Fast track to toddlerhood...Easton is 10 months big!

GROWTH is the single word to describe our little E this past month...

• After months of horrendous teething (still had his great personality, but sleeping comfortably was hard for him), Easton had his bottom two teeth pop through and one and a part of his top 2 teeth less than a week later. 4 teeth at once--definitely understand why he was so uncomfortable!
• Easton added "dadada" to his repertoire of sounds--Daddy was in Heaven upon hearing those words. 
• Amongst the sounds of happy giggles, toddler fighting, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy," and "My do's," Easton has clearly decided his voice needs to be heard; so, along with his trademark growl, he's yelling a nice high pitched sound, and just rambling all sorts of sounds all day long.
• Easton is a crawling and cruising machine. He loves to let go or push up from something low to the ground and balance and stand for about 10 seconds. He also loves pushing his zebra toy and anything else that can be pushed--Roxi's water bowl, chairs, toy buckets, anything!
• He decided he truly despises Mommy's homemade purees that she worked so hard to make for him and instead prefers real food. I've continued to successfully sneak in bites of purees so they don't go to waste, but I have to compliment the purees with regular food. Some of his faves are yogurt, cheerios, cut up fruit, pasta, cheese, avocado, eggs, broccoli, whole wheat bread with roasted garlic hummus, sweet potato fries, and frozen yogurt (don't tell!)
• Easton loves drinking water out of his or the twins' straw cups. He's been able to drink out of a straw cup since about 5 months old. 
• He is sleeping better--the good news is that he always goes to sleep without problem and goes back to sleep easily as long as his has his favorite soother--Mommy! We are working with him now to soothe himself. I don't mind one time a night, but know he needs to learn to soothe himself back to sleep.
• Easton loves "playing" with Clayton and Chloe--he tries so hard to keep up with them. He loves going to the park, down the slides and swinging on the swings, hanging outside in his walker, going on the twins' rollercoaster, bouncing on the trampoline, being held (especially by Mommy-keeps his eyes locked on me at all times), basketballs, Roxi, and riding in shopping carts. 

We love him more than life itself and are soaking up every one of his baby smells, sounds, and giggles because Easton will be our last baby. Here are some pictures from his month of fun...

 Enjoying his first mum, but he can't quite figure them out!

Easton's first haircut (he so desperately needed it!)

So sinkin' handsome!

Looking like his daddy

Easton loves afternoon swinging

Hello real food! 

Easton loves playing catch with the ball

Little chunkalunk looking like his big brother

Bye bye purees...sorry Mommy!

Monkey man loves dirt!

Easton's first ride in his new convertible car seat...getting too big.

 Flirting with the ladies at Home Depot

Impossible to change this busy boy; hence his nakedness.

The boy has got a booty!

Play time with Daddy

January Joy

The bittersweet end to the Christmas holidays is much less bitter with children as the joy of the season continues in their sweet little minds. For example, now anything and everything the twins see that they want, they say "I want this for Santa." We always obligingly reply with, "Of course, but it'g going to be a little while before he comes again." At this point we are thrilled our children only ask Santa for the plethora of things they want, but know that will quickly come to an end when they realize Daddy and Mommy can shop too!

A few fun facts about our trio:
Clayton's intelligence amazes us every day. He talks in complete sentences, remembers everything, can point and count, sing songs, sing his ABC's, knows the sounds of A-D, counts to 10, "reads" certain parts of books, can dribble and shoot a basketball, dribble a soccer ball and shoot a goal, and throw a baseball hard, far, and with good aim. He's motivated, persistent, and a lover.
Chloe's adorableness makes us smile every day. She talks in complete sentences, sings songs, dances and does the hand motions to songs, sings her ABC's, counts almost to 10 (she tends to skip 3-5), has a brilliant imagination--talks to her babies, cares for her babies, sings to her babies, can be very bossy, pointing her finger and telling us what to do, falls a lot, can identify all letters, and knows the sounds of A-B.
Easton's update is on his own 10 month post!

Ryan and I continue to try to carve in time for "us," which is no easy feat. We've started upgrading our home, which is fun and exciting, but so very stressful. Anything out of the norm isn't easy for this mommy of 3. We just had the exterior repaired and repainted, along with brickwork and wall work done. We had some "fortress" looking wrought iron removed and the walls built up. Ryan removed one of the dilapidated and rotted patio covers, which means no swings for the kiddos right now. We are hoping to put a swing set in soon. At the end of the month we have a lot of interior woodwork being done--window and door casings, baseboards, and wainscoting. We are hoping to replace the kitchen cabinets, granite, and possibly floors too. Fingers crossed our budget permits it all to happen!

Here's some pictures from our month...

Now that Jett Jett can walk, he's running with the twins!

Sissy and her baby

Gone are the days of Mommy reading, in are the days of "My job, Mommy watch."

While playing catch with his football one night, Clayton insisted he run 

up the stairs and get his helmet, which was Papa Jim's. 

Chloe couldn't be left out of the fun

Chloe's first time sleeping in her new big girl bed. 

Unfortunately, she graced it with the stomach flu during her first sleep in it. 

Clayton's first time sleeping in his new big boy bed...loves it!

Mommy often finds Chloe sleeping on the floor in the middle of the night. 

Having fun at Build A Bear (thanks Uncle Branden and Aunt Casey!)

It's a roll a coaster kind of afternoon

Dress up has begun! Love toddler imaginations!

Playing with the band at church ("big church")

Painting fun on a rainy day

Chloe playing dress up with her sweet friend, Kody

Chloe loves her baby

Clayton beat Mommy at Memory! 

Having fun at Daddy's fire station for his 10 year dinner.

Mouthful of yummies

Daddy and his babes

So proud of Ryan!

It's raining, it's pouring!

Nighttime play time! 

Love these faces

Merry CHRISTmas!

December came and went faster than I would have liked, but it was full of love, laughter, and very spoiled children. We filled the month with Christmas treats like riding the Irvine Park train to see Santa Claus and bundling up to see the beautiful Brea Christmas lights. Clayton and Chloe really seemed to understand the concept of Santa, which turned out to be a fabulous way to redirect unwanted behaviors! Clayton wanted a tool bench and a blue bike and Chloe wanted a new baby and new baby stroller. I'll never forget their sweet little voices confidently sharing their hopes and dreams for what they wanted from Santa. I know I loved Christmas as a child, but I'm so enamored with it now that I have children. There's nothing better than seeing the innocent joy shine through my children's twinkling eyes. Oh and did Santa hear their requests? Yes, he did! Clayton got his tool bench, blue Strider bike (Santa came to Papa Jim and Nonnie's too!), big basketball, Toy Story 2, a Woody doll, microphone, guitar, books, Thomas trains, chapstick, and so much more, while Chloe got a new Corolle baby, stroller, cradle, high chair, pink Strider bike (Santa came to Papa Jim and Nonnie's too!), purse, microphone, guitar, books, chapstick, Tangled, a Rapunzel doll and lots more. Easton got an activity center, ball popper, a Zebra ride on toy (Thanks Papa Louie and Grammie!), a little Woody doll, and puffs! One of their favorite gifts was an outdoor trampoline from their Papa Louie and Grammie. We had a relaxing Christmas Eve morning building a gingerbread house and then went to Christmas Eve mass, which is my favorite service. Papa Jim and Nonnie came over for a delicious lasagna dinner (made by Nonnie!)--our Christmas Eve tradition. We opened up new warm jammies and got prepared for Santa's big arrival. Christmas morning was full of wrapping paper, boxes, and very happy children. Papa Jim and Nonnie came over in the morning to see what Santa brought and have breakfast with us. Papa Louie and Grammie came over a little bit later to surprise the twins with their new trampoline. What fun they had jumping on their new toy and burning lots of energy! That night we went over to Papa Jim and Nonnie's to open presents with everyone and then had dinner with my mom's family. It was a very full, but very fulfilling day. We celebrated with Ryan's family the following day and once again enjoyed delicious food, good company, and lots of presents. The festivities capped off with a visit to Uncle Roo and Aunt Debbie's for another yummy feast and special time with our cousins. Love, love, love Christmas!

Some little highlights of the duo:

• Clayton's adorable phrases..."Mommy/Daddy, what are you doing?," "Mommy, watch this!" (he then proceeds to do a really cool "trick," "Mommy, come here. I need to show you something."
• Chloe's sweet words and phrases..."Tayton" for Clayton, "Mommy, watch this!" (she then proceeds to do a really cool "trick," "kiss...um, ma" the sound effect make it, and "I be a princess." 
• A year ago I had to fight to put a bow in Chloe's hair and now she can't leave her bedroom without her hair done and a bow in her hair...love it! I also love blow drying her hair. At first I cringed at the thought of another nighttime chore, but now it is our special time together. She also doesn't like wearing her bike helmet, why because of her hair, of course. Oh my are we in for it!
• Clayton always has something in his hands. His most prized handheld possessions are his blankie and a blue handball from Ryan's fire station. Ryan has to bring one home every day. He definitely has his daddy's athleticism with all sports. He's a natural. I can already see myself in the stands now...might as well script a TLC show after me now! 

Here's some pictures from our festive Christmas month...

Christmastime at Disneyland with Papa Jim and Nonnie

Picking out a Christmas tree for our playroom

Two very big helpers assisting Daddy with putting the Christmas lights up.

Nonnie had to babysit all 4 of her grandkids one Thursday afternoon--milk for all! Well, water for E!

I never got a picture of our beautifully decorated playroom tree with the bows, but here it is with our homemade and a few store bought ornaments.

Chloe is loved by her Grammie--such a beautiful quilt for her big girl bed.

Little artists hard at work on their bathtub masterpiece.

All bundled up for Easton's first wagon ride--he loved it!

Painting ornaments for their tree

Special times with our cousins Angie and Jeff

Merry Christmas to my beloved Papa and Grandma...we miss you so very much.

The park: the best invention ever for children!

Clayton and Chloe's first movie theater experience--Monsters Inc. 3D

Our annual trip on the Irvine Park Christmas train!

Making gingerbread boys and girls with Nonnie

Blessed beyond measure with these three

Christmas Eve morning we made a gingerbread house!

Christmas Eve--Mass, dinner, new pajamas, reindeer food and "The Night Before Christmas"...

Santa came!

Trying out their new trampoline from Papa Louie and Grammie--I'm thinking they love it!

Christmas with the Aurelio Family

Thank goodness Santa brought Clay a new big basketball...

and a blue bike!

Chloe trying out her new pink bike

Papa Jim didn't want to be left out of the fun, so Nonnie bought him a new scooter.

Nonnie put Ryan and Kyle on a scavenger hunt to find their shared gift...a beer pong table!

Santa thought Chloe would love a new baby with hair, but unfortunately even Santa makes mistakes. Chloe was a little nervous about the doll with hair as I'm guessing it didn't look like a baby, so off to the specialty toy store she and Mommy went the day after Christmas to find a Corolle baby.
I'm thinking she loves her new baby!

Christmas with The Carlos Family

Two little Cowboys ready to cheer on their favorite team...thanks Aunt D!