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!

December update

Has it really been that long?!?!  That's crazy.  I know I have been busy but seriously slacking with the blog.

I have a 2 1/2 and a 3 1/2 year old!  What the heck happened?  How did they become so big?  Just like that.  Seriously, it really is going by so quickly.

Let's see what have we been up to.....

John David is catching the ball!  How cool is that?  It's so much fun to play catch with him.  And of course, we all know what an arm he has!  Still not sure if he's a lefty or a righty as he throws with his right but colors and eats with his left.  He's still trying to figure that one out.  We went to my work Christmas party at the zoo and Santa brought him a tball set!  The kid is a natural with the bat.  Swinging like he's the man!  I think in the summer we are going to need to get him in a sports class!

He also does the cutest thing at bed time.  He loves to give kisses.  So he'll give me a kiss on my cheek, then my nose, then my eyes, my hair, etc.  After every kiss he laughs uncontrollably, but it's not his typical funny laugh, this laugh, is the most sweetest laugh ever!   It's hard to actually leave his room because he wants one more kiss all the time!

Austin is still obsessed with clothes.  He knows what he wants to wears, asks for certain shirts and doesn't care if they are too small i.e, John David's.  He is in a jean phase so he'll wear those every day, so at least we are set with everything but the shirt.  Every time we come home from anywhere, he runs into our bedroom and changes into comfy clothes. He does exactly what I do!  He loves to wear shorts and short sleeve shirts!  I've decided to let it go when it comes to picking out his clothes.  It's much easier than fighting with him.  So as long as he will be warm and it's not too far fetched he can wear what he wants.

Austin is quite the mimicker as you know from him changing in to comfy clothes, but I always ask him how his day was or how he slept. So yesterday, when I came home from work, a hard day after finding out grandma died, he came running up to me, huge hug and said, "how your day"  I lied of course, and said good.  He then proceeded to tell me all about his day in high speed mode.  I believe he relived the whole weekend, because this is how it went: daddy went to work, and he's like where did he go, and then he went to grandpa's house and there was a train and it was raining and then mommy went to work, and I ate pizza and so on and so on!  (forgive the run on, that's how he was talking).  Last weekend, Kevin and I took John David for his hair cut (Austin was having a crabby moment so he stayed home with grandma) and when we got home, he ran to the door, opened it, and said "John Babid! How your day"  So cute.

He cracks me up with his bedtime routine.  So, in our living room, he can make the biggest mess ever and not care at all! He will clean it up if we tell him to, but when he is in his room, after daddy plays/reads his stories, all toys that are in his room, need to go in his closet.  All stuffed animals go on his bed with his 6 blankets.  If one his left on the floor, he will freak out.  We need him to care about the cleanliness in the living room!

I'm really looking forward to Christmas.  There is something about having 2 little boys that bring out the magic of Christmas!  Austin loves Santa!  We have seen him twice and each time, he was all smiles when sitting with Santa.  He told Santa he wanted a train for Christmas!  John David loves to talk about Santa, loves to see Santa and give high fives, but do not ask him to get any closer than that, he will not sit on his lap!  We have an Elf, Ellie who appeared one day.  She is an Elf that goes to Santa every night and reports on how the boys are doing, naughty or nice and then every day she comes back and is in a different spot.  One day, she brought cookies from Santa with a letter!  And another she hijacked lovey from Austin's room and was hugging him on our entertainment center!  The boys love finding her!  And they are so sweet when they say "Ellie"


Back tracking a bit.  The boys loved Halloween.  They had a fun time going trick or treating with Grandpa and Mary!  Unfortunately, they didn't really get to eat any candy.  Unfortunately for them, Fortunately for us!  They came down with a stomach bug!  I was the only who didn't get it!  I dodged a bullet there...  I was giving both the boys pedialtye to make sure they had fluids, but John David had a pretty bad reaction.  His face was all puffy and red.  He looked like he had a horrible sunburn!  It was there for a few days even with the benadryl.   Poor guy, I don't think it was anything he ate since it was the BRAT diet and he's eaten all of that before.  No reactions since then either.  We have his 2 1/2 year appointment on Wednesday so I plan on bringing it up with his pediatrician! 

So I mentioned above, that my grandma passed away yesterday.  Such a sad day for her family! But I'm sure she is no longer in pain and reunited with her love, her husband, who she hasn't been with in 31 years!  I'm sure he was there with open arms welcoming her to heaven!  I know my mom and Kevin's dad are there too showing her the ropes!  And if anything, to help get through this difficult time, I will remember all of the good memories I have with her and that she is reunited with her husband.  I'm sure they have a lot to catch up on.  I will miss you, grandma!

I wish all of my friends and family who read my blog a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

October 2012

The boys have been keeping us very busy.  It's good, we do better when we are busy!

We carved our pumpkins last weekend.  The boys did just about NOTHING to help.  They were very into it last year but this year, not so much.  John David colored on my warty pumpkin and Austin wanted to ride his bike.  That's okay, I had fun!  We had a Facebook contest and Morgan, John and Milly won!  Everyone liked her pumpkin the best.  I got one vote (thanks, Jeni!)  and  Kevin got a couple.  I should start thinking about my design for next  year. 

Austin has been doing this new thing and it's driving me CRAZY!  Any helps or advice is much appreciated.  I swear my boy is acting like a girl.  It has to do with clothes. The kid is always changing his clothes, putting on multiple shirts (I have counted 5 shirts on at once) and won't let me decide for the life of me.  He is making a mess with all of these clothes, half the time I don't know if they are clean or not.  his clothes are in my closet, awhile a go, he was taking all his clothes out of his dresser so I moved the clothes, now if I had them in there, he'd never sleep, since he'd put on all of this shirts.  If there are any shirts in his room (like if I left pajamas in there from the night before) they will be on him in the morning.  He even took shirts from other kids bins at school, so that when I picked him up, he was wearing someone else clothes.  I'm just not sure what his clothes obsession means?

I'm happy to brag about Austin and his puzzle skills.  I picked him up from school on Friday and was just in awe when I got there.  He was sitting at the table with 2 other kids and he was working on a puzzle.  And not just the typical baby/toddler puzzle but a real jigsaw puzzle with like 15 pieces.  So we get home and I get out a puzzle that has like 25 pieces and he figured that out too!  So impressed with him!


John David is doing really well too!  Kevin taught him a new thing, daddy "John David, who's the man?", John David, "I da man!"  They have been really cute together.  They are definitely getting a bond and it sure makes me smile.  It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would that John David requests daddy sometimes, because I know that it makes Kevin's day.  The other night, I had to call daddy because John David wouldn't go to sleep without saying goodnight to him.  So cute.

Looking forward to Trick or Treating this week.  Boys are practicing, "Trick or Treat" and "Happy Halloween"

Fall

I just love this time of year, fall!  We have been having a lot of fun! 


We went apple picking and had an awesome time!  We took a drive out to Harvard, IL last week and just had a blast.  We took a wagon ride out to the apples and we all had fun picking apples.  The boys were really into it and picked a lot of great apples.  We got some apple cider donuts and they were very yummy.

We also went to Sunny Acre's, they have all sorts of fun fall stuff, pumpkins, carnival, petting zoo, pony rides and so much more.  Austin had a blast!  He loved the rides and was so brave!  He wasn't scared at all and just had so much fun.  He loved riding Rosy, the horsey.  John David, on the other hand, didn't want to have anything to do with the rides or horses.  He was content watching!  Smiling and waving at Austin and Morgan and laughing with daddy.  At one point, all three of cousins were on a choo choo train ride, Austin and Morgan were having a blast and John David was screaming!  Poor guy!  Each of them picked out their pumpkins, Austin was putting as many as he could lift into the wagon, but we finally got him to pick just one.  I even got one, a warty one, I NEVER would have picked it before, but now, I don't know, I just really liked it.  Next weekend, we will carve them when Morgan is over.  We had a lot of fun last year carving so I'm sure this year will be fun too.

We have been having a blast feeding the duckies in the nearby pond. Not only do the duckies love the food we bring, but so do the fish. It was so fun seeing all of the fish pop through the water. Seeing the joy on the boys face is priceless!

It has been 6 months since John David got tubes in his ears.  In the past 6 months, he has not had one ear infection!  This is fantastic news!  His 6 month follow up appointment was great, all look good and Dr. Ho said that I could probably shine flash light in his ear and see the little blue dot, so of course, I will be doing that, if he will let me.

It has been amazing seeing the boys grow into kids.  They have friends at school and have even gone to birthday parties.  Last weekend we went to Pump it Up for a 3 year old birthday party.  I didn't even have to be there for Austin, he just ran off and played with his friends.  John David wasn't too interested in the inflatables but loved the balls. So he just stood outside and was throwing and kicking the balls.  he is obsessed with balls.  yesterday at the park, he was sitting on the slide, watching a group of older boys throw the football around.  I truly believe that he will be my sports star.  So back to the party, when we were in the party room, Austin was sitting next to a friend, and they were poking each other and laughing.  I see him interact with JD, obviously, but it's so much fun seeing him interact and play with other boys! 

Reading stories with the boys has been so much fun! I ready "I Love you Through and Through" with JD every night. And we both have the book memorize and just sway back and forth and read the book. It's so cute. And I read Austin, "Moo Baa, La La La" and it's a hoot! We both crack up reading it and he has it memorized with me. I really enjoy our special reading/bonding time.

Kevin has been staying home with the boys on his days off (Monday's and Tuesday's) and they have been having a blast.  They are definitely bonding and now when I go into Austin's room in the morning, he tells me he wants daddy and wants to stay home with daddy.  So cute!

Austin and John David's new thing: Mommy, "Austin, who is your best friend?"  Austin, "John David"  Mommy, "John David, who is your best friend"  John David, "Austin".  This just melts my heart!

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!