September Fun

I can hardly believe it's September.  Where does the time go?!?!  We've been having a blast and the boys have been keeping us quite busy!  We have Halloween Costumes all ready to go, I have a Fireman and Policeman Costume so I think Austin will be the Fireman and John David will be the Policeman!  They were such a good deal, $22.00 at the mall and when I saw them at the Children's Museum Downtown they were nearly double that!  So good deal for me!  They are Melissa and Doug, which I love that brand, they have all sorts of cool puzzles and toys!

So with this great weather we've been having, I've been able to take the boys to the park.  Austin has started playing with other kids, which is really cool to see.  He doesn't really need me to be by his side and in fact he prefers me to not be there, bittersweet yes, but love that he is becoming a little more independent.  Although, I'm still nervous when he is climbing.  It's hard to let go for just a little, I can't even being to imagine, letting go more, going to friends house without me, date nights, staying out late, and this is just a little microscopic dose.  Well at least John David needs me!    Although, you hear, "I do it" a lot from him and tantrums come quickly after if he doesn't get to do it.

So the other day, a little boy comes to the park and off goes Austin, following the boy, playing with rocks, making a circle, hunting for sticks and more rocks.  And then the other day, he was climbing a tree with a little girl.  When it was time go go, Austin had a nice conversation with the girl, it went a little like this A: "bye", Girl: "bye, have fun at the horses"  A: "thanks" "see you later" "have a nice weekend"    It was very cute.

As for my John David, oh my, is he a climber and a jumper.  He has mastered climbing at the park, here is a short video.  Doesn't he look adorable in his Bears Jersey!?!?  I think so too!  Every single time, we get out of the van, he wants to jump, he takes his step stool and stands on it so he can jump,  the kid is constantly jumping.  He is so cute, he say's "I jump"

So it's no secret that both kids love "Rumor Has it" by Adele!  They love to jam and dance to it and we are constantly listenting to it over and over.  Well here is the new thing.  And I tried to get a video but I wasn't able too.  It was just me and John David running an errand.  "Mommy, Rumor Has it"  Okay, put it on, dance to it, fist pump and all.  And then "Set Fire to the Rain" comes on next and my little John David is humming and signing along to the chorus, I hear his sweet voice singing, "to the rain" "watch it pour"  It was so cute and when I tried to capture the video, he said, "let me see the phone"  Busted.

So this past weekend we went to Touch a Truck in Elk Grove Village.  There was a parking lot full of trucks that you could touch and get in!  Fire Trucks, Ambulance, Police Car, Garbage Trucks, Semi Truck, tractors, cars, and many more.  At first, the boys were afraid of the Fire Truck, which killed me, because every day we drive past the fire house to and from day care and they are always looking to see if the garage door is open or closed, and Austin always says, "I want to touch the truck and get in it"  so I thought this would be PERFECT for him!  But no, he said, he was scared.  Okay, so we looked at all of the other trucks and then another fire truck came and parked and Austin wanted to get in that one!  So excited!  So Austin and John David finally got to get in a fire truck.  Morgan and Kathy came with on our adventure and hopefully had as much fun as the boys did.  It was great seeing their faces light up when they got to go in the trucks.  We will definitely go back, especially when Kevin can come with because I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it too!

  We got the boys all dressed in their Bears gear!  We all have jerseys and it's so much fun showing our support and pride.  Since, Kevin and I don't agree on a baseball team, I really think it's fun dressing the boys in a team that we both love!  Austin was very excited to wear his "da bears da bears da bears" shirt and we got a cute video of him saying it!  Bears, win!  Woot woot!  Kevin also taught the boys "Go Blue"  and it's too cute hearing them.  They really are a hoot!

People may think I'm crazy with my pictures and videos, but I just think that my boys are so cute and do fascinating things that I want to remember and look back and see just how cute they were.  So, yes, I constantly have my phone on me, I am constantly taking pictures and snapping videos, so that I can look back and share my world with my friends and family but I do also take a minute to take it all in and live in the moment!

Thanks for reading!

Update

We've been pretty busy the last couple of weeks.  It's hard to believe summer is coming to an end!  It's been a wicked hot summer and I'm looking forward to the fall weather.  Not the snow, or the below degree weather, but the 70's and 60's, most definitely!

I took the boys to the petting zoo, also known as the farm, by Austin.  We bought 2 bags of feed and the boys went to town feeding the animals. They had goats, pigs, donkeys, ducks, fish, deer, cow, horses and other animals that I don't even remember.  They sure were hungry little guys!  They would take your bag if you weren't paying attention.  John David was a little nervous at first, but by the end was a champ, letting the goats eat out of his hands!  Coming out of his shell, that little guy.  As we were leaving, Austin was saying goodbye to each of the animals, and even gave one a kiss.  Ah, innocence!  I tried to stop him but wasn't quick enough.

So separate rooms has been going great!  Boys are going to bed at a decent hour and if Austin wants to stay up for awhile in his room, he can do so and not bother John David.  In the morning, sometimes, I hear Austin first, calling "mommy, mommy" and sometimes it's John David.  But it doesn't matter who is first, the other is quickly up as well by the time they are coming out of their room.  It's like they are in sync!  The new thing that is happening in the Artinghelli household, because it's always something, Austin has figured out how to get the child lock off his door and he opens it, and then springs his brother, and then I hear the pitter patter to our room.  It was cute the first time and at least they are headed to our room!  But now, after this morning, I am well, just plain exhausted.  This morning it was 5:30!  And I gotta admit, 30 minutes makes a huge difference!  I went and purchased an "Okay to wake tot clock" and can't wait for it to arrive in 5-7 days, I probably should have paid extra for next day, eh?!?! but I went with free delivery!  So, I guess you can set a clock to an acceptable time, and you teach the child that this color is associated with okay to call for mommy.  So it's yellow during the night and changes to blue or whatever color is okay to wake color.  Austin officially knows his colors, "woot woot, go Austin, #mommyissoproud, so hopefully he will get it!  A couple of friends have already introduced this concept with their girls and it has worked for them!   I can be hopeful, right?!  I'll let you know in 5-7 days, haha, I sound like the movie "My Girl"

So back to Austin, he knows his colors!  Orange, green, brown, black, red, purple, green, white!  Buster is brown and he know refers his previously known monkey ball blanket as his brown blanket.  Where does the time go, he is so smart!  His new phrase and I have no idea where he learned it, school?  "oh my goodness"  The other day he said, "oh my goodness, mommy"  out of no where, in the right context!  I gotta start filtering what I say, otherwise he will be repeating all of my phrases, uh oh, I'm in trouble.  Well after a few days of reflecting and really listening to myself, I'm fairly certain I taught Austin, "oh my goodness".  I say it all the time didn't even know it!  Wowsers.

 I've been getting great reports on John David.  He is known as a good helper at school.  Always cleaning up after everyone, he helps sweep.  Just like at home!  He is so sweet!  Always sharing his food with me!  But he is obsessed with food, especially applesauce in the packet.  I swear he would eat them all day if I'd let him.  Every time I'm at the store, they are in the cart.  He's always at the pantry looking for something, even if he just ate breakfast, lunch or dinner.  He must be growing.  He's been so much fun in the pool, definitely coming out of his cave!  He even loves jumping off the later!  Next year, I will have 2 fishes in the water!  He is now wanting to dress himself.  I often her "I do it!  And this morning, he put his shirt on all by himself!  He was so proud!  Me too!

Chat soon!

Staycation 2012

The Artinghelli clan had a great staycation!   On Monday, we hit up Pirates Cove in Elk Grove Village.  It's a kids theme park, it's small, but eventful for kids.  Austin especially liked the choo choo train and the bumper boats.  We went on the train a few times and the boats 2 times.  They also had a carousel and a big slide and a park!  It was super hot that day so we didn't stay too long.  John David loved the choo choo train and tried out the boats, but was not a big fan!  He was in there for maybe 2 seconds before he cried to get out.  Poor guy, hey, at least he tried.  That's a big step.

After nap time, we converted John David's crib into a big boy bed.  No more shenanigans for the boys.  I was very nervous that John David wouldn't do well in the big boy bed, but he proved me wrong.  It was like he was a pro, and maybe daycare helps out with that since he sleeps on a cot there.  I guess he is an old pro.  It still took them forever to fall asleep as they were playing in there.

On Tuesday, the boys went to daycare and Kevin and I had an us day.  We went to lunch and looked at mini vans.  We test drove the Chrysler Town and Country and the Toyota Sienna.  Both were nice and but I think we are bigger fans of the Chrysler.  Looks like this momma is getting a mini van soon.  Maybe by the end of the week or next!

On Wednesday, we went to the Naperville Children's museum.  That was a lot of fun!  They boys loved playing with the balls and the water!  They played music too.  we'll definitely go back there!  Wednesday night we went on a Chicago Segway tour.  We knew it was risky as a huge storm was coming in but we went...  we got about 20 minutes in and the sky was flashing with lightening, pretty but not when you are on the segways.  We saw about 5 minutes of the fireworks show before we bolted back.  We got back just in time.  As it started to DOWNPOUR.. Yikes, we got a raincheck.  The segway was hard for me at first, but after a few minutes or so, I got the hang and it was actually fun.  I look forward to our rain check.  It was really freeing when we are riding outside.  I liked it a lot!!!

On Thursday we went to Schaumburg Waterworks.  It's an indoor water park.  Perfect for the kids.  A kid area, water slides, pool, and diving area!  Cool cool cool, we will definitely go back there, especially on a rainy day!    The boys were little fishes.  You can definitely see John David breaking out of his shell.

Friday, the whole family, hit up Italian Fest in Milwaukee. We went there 3 years ago when Austin was 6 weeks and thought it would be fun.  It was quite the adventure!  The food was yummy, especially the ravioli from Carrabbas!  yum!  John David went the whole day with no nap and was a champ!  He was happy most of the day, which is fantastic!  Austin fell asleep in the stroller holding is popcorn in hand!  Too cute!  John David was out within 15 minutes of getting in the car, he sure was exhausted.

Saturday I took Austin to see the movie Ice Age! He just loves movies.  He got his little popcorn and sat in his chair the whole time and ate his popcorn.  This kid was meant for movies!  Saturday night I went and to Country Thunder and saw East Corbin and BLAKE SHELTON.  I just love Blake, love his songs and just had an awesome time. 

Sunday, we just laid low.

So all in all a great vacation!  Loved spending quality time with my family!!!!!!!!!  Loved hearing, "daddy what are you doing" (Austin), "Autin, look it" (John David), "Are we going on an venture" (Austin),

One big thing that happened over the week was we separated the boys, now they each have their own room.  Bittersweet and I hate that it changed so fast.  I hate that what I was use to doing suddenly changed.  But.  We just felt like it was the right thing to do.  I mean, they wouldn't go to sleep until 9, wake up at 6 and were crabsters the whole day.  So we thought we'd try it out and it's working wonderfully!  Such a good decision.  And who knows how long it'll be like this for. Maybe a week, a few, months, years.  we will just go with it and see what works best for our family.   John David is back to bed by 7:30 and Austin by 8.  They were sleeping in (now it's back to 630 since we have to get ready for school/work).  But being together just wasn't working for them.  It's hard because they've been together in the same room since John David was 3 months.  We'll be okay, change is good, right?

Shenanigans

Shenanigans is what the boys have been up to at night!

My good sleepers have quickly turned into nightmare sleepers.  Just like that.  In a blink of an eye.  I used to be able to put them to sleep at 7.  I would start our routine around 645 or so and by 7, they were in bed and just about covered up and ready for slumber.

A few weeks ago, after my trip to Atlanta, we veered from the routine, yes I know, bad idea and now I'm paying.  A few times, it was nearly 9 p.m before they fell asleep in the room by 8:15.  Gotta get back on track, I thought.  Then we had a 4 hour nap, yes, that was lovely, but I did pay for it.  That night I put them down an hour later and it still took an hour to get settled.

This is what we have been up to this week, which is major Shenanigans!!!!  Kevin and I put the boys to sleep  around 7 and then we proceeded to do somethings around the house and outside.  I went downstairs about about 8 and heard something from the boys room.  I thought it was Austin playing quietly with his cars, which he has done before.  I wish I had taken a picture because I don't think my description of the event can do it justice!

Okay so I walk in.....  The boys are on the floor putting change into their piggy banks.  Let's rewind a bit.....John David still sleeps in his crib, and he was on the floor, and 2 the piggy banks are on the tall dresser, which means someone (Austin) had to climb up and get it!  Heavy sigh.....

The best part you ask....every single one of Austins blankets, all 6, all of his stuffed animals (dozen or so), books and puzzles, cars, anything else my little hoarder has hoarded into his bed (see pic below of what his bed looks like on most days) was put into John David's crib. I'm sure all of that stuff helped John David free his crib.

Mommy was not happy!

Daddy was not happy!

The boys were ecstatic!

I put every thing back as it was, minus the piggy banks as they have been relocated to the top of my dresser.

I would like to say they went straight to bed after their little party, but sadly no, I think I went in there a few more times and still shenanigans was occuring.

The next night, it was a little different.

I went in there to find...  All of Austin's belongings in John David's crib as well as Austin!  I totally ruined their little sleepover!  Bad, mommy.  Austin was upset and told me "I want to sleep with John David!"  Cute, huh!

As you can imagine our crib days are just about over.  We will be converting the crib into a toddler bed and I will be loosing one of the last things that makes my baby a baby.  It's very sad for me as officially, I will no longer have a baby, but a toddler who climbs.

I wonder if the boys will sleep together.  Stay tuned to find out. And stay tuned to hear about our staycation which starts on Monday.  Boys will be home from school and both Kevin and I took the week off.  We have a lot of ideas on things to do, so we are super excited!!!!

Atlanta

So let's see, I just got home from the SHRM annual conference in Atlanta. It was so nice to get away from the daily life and go to this conference to get inspired, motivated and rejunivated. The conference was filled with great speakers, breakout sessions and entertainment. One of the best sessions I went to was on Enjoying the Ride. One of the main messages was to stop focusing on what's next and what happened but to really enjoy where you are. A lot of time it's so easy to forget to live in the moment and to cherish what you have because you just never know what is going to happen next.  It helped that the "speaker man", Steve Gilliland was hystercial.  He was more comedic in his delivery and I don't think I have ever laughed so much, well that was until I saw Jerry Seinfeld.  Oh my goodness, he was too funny.  He was just a great entertainment.  Last year I saw Keith Urban, this year, Jerry Seinfeld, I just wonder what they will have next year.  I already signed up for the conference next year, WOOT WOOT, it's in Chicago, so I have to go!  I also got to hear Condeleezza Rice, Jim Collins, Tom Brokow and Malcolm Gladwell.

While in Atlanta, I went on the Coca Cola tour.  That was pretty fun.  At the end of the tour you got to taste as many of coke products as you wanted.  I tasted a few of my favorites, Barq's Root Beer and Mr. Pibb, even tried a cherry Fanta and kiwi apple Fanta, not too bad, I also had the pleasure of tasting Tab. Well, I don't think pleasure is the right word.  I wasn't even sure what it was, but some guy behind me said, Tab, OMG, I need my picture with that.  So I thought it must be good.  So I tired it, and all I can say is YUCK!  OMG that was AWFUL!!!!

Also we were able to squeeze in the CNN tour.  Our hotel was in the CNN headquarters, how cool is that.  We got to see the studio and the news room.  Pretty fun and cool.

I totally missed Kevin and the boys. While it was nice to be away, I was missing them like crazy.  Kevin did a great job with them, he had one on one time with them, daddy dates as we call it and you could tell they had fun.  So lucky to have Kevin in my life to support me and be okay with me going on a 4 day trip and have no problem taking care of our boys.

Other than that, we are getting ready for our Staycation in a couple of weeks.  Kevin is on vaca so I decided to take it as well.  And since we don't pay for daycare when we don't go, we decided to do a staycation and use some of the money for some activies during the day, a water park, children's museum, zoo and possibly the beach.    We are looking forward to the 4th next week, I want to take the boys to the parade and possibly it up the festival. 

It's time to "Enjoy the Ride"

Happy Birthday, John David!

Happy birthday, John David!    Holy moly you are 2!  This just can't be.... Someone needs to create a pause button, so we can pause on this special time!    2 years ago we welcomed you in the world 4 weeks early, you did so great, were only in the Special Care Nursery for a day to help with your eating issues, haaha, if they could only see you right now they would never believe that you needed help in the beginning.  :-)  We took you home as scheduled and my wonderful chaotic life of a mother of 2 started.  Such a great baby you were, a go with the flow baby who spit up all the time.  You were given the nick name Spit up Baby from your friends at daycare, that's okay, we gave them some nicknames too, remember Toe Jam! ;-) 

You are my difficult child in terms of illnesses...  pneumonia at 7 months with a lovely stay at Sherman Hospital, multiple ear infections, ring worm, tube surgery, hand foot mouth (I still feel bad) and pink eye, just to name a few ;-)  With all of that, you taught me patience and I definitely got some extra cuddle time.

You love your mommy!  And I am soaking it up as much as I can because I know that one day, while you will still love me, I won't be the center of your world and gasp, you probably won't want as many kisses as you want now.  So, I will kiss you as many times as I can, and will hold you as much as I can while mentally putting these moments in a "memory box" so I can take out whenever I need it.

You want to be just like your brother.  You are a great talker and I think having Austin talking to you helps you tremendously since you talk much more than what Austin did at your age.  You are a puzzle wizard, only want lovely, gicket (blanket), and sometimes glow sea horse in your crib, if I put something else in there, you throw it out, you call milk wa, love applesauce, pancakes and bread, you see the airplanes in the sky before any of us and tell us, you are always are calling Aw tin (Austin) in the car as you want to show him everything you see, ool usses, airplanes, doggies, etc. you are becoming quite the little dare devil with climbing at the park, jumping off the couch, sometimes sit on the potty when Austin does, wants to open and close all of the doors, including the garage door, loves letting Buster out and telling him to get busy, cleaning, oh my gosh, John David, you love to clean!  You use grandma's duster, the broom, you have your own vacuum and you just go to town, throwing, we are trying to limit to the balls but you will throw everything and you have quite the arm!  I think daddy is super excited as we think you will be our sports star! 

You are amazing, John David, you are so loving and full of energy! 

You were the greatest surprise EVER! and I can't imagine my world without you in it.  I look forward to many many years together!  Happy  Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Austin

Happy birthday to my little man, Austin!  I can't believe you are 3 years old!  Seriously, where does the time go?  People tell you that it goes by fast, and while, I was sure they were right, I just didn't understand it, until now, as I look back and wonder where the time went.  It seems like yesterday that we came home from the hospital, rocked you in the glider, woke up every 3 hours (or so) and swayed you through those witching hours. I remember when you were learning to roll over, crawling, taking your first steps and now look where you are, talking in sentences, telling me what you wants, trying to go on the potty and just acting like a little boy.

Where Austin is today.

In these past 3 years, he has grown so much.  It's just amazing.   He is a master at puzzles, he loves cars and has a back pack filled with them, he loves movies, and TV (Einsteins, Dinosaur Train, Arthur, Handy Manny), has 6 blankets on him at bed time (in a specific order) along with at least 10 stuffed animals and other little things in his bed, must have multiple hugs and kisses before bed and when you leave, tells the sprinkler that he will get him (even though the sprinkler will win every time), loves pancakes, applesauce, hot dogs, CAAAKE, he loves to jump (on and off everything), he loves exploring at the park and grabs as many sticks as possible, points out all trucks, school buses and airplanes, he loves dinosaurs and dinosaur shirts (I think he would wear one everyday, if I let him), he loves stickers and is pretty sticker motivated, he must do everything first and I often hear, "I do it" he must have his boo boo's kissed, loves to watch videos on the computer with grandmom, and a lot of the times asks to go to either the park or grandpa's house when I pick him up from school, he loves hanging out with daddy and helping him, when we are in the car and driving home, we must drive by the lion statues so he can ROAR at them (good thing we have 4 different lion statues nearby our house, he is a crazy little guy with the biggest heart and soft spot.

I just can't imagine my world without Austin!  He sure makes life fun and it's great reliving childhood experiences.  Just the other day, we were at the park and some boys were playing tag, but they needed to see who was going to be it, so they did "bubble gum"  (bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish (5) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (out). It's great hearing these things that bring me back to my childhood. 

Being a mom is wonderful especially since I have the 2 most amazing kids out there!