A Video for Today: A Message for Bumpa

Well, the word is out: Bumpa is thinking about coming down! Just in case he needed some encouragement, the kids decided to do a top 10 list of why he should come! Unfortunately, I have still to figure out how to get a movie that is over a minute long on to the blog, so we had to re-do the list and made it a top 5. The top 10 list was much more fresh and unprompted, but I guess you'll just have to wait to see it when you get down here, Dad!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: Patrick's Smooth Moves!

The kids have been having at least one dance party a day now with the keyboard's built-in beats and tunes. Last night, Patrick busted out this awesome "wiggle dance". Enjoy!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: T's First Tooth!

Thérèse lost her first tooth last night! However, the crazy thing is that you can't really tell, because her adult tooth came in fully before the baby one fell out! She was super excited (and we were all relieved, because I'm pretty sure that super loose tooth is the only thing she could talk - and she likes to talk - or think about yesterday!). It is amazing how tiny it was! It looks as though her other bottom tooth with also come in before the baby tooth falls out. We can see it just starting to push through. Crazy! What a big girl she is getting to be!

Her adult tooth is the one to the left of the bottom front gap (as you are looking at it).

So tiny!

Notice the blur of David speeding by! He is always on the go.

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Our Little Mama

So, a dear friend of our's here on post just had a baby girl a few weeks ago. And, ever since, T has been bemoaning the fact that she REALLY wants a little sister. Now, she isn't dissing her brothers, she is still the best big sister/little mama to them any boy could have. She just also really really wants a little sister. But, I think the whole of it is that she just really loves the little little babies. It doesn't matter if they are girls or boys - she just loves the tiny stage.You can see that in her baby dolls. No matter what kind of dolls she sees, or how enticing all of their accouterments may be, she has always strongly preferred her newborn-sized baby dolls. So, when she finally had the chance to hold little Erica last week, she was SO excited! Now, Erica doesn't look as pleased, but T is just soaking in all of the newborn wonderfulness!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: Last Night's Dance Party

When the kids found out that dad was going to have really long days again this week (only seeing them for a bit a breakfast daily), they decided that they had to make last night extra memorable. And, what could be better than a pajama dance party? We had everything going for us - a lead dancer, a guitarist, and a drummer - and we were lucky enough to have front-row seats. It was pretty awesome!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: 3 Generations in One Book!

First off, sorry I missed yesterday. Sundays are days of rest around here, and I often don't even get to the computer at all, which is wonderful!

But, on to today! A couple days ago a monumental thing happened here at the Librandi residence for the second time: T finished her second entire coloring book, cover to cover! And this isn't just a quick, scribble-it-in-so-it-is-sort-of-colored job. She really takes time and colors every picture! However, what made this one so exciting to finish was that it was her dad's coloring book back when he was little Joey Librandi! And, there are pictures here and there in the book that Oma obviously colored along with Joey and Thérèse. It was truly the combined result of 3 generations' artistic skills!

Oh, and yes, Thérèse REALLY loves this shirt/outfit. So, although she has been wearing this shirt/outfit in almost every picture of her recently, they are not all taken on the same day AND I do launder our clothing. Just FYI...

Note the name on the very top!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: A Recitation by Princess T

I am very proud of this little princess! This was our first "take," she recited it so well, and to top it off she mistakenly started to do the sign of the cross at the end instead of curtsy! Love it!

When Joe saw it he said he saw a little bit of Shirley Temple in her, some of me, and a whole lot of Oma! Enjoy!
And remember... it CAN be done!

Love, Us.

Some Pictures for Today: Our Day as Royalty

So, as I mentioned yesterday, it was the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. We took full advantage and celebrated our royalty all day long! The main way we did this was two-fold: The kids wore their royal crowns and we all addressed each other by our official titles (Princess Thérèse, Prince David, Princess Maria - they thought Princess Mom was too informal - etc). It was great fun, particularly because our crowns were so silly and because David was so adamant that I ALWAYS call him by his title - even when I was threatening him with punishment he would reply with: "Mom, it is PRINCE David, if I have to ask you again you will be in the corner!" We had a blast!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: My First Cupboard Kid

I think it is due to a couple of reasons. First, when T and D were getting active I wasn't as actively into cooking. It wasn't until we moved to Missouri that I really took off in the culinary arts. So, since I didn't spend as much time and energy in the kitchen, my toddlers didn't need to spend as much time crawling at my feet there either. Second, since Patrick has been doing PT since basically day one, he has been a "floor kid" much more than the other two. When I may have occupied the other two with a swing, or whatever, he has always been on the ground. So, there he remains for the vast majority of his waking hours. 

As a result... he looks to definitely be one of those pot-banging kids! But I'm OK with that.

Love, Us.

PS - Happy Feast of the Queenship of Mary! And remember, she is our mother - that makes all of us Princesses and Princes - get your crowns out!

A Video for Today: Getting Pretty Good One-Handed!

It is only a matter of time until he REALLY takes on the world! Go, Patrick, Go!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Finding a New Park

We found a new park the other day - and Thérèse is quite the monkey! The heat kept us from staying very long, but we now know another great place to spend some energy!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Our Little Lego Boy

Today for your viewing pleasure: One of David's current masterpieces!

This is what he has to say about it: The people on this train have lots of babies. It is a train that is really far away so that bad guys can't get them. It is going to their home. There are spy kids on the train. The spy kids are going to fight the bad guys. 

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: What We Feel Like Doing...

We had a fun night last night introducing dad to "Movies in the Canyon"! We saw Madagascar 3, and other than realizing that bringing a 10 month old isn't the best decision, had a great time. But, as a result, we all wish we could be doing this all day... This is DEFINITELY a nap day for EVERYONE!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: A 2-Headed Silly Monster

Ahhh!!! Run for cover!!! The 2-Headed Silly Monster is here!!!

Love, Us.

Some Pictures for Today: Our Feast of the Assumption

We had a great Feast of the Assumption yesterday! 

The kids and I started it off with our regular 7am Mass, which was wonderful in an extra way, because Patrick decided that he could sleep through 50% of it, instead of his usual screaming through 80% of it! That was an extra special feast day gift for both mom, the whole congregation, and Father! And, I was able to point out to T during the closing hymn that they were singing the Latin for Mary (which we recently learned in school and happens to be a pretty great name)!

After Mass, our celebration pretty much revolved around sugar. It all began with a can of Nestle powder that our friends, the Dibs, gave us when they moved... and straws are, of course, a super fancy addition!

David had not gotten out of his church clothes yet, so you can see how snazzy he looked. Patrick, as well, went in suit pants, dress shirt, and vest (and the bare feet were an added cuteness bonus!). 

Then, after we finished school for the day, we needed out next feast day sugar fix... and we had the perfect things: Cookies from our dear friend, Mary! And I'm telling you, these may look like just your normal, everyday, chocolate chip and sugar cookies. They aren't. They were AMAZING! And yes... WERE... they are gone. I LOVE feast days! Thanks, Mary!

Apart from the sugar, the kids and I also had some very fun thrift shopping yesterday, which we always enjoy. It had been a couple months since our last thrift outing, so it was an extra special trip. 

We then finished off the day by having 4 personnel from Joe's Company over for supper. And finally, we sat back and watched our chocolate-and-sugar-high kids run amuck in the house. It was a GREAT day!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Mom and Kids Birthday Pics

Well, these turned out a bit better, but still not great. I don't quite know why I'm not looking at the camera, and I need to give my husband a quick lesson on getting closer to the subject, so I don't have to crop 75% off of the picture, leaving it grainy. But, they are still pretty great! One candle for each decade... you do the math! We had a crazy and great day.

Happy Feast of the Assumption!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: An Attempt at a Birthday Pic - COMPLETE FAIL!

Well, I at least had to try... Patrick has scrambled egg hanging out of his mouth and David was having NONE of it. Oh, well! That is family life!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: 5 Year Olds are Great!

So, if you haven't noticed yet, for the most part I LOVE motherhood. I don't mind poopy diapers, I can often laugh at silly tantrums, and on a good day it takes a bit for my temper to show. However, there are a few things that just aren't my favorite. It may sound odd, but I have never been so excited about swings. I just don't care to be putting kids on and off and on and off and monotonously pushing and pushing and pushing their swings. I'm not quite sure what it is... but I guess I'm just too much of a "do-er", and pushing kids on swings is too much of just "be-ing" and I get antsy. Anyway... so I was really excited when T learned to pump this year. But, yesterday another wonderful step took place... she took over pushing both of her brothers while we were at the park! It was so great!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Cauliflower Pizza?! Yum!

So, in case you weren't aware, we are trying to rid our home of all simple carbs (everything from fruit snacks to crackers to flour). Well, we ran out of flour last Saturday on pizza night, but Joseph made it clear that he was not ready to part with our family tradition. Well, I secretly found a recipe that looked nutritionally acceptable for what we are trying to stay away from, but it also looked like it may not be acceptable to my classic pizza-loving husband. So, when the time came and I got out our salad shooter and started ricing cauliflower, you could imagine the comments and looks that I was getting from Joe. And I admit, it took a while for the ingredients to get mixed in the right way so that it even started resembling the smell of anything relating to pizza or bread. But, when I finally timidly gave Joe one piece and asked him to just try it out of pure love for me, he did. And... after chowing down an entire pizza himself, he had concluded that CAULIFLOWER CRUST PIZZA would be an acceptable exchange for family pizza night! And I agree... it is actually REALLY GOOD! I tell you... cauliflower is amazing! So far, I have successfully disguised it as fried rice, potato in potato salad, and pizza crust! It was never even close to one of my favorite veggies - but I think it has just arrived on top of my list!

Oh, and PS - the kids still have no idea that their pizza was any different than it was before!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Ice Cream and Friends at the Zoo

First off:

Happy Feasts of Saints Clare and Philomena!

OK, now the pic:

Yesterday was Member Appreciation Day at the Zoo, and since we have cleared out most types of "treats", other than fruit, from the house, we HAD to take advantage of a free ice cream! Yes, it was delicious! And, as extra bonuses, it was an absolutely GORGEOUS day here AND we met our dear friends, the Smiths there! It is always great to spend some time with them and their bunch!

FYI: In Barb Verly style, I made sure to take more than one picture of this bunch at this moment. I chose this one to share, because although 50% of Dave is missing, you can tell that he is successfully smiling behind his buddy, Damien. In the other, although he is completely visible, his attempt at a smile was not so successful. Keep working on it, Buddy!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Blast from the Past - Needlepoint Girls

For today, once again, some pics from our April trip to MN. I don't know if I've mentioned T's sewing on here before, but she is quite the good little embroiderer! She has made many "family pictures" that we have added to baby blankets, and here she was working on a handkerchief for her godmother, LS Hallel. I was also excited that Mary wanted to have her first lesson while we were in Marshall. She caught on right away, and I THINK - from some Michigan pictures that I saw- that she has kept up with the needle and thread since then! Yay! What a great way to spend cousin time while we were snowed in!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Our New Favorite Thing

First of all, some big news:

1. Patrick peed in the potty 2 times yesterday! Now, this has everything with mom noticing that he may need to pee on the potty and him enjoying sitting on it while reading stories. It has NOTHING to do with Patrick realizing what is going on. But, that is how our method works, and I am super excited!
UPDATE: As of this morning, add a "#2" to the tally! Woohoo!

2. Thérèse has loose teeth! And, even more exciting, she actually has one of her bottom front adult teeth broken through the skin BEFORE the baby tooth fell out... WEIRD! We checked and it is fine and makes her just a little more excited and not concerned about the sore mouth.

3. Patrick can solo stand! Yup! Once he is up he happily lets go and stands alone for a bit! Man, that guy is great!

OK - onto the pic:

So... what is one of those things from your elementary days that was something you always loved to do during school? Sharpen your pencil at those nifty pencil sharpeners, of course! Well, after spending much time trying to get the kids to use the 50 cent ones properly, and much more time spent cleaning up the shaving spilt all over the floors and carpets throughout the house, the time had come... we got a REAL one! Both kids are very excited, but maybe not as much as mom!

Love, Us.

Some Picture for Today: Blast from the Past - Little Sisters in April

It is a great day on the blog today! Here are my favorites from our short night and a morning with the Little Sisters in Kansas City in April. 

The Kiddos in a sea of blue... LOVE it!

Helping with chores after supper... T at the sink...

...and D with the trash. 

True funny story: David came up from downstairs after helping LS Benedict put the trash out back and Hallel asked him what he had been up to. Without batting an eye, he responded: "We've been up to garbage." It was pretty funny.

Walking in the rain to the Little Monastery.

David, the next morning, being a ham with LS Benedict over breakfast.

The family who drove there from Texas and Hallel.

 And to finish off the Little Sister pics, a couple with our new friend, Courtney. T really got to know her and promised to pray for her. I'll have to check in to see if that promise is being kept.

Oh, I LOVE the Little Sisters!

Love, Us.

Some Pictures for Today: Blast from the Past - April Snow Kids

You are getting some more pictures from our April trip to MN today. And this installment is dedicated to my kids who wanted snow on our trip and they got it - a blizzard in April that snowed us in! 

Look at those smiles!

I think David had been napping during the snowman-making session, but he didn't waste any time (even time getting on a jacket or boots) when he woke up! He had to get a fresh handful of snow to eat right away!

He wised up, though, after the first moment of over-excitement. Now this guy looks ready to play in some snow!

And, of course, some of the snow hills were a little large for the wee ones and they needed a bit of aid reaching their summits. Thanks, Hallel!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: David's First Cowboy Lesson

Enjoy! We watched a Disney movie over the weekend that had Pecos Bill in it, so David is now fully into a cowboy obsession. He may not be the fastest on the draw, but he sure has got the look down to an art!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Potty Training!? Yup!

I know... I'm crazy, but I'm OK with that. I like to think it is a good kind of crazy. What I am referring to is my desire to get my kiddos out of diapers as soon as physically possible. And now, with a son who has a super-excema rear, I have decided to start at my earliest point yet. The other two started their training at about 1 year, but Patrick has officially started just before the 10 month mark. And, I dare say, he is doing great! Just look how cute he is on that little pot! Plus, I am convinced that it is due to our potty training theory that both of the elder kids are book-aholics! That alone makes the poopy and wet pants worth it, if you ask me!

Hope your day isn't as messy as mine is sure to be!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: Poem #3

For today: Thérèse reciting "Persevere".

Happy Sunday!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: T's Second Poem

We didn't have any new pictures, so I quick pulled T off of the breakfast table to share another one of her poems with you. Enjoy! She gets really excited about this one.

Have a great weekend!

Love, Us.

A Movie for Today: T's First Recitation

For today, I've decided to start recording T's poetry recitations. This is the first one she ever memorized, and she memorized it back in April, so it is a bit rusty, but still very cute! And yes, the original poem referred to an "Aunt B" and we did take liberties to change it to "Aunt T"!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Blast from the Past - Some of the Kids' Favorites

In searching for some pictures to share today, I came across these of the kids with three of their favorite people back during our blizzard-filled MN trip in April. Enjoy!
(I think some of these are actually my mom's pictures - Thanks, Mom!)

Love, Us.