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500 Posts and 5th Anniversary of Our Family

Our Family began 5 years ago today.

Here's me not a Barber

Halfway there...

Done! Our family began....here!

We're cutting our cake listening to "When I'm 64" by Paul McCartney.  This year, I'm 32...halfway to 64.  So far, no one's locked the door and we're still buying Valentine's.

Here we are...but goodness. Look at how many people are missing from this photo!

If we were to take this picture today there would be seven more people!

Because in five years our family has been growing....

And growing....

And growing!

And the other four missing from the family shot my brother-in-law Ivan, and nephews Peter, Baby Davy and Remy. So many more people to love in such a short time!

(and here's a picture of me pregnant before I lost Gabriel...but I look WAY more pregnant than I am..I just had on a lot of layers!)

We've had so many adventures in these five years.

And you! My faithful readers. Following us through 500 posts of this:

This

This:

This:

and, yes, even this:

And you can even reminisce before the event with Adventures in Photography and How to Get Married by Ken and Lisa.

It's been a great 5 years of marriage...a wacky 500 posts filled with laughter and even some tears. 

But that's just life in Our Family! 

Tough Lovin'

So this morning, I noticed that the boys were being really quiet. A little too quiet if you ask me.  I knew that the trouble couldn't be too bad because Matthew was still in his crib and Michael's ability to cause trouble doesn't hold a stick to Matthew's....but something sure seemed fishy.

So I poke my head in their room and see both boys lying in Matthew's crib. Michael had scaled the rail and was lying in there and the two were whispering, cackling, and no doubt, plotting their mischief for the day.

Before Matthew noticed me, I even noticed him petting Michael's head.

It was darn cute.

But then they noticed me and the frenzy of the day began and apartment teemed with life and chaos.

When I put them to bed tonight, they took FOR.EV.ER to go to sleep. I even put them to bed early (because they didn't nap and were a touch cranky), but it didn't bother me whether they slept or didn't because my evening relaxation had already begun (complete with a glass of moscato, thank you).

Finally, at 9:00, I hear desperate pleas coming from their room. I begrudgingly push the button for "Mom mode" back to the "on" position and go in there.

Michael is in Matthew's bed again and can't get out.

Now, Michael is, at this age at least, not the most athletically inclined kid.  He is a little clumsy, not daring, and not super coordinated.

But he got himself in there! I thought, which includes the exact same rail to climb over as it is to get out.  I think this was just a matter of will and he just didn't want to get himself back over.

So I told him (eager to get back to my kid-free evening), "Get back yourself!" (Maybe it sounded a little more loving than it looks written. Maybe).

He whined and complained, but eventually he did it. He crossed the chasm (4 inches) between his bed and Matthew's bed and made it safe in one piece. He put his head on his pillow and fell asleep.

But not without a pat on the back from his Mom for overcoming his hesitancy and a smile of self-pride on his face that he, even in just a small way, was one step closer to being like Batman than he was this morning.

...And I love THEM

She Loves Him

And he loves her!

Boys

Keeping Cool

This past weekend we went to a Splash Park here in San Diego.

The boys had a blast!!

They were a little leery at first and it was about 10 minutes before they got so much as a drop on them. But that turned around quickly enough and soon they warmed up to the idea and cooled off.

Michael went about some important business getting things exactly right.

Matthew focused on blocking the yellow squirter thing with his foot.

Molly also set her mind to her favorite task.

It was a great time and the boys are dying to go back!

Stop playing so we can have fun!

I was playing the game Memory with the boys (any formal game with a two-year-old is always risky).  It started off well and we got through one or two rounds of actually playing.

Then Matthew started to turn over more than two cards per turn.  I corrected him and told him that's not how you play.

Then he did again the next turn and they both howled hysterically.

"Matthew!" I warned, "If you do that it's not fun for anybody."

But then I realized that they were both giddy with laughter every time. It was fun. It was fun for everybody. Except me because I was worried his behavior was going to ruin the fun.

Grown-up of me. I know.

It's important eventually that kids learn to play games according to rules because otherwise, it does end up not being fun.  But today was not that day and maybe two is not that age.

A good lesson for me to learn as a parent that sometimes kids don't need parents to teach them what is fun.

Practicing "The Look"

Daddy? Can I have a pony?

Pleeease??!

Yes?

Oh Goody!

Thank you, Daddy!

Stop Growing Up!

How Baby Boys are Delivered

If only it were this easy!

An Artist's Rendition...

....of his Mommy

On Having Three

So, it will soon be six months that we've been a family of five. In some ways it's gone fast (wow! She's 5 months old already!) In other ways, it's gone slow (How has Molly only been around for five months? She seems like she's always been here!)

(still fresh out of the oven)

(3 months later)

Molly still is full of her feminine charm and gentleness. The "easiness" we lived in fear of leaving us has not left us, but her sleep has still had a few hiccups. We changed her bed situation so that she spends part of the night sleeping out of our bedroom. I had noticed a few times I would turn over and then a few minutes later she would wake up. That happened with the boys too around the same age. So the past few nights have been much better for us now that she is not in our room all night.

Molly is pleasant as can be when she's awake but still has a relatively short expiration time: She eats, gets her diaper changed, has a little while to play and then she gets fussy for a nap again.

On days that we're home, it's a great schedule because it gives me lots of dedicated time to play with the boys, feed people, and maintain the home.

On days when we have things to do (go to Mass, run errands, visit people) it just adds a little more stress because any outing over an hour and we are blowing through Molly's naptime and she's going to get a little fussy.

The boys continue to adapt to Molly very well. Exceedingly well.

They are kind to her, careful around her, they try to be quiet(er) when she's sleeping and they just love smothering her with kisses. They tell her she's "cute" or "so pretty" and I don't think they've exhibited even a shred of jealousy towards her.

Sometimes, they do want to revert a little bit to their baby ways.

Matthew plays his "Baby Kitty" card in which he pretends he's a kitty cat, complete with a little "Mew" and pawing at you like he's a cat. It's sweet and not too overplayed so it hasn't lost its charm yet.

Even Michael, though, has adopted a little desire to be a baby. Especially around his dad, he'll do things as "Baby Michael" (complete with random wailing meant specifically to get his dad's attention to come running and attend to the baby. If he doesn't come, he'll come find you and announce "Baby Michael is crying. He needs his Daddy.")

He frequently likes to "relive" his days of infancy, "Did you wrap me up in that blanket when I was a baby? Did you sing me that song? Did you....?" It's very sweet. And as well, not so overdone as to become burndensome (well, maybe the wailing....).

I find the adjustment to be much easier than I expected. I do feel more overwhelmed at the thought of accomplishing tasks with all the kids (the park, grocery shopping, play dates with the kids) so I admit I've been much more of a homebody than I (or the boys) would like. The funny thing is, though, that we've never actually had any issues while we're out. It's not like we've had major meltdowns or any drama while we're out, I just have this fear of it or I just feel like having all the cards line up write (everyone's feeding, napping, diaper/toilet schedule) is taxing and so I just prefer to do my errands by myself at night and take it easy with the kids at home.

But once Molly has outgrown her morning nap, we should be ready to have more adventures again.

It's hard to believe that she will be eating solid foods next month! We started at 6 months with the boys and don't really want to start much earlier with Molly. Solid foods is a hassle! It takes time to prepare, it's messy, and it really stretches out meal times. From my memory, the thrill of "baby's first foods" is often tempered by them not really wanting it, being disinterested or getting fussy. So, we'll slowly ease into it with Molly and see how she does.

One thing I have really noticed about the boys is how well they play together and take care of each other when I'm tending to Molly.

They create adventures (Batman and Robin, Superman) they play at their train table, they create Messes (arg!), they play with blocks. It is so heartening to see them grow as brothers and I can't wait until Molly can enter their world of play.

We are so blessed!

Someone stole my keys

I rarely lose my keys.  

In fact, it has been a great while since I even misplaced my keys or had to spend more than 30 seconds looking for them. 

I generally have two places where I put my keys and so I hardly ever have to worry about not knowing where they are.  

So when I couldn't find my keys after 5 minutes of looking, I was a little bothered. Then, when I couldn't find my keys after 30 minutes of looking I was totally puzzled.  Then, when I couldn't find my keys after an hour and a half of tearing the apartment apart (including going into the boys bedroom when they are fast asleep and even looking through all their toy boxes and looking underneath them) I was terrified.

My thought was that I left them in the door, closed the door behind me and then someone came by and took them out of the door and was waiting for us to go bed and then coming over to rob us blind and then drive off in our car.

What was of particular concern was that Molly sleeps in the front room and so they would also see our little girl and take her too!

So convinced was I that this is what happened that we ended up barricading the door with a mini-dresser, a car seat, a set of car wash blocks, a recliner, and then of course some DVDs stacked on top so when the intruder tries to push open the door, he'll knock them down and make a big ruckus waking us up.

Satisfied with our security system, we were ready to go to bed.

But there was one place that I did not check.

Inside the little door of their play table.  

Those little rascals RARELY steal my keys, but they sure did this time and they hid them real well.  

The next morning when I asked them about it, they BOTH took credit for their thievery and trickery.  

So the next time my keys go missing, I will make sure to be less concerned about the crooks on the outside than the little pick-pocketers that sleep in the room next to me every night!

Sunshine

I wish I could be this cheerful in the morning!

Also, this day marked the end of Molly's dear swaddle blanket.  She not only was getting her arms free, but she did the equivalent of wadding it up and spiking it on her bed!  So, she's bundled in a sleep sack at night. She's adorable. 

Me and the Girl