Sweet

It's hard to tell from this picture exactly whose birthday we celebrated yesterday. Although Sophia woke up singing Happy Birthday to YOU!!! (and sang it over and over again throughout the day), and the boys could hardly contain their excitement over chocolate cake and birthday candles it was actually Patrick who marked another year. 

And in honor of his birthday I'm going to brag on him again.

Yes, twice in one week.

Friday night I was set to bake chocolate chip cookies for a fundraiser bake sale I was participating in early Saturday morning. (Yes, people still do bake sales. And no, I've never participated in one that was profitable).

Unfortunately the second trimester has not been kind to me and after getting the kids to bed I wanted little to do with anything that required me to leave the couch. The plan was to get up before 6 am and bake up five or six dozen little beauties and tie them into cutesy little baggies complete with curly pink ribbon and all this before 7:20.  Just that and somehow get in a shower plus have time to get dolled up and look presentable.

Just blame the flawed plan on the mushy pregnancy brain.

At 6:20 Patrick woke me up and said "Honey, it's after 6 am."

CRAP!!!!

That's not actually what I said but I'm trying to keep it clean.

Before I could lunge frantically out of bed towards the kitchen Patrick added "But I've already started the cookies and the first batch is in the oven".

Swoon.

I don't care how adverse you are to sappy love stories. That is a good one. 

How many husbands would get up BEFORE six on a Saturday morning to make cookies of all things so their exhausted wife could get a few more minutes of sleep. 

Not very many.

Here is my prince charming hard at cookie making.

He finished making the rest of the cookies and let me take my time getting ready.

I was in charge of the cutesy ribbon part and I was able to make it out the door on schedule.

They were delicious too!

And bragging complete.

 Happy Birthday Patrick.

You are one of a kind.

For Patrick

(A belated Father's day post)

Yesterday I wondered whether the kids would ever know how lucky they are to have a Daddy like you.

They've never known any different than a Daddy who rather than plopping down on the couch and watching t.v. when he gets home from work gets down on the carpet and lets three little monkeys climb and wrestle all over him or plays endless rounds of hide-n-seek always pretending not to notice the giggling and jumping coming from behind the curtains. 

They've don't know that not all Daddies read to their kids every night before bed, helping with prayers and giving kisses before turning out the lights. They don't know that Daddy checks on them after they're asleep or that he's usually the first awake and out of bed when they're crying in the middle of the night.

They may even assume that it's a Daddy's job to let Mommy sleep in on weekends while he gets the kids ready for the day and makes coffee, pancakes, eggs or his famous chilequiles (although that may be his secret trick for finally getting Mommy up and out of bed).

They may not realize how lucky blessed we all are to have you as Daddy but what they do know is that every day they can count on Daddy being there, whether it's singing silly songs or changing the 18th

diaper of the day, you are here. Loving us.

It's the 14th Anniversary of Your 21st Birthday!

In true "Irene style" we celebrated Patrick's 35th birthday this year with enough food and drinks to feed a rowdy crowd of fifty! Enchiladas, red chile, two types of salad, three different sides and two desserts....no one has ever left her home with an empty stomach, (except for maybe Sophia who exists on popcorn and air alone). It's cliche but it really does seem like just "yesterday" we were celebrating his 30th at Irene's (sans three crazy kids of course!) I'm sure if you had asked us then where we'd be in five years neither one of us would have guessed correctly. Definitely not back in New Mexico with three small kids and another on the way... just kidding Mom!

So where will be when Patrick crosses into MIDDLE AGE in five short years? (Just had to get that jab in, ha ha!! That's what you get for marrying someone 7.25 years your junior!)

Hopefully five years wiser, one million dollars richer and 15 years younger looking. Okay so maybe not all that but happy, healthy and together would be good. And we could definitely do without the addition of three more crazy kids. Mass production of children is better left in hands of those fun loving Duggars. Incidentally don't you think that over the last five years Michelle Duggar, AKA Momma Duggar, has actually gotten wiser (she's always full of 'soft spoken' parental gems), richer (thanks to TLC!) and younger looking (okay maybe not younger but she doesn't really seem to age either) despite giving birth to something like 31 more children? It's all just a little bit too eerie.

Almost Time for the Holidays!

As I sit at my lunch break too lazy to head to the University Gym today, I am beyond excited for the Holiday Season to spend every possible moment with our ever expanding family. Not only are the boys (Alex & Max) 9-months old now and full of adventure and wonderment, but our precious honey girl Sophia (age 3) is old enough to appreciate and marvel at the excitement of it all.  Tie that up with my beautiful wife (who is like a kid a candy store about the Holidays) and the only thing left (for Thanksgiving anyway) is a stuffed Turkey.

Of course, yours truly can play a stuffed turkey pretty well (as well as Old Saint Nick in a couple of more weeks). I just hope we capture as much of it all as possible and that we are fortunate enough to have friends and family around to join us as well. 

It looks like this year we'll even get a Holiday card out to everyone, so wait by the mailbox!

Happy Holidays to All and to All a Good Stock Market

Daddio

Happy Birthday Love!

In celebration of the 5th anniversary of your 29th birthday I have compiled a list of the top 34 things I love most about you.

TOP 34 LIST

1) You are a wonderful husband

2) You are an amazing father

3) You are my best friend

4) You make a mean breakfast (chilequeles being my favorite)

5) You know all the words to every song you've ever heard... and you help me when all I can come up with is "something, something, something"

6)You are the kindest, most down to earth person I've ever know

7) You dance like a goofball..but it always makes me smile.

8. You are definitely "FUN DAD" to Sophia and the boys. No one else can make them laugh like you can.

9) You are the best card player I know.

10) You are great with directions and never get us lost on road trips ...even without a map

11) You are patient...VERY VERY VERY patient.

12) You are awesome at karaoke. Your best impersonation by far...."All Right Stop, Collaborate and Listen. Ice is back with my brand new invention. Somethings grabs a hold of me tightly. Then I flow like a harpoon day and nightly.  Will I ever stop.. Yo, I don't know".

13)You work hard (but always find time to play hard too.. see above)

 14) You are smart AND have common sense.  Truly a rare combo!

15) Your smile is like a Sunday Morning

16) You are good at any sport you play..even at your age! :)

17) You don't stress over the little things (unlike someone in our family)

18. You inspire others to dream big by going after your own aspirations

19) You are honest and fair

20) You treat others with respect and kindness

21) You are brave and strong (my hero!)

22) You have as much fun playing with water balloons or building a cardboard castle as Sophia does

23) You pack a mini van with luggage, swings, strollers, etc like nobody's business

24) You are competitive (and you never let me win)

25) You are muy, muy handsome!

26) You are a good son and brother

27) You have a perfect driving record and great credit score. Yay for low premiums!

28)You always do the right thing. Even when it's not the easy road to take.

29) You are great at riddles and puzzles. I mean seriously. How do you always figure that stuff out?

30) You are a good leader and are held in high regard by many

31) You let me sing to country music in the car (even though you can't stand country music.. or is it my singing)

32) You have given me three wonderful children

33) You make me proud to be your wife

34) You are all mine!

Happy Birthday Patrick. Thanks for being wonderful, lovable you.

All our love,

-Cristal, Sophia, Alex and Max

It's On Like Donkey Kong

Ok, Here's the real story. I spent 25 mins. writing a Cleaver (Ward that is...no maybe Wally) witty post which included a pledge to my lovely wife to blog for our family that included a reference to the top 10 video games of the 80's while making fun of my age (birthday on Fri.) along the way.  Then my computer froze and deleted the whole damn thing. Yes I said damn as I am quite perturbed right now and may very well hurl this computer across this slightly awkward shaped room.

Hey, now that I think about it, Cristal may have done something to cause this to happen as she also calls me Flanders (Simpson's reference) sometimes due to my Oakalie Doakalie cornball comedic reference (or lack there of)...Just Kidding Love.

Anyhow, I will accept your challenge and although I can not promise how often I will write posts and just how great I will be of a Blogger, I do promise to you and our family my love and dedication forever as long as it doesn't interfere with my ability to play Frogger (or Donkey Kong. or any video game, or sporting event on TV, or athletic competition on TV, or anything that isn't blogging).  Once again just kidding...look for more Daddio posts in the future!

Here's a shout out to all of you reading this post who I (we) haven't spoken to or caught up with for a long time.  You know who you are Zander, Maxidoscious, Sophia Lou, Mamadows, Maxy, Acorns, Big Smiles, Honey Sunshine, Squirmy, Belly Fart, PoopTastic, Drool Boy, Cry Man, Never Sleep, Boob Lover and Ray Ray.  Wait a minute I think those (Some of them anyhow) are the nicknames of some of the meanest gang members in Las Cruces. The Campos Nelson Clan!

---Patrick

I'm Calling You Out Nelson

When Patrick and I started dating rather than adopt a cutsie petname like "honey or sweetheart" I often referred to him as "Mr. Nelson".  Not sure why the "Mr." part. Perhaps because he's a tad bit older than me (give or take seven years) :) or because he seemed so much more sophisticated and worldly than me (nah, I think it was the age thing). Anyhow several years later and I've dropped the "Mr." leaving only the Nelson. As in "Are you kidding me, Nelson. Golf again?" or "Hey Nelson, which baby do want to be in charge of tonight?". 

 But I digress... It occurred to when I was posting our "And Babies Make Five" entry that the voice of my dear Mr. Nelson is notably absent from our "Campos Nelson Family" blog.  I feel fairly confident in saying that finding out about our twins was the biggest shock of our lives, but truth be told it would be far more interesting hearing from his perspective how life around the Campos Nelson household has been since that day forward.

So here's my open challenge to YOU... Yes, you Nelson! I would love to enrich the perspective of our family blog  with regular entries or commentary by the Head of Familia. (No, not me silly! I mean you!) I know you're a busy man (boy do I ever) but just think of how valuable your perspective on our family adventures will be to the kids years from now.  (Okay, guilt trip over).

So whatdaya say Nelson? You up to the challenge?

 (One Very Busy Man- Juggles)

Dear Husband

As you know life with a spirited toddler and two newborns can sometimes get the best of us.  No more dancing and singing in the kitchen while preparing dinner (remember we actually used to do that?), no more lazy Saturday mornings, spontaneous trips to Vegas (although we are within a mere 12 hour drive again.... hint, hint) or weekends spent wondering what we could possibly do with SO MUCH spare time.   Although I'd like to think we'll soon return to our carefree, easy going ways I'm not willing to bet it'll happen anytime this side of 2025.  However despite the many ways in which life has changed I am always thankful for the little things you do to make sure we both maintain our sanity amidst the crying, spit up, tantrums and poop (yes, poop).  Sophia, the boys and I are incredibly lucky to have you in our lives and are always surprised and thankful that you return to the madhouse each night (despite what may be waiting behind the door when you get home..most commonly a disheveled wife and three crazy kids). We love you Patrick! Thanks for all you do....

Your Wife

Family Resemblance?

Art Project

Sophia spent saturday morning painting her new "bungalow" which Patrick recently constructed out of two oversized wardrobe boxes. Although it's an eyesore in our living room it's been an endless source of entertainment and well worth the lost space. Since it's become the focal point, the resident artists' decided to have a go at it and make it more aesthetically pleasing. Thankfully I wasn't around when the project started (indoor finger painting with a two year old and no protective towels or clothing-gasp!) but the end result was a very happy girl.

Why a Little Girl Needs Her Daddy

Sophia has discovered a few magic words.

"Will you play with me please, mommy?" always sweetly followed up with "You want to?"

As unimpressive as that statement seems, when uttered from the mouth of your adorably wonderful two year old (staring up at you with big, innocent doe like eyes) what other choice do you have but to play!

As a result I spend a good amount of time with Sophia reading books, coloring, painting, building towers out of blocks, playing tea party with innumerable baby dolls etc, etc.

Now granted Patrick has spent his fair share of time at tea parties or reading "Big Girls Use the Potty" but when posed with the question "Do you want to play with me, puhlease, Daddy?" He often takes a different approach.

Below are a few examples of Daddy''s version of "playing".

(A Word to Either of the Grandma's Reading This: He usually catches her ..... Usually)



One Happy Little Girl!