Easter Weekend!

Our Easter festivities began on Friday with dying eggs. We found a great kit where you just roll the paint on with rollers. It was much easier, and much faster. But I did kind of miss the old fashioned vinegar dyes.





Baby M got frustrated with the rollers, so I would just paint his hand and let him hold the egg.




The Easter Bunny was gracious and hid our eggs on Saturday, so we could attend my cousins baby blessing on Sunday. We had a really fun egg hunt in my parents back yard.







After the egg hunt we enjoyed our traditional meal of Eggs-all-a-Goldenrod.



The next day we woke up to more treats from the Easter Bunny.






We then headed to the baby blessing.



We enjoyed the afternoon at a park, in Layton, with family.





Afterwards we enjoyed a peaceful ride home.



Happy Easter!!!

Our Sick Week. . .or Two

Red, swollen eyes; coughing till you cry; fever, aches and pains; runny noses and even some vomiting. This was all included in our sick week.

We had a fun month trying to figure out if the kids were sick or not. The family doctor thought Baby M might have Fifths Disease. I don't know if this was the over all cause of our problems. In fact, I don't know if he actually had it or not. His cheeks would be red for a week, and then they looked fine. Then they would be red the next week.

*Fifths Disease tends to give children red cheeks, giving them the appearance of a cheek that has been slapped. This brings about its other name, Slap Cheek.



This month has also been filled with fun ailments such as rashes, diarrhea and slight fevers. Are these all factors to the illness we fought this week? I do not know.

It started with Baby M and a cough. I wasn't sure if it was a cough to worry about, so I just gave him medicine here and there and waited to see what happened.

Then one morning Big H woke up crying. He would cry every time he coughed. I brought him upstairs to lay down with me.

Then the next day Little H woke up crying. Same symptoms as Big H the day before.

Then the next two days found the twins both with red, swollen eyes. Baby M's eyes never swelled, or got red, they just produced little eye boogers.



The week went on and the boys all seemed to be getting better when, suddenly, Big H came down with a high fever. He just laid on the couch and didn't move. I was really worried about him. My Dad gave him a blessing, and he seemed to get a little better. The next night, however, found him waking up from nap time feeling all sorts of awful. He was so tired, but no matter how I held him, or what position he was in, he would moan and cry. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I called my mom and asked if she would help me take him to an insta-care-- Craig was at work. On the way my mom had to stop and get gas, and Big H just moaned and cried in the back seat. He'd arch his back and cry, "Mommy, Mommy!"

It broke my heart.

Finally we arrived at the insta-care. Craig was able to meet us there. The nurse was so sweet. She could tell he just didn't feel good, and she brought him some medicine. He was diagnosed with what was thought to be, probably, the flu.

Craig stayed home with the boys the next day while I worked. They seemed to be feeling better when I got home.

The next day I was home with the boys. Big H woke up crying, "I want medicine!"

I quickly dealt out doses to him. After which he began to say, "I want my Henrum!"

Little H was still asleep.

When Little H woke up, he came upstairs and laid down, in a big heap, on the kitchen floor. Big H brought him a blanket and patted his head. I then handed him his medicine. Big H took it from me and gave it to Little H. It was really sweet.

We have since recovered. Though whenever Big H gets a little tickle in his throat he says, "I want medicine"

"I think you just need a drink Honey."

P.S. The vomiting incident occurred because Big H tends to over stuff his mouth with food. Combine this action with a cough and. . .well. . .you get the picture.

In other fun, sick, news. Our little Baby M always keeps us guessing. From, "Is this another rash?" to "Should I be concerned about these red, pimple-like, things?"

One issue, he has had for a while, is a herniated belly button. It's usually no concern, and kids just grow out of it, but lately it has been poking out further. So we will be taking him to the Doctor again. Hopefully its still nothing serious.




On another note, a completely different note, here are some stories I want to write down before I forget.

Sometimes the twins won't go to sleep till one in the morning. When we open their door to tell them to go to sleep they quickly lay down and try not to move. Little H has even started fake snoring.

The boys invented a new game on the downstairs couch. They climb up on the arm and jump off. They call it, "To the rescue!" And they shout that as they jump off.

Little H has a pair of superman pajamas-- and Big H has some Batman ones. I brought them upstairs and he was so excited, and, I swear, he said something along the lines of, "With this I can fly."
He was so disappointed when I put them on and he couldn't fly.
"Hey I not flying."
I swear to you, that is what he said. It was kind of hard to get a "for sure" though.

The other day Baby M got out a bib because he saw me cooking lunch. When I didn't put him in his chair he got another bib. I gave it to Little H and said, "Take this to Big H."
He then said, "Henrum, its breakfast time!"
And wondered down stairs to find him.

We were at the mall setting up our new phones. Craig had the twins and I had Baby M. We were in the food court and I was waiting for him to finish his ice cream. A lady walked by and asked, "How old is he?"
"18 months."
"He's a beautiful baby."
She then waved and said, "Hi!"
Baby M caught right on. He waved his cute little wave and even blew kisses. He smiled and flirted with that woman, making sure she knew he was indeed cute.

While we were out the other day we needed gas, so I pulled into a gas station. Big H said, "Hey what are you doing?"
"I'm getting gas."
"No gas. Get drinks."

And now for a story about Craig.

Craig had a good interview with Standard Optical on Saturday. We are hoping and praying that we hear good news come Thursday. Its sounds like everything went really well and we really could use this job. So, wish him luck!

That's My Boys

An update, a little bragging and a way to try and squeeze in some random pictures.

Those boys of mine are sure cute!

The twins are obsessed with super heroes. You can often hear them saying, "To the rescue! It's superman to the rescue!"
 Big H likes Batman and Little H likes Superman and Spiderman.

The boys all like to play video games. I'm yet to think of a game they could play with out lots of help, but sometimes they help me play. Last night Big H kept exclaiming, "I did it! I did it!" As we played Lego Batman.

The boys have also started to pay special attention to their rewards charts. When they are good they get a star. After 9 stars they get a special surprise. Little H earned his yesterday-- it was a treat from our treat bucket. After that Big H kept saying, "I want stars." He said it over and over.
 "Well be a good boy and you'll get them."
I finally found a few reasons for him to get his last two stars and then he got a treat. Little H saw this and said, "I want stars."


The twins both love letters and when we are out the are always saying, "Look letters!"
Or they will say, "It's a 'A'. It's a 'D'".

The twins have gotten into a bad habit of saying "Stupid cat!" And "Shut-up!"
The "stupid cat" wasn't all our fault. It was on Muppet Treasure Island, and they picked right up on it. Though the other day the fridge froze some of our food and I said, "Stupid fridge!"
So, yes, I'm partly to blame.
The "shut-up" is my fault. I just tell them we shouldn't use that word and mommy and daddy shouldn't use it either. They then look at me and say, "Shhh! Shhh!" Big H always does this when I'm mad at him.

Big H

His weird rash. We still don't know what that was about.
 

Big H is now potty trained, though he still wears a pull-up at night. He loves his "underwears".  He gets upset when he can't find him, or if you offer him a diaper instead. One night we didn't have pull-ups so we put a diaper on him and he threw a fit. Half way through the night the diaper came off and he wet the bed. 

His pull-ups have Disney/Pixar's Cars on them. I guess all Cars pull-ups are not equal. Every night he has to pull them all out until he finds one with Mater on it. 

 Big H likes shapes. He asks me about the shapes on his potty chart. 

Big H: "What's that?" 

Me: "That's a rectangle." 

Big H: "A triangle. What's that?" 

Me: "That's a square." 

Big H: "No it's a Triangle." 

Big H likes movies. He has his own name for them to. We now have, to add to the list, Herald=Hercules, Spiderman Herald=Spiderman 2, Charlie Movie=All Dogs Go to Heaven, Snowman=Superman and Arella=Cinderella. The rest I haven't decoded yet, but their are a couple that go by Horse Movie and Mouse Movie.

 

Little H

Double the diapers, double the fun!

Little H is a huge momma's boy. He also likes to be the mom. "Don't do that Henrum!"
"Poop in the toilet."
"You OK?"

Little H picks up on all our phrases. Even the bad ones. One night I spilled the candy bucket and he said, "This is Crap Mom!" As he helped me pick up.
Yes that's the wisdom I have imparted to my child.

 Little H is always good to let Big H pick the movie-- and in this house Big H picks the movie. Sometimes I feel really bad that he never gets to choose, so I watch a movie with him. Or we just endure Big H's tantrum. Yesterday he watched Thumbelina with me. It was so fun, even though I fell asleep.

Little H is good to clean up when I ask him too. He's also good to throw a tantrum when I ask him to do things.

I learned, the other night, that the "Bibbity bobbity Boo" scene in Cinderella is pretty Traumatic for Little H. Watching all the animals get turned into something else left him saying, "Where did mice go? Where is horse? Oh no horse. Oh no dog! Where is dog?"

Baby M

Playing video games.

Baby M is on the ball. He is smart and attentive. When he's hungry he gets a bib and goes to his high chair. I didn't even have to teach him.

He's getting really good at following directions and picking up messes. But he can still be really stubborn about it too.

Baby M is our button pusher. Seriously, this kid is crazy with buttons. Within minutes of being at your house you would know what I mean.

He's a little troublemaker. Sometimes he laughs when he does something naughty-- like throwing things. Sometimes when I come to get him he'll stand there and smile then at the last minute run away. He can be a stinker sometimes.

Baby M likes to snuggle, and he likes when his brothers are gone and it's all about him.

Baby M hates baby signs and gets mad when I try to use them. He does really good at catching on to how things work though. If he wants more cereal he'll hand me his bowl and say, "Mo." If he's done he throws it on the floor.

The other day I told Baby M to put something in the sink. He gets confused about what goes in the sink and what goes in the garbage. Sometimes he'll try to throw dishes away. I pointed him towards the sink so he wouldn't get confused. Well, he couldn't reach, so he came back and threw it in the garbage.

The other day he thought the garbage looked fun. He pulled out an egg carton that had egg shells in it and crushed them all over the floor. He got sent to time out. He doesn't take kindly to punishment. It's really quite tragic for him.

Baby M is starting to fight his brothers more and more. It kind of surprises me. The twins used to always start it, but that's not the case anymore.

Baby M likes things to go exactly his way. Even if he gets what he wants, but it didn't go the way he wanted, he'll throw a fit. He finds ways to make his way work to. Like if Craig and I are hugging he'll butt in to get attention. We pick him up for a minute. But when we go to put him down he holds up his legs and won't stand up. I usually set him on the floor, which leads to a fit. 

Those are what the boys have been up to lately. I know there are more stories but I can not remember them. Oh well, the post is getting long anyway.

Cute Videos! Cute Boys!

Offering pudding the other night turned into me and Little H shouting back and fourth, "I want some Pudding!" Pretty soon Baby M joined in-- I think he was the one I made the original offer to. How cute is this?



The boys are really into superheros-- Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. The other night we put in Toys Story 3. One of the first scenes of the movie, when the train falls into the canyon to meet almost certain doom, but is rescued by Buzz in a miraculous turn of events, led to joyous shouts of praise and adoration coming from the boys bedroom. You would have thought someone had one the lottery. The shouts of, "It's Buzz," could be heard all around the house. The second attempt, in order to catch it on camera, wasn't nearly as grand, but I thought you could still get the general idea.

On Christmas Day. . .

. . .and the Eve of



The boys got dressed in their new PJ's and went to bed to await the arrival of Santa





. . .in the Morning

We started the day by going to church. Craig got them all ready for church and I came down and put their top hats on.



"What Handsome devils!" I exclaimed.

Big H looked at me all confused and asked, "Devils?"

"Yeah Devils."

Still confused, he inquired, "What's that?"

I explained that it meant they are so good looking they may break a few hearts. That boy is getting to be so grown up.

We sneaked the boys out the side door so they wouldn't be distracted by the toys.




Upon returning home we were greatly excited for the big unveiling. Santa had brought us some wonderful surprises. The best being their new Thomas. . . Train sets.



Little H, however, was not impressed. He grumped and grimaced at every present that was to be opened. he even spent some time in time out. We finally put together one of the train sets in hopes that Little H would let us have an enjoyable Christmas.

Santa also brought the boys a dual screen DVD player for the car. This was a long awaited gift by children and parents a like. Lets face it, it's more of a blessing for us. After these were opened all hope for the other presents was lost. Baby M even swatted gifts, that I tried to show him, away.



This was the gift I was most excited for:



I bought this for Craig and I couldn't wait to watch him open it.

Craig got me some fancy new boots, and a cool photo organizer. I also got some anti-freeze-- my car has a leak and needs to be refilled often or the heater won't work-- and some deicing windshield fluid.

All this, and much more, graced the Stratton home in the form of Christmas gifts that morning.

Big H




Little H





The train from his new train set is sitting next to him.

"Who's that?" He kept asking.

"It's Dash." I'd say.

"No, it's Ferdinand."

"No, it's Dash."

"No, it's Ferdinand."

"OK, it can be Ferdinand if you want it to."

If you watch Thomas. . . often then this conversation makes a little more sense.

Baby M



Enjoying his penguin ring pop.



Craig and I




Our Little Martinelli's Family



Baby M and I playing with a Stocking Stuffer.




Got to love the unwrapping mess! It's hard to believe that such beautifully wrapped packages could create such chaos.




. . .Afternoon

We headed to my parents to take part in a lovely Christmas meal, and some more exchanging of gifts.



Little H insisted the new Thomas. . . set be brought to Grandma's. Here they are enjoying the excitment of their first real Thomas. . . train set. Given just to them.



Such fun they had. But trains can turn into not so much fun when you try to drive them through mom's hair. Twice! Did I mention they were turned on? I lost a few good clumps of hair to Dash one and Dash two.

Little H and Baby M really let their exhaustion show. Baby M was dead tired and kept throwing fits because he couldn't play with the Thomas. . . toys. I brought down some other train sets for him, which did seem to please as long as the train stayed on the tracks. Which it didn't. Little H was kind of a little grump. Throwing fits here and there. Pushing Baby M and not letting him play. I was sad that he couldn't just be happy on such a special day.

Baby M and Nephew M playing together, so cutely.



What adorable hors d'oeuvre's grandma got this year.



The families were all so generous this year. We got so much fun stuff! We are so grateful for everything.




. . .Night

The boys put on their fuzzy reindeer pajamas and prepared for a much needed rest. They had a fun day full of new toys, yummy treats and family and friends. I tried to finish the night by listening to our new audio CD that came with our . . .Polar Express book, but instead I spent it rocking a tired and hysterical Little H to sleep.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

. . .And the Day After

I tagged along with my parents as we visited Grandma's and went to see what everyone got from Santa. Little H was in another mood, but seemed to be better after a little nap.

When we finally returned home the boys, and I, set up their new cardboard castle. A gift from their cousins. Isn't it so cute?




Baby M's new PJ's.



Apparently he doesn't want to be a cowboy.



See that little toy he's holding.



He's upset because I can not execute, with perfection, the operation he wants it to perform. What is that operation? You've got me. He gets extremely picky and finicky when he is tired.

Every cow boy needs his mom.




We have had a truly wonderful Holiday. And we are so grateful to our friends, and family, for making it so special. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.