Has it really been 3 months already? I ask that rhetorically because I am well aware that it has been 3 months since the last blog post based on the threatening emails and phone calls that I have received from friends and family over the lack of new blog content.
Well we finished up the summer with our annual trip to Ocean City, MD with Julie's sister Karin and her family. We actually went into the trip this year with a little more optimism about how the week would turn out and thankfully we were not disappointed. We spent a bit more time on the actual beach this year and we also got out a lot. We went to the boardwalk a couple times (the kids got their first taste of Thrasher's Boardwalk Fries!), to a local water park and of course to the big park/playground that is nearby. Not to say there weren't some challenges dealing with 4 adults, 5 kids age 3 or under, and 2 dogs in a 2 bedroom condo but all in all it was a great trip. We even took the kids out to dinner one night at a local pizza place. Thanks again to Mom Waskey for coming down to sit in the condo one evening so that we adults could go out to dinner ALONE. We wrapped up the trip by visiting Mom Waskey's house for a day of swimming in the pool. Unfortunately our whole family got sick the next day which made packing the car and driving home a bad ending to a fun week.
The rest of September and the whole of October have since flown by. Nadia started preschool the day after we got back from the beach and while she was a little hesitant the first day, she now excitedly waits for the bus everyday. It is pretty crazy to think that she has started riding the bus before her 3rd birthday but we are very thankful for the Bright Beginnings program that she has been attending. Nadia seem way more engaged with others since starting school and her vocabulary is exploding. She knows all of her ABC's, numbers 1-10, and many words like bus, shoes, head, spoon, etc...
The boys have started some different activities as well. They no longer attend the play group at the local development center because they are too old. To compensate we signed them up for a play group at a local church. They also go to that church for Bible class on another day while Julie is doing an adult Bible study there. The boys are getting a little better a communicating their wants and needs but there is still a fair amount of whining, crying and general bad behavior being exhibited when they don't get what they want or can't tell us what they want. The "terrible twos" were not so bad for us but the "threes" look to be a bit of a tougher road.
Halloween was little more fun this year as well since the kids now understand the concept of candy. We dressed them as the 3 little pigs and it was pretty cute. Of course Julie and I were putting the costumes together and carving a pumpkin on Oct. 30th so we are already in the habit of last minute preparation and the kids aren't even 3 yet.
Since I'm sure that I probably won't get another post up until after the holidays I wanted to acknowledge that the kids birthday is on 11/22. It is completely insane to think that we have been parents for 3 years. I assume that at some point I will wake up and feel like I am a parent instead of a glorified babysitter? If I really stop to think about the fact that we are responsible for the health and wellbeing of 3 other people it kind of freaks me out. At the same time we could never imagine a life without our kids now that we are in the middle of it. We want to thank everyone yet again for the tremendous help and support that you have given us over the past 3 years as we really truly never could have done it (and stayed sane) without you. THANKS!!
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| Chillin' with Grandpa Waskey |
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| As usual, you can guess which parent thought that this would be a good idea |
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| Andrew takes finger painting to a whole new level... |
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| "Has my hand always been this color?" |
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| Uncle Brad gets some practice |
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| 4 cousins, 1 picture, 0 screaming....Priceless |
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| Ryan was less than thrilled that we "brown bagged" it at the water park |
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| It took a while to get the boys to go down the slides but once they started they were hard to stop |
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| Julie's latest entry into the "make Chris a creative birthday cake" contest |
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| Do I have a great wife or what? |
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| Teaching the kids to break the cardinal rule at the beach...don't feed the seagulls! |
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| So as not to contribute to the seagull obesity epidemic, we made sure to only feed them reduced fat Cheez-Its |
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| Andrew shows his excitement at successfully feeding a seagull from his hand |
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| "I can't help that I'm so much more photogenic than my brothers" |
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| "What are all these birds doing here?" |
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| Andrew rocks a farmer's tan while displaying his "I'm about to do something bad" face |
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| "Wait, what? We're supposed to give these snacks to the birds? But why?!" |
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| "Does my cuteness make me look cute?" |
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| "You're allowed to take four more pictures dad" |
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| "Come back!! I'll be your friend!! I have reduced fat Cheez-Its!!" |
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| The perfect picture to end a perfect afternoon on the beach |
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| Nadia and cousin Avery enjoy some reading time |
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| Nadia and Ryan play follow the leader |
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| "Andrew...if we hold out we'll get four more crackers..." |
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| Everyone make a funny face! |
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| "Well if the boys won't cooperate then I guess I'll just have to take cute pictures by myself" |
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| No way we could have ever envisioned this picture four years ago |
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| "What is this 'school' you speak of? And why do I have this backpack on? You realize I'm only two right?" |
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| Nadia was a little apprehensive about the bus on her first day...however now her favorite word is 'bus' |
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| We are officially 'those' parents...Julie stalked the school bus to get this shot of Nadia and her teacher on the first day |
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| Does it make it ok if Andrew can't read the 'Do not climb on trees' sign? |
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| One of the few activities that the boys can do without fighting |
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| The boys love looking at their picture albums while pointing to pictures and saying 'remember?' |
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| Julie took Ryan to visit her sister Annie and remarked how bored she was only having one kid to keep track of |
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| Our second year at the Down's Syndrome walk and this year Nadia got her own sign! |
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| "You mean they do a whole walk just for me?!" |
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| Don't tell me that videos don't make good babysitters...apparently they taught Ryan how to draw letters |
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| "Honey? We only have three kids right?" |
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| "Give me candy!" |
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| "Can we have this corn for dinner?" |
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| Andrew was not quite clear on the goal of a corn maze |
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| Somewhere underneath all of the books, toys, puzzles, etc... there is a child |
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| "So if we dress up in ridiculous outfits we get candy? Sounds fair." |
