Update What Blog?

Totally forgot I had one of these blog thingies.  We have been so busy lately, that I blahblahblah...  We just returned from a trip to Virginia, where we met up with my family and some of Alan's family.  Since traveling with three kids is such a nightmare, we vowed after November to never do it again.  Somehow, though, we ended up doing it again only six short months later.  It was only half our choice, though, and NOW, FOR SURE, we are never doing that again!  I assure you that even if you were stranded, backpacking thru the Pakistani desert, your trip would seem like a spa-cation next to ours.  Night.  Mare.  We'll be happy to meet you in Hawaii, Christmas 2012, if you're up for it, though!  The visit itself was nice, don't get me wrong, but the travel was a nightmare.  I don't even want to talk about it, so we won't.  We'll talk about the monsters I'm creating.

Anaya really is something else.  She's my crazy monster.  She's nearly running now, so it's tough to keep up with her.  She's like a little Tasmanian devil.  She "baby talks" a lot, but doesn't say many words other than "Adam."  She does love her Adam.  What's not to love?  For some reason, she has learned to shake her head "No" when asked "Do you remember?"  I'm not sure how that happened, but it sure is funny.  It doesn't even have to relate to anything, I'll just out-of-the-blue say, "Anaya, do you remember?" and she'll shake her head.  Hilarious.  She runs to the bathroom when I say "bath" and she grunts like she's trying to fill up her diaper when I ask her if she's stinky.  She bolts at the first sign of getting in trouble, leaving her brother stranded in the guilty seat, before he even knows what's happened.  She and Audie both roar when you ask them what any animal says.  They don't seem to be catching on like Adam did.  Oh well, I'm sure they'll eventually learn that pigs don't roar.  I'm not too worried.  Anaya likes the idea of going outside a lot more than she likes actually being outside.  She'll stand at the patio door and scream and point until we let her out, then when we do, she just stands there or heads back in.  Sometimes she'll play in the water table, but that's about it.  Getting dirty, except in the highchair, just isn't her thing.  She'll sit in the grass and hold her arms and legs up - only her bottom touches the ground.  She's a total "Daddy's girl," lighting up when he walks in.  She loves to pretend like she's talking on the phone, dancing, waving "hi" and blowing kisses.  She doesn't love getting dressed or being told "no."  And she really doesn't love when you pick Audie up first or give him his food first or put him in the car first or basically pay him any attention.  It's all Anaya, all the time.  Don't forget it.

Audie is the epitome of the adorable baby boy.  Seriously.  He is so friggin' precious.  He reminds us so much of Adam when he was a baby, but with a little lighter hair.  But he's sneaky and you gotta watch that.  He's my sneaky monster.  He'll saunter into the room, pants missing, hugging his lovey like he's just about to lie down and take a nap.  So I'll wander into the other room to put laundry away and when I come back, he's flooded the laundry room with the water cooler or he's pulled all 1,000 baggies out of the box in the drawer or he's hiding under a table in the corner or standing on top of one of the riding toys, reaching for the not-for-Audies.  He also picked up the "Do you remember?" thing from Anaya - only he shakes his head so hard I think it's going to fly right off.  He loves pushing buttons - the TV, the remotes, the dvd player, the dehumidifier, the dishwasher, his sister...that's his favorite - he'll steal toys from her just to tick her off!  But in the same breath, he can usually make her laugh.  I don't know what they're saying, but they sure think they're funny!  We hear them all the time in their cribs, talking and laughing.  It's really adorable.  They're probably making fun of me.  Precious.  

While we're at it, I'll fill you in on the original monster - Adam.  Adam can't wait to be five.  He just told us last night that 85 days was too long to wait until his birthday and he didn't want it to be a long time until his birthday.  He's super-smart, too.  My sister told me that while we were in Virginia, he taught her all about frogs.  She said she was amazed and wondered where he learned it all.  I told her either from Diego or he made it all up.  Who knows - his imagination is wild.  He loves to tell a good story.  I think we all know someone else who loves to tell a good story, so he comes by it honestly.  He also loves to do math and he can read really well, so please don't send anymore Level 1 books.  He's movin' on up!  He really is a big helper most of the time, but he tends to complain about picking up after the babies.  I know, right?  Such a pain...And now he wants money when he helps clean up.  What's up with that?  Thank God he thinks a quarter is gold, so he's pretty cheap labor.  He loves going to the post office to see if we have any packages and he loves playing outside, coloring.  This school year has required lots of bleach because he plays hard.  He is such an active boy - cannot sit still for a minute - and Alan and I are learning how to accept that and channel it into something positive.  It's not always easy, but we're trying.  It's hard to believe he's almost five and we are still amazed by him every single day.  He's one-of-a-kind. 

Here are a few recent pictures of everyone