Since It's Not April Anymore...

My Little Sweeties,

I am a bit behind. I have good excuses! Illnesses, Weddings, Communions, and general lack of sleep... what better excuse could there be for being behind on blogging? So, my dear children, there are no April Letters from Mommy... instead I'm just going to make a general list of April 2009 moments/milestones I don't want to forget.

Kirsten
- You were adorably excited about the Easter Bunny. He "woke you up" in the middle of the night and we had no choice but to explore your basket in the darkness

- At an Easter Egg hunt we had pictures taken with the Bunny. After catching a glimpse of his neck and zipper you whispered that this was "NOT a real bunny" but "a human!". You were thoughtful enough to make sure that none of the little kids heard you, but concerned enough to need to discuss it immediately. I explained why the bunny would need helpers, and the benefits of the impersonators and you were satisfied. After all "no human could hide eggs around the whole world in one night!". I love you.

-You are doing really well with your violin lessons and earned a spot in the school's Spring Concert. This is a very big deal.

-You excel in gymnastics. Your new trick is one-handed cartwheel (aerials?) and you somehow convinced Uncle Jeff to do them with you on the beach at Uncle Greg's wedding.

-You danced ALL night at the wedding. ALL night. As I was getting ready to leave I looked up to see you leading the Conga Line. You had a major case of Flower Girl envy, but you handled it like a champ.

-You are becoming a bit of a fussy eater. All of a sudden you demand the crust be cut off of all your sandwiches. I find this both very endearing and very frustrating.

-You began taking a shower before school each morning this month. It seems to make a HUGE difference in your mood in the morning. You are a lot like Daddy in that you could stay in a hot shower for hours!

-You are still amazing with your brothers. You love them so much. You've been teaching them to say their prayers and you still pick them up (which they love!) 100 times a day even though they weigh about 60% of what you weigh each.

-You were precious, and fun, and exhausting this month. I don't think you'll ever be described as an "easy child" but you are often described as "amazing", "charismatic", and "beautiful".

- I love you more than you will ever know.

Matthew
-You are growing up much too fast! You pretty much forced me into taking your crib apart and are now in a big boy bed. You fall out of our bed regularly and like to knock on the door to your room when you want me to come get you.

-You really enjoyed hunting for eggs this Easter. I couldn't believe how quickly you caught on! By noon on Easter you were taking eggs out of your basket, hiding them around the living room, and then hunting for them. It was really, really cute.

-You still love to jump on the couch and run through the blinds. You often enjoy your moment of naughtiness and then happily put yourself in time out (with a very satisfied look on your face). It seems as if you are thinking "totally worth it".

-You cover your mouth and say "Excuse Me!" in an adorable voice whenever you burp, sneeze, or cough. Cute.

-You love to be tickled and often tickle yourself. Super-cute.

-You love hats, glasses, and props of any kind.

-You love water... at the beach, in the tub... anywhere you can find it.

-Yo love music and are positively obsessed with guitars. You are the cutest, most charming, beautiful child I've ever seen. I love you.

Daniel
-You have become such a little person this month! You have all these ideas, and such a personality! You are speaking in sentences almost all the time and I love, love, love to hear you talk.

-You love to play "boat" in a laundry basket. You often try to capsize the boat when Matt is in it so you can have it to yourself. (Little stinker)

-You got crazy excited about Grandpa's Birthday Cake. I was surprised you even really knew what it was, but the entire day you were talking about cake and yelling "Yea! Grandpa!! Grandpa! Cake!"

-You enjoy taking baths and hog the faucet. I have to leave the water dripping the entire time you are in there or face your wrath.

-You've become very silly recently and think it is hilarious to joke about biting. You bite your toys and tease them about it "Ha! Bear Bear I bite! I bite you Bear Bear!". You'll also come to me with fake tears, make me kiss your boo boo, and tell me "Bear Bear bite. NO BITE Bear Bear!".

-You refuse to stay in your bed. It's a losing battle. You are in bed with Matt all the time. (It sounds very sweet... and sometime it is... but often you are terrorizing poor Matt... stealing his water, his blankie, his pillow...).

-You love, love, love birds. Seriously you LOVE birds.

-You've come up with some funny expressions recently. You think it's funny when I call you "my baby" but you often hug me saying "Mama... my baby" and positively MELT MY HEART. I love you so.


And so, my sweets, I love you. April 2009 was not an easy month. We were so busy and so exhausted... and we managed to create so many precious memories. I love each of you so much. You are everything to me. Everything.

From the Mouthes of Babes

Sometimes I think my kids are hysterical. I'm sure no one thinks they are as funny as I do (...part of my job as Mommy). However, some of this stuff is just too good to keep to myself!

In the last few days the boys have come up with a few laugh out loud moments.
- You saw the Potty Post right? Well, the seat has pictures of Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster on it. Before sitting down Danny addresses each character with very specific instructions. "Bird, No bite." "Elmo, No bite." "Cookie, No bite Cookie!!" I have no idea what made him do this the first time... now he probably does it because it makes me fall over laughing every time :)

- The boys both LOVE to play with Brian's harmonica. It goes missing quite frequently. We found it in the ball pit this week and the boys are playing with it all the time! Danny blows into it and then shoves it to my mouth saying "Wanna try?". Probably funny only to me but I think it's soooooo cute. Especially because it goes on and on and on and on. He blows one note then asks "Wanna try?". I giggle and blow, he grabs it back, and we repeat.

-In the bathtub tonight Danny was pouring water from his plastic Easter eggs (doesn't everyone use them as bath toys?) into a large cup. Each time he got the water into the cup successfully he'd declare "Oh Baby!" in the FUNNIEST . voice. I called out to Brian asking if he'd heard that and Brian said he must have gotten that from my dad. I asked Danny "Does Grandpa say that?" He laughed and said, "Yea... Grandpa... Oh Baby! Oh Baby, Grandpa!" (Again it went on and on and on.... and I laughed and laughed and laughed.)

- And my sweet Matt hasn't made me laugh out loud but he's made my heart smile. Matt now says "Bless you!" when I sneeze, "'Scooze Me!" when he burps, and "Love you!" (My favorite, favorite, favorite phrase).

Dear Matt,

My sweet, silly boy. You are so expressive. I find it so funny that such a tiny little person can have such strong feelings about things! You've had the "charming" look down for quite awhile now. You can flash your dimples and million dollar smile and melt hearts in an instant (and you seem to know it too!). This month you introduced your "disappointed" and "hurt feelings" expressions. Your little eyebrows furrow down so low and your little lip sticks out so far! You hang your head and cross your arms (and you still melt hearts... just in a different way). Luckily you are happy most of the time. Your biggest frustration these days is when we don't understand what you are trying to say. You either get very, very sad or throw a HUGE tantrum. This is as frustrating for me as I'm sure it is for you!

One area where you don't have any frustration (but I still have quite a bit!) is your motor development. You are so strong, so fast, and a freakishly good climber. There is nothing you can't climb. Seriously. I've yet to see you "stumped" by any piece of playground equipment or furniture. You are able to climb up and down stairs now. You've been climbing out of your crib for quite some time. This month you mastered climbing back in (not that you choose to do that very often...) Recently I put you and Danny down in your cribs and you were both MAD. You were both screaming and crying (very overtired). In the middle of your tantrum you stopped and said "bye" to Danny as you jumped out and ran across the room crying again. Daddy and I watched this on the video monitor in amazement. Danny was NOT amused. Now you climb out of your crib and go knock on the door when you want me to come get you... cute at 7 am... not as cute at 4 am.

You like to play ball but have a very hard time with the concept of "catch". You like to play fetch by yourself. You throw the ball, then run after it... repeat. You like the idea of playing with someone, but you don't ever trust that you'll actually get the ball back... so you won't let anyone else touch the ball.

We were at the park about 2 weeks ago and you and Danny were having a great time on the slide. There was a boy there who was about 3 years old who sat right in front of the slide you were using. You and Danny both tried to get around him but he would not move. After a moment I asked him to move and he refused, standing up and putting out his arms to completely block the slide. Danny tried to get past again and the boy growled at him. Without missing a beat you rushed forward and stuck your little finger in his face and yelled "YOU! NICE! NICE!" The boys mother (finally) came over laughing and said, "That's right, listen to that baby and be nice." The boy was at least a foot taller than you and easily doubled your weight. I loved the way you weren't the least bit intimidated. It was awesome!

You love to look at pictures and name everyone you see, you are OBSESSED with Elmo, and you love to tickle your brother and sister. You know all your body parts and enjoy nursery rhymes. You laugh at me when I look mad and hug me when I look sad. You are growing and changing everyday. I love you so much!
Love,
Mommy

Mini-Me

...actually Mini-Grandpa would be more accurate. I've always thought the twins look a LOT like Brian's dad. Everyone says they look like Brian but I can never see it... there is some Taylor in these boys though! There is NO denying it in this silly picture of Matt and Grandpa Don!