It’s started!

It is officially Christmas time in the Lopez Martinez household. The first of the Christmas shopping has started. I’m not sure how I got so lucky, but Eric does most of the Christmas shopping in our family. He bought some toys for the kids today. We decided that we aren’t going that big this year since they have already have so many toys. We are going to buy them one big-ticket item and then a few smaller items each. We decided that this year’s big item would be a picnic table. I can see it getting a lot of use both inside and out. I imagine lots of coloring projects, tea parties and playing school. I can’t wait for them to see it on Christmas morning. Growing up I always loved the big items that weren’t wrapped, but were just out in the open on Christmas morning. Maybe I’ll put a big red bow on it or something.

Oh, and Syd informed Eric and I that she wants to be a Pop Star when she grows up, just like Hannah Montana. How does she even know who that is? My hopes of her becoming a Doctor, Engineer or other scientific occupation have been dashed away. Thanks, Disney Channel commercials! I’m sure that there are a lot of parents out there that would be perfectly fine with the idea of their child growing up to be a ‘Pop Star’, but Eric and I were crushed. Hopefully this will pass (soon)!

The other big thing, the babies have started trying to use utensils. I know it is really early for this and they are way too young, but they are interested. As long as someone, (Eric, myself, or Syd), puts the food on the fork/spoon, they will take it and get the food in their mouths. The look of accomplishment is priceless. Tonight they ate their entire meal of hotdog, broccoli, and cheese this way and were so proud. This is just another example of how fast my babies are growing. I love watching them learn and master new skills. They are so much fun- A lot of work, but a lot of joy.

I'm too cool with this fork!

This is easy.

Get there.

Got it!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It is probably my favorite holiday. Who doesn’t like getting together with family and stuffing yourself with yummy food? This year we went to Bartlesville and spent the day with my family. We had all of my favorite foods: chicken & noodles, cranberry salad, stuffing, red chile, and then all of the traditional stuff, of course: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie and a few other foods that I’m sure I’m forgetting. This year I was responsible for the stuffing (my mother-in-law’s recipe, which I’m going to claim as my own because it is so good), the deviled eggs (which I don’t even like, but Eric does), and the noodles (I actually made/rolled them out the year.) I know, chicken and noodles is a weird thing to have at Thanksgiving, but it is a family tradition and one that has been passed down for many generations. I think we figured out that they have been in our family for well over a hundred years. My Mom learned from my Great-Grandma and I am learning from her. I guess I am destined to take over as family noodle-maker. I still have some years of practice ahead of me, but I accept the challenge. I only hope that I will be able to pass this down to one of my girls. I had a great day. I spent it surrounded by my family. I am so thankful for all of my wonderful family and friends.

Mason playing on the bike.

Macky playing outside.

I'm so thankful that Eric and I were able to visit my Great-Grandma (she is 92.5 years old) and take some pictures with her and the kids. She really liked watching them play. Mason kept trying to steal her tootsie rolls and she kept letting him. It was so cute. My Grandma has a hard time hearing so we had to keep telling Syd to talk louder. As we were leaving we had an interesting conversation with Syd.

Syd: We need to buy Great-Great Grandma some new ears.

Stormi: Where would we buy her some new ears?

Syd: At the ear store, of course.

Eric: How much would new ears cost?

Syd: I think they would cost about $10. That's what happens when you get old, you have to buy new ears.

Stormi: That is a good idea, but it doesn't quite work like that.

Oh, Syd if it were only that easy. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to go to the store and buy new ears when you lost your hearing? Maybe Syd is onto something.

Mason with Great-Great Grandma

Sydney with Great-Great Grandma

Macky and Great-Great Grandma

Saturday Morning Fun and Random Ramblings

This morning Syd wanted to color, and instead of letting her do it by herself, we decided to make it a family affair. We covered half the table in paper. Eric and I each held a baby, and we started coloring. This was the first time that we have tried coloring with the babies. I don’t remember when Syd started coloring, but I’m pretty sure she was much older than the babies. The babies spent most of the time trying to eat the crayons. Macky finally got the idea of coloring and made a few lines. Mason, on the other hand, was much harder to convince. I was constantly picking pieces of crayon out of his mouth, but eventually, even he made a few lines on the paper. By this point, Syd is a professional artist. She can draw smiley faces, circles, and is even trying to draw letters. I took some pictures of our family fun. I can’t wait until all the kids can actually sit and color together.

Random Rambling #1
Syd has become obsessed with certain products on television. For example:
Syd: Daddy, is Mommy going to buy Ziploc bags?
Eric: I don’t know, why do we need Ziploc bags?
Syd: Because they will keep our food fresh and I like fresh food.
I walked in at this point and assured Syd that we would have fresh food and not to worry about the Ziploc bags. She then proceeded to tell me how to use the Ziploc bags.

Syd: Mommy, you put meat in them and zip them closed and put them in the freezer and they will protect the meat.
I was blown away. Did my three year old just tell me how to use a Ziploc bag? She has done something similar to this before, but not to this degree or detail. She once demanded Charmin Ultra, but that is a story for another time.

Random Rambling #2
I think now that Christmas is getting closer (less than 6 weeks away) there are more commercials on television. Syd has a definite knack for remembering nearly everything she sees or hears on the T.V. (as proven by the story above). This is a good and a bad thing. The good thing is she knows more Spanish than I do, thanks to Dora and Diego. Also, I’m convinced that Sesame Street helped teach her colors and numbers when she was very little. Now for the bad- She is constantly asking for things such as Bendaroos, Clippos, and other weird toys that I’ve never heard of. PBS has some strange toy commercials between shows. She remembers all of the products names for almost everything and, while I’m impressed, I’m also frustrated that the commercials are actually doing their job on my three year old. I will say that the Clippos are pretty cool and may make an appearance at Christmas.

Random Rambling #3
One of our neighbors recently put up his Christmas tree (you can see it from the street) and now, guess what? Syd is all but begging that we put up our Christmas tree. I asked her where we should put it and she said in her room so that she could see it all the time and the babies wouldn’t get it. This brought up an interesting discussion between Eric and me. Where are we going to put our Christmas tree? We have the perfect place for it, but it is right between the kitchen and the playroom. This is the highest baby traffic area in the entire house. Do we really want something so enticing directly in their path? Eric’s suggestion was to put it up in its normal spot, but leave the lower four feet bare. I can just see Mason picking an ornament off the tree and saying, “ball”, and then throwing it across the tile and it shattering into a million pieces. My idea is to put some sort of kid fence around it. That way, it is still protected from the kids and we will be able to put presents under it and they won’t be able to get to them. However, our kids are very creative and I can just see them trying to find a way to climb over the fence. I guess, for now, we have a few more weeks to think about it. What a crazy house we live in!

Eric & the girls.

Coloring is so much fun!

Sydney, my blooming artist.

Our art.

Mase & Macky sitting in time-out.

Too cute. I had to take a picture.

Take-off and Time-out

We have had a really busy week. My Dad got in last Sunday and it is always crazy when he comes to visit. We try to squeeze as much in as we can into a short amount of time. It seems like, before we know it, the week is gone and it is time for him to take off. This week he watched the babies by himself for the first time and survived. Most moms would be worried about leaving their children, well not me, I worry about the person that is watching them. There is something very scary about watching two mobile babies. One minute everything is fine and the next minute it is full blown chaos. I returned home to find everyone in the same condition, as when I left. I was so happy that the babies were able to spend some quality time with their Granddad. The next day, my Dad took Syd to the Dallas World Aquarium and that had a good time. One thing is for sure, my kids love their Granddad and he loves them. I really enjoy watching them interact and play together. They always have so much fun. My Dad goes back to Venezuela tomorrow and we will miss him so much, December 15 can’t get here fast enough.
Have a safe trip, Daddy.

The prisoners are trying to take over the prison. Eric and I have recently started disciplining the babies. At first, just a firm “no” would be sufficient, but that isn’t working any more. Now we have started giving swats on the bottom or the hand, depending on the offense, however our preferred method of discipline is time-out. Just in the last week, Mason got put in time-out for hitting. After he was out of time-out, Macky went and sat in the time-out spot. It was really kind of funny. I kept telling her to get up, that it was naughty spot, but it is impossible to tell a one year old anything. I guess she thought that she was missing out on something. Today Macky made her first trip to time-out. She was such a sad sight. We told her repeatedly not to hit the television, which, of course, she kept doing, so Eric put her in time-out. She cried the biggest crocodile tears I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what it is about her, but she really knows how to put on a show and pull at your heartstrings. Eric says that she is the hardest one for him to discipline and it is because, like Syd, she has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. I just don’t know what we are going to do with these kids. I guess we just keep trying to be consistent, fair, and pray we are doing the right things. If we are lucky the prisoners won’t take over the prison any time soon.

Look at all of these cool fish.

Granddad, this is so much fun.

Granddad playing with Macky & Syd.

Macky's First Haircut. Thanks, Angela.

Happy Birthday, Reese. We had a great time at your party.

Halloween and Confession

Halloween was a blast! Syd was Little Red Riding Hood, Mase was a Golfer, and Macky was a Butterfly. Syd loved getting dressed up and getting candy. Who doesn’t? The babies were pretty oblivious, but they liked being pushed around the neighborhood. Eric gave them their first suckers and it was so funny. Macky had a death grip on hers the whole night, and sucked it down to the tootsie center. Mase, on the other hand, took a couple of licks off of his and then threw it on the ground. He was a sticky mess the rest of the night, which didn’t bother him at all. The kids got so much candy I’m not sure what do to with it all. I guess I will have a lot of bribe candy and it helps that Eric is a candy-aholic. This year was a lot of fun and next year will be even more fun. I can’t wait.

Now for my confession, I’ve been reading the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, which is why I haven’t posted in almost two weeks. I use the term reading lightly, because I should say that, I’ve been completely engrossed in Edward and Bella land. I’ve spent nearly every free minute of every day reading or wishing I were reading. I finally finished the fourth book on Tuesday. Every night I would think about posting, but I just couldn’t make myself do it. I recommend the books, but only if you want to devote a significant amount of time to reading four books that are over 500 pages each. Now, I just have to wait a couple of weeks for the movie. I don’t know if I will make it. Well, that’s my confession and I promise to do better about posting.

Sydney as Little Red Riding Hood

Mason the Golfer

Mackenzie the Butterfly

Aren't we cute?

Is it almost time to Trick or Treat?

What is this thing?

I love this sucker. Yummy!