First Day of Preschool!

I can not believe it. I sent my first child ever off to preschool today. Wow how he has grown. My girls never cared about going to preschool but JT sure has. It was so hard to let go. I stay home so I can take care of my kids but JT is different, he is a little man, he is very independent. He has been begging to go to preschool for months now ever since he visited my mom, Grandma, at the day care center where she works, and even more so since his older sisters started school. So we caved in and found a twice a week Mother's Day out program. He did awesome today, he sat down and was like you guys can leave now. He started an activity and didn't even look back. It was I that needed the consoling. I cried like a baby in the car and all the way home. But I came to realize that God knows how important this little guy is to me and that he would be ok. He wouldn't have asked to go if it didn't mean a lot to him. I am so glad I let him go. He came home so excited and couldn't stop talking about his friends and teacher and the stuff he got to do. I hope this continues to be a good experience for him. I have to admit as much as I missed him it was kind of nice having it quiet at home for a little while and getting just some one and one time with Bryce.

Sitting Up

My little blue eyed cutie is on his way, he is practically sitting up on his own. He likes to roll around a lot so no more setting him on furniture. And he is teething, hence the drool soaked shirt.

First Day of School

This week was my girls first week of school. It was so sad to see them both off at once but we are so excited to see them growing up. It was Elizabeth's first day of Kindergarten and Nichole's first day of second grade. Wow, how fast they grow, seems like just yesterday I was holding them in my arms looking into their beautiful little baby faces. Now Nichole is very independent and so self sufficient, so smart and turning into the most beautiful young lady. And Elizabeth is blossoming into such a beautiful little girl, she is the most loving and caring child I have ever known. I can only wish them the best of years through school, I always loved school and I hope they will too.

The Big Texan

On the last leg of our trip as we headed into Texas we stopped at a Texas landmark in Amarillo, The Big Texan, home of the 72 ounce steak. It is a kitchy little restaurant where if you eat a 72 ounce steak dinner you get it for free. Many have tried and most have failed. It was good food, and the kids loved the atmosphere. It was a nice ending to a great vacation.

Disneyland

The highlight of our trip and the whole reason we came was for Disneyland! No matter how old I get I think I will always be a kid at heart because I probably more than anyone in my family, including my kids, gets so excited when I come to Disneyland. The best part about this trip was that it was also our Daughter Nichole's 7Th birthday. We kept the trip to Disneyland a secret to the kids not letting them know were going there. When we got to that hotel in Anaheim earlier in the week we had to told the kids that we weren't doing Disneyland this time and were going to do something special for Nichole's birthday. They were so surprised and excited to find out that we were going for Nichole's birthday. She got in free that day being that it was her birthday and they gave her a special birthday button and everyone that worked at the park that saw her would come up and wish her a happy birthday, it was so cute and you could tell she really felt special. The best part was my parents and sister and brother flew out to celebrate with us and help out with the kids, and to top it all off two of my uncles and two cousins came that day as well.

It was such a blast we had a big group of family members, something the kids don't really get to experience living in Texas away from the rest of my family. They loved all the attention and my aunt Hope, one of the greatest women I have ever met just showered the kids with attention and gifts! She was so great, in fact all my family was so awesome that day. We never would have had such a wonderful time. Everyone helped with the baby and my kids, and I got to catch up with my cousins. I will never forget this day and neither will the kids! We got to go on so many rides and the baby just loved it, he went on a ton and never got upset once. Probably one of the cutest things from that day was a dance party parade we saw. I watched as my little girl Elizabeth was so happy and as Mickey shaped confetti flew through the air she ran around catching it and stuffing it in her pocket as if wanting to hold onto that moment forever. It made my heart swell I was so happy, thanks to my husband for doing this for us!

Lego Land and the Beach

Our first full day in California we took the kids to Lego Land. I have to say it wasn't my most favorite nor do I think we would ever go back but the kids seemed to have fun and that is what counts. It was hot that day and we had been driving for the past do days prior and it was the first time taking the baby to a park like that with no help. All that combined made it a bit of a difficult day. The next day however was a blast! We took the kids to the beach, the first time where all but the baby were aware of where they were at.

We had so much fun. Russ and I enjoyed just being near the water. I so miss the beach, although bringing a baby is not something I recommend. It was such a hassle getting the kids with a baby in tow as well as an umbrella, a cooler chest, a diaper bag, a bag of clothes to change, a bag of food, a bag for the babies bottles, a tent for the baby, and two bags of sand toys from the car all the way to the water. I felt like I was going to loose an arm trying to help tow all these things with Russ through the sand. And of course its the beach and there's sand everywhere. the poor baby was not liking the beach, he had sand in his hair, and his eyes, no matter how hard I tried sand kept getting in his little tent. He finally just fell asleep. We were also so worried about making sure the kids had sunscreen we kind of forgot about ourselves, my back and face and scalp were burned and poor Russ. The front of his legs and face were like a lobster. No matter what though we thoroughly enjoyed it. The girls loved it there and we couldn't keep them out of the water. And JT preferred the sand and getting the sand all over the towels.

Our little Elizabeth is such a ham. Every time I tried to take a picture she would make a weird face or pose it was so funny, the most hilarious thing though was she developed this weird habit at the beach of spitting or something. After a while she had developed this beard and mustache of froth that hung off her chin and came out her nose. It was the weirdest thing, but so darn funny Russ and I could not stop laughing.

Summer Vacation

Well we finally made it to our summer vacation! We waited until right before school started to take the kids on a vacation. I completely believe in always taking a vacation each year with the kids as long as we're able to because I know these are memories that will last a life time. We only get one chance with our kids and each day that goes by they are growing and I want to make as many memories with them as I can. I love to see them happy. Not to mention the fact that each year Russ and I can use the break in our everyday life to do something out of the ordinary for us. Anyone with kids, especially four can agree that a vacation isn't really a vacation for the parents when there are kids in tow because there is still much work to be done with four little ones but it is fun to do things that make your kids smile.

This year we decided to take a trip to California again which has seemed to be a bit of a tradition we have done it three times now since having kids. It just seemed like the logical thing to do, since Disney World was out of the question with a new baby and the humid hot weather so we took to the west coast to tackle some smaller amusement parks like Lego Land and Disneyland. We took a road trip since we are such a large family now, flying costs way too much with this many people.

Our first stop after a 14 hour drive was Tucson, AZ. We only stayed here overnight to take a break before we got into California. We left at 3 am so we were able to get there by 5 pm. I have to hand it to my kids. They were such troopers for being confined in a car for that long, with only TV to occupy their time. And the baby was fantastic he was so good. The next morning we headed out at about 7 am and got into San Diego by the afternoon.

We checked into the hotel and decided that we definitely had to take the kids to do something. Four little ones in a car for two days equals a heck of allot of pent up energy. JT was so hyper he was running in circles around the hotel room. So we headed off to the Aquarium at Lego Land. It was small but very well done and so cute the kids just loved it and they had a few things they could play in and they even got to touch sea anemones and star fish.

Teeth

His tooth is gone! We finally had to have it pulled. Jt had to have his tooth removed after his body finally rejected the knocked out of place tooth. His sister, the one who hit him with the swing, felt so bad. Poor thing. I was more traumatized than anyone I think. With four kids this was our first major medical event, thank goodness but still all the more stressful. He was given what is called a Ketamine shot and I wasn't allowed in the room during the procedure. They had JT sit on my lap and they told them that they had seen some mosquito's in the room and they were biting people and then they gave him the shot when he wasn't looking. He got so mad and then within 2 minutes his eyes glazed over and he went limp. I laid him down and left the room, crying of course. But no sooner had I sat down and started saying a rosary then it was over before I even got to the final prayer. Thank goodness for the rosary, it always eases my mind. He did awesome, he is missing his front tooth and he will get the fake one put in before the end of the month. I have to admit he looks even more cute without his tooth. The drug wore off pretty quickly. He did make me laugh in the car on the way home though as he was still doped up and was making his stuffed animal talk to me in funny voices. The bright side to all of this of course was the prospect of the tooth fairy. He was very excited about the tooth fairy, and we assured him that little boys that have healthy teeth pulled not only get money but presents. He was so happy about that telling us that the tooth fairy was pretty. But we were not allowed to leave his tooth in his room because he was afraid of the tooth fairy. He made us leave it on the kitchen table and the next morning he discovered $1 and a Mickey Mouse bubble set, and some new cars.

Fourth of July Cuties

Just wanted to post some pictures from the 4th of July weekend of my little cutie pies!
All four of them decked out in their "Red, White and Blue"

Cute Brothers!

Bryce in his cute hat

He has a giggle!

Bryce made his first giggle last night. I have been tickling him for a while now but he would just make a struggled gurgling noise. Last night he was laying on the carpet and I tickled him real good under the arms and he let out a loud high pitched stream of giggling. It was the greatest sound in the world. He is getting so big so quick. As I type he is in his exersaucer and he is actually spinning himself around. He is such a strong little boy. Now if we could just get him to channel that energy into rolling over, which he has showed no interest in what so ever.

Tooth Surgery

Well it is official my little guy, JT, has to have his front tooth pulled. After his older sister hit him in the mouth with the swing and pushed the tooth back we have been keeping an eye on it with bi-weekly visits to the dentist and the tooth has turned brown and will have to come out. I am so upset, one because he has to have the tooth removed and he isn't going to understand what is happening, two, because he has to have a shot that will basically paralyze him for 20 minutes so that they can do the procedure and, three, for the close to $1000 bill we have for getting the tooth out and having a fake tooth made to put in its place, yay! I am such a freak about anesthesia, it just freaks me out, I don't like the thought of it, I had my wisdom teeth pulled with just a local because I refused to be put to sleep and I refused to have my tonsils out for the same reason when I was told I needed them removed. I just love my little boy so much and it scares me to think something might happen. I started crying in the dentist office when they handed me the waiver for the anesthesia. I will have trust in God though because we have no other choice. And we plan to thoroughly spoil him this weekend after he gets it done.

Priceless

Bryce has started smiling so much lately and the best thing is every morning right when I lay him down to change his diaper I smile at him and say good morning and he now smiles back every time. The other day I was finally able to catch Bryce in a smile. It is not his best but we got it on record and that is all that matters!

Russ 32nd Birthday!

On June 1st Russ turned 32! It was a pretty quiet celebration being that we have four kids we don't get to get out much in fact we have yet to have any time to ourselves since having Bryce. All in all though I think we celebrated well for Russ. We had his parents over the weekend before his birthday and his dad and he went to the driving range and then came home to a meal he had requested of Mexican food. I made him tacos, homemade guacamole and chicken enchiladas with beans and my spanish rice. It was quite a feast for just the few of us but I think he enjoyed it and I know I enjoyed making it for him. It was one of only a few truly homemade meals I have been able to make since having Bryce. The little guy is so demanding that most dinners consist of whatever can be thrown in the oven and served fairly quickly. So it was nice to have my mother-in-law over to hold Bryce while I cooked. Then on the day of his birthday we had his favorite hamburgers from Mooyah's! and a little cake. One of my most favorite gifts the kids had given him was from our daughter Nichole. When I asked her what she wanted to give Russ for his birthday she said a bouquet of flowers, to which I explained that boys don't really enjoy flowers like girls do, so she said lets give him a bouquet of candy. Now this was a great idea I could work with, and I knew it would be a gift Russ would enjoy because he loves candy. So we bought all kinds of candy and a little balloon and a few other supplies and made the most adorable candy bouquet!I think no matter how much we age our children always make a birthday worth wile. The kids get such a kick out of birthdays even if we tend to dread that one year older.

Summer has begun!

The other weekend I decided to fill up some water balloons for the kids. This was the first time they had experienced the fun of water balloons and I thought this picture of Elizabeth said it all. They had such a blast! Although it took me almost an hour turning on then turning off the outside hose to just fill up thirty balloons, enough for each of the kids to have 10, only to have them popped in under 5 minutes and being left with "Aww mommy we want more!"

My kids are normal!

The other day the kids were outside playing in the backyard on the swing set. The weather has gotten nicer so they have been playing outside more. Like any kid they decided it was funner to play on the swings rather then swing on them. I was sitting inside feeding the baby watching through the window when I saw Nichole swinging the hard plastic swing at JT he was laughing but I was thinking to myself, "please be careful." Sure enough just like I had been afraid of JT put his hands down instead of catching the swing and it hit him smack in the face. He came running in to me and I could see blood on his front teeth when I had him open his mouth I was terrified his front tooth was pushed back. It didn't move but it looked awkward and out of place like it is sitting back from the rest of the teeth. It was already late in the evening and so I called the dentist but he never called back, who knows in my panic I may have never even left a message. Anyway I called the next morning and they got him in. They took x-rays and showed the tooth has been knocked out of place. The dentist said there is really nothing to do right now but keep an eye on it. The good thing is he is young and the tongue might push it back into place, and since it isn't affecting his bite then it isn't really a problem. All we have to do is keep an eye on it to see if it starts to change color which in that case it may need to come out. My poor little JT, and Nichole, she felt so awful for letting that happen. Hopefully she'll never do that again and hopefully JT's tooth can stay put. It was funny though because the dentist asked JT if he got hit with the swing and I commented that his sister swung the swing at his face and he said back with a smile "oh, your kids are normal then?" I guess they are!

Main Street Days

Last Friday we took the kids to Main Street Days in Grapevine, TX. It's just a little festival they put on in downtown on Main Street. There's vendors selling food and various items as well as a carnival and little shows. Last year we went and we remembered really enjoying it. This was our first big outing besides the mall with the baby. Well big mistake, we weren't quite ready for it. It was in the 90's that day but ridiculously humid. The sun was beating down on us and that was at 6 pm. The kids were fussy and the place was packed. I had some bottles for the baby but I am still nursing. Bryce decided he did not want a bottle at all, I tried my best to give him one but he refused, and if anyone has ever nursed a baby then you know that in 90 degree humid weather it is just not possible to cover a baby in a blanket and try to nurse. I tried over and over again to nurse as well but I was literally smothering the poor thing in the heat. So poor Bryce proceeded to cry and fuss the last hour we were there. We had a bunch of tickets so we decided to take the kids and let them go to the carnival. JT loves rides but was only able to go on a small train ride that they even said he was too small for but we coaxed them into letting him on and the long slide with me as well as the merry go round. We had enough left for each of the girls to choose a ride and so we proceeded to let them go on one. When JT realized he was not able to go on the last ride he decided he was going to have a melt down in front of everyone, and mind you I'm holding Bryce who by now is screaming, but were waiting for them to start the ride for Elizabeth. JT flipped out he was banging on the gate around the ride we tried everything to calm him, he threw himself down on the ground so there he is kicking and screaming hysterically on the pavement his face painting is smearing all over. We couldn't get him to stand up so we had to drag him to the grass so he wouldn't hurt himself. So there he lay rolling around on the filthy grass amongst cigarette butts and Russ and I were helpless. People were staring, we were mortified, we finally managed to get him in the stroller and buckle him in, where he continued to throw himself around. We have never seen him behave so horribly. But things have been tough on us. And we had to sit there amongst everyone because our girls were on a ride while this was taking place, and there were no restrooms just port-o-potties. And our car was parked streets away. I now understand all those parents I criticized before. I used to think there was something wrong with their parenting when I would see a child throwing a major tantrum, but we try our best. Russ and I do everything we can to discipline properly and to not allow the kids to get out of control but you can only do all you can and hope for the best. Throw in a new baby, multiple children and the terrible 2's and there is bound to moments of insanity.

Dance time

Recitals are almost here. My girls are so beautiful. I was a dancer myself for 9 years doing tap, jazz and ballet and I'm so excited to see my girls following in my footsteps. Yesterday was recital pictures at their dance studio so we had to get them all dolled up. They then did a little run through of their dances. Elizabeth is performing just one dance for tap and Nichole is doing both a tap and ballet number. Her other costume is so pretty, it's a brown and turquoise tutu. And Elizabeth is awesome she performs with such attitude, she really gets into it. One of the moms even came up to me after they did their little dance and said she thought Elizabeth was the best. I love these beautiful little girls!

My Birthday!

On Tuesday May 12th I celebrated my 29th birthday! Nothing too special just a nice evening with my husband and kids. We sat down and had dinner together and then enjoyed cake and gifts.


My Hubby brought me home roses and the most amazing cake, it's from a place called "Nothing Bundt Cakes" and they are to die for. They are so delicious, and come in different flavors with the most incredible homemade cream cheese frosting and they decorate them so cute. Being that I am a dessert fanatic this was the most awesome gift. It was a decadent white chocolate raspberry cake and he picked out the cutest decoration.


My girls did awesome with my gifts as well, Russ let them pick out some cute little jewelry because I like just cheap bracelets and earrings and it was hilarious because he said he let them do it all themselves. So it was very obvious I got a taste of what it was like to be 5 and 6 again. They had picked out all kinds of 1980's era sparkly bright pink bracelets and earrings. I was even given a pair of purple glitter sunglasses, something out of the golden girls. It was hilarious but oh so adorable, I just asked Russ that maybe next time he should insist mommy likes more of the black, silver, or gold jewelry.

And of course my husband is the sweetest gift giver. He surprised me with a beautiful citrine princess cut ring surrounded in champagne and white diamonds. Man I'm so lucky to have these beautiful and loving kids and such a giving husband in my life.

Our "Little Catholic"

On Saturday May 10th we baptized our precious little Bryce! This was such a wonderful and celebratory day as we not only celebrated the baptism of our son but also Mother's Day, my brother Thomas' 23rd birthday as well as an early birthday for me. My mother-in-law was able to schedule a private baptism for us which was so wonderful. All of the kids were on the best behavior which really surprised me, not that they are bad kids, it's just that they are seldom so quiet and reserved. I was sitting in the front and it dawned on me that I hadn't asked anyone to look after the kids and it was so quiet, I turned around and saw everyone including little mischief maker, JT, sitting very quiet and paying attention, thanks kiddos! It was such a beautiful experience and it was made all the more special by the fact that we had the same priest, Father Henry, whom married Russell and I and has baptized all our children officiate the occasion. Father Henry has been a big part of our life from marrying us to baptizing our children. I would even contribute our good fortune of being able to have the family we have somewhat to him. When we got married Father Henry laid his had on my stomach and blessed me saying, "may you have many children." I was told once when I was a teen that I may never have the capabilities to carry a child, but I have proven that wrong and have had four very beautiful and healthy children. Russ, brother Jeff and his wife Lesley are the Godparents to Bryce as well as all of our children. We picked them because they are good Catholics and the most loving people. They would make the most wonderful parents and we know that they would always treat our children as their own. It was just such a wonderful day and we are so proud of our little boy and can only hope and pray that we along with our faith will steer him in the right direction in his life, to know that we along with God will always stand by him and will love him eternally.