Parade & worms...

Today we did a little "school work" while Noah explored the house alone. Ben and Hannah seemed to need me more at the table so Noah was left to wander and play alone. I don't think he likes to be alone. He found a game that he liked and eventually he got everyone to play along. Ben and Hannah were easily distracted form the table that they were sitting at. It was called the 'Legoland parade'. They were banging pots and pans, Ben had one on his head and clanging with spoons. They sang loudly and marched around, eventually ending up running crazy from room to room but I suppose they had some energy that needed burning. Leave it up to the little one to break the mornings school work momentum!

Just before noon we went out front to wait for Daddy who was coming home for lunch. It was a beautiful moment. The sun was shining warming everything up (including me). Ben and Hannah were running around, riding their bikes and big wheels, drawing with our new chalk... I sat on the sidewalk with Noah and we spotted a worm in the dirt next to us. Noah was ecstatic. We pulled it up and dug in the dirt with our fingers to find some more. We found a couple of big fat ones and two little worms, the tiniest I've ever seen. Hannah is into bugs and worms so she ran over to catch a glance at them (she was busy playing with Ben). Noah didn't want to leave the worms but I managed to convince him that they needed to go to sleep in the dirt. So we covered them up and left. What a great morning!

More rain...

We have had so much rain this month it has been a little hard for me to think of things for the kids to do in the house. We are lucky that we have a nice patio that we can go outside during the rain without getting wet. It was a warmer rain storm, hence why Noah is in a diaper with no pants (at least he has a jacket on!).

Today we played with playdoh. I didn't realize how many playdoh toys we had! We have enough that they shouldn't fight over the same toy, but that always happens. We have at least two of just about everything but they still argued over who got which mold or which letter cutter. They love playdoh it gives them such a great outlet for creativity. Sometimes they will sit for a long time and play their different games with it, not letting it sit for long between breaks. Other times they are done with it in a couple of minutes. Today they sat and played for a long time, but Noah was demanding all the toys and was making it less than pleasant for the other two. He must be coming down with something or he is super tired....we'll see what a nap does!

Garage...

It was raining so much today that we decided to go to the store and buy some new sidewalk chalk. When we got home I left the car out of the garage and the kids went to town drawing and then riding their bikes around in circles. It was a great way for them to release some of that energy that they have while keeping the house untouched. Ben drew me on a bike throwing triangles at a dragon. It was so big that it wouldn't fit in the camera. Hannah drew our family in our favorite colors. She is pink, Noah yellow & so small, Ben purple, Daddy blue and I am green with long hair. Noah drew us in sticks. They had so much fun.

Daddy...

While waiting for Daddy to come home today, Ben found a piece of sidewalk chalk (we have to get a new bucket of chalk) and decided to draw Daddy. So he went wild and drew on the entire driveway.
The picture is of Daddy riding on a bike (because Daddy had been on a bike ride). I love to see the kids' drawings, but especially to watch their process. I can almost see their brains working on what they are doing. Ben just gets to work and creates. His wheels start turning, he has a goal and seems to know exactly how he's going to get there. It's amazing to me how much creativity he has. So with that... here is the masterpiece.

Night #2...

Well last night was a little emotional for me. Ben and Hannah went to bed without a peep. They didn't stir until a few minutes after 5am when Hannah came into our bed and then minutes later Ben joined us too.

I didn't sleep well at all. It was like I had a newborn in the house but not near me, I woke every half hour to listen to see if they were OK. I heard nothing but assumed that they were OK. I wondered if Hannah was cold. Hannah was sleeping on the floor in a little sleeping bag. I figured that Ben was warm enough because he was in a bed and had pillows and stuffed animals lined up next to him.

At 5:something I heard a little grunting and little footsteps heading our way. Hannah was the first to come in, she grabbed my hand and cuddled with Daddy. And it wasn't but a couple of minutes later that Ben walked in and cuddled into bed too.

They loved it. Sleeping on their own. They are sleeping in the same bed tonight. I really was worried that Hannah was going to freeze last night. So tonight they are all cozy with lots of blankets, pillows and each other. They went to bed without a peep, again.

Rewind to this morning. Hannah said that she loved sleeping in her own bed and she couldn't wait to have a 'princess room'. Yesterday Corey took Ben to Home Depot and they stopped by the paint section. Our kids always pick up some of the paint swatches from the paint department but yesterday Ben found a "Cars" room idea card that he loved and that he wants to replicate in our house. He can't wait to have his own room and bathroom all decked out like that pamphlet. Aha! I now have figured out why they are so gung-ho about sleeping in their own bed. They want their own themed room and perhaps by showing us that they can sleep in another room, then maybe we'll do it for them. OK maybe we will, but not in this house.

Tonight was a little better for me but I look forward to hearing those footsteps again. Who knew that Sunday night was our last night of co-sleeping as a family of 5? And now we are 3.

A milestone?

During dinner tonight, Hannah turned to me and said "Mommy I don't think I'm going to hold your hand tonight. I think I am going to sleep in my own bed." Then Ben spoke up and said "Yeah, me too."

Usually we all go to bed together. Noah nurses to sleep, Hannah holds my finger and Ben cuddles with Daddy. Everyone falls asleep (eventually) and we parents sneak out to watch TV, read, get on the computer, do laundry or whatever.

Tonight was so different in all ways. Noah pooped on the potty for the first time. He has never even gone pee successfully though he knows how to go in the grass and in the bathtub. That was great. Then Hannah and Ben set up their beds in different rooms. Hannah set up on the floor in the playroom and Ben got the bed in the other room. They laid out their sleeping bags, got in and fell asleep. Well, they did get up to listen to a story that Daddy was reading to Noah. But then I said "look it's 8:20, that means bedtime." And off they went, without a fight. Not even a little bounce on the bed that they are so fond of in our big bed. I even went in to give Hannah a kiss good-night and she told me to leave :( (Ben got one too)

So an hour ago, I was lying down with Noah as he wiggled and turned before he fell asleep and I felt a little sad. I actually had a little tear. Sad but happy. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, for all I know it will be all 5 of us back together in the big bed. But for now it is a milestone that I have mixed feelings about. Happy to have our bed back. Sad not to see their little faces wake up next to me in the morning. Sad not to have Hannah's little finger closed tightly on my thumb until it twitches when she has fallen asleep. Sad. I wasn't ready for this tonight.

Surprise success!

While Ben was taking a bath, diaper-free Noah ran to the bathroom door yelling quite loudly "Noah turn to go poo-poo! Noah turn to go poo-poo!" Corey got the potty seat on the toilet and sat Noah down. He immediately went for the toilet paper (as he always does) and pulled and pulled. He "wiped" and lo and behold there was poop on the toilet paper! He had gone in the toilet and I just dismissed it as another one of those times he sat on the toilet. He knew that he needed to go and now! I can't wait to see where this goes. Crossing my fingers for more to come!!

Snow...

The weatherman said that it was going to snow in the local mountains and so... we went to see it. It was drizzling (rain) at our house and it is COLD out so we figured it was probably snowing in the mountains. We packed snacks, lunches and our snow clothes. The kids insisted that we bring the sleds but we knew that there wouldn't be any snow on the ground. They fit in the car so they came with us.

When we got there it was not raining but the wind was whipping around and freezing (31°F). I don't know what the wind chill was but it was way cold for us city folks. The kids had all of their snow clothes on and were warm and toasty. Noah usually hates hats or hoods on but he kept his hat on (Sara notice his hat?) today. We went on a little walk down a short trail, it turned and looped right back to the car. It was a perfectly short hike for us, Noah was screaming to get back to the car. He was hungry and ate for the remaining time we were there. He was also cold and uncomfortable in his big bundle of clothes that he had on.

Corey brought our camping stove and made us hot chocolate, that was good and warm. Ben and Hannah hopped in and out of the car not able to decide where they wanted to be.

It started to snow a little just as we decided to go home. So we stayed for a bit longer and the snow started coming down more and more. As we were driving home the snowflakes were rather large but it was still not sticking to the ground.

It was great. The kids were quite disappointed that they didn't get to use the sleds. It was a little confusing as to why we couldn't go on them in the dirt.

Cranky...

Mistake #1
We woke the kids up for Sunday school. They usually wake up early but today they decided to sleep in.

Mistake #2
We bought donuts after Mass and that is all they had for breakfast. Too much sugar is not a good thing on little empty tummies.

Mistake #3
The kids didn't eat much for lunch (see mistake #2).

Mistake #4
Hannah went grocery shopping with me. Good for us to have quality time together but we ended up going to 3 stores.

Mistake #5
The two older kids didn't take naps. Noah went down much later than usual.

So we had lots of whining and crying today. It was tough to get through the day but we made it and now they are in dreamland. Tomorrow will be a better day!

Video clip...

This is from the other night when Noah was leading "Simon says" and making everyone dance.

Dancing...

The other day we succumbed to their dreams to watch Cinderella. Hannah got it for Christmas or her birthday a few years ago. They have seen it before but the content was a little too 'old' at that time so we put it away for a while. At some point in the last two months (maybe longer) Hannah has been infatuated with the idea of a princess. Cinderella, Ariel (The Little Mermaid) and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) are featured everywhere so it isn't a surprise, really. They got to watch the whole movie in one fell swoop.

This afternoon I went to get Noah from his nap (he woke up grumpy) and walked him out to the living room to sit on the couch with him until he woke up. I  looked out the back door and Hannah had her princess dress on with her princess shoes, Ben was wearing regular clothes and they were outside on the lawn together. They were re-enacting the dancing scene in the movie then they walked over to a little bench to sit and talk for a bit, then they started to dance again. Their hands together, swaying from side to side, eyes locked and their faces gently looking at each other. I got it on video but have to upload it. It was priceless! Such a sweet moment.

And for once... They weren't embarrassed when they saw the camera, they just kept on doing it.

Dance!!

We had Grandpa and Myrlene over for Grandpa's birthday this evening. We made dinner and the kids made birthday cards, a simple gathering. We talked for a while, ate dinner, and while we waited for the brownies to finish baking we talked some more. Noah decided that it was time for a little game of "Simon says...". He stood up and (everyone was watching him) and said "Simon says... scratch head!" 

And everyone scratched their heads. We giggled that such a little person could come up with a game like that. Then...

"Simon says...dance!"

He noticed that no one but Hannah got up to dance, he walked over to Myrlene and Grandpa on the couch and said (in a rather demanding tone) "Dance! Dance!" So Myrlene and Grandpa got up off the couch and started to dance around, Ben joined them.

"Simon says...lie down!" He and Hannah and Ben went to lay on the floor.

Again,  he noticed that they didn't do the lying down that he suggested because they were on the couch laying down (& I think he meant for them to lie down on the floor) so he told them "No, lie down on floor!!" So they giggled and got down on the floor.

"Simon says...kick feet!" While laying on the floor. They kicked their feet as they lay on the floor. 

It was a great game that Noah came up with. He was pretty demanding with it and at times was yelling at them to get up and DANCE!!! Corey and I just sat and laughed, I guess we weren't required to be in the game. That's OK, it was a memorable birthday party that, I'm sure, no one will forget.

Library...

We like to go to the library on Tuesdays so that's where we headed this morning. We returned our books and went straight into the storytime room. The kids really enjoyed storytime they heard lots of stories, sang songs and moved around a bit with the rhymes. Afterwards our routine is to go and pick out some books to take home, read a few, check out the train, put together some puzzles and maybe play with the puppets.

Today wasn't a good day for that though.

The kids weren't into picking books out, they didn't want to do any of it. Noah started kicking the books in the shelves and they were falling all over the place. Ben and Hannah were pulling all of the matching little books on all the shelves and putting them in to a giant pile. I didn't know what to do except leave the library immediately. Noah was in tears and the other two were sad that they didn't get to borrow any books. I just couldn't have that behavior today. So it might be a while before we go to the library again. I just wish that they could get to the point where they can go, peruse and choose books without running around the library. I know they will...someday.

New friends...

We invited some new friends over to our house to play today since it was raining so much and we thought it would continue today. It was too wet to go to the playground. Each of our kids had a "play date". Ben played with his 6yo friend. Hannah played with her 4yo friend. Noah had a 2yo friend. They played Dora Candyland for a while, jumped on the bed (because it was raining), played with their babies, ate nori and cookies, read books and ran around together. It was great. It was also very interesting to sit back and watch them play, argue, whine, complain and figure things out on their own. We did help when asked but for the most part we observed. All in all it was a nice day with new friends.

Splash...

Today was supposed to be another rainy day and while it was chilly we had a bit of a break in the rain. We headed to Mission Trails to check out how the dam was holding up with all the rain. We ran into Lindsey and her family just as we were starting down the trail, they were leaving. It's always fun to run into someone you know around town.

We headed down the trail and the kids noticed the water rushing by. It was very high so that might be why they noticed it. No one fell into the river thank goodness but almost as it was pretty slippery all over the place. There were puddles all over the place and I was very thankful that we had them wear their boots. They are drawn to puddles and love to jump in them and watch their splashes. Another thing that they love to do on hikes is eat. They love to pull out the snacks that we bring and jump around on the rocks and eat their nuts or graham crackers (what they had today). We found some rocks that they like to climb and Hannah pointed Noah to a puddle atop a flat rock. He went straight for it and jumped, that made a big splash and we clapped for the big splash. He walked away and then came back to it to jump again, this time the splash was bigger. He hopped away and as he turned around I got the camera ready and snapped it as he jumped in again. It was terrific (picture is below) and he wanted to see the picture. After I showed it to him he tried jumping again and this time he slipped right into it landing on his butt and got all wet. We all laughed. He got up and did it again, and by this time with all the jumping and now sitting there was no more water in that spot. Noah abandoned the activity and then wanted me to hold him. We took his pants off and he walked back to the car bare-legged in a diaper...and yes, we did get quite a few stares for letting our 2 year old walk without pants on.

On the dam

Look at me!!
Splash!!
Looking at the river Checking out the dam
A puddle!

Notice Hannah and Ben's pajama pants? I made them... :-)

Rainy day...

It has been raining most of the day here and we were tired of hanging out at home so we went for a walk. We got the kids' boots on, jackets with hoods and headed out the door. We walked down the hill to Vons. They recently remodeled it and added a Starbucks inside (not that it was needed, there are 2 others within a 1/4 mile of this Vons). We decided to get the kids some hot chocolate or warm milk and then pick something up for their dinner. They sat for exactly 2 minutes and then shed their jackets and off with their boots, they found the mini shopping baskets (for kids) and went flying through the store barefoot pushing them. There were near accidents with some of the elderly people doing their shopping and with the Vons employees, but we made it out without harming anyone. We walked back home and now they are trying to keep busy out of the rain.

Here they are waiting for their drinks.

Sewing again...

I went shopping yesterday morning and found two little sewing machines. They take batteries to operate and have a foot pedal. Perfect for the kids to learn a little about sewing on a machine. They are always hanging on me when I am trying to sew something on my machine so the interest is definitely there! I gave Ben his first, Hannah had fallen asleep so she'll get hers later. We read the directions, put batteries inside and started to do some test runs on it. Ben was so excited. The booklet it came with has some projects that they can do so we started with the first one, a bookmark. He is always needing bookmarks for his books, we have all the materials so we got to work. He did a great job, the machine is a little tricky but safe for him to use. There is a guard on the needle and a piece of fabric is all that will fit under it. But I don't think that I'll be sewing alongside them because it is a little hard for him to do by himself. It doesn't sew backwards so we have to use a needle and thread to tie off the ends. We'll need to work on the process more so that he understands what to do first and next and next... He is so excited about his little sewing machine. Now to get Hannah on hers!

The bookmark in on the stool in front of him, made of two pieces of felt with a ribbon (not pictured with ribbon yet)

Photo booth...

One of the features of my new computer is the photo booth. We've been having fun with it. Here we are all trying to get in the picture when I was just figuring out the computer and all its' goodies (still haven't figured them all out, but still working on it!)

The crane...

Ben got the Lego crane for Christmas and he was so excited about it. He worked on it for 2 days in spurts of 2-3 hours at a time and finished it the day after Christmas. Here he is looking so proud with his accomplishment. The little blue box that it is carrying is the porta-potty with a little man inside complete with a roll of toilet paper!

Puppy love...

Last night we went to my aunt's house in Coronado for their annual new year's eve party. They got a new little puppy for Christmas and it is the cutest, fluffiest little thing I've ever seen. Noah is in love. He is our little animal lover. He loves kitties, doggies, hamsters, snakes, giraffes, elephants...any kind of animal, he loves it. So their puppy loves to give kisses and nibbles. Here is a picture of the puppy making Noah laugh with his licks and love.

A tired Noah and a big brother Ben relax on the chair together while they wait to leave the party. It was so sweet to see them cuddle together.