Four Stores and a Restaurant

David and I went Christmas shopping for the kids tonight. We took Isabella with us because she's been pretty clingy lately due to her teething. Bauby came over to watch the boys. They have gotten much better about having Bauby or anyone babysit them lately. (I'm going to have to find a new babysitter when Bauby moves to Florida!) We went out to dinner first at Chipotle. I was starving so it was even better than usual. I LOVE Chipotle. By far my favorite restaurant and I could eat their everyday. We then went to four stores shopping away. It was fun. Would have been more fun if we had more money but whatever. We don't want to spoil the munchkins too much. The boys will be in heaven on Christmas morning. They are getting "big boy" toys this year. It's going to be a Batman/Transformer Christmas for them. They'll be happy. Isabella doesn't really know much about presents yet, but she likes the stuff we picked out - she was with us remember? :)

I'm making gifts for most of the kids in our family and the boys are going to send out a little package to their long distance cousins. They're excited about doing that and I'm excited about all of the sewing practice that I'm getting! I'm making the crayon/marker roll ups for the kids and new stockings for our family of five. Isabella first just in case I don't get them all - done she's the only one who doesn't have one. I bought a very cute soft pink fabric with brown polka dots. It will be adorable!

Almost through my first week of weight watchers online. I have a habit of weighing myself everyday so I already know that I've lost three pounds so far. I started on Monday so the "official" weigh in will be Monday. Weight Watchers has a new Points Plus system which is great! Fruit is zero points. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables everyday so that is going to help me a lot. I am hoping to lose about 45 pounds and go down at least 3/4 pants sizes.... I've been doing much better on my eating, but I've got to get better about my tracking and get back into the Y. Since we're all been getting sick we haven't been in there much. Monday. We'll start back on Monday!

Sleep is good...

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend. This week has been kind of crazy for no real reason and I feel like I need some "rest." I get to sleep in again on Saturdays now that Xander is done with his swimming lessons at the YMCA. By sleeping in, I mean that I get to wake up to children instead of an alarm! Works for me. Saturdays are kind of a special day for me and the kids because we get to wake up and go at our own pace. Most Saturdays David has to work so it's just us. We don't have anyone coming over and we don't have to be anywhere. It's amazing how having five kids all week makes having three seem like a breeze! Tomorrow is going to go something like that except Bauby is coming over in the evening to babysit so that David and I can do some Christmas shopping - together without kids - that's rare! David doesn't like shopping but I'll try to make the most of it :)

Isabella is still working on some teeth so she hasn't been a very happy camper; especially at night! I feel so bad for her but I have to help her to get through this without ruining all of her good habits. She's always been able to put herself to sleep in her crib. I find myself rocking her to sleep more and holding her more because she wakes up in pain. I've even brought her in to lay down with me... NO! She's doing such a good job sleeping in her own bed. It's not that I haven't loved co-sleeping with the boys especially when they were much littler, but I've realized mostly since they've gotten older that its been much harder on them to break these kinds of habits. Brandon is almost five and still sleeping in our bed! So is it not better to help them develop their independence from the start?? I have such loving and cuddly boys though... I'm so torn on the subject of co-sleeping that I would never try to give anyone advice in that arena!

Isabella's first teeth!

Isabella cut her first tooth on Saturday, November 27th at Grama and Papa's house. This is her "I'm getting my first tooth" pic taken the night before. She was a little crabby but not too bad! She cut her second tooth today, December 3rd, the lower right central incisor. She's getting to be such a big girl! She was gnawing on my hand today and it actually hurt! She tried mac n' cheese for the first time today at Bob Evans and she was all about it! She actually cried for more in between bites which she never does with her fruits and vegetables. :)

I gave her a sippy cup with cold water in it today also. She gnawed on and played with it for a little while but she didn't get much of the water. Poor baby. She's always been so good at putting herself to sleep. The past couple of weeks with staying at my mom's, her cold and then her teeth, she's gotten too used to having mommy nearby and hasn't been wanting to go to bed by herself. After a clean diaper, nursing and meds I had to let her cry for a few minutes tonight so she'd go to sleep on her own. I hated to do it but I know it was for her own good. She has always been such a good sleeper I don't want to mess it up like we did with the boys from day one. They're still sleeping in our bed! She only cried for about 5 minutes and then she was asleep.

She is such a good girl. I love her so much and so does her daddy and big brothers! The boys are so excited that she is "growing up" and getting her teeth. They love that she "sits on her butt" too! They are so funny. Xander always says that he wants to have too babies. I asked him if he wanted a boy or a girl baby and at first he said a boy but he quickly changed his mind and said he wanted two girls. I don't think that he realizes that by the time we would have another baby Isabella wouldn't be one any more! :)

I'm trying to teach the boys to communicate with each other better and not to come crying to me or David with every argument or "he hit me." They have been very good about listening to what I have to say and communicating to each other how they feel. Maybe some day they'll actually be able to settle their own disputes!

Boys say the funniest things....

Some recent conversations with the boys:

Xander is looking at his Fisher-Price catalog that came in the mail. He's been carrying it around all day. "I don't want this Batcave. (Pointing to the Trio Block one that I have a 50% off coupon for.) I want this one." (Points to more expensive - no coupon - Imaginext Batcave.

Me: "Honey, I have a coupon for the other one (the one Brandon wants.) If you want that one maybe you can ask Santa for it for Christmas."

Xander: "I just want to get it from Walmart."

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Me to Brandon: What's your name boy? (I've been asking them both this since they were babies.) Brandon: "Xander."

Me to Xander: What's your name boy? Xander: "Brandon."

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Me to Xander: "What street do you live on?" Xander: "South Point." Very Good!
"What city do you live in?" Xander: "South Point." Doh!

Me to Brandon: "What street do you live on?" Brandon: "Avon Lake." "No, what city do you live in?" Brandon: "Avon Lake." Maybe if they get lost together they'll be able to find their way home. :)

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Brandon from the other room: "Isabella!" As he starts crying. I'm thinking that somehow she hurt him. I get into the other room and she's eating his instructions for making his Robin plane as he watches in horror!

Late night rambling...

Sometimes I go through my blog or my notebooks that I keep for the kids and think, "oh that was so cute - I forgot all about that!" It's a reminder to me to keep taking the time to write these things down because even though it's all fresh in my mind now while I'm living it, time changes all of that and you forget a lot of the little things. Thank God for cameras but we need more than that...

Brandon is four and a half now. Actually, he's closing in on five pretty fast. He insists that he wants to stay a kid. He doesn't want to grow up. He was telling Xander and I this earlier today and I told him that it's good to grow up and you can do more things. Xander said "yeah, you can drive, and go to work and do machines like daddy!" Too funny. That didn't seem to persuade Brandon though. He just started wiping his own butt on Monday. I just had to refuse to do it anymore because he wouldn't even try. He would tell me that he wanted to grow up like me and then he would wipe himself. That didn't sound good to me! I decided that even though Xander has only been potty trained for about four months that he could probably wipe himself too because I've seen him try before. So I made a sticker chart with the numbers 1-50 on it. I told them that each time either of them wiped themself they would get a sticker for there chart and once they got to 50 they would get the Batman cave that they've been asking for. Wow. They have both been wiping and loving it. They brag about it and are very excited to get their stickers. This makes Mommy and Daddy very happy!!

Brandon and Xander play well together most of the time. I love when Brandon asks Xander "can we share the blah blah blah" and Xander will answer very cheerfully, "course!" "Course" seems to be his answer for most things there days. I don't know where he got it from but it's very cute! I shaved all his hair off to 1/2 in. and he looks a lot more like Brandon. He's very proud of his short hair. "Like daddy" he'll say. Both of them want everything they see in commercials (rare as they see them) ads or in stores. They are very into costumes. Xander carried around a Halloween store ad for about a week!

Isabella is learning to sit up all by herself! She's eating solid foods now. She loves squash, peas and green beans. She's been eating pears better but doesn't seem to care much for fruit or carrots. Hopefully that will chang the older she gets. She loves to watch baby einstein which is still a favorite for the boys as well. (Of course they want every toy they see on the show!) Isabella still sleeps in her own bed although she wakes up at least once a night wanting to eat. She doesn't have any teeth yet. Her gums are looking very white these days though so I'm sure it won't be long. She's been sticking her tongue out a lot which is funny. She loves her brothers and misses them when they're not here. They are always entertaining her and hugging and kissing on her. Brandon will tell her often how beautiful she is and that he loves her. Xander will tell her he loves her and that she's so cute! They are good big brothers.

Isabella's beginning to cry. I better go feed her and then get to bed myself...

A lot of catching up to do...

It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since my last post. I am happy to report that my flowers did come back this year. I've been working on the yard off and on and it continues to look better and better but there is always more to do! We now have a little girl, finally! Isabella was born on April 21st at 9:22 p.m. She is a wonderful baby! She sleeps in her own bed all night and sleeps in her swing throughout the day. She doesn't even like to sleep with me! The boys on the other hand - especially Brandon - will come crawling into our bed in the middle of the night still or just come get in bed with us when we go to bed. I'm sure they will grow out of it eventually but one night as Brandon cuddled up to me in bed (he's four now) I asked him, "Are you going to keep sleeping with mommy and daddy until you're a grown-up?" And he said, "YES!" I could just picture Brandon as a grown man sleeping in the middle of his mommy and daddy. The absurdity of it just made me laugh out loud!

The boys are great with Isabella. They just love their little sister. Brandon likes to hold her and hug and kiss her all the time. He calls her "sweetheart" and tells her he loves her. Xander likes to hold her, too. He is constantly putting his hands all over her face and arms and kissing and hugging her. He likes to call her "cutie pie" and tell her she is his "best buddy." They are just so cute! I'm hoping to get a good picture of the three of them together soon (a printable one for my wall.) I got a cute one at the zoo the other day. David's been on vacation. We took them to the movies on Saturday with Grama and Papa to see Toy Story 3. It was Isabella's first movie and she did pretty good. I didn't have to leave with her except to change her diaper. On Sunday we went to church and then we were supposed to go to the Crusher's game but it rained all day evening so we stayed home. Monday we did stuff around the house. Tuesday we took them to the movies with Papa Harvey to see Shrek Forever After. It was cute. (I'm curious though, if Shrek didn't rescue Fiona, wouldn't she have been rescued by Prince Charming who got there "too late.") Anyway, we took them to Memphis Kiddie Park and they rode every ride including the train which we took Isabella on. It was a terribly noisy ride but the boys enjoyed it. :) We took them to the zoo, Dave & Buster's, and The Museum of Natural History. It was a busy week. They had lots of fun and David and I did, too! It was nice to just spend time with the kids and each other. I enjoyed getting out of the house. It's not easy only having one car but it could be worse. Someday I'll have my own car again (Or should I say David will have his own car again. The boys call the Outlander "Mommy's car!")

We had our annual "4th" of July party yesterday on the 3rd. We didn't get to go to the fireworks though because they are not until tomorrow (Monday). We had a corn toss turnament. David and Aunty Roz were the winners this year. We had perfect weather. It was great to see everyone. Tomorrow we are going to meet some friends at the beach to watch the fireworks.

Xander is potty training. He wears only underwear now. "Mommy, I can poop and pee all by myself. Yeah, I go poop in the potty!" He is very proud of his big boy underwear. He pees in the potty every time all by himself. He likes for us to clap and say "Yay" when he goes - every time he goes! "Mommy, say "yah!" He stays dry at night and for naps. He's been making it to the potty for #2 today but we're still working on that. Sometimes he still goes in his underwear. He got a zhu zhu pet hampster for pooping in the toilet about a week ago. Now he gets a sticker for his sticker chart and usually a treat when he goes. We make a BIG deal out of it so that he wants to go in the toilet. He knows he gets a spanking and time-out when he goes in his pants. He will be THREE in only 18 more days! He's so excited about turning three. He has been looking forward to his birthday since Brandon had his back in February. There's been a lot of birthdays in between. He's gotten very good at singing the "Happy Birthday" song. He loves to sing and remembers songs pretty well. He learns new songs at church and comes home singing them. It's so cute. He sings "I want to be more like my Jesus everyday!" He knows his alphabet, colors and shapes and he can count fairly well to ten. He is a little sponge and picks a lot up from Brandon and t.v. He loves to watch Blues Clues, Diego, Dora and the Backyardigans. Lately he's been into watching the old Daffy Duck cartoons and now Pink Panther. (We recently got Netflix so his digital world has just opened wide up!) We don't have cable so we only get channels 3 and 5. We can't even get PBS out here. It's ridiculous.

Brandon is learning to write his name. He's learning to print capital letters and basic addition and subtraction. He's very smart but sometimes it can be a challenge to convince him that he CAN do something. He often will feel overwhelmed by a task but when we break it down into smaller tasks he does it and is very proud of himself. I think that we can all feel that way sometimes. I know I do! I see myself in Brandon often. It's not always in good ways, either! He's a good boy. I have to remind myself sometimes that he is only four. He's a good helper when he wants to be. He can be lazy but I've seen what the boy can do when he has the motivation! Right now that motivation comes in a box called "XBOX 360." He's in love with it. He played Lego Batman at Grama and Papa's house. A week or two later he told me that he had a dream he was at Grama and Papa's playing the Lego Batman game! Too funny. Between Ebay, the AL Kid's Closet and some parts from Grama and Papa, we where able to piece together a working console for him complete with a Lego Batman game. He likes to play with David. David "teaches" him what to do and then he is able to do it on his own when David is at work. I try not to let him play too much but it is nice to have somthing that occupies him for periods of time so that I can get stuff done. Otherwise, he and Xander get bored and just start wrestling and fighting and it's just too much! Xander will get bored when Brandon is playing video games because he isn't able to play yet but he likes to watch his shows on the computer now so I usually set him up with them or he helps me with whatever I'm doing. The other day we made Raspberry Banana Bread. It was very good - especially right out of the oven! I am a little worried about my little guys turning into couch potatoes! Hopefully that won't happen. They get their fair share of outdoor activities, too. We have a family membership to the zoo and two parks within walking distance. They love to play out in the backyard too. It's nice that we have a fenced in backyard and live in a quiet little neighborhood. They can play outside without me having to follow them aournd out there. Everything in moderation, right??

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