Pop

I had a very proud mother moment the other day: Parker showed me a book, that he had never read before, and told me "Mom, look these letters are p-o-p that spells pop." I can't believe he is old enough to read.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS
we love and miss you

Santa 2010

Parker loves Santa so much I took him out of school so he could have Breakfast with Santa. It was worth it, he loved every second of it. The girls on the other hand are scared to death of him.

McKenzie's 3

McKenzie turned 3 on Monday. To celebrate we threw her a little party. Cinderella was able to make it to her party, ooh wait that is not Cinderella that is Kenzie in her hand sewn costume made by her mom (with a lot of help from Melanie).

She requested a butterfly cake. Anthony did an amazing job at making the wings for the butterflies.

Here is the birthday girl with most of her friends.

The highlights of her birthday were licking the batter off the whisk:

and her trip to Wegmans. We meet her good friends Ciella & Cadence for lunch then she finally got to live her dream of playing at Wegmans Kids while I shopped. I am pretty sure it was the best day of her life.

Parker

Today in Parker's prayer he blessed "Dad when he dies that he will live with Heavenly Father." When I asked him about this he said Anthony is real old and probably going to die in a couple days." He is sure Anthony is older then Grandpa.

Snowing in Buffalo

We have had snow storm warning after warning and haven't seen more than a skiff of snow at our house, until today. Parker was so excited at 7:30 this morning he was already playing in the snow.

Christmas Lights

In an attempt to go green Anthony spent a lot of green(money) stocking up on L.E.D. Christmas lights on Black Friday.

I thought 30 strands of lights was a little much and was nervous our house might look like the house on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, minus all the decorations.

Turns out there are still lots of bushes that still could have used lights. Anthony is happy with the results, but I am sure next year he will be purchasing more lights.

Pittsburgh Museum

The Pittsburgh Children's Museum is halfway between my house and my sisters, so it was the perfect rest stop on our way to D.C.

The kids loved the water exhibit

Kenzie is daring, when it comes to water she has no fear. She fell into that little pool thing behind her.

Anthony helped each of the kids make a rocket.

Then they had a blast launching them.

The Children's Museum wouldn't be complete without trains:Here is Parker launching off a parachute:

Kenzie driving a car:

This was my favorite thing to watch. Here they are in a climbing thing, it is full of tons of platforms the kids can use to climp up and down. If they go all the way up they are 2 stories high. Kenzie being the tiny little thing couldn't reach lots of the platforms. It warmed my heart to see Parker stop, turn around going back to where Kenzie was stuck, then lift her up so she could follow him. They really do like each other.

Here is proof I came:

Thanksgiving in D.C.

This year we got to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family who live just outside of D.C.

Jacob and Kenzie both have a birthday in December so we celebrated them together. Kenzie was so excited, she really thinks she is 3 now. She keeps talking about going to Wegmans Kids(our local grocery store watches kids who are 3 and potty trained while parents shop), and she keeps asking when school will start.

The kids were so happy to be together. They had a sleep over every night, played tons of games and made gingerbread houses.

Take your dad to school day

Anthony didn't have school all last week, to celebrate he went to school with Parker. Parker was the first kid to bring his dad to school with him, he was ecstatic to say the least.

Here is Parker's school picture, that is supposed to be a blue background. I have never seen that shade of blue before, but if there was no blue there would be no picture. Having a blue background was the only way Parker would agree to get his picture taken, and to smile.

This kid is getting smarter every day. He can do a 60 piece puzzle easily, likes to do word searches, play the DOT game, spell words, color, and can count backwards.

Kaitylnn's Words

Here is a little clip to show what Kaitlynn is like at 16 months.

McKenzie's latest fashion statement

Kenzie walked out of the bathroom wearing this outfit:

I love that on the bottom half of her body she put the swimsuit on 1st, topping it with her underwear then pants, but for some reason on the top half of her body she wanted the suit over the clothes.

Kaitlynn 15 Months

Kaitlynn just keeps growing no matter how hard I wish she would stay a baby. Today she had her 15 month appointment.

She weighs 21 lbs and is 30 inches tall

Here is what she can do:

Say: mine, car, ball, all done, bye-bye, more uuh-ooh, no, yes, mom, dad, and my personal favorite "thank you"

Wave "bye-bye"

Drink with a straw

Eat with a spoon

Climb on EVERYTHING(she used to climb on most things, but she has recently learned that with the use of the chair no object is to high)

Understands most things I say, and will do what I ask her (get your shoes, brush your teeth, etc.)

Has so many teeth she can eat steak if she wanted

Gives the most amazing, hold you tight rest her head on your shoulder, hug that could melt anyone's heart instantly.

Daddy's girl:

Great entertainment. She does things knowing she is going to get a beating. The other day she stole Kenzie's doll and started running. The smile on Kaitlynn's face as her sister chased her down was priceless. It was obvious Kaitlynn knew she was going to be in big trouble from Kenzie, but she loves the thrill of the chase.

Full of smiles, and energy. Unless she is sleeping, she is always on the go.

Not adventurous when it comes to food. If I put food on her tray and she thinks it looks gross she throws it in the floor faster than I can even blink.

She used to be the apple of Parker and Kenzie's eye, they would bend over backwards to make sure Kaitlynns had what she wanted and was smiling. Because Kaitlynn loves to destroy, hit, and throw she often is referred to as the "monster" Parker and Kenzie are always running away or hiding from Kaitlynn claiming she is a monster. Kaitlynn could care less if she is the monster or the apple of their eye she just enjoys the attention.

She is a joy to be around. I love her laugh, cute dimple, and adorable personality. I am one lucky mom to be blessed with her.

Sick

No matter how awful you feel, a moms hug can fix anything.

Canker

Over Halloween Kenzie got a canker the size of half her tongue. Oatmeal was the only food she could eat without crying. It was so sad to watch her hold her Halloween candy in her hand, just rolling it around, letting it melt. Every now and then she would get up the courage and put it in her mouth which would make her scream in pain. This is how she looked for 3 days:

Halloween & Birthday

We had a great Halloween, all the kids were adorable.

Parker was Batman:

Kenzie was a Princess:

Kaitlynn was a ladybug:

Anthony and I were swimmers. We won the "Sexiest Costume" prize at our friends Halloween Party. Sexy we were not, but the prize was well worth wearing what we wore.

Kaitlynn was pretty mad about everything having to do with Halloween, but her tears quickly disappeared as soon as people started handing her candy.

As for my birthday it was great. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Turning 30 wasn't that bad. It hurts to say I'm 30 but really it doesn't feel any different than 29.

Halloween - Trick or Treat

This is a video for the grand parents. Push the play button. Make sure the volume is on.

Kenzie hates her vegetables

In our house if you don't eat your vegetables, you don't get a snack. McKenzie response to this rule blows my mind. She will clear her spot and tell me mom I don't want a snack, by saying this she has thought it over and has decided a snack is not worth the punishment of eating vegetables.

Once we popped popcorn and watched a movie as a family. Through the whole movie Kenzie kept refilling everyone's popcorn bowl, never even trying to sneak a bite. She never threw one tantrum demanding popcorn even though she hadn't eaten vegetables. By the end of the movie she would take the popcorn and roll it along her lips, but never put it in her mouth. The movie was 1 1/2 hours and she overcame that temptation.

Another night our snack was oreo's she sat at the table with us and was in charge of handing out the oreo's, she never tried to even sneak a bite. She just sat happily watching us all eat our snack.  This girl has got self control.

Healthy

I tried to pass caramel covered apples as the healthy part of lunch today. Parker refused to eat them and demanded carrots. I obliged, but I just can't stop thinking whose kid is this?

Kenzie

Kenzie is amazing, she isn't even 3 and she can do the snap on her jeans all by herself. (Parker is 4 and occasionally needs help with his snap).
Kenzie also amazes me because she is so aware of everything. If anyone says something (good or bad) and her ears hear it, I can guarantee she will repeat it. She also remembers everything she sees. As we drive in the car she is constantly pointing out letters she knows, and places we have been before.

Girls Weekend

Anthony and 3 of his friends provided me and 3 of my friends with a lovely girls weekend full of surprises. Each husband gave his wife an envelope full of clues that instructed us where to go and what to do when we got there.

Clue #1 took me to Rachel's house. (When I got there she had no idea who was coming to pick her up or where we were going. She, like me, was just blindly following her husbands instructions.)

Clue #2 took us to Ichi Shoguns for dinner, here we met up with Tiffany and Melissa. The food was delicious and cooked right before our eyes. The Chief was quite impressive, it was fun to watch him throw the utensils and food in the air while he cooked. Here he made a volcano out of unions:

Clue #3 took me and Rachel for Massages.

Clue #4 took us to the hotel were we had a room waiting for us. In the room each one of us had our favorite snack waiting for us with instructions to go to the movies.

Clue #5 Back to the hotel to sleep. I was lucky enough to get to sleep with Melissa although I offered she did not want me to spoon with her:)

Clue #6 Money to go out for breakfast. We choose IHOP. It was perfect.

I had so much fun with these girls. I still crack up when I think of Tiffany's massage story, and want to thank Melissa for telling me what to expect with a massage:) Lucky Rachel got to ride in my sweet ride each time and watch patiently as I got lost going to almost every destination. Thanks Creed for initiating the planning and for letting Anthony jump in and let me be spoiled along with these lovely ladies.

Note

I found this note from Anthony today:

Can't wait to see where I will be going today at 3:50!

Chores

The kids are in charge of clearing the table after each meal. Most things get put in the right spot, but occasionally I open my fridge and find some interesting things. Notice anything that doesn't belong?

Angel

I am pretty sure God sent an Angel to make sure no one in my family died this week.

3 things out of the ordinary all happened at the same time and should have caused a fire in my house:

#1 Parker threw his shirt in his light, and left it there not bothering to ask for help getting it down
#2 Parker's light was kept on all night
#3 our fire alarm wasn't plugged in

I woke up the next morning smelling something horrible in Parker's room. When I took the shirt out of the light, it was covered with holes. The light bulb had burnt holes that went all the way through the shirt. I am still amazed my house didn't burn to the ground that night.

The second incident happened today. I got out of my car to get a free stroller sitting on the side of the road. I left the kids seat belted in the car and walked across the street to get the stroller. As I folded the stroller down I looked across the street to see McKenzie out of my car ready to run across the street. At the same exact time a car flew down the street almost killing her. I don't know if it was my scream that stopped Kenzie mid step or an angel pushing her back, but I know McKenzie almost died today. That car never even saw her and didn't even slow down. I can't believe my daughter almost died because of my stupid choice to get a free stroller.

It is scary how quickly life can change.

A Whole New Level of Parenting

Anthony and I have entered a whole new level of parenting with Parker. We are no longer parenting a toddler, we have moved up to school age kid.

Good-bye fat rolls and kankels:*
(please see bottom of post if you need help defining this word)

Hello tall skinny boy:

Here are the big changes I have noticed:

He says words I know he did not learn at home. (Shut-up)

He gets mad at us for repeating a command:

Here is the example. "Mom that bus man always tells me to hold on to the railing when I get off the bus. He tells me that everyday, but I already know that. I was already holding onto the railing when he told me that." (I get in trouble for this often, I just wanted to use someone else as the example because it is funner when he says it about someone else)

When Anthony and I have a conversation he copies every word from start to finish.

He is quite the prankster. The other day he asked me to come in the bathroom. When I got to the bathroom there was no Parker to be found. I eventually found him hiding in the shower. He thought he was hilarious. I have to admit he got me good, I had no idea where he was:)

He is very independent. He can set & clear the table, make his bed, dress himself completely, ride a bike with no training wheels, pump himself on the swing, get in and out of the car by himself and do his seat belt. Play the Wii with little assistance.

He loves money and wants to buy everything.

He has an opinion and is clever enough to find his own way to do things.

He is hilarious, I love almost every moment I spend with him.

I am grateful that one thing hasn't changed, he still absolutely loves me and is proud to be my son. This week I got to spend the whole day at school with him, he was so proud I was there. I dread the day he asks me to drop him off down the street because he is embarrassed of me.

Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Courtnay. She is amazing.

*Kankel - when one is overweight the the ankle is no longer distinguishable, it becomes part of the calf, otherwise known as a Kankel.