Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Fantastic Holiday Week of Awesomeness!!!

So, hope all of you enjoyed the lovely holiday season.  We had quite the whirlwind of excitement around here.  It started out the week preceding Christmas.  We decided to give the boys the gift from us early so they had time to enjoy it before we headed out for lots of celebrations.  The look on Noah's face tells it all, the Batcave was a success!
 
 The weekend just before Christmas, we went up to the lakehouse for a holiday weekend with the extended family.  We had about 20 people staying at the house and it was a blast!  Noah and Sam had lots of quality cousin time and Mommy and Daddy got a break with all the willing helpful hands!



The boys got lots of fun gifts, including remote control cars and a spiderman punching bag.


 Christmas Eve we headed directly from the lakehouse to PaPa's house in Chicago Ridge for a celebration with the Rodriguez side.  Again, Noah and Sam reveled in the cousin time with Nick and Cesca.  


 The boys were lucky recipients of large (4 ft tall) spiderman for coloring, many star wars and superhero items, watches and talking superman and batman guys.

 Then we drove to LaGrange to wake up Christmas morning with the Hewes side.  Noah had been hoping Santa would bring him a small puppy to snuggle (like Sam has) and he was happily surprised with one.

 We had a nice rather quiet morning with my parents and Uncle Josh, and opened a host of Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys, some more spiderman toys, and a giant stuffed Pooh bear.

 Pooh Bear even hung out with Uncle Josh for a nap.
So this week has been spent recovering from all that fun and enjoying our bounty of gifts.  There was some fun with fake mustaches...


 Philie scored us some face paint which Daddy cracked out right away for some fun.
 Wolverine!
 Sammy sat nicely to get the Ironman look...

Since it was just the 4 of us for New Years Eve, we decided to have a "fancy" dinner.  Dress was up to  the individual.  So Sam went with the dapper look for a bit before then changing his mind and ending up in a spiderman costume.  Noah went straight for the spiderman costume (as we never allow them for mealtimes this was a special treat).  I went with a dress and pearls and Mike rocked his jammies.  



 After our fancy dinner of Chinese food and chicken nuggets at the dining room table, we got out a set of 50 glow sticks for a preschool/toddler rave party.


Even Ellie got into the spirit (well perhaps forcibly).  So whew, that was our holiday season.  Wishing everyone the best 2013!

Our tiny gymnast

So this fall we signed up Sam for gymnastics with the Schaumburg Park District to work on some core strength and overall coordination (and for FUN!).  He goes with Mommy once a week when Noah is at preschool.
 It's a class of 3 other two and three year olds, and Sam does a pretty nice job following directions.  They start out with some stretching.
 For the last class of the session, the kids got to play with the parachute, which was a big hit.
 Sam's nemesis for the class has been the long trampoline.  I think he feels a little uneasy about the bounciness and his ability to maintain balance.  But we've gotten to a point where he'll go by himself and tries to jump a couple times.
 They do a circuit around a little obstacle course with climbing, etc.  Sam has mastered a beautiful somersault too!
 The balance beam!  He worked on this one on the floor and also a more typical looking one that was a few inches off the ground.  They also spent time each week trying out the uneven bars and the parallel bars as well.  Lots of fun!
 The pit!  At the end of each class, the kids climbed around in this pit filled with foam blocks.  Overall it was a great experience for our soon to be middle child.  We had such a great time, he's signed up for the next session.  And big brother Noah's going to give it a try as well!

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.