First Day of School 2010

We have had a busy month this August. Sam started Kindergarten on the 11th and Charlie just started Preschool yesterday. They are both doing great!

Sam is going to Zaharis Elementary. Its a really awesome school. His teacher's name is Mrs. Moore and he has 26 kids in his class. He gets to go to computer lab, library, music once a week and PE twice a week. He gets to climb a rock climbing wall in PE. That is so cool. Sam had a tough time adjusting. We had some tears each day and he wanted me to stay with him on the playground in the mornings until it was time to line up and go in. When Id pick him up he'd announce how many times he cried and that he missed me. Finally on Tuesday the following week, he announced, "Mom! I cried Zero!" He is doing well now. I think he likes his class and he has made a few friends.


Charlie started at Desert Rose preschool here in Las Sendas. His teacher is Mrs. Rose and she is very sweet and nice. I was a bit worried about him because he was starting out right away with 5 days a week for 4 hrs a day. I need him to be doing this so I can go to school starting next month. When I went to pick him up, he was running around playing and having a lot of fun. When we left he kept saying, "I liked it! I liked it!" So cute.

Im so proud of both of them. They are growing up so fast.

Both kids riding bikes without training wheels in the same weekend!

We have graduated to a new level of big kid around here. Bikes without training wheels!

Its been stormy with the monsoons and overcast, so yesterday we decided to take the kids to the park and try to teach Sam to ride without his training wheels. So we did that and he was off and riding on his own in the first 5 minutes! He rode all over the park loving every second of it! He was so proud and I was so proud too. It felt like when he started walking or something. haha.

Then today, we went riding again and Charlie's training wheel broke off. So we took off the training wheels and Carl started running him around on the bike. Sure enough, he was off and riding too! Its crazy! All it takes is a big brother for motivation sometimes! I cant believe how fast Charlie picks up the things Sam does. Its crazy that they both learned to ride in the same weekend!

I also should mention that I was very proud of Carl this weekend. It was so humid and muggy out. He ran and kept up with both boys, who need help every time they fall. He was soaked with sweat. Im happy to have a husband that is almost 40 that can keep up with them. Go Carl!

Charlie Schmarlie

Charlie is so funny. His vocabulary is really growing fast and he loves to chime in constantly! He is the biggest back seat driver. What is more funny than that is sometimes I hear him back seat driving in his sleep! He is such a sleep talker and he says the same stuff he says when he is awake and sounds so funny.

Here are a few recent ones:

"Mine Mommy! MINE!!"
"Dont wanna go to church"
"Wanna go home, wanna stay home"
"I wanna go to Grandmas"

It is so funny. Sometimes he almost throws fits in his sleep.

Tis the Season

We have been getting ready for Christmas. I think so far this is the most fun its been. Sam is super excited and he believes in Santa and all that fun stuff! We've been driving around looking at lights at night and we found a great cul de sac in Mesa. We also took the kids to the temple.



Sam had a Christmas program at his school this week. Once again, he was front and center, right where it was easy to see him! He did so good and they were all really cute.


I guess the biggest news of the month is that Charlie is potty trained! Yay!!! I had though a couple months ago how it would be a nice Christmas present to myself if I could be done with diapers. I didnt think it would happen, but on Sunday when we woke up, I asked if he wanted to use the toilet and he did. From that point on, he wore underwear. Its now Friday and he has only had a couple small accidents this entire week and none since Tuesday. He even goes on his own, without me asking him all the time. It is wonderful and Im so proud of how great of a potty trainer he has been. Pretty much perfect!

We are heading up to Prescott this afternoon for the Hardy/McGuire Christmas party at Dad and Fran's. Im so excited to see everyone.

Where have the months gone?

I cant believe I havent updated this blog in over 2 months. Life has been busy.

Sam started Pre-K at his school this year. His teachers are Mrs. Martinez and Mrs. Klemmer. Sam's friend Will is in his class this year, so that is nice. Will's mom and I are good friends so we take turns picking up the kids from school and letting them play all afternoon. Here is a pic of Sam with his friend Will, on an opposing soccer team.


Charlie and I hang out when Sam is in school. I take him to the park and run errands. He goes to a babysitter here in my neighborhood on Wed mornings so I can have a few hrs to get things done. Miss Lina is his sitter and she is a very nice lady that does child care out of her home full time. She has 3 other 2 yr olds that are always there for Charlie to play with.

Sam is playing his 2nd season of soccer! He is on the Las Sendas league this year so I see all my friends at the games and practices. Its fun for all of us. This year, Sam really seems to understand it more. He actually knows what goal is his haha. He has also discovered that he is a great goalie! So this year that is his job. Its fun watching him, but its a nightmare dealing with Charlie at the games. Man that kid just wants to GO in his own direction.


The kids and I went up to Prescott over the weekend with Leslie who was in town for a wedding. We spent one night up there. It was a quick trip, but nice. We got to go to a pumpkin patch with Kristal and her kids and actually pick pumpkins off the vine! I dont think Ive ever picked pumpkins. Most pumpkin patches in AZ are field with pumpkins trucked in and scattered about.

We are looking forward to the holidays. We are kicking it off with a Halloween party here at our house for our friends and neighbors. Carl has plans to make a haunted house in our courtyard that the kids have to go through to get into the house....he is procrastinating it though, and busy with work so we will see.

Swimming Lessons

Sam has been taking swim lessons this summer. His swim teacher, Harrison, comes to our house and gives him a lesson twice a week. We love Harrison, he is a 17 yr old kid that is wonderful with kids. Sam loves him and is always painting him pictures and stuff. Sam is doing great with swimming. He can doggie paddle all over the place, go down the slide, jump in from anywhere. Charlie is right behind him. Here are a few pics of the boys having lots of fun in our pool and the last one is a close up of Sam, with all his adorable freckles he is getting!

What Sam and Charlie are up to lately

Ive been meaning to blog about a few recent things that have made me smile, laugh or cry. I will start with Sam. He is very into things and how they work. He gets obsessed with little things and then they are the topic of conversation forever it seems. Right now we are on Gates. All of the neighborhoods up here are gated communities. He knows that on Saddleback Rd, there is a neighborhood with green gates, the only one with green gates in all of Las Sendas. This makes them very interesting and he begs me to go down that street all the time, even though it takes us out of our way. Also, he is constantly asking to go into this neighborhood or that...anywhere that we dont live or havent driven. He loves me to drive around and show him new streets and neighborhoods...preferably with gates that I can magically get into because I guess the gate code right. Now even Charlie is catching on to this fun and he constantly points the opposite direction I am driving or turning, and says, "Mommy bat way!"

Charlie is very interested in numbers and letters. His love of clocks has inspired a love of numbers. He can count backwards from 12. He prefers to count backwards actually. Anytime we are driving around or at any place, he notices signs and all those interesting letters and numbers. He randomly calls out any letter that comes to mind and points...A...E....K....P...sometimes even getting them right. The other night he was asleep and talking in his sleep. He was pointing and yelling out random letters...the kid even dreams of letters.

Back to Sam...he knows almost all of the 50 US States! Each night, Carl goes over them with him on a neat map that is hanging in his room. He picks a new state and memorizes it. He can now name almost half of the country's States. Who knows maybe after the States we can do the Capitals. Maybe he can be on Oprah someday as a child genius! (kidding)

Happy Bday Charlie

Charlie turned 2 this last week. We also celebrated Carl's bday (38) and our anniversary (5yrs). Needless to say, it was a busy, fun week. We had a little party here on Saturday for Charlie. We had the pool heated up and friends over to swim...everyone had a great time. I made a cute cake and cupcakes this year, stole the idea from my friend Laurel. Yesterday after the party, we had a nice little hike with just Carl and I and the kids and it was nice.

Oh Charlie

Isn't this just the cutest picture? Charlie loves putting on any boots he can find. These were Sam's rain boots. I love when he is walking around in a diaper like that. He just looks so babyish and adorable. Exactly how he is.

I am so divided on how I feel right now with Charlie. I can barely go into public without him throwing knock down, drag out tantrums. He is extremely hard to please at the moment. He is starting to talk a whole bunch, but he gets really frustrated when he cant get me to understand what he is trying to say. Its hard. I cant wait for him to talk better. More communication will mean more reasoning with him.

On the other hand, he is the sweetest little thing. He is so cuddly. If I sit on the couch, he is right there, laying across my lap with his blankee, which he nows calls his frisee, sucking his thumb...looking so sweet and innocent. He is a lover. He loves to give me hugs and kisses. Big open mouth kisses. I love it.

My little guy is going to be 2 years old in less than 2 weeks. I just cant believe it. He is growing so fast, and is so happy and healthy. I just feel so blessed.

Charlie is wonderful

My baby Charlie is 19 months old. He is becoming more of a little boy than a baby these days. I love that little boy. I really did bond to him in a wonderful way with breastfeeding him for 14 months. It was the best experience ever. I wish I would have stuck it out with Sam, but you know, its the one thing I had with Charlie that was just with him. Our own little thing. He doesn't even take a bottle anymore, but he is still so much my little baby when I'm putting him to bed at night. I sing a couple songs, usually the alphabet song and the I See You song I learned at Gymboree when I used to take Sam. Charlie tries to sing both songs. He can sing up to J in the alphabet song. This kid has my heart.

Charlie is starting to say things. He loves putting on his shoes and always says Shoo whenever I mention that we are going anywhere or its time to get ready. I say, lets get ready and he runs to his room and opens up the sock drawer grabs a pair, then says shoo over and over and gets his shoes, then heads to the rocking chair where I always sit with him and dress him.

This kid LOVES to brush his teeth. We brush teeth anywhere from 1-4 times a day. He says, bra tee for brush teeth. He insists on it all the time. I put toothpaste on the brush and I brush his teeth first, then hand it to him to finish off the job. He is such a cutie.

Charlie loves to pretend. He loves the phone and if he doesn't have a real phone, he will use a baby monitor, or remote or any other small electronic item he can get his hands onto. Then he cradles it between his cheek and shoulders and walks around, pretending to talk on the phone, complete with whole sentences of baby talk babbling.

He is also a climber. Sam was not a climber at all, so I had no idea what tiny kids were capable of. Many times I will be cooking, or on the computer or just walking in from another room and find him standing on the kitchen table. Or up on my desk, playing with the phone. He pulls a chair around from the other side of the table to his high chair, then uses it to climb up into his highchair. He grabs the tray off the counter and slams it down on his high chair table, then bangs on it when he is hungry and wants a meal or snack. He has already mastered the ladders on the swing set. Ive also recently found him on top of the washer and dryer, playing with the buttons. I am also humiliated to admit that twice now, Ive found him on our view deck, up on the roof! We try to keep that staircase fenced off, outside, but sometimes Carl and I go up there and night to enjoy the view and its been left open and he always finds it. I thought I was going to have a mini heart attack when I found him up there, all bright eyed and smiley. WOW

This next pic is one of Charlie with his little blankie that he LOVES, draping it over Dude (one of our dogs), the good sport of a dog. Any time he sees it, he immediately sticks his thumb in his mouth and runs toward it. He loves to lay on his back and cross his legs, then whip the blankie back and forth over his head and back over his feet. He loves to drape the blankie over anything, including Dude then just hang there and suck his thumb. Poor Dude just takes it and stands there, never snapping or getting annoyed. Our other dog Scottie, would be a different story.

I love my little Charlie. I thought Sam was a handful, but Charlie REALLY keeps me on my toes. I love his happy personality and how feisty he is. He is loud and he lets you know exactly what he wants. My mom tells me lots of crazy stories of things I did when I was little and she says that Charlie is a lot like me. I'm getting my payback now, that's for sure ;)

After all the feistyness and spunk that keeps us on our toes constantly...he sleeps so good for me. He goes to bed at 7:30 every night without a fuss. He usually lays in there playing and talking before falling asleep. I don't have to go into his room to get him most mornings until 7am. If Sam wakes up, he just comes into our room and climbs into the bed with us. This momma gets to stay in bed all night most nights! That is so great after several years of having to get out of bed more than once in a night.

Charlie my little cuddle bunny. I love you so much.

Field Trip: The Pumpkin Patch

Sam had a field trip with his preschool class today. We all got to go to Mother Nature's Farm for some fall festivities! They boys got to pick out a pumpkin and decorate it. Then there was a hay ride and a bounce house and lots of animals to see. Sam's favorite part is the baby chicks they have in the store. He even remembered them from last year!

Here are a few of the pics from today.

Sam being silly like always:

Picking out pumpkins can be so stressful!:

Decorating their pumpkins:

Going through a maze:

Playing on an old tractor:

Big Shopping Carts now

Do any other moms deal with the battle of the grocery carts each time they are in the store? I sure do. My kids beg for the big carts that are like cars for them to drive. These things are huge! Its not easy to maneuver them around the store, down the aisles. Its funny though, because even though its harder, I still give in. I love my boys and want even a trip to the grocery store to be fun.

I have to laugh..

After a long day of just the kids and myself, Im always happy to sit and relax after everyone is finally in bed. House all to myself. I like that, since I lived alone for 5 years, I really enjoy the silence. Tonight, I just had to laugh, when I went to use the guest bathroom and came across this typical mess that anyone with a toddler knows all too well:


Right now C is into EVERYTHING! Oh my gosh. I thought S was bad. Nope, C is much MUCH worse. This kid has already figured out how to use the door knobs. How to pull out a drawer to stand in it so he can reach whatever is on the counter. He knows how to pull a chair over to wherever he wants to climb.

His favorite place in the house right now is the bathroom. He especially loves the pool bathroom, because it has a fan switch low enough for him to reach. He's all over that any chance he gets. Of course, he loves toilet paper and all the fun a mile long roll of paper can afford. Many times, Ive found all the toilet paper in a huge wad on the floor. I have to be quick and pick that up because if Im lazy and take too long, S will find it and "help" mom out by sticking the entire wad into the toilet and flushing it..because that is where toilet paper goes, afterall.

Ive become very familiar with a plunger...the joys of being a mommy!

I haven't posted in awhile. Its just so hot right now and we are cooped up inside and there is nothing going on. I cant wait for these hot days of summer to end. Oh Fall. I think of you and I am so excited for you to come back into our lives. Cool days...well 75 degrees is cool here...and the park and being able to send the boys outside! We cant wait!

C is already trying to talk to us! Its so cool because he is talking soooo much earlier than S did. Here is a little list of his words so far:

Dee Dee (thank you)
mama and daddy
Sah (Sam)
Bye Bye
Hi
baby
ABCD...he tries to sing the ABC song up to the letter G
awa awa awa (he is trying to sing S's favorite song, an Alicia Keys song, As I Am...no one, no one, no oooonnee!!)
baba (bottle)
wawa (water)

And what about S. What's he been up to this long boring Summer? I assure you he finds many ways to pass the time. Like swimming and playing with the hose. He loves to glue and use glitter. He loves to cut. I just give him a bunch of paper and a pair of scissors and he goes to town for about an hour just cutting up paper. He also likes to find new places to pee. Yes I did just say that. He pees in the bushes outside or just on the rocks. He even peed in the dryer! Yep! I was doing laundry last week and as I'm going to put the clothes in the dryer, I open it up and see that there is some yucky yellow residue in the bottom of the inside of the dryer. (it had been a few days since Id opened up that dryer so who knows how long it had been there?) Apparently, S didn't realize that the dryer isn't a toilet. Luckily its wasn't that hard to clean up because little three year olds don't have huge pees yet.(Thank God)

S is starting official preschool on Tuesday. I know that earlier I posted the pics of his first day of school, well that was in June and it was really just Summer Camp. Real Preschool is starting next week. We had our very first meet the teacher open house last night. He is very excited about his new teacher, Miss Jill Majestic. Yes her last name is really Majestic and she named her class the Majestic Monkeys! I'm sure it will be a fun year for him!

Charlie chipped his front tooth!

Charlie fell on the patio a couple weeks ago and chipped his tooth. He didnt get hurt at all, didnt even cry! I think that the tooth is cute. Gives him a little bit more character!!

Charlie's 1st Bday Party

Happy Birthday Charlie!!

Charlie had a great party. It was alot of fun, lots of friends and family showed up. Tons of kids. All of Sam and Charlie's friends from playgroup and from the neighborhood were here. The bounce house was a hit. We had Mexican food from Someburro's...one of my favorites! Charlie was in a great mood the entire time. When we sang Happy Birthday to him, he just looked around and then was trying to go for his cupcake the whole time. I finally got that candle out of there and he just went for the cake. He ate 2 pieces of cake!! By the way, the Snake cake was awesome. Made by yours truely. The kids got to beat up a Pinata. I think all the kids had 2 or 3 turns before we were offering the stick up to an adult. Finally Carl broke the pinata open a bit, to get it going. It was cute. Every little one there wanted to beat that pinata open. All in all a wonderful time. If you'd like to see the rest of the photos, click Here

My first post

Well, I decided to start up a blog about my family. Its for all of my family and friends. I thought it would be a cool way to document our lives and keep in touch with everyone.

Charlie had his first bday on Wednesday (23rd). It was also Carl and I's 4th anniversary. We stayed in that night and had a low key evening. I made some grilled mahi mahi and we put a candle in a cookie and sung Happy Birthday to Charlie. We wanted to do something on his actual bday, but we are having his party tomorrow. I cant wait. We have just about everyone we know that has young kids coming, plus the grandparents. We rented the biggest bounce house we could find and are getting food from Someburro's. Should be a really great time.

I will definatly post some pics and update about the party later.