pull his pants and underwear back on. He is definitely following his brothers...and of course the brothers get a big kick of it...so why would he stop with such a great audience.

Bye Bye Diapers

This is probably not the most exciting update for all of you, but it is a visible change in my checking account. Carlos no longer wears diapers not even at nite. He has been diaper free since two weeks when he refused to put on a diaper at grandma's house after his bath. I can count the number of accidents we have had on one hand...I must say that I am very thankful for that. We have even made two trips to Houston with potty success. He prefers the Elmo underwear and other Sesame Street characters are a close 2nd with the pinguinos and Wiggles in a tie for 3rd place. He only wears the non character underwear after an accident...so that way he is motivated to keep his favorite characters dry.

Pinguinos and Elmo

I have to say that I am very suprised at how cooperative Carlos is being with potty training. I just figured I would try this while we are home during the day. If we go somewhere we will still wear diapers, just like at night. Thanks to grandma and abuelita we have a good supply of Elmo and penguin underwear. The first day he wore Elmo and we had three accidents. Day #2 he had penguin underwear and his goal was to keep them dry. When he did have an accident he told me "pinguinos wet" and I had to hold back the laughter. Day two had two accidents and I thought he was done with potty training. He got frustated one time when I took him potty because he wanted to keep playing, so when I took him to the potty he threw the undies in the potty. I was able to refocus him with a pair of cookie monster and grover undies and we were back on track. Yesterday he only wore his underwear in the afternoon, but he was able to keep the pinguinos dry. Today we were back to Elmo again, and he made it through the day. At 3 he told me he was wet, but I didn't see any obvious clues on his shorts. When I took him potty I noticed that his undies were a tad moist, but that was it. To me that is a sign that he realized he was going and stopped it so he could go potty, so I really think he has it down pretty good. He put on a pair of clean undies and made it through the rest of the day. We will try again tomorrow, and hopefully he will do just as good.

Potty time

Carlos is getting excited about the potty. For the past two weeks he has consistantly used the potty before his bath. He walks up to the potty, straddles it, puts his little hands on the wall, and then pees. Some of the pee goes in the potty some does not...but part of the learning process. So we have lysol and clorox right under the sink ready to use. I thought about getting him to sit while he goes..but he is imitating his brothers that stand up and pee in the big potty at the same time he goes. I guess I need to look into buying the Peter Potty, or toddler urinal, to minimize the mess on the floor. On father's day he took a big step...he told me twice he needed to go. When I took him the first time he peed at Aunt Marcie's house, and then the second time he went poo-poo at my mom's house. I tried doing the underwear thing at home this week but we just had accidents, we will need to keep trying. I'm sure there will be more posts on this to come.

bear...bear

Carlos is really communicating using words. His speech has greatly improved the last two weeks or so. He has always enjoyed the animals at the zoo, but this time was the first time, that he was telling me what he wanted to see. We were looking at one bear and he would point up and say bear...so he wanted to go see another bear. When we past the aquarium he said fish, and wanted to go in. He also said monkey when he was ready to leave the kimodo dragons and see some monkeys. We are working with our animal flashcards at home, so he knows a lot of the names, and some of the sounds. He also thinks that "oso" is a funny word...but maybe it is just the way I say it. We will have to keep his animal knowledge growing.

The young artist

So the memorial day weekend we went to a wedding. Carlos was coloring in his little Elmo book and he was just scribbling everywhere. He was happy to have his own book and colors just like his big brothers. Then the next week at church I realized he was really coloring. Over the week he had acquired some fine motor skills and he was trying to stay within the lines. I was shocked to see how focused he was. He actually colored for about 5 minutes before changing crayons and then he went back to coloring again.

Mine

Carlos' vocabulary is definitely growing. He repeats almost everything you ask him to with a big grin and smile. He can count up to three, and finds it funny to count with me when I am counting as I am waiting for someone to do something or listen. It's hard to stay focused because he breaks my attention with his charming voice and smile. Every once in a while, you get a stern "no" if he doesn't want to do it. He has definitely started using "no" more liberally, and he has also started using "mine." I am sure those are every two year old's favorite words. He is quick to tell Emma and Gavin mine when they want to play with a toy he has at the moment. Tonight I had Carlos, Emma and Sammy in the bath together. Carlos likes to play and walk around in the tub. When he was standing near Emma she was reaching up, when I heard Carlos say "mine." I'm sure you can imagine what Emma was trying to grab, and lets just say that it was not toy. It was hard to not laugh, but I didn't want it to become a game for Emma, so I gave her as serious as a look as I could at that moment. She went back to playing with her caterpillar cups, and that was the end of that. My baby boy is growing up and that makes me a tad sad, but at the same time I am happy that he knew his body is his.

Potty Time

Carlos has been getting better about telling me when he needs a diaper change and he goes potty before his bath everynight, so I decided it was time to try some underwear. We got out the Elmo underwear and he was sooo excited to wear them. So yesterday he wore underwear for a period of two hours, and had 3 accidents. By that time I was ready for diapers and so was he. He definitely did not like the wet clothes feeling...he was quick to let me know he needed a change. This morning we were going to be out so no underwear today. We will try again another day.
Now I must also share the potty story from last night. I told him to go potty before his bath. He walked over to his little potty chair, and straddled it. Then he put both of his little hands on the wall for support, and then he went pee pee. It was really funny...he was imitating his older brothers. My baby boy is definitely growing up.

big brothers do, little brother do too

I'm sure I have written about this phenomenom before, but it always amazes me how much Carlos wants to big like his big brothers. The big boys got quad wheel skates for Easter...and they ask to skate almost everyday. Unfortunately we don't get to skate everyday...but we are working on it. I will post a video from this weekend tomorrow. Sorry back to my point...as soon as Carlos sees the skates he goes and sits down and takes off his shoes, and says what sounds like his version of the word skate. When I tell him they don't make them his size...he crosses his arms, pouts and gets mad and then doesn't want his shoes back on.
Carlos vocabulary is definitely increasing...and he repeats almost everything his brothers say...so Sammy needs to watch his language...or Carlos will have "what the heck" as his first phrase.

Carlos as a two year old

Over the last two months Carlos has definitely changed. Not only has he grown physically, but his vocabulary is also increasing rapidly. He will definitely repeat things, and knows quite a bit of words now. He is also developing his emotional self. He screams when he doesn't like something, and has no problem telling you what he wants. He is still a cutie, even when he is giving me two year old attitude. We will definitely see Carlos come out of his shell more as this year goes by...look forward to many more laughs.

Personal Space

AS adults we know exactly what that is. However kids don't always know and understand. This sunday at religious ed Carlos was in awe of a little girl's hairdo. He was as close as he could get without touching, and just wanted to see and hear the little beads move everytime this little girl moved her head. JP told him to give her some space, but he was just so in awe and would not back away. How could a two year resist looking at over 100 colorful beads?

Elmo loves cookies

Carlos got a stuffed Elmo from his grandma for Valentine's. He makes sure to take Elmo with him everywhere he goes. Elmo naps and sleeps with him, and goes to the table to eat with him as well. Yesterday he brought Elmo to me and asked for a napkin. Apparently Elmo got some crumbs in his mouth because Carlos was sharing his cookie with him. Then last night when I told Carlos it was bedtime he said no..but then I told him it was Elmo's time to go to bed, and he could go to sleep with Elmo, then he said..ahaa. It was cute to see him try to hold both his lovey and Elmo plus suck his thumb.

Purses...for boys

This week Carlos and Gavin have found a new toy. They love to walk around holding on to some small purses from my closet. They get such a kick putting things in them, and carrying them on their shoulders. Don't think of taking them away when they are playing with them...and they each have their designated purse, they do not interchange. Make sure to look at the pictures to see their big smiles.

Gloworm

Emma got a gloworm from her grandma a week ago. From the beginning Carlos took a liking to it, and held the package on the way home. Most of the week the gloworm hung out downstairs in the livingroom. Tonight as we were getting ready to go upstairs to put him and Emma to bed I gave Emma the gloworm. JP was carrying Carlos and he wanted the gloworm. So we gave it to him, then when we got to the room, he didn't want to let it go. He was so attached to the gloworm that he didn't even want his lovey. So we let him sleep with it, and I could hear it for about 10 minutes through the monitor. I think we are gonna going to have to get a gloworm of his own.

mammoth crocs and a diaper

Last night Carlos slept in his fleece jammies with footsies. This morning shortly after he got up he started unzipping his pajamas part of the way. I would zip it up, and eventually he would unzip it again. When my sister arrived with Gavin he had it unzipped all the way to his waist. I must admit that he looked quite funny, and cute. He also kept trying to put on his mammoth crocs with his pajamas, but they don't fit with the footsies. I told him to put on Sammy's since they are bigger but for some reason today he wanted his own. At one point this morning I took off part of his pajamas so I could change his diaper, and he got up and took off the rest of his pajamas. He walked away and put on his crocs. After that he was a happy camper walking around in his crocs and his diaper. When I would call him he would just laugh and wouldn't come too close. He knew I would put clothes on him. I eventually had to grab him to get some clothes on him.