Holy Crap! We Are Having Triplets!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

2012-02-01T21:01:00.002-06:00

...to Grandmother's house we go. Who knew that the river we'd cross would be the Mississippi? The boys moved to the middle row in order to make room for Duke and Brandy in the back seat. I like this configuration so much better than the more spread out two row system we generally use. It's so nice to be able to reach all three kids, although the down side is that sometimes they are a little too close for peace in the middle seat.

The kids were great passengers. They sat in their chairs for such a long time going (8 hrs the first day and 5 hours the second) and for 15 hours coming back home. Bob and I enjoyed our swift passage fully realizing that the next time we make the trip back to Texas we might be having lots of potty stops.

Ryan did so much better this time than our trip out to Florida. In September, he would get so tired of sitting in his chair and so frustrated that he would bite himself, hit himself, and generally thrash about. He did not have any sign of that on our trip in December, for which I was truly grateful.

James has his own strategy for dealing with his brothers and general unhappiness of being in the car - he hides his head in his blanket. Pretty good method for dealing with life, if you ask me.

We dropped Daddy off in Mississippi to work, and Grandpa Newhouse met us there and drove with us to Tyler to Aunt Sue's house. Probably the most fun the kids had at Sue & JP's place was playing with Daddy & Aunt Sue's old toys. There is some discussion about the ownership of the black semi car hauler, but there was no discussion about how much fun it is to play with.

Ryan loved to make Aunt Sue's baby buggy race like a mad man.

We didn't put up a tree at our house, so the poor tree at Sue's house seemed to have migrating ornaments. They kept moving north.

Unfortunately, we caught some colds in Tyler. You can tell Ryan doesn't feel too well in this picture, but he looks so sweet.

One of the things I miss most about Texas is Mexican food. By request, the whole crew ate chips and salsa in honor of our neighbors to the south. It was delicious.

The best part of a Mexican restaurant is the free ice cream. I adore the way James eats ice cream with lots of tiny licks. Notice that he can't be bothered to stop watching his movie on the phone.

Ryan is always a ball of energy. He loved the fish tank in the front of the restaurant and had to take several trips up front to see it.

Michael has recently started eating almost everything liquid or soft in texture with two fingers. He applies this method to ice cream, cereal in milk, and mashed potatoes.

Bert and Ernie needed a ride, and Michael was more than happy to oblige.

Ryan's best buddy Uncle JP watches him "drive cars."

James takes a turn at the wheel. Hold on tight, Bert & Ernie.

Last summer on the way home from my grandma's house, we stopped in Tyler for a quick visit at Sue & JP's place. Ryan was fascinated with the drums. He loves all things rock band, and when we told him we were going to Aunt Sue's house, the first thing he asked about were the drums.

Sue's drum set took a little bit of a beating, but we figured out how to make the set triplet friendly by putting things against immovable surfaces like walls.

James gets in on the action.

My three pack of cuties having a great time pounding on the drums.

We spent a week at Sue & JP's place. The boys had a good time. We looked at Christmas lights, watched a lot of kids programming, learned Uncle JP loves the Bugs Bunny movie, and played with some classic toys.

Sue has a tub with jets that caused poor Michael to freak out, but James and Ryan loved it. Sue failed to realize that half a jug of bubbles might be a few bubbles too many, but James and Ryan enjoyed them. After spending time with the Newhouse clan, we headed to Haslet for a visit with the Ptomey/Cain clan.

The Boat Parade

2012-01-31T21:15:00.000-06:00

In honor of Aunt Faith's last night in town with us, we took her and the kids to the Jacksonville Boat Parade. Joseph and Faith were so kind as to watch the kids for us one evening so that Bob and I could go to dinner (our babysitters had been gone over a month at that point, and we were in desperate need of a little couple time). While we were at the Jacksonville Landing, we learned about the boat parade. It's a very cool idea in theory, but letting three two year olds loose in a crowd after bedtime with three tired people to chase them was not the best idea. Sadly, I must claim it as my own.

James and Daddy watch the boats. I tried to get some pictures of the boat parade, but they didn't really come out.

Michael takes a turn on Mommy's shoulders.

Daddy is not drunk, just the victim of bad photography and a Ryan facial massage.

For some insane reason (well, due to my cheapness - Sams Club had a sale on photo Christmas cards), I decided that I should try and make these tired, wound up, past bedtime children pose in front of the big Christmas tree. It would have been an awesome picture, but this is about as good as it got - and it's pretty horrible.

James had no time for posing. He needed to climb and explore.

Considering the squirming subjects, Aunt Faith did a pretty good job of getting this picture. I'm pretty sure James will one day object to this photo.

After the failed Christmas tree attempt, I got an even more brilliant idea - let's take the boys picture standing on the staircase with Jacksonville in the background. Yes, they did climb the stairs; no, they did NOT pause for a photo op.

The last attempt - we bribed the kids with juice boxes and had them sit on another set of stairs in hopes of getting a good picture.

They do look cute, but not Christmas card worthy.

The next morning, we gave Aunt Faith a triplet send off. We had such a good time with both Faith and Joseph. It was really nice to have family visit. I like Jacksonville, but I LOVE my family. Anytime we get to see them, it's a good time.

A Time for Thanks

2012-01-30T20:50:00.001-06:00

One of the many things I was thankful for this past November was a visit from my favorite non-genetically closest brother and his Don Quixote mustache. After I picked him up at the airport, we headed to Jacksonville Beach so that he could get a true taste of the joys of Florida living.

Nicely dressed with new shoes - probably not beach friendly attire, but fancy shoes can be sacrificed for beach fun.

Watching the waves break on the sand and drinking margaritas sharing sibling secrets is a fantastic pass time, but after a trip to my new favorite local eatery - Chowder Ted's, Uncle JoeJoes needed a triplet hug or three.

As with most of America, the third Thursday of November is a big day for cooking around the Newhouse home. This was my first Thanksgiving to run the show all on my own. Well, almost on my own, I had lots of help from Joseph, Faith, and of course, my biggest helper Ryan.

No turkey day would be complete without sports. In Jacksonville, James believes that basketball is the prevailing sport of the day.

While waiting for the oil to boil, Daddy gave rides around the backyard. We do love our big backyard, but we certainly have no idea what to do with all of the weeds we are growing.

Michael masters the rock wall. He has gotten so fast at climbing all sorts of things, the rock wall, the back of the couch, the interior of the refrigerator, etc.

Ryan rocks his Spiderman socks while resting in the coveted cradle of the swing. There are many things in our home that are claimed by one brother to the chagrin of the other two. James claims the swing, Ryan claims the guitars (but he is always willing to share unlike the other two), and Michael claims everything else but most specifically the animals, the Toy Story toys, and the phone/iPad.

Uncle Joseph demonstrates basketballs can be all sorts of fun. Aunt Faith handles ball retrieval.

The ceremonial lowering of the bird with appreciative onlookers.

Aunt Faith takes on the task of teaching Ryan how to peddle. I'm not sure if she felt successful at the time, but all three of the boys know the mechanics of peddling now. We had a wonderful meal together with lots of food, laughter, and fun followed by some football for Daddy.

On Black Friday, we decided to make it Beach Friday. Since we've been in Jacksonville, we've been to Jacksonville Beach & Atlantic Beach for leisurely strolls in the surf, American Beach (which is the first African American beach in the area) which resulted in a pretty vicious sunburn for Mom (always put sunscreen on the kids, but forgot to have anyone get my back), and on Beach Friday, we went to Little Talbot Island. We had a picnic lunch away from the sand, then headed out to play in the sand. On our way, Uncle Joseph spotted this tortoise. There is a similar tortoise in the Jacksonville Zoo Florida section. The boys were definitely impressed with this wild life.

The whole family stops to admire the turtle on the way to the beach. Aunt Faith totes the sand toys and the single towel I was foresightful enough to bring.

Uncle Joseph oversees the beachcombers. We picked up lots of fancy shells. Note poor Uncle Joseph's new shoes still looking new.

Ryan knows his shells. He likes to examine things very closely. He enjoys building things but relishes smashing things to bits even more. I think there might have been a couple of sandcastles that fell to his smashing blows.

When we arrived, the tide was out, and the beach was virtually empty. There were a few fishermen standing in the surf (I keep telling my dad he should come here and fish).

My sweet family. Semi-dry. I only wish we could have had the remaining four members to pose for this picture, maybe next year.

Oh no, triplets heading toward the water. Quick, distract them!

Whew, Aunt Faith pulls out the sand toys. Let the shoveling and sand tossing begin.

I think this pose looks like a V for victory poster in the making. Notice who is not getting their hands dirty.

The photographer makes an appearance. Since our camera went kaput, I took all of these pictures with my phone. They turned out pretty well, I think.

Team Newhouse tackles the sand and emerges triumphant.

Success! Finally a romp in the water. I keep thinking I'll be able to keep the kids out of the water when we go to the beach. Foolish mom.

Uncle Joseph - Master of All He Surveys. Finally the shoes were removed for their own protection.

Fun in the surf. Aunt Faith is regretting that she didn't wear her swimsuit. Poor thing kept asking to put it on, and I told her not to bother, I guess this one time, she was right.

Michael doing a water dance. Notice his mother didn't even manage to spare the shoes. Despite the lack of proper planning, we had a great time.

Animal Kingdom

2012-01-25T21:09:00.000-06:00

Our second day at Disney was not quite as magical as the first day. Having never taken two year olds to one amusement park, much less two, we did not know the cardinal rule of kids and amusement parks - there must be a rest day between parks - for both adults and kids.

Animal Kingdom was definitely a stroller worthy park. I wish we hadn't spent so much time a the zoo prior to our trip. The boys enjoyed the animals, but they see animals so often that they didn't really light up as much as we had hoped.

The safari ride was great. The kids loved being in the big truck but were not big fans of the stay seated rule.

Aunt Faith was very excited about Animal Kingdom. I think she enjoyed it more than the Magic Kingdom.

Like our first day at Disney, our camera was on the fritz so the early part of the day (when the battery had a full charge) was documented but as the day progressed the documentation lapsed. The Animal Kingdom pretty much zapped my entire mojo by about noon, and the boys and I headed out around two.

Animal Kingdom has some very cool animals many of which are not at the Jacksonville Zoo. Michael adores the "man-a-muls" and really loved seeing all of them. Lately his favorite animals are the "nake" and the giraffe.

James spent most of the day racing. He is still obsessed with all things racing - cars, horses, foot races, etc. For the most part, it was okay, but he did manage to pretty much almost kill himself running through the line to the Bugs movie. He close lined himself, fell on the ground and hit his head so hard that the lump made me worry that he might never recover. Not only did the little man try and kill himself, he also managed to get lost while we were trying to figure out what to order for lunch. It was a feeling of panic and fear I hope to never experience again. Thank God Aunt Faith found him. I could barely think I was so distressed. Not too long after that, we rode our last ride and the boys and I headed back to the hotel.

I try not to take too many pictures of things without humans in it, but I felt compelled to throw in some of the fancy scenery rather than just the side of faces.

Ryan was in his same go-go-go self. He loved the tigers (thus making his Uncle Joseph happy). He did NOT want to sit down at lunch, and I almost lost him in the fountain a few times. Regardless of my less than happy state, his spirit was not tamed.

Aunt Faith was an excellent shepherd. She did manage to con me out of a chocolate mousse when we stopped for water. I think that my view of the Animal Kingdom is a little jaded as my main memories are losing my child, being hot, tired, and irritable, and feeling like getting out of dodge.

Around Thanksgiving, the boys were fixated on the Lion King. Probably what I thought was the best part of the day was the Lion King show. The kids loved it. All the singing, dancing, and flying acrobats enthralled them. Bob and Faith went to the Finding Nemo show and said that we should have taken the kids to that as well. I wish we would have done a little more research on Animal Kingdom and figured out what the best game plan was, but I didn't, so maybe next time. I figure as Florida residents, we haven't taken our last trip to the mecca of the mouse.

After the boys and I left for the hotel, Bob and Faith had a great time. Bob offered to let me hang with Faith, but I think by that point, I was not going to be much fun. The boys ran amok in the hotel room, played on the playground outside our door, and had a great time being "free" to do what they wanted rather than being herded from one place to the next and forced to stand in line.

Bob and Faith had fun in the kiddie land petting zoo. Faith spent the entire ride home telling us how she would wrestle an alligator to the ground and pin it down because the jaw muscles were much weaker when the gator's mouth was shut. While in the petting zoo, Faith did not want to approach the goat to pet it, instead she waited for the goat to come to her.

When Faith was three or four, she was known for making rules. The family went crabbing, and Faith came up with two rules: 1) Never touch a crab, else it'll bite and 2) Never put your hand in special water if there is an alligator in it, only put your hand in special water if there isn't an alligator in it. She now has a third rule to live by: Wrestle an alligator, wait for the goat to come to you.

The Magic of the Magic Kingdom

2012-01-24T23:49:00.007-06:00

I've been completely behind on everything. As the kids are getting older and more active, I seem to spend more time cleaning and cooking with a lot less time doing things like blogging. I wish I could muster up the energy to do all those things that I'd like to do, but somehow, I seem to spend more time picking up cars and not enough doing things like showering and washing my hair much less surfing the internet for interesting things and writing about the kids. In the last few months, we've done some really fun and wonderful things like going to Disney World.

In November, Aunt Faith came for a visit. I was so excited to see someone from home that I broke down in tears picking her up at the airport. Even though I like Jacksonville, I do miss our family and friends. For Faith's birthday, we bought her ticket and promised her a trip to the Magic Kingdom. Our original plan was to take her and leave the boys with Bob's parents, but they've been in Tyler with Bob's sister for the last few months, so since our babysitters were out, the boys were in for the House of Mouse.

We decided to get up early and make the drive to Orlando on Saturday morning. Aunt Faith took a wee nap in the car. I'm pretty sure that she's not going to appreciate seeing this picture on the internet, but I find it supremely amusing.

Before Aunt Faith came, we started talking about going to Mickey Mouse's house and seeing his castle. All of the kids were pumped up (Aunt Faith included), so when we hopped in the car despite our best intentions, no one went back to sleep.

Ryan was really happy to talk about Mickey Mouse and all the things we were going to see. He also really enjoyed the small cinnamon rolls with the tasty cream cheese on top. Ryan has a sweet tooth that won't quit.

Michael is never happy to wake up on other people's terms. He maintained this grumpy look for quite a while, but once we started getting closer to the park, the Disney billboards really helped to turn that frown upside down.

We pulled in a few minutes before opening, changed the kids clothes in the parking lot, and jumped on the tram to the Magic Kingdom. The boys were very excited to ride the tram. They still talk about it two months later.

Instead of taking the monorail, we took the boat across. The boys were pretty excited to ride the boat.

So was Aunt Faith. We all spent most of the boat ride chasing the boys around. Ryan especially enjoyed climbing the stairs on the boat and trying to wiggle under the ropes keeping the crowd at bay.

We made it to the Magic Kingdom! James was a little perturbed that we didn't go immediately to the castle. He refused to enjoy the picture taking experience.

The first thirty minutes was pure torture. The kids were running around, not listening, freaking out, and I think I look a little frazzled and haggard (as well as fat) in this picture. It took a wee bit out of me. We didn't realize that James was focused on the castle like it was the holy grail. Once he got a good look, things calmed down, and we really started to have a great time.

Main Street Disney, also known as James's Speedway. Aunt Faith looks like she's about to drop Ryan, but she did a great job triplet wrangling all day.

Michael loved Disney. He still talks about all of the fun things we did there.

Little Man finally made it to his castle. FYI, Mickey Mouse lives in this castle not a princess.

Aunt Faith poses for her castle picture. It was a beautiful day, the weather was great, the lines weren't too long (at the beginning of the day), and the kids had a blast. I learned that the stroller was more of a hinderance than a help until the end of the day when the boys were about to pass out.

Our first ride of the day was the Jungle Cruise - Grandpa Newhouse's favorite. The boys didn't quite understand the whole concept of waiting in line. They were very excited about getting on the rides but not too sure about the whole concept of being trapped in a never ending maze of ropes and lines of people.Eagerly anticipating the ride.

Michael sporting his dino-saur-us shirt from Toy Story. I found the boys Disney themed shirts for the big visit.

Our Jungle boys on the cruise. The jokes are still as bad as always, but the kids loved it (even Aunt Faith). We did think that a lot of those jokes could have been told by Papa Joe.

Our next stop was Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride. Michael loved it. He cried when we got off and threw a fit. I had to explain to him that we were going to the next ride. Once he realized that getting off one ride meant getting on another, he was all in.

Ryan and Mommy enjoying a magic carpet ride. He really enjoyed pushing the button to move us up and down.

The gang takes a seat in the Tiki Room where the birds all sing and the flowers croon.

I think I need to invest in more stocks. I'm pretty sure we could keep the house a little cleaner if there were stocks in our house.

As the day progressed, my time was spent wrangling kids rather than taking pictures, especially since my camera went on the fritz. Here we are standing in line for the Fantasia movie. The boys really liked it, but Ryan was not fond of those 3D glasses. None of the kids kept them on for long, which made Bob and I realize that there is no need to spend lots of cash going to see 3D movies with the kids.

The longest line of the day was the Winnie the Pooh ride. Thankfully, they had lots of entertaining things along the way.

I think the kids would have spent hours in Pooh's house. It made me wish that the Mickey Mouse kiddie land was open. They are remodeling it, so we didn't get to tour Mickey's house or any of those fun things that are just right for our size kids.

Michael and James enjoyed moving the honey bees along. They were a little hard to keep contained in the line for Pooh, and I was definitely upset when they let a whole group of those fast pass people in front of us.

Ryan takes a minute to hang out with Daddy. I'm not sure if the ride was worth the wait, but they did enjoy it.

I love this picture of Aunt Faith. She looks so happy like she fits in with the crew from the Hundred Acre Wood.

The TEACUPS! James loved the teacups. He and Ryan spun around like two little maniacs. I would say James's favorite ride of the day was the teacups. Michael was most happy with the Country Bear Jamboree although he still talks about the Snow White ride pretty often. Ryan, by far, loved the "drive cars" ride the most.

When we got to the "drive cars" speedway, Michael rode with Aunt Faith, James rode with Daddy. James went crazy laughing every time he hit the side. Sadly Bob didn't get most of the giddiness on film.

I was with Ryan and unlike Daddy, I was able to catch his crazy laughter every time he almost knocked me out of the car.

Aunt Faith takes a slow ride with Michael on the teacups. He had about reached his limit. We were planning on me taking the kids to the hotel for a nap and returning later in the evening to see the fireworks, but they did such a good job we ended up staying until around six.

James was so excited to see the castle light up. At the beginning of all those Disney movies we watch, the boys love to watch for the train, see the castle, and then cheer for the fireworks. I'm pretty sure that if we went back today, James would still have a powerful love for the castle.

Ryan has one speed - go. He was having such a great time. He enjoyed every minute. We bought a five pack of suckers, and he ate three of them, so maybe it was a sugar high, but he was so excited by everything we did. In Tomorrowland, the boys really wanted to see Buzz Lightyear. We stood in line for a bit, but they sent Buzz on a five minute break, and we chose to leave rather than try and keep the three of them contained in a non-interesting, unmoving line.

Michael decided he was tired. After this picture, he crawled into the back chair of the stroller, kicked back, and then passed out. He missed the whole parade, but I don't think he cared.

This very bad iPhone picture is supposed to be of Aunt Faith and Baloo. At the beginning of the day, it was the one character she said she wanted a picture with. Sadly, it's not a very good picture, but Baloo is that blurry blue thing in the yellow shirt.

Here are James and Ryan fascinated by the Dancing Woody.

Bob, James and Faith Shake Their Groove Thang. Well, Faith does sort of anyway.

After the parade and street dance, we made our one souvenir purchase (I'm pretty sure thanks to our tight finances and the kids being young, this is the only time we'll ever make it out of Disney with just one souvenir). We got each of the kids mouse ears with their names on them. They occasionally wear them to ride their horse. As a kid, I always wanted mouse ears (and the trip to Disney they represented), so I made sure that our guys got them.

Once the ears were finished, the diaper were changed, and Mommy went to the bathroom, I loaded the kids into the stroller and we left Aunt Faith and Daddy to go ride the big kid rides. I was really proud of myself and the boys. We took the monorail to the parking lot, and the people in our car were extremely helpful and seemed to enjoy the kids. The boys loved the monorail, but they really liked that tram. We made it to the car, swung by McDonalds to pick up dinner and headed to the hotel. I must say that the day couldn't have gone better. They were so happy and cooperative. They listened well and had a great time. Bob always says that kids shouldn't go to amusement parks until they are 7 or 8, but I think our trip to Disney made him realize that while the boys might not remember their first trip, we will, and the pure joy and wonder on their faces made it worth the time and money.

Perhaps the thing I was most impressed by was getting us all loaded up and checked into the hotel. It was a feat of impressive proportions although I will not bore you with the details, I chalk it up to one of the most impressive things I've done with the kids.

The hotel was great. All of Bob's travel got us a nice suite with two queen beds and a rollaway. There was a table just right for three little men, a patio with a table and chairs for Bob and I to hang out in after all the kids were asleep, and a playground right outside our door. I'm pretty sure both of us thought it was a magical day. I was so happy that we got to take Faith and that she didn't mind having to share her magical day with her favorite nephews.

Eleven

2011-12-18T20:54:00.002-06:00

In October, Bob's parents departed Jacksonville to go stay with his sister for a while, and for the first time, the boys and I learned what it was like to be just us chickens at home. Bob broke us in easy with a short five day trip, then he was home for a week. The following week, he left for an eleven day trip. I've never run a marathon, but I'm pretty sure that eleven days on your own with triplets is a similar test of endurance.

We did surprisingly well. The boys did their normal things like ride the horse (although James modified this look - here he is wearing a "helmet" later he added sunglasses for goggles, a fedora, and a drumstick all topped off with his helmet).

They watched a lot of TV. Our new favorites are Word World and Dinosaur Train. TV is a wonderful babysitter allowing certain mothers to fix lunch and dinner and clean up without too much interference.

Michael and his blanket snuggle up on the couch. All the boys love their blankets. James and Michael carry them everywhere, and Ryan has demolished his tag and now chews on a corner of his blanket. It is always wet and brown from too much chewing. I find it disgusting, but it makes him happy. I do my very best to make sure our blankets take a bath at least once a week.

We spent a lot of time playing with our toys in the play room. We also video chatted with Daddy and various grandparents to break up the monotony of being on our own.

We painted. Some of us painted ourselves, others of us painted the papers.

James managed to paint himself some red lips and an unusually impressive eyeliner on one eye. I think I could take some makeup tips from him.

Ryan enjoyed using his paint brush, but he also perfected the art of finger painting.

We spent lots of time at home, but we also tried to fill up our days with other outings. We went to the dentist (let's just say it was a wee bit nuts), we went to the library to see Ms. Kim, we went to a multiples club meeting, to the zoo, to the park with some of the other Buffet Crampon families, and we managed to catch ourselves a cold.

Ryan has one love - doing whatever he can to entertain himself. There is absolutely nothing he won't climb, push around, remove, flip over, or in whatever way necessary manipulate to his advantage. Although his constant need to be in my business is sometimes frustrating, he is the best helper and an excellent vacuumed.

The king at his post despite my attempts to hide the step stool, he still managed to find a means to play in the water.

TV time in our chairs. Michael is still attached to his hat. He's rarely without it, and when it's been a couple of days since it's been out in the open (it sometimes hides) he greets it like a long lost friend.

Michael chomping on some goldfish. We had to make a couple of grocery store stops, and the boys did great. Our store of choice is Walmart. I currently rate my grocery stores by how accommodating the baskets are, and Walmart is by far the winner. It's a giant basket but there are three seat belts.

As always, we love our corns. Ryan especially likes to watch the popcorn explode into tasty morsels. He is most fond of the popcorn popper because you can see the kernels pop, but he'll settle for microwave popcorn if necessary.

One of the favorite hang outs is Mommy and Daddy's bed. James loves to take me by the hand, crawl in the bed, and demand that I put on "tariat" (Secretariat - his favorite movie - he even watches the parts with the human drama).

For a while, I had the Lion King disc in the bedroom, and we spent quality time watching it. The boys love to sing along with the songs. Michael likes to sing Hakuna Matata, James is all about the Circle of Life, and Ryan does a great rendition of the opening Swahili chant.

Perhaps the craziest thing I did while Bob was out of town was do a double header of library time followed by the zoo. We did really well until the last thirty minutes or so. We visited the penguins, and the boys remembered the great play area nearby (it's two levels, so I just didn't feel confident letting them loose with only one watcher) and flipped out on me when I refused to let them play. I ended up pushing the double stroller with Michael and Ryan in it while James sat on the handle and held onto me crying the entire way out of the zoo. Despite our less than stellar end, it was a great time.

Ryan enjoying the beautiful day and the elephants.

James and Michael checking out the strength of the wires keeping them out of the elephant enclosure.

The boys and I did really well. We did all kinds of fun and interesting things and even survived a bout of illness thanks to the kindly efforts of Bob's friend Cliff and a bottle of nyquil. At the end of the trip, I'm not sure who was more excited Bob or the kids and I.

Out and About in Jacksonville

2011-12-17T23:42:00.001-06:00

Bob and I recently purchased a membership to the zoo, so the boys and I have made a few forays into the wild. Our first trip, we went as a family and had a great time. Then the boys and I went on our own and Daddy met us on his lunch break. It's so nice to live close to civilization. After so many years of living in the middle of nowhere, we are really taking advantage of being right in the middle of the action.

One of the challenges of going out with the kids is finding time to go to the restroom with three little helpers. Sometimes it must be done, and I am very fond of large stalls and seat belts.

My helper pushing the stroller. The boys all took turns pushing the stroller with me. I've found that the double stroller works very well for an outing because someone is always willing to walk, and oftentimes, they all walk while I push. The monkey/dog backpacks work great for keeping everyone together except for at the end of an outing because the kids tend to weave back and forth and get all tangled and it takes a huge amount of time to move just a few steps.

Checking out the silverback gorilla. The kids were really impressed that he was eating lettuce and carrots. Now, when you serve carrots, Michael will say he's eating them like a monkey.

Ryan working the sink. He is always willing to mix it up.

James turns Daddy's trombone stand into a microphone.

The boys are absolutely in love with airplanes, so it just made sense to take them to the air show. They held it on the NAS Jax base, and I was shocked at how huge it is. We drove forever to get to the parking lot. It was a rare cold day in Jacksonville, and we should have dressed the kids much warmer (and Daddy).

In spite of the chill, the boys were so excited to run around and under the planes. We wanted to take them inside a couple, but the lines were crazy long and our attention span just isn't that great.

We tried to check out the kids area, but it was very, very busy, and Bob and I didn't think that our boys would grasp the concept of waiting in line then only being able to jump for a few minutes before getting back out. So, we headed over to watch the planes.

It was very loud and cold. The boys were not so impressed by the noise. We had some earplugs, but their tiny ears made it almost impossible for us to keep them in place. The cold combined with the loud planes made us decide to pack up and head to the car before the Blue Angels.

We were able to make it to the car, warm up, get out of the wind, and listen to the announcer on the radio. We were far enough away that the boys just enjoyed watching the planes and weren't so freaked out by the noise. Sadly, we waited just a few minutes too long and it took us over an hour to get out of the parking lot. We forget how much time it takes to get three little men into car seats when they are not ready to sit in them.

Pumpkins on Parade

2011-11-17T20:29:00.001-06:00

Since it's not quite Thanksgiving, I feel as though this post isn't too overdue (the lies we tell ourselves). This year, trick or treating was so much fun! Thanks to an over abundance of Halloween themed episodes of our favorite shows (which were shown over and over and over again), the boys, especially Ryan, were very excited about Trick or Treating. Here they are posing with their pumpkins before taking off to score a neighborhood's worth of candy.

As always, I wanted to make sure the kids costumes embraced a theme. We planned on being a rocket, a pirate, and an alligator to embrace the culture of our new home. Sadly, the rocket was much to easily removed and a substitute fireman was purchased as a back up. Michael was the alligator. He like to put the hat on and off, but mostly it was off.

James was our pirate. We bought this costume from ebay and it was a little small, so James laid claim, and we went with it.

Our trio headed out with their buckets. It took about two seconds for the kids to realize that if they said trick or treat, they'd get candy. By the end of the night, they were pros. We hit all of the houses in our little neighborhood (we live in a cul de sac of cul de sacs), and by the time we made it home, those pumpkins were heavy.

James cracked us up. Bob took his picture with the flash, and he acted like he'd been shot, throwing his arm over his face and stumbling backwards. He was so dramatic that the family behind us cracked up.

It was a long walk, and before the night was over, everyone took a little ride. Ryan's costume was the worst. Since it was a one piece, he kept slipping all over.

James took a ride with Daddy. He refused to let go of his pumpkin. It's behind Bob's back.

Once we made it home, we dug into that candy. They each had several pieces, and since then it has migrated around the house in a silver bowl that eagle eye Ryan keeps looking for. I figure in the future, we probably will have to give them more of a cut of their candy, but for now, I'm trying to keep them from making the mistakes of their parents. I know that fruit is just as sweet as candy but for some reason, I never make the right choice. Hopefully if I push the fruit and limit the candy, they'll find fruit perfectly satisfying. One can hope, right?

Ryan eating one of many suckers. He scoots his step stool all over the house searching for happy halloween candy. He'd eat the whole bowl in one sitting if I let him.

Note, the sweet tooth has an eye on Michael's candy. Michael doesn't always like to eat candy. He prefers things like chicken and yogurt.

Although, the occasional M&M is pretty tasty delicious.

Swashbucklers & Buccaneers

2011-10-31T22:27:00.001-05:00

It seems like Sunday after church is our time to do things as a family. Bob and I like to spend Saturday doing nothing (like mowing the lawn, playing with the kids, and laundry), but on Sunday's we get up and go to church, and once the kids are in the car, the hard part of leaving the house is over. Last Sunday, Matt & Maggie invited us to come with them and Miss Ella to the Pirate Gathering in St. Augustine.

Having been to St. Augustine recently, Bob and I loaded up two strollers and were ready for action. It ended up being a small field with lots of stuff for the kids. The first thing we saw were the bounce houses. It ended up being a pretty good deal - $5 for all you can jump. Bob and I were both afraid that the money would be wasted on Ryan, but after a few in and outs, he decided to bounce.

Ry really liked the Ocean Adventure bounce house. It was open at the top and had lots of things to climb on, so it was right up his alley.

James, as always, could't be coaxed out of the bounce house for anything, although, when I told him it was time to go and he needed to come with us, he hopped right out. I was truly impressed at how compliant he was.

After leaving the bouncing houses, we headed over to the ponies. This is the face of James learning that we would not be riding the ponies.

Miss Maggie made it all better by purchasing some pony feed and passing it out. The boys and Ella really loved feeding the ponies.

Ryan kept trying to feed the working ponies as opposed to the two who were sitting in the pens nearby. I assume it was his shameless ploy to entreat them to give him a free ride.

Michael also enjoyed feeding the ponies. I was a little concerned about him trying to hop the fence and get some pony action. This is the hat he must wear when riding his horse at home, so since he was wearing the proper hat, I was concerned he was not going to leave peacefully.

Ella's got her choice of boyfriends, but here Ryan applies for the job. They are only a couple of months apart in age, but Miss E is already learning how to use the potty. I keep asking the boys if they want to poopoo in the potty like pirates (I've even bought pirate hats to use like it says to in our book), but so far, our forays onto the potty have been either post peeing in the tub (Ryan mostly) or when they just feel that the toilet needs a good flushing. I'm sure it'll come in time. I'm not too worried about it, but since Michael still needs to be taped into his diaper to prevent poop disasters and reckless peeing during nap time, I think we still have a ways to go.

Of the boys, Ryan is by far the most cautious. He doesn't really approach strangers and is pretty shy. James, on the opposite end of the spectrum, will go up to just about anyone, grab their hand and try and lead them around. Usually, he is so cute that he cons whomever he's chosen as a victim pretty easily.

Matt & Maggie got the boys a pirate sword to get them in the mood for some swashbuckling. They loved them, and before we even made it to the gathering, a couple of swords had their tips and handles well chewed. Here, the kids paused to watch a three piece pirate band and some very mobile belly dancers. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the talent, but trying to stage a photo op is just not something that happens very frequently in our on the go family.

After the roving band of musicians, we headed to the tent to watch the pirate band play Scottish tunes. It made me wish that John & Lainie could have been there. I enjoyed the band. I can't speak for the rest of the adults (of the four of us, I'm probably the only one whose musical knowledge is limited to the spectrum of George Strait to U2 and who has only recently been able to identify the specific sounds instruments in a rock band make - don't even attempt to get me past the tubas in other types of music). I think it ended up being a good thing we only stayed for a couple of songs, because on the next peppy tune, I was going to drag my boys on the dance floor and show them a good time. Sadly, Bob doesn't even pretend to want to dance with me, so I've got to train the next generation up right.

Ryan and I listening to the music. He loved watching all the pirates, and the occasional cannon fire didn't seem to bother him.

Michael loved his sword. He spent lots of time swishing it about in the general direction of his brothers heads.

Michael and Ella show us how to jump, jump. Michael was fascinated by the mesh doors that kept the kids from falling out of the bounce house. He might just grow up to be like his Grandpa Robin and spend some time as a bouncer. Of course, now that I've typed that I might want to reconsider. It probably would not mean that he had chosen a proper path to stratospheric success if he's a bouncer at some night club despite the added benefit of making his grandpa proud.

Maybe he'll be a trainer at Sea World. Although, according to the local news, that is a pretty dangerous career path as well.

Perhaps, he'll move to Somalia and become a pirate. Hmm, not sure I like that option either. I think those automatic weapons might be too much temptation for my toy terrorist to handle. Guess that means he's back to lawyer like Uncle Zach or some such "respectable" profession.

Ryan and Miss Maggie check out the pirate atop the bounce house. The straight up bounce house is so 1990. Our boys like the ones with the big slide.

Ella struts her stuff down the slide.

Michael sets his cap at a jaunty angle and tackles the slide with panache.

James was a slide maniac. He kept flying down like a madman and going back for more. I think he'd still be sliding if at all possible.

Ryan absolutely refused to slide. He did try a couple of times to go up the ladder but the bigger kids and the movement in the bounce house gave him pause and he climbed back out. I convinced Michael to help Ryan go up the slide, but by the time we made it back to the bounce house and the staircase, Ryan had fled to the whale and octopus inflatable.

At the end of the day, we had a parking lot picnic complete with juice boxes, granola bars, and costumes. I love how James and Michael are holding hands. They caught up with Ryan to hold his hand too, but by that point I was too busy passing out beverages and costumes to capture it on memory card.

Pumpkin Face

2011-10-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

The last week has been somewhat of a new and unusual occurrence for us. Bob had a business trip, so he left early Monday morning and didn't return until Friday afternoon. Jim and Kathy are in Texas visiting Sue, so that means it was just the kids and I for the week. Since I'm still not a Jacksonville pro, I know where the library is but not an actual city park, we mostly hung at the house. It's somewhat of a production to leave the house, and we seem to attract a lot more attention here than we did in Dallas. On Wednesday, we went to the library and the park. We've been watching a lot of TV. I wish we watched less, but at least we watch educational TV. Thanks PBS. We color, go outside (although lately, it's been like pulling teeth to get them to go outside), watch Lion King in the bed (my personal favorite), and destroy all of my cleaning efforts in 2.2 seconds. Since TV is a big player in the house, we've been seeing a lot of Halloween themed episodes. Ryan has really latched on to the whole halloween idea. He runs around the house saying "happy halloween" and has made up his own halloween song to the tune of happy birthday.

In honor of this auspicious occasion, the boys and I journeyed to the local Wal-Mart to buy a big pumpkin. Sadly, I waited too long and the "big" pumpkin is more of a fair to middling size, but for $4 who's complaining? The boys did great at Wal-Mart after deciding that our seating arrangements needed to be somewhat more spread out. (Ryan kept putting his feet on James and I'm pretty sure James's head was about to explode). In the store, they kept trying to eat all of the fruit we bought, but I told them we had to pay the lady for it. As soon as the apples returned to the cart in a bag, Ry and James both grabbed one, and I handed one to Michael. The cashier was so impressed that they were eating apples instead of candy, that I had to give myself a mental pat on the back. Please, God, help my boys to have good eating habits so that they don't end up like their mom.

Once we got home, it was time for a little Lion King in the living room in order to distract one Ryan Newhouse from the plans to carve a face on his pumpkin. In fact, during nap time, he broke out of his crib tent, sauntered into my room, and said "Mom, pumpkin face." We discussed how we had to wait for Daddy to do the pumpkin face, so when Bob got home, as soon as Ryan saw him, he yelled "Daddy, PUMPKIN FACE!"

Ryan catches some quality chair time while watching the king of beasts. I don't mind the Lion King obsession, but I could do without the lion kisses (licks).

I'm sure he's plotting something. Always figuring out how to be silently devious and three steps ahead of me. Michael can clear a bookshelf, a toy tub, or a drawer in the time it takes to blink.

My electronically fixated child. James loves watching TV, playing Monkey Ball on the iPhone, and all things electronic. I had to physically remove the phone from his hand and place him in front of the pumpkin before he even noticed it.

Finally, it's face time!

The boys were not too keen on touching the pumpkin guts, so we pulled out the spoon, and Ryan went to town. Last year, James was fascinated by the whole process, Ryan couldn't care less, and Michael screamed and cried. This year was totally different.

Ryan works the spoon.

Michael takes a turn.

Daddy gets in on the action.

Teamwork by the Newhouse boys (minus James who was distracted by the World Series pre-game - I will not pontificate on the tragic demise and debacle of the Rangers' World Series run, but suffice it to say, the sadness is palpable in this house).

Ryan works two spoons while Michael begins the decoration process on his small pumpkin.

Still digging.

The art squad decorates the pumpkin with their washable markers. Thankfully. By the end of the night, Michael had sucked so much ink out of the pink marker that I looked over and thought he was bleeding. Nice, only two and already making his own fake blood.

Intense concentration. The design is on the pumpkin, but I had a little extra help from someone primed to create a pumpkin face.

Is that a lefty? He also bats left. Hmm, maybe a future Ranger pitcher? Move over CJ.

The face of bliss. By the time we were finished, Ryan was calling the pumpkin his monster. I guess it's a friendly monster. Unlike most, I'm not a big fan of being scared or the whole halloween/scary thing. We focus on Charlie Brown around this place. Our neighbor has a whole graveyard complete with a box to jump out of, I'm thinking of skipping their house on our trick or treat route.

Not only are the pumpkins great to decorate, they are also good for playing the drums.

My "helper" puts some finishing touches on the pumpkin design. Bob was grateful that I just went with the standard face as opposed to one of those fancy designs.

My three pumpkins decorating their pumpkins.

What a face! Sadly, by the end of the night, I'm not sure whose face had more marker on it - the pumpkin/monster or Michael.

We've lost James to the pre-game, Michael has started coloring his hand, and Ryan has given himself a black eye with the brown marker. It's official, Halloween is here!

The back also needs a little bit of decoration.

Time to light this guy up! Michael refused to take his tray off and continued to color it and himself, Ryan began singing his happy birthday halloween song, and James spent a large amount of breath attempting to blow out the pumpkin's candle.

With our little guy all carved and ready to go, we are ready for those trick or treaters (although, we might have to replenish our candy supply - those stressful Ranger games might have made a certain mommy dip into the stash).

The Zoo Crew

2011-10-28T23:56:00.000-05:00

After church on Sunday, Bob and I took the boys to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and the boys had a great time. Our first stop was the walk through aviary. The boys really enjoyed looking at the birds.

Ryan, our fearless navigator, held on to his zoo map for the majority of the day. He only surrendered it after I plied him with juice and a granola bar.

Michael shows us the way to see more animals. When I asked him if he wanted to see the sting rays next, he told me, "I want to see all of it!"

James and Ryan checking out the bird. I was a wee bit concerned about the very minimal boundaries between my children (who have perfected cat chasing and I'm pretty sure that translates to bird chasing) and the animals.

The boys did a great job wearing their hats. Michael is still rocking his Easter hat. I just washed all three of the hats in hopes of them recovering some shape and removing various food stains. I'm not sure how much longer these hats will last, but I'm pretty sure Michael will stretch as much life out of them as possible.

We bought an annual pass to the zoo, and for our first trip, we got all of the "extras" for free. This is sting ray bay. It is definitely not worth the $2 per person the zoo wants for it. There really wasn't much possibility for kids to be able to touch the sting rays. Despite the lack of contact, the boys loved putting their hands in the water and laying on the side of the pool.

Daddy maintains order. The boys definitely thought that the pool would be fun to climb in.

Michael reaches out to touch a ray, but those guys are FAST.

The Jacksonville Zoo is somewhat strangely laid out or the signs are unclear or maybe it's just you don't think straight about directions while chasing three two year olds. We spent most of our time looking for the animals and missing them. I'm sure we'll learn where things are in time.

We did find the giraffes. Michael has been talking about feeding the giraffes with Grandma at the zoo for months, and it's possible to feed them in Jax as well, but for some reason, he wasn't interested in feeding the giraffes as much as just checking them out. Ryan spent most of his time near the giraffes trying to wash his hands. He is just obsessed with hand washing. If only I could get James to consider washing his hands, I'd be happy.

The Jacksonville Zoo reminds me of a small scale version of the Dallas Zoo. It's even got its own metal elephants. They are MUCH taller than the elephants in Dallas, and the boys didn't understand while Daddy wouldn't put them up on top of these two guys.

One of the random things I like to do with the boys is pretend that toilet paper rolls and other hollow cylindrical things are horns and sing "do ta do ta do." Ryan in particular loves this, and here he takes the opportunity to "do ta do ta do" the elephant trunk.

Really Daddy, James needs to go UP.

After our elephant fun, it's time to move on.

This tapir is much larger than the one I ran across in the rain forest of Costa Rica, but he's also much sleepier. The boys really liked looking at him.

Probably the biggest perk of the "extra" package we got at the zoo were the unlimited rides on the carousel. James LOVED it. I had to basically rip him off of an animal and make a run for it after our third trip around.

Michael was also thrilled to ride the carousel, but he was definitely unhappy riding anything but the horse once he realized that a horse was an option. Michael is what I refer to as a toy terrorist. He refuses to share certain toys with his brothers. The best example of this is our ride on horse. He will mercilessly harass, try to bite, pull off the horse, wound in a variety of manners anyone who dares to ride "his" horse. I guess when you are a triplet and have to share everything, every once in a while you have to put your foot down.

James and Daddy enjoy the nice afternoon breeze and the spin. Ryan absolutely REFUSED to get on an animal no matter how hard or how many times I tried. He took issue with any and all attempts to get him on a moving animal. After two spins around, he and Daddy headed out to watch the rest of us ride around. He did enjoy looking for us and waving as we passed him by.

The photo-op carousel animal. The boys were all happy to ride him (even Ryan).

The best surprise of the day was the penguin area. The zoo has a "underlook" built in to the exhibit where the kids can crawl under and the penguins swim over and next to you. James loved it. He refused to come out for what seemed like ten minutes. Ryan was also very excited about it. Every time a penguin would go by, he'd run out and yell "penguin, penguin!"

Michael liked the undertook, but he preferred to run around and watch them from above.

All the boys check out the penguins. I'm sure that we will be returning to the penguin exhibit in the future.

The zoo has a nice play area, but I have to say, it made me very nervous. It's two levels, and you can't see the kids playing on the upper level. It is a neat area, and it was packed. I definitely couldn't take the kids here without help. You need lots of eyes in this play area.

The play area is set up with a big tree in the middle. The second level has a squirrel hole and a bird's nest. James really loved both.

All of that hyper vigilance combined with tired, hungry boys prompted us to take the boys and head out. They did a great job, and we rode the train from the back of the zoo to the front. It definitely wasn't designed to be an interactive zoo exhibit as we saw the back of a lot of cages and gates but very few animals. I don't think we'll ride the train again unless it's to soothe our tired feet.

It's nice that we will be able to go back any time we want. I've been thinking about taking the kids by myself. This week, we had a great time going to the library (it was a tad bit harry, but they are getting better and I'm relaxing a tiny bit - not much, but enough to remember to breathe), the park, and to the grocery store to buy a pumpkin. Who knows, maybe I'll get brave this week and we will go. Gotta put that pass to good use.

Potatoes and Pumpkins

2011-10-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, my very good friends John and Vickie lost their dad. During our college years and my single days, I spent many a weekend/vacation with all of them, so when the opportunity arose to attend Gary's memorial in Oregon, I went. Since the memorial was in Burns, OR - or as I like to call it, the middle of nowhere, we flew into Idaho. This is my best attempt at a self-portrait at the Boise airport with the colorful "teepee" in the background. I must say that the concentration face is not necessarily my best look.

Lainie and John brought their two beautiful children, Riley and Mykayla. Vickie, Brent, Nancy, and Mr. Marth made up the rest of the Idaho crew. We travelled the four hours between Boise and Burns at a very slow pace due to Miss Mykalya's hunger schedule and Riley's potty schedule. It was a fabulous time. I loved spending time with all of my pals. We talked about real stuff and random stuff, and it was so great to have the opportunity to visit with everyone. Anne, Tobin, Sam, & Lane drove over from Bend, and other than missing my boys, it was a wonderful time with everyone. This is a self-portrait I took at a mid-mountain potty/feeding spot. I think it kind of looks like I photoshopped myself in.

While I was gone, Kathy and Jim stepped up and helped Bob with the boys. Bob told me that poor Kathy was beat after the first day with the kids, but I think she got back in her groove pretty quickly. When I came home, the house was spotless and there were cupcakes. The boys played rock band with Daddy (Ryan is obsessed with rock band - luckily, we've been able to convince him that he's playing rock band when there is a band on TV - unfortunately, he's decided that drumming is done best in the nude and definitely must be done shirtless).

One of the big things we were looking forward to was the fall festival/pumpkin patch at the church we've been going to. Bob had somewhat of a rough morning with the suburban failing to start after a 20 minute jump, moving the carseats from the suburban to the van, sending the grandparents off to the festival, and having to wait for AAA to come rescue him from the driveway.

From the pictures he sent me, despite the rough start, I'm pretty sure the kids had a great time. Michael sported his signature hat and admired the multicolored pumpkins.

James and Ryan check out that fence. The previous week at church, the boys "helped" put the fence up.

James goes exploring for pumpkins.

Looks like he found one just his size. Each of the kids got a small pumpkin of their own, and a little closer to Halloween, we'll get a big one from Wal-Mart to carve.

Grandpa gets in on the hay action. Nothing like a good hay fight to get the brotherly love going.

Ryan runs amok. There was a bounce house that James and Michael spent most of their time in. Ryan chose to play the games and win prizes. I hear he hauled in some pennies and a little candy, too.

Grandpa demonstrates the correct way to throw the hay. Somehow, I wonder whether those grandparents try to teach the kids what they are supposed to do or what they are NOT supposed to do.

Michael gets up close and personal with the hay.

Ryan gives Michael a little hay bath.

I'm pretty sure Michael is about to sling some hay of his own.

Armed and ready for action.

My sweet little turkey is such a camera hog. He loves to watch himself on video chats and is constantly taking pictures and saying "cheese." He is nothing if not photogenic. When Bob sent me this picture, it made me feel torn - I had such a good time with my buddies in Oregon, and it was great to hear all those stories about Gary, but I sure did miss my boys. I spent a large part of my time on my own looking for souvenirs for the kids. I was surprised how difficult it was to find one good two year old souvenir much less three. I was so happy to see my babies, and I think they were happy to see me, too (although with video chatting, it certainly made the separation much easier for me). Maybe next time we can get all of our kids together and watch the fun unfold.

Hibachi and Hair Cups

2011-10-22T22:08:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Bob and I tried to find a place to take the kids for hibachi lunch. Do not try this during the week - it was a fiasco, but we came back the next week on a Saturday for lunch. The boys had a great time. Ryan loved it. He was fascinated by everything. Michael didn't enjoy the show too much, but he loved the food, and James went from sitting straight up in his chair to leaning below the table. Once I held him, he enjoyed the show somewhat, but all three of them loved the food (as did their mommy). I think we'll go back again in a couple of months. Since I haven't found a Mexican food restaurant here (where the hell do we live?), I might have to switch nationalities and go for the Japanese.

After our "tasty delicious" (Michael's new description of good food) lunch, we decided we had to go get the boys hair cut before they were no longer able to see. I have to say, I do like the shaggy look, but every once in a while, you need a hair cut. I called several places to see if they had openings and how much kids hair cuts were. We found a shop that had no wait, and we headed over. To say that we were the only pasty people to enter the doors of said "salon" this year is probably an understatement, but since we were there, we plopped the kids in the seats and said have at it. One of the stylists little boys was amazed by the kids hair. He kept calling it gold and touching it. It was pretty funny. The first time we got the boys hair cut, the stylist told the kids that he was going to use a race car to cut their hair and let the kids feel the vibration of the clippers. Ryan was pretty nervous about the buzzing, so I told him the clippers were a race car. He now walks around and tells people he got his "hair cup with a race car."

After the hair cut, I pulled out an old picture of my dad. The new hair do made me think of it. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I think my James looks a wee bit like Robin Cain. They definitely have the same smile and ears (although James did not cooperate with my attempt to take his picture with his grandpa and smile). When I pulled the picture out, both Ryan and Michael pointed at it and said "James." Michael looks a lot like Bob (especially those distinctive eyebrows), and I'm not sure who Ryan looks most like - I guess it depends on the day.

As my husband will attest, I have a somewhat obsessive personality. Currently my obsession concerns the perfect Christmas ornaments to get for the boys (I have tried to get something unique each year so that when they grow up, they've got a collection of ornaments from their childhood - Bob swears they are not going to care - which is probably true, but maybe their wives will care - or at least I'll have them on my tree). My previous obsession was our Halloween attire. I know my time with costume selection is short, so I'm trying to make the most of it. I like to have a "theme" because I'm a giant dork. Their first Halloween was three dog night, last year was African Safari, and this year my intentions were to have a Florida theme complete with alligator, buccaneer, and rocket (NASA you live on in our hearts).

The pirate is by far the most popular costume. All of the boys love pirates (I think it comes from being male and our book "Pirate Potty").

The alligator is also quite popular, and they love to put the head portion on and off. I wish it was a little longer or had pants to go with it, but endless hours of ebay searching told me this was the best gator I could find.

The rocket was not my first choice. I originally wanted to get the shark costume from Old Navy. When I went to get it, they were out of the kids size, so I had to wait until the next week. In the mean time, we went to Target, and James was attracted by the rocket ship. He tried it on and refused to take it off, so it came home with us. As soon as I cut off the tags, the boys started refusing to wear it. It slides on and off so easily that they don't wear it for long. Ryan (always on the move) was in the process of escaping the rocket during picture time.

Due to the unknown performance of the rocket on the big day, I purchased a spare costume from ebay. Here Michael models the fireman which is also popular amongst all three. Ryan loves fire trucks, so I can see him choosing fireman over rocket, but who knows what the actual line up will be.

Despite hair cups and costumes, the biggest thing happening in our world is the World Series. Last year, Bob and I had a chance to go. We would love to have gone this year, but it's MUCH cheaper to watch it on TV. At the game we went to, we went on a shopping frenzy that could have easily made a car payment. Ironically, we both decided to purchase stuff only for the kids. We got them antlers, a Rangers outfit that has been worn to pieces, and three kid size jerseys. I pulled out the antlers and jerseys for the World Series. The kids love the antlers. James especially likes to spin around watching them flap in the breeze. Tonight, he wore the antlers to bed. Go Rangers!

The Backyard Gang

2011-10-08T21:10:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday after church, Bob and I attempted to take some pictures of the kids for an address change card. Let's just say the photo shoot was less than inspired and full of crying. I was unable to procure a picture in the Klein/Gabriel school - in the box wearing job/location appropriate attire. Oh well, maybe for our next move.

James consented to sit in the box but only with an English Muffin in hand. A boy has his priorities, and toast is a BIG player in this house.

Michael contemplates closing James inside the box...

...but decides to just steal the box instead.

Ryan refuses to get inside the box at all, & don't even think about making him wear a hat that is not a Rangers hat.

Since it's been pretty rainy here this month, we've had to find several indoor activities that are not watching TV (primarily the Lion King or PBSkids). James and Michael really liked painting. They did several pictures each. Thanks to Tawnya & Courtney, we have lots of cool paints to use.

James is a very intense painter. I'm pretty sure he is gonna be more famous than Van Gogh (hopefully he will retain both his ears, though).

Michael is also a great painter, but he prefers to paint his hands and face. Maybe he's going to be a mime or a clown. Either way, he's going to be brilliant. He can say all the letters in his name without any prompting with the exception of H which he says is an L. He's always reading and can identify all of the basic colors - we are currently working on gray. His favorite color is yellow, and he likes to read "yellow books."

Ryan is still obsessed with this stool and with washing his hands. While his brothers painted, he watched the Lion King (shocking, I know) and ate some "corns." He must have his corns in a bowl, place them on the tall end table, and pull his stool up for optimum popcorn pleasure.

When it's not raining, we spend a lot of time outside. The boys love all of the outdoor wonders of Florida. The other day, we found a small green frog outside. I didn't have a proper jar to keep him in, so I grabbed a juicy juice container. James carried his frog around repeating "how cute, how cute" every time it jumped. Then he "hopped" around like the frog.

James knows that frogs like to be entertained. Here he is preparing to take his new friend on the slide. Sadly, the frog hopped out of his container as he and James slid headfirst down the slide. Oh well, I'm sure we'll find another new friend soon.

Ryan is telling us all about those acorns he found. They are seeds from that tree over there. Thanks Cat in the Hat for teaching us about seeds.

Michael tries to hang up his old swing. The boys love the new swing set, but they do miss their old swings. I'm trying to figure out if we can find a cheap A-frame to hang them from so that they can all swing at the same time again. Hello craigslist, remember me?

Ryan attempts to play both golf and fly through the air on his swing.

Michael (after splashing around in the water collected in various receptacles around the yard) takes his turn on the swing.

James sporting his swinging skills. He can't get much height, but he sure does spend LOTS of time soaring through the air both semi-upright and prone.

My sweet little Michael likes to put all kinds of crazy disgusting things in his mouth. He routinely eats sand and here he is pretending (thankfully) to drink rainwater out of his splash table. After he would put his face near the water, he would stand up and say...

"tasty delicious!!" He also likes to pretend he's the cookie monster and eat his food like a maniac.

Ryan rides his bike. Recently, this bike made it into the house, and Ryan rode it everywhere. Lately, he has been making me put his train in the bed with him at nap time. I guess he's a man who needs to be close to his motor vehicles.

James is working on his "golf swing."

This is Michael's "ta da" pose. I can't remember what exactly he had accomplished, but I'm sure that it was amazing.

Ryan relaxing on the couch after a long day of playing outside. Now that we're Floridians, the bug spray is a staple of outdoor fun (there are several cases of West Nile around here - one of Bob's former co-workers thinks she might have had West Nile - she's still waiting on test results to let her know officially). The kids love to get a spray. They laugh and say "it tickles." I'm hoping this bodes well for spray on sunscreen which they tend to freak out when I attempt to apply it. I guess next time we go to the beach, I'll pull it out and see what happens.

The Five Floridians

2011-10-02T01:48:00.000-05:00

Not everyone can be banana cool about moving like my James, but the Newhouses are adjusting to our new Florida status. Our new house is much smaller, so we've had to consolidate somewhat. The garage is still a mess, but the house is starting to look like home (we need some pictures on the walls and such to give it that Newhouse charm, but it's getting there). The boys playroom has really come together as I found a few steals at the local target and walmart. It's nice to have everyone so close together (I don't miss trying to heard the kids upstairs for nap time one bit).

We spend most of our days watching PBS, playing, and going outside. The boys love the new fridge as they are able to open it and reach their milk. I miss our old black beauty that is in the garage. It is currently cooling my diet cokes (which I'm pretty sure I would go to extreme lengths to procure - some people are crack heads, I'm a diet coke head). I hate that a thousand times a day, I have to redirect Ryan from the freezer and his endless quest for ice cream, but it has made the kids more independent in finding their beverages. Also, the water here is pretty tasty, and the kids will all drink water much more readily than they did in Haslet.

When we first got here, we attempted for a couple of days to go without crib tents as the boys had destroyed the ones we used in Texas. It was hell. I'm not gonna lie. At the point where I had spent my 6 or 7th continual nap/bed time putting kids back in bed for an hour or more, we ordered new crib tents, the boys were so excited to have their crib tents back and we haven't had a problem with sleeping ever since. On the few days we did go without, all of the boys wandered out into the house looking for us. Poor Michael got lost, couldn't find us, and spent who knows how much of the night sleeping in this chair. Bob came out in the morning and found him just like this. Pretty sweet, but much safer (and more restful for us) to have the monkeys confined in their beds.

The boys still love their plane, but the back yard is a plethora of new and exciting things like bugs, lizards, frogs, mushrooms, acorns, a big slide with a swing you can "fly" in. I don't think I've seen anyone go in their house in a couple of weeks. There is just too much to explore.

One of the things that this house has taught me is that I do not like fake wood floors. They are impossible to make look clean with three two year olds, they are slippery (the number of falls that we have on an average day is just ridiculous), and I have only mastered mopping on my hands and knees which makes for a very long and unfortunate cleaning session. Michael likes to use the rug in front of the TV as a blanket. I probably should have rolled it up and put it up since it slips and slides all over the place, but he enjoys taking a "nap" with the rug so much that I haven't had the heart to put it up.

When we were in Haslet, Ryan was my resident nudist. Since we've moved, Michael has taken over that illustrious position. Although I did have to go rescue Ryan who was stuck in his shirt this week during nap time, Michael takes every opportunity to get naked. Once he has achieved his freedom from clothing, he runs around announcing his nudity as though it is the greatest thing ever.

James is still my pacifier boy, but I've found it much harder to keep track of them here in Florida. The other day, I found two pacifiers out in the yard along with an electric toothbrush, a water cup, and a myriad of dog poop.

The palmettos outside are so much fun to hide in. Sadly, Bob's Florida work friends have freaked me out about palmetto bugs, snakes, and west nile virus. We no longer play in the backyard with bare feet as we did in our Texas yard. The weeds are just amazing in the variety and number of them. I'm pretty sure we will spend the cash to weed and feed the yard so that the spring will be a little better, but it's not the Texas grass I'm used to at all. The wildlife in the backyard is somewhat impressive. The other day, the boys followed around (no lie) a 4 inch (not counting legs) grasshopper for at least an hour. It jumped and hit my shoe causing me to freak out. Everything is NOT bigger in Texas. Florida has the bug market cornered as far as I can tell.

In the neighbor's yard, there is an oak tree that occasionally gives us the gift of acorns much to the delight of young Michael. He loves acorns, and I have found them in various and sundry places throughout our home.

One thing that has remained the same is the boys love of their toys. Now, instead of being spread all over the house, we have limited the toys to their playroom (this is not to say that James doesn't drag the train table over to be in front of the TV or that the horse doesn't move positions to make it easier for Michael to do his bull riding dismount that he learned from watching rodeos with Papa Joe), but it does mean that for the three hours between when the kids go to bed and we pick up until we go to bed, the toys are all put away (unless of course, I'm feeling lazy and they just stay there, and I hope not to kill myself if I need to go check on the kids in the middle of the night by tripping over some random toy).

While the list of things about our old house and Texas is somewhat endless (this doesn't mean I'm not happy here, just that I miss what we used to have and where we used to live), one of the main things I miss is our pantry. Now we have a tiny cabinet in the corner of the kitchen which the boys can get into and doesn't have much room at all. Here by popular demand, we are having milk and animal crackers before breakfast (Daddy was out of town) on the kitchen floor.

One of the main purposes our old pantry served was holding the kitchen step stool in a somewhat safe location. Ryan now opens the stool up and drags it where ever he wants to go. Here he is in the midst of a hand washing, bowl filling, water spilling festival of joy. He does love it so, and most of the time I find it adorable, but in illustration of my mixed feelings about this stool, I offer the following anecdote. Michael was at Jim and Kathy's house, so it was just Ryan, James, and I. We'd gone out to the library, the park, Chic-fil-a for lunch, and I was making a restroom pit stop before putting them in bed. I closed the door and settled down on the toilet when the dynamic duo busted in with Duke and Emma. Ryan drug the stool in and began to wash his hands - at one point, he poured a cup of water on Emma's head and she left (smart cat). While this was occurring, James came over, took my phone out of my pocket, hopped up on my lap and began to play his horse racing game. It is very difficult to get toilet business of any kind done with such an audience, but when you add to it, Duke attempting to lick the remnants of James' lunch off his face, and Ryan's very helpful attempts to wipe my bottom despite my protestations of being able to do it myself, it's just not a very fun bathroom trip. Bob wonders why I always run to the bathroom AFTER I put the boys down for a nap. I'm pretty sure my reluctance to relieve myself is justified.

As of yet, I have not made it out in the real world to meet people. As I sit at Chic-fil-a and watch the kids, the ladies there with friends chatting it up while their kids play make me a wee bit desperate for a fellow mom to visit with. I am sure that in time, I'll make friends, but my initial shyness and awkwardness left over from a childhood filled with being the last one picked for kickball have kept me somewhat isolated. We are still looking for a church, and I keep thinking that maybe I'll join a mom's club. I'm sure friends are in my future, but in the words of my sweet Dee, I might be in a post-move funk. I need someone to come over to me, say "you've got a big butt like me, wanna go work out" then promptly take ourselves to Souper Salad to fill up on workout energy. Dee, are you sure that you guys don't want to move to Jacksonville? I miss my Texas friends and family. Bob has been talking about watching the Marlin's next year (not loving them like the Rangers, but "paying attention" to them). Just the thought makes me tear up. I might have a Florida driver's license, but my heart is still in Texas. Go Rangers.

Beach Bums

2011-10-01T00:44:00.000-05:00

Labor Day weekend was our last hurrah with Mom and Faith, so on Sunday, we took my mom to the beach. My mom has a love for the beach that has never died (a love she almost passed on to me except for the fact that after a couple of hours I can literally feel my flesh burning - especially when I forget to ask someone to put sunscreen on my back - let's just say that I'm a better mother than I am at taking care of myself - which I think might be the definition of a mother).

We loaded up the whole family, packed a picnic lunch, and accidentally found the beach for African Americans. Luckily, while we were the whitest family on the beach, everyone was very nice, and we live in an America where all races can frolic in the sand and surf together.

The boys and Aunt Faith had a great time digging in the sand, building sand castles, and finding shells. I still have a bucket of shells that Michael and I found hanging out in the back of the suburban.

Grandma hangs out with my beach baby. There is absolutely NO FEAR living in the heart of Ryan Newhouse (unless it's the jungle gym at the Chic-fil-a).

I love this picture because Mom and Ryan both look so happy.

Aunt Faith shows Michael how a castle should be built.

Michael considers which area of the beach will make it's way from his hand to his mouth. I'm pretty sure he's still pooping sand a month later.

James takes a short break to design a castle of his own (when we play with mega blocks, we only build castles, and James likes to stack the single red blocks as high as he can). James spent the majority of his time darting back into the water. We had a hard time keeping up with him and there was absolutely no way to make his departure from the beach pleasant. He had such a great time.

Fun in the sun! Regardless of the fact that my back is currently 45 shades darker than my shoulders (which I could reach with my sunscreen), I had a great time and can't wait to get back to the beach with the boys. For right now, I'm pretty sure we can't go without an entourage as some one would be sure to drown, but I'm looking forward to the coming years of picnics and kite flying followed by a dip in the ocean.

A Florida History Lesson

2011-09-30T00:29:00.001-05:00

Before Mom and Faith went back to Texas, we took a small trip to St. Augustine. Not only is it the oldest settlement in the United States, it's also where my grandparents went on their honeymoon. Wayne from church told me that they had a beautiful beach, so I was very excited to wrap all that sentiment, history, and beauty into one trip.

After parking, we decided to make the kids walk rather than have to navigate through so many people in such a small space with two big strollers. They did great. We used their monkey/dog backpacks. As I've been out and about with the kids much more on my own than before, I have come to LOVE the backpacks. It gives me a little piece of mind in crowds and near busy streets.

Our first stop in St. Augustine was the Spanish Colonial Village. The boys really loved the colonial dirt and chickens.

Mom practices grinding corn. There was a very nice lady who had triplet grandsons working as one of the colonists. She was very friendly and kept Mom and Faith in her clutches for a very long time.

Aunt Faith grinds her corns. When we took Michael to his first movie, Winnie the Pooh, Aunt Faith came with us, and there was some possessive craziness about the movie popcorn. Months later, every time we have popcorn, he says, "Aunt Faith ate my corns" with such disgust in his voice. It cracks me up and annoys Faith to no end. She will probably be 50 and Michael will still be talking about how she ate his corns.

Daddy watches the boys run around the colonial area. Ryan really enjoyed looking at the colonial magistrate with his curly white wig and big flowing robes. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it.

From the colonial village, we walked our little men to the fort. While Aunt Faith and Grandma took the tour with the park ranger, the rest of us explored the top level of the fort. May I just say that there are no rails and that you can walk out onto ledges very easily. I think I might have lost about 30 years of my life worrying about who was going to tumble over the edge first.

The boys really enjoyed exploring the big guns. We missed the cannon firing, but that might have been for the best as Ryan especially is very sensitive to loud noises. When he was tiny, if something dropped, he'd jump a mile, and now that he's older, he covers his ears. Lately, Michael has become one of the shrieking eels from The Princess Bride, and his high pitch scream makes Ryan cry.

James and Daddy take a tour of the terreplain (yes, I had to look it up) of the Castillo de San Marco. You can kind of tell from the ground that the fort has a star type of shape, and it has an amazing view of the ocean.

Ryan, following in the footsteps of his mother, pauses to read about what he is seeing. He looks somewhat confused and concerned by the explanation. I'm sure he was just wondering where all the pirates are. The boys love to talk about pirates thanks to their pirate potty book. They will put random blocks and such on top of their heads and run around saying "arrrrrrgh."

Michael gets an up close view of a cannon. Of course, inside was an electric floodlight that I think might be a wee bit anachronistic, but I'm sure it lights up the night.

James finds a long barrel cannon which of course could only be reminiscent of a horse. Since my sweet little James is a man with an eye for detail, I have recently purchased him swimming goggles to wear while riding his horse. He was making me place a strand of beads around his eyes so that he could have goggles like the jockeys on TVG, so for the safety of his eyes and to make him happy, we found some goggles. (He also uses one of the blue sparkly drumsticks as a riding crop - I may have to peruse the post Halloween costume aisle and see what might hop in my basket).

I love this little man so much. He cracks me up. He still refuses to say too many words, but he is currently obsessed with watching clips of the lion king on youtube. Yes, my son is able to steal his dad's phone, find the youtube app, hit the search button, and find his videos. It's amazing. I'd put him up against my mom any day on his iPhone skills.

Michael has abandoned his pacifier in favor of a blanket, and recently, he's become completely absorbed by his Easter hat. I'm pretty sure it's the best $4 I've ever spent, and luckily, he's a triplet, so we have three of them. This hat goes lots of places with us. Notice that his brothers obediently put their Rangers hats on (which every time they see the hats, they yell "go Rangers" much to the delight of their father), Michael refused to even consider his Rangers hat despite the fact that it would not have flown off his head every five minutes. As we got closer to the water, the wind started to blow, and a very nice British woman retrieved that hat about 4 times. Michael refused to let me hold it or let me hold the hat on his head. I wonder where he gets that independent streak from?

Teamwork! I'm pretty sure these boys can imagine this gun on a pirate ship.

All Mom's boys get in on the action. I much preferred them playing on the cannons as opposed to exploring the gaping holes in the walls or getting very close to the one foot rise along the inside edge.

Michael is ready at the cannon. He is surveying the vista looking for dragoons or some such nonsense.

By the time we finished with the fort, it was almost 2 p.m., and the kids were hungry and tired. Michael (along with his brothers) knows where I keep the juice and crackers in the diaper bag. His cute little hold me mommy moment was really a ploy to get at that juice and those crackers. Shortly after we left the fort, we stopped to grab some grub.

Ryan, as always, was exceedingly adventurous, and I spent most of my time guiding him away from the edge. In the last couple of weeks, he has become completely enamored of washing his hands. He likes to pull up the step stool and play for hours in the water. I'm pretty sure that whatever money we are saving from not watering the lawn in Haslet has been sucked up and sent down the drain by my youngest son. On the positive side, he is very clean lately.

One of the entertaining things about our trip through the touristy area of St. Augustine, is the fact that our young James made a name for himself as a ladies man. While we were walking through the crowded alley ways, James spied a cute, young girl in a dress leaning against the wall. According to two different sets of people, our young stud took his pacifier out of his mouth, looked at the girl and said "beautiful." The girl blushed, none of us noticed, and we kept on going. The couple behind us made sure to tell us the story. I totally don't believe that he said "you're beautiful" as I've never heard him utter more words than absolutely necessary (I think that's a little slice of my Papa Cain shining through), but two verified accounts means the story has become legend around this house. My dad would have been so proud as he was always one to appreciate the ladies.

These two photos represent how exhausted we were after a week of moving and a weekend of touristing, but I love how it shows the fort in the background. Poor Mom looks exhausted. I'm pretty sure she was much more energetic than she looked here - she must have just needed a nice cold beverage.

This picture is what I am going to use for my before picture when I save up enough money to get myself some of that fancy stomach reduction stuff, but you've got to take the family photo where you can get it. Hopefully this is just a trick of the lens, hello delusion, my name is Angela, nice to meet you. Despite the unflattering end of this blog post, we had a fantastic time in St. Augustine. I loved it. Not only is there an outlet mall (which I have yet to make a pilgrimage to), it's got history, something I never seem to be able to get enough of.

Moving Is a Day at the Beach

2011-09-25T21:23:00.001-05:00

Almost a month ago, this giant truck showed up at our house in Haslet and loaded all our things inside. Bob and I cleaned our empty house, took a trip to the zoo with Aunt Faith, then made a LONG drive along I-10 to Jacksonville.

We started our drive both days around 3 a.m. The boys slept until around 7 a.m., we stopped for breakfast, then kept on driving. My mom rode with the boys and I she definitely put in her time entertaining the kids. Ryan especially got antsy, but we made it to the hotel by around 2 p.m.

On the second day, I learned the joys of bribery. The kids really didn't want to get back into the car after a brief stop, so we let them pick a treat, and then they didn't even fight me getting back into their seats.

Although this picture is a little blurry, love how James is chomping on his sucker. Michael told me that this sucker was very "tasty." They boys are talking up a storm lately. Michael is constantly talking, especially in the car. He likes to tell me about going to the zoo with Uncle Zach and Aunt Mandy and feeding the giraffes. James spent a large majority of the car ride hiding underneath his blanket to ignore his brothers.

After we made it to Jacksonville, we spent a little time exploring our new city. We took the whole family to a restaurant on the beach, ate a little seafood, and spent a little time playing in the waves.

Aunt Faith had a pretty decent time at the beach. She spent most of the time she was here trying to do her on-line school work. She'll be back in November to go to Disney with us. When I talked to her the other day, she asked if it would be warm enough to go to the beach too. I guess that's a pretty ringing endorsement of how much she enjoyed it.

Ryan and Grandma Newhouse hang out and wait for the food to come. In the restaurant, there was a fake palm tree and parrot that Ryan was fascinated with.

Michael and "Papa" read the menu. Lately the boys have dubbed Jim "Papa," and I think it's going to stick. Michael reads everything. He likes to sit and flip through the pages while describing what's on each page. In the Just Like Daddy book, he calls the big animals daddy and then the small ones are Michael. It's pretty adorable to watch.

James and Grandma hang out waiting for shrimp and beach time fun. Right after Mom and Faith left, the boys kept asking about seeing them. We've started video chatting with Grandma and Papa Joe, and the kids love it.

Aunt Faith and Grandma lead the troops into the ocean.

No matter how much of an organized, well prepared person I used to be, for some reason, as a mother I tend to forget very important things like swim suits for the beach and sunscreen for myself.

Grandma and Ryan prepare to enter the surf. Somehow I ended up holding all of the shoes and purses while everyone else ran around and played in the water. It worked out okay since I got to snap a few pictures.

James was constantly running back into the "wawhurr." James speaks in single words. Lately he will come over to you and say "hand" because he wants to hold your hand. He also comes over and asks for a hug. It's so cute.

Running around having fun at Jacksonville Beach.

Examining our toes in the water.

Running in opposite directions.

Michael cons Papa out for a dip.

James tells Aunt Faith all about the coming wave.

Ryan lays down on the job. He was the first to go "all in."

My tiny monkey loves to run and splash. He loves to roll around in the surf and feel the waves wash in around him.

Aunt Faith grabs a quick hug from the fearless wave hopper.

Michael loved digging/throwing the sand. He likes the feel of it between his fingers and toes (and sadly the taste of it in his mouth). He spent a large quantity of time playing in the sand and picking up shells.

Daddy joins the fray and gets his feet wet. Bob is not really a lover of all things sand and water, but he has been great about taking us all to the beach. We might have to try it one more time before it gets too chilly.

Michael shows off his water moves.

Tragic consequence of too much fun in the surf - droopy shorts.

James concentrates on attempting to escape Grandpa and head back into the water. After our trip to the beach, we got the keys to our new place and spent the next day moving in. Despite it being much smaller than our house in Texas, we have managed to fit most of our remaining things (we sent a ton of stuff out the door in Texas to family, friends, strangers, and Mission Arlington) into the house. We've unpacked all the essentials, but still need to sort out the books, cds/dvds, and pictures. So far, I am enjoying Florida. I need to find some way to make a few new friends. We've tried a couple of churches and will try a couple more. The boys are having lots of fun. Since we are so much closer to civilization, we've managed to do more fun things. We've been to Chic-fil-a (where we caught some Florida germs and are all suffering from runny noses and sore throats), all of the boys have gone to see the Lion King (individually and with separate adults), and we've gone shopping several times. I think in the long run, we will all be very happy here.

Go Wild! Aunt Faith Turns 12

2011-09-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

The last week of August was a pretty crazy week for the Newhouses. On Thursday, the packers came, Friday, they loaded up the truck, and Sunday we woke up at 3 a.m. and started our two day drive. Saturday was a special day, Aunt Faith turned twelve. We put a halt to the moving stuff, and the family spent the day celebrating the birth of our youngest aunt.

Ryan was very excited that Aunt Faith picked the Dallas Zoo to kick off her special day.

Michael knows that all good trips to the zoo involve the proper head gear. The boys now cheer for the Rangers by name much to the delight of their father.

James eagerly anticipates all the fun to be had by seeing the "manamals" at the zoo.

First stop, PENGUINS!

James is bigger than some penguins but not quite up to Emperor standards.

Aunt Faith is still trying to prove she can hang with the big kids. She and Mandy are rivals for shortest member of the family (excluding the two year olds).

The family humors me for a posed group shot or two in front of the penguins.

Early in the day, it was quite pleasant, but as the day progressed, it got very hot, and there were NO stands selling drinks and treats scattered randomly around the zoo.

My little monkeys check out the baboons.

Photo ops on the metal elephants on the way to see the real elephants.

James and Grandma strike a pose.

Studied indifference coupled with the girl with the blue shoes.

Aunt Mandu raises the roof.

James allows Aunt Faith to ride upon his bronze steed.

Michael loved riding the elephants. We had to con him off to see the real thing.

Ryan and Daddy watch the elephants taking dirt baths. Mommy is pretty sure that sometimes her boys take a few dirt baths while she isn't looking.

The girls and the triplets pose for a picture with the real elephants.

James really enjoyed seeing the cheetah. Here he's asking for a cheeto.

Not only was James hungry, so were the giraffes. Ryan was a pro at feeding them.

Ryan demonstrates the lettuce reach.

Michael follows suit and gives the giraffe a snack.

Aunt Faith was a little scared of that black tongue and acted like she was two rather than twelve, but we still love her despite her lack of skills at feeding giraffes.

Checking out the cheetah one more time.

The triple threat pushes the other kids out of the car and takes over. There is power in numbers despite some Mommys trying to make them share/be patient.

Aunt Faith performs her role as supervisor while Ryan mans the wheel.

Michael feels the gorilla skulls. He really liked seeing the "big monkey."

Wild life in captivity (or the fancy monkey house).

Grandma and Michael on the monorail. The kids loved seeing all the animals although the grown ups were a little nervous about the kids walking about in the moving car.

Ryan, very thirsty, drinks some lemonade.

Michael and Daddy enjoy the sights.

Ryan looks as hot and tired as the rest of us felt.

Aunt Faith and James looking at the fauna. After the monorail, we found the kids part of the zoo. No one warned Mommy that there was water. Let's just say that it was a wet experience combined with tired hungry kids, exhausted parents, and an Aunt Faith who was determined to ride a camel. We escaped the water nymphs, found a picnic table, and waited for the rest of the crew to return. While we were waiting, a cougar attempted to eat James and Michael. After the camel ride, the gang loaded up and headed out for Haslet. We had a big family dinner at Olive Garden followed by cake at Grandma & Papa Joe's.

Aunt Faith and her cake. Poor thing only got one piece as we swept her away at 4 a.m. She returned home today, maybe somebody put her a piece in the freezer.

Eastbound and Down

2011-08-14T23:31:00.008-05:00

It's official, we are down to our last week as Texas residents. The upcoming upheaval is not something I'm looking forward to, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it will be an adventure. When I was in high school, I always wanted to live in Europe, so I just have to think, now I'm 1,000 miles closer than I was in Texas. The boys really have no idea what is going on. Both Bob and I have tried to tell them about moving, but they'd much rather run around in circles, climb up the wrong side of the stairs (one plus to a smaller house, no stairs in Florida), and wreak havoc on any and all toys they come in contact with.
Ryan has been the most sensitive about change, so far. He has noticed every single thing that has gone out the door to craigslist purchasers. The exercise bike and glider are among the most cherished victims of the great purge. He will randomly cry in a pitiful voice, "my bike, my chair."
I figure as long as he has his blanket, Michael will do just fine. He is currently obsessed with puzzles and will work them for hours. He is getting really good at them. I'm pretty impressed with how fast he can put some of those things together. Of course, it seems as though when he's done, he likes to toss the pieces about so that I can have some fun playing hide and seek with the puzzle pieces after he's gone to bed.
James is (as always) obsessed with horses. He has really learned how to use the iPhone in the last couple weeks. I now have to fight him off of the phone. He is prone to make phone calls to random people (usually family members, thank goodness), play any game he wants, and place his bets on the races (which is just pretend money - although, he's lost almost $800 pretend dollars, so I wouldn't consult him for betting advice).
One thing that keeps Ryan most happy is finding Daddy's "home protection system." Bob's bat has migrated to many new spots around our house. Currently, it is residing in the dining room in a corner that has limited views from the triplet side of the baby gates. The only thing more frightening than leaving behind everything that we know is watching a two year old swing a baseball bat wildly near our giant and very expensive (too expensive to replace in our current state) plasma TV.
One of the most important features of our home is the bathtub. They boys must all fit in the bathtub because, I'm pretty sure that since they will sit in it without water and play with the toys, there is no way they are going to be patient enough to wait while one of them is bathed then take a turn. Thankfully, the master bath in our rental house has a big tub. Tragically, it doesn't have the fun bubble making jets like Grandma & Papa Joe's house, but I'm sure that they will put that high on their list of fun things to do in Texas.
With all the sorting through years of accumulated crap, downsizing (our new place will be about half the size of our current palace, so we have to pare down pretty extensively to get our stuff to fit in the new place), and packing, I kind of feel like James looks. Despite all of the random pieces of furniture and other items that are flowing from our house to Mission Arlington, it is probably the messiest it's ever been. I keep trying to pick things up, and after I come back by a location, I realize that I have not cleaned up at all, merely pulled things out and spread them around so that it looks even messier.
One great thing about the new place is that we will have a huge back yard. The kids love playing outside so much, and I know that they are really going to enjoy having such a large area to explore. Just like here, we don't have any trees in our yard in Jacksonville (I guess it's also a newer subdivision), but there is a pond across the street. One of the most important things when looking for a house was to find a yard with a fence for Duke and the boys. About half of the houses there don't have fences and most of them have some sort of body of water only steps from the back door. The thought of living on water like that paralyzed both Bob and I for different reasons - me for thinking how hard it is to keep the kids out of the dog water much less a pond and Bob for the mere hint of a possibility that a gator might be lurking about.
One of the hardest things for Bob to leave behind are his beloved sports teams. I'm pretty sure that he bleeds Ranger blue and red with a side helping of some Cowboy's navy and silver. There is no professional baseball team in Jacksonville, but they do have a minor league team called the Suns. Bob and Jim have already checked them out and given their stamp of approval to the Marlin's farm team. As for football, the Super Bowl Bob went to had the Jacksonville Jaguars in it, so I'm sure he's going to throw that one out there to impress the locals. Despite our move to Florida, Bob has already procured the Sunday Ticket so that we can watch all of the Cowboy games. I am praying very hard that the Cowboys do well so that we can sell our tickets on StubHub and break even this year. Thanks Jerry for the 30 year PSL, we love you.
One thing that makes me very happy about our new place is that it is in a cul de sac, so the boys will be able to ride bikes and cozy coupes out and about. We were planning on sending the Cozy Coupes down the road, but the boys love them so much, that I think we are keeping them.My children are very adaptable and adjust well to new situations, just look at their couch & chair experiment. Are you kidding me? What am I going to do with these kids with no carpet in the common areas. I might have to lay out padding and blankets to protect their sweet little heads from cracking on the tile.
Luckily, James is already learning this. Yesterday, during nap time, he piled all of his blankets up below his bed, hopped out, and ran into the game room shouting "HI!" Needless to say, he didn't take a nap yesterday.
We are looking forward to living near the beach and Disney. Bob's not a big beach fan, but I'm hoping to convert him. Most of my best memories as a kid took place either near the water or in it. The Atlantic Ocean has got Holly Beach (which is currently closed due to flesh eating bacteria) beat, hands down! When we went to Galveston, the kids LOVED playing in the sand and waves. I can't wait to see how much they enjoy the ocean. Maybe Bob can overcome his hatred of the location where he received the worst sunburns, and we can turn our future boy band into future boy band surfers.
One thing that I am going to have to learn how to do in Florida is leave the house by myself with the kids. The other day, during a showing, we had to occupy ourselves for a couple of hours during the heat of the day, and we skipped the park in favor of McDonalds. By the time we left, everyone, even Ryan, was zipping through the tunnels and slides of the indoor play ground. James led the way, and he would come back down to find his brothers occasionally.
Michael and James wait their turn for the slide. They did really well playing with the other kids, but when those eight year old boys came charging through complete with giant tennis shoes narrowly missing my two year olds tiny fingers, I almost came unhinged.
Ryan looks about as scared as I feel about this whole process. I know that it's the best thing for my family and that it will work out fine, but I sure am nervous about the journey (literally and figuratively - we are driving sixteen hours with three two year olds - we must be completely crazy!).

Pumpkin & Mykayla

2011-08-14T22:41:00.004-05:00

In the last few months, the boys have become obsessed with horses. I think it started with their ride-on horse that Grandma & Papa Joe got them for Christmas, and it has been exacerbated by parental indulgence, the gambling channel, and the horse race iPhone ap. Lainie, Ryan's godmother and my very good friend, is a lover of all things equine. She recently had a beautiful baby girl (the first among that circle of my friends - we were an all boys club for the last five years). A couple of days before Miss Mykayla Jo Ereno came into the world, the boys and I stopped by to drop off some freezer meals, & Lainie endeared herself to my children by taking them on pony rides on Riley's pony, Pumpkin.
The first greeting. Michael looks a little apprehensive, and James is already trying to figure out how to climb aboard.
Ryan gets the first turn. He was very good at riding Pumpkin, and Pumpkin was extremely tolerant of my little guys lack of pony experience.
James, ever studious, checks out exactly what Lainie is doing. After his turn, he had to help her hold the guide rope.
Michael, a wild pony rider on his plastic pal, is a bit unsettled by a pony that moves and doesn't have handles. Luckily, Uncle Joseph is there for reassurance.Having had a triplet pregnancy where I was concerned about things such as the length of my cervix and the number of contractions I was having (the contractions started early - around week 23 or 24), the concept of a pregnant woman being able to actually do things and move around is completely foreign to me. Lain was such a trooper, leading the boys around and making us lemonade.
We saw Lainie at the boys' birthday party three weeks earlier, and when I saw her on the "Pumpkin Day," I was shocked at how much she'd grown. Beautiful baby Mykayla was a scale busting 11 lbs 8 oz. No wonder Lain looked so large and in charge!
The boys loved Lainie's house, and they didn't want to leave. James cried for a good five minutes after leaving chanting "horse, horse, horse." It was wonderful to see her pre-baby, but we did miss seeing Riley. It was probably for the best, because I'm not sure how he would have reacted to three sets of hands rifling through his toys at the same time.
A couple days later, sweet Mykayla made her way home from the hospital, and I was able to swing by and see her and her wonderful parents. It was nice that I got there before bedtime and got to see my little godchild, Riley. He is a very good big brother. He's five years old, and about to start kindergarten. Since Zach & I are five years apart, I think that this is a great age gap between him and his little sister. I hope that the two of them grow up as close as Zach and I have.
BIG YAWN! Even though Miss M was a large and in charge little lady, she is much, much lighter than my 30+ pound boys. She is so sweet and cuddly. I was a little concerned that getting to hold her would make me want to have another one, but Bob can rest easy, because as sweet as she is, my womb is definitely closed for business. I'll just have to visit as often as possible to get those good baby snuggles.
John, attempting to train Mykayla in the ways of Dr. Pepper love. I wouldn't be surprised if her first words were "I'm a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?"
Chubby cheeks. I told Lainie that I was extremely impressed with her womanly prowess. Mykayla weighed more than my two biggest babies put together, and she made her way out so quickly, that she had to spend a little time in the NICU getting the amniotic fluid out of her lungs. She is so wonderful, and I can't wait to go back and see her and her fantastic mama!

The Nudist, the Jockey, and the Chatterbox

2011-08-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

As the boys settle in to being two, all kinds of things are changing in our world. Perhaps the greatest difference between one and two is the amount of talking the kids are doing. Michael talks constantly. He says things like "Michael is a tiger, ROAR." He likes to count and identify colors. He sings songs. Most of the time he's in a great mood, but if he gets upset, he throws quite a fit complete with fake crying and tears.

Michael loves stuffed animals, and he calls his toolbox his "treasure." He loves animals, and his little people ABC zoo animals are high on the rotation of things that he plays with.
Ryan has a great fake cry. He always outdoes his brothers. He can turn red, pull out the tears, and scream so that the people in Europe can hear him. He is normally happy-go-lucky, and he is still obsessed with horses and golf. He loves to play golf and will follow James around with a club and ball trying to make James golf with him. He likes to color, talk on the phone to Daddy and Momo (he makes me call Momo almost once a day so that he can talk to her), he likes to play on the computer and the iPhone. One of my favorite things that Ryan does is come up behind me and hug me (of course during said hug, he always stands on the waistband of my pants and digs his little toenails into my backside, regardless, it's a pretty fantastic feeling to get an unsolicited hug from your boy).
James has some big shoes to fill - Grandpa's. He is such an observer. He is addicted to horse racing. He knows how to find the ap on my phone for racing, and he can do everything himself except for the betting. I'm pretty sure in the next week or so, he's going to be putting $10 on the 8 horse. As he watches his race (which he demands over and over and over again), he yells "go, go, go!" Occasionally, he will yell giddy-up, but it is very much like a strange tongue motion that sounds like pulup. When he doesn't get his way, he screams, throws himself to the ground and wallows. He likes to draw, golf, and run around naked. He rides his horse like a real jockey. He stands up on the saddle, pretends to use the whip to make his horse go, and yells "yaw."
Michael loves Daddy's shoes.
Bathtub boys. The bathtub with or without water is one of the kids favorite places to play. They are also very beauty conscious, and must use my makeup brushes occasionally to make sure they look their best. On a side note, maybe they have learned this from Aunt Faith who spends countless hours putting on mascara and lip gloss followed by countless more hours brushing her "beautiful hair."
Negotiations.
A peaceful resolution.
Another side effect of reaching two is nudity. Constant nudity. Ryan is my best stripper, Michael likes to lose the pants but keep the shirt, and James is just now coming into his own naked-wise. Every nap time or morning, Ryan does a strip tease for his brothers complete with tossing his clothes at them. Most of the time, his pants are in Michael's bed and often times the rest of his clothes (including his diaper) are laying in front of James' bed. The other day, I came in and all three of them were in various states of undress. We have taken to taping their diapers on them with packing tape. They can occasionally wiggle out of that as well. Luckily the poop incidents have been minimal.
Today, Daddy came home after being gone for 17 days. The boys were ecstatic. We sang him happy birthday, and the boys did a number on his cake complete with 41 candles to lick. I'm not sure who was happier to see Daddy, but I'm pretty sure it was me. The kids were so excited to see him that even two hours later, they were hopped up on Daddy energy and putting them to bed required negotiations more lengthy and contentious than the recent debt ceiling debates.

Triple the Parties for Triplets

2011-07-18T22:58:00.001-05:00

This year, the boys had three birthday cakes. One on their actual birthday, one when Daddy came home, and a Yo Gabba Gabba party with their (our) friends. We started their birthday with a phone call & video chat with Daddy then a trip to the doctor.
The boys did so well at the doctor. I am a full devotee of the iphone/ipod entertainment for triplets in public. It doesn't always work, but it definitely does help keep things under control. Everybody managed to get on the scale this time without any major meltdowns, and they all are doing great. From the doctor's office, we swung by Target to pick up some diapers then headed home for lunch and cake with the family. Instead of getting three separate cakes, I got one cake and three cookies. We put the candles in the cookies and sang Happy Birthday.
Michael admires his two candles. By the time all the birthday festivities were over, he was running around shouting "cake, cake, cake!" and singing "happy to you."
Ryan, due to his paranoia over hot things, has perfected his blowing technique. Here he demonstrates his skills on his candles (of course, his candles are pushed back so as to prevent him from touching the "hot" on top of the candles).
James, ever the observer, put into practice all of his birthday skills gleaned from watching Yo Gabba Gabba's birthday episodes. He was the first to finish his cookie. Michael didn't even touch his, and James had completely consumed his cookie in about two seconds flat.
After nap time, the whole family (minus Bob) headed out to Lone Star Park. The boys love the horses and the band, so it was like a dream come true for them to be able to run around the park, listen to music, and see those beautiful "heeeeses" run.
Aunt Mellie and Pam met us at the track. Mommy loves it when they come to play with us. I just sit back and relax while the two of them put in a ton of effort to round up our three little monkeyshines and show them a good time.
...and they're off! Ryan decided that the horses get into a choochoo before the race, so this combines his two favorite things, horses and trains.
Michael studies the racing forms with Grandpa and Aunt Sue.
Grandma & Aunt Faith take the boys for a spin around the dance floor. We definitely have rock and roll babies as they really didn't enjoy dancing to the country songs, but throw out a little life in the fast lane, and they danced like dervishes.
Grandma & Ryan watch for the return of the horses. While the tractors drug the track, one of the operators waved at Ryan. He was pretty ecstatic about the whole exchange.
On Sunday morning, Daddy flew home from Tennessee, so we celebrated with a Cars cake. By this point, the boys were really getting into the whole candles, cakes, singing routine.
Michael likes chocolate cake. Not so much with the vanilla, but the chocolate is number one.
Ryan will eat any "cakey" available.
The boys used their cars to remove the icing from the cake and place it into their "mouths." James was very fond of this method of icing delivery.
Ryan must have missed his mouth a couple of times. Black and blue icing are quite atrocious when it comes down to it.
Michael steals James's pacifier for a little birthday fun.
James continues the car to mouth experience. Let me just say that Mommy was not so pleased with the results of this delivery system.
We opened a few presents. Here Ryan admires the Plex keyboard.
James enjoyed unwrapping the presents. Who cares what's inside the package, let's just take it out of the bag.
Michael spends some quality time with the trains Momo sent the boys.
On Saturday, we had a big party for the kids with our friends. It was so much fun to see everyone and celebrate our three miracles. We had a Yo Gabba Gabba party, so I decorated the house with tons of cut outs from the Nick Jr. website. It was much cheaper to buy a little cardstock and some walmart plates. It is virtually impossible to find YGG stuff in the stores, and I was unable to bring myself to pay $3.50 plus shipping for 8 plates. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of money they wanted for things like placemats and centerpieces.
The boys admire their cake. We gave each young man a set of candles to blow out. They did such a good job. All those practice runs really paid off.
Preparation for blowing during the singing.
Thanks to Pastor John for this shot. I sometimes get so focused on pictures of the kids that I forget to include all of the people involved in making things run smoothly.
After the festivities, we left our bounce house behind and headed to the Haslet parade. The boys enjoyed seeing the floats and by the end of the parade, they had figured out that they should pick up the candy being flung their way.
The city of Haslet had jump houses with slides that made our jump house seem somewhat dull. Faith & her friend Emmie escorted the boys through the maze of big kids and down the slide.

We ended the day with fireworks (big sparkles in the sky that make loud noises). Michael fell asleep during the fireworks, James needed his ears constantly covered, and Ryan oohed and ahhed for us. The boys had a great birthday, although there was a major loss of a pacifier - we are down to only one now. Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us. I'm not sure how we're going to top it next year.

TWO!

2011-06-24T23:03:00.013-05:00

Two years ago, Bob and I spent June 24 waiting. Around 3:30 p.m., we headed into the OR and by 4:03, we had three sons. Baby A,B, & C became James, Michael, and Ryan and the real part of our adventure as parents began.
One of my favorite things about having triplets is that I am done being pregnant, our family is complete, and I have three amazing boys who make my life and Bob's life worth living. With all of the uncertainty of the past two years, our one constant is our children. Their happiness is infectious. They turn a bad, stressful day into a day of joy. Bob and I are just so blessed to have these wonderful young men in our lives.
It seems like only yesterday, we were holding a 3 lb 12 oz James, a 5 lb 5 oz Ryan, and our "big" boy, a 5 lb 10 oz Michael. They needed us for everything, and now, they need me to pass out milk, resolve disputes, to give hugs when they get wounded, and to turn on Yo Gabba Gabba. My mom told me that every age is her favorite age, and I have to agree. I loved the experience of having sweet, cuddly babies, I loved the crazy six month olds who put those jumparoos to good use, I loved the wobbly days of them learning how to walk, and I love watching them play together, hold hands, give hugs (which don't always turn into wrestling/biting matches), and say each others' names.
James has caught up with his brothers. He's three feet tall, thirty pounds, and all laughter both with and without a pacifier. He loves bugs, cars, Wheel of Fortune, and vegetables. He says all kinds of things (most of them in his Chewbaca/Fozzy Bear language), but his latest word is "ourse." (horse). He points to things, and he will decide where he wants something (even his parents) to go, point, and say "there." He has a snaggle tooth grin due to a bathtub fall that chipped his front tooth, but that sweet smile melts my heart. He likes to cross his legs with his right ankle on his left knee then rub the string of his pacifier on his nose. He is fearless. He will jump into the deep end of the swimming pool over and over again without even pausing to catch his breath.
James loves puzzles. He can put the pieces of the wooden shape sorter clock in faster than anyone. He will fight for what is his and has a long memory and a sense of justice that demands payback. He loves to write and will spend hours in the office with his Daddy writing in his notebook. James is an excellent drummer and can keep a beat better than I can (although, that's not saying much). He examines everything and notices little details. He is an expert at spotting stray hairs that are hanging around the house. He loves cars and is currently snug in bed with about twenty cars keeping him company.
Now that they are older, all of the boys are so loving toward each other (this does not exclude brief episodes of discord). They hold hands and hug. One of my favorite things to watch is when they all hold hands and run through the house laughing with wild abandon. They are all very eager to help both each other and Bob and I. James will bring Michael his blanket, Ryan will share his toys without being upset, and Michael will tease his brothers with a twinkle in his eye that belongs to his father.
Michael is a big boy! He is 37 inches tall - in the 95-97 percentile for height - and he weighs 31 pounds. He is a big talker. He puts together sentences like "Michael likes hugs" and "Fish swim in the water." He loves repetition. He will show you two toys and repeat what they are over and over. He likes for you to identify new things and incorporates them into his world. He counts to ten (sometimes he skips two, sometimes five, but six, seven, eight, nine, ten are always done perfectly). He repeats colors and can identify red, blue, green, and "pourple." He says whatever he wants to say, asks lots of questions, doesn't really like sweets, and gives great hugs and kisses. He is the king of floaties and wants to spend all of his time in the pool kicking and swimming around.
Michael is our first child to try and step into the independence of being two. He wants to walk on his own, he tries to put his clothes on (we're still working on this one), he loves to take off his shoes, he will go throw things in the trash for you, and he likes to line up his toys. Lately, he's been going through a little rough patch with sharing. He sometimes needs to take a break on Mommy's bed until he's ready to play nice, but he is responding well to correction (of course you can also see on his little face those times he makes up his mind to do something contrary to what you want). He loves his blanket and can eat for hours at a time. He was the first to say his own name, and he always uses his brothers names.
The boys play together so well. For a while, I was worried that Michael's different interests would exclude him from the world of his brothers, but they all play together and individually indiscriminately. They all love music and dancing. They also like to be together. When the boys wake up from a nap if the third member of their trio would like a few extra z's, it's very difficult. The two awake children will play for five or ten minutes, but it doesn't take long for one or both of them to go recruit the third brother for playtime. If they are separated for a while, they greet each other with hugs and cries of joy.
Ryan, my baby, has such a tender heart. He gets his feelings hurt easily, but he can be soothed easily with a quick hug from Mommy or Daddy. He is so giving. He will share with very little protests (i.e. he doesn't have a major meltdown fit every time a toy gets stolen), he will notice James' pacifier or Michael's blanket on the floor and bring it to the owner. He loves horses and trains. He is constantly making me show him pictures of both. He likes his baseball, and he will watch sports of all kinds. He has an unnatural love of yogurt and popsicles (I'm pretty sure he would only eat these two items if allowed). He has a sharp eye for all things "cakey" (a dessert item).
Ryan likes to pick out a toy to take with him to bed. He plays air guitar better than most 15 year olds. He never stops moving, but he likes to make quick pitstops for love. He loves his Daddy, and he has started asking where he is. He's very impressed that Daddy went byebye on an airplane but will be ecstatic when he comes home. He is the same size as James, three feet tall and thirty pounds. He has soft hair that often becomes the receptacle of a wide variety of food items. When he gets frustrated or is finished with something, he will smash it to bits (goldfish and crackers are particular victims of his aggression). He likes to eat things out of the wrapper like granola bars, and he loves bananas but likes to peel the skin back as he goes.
The boys love the outdoors. I've always been an inside kinda gal, but the boys will play outside for hours if you let them. They will climb any park play structure, jump into any pool, and identify any animal they see. They are very polite using please, thank you, and you're welcome consistently. They are wonderful helpers. All are experts with a broom. They will bring the trash to the outside trash can with each of them doing special jobs. They like to throw things away (especially diapers which disappear rather than just rest in a trash can). They like to help Mommy in the bathroom, handing me toilet paper of varying sizes from microscopic to half a roll, and flushing is definitely their gig. They are starting to show some interest in the potty, but they prefer to make the frog potty hop while sitting naked astride it rather than make tinkle music. They are starting to notice when they are going to the bathroom and will tell you that it's happening (they haven't quite figured out how to hold it, though). They like to watch Yo Gabba Gabba, Cat in the Hat (they "go go on an adventure" all the time), Sid the Science Kid, Curious George, and Super Why (they really like Super Why and will try to say the alphabet along with the characters). Every single day, in a thousand different ways, these three boys amaze me. I can't wait to see the men they grow up to become, but I don't want that journey to go too fast. I like my hugs and kisses, and the flashes of Bob and myself that appear in their walks, tone of voice, looks, and actions lets me know that James, Michael, and Ryan are a mix of the best of both of us.

The Animals at the Zoo

2011-06-14T20:10:00.000-05:00

When Cousin Alie came for a visit, we all went to the Fort Worth Zoo. We had a wonderful time despite the fact that poor Loribeth was a little under the weather and spent a great deal of the morning in the car. It was hot, but there were lots of animals out and about eating since we got there early.
The whole gang paused for a picture in front of the elephant. This time, we travelled with the double stroller, and it seemed to work well.
Joseph poses for a photo op while Ryan can't be bothered to quit looking at the animals.

Grandma admires the animals with Michael and James.

Amy & Alie talk to the rhino.

Ryan loved looking at all the animals and kept asking "what is it?" Grandma & Grandpa Newhouse got the boys some little people zoo animals for Easter, so most of the animals we saw were in our play set.

Ryan and James take up their posts in the stroller as we move on from the rhino to the elephants. The elephants weren't quite as cooperative and were much harder to see.

Uncle Joseph has ALWAYS adored tigers, and he has been teaching the boys to roar like a tiger and to appreciate all things tiger. He was very pleased that the white tiger was pacing in front of the window, and all of the kids were quite taken with him.

Another animal that goes ROAR! The lion is lazing on top of the rocks in the middle of the people.

Last time Bob and I took the boys to the zoo together (about a year ago), we went into the bird house and it was pretty much mass chaos. We went in this time and it was really neat. I considered buying food sticks for the boys to lure the birds in with, but decided that the safety of the parakeets was much more important than the photo op of bird feeding.

Alie takes up her post in the double stroller. Michael shows off his balancing skills to impress her.

Alie loved the penguins. She admired them for quite a while.

Michael also loves penguins. He really enjoyed watching the ones swim indoors.

Cousins! James and Alie decided to swap seats. Ryan really wanted to push, and Michael wanted nothing to do with any strollers.

I find it excessively entertaining to see how nicely James sat in Alie's stroller. His best pusher is still in position.

Trying to put all the kids on the horse and buggy before we realized that no one carries change anymore.

James is willing to let Ryan take the pony out for a trot while he rides shotgun. I'm pretty sure by now Michael was at the top of the exhibit hanging out on a bale of hay.

We walked so far in the heat, that all of us were more than happy to shell out the two bucks to ride the choo choo. This made my boys very happy as they love all things train - especially Ryan.

Michael rode in the front of the car with Aunt Karen and I while the rest of the gang rode behind us. It's not so easy to take pictures with everyone in such close proximity.

Ryan and Uncle Joseph make the choo choo sound. Not only was the train a break for our tired tootsies, we also passed out some snacks before we hit the parking lot for our PB&J lunch.

The Fourth Musketeer

2011-06-08T19:41:00.004-05:00

Lately, life has been somewhat stable (at least for the kids). While Bob and I prepare for a move to Florida pending our house selling/renting, the boys have kept to their routine although we've added a few new faces.
Now that he's a new college grad, Uncle Joseph is home for the summer, and he's a frequent visitor at both the big house and the boys' house.
We have gone out and about a few times, and these little men LOVE a movie. A big player in our car lately is Cinderella. Michael really enjoys the mice.
We have many talents, and as we are talking more and more, there are certain words that make a frequent appearance. Ryan loves hats and identifies them (you have to pay very close attention because hat and hot sound extremely similar). Ryan also loves cars, trucks, and heeeus (horses). Michael can say just about anything he wants to say. Today, he was playing in the water, pointed out an airplane, wore a hat, had his blanket, and said his own name. The boys have been saying each others' names for a while, but Michael is the first to say his own name - My-cull! James talks as well, but he talks through his "pah-fire." He says lots of phrases "where is it?," "there it is?," "ma pah-fire," thank you, and peeese. All of the boys are very polite and say please and thank you. Occasionally, you tell them to say thank you and they'll say you're welcome.
Grandma and Papa Joe got the kids a sand and water table for Easter. The boys love the sand. They put it everywhere. They have sand in their cars, sand in their hair, and Michael has sand in his intestinal track.
Michael and his brothers like to turn on the water and wash their hands. They tend to wash the wall as well, but anything for good hygiene.
Recently, we've had a special visitor and her mom and grandma. Alie, our best girl cousin, came for a visit. The kids played so well together. Alie fit right in and no one clobbered her or bit her or even noticed she wasn't one of the trio.
Ryan shared his heeeus with Alie. She's a natural rider.
James showed her how to play the drums.Michael shared his chapeau with her, and she wore it well.
I think James and Alie definitely look like cousins. They've got those Cain genes working for them (although, I think my boys got the tall gene where Alie might have gotten less of that particular DNA code).
Alie and her best almost 2 year old cousins.
After dinner at Flips, we stopped in the back of the suburban for some diaper changing and monkeying around.
It's fun being cousins!

Pomp and Circumstances

2011-05-29T21:57:00.003-05:00

May 14, 2011 is a day that I've dreaded for four years. When Joseph and Stephen graduated from high school in 2007, Bob and I both knew there was a chance that they would graduate at the same time and there would be no way we could attend both graduations. In 2008, Zach started law school - a three year program - and I knew the results could be tragic. They were. I would have loved for all of us to attend all three graduations, but it's just physically impossible to be in Waco, Houston, and Norman, OK at the same time. (This leads in to my new graduation worry - what if my kids go to three different colleges and all graduate on the same day - it's just too much to think about - they are all going to have to go to the same school so that I don't have to choose between my children).
In January, we found out that all three would be graduating on May 14. Bob, of course, would attend Stephen's graduation, my parents would go to Joseph's graduation, and as the genetically closest person to Zach in the universe, I got to go to Zach's graduation. We had hoped that each graduate would have a designated triplet, but due to Joseph's two day graduation extravaganza, Mom and Joe decided to opt out, and so Bob and his family took Ryan and James to Stephen's graduation. Michael and I headed south for the middle child's graduation.
Ryan tries to get Uncle Stephen, recent graduate, to help him fly while James looks somewhat curious about the potential outcome.
James sports Aunt Mellie's beads. I hear that he did a great job at the graduation. I'm sure that he was very content to color for a significant period of time.
Ryan doing what he does best - having a good time. Everybody needs to take a minute to stop and roll around in the grass.
The Newhouse boys with the grad. Note Uncle Stephen's sporty green tie that coordinates with his stole.
A proud big brother! We are so blessed to have Stephen in our lives. I'm pretty sure that Bob couldn't have been more impressed with how wonderfully Stephen has turned out. In the fall, he'll be returning to Baylor to get a masters in Sports Management. The scholarship he received puts him in charge of taking care of the Baylor baseball team. I wonder if he'll end up a coach or managing the daily operations of some major league team. Either way, I know that he's going to be very successful.
The happy graduate! I'm pretty sure Melanie's smile was bigger, and I know she's ecstatic that he's going to not only be the first college graduate but also the first advanced degree in the family.
Michael and I headed down to Houston to hang out with Uncle Zach and Aunt Mandy on Friday afternoon. Zach was actually in Haslet for an interview! We are all hopeful that he'll get the job lawyering and move back to the area. As with all good things, we have to wait to hear if he's got the job.
Michael and I had a great time just the two of us. I hope in the future to get to spend some quality one on one time with each of the boys. Michael was very happy to be at Uncle Zach's (in fact, today, we were looking at wedding pictures and he identified the back of Uncle Zach's head). The graduation was good, I guess. We spent most of the time there were speeches out in the lobby, but we made it back to the seats for the big event.
Uncle Zach's erudite pose.
The juris doctorate and his trophy wife.
The proudest sibling EVER and her genetically closest relative with her favorite middle child.
Sportin' Uncle Zach's funny hat.
On the way home on Sunday, Michael and I took the opportunity to visit Sam Sam Houston Houston. He was a little freaked out by the big face, but before we left, I got him to pat Sam's nose.
Someone did not want to have his picture taken in front of some strange giant statue.
Mom & Michael in front of Sam. Note that Michael is holding the cork from our celebratory morning mimosas. He held that cork from Houston until we got lunch in Waxahachie. No trip with Mom would be complete without an ice cream, so we stopped and got a treat before we got home.Unfortunately, there were no Newhouses at Joseph's graduation. The only consolation I have is that he'll graduate again, and I can go to that graduation. Mom, Joe, and Faith said that it was quite a shindig. Apparently on Friday night they had a lights and graduates show complete with fireworks and a famous speaker.
The next day at the actual commencement, Joseph really paid attention to the speeches (or at least pretended to). Apparently, OU's graduation for the school of liberal arts was pretty crazy as they graduated in pairs. I wish I could have seen it, but there's always next time.
Proud papa and sister post-graduation.
The ladies love Joey!
Joseph, college graduate! I am so exceedingly proud of him. In the fall, Baylor will get another uncle. Joseph will be doing a five year doctoral program in English. With both Joseph and Stephen in town, I'm sure there will be at least one or two visits to Waco.
When Zach graduated from college, I got him a sword. Seemed like an appropriate gift for Joseph as well - here he assumes a beat-down stance and challenges Bob to a duel (of course Bob was in Florida, but that's neither here nor there). I am so glad that the graduations are over, and we are so proud of our Uncles!

Reunited and It Feels So Good

2011-05-28T20:31:00.004-05:00

Recently, the family attended the 2nd NICU reunion. It was held at Nash Farm, and the boys had a wonderful time. They did it up big with a bounce house, pony rides, lots of food, and Ryan's favorite - choochootrains.
Here are our three hanging in a tree. They had such a good time running around and exploring everything. It took Michael a bit to warm up to the bounce house and the pony, but I'm pretty sure all three had a great time.
Bob, the kids, and I took along our posse to help us corral the kids. Mom, Faith, Jim, and Kathy made sure that it was all hands on deck. We got fingerprints from the Grapevine police, and Ryan was definitely the best at getting printed. Hopefully, he'll only need to be printed again for something fantastic like being admitted to the bar or for security clearance for the CIA.
The bounce, or lay around and let others bounce you, house was tons of fun. The boys really liked jumping. At first, only Ryan and James would go in, but on our second time around Michael actually climbed up on his own. I had to grab him out quickly to pull off his shoes. I guess he just needs time to warm up to the idea of something new.
James is a first rate jumper. He likes to land on his butt and bounce. He also likes to jump jump on the bed as well. All three of the kids have just learned how to jump. For the longest time, they would say jump, lift their arms and kind of bounce on their toes, but now they can actually leave the ground - especially in their beds. Those crib rails make fantastic holds for crazy jumping. You can hear the springs on the bed squeak as they go higher and higher. I'm pretty sure one of them is going to vault out and do a flip in the air cementing his prowess as a fist class gymnast.
The horse was definitely a hit with Ryan. He loves to ride his horse at home, and he was fascinated by the actual horse.
James enjoyed his time on the horse. He did such a great job holding on. I can't believe how grown up they are getting. It wasn't that long ago that I had to hold on to them for dear life when they rode the carousel, and now they can ride a pony without assistance.
There was a ton of food, and we fed the boys well. I was so excited about the cupcake, but one of the kids dropped mine icing side down on the floor, so I was denied the tasty goodness. James loves the icing on cupcakes. I'm pretty sure he doesn't care one bit about the cake, but the icing he's all over. Michael did enjoy eating and drinking juice, and after we had a little snack, his attitude started to change.
Michael makes an appearance in the bounce house while Daddy watches all the tricks the boys can do - like standing up and sitting down.
James goes rogue and checks out the cow behind the fence. I tried to get a picture but neither James nor the cow was willing to pose.
Daddy takes a turn escorting the pony. James cried and tried to return to the pony when we made him get off. Thankfully there were tractors to ride for a distraction.
Michael did NOT want to go on the horse. The guide told me that we should just try walking around and he would settle down. It worked, but when the ride was over, Michael didn't waste much time dismounting.
Tractor time! The tractors served as a great entertainment while we waited for our turn on the choo choo. James will drive anything with a wheel just like Ryan will play anything that he can pretend is a guitar, and Michael will count whenever possible - he can make it all the way to 4 by himself.
Ryan is always poised for action. Even when sitting on a tractor, he's always about to take off for some new adventure. He absolutely loves riding in the car identifying all the trucks and cars which he says byebye to as they pass us or we pass them.
A tip of the hat from farmer Michael. The boys got these hats from Baylor, and they love them. Michael likes to make our horse at home wear the hats when he's done wearing his.
Aunt Faith takes the boys for a ride on the train (James is between Ryan and Faith - you can see his legs if not his head). After this first ride, we went several times as the crowd thinned out and lots of room became available.
Last year, Faith took the kids on this same train, but she had to take them one by one and hold them. This year, all four of them rode together and the boys loved every second of it. We probably wont be in town for next year's reunion, so it was wonderful fun to see everyone. I saw my neighbor from antepartum that ended up back in the hospital with a blood clot in her leg after her beautiful little girl was born. We were so happy to see each other and to see how wonderfully well all of our kids are doing. Looking around, you would never guess that those kids started life off a little small and in need of lots of care. It just makes me realize how wonderful it is to live in a time where kids born months early not only survive but thrive. How blessed we are!

G'Night Campers!

2011-05-07T00:56:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Bob and I decided to take the boys to the camp. We invited Jim and Kathy along to enjoy its rustic flair and to help us corral the kids. They worked extremely hard, and Bob and I appreciate their efforts on our behalf. The last time we went to the camp, it was 4th of July, and we sold our house. Sadly, it was not our good luck charm a second time, and we are still trying to find someone to live in our beautiful dream home so that we can move to Florida and commune with alligators. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Grandma, her new sporty ride, and a fallen mimosa tree. The boys had a great time, and we stayed outside in the tent so that we could have a little family adventure with the kids. The first morning, Michael discovered we were in the same location and spent about an hour climbing on top of us at 4:30 as I tried to sleep. James crawled in the bed and snuggled with Daddy, and Ryan roamed around the tent for three or four minutes before he realized that Bob and I were in there with him. The kids had a wonderful time, and so did the rest of us. Grandma was, as always, a gracious hostess, and for the first time, I brought the food and planned the meals. I think it went pretty well. On Saturday, the kids spent the whole day exploring.
Except for the part of the day when it rained, and they sat on Momo's bed and watched YoYoYo. Enraptured, there's no other word for it.
Michael and Daddy discuss how to go up and down the stairs carefully. By the time we left, they were pros.
Ryan makes the climb. That candle on the shelf suffered quite a few mishaps as Ry tried to remove the "balls" from the garland around it. My Momo Chapman would have loved to see that.
Ryan sports the party hat.
Tiny Tom Sawyer.
James gives Daddy a push in the right direction - it's time to explore!
The boys hanging out on the dock. If my Popo could see this dry dock, it would make him sick. While we were at the camp, Bob and Jim tried to put the shed back to Popo acceptable conditions. He had shelves and fishing rods labeled and little notes everywhere. It's good to know that OCD runs in the family, and that I'm not the only one who loves a labelmaker. We found Popo's good rod and reel marked with a paper plate that said "Do not use. JFC." Makes me tear up just thinking about it.
Into the woods.
Ryan takes time to roll around on the ground while sporting the new beads Momo brought him.
Momo and Michael exploring the woods.

Grandpa gives James a ride in the canoe.
Michael on walkabout with his best friend and his Momo.
Ryan tends Momo's weed (ahem, herb) garden.
Ryan and Daddy test out the 4-wheeler.
Three little riders before the trauma (Michael must sense that something is about to happen as he has a definite pout on his face).
Ryan takes the reigns from Daddy while his brothers close in on his prime position.
Michael knows that all true great men keep their blankets with them when mastering fine machinery.
James throws up an arm and rides that bull, I mean that 4-wheeler, like a champ.

This is a very triplet video. At first glance, it's just one kid doing a Tyson on another, but you must watch closely to fully understand the true brilliance of these 18 seconds. A little background, Ryan had the 4-wheeler to himself, but his brothers wanted to ride too. Michael got the front seat, James got the back, and that left Ryan in the middle. The quickest way to get rid of Michael was to bite him, but by being the Mike Tyson of the group, Ryan also was removed from the vehicle. The man to watch in this is James. When Ryan bites Michael, James claps. He knows that they are going to have to get off the 4-wheeler, and he will be left to ride it like none other. Nicely played, James, nicely played.
James and Grandma play solitaire. Well, it started off as solitaire but became James plays with cards.
Riding the 4-wheeler with Daddy. James and Ryan really loved it, but Michael took one trip around the circle then called it quits. Michael sure does hate noisy things, and the 4-wheeler is pretty noisy.

One thing about being the camera woman, you sometimes forget that your inane conversations are also recorded while you chronicle those precious life moments.
James attempts a nap time jailbreak. Thankfully, he is too short to reach the zippers on our "two-person" tent. (Bob and I recently set up the tent to see if it would fit in Zach's house to contain the kids. He told me it was a two person tent, but I'm pretty sure this tent is much larger than Zach's entire living room. We fit a queen air mattress, a kids tent (5'x6'), and still had room to walk around. I've never owned a tent that you can stand up in, so this is definitely luxurious camping).
Momo and Michael relax on the porch. Michael enjoys a slice of watermelon. Good times.
James takes a trip (or should I say a scooch) down the stairs. I'm sure that he has the dock in his sights. One of the few benefits of the water being abysmally low is not having to worry about the kids falling off the dock and drowning.
Ryan and Michael need a little ice to cool off from all their running around.
The boys help Daddy put new ice in the ice chest - a very important skill passed down from fathers to sons the world over.
Momo & Ryan go on walkabout once again. Note our tent palace placed strategically next to the fallen mimosa tree and only slightly on the downhill slant. One of the reasons we went to the camp was to meet with the guy who used to work with Bob and had our new territory. We went to dinner at the Fin and Feather with him and his girlfriend. We had a very nice time, but while we were gone, the boys ate, took a bath, and then the Grands put them to bed. Almost immediately, the wind started to blow so hard the tent was folding in half, and the Grands moved the kids inside with their little tent. The kids refused to go in their tent, and we ended up breaking the zipper trying to shove them inside. This meant Bob and I moved everyone back into the big tent in hopes that the kids would settle down and go to sleep. It eventually worked, but around 1:30 a.m. Ryan woke up and was extremely restless. He and I went inside to get some milk. He then proceeded to throw up on me - hitting my mouth, my hair, filling my bra with chunks of "yuck," and making it all the way down my shirt to my PJ pants. Needless to say, he and I spent the night in the recliner. Thankfully, the next morning he seemed fine and had a nice day. Tragically, I only packed one vomit covered bra and had to go all 1972 feminist all day (something I don't mind doing in the privacy of my own home, but definitely makes me feel self-conscious about swinging low in public). We had a wonderful time and managed to avoid tragedy when Momo found James' blanket and we met on the road and retrieved it. We also stopped by and saw Uncle JP and Aunt Sue on our way home, so overall, it was a great trip even if it included a $40 barely consumable meal at the DQ.

On the Hunt for Rabbits and Eggs

2011-05-06T08:48:00.001-05:00

Easter, as always, was a wonderful holiday. This year, the boys were actually walking when it came time for the egg hunt at church. Sadly, this ability to navigate upon their own two feet did not translate into stellar egg finders.
The family awaits the festivities and has a bite to eat while the Easter Bunny does his thing. Jonathan did a great job on the kids' Easter message, and our children didn't do too much damage to the church, although James had a powerful desire to bang upon the piano, Michael kept aiming for the microphone (I always knew that my little Beastie Boy's name is Mike C and he gets respect, your cash and your jewelry is what he expects), and Ryan just ran about with wild abandon.
Aforementioned wild abandon being practiced in the prayer garden. Thankfully, Ry wasn't the only kid running rampant in the sacred garden, and unlike James, Ryan didn't pick any of the flowers. After the Easter message, the boys headed to the pre-school line with the rest of the kids to "collect" their eggs.
This is what Michael did instead of finding eggs. We did manage to coax him to bring the egg that was on the play set to Grandma between his attempts to drive and slide. I guess he wins the day with one egg placed firmly in the carton.
Ryan found many eggs, which he the proceeded to dunk and leave behind. Notice that the candy has been tossed aside while Ry contemplates how to put the recently dunked egg back together so that it could be dunked again.
James only had eyes for the trikes. He ran straight for the tricycles and proceeded to push himself around (sans peddles) for the majority of the hunt. The total egg count collected by the Newhouse boys and Grandma Newhouse was six. After such a dismal failure at egg collection, I decided that when we got home we needed a practice session so that those 60 eggs I put candy in would not go to waste. By the end of our practice, they got the idea, but they really liked opening the eggs more than finding them.
A post hunt break with Daddy. I love that James has his ears covered, Michael is eating "ships," and Ryan is trying to watch whatever is on Daddy's iPhone. I'm a huge sucker for any picture that has all of my boys together in it. I have a feeling that this is going to be a recurrent theme in my life.
After the boys went to bed, all tuckered out from their "egg hunt practice session," the Easter Bunny made a drop off, and Bob and I admired it. (Please note that the Easter Bunny, aware of how much James loves his Brobee that Aunt Mellie got him for Christmas, found a Muno and Plex for Michael and Ryan, but not wanting James to be left out, snuck in and brought Brobee downstairs for James - who I am sure when he woke up wanted to know where his Brobee had run off to).
Success! James spies his Brobee and a whole lot of Easter goodies.
Ryan joins his brother in admiring the loot. His very own Muno (which has ended up in Michael's bed and Plex has ended up in Ryan's bed, so I guess the Bunny got that one wrong).
My three little monkeys on the move and about to dive into their baskets. Please note that Ryan was only partially undressed as I forgot to strategically place a safety pin at the top of his jammies. At least he was not doing a full monty as he is on some mornings.
The Easter Bunny brought a microphone very similar to but much cheaper than Sid the Science Kid's. Much karaoke, toddler style, has been sung in our home as a result of this mic.
Michael tries to work the clock puzzle but is foiled by the plastic. I do regret removing said plastic as I spend many minutes of my life gathering these pieces and placing them back in the clock only to have them flung to the four corners of the living room for subsequent re-gathering.
Jam Master Jay takes the mic to rock us all night.
Plex! Muno! Michael LOVES identifying two items over and over again. We must have identified Plex & Muno one million times before we left for church.
Ryan discards a book the Bunny brought while looking for more loot. Ryan found the small Dove chocolate bunny I got them (we got a big Easter cross instead of a bunny) and proceeded to consume the entire bunny in one sitting before even making it to breakfast - that's my kid, eat the candy first!
James opens a card from Grandma & Grandpa amongst his Easter loot.
Frog shades are the latest in toddler fashion, especially since the bunny found them at Michael's for a buck.
Man can not live by chocolate bunny alone, he must also have graham crackers.
Our mobster cowboy sporting his Easter finery.
Yes, yes, they are too cute. Note the nod to last year's baseball themed Easter outfits - they are wearing the same socks, the only dark ones they own, 'cause you can't go to church sporting Michael Jackson socks.
The traditional Easter family picture - attempt one. Failure. Unable to get all faces on camera.
Grandma & Grandpa did a little better, but James seems to be attempting to make a break for it.
We stole this idea from the Donahos, but I think it was definitely work replicating. I must admit, when I look at my kids, I am thankful to God for them. We were so blessed to have three healthy boys, and I cherish every single moment with them (even the ones that make me want to break stuff). I concur, Hallelujah.
Family picture attempt take two. Better, but not fantastic. At least it's a better picture than our Santa picture from this year. After church, we went home, had lunch, and then rested up for the family festivities that kicked off around four. Uncle JP & Aunt Sue came from Tyler, Uncle Stephen was home from Baylor, Amy put in an appearance, and we had both sets of grandparents and the one and only Easter Egg Hunter Extraordinaire Aunt Faith join us for a big family dinner. I loved every minute of it. Before the dinner, the boys put their hunting skills to the test.

James was by far the best egg hunter of the group. Michael loved finding the eggs and dumping them, and luckily we got him to dump them in the basket. Ryan found the eggs, dumped them on the ground, ate a piece of candy, and moved on. Ryan especially liked the eggs that looked like balls (he is already sports obsessed and will watch baseball at every opportunity, I'm pretty sure the madness is just beginning).

Making My Dad Proud

2011-04-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

I grew up the child of two extremely different people. While my mom took us to church and taught us to enjoy musicals, my dad showed us movies we were not mature enough to see and put a rock and roll soundtrack to our lives. I'm pretty sure that my dad loved ZZ Top for the beards as much as the music. He referred to himself as the bearded wonder, but he also loved to dress up and strut his stuff. I think that I knew the words to Sharp Dressed Man before I knew what a sharped dressed man was. I'm pretty sure that my dad would be proud of the "fruit of his loins'"children, and I make a promise to my boys to NEVER refer to them as the fruit of my loins - especially in front of their friends. So here are my three sharp dressed men showing off their Easter duds & what lies beneath.

Michael knows that every top hat needs a necklace or two to balance things out.

James protests his mother's desire to chronicle this sharp dressed moment.

Ryan knows that the truly mysterious never show their eyes, much to the chagrin of his mother.

Fancy cowboy astride his horse.

Two tiny mobsters hanging out at the ice cream shop.

Michael LOVES this hat. He wears it all the time now, and he likes for his brothers to wear their hats, too.

James gives us his best Frank Sinatra impersonation.

Ryan knows how to rock the beads even while taking a break in his chair.

Post picture time, Michael relaxes in the train table. He looks so long here. Everywhere we go, people ask me how old they are and are always surprised that my little men are not even two yet.

James is excited to slide in the nude. I bet that diaper has good sliding potential - not much traction.

Ryan attempts a trick. Thankfully, he decided to turn around prior to going down the slide. He definitely has no fear of cracking his head open unlike his mother.

Godzilla (I mean James) takes a tour of train town.

How many kids will one train table hold?

Michael takes a reading break. The kids still love to read, but now they like to read to themselves more than they like me to read to them. Usually I get a couple of pages in before they take over.

Ryan takes a spin in the train table just so he can keep up with his brothers. I don't think Ryan found the train table a very comfortable seat.

Choo Choo Slam

2011-04-26T21:14:00.004-05:00

Ryan has always loved his train (thanks Wharton family!), but lately, he's been a crazier driver than the students in the Sam Houston parking lot. Ryan and James spent the other morning pushing each other around on the train. They slam into walls, the table, humans, dogs, and anything else that gets in their way. Michael also enjoys riding on the toys, but he doesn't seem to go balls to the walls like his brothers.

My three sweet babies about to wreak havoc on my walls and cabinets.

Tragically, this video does not fully demonstrate the wild abandon with which my children ride their train.

James checks out Michael's propeller. It lights up and spins, very exciting stuff.

Ryan relaxing on his zebra. He likes to put things in the yellow tray up front and carry it around with him.

James rides on the train sitting proudly atop his pirate booty of necklaces hidden under the seat.

Michael checks the controls on his plane before taking off, he's a good pilot.

Sprinkle and Dye

2011-04-23T08:33:00.022-05:00

I must admit that I'm a traditionalist. Every year, I always dye Easter Eggs. Last year, the boys weren't really able to participate. This year, we went big and for the first time, we made cookies and decorated them and dyed eggs.

Grandma and Ryan making bunnies. Ryan was our best cookie cutter. He loves to be in the kitchen checking things out. He had quite a bit of dough which might explain why he didn't eat much dinner. Oh well, it's only Easter once a year.

Mommy and Michael get in on Ryan's cookie action. Michael wasn't really enjoying life during our Easter preparation extravaganza, so he was a somewhat reluctant participant.

Mr. Grumpus cuts a cookie while Ryan eats a little more dough. Good times!

A family portrait! Note - Dad looks grumpy because he has to be in the picture, James has his eyes on Ryan's cookie cutter, Michael hasn't decided if he's gonna cry again or be happy, and there's Mom just hoping for a good picture.

Ryan makes ducks!

Grandma and James start dying eggs. Since I haven't done eggs with small people in a while, I forgot that eggs are really fragile. James chunked his egg in to the cup and shattered it. After said chunking, Mom got a little smarter, and we gently placed the eggs in the cups.

James cheers for his eggs, and Ryan eyes those colorful cups. He helped me put the vinegar and water in the cups, and Grandma and I had to stop him from drinking the colorful water - I'm pretty sure it wont taste like koolaid.

Master decorators. James and Ryan start the shaking while Michael starts the screaming. James and Ryan loved shaking the sprinkles. I must have swept up three times today, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it. James licked all of the sprinkles and icing off of his cookies while Ryan took a tiny bite of his cookie, but neither of them actually ate a cookie.

James examines his duck looking for white areas that need sprinkles.

Ryan points to Michael and wonders "why is he so unhappy, we have SPRINKLES!"

Grandpa swoops in to do some Michael control. He got mad at me for taking his picture. I'm really hoping we get past these really long and loud fits soon, or I might just get picked up by CPS when I snap.

A neglected pacifier in a wasteland of sprinkles.

Mmmmmmm, these are good sprinkles and the cookie is okay, too.

The Grandmas and Aunt Faith ice the cookies while Michael shows his disdain for the day. I'm pretty sure I've got some pumpkin pictures of him freaking out, too. Hmm, this is a pattern we definitely have to break.

No! I will not look at these beautiful eggs and tasty cookies.

Grandma and Ryan do some sprinkle maintenance before checking on the eggs.

Ryan really loved grabbing the eggs and putting them in other colors. I have a feeling tie-dye eggs might be in his future.

Aunt Faith gives lessons in proper dying technique.

Champion egg dyers. Michael finally decided to enjoy himself, and he loved dying the eggs. He kept trying to pull them out of the dye and look at them.