Asher James: 2.5 Years Old

We have seen such a big change in Asher the past few months, probably because he isn't the baby of the family anymore, but he has matured so much and has really been such a delight.
Our Asher, munchkin or monkey as he is also known is quite the handful. He and Chase are like night and day, it's something to see their little personalities develop and how they differ so much. Asher is as stubborn as they come but will give you his last piece of candy without hesitation, literally. He puts our patience to the test in every way, but will ask to snuggle in the next breath, and how can you refuse that? He is loud, yet sensitive, never walks, just runs and jumps; but loves to sit in your lap and read books. He is ever the entertainer but is just as smart as Chase.
He has taken on the role of big brother so well. He completely adores Hayley, is always giving her kisses and will lay on the floor and just be with her. He always has to be holding her hand and right in her face. She absolutely loves her Ashie and lights up whenever he is around.
Our lives would be so, so dull without Asher. Even though he isn't the youngest child anymore, he will always be my baby boy.

Stats: No official weigh in, but at a sick visit he was 31lbs. Yup, he is officially heavier than Chase. I knew one day that would happen and it's arrived. Chase however does have a few inches on him height wise.

Sleep: I'm so thankful none of my kids are early risers and that they love their sleep. He goes down to bed at the same time as Chase, around 7/8pm and will sleep 12 hours on average. Some days he takes a nap and others he marches on through the day and crashed as soon as his head hits his pillow. He is still in his crib as I didn't want to change his routine at the same time as bringing home a newborn.

Social: This is one area that he has developed so much that makes him seem so much older now. He joined the Mommy and Me class in the fall and has done really well with it. I think he is going to love going to preschool in the fall, especially since he knows the teachers with taking Chase for the past 2 years. He loves getting together with his friends, Sawyer, Silas, Cole, Noah, Lucas and Gabe and his best girls, Olivia, Madison and Isabelle.
This Spring he started playing soccer in the same league as Chase. They are on different team though because of the age difference. Asher is a natural athlete and after 5 games and practices he is doing really well.

Diet: I'm not sure what's going on recently but Asher has been trying new foods and has been giving us an easier time about eating in general. He loves zucchini now and likes to eat lettuce, still no tomatoes though. I'm hoping he will want to eat them once he sees the fruit of his labor; he has been growing tomato plants from seed. His favorites foods right now are spaghetti, pb&j, fish sticks, avocado on toast, any fruit, chick fil-a nuggets and sticky rice. Oh and treats, this kid would live on candy, much to his disappointment I don't allow that.

Skills/Milestones: Most people associate Asher with all things physical and being a jokester, which he most certainly is, but if you get him one on one, he is a smart little cookie. He can count to 20 and recognize numbers 1 to 10. He knows his whole alphabet, can recognize his name, can color in the lines and memorizes lyrics to songs like I've never seen from a 2 year old before.

Back in the fall he started using the potty but then with the craziness of the holidays and Hayley arriving, any kind of formal potty training took a back seat. However, over the past month we have ran with it and he is doing really well. If we are home he wears underwear and most days will go without an accident. If we are out and about he will wear a pull up but will ask to use the potty etc.

He also started pedaling a bike, I think I know what Santa will be bringing this year ;)

 

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Chase, Hayley, grandparents, Lightning McQueen, Minions, sports, Hot Wheel cars, dressing up, music.

Road to the Races

If anyone knows my boys, they know that Lightning McQueen is everything to them. We have just about every Lightning McQueen available; regular Lightning, shiny Lightning, snowy Lightning, color changing Lightning, you get the pictures as the list goes on and on. One of the 20 Lightning McQueen's goes wherever we go., so not only do I have 3 kids to keep track of but their beloved cars also, it's quite stressful let me tell ya ;)

The new Cars movie is coming out soon, the boys have been watching the preview since December! To get people excited about the release, Lightning McQueen, Jackson Storm and Cruz Ramirez are touring the country. When I heard they were coming to our area I knew we HAD to go! We didn't tell the boys where we were going until about 10 minutes before we arrived at the Mack Yard, where the event was being held. When the boys are really excited they get a bit overwhelmed and get very quiet and really serious. Once we had met the Cars3 characters we asked the boys if they liked it and they said they loved it! Chase asked, "Mummy how did you know we should go to this?" Because little boy, us parents will do whatever it takes to make you happy, provide you with the best memories and make all of your dreams come true, big or small!

Now I need to start planning a trip out to Radiator Springs in Disneyland!!

Chase Patrick: 4.5 Years Old

Oh 4, you are like a split personality. One moment I'm having a nice conversation with my sweet little boy and laughing and two seconds later, with no warning, I am watching him squirm around on the floor while he throws the biggest tantrum over something so silly. Completely bizarre and I never know what is going to set Chase off.
With that said, Chase really has become my main helper, someone I bounce ideas off of and is the person I have the most 'adult' like conversation with during working hours. He is still a smart kid and always is pondering something in that brain of his. I look forward to hearing his questions and thoughts on such various topics; when can I fly to the moon? can I hold Cisco when we move house? when can I get a goat?
He really is the biggest sweetheart. He always thinks of others; he gave his friend at school a duplicate of a book we have, loves to pick flowers for every family member, and if he hears anyone is sick he wants to know they are ok.
He is the absolute best big brother. There are exceptions, but he is so patient with Asher. He will take Asher's beating and teasing, he always will help him out if he needs it and as soon as he gets home from school is back by Asher's side playing. I wondered how Chase would do with the addition of Hayley and he has blown me away. He is her protector, tries to comfort her when she is crying and loves to feed her. If only I could get him on board with diaper changes!
I am beyond proud of the boy Chase has become. He taught me how to love selflessly and he is destined for great things!!!

Stats: Surprise, surprise Chase is still a lightweight, still hasn't crossed over the 30lb mark. I believe he is in the 1 percentile for weight. He has gotten taller, around 41 inches.

Sleep: Not much has changed here, he still sleeps a solid 12 hours at night. More often than now I have to wake him for school in the mornings and that's at 7:45am. He barely falls asleep in the car anymore either.

Social: He has certainly become more outgoing than a year ago and I think that's due to school, being a part of the soccer team and having a ballsy brother. He is playing spring soccer and is on the same team as he was in the fall. He has been getting a bit more daring during the games and going in for the ball. He is still loving school and has branched out in that he talks to more kids in his class now. If he is playing on the playground he will happily strike up conversation with other kids to play with them. This is something he never would have done a year ago. He loves his friends and quite often asks for them to come over.

Diet: I really don't understand he still weighs less than 30lbs when he eats as much as he does. He clears his plate each meal and probably eats 3 or so snacks a day. His favorite foods lately are; hot dog, fish sticks, avocado on toast, soft pretzels, and any fruit. His favorite restaurants are still Red Robin, Chilis, and Chick Fil A. We have also introduced them to Friendlys and he enjoys going there.

Skills/Milestones: He can write his name. His drawing skills are really good and legible. He all of a sudden loves to jump off of everything. Has started reading and basic math.

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Asher, Hayley, grandparents, Cisco, puppy dog (and stuffed animals in general), Lightening McQueen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, riding his bike, Hot Wheels, space.

Easter 2017

First holiday as a family of five in the bag! And it was a good one! Easter is very relaxing for us, sure we do a few egg hunts, the kids get a small Easter basket and some goodies from the grandparents, but we really focus on what Easter is all about. Oh I also don't cook on Easter which is always a plus for me.

We enjoyed a wonderful service at church followed by brunch buffet at DaVinci's with family. We ended the day by hanging out in the backyard while the boys played and burned off the Easter candy they had consumed earlier in the day.

Lets talk about those Easter baskets, three little baskets. Not two like previous years, but three! It's not what is in them for me, but the fact that I have three Easter baskets to fill. How blessed am I? God is so good, giving us these 3 children to love on and raise. More often than not, I sit back and look at them in amazement. Life really is so so good!

 

 

Hayley Ann Mae: Three Months

Oh how I love this little girl. Her personality has really started to shine this past month. She is an absolute joy, unless she is hungry, and oozes sweetness. I could literally kiss her cheeks all day, especially because she loves when I do. Her face lights up whenever she sees myself, James or one of the boys. I love rolling over in the morning to her big beautiful smile. She is a girl of routine. She likes to take her last bottle of the day around 7:30pm and once she is done eating, will snuggle up in one particular spot on my shoulder so that her cheek is touching mine and goes to sleep. It is the cutest thing and I love that we end our day that way.
Hayley has started to notice different toys and favors toys that play music. In general she is a fan of music. Throughout the day we have Pandora playing and her naps are always longer if there is music on in the background.
This past month has been my favorite yet. She is still relatively tiny but is more interactive with us and I could seriously watch her smile all day long.

Stats: While there is no official check up and weigh in at 3 months, we did have to visit the doctor for a cold and she weight right around 13lbs. I have no doubts that she is growing as she is starting to outgrow some of her 0 to 3 months clothing. Excuse me while I wipe the tears.

Sleep: At about 2.5 months old Hayley started sleeping a solid 12 hours every night. Yes I said 12 hours! She has her last bottle around 7:30/8pm and goes right to bed afterwards. She starts her day anywhere between 7 & 8am. During the nap she naps for about an hour at a time.

Social: Hayley had her first holiday with us, Easter. She went to a total of 3 egg hunts for moral support for the boys. She got to meet Grandma & Grandad Redfern this past month and loved chit chatting with Grandma. This past month was also her first time attending church and going into the nursery. For saying it was the first time separated from James and I, she did really well.

Diet: Nothing much has changed with her diet, she is still on 6oz every 3 to 4 hours.

Skills/Milestones: Her babbling has really taken off, she will talk away to herself, specifically her hands as she's recently discovered those. She really likes to talk while sitting in her bouncer chair. One night, she woke up around 4am having a good old chit chat and then after about 15 minutes went back to sleep. It was very cute and I'm oh so happy she put herself back to sleep.

While Mum & Paul were here, Hayley decided she was going to roll from front to back. At first I thought it was a fluke but she proceeded to do it multiple times so I consider that goal reached.

 

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Chase, Asher, looooves music and being sung to, enjoys bath time, her dolly, being outside, her cheeks being kissed.

Easter with the Bozzos

We have a roster of egg hunts during the Easter season and one of our all time favorites is at James sisters house. With all of our busy schedules it's hard to get together as often as we would like, but we all have the best time when we can make it happen.
Anita cooked us a delicious meal, as usual, and gave us plenty of fuel for our egg hunt. Between us we have close to 200 eggs. The boys were sooo excited! This year Jenna decided to help Asher hunt instead of filling her own basket. She's the sweetest!!! So the 3 boys cleaned up and had enough candy to last them until Halloween. Each year, there is always 1 or 2 eggs that we have to hunt extra hard for. We all find it hilarious, and this year was no different.
Whenever we do get together the time just flies by and we leave looking forward to the next time we can all hangout.

Egg Hunt

For the third year we hosted our egg hunt for the boys friends, well lets be honest, our friends. Any social activity is just as much for us adults as it is the kids.
Some of our nearest and dearest came over with stuffed eggs, yummy eggs and lots of excited kids. Oh and the weather was bee-autiful! I really think this is my boys favorite holiday next to Christmas. They could egg hunt, all day, everyday. In fact they have been doing their own egg hunts just the two of them for the past couple of weeks.
Plenty of candy was shoveled into little mouths and then they proceeded to burn off said sugar by playing out back for hours on hours. Meanwhile, us adults got a chance to catch up, and have a few drinks.