I can only hope that if I take a picture, it would last longer.

Matty's obsession with fire trucks, fire stations, and Firemen started with Fireman Sam several months before Halloween of 2007. Though Fireman Sam was a wholesome, educational TV program for young kids, I thought I would go insane watching the same sets of episodes over and over and over again. The Halloween only cemented the obsession because we bought him a fireman costume. And then there is the occassional fire drill at school, and visits from the local firefighters. Oh, and there just happens to be a couple of fire stations on the way to school that he just has to see everyday, twice a day (on the way to school with Daddy, and on the way home with me). We thought it'd get old, but a year later, with firetruck toys big and small, his obsession is still going strong.

Sometimes when we eat out, we see firemen eating where we go. Oh boy, Matty just gets googly-eyed for those firemen. And there was acually once when the Fire Chief asked him if he wanted to get in the fire truck after he ate his lunch.

We saw a fire truck at Wal-Mart today, so I decided that from now on, I will take his picture with the fire truck. This may be fueling his obsession, but that's alright. I think it's a whole lot better than being obsessed with policemen (who have guns). Though a Policeman did tell him once that it's "Policemen first, Fireman second." Matty would disagree, of course.

I've never been so embarassed...

I thought our "family picnic" as Matty calls it, was going to be cancelled this afternoon because of the storm, but it was on. It didn't even rain. On Fridays, Daddy tries to pick Matty up from school and we all meet somewhere for dinner. Tonight it was Chick-Fil-A so that Matty could use his Certificate of Bravery. He gobbled up his chicken and was off to play in the playarea, while Daddy, and I and the twins ate leisurely. As another reward for being so good at the dentist yesterday, we went to Wal-Mart. Matty could pick one toy.

While walking around, he all of a sudden pointed and exclaimed, "Mommy, a big, fat, giant woman!". I swear I wanted to melt into nothing right then and there. He was pointing at an obese woman! So I grabbed his hand and kept right on walking, really fast, avoiding all eye contact. I bet I turned bright red.

How do you teach a 3-year old it isn't polite to say that? Afterall, he is just being observant and stating the obvious. Oh, I just know more of this is going to happen from now on, so I need a comeback to save face in public. Help!

Matty received a Certificate of Bravery!

Bright and early this morning, Matty had his first ever dentist visit. I've been building him up to it to make sure it goes without a hitch, and it sure did! He let the hygienist show him the tools and then off to polishing. When the hygienist was done, she told Matty to wait for Dr. Castro. Matty sat quietly for a minute and then started calling for Dr. Castro out loud! It hilarious.

Dr. Castro said Matty has no cavities, but would need braces in the future since his teeth are alread crowding and he already has an over bite. I guess we should start saving now. But then again, how can we when this little boy always wants to go to the store!

So for being very brave, Matty recieved a certificate of bravery with a Chik-Fil-A coupon. He then went to school and excitedly showed his teacher his chewed up certificate. He started chewing on it in the car!

While I took Matty to the dentist, Daddy went to the DMV to get a vision test for his driver's license. He took the twins with him. I must admit I was a little worried about this, but the twins came back in one piece so I guess I was worried for nothing. I sure do hope there isn't a confession from him a few months from now about what really happened though.

confessions of a 3-year old

We were eating dinner last night when Matty approached me.

Matty: Mommy, I have to tell you sumfin'. Mommy, I went to quiet mat two times.
Me: You got in trouble twice?
Matty: Yes. I pushed Evan again.
Me: What do you mean again? Did you push him and then you got in throuble?
Matty: Yes.
Me: And did you do it the 2nd time?
Matty: Yes, I did.
Me: *speechless and shaking my head*
Matty: Mommy, it's Ok! It'll be Ok.
Me: You're right. It'll be Ok. Are you going to do it again?
Matty: No, I won't.

I can only hope that it wasn't as bad as it sounded because his teacher didn't talk to me when I picked him up.

UPDATE: I spoke to the teacher when I picked him up the next day to get a little clarification on the story. The teacher said he did push someone but he only did it once. I swear, this boy has a knack for making himself look worse than he is!

is there a hungry hippo in here?

It was pizza night last night at casa de los patos. Can you believe I found a pizza place who has drive-thru? Woo hoo! I cut the crust edge on a couple of pizzas and gave them Katie and Jojo. Matty was telling me about his day at school and how he went to the quiet mat twice. As you can imagine, I was engrossed. I turned to see how Katie and Jojo were doing and Jojo was already done with her pizza, while Katie hasn't even finished a forth of it. So I cut another crust and gave it to Jojo. After a few minutes, it was gone again. I searched the floor, and searched her high-chair, but no... it was trully gone. I got one more to give her. She finished the 3rd one just as Katie was finished her first. Holy moly, she was hungry!

isn't genetics fascinating?

Mommy & Jojo

Katie & Daddy

Daddy & Matty

Daddy & Katie

Mommy & Jojo

fun with Daddy

The kids had fun with Daddy last night after he came home from work. Katie is in the back, bouncing around. Jojo is a bit sleepy here and isn't as bouncy. Matty was a little jealous, but he had fun too.

23 lbs of pure goodness born in N.C.

Oh baby! Newborn twins tips the scale at 23 lbs

On Tuesday, a woman in Winston-Salem, N.C. gave birth to twins: a 10.14 lb and a 12.3 lb twins. As big as they babies are, they are not the record holders in the U.S., but still. This woman also has a 2 1/2 year old son who was born at 10 lbs.

My son was born 9 lbs 14 oz, and my twins were born 4 lbs 8 oz and 5 lbs 6 oz at 33 1/2 weeks. I can only imagine how big they would have gotten had they come to term. Yikes!

Mama, you have one excellent oven in there. I can't even imagine the pain. Congrats!

Off to T-Ball

Yesterday was the 2nd T-ball session. This time, the girls and I were able to cheer for Big Bro! Though Matty had fun, it wasn't as fun as last time. He had a cold and didn't sleep well the night before. So Mr. Tantrum reared it's ugly head in the middle of the game. He didn't hit the ball as hard, then he didn't want to bat and wanted to just catch the ball (even if it was his team that was batting), and then he wanted to bat after the game was done! But he still had fun though. His Daddy said he was an excellent fielder! None of them has gotten the rules about getting the ball though. They tackle whoever gets the ball and they all pile on top of each other. If you saw them, you would swear you were watching football.

Oh, and he proudly wore his neon green glove! He wouldn't even let go of it when it was his time to bat. Come to think of it, I think that may be the reason why he didn't want to bat.

Don't you just love the matching red shorts?! All the mamas had the same idea and bought red shorts to match the hat. I just love it!

The girls were excellent cheerleaders! They clapped their hands, and in between clapping, they waved at everyone who waved at them.

It's WWE again!

We were all inside the play yard (yes, it's that big!), with me and Daddy laying on the floor, the girls trying to climb all over us, and big brother walking around the perimeter. Jojo just couldn't get enough of me. I stand up to get something, I go on all fours, I sit, I lie down, and the whole time she's still somehow attached to me. It didn't matter that I accidentally knock her over with my big ass.

Katie climbs up on us too, but at least when the person she's holding on to moves, she lets go. But then, there's big brother who didn't seem to want to be touchy-feely tonight. At one point Katie steadies herself on him to get ready to stand up, but immediately, Matty sits up to get out of the way. As he sits up, he put his hands on Katie and Katie goes down on the floor. And Katie stays down. She's a smart one. It was like watching a sumo taking down a little munchkin. Katie didn't cry though, so no harm no foul.

Then Matty lies down on the floor to watch TV. Jojo sees him and decides to go to him. She ends up between his legs. I guess some Martial Arts genes got passed down to him because he trapped Jojo with his legs and down goes Jojo, still trapped. Jojo sits back up, and she tries another position. Again, no harm no foul.

When the girls learn to work with each other, like those two Velociraptors in Jurassic Park, I say beware Kuya!

everyone in their place

Matty has been sleeping in his castle bed for a week without any problem. In fact, he hasn't really been waking up in the middle of the night, like his usual. It's very nice to have a master bedroom without kids. Yay!

But a couple of nights ago, Matty had a rough night. I think he is coming down with something and woke up at about 11pm and wouldn't stop crying. I asked if he wanted to sleep on the floor in our room and he agreed. I reminded him that this is only because he's sick. Who knows if that sunk in. Last night he's still coughing so we allowed him to sleep in our room again. Tonight, I will have to insist he go back to his room. Fingers cross, he won't protest. It's just like illness to ruin everything!

The girls are doing very well in their room. They take change so well. However, what they are not taking will is cow's milk. I started giving them cow's milk a couple of weeks ago, once a day. The first time, Katie's skin around her mouth turned red and developed little welts. She and Jojo both had a cold then so I thought it may just be their colds. The second day, the same thing happened to both of them. I skipped a few days and gave them cow's milk again, and hives appeared once again. It can't be a coincidence now, can it?

On Monday, I gave them yogurt and that too caused hives. The hives are immediate. So now, I've decided to stop the cow's milk. They are still breastfeeding 3x a day and eat solids really well. Either next week or the next, I will take them to the pediatrician. Thankfully, the girls are proving to be good eaters so if this is a milk allergy, they should do well eating other things.

Look at me!

This was taken December 2007, when the girls were 6 months old. I would have shared it a while ago, but it was over youtube's limit at the time.

I put them together on the boppy and Jojo just got busy grabbing away. The antics of these girls started in the womb with Jojo kicking Katie a lot, and she's still bossing Katie around on this video. But nowadays, it's Katie who ties to boss Jojo around. It should be a fun toddlerhood with these two.

when words just aren't enough

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

a day at the mall

After I had my chiropractor appointment this morning, I decided to be brave and took the girls out to the mall by myself. There are two play areas there, one for big kids and one for little kids, so the little ones don't get trampled. There was a 14 month old little girl there, and you can instantly tell the size difference between her and the twins. The twins are so small, people get taken aback when I tell them they are 12 months old.

Unfortunately, 10 minutes in the mall fire alarm went off. Without hesitation, I scooped up the girls and flopped them back in the stroller ready to bolt. Fortunately, the fire alarm stopped after a minute so we went back to play some more.

Katie waved to everyone that made eye contact with her. It's a bit surprising, since she's the one who usually cries when a stranger just so much as look at her. Then she found the exit. She went for the exit about 5 times!!

Katie waves at someone.

Jojo was cautious and didn't go too far from me. When Katie got too far from her, she crawled to her to get close.

Katie was fascinated by the funny mirror.

Is it just me, or did you think this was a mirror shot at first glance, too? Until you realize they're wearing different clothes, that is. (Katie is in yellow.)

Small Fry Fishing Derby

This is from the Fishing Derby weekend.

(Katie, Jojo)

talk talk talk

I forgot to show a video from the girls' birthday, so here it is. Jojo is on the right (cream/green high-chair) munching away on her cupcake. It took Katie a while to get into her cupcakes.



This one was taken after they just had their lunch. They were full and happy and talkative.

you don't have to cry

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to buy Matty a baseball glove for his T-ball. While at the store, we thought it's about time to introduce Matty to board game. We bought Hi-Ho Cheerio, a counting game which disappointingly only goes up to 10.

Matty woke up bright and early at 5:45 and wanted to play it. We were having fun until I said, "There's only 1 chery left on my tree, I'm winning!" and that was the end of our fun. With the hysterics, it took me a few minutes to realize that he wanted to win, not me!

It took me a few minutes to think of proper action: should I let him from now on? or do I teach the importance of following the rules and the difference between winning and losing. I opted for the a life lesson in reality. I told him that he won't always win. He doesn't have to like losing, but he must try and be a good sport about it. Through the crying, I kept on explaining about how at the end of the his T-ball game yesterday, his team lined up with their right hands up in the air in order to shake the other team's hands and say "Good game!". There is a loser and a winner, but no one cried about it.

I thought he tuned me out, but after 20 minutes when he quieted down, he asked to play again. As if I didn't just have a dissertation on good sportsmanship, he went on to explain to me and Daddy that we shouldn't cry if we lose.

tummy sleepers

This is Katie during one of her naps one day. Both Katie and Jojo are tummy sleepers since they were just 3 months old. I found that out one morning out of frustration. Neither one wanted to go back to sleep after waking up for their 4 AM feeding, until I rolled them over.

happiness

nothing like Lego to bring father and son together

We're not a fancy family. An afternoon at the Target's Cafe area is enough to make us happy, especially if it includes a little bit of peace and quiet. And there is nothing that keeps a little boy happy and quiet than his first Lego. And of course, there is nothing that can make Daddy happier than to have his boy be into Legos because "his Legos are my Legos". Right?

Don't worry girls, our day will come.

Happy Father's Day!

Let's play ball!!

The first session of the Bam-Bam T-Ball at the Y was on in full force today. Though it was cloudy, the humidity was full on, but it didn't matter to the whole lot of 2 1/2 - 4 year olds. They had fun just the same. You would think that being called "bam-bam" (as in the Flintstones) they would hit each other with the bat, but nothing like that happened.

It was Matty and I this morning, as Daddy is sick so he stayed home with the girls. All I can say is, he missed out. It was a great day. The Cardinals (as in the Saint Louis Cardinals - check out their hats!) with their red hats and white t-shirts, and their parents urging them to run to the 1st base was a sight to see.

Matty was a natural. He was told what to do and he did it. He can bat, but you should see him throw. This boy has an arm!

It was chaos when coach (red shirt with black shorts) introduced everyone to the first base. It was like trying to corral chickens, I tell you. (Note the other kids wearing yellow shirts in the background. They are the Padres, the team the Cardinals played with today.)

But everyone got the idea by 3rd base.

Everyone must touch the home plate with their foot!

Finally, it was time to practice batting.

It was so much fun, he didn't know what to do with himself!

Some of the Cardinals! Yes, there was one girl. Woo hoo! The cute kid with the glove had a bit of an issue. He kept running after the ball he just hit. Apparently, that was the rule in their house when the played T-ball. Poor kid, he was confused.

Matty sits on the grass while waiting to bat again.

Game on!

See how he keeps his foot on the cone/base? Awesome!

Run home, Matty! Run!

Finally, it was time for a break before the Cardinals played a game with the Padres. Sorry, I don't have pictures of the actual game. But it was a bit loud, with a lot of "RUN TO THE FIRST BASE!", "GET THE BALL!", "THROW THE BALL TO THE FIRST BASE!", "DON'T FORGET TO TOUCH THE BASE WITH YOUR FOOT!" from the parents.

Oh, I forgot to add that when it was the Cardinals' turn in the outfield, everyone apparently brought a mit, except for Matty. He looked around and got sad and was ready to cry, "I don't have a glove!" Holy cow! I thought gloves were optional!!!! We bought a mit later in the afternoon.

our new best friend

I am 100% sure that whoever invented this play yard is a mom with multiple kids. Thank you, whoever you are! Finding the twins where we've left them just gives us a warm fuzzy feeling. And would you believe it, sometimes Big Brother even wants to join in (with the 2 panel extenstions, we actually all fit, though the picture above is without the extension)!

parent-teacher conference

I met with Matty's teacher today. He is doing well with his numbers, though we don't quite know where "eleventeen" fits in when counting to 20. He's doing well socially and apparently quite a social butterfly. It now clicks when parents come up to tell me that all their children could talk about is my son. Incidentally, these are parents of girls.

Also, he's a loud one. The teacher said everyone could be making noise, yet she could still hear Matty perfectly when he talks. I find this highly amusing. He gets his volume from his dad.

WWE

The girls had their 12-month well baby check the day after their birthday. Katie is now 19 lbs, and Jojo is 18 lbs. They are keeping to their petite stature and are around 10-25% percentile for weight. They are also following in big brother's footsteps with their big heads. Everything is in below 25th percentile except for the head size which is in the 75th percentile. We are a family of big heads.

I am beating myself up right now for not having other numbers available. I had the paper and now I can't find it. I will post it if and when I find it.

(Jojo is on top.)

These two are becoming quite the characters. They just love climbing on top of each other especially if one is wanting what the other has.

Katie is currently the pro with her evasive technique maneuvers. All you have to do is reach out towards her if she's holding something and she does a 180 in a split second. It's quite frustrating for me when I'm teaching her to tilt her head back when she's drinking water from a sippy cup. She always thinks I'm going to take her cup away!

chipmunks

Yesterday, Matty asked to take a nap in his room! Yes, in his room!! I couldn't believe it either. So Daddy promptly took his air mattress to his room. Daddy and I just couldn't believe it, and decided to take advantage of the situation and went ahead and moved the twins to their own room as well. So for the first time in 3 years, the master bedroom was devoid of kids! We moved the radio as well so also for the first time in 3 years, we slept in complete silence!!

Matty had no trouble sleeping, and actually slept through the night without waking. Another shocker! Katie slept fine without a fuss, but Jojo cried and cried. It took her an hour before she fell asleep.

This morning when I gave the girls a bath, I find I have a little chipmunk. I started with Jojo, but when I put her back in her crib to give Katie a bath, she cried the entire time. And when I came back, I found her to be chewing on the crib.

I told Daddy yesterday when he was reassembling the cribs that maybe we should lower the mattress one more notch and he said no. He said if we do, their heads would be under the rails, not over. Um, that would have been nice. Oh well. To his defense, though I was thinking that the girls may be chewing on the 2 end rails without teething guards, I didn't voice out.

Jojo throws a tantrum when I stopped her from chewing the crib.

Jojo & Katie's new set up. The room is unchanged from big brother's baby days, but we have a plan to replace the car and train with fairies. I'm sure it'll happen sometime before the girls become teens.

Jojo (back) still upset about me not letting her get some fiber.

I found some ribbons and used them to tie hand towels on the rails. Hopefully they don't chew through it.

fishing derby

It was the fishing derby at Daddy's work this Saturday and this year was the first time we've been able to make it - even though it was a stinkin' 100 degrees with what felt like 200% humidity. Thankfully, the gathering (aside from the actual fishing) was indoors in the cafeteria.

Matty's special request was a flower balloon.

Katie (and Jojo) got a rattle. The clown baloon maker obviously didn't have small children since she insisted on making this for the girls. We took them away a few minutes later.

This little boy was so impatient, he had to go outside and do this fishing thing while we all stayed in the cafeteria to eat. He and Daddy later went out to the pond to do some real fishing. No fish caught though. But now he's going to ask his Papaw to take him fishing. (Fair warning, Papaw!)

Looking around at the lobby. (Katie in front)

Matty and his awesome "soldier" hat, as he likes to call it. I had to get this in the adult section since his had is just too big for a toddler size hat.

my little girls

I can't believe it's been a year. It feels longer, but at the same time, it doesn't feel all that long. Twelve months and three days ago, I had a regular appointment to see my OB/GYN. I mentioned that I was contracting fairly often (7 in within 1 hour) and that's when my doctor checked me and said I was 2cm dilated. He said I was to get myself admitted right away. I was scared, shocked, worried.

For three days I was administered medication to stop my contraction, but they didn't really go away. Until finally, we've all decided it was enough and had the c-section. In a short time, I had 2 babies. Sadly I was only able to get a short glimpse before my little angels were taken away to the NICU. Unforunately, it took a little bit under 48 hours before I even got to hold my daughters. It was the saddest, darkest, loneliest days of my life. I hemorraged pretty badly after I gave birth, and it left me unable to recline for even just 30 minutes at a time.

Katie and Jojo spent 10 days in the NICU. When they came home was one of the happiest days of my life. To see my then 2 year old son finally meet his sisters for the first time was amazing. Big brother took to them well and from day one, they were HIS babies.

Katie, you were the bigger one. This helped Mommy and Daddy recognize which is which that we didn't need to resort to painting a toe nail or anything of the sort. You were always looking for Jojo and looking into her eyes waiting for her eyes to connect with yours and then you gave her the biggest smile. It was the kind of smile that says, "oh, there you are. I'm happy now because I know you're there." When you cried, you cry like you're the saddest person in the world! Your eyes just looked sorrowful!

Daddy and I thought you would be the shy one, the one who wouldn't venture from us and the one who would hide behind me when strangers try and talk to you. But we're having second thoughts now. When you started crawling, you crawled over, under, in between whatever makeshift barricade I had. And once you've done it, you know where and how to do it again! You're a clever adventurer, much like you brother.

You're very sensitive. You have sensitive eyes. Looking into your eyes is trully looking into your soul.

Jojo, you're my itty bitty one. I worried a lot about you when you were in the NICU. The nurses would tell me and Daddy how you wouldn't eat very much because in the middle of your bottle, you just forget to suck! But you're catching up fast now. And you're quite the bossy little thing. At only weeks old, your cry was so different from Katie's. While listening to the baby monitor, I could always tell if it was you crying. Because of this, Daddy and I thought you would be the adventurer, highly independent little girl. But you've changed lately. While Katie explores, you're just happy to stay were you are and play. If I am around you, you always want to climb on me.

Lately, to our amusement, you've become quite the drama queen. You hold your hands to your face whenever you cry! But you also have the most devilish smile. You smile as if you're trying to stop yourself. It starts from one corner of you mouth, but somehow it never makes it to the other end as if you enjoy making others guess whether you find them amusing or not! I think you will have boys wrapped around your little finger.

Katie and Jojo, this past year has not been easy on you and all of us, but the two of you and your brother makes everything worth it and worth doing all over again. Burying my nose in either of your necks make everything right in the world. Happy Birthday.

Love,
Mama

Happy 1st Birthday, Katie & Jojo!

(Click on the slide show to view an enlarged version.)

The twins turn 1 year old today!! They celebrated their birthday this Sunday when their Nana & Papa and their cousins were here. They had their first cake and absolutely made a mess! Enjoy the pictures.

some more Memorial Day shananigans

Being the photographer, I rarely have a picture/video of me here...but I will grace you all with my loveliness on this one.



And here is Katie. No, she's not having a fit. She's just happy.

the troop goes to the Y

Jojo

Katie

In preparation for the T-ball at the Y, which starts in 2 weeks, we went to the meet-the-coach meeting tonight. I can't believe there were so many kids enrolled!

"Where's the soccer ball?" says Matty. I guess we will be enrolling in soccer in the fall as well.

Two of Matty's friends from school were there but in a different team. Goshdarnit! I told Daddy to go up to the ladies behind the desk and request that Matty be changed to be with his friends, but I guess it's not a Daddy thing to do. He explained to me that even though they will not be in the same team, they could still be together in the field. Um, yeah. OK. I had to take matters into my own mommy hands on this one. Nothing was done, but at least they took the info and said the athletic director would call me back.