Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas 2012!

 Merry Christmas to you all!  I'm a day late with this post, but we've been holidaying non-stop since about last Thursday, whew!  We had a wonderful holiday which I'll post about soon.  But for now, please enjoy our list of quotable quotes from 2012!


January 2012 – Our family received an iPod touch for Christmas from my parents.  Noah is a pro and navigates on his own.  I downloaded an app to practice dialing your home phone number and 911.  The app includes a voice that talks to you after you dial.  So for 911, the voice asks, “what your address?”  Noah’s response, “I’m wearing my jammies right now.”  Guess we need to discuss what an address is versus our dress.

March 2012 – Michelle (our friend who watches the boys) is expecting, so we’ve had many conversations about babies and families, etc.  Noah asked, “are we going to have more babies in our family?”  Not wanting to get into a lengthy conversation about family planning, I said “maybe… someday… we’ll see.”  Noah’s response, “yeah, maybe like Friday or Saturday.”

May 2012 – Our rule in the car is if we are on the highway we cannot open the windows because it gets too windy in the car.  On a recent drive to the lakehouse, Noah asked me “are we on the highway?”  I replied, “yes, so please leave the windows closed.”  Noah thought for a moment and then said, “when will we be on the lowway?”

May 2012 – We took a trip to the bookstore to buy a few gifts and look around.  Noah asked, “are we going to the farmer’s market?”  Confused, I said “no, the bookstore” and quickly Noah responded, “but mom you said we were going to Barnes and Noble, and barns are usually on the farm!”

June 2012 – Each night I do prayers with the boys.  I go first, giving the basic scaffold of “Dear God, please bless ____, reason for blessing, amen.”  For months Sammy has been saying “Dear God, please bless Bampa (grandpa), Amen.”  Tonight he had his first spontaneous prayer that went “Dear God, please bless Bampa and….. Wolverine, Amen!”

July 2012 – We were staying at the lakehouse with several relatives, and Noah and I ended up in a different bedroom than usual.  Noah went to sleep with no complaint, in the bed with a nightlight nearby (as is standard).  A few minutes later I heard a loud scream, thinking it was a nightmare or injury I ran upstairs.  When I arrived in the room, Noah sobbed “The outlets…. the outlets in this room are all wrong! If the nightlight is in that one it’s too close to my face and too shiny, if it’s in that one it’s too far away and too dark in here!  We have to change the outlets!”  Eventually I was able to calm him down without having to get Uncle Dave to do some impromptu electrical work at 8:30pm.

August 2012 – Noah is a keen observer and often tries (with mixed results) to compliment everyone.  Today his comment was, “Mommy, you know you have a really soft booty.  Daddy has a hard booty, and I have a hard booty, and Sam has a really hard booty.  But you, you have a nice soft one!”  Thanks, I think.

September 2012 – On a weekend at the lakehouse, we enjoyed spending time with Kim and Joe Skaggs (family friends).  They are great with the boys and even did early pumpkin carving, etc.  Kim took the boys out in the driveway and played with them, then brought them back inside before she and Joe had to leave to drive back home.  After they left, I noticed Sam had something in his pocket.  I asked him to hand it to me and discovered it was Kim’s credit card.  We still have no idea how he ended up with it, but his life as a petty thief has begun.

October 2012 – Philie scored some tickets from her family (2 of whom work at Wrigley) for the last home Cubs game.  Noah and I joined Philie and Fred for a special afternoon game.  It was a wonderful time filled with pictures on the field, nachos, a trip to the PNC box, and lots of free goodies.  One item was a baseball autographed by the starting pitcher.  I excitedly handed it to Noah and he looked quizzically at the ball and then me and said, “Mom, why did he put HIS name on there?  My name is spelled N-O-A-H.”

October 2012 – Noah and I often enjoy watching the show, “Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives” and tonight we watched an episode that featured asian food.  Noah watched intently and then turned to ask, “why do those guys eat with pork chops (meaning chop sticks)?”

November 2012 – We talked a lot about the election this year and what the president’s role is.  Noah declared, “I want to be president!”  I was pretty proud imagining my smart boy as leader of our nation when he followed up with “so I can wear a tie!”  I’m sure that’s why most seek the office, for fashion.

November 2012 – We tried hard to educate the boys about who the candidates were, trying to offer a bipartisan perspective.  We felt pretty proud of ourselves when Sam could identify both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on the TV.  One morning, the boys were watching their favorite cartoon “Superhero Squad” and Mike was quizzing Sam on who all the characters were.  He correctly pointed out Cyclops and Dr. Doom.  When it came to Magneto (one of the featured villains) Sam proudly said “Mitt Romney!”  Perhaps we have some early leanings towards the Democratic Party? 

Wishing you and yours the most wonderful 2013.  We excitedly look forward to a new baby in March, Noah turning 5 and starting Kindergarten in the Fall, Sam turning 3 this summer and enjoying the continued craziness that is our lives!  We are so thankful for healthy, smart boys and a wonderful group of family and friends (including you!)  Love to all!
The Rodriguez Family

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Boys R Us

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgivings.  We had a lovely time!  The boys have just been super fun lately (hence the mini-hiatus from blogging).  Uncle Josh sent us home with some cupcakes that we just HAD to eat.  Sam looks like he's starting early with the facial hair.

 Noah has really taken a shine to his doggy lately.  It's cute that Ellie seems to recognize him as another human for her to play with and snuggle with.  Previously, she had just endured his climbing on her but hadn't sought him out.  It's always nice to see family members getting along.
 We've had a couple of fun friend gatherings lately as well.  I got to spend a little snuggle time with Hattie.  I have to take in my fill of girls because....
 #3 is a boy!  Yep, we had the ultrasound and the radiologist said a) "What a nice looking brain!" and b) "You can bet your house on that!" (as he zoomed in on the obvious male anatomy).  We're thrilled that Mr. Man looks healthy and busy.  The boys are excited to add more testosterone to the mix.
 The older 2 boys have their moments.  Mostly good ones lately with a chant of "brothers forever!" and sitting close on the couch.  I try to take pictures of the good moments to remind them about this when they are 10 and 12 and loathe each other.

 Thanksgiving Day!  We headed to the Hewes house in LaGrange first for a noontime meal and then over to the Rodriguez house in Chicago Ridge for a later afternoon meal.  It was a wonderful day, and we were blessed to have Cliff along with to help wrangle the minions.
 We kicked off December with Noah's preschool class singing at a Saturday night advent service.  His grandparents all came in force.  Sam enjoyed being passed around the whole time.
 Noah sat up front with his class.  (He's on the left in the green sweater).
 The kids sang 2 songs that were adorable (again Noah on far left in green).  Then we went out to dinner with the Grandparents.  It was a special night and really set off the holiday season on a happy note!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

A rather calm Halloween week!

So, after having received an awesome fancy camera, I decided to finally take a class to learn how to use the thing.  I'm really glad I did, just 4 short hours and I feel like I can actually control the functions I need/want to control.  So the boys volunteered to pose a bit for me...



 As expected, there was more pumpkin fun this week.  My mom found some cute Mr. Potato Head pumpkin kits.  Sam got the Angry Bird...
 ...and Noah rocked the Captain America!
 Daddy did his usual fantastic job with the artsy pumpkin, this year it was Spiderman.
 So on Wednesday we did the trick-or-treating.  Noah really "got it" this year and was sprinting from house to house yelling, "this is the best holiday EVER!"  Sam just liked chasing after his brother!

 A couple days past sugar buzzing and a time change result in some pretty spectacular nap hair.  

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hey Hey for Hattie!

Is everyone geared up for Halloween? Because we certainly are!  We started the month with a trip to Sonny Acres, a favorite local spot.  As it was a special day off school, both Mike and I were able to go (a rare treat)!  We were also joined by Mike's sister Kim, and her kids Nick and Francesca and their other cousin Logan.  It was a great fall day!
 Noah has always been a fan a face paint and was really excited to get it done.  We weren't sure about Sam, he's our wildcard.  But he climbed up in the artists lap and sat so still, it was adorable!
 Of course, he had to get Spiderman just like his brother!
 So we have 2 spidermen, 2 army/camo guys, and one beautiful butterfly!
 They kids enjoyed the usual rides, but new this year was a camel ride!
 How cute is the littlest spiderman?!
 We've been cracking out the jackets lately to enjoy the fall weather.  The leaves seemed to drop all at once in one week.
 I know it's blurry, but the look of pure joy on Noah's face is priceless!
 Sam was all about the raking.
 With Halloween approaching, the annual debate about what to wear is on.  This year, I scored an awesome Batman costume for Sam, but it's a bit large on him.
 We could always use our butterfly nets as hats and go as Cafeteria workers...?
 The highlight of the month for sure was the birth of the 3rd Worst kiddo.  Miss Henrietta Karelynn Worst was born on Monday and we are just thrilled.  Good thing she's a big girl so she can keep up with the mess of boys we already have around here.
 Noah's school (the local Lutheran church) hosted a "trunk and treat" where people use the parking lot, decorate their trunks, and pass out candy for all the younger kids of the school.  It was fun, but very cold!  The boys settled on Captain America (for Noah) and Superman (for Sam).
 Saturday was the annual party at the Palatine park district.  The boys enjoyed games in the gym.
 Sam takes his role seriously and was "supermanning" all over the place.
 Posing by the scary cat archway
 There was a reptile show that the boys like watching (from afar) where they showed alligators, snakes, and turtles.  Pretty cool stuff!
 We got to spend a little time with our buds Fred and Calvin, along with their cousin in town from Alaska, Owen.  It was awesome fun as usual!
 The boys and I then stopped by the Worst house to meet Miss Hattie.  She is adorable and perfect, no surprise there.  Noah held her like a pro, he'll be ready for big brother duty round 2 in no time!
 Sam actually did a great job too.  He was excited to hold her and let us know that she was crying (she needed to eat!).  It was so fun to see the boys with another baby :)  Welcome Hattie!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Full swing into Fal!

Here we go into Fall!  The boys and I went to the lakehouse last weekend.  Our Saturday began with the usual trip to the Farmhouse Amish Bakery.

 Then we did our annual trip to Dinges Farm for some pumpkin picking!




 Then to pack in even more fall fun, we went apple picking.  Bamma and Bampa were instrumental for their height.  It was the boys first try at apple picking!





 I'd say it was a highly successful venture.  We'll be eating apples for a month!  Good thing the boys both love them.

 Back at the house we did some early pumpkin carving.  Uncle Josh handled the gut removal with some supervision from Noah.
 Our family friends, the Skaggs came up for the weekend as well.  Joe is a master carver, so Noah was thrilled to have him do an Ironman pumpkin.

 The next morning Joe did another one, this time Angry Birds.  I was pretty impressed and so was Noah.
 On Wednesday this week we were fortunate enough to score some free Cubs tickets from our friends the Worst/Philips crew.  It was the last game of the season.  The boys got the best first game treatment ever.  Pictures on the field, a ball autographed by the pitcher, a Cubs hat, sunglasses and loads of food!




 Noah's favorite part of the game?  Yep, the chocolate cake.  He is SO my kid!