Christmas

I'm going to try to get this blog all caught up for those of you who follow the trio through this site. Sorry I've been a slacker. I took a little break because work, life, etc. was busy, but I need to get this up to speed since it's the best way that I keep track of the silly stuff they do.

First order of business, pictures of our winter photo shoot for our Christmas cards. We did these in early December because Billy grew a terrible mustache in November, and I couldn't stand the thought of that hideous thing in our pictures.

Here they are with Papa Nando and Maureen.

They love their Mimi! They start every sentence to her with, "Hey, Mimi." She wants to get a vanity plate for her car that says that.

Silly, family fun.

There were a bunch more from the photo shoot, but I just wanted to give a sample.

The grandpas still watch the kids every Tuesday. They are constantly seeking out new ways to keep them entertained. On this particular Tuesday, it rained, and this is what the grandpas came up with. Let me tell you, we had to do some serious scrubbing in the bath tub that night.

We visited Santa like a million times during the holidays. The picture above is from breakfast with Santa at their school. It's still impossible to get a picture with all of them smiling and looking at the camera. Next Christmas maybe we'll have better luck. Didn't I say that last year?

We also had breakfast with Santa is our neighborhood. They enjoyed that fiesta as well...especially since there were donuts there. Abby is obsessed with the powdered sugar variety and Marie likes the chocolate frosted, but she eats all the frosting off and leave the lower 1/2 of the donut. Will eats them all.

Here they are at Mimi's waiting on some Christmas cookies. Look at Will's face. He's so funny.

Winnie's "Tail"

Because we don't have enough issues keeping up with our kids, Winnie decided to be problematic this month. She had an injury to the tip of her tail, and she was bleeding. We think she had thorn that nicked her tail in the yard when she was playing near the rose bushes. Well, she sprayed blood all over our walls. It was like somebody was painting with red paint all over the place. Well, it wouldn't heal because every time she wagged her tail, she would whack it on the wall, and she would re-injure it. We ended up having to take her to the vet, and they tried to wrap it, but she ate the wrapping off twice because she figured out how to flip her tail over her cone and chew at it. So, it kept getting injured.





The vet wrapped it in plastic casing, but she ate that off too, along with part of her nasty tail. So, now she had eaten two bandages, a large piece of plastic, some tail, and she STILL had a bloody tail. Then, we started to get worried that we might have to open her up and fish out all the crap she ate. Not to mention, my Mega Den was getting sprayed with blood several times per day.


Well, the vet decided amputation was the next step. They thought maybe just the tip of her tail. Then, it was 1/3, and then, maybe 1/2. Well, I think they probably ended up taking 2/3 of the thing off.


Here she is with her little tail nub, but she's so relieved. She's not trying to chew at it anymore. However, she started throwing up after coming home from surgery. She barfed up the bandages (intact) and the plastic casing. Nice. She had to take heartburn meds to settle down her stomach and a rice and chicken breast dinner. So, now I have to remember to get her an antibiotic, 2 pain killers, and a heartburn med every day. Things aren't crazy enough around my house I guess.

Daddy's Little Helpers

They had a great time helping Billy clean up the enormous amount of leaves we had in our yard. Billy is very excited for the additional help the future holds. I could see him formulating plans to train them to mow, aerate and overseed, weed, etc. They have a big future ahead in our yard!

Halloween Happenings

The kids have had lots of opportunities to dress up. I feel better about spending $30 on each costume, instead of my typical $15 Old Navy costumes.

Here they are at their school Halloween Parade.

We were instructed to have them wear regular play clothes under their costumes, but that morning, as we were trying to get out the door, they all had their own ideas about what to wear under their costumes. Abby decided she would wear nothing but underwear under her DJ Lance Rock ensemble. Will wore underwear and a t-shirt, and Marie wore all her clothes (so cooperative). The teachers must have been baffled when they took off their costumes. Oh well.

This is their whole class in costume. It was really cute to see all of the different outfits.

Next, we did the Halloween Hike at the Nature Center. They had people dressed up as different animals/costumes along a trail, and each character told their story. Will, of course, asked the characters a bunch of questions.

This was at the pavilion area after the hike. Abby decided to change into her dad's cap. Someone asked her if she was dressed as a big game hunter. The glasses totally crack me up.

Tomorrow is the big day....stay tuned for some pics from that.

More October Events

It's been a busy month for us! We've had birthday parties and play dates galore!

Here are the girls riding a pony at a birthday party. Check out the boots!

Here are Will and Marie at a different birthday party. They were really into these wheel barrows. They just pushed them around the whole time at the party. When it was time for cake, they pushed the wheel barrows right next to their seats, sang Happy Birthday, ate cake, and took off again with the wheel barrows.

Will is a super cool dude in his blue jeep. He already is picking up the ladies. This is our neighbor Kendall. She came up to the cul de sac to play with us, and before she got there, Will kept saying, "Kendall is going to sit in my jeep." He would point to the seat next to him. This is their first official date, I guess.

Typical Friday Night

Billy went to a concert on Friday night, and Mems came by to pick up Willers. I had the girls with me, and we went up to watch television in mommy and daddy's room before bedtime. Well, poor Marie was exhausted.....

She was sacked out about 10 minutes into an episode of Barney en espanol. Winnie seemed to think Marie's tummy was a comfortable pillow.

Abby, on the other hand, wanted to watch 2 episodes of Barney, then read 2 books, then drink some water....Why does she not get tired? I was exhausted!

Finding Mimi

Mems had an open house because she recently moved. She called the event "Finding Mimi." The kids, of course, were the entertainment for the party. The kids love Gary. Well, they love to jump on the couch, and Gary happened to be sitting on the couch, so he got attacked. They were all over him and another of Mimi's guests that were trying to watch football. Sorry guys.

I'm also sorry to Mems' friend, Nicolette, who had on a low cut top, and was checked out by Will...numerous times. He is totally boobie obsessed. He would start talking to the lady, but his gaze would drop, and he would stop mid-sentence and stare at her chest. Nicolette told Will that next time she saw him, she was going to be wearing a turtle-neck. At least she took it all in stride.

Here's Abby doing her Elf on a Shelf impersonation. I can't believe it's almost time to get that thing out.

They lined up their chairs and said it was a choo-choo train.

Abby stayed at Mimi's after the party. The next day, she wouldn't let go of that baseball glove. She says she's going to play baseball when she's bigger and that Papa Nando is going to show her how. Will says he's going to play golf with daddy. Marie says she's going to play soccer. So funny that they have already decided these things. I think I'm going to be busy running them around to sports!

Mems bought these shadow/memory boxes for each of the kids. She has them pick out their favorite pictures, and she puts them in there with stickers that represent them and sayings. They have turned out really cute. This is Abby working on hers. Mems said that she had definite ideas of what pictures she wanted to use, and she would not be swayed into the ideas Mems had. She's a strong-willed girl! (Okay, stubborn....I can't imagine where she gets that quality.)

Pumpkin Patch Visit

We made a visit to a Pumpkin Patch this year again. We tried a different one...same crap, different place. They had a pumpkins, a jumpy castle, hayride, farm animals, face painting, etc. It was the perfect amount of entertainment for one morning with 3 preschoolers. Alice, Drew, and Jake joined us, and so did some friends of mine from work. We had a fun time!

After nearly 2 million attempts to get a picture with all 3 of them sitting on pumpkins, looking at the camera and smiling, we gave up. This was the best we could do. Screw it. I had already had a long morning by the time we got there because I have to beg Abby to wear gender appropriate clothing. I was thrilled when after nearly an hour of negotiations, she wore this dress. Never mind that I had a dress like Marie's but in black and white so they would coordinate, but she wouldn't have any part of that. Again, screw it.

They loved riding behind the tractor. Will wanted to drive the tractor, but he settled for taking in the scenery. Then, he proceeded to drown us in his questions the whole time. Who that is driving the tractor? Does a farmer drive a tractor? Can I drive a tractor when I get a little bit bigger? Does this tractor go around the farm? Does this tractor pick up pumpkins?

So Stylish

Michele styled every one's hair the other day. They never let me do their hair. They typically run off to school with bed head. Abby especially has a tangled rat's nest that sits on her head everyday. She twists her hair at night, and she gets nudos (knots in Spanish). When she has lots of them, she'll say, "I had a rough night." The nudo twisting is her stress relief. Who knew being 3 could be so stressful?

Her hair looks so much better this way. These little braids are adorable!

Marie's hair is long, straight, and thick. Michele got hers into a fancy French braid. She was very proud of it.

Once Will realized the girls were getting braids, he demanded his own. When he was told that his hair wasn't long enough, he requested pony tails. This hair style makes him look like a white rapper. He needs a good nickname. Will-Z, Widdy, Vanilla Pudding...all viable options.

Just had to throw a few random shots in here. Marie is making her, "I'm very good at faking I'm upset face" here.

Here's Abby...shockingly, she's dressed in orange. I like that she has on boots with this ensemble. The girl is not afraid to mix and match.

Will--what a little charmer. Look at this face! I have to squeeze him all the time. In fact, I must go do that right now.

The 3 Amigos

Things have gotten so much easier since they have gotten a little older and realized that they have playmates that are available 24/7. Well, that sucks a bit at 10 p.m. when they are still chatting up a storm in their rooms because they have each other, but is great for when I need to do something and can tell them to play together.
Here they are making silly faces.

Here they are digging in the dirt--messy but very entertaining. I can give them a bath if it means they will dig for 30 minutes straight.

Walking down our street duckling style.

Getting ready to enjoy a rainy day--they love any excuse to wear their rain boots!

Will's Update

Don't let his devilishly handsome face fool you.....this kid is a maniac!

Will also loves to ride his bike, but he isn't particularly careful. He's a wild man.

Look at how calm and chill he looks. He's just resting as we drive from one location to the next. As soon as we open the door, he's ready to roll!

Will was not happy that the girls got ballet shoes and leotards. He asked, "Where's mine?" I had to remind him that he would be taking karate, instead of ballet. I observed the first class, and they do the ballet and karate in the same gym. Will hung out in the middle of the gym most of the class and would run back and forth between the classes. Poor boy is so confused!

He's so white and skinny. He's a really good eater, but he has no meat on his bones.