The Carlos Family: September 2012

August started pretty crazily, but ended perfectly. Ryan had an epiphany (thank God!) to hire painters to finish painting the interior of our house. It was too much on him. He was working so hard at work with lots of overtime, and then working so hard at home. He and I were not the best of friends and the babes truly missed their Daddy. So in one weekend, the painters had our house looking beautiful. I'm so happy with the colors and the warmth they bring to the entire downstairs. We are taking our time now to decorate and furnish. I'm so thankful for Ryan's ability to do much of the handy work around our house, but even more thankful he knows when it's time to outsource, so he can spend time with his family. Here's some pictures of our home...

Clayton, Chloe, and Easton's bathroom

Our master bedroom

Our master bathroom...still needs lots of attention.

The entryway

The living and dining room...will be empty for a while!

Our family room

Our kitchen

The downstairs bathroom

The babes' play room!! Best room in the house!

Red and white polka dot window treatments are on their way.

Clayton's bedroom

We don't have closet doors yet on any of the closets...soon, though!

Chloe's very pink bedroom! Her room is still a work in progress. Daddy will do wainscoting soon.

New pictures from Pottery Barn Kids will soon adorn these walls and the shelves will find a new spot in her room.

Easton's bedroom

So, with the paint cans in the shed and boxes nearly empty, we finally feel happily settled and are both truly enjoying our home. In the past couple of weeks we've been able to open our doors to many of our family and friends who have been anxiously waiting to come see it. Papa Louie and Grammie brought Clayton, Chloe, and Easton's cousins', Braxten and Emery over to play. The Knudsen's and their twins brought us a yummy lunch last week. The babes had a blast playing together and we had fun catching up. Later that same night we had our "group" over. The McKinney's, Pierro's, and McMillian's (we miss you Kline Family!) came over for dinner. We all laughed at how much our get togethers have changed over the years. We've gone from late nights and drinking games to lots of kids, bumps, bruises, and bed times, but we still get our glass of wine in! My family came over too for dinner and play and my grandparents got to come visit for the first time. Clayton and Chloe had their friend Jillian over to play and we had our friend Lizzie, Kelly, and baby Johnny over too! We are so lucky to have so many beautiful people in our lives! Next up, a Halloween party for all the little ones. I can't wait!

Clayton, Chloe, and Easton are busy too. Clayton is now a little boy, which is so hard for me to accept sometimes. His inquisitive and persistent nature is without a doubt his greatest strength. He's so smart and so eager to learn. We play "school" nearly every day and work on some concept (shapes, colors, counting, etc.). He's a little sponge. Clayton is 100% potty trained. I don't have to ask or remind him at all any more. I'm so proud of him. He will be doing some sort of sport this fall, along with My Gym and parent and me pre school. Chloe is my two year old who is going on 16. She has developed quite the attitude, hence her nickname, "sassy." She and I go head to head at least once a day, but her sweet little smile and goofy giggle always turn our battles around! She is getting so inquisitive too and wants to learn. Chloe is starting to listen when I'm trying to teach her something and she's now retaining really well. Chloe's nearly 100% potty trained, but still struggles with pooping. No diapers, though...sleeping time is the only time both babes wear diapers. She will start up with some sport, My Gym, and parent and me preschool too in the next month or so. Easton has his own special post, so stay tuned!
DISCLAIMER: Both Clayton and Chloe will one day be quite mad at me for sharing this, but I can't help it...
Chloe's "oh my gosh, I can't believe you wrote this, Mommy" story: We call the part that makes Chloe a girl, her "jj" since Clayton's is "pp." Since she's potty trained we've been teaching her to wipe her "jj." The other day I hear her singing a song in the bathroom while tearing off pieces of tissue paper and throwing them in the toilet. Her song..."wipe your jj, wipe your jj, wipe your jj" in the cutest sing songy voice!
Clayton's "oh my gosh, I can't believe you wrote this, Mommy" story: Clayton is just like his daddy...persistent and slightly obsessive about just about everything. When we got off the elevator at Nordstrom, he locked eyes with a flourescent orange pair of Nike Free Runs. So began days of talking about these stinking Nikes. He had to have a time out as he threw a tantrum in line at the cafe, had to call Daddy to ask him for them, had to take a picture with them, and finally Papa Jim decided to buy they for him, so they have a date planned for tomorrow to go buy the Nikes. Thank goodness because the poor boy nearly a week later still won't stop talking about the Nikes!

Ryan and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this month. We took all three babes to San Diego for a couple of days. There were times when Ryan and I both thought we'd lost our minds, but for the most part it was a memorable and special time for us. We went to the SD Zoo on the first day and then Sea World the next. Clayton and Chloe loved the animals especially the giraffes and sharks!

I return to work next week, but am so happy to share that I'll be teaching periods 5-7, which is 1-3:30. I am beyond thrilled, feeling really blessed because I literally will miss 30 minutes of my children's day since they all nap from 1-4. Thank you, God for hearing my prayers and thank you Rosie and Jeff for making my request possible! I feel like I will really be able to be present at both of my jobs now!

Here's some pictures from our month...

We went on a tour of Angels Stadium with my Mom's Club group.