Dino-Mania

It's official. 

The Dinosaur craze has finally reached our home.

I knew it would happen eventually. Have you ever stopped to think about how many things targeted at kids feature dinosaurs?  The boys have several outfits with "cuddly" looking dinosaurs printed all over, a unnaturally large percentage of children's books and shows feature them as the main characters, other usually non-dino related cartoons like "Dora" and "Go Diego Go"  have episodes on "rescuing" the extinct animals and the number of dinosaur toys in our house has climbed from 0 just a few months ago to almost a dozen in a very short time.

I'm not sure if the imbalance of testosterone in our house has led to the dinosaur explosion (how sexist of me to assume the dinosaurs are a boy centric toy, right?) but over the last few days a favorite game of our little princess, between reading books about dinosaurs and watching shows on them, is pretending to actually be a dinosaur. She especially loves ROARRRRRING  loudly at Max and Alex (who love it almost as much) and stomping around the house dino-like hoping to intimidate us with her scary roar and sharp "claws".

Somehow when I pictured my little girl playing pretend it didn't include mimicking an extinct prehistoric reptile.   Oh, well. At least I'm not having to deal with the seriously scary kid toys.... like Bratz. Yet.



 

Which is most likely to cause long term damage?

And Just Then Alex Realized What His Brother Meant by "The Wingman"

Better Late Than Lazy

After a quick glance at our poor neglected blog this afternoon I realized that I've only posted two other times in July! I guess we've been on a summer vacation of sorts and frankly when we've finally put all three kiddos in bed the last thing I feel like doing is sitting on our increasingly slower lap top (must be all those pics slowing it down.. note to self- burn pics to a CD before the whole thing crashes).

So for a rundown on the latest................

Patrick is forever busy with work, work and more work. In addition to his regular job, he will begin teaching a freshman level course next month. Luckily it will be during work hours so not a lot of additional time to put in during the weekends or evenings (besides prep) but it will be interesting to see how this new responsibility will play into all the other projects he has going on.

I've been contemplating taking a course in the fall (one of the benefits of Patrick's job being a couple of free classes each semester for self and spouse) but the trick is finding something I want to take in the evenings or weekends. So far I've found a Women, Politics and the Media class that looks interesting and another on Politics and Film with a concentration on the Middle East. Nerdy or not, I am a perpetual student at heart but I'm not sure whether I have the concentration (and time) available to dive into a course which will undoubtedly require several lengthy papers. We shall see. Something tells me I should probably sit it out at least one more semester.

Sophia is ,as always, her  wonderful, challenging self. She forever amazes me at the amount of knowledge she is soaking in daily and is by the same token constantly challenging me to stay one step ahead of her in terms of creative approaches to parenting a clever but willful little child. Although it can make it difficult for us as her parents, I'm definitely proud of her independence and her natural abilities as a leader.  They are traits that will serve her well as an adult.

Alex has transitioned from being a baby that most would likely describe as fussy to the most easygoing, gentle, happy of our three kids. Although he is constantly in motion (and on the verge of crawling any day now), he always has a very sweet disposition and easy smile.  In terms of personality it seems as though he'll likely be similar to his Dad... charming, down to earth and very calm.  Seems like he's becoming the  easy child I prayed for! (Who could handle three strongwilled children after all?)

Max is definitely the "baby" of the family and a momma's boy at that (which incidentally I love!)  He is most often described by others as a flirt and is constantly giggling or sharing his beaming smile with everyone.  Although he is not as mobile as his brother (but seriously Alex is crazy busy!) he is extremely curious and is constantly grabbing and pulling at EVERYTHING to investigate things further.  He's at his happiest being cuddled and held (and will loudly let you know know just how disappointed he is if feeling ignored) and reminds me most of a teddy bear... chubby, loveable and very sweet.

So that's it for now.. no exciting trips to exotic destinations to recount.  Just our ever evolving little family and the fun we have sharing daily life together.

One Eye Wonder

So there are a few reasons that I haven't posted in some time

1) We spent a few days back home with Grandma and Grandpa Campos (when did I start referring to my own parents as Grandma and Grandpa?) and had a great time visiting and celebrating Tia Sonia's birthday (there I go again..can't I just call her Sonia like a normal person?)

2) While in Carlsbad I forgot neglected to buy the one thing I'd forgotten while packing.. Contact Lens Solution... which led to my sleeping in contacts for a few nights resulting in a very nasty eye infection. (Not sure why I didn't just buy some contact solution. I was at the store plus it only costs a few dollars! Guess that's what I get for being lazy about caring for my eyes.)

3) While I was recovering from my nasty eye mess Sophia came down with a mysterious illness. No other symptoms other than a fever that just would not break. Even without additional symptoms the fever led to a few vomiting episodes (she always gets sick to her stomach when running a fever) and an extremely irritable two year old.

So in summation what's more fun than caring for twins and a sick toddler?

Caring for twins and a sick toddler with the use of only one eye.

Fun stuff!

Now that I've regained sight in both eyes and Sophia's on the mend I have to play catch up from the weekend and the few days since the weekend that we've been out of commission.

Somebody get me a job so I can take a break from all this work!

Swiper Strikes Again.

It's a well known fact that Sophia is a paci kid.  Always has been, and at some points I worried, she always would be. She not only loved the thing like a dear family member, she was truly addicted to it. Feigning for it is an understatement... she HAD TO HAVE IT to go to sleep, rest or otherwise function normally. Sadly I must admit I was her biggest enabler. Letting her have it at undesignated times (any time other than naps and bedtime) just so she'd be happy.  Honestly I felt like she'd been through so many changes in the last year (move to a new state, new home, new bed, potty training, new siblings etc)  that if she wanted her paci while watching Curious George far be it for me to take away her comfort item. Let the kid have some small joys in life. Hell, if I had an equally effective way to self soothe I wouldn't readily give it up either.

It was because of her notorious love of her paci that last week's events came as a complete surprise.

Monday morning she was on her usual hunt for a lost binky. Although we have a just in case stash of them she was looking for one in particular... the pink and orange one. I had decided to not play the enabler that morning so when asked as to the whereabouts of said binky I feigned ignorance (although I had just misplaced it a few minutes prior). Suddenly Sophia came up with the only explanation she could think of for what had happened to her binky...

Swiper the Fox must have SWIPED it!

And just like that she had created for herself a way to say good bye to her long cherished friend. No tears, no tantrums, no whining, no mention of the several other binky's waiting in reserve.....NADA.

Just a nice scenario, that we talked about in detail that day, in which Swiper came along and swiped her binky... for the good of a nice baby named Joe (also another element of her choosing) who was badly in need of a paci and who later thanked her profusely for being such a big girl and giving hers away.

And that was that.

Well that and the new Dora bike helmet she is getting in exchange for being such a big girl.

I must admit I have been lucky with that little one.  She not only adjusts to change amazingly well but with each milestone in her life has found a way to take a step forward without much assistance or intervention from us.  As a baby she weaned herself from nursing without any steps taken by me.. she was just done and ready to move on seemingly overnight.  Then later she transitioned from a crib to a toddler bed without so much as a complaint and a couple of weeks after the boys were born she decreed that she was done with diapers and virtually "potty trained" herself in a matter of days.  

This latest transition was the biggest surprise to me. Admittedly I was dreading it. I had anxiously  envisioned the hard and long fought battle that would surely ensue as a result of banning her long time, favorite lovey .. but true to form she did it in her own time, on her own terms.

I wonder what she'll outgrow next?

Goodbye and farewell old friend. My little girl is growing up fast.

Three Things 6.29.08

Three Things About Today:

1) The more sleep I get, the more sleep my body wants. It's constantly greedy for even more. For the first time in almost five months we are finally getting several consecutive hours of sleep. Alex is sleeping through the night (mostly) and Max is well on his way.  WIth each extra hour of sleep I get per night, I am seemingly that much more tired the next day.  It seems as if the adrenaline supply I've been living on since February is finally reaching peak reserves.  A few years ago I read an article on the subject of  "gourmet naps". While I don't entirely remember the premise the concept sounds appetizing enough to me. At this point who cares about the gourmet part.. I'm happy with even a twenty minute snooze.

2) So this one isn't really about today but since I'm still drooling over it, I'll blog it too. We joined Patrick's family on Friday night for a birthday dinner hosted by his fabulous Aunt Irene.  Anyone who's ever been to Irene's house knows she is the fantastic cook. We never pass up an invitation to join her for dinner because if Irene's cookin' you KNOW it's gonna be good.  This time was no exception. Everything was delicious from the brisket to the red enchiladas and tamales to the salads.. I could go on and on.  But then we got to the CAKE... the chocolate cake. Let me preface this entire statement by saying not only am I not a big fan of cake, I'm also not that crazy for chocolate. 

It was..... hands down ....THE BEST CAKE I'VE EVER HAD. E-V-E-R. 

Not only was it made entirely from scratch (frosting and all) ,it's chocolately goodness was a wonderful composition of moist, gooey, perfection that can only be described as "yummmmmmmmmm... cake".

And the best part? She gave us the leftover cake to take home and it was unbelieveably even more delicious the next morning. It sadly didn't last beyond one meal. I've informed Patrick that all I want for my birthday is another cake.   I'm totally and blissfully in love.

3)  Blogging about gourmet naps and chocolate cake? Truly the pondering of a mommy to newborns.

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