Big couple of weeks for us! Today was Kindergarden graduation. Finally. I feel like everyone else has been out of school forever and I am so sick of packing lunches! They had a little ceremony and sang and did a 'when i grow up' thing. It was adorable. Like I should have recorded it. Bobby is not a performer but he did the motions and quietly sang. Everyone did really well and they all look like such big kids. Then they got their diploma from the principal.  I think it's a really wonderful school and the community is excellent. I just won't think about tuition for a while. 

My first baby turned six finally too. He is one of the youngest in his class and between a year full of other kids parties and a busy May, I was done. So no party for this kid this year. He got to open a few books and a new stuffy from his brothers over his birthday breakfast cake. I didnt even bring in treats to school because I don't know the rules, so I dropped the ball there too. Luckily, Grandma was here and made it a very good birthday.  We did our normal Farrells night out for an ice cream sundae, and threw in Reids birthday too while we were there. Bobby was able to pick out a very nice set or two from Lego store and promptly spent the next three days working on them. In lieu of a party, we grabbed Dexter and Jake from our street and headed to Chuck E Cheese. It gets a bad rap but ours is nice and big and clean and the kids love it. And they serve beer! My and Jacks (and everyones) friends Ethan and Eleanor met us there and we played for a long time and got lots of tickets which we could trade in for super crappy toys! We followed it up with a Trip to Ritas Italian/Water Ice - who needs cake! Bobbys birthday extravaganza finished just in time for it to be Reids day!

This guy had his birthday and he is an awesome kid. We had a little smash cake and a few friends over for the typical Vic ice cream cake party.   Last night he slept until 3:30 and when he woke up, I was literally so confused, as I hadn't been in that deep of a sleep for oh, a year.  He is not quite running, but he walks well on sand and wood chips and is trying to jump. seriously. He had his well check and is right on track at 22 pounds. No words, A lot of chatter and pointing. He just wants to move and not be in a stroller or car seat. 

I don't have many pictures of Jack, probably because he is always moving too. He is nicely potty trained, no accidents really either. He is going to camp at his fall preschool next week and I think that's a huge mistake. He has literally been by my side for 3 years. He asks every day to go to school but I can't think of him like a big boy. He's really fun and snuggly and earnestly a happy little kid.  He runs everywhere. He throws his hands up in celebration all the time. He's a bit of a smarty pants too in a different way than Bobby but we'll see what shapes up later.

I'm trying not to give up on blogging do hopefully I can throw in a few sentences from the app instead of trying to get big summaries up. 

Reid is walking. 10.5 months. I ignored it as long as I could but he did it anyway. 

Jack is insistent on his big boy underwear and no diapers. He will not be put on the potty and will only go when he needs to and tells you. He was dry overnight last night and for his naps so if this keeps up, that was super easy. Jinxed it. He is super proud of himself when he does go. We started with m and m rewards but he forget about them by day two. When he poops, he will tell you he gets three mnm's but he never actually does get them. 

Reid is a horrendous sleeper. 

A weekend timeline in photos

Out with mommy Friday night. 

Mommy goes to christmas party. Out with daddy Saturday night

Sunday

Monday at playground

Monday at dentist 

Monday picking up bobby and jake 

This guy is still perfect 

Except when he's not

Look at these cuties:

And this guy:

Life is good:

Well on Saturday, Reid and I went to Palm Springs area for, literally, 12 hours. And this happened:

I guess he knew nagging wasn't enough and had to do it himself.  Well, Rick sure got his $30 worth out of her scissors. Bobby LOVES his tiny little mohawk.  He doesn't actually have enough hair or any product but he loves to stick it up.  

I got over my shock by Sunday. They're still cute. Reid is still mine!

School does teach one stuff

Like trick or treat smell my feet. Eenie meenie miny mo. And a couple other things along those lines. He also asked me what OMG meant. 

I recommend if you like peace and quiet. Or just a little bit of quiet, that you not have three sons.  Oh my gosh, it is not non stop noise, chatter, singing, yelling, the whole day.

Bobby has reached his creative stage (finally) and really likes to draw.  Jack also likes to draw, on himself.  (Also: walls and chairs) He knows the rules, remembers what he's told but is unable to stick to them just yet.

Reid is getting so big. Or I shrink all his clothes.  Bit of both. He loves the bath. He is super grabby and squirmy. And strong. He has a big radius with his arms - nothing is safe. He's close to sitting, rolls over occasionally and has two little bottom teeth.

And I have forgotten all the notes I had in my head. So onto the selfish stuff.

Rick
running shoes
sleep shirts
pajamas
universal remote
king sheets
king mattress pad

Me
external hard drive for mac
dyson handheld
garmin watch

Bobby
I don't really know. usually he has stuff picked out
a heavy chess set with storage box
slippers or lined crocs or fake ugg boots
sleeping bag

Jack
scooter
octonauts playsets

Reid
absolutely nothing. he's 6 months. diapers perhaps.

eBaby Booking

Tooth #2 out! Must have been wobbly during soccer warm ups because he came over to me with his jaw stuck out. I asked if he wanted me to pull it, so I did. He was pretty excited and made sure to tell everyone. 

I noticed Reid had a tooth break through. He has been gumming his hands and toes and my hands and has had a tiny bit of drool but no big problem luckily. 

I am running my first post partum 10k tomorrow. This same weekend two years ago, I ran a half marathon and jack was born a month later than Reid. And I'm no shape to race 5 miles even but the company will make it worth it.  Then the Halloween week of decadence begins and the election is ten days away. Bring it on.  

I woke up like this. 

He also started saying mommy instead of mama. :(  same with dada and bobba. 

I am a big proponent of using the right words for things but I see now why some parents don't correct their kids. For W, jack says, dubada and it's adorable. And he calls zebras zeebee. But even those he's starting to correct on his own. His language has exploded, like it's been in there all along... 

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Or so goes a tale of two jacks. He is an absolute trip. He makes me smile so much because he's so silly and sweet and he's pretty manageable, until he isn't. I know I've been saying it for months but he knows all his letters and will stop and read anything and everything. Now he knows lowercase too. And the alphabet song in order. He actually never shuts up. He call d and p all b but close enough. And this a, he calls a 6 because every other a he sees on books is just a circle and line. Speaking of six, he gets a huge kick out of turning books upside down and saying 6, 9, 6 and so on. Same with 8. 

I wanted to vent about his tamtrums because dear baby Jesus are they bad and completely irrational. But he's asleep now so I'll leave it at that. We've had a few good days or at least I have selective memory. 

We did turn the crib into a toddler bed so that saves him the trouble of climbing in and out at least. He really really fights nap and bedtime but the new bed has a little novelty to it for now at least. He falls asleep easily if I sit in the room with him but that's not always a luxury I have. He has also been waking up in the middle of the night for no reason but a cuddle. And he doesn't eat anything. So much for not bitching about him. 

School is going well for bobby. Sometimes are aren't enough hours in the day though. He is getting over a bad ear infection. Developed from a bad cold that he no doubt got at school. He has another loose tooth. He is really good at reading and calls me out if I try to paraphrase a book we're reading even of it's above his skill level, he seems to know. 

Reid is adorable and a good baby. That's about all to report on him. 

Mark it down.

Big kid now. 

First tooth fell out! 5y, 4m. He said the principal pulled it out. Someone did apparently. 

First Day of school was a success.  Didn't get much out of him but he seemed proud of the few things he did manage to share. We navigated carpool just fine and tomorrow we get to see if I remember how to tie a tie!

Jack was fine, we had a (much needed) lazy day at home after squeezing in pool, beach, chuck e cheese and uniform store all the last two days. After drop off we went to Trader Joes, and Jack climbed right into Bobbys seat.  Haha. He was my shadow today - happily reading books while i changed sheets and helping empty the dishwasher. Jacks sleeping is rough. He'll take three hour naps, not want to go to bed and just when you think you have him down, he pops right out and says giggles at you.  Pick up from school is at 2:50, so I'm going to try to move Jacks nap up to 12:30 at least but depending on the night before, who knows!

Jack was hanging out diaperless for whatever reason and he comes to me "wee wee" so I take off running down the hallway, get to the loo, only to find him not behind me. He had instead made a break for the backyard. 

That poor baby. About to get water dumped on his head. Or just squished S usual. 

Quick updates

Before we went to the beach, bobby spent the night with jake in his back yard tent. And last week, he spent the night with Troy and Liam. Did great. Didn't get the call in the middle of the night. Didn't miss us a bit. 

Jack has started climbing out of his crib. 25 months old. Doesn't want to be put to bed. Makes a very long process. Only I can seem to hug and sing him down. But that's still no guarantee he'll stay there. Naps are a little easier. Probably because he's so tired from his shortened overnights. Would like to get him into Bobby's bottom bunk but Reid isn't always down for the night so I can't lay with him. 

The mimicking of big by middle is hysterical 

We get _a lot_ of attention from the blue hairs at Costco. Seems like there are always a lot of them too. Everyone loves a redhead. So this time, bobby was getting quite bummed. "Why didn't she say anything to me?" "Why were they only talking to jack". :(

Jack is readjusting to the west coast but he had a rough spell on the plane for maybe ten minutes that felt like an hour. 

We had well checks and vaccines today. Everybody is good. Jack is a picky eater. Average talker. Good sleeper. toe walker. He counted 1,2,3,4.5,6,9 today. Can identify all numbers, letters, colors some times correctly and some shapes. He just doesn't talk on demand. Starting his toddler defiant phase. 

Reid is right on track. I'll have to check stats later. He's an easy baby for now. Smiley. 

School starts September 4. Phew. 

Today jack was getting dressed and we opened his shirt drawer and he said turtle. Then he said Grammy. And I dislike character shirts so I tried to point him elsewhere but he was adamant about his teenage mutant ninja turtle shirt. He's too young for that.

He also said ten to rick. Which we usually get as "one" and "oh". He knows his numbers 0-9 for sure and his letters really well. 

He also pointed to my medicine cabinet and said blue. Made me open it and got the blue nail polish out. I tried to not paint them but he can throw the biggest tantrums and it just wasn't worth it. And he thinks his nails are pretty now. 

Reid continues to be an easy baby. Eat and sleep. Easy to comfort if he fusses. 

Bobby is starting to read and doing fairly well if and when he focuses. It only makes apparent to me that I will never homeschool him. He has his sounds down but then sometimes annunciates them as a different word. It's a miracle he doesn't hate me. And vowel sounds are hard. And there's so many exceptions in this language. Good thing starter books keep it simple.

I am excited for the beach. Better start my fake tanner application soon. Send good thoughts for the airplane. That and iPad apps!

Jack is Two!

We went to Farrells for Jacks birthday dinner and sundae.  He was really into the song and dance number they do for you.  He was smiling so big. Dancing, Making sure Rick was watching, Clapping and literally jumping in his seat.  It was a blast to watch. And then, like Bobby at 3, he didn't touch his ice cream.

Reid is awesome.  Sleeps great. Eats great. Not much else to report.

Also, Before:

...

5 days

Took Reid to the doctors yesterday for his first check up. He's doing great. They want him to regain his birth weight in two weeks, at four days he was 8# 10 oz. just two ounces shy already. Which means he's eating like a champ. Also sleeping about twenty hours a day. Which is helping me recover. Thank goodness I'm not thrown into parenting all these boys alone just yet. 

Here is your daily dose of blonde. I hope it stays, and also that he gets some eyebrows. 

Bobby adores the baby. Wants to hold him all the time. Says it's not fair when he doesn't get a turn immediately. 

Jack is fairly indifferent. He doesn't want to share my lap it seems but gives Reid kisses. Better than what I was expecting but I'm also waiting for the honeymoon to be over. 

Jack is great though. Starting to talk on demand more, but doesn't have much to offer without being asked. He does know all his letters though and can say them when quizzed and point to them. We're starting on numbers too. He's probably six months behind on language but he's clever for sure.  

Hospital photos 

Getting Ready

One of the points of not finding out the gender was to prevent unnecessary stuff coming into our very little cramped, low storage space house. It will happen after but then if it's a boy, maybe not because the garage is overflowing with stuff already.

Lots of fun playtimes being had.  And wrapping up school in two weeks keeps us busy.

No beach needed

Mothers Day Tea at school

So anyway, the nice thing about having nice friends is that they will help you get ready for said baby and make you feel special by throwing sprinkles that make the birthing seem imminent and that we should probably start to address it.

Soooo, fires were burning not too far away so we got some refugees for a slumber party! Our buddies came to play and have dinner with us and everyone got along very well and slept well enough if not great.  Then Friday night, the ladies from the street threw me a little baby shower. I sort of down played their planning so there were no games or any of that, but lovely homemade decorations and some good salads and apps. But it was a good night to be kid free and catch up/gossip about the neighborhood.

Sleepover buds

Saturday, we got to host lunch for Rachels 6 day old baby and Mia and the three other boys that came along with those two friends. Rick worked 8-6 so missed all the fun, but came home in time for me to have a little girls night out dinner with my friends.

Sunday rolled around, Jake, Violet and Dexter came over early and somehow, I had managed to sneak back in bed for an hour so missed this playtime. But, we ran down to the playground to meet Troy and Liam then grab bagels with them.

Kids love sand. The end.

I was pooped from all this fun and then Bobby had no school on Monday so we got to extend the weekend!

Then Tuesday, my lovely friends again and the running club had a surprise baby shower for me after our run.  It was awesome. Nice spread, great food, even good decorations for a playground and I got lots of diapers.

I literally turned around when they yelled surprise.

Best donuts ever. And You know it's bad when brownies need an extra deep pan

And some healthy stuff. Really fresh actually.

So the stuff is coming in and I literally have nowhere to put anything.  Jacks room is set up for him. We have a portacrib/bassinet in the master and will have a changing pad on our dresser, but I have to rig some buckets for diapers and clothes or something.  A little dresser or shelves at least.

Not small.

Also I realized, as I've know for a while now, we really have all our eggs in one basket when it comes to special Vic times through the year.  My birthday, Mothers Day, Ricks Birthday, Bobbys birthday,  Petunias birthday, Fathers Day, Jacks Birthday. All within ten weeks or so, add in graduations in a few years and we'll be all partied out in May and June.

Unrelated but I took the long way home because it was so gorgeous out.
And unable to be captured on a camera phone.

Boys are doing well. Three 95-100 degree days with no air conditioning is not fun. Our house is on the end of the street and has no big trees or houses on one side, plus two high uncovered windows so half the house was at least 85 degrees, probably more. Is like to think keeping windows shaded in the bedrooms helped but they also got pm sun, so I don't know how any of us slept. Except Rick. That's his ideal weather. 

Bobby is in a good place. Getting more mature, listening decently, able to be reasoned with. His fascination with card games then rock, paper, scissors continues with board games and mazes and connect the dots. Much to ricks chagrin, he loves his sleeveless shirts. (We don't need more) it's usually not warm enough here even in summer to wear them, but he has gotten such a kick out of them; with his pale skinny arms, it's pretty funny. 

Jacks lack of language causes some outbursts. Luckily I can usually decipher what he wants though. He is doing this weird thing where when he gets mad, and he hits himself in the head or bits the skin on his hand. Hmmm...

37 week appointment today. Nothing happening. Hope to make it past Bobby's birthday. But I guess it's not up to me!

There are a bunch (like 8!) fires burning south of us on the base and in San Diego county. With the heat and winds, it's been rough. Some of them are big brush fires and one or two in more populated areas. Scary stuff, but far from us luckily. 

Bobby has apparently mastered War and other card games because he's now onto Rock, Paper, Scissors and he loves it.

He can also do a forward flip in the air on the trampoline. I've only seen him land it on his butt, but he's close to standing.

I'm thinking about speech therapy with Jack. I know its' not a big deal yet, but he really should have more of a vocabulary. He is very expressive and knows what he wants, but he's getting frustrated I think. He's getting more out, sort of an alphabet song and he knows that please (pees) is a magic word. If he 'eh eh eh' wants something, and you look at him, he'll shout out a please expecting to get it. He is in there though man. He is sooo good at matching pictures in books or puzzle pieces and can point out shapes.

And I can only hope everyone remembers what goes around comes around and how I support all these little people on the street and their school fundraising and lemonade stands.  I can't say no, but I could sure spend my discretionary funds much better.