Christmas Magic

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas, and this is a good thing seeing as Christmas is 1 week AWAY.  I love this magical time of year!  We have been having a blast getting ready for the holidays.

One of my favorite things we have been doing is driving around the neighborhoods looking at the Christmas lights.  Hearing the "oohs, and ahhs, and that's so pretty, look on my side, look at this and that" have totally brought a huge smile to my face.  Listening to Christmas Music while we do this, brings my picture perfect, Hallmark movie dream come to life.  Only thing that is missing is the hot chocolate.  We have a week, right?!?!

Boys love looking for Ellie every morning.  I love how they get up to her and talk to her and ask her why she's in that spot.  Oh the magic.

We saw Santa at my work Christmas party and Austin and John David were so excited.  Santa even held John David and John was touching his nose, his beard and just had the biggest smile on his face.

We will be making reindeer food on Christmas Eve so that we can sprinkle it outside so Rudolph and the gang know where to stop.  Thank you, Pinterest for helping with some great ideas.

We have made candy canes and mittens out of paper and have used glitter, yes, I know glitter, am I crazy, No, just in the Christmas spirit.  And we even made superhero and cool Christmas ornaments.

Christmas cards have been mailed out.  I just love getting Christmas cards and I love sending ours out too.  I love showing our friends and family a little Artinghelli cheer.

New this year, we adopted a boy and bought a few presents for him through the boys school.  This is something I want to continue, giving to those who are less fortunate than we are!  It will teach the boys as well.

I love cheesy Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies, JUST LOVE THEM! And I love my husband who is putting up with a few of them.  One was pretty bad, and I was okay with stopping it, but Kevin kept it on for me.  That's love!  And thank you, Kevin, for not deleting the extra ones that I will watch without you.  Now, to get some tv time by myself ;-) hmmm.  It's okay to make some plans on a Saturday night with Vince if you want ;-)

Kevin and I still need to take the boys out so they can shop for each other.  I love this tradition!  The only problem with it, and we've seen this from birthday presents we have bought for friends, is they can't keep a secret, they are SO excited.  I'm sure the first thing they will do is run and tell each other.  I bought Grandma a present and it was on our counter and John David took it and was about to run upstairs and show her!  I had to hold him back! Silly boy.

I'd like to thank my boys for bringing the Christmas magic back.  I can't wait to see their faces light up as we prepare for the big guy to arrive next week and see what they got.

Happenings

So much is happening with the Artinghelli's!  I know it's been a long time since my last blog update so here is an update.

The Artinghelli's are heading to Disney!  Yes, I can't wait.  The annual SHRM conference is there in June so we decided to plan our trip around that!  Boys might be a little young for a lot of the rides but I think we will have a great time.  Morgan will be 8 at the time and she is coming too, and I think she is at the perfect age.  So, since I have my work trip, I will be flying!  Everyone else will be driving!  We rented a house there, and it looks like a lot of fun.  It has a pool, movie theater, park nearby, perfect for the boys when we aren't at the parks.   I think Uncle John and Grandma are super excited too. The only problem.....we have to wait 7 months!!!!  I saw a lot of Pinterest ideas that will help to lessen the costs and make our trip more Magical! Wahoo!

So most of you probably saw from my posts that the boys are at a new daycare!  It's for the best, I know, but I'm still upset at what happened.   I don't mind an increase, really, I expect it, I know costs go up.  However, when you give an increase of $185 more than what you pay per week, that's RIDICULOUS!   I mean, who has that much more a week. Someone mentioned, that if it  was worth it, you'd pay, I'm wondering if a place you thought was worth it, would pull an increase like that.  Would a place give you an increase on Wednesday and expect you to pay it on the very next Monday, I think not.  Not very good business practice if you ask me.  The new daycare is going great so far. Both are adapting pretty well.  John David is as happy as a clam. Austin is learning all the new rules, and they definitely have more rules than the other place.  Austin has always had a hard time with change.

Kevin starts a new job on on Monday.  He got a great offer from a company called JC Restoration and decided to leave All State for this opportunity.  He is so very excited about this company.  Everyone in the industry knows this company and says he'll love it there.  So here's to a new start!  So proud of you, Kevin and Congratulations!!!!!!

Boys are super excited about Christmas.  Yes, we have our Christmas Tree up.  Normally, I wouldn't have it up before Thanksgiving, but since there is 1 week in between and the boys were asking for it, we decided to start the magic early!  I didn't even have to do much.  Put the tree up and the boys and Morgan went to town on putting the ornaments on.  It's a pretty tree, says Austin!  He is also trying to talk Kevin into putting lights outside.  We are driving home and he says, "we need lights too"  "it's so beautiful"  That kid, I love him so much, and he says the sweetest things, but he has been driving me nuts with the "NO!" and the not listening.   Hoping to get through this quickly. 

I'm running in my last race of the season on the 14th.  It's called the Jingle Run and it's in Chicago.  It's going to be so festive!  Everyone dresses up in their Christmas attire and Christmas music plays.  It's going to be fun and COLD!  Hoping not too cold. 

Michigan Trip and other happenings

So we just got back from our trip  to Ann Arbor, Michigan, the home of the Michigan Wolverines, aka, Kevin's absolute favorite team!  We had a blast, and the boys did much better than we anticipated, and we learned oh so much about them!

The car ride wasn't too bad, thank goodness for technology, our iPad and iPhone.  Not only could they watch a couple of shows, but they also played games.  They love the memory and puzzle games.  We stopped for lunch and Austin fell asleep about 15 minutes before we arrived. John David held strong all of the way.  The boys were so excited to go swimming in the big pool they had!  Kevin and I were disappointed that there was no hot tub.  There used to be, the outline was still there.  Bummer. Even though we have a pool in the backyard, the boys thought it was so cool that there was a pool in "our house."  They thought our hotel was our Go Blue house, too funny.  They LOVED seeing all of the Michigan Logos, they would yell "Go Blue".  I think that made Kevin's week!!!!  We learned a lot about our boys.  We knew John David sings, but that kid sings ALL THE TIME.  We would be just walking down the hall way and there he goes, singing, In the car, in the pool, in the restaurant, anywhere.  And we learned that Austin likes to cuddle at night in bed.  Kevin was so excited to cuddle with him all night.  Both boys like to sleep on angles, doesn't make for a peaceful night sleep, but hey, at least they are little.    The first night, we fell asleep at 8:00 with the boys.  One it was an exhausting day, but two, we didn't know WHAT to do in a dark hotel room.  The second night went a little differently.  We got both boys to sleep, then Kevin and I met up in the hall next to the bathroom.  We watched 2 episodes of our new favorite show, Scandal, on the iPad and shared a Pumpkin Muffin from Starbucks.  We were very very quiet as we didn't want to wake the boys.

All in all it was a good trip.  It was great seeing Su and her cute baby bump and we all enjoyed driving around Kevin's favorite place. It makes me look forward to trips to come now that we have one under our belt.

Other happenings.

Austin is saying NOOOOO all dramatic.  It reminds me of Hoops and Yoyo.  They are hysterical little Halmark greeting guys.   It's soooo annoying but makes me laugh all the time.  So Austin has finally moved up to the 4 year old room at daycare.  They have been trying to get him to go but he's been crying about going, saying he doesn't want to leave his brother (awww tear). But now he likes it and has been in there for most of the week.  They have homework in that room.  Seriously!?!  Can't believe it, my first baby is growing up.  They have a letter of of the week and are practicing writing among other things.  I'm so amazed by all of the things he knows.

John David is obsessed with cutting paper.  He loves to color, cut and glue.  He's such a creative little guy.  He cuts a whole in a piece of paper, askes me to tie the string and makes a kite, and then runs around trying to fly it.  What an imagination that kid has.

We have been enjoying the weather, 75 and Sunny! (hey that's a country song!)  Loving the leaves changing and slightly cooler air. It definitely makes running easier.  I signed up for another 5K, the hot chocolate run!  They give you a cool running jacket and hot chocolate and fondue after!  Hey, if it keeps me running, that works for me!

Kevin has been having a blast watching Michigan and the Bears!  I think he is happiest in the fall with the football season.  He is currently watching Da,Bears and had a blast when were there on Sunday.  Too bad, we didn't win.  But we got a really cool picture of the two of us!

That's it for now.  Looking forward to Pumpkin picking and Halloween.  I swear the books make holidays sooo much more fun.  And I love doing all of the activities
again through their eyes.

My first 5k!

Yay, I did it!  I ran my first 5k.  And yes, I ran the whole time, in 36.56 minutes, my fastest run.  I'm still feeling very accomplished and sore 2 days later. It wasn't easy, that's for sure, there were times when I wanted to walk, but it was a goal of mine to run the whole time, so I pushed through. I would think of my FIL, and how much he went through and how he didn't give up, how he pushed through and I knew that I could too, I needed too, I wanted too. At one point, I saw the numbers 333 and knew that my mom was with me to.  333 is my sign for my mom and when I see those numbers, I know she is with me.  I saw those glorious numbers around mile 2, which gave me the boost I needed. I reached 2.8 miles (according to my Nike tracker) and by that time, I was too close to stop and walk.  Too close.  Towards the end when I thought it would never end, I asked the lady who was in the street holding up traffic, how much longer, and she said a 5 min walk.  I could do it!  I knew I could and then I saw the finish line and all of the people cheering.  The chills it gave me was all I needed for final stretch.  So  I ran hard on the way in.  And I did it!  3.1 miles, baby!

And yes, if you're asking, if I'll do it again, I will.  A few people are already talking about the next race. ;-)

A big thank you to everyone who supported me, whether you donated, offered advice, cheered me on, watched my kids or said inspirational words.  It means the world to me. Here are some of the inspirational comments:

Great job Pam!!!!

Congrats, Pam!

Great job Pam!!! Thank you for honoring your FIL And my uncle!!

Good girl! Congratulations!

Wtg Pam!! Uncle John would be proud! xoxo

We are so proud of you Pam!

You look fantastic! You must be so proud of yourself. Congratulations on a job well done. Soooo happy for you.

Congratulations Pam! I'm so happy for you... Well done!

You did awesome Pam you should be proud... I am

Way to go Pam Dad and your Mom are so proud of you! As well as Morgan and I!! Great Job!!!

Good job Pam!

U GO GIRL !!!!!!!!

So proud of you!

Congrats! So proud of you!!!

Great job!

Good luck!

Good luck Pam!!! You're going to do great!!!!

Have a Blast!!!

Good luck!!

Good luck Pam!!! 🏃

Good luck!

Good luck!

Good luck Pam, I am sorry I couldn't be there to watch it but I look forward to hearing how you did! I am very proud of you. Also wanted to let you know you just hit your donation goal!

Good luck! You are going to do GREAT!!

Ditto to everyone else! How'd it go?

So very proud of you! }}i{{

Summer Fun!

 

We are really enjoying the warm weather, mostly from our pool!  The boys are fishes and are having a blast.  Austin is a swimming machine.  He puts his floaties on and off he goes, usually jumps right in.  He is perfecting his cannon balls.  John David is a tad more cautious, he likes to hang on the steps, but is the one with the super soaker, soaking all of us in the pool. If it's not a super soaker, he is throwing frisbees and balls at us.  He will ask to go for a swim around the pool, but is happiest on the stairs.

They are doing great at school, learning their letters and tracing them too!  So proud.  Yesterday, John David showed us at home how to write a J without the lines.  He is rockin it.

John David is hitting the balls too, without the tee.  You throw it to him, he swings and hits it.  Did I mention he is 3!  John David is comfortable with all of the balls.  We are just so impressed with his catching, throwing and hitting ability at 3!  He is hitting lefty too, but still throwing righty.

John David's new phrase, is "awwww man"  It is so cute when he says it.  Makes you laugh.

Austin is a climbing machine.  We went to Evergreen Park (The park that I grew with ) by Grandpa's house a couple of weeks ago.  My how things have changed.  The park is definitely not the same.  There is huge rock that Austin climbed to the top.  He had no problem reaching the top.  Put his hands up in the air and was just so excited.  However, getting down, was a bit of an issue.  We had to coach him through it.  He managed to get most of the way down before he jumped into my arms.

Austin is going through a stage where he only wants to wear this one yellow shirt every day.  It's a superhero shirt but seriously, it's every day.  Trying to talk some sense into him, but it's hard with a 4 year old!

I have started training for my first 5K.  This is a big deal for me because a year ago, I would have laughed at the thought of me running.  I'm not sure what is going on with me, but dare I say it, I actually enjoy running.  What?!?!  No seriously, I do.  Starting last October, I started walking on the treadmill in our living room.  One day, I thought, maybe I could run.  So I'd run for a minute, then walk a lot, then run for another minute, and I'd keep progressing as the days went by.  Then a coworker came up and talk about this lung run.  So, you can walk 1 mile or run a 5K or a 10K.  So since, I was already up to 10-15 minutes of running, I thought why not?  Fast forward to last week, I ran 3.21 miles on the treadmill, which is .11 miles more than I need to!  YES!  Go me!  I'm so proud of myself.  Although, my feet are really hurting.  So I need to look into some relief.  So back to the lung run. The mission of the Lung Run is to raise awareness of lung cancer and to raise much-needed funds for lung cancer research.  It's very near and dear to my heart and I will be running for my Father in Law, John Artinghelli. After everything he went through, this is something I can do do help so that others won't have endure the pain and suffering he did.  So think of me and wish me luck on September 7th as I run.  As I try to make a difference (http://lungrun.org/)

Did I tell you the good news?  Kevin no longer works weekends!  YES!  We have been so excited that he is home with us on the weekends.  It's been a blast, that's for sure.  Kevin is getting very excited for his annual trip to Vegas next month and shortly after that he is going to watch his favorite team play, Go Blue!  And we are talking about taking the boys up to see U of M end of September.  I think Kevin would be so excited to show his boys why he loves U of M. 

This weekend we both have special dates.  Kevin is taking John David out for one one one time and I am taking Austin out.  Sometimes, it's nice to be able to spend special time with each of the boys.  I think Austin and I are going to see Turbo and Kevin and John David are going to the park and out to eat.

Summer slow down, we are having way too much fun.  Until the next time.  Thanks for reading

Happy 3rd Birthday, John David!

JD at the park

I can't believe my baby is three!  Happy birthday to my amazing, helpful, and adorable John David.  You amaze me everyday with how sweet you are.  You are full of life and energy and are always busy.  You sure keep mommy and daddy busy.

Here are some of things that describe you now.

You are a great sharer.  You would give away your last snack if someone asked.

You are always smiling!  And it's contagious.  Your laugh is amazing and one of the best sounds in the world.

You have a bedtime routine that only you know.  You change it nightly.  But one thing that doesn't change too much is rolling up your blankets.  Your blue and yellow blanket are your favorites and they need to be rolled up just so, sometimes your baby and lovie go in there sometimes they don't.  You often refer to your baby as your baby sister, which throws some people off.

Balloons are among your favorite things to play with.  Don't let the balloon hit the ground keeps you busy for a while. 

On 2nd base!

You love to throw balls and often get in trouble because you throw them when we aren't looking.  You have quite the arm!  You wind up, and have a pretty good aim too. You like to shoot hoops and catch the ball.  You will be our sports star.  I asked Ms. Tina at school how come you don't have as many bruises as Austin does, she said, because he jumps off the play ground equipment and you stay by the basketball hoop and shoot hoops outside.  If there is a ball, John David is nearby.  At the balloon place, you are always by the ball.  You just love to play, catch, and throw!

JD with daddy

The way you say AAAAGAIN is hilarious.  We are going to the park, "AGGGAIN"  I have to go to the store, "AAGGAIN"   Mommy's getting some coffee, "AAGAIN"

JD with mommy

Bagels, pancakes, applesauce, oatmeal squares, burgers, cheetos, are among some of your favorite foods.  These are staples in our house, must haves!

making me coffee

You love to help cook and can be found in grandma's kitchen on the weekends helping her make pancakes.  They are delicious.  You love to make my coffee and are so good at it, my coffee has never tasted so good.

You're not big on TV. You have shows you request, but you very rarely watch the whole thing, maybe a few minutes here and there.  You'd much rather play with your balls.

As far as potty training goes, you will go on the potty, sometimes without me knowing, but you do it when you want to.  I'm sure you'll be in underwear all day soon. 

When we go to the park, your favorite thing is the swing.   And you love to go up in the sky.  You won't let me just push you, you freak out if you aren't going high!  

You are so much fun.  I love playing with you and have a blast.  I look forward to all the years we have to play!  I love you and hope you had a fabulous birthday!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Austin!

Austin James Artinghelli 4 years old!

Me and happy Austin!

4 years ago, my life changed, as I welcomed my first son into the world, my Austin.  I can't believe 4  years have passed, in the blink of an eye.  I no longer have a baby, a toddler, but a little boy, a little boy who knows exactly what he wants.  And let me tell you, he is not afraid to tell you what he wants.  I did a similar post last year about what he was up to and I thought it would be fun to do it again so that when I look back, I can truly remember his milestones.

Austin and daddy, so happy about his car!

He picks out his clothes.  He knows exactly what he wants to wear and more importantly, what he doesn't want to wear.  He hates long sleeve shirts.  In the winter, he would only wear short sleeve shirts, and now that we are going into summer, all he wants to wear is sleeve less. He loved to wear jeans in the winter, that's all he'd wear, so I'd have to wash his jeans all the time.  Now, he wants to wear shorts all the time, even when its cold out, but not any shorts, he likes the swishy shorts or basketball shorts but without the string.  I tried to get him to wear a pair with the strings and he lost it.  He has a few favorite shirts, Batman, Lightening McQueen, Alligator, Dinosaur, Spiderman. 

Austin giving JD a thank you hug

His favorite TV show is Fairly Oddparents, and I just don't understand why. He will no longer watch Little Einsteins or Handy Manny.  But, I still like Handy :-(. He loves to go to movies and is looking forward to Monster University (so am I).

He is always counting and telling me colors.  He is learning his letters and just amazes me all the time.  I can't wait to get out the alphabet puzzle and really have him tell me all the letters.

Austin points out everything when we are driving and is known for saying the following "hey, mommy (or daddy), remember when we were at that place, oh that's chili's, that's the hot dog place.  MCDONALDS!!!!"

I am proud to say Austin has mastered potty training!  I never thought this day was coming, but somehow, it just clicked!  We need to start working on potty training at night, but I'm not going to stress about that one ;-)  It will happen.

Dogs, Austin loves dogs.  Whenever we are at the park and he sees a dog, he needs to run up and pet the dog!  I have taught him to ask first and he is so cute.  He tells the dogs that he has a Buster at home.

He is quite the explorer.  When we go to the park, he always is walking around and looking at things, especially by the park at the house.  We go for walks by the pond and he loves to look at the duckies and fishes.  He loves to climb trees and pick up sticks.  But after our last incident, we are all a little weary.

And BATMAN!  I'm not sure why, but he is obsessed with Batman!  He is always wanting to wear Batman.  He has numerous shirts, now shoes and wants a Batman Party. All he wants for his birthday is a BATMAN cake! ;-)

Even though he is a go getter, full of energy, demanding little boy, he knows just the right moment to cuddle, give kisses and smiles. 

We worked so hard to have you Austin and I'm so thankful to have you in our lives.  You are teaching me patience daily as I'm trying to teach you as well.  You are clever as you know how to get what you want!  I can't imagine my life without you!  I hope you had a great birthday!

A few firsts

We've had a few firsts for the boys, some good, some not so good!  I'll start with the good.

We took the boys to their first baseball game!  We went to the Schaumburg Boomers game on Saturday. The boys were so excited, they were telling all of their school friends and teachers all day on Friday. It was a beautiful day, in the uppers 70's lowers 80's at game time!  We got great seats about 10 rows up from the first base side. So we could really see the players, and fall balls could be ours :-) and hot dogs and pop corn were a must!  Coop the Boomer (mascot) came up and had a pizza in his hand.  All of the kids were shouting and Coop the Boomer chose my Austin to win the pizza.  Austin was so excited and he quickly opened it up and started sharing with all of us!  Later on, tshirts were being launched at us and Vince caught won and gave it to Morgan, she was so excited to wear her new Boomers tshirt and at the end of the game, one of the players rolled John David a baseball!  All three kiddies were so lucky to each get something.  And one of their favorite things they did was run around the bases at the end of the game!  Although, Austin rounded 2nd and headed for the pitchers mound, but hey, who cares if he made it around all of the bases ;-)  He had fun.

Seeing the smiles on all of the kids was so much fun!  Austin and John David keep talking about the baseball game and how we are going back tomorrow ;-)  And Austin keeps referring to Coop as Diego, so I have to remember what's he's talking about when he says Diego!


Well we did it.  We got Austin a big boy bed.  We converted his crib into a full size bed.  He looks so small in there.  We had him pick out sheets, he choose a Cars theme to go with a blue comforter.  We thought we could get a bunch of different sheets, Batman, Toy Story, Cars, etc,  and can change them when needed. (We still need to pick out some sheets, we are slacking!)  This way, the theme of his room, can change as he does.  He is loving it!  We took away most of his stuffed animals, and all of the blankets minus one, his favorite brown blanket, or monkey ball blanket as he used to call it.  It was actually sad the other other day, for me, because, a girl at school ran up to Austin with her Elmo, and he replied, "I don't have an Elmo anymore"  I think it was the way he said it.  And I have all of his stuffed animals in a bag in my closet, I'm not sure what to do with them.  Do I throw them away?  Put them in storage?  Those animals have sentimental value to me.  Bringing him home from the hospital, Santa brought him Elmo, watching him play with them and of course, having to put every single one of them in his bed.  He loved on those animals, and I'm expected to just throw them away?  But again, they are just collecting dust.  I don't know, it's hard, I guess, kinda like bagging up the old clothes he use to wear.  I have so many memories, and it's just hard to throw them away.  Anyway, back to Austin's big boy bed.  He loves it!  I just can't believe he's almost 4 and in a big boy bed.  
 
And the not so good.  I'm reminded of the Brad Paisely song, "Ticks" "I'm going to check you for ticks" because that is what I will need to do daily.  We were playing in the park by the house and did our normal walk around the pond, picked up sticks, and played in trees, and the next morning as we were getting out of the car, I noticed this nasty red spot with black marks on Austin.  We were supposed to be going to breakfast before getting Morgan a bike, but our plans quickly changed as Grandma said it looked like a tick.  So grandma and Uncle John went to breakfast with John David and Morgan while Austin and I we went over to Walgreens to see what supplies I would need or what I should do, but the pharmacist assured me, it wasn't a tick.  So I was a bit relieved, as she thought it was a scab. John and Grandma both thought I should get a second opinion so we did at CVS Minute Clinic but they didn't do bug bites or tick removals, but did confirm it was a tick and sent us over to Urgent Care.  Long story short and I'll spare you the gross details, we had it removed and it was indeed a tick, the doctor had me look though his magnify glasses so I could see the nasty bug who thought my sweet Austin was a good resource.  It was a horrible experience, and through the removal as Austin was upset, we could hear John David in the waiting room and when were done, waiting for instructions and a popsicle, John David ran up to Austin and gently rubbed his arm and asked him if he was okay.  It was so sweet.

So that was Austin, the following week, it was John David's turn. :-(  It was Mother's Day, and John David wanted pancakes, he's a good helper when it comes to pancakes, Grandma get's the ingredients and John David mixes.  After we were done eating, Austin was rocking on the chair and fell onto John David's toe.  Austin was fine, just a little scared, but John David's toe was black and blue and looks awful.  After holding John David for nearly 2 hours, he finally took a nap.  But he wouldn't let me out of his site.  I had to hold him and just hearing him cry like that made me feel so bad for him.  Luckily after his nap, John David was feeling much better, he even put his shoes on by himself so we could go out for a Mother's day dinner.  When he woke up the next day, he said, "my foot is much better, mommy"  It still looks awful, but he's not affected by it anymore.

So those are 2 firsts that I would like to keep as first and not have happen again.

In other news, we are getting ready for a 3rd and 4th birthday in a couple of weeks which has me feeling happy and sad all at the same time.  It's hard for me to imagine that Austin has one more full year before he starts Kindergarten. I just can't believe how fast time flies.

Happy April everyone!  Spring weather is in the air.  I'm so over the cold weather, I can't wait for the warm weather.  The boys need fresh air and to run around!

One of the main reasons for this blog is to be able to look back and see what we were up to and the boys milestones/accomplishments.  So I thought now would be a good time to share the toddlerisms that they do now that I will miss.
1. John David yelling from his bed, "I want to be awake".

JD with 2 of his babies

2. John David constantly asking to roll up his babies!  He has triplets you know, his lovie, bunny and teddy bear.  And every night, before bed, we need to roll up the blankets and then roll them into the blanket.  Then we cover John David and his babies up with his 2 blankets.  Sometimes, he has the shopping carts right next to his bed and we have to load them in there, kinda like a bassinet/stroller.  John David is very cute and caring for his babies, as you often hear him, saying shhhhh shhhhh shhhhh while holding them, and he tells everyone to be quiet since his babies are sleeping.
3. John David is on a hamburger kick, but the way he says it is so stinkin cute, it's like ambugger.
4. If you ask John David who the man is, he will reply, "Austin is the man, but I am the best!  Then he will proceed to name everyone he knows and said, he's the man, he's the woe man, etc.
5. I couldn't figure this out for the long time, "I want it closer" as we were sitting in the car with the movie on.  He was meaning, "I want it louder"  Sometimes you have to be a detective.
6. We were in the car and Austin was griping about something and I told him no.  Daddy told him no.  And then John David says, "Mommy said NO, Daddy said NO, and I say NO, OKAAAAAY!!!!"  It was hilarious!  It was all in his tone!

7. We were eating Chipotle for dinner and Austin saw my guacamole and went to town on it.  After one bite, he turns to me and says "Mmmmmm this is dewishes"  OMG, the cutest thing EVER!
8. Austin loves when I sing him songs.  He has me holding him and walking around them room and he is so into it.  I'm into it too.  I'm hanging on and stealing extra hugs and kisses because he's already telling me no when I ask for them and wiping them away, I like to think he's rubbing them in, but probably not.  Gotta save them up.
9. Austin loves uppie.  He's a tad too big for it, but I know that this will be over soon and 1. I won't be able to lift him because he will be too big and 2. He won't want me to carry him so I am enjoying it as much as I can.
 10. So after Austin is all settled in his bed, he asks me to say Oooh haha, and a big one.  I'm not sure where got it from, but I try to go all silly on him and he just loves it.  We don't do this every night but I do crack up when he asks me to do it.

nap time with all of his stuff

11.At night time, when I'm putting Austin to sleep, he sometimes plays with my hair and I am puddy in his hands.  So if that's a way for me to stay in Austin's room for a few more minutes, I'm there.  He says, "mommy, I play with your hair"  You will never hear me say no ;-)
12.  Austin, my little hoarder, has way too many things in his bed.  It's crazy.  We are in the process of getting him a full bed, but I know, that he will just add more things to his bed.  6 blankets, an ungodly amount of stuffed animals/toys.  It's unreal.  So in his room, everything is in his closet or in his bed.

And one of things I'll miss most is the way my boys say John David.  It comes out, on babid and john babid, but never John David.  Although, they went to dinner with Uncle David the other night and if you ask John David who was at dinner, he will say Uncle David and then if you ask him what his name is, he will say John Babid.

So it has been one year since John David has his tube surgery and I am happy to report that he has had only one ear infection!  Woot woot.  It has been so much better then constantly being at the doctors office and waiting at the pharmacy for yet another prescription.  I believe the tubes are still in there.  We will see in a couple of months when we go for his 3 year old check up!

Kevin and I are going to Virgina and Washington D.C next week!  We are so excited to visit Su and Ben and to see the city.  It will be great to be Kevin and Pam, husband and wife, for a few days.  Grandpa and Mary are going to take great care of Austin and John David and grandma will take great care of Buster.  Thanks so much Grandma, Grandpa and Mary, we are so thankful for your help. 

And lastly to go with the theme above, I'm reminded of Darius Rucker's song, "It won't be like this for long"

He didn't have to wake up

He'd been up all night

Layin’ there in bed listenin’

To his new born baby cry

He makes a pot of coffee

He splashes water on his face

His wife gives him a kiss and says

It gonna be OK

It won’t be like this for long

One day we'll look back laughin’

At the week we brought her home

This phase is gonna fly by

So baby just hold on

‘Cause it won't be like this for long

Four years later ‘bout 4:30

She's crawling in their bed

And when he drops her off at preschool

She's clinging to his leg

The teacher peels her off of him

He says what can I do

She says now don't you worry

This’ll only last a week or two

It won’t be like this for long

One day soon you'll drop her off

And she won’t even know you're gone

This phase is gonna fly by

If you can just hold on

It won’t be like this for long

Some day soon she'll be a teenager

And at times he'll think she hates him

Then he'll walk her down the aisle

And he'll raise her veil

But right now she's up and cryin’

And the truth is that he don't mind

As he kisses her good night

And she says her prayers

He lays down there beside her

‘Til her eyes are finally closed

And just watchin’ her it breaks his heart

Cause he already knows

It won’t be like this for long

One day soon that little girl is gonna be

All grown up and gone

Yeah, this phase is gonna fly by

So, he's tryin’ to hold on

‘Cause it won’t be like this for long

It won’t be like this for long

It won’t be like this for long

So yea, we are holding on, because it won't be like this for long!

February

Ugggh, well we just got over a really nasty stomach bug or dare I say it, "the flu".  It was horrible!  I'm glad to say that we got through it and are on the other side.  It's nice that the boys share, but I really wouldn't have mind if John David was a tad selfish and kept to himself, but no, he had to share with his favorite big brother, Austin and his favorite mommy!  And poor Austin, he had it the worst!

Austin, my rock star is potty trained!  Woot woot!  Even when he has a pull up on when we are out and about, he still asks to use the potty.  I never thought this day would come and am so proud to say we are here!  Way to go, buddy!

John David is entering the terrible 3 stage!  Yes, I said it, terrible 3's.  He is having a little trouble with listening to mommy.  He would much rather listen to his big brother than mommy.  What's up with that?!!  He must not realize there will be consequences if he doesn't listen to me!  I'm working on choosing my words and refraining from saying don't do this, but do this.  It's hard.  Hopefully this will help.  Even though he's a touch more difficult, he is still the cutest, most helpful 2 1/2 year old!

We have been keeping pretty busy lately!  We have been doing a lot of trips to the Elgin library and to the mall play area to burn off some pent up energy.  It's been hard staying inside these winter months.  We met some new friends and have been having a blast having play dates!  Play dates for me too, so it's a win win!  Seeing the boys interact with their friends is so much fun.  John David even has a little girlfriend, although if you ask Austin, Brynn is his girlfriend.  Uh oh!  It's so cute watching them hold hands!

We played in the snow yesterday for the first time this winter and had a blast!  We attempted to make a snowman, we just need to add the face!  It's a work in progress, ha!  Although the boys had fun helping me, I think they really enjoyed throwing snow at me!  Austin kept saying, "I'm going to get you" and John David would laugh hysterically!  Good times!  It was nice getting some fresh air,  however, by the time we got in, I was exhausted, and my hands hurt.  It's hard being 30 ;-)  

I'm very happy that we are in March.  I'm so looking forward to some warmer days.  We had a blast last year going to parks and feeding the ducks, and I think we will have even more fun this year!  Good times, ahead, I can feel it!

Here is a video of the boys having fun in the snow!

Potty Training and Happenings

We are in full potty training mode here at casa de Artinghelli.  I think, fingers crossed, that we are dare I say it, day time pee pee (no poo poo) potty trained?  I'm not sure what happened over the weekend but it finally clicked with Austin.  I went from the nagging mom who put him on the potty every 20-30 minutes, , to just letting it go and letting him lead.  Kevin and I were sitting on the couch, and next thing you know, Austin gets up, walks away, we hear him go to the bathroom and you hear him flush saying, "I went pee-pee!"  Apparently, he's been doing this at school too!  He is also money motivated!  So I've been giving him nickels, dimes, and pennies.  We will save the quarters for a number 2!  He is so cute in his little underwear.  We are going to have to make a trip to the store to get some new ones!  Possibly Batman ones!

John David has been using the potty too!  Now, he will usually go when I put him on the potty, but doesn't really tell me he has to go.  A few times, he has, so we'll see.  He gets so excited when he goes, he claps his hands and says "yay!"

It's funny, I have tried numerous times to unsuccessfully potty train Austin.  He just wasn't ready, I guess.  It was a fight before.  Now, he knows when he needs to go and it just is so simple for him.  I didn't think John David would potty train now since Austin was later, but one day, he just wanted to go after Austin went and he actually went! I'm so proud and amazed with my 2 boys!

John David has been singing the alphabet and it's so cute!  I'm trying to catch a video of him, just so I can remember how cute he is!

Austin has this new word, maybe.  So he will say, "maybe you do this" or "maybe we go see Grandma and Morgan will be with her" or "maybe we go to the library" It's cute, but I'm not sure where that came from.  Again, looking at how I speak, do I say maybe a lot?  I may say maybe but not in that context?

We have an appointment with the ENT for Austin next week.  He does this thing where he blows in and makes this loud noise.  It's almost a daily occurrence.  I've been trying to teach him to blow his nose but he doesn't get it.  But I think it may be more than that so it's time to get it checked out.  Maybe allergies?  I have so many that it wouldn't be odd if they did too.  Actually, my gut tells me that they do have allergies.

We played our first game, hungry hungry hippos.  It was so much fun seeing the boys get into it.  They even asked to play yesterday, so I think they really liked it.  We are definitely entering in a new chapter in our lives, no more babies, but little boys.  It's very bittersweet for me.  I love seeing them grow but it's hard to let go of them being my babies.  We took the boys for haircuts last week and it was the first time John David sat in the chair by himself.  I was by Austin, and John David just sat there and got his hair cut with daddy by his side.  Such a big boy.  But I must say, I left there a little teary eyed.

Happy New Year/December

Happy New Year!  I can't believe how fast 2012 went, it really is crazy how fast time goes, sometimes the days are so long but the years are so fast!

We had a wonderful magical Christmas.  The boys tore through all of their presents.  I didn't think opening all of those presents could have happened so fast.  But it did!  The boys are so loved.  They got a lot of toys and clothes!  I think we are set for a very long time!  Thank you to everyone who joined us in loving on our children :)  They are so lucky to have so much love in their lives.

Getting ready for Santa was so much fun.  The boys, especially John David, were so into Ellie (our Elf)!  He would find her so quickly!  They would check the spot she was in the day before, notice that she wasn't there, tell me or Kevin that she went to go see Santa and then they would find her.  Austin would talk to Ellie, "Why you there, what are you doing, Ellie?" and John David, would say "ELLIE!"  I love that they were so into it! We put reindeer food out and cookies for Santa.  They both were so excited when they saw that Santa ate some of the cookies!

I did it!  Finally, I almost have our bedroom back.  I took most of the boys clothes and put it into Austin's room.  He has 2 dressers in there that have nothing in them.  Last time he had clothes in there he would throw them all on the floor, but now that he has matured a bit ;-)  whereas, he hates a mess on his floor I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try again.  And this way, he can have easy access to his clothes and choose what he'd like to wear.  It's been a couple of days and it's working well.  I want to make a few changes to his room this year.  I'd like to get him a big boy bed, the crib converts to a full size bed so we need a mattress, box spring and some bedding.  And now that we've had John David in the other room for 6 months or so now, I think we need to make it more of a room, decorate it for him and get him some furniture other than a bed.  Right now, it's just his bed and some toys.  That's okay for now, though.  Less is more right now.

Austin now has added me back into his bed time routine.  So after, I put John David down, and after daddy has read Austin his stories, I go in there and sing 3 songs.  He must love my voice ;-)  Last night it was Twinkle Twinkle, Sunshine (and when I ended it "please don't take my Austin away, he said "hahaha NO! Sunshine away") and the Bumble Bee Song.  Sometimes he gets 4 songs out of me, but that's when he requests, "Rumor Has it" and "Set Fire to the Rain" only because I only know the chorus and can get through that in all of about 5 seconds!  This kid cracks me up!  The other day, he kept saying "you so happy to see me"  Of course I was, but it sounded a little vain ;-)  I must say I'm so happy to see you all the time.  Oh and he is so sweet with his lovie and monkey mall blanket.  He keeps kissing them by when he goes to school, and when he gets back in the van, he says, "I missed you, lovie and brown blanket" and squeezes them!  He really can be cute! 

My poor John David has his first ear infection after tubes, it took 9 months!  Ugggh this is awful.  I feel so bad for him.  Because he has tubes, they do antibiotic ear drops and John David HATES and I mean HATES the drops.  I have to bribe him with an M&M and even then it's pulling teeth.  I have to clean the ear first since there still is a gross discharge and then squeeze the bottle 5 times, all while he squirms and moves his head, left to right.  I sure do get my exercise.  This cold he had was a doozy and it didn't surprise me that it went to his ear.  What surprised me was the blood.  I was expecting goop from the ear, not blood so it through me off.                            

John David is my little artist.  He loves to color and draw and loves markers and pens the most.  He is constantly creating masterpieces and I love it.  He's making lines and circles and constantly using his left hand.  He also got some drums from grandma, and loves to play!  It's a lot of fun, Austin grabs the guitar and they have a 2 person band and me as the dancer!  They always, say, "mommy, dance!"  Fun times!

I got a lot of wonderful gifts for Christmas.  Kevin, my loving loving husband, got me the best gift of all.  He's not typically the most romantic guy, but this takes the cake.  He created a list of 12 dates for us.  Each date is in an envelope and we open it up in the beginning of the month, our first date is an IMAX move and dinner.  Looking forward to this date and all of the others coming up!  I got some charms for my charm bracelet, a Willow Tree nativity set and so much more.  I feel so very blessed!

2012 was a great year, we had a lot of ups and downs, but we are here and happy and that's what counts.  Looking forward to 2013!