An Unforgettable Christmas

We used the camcorder for Christmas so I do not have pictures. But here is a documentary of the after-Christmas happening. These pictures were taken about noon and shortly after, Daddy started throwing up. At about 6pm, my stomach didn't feel well and by 7:30 it was my turn to empty my stomach. Matty started doing the same thing at 3am the next day. Katie had her first vomit session at 5am, and then Jojo at 10am. It was a family affair.

Here is Matty with the trike that Santa left him. He was so excited! He rode it around and around the house tirelessly.

This is Katie with Daddy (just before he got sick) while he uses the laptop. Katie didn't warm up to her grandparents until the next day.

Jojo showing off a lovely smile just for Daddy.


Matty with his Papaw lounging around watching some Noggin shows. Matty ran around until he got tired and sleepy, he would then crash on the couch and watch TV to recharge and then he was off again.

Jojo and Matty hanging out with their Nana.

We were all so happy until after lunch on the 26th and then it went downhill fast after that. I have heard some friends on the opposite coast go through the same thing and I believe it's the same bug. It spread like wild fire through us, affecting 10 people in a matter of 2 days.

Go to Sleep

After a few moments of quiet following our tickling fest before bed, I said, "Good night, Matty." A couple of seconds went by without a response, so I said more insistently, "Good night, Matty!".

He finally replied, "Good night, Mommy."

"I love you."

No response. "I love you, Matty." I said insistently again while I turned to face him.

Matty turned the opposite way. "Go to sleep, Mommy. Go to sleep."

*sigh*

Mommy Moon

While in the car on the way home from school, Matthew saw the moon. "Mommy, look a baby moon," he said.

"That's the baby moon?" I replied.

"Yes, Mommy."

"But where's the mommy moon?" I asked.

"The mommy moon is giving baby milk, milk from the boobs."

same old, same old

Katie looks like one she's wearing one of those Egyptian headdress, doesn't it?

Jojo looking so innocent.

Everyday we start getting ready to pick up Big Bro from school at 3:30. I nurse the twins, change diapers, put them in their snugly warm carseats (thanks to the carseat sack, there's no need to change to warm clothes before we go!) and then put on their hats and mittens.

It took a little while to find a hat and mitten combo that fits, though. I found hats that fit just right, but their hands could barely fit the mittens, then the mittens fit but the hats are too big. I finally got lucky at Old Navy. Now, who gets to wear which color? The current system is whichever color comes first in the alphabet goes with Jojo and Katie gets the other. Who knows if we'll have to come up with some other system later on, but for now this works.

Big Bro the Teacher

We finally bought a 2nd exersaucer and it seems Big Bro is more excited about it than the twins. Here he is teaching Katie how to use one of the toys. He is turning out to be a really great big brother. He tells me when they are crying, and sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when I ask him to. And of course, the girls just eat him up especially Katie. The taste of the lollipop that he shared with her still brings a big grin on her face.

Merry Christmas!

There were no runny noses and teary eyes this weekend, and certainly not fevers. So we finally made it to Sears and got our pictures taken. Suffice it to say, our Christmas photo card may be a little late, if not right on time. Sorry!

I couldn't have planned the day any better. No one had a tantrum. All three of the kiddies were great. Katie (in green) was just a grinning little princes but Jordan (in red) was a bit reserved. She gave everyone the evil eye every time the flash went off. She has an evil eye that could make a grown man cower, just like her momma. I'm so proud.

After shelling out the children's college fund to pay for the portrait orders, we went to see Santa. Matty and I waited (Daddy took the girls to walk around the mall) in line for almost an hour and I heard not a peep of whinning. When it was his turn, he ran to Santa and told him his wish list - a nice shiny bike/trike with monster tires.

It's a great day!

Some Tender Lovin'

We were having a leisurely dinner at Panera (very rare occurance when in public) when hell almost broke lose. Daddy up and left to go to the bathroom without telling the little boy first, and left me to fend for myself. Do I run after Matty and leave the girls behind, or do I stay and let him run after his Daddy and hope that Daddy realized what was going on? Thankfully, I was able to grab Matty before he was able to run and spared me having to make some rash decision.

You would think Matty was abandoned at the side of the street the way he was bawling when Daddy came back. With a little lovin' Matty finally quieted down.

Oh Daddy, don't you know by now that you must check with this boy first and let him know where you're going?

Leg Ride

Daddy found a big tick hitching a ride on his leg. It's a tick with the humongous head.

Creative Project

Creative juices are flowing just in time to get the teachers' gifts out. I'm sure Miss Meagan and Miss Sonja would be thrilled with such personalization. Now, only 7 more bags to decorate.

Is it child labor if the child enjoys it? Hmmmm.

Crazy People

Can we say L-O-O-P-Y? Perhaps it was the cough medicine, or perhaps it's the genes.

(Jojo and crazy Mommy)

It must be the genes.

I think apples don't far from the tree and this is very very true in our household. Crazy Mommy plus loony Daddy equals crazy loony kids.

The Rock Star!

In between a high temperature of 102.2 F and a low of 99.0 F, this is the Sunday night jam session brought to you by Matty himself. Matty on guitar, Mommy on baby rattle, Daddy on drums, Katie & Jojo as audiences. Rock on!

(Click on the picture to play the video.)

Finally, Christmas Decorations Are Up!

Since it's already dark by the time we get home from picking Matty up from pre-school, he has had great fun looking at all the Christmas lights on people's homes. One day he said excitedly, "Pretty lights!" but then he realized something and said in a sad voice, "There are no lights in my home, Mommy! No lights in my home."

So finally, here it is. You wouldn't know he was suffering from a 101.1 fever by the way he jumped up and got busy hanging decorations on the tree.

Here is Big Bro putting up decorations on the tree, with the girls as spectators.

Big Bro disappeared and the spectators got bored.

All done! Or as done as it's going to get. Big Bro got distracted by the train ornaments and went off somewhere with them. The twins got bored and started crying. All done indeed.

Bath Time

We don't have a lot of shots of the little man in the bath, so this is long overdue. He is always so happy at bath time, but it isn't easy to get him there! It's always, "I want to do this first and then take a bath."

He came down with a low grade fever in the middle of the night, but he is his normal difficult self this morning (with no fever) so we sent him off to school. Hopefully he stays well and doesn't come down with the flu courtesy of his dad.

We are scheduled for a family portrait on Sunday, but right now that isn't looking too good. I don't think sick kids make for a good photo.

Hands Off!

The twins got their 3rd RSV shot this morning, and their first flu shot. Hopefully the flu shot provides some immediate protection, as we suspect Daddy's cold that took him down from Monday thru Wednesday was really the flu.

This little red sign was a gift from the makers of the RSV shot and I love it! It saves me from having to tell people not touch the girls, especially when I pick up Big Bro. Though I don't have to worry about Big Bro's class mates gathering around the stroller and touching the twins when I pick him up from pre-school, I now have to worry about adults touching them when I leave them in the hallway and I'm not around.

Mine, Mine, Mine!

Katie: Oooh, a hand. Yummy!

JoJo: My hand! Mine!

Katie: No, I found it first!!

JoJo: Mine, mine, mine! Give it back!

Katie & JoJo: I'm tired, let's just lie down.

A Sasquatch No More

You would think a reaper with some sort of a machete is coming at him. The drama! All I wanted to do is show of his new haircut. It turns out we don't have a sasquatch (just look at the picture below, if you don't believe me) as a first born. Underneath all the hair was a handsome, mischievous, not-so-little 2-year old (who can hardly contain himself with the thought of Santa bringing him a bike for Christmas).

Wiggle Worms

Is it my mommy brain playing tricks on me? I could have sworm they were facing the same way when I put them down to sleep.

Katie (in white) , you're such a wiggle worm!

Being Artistic

Eight hours in pre-school where I'm sure he paints and what does he want to do when he gets home? He wants to paint some more. Son, Daddy and I dubbed you the Energizer Bunny (you keep going and going and going...) when you were a baby and to this day, you still are.

Up Close and Personal

Nothing much has happened this past few days, so here are close up pictures of the twins.

Here is Katie with as many fingers as she can put in her mouth. Unlike Big Bro, she and her sister prefer fingers to pacifiers. Notice the red rash around her mouth from all the drooling. (By the way, Big Bro has been paci-free for almost 2 weeks. Good riddance!)

This is Jojo, who is looking more and more like Katie because her cheeks are filling out nicely. She is still 2 lbs behind Katie a month ago, but as they get bigger, the 2-lb difference is becoming more and more negligible.

They will get their ears pierced soon (probably within the next month), so Daddy and I looking for gold studs (one yellow and one white gold). But it is turning out to be a not-so-easy task. They are also getting closer and closer to eating solid foods. MMmmmm, brocolli. Maybe we can entice Big Bro to eat veggies, too....and Daddy, too! Shyaah.

BandAid

This is what happens when mommy is busy on the laptop and daddy is busy in the office and there are Curious George and Shrek bandaids lying around.

Turkey Coma

I wonder if there is a truth to the Turkey Coma. What do you think?

Being Social on Thanksgiving Day

Jojo was quite the social creature this Thanksgiving holiday. She just ate up the attention and smiled at everyone. You wouldn't know it with this picture, though. I pointed the camera at her and she got busy pouting her pretty little lips.

Katie, posing prettily in her burgundy dress, was quite the opposite. She studied everyone's faces and reserved her smile for mommy only. She has perfected a worried look about her, though it is not evident on this shot.

The girls taking advantage of the available free arms. Jo is quite animated, while Katie studies her Nana's face.

Checking Out the Ponies with Nana

Matty had a lot of fun looking at the Ponies with Nana.

Thanksgiving Trip

The trip to see the family normally takes 3 1/2 hours and in fact, it took us that long. The planets alligned perfectly and the trip was smooth and stress-free.

Daddy drove the entire time.

Matty refused to nap for the first hour because he wanted to see Nana and Papaw. He finally fell asleep without any fuss after an hour. Though we did have to have an emergency stop at the side of the road to make a pit stop. Daddy was a little worried we may get arrested, but hey, who have ever heard of a bladder of a 2-year old listening to such logic.

Jojo was content to just stare at something that the window. I don't quite know what it was, but hey, as long as she's happy, we're all happy.

Katie just found a comfy position and got some zzzzz's.

Me? What did I do? I wanted to catch some zzzzz's but Matty had other ideas and demanded that I be on his beck and call until he fell asleep. I didn't mind. It was a stress-free, F-word free trip. Everyone is happy, who could ask for more.

Goodbye, Paci!

The Paci Wizard visited Matty on Saturday and took all his pacifiers away, but he did leave him a Cars sticker book. It was a bit lame, so the Paci Wizard promised to return another day and give him a big boy toy. Matty requested a Deigo helicopter.

A few days later, the Wizard returned and surprised Matty with the helicopter and a Diego boat. It's day 4 of being paci free and so far so good. Though Daddy might say otherwise. Matty has been anti-daddy since the disappearance of the paci. Coincidence? We may never know.

The Boys Against The Girls

The Boys terrorizing the Girls.

Mommy didn't join in to even the odds, but it seems the girls would need to train a bit more. I hear twins attack together. One from the front, and the other from the back. I would sleep with one eye open if I were you, boys.



Jojo & Katie

If you can't tell them apart, don't worry. Neither can we! Jojo is filling up her cheeks nicely that we often do not realize who were holding until we look closely. But don't worry, girls. We've never switched you. Katie is Katie and Jojo is Jojo...or did Katie become Jojo and Jojo become Katie? Oh no! Well, you're identical so it's alright. Right?

Child Labor

It is almost Thanksgiving and we've just only taken our Halloween decorations away. Wait. Did I say we? I meant Matty. Do you think we're breaking any child labor laws 'round this here part?


Notice the dead grass and compare it to the oh so luscious green grass over yonder. Oh Matty, the chores that await you when you grow up.

Three Musketeers

On a lazy afternoon, when there's nothing else to do, what better way to amuse ourselves then to get on Big Bro! Especially when he's busy watching Diego.

Big Bro hardly notices!

Except when Katie started pulling his hair. But the great Big Bro that Matty is, he just takes it. Perhaps because it's 2 against 1? Wait, I thought it was one for all and all for one?