Disneyland!

Although I had some reservations about going, we decided that we should take them while we had the money. We started driving on June 16 and spent the night in Los Banos (not the bathrooms). The next day we drove to Anaheim and cringed everytime we turned a corner. We hadn't told the girls where we were going and there were Disney signs and characters EVERYWHERE. After getting to our hotel and seeing several kids wearing Disney hats, we decided that we couldn't wait any longer. We went to our room, pulled out the camcorder and made our announcement. We had a great first day touring Disneyland until I lost my camera on "It's a Small World". Just one more reason to hate that ride. It's August now and still no sign of my camera (I think it might have fallen in the water). We went to California Adventure the next morning and were fortunate to be there with only a few other families in the bug ride area, which meant next to no wait time. The highlight of our trip was dinner that evening. We took the kids to Ariel's grotto as a pre-birthday dinner for Natalia. The food was so-so, but the looks on the girls' faces were priceless. They were greeted by Ariel and also got to see Cinderella, Snow White Belle and Aurora during the dinner. Natalia was the most animated of the whole week and couldn't stop petting Belle's dress when she came to our table. The final day, Natalia's birthday, was spent at Disneyland with Mark's 2nd cousins CeCe and Laura. We made some great memories!

Young Boy's New Invention

Alternate titles: Baby Shower, Squeaky Clean, 101 Uses For A Dishwasher, April Showers...

King of the Hill

Fast Break for the Ottoman...

Hello Nose. Meet Ottoman...

This is the Good Part...
Just a Little Further...
Almost There...

Look Mommy, I'm So Cool...

Got Down, Climbed Back Up, And...

Oops! Rolled Off the Other Side.

Nostalgia

Photos that take me back...or make me do a double take...

Christi and family friend Nathan circa 1984

Nick and Isabella 2008

Mike (my brother) circa 1984

Tobias November 2008

School House Rocks!!!

We went to the library on monday and I found it. Instant nostalgia. Saturday mornings, still wearing PJs, eating breakfast while laying on the living room floor and watching cartoons. Of course, I had to borrow it. I was a little saddened when the girls both protested. "I want Mickey" and "I don't want a singing one" didn't daunt me. I started it none the less... Okay, so I had to bribe them with princess shaped graham crackers within the first five minutes, but they will thank me...someday.

And who decided to call them crackers anyway. They are just a glorified cookie...

My Little Guy is 1!

He did it; he survived his sisters. He is currently in possession of 4 half teeth (none of them are all the way in), a not so lovely cough, and a snotty nose. He is also presently screaming on my lap, because he apparently needs to demonstrate his ability to throw a tantrum. Although not sleeping through the night, he is much easier to put back to sleep and is only waking up once a night.

He LOVES to play peek-a-boo. He thinks it is funny to move your hands away from your face and he enjoys being able to manipulate things. He will hurry around a corner, so that he can peek back around it. He knows how to push open doors and which doors Mommy doesn't like him to open (he still opens them if he can).

He adores Isabella and likes Natalia when she can curb her natural affection, which can get a bit overwhelming.

He is thrilled by bathes and, like all babies, loves to splash the water. He doesn't seem too concerned when he manages to get a face full of water.

He is quick to wave bye-bye when the word is mentioned and is experimenting with words like: Da (daddy), talia (we think he is trying to say her name), mama, ki (kitty). We have even heard him say thank you on occasion, although, the jury is still out on whether or not it was intentional.

He is still small for his size and I am sometimes surprised by a label to realize that I have been putting a 3 month outfit on him. He is not walking yet, but can stand up when holding on to something. He has the strength and balance to stand on his own, but won't do it on purpose. He enjoys practicing his steps.

Unfortunately, being number three, we didn't get to do anything eventful on his big day. But, hopefully we can remedy that when we have his party on Saturday.

Port Orchard

We had the pleasure of visiting some dear friends at the beginning of March. Mark and I both went to school with Katherine and when she married Kevin, Isabella was in the wedding party. They have lived in Port Orchard for the last several years, but with three small children, this was our first visit. The girls promptly struck their claim on Kevin while watching cartoons. After a wonderful breakfast of pancakes and eggs (requested by Isabella) and cinnamon rolls, we decided to go to Poulsbo for a late lunch and some site seeing.

We ate at J.J.s (you will have to correct me if I'm wrong, Katherine) and being indecisive, I went with peer pressure and had the Halibut fish and chips. Delicious!

Mark and Tobias

Kevin helping Natalia clean up.
Kevin let the girls hold the leash to Fergus (Golden Lab) while he held on to the lead closer to the collar. They thought it was great!

Fergus poses with Natalia.

"Don't take my picture!" Although she didn't see me sneak this one.

The whole gang at the water front. Isabella called it the lake. Well, what else would a large body of water be? Port doesn't really translate in Toddler speak so I just let it be.

Thanks Katherine and Kevin for opening up your home and all of the wonderful memories we crammed into that too short day. We love you.

Heartwarming

I can think of nothing more exciting as a mother, than watching your children play nicely together. Especially the more children you add to the mix. The kids are playing with some Mr. Potato Heads, current and vintage. Well, vintage if you count items from the late 1980s. So funny to see their creations. And it lasted all of 30 minutes.
And my old childhood standby, card table forts!

Messy Messy!

Healthy but, oh, so messy. Tobias, like his sisters before him, doesn't turn his nose up at anything. Well, he's not too keen on certain textures but, he is a great eater. Today, Mark said that he devoured the cornmeal pancakes that were offered him.

Here is his first introduction to lentils. Despite the head gear, most of the lentils ended up in his stomach and this picture is of his second or third helping. (The bits of green are spinach)
And this is a Cameron favorite (definitely not a Christi favorite)...Beets! The kids eat them like they are candy. I on the other hand think they smell like stinky feet. Tobias is eating them sans shirt in an effort to preserve his clothing from anymore unsightly stains.

For the Love of Popcorn

What a crack up! Tobias loves popcorn and can hunt it down no matter the distance. As soon as he is blessed with one of the pillowy pieces, he bobs up and down and grins a mile wide. Mini me pose?

One of My Favorite Pictures

Piggyback ride with Daddy.

February Funnies

Natalia is 2 1/2 and very precocious. She is constantly into everything and creating messes. Her vocabulary far exceeds the expected at her age and she seems to comprehend so much, yet she still wants a pacifier. Her love language is definitely touch and you have to be careful that she doesn't smother you. Yet, her spirit is so sweet and she will do anything to gain approval. We are also in the midst of potty training, still. And while most days are great, we still have some days that I wish I could wave a magic wand and be done with it. Now if I could just get her to stop picking up Tobias, I will feel that I have accomplished a great deed.After being told to leave the grapes alone, she stuffed as many into her mouth as she could. Daddy, unaware of mommy's directions to her, thought it hilarious that she had so many grapes in her mouth and rewarded her by taking a picture. Oh, what to do!

My little warrior - Tobias is 10 months and closing in on one year. I can't believe it is already upon us. As you can tell, he is very excited by the broom. Not because of the cleaning capacity that it holds, but because of the weapon like quality it possesses. I am amazed that at such an early age he is already completely different than his sisters. He absolutely loves to wave the broom around and it is even better when he has the mop and can bang them together. Look at the great swing!

Tobias is very sweet natured and it is very easy to get him to smile and show off his dimples. He loves to flirt and has started "singing" with his sisters as well as babbling. He has been crawling since six months, pulling up to standing since eight months, cruising since 9 months and I can only imagine that walking is right around the corner. He is such a good baby, I can only pray for the day that he starts sleeping through the night.

Isabella is quickly approaching 5 (birthday in May) and I cannot believe that she will be in Kindergarten in the fall. We recently purchased a booster seat for her and she was so enamored with it that she found an excuse to sit on it all day long. She is my problem solver and can often come up with a great solution if she doesn't let her anger get away with her. She is definitely a first child and tries to constantly control the situation. Mark recently told her that she wasn't the equalizer and she responded by saying, "I'm not an appetizer, you don't eat appetizers, Mom(with a laugh), Daddy called me apple cider." She can write her name and sometimes Natalia's. She amazed me the other day with a grocery list. The first two items were peanut butter (pen bdr) and bread (brad) and the rest were squiggly lines. Apparently, she got tired, although, Mark told me that one of the squiggly lines was supposed to be eggs. She also is very aware of anatomy and recently drew a picture of Mark's cousin that left me speechless. Nothing inappropriate happened and the only one she has seen naked is her brother. It is apparently time for separate bath times. She loves to help cook and I often find her trying to clean, without being asked. But when it comes to her room, the age old rebellion wages strong.

The Obligatory Lemon

The lemon initiation. My mother-in-law thinks we are cruel, but each of our kids has received their first taste of lemon at our favorite restaurant: Hole-in-the-Wall BBQ. And not one of them would relinquish there hold on that lemon. In fact, each of them threw a fit when we did try to take it away. This is after 2 or 3 tastes of the lemon. This is the 4th picture, probably a minute into the taste test and the first pucker he made!

We finally convinced him to trade the lemon for a rib.

What happened to the celery?

I was trying to make dinner and the girls were hungry. I offered them some celery, knowing that it wouldn't fill them up and there would still be room for dinner. I decided to give Tobias a piece that was about 3 inches long. He has no teeth, so I wasn't worried about him breaking off small pieces. I was surprised that he was willing to chew on it as the girls only recently decided that they like celery.

He was quite pleased with himself.And this is what was left over. Barely an inch. There was nothing else in his high chair or on the ground.

Can you believe he actually ate it? I couldn't. It also sent me searching for teeth. Still none yet. I will definitely think a little harder before giving him something I think is harmless.

Daddy's Co-Pilot in Training

Mark has a great love of flying. He has completed a series of courses and holds a private pilots license. This was the inspiration for Tobias' nursery theme of airplanes. We have a wonderful friend that loves to bless others and she bestowed upon us this wonderful Elmo airplane along with a complete bedroom set of airplanes/helicopters ( that's the bumper, crib sheet, quilt, bed skirt, plus: lamp, rug, wall paper decor strip, wall hangings, valance/curtains, and mobile). Overwhelming in her generosity, we put the crib items out right away. The plane has waited in our room for fear that his sisters would either break it or wear it out before he had a chance to play with it. It has been much coveted at our house.

Tobias is thrilled with sitting on the airplane, but he is really tickled because he found the button that makes the propeller spin and he was able to catch the propeller.

Tobias was moved in front of the plane because he isn't able to keep himself on it, yet. Mommy pushed the button, so he is gleefully watching the propeller again.

I know that this one isn't much different, but I had to included it because it made me laugh. Look at his left hand, he has Joseph from our kids nativity set and is beating the plane with it. I didn't notice when I was taking the picture.

Mommy!

Ever wonder where Tobias is while I am blogging on the computer? Well, here is my little boy who was supposed to be sleeping. He has discovered that he can see Mommy if he peers over his crib. He was definitely not happy with me and was letting me know about it. I also was not happy, because I was looking forward to some quiet recounting of our days and I had just lowered his crib last week. Now, I have to lower it again! Have I mentioned how fast these little ones grow up?

A New Treat

Tobias is extremely aware of food and will make a bee line for it any time that he sees something that might possible be food. So it wasn't any surprise to see him demanding to share in Mark's snack. Air popped popcorn with no salt or butter. I prefer mine with aforementioned improvements, but much to Tobias' delight, Mark was eating it unadulterated. Mark trying to find a kernel with a big pillowy top.

"Oh, hi Mommy. Do you see me eating this with Daddy?" Mmmm...yummy!"

" Okay, Daddy stop teasing me and give me the popcorn already!"

(disclaimer - all hulls were removed prior to feeding to baby)

Mommy's Little Man

I have been trying for several days now to get a picture of Tobias in push up position. This is a new trick of his and it reminds me of a picture of my brother stuck in a push up position screaming while my mother took a picture. Tobias is quite agile and does not get stuck, which makes it even more difficult to get a picture of this new feat. Here is the closest photo I've gotten.
The other obstacle I face in achieving the perfect picture is that, Tobias is now very aware of his surroundings and anything electronic. So, I can no longer sneak up on him or casually grab the camera. If I do manage to have the camera available, the beep preceeding the picture often does me in as in the next picture.


Title - Too Slow Mom
On a side note, the pants that went with this outfit, although perfect in length, are much to large around for Tobias and this was not the first time in the day that he literally crawled right out of his pants.