The Carlos Family: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Chloe Grace is 3!

Happy THIRD birthday to our sweet angel. Chloe Grace, you are our "perfect pretty princess" as Daddy called you when you were first born. As I often do this time of the year I've been reflecting a lot on you, my darling girl. From finding out you were a girl at 18 weeks (the whole office heard our screams of joy!), to praying God would keep you safe inside of me long enough for you to come home with me from the hospital and be 5 pounds...and 5 pounds exactly you were, to waiting for what seemed like an eternity to hold you while you got stronger in the NICU. Those days seem so long ago, but they are moments I will forever cherish. You have truly blossomed in the past few months. Your forever best friend, your brother, Clayton is definitely the leader in your relationship, so you tend to do and say things after him; however, these past few months you have truly developed your own self. I LOVE the little girl you have become. Here's some of Mommy's favorite Chloe sayings...

Mommy: "Chloe what do you want to be when you get bigger?" Chloe: "I be a pincess."
Mommy: "Let's go monkeys!" Chloe: "I not a monkey, I Tinkerbale."
Mommy: "Let's go Tinkerbell!" Chloe: "Mommy, I'm not Tinkerbale today. I Finderella."
Mommy: "Chloe it's time to..." Chloe: "Hold on a second. I be wight back." Just a second. Don't weave."
Mommy: "Chloe, your job is to bring your tennies upstairs." Chloe: "No, Mommy. They aren't my tennies. They're my spaakalies." (They have glitter on them)
I also love how you say "tomorrow"--"toomayow"

Here are your stats:

You are 31.4 pounds and 37 inches tall...slightly below average, but perfect in every way!
Your favorite color is pink. EVERYTHING has to be pink--rubberbands, bows, shoes, socks, dresses, everything!
You can identify all the letters when asked to find a particular letter and can identify 20 letters on flashcards.
You are learning letter sounds and words that start with each letter.
You know how old you are, when your birthday is, your full name, how to count to 10 and most of the days of the week.
You love to sing and know all of the words of: Twinkle twinkle, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and most all of the songs on our CD we've been listening to since you were born.
You love to dance, especially with Daddy. You do hand movements for most songs and often correct Mommy when she's not doing something right.
You like some of Daddy's songs--currently you love singing "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker
Your favorite store is Costco, especially on weekends when all the food samples are out.
You are quite the mommy-in-training, loving on and taking care of your babies and often helping me take care of Easton.

We are so in love with you Chloe Grace. Happy Birthday, Princess!

One of my most favorite memories of you was our first real skin to skin time. I didn't get to hold you until later in the evening on the day you were born. I will forever treasure this memory my sweet girl.

What a beauty you have blossomed into. That smirk, that sass, that smile...
Daddy and Mommy love you to the moon and back!

Clayton Joseph is 3!

Happy THIRD birthday to our handsome boy. Clayton Joseph, you are Mommy's little buddy and Daddy's best friend. As I often do this time of the year I've been reflecting a lot on you, my baby boy. From finding out I was pregnant with you to hoping, praying, and not moving for 3 months to keep you safe inside of me. I remember holding you in my arms for the first time and singing "You are my Sunshine" to comfort you as you adjusted to your new world. When you are having trouble falling asleep at night you often ask Mommy to sing that same lullaby to you. Those days seem so long ago, but they are moments I will forever cherish. Each day your intelligence and athleticism amazes us. You are so curious about the world and want to know "what do you use it for" about everything. You and Daddy have so much fun nearly every day playing every sport in the backyard--you start with soccer, dribbling through cones and scoring goals, then you move on to shooting hoops and practicing passing and dribbling, then you hit golf balls and then Daddy pitches baseballs to you and you literally whack the ball across the backyard. I see a life of uniforms, balls, and team mom/coach meetings in our future.

You want to be a basketball player when you get older. When you and Chloe are pretend playing, you are always "Jake." You have started repeating lines of movies...your favorite, "I'm a Peterbuilt" from Cars. You get hooked on a particular Disney TV show for about a month and then move onto another. Your paci is officially a thing of the past. Yahoo!

Here are your stats:

You are 31.8 pounds and 37 3/4 inches...perfectly average!
Your favorite color is blue. EVERYTHING has to be blue--plates, forks, cupcake frosting, paint, crayons, markers, and cars.
You know all of your letter sounds and words that start with most all of the letters.
You know how old you are, when your birthday is, your full name, how to count to 20 (skipping a number here and there) and most of the days of the week.
You love to sing and know all of the words of: Twinkle twinkle, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and most all of the songs on our CD we've been listening to since you were born.
You like dancing and spinning until you get dizzy and fall down.
You like some of Daddy's songs--currently you love singing "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker
Your favorite store is "Depot." You like Costco too, especially when it's a weekend day and all the food samples are out.
You are very determined; definitely a perfectionist like Daddy. You focus hard on things you are interested in like sports, fixing things, and helping with yard work.

We are so in love with you Clayton Joseph. Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Mommy got to spend a lot of precious time with you when you were first born.
I remember singing "You are my Sunshine" to you to calm you.
You still ask me to sing it to you on nights your struggling to fall asleep.

Pure handsomeness. You're already such a little athlete and oh so persistent,

but those crystal blue eyes and adorable smile melt our hearts.

Friday, May 17, 2013

April Showers bring May Flowers

It's been a very full past few weeks with birthdays, parties, and just somewhat trying to reestablish our routine in our remodeled home. Our barren yard is now full of color with new plants, flowers, and green grass sprouting everywhere! Easton is walking all over the place. He is so cute...totally does the drunk walk with his hands up in the air and the biggest toothie grin plastered on his face. We are enjoying lazy evenings in our backyard full of children's toys, laughter, and lots of water (what kid doesn't love playing in water!). Just when the chaos of the past few months finally subsided, though, our air conditioner and furnace went out and then a pipe burst in the wall that leads to our kitchen. It's heartbreaking to watch our brand new kitchen get torn up, but perspective keeps me grounded. We have our health, the health of our families, stable jobs, a house to call our home, food on our table, and an abundance of love. Material things are just that, material. Hopefully next month I will be able to share that order has been restored again. Until then, here are some pictures of our month...

Cutie Pie!

Watch out girls!

Loves riding on the cart

Easton driving his new car...boy does this kid have an opinion now! He is determined, knows what he wants, throws himself on the ground when he doesn't get his way, and loves to take his brother and sister's toys! Easton doesn't like to be fed; in fact, he'll spit out whatever you put in his mouth and then pick it up and put it in himself. Easton also sleeps 12 hours every night without interruption...finally!!