Easter hats, part 2

Apparently the boys will wear Easter hats. Just not the ones we bought for them. They have enjoyed wearing their Easter baskets as hats.
Wesley

Winston and Charlie

Boys will be boys

While we were out at my parents' house, they brought out the Barbie van that I used to play with as a child. The boys found a new way to play with the van - to get in and drive it! I love that these two images of Wes and Win are like mirror images: one hand on the wheel, one arm out of the van.
Win

Wesley

Easter eggs

While the boys were napping, we hid plastic eggs (filled with goldfish) throughout the house. Once they realized they were filled with food, they opened and consumed the eggs immediately.
Win was a master at finding the hidden eggs

Charlie opening an egg

Wesley about to eat his fish

Easter driving

We spent Easter weekend with my parents (Grammy & Poppy). This allowed us to go to the baptism of our dear friends' daughter on Saturday night (as well as sneak in a rare dinner out in Harvard Square). Easter was filled with worship, naps, great food, laughs, and outside playtime (despite the 39 degree weather!)

Grammy borrowed these great cars for the boys. The loved driving around (often backwards) and bumping into each other.

Charlie

Wes

Win

Traffic jam

Easter hats

So last Easter, we caught this adorable photo of the boys in their Easter hats. In an attempt to capture their cuteness this year, we put the boys in their Easter hats and sat them on this same love seat. Who were we kidding! The hats were immediately torn off, and they quickly jumped back down the floor.
Easter 2008

So Plan B: just get ANY photo of them in their hats. We bribed them with an M&M to put their hat on. Here is Winston getting his bribe.

Charlie's best photo

And Wesley, crawling through the table, with the dog's rawhide in hand

It will be years before they all take a photo together. I hope we can take a family photo...someday....

Parents' Revenge

We put Winston and Wesley to bed tonight with their sleepers on backwards. We're hoping that with the snap and zipper in the back, they won't be able to undress themselves like they did this morning.
Winston

Wes and Win romping in Wesley's crib as Charlie was being changed

Wesley trying to figure out why the feet of his pjs were backwards

One word: YUCK

Remember when we woke up to this sight?

Well, this morning both Win and Wes had removed their sleepers and thrown them on the floor. But to make matters worse, Win took it one step further and had taken off his dirty diaper and threw it on the floor. We will spare you the details and a photo of the scene because it was a mess.

And sadly this is not an April Fools joke.

Celebrating making it through the day

The boys are quite...rowdy. Active. Crazy, even. They enjoy body-slamming and pushing each other, putting each other in headlocks, etc. It rained all day, so we were stuck inside (after a fun weekend outside). And that seemed to put the boys in a tizzy. Winston would steal toys and books out of Charlie's hands. Charlie would come crying to me, saying "Take!" (which was him saying that someone took something from him). Then I would chase Win down telling him to return the contraband, but he thought this chase was a fun game. Then Winston would steal from Wesley and Wes would fight back and someone would end up tackled on the ground crying. Then someone else would stand on a chair and start the microwave or shove all of their magnets under the fridge (and out of reach for good) or crawl inside the oven and dishwasher. So it was a fun day.

So after the boys went to bed, we celebrated getting through the day with champagne. And folding four loads of laundry. Welcome to our world:

GeGe and Uncle

We had the pleasure of a visit from GeGe (Rob's Granny) and Uncle Raymond last week. The boys loved their time with a great grandmother and great uncle! Highlights of their trip (besides playing with the boys!) included a visit to the New Paris Bakery (a favorite from our old neighborhood), a trip to the park (complete with each of us following a toddler boy on his outdoor adventures), playtime on the sun porch (first time this year) and a wonderful meal out!

This meal out was monumental for us! (We have only taken the boys out to eat a handful of times, and it has been months since we have done so.) The boys were so well-behaved! They drank out of straws and they dipped their food in ketchup (Charlie even started "painting" with his ketchup fry)! And to top it off, all thanks to GeGe, the boys held our hands as we walked to the car. This may sound like nothing to most parents, but when you are outnumbered with three the same age, you don't get the chance to just walk down the road holding your child's hand. They were so proud and excited to just hold our hands and walk to the car! So all this is to say, we're hoping to make this a weekly family meal out.
The boys remembered a game with Uncle Raymond from January: they would look in his shirt pocket and pull out (and put back) pieces of paper!

They also loved playing with his hat
Wesley

Winston and Uncle Raymond

Wesley, Daddy, Win, Charlie, Uncle Raymond and the luckiest dog in the world (Julep)

Charlie

Wesley, GeGe, Win and Charlie

Charlie and Wes in the ball pit

Win, Charles Raymond, Uncle Raymond and Wesley

Classic Wes

All the boys have a wonderful sense of humor, but Wesley has an impish side to him. He is a ham. This photo is classic Wesley. Here he is, chilling on the chair, wearing Daddy's hat, flashing that sweet little pursed-lip smile. He is often the one that is running back and forth, from room to room, clearly cracking himself with whatever he is doing (wearing Daddy's hat that covered his whole face, wearing a bowl on his head, or dancing). And then he looks at you out of the corner of his eye, with a quick little raise of his eyebrow, and upturn of his lips, to let you know that you're in on the joke with him.

In other Wes news, he just started saying "Charlie" today. (Apparently, the name Charlie is easier than the "w" sound of Wesley and Winston.) It sounds a little like "Cha-dah". It's adorable.

What a week!

This week has been a doozy. We started with a foot of snow, making us housebound for 2 days. Winston then started with a runny nose, which turned into a fever, and was quickly passed along to his brothers. The boys seemed like they had finally stabilized, so Saturday night, Grammy & Poppy came over so Rob & I could have a date night. We drove into Boston and saw Slumdog Millionaire (first movie we have seen in over a year!!) and then went to our favorite tapas restaurant. It was wonderful! But when we returned, we learned that Charlie had taken a turn for the worst. He woke up screaming, so I slept with him in the recliner all night. And I use the term "slept" very, very loosely. He's had a fever of 101 for the entire weekend, but this morning was the first chance we had to take him to the doctor. It turns out he has a severe ear infection in both ears! So he is on antibiotics and lots of tylenol.

The upside of last week was that Charlie started to say his own name, as well as his brothers' names! It is the cutest thing!

Before they all got sick, the boys enjoyed parading around the house in Daddy's t-shirts...

Wesley, Charlie and Winston

The boys enjoy making each other laugh

Bird watching

Crayons and stickers

Always in search of activities to do with the boys, I have been trying to introduce the boys to crayons and stickers. Winston loves taking two crayons in each hand and scribbling away. Wes and Charlie will scribble for a short time, but ultimately the crayons end up in their mouths. So I've tried giving them stickers. Charlie loves to put all of the stickers into one large pile, while Wesley like to stick them all over the page. Win is still trying to figure out the whole sticker thing and often tries to fling it off his finger instead of putting it on the paper.

Winston pointing out the green crayon on Charlie's face

Charlie the green monster

I asked Winston to smile for the camera. This is what he did.

Wesley and the purple crayon (most of the crayon is in his mouth)

The Stripper

The boys have been waking up early, but Mommy & Daddy haven't. So they have a little more time to kill in the morning. Here is Winston, as we found him this morning, proving that idle hands are the devil's workshop. A baby left too long in his crib will devolve into a pole dancing stripper.


Note the sleeper lying helplessly on the floor...

Dallas

Rob's parents (Nanna & Poppa) came up to Boston last week so that I could travel to Dallas for our nephew, Christian's, first birthday. The first birthday in Korean culture is a huge celebration, complete with special decorations, traditions and foods. So it was wonderful to be able to celebrate with family, even though Rob and the boys were not able to make the trip.

Friday, we went to Alexandra's preschool performance (called a Hootenanny - only in Texas!!) Here she is hugging her best friend.

Mrs. Kim (Mi Jung's mom) is a phenomenal cook - known as one of the best in their large Korean community. So it was a joy to get to feast on her creations. For the party, she made about 100 rolls of Korean sushi, seafood & cucumber salad, seafood pancakes, miso soup, etc. It was amazing! To give you a sense of the quantities in which she cooks, here she is making the cucumber salad.

The decorations

Christian in his hanbok

Mi Jung, Alex, Christian and Jim

There is a tradition where the birthday child is placed in front of items to symbolize their future. If I can remember correctly, it is money (prosperity), string (longevity), paint brushes (creativity), pencil and book (intelligence). Christian did this a few times and first selected string, then the paint brushes, then the pencil, then the paint brushes. Since Mi Jung and Alexandra both picked money when they did this at 1, so for fun, Mi Jung took everything away but the money. And instead of picking it, Christian reached for the cake!

My beautiful God-daughter Alexandra and birthday boy Christian

The whole crew: Poppy, Grammy, me, Mrs. Kim, Kathy (Mi Jung's dear friend and Godmother to Christian), Alexandra, Mr. Kim and Jennifer (of Maine/Green Pond fame)

For such a great trip, the biggest downside was that both Nanna and Poppa got the stomach flu while here taking care of the boys! I am so thankful for their help - there is no way I would have been able to make the trip.

The stomach flu

I haven't had a moment to write nearly two weeks because the boys came down with the stomach flu. My only guess is that they picked it up when we went to the pediatrician appointment the previous Monday. Winston was the first one to get sick, starting on Wednesday, then Wesley, Charlie and Rob followed suit on Thursday night. I'll spare you the details, but this bug is awful. The boys were miserable (to say the least), and watched more Veggie Tales DVDs than they have in their lifetime. It lasted about 8 days, and was trying to say the least.

It is beyond difficult caring for not one, two, three - but FOUR sick men at once! And when I needed it most, we were blessed by help. Our part-time nanny Valerie offered to help out on Friday, then Grammy and Poppy came on Sunday to give me a much needed break. And wouldn't you know, they were all hit hard by the stomach bug as well! I have no idea how or why, but I was the only one to avoid this stomach virus.

I'm thankful to start to resume normal, but the fun that we're experiencing now is the post-sickness "why can't you hold me all the time anymore" tantrums...