Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas 2010!!!

Our Christmas morning began at 4:30 am.  "Mommy!  Daddy!  Santa came!  Can we open our presents?"  Liam was wide awake and ready to go.  I explained that it was still night time and we needed to wait for Gabey and Landon to wake before we could start.  After about an hour of him asking "is it time yet?" Liam finally fell back asleep.

At around 7:30 am, I hear Gabe and Landon taking to each other about how Santa had come.  I shot our of bed to make sure they didn't start tearing into presents.  We sat and talked about Santa and their gifts for a bit before Liam came running out of our room ready to tear into his presents.  Christmas morning had officially begun!!!

Our cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer.  Each of the boys got to leave a carrot and pick out a cookie for Santa.  Of course we needed to leave some milk to wash it all down.

A new tradition:  a Christmas Eve bedtime story... The Polar Express.  LOVE this book and LOVE that our boys have fallen in love with it too.

The mountain 'o presents!  Looks like an insane amount... and it is.  But, there are presents from Aunts and Uncles in here too.

O Christmas Tree!

Apparently Santa isn't a big fan of sugar cookies.

LOVE this pic of the boys standing around the tree Christmas morning.  They were so excited.  Santa had come!

The first of many Light Saber (or "Light Saver" as Liam would say) fights.

"Toy Story 3!!!  I knew that you would be under the Christmas tree!" ~ Liam as he opened his gift.

Cliff helping Landon shoot Liam's bow.  Not sure how they pried this out Liam's hands!

Landon and Gabe cooking up some BBQ on Christmas morning!

Liam with his new bow.  "It's just like Daddy's!"

Gabey showing off Liam's Kung Zhu Zhu pet.  Pretty sure he thought this was his toy!

Little Lander Bear and Daddy reading Going On A Bear Hunt... Landon's absolute favorite book.  Santa knew and left it in his stocking!

Landon (aka Bumblebee) showing off his new helmet.  This thing is so heavy that he nearly toppled over head first when he first put it on.  Didn't stop him from wearing it the bulk of Christmas morning!  :)

New food for the grill from Aunt Meggie!

"May I take your order?"  Gabe working the McDonald's window with his new toy from Aunt Megs.

Another cool gift from Aunt Meggie.  Gabe modeling Landon's new chef's gear for his grill.  What a cutie pie!

When Liam opened these super cool Buzz Lightyear wings from Aunt Megs he said "This is the best Christmas ever!".  The wings pop out and also retract with the push of a button.  It really is a cool toy that Gabe is certain is his.  (Notice a trend here?!)  He calls them his "Buzz pack pack".  We lost many an ornament off our tree that morning due to the extra wing span, but the boys had a blast!  :)

Christmas keeps getting better and better at our house. Having a three year old and two two year olds was SO much fun this Christmas season. Seeing and hearing the boys getting so excited about Santa truly warms my heart. Liam, Gabe, and Landon I hope you always believe in the magic of Santa. There is nothing better than seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

"Blow out my gas hole."

So, I've been meaning to blog about this saying above for some time now. As you'll see, I've been blogging MIA yet again. Note to self: New Years Resolution is blogging more regularly!

"Blow out my gas hole." Sounds ridiculous right?!?! Weeks ago I had made a lunch of pizza rolls and apple slices for the boys. Healthy right? :) They hadn't had them in a while so I thought I would give them a special treat for lunch. Liam was SO excited to have them! This is what he said...

"Mom, I love pizza rolls. I could eat them all day long until I blow out my gas hole." (Honestly, I can't even make this stuff up if I tried!)

I nearly peed my pants! I asked Liam to repeat himself. Surely I couldn't have heard him right. Oh I did. He repeated the sentences above verbatim. Where does this kid come up with this stuff. I think we have a budding stand up comic on our hands! :)



Liam you make me laugh with your crazy, funny, and often off the wall comments. Keep them coming buddy! They are always the highlight of my day!

Can we play outside?

Liam must have asked me this 92 times during breakfast this morning.  I looked out the window at the frost covered lawn and explained as best I could that it was just too cold to play outside.  To which Liam replied, "So can we play outside?"  Clearly this is the beginning of a long winter.

This is what I've been dreading since the colder weather has started to settle in upon us.  Winter.  Being stuck inside.  Three active little boys feeling cabin fever and itching to get out and play.  And as they have taken to turning our couch into a trampoline, I remembered a gift from Katy to Gabe and Landon this summer.

After blowing it up (Sadly it didn't take nearly as long as I thought.  Am I really full of that much hot air?!), the boys climbed aboard and were bouncing like crazy!  They LOVED it!  And I loved that the couch cushions stayed in place, and I even got to fold a load of laundry while watching them bounce, laugh, and have fun together.

Turning the bouncer into a wrestling ring.

Liam getting some serious air!

Landon getting some air of his own.

Quite possibly the three cutest boys.  So I'm partial!  :)

Thank you Aunt Katy for our cool bouncer!  We LOVE it and will be spending hours and hours on it this winter.  We love you!  :)

Happy (Belated) Halloween!!!

Our city celebrated Halloween with Trick-or-Treating on Thursday, October 28th this year. We talked to the boys about dressing up, saying trick-or-treat, getting tons of candy, etc. Needless to say, they were running around like crazy boys before we finally hit the road Thursday night.

Me with my superheros.

Landon as Bumblebee, Gabe as Spiderman, Liam as Iron Man (L to R) 

Daddy and his boys.

Trick or treat!  Snagging candy for mommy and daddy... I mean for the boys of course!  :) 

It's safe to say that all three of the boys had a blast this year.  Without the confines of the wagon, Gabe and Landon were free to roam around and seemed to have a great time being one of the "big boys".  But this little Spiderman sure did have a TON of fun!

After three or four (I lost count) lollipops, Gabe was literally running in place, running in circles, sliding on the ground, and otherwise acting like a goofball.  I guess that's what sugar overload will do to you!  While Landon chose a bag of Doritos as his treat, and Liam snuck candy here and there from friends, Gabe plowed through sucker after sucker.  I'm fairly certain he felt the need to try to eat his way through his bucket of candy that very night.  Lord knows he could have probably done it if we would have let him.  Oh Gabe, you make me laugh buddy!  :)

Hope you all had a great Halloween like we did.  Happy Halloween!!!

Landon... aka Mr. Lego

The other day I came downstairs to find this...

My little Landon has developed quite the knack for Lego's as of late!  Look at that big cheesy grin!!!  He was so proud of himself. 

Lately I've noticed Landon gravitating to our monster Lego box and building away.  Do you notice a theme to his building?  Towers.  Towers.  And more towers.  He could sit and build away for hours on end.  Lord help us all if they fall over.  I wouldn't be surprised if neighbors blocks away could hear his screams of anger.  But I will willingly help him rebuild over and over just to see that big grin on my little boys face.  :)

Fall Fun

Lately I feel like we've been busy, busy, busy.  Hence my blogging MIA status.  But I wanted to take some time to post some pics and blog about our favorite things to do in the fall.  Fall is by far my favorite season of the year.  And from the looks of it, our boys are having a blast too!  What better way to kick off the fall season than...

Sitting around the bonfire.  No bonfire is complete for our boys without roasting marshmallows or making smores of course!  No pics of that mess were captured due to the gobs and gobs of marshmallow goo covering everybody!  :)  This is the first year Gabe and Landon have really stayed up to hang out by the fire but they sure do have a blast.  Here's a pic of all three "supervising" Cliff.

Recently, the five of us hit up Janoski Farms with Liam for a school field trip.  We LOVE Janoski's and the boys have a great time each year we've visited.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy, mess of day for Liam's field trip, but the boys did manage to find some great looking "punkins"!

Here's my little Lander Bear posing with Liam's pumpkin.  Lord knows they all remember exactly which pumpkin they picked and have a massive fit when anyone else touches it.  So don't tell Liam!

Nothing's better than playing in the leaves!!!

Last year Cliff bought a bunch of Halloween decorations for the yard... complete with a skeleton hanging in our tree.  Wish I could have gotten video of Gabe's terror as the hanging skeleton fell on him a couple days ago.  Poor kid is probably scarred for life!  Here are some pics of each of the boys hanging out in our little cemetery.  Kind of creepy, yes.  But the boys think it's the coolest thing!

 Landon

 Gabey

Liam

Here's to lots more posts of our fall and Halloween fun.  I'll have to post some pics of the boys Halloween costumes that they picked all themselves.  What a crazy shopping trip that was!  Happy Fall everyone!!!

Liam's off to school!!!

Today was my little man Liam's first day of Preschool!  Seriously?!?!  I literally can not believe that he is already school age.  I'm fairly certain that I blinked and this little boy grew from this... 

to this.

We have been talking to Liam about going to school for what seems like months and months now.  He was excited from the second we told him he was going to school in the fall.  On a near daily basis I would hear "Mom, are you going to drop me off at school today?".  Needless to say, he was ready!  Liam's teacher, Mrs. Anderson, gave the kiddos an owl to color and fill in with fun facts about them.  Liam had a blast coloring it in and told me "All my new friends are going to think my owl is so cool!".  Here's my cutie pie with his finished project.

For weeks I would joke that I was going to celebrate Liam going to school on his first day.  Sounds awful, I know.  But it's eery how much quieter and calmer this house becomes when one of the boys are out of the mix.  And lets face it, every momma would love a bit more peace and quiet!  So, the day finally comes and let me tell you there was no celebration from this mom.  I found myself needing this to get through the day.

While my little man easily left my side to play with new toys and friends, I was left running out of the classroom to avoid him seeing me cry.  And I mean full out tears!  What happened to that strong willed mom who was going out to celebrate?  The realization that my little Liam is heading off to Preschool hit me like a Mack truck.  It's sad to let go of those baby years.  The years where he would willingly hold your hand, give you a kiss, or nestle his little head on your shoulder.  Heck I couldn't even get a picture of him in his classroom because he was "tired of pictures Mom".  :)

As sad as it is to let those baby years go, I am excited for all the fun things to come for this little guy.  Liam, you are such an amazing little boy.  You are wise beyond your three young years and I am reminded of that just about every hour in the day.  You will have such a great time as you start this new adventure called Preschool.  You will learn new things, make new friends, and have fun while doing it.  Good job today buddy!  I am so very proud of you Liam!!!

The Terrible 2's and 3's

Let me vent for a minute... or two.

As Gabe and Landon approached the two year mark, I found myself DREADING terrible two's times two.  I thought it was bad enough when Liam hit that lovely (please sense my sarcasm!) age.  But the mere thought of dealing with two defiant, bossy, non-listening, screaming, and temper tantrum ridden boys literally left me exhausted.

Presently, I find myself struggling with Liam and his terrible 3's more than I ever thought possible.  Can it be that a child can have two straight "terrible" years?!  Lord I hope not.  I'm praying that he starts to mellow out once he starts pre-school in a few weeks.  I know that it will be a great outlet for him.  Some time for him to grow, make new friends, and socialize with other kiddos outside of his brothers.  And in spite of all his hitting, screaming, and object throwing fits... I'll miss him more than imaginable for those three hours he's off singing songs and learning new things.

Dear Gabe and Landon, my sweet little boys.  Don't think that you have escaped Mommy's venting session.  Gabe and Landon have most certainly entered those terrible two's that I dreaded oh so much.  They have emerged as purely defiant little men who have no trouble telling me no (with an authoritative finger point) or literally screaming like banshee children when they don't get their way.  I have nearly reached my limit of thrown sippie cups, hitting and biting, and blood curdling screams.  Is it possible that twin newborn babies are easier than twin two year olds?  I'm starting to think that is a strong possibility.

Due to all of this utter chaos, I've seriously questioned my overall parenting skills, patience, and most importantly my overall mental health.  All over a glass of wine or two.  :)  A mommas gotta have an outlet, right?!?  I love you boys with all of my heart.  Literally to the moon and back.  But lets try to go easy on Mommy for awhile.  My head of white hairs will thank you!  :)

Love you monkey boys!!!

Who needs paper?

When you've got a marker and some skin? Oh Gabe...

Happy 2nd Birthday Gabe and Landon!!!

First off, I am sorry for being such a blog slacker lately.  Not sure why I've been in such a funk, but I promise to try to stay on the ball from here on out.  Or until the next "funk" should arise!  Anywho...

Happy 2nd Birthday to Gabe and Landon!!!

My little monkey men turned two on July 22nd.  I literally cannot believe that they are two years old already.  I'm still affectionately calling them "the babies".  Which I clearly need to stop doing.  I mean, the kiddos are two years old already.  They are talking up a storm, riding around on their Razor scooters (yes, you read that right), singing Lady Gaga (yes, you read that right too!), and even starting to dress themselves.  They are clearly babies no longer.  I guess I will always see my little men as babies.

On Wednesday, we celebrated with our little family of five.  We had donuts for breakfast, hit up the park and had a picnic lunch, had ice cream cake for dessert, and gave the boys their presents from us.  Poor Liam was certain that it was his birthday for the majority of the day.  At breakfast he told me "Mom, this is the best birthday I've ever had"!  Obviously, I need to remember the donut holes for Liam's birthday in February.  :)

Happy Birthday to you Gabey!!!

Happy Birthday to you Landon!!!

The boys were SO excited for their scooters... especially Gabe.  He's been able to ride a Razor scooter with ease since the Spring.  He was so happy to get his very own "gooter".  Landon is still a bit cautious, hence the Radio Flyer three wheeled scooter.  While Gabe was thrilled with his "gooter", Landon was equally excited with his very own baseball bat and ball.  He wouldn't put it down!  Looks like this little boy will be following in his daddy's footsteps one day!  :)

Saturday was the big family party.  Teta, Aunt Kate, and Brady came up from Cleveland.  Mom Mom, Pap Pap, Uncle Chuckie, Aunt Dani, the girls, Uncle Chad, Aunt Dee, Jonathan, and Juls all came too.  Even the neighbors came over to help us celebrate Gabe and Landon's 2nd birthday.  It was an ungodly hot day... well into the 90's with an equally awful amount of humidity, but it seemed as though everyone had a good time.

The Elmo cake made by Mommy and Teta

Gabe being a mad scientist.  He's certain these 3D chalk glasses are sunglasses.  I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise!

Cutie pie Landon

Landon and Jonathan in the boys new hockey net.  We LOVE hockey!!!  Thank you Mom Mom and Pap Pap!

The mountain 'o presents.  Of course Liam is scoping out the goods.  How else would he know what to trade up for later?

The boys and their new rides... plasma cars from Teta.  The boys LOVE them and they were the hit of the party!

Had to throw in this pic of Landon smothering, I mean lovin' on Livy.  Too cute!

Thank you to all of our family members and friends for coming and helping us celebrate.  You all spoiled our boys rotten!  Gabe and Landon, my little two year olds.  I can't believe how quickly these past two years have gone by.  You truly are becoming little men.  Although there may be an occasional (notice my sarcasm) fight, it melts my heart when I see you lovin' on your brothers. 

Landon, you are never short of a hug, "kith", and an "I yuv you too".  You are such a calm little boy, but don't push you too far!  I've got my money on you any day of the week!  :)  You are such an animal lover, currently "buggas" of any kind.  You are the only child I know who finds an ant and gently picks it up to carry it around.  You love to sing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" or "Take Me Out To The Ballgame".  What eclectic taste you have!  :)  But most importantly, that big smile of yours or asking to hold my hand can melt my heart.  You are such a kind, sweet, and gentle little boy and I love you to the moon and back. 

Gabey you are my little rough and tumble, get down and dirty, thumb suckin', blankie draggin' boy.  You are such a daredevil, but will always take the time to snuggle with me.  You've come to master the pout when you don't get your way.  And it's all I can do to not laugh and give in.  You tell a mean knock knock joke and have an uncanny way of turning the word fork into a four letter swear word.  You are a serious flirt and can have women young and old flocking to our shopping cart.  We are in BIG trouble when you hit your teenage years!  You are such a funny little love bug and I love with with all my heart!

Happy 2nd Birthday Gabe and Landon!!!  We love you!!!