Winnie the Pooh

I took Lexi and Aidan to see the movie Winnie the Pooh yesterday, and it totally sucked!  We actually wanted to see the Smurfs, but we went with our friend, Teri, and her sons, James and Connor, and they wanted to see Winnie the Pooh.  I guess we've all been spoiled by action packed, superior animation and 3-D effects, because this "timeless tale" with its drab color palette and old school animation was a total bore.  And my kids felt the same way, and wanted to leave half way through the movie.  Thank goodness it was only one hour long!  But at least we got to get some pictures by the fountain outside the movie theater at the Deer Park Tanger outlets.

 I love this one!

With James and Connor (who is being awfully shy!)

Making a wish!

Aidan made his wish, too!

Lexi gets into it and ends up spraying everyone

Of course, if there is a puddle, my kids will jump in it...

Aidan spots an even better puddle to get wet in...

 ....making a splash!

The kids had a better time playing with the water than they had at the movie!

Today, Greg and I had a rare night out.  My mother and Aunt Barbara offered to watch the kids, as they often offer.  However, this time, I actually took them up on their offer!!!  Michael was up every few hours throughout the night (as opposed to the 8-9 hours he was sleeping the prior 3 nights!), and he wanted to be held ALL DAY today!  My arms and shoulders are killing me!!!!  So when my mother called me to ask if Greg and I wanted a break, I jumped at it!

We went to the Lighthouse on the Bay restaurant by the Wellwood docks.  As usual, I wanted to sit inside and Greg wanted to sit inside.  We compromised and sat on the enclosed patio.  I think it's strange that we would go to a restaurant on the water, and NOT want to sit outside.  But Greg, always so negative, thinks about bugs, my hair blowing all over or frizzing up (he actually said this), no air conditioning, etc.  Is it normal to avoid experiencing life because you're afraid that it MIGHT be a negative experience?  Think about how much we have already miss, and will continue to miss....  I often wonder how I ended up with someone who is always so contrary to me, and said as much to Greg over dinner.  His usual reply, "Opposites attract."  Hmph...

Dentist time, wiggly teeth, and palettes...

On May 17th, 2011, we took Aidan and Alexa to the dentist for the first time.  It was an emergency visit because the day before, I discovered that Lexi had a wiggly tooth, and an adult tooth growing right behind it--and I freaked!  Dr. Miller was nice enough to squeeze us in on an emergency basis

Dr. Miller gave Alexa her first checkup, and she was loving it!  She got to check out all of her teeth in the mirror, and count them with the dentist.  This is not the greatest shot because I forgot my camera and had to take with my phone:

She lost her first tooth a few days later on May 22, 2011, but you can't really tell because her adult tooth was already in behind it. 

A few weeks later, she lost the second bottom middle tooth, and once again, the adult tooth was right behind it--so no weird, gappy smiles.  Today, we went back to Dr. Miller for Alexa's first teeth cleaning, and Aidan's first checkup.  I made them pose by the big tooth in the lobby, but they weren't happy about it.

Alexa was loving the visit, and excited for her chocolate flavored teeth cleaning!

I had to wrestle Aidan to the chair, but he did it, and the dentist was able to "count" his teeth!

So all went well, and no cavities for either child, YAY!!!!  All four of Lexi's permanent molars have "erupted", and her top two teeth are now wiggly.

Later on, Alexa broke into the school supplies and pulled out the new magic markers.  When I walked into the dining room, I see two sets of magic markers strewn about the table, and am about to yell at her for opening up the school supplies, but as I'm about to yell, she turns to me and says, "Mommy, I'm using both different palettes."  Looking at the packaging, I see that one set of markers is regular colors, and one is bright colors.  But not believing my five year old truly knows what a palette is,  I ask her what she means by palette and she tells me, "It's a set of colors." Well now I can't yell at her because I"m so impressed by her vocabulary! 

Finally, when I created the blog yesterday, and was searching for a picture of the kids to put under the heading, I realized that I don't have a picture of my three kids together.  Michael is now almost 7 weeks old--how do I not have a picture of these kids together yet!!!!????  So I call the kids together for a picture, and then I understood why I don't have a picture of the three of them together.

As good as it's gonna get for now!

My son is gorgeous!!!!

Peahead Prints Photography takes amazing photos!  I have been ogling and obsessed with the photos on its blog for over a year, well before I became pregnant with Michael.  So when I became pregnant, I knew I wanted to book a newborn photo session with them.  I just received the photos in the mail today, and I couldn't be happier!!!

We took Michael's pictures when he was just 15 days old.   He looks absolutely gorgeous in each and every one (no, I'm not biased--he really is gorgeous).  This is what I see when I look at him, and I'm so happy that Gina (the photographer) was able to capture the sweetness and beauty that is my baby boy.

Alexa and Aidan, you were both equally gorgeous, and I wish I had photos like this of you, but I didn't know this kind of photography existed when you were babies.  At the time, I went to the department stores, J.C. Penney or Sears.  But, since I did take each of you for professional shots every month for your first year, I do have some pretty great photos of you, too.

A blog...really????

I never thought I would start a blog--I mean really, who the hell do I think I am?  So kids, here is why I am starting a blog--so that I can record your lives as it's happening.  These will be the stories of your lives--the daily happenings that aren't deemed significant or common enough by the mass market to warrant a specific page in your baby books (well, maybe some things will make it in there), but stories I wanted you to know, none the less, because each story has shaped your life in an immeasurable way.  A cookie cutter memory book could never capture what is so uniquely you, but maybe these stories and photos will give us just a little bit more of each of you to look back on and reminisce. 

I waited much too long to start this, because there are so many stories I wish I could remember, and should have written down, but was too caught up in the chaos of our daily lives to jot it down.  Now I can't remember those details and specifics that made the stories record worthy. 

Since I am always at the computer, whether I'm at work, or winding down at the end of the night, I thought that a blog might be the easiest way to record what is the most important part of my life:  Alexa, Aidan and Michael.  Let's see if I can keep up....