sisters & cousins

with 4 kiddos...this is as good as my group shot got. i think uncle sunidh got some goodies...

i'll share if i ever get my computer on them!lu was a natural with baby lila do you see those sweet smiley eyes? gus saying 'cheeeeeze', and asher being cinderella. he even wore the heels. we loved it.

my other sis, dr. aunt brookie nae, came for a visit this weekend. lucky for us uncle sunidh grew up in the houston area & has to come down about once a year for a wedding...so we get lucky and get to have them hang out for awhile. the kiddos did surprisingly well together...lu has definitely been missing them since they left.

and, brooke & i had a blast catching up in between diaper changes, feedings, meltdowns & tears.

not the most flattering photo, but hey, this is what we look like when we wake up.

funny how similar our complexions & eye color is. or maybe not so funny?

we are sisters, after all.

thanks for coming & staying brookie nae.

more visitors!

unrelated photos...of my peas reading.

the final contingent of the rosonke family march visitors arrive tonight. my sister brooke, her husband sunidh and their two peas asher & baby lila will be here around 11p. luci is very excited about the possbility of asher sleeping in her room with her on her trundle bed. we'll see how asher feels about this, and then if he's up for it, if they actually sleep!

and on saturday, clay & i are watching all 4 kids for the night while brooke & sunidh hit a wedding downtown. should be interesting, and if you have time, say a few prayers for us!! :)

my aunt baylee & my mr. drew

as the lu affectionately refers to them, blessed us with a visit. these two early twenty-somethings had the energy of, well, two early twenty-somethings. and they focused all of that energy on our peas. lucky lil things. aunt baylee happily played princesses for hours while mr. drew chased gus gus around. on friday night (their last night here) i asked g to give aunt baylee a hug. he promptly walked right over to mr. drew & gave him multiple hugs. with two hands. of course i didn't have my camera ready. but trust me, it was sooo sweet.

buddies
girly girls

aunt baylee & mr. drew needed to complete their last week of P90X while they were here. and they did. baylee isn't messing around. luci did a few 'exercises' with her.

and clay did a full workout with her last night. i have photos, but i may have received some threats when i started snapping them. so i guess i'll keep them to myself...
taking a milk break post workout...or like 3 yoga poses. luci declared it a successful workout!

and the lu also took swimming lessons over this spring break. m-th at 10a. she was in the 'white turtle' class at our gym. and a white turtle she stayed...sweet lil thing. she still doesn't want to put her face in the water. because she's afraid she'll 'choke' she says. i think we need to work on exhaling vs. inhaling. super swim lesson teacher mr. drew had some good suggestions for us so we'll continue to work with her until we are confident she can re-take the white turtle class & graduate to a red frog!

on friday we went to opening day of the outside pool at the gym. i have some photos, but again, received threats regarding making them public. so you'll just have to trust me...it was fun!

sunday best

m'peas...in their sunday best!

this last one is such a typical gus face...

g @ 14 months...better late than never

new words are coming fast & furious this month. dada (all.the.time.), mama (although not very often), zizzy (sissy..luci, that is), nana (banana), turtle, oh tootles (mickey mouse clubhouse show), nigh nigh (night night), uh-oh, no no no no (with the finger point & all), and all done.

i wish he'd say cup or drink or something like that. i also wish he'd say more, please, thank you, and help. but so far no dice. he repeats many sounds, but doesn't use words to communicate as often as i'd like. for example when he wants to go outside he doesn't say 'out', he bangs on the door & makes that aggressive boy sound.

he also will respond with adorable, mostly correct sounds when you ask him what different animals say. cat, dog, monkey, bird, tiger, bear, and cow.

he's a walkin fool. he's also into standing on chairs and lil kiddo picnic tables. he's also all about the perch on a few non-perchable toys.

he's sweet. so, so sweet. gently puts his arms around my neck, plays with my hair. such a snugglebug. at least when he's tired.

he's a great eater. his favorite foods are bread and bread products. he eats carrots & peas & corn, but doesn't want anything to do with broccoli or zucchini. he loves sweet potatoes. and all berries. and bananas. he also eats a good variety of meat & fish.

he drinks unsweetend, organic soy milk. and he loves it now.

he loves balls. there was a random football at the park last week & he picked it up & dropped it/threw it up & down the entire length of the park.

he loves our cats. they sort of tolerate him.

he's in size 4 huggies lil movers diapers, 12-18 month pants, 18-24 month shirts, and 18 month pjs.

he likes pretty much all of the shows that luci likes, but is still calmed only by baby einstein.

he LOVES the bath. and to play outside. and to 'chalk'. and get his hands on sissy's things.

another holiday, another cookie

look at us grandma myrtle! sugar cookies from scratch!

yes, i own a rolling pin!

although to be fair, i'm pretty sure it was a gift from my in-laws.

the work in progress...

can you tell luci's vs mine?

they were all boy approved

and here is my lu. she came in looking for her scissors.

she wanted to "cut flowers" like snow white.

Ash Wednesday

an unrelated photo i've captioned in my head as

"because sometimes mama just needs a break"
It was on Ash Wednesday, 7 years ago, that Clay & I had our first official date. It didn't go all that well (we later discussed how we were both surprised by that), but it is a good thing we decided to give it another go, cause on date number 2, I knew he was different from the rest.


As for Lent this year? I'm not giving anything up. Instead I'm working to make our household more holy. We are going to say a blessing before every meal. I'm going to start saying prayers with Gus at night (Lu already does). I am going to read my new Catholic Mom inspirational books and try to find new ways everday to teach our kiddos more about our faith.


So far for the Lu I've started a "kindness jar." Every time Clay or I catch her doing something kind or showing/expressing gratitude we are going to put a coin in her "kindness jar." And at the end of Lent we are going to give all of the money in the kindness jar to a "friend who doesn't have a nice bed to sleep in." Said friend will be picked by Luci from the Compassion website, probably during Gus' next nap (he wouldn't tolerate Lu & I hanging out at our dumputer). I think seeing a photo of friends in need will hopefully make it more real for her. It is hard to teach true gratitude to a three year old.

I'll keep you posted on how well it works.

a visit from grammy

yes, that is a bow in lu's hair

my mom, lu & gus' grammy, blessed us with a visit. she spoiled luci by playing 'princesses' for about 4 hours a day. seriously. that isn't even an exaggeration. the girl was in make believe heaven! they went to target, got lattes, bought diapers & wipes, etc.
those princesses were busy, busy, busy!

and gusgus was delighted to have another snuggle buddy. at one point i walked into the living room & he was just sitting on her lap as she played gently with his hair.
he was chillin...and lovin being loved on.

mom arrived in the middle of clay's latest week away with the navy and served as an extra energy boost for me when i'd normally start to fade. especially since i was super sick. there comes a point during those week long trips when adult conversation (for me) is really needed. and usually i'd just call her everyday & ramble, but this time i had her as a live, captive audience.
flights were a pain for her....in fact, she's still in her 3 hour drive from msp to new hampton as i type. it'll be much better once the merger is finally all said & done. on many family fronts.
i hope.

thanks for making the pain in the you-know-what trek, mom.
we miss you already...please come back soon!

4. it's started.

her little besties* have officially started turning 4. there will a number of birthday parties between now & her own fourth birthday.

four.

four is so close to five. and five means kindergarten. {sigh}

where, oh where, has the time gone.

i can't believe margeaux is 4. i met trina (her beautiful mama) when I was 10 weeks pregnant with luci. and trina was 30 some weeks (i was told there'd be no math) pregnant with margeaux. seems like yesterday. and now her baby is 4. and this summer, mine will be too.

lulu & the birthday girl margeaux
a princess catwalk...

does it get any better in the eyes of the 3 to 4 year old girl set?

bustin a move on the catwalk...to justin bieber

pizza, cake & cupcake time!


about to cruise market street (the main drag) in the sweet & sassy limo!

it was her first experience getting all dolled up with makeup & glitter & hairspray & whatnot. she was waaaay more into it than i thought she'd be. in fact, per her request i attempted to replicate the 'do for school today. she insisted on glitter & all. i did an okay job, but without the entire can of hairspray they used i doubt i'll ever be able to totally replicate cause she has my fine hair. we actually broke her hairbrush last night trying to comb out her hair. but really i'm just happy she's finally letting me get that hair out of her eyes! we'll see how long it lasts**.

*hi harold & myrtle the great...besties is slang for best friends.

**it stayed in today until about 2p. she told me that her buddy zachary at school said, 'what is that on your head?' then i asked her if he liked it, and she said he did. but when she imitated zachary asking what was on her head it sounded about as you would expect it would coming from a 3 year old little boy.

***i think i found another super fun retirement job. working at one of these joints. i'm sure i'll be too uncool to lead the dance party, but maybe i could work the reception desk. the dance party was seriously so much fun we moms were jokingly asking if we could have mani/pedi/hairdo/dance party birthday party. seriously. sounds like the best moms night out i can think of! add in some drinks & a limo ride home (safety first!) and i think i've got a seriously marketable small business plan!

we love texas

well, at least in february we love texas! february is my favorite month...the weather is as close to perfect as it gets here so we are getting our fill of playing outside. last night we decided to picnic...in our backyard. with our kitchen chairs. so not sure if that technically counts as picnicking, but it made our kiddos happy so it's good enough in my book!

and what does the boy love?
he loves it when he gets his hands on sissy's cup! my goofy boy

like i said, february is the BEST here...so come visit all of you* long lost northern family & friends! come now before it gets too hot!

*in my head this sentence came out as ya'll.

it is authentic in my head, but i can't bring myself to write it yet.

hmmm.

welcome harold & myrtle the great

my fabulous and thoughtful sister, dr. brooke, hooked my grandparents up with this handy gadget. so welcome grandma & grandpa...to my blog. it is my online journal/baby book/scrapbook. i write a few times a week (as time allows) so that everyone far, far away (and close by) can keep up with our family. and so that someday my kids can read it & know how much they are treasured.

so welcome harold & myrtle the great...when you get random notes about my family that aren't specifically addressed to you, it is just an update on my blog. :)

gus & luci are excited :)

ps...can you believe those babies up there with harold & myrtle the great! that was just last august! they grow so fast. *sigh*

g @ 13 months

our boy is 13 months.

-his eating goes in serious spurts. one day he'll eat more than a grown man, the next day not much at all. it is amazing how much he can put down in one sitting.

-he's sleeping pretty well. usually 90 minutes in the am and 90 minutes or so in the pm. he goes to bed around 7p and wakes up around 6:30aish. i'm thinking about shortening the morning naps as part of the transition to one afternoon nap here in the next few months.

-he wears size 4 huggies, 12-18 month pants, 18-24 mo shirts, and 18mo pjs.

-he digs his newish shoes (size 4.5)

-he knows his shoes & socks go on his feet, and so very helpfully sets his socks on his little feet if i hand them to him.

-he loves to go outside. and once outside he focuses on the natural things...leaves, twigs, rocks, mulch, etc. on the playground equipment he spends his time shoving leaves through the grate that makes the playground platform.

-he loves to find the biggest stick he can & swing it around within eye poking distance.

-he LOVES the cats.

-he loves to look at animals...on shows, in books...pretty much anywhere. he also really likes cows & ducks.

-i went cold turkey on the bottle about 10 days before disney. he's just now getting enough milk with the cup.

-he's drinking organic soy milk...his eczema really flared up when i started giving him the cows milk (he was on soy formula). i have lots of concerns about soy (& cow's milk, truth be told), but will probably stick with it until he's 2 and can drink almond, rice or coconut milk.

-he LOVES bread. the kid would eat nothing but bread if i let him. grandpa bread is his FAVORITE.

-just within the last week walking has become his preferred method of transportation. he's falling a lot though which is tiring him out & making him one very frustrated lil man.

-he's still manic. he's either super happy or super fussy. not much in between.

-he says uh oh, hi, hi daa (dad), muu-ha-ha-ha, and he repeats the baby einstein video & says da da da daaaaaa (beethoven's fifth)

-he is SUPER sensitive. he knows what no means & he isn't always a good listener. but if you get really stern or lose your patience & raise your voice at him (not as a plan, but as a i'm-going-to-lose-my-ever-lovin-mind if you get poop all over AGAIN instead of holding still during a diaper change) he will sob. heaving sobs with tears :(

disney day 5

our last morning we woke up early to hit one last character breakfast at akershus in epcot. the logistics of packing up, checking out & whatnot didn't go super smoothly, but i don't really want to detail all of that here. it wasn't anything a little shouting & slamming of the hand by the ole battleaxe (a nickname of mine in my previous life as a financial analyst...) on the counter couldn't fix...

ahem. right. so...onto norway in epcot for breakfast at akershus. belle greeted us & we got a nice family photo with her. the same five princesses greeted us for breakfast as had the night before. so honestly, for me, it was a bit of an overkill...originally i had planned it because i had read that jasmine & mulan would be there...the two princesses we hadn't seen anywhere else. but thankfully i took some good advice & didn't really build anything up for luci so i was the only one disappointed. and of course, it was lovely to see cinderella, belle, aurora, ariel & snow white again.

belle

ariel

snow white

some belle had a lil crush on our prince gusgus!

after breakfast we headed back to the resort to catch the bus to the airport!

more logistical details, fussy/exhausted boy...something about the longest 2 hour flight ever...blah blah blah. we left grandma & grandpa at the airport as they had decided to catch the last flight home that night straightaway. clay, luci & i made it home in time for some chick-fil-a only to get a call from poor grandma & grandpa saying their flight had been cancelled! so off clay went back to the airport and i set about getting the kids to bed & our stuff unpacked.

and that is it really!

in summary, it was an expensive vacation worth every penny. logistically almost everything went smoothly when you consider all of the moving around we did. luci was at a perfect age. gus was a little young. i really didn't want to do a family vacation without him & grandma & grandpa took excellent care of him when he his needs were different than luci's. and of course we are grateful that grandma & grandpa pierse came along & made such great memories with us.

the one thing that annoyed me is the way disney ends rides & events in stores. but one thing i couldn't be more proud of was the fact that my pea asked for only one thing the entire trip.

a balloon.

an $8-$15 balloon.

she asked for it on sunday & monday. we told her we'd get her one on our last night.

and come wednesday night?

she never asked.

i'm VERY proud. we must be doing something right.

hopefully we'll be back...luci thinks maybe when she's five....so start saving dad. ;)