Emma turns 2

Emma turned two years old a week and a half ago. She is definitely a cutie who likes to play and definitely knows what she wants. She thinks that duck, duck, goose is the funniest game ever...she can't even sit still from all her giggling. She also loves to play with her baby dolls. I even caught her bouncing at her knees and patting the doll's bottom like she was trying to rock her to sleep...it was sooo cute. She loves to cook in her kitchen, and has gotten into making tea. She will bring cup after cup...good thing it is pretend. She is quite verbal and to me understandable for a two year old. She has also mastered the tantrums, but she is still in the process of learning that all the screaming, and crying doesn't get you what you want. Well at least not in this house when you are the fourth child.
So we are working on learning that other colors exist beside pink and purple, numbers, ABC's, and of course potty training. She always tells you right after she goes...we just need to get it before she goes. She is still learning to run and jump, but she is a very cute fast walker.
I'm sure this year will be filled with many more milestones, and super fun times!

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.

How many gifts do I get

On the drive home from school John David told me he had a question..."how many gifts do we get from the Wise Men?" I aksed him to clarify himself...he then asked "do I get 3 gifts since there are 3 kings?" I told him that it is one gift per person. He was not too thrilled with that answer, but I'm pretty sure he will be one of the few in his school that celebrate this holiday. Or at least that is the way it was when I grew up.
Later in the afternoon I started thinking, I wasn't sure if he figured that out on his own or if he had helped. I called my sister and verified that she does 3 small gifts...so who knows Ethan could have clued him in. I guess in time we will find out where that question cam from.

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.

Thank you

That is Emma's newest phrase...it sound way cuter when she says it. I love giving her things, so she can say it. She will tell family thank you pretty regularly, but isn't as eager with others. I definitely prefer the "thank you" over her "no" when she is having a fit. I just gave her some pirate booty so she could say it, and I could record it...so enjoy the clip.

Good Bye 2009...Hello 2010

JP and I spent morning and afternoon of the eve cleaning. We did a fabuous tag team effort and completely cleaned our house. There is still some organization needed, and some cleaning out of toys left, but I will tackle that when JP goes back to work.
We had both of our families over and provided a "taco bar" for dinner. The boys were excited to play with their cousins, and Emma was happy to prance around in her pretty dress and show off all her new baby dolls and accessories.
At six years old John David is fully able to understand the concept of a new year for the first time. He and Sammy were allowed to stay up. Emma and Carlos were in bed by 10 and both fell fast asleep despite the noise of other kiddos playing. We invited three other young families to join us...so there were four more kiddos over. All the kiddos were up and playing with John David and Sammy. However we put on a movie shortly after midnight so we could enjoy some more adult time with our friends, and they both fell asleep while watching it.
This is a time that I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. A fabulous hubby who loves me unconditionally and supports me in all I do. Four wonderful kids that make me laugh one second, and then test my patience the next. Last but not least...Good health for all!
One of my resolutions for this year is to update this more regularly, so check back for updates!

Sorry, baby girl.

Julie is back from Brown. We headed to Sea Dragon for a nice family dinner. The food was delicious and the kids were all well behaved. Towards the end, Emma fell and bumped her forehead on a chair. We got some ice for her...since it looked bruised almost instantly after the fall. However Emma was not willing to leave an ice pack in between her eyes. once we got home, we put a video on to distract her, and we tried to apply more ice to minimize the swelling. Carlos was wanting some ice, but would giggle and say cold, when I put it on his nose. I guess we will have to wait to see if it is bruised in the morning.

Here comes Santa Claus

We got together today with some college friends for our annual christmas celebration. It is great to see how all our families have grown, and how quick the kiddos are growing. At this gathering Santa makes his appearance and gives the kids a present. I wanted to make sure that everyone was going to be okay with Santa so I told the boys about our upcoming Santa meeting on friday. All the boys were excited, even Carlos.
All the kids were excited when Santa arrived. Carlos had the biggest grin, and all of them sat down to listen to Santa read the night before christmas. When Santa started handing out presents, Carlos kept saying he wanted a present from Santa. As soon as Santa called his name he walked up and got his present. Emma went with daddy to get her present, and the older boys went by themselves. After the presents it was picture time....and Carlos was ready, actually he didn't want to leave Santa. He kept going up and waving, and wanting to sit in his lap...it was very cute. Emma however wanted nothing to do with Santa, so we ended up with a picture of the boys smiling while Emma is crying in Santa's lap.
On the car ride home, the boys asked if Santa was real...I asked what they thought. Sammy said he was a fake and John David said he was the real deal. I asked Sammy why he thought he was fake, and he said Catherine and Kristin told him. Needless to say when he went up to Santa he made sure to ask for Ben 10 toys.
I love this tradition and look forward to many more years with Santa!

Snow...more like flurries.

This past friday it was a cold day and we had about five minute of flurries. Nothing stuck on the ground, and I have no pictures to prove it. I had put the little ones down for their nap, but I could still hear them talking. Sammy was watching X-men and I was putting up laundry. When I saw the flurries, I told Sammy to come. He was quite concerned about missing the X-men. I told him I would pause it and then record it for him. I got the little ones, and came down to bundle them up. By the time we made it out....the flurries were pretty much gone. I still took some pictures so we could document that we missed the snow.