2011

Hooray for blogs! you start one and it requires to be watered and fed, otherwise it dies... no wait, i did that and this one is still here. hooray for blogs! They never die! forever memorialized are our memories and failed attempts at being clever - and then when you do not keep up on the blog, you are forever reminded of how lazy you are for not keeping up with it (see any of the 100,000 blogs out there that do have dedicated posters...I reek of laziness!). you start a blog with so many great intentions and aspirations, sort of like parenting! and then reality sets in, days are shorter, sleep and the bachelorette become more important... but I owe it to Audrey, the boys received so much attention, i will keep this thing alive a little bit longer.

Part of the reason this has not been updated, there are only so many jokes about not sleeping that I can make. Once the boys started sleeping all night, Audrey was born and she has been an excellent sleeper from day 43 - so we have been blessed. The days of the self deprecating blog or poor me i have 3 kids is gone - we are very lucky and Kristi really wants updated photos - Apologies for the lag, here is what you missed:


We had a lot of fun this year Audrey has grown up so fast - she is very tall and very smart
Her favorite phrases (she skipped one word commands): "five more minutes", "I don't like that" and "I dont know" - she is obsessed with shoes - she is 1 1/2 going on 12!




Ethan is the sweetest and most defiant little man. He is either elated and smiling from ear to ear or convinced the world is coming to an end because he cannot find something... oh the drama.


Shawn - sweet little shawn - is very quiet and has the imagination Pixar would kill for. Already in his short existence, Shawn has been "arrested and put in jail for speeding in Daddys truck", "saved a mouse from a snake hole", "climbed to the top of a mountain" and uncovered that Ms Clause's name is "Mary" because people "say Merry Christmas a lot" - that actually makes sense...



The twins could not be better friends - they are complete opposites, but they are best buddies and it is amazing to watch. Ethan lives in the moment running and jumping through life and Shawn processes everything - a perfect combination of chaos and mayhem. One twin hatches the plan to steal the candy from the cupboard 6 feet int he air and the other one carries it through...

And they are so good with Audrey - Audrey has no idea she is younger than the boys.


Oh - and us? Yeah we are doing okay - I still really like Kristi and I think she likes me - I think she is gorgeous and I try to tell her how lucky I am everyday, but she is too busy taking care of the crazy neanderthals we affectionately described above.

Embarrassingly, we got a little too excited receiving alcohol from Uncle Matt - vodka and tequila makes the whining of 3 kids easier to deal with!


Here is to 2011 - it was a good one - we can only hope 2012 is half as good!

Happy Holidays - Andy Kristi Shawn Ethan and Audrey

You are not gonna beleive this...

July 2011


Shawn
Ethan




Audrey is a diva


Ethan and Shawn started driving



There are no words - but when the boys wear my shoes, their clothes stay on... so let it be known, it is my hypothesis that the high heels came before the stripper, strippers do not wear high heels - they put on the heels and must feel compelled to take off their clothes. lesson learned.


Audrey and Bristo are best friends (he is yawning - trust me)


We had a camp out in the living room - it was miserable but we took a photo before all the mayhem.

OMG!

Ouie - another month, another post. As we approach the boys' third bday and Audrey's first, we take a deep breath and reflect on how lucky we are, how we want it to be over, but most of all how sad we are that it is moving this quickly.

Audrey already has a cellphone, she is days from walking, weeks from her first boyfriend, and before you know it she will be telling me how lame I am... (insert sad face here). But for the next few weeks, I am the funniest person in her life and she will always look like this to me, even IF she gets hair.


Audrey loves her big brothers - maybe she will like dolls, but unless Shawn or Ethan gravitate towards dolls, we have a feeling Ms A will want nothing to do with dolls - give me cars, trucks, dirt, rocks and forts!




Shawn... if this is what happens when we say smile. what should we say for you to not look like you have to poop?
Grammy cant figure out why her plants wont grow... thank you pop-pop! Now we have the boys asking us to pull over the car so they can pee in the rocks. Grandparents are supposed to spoil kids, not turn them into hillbillies!

We celebrated Uncle Mikes Bday, after the boys assisted with blowing (er, spitting) out the candles, many in attendance avoided trying the cake - it looked good though.

Christmas!!!

Whoops - many people told me i needed to update the blog, I dismissed you all because I thought I did the christmas update and you all were greedy and unsupportive while I slowly lost my mind during potty training. well, kristi made me post this due to the comment below regarding my wallet... enjoy catching up.

4 Years ago Kristi and I walked through winterhaven to see the lights - we both made a wish at the wishing tree that we would finally be able to start a family - one way or another.

Well - many failed attempts later, we finally received everything we could ever ask for. you kids are a handful, I often romanticize about running away with the dog, every now and again I wonder if slamming my head in a door would make my head stop hurting... but you guys are worth every moment. We could not fathom our lives any other way (even the times I dream of running away, I know I would probably forget my wallet and have to come back, or I would miss you guys and be back after a day or two).

Christmas 2010 was the birth of the 2 gift monsters - the grandparents spoiled them and now they think presents are appropriate EVERYDAY! I am fortunate enough not to have to open my own presents on Christmas anymore - I have two helpers who are then disappointed to open a sweater - but i liked it. 92 gifts were not enough for these two - Kristi started wrapping toilet paper just to appease their appetites.Here is Audrey channeling James Dean - we are very leinient with our children, but we have not allowed them to smoke - that is Audreysfirst french fry. diva alert!


Potty Training! there are way too many captions that can be inserted into the photo below. No we did not force our kids to sit on the toilet and play with their toys - this was a spontaneous moment. instead of reading a book or mag on the pot, it was imperative to drive the train closer. yes, the toys and hands were washed afterwards.

We have a few accidents here and there, but we successfully potty trained the boys in a week. unfortunately, the boys are obsessed with underwear. so, if you are ever approached by a 30" tall child and asked to see your underwear - whether you oblige him or not, do not judge and just know he/she must be potty training. And with all the "potty" talk, I made the mistake of referring to my underwear as "big boy pants" - I actually saw Kristi's love/affection for me wither as she looked at me. She did not flinch or smile, or even snark - she just starred blankly, asked if I just referred to my underwear as "big boy pants" and I saw the wheels in her head turn backwards... it was really sad. I would describe it the same way I felt the day I told her she could not wear her pink pants out to the store - she was shocked that I would make such a statement, but I was taken back that she thought the pink pants were acceptable - I thought it was laundry day, but suddenly realized, she wears those awful things A LOT. pics to follow - not of my underwear.

On we go...

Please dont grow up little girl!!! Please!?!?! You are so sweet and perfect - I know any day now you will decide that throwing temper-tantrums and fits will get you what you want. But I promise you, we will work to make sure you are happy - just please don't stop being the easiest baby on the planet... PLEASE!?!?

We went back and looked at the blog and realized how much we captured with this silly soapbox over the years:


We realized how much Audrey looks like the boys when they were 6 months:




And now we are shocked at how much each child grew over the last year:





And even though we complain everyday that we have never spent the time to put together our photo albums - this little blog has captured the fun and excitement of raising two crazy boys and a little soon-to-be diva:

Here's to already being done with 2010 and on to 2011. Its overwhelming to think how much will happen and change during the next 365 days.


Love - Andy Kristi Shawn Ethan and Audrey