Must be a boy thing

The older Caleb gets, the more and more interested he gets in certain things.  I have been looking forward to getting away from  princesses, dolls, and tea parties and getting into cars, balls,  and swords.  What I wasn't expecting, well, at least not at such a young age, was Caleb's love for video games.  He goes CRAZY when it comes to video games.  He will point to the controller and then to  the tv,  then hand me the remote so I can change  the tv over to video game mode.  Of course, I don't play video games and I am sure I could figure out how to set it all up, but I just tell him  no and that  he has to wait  for daddy.....If you want to see how big of a fit  my boy can throw, just tell him No to video games!  Oh my!  Now, this silly boy knows that Daddy plays, so everyday  when David walks in the door, Caleb stands up, starts running in circles,  claps, and points to  the XBox controllers.  It is hilarious!  And it is not enough to just give him a controller, you have to actually turn on the game. 

Oh and don't think that it is just at our house.  Caleb has found his cousin's XBox controller and has turned on his XBox and started "playing."  On Tuesdays, I drop the kids off at my parents while I work and then we wait  until their cousins  come home from school so they can play together.  Caleb has gotten so happy to see Bennie Rey because he  knows he'll turn on the XBox and start playing.  When Ben is not home, he will point to his bedroom door and then to the XBox.  When you ask him if he wants Ben, he just smiles and nods his head yes. 

I can only imagine what he is going to be like in a few years when he actually knows what he's doing!

A little Modern Warfare 3



Video games brings together boys of all ages



For the record, David does not play everyday and when he  does play (usually on the weekends) it is at night after the kids are asleep.  Caleb's obssession started after only seeing David play once or twice.  haha

History of Sammie's Sleep

Let me first say that I have nothing against co-sleeping.  I know lots of parents who co-sleep with their children and I do think it has it's benefits, but  for David and me, we decided  that this was not something we wanted to do.  We started off really well when Samantha was born.  We always placed her in her crib at night.  I'll be honest, there were a few nights in the beginning where I fell  asleep while feeding her,  but once I woke up, I took her right to bed. 

Anyway, by about 6 months, when most babies were sleeping through the night, Sammie girl was still up 2 or 3 times a night.  So, by that third time, I was so tired and in the bed she went.    My rule was that it had to be after 5:00am though, because technically, that was the next day...I mean, it would not be crazy for me to get up and start the day at that time right?  Anyway, this lasted until about 17 months, when she finally started sleeping through the night.  Then at 18 months, the night terrors started and she was back in our bed.  At 22 months, she went into her toddler bed and at 24 months, she learned that she could get out of her toddler bed and crawl into our bed.  This was also the time when I was pregnant and really tired, so needless to say, we let her stay in our bed.  At 27 months, she was potty trained which meant she started waking up at night to go potty and then would just crawl in our bed. And at 29 months, Caleb was born and well, we were trying to get all the sleep we could, so  if that meant she was in our bed at 2am, that's what happened. 

And now almost a year and a half later, Caleb has been sleeping in his bed all night since birth and Sammie still sneaks in to our room.  We have tried just about everything. 

Bribing her with toys and candy

telling her she can't go somewhere because she didn't sleep in her bed

taking her back to her room as she screams and yells

waiting until she falls back to sleep and then taking  her in her room, only to have her wake up and back in our bed within an hour

sticker charts, which we have had hanging on our refrigerator for 5 months with 4 stickers on it

The list goes on and on...

So, a little over a week ago, I was up with my babes at the crack of dawn, because they apparently like to see the sun rise, and Sammie asks to watch tv.  I turn on her show and say something about how Caleb sleeps in his own room all night and he should watch his shows first.  I think I just said it because I was tired and tired of watching the same My Little Pony for the 100th time.  I forgot all about saying it as the day went on.

That night, the kids went to sleep and at 2:00am, once again, Sammie woke up to go potty.  I took her to the bathroom and then started back to my bed, knowing she was right behind me.  She  says, "Mommy, can you lay with me in my bed for a minute?"  I was confused, but was not going to fight this. 

The crack of dawn came around again and Caleb woke me up with a yell.  I took him  to the living room and we sat in the dark.  I was hoping he'd fall back to sleep, but I knew it was just wishful thinking.  15 minutes later, Sammie girl walked out with the biggest smile on her face and said "Good Morning Mommy!! I slept in my own bed last night!"  I told her I was proud of her and she replied, "Now, can you turn on my show first and not Caleb's?"  Yup, that's right, my little comment the day before totally got to her!  It has been more than a week and there  has been no one in our bed kicking us, pinching us, pushing us off the bed.  It has been wonderful!!! 

Three and a half years of trying and nothing has worked until now.  How simple was that?? 

Pumpkin Patch Playdate

I love  fall and all  that comes along with it.  Playdates are one of those things I love.  October  just had some fun stuff going on.  One of those things was the Pumpkin Patch.  Who doesn't like the Pumpkin Patch??

Caleb is still too little to appreciate it all, but he did love all of the running around and climbing he got to do.  He wasn't quite sure how he felt about thepetting zoo, but I think next year, he'll love it!

 Samantha really had fun this year.  She loved the tractor ride and who knew she knew so much about growing pumpkins...she was yelling out all sorts of answers.  And of  course the hay stack climbing was amazing for her.

And it is always more fun with friends...



Flashback Friday - Halloween

Man,  it has been a while since I did a flashback.  I've either been too busy or too tired, but here I am tonight with David out with the guys and the kids asleep...I actually have time and energy!  So, this flashback is going back to last year's Halloween time.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch with David's cousin and his family....

She didn't go anywhere without her doll, "Lou Lou"

Our family

Trent and Sammie...so little

The Ramirez Family

I also took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch with our play group

Look at all those sweet babies!

Blake and Sammie are always getting into something

And then on Halloween we dressed the kids up and did some trick or treating

My golpher, Caleb...this is actually a doggy costume. :)

She was sooo excited for candy

"Look at all the candy!"



Me with my baby boy...2 1/2 months old



My sweet pumpkin!

Ending the night with my princess

Last year was so much fun.  Sammie was old enough to really enjoy herself and I had a great time dressing Caleb up in different costumes. :) 

32

Yup, 32, that is how old I turned about a week ago.  I don't feel how I thought I would feel at 32.  You know, when you were 20 and thought that 30 is so old....When you thought all those 30 year olds had it all together.  Well, I don't feel old, and I don't have it all together, but I must say, I am enjoying my 30s a lot more than my 20s.  Well, maybe not more, but definitely in a  different way.  No more late nights drinking and hanging with my girls.  I mean, I still hang out with my girls, but it's more of an early evening, with maybe a drink or two, if that.  And now there's rarely a time when David and I go out to dinner and drinks with friends.  Now it's more of a "come over to our house and we will bbq and maybe have a drink or two. And be sure to bring the kids so they can play too." I don't know, maybe it's not a 30 year old thing, maybe it is a "been there, done that thing." Or a "I have kids now, so going out  every weekend doesn't appeal to me."  Whatever  it is, I am in a good place now....32 is going to be a good year.

So anyway, my birthday.  David surprised me by coming home from work early.   We  just spent a nice quiet evening together...well, as quiet as it could be with  Samantha and Caleb.  Sammie really wanted to make me cupcakes, so that is what she and David did.  And then, I got my gift.  David got me an external hard drive.  I  was so excited.  I know, like David said, "It's not a girly gift." but I have been wanting one for a long time!  It is great, somewhere to back up all my files...mainly pictures and  videos. I love that David knows me so well that he knows what I want  and will buy it, even if it isn't "girly."  Last year, it was a new smart phone, this year an external hard drive.  I can't wait for next year!  :) 

San Diego birthday fun

It seems as though the older I get, the less I care about celebrating my birthdays, but it is always a nice excuse to get out  of town for a day or so.  This year, I thought it would be nice to take the kids to Sea World.   Sammie has had a thing for dolphins lately and Caleb is all about animals.

We got to  Sea World around noon and true to Sammie's nature, it took her a little while to warm up to everything.  Caleb, on the other hand, could not wait to get out of his stroller and run around.  Once the day got going, we had a  lot of fun. 

Samantha loved the rope climbing, penguins, dolphins, whale show, and of course, the best part of her day was the sea star ride, which was like the tea cups. 

Watching the  Shamu show

She HAD to have the penguin because they were her favorite

She climbed the  ropes like 4 times

I don't know how I got this picture.  They were spinning soooooo fast

Caleb loved the little toddler play area, the sea turtles and the whale show.  And all the attention he got from everyone....he actually gave the lady in front of us a hug.

He could have stayed here all day

He was really into the show



So excited!


 



The next day, we woke up and took a little walk.  It was  nice because the hotel was right on the bay, so we just had to walk outside our room.  After that, we  headed to  Balboa Park and did some more walking around.  It was such a nice day.

It was such a wonderful weekend with my family.  There is no other way I would have wanted to spend my birthday.



Our little artist

I am, in no way, an artist or crafty.  I really, really, want to be, but I have learned to accept the fact that God did not give me this gift.  The whole, "Anybody can be crafty" is not true!  Anyway, with that said, I have always hoped that our kids would get David's artistic talents.  I mean, yes, it would be great if they got my love for  math, but let's face it, that's not fun. 

 I realize more and more everyday that  Samantha did get that talent.   She is amazing, if I do say so myself.

Caleb, Mommy, Logan (her buddy), Daddy and Sammie

A pig

"It's abstract, Daddy!"

"Ball with two sides"

The body

I think the last one looks like a horse.  I know she didn't do that on purpose, but I still like it. :)

I just love watching her color, draw, paint, build, mold....she does it all and she is so good!