My now 4 year old, Evan

Evan turned 4 yesterday, Sept. 24! He is growing up so fast.   Today we are having his party at Chuck E Cheese and he's super excited. We did let him open some of our gifts & his grandpa's from NY. He got a Cars Scooter which he loved and some Imaginext dinosaur toys.

Here he is on the morning of his birthday!!

I'll post pics of his CEC party later today or tomorrow.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend =)

Keoni is now 7 Months Old ;)

Keoni turned 7 months old yesterday, Sept. 23.  

He weighs about 18lbs + change and is about 26.5 inches long. 

Keoni loves his big brothers & sister.  He lights up with huge grins when they come home from school especially Owen.  Yes, he loves his mom & dad too ;) There's something about Owen he just loves.  His favorite food is Sweet Potatoes (like daddy) and cereal.  He enjoys his Mum Mums Banana flavor too, goes through about 2 pks of 2 in one setting.  If I leave him on his play mat for minute, he is on the other side of the room instead of on the play mat.  He rolls & scoots everywhere.  Yesterday, I went in to get him from his nap and he was sitting up, big surprise for me!!   He doesn't have a favorite toy, he loves them all.  He does sleep with a blanket close to his face for comfort. 
Below is a list of things he is doing now.

• Chewing and biting on things
• Rolls all over the place
• Grasps and controls small objects
• Holds bottle
• Grabs feet and pulls to mouth
• Adjusts body to see an object
• Turns head from side to side and then looks up or down
• Loves visual stimuli
• Says one syllable sounds like "ma", "mu", "da", and "di"
• Recognizes us & his siblings
• Sits without support, leans forward on both hands
• Can sit up from laying position
• Bears full weight on feet
• Bounces when held in standing position and in his bouncer
• Bears weight on one hand when lying on stomach
• Passes objects from one hand to another
• Bangs objects on surfaces
• Able to fixate on small objects
• Responds to his name
• Has taste preferences (hates sweet peas)
• "Talks" when others are talking

He is just growing too fast so I'm cherishing all these little baby moments as much as possible because he is our LAST baby! 

Teacher Appreciaton Gifts

I have a small little break and wanted to show you guys what I (well kids helped too) made for my kid's teacher appreciation gifts.  I got the idea from Jen over at CraftOManiac.  They are treat jars that the teachers can put on their desk.  When a student is good, they can come up to the treat jar and get their treat whether it be candy, ears, pencils, etc

I am NO crafter by any means and used supplies that was in the craft section at Walmart..

Here is how mine turned out. 

 

Treats to put in the jars

The finished product!!

THANKS JEN FOR THE IDEA!!!

Snow Day

It started snowing last night so the kids had a Snow Day today. Here is video of them when they first went out in it.

Update on Family &The Visit to see Santa

Hi everyone, I'm still here just took a break for a bit..  We laid my uncle to rest on Dec. 15.  His son did get married yesterday, it was a beautiful ceremony but bittersweet since it was exactly a week that my uncle had died.  There was a little drama but it was under control...mainly between my cousin (the one getting married), my dad & aunts.  I wish my cousin & his new wife a long, happy, healthy marriage.

Back to Santa!!!!

We took the kids to see Santa Saturday night in a cove in our neighborhood.  Just about every house in the cove is lit up and Santa is directly in the middle. 

Evan waiting to see Santa

Avery telling Santa what she wants for Christmas

Evan not really sure what to think....

Owen & Santa having a conversation about Legos and the biggest one they have seen...Owen's was the Empire State Building in the Toys R Us Time Square that was 8 feet tall.

Fall Pictures

Before Thanksgiving, my sister took some pictures of my kidos on some property behind her...old barn/house.

Here is how they turned out......

click to see bigger

Christmas Tree Decorating

Sunday, we put up our Christmas trees.  We have a Santa tree in our den which is where Santa leaves all his wonderful gifts.  In our living room, we have our family tree which is where mom & dad and any other relatives from out of state leave gifts.  

For the Santa tree, we decorated Sunday and I didn't take pictures (shame on me) of the kids decorating it.  Evan actually took this picture.  (looks like someone will be getting a toddler digital camera for Christmas)

For our family tree, Owen & I had a system down on putting up the tree.  He spread out the limbs and I put them on the tree...it worked out great!!  The Hubs always adds the lights and we had to wait on him to put those on and by the time he did add the lights, we were all beat and left the decorating for last night.

Owen using the stool to add an ornament at the top of the tree.

Avery & Evan putting their mark on the bottom of the tree.  

Evan was placing the ornaments too low as you will see in the last few photos.

This is Evan's first time decorating the tree.  He had such a great time doing it.  I believe it made him feel like a BIG BOY.  Although, we had a few, very low ornaments on the bottom of the tree.

Avery & Evan showing the candied, gingerbread ornaments.

Owen doesn't look like he's sure where he put an ornament while Evan & Avery find a place for theirs.

 Avery finding some icicles to add to the tree.

Still smiling after all that decorating except Evan who looks unsure..lol.

Our family Christmas tree

We did make our own Christmas ornaments back in 2007.
Can you see Evan's hand & foot, he was only 3 mos old at the time.

Crazy Hair & 80s Dress Up Day

This week, my kidos are celebrating 'Red Ribbon Week' (Say No To Drugs week).  They get to wear wacky clothes, dress up & show school spirit each day of the week.

Yesterday, Owen had to wear red while Avery had to show school spirit so she wore her school t-shirt.

Today, Owen had to either wear a crazy hat or have crazy hair.   Avery had to dress up for the 80's.

Check them out.......

 

Saturday Humor: Mother Taught Me

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE -
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me RELIGION -
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL -
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC -
"Because I said so, that's why."

My Mother taught me more LOGIC -
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT -
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY -
"Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS -
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONIST -
"Will you "look" at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA -
"You'll sit there 'till all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER -
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS -
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen THEN?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY -
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times - Don't Exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE -
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION -
"Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY -
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"

My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION -
"Just wait until we get home."

My Mother taught me about RECEIVING -
"You are going to get it when we get home!"

My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE -
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD -
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."

My Mother taught me ESP -
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR -
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT -
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My Mother taught me about GENETICS -
"You're just like your father."

My Mother taught me about my ROOTS -
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE -
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."

And my all time favorite... JUSTICE -
"One day you'll have kids ... and I hope they turn out just like you!"
Source

Wordless Wednesday - Owen's Artwork

Today, Owen came home and showed me his artwork he did at school.
His theme was Gardening!

He did an OUTSTANDING job!

Little Man turns 3 today!

Today is my lil man's birthday.  Evan is 3 today...well at 5:09pm anyway.  He weighed 8lbs 6oz and 20 in long.  He was a big baby for me to deliver for my small frame.  He had shoulder dysplasia where the shoulders get stuck in the birth canal.  (sorry TMI) Not FUN, good thing I had an epidural.

Children grow up so fast.

Evan, 24 hours old w/ dad

Evan today @ 3 years old

We are having a birthday party tomorrow for him.  The theme is Handy Manny.  My sister is making the cake.  It's the Handy Manny tool box. (see cake below) The actual toolbox is one of his presents..sis needed the tools for the cake.  We are also having a SpongeBob moon bounce (I know not the theme) for the all the kidos to have fun.  The tribe will more than likely show up (tribe = neighborhood kids total of 10). His party will be at 2pm. The Hubs is grilling hot dogs for everyone if they become hungry and we have Capri Sun Waters too.  I think it will be a fun birthday party for my lil man.  

The cake my sis is making for Evan

I'll post pictures from the party Monday.

SURPRISE!!

Hello everyone!

I have a surprise to share.  

It was a surprise to us as well.  

We were totally NOT expecting this one. 

We are having baby #4

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See for yourself....

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Meet my new, lil munchkin due March 8, 2011

Wild right.  I went for my first OB appointment today.  Everything went smoothly & lil munchkin is growing & thriving.  We had a vaginal ultrasound as well. When I arrived at the ultrasound, the tech started measuring my lil munchkin. She was amazed and said I was a few in a million that the last menstrual period due date matches perfectly to the day on the measurements of the ultrasound. My due date will not change.  It is staying at 3.8.11.

The lil munchkin was very active at that tiny stage.  He/she was moving all over.  Heartbeat (HB) was fabulous at 169.  Everything is perfectly growing as should be.

I am having mild to severe nausea which is causing issues with me designing.  For some odd reason, the computer makes me sick. I am taking a break right now from designing on Leelou Blogs.  Hopefully, if the nausea passes, I will definitely be back designing.   My doctor prescribed me some Zofran, so I will see how that goes.   Hope everyone likes my surprise!

Swim Time in the Nile River

Thursday, my sister & I took the kids to the zoo to play in the Nile River in the front entrance of the zoo and another geyser type fountain *no pics of fountain-camera went dead*.   Few years back, you were not able to do this.  I was not prepared for the kids to wade in the water.  I had no clue that we could swim/wade in the water.  My sister failed to tell me that the kids could swim/wade in the water before our outing.    From the looks of the pictures below, we will be going quite often to play in the water and next time with swimsuits.  The zoo membership will get good use this summer :)
 

Here is everyone in our zoo trip crew ;)

click image to view bigger

MIA.....

Hi everyone,  I have been MIA since I have been back from vacation.  It's hard to keep up with my blog when all my kidos are home wanting me to swim & play with them for hours at a time.   Since summer is here, I will not be posting as much so I can spend quality time with the kidos.  I will try to post pictures of my trip soon.  I am still going through them all (300+ pictures...lol)

Until then, miss & love all you guys!
 XOXO

Summer Fun is here!

This past week, I went and bought the kids a pool and we The Hubs set it up on Saturday.  My kids and my neighbors kids were having some summer fun as we were filling up the pool.  Take at look at the pictures I took of them.

Summer is approaching due the HOT weather we had this weekend, in the mid 90s!

The Hubs attaching the pump hoses (Sweet Pea & O-man in pool)

Silly Bandz

What are Silly Bandz?

The hottest new fashion accessory - Silly Bandz are silicone rubber band bracelets that come in various shapes including basic, zoo animal, pet animal, dinosaur, sea creature, holiday, alphabet, princess, western and (seasonally) swim suit. These rubber bands return to their original shape when you take them off your wrist (or item their holding). Each pack of silly bands contains 24 pieces in 4/6 different styles. These silly rubber band bracelets are fun for all ages!  Collect them, Wear them or Trade with friends!

Right now, there is a fad in our school system as we speak and they are called Silly Bandz, Crazy Bandz, Wacky Bandz, and the list goes on.   One day, I was picking up my son & my friend's kids from school.  My friend's son had this rubber band that was in a shape.  I asked him what it was and he was like this is a Silly Band and everyone has them.  Owen was like, 'Yeah, everyone on the bus has these!'  The kids said you can get them at Walgreens so the next day we go to Walgreens and they are SOLD OUT! They said they can't keep them in stock.  A few hours later, my friend & I go to our local flea market and low & behold, there is a lady selling Silly Bandz for $5.00 for 24 pack.  I didn't buy any right then because I don't know what Owen would like.  They had so many to choose from.  I go home and tell Owen and we go back the next day to let him buy him some Silly Bandz.  He had $10 so he got two packs. He has already traded his for others.

Now he wants MORE!!!!  My sister had her son's birthday party this past Saturday and she found the Silly Bandz at a sporting goods store.  She put these bandz in a plastic egg and handed them out as party favors.  Owen & Avery were THRILLED!  Of course, Owen wants to go to this store which is a couple towns over but it only takes 15-20 minutes to get there.  He wants to go tomorrow but I decided I was gonna go on the internet and search for these bandz and buy them for him.  I bought a ton of them well almost all.  Thank goodness for those custom twitter backgrounds I make for one client that I was able to pay for these and plus we owe Owen $35 for his report card.  He gets $5 per A.

Here are all the websites I found on Silly Bandz, Crazy Bandz, etc.
The Original Crazy Bandz
Silly Bandz
Wacky Shapes
Bama Bandz (Love this website, pretty cute set-up)'

These bandz are such a hit, they did a piece on Birmingham, AL news, check it out


Does any of your school kids have these, Silly Bandz?

Bowling Time

As you know it was spring break for my kids last week and we took them to the zoo & bowling.  My hubby and I decided that it would be best if I and the little small fry stayed home from bowling.  Reason being is because my small fry is very mischievous and will run and run so I didn't want to be running all over the bowling alley chasing him or him being stuck in a stroller the whole time.  When we were at the zoo, we tested small fry out and he did good until the end.  He did run off and out the doors at the zoo.  He did have to be strapped into the stroller at least twice during the 3 hours.  You can check out the zoo pictures in the post below.

Here are the pictures Mel took of the bowling trip.

Zoo Time

Our spring break has been good and bad. The first part of the week (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday) were gloomy & chilly so we all stayed indoors. We did venture out to Walmart to get the kids a little something. We also went to lunch Monday & Wednesday so not so bad but we wanted to do more.

Yesterday (Thursday) was a beautiful spring day with sunshine and a temperature of 65 degrees...just perfect for spring break. We decided it was the day to visit the Memphis Zoo. As we were arriving, I was just a little shocked to see how many people thought that day was the perfect day too. We spent 3 hours in the zoo and boy, we were tired. We aren't usually that tired when we finish the zoo but I think it has to do with all the people there and dodging them..LOL!

Here are my pictures from our trip to the zoo.

Beginning of Spring Break

Today is the start of my kiddos school spring break and it's cloudy, wet and chilly outside, so looks like they are staying inside.   As of now, here are my plans, hopefully it all will be uneventful.

Monday & Tuesday, I am watching my 16 month old niece, so not much going on those days but playing inside & outside if the weather permits. 

Wednesday & Thursday, Mel is taking off work so we all can go bowling at the new bowling alley here in town called Strike Zone. (kids got free game passes from school). We've been several times and it's so much fun.  We also decided to go to the Memphis Zoo since we have a membership only if the weather permits.  Lets hope it doesn't rain so we can go to the zoo.

Why just the left knee??

I have come to realize that my sweet pea is only crawling on her left leg in her kindergarten class.  Back in October, I bought all new jeans for her.  Here it is now at the end of February and all her jeans has a hole in them on her left knee.  The right knee of the jeans are in perfect shape.  I am trying to figure this one out because when I was a kid, I had both knee holes in my pair of jeans and it wasn't ALL my jeans.  This girl must play HARD at school on JUST  her left knee.  I am baffled.  I believe she has about 7 pairs of jeans and only 2 do not have holes but 1 is on the way by the looks of it.  Maybe I just bought cheap jeans but they are the brand  Lei which are a little higher than Faded Glory at Wally World.  The ones that don't have holes in them yet are the  Faded Glory...seems the cheaper brand is the BEST in my eyes.

Does anyone else have this problem with their kids jeans?