Vacation (daddy blog)

We just got back from Ocean City Maryland and the first thing I want to do is thank Stacey and the kids, the Irwin's, Mema and Papa, Lacey, Mackenzie and last but certainly not least the Mega Touch for an awesome time. I also want to thank Stacey for doing everything she did to make sure this week was special for all of us. She was great looking up different fun things for us and the kids to do each and everyday. There is so much to write about I don't know where to start. I guess the obvious place to start is highlight from the kids. We will start with Peter. Such a sweet kid. One day Stacey showed Peter how to dig in the sand and find crabs. Then Mackenzie put sand and water in a little bucket and for the entire afternoon dug up the crabs and put them in the bucket. Peter was so excited about it that he went back to the condo and wanted us to write down all of the things we put in the bucket and instruction on how to get the crabs. And when I say he wanted us to write it down he was following us around bouncing off the walls repeating it over and over again to make sure he didn't forget it. We followed this routine each afternoon with me taking over the digging duties and Gabe and Capriana lurking around watching and participating. I have to say, this was probably the most memorable part of the vacation for me. I was sitting with all three of my kids and my wonderful wife in the sand on this beautiful beach, all of us together doing something these kids were so excited about was just a feeling that I really cant describe. Other little things about Peter that were memorable were him chasing Norah all over growling at her...out of love of course...young flirting at its finest. And although it drove us nuts at times it was just great to see the kids interacting and loving being together with the Irwins. He had no fear of the rides on the boardwalk...which if you know him is a big accomplishment...2 weeks ago he wouldn't even let me put him on my shoulders. I am sure mommy has much more to add but for now I will move on to Gabe. Watching Gabe run around the beach is one of the cutest things I can think of watching. We have a picture in our room from last year when Gabe was running up the waves and then when they got close he would turn and run away with the biggest smile on his face. This year he was timid about the waves....Out of now where Peter was the one with no fear...wanting to dive right into the waves and Gabe was scared of the waves...well Stacey saved the day on this one. She got Gabe to play the same game we did last year running up the waves and then stomping them and running away. It was really so cute. His big smile just lights up the room just like his mommys does. Then there was Gabe on the boardwalk rides with Norah and Peter. He was tentative at first but then we couldn't pull him off the rides. He would have stayed on them all night if we let him. Our little junk food junkie loved Candy Kitchen. He loved the boats and race cars on the board walk and somehow that became him riding a dolphin in his eyes. He kept calling our Condo vacation. There are so many little memories it is hard to keep track of them all. Capriana was a champ. She was covered in sun screen, sand and sweat everyday and was a trooper. Her and Autumn were both champs. She probably ate a good pound or so of sand. She would taste it...clearly not like it...try her best to spit it out....finally rinse her mouth out and then eat it again. She was such a good girl. She slept in a crib in the closet in our room and slept great. When we first got there she hid all of her pacifiers and we had to run out the first night and clean out CVS to make sure she had enough. It was so cute to watch her sit on the beach and dig in the sand and fill up her little bucket over and over. Although she did not like being in the water she loved being held while the waves crashed on us and would squeal each time a wave hit. Every time her and Autumn would see each other they would call for each other and the spontaneous hugs between the two of them was literally enough to get a group of people on the boardwalk and stop and do an "awwww". They love each other. Then her love of Papa... She was attached to her Papa for much of the vacation. One of the best pics we have is Capriana putting her head on Papa's chest on the boardwalk. She was alternating taking sips of Papa's lemonade and putting her head on his chest. It was really cute. There is so much more to write and I am sure Stacey will add to this or I will come back and add to it as I remember things but I will end for now.

a year. total disgrace. start catching up!

yeah terrible. I blame Facebook. It is just so much easier to do a quick update. I will do my best to do a full update from this past year and pull in some things I caught on fb but in the meantime I don't want to miss anymore opportunities to document the things I never want to forget. Well let's be honest, not only do I not want to forget anything, but I would love to rewind and live it all again. Time is flying and life is beyond amazing. We are just so blessed and so thankful. Biggest and most amazing thing that has happened was when our sweet Capriana Marie was born on March 28th. She is the most beautiful, sweet, happy and loving little girl. She was an easy baby from the moment she arrived (her labor on the otherhand..not so much.) She ate well, slept well and was so tolerant. The boys immediately took to her and have been doting on her ever since. They absolutely adore her. I heard Gabe say "hey that is my Capriana" to a neighbor the other day and Peter is just an amazing big brother. The boys are truly each others best friends. They play,they fight, tease, play, fight, lather rinse repeat! Push comes to shove and they all will protect each other. The boys have been going to the nursery during church and we have been leaving little miss capri for short periods. This week she was in there for quite a bit (and we can't help but check on them a million times) and the girls told us that one of the boys was by her side at all times. It is things like that they make it all worth it. Things can be challenging, especially in the morning or when they are in one of their stubborn moods, but it is so worth it a million times over. ok little things for today: Gabe loves shoes. Anyones shoes. He is often caught wearing my heels (loves wedges) naked with a watch on Peter is obsessed with dinosaurs. He is still so sensative at times and told me tonight that he is so sad that they are all dead. they both love animals and really want to know which ones are mean and which are safe. I spent a half hour with them in thier beds while they went through every animal and asked if they could touch it. Gabe is beyond cute when he comes back to a bird 394 times. kid really wants to hold a bird, preferrably a red one. Then each time they get to a farm animal Gabe asks, "we have to ask the farmer first?" Capriana loves clothes. (i wonder why?)If they are on hangers she will hold them up and show everyone several times yelling "this." if they are on the ground she drapes them over herself and says "see." Put a cute outfit on her and she struts. I am telling you, her little toosh sways, especially in her bathing suit. Girlfriend knows she is adorable Peter is captain social and wants every one to come over and play and eat here, everyday. Gabe runs to the window every morning when peter is leaving to watch him go to work, right after he says "i don't want dadddy go to work" with his pouty face. "Becuase I do." Capriana wakes up from her nap before the boys and will beg to go get her "brothers." When it is finally time she runs to the gate yelling for them and proceeds directly to their beds to shower them with kisses "MWAH." Big kiss little kiss big squeeze hug little squeeze fishy kiss xoxox

Goldie fish and flappy

So we were very happy being a no pet home although we miss Lilly, think of her daily and she is part of our daily prayer. Little Peter on the other hand has imaginary animals everywhere. It is the cutest thing. Elephants in the bathroom, tigers in the playroom... You name it. The stump family has 2 goldfish that he is obsessed with. I kept telling Peter that we really should get one although neither of us wanted to at all. Cleaning a fish bowl is all we need to add to our chores. This past week Joey has been telling everyone about his pet fish, showing them where it is, saying it's " Goldie and he's hiding." just beyond cute. Never once asking for a real one he was perfectly happy imagining. Broke my heart...so I wore big Peter down. We went to eddies and purchased 2 betas. Little Peter was so overwhelmed when I told him to pick one to bring home he didn't really know what to do. He would reach for one and the fish would jump and he would start his thought process all over again. We picked one for Gabe and told him that he gets to take one home but it was up to him. He kept saying "which one, which fishy?" finally he picked one and wanted so badly to carry it but let's be real, it was in a plastic cup. I think the wait for me to wash the tank and the time it took for the water to be room temp seemed like eons to him. He wanted to name them Goldie fish and Goldie fish Gabe but we were able to get him to call gabe's flappy. I would like to be more creative but hey, they are the boys fish. Peter and I have a wager on how long it takes him to lose interest. I am guessing a lot longer than Peter thinks. The kid LOVES his fish. Gabe, well he is amused :)

Things I never want to forget

Well that is broad...this post could turn into a book. I will just make it a recurring theme instead.

Joey saying rinocin for rhinoceros and hipposin for hippopotamus, scrunching his face saying I think we can do that. Gabe saying chicken and cracker. Joey waking up Gabe. Telling me I am beautiful. The way Gabe says keys. How they both love and know how to use the iPad. Joey saying his name is Peter jophus...every time. The nasally way he says snow. Gabe thinking Elmo is a dog and the way he barks, says quack and boo for moo. Gabe unzipping his pjs at every chance. Joey calling Lacey fracey. Joey and his finger wave.

speak development

I cant help but post this. peter is off today and has the boys. Joey has been saying “My” instead of I but other than that he speaks really well in great sentances. So he would say “my had a great nap” or “my have a red shirt on.” I have been trying to teach him I. I just overheard peter say “say *I* have stinky gas” and then joey proudly pronounces “I have stinky gas.” Really?! A day with daddy hahah

Silly things

Little Peter just woke back up and started talking (it's 930) so I went to check on him.
Me: what's wrong bud?
Joey: can't smell lotion (with his hands up to his nose and eyes barely open. I let him up some of my lotion before bed because he said it smells good)
Me: sniffing, it's still smells nice
Joey: have to go poopy
I take him into the bathroom and Peter comes in so I go get more lotion (if that's all it takes to see his face light up why not right?). He then sniffs it a nd smears it on his forehead. He then says dada have daytime clothes on (boxers and a Henley!?) mama have nighttime clothes on (true) then in the same breathe "baby sister come out!? Not yet, grow bigger." his little cheeks so rosy and his eyes so puffy I don't even know what to do with the cuteness. Can I bottle these moments?

Joey also got to feel our little peanut kick the other day. When she stopped he started poking my stomach and said "not working."

Gabe has taken to saying tons of words " keys, cracker, quack duck, oh yeah, lalala" but laughs when you tell him to say mama. He is capable but he's a stinker. You ask him and sometimes he yell dada, which is funny considering his is a bigtime mamas boy. My little cuddle bug.

so much to catch up on (daddy)

There is so much to update on I am not sure where to start. We have Gabes first birthday..halloween...thanksgiving...our baby news...and everything in between. Lets start with Gabes 1st birthday. Monkeys were everywhere. Gabe loves his monkeys so we decorated with them and he loved it. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day and spent a lot of time outside. Gabe got a ton of wonderful gifts from so many of our generous friends and family...many of which big brother also enjoyed very much. Fortunately we are getting better and better at sharing. Stacey made an amazing cake and Gabe did a number on it. It was a great day and we are very thankful for all of the friends and family who spent it with us.

At 20 weeks we went for our baby appointment. This time we decided we were going to find out the gender. We very much wanted the boys to be part of the experience so Stacey in her infinately creative mind thought up a really fun way to include them. We had the ultra sound technichian write the gender down and put it in an envelope. We brought it to a bakery and asked them to fill 2 cupcakes with either blue or pink depending on what it said in the envelope. We handed the envelope over, had the bakery make the cupcakes, took them home and then let the boys dig in...It was fun and exciting. It was funny that Peter carefully nibbled on the cupcake and Gabe just smashed it in his hands and into his mouth. We anxiously awaited the cream filling to peek out and when it did we were very excited that we will be having a GIRL!!!!! It is so exciting. We love our boys and would be just as thrilled with a boy but we are very excited to round out the family with a girl. We pray of course for good health because ultimately that is what matters the most.

Thanksgiving was great. Thank you mema and papa and uncle jonathan for coming and staying with us. We had a terrific meal of course and we were very happy to share the holiday with family. The boys ate hotdogs...hahah. A special thanks to Uncle jonathan who decided to stay an extra night and spend some time with us and the boys. The opportunity does not come up very often when he can come and spend time with no agenda. It was a pleasure and he made us a tremendous meal from scratch on friday. He is great with the boys and we were really happy to have him around.

I almost forgot Holloween...Gabe was a lawn knome and Peter was Super Why...for those who dont know who that it, he is a super hero cartoon caracter who solves problems using books. We had our awesome neighbors over for tons of food and drinks. The kids played and then we took them all trick or treating. It was really great to watch Peter go up to houses and say trick or treat...and then wait for his candy. He was so excited. Thank you to Colin and Caroline for showing him how it is done. Gabe just followed behind and hung out. I am not sure he really gets it yet but he had fun hanging out with the bigger kids. It was a great night and we all had a blast. It is really such a blessing to have such wonderful neighbors who are such good friends. I forgot to mention Stacey was a spider for holloween and I was a stick figure.

One more thing...hearing Gabe say keys and crackers are so funny...We will try and some video up of him saying these things.

That is it for now. We promise to try and keep up with this more often...It has been crazy lately!