Spring Break - part 1

Kevin's parents are having a 'milestone' birthday this year and wanted to celebrate it by spending it with the family making wonderful memories - mission accomplished! They took us (and the Hales) down to Playa del Carmen to stay at the Paradisus La Esmeralda. Our trip was truly memorable, from the beautiful hotel, delicious food, exciting activities to the yummy drinks and wonderful company, we all had a blast! 

Ready for take-off!

Ryan sat next to me on the plane and was entertained with a little coloring and Big Hero 6. Gigi sat next to Grayson and I am pretty sure he talked to her the entire flight. Little baby Hayden slept the entire flight in her daddy's arms. What a sweetheart!

After a long day of traveling we made it to the hotel in time to grab some dinner before getting the kiddos down for bed. 

Did I mention Hayden grabs everything now? Yup...she got the butter knife and I don't even think Kevin knew. She's sneaky. 

The boys had some yummy ice cream for dessert!

We had an early wake up call the first morning in order to make the ferry boat to Cozumel.

All aboard!

On the ferry to Cozumel...all happy and ready for the day.  This was probably 10 minutes before we learned that Grayson suffers from motion sickness. Poor little guy :(

Aunt Sarah took the brunt of the sickness...he really soaked her entire lap and the wonderful smell lingered until she was able to get in the water. Of course it didn't bother her one bit - best Aunt ever!

Yay, so happy to be off the ferry. Now to hop in a taxi to bring us to a boat...oye. Wasn't quite sure how the little man was going to do but he ended up being just fine. 

Kevin's parents booked a snorkeling trip with ChiChis Charters. We had our own private boat and an awesome guide JJ. 

Everyone snorkeled with the exception of these two. They just wanted to hang on the boat and watch.

After a little snorkeling it was snack time...fresh-made guacamole, ceviche, and pico. It was amazing. 

The took us to a beautiful cove where the water was shallow and calm. The boys finally agreed to get in the water...although it didn't last for long. One of the guides found a starfish - which the kids thought was pretty cool. 

And since getting sick all morning wasn't eventful enough, this little guy decided to add a little more...pretty sure I know what he is doing here (although I didn't at the time I took this picture). 

While we were enjoying our yummy snacks Aunt Sarah looked down and yelled " OMG, what's that?!?" And yup. it was. A little brown nugget. Right there on the deck. Oh little Grayson. 

Big G don't care. 

Hanging out nude eatin' some pineapple. 

Ryan practicing his snorkeling

Being silly

The kids were pooped on the ride back...

So much fun on our first day in Mexico. 

We all really enjoyed the snorkeling trip. The snorkeling was great - we saw a stingray, turtle, barracuda, and a lot of other reef fish. JJ, our guide, was awesome with the kiddos and really personable. The fresh made snacks and cold beer weren't bad either :)

When we got back to the hotel we checked out the pool before heading back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. 

Fresh and clean. Kevin took the kids down to meet our cousins for an early kids dinner at Mole, which is the mexican contemporary cuisine restaurant.  The consensus was that it was good however for some reason they served guacamole with grasshoppers. And the kids tricked Sarah into eating a grasshopper...they told her it was bacon. And quickly discovered it wasn't. lol. I still haven't quite figured out how grasshoppers mix into the whole mexican contemporary cuisine. 

Anyhow, after dinner the kiddos came back to the room and we had two babysitters come watch the kiddos so that the adults could go to dinner. (The hotel requires you to have two sitters for more than two kids.)  Our sitters, Vania and Louisa arrived a little early and were full of energy. They were so sweet with the boys (Hayden was already asleep) and the boys immediately felt comfortable around them.  It's always a little nerve-racking leaving your young children with someone new but I didn't have any doubts with these two ladies. 

Once we were kid-free we headed over to the adults only hotel (La Perla) to dine at Fuego.  This restaurant is described as a Latin fusion gastro bar. Although Im not entirely sure what that means I can tell you it was amazing. It was all of ours favorite restaurant - so yum! 

7 months - baby Hayden

Sweet little girl is seven months. 

crazy.

She is our happy, easy going sweet little baby girl and she has all the boys in our family (mama too) wrapped around her little finger. Although, since she has started moving and grabbing things much more we have seen her first instances of messing with what the boys are playing with. They aren't quite sure what to think of that....they have no idea that its about to get so much worse when she really starts moving! lol

Eating:

She wants to eat everything. homegirl is hungry. And she grabs everything so aggressively you have to be careful what is in her reach. She grabbed a chocolate peanut butter protien bar from Kevin the other day...almost found out if she was allergic to peanuts.  I typically give her a couple of those rice crackers at dinner so that Kevin and I can finish our food before having to feed her. She has been eating the baby food pouches and after some bad diaper rashes I have been a little more strict with which ones. I think she might have minor allergic reactions to some of the foods...not sure which ones though. Anyhow, she loves sweet potato, pumpkin and banana. And while we were on vacation she had some french fries, bits of chicken, and some guacamole (yes, I realize this doesn't sound like me being very 'strict'). Oh well. 

Sleeping:

We did a bit of 'cry it out' over the past month and I think we have finally gotten to a good place. However, with our recent vacation and time change we are having a little bit of a relapse...so working on it a little more. I must admit, she is a persistent little thing. The boys would cry for about 10 minutes (which felt like forever)...but this little lady kept it strong for a good 45 minutes (and that is forever). On a perfect night she goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up at 6am. 

Milestones:

She is sitting up pretty well. Of course you can't really leave her by herself because she eventually will fall. as long as there is something soft she is fine.

Lady is moving. She gets on her belly and will pushes back...and move. and she is so happy with herself. 

She started taking baths with the boys and loves it. So do they.

No teeth. I really thought she was teething (which I guess she could have been) but there are no teeth through yet. 

Health:

This past month we have been at the pediatrician a few times. New stuff for this mama. We had our first ear infection, which really threw me for a loop. 

Lots of diaper rashes. I really don't know what to do about this...we have tried everything

We have also had random other rashes and fevers. Apparently nothing to be alarmed by...just viral rashes that will go away (and they did while in Mexico). She has a bit of eczema like her brother Grayson. 

Her hair was like this all day. so silly. 

Chillin' with G-bug at the pediatrician office

crazy rash that lasted about a week...

Love this little lady so much!

SNOW

Last week we started out with a wonderfully cold ICE day on Monday. School was cancelled...so turned the fire on and cuddled up inside. Tuesday was more of the same...and on Wednesday it SNOWED. 

but not that much. 

but we were still excited! 

School was not cancelled...so we had some snowman pancakes before heading out. All was back to normal Wednesday afternoon and Thursday...but then we got hit again!

ROUND II: Friday

I was hoping to wake up to a winter wonderland Friday morning but nothing had fallen yet. Yikes - I was a little worried the weatherman got us all worked up for nothing. Luckily it started soon after and kept falling until early afternoon- Yay!

The boys had school from 9 - 12 so we packed up and headed out in the snow. Grayson's teacher texted us this picture - the kids were so excited about the snow!

Kevin came home from work early to take the boys out in the snow. They went down to the Hales house where a lot of the neighborhood kids were all out playing - so much fun!

snowball fight!

happy boys

Trashcan snowman

On Saturday morning we played outside in our backyard and made a snowman. 

***

Ok. Now I'm ready for the beach!

March Goals

Whew - February went fast. We spent a week down in Houston and there was that whole flu thing that I dealt with. So the month really flew by...that and it was only 28 days. I love that about February. We are ready for Spring already!

1. Behavior and chore charts.

So this has been a bit of a learning experience for all of us. I originally created the Star Behavior charts and the boys loved them. Well, Ryan does, but I am pretty sure Grayson doesn't really understand it. We awarded stars at the end of the day (which they got really excited about), but since the stars were for specific tasks/goals it didn't really help me throughout the day to deal with their behavior. I decided not to worry about chores but to focus on behavior...and use something that they would see direct results. So we moved to a sticker chart on the fridge. Basically when they do something good (sharing, playing well together, ect...) they get a sticker...trying to reward positive behavior. They get pretty excited for a sticker so it works pretty well. It also gives me some leniency on what/when to reward them. However, after talking with Grayson's teacher I found another tactic that works even better - a marble jar! And OMG, the boys love the marble jar. They love getting marbles and dropping them in themselves. It works like a charm.  We have been using it for a couple weeks and they both LOVE it. They are really playing so well together, helping out, picking things up, and listening....yeah it's kinda crazy what they will do for a marble. I mean...we still have our moments...seriously, they are only 2 and 4, but it seems to be what works for us.

2. Organize and back up all digital pictures
I have been working hard on clearing off my pictures...goodness gracious there are a lot of them. I spent my entire hair appointment moving pictures as well as a couple of evenings. I made it to 2012 (starting back at 2007)...so I still have a few years to backup but I am feeling good about my progress. The good news is that my computer is much happier with me.

3. Order (and create) Grayson's Two year Book
And check out what we got in the mail! Grayson was so very excited...thankfully he doesn't comprehend that it was about six months late. Sweet middle child.

Catherine at Everything Design whipped this cover up for me - so darn cute!

He was so excited when he saw it for the first time and now he refers to it as his batman book. We read it nightly. 

4. Master List
Yeah, didn't quite get here....rolling it over to March :)

March Goals

1. Outdoor furniture

We desperately need new outdoor furniture. Not only have we had a bird die on our love seat, but the squirrels have been stealing the stuffing from our cushions. Oye. It's old and gross and embarrassing when friends come over...but for some reason we still haven't bought something new. There are so many options out there so it's a little overwhelming...but as we move into spring I need to get something soon!

2. Wedding Outfits
Steven and Claire's wedding is coming up soon - eek! so excited! I love that my kiddos are going to be IN the wedding - ring bearers and flower girl. The boys are going to pull Hayden in a little red wagon...although it might be Ryan pulling Grayson and Hayden because Grayson LOVES to be pulled. Anyhow, I need to get these kids some wedding duds. I can't wait...they will be ohsocute!

3. Master List (from february)

And that's all for now...let's see if we can get this done :)

Winter Days

With the exception of this past week the past two months have been relatively warm...which this mama loves. Just being about to get outside for a little bit is a life saver with three kiddos. Anyhow, over the past two weeks we have had some crazy weather...so every once in a while I get my act together and we do something new.

Ryan loves to watch Curious George and then he always wants to do whatever George did in the show. Sometimes its simple...and other times its not so much...

Like making puppets. great idea. lets do it!

Of course Ryan wanted to make Rescue bot puppets. I helped make Blades and Yiayia made an awesome HeaWave. For Grayson...we made a dinosaur...with a top hat.

They were so happy with these puppets and of course we had to do a puppet show. 

I stole this idea from Ryan's school...these kids love candy. I mean, what kid doesn't? Anyways, since it was coming up on Valentine's day we had some conversation hearts around the house. Instead of just giving them to them we made a chart. They sorted the colors and then made a bar graph. It was great because they actually didn't eat the candy until they were done. Well...Ryan didn't. I'd say a good 30 minutes were spent with this! Wohoo!

And Legos might be my favorite thing ever. We play with legos a lot and the boys never get tired of them. Ryan has recently started playing with the big kid legos...which is fun but also incredibly annoying since the pieces are so small and of course everywhere.

So proud of their creations 

Building a dinosaur, pirate ship and rocket!

We even busted out with some science experiments...which were a HUGE hit. Ryan loves science time at school so I knew he'd be excited about doing something at home. Every Friday after school he tells me about their experiment and then asks if we can do it at home...it hasn't happened, until now. 

POP FIZZ

Baking soda & colored vinegar = lots of fun!

And good ol' Elephant toothpaste. Ours wasn't as thick but it was probably due to the yeast...it was old. The boys didn't care...they loved it! This one didn't take as much time but they got just as much excitement out of it. 

And the boys love reading baby Hayden's books...in her room.

Lot's of indoor time recently...ready ready for our family trip to Mexico for Spring Break!

Baby Giggles are the BEST

6 months - Baby Hayden

Happy half-birthday little lady!

I really thought you were teething this past month but after our little visit to the pediatrician I think you were dealing with allergies and your FIRST ear infection!  You never grabbed at your ear and since neither of the boys ever had an ear infection it wasn't at the top of my radar. Dr. N said it was only a little one but I felt horrible for not bringing you in sooner. Anyhow, we got some antibiotics and that was that. Well kinda. You hate them. I even got grape flavor added...apparently you are not a fan. I need some more antibiotic experienced mommies to spill the beans on the best flavors :)

Aside from your ear infection, drooling like crazy, drippy nose and chewing on everything we had a pretty great month. You are still such a little sweetheart who loves to smile. You have started to push up on your arms ...I am sure you will be popping up on your knees pretty soon too. Hello crawling...

We started eating solids...after about a week you figured out what to do with that silly tongue of yours. I started you on veggies, but as soon as I introduced fruits...you weren't as thrilled with those veggies anymore...so now we mix them. 

We are working on naps in your crib but they don't last long. Some days I desperately just want to let you nap in your swing (because you will nap looooong) but I know it's just a quick fix so I have been making myself put you in your crib. We are typically getting a 30 minute nap in the morning and about the same in the afternoon. The good news is that you don't turn into a bear with such little sleep...so I guess it's ok. If one of my kiddos isn't going to be a good napper I think it works out best that it is you...

Let's talk about nights. I nurse you for the last time around 5pm, you eat baby food around 6pm and then I give you a bottle around 7pm. Swaddled (still) and in bed by 7:30.  Generally you sleep until 4am...and then you wake up. Like clockwork. So I go in and feed you then you go back down until 7:30. I know you are getting to the point where you can sleep 12 hours without eating...so this won't last for much longer :) Although I only nurse you at 4am there were quite a few nights over the past month that you woke up crying starting as early at 11pm. Yikes! One of us would go in there, and quickly get you back to sleep.

In other news, you look identical to your brother. It's kinda crazy. I mean, take a look at Ryan at 6 months...

Cuteness. Love you bunches!