The Big Brother, The Mama's Boy & The Queen Bee

I think its obvious that I have fallen into a funk and clearly neglected my blog. I have a million excuses... but you don't care. Right now I have time, because shutterfly is offering 50% off on photo books until Wednesday and I have about 8 to create by Wednesday and uploading over 1,000 pictures on 8 different albums takes some time. I can't leave the computer unsecured because Queen Bee will terrorize it. So... I've got some computer time. Why not blog! No better time to get back into it than the present. Writing is such an outlet and deep passion of mine and I almost never take the time to do it. One of my new goals. Sometimes I think... "no one wants to read about my rambling thoughts"... then again, I'm not really sure anyone reads this anyway, so what do I really care? Plus, we are in a technological world now... use your scroll pad and skip my ramblings.
How about an update on my 3 lovelies?
Since I last blogged, we have moved into our new house (I'm NEVER moving again), gone through dance festival, 2 Florida trips, a Las Vegas trip, planning a retirement party (for a teacher), my class reunion, and summer fun! We are now getting back to some sort of a schedule with 2 joy schools starting in a week. Here is the update...

The Boss:
The Boss has been busy with his calling at church. He is doing well at work and is enjoying all his success! He wishes "real" Boss would give him more attention, but us ladies know how that goes. The Boss is still busy running or biking everyday. He recently joined the board for the BYU East Bay Alumni Association. If the boss has even one free day... he finds a way to volunteer his time away. We sure love him!

The "real" Boss:
Life is finally getting into a normal routine. With Dance Festival, which was seriously insane, I was eating and breathing dance with the youth. It was tons of fun... but man was that a lot of work! My familia saved us by temporarily adopting my children. Thanks mom and dad! I haven't been able to start up the things I enjoy yet... I haven't exercised consistently in months, I haven't read a book since Christmas, I haven't blogged since January, I haven't done a scrapbook page in about 2 years. However, I am part of a card making group... Hopefully, I can start more of these things I love so much to keep my sanity. The Boss does a good job of letting me out every now and then, so I can't complain. He doesn't like it when I'm insane. I get to have plenty of fun. Plus, as much work as Big Brother, Mama's Boy, and Queen Bee are... they are such fun to have and watch grow. They say and do the silliest things. You trade great things for better things I guess.

The Big Brother:
Big Brother is starting his second year of joy school and is super excited. He has LOVED sun beams and has recently been practicing baring his testimony... we'll see if he'll get up and do it in church! He likes to boss everyone around and while he is quite slow moving, he is stubborn as they come. He is at that age where he loves to ask me questions about things. A sign my little boy is growing up! Tomorrow he and Mama's Boy are getting bunk beds. Big Brother is pretty excited about sleeping on top... we'll see if he actually does it. He still rides the tri-cycle while Mama's Boy rides his Lightening McQueen training wheels bike. He is starting to get more aggressive and is really coming out of his shell. He says he wants to play baseball, so next year T-Ball here we come!

The Mama's Boy:
Mama's Boy does not like to go far from home. He likes to stay nice and cozy by mom. He gets to start his first year of joy school in a week! He is so excited. Really. He picks things up super quick and has a determination to try things himself. He does have a tendency to get jealous of Queen Bee. Especially when it comes to mom holding her. They get along well. His "mama's boy" side just comes out. He sort of has this crazy erratic behavior. He likes to chuck things... especially toys. And especially in nursery. Mama's Boy is my slightly destructive child. He rips books, pulls out food, plays in the dirt, cuts things up... I call it being creative. :-) He can be a little rough, but he loves to cuddle and be held. Plus, he has such an embracing personality. He is such fun. Usually up for anything!

The Queen Bee:
I'm not even sure how to start this one. Queen Bee has thrown me for a loop. She is not nearly as laid back and easy going as the boys are. She wants to do EVERYTHING herself. She loves putting shoes on and doing her hair. I think it makes her feel like she is going somewhere. She likes wearing dresses and skirts. She plays well with the boys and certainly holds her own, theres no question about that. I never know when she is going to go all nuts on me... when she suddenly is not getting her way, she totally freaks out and throws her body all over the ground kicking and screaming. I calmly step over her and ignore it, but sometimes she flips out so randomly! She is starting to talk more and more which is helping the "freaking out" phase. As nuts as she is, she is SO MUCH FUN. Lots of drama. But fun. She has such a way of making your heart melt. When she isn't giving you a nasty snobby scowl look, her smile is infectious. She wants so badly to be a big girl. The boys are pretty good about tending to her needs and including her. Her and Mama's Boy have some battles over mommy sometimes, but I think that is expected when you have multiple chicklettes.

So there you go! Here are some pix of the last 8 months. Hopefully I'll be around more now!



Having fun with all their puppets after Christmas



The face and clothes may be dirty, but the bow in intact.

Mama's Boy turns 3!

Big Brother turns 4!

I just love her!

Why kids love playing in their car seats I will never know...

The kids loved the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay

Cheese Ball!

In Las Vegas! Bellagio to be exact.

The Cousins

Big Brother finished his first year of Joy School

The "real" Boss' of Joy School

Thanks Eli Lilly! The Four Seasons Palm Beach, FL

South Beach! Water was BE-U-Tee-Full!

The Fourth of July Parade!

Waiting for the parade to start

Waiting in their little camping chairs for the parade!

We tend to hang in our jammies when we don't have plans for the day...

What is that smell???

It's me! I stink I know. I'm so lame. Sorry I've been so out of touch here. But we are alive. We are healthy... As far as we know. And we are happy! Just really really busy! Christmas was great with the family, the kids were so much fun! We are getting ready to move in a couple weeks. Which we are SO excited for! But everything that goes with buying a brand new home is sort of a headache. I'll just be glad when everything is done. Trying to take down Christmad stuff and pack... I'm feeling a little overwhelmed...
The Boss is rarely home, but we enjoy when he is! Between his job and his calling, and my calling, dance festival, and other community obligations, I feel like we are just passing eachother! But we do find time together to relax.
The kids are staying busy... Sorry I don't have any pictures! Queen Bee runs all over the house, trying so hard to play with her big brothers. They are nice to her for the most part :)
Mama's Boy plays with his trains he got for Christmas EVERYDAY!! Big Brother is enjoying joy school and is really starting to say interesting and funny things. I can see he is really taking on the big brother role... He has become quite the little bossy cow!
You probably won't here from me until after the move. Once we get everything together again, perhaps I can get back on a consistant schedule.
Much love!

A Giveaway!! Go check it out!

Hello friends, just want you to check out my friends blog... She is great... And does some AMAZING giveaways! Right now she is giving away her camera (very gently used). Anyway, check it out! It closes Wednesday!

www.veronicaaustin.blogspot.com

... And updates to come... I promise.

Oh Boy! I've Got JOY!

       I totally have this little song stuck in my head... "Oh Boy! I've got joy! I do, I do!" and my fellow joy schoolers know exactly what I mean! That's right. Big Brother started Joy School this week! (Thats a bagel in his hand if you're wondering)

       We have been so excited about this. I've been prepping him for it the last couple weeks. I won my very first bloggers giveaway "back to school", so we went and let Big Brother pick out a little back pack (Thanks Veronica! www.autincitylimits.blogspot.com). He was so excited. I was a little nervous about how he would do. I knew he would be fine behaving, (he's usually very good), but he tends to be on the shy side. I was afraid he may not participate well, but I've been told (and they could just be trying to make me feel better) that he is doing great!

     He sings, talks, follows direction... I am so proud of him. He has come home both times eager to tell me what he did. And now, every time our doorbell rings, he says... "Mom... is that Miss Jen?" I think it is so adorable. I'm amazed at how much he already remembers. He sings me the songs, tells me about his craft project. He even tells me who was naughty... hehe. I can't wait until its my turn to teach. I'm so excited to see him in this element. And it has been so neat sharing this learning experience with him and being so involved. I've also enjoyed a little more quality time with Mama's Boy and Queen Bee. Although Mama's Boy has cried both times Big Brother has left because he "needs to go to school too mom".... I'm going to try and plan some extra fun things just me and him so he doesn't feel so left out. I just can't believe I'm already at the place where I have one at school for a few hours! My baby boy is growing up WAY TOO FAST!!!

     A week ago, I "off the cuff" decided to try and potty train Big Brother before he started school. I know what you're thinking! He is 3 1/2... potty training should have happened a year ago! Well... Big Brother is on the later side. I envisioned it being a nightmare, and while I won't go into too many details (cause who really wants to read about someone elses kid using the toilet) it was a success! The first two days were... frustrating. We didn't have many accidents, but it was a lot of staying at home and crying. I got some great advice from friends that worked perfectly! Since Big Brother was substantially older, I hoped he would pick it up quickly and he did. No accidents since Saturday! So our little boy has taken some pretty big steps this last week. And I had no idea how nice it would be changing one less diaper!! Whooo Hoooo for meeee!!

     And, I posted these two pictures of Queen Bee cause I think she is so cute! Plus, that top picture shows her Brand - Spankin - New -Two - Bottom - Theeth! Congrats little Queen Bee, you know have chompers!

Summer

I know I have been completely MIA. So much has been going on, and once I got a little behind, it felt overwhelming to dive back in. I hope to return to the blogging world I have missed everyone so much! This will be an overload of pictures, and a pretty brief description of our lives the last 4 months.

As some of you know (reference previous blog posts), The Boss' mom became very ill very quickly. May 13th, She passed peacefully away in her home with children by her side. tears... there is a reason I have been avoiding this post...

Just shy of 9 weeks before she passed away, she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer. A Wonderful Woman. Wonderful Mother. Wonderful Grandma. We love her. We miss her. We talk of her often and take full advantage of the Temple that we feel so blessed to be near, and The Boss especially has found so much peace in feeling close to her there. Thank you for love, support, friendship, and prayers. Our family has felt very blessed during this process. We love you Grandma.

Just under two weeks before she passed, The Boss' only grandparent passed away. He was very old and ready to go I think. But it was still very difficult. He just LOVED The Boss... he always said "The Boss is my favorite person in the whole world". We hope to keep the Finnish heritage alive! Love you Grandpa.

The Summer has been so, that it really didn't feel much like summer. It's pretty hot right now, but it had been cool for the most part. We didn't take any trips or get any season passes. So most of these pictures are just random. Plus, I suck as a parent and forget my camera a lot. So we did take a trip to Marine World, Pixie Woods, Old Sacramento Train Museum, Monterey Bay Aquarium, etc... and have no pictures to show for it. But they were all a good time... I promise! Especially the Train Museum. What a treat! So neat. If you're in the area and have never been... GO. And if you ever come to visit... make a plan to GO! Its great for adults and kids. So here it is!

Dad and his Family were inducted in the Liberty High Hall of Fame. It was really cool hearing all the "stats" on the family, and how much they contributed to Liberty and still do. Very fun. Isn't my Daddy handsome?

On my birthday. Real exciting. 27. Whoo hoo. But- my kids are cute!

Family pictures with The Boss' Family.

Parties at Aunties house. Sure is fun having family members who are firefighters... Would you like a firetruck in your backyard? Yes please. Done. The kids loved it!

Oh... my little Queen Bee Girl. At about 6 months old. Just learned to sit up.

Mama's Boy is my dirty child. If he sees dirt... he must touch it, and rub it on something, or take it somewhere, or try and eat it. He must grab rocks wherever we go too. He LOVES to play outside. So here they are... after not being supervised, obviously. And yes, they are in their pajamas. Better their PJ's get dirty and gross than a cute outfit. I don't really have "play clothes" for my kids (you know the ones that they can totally trash and you could care less). So that's what we use jammies for. Anyway, they love to play in our small and extremely quaint-but-gets-the-job-done backspace... as you can see.

Father's Day. I can't even remember what we did. ...ah yes.... french dip sandwiches and my parents came over. We Skyped the Bro and Lucy, and Duni, lost in a "Skype Off" to the Bro. Haha... that was funny.

The Boss hanging with the boys on our porch swing from Boss' Mom. The kids love this swing.

Queen Bee 7 months old.

Scum with the Fam. I think this was on the 4th of July.

Haha... The Boss brought these HUGE lollipops home from a District Meeting for work, and the kids had a lot of fun trying to eat them. It was really funny to watch.

Big Brother striking a pose while we are house hunting. I hope he isn't trying to tell me something...
These are just some pictures I took the other day of the kids. Big Brother needed an updated photo for Joy School (a post coming very soon) and they were so insistent upon Queen Bee being in the pictures! This little girl is HARD to photograph. Here is a quick update on the kiddos:

Queen Bee has been on the move for a few months now, and she DOES NOT STAY PUT!! She is everywhere. A great baby. Very easy to please. But she is developing so much more quickly than my sluggy boys did. This mom was NOT prepared. She is 9-months old now. Very close to walking. Has two teeth that just broke thru. LOVES to eat whatever the boys are eating. She hardly cares about her bottle anymore. She loves her pacifier. Sleeps blissfully thru the night and has been for about 6 months. Still takes two naps. Loves to throw balls around on the tile and watch them bounce around. She also carries this really random plastic rock around in her fist. Totally weird. She is FULL of energy and is growing way too fast. She has been such a fun addition. I love dressing her up. The boys love trying to hold her and give her hugs and kisses. Still no hair, but she almost NEVER leaves the house without a bow.

Mama's Boy is 2 1/2 now and as I said before... loves to be outside. He likes rocks, dirt, sand, mud... you get it. He has so much personality. He talks ALL THE TIME. And will repeat anything you say. He loves trains, cars, and has really loved reading lately. He is so funny and just loves to laugh. We are lovin that he still takes a nap and sleeps in his crib. And for some odd reason he likes to try and stick his finger in Queen Bee's eye. We kinda have to watch him.
Big Brother is becoming such a big boy. He starts Joy School in a few days, we are FINALLY potty training him (what a horrible process this has been... don't be surprised if you see a post on this one), and he has turned into quite the mommy's little helper. He is still quiet and somber. Thoughtful and somewhat shy. He is getting more bossy the older he gets. He likes to tell Queen Bee and Mama's Boy what they're doing wrong. But he is so tender and loving towards them. He loves to tell me, "I'm playing nice with baby mom... don't worry." So cute. He is obsessed with books, letters (letter factory, which you should go out and buy if you don't have), numbers, and colors. He likes to watch movies and would sit on the couch all day if I had the TV on. But he is really coming out of his shell, another reason I am SO EXCITED for Joy School.

More to come! I promise.