Kid updates

 I have a few cute videos to post too, but those will have to come later.

Alex continues to grow and learn more every day.   He talks NON-STOP and has a few favorite phrases: one of the cutest is when he says "thank you" sometimes to he says  "thank you, that's so nice of you."  Probably because we say that to him when he treats Mary nicely and shares with her.  He also went through a phase where he said "no thank you" to everything instead of just a simple "no".  So funny.  The other day I came into the kitchen wearing pjs with hearts on them, and he pointed and exclaimed, "Hearts! Joy Joy Hearts!" most likely from that song that goes "I've got the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart..." which he hasn't heard for probably more than 6 months.    It's awesome to see the connections he makes.

Even though we think he is the cutest little guy ever, life with him has been very trying lately and he gets put in "time out" several times a day for not listening.   I don't think we are consistent with it enough though, and consistency is key for breaking bad behavior.  And the incessant whining, ugh.  Lots of good opportunities to practice patience!

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Mary is such a delight!  No clear words yet, although I think she is on the verge of saying ball, balloon and Jesus.  Alex didn't say much of anything until 16 months, so she is already ahead of him.   She LOVES to wave and clap,  and will point to objects that we ask her to.  And boy can this girl eat. And eat. And eat.  We have a hard time finding enough food for her at each meal because she never seem full.  We haven't found anything she won't eat yet.  A stark contrast from my picky little boy who still hardly eats much of anything. 
 

The biggest news is that she is now sleeping in her crib, and sleeping through the night most nights (if she does wake up it is just once and usually around midnight).  A few months before we moved we were really struggling, with her still waking up every 2-3 hours.  She was sleeping in the swing in our room (we moved her out of our bed after she fell off one morning when Alex got up and I didn't hear her stir), and one night after getting up probably 6 times, I just had it, and went to sleep on the closet floor.   The next morning I discovered that she had actually slept for a decent chunk of time after I went into the closet.  I realized that being in same room with me upset her because she wanted to be in the bed with us (I would take her to the bed to nurse her when she woke up, and then put her back in the swing).  So for the last month before our move, Alex and I slept on a air mattress on the living room floor and enjoyed some better sleep!  When we got here, I still kept her in the swing, as I didn't know what the best transition plan should be.  Should we start with naps, or go cold turkey and put her in the crib every time we put her down?  After a few naps with no issues, we tried at night, and she didn't cry AT ALL!  Should have done this a LONG time ago!  I had so much anxiety about  having to listen to her cry for hours and that hasn't happened once.  We are so blessed!

Easter 2012

Easter kind of snuck up on me this year.  We decided to dye eggs at the last minute, and just got a cheap  "Cars" set. 

Easter egg hunt in our new backyard!

Easter morning was kind of crazy, because we had to be at my aunt and uncles house for dinner at noon.  We went to Mass at 7 am, came home and ate breakfast, gave little Alex his Easter basket (Mary took a nap right after breakfast, so she got her basket later) and started preparing the food to bring. 

Alex's basket: An Easter book, a cars book, "The Easter Story" dvd, a "Cars" movie car (Alex actually found a pope one, a car with a mitre on top!  They also have a popemobile one- so funny!), a water gun, a chocolate cross, and candy.

Mary's basket: An Easter board book, Barnyard Dance book, some bibs, a cute bunny water bottle, a chocolate cross and candy. 

Because we were so rushed, these are the only pics I got of the kids in their new clothes.  I plan on getting some better pics when they wear these clothes to Mass sometime soon. 

Have a wonderful Easter season!!

1st snow!

Catching Up

I haven't posted nearly as much as I have wanted to with all the stuff that is going on, but its been a bit more hectic than usual!  We move up to Denver in early March.  My parents flew down, we rented a big Uhaul, packed up, and left around 3:30 that afternoon.  My parents drove the Uhaul (towing our car behind it) and we drove the van with the kiddos.  It went as well as could be expected, although it rained while we were moving stuff into the truck, and probably 90% of the time we were driving.  It took us three days of driving since we got such a late start the first day, and the kids were thrilled when we were finally here.  As soon as we arrived, a lot of my family came over to help unload, and we were done in no time at all.    I am terrible, and didn't get ANY pictures of the big trip.  I think I had the camera in my tavel bag, but I guess I never remembered to take it out.  We are done unpacking now, and are trying to figure out how we want things arranged and such.  I am going to go around and take more pics of the new house, but I posted a few that I had on the camera.

Once we arranged the living room furniture, the wall in the pic below was pretty bare, so I found this big entertainment center on Craigslist, and it looks great in the room.  Now we can even display some of our pretty dishes that have been packed in boxes for years. 

 

  I love the fireplace, and will be great for cold winter nights.

This is the backyard.  There was a hot tub on the patio, but we sold it on Craigslist shortly after we moved in.  Too much maintenance, and we want more room for the kids to play and to put a grill and some other things.  We did use it once, though, and it was very relaxing!

This is the area that is going to be my garden.  It's too small right now, so I am going to arrange all those bricks in a larger, more rectangular shape.  Can't wait to plant lots of yummy veggies.  I also ordered a blueberry plant online.   Not sure how long it will survive here in Colorado, or if it will produce anything, but I am going to give it a shot!

This will be the place where we will eventually put a play set for the kids.

Our first big project for the backyard is the removal of all the ugly bushes and rocks (see pic above) so we can put in more grass. My parents came over last weekend and we cut down and dug up the roots for all the bushes.  It really opens things up with them gone. 

And miss Mary is going to help us move rocks, one by one, with her little bucket.

So excited about our new house, and can't wait to make lots of wonderful memories here with my sweet family!!