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Friday, April 27, 2012

Busy Mom OR Bad Blogger?

...I suppose its a lot of both!!!

I always thought one baby was a whole lot of work, until I had 3!  Seems like I have less and less time for anything other then the kids (which is definitely NOT a bad thing).  I seem to hope and pray every day that we will win the lottery so I can be a stay-at-home Mommy, but luck hasn't been on our side...YET!  I really couldn't ask for a better work schedule since I HAVE to work.  Diapers aren't cheap these days, especially for 3 (Yes, you guessed it, no luck with potty training Blaze yet).  Being able to work three 12 hour shifts each week at least gives me the remainder of the week with the kids.  My job is really great about working with my days to accommodate us for decreasing our cost for child care.

We got away to San Diego this month.  It was our first family vacation since coming home from India.  It was SO much fun.  6 hour drive (well 8 hours with a few stops for diaper changes) from Arizona to Carlsbad, California and the kids did amazing!  We spent a full day at Sea World and then braved the following day at the world famous San Diego Zoo.  Two full days at the parks and the kids were passed out cold on the way back to our little condo on the beach.  It was the first time all the kids got to see and experience the West coast beach and ocean and Blaze loved "Cal-i-fonia".

All bundled up and ready to hit the road.
Love the Beach!
Ready to go to our room
Enjoying the condo
The Pacific Ocean
A ride up, up high.
Love the ZOO
A little chilly but SO much fun!
Ready to hit the park!
Watching the shows

Sea World
All tuckered out after a LONG day at the park.
We still have the same live-out Nanny since Blaze was 2 months and she is absolutely amazing!  The kids love her and she loves them just the same.  We feel SO blessed to have her.  I hear so many horror stories of day care and friends who go through sitter after sitter after sitter.  We really feel lucky to be able to have the kids in their own home.  It does have its down side with Blaze now almost 3, he has little social time with kids his age.  Doesn't seem to have slowed him down any though...he is smart as a whip and so sociable.  He talks up a storm.  People comment all the time how well he speaks, how clear it is and what a vocabulary he has.  We get such a kick out of him.  We certainly aren't experts of how smart your average 2 1/2 year old is, but others think he's pretty quick.  I can't even begin to list everything he knows and says, but here is just a few of the highlights.  He knows so many of his animals, and many in Spanish as well, even with a cute little proper accent.  He has such good manners, saying 'please', 'thank you' and 'excuse me; all the time,  I am such a proud Mommy.  He pretends to talk on the phone all the time and if we didn't know any better we'd think he was actually talking to someone on the other end with his, "Oh ya's!",  "Sure", and "Uh huh's".   When people ask, "How are you?"  He will say, "I'm fine", and "Blaze good".  Today when we went outside he said, "Ohhhh...nice sunny day!"  My Mom is hopefully coming for a visit in June and when I told him, he said, "Give Gramma lots and lots and lots of hugs and kisses.  Make her happy. "  He makes me smile at his kind heart.  One day I said, "Blaze did you just fart?"  And much to my surprise he said, "No Mommy my bum coughed."  I laughed at that one for quite a while.  It is such a fun age.  He brings so much joy to our lives.  He is still a skinny minny weighing only 27.2 lbs.  Thankfully its short season and we don't have to worry about putting a pair of 12mth shorts on him and worrying about them being floods.  We try to have 'Blaze Day's' twice a month.  Nanny comes over and watches the twins while Mommy, Daddy and Blaze spend the day together.  It makes him feel kinda special to have time with just us and him like we had before.  Today we went and played mini putt and last month we visited the local wave pool, $2.00 Movies, Wildlife Zoo, and indoor amusement park for little tykes.  We try to find something different and fun for us to do each time. 

Blaze and his buddy 'Byonk', (that's what he calls the Grinch???)


Hey I kinda like this thing~
Love you Sissy
At the Wave Pool
Just like 'Nois' (Nurse) Mommy
Hi Little Brother
'Hey that's my hair!'
He loves his brother and sister to pieces, always hugging and kissing them.  They can't get enough of him and watch and giggle at his every move and word. 

The twins turned 9 months (time sure flies) on the 18th of this month.  They love to be together and still share the same crib.  I tried to put a separator in the crib so they wouldn't wake each other, but they ended up just rolling right over it and sleeping right next to each other.  I still can't believe I am the mother of TWINS!!! 

Dylan is such a handful.  She has so much personality.  Still the Diva and demanding ALL the attention in the room.  She takes everything in, grabs everything within her grasp and uses her pointer finger to inspect every little detail.  Her hair is out of control long.  Still short in the back and long on top and the sides.  Gerry calls it the 'Liza Minnelli look'.  I need to teach Daddy how to do little girls hair cuz she definitely needs it put up out of her face.  She is still SO tiny, weighing in at just 13.4 lbs and still not fitting into some of her newborn bottoms.  They fall right off of her.  Most of her outfits are just 0-3 months still.  She loves to stand up and sits unassisted on her own.  She has been slow to enjoy food but has really come around in the last month or so and even bypasses her little brother some times.  She finally said 'Mama' about a month ago.  She has a high-pitched little girly voice and has the goofiest most cutest little grin.  Tomorrow is a big day for her as we are planning a trip to get her ears pierced.

Cutey Patutey

Good Morning All
Standing tall like a big girl
"I can lift my leg THIS high!"

 

Bed Head!!!
Just waking up.
Jett's hair is slowly coming in and he's getting little curls on the side, just like his big brother did.  He looks so much like Blaze did at his age.  People comment on his big beautiful brown eyes that just light up when he smiles.  He gives big open mouth smiles and low belly laughs.  He is such a happy boy and so laid back and chilled most all the time.  He is slightly bigger then his sister at 14.8 lbs.  Wearing 0-3 and some 3-6 months clothes.  He seems so much heavier after picking her up though.  He is a good eater and both of them just started on dissoluble finger foods.  He loves his bouncer and just like Blaze did he will bounce for hours squealing the whole time.  He certainly has found his voice and loves to hear himself chatter.  He screams so loud and Dylan has now started following suit.  It is funny to see them communicating in their own little twin way. 

First 2 teeth

Our Lil' Dude
Talented kid.
Making Feeding Me a Challenge for Mommy.
Sooooo Sweet!
Yummy Bananas

Least important updates on our family of 5 are obviously Mommy and Daddy...LOL!  We are both doing well.  Gerry's torn bicep is slow healing and he will start back on light duty at work next month.  His rehab is three times per week and he is gaining his strength back.  I am enjoying having him home full time, but I must admit I am a little jealous that he gets to stay home with the babes.  Nothing new and exciting with me. Still seeing my Pulmonologist for my Valley Fever follow-ups.  Still feeling very fatigued, but can't figure out if it is the VF or just having 3 small children that makes me so darn tired ALL of the time.  Most of all I am just loving every single day with my little ones and feeling more and more blessed with each minute that passes.  They are my dream come true and as all my co-workers say, 'Rhonda is such a proud Mom, she just beams when she talks about her little ones.'

Yes...Daddy did do my hair! 
Learning to multitask

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Our 3 Little Wonders

Life with 3 little ones remains BUSY.  We are planning a Potty Training Boot Camp in the next month for Blaze as he is now 2 1/2 and we are ready for at least one out of diapers.  He just hasn't shown a whole lot of interest and so we didn't wan to push it.  He is such a GREAT big brother.  We never hesitate to get a huge grin from either of the twins when Blaze is anywhere in their line of vision.  They are both turning in to be happy little babies.  Active, talking, and so inquisitive.  They love to be next to each other and will often be caught holding hands.  They are still so tiny (seems like we just make small kids).  Jett was 13 lbs at his last Doctors visit and Dylan was topping the scales at just over 10 lbs.  Both are healthy, just slim like their big brother was and continues to be at just 26 lbs.  12 month shorts are too big in the waist but anything smaller is much too short in the legs.  Thank goodness we have warm weather the majority of the year and he can wear shorts more then pants.  At 7 months old, Jett is just in 3months clothes and Dylan is just now outgrowing her newborn clothes.  Jett is always smiling and full of giggles and squeals.  He remains healthy and looks nothing like the frail little sick child we were so close to losing in India.  I call him my little fighter and when I see his Angel wing-looking birth mark on his upper back I smile and can't help but think, that the Angels are always watching over him.  Dylan remains the ultimate Diva.  She knows she is the girl of the house and demands to be treated like a Princess.  She smiles in delight when after a high pitched attention seeking crying fit she instantly stops after being picked up.  She is such a tiny real life little doll with small facial features and a itty bitty body with a complete full head of hair.  A few months back while out at the local mall someone came up to me and said they actually thought I was holding a doll until Dylan moved. 

Our Amazing Angels
Hey move over and make some room.
All tuckered out.
All smiles
Love my baby sister
Always Smiling
Lots and lots and lots of hair
Loves her Daddy
Mommy juggling bath time

Jett's Angel wing
Love my Twin
Blaze is talking up a storm.  He can now count to 20, knows all the letters in the alphabet and can recite them quite readily.  He knows all his colors and animals and even some farm animals in Spanish too.  The other day I got home from work and he was counting to 10 in Spanish.  Gotta love our Nanny!!! He knows his full name and his brother and sisters full name and even sometimes catches off guard by calling us Rhonda and Gerry. When he really wants to be cute he will call us, 'Honey' or 'Babe'.  He knows Mommy is a "Nois" (nurse) and Daddy is a "tierman" (fireman).  He certainly doesn't miss a beat and I tell him all the time I think he is the smartest 2 1/2 year old in the world, to which he replies, 'Noooo Mommy' with a giggle.
 
And he tries...ALL the time!
Such a gentle dog
Neyla always on watch

Well we finally sent off our application for Canadian Citizenship for the Twins.  With luck they too will be Dual Citizens just like their older brother in about a year.  They may never use it, but then again they might...either way it gives them the opportunity to live and work in either Canada or the U.S. 

Mug shots

We have had a house full of sickness since the start of 2012 with the exception of Daddy whom we all need a good dose of his healthy blood it seems.  I have had cough with cold symptoms and got quite the scare when I went for a routine chest x-ray only to find out there is a nodule on my lung.  Many scans, lab work and Doctor visits later we found out it was Valley Fever.  Not something this Canadian girl is all too familiar with, but very relieved it wasn't anything more serious or fatal.  Needless to say this has been a long few months of fatigue and yucky cold symptoms for me.  All 3 kids have been passing coughs, sniffles and fevers around to each other and Nanny and Mommy.  Hopefully with the summer weather coming it will put an end to all this crud.  Healthy Daddy has been dealing with a very sudden unexpected injury of his own.  His Christmas present to himself this year was a complete distal bicep tear while unscrewing a fire hydrant during a training exercise, followed by immediate repair surgery on Dec. 23rd.  He is on the mend although frustrated with his limitations and very strict Doctors orders.

Elmo's the Night Before Christmas with post-op Daddy
The elves and Santa visiting at Christmas
Nanny has her hands full, and she LOVES it!
Although busy and little time to myself I count my blessings each and every day that I look into the smiling precious faces of my 3 amazing children.  


She may walk before she crawls
Jumps till he passes out!
Fun with Daddy