For Today: Patrick and his Little Sword

To preface today, these pictures do not do justice to how excited and energetic Patrick was the other night when all the kids were having a lightsaber/sword battle with dad. Patrick grabbed his perfectly-sized foam sword, and (along with some very fancy footwork/dancing) was having a blast! I'll have to get a video for next time…

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: T's "Three-Stroller"

Sometimes Thérèse just HAS to take all of her baby dolls out at once. And what would be the most efficient way to travel with triplets? Well, with a "three-stroller", of course! 

Here it is, Ladies and Gents! Her most recent invention (I think she comes up with something new weekly for her little ones): The "Three-Stroller"!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: Dry Pants Boy!

I know that as soon as I make an announcement about Patrick doing well on his potty training I am bound to have a boy with wet pants running my way. But, he did such a good job recently that I have to tell someone! 

He has had dry and clean pants for over a day! Yay, Patrick! 

That may seem like little to no accomplishment to some of you… but it is HUGE!

FYI: This also means that he has been wearing the same clothes day and night for a while, since I get in the habit of only changing clothing when "necessary" during this period of the children's learning! 

Hmmm… maybe I should reward him with a new outfit right now.

Love, Us.

For Today: A Secret Birthday Project

Now, first off, this project is a secret. T has no idea, and I want to keep it that way. I have been planning on making her a Little Sister of the Lamb habit for the dress-up box (along with a matching one for her baby doll, Aana) for a long time, but I've finally decided to sit down and do it for her birthday in less than a month. I just purchased all the fabric (2 curtains and a sheet) for three dollars at a thrift shop, and I have our family craftsman (Opah) working on the rosaries and cross necklaces. Yay! 

But, for today, a picture that Ruth shared with us of something Mary did for Catholic School's Week. Pretty great, huh?! Maybe, if the prototype habit is a success, I'll have to make a second one for another upcoming birthday!

Love, Us.

For Today: Building with Blocks

It is always fun when all three kids find something in common to play for a bit. This weekend it was blocks. They built (and destroyed) many wonderful castles and towers together.

Love, Us.

For Today: David, the Knight

As I've mentioned earlier, one of our days of Christmas consisted of costume presents from Oma and Opah. I didn't show pictures, however, of these great "Knight's Armor" that have made it so easy for David to start defending maidens and fighting dragons whenever he desires. I LOVE them! They are such a simple and effective addition to our costume box! Thank you, Oma and Opah!

Love, Us.

For Today: Our New and Improved Fire Drill

Thérèse has graduated from carrying the medicine ball instead of Patrick. She is practicing with the real deal! And they've got it under a minute!

Love, Us.

For Today: Yesterday's Lego Challenge

Yesterday was Lego day, along with everything else, at the Escriva Catholic Academy. It was a new type of challenge for T, however. This was a memory challenge. First, I created a little flip-top desk out of legos. She was then able to look at it and study it for as long as she needed. I then broke it down into all it's pieces and she tried to remake it in the same way. She did great!

Here is the desk.

Love, Us.

For Today: Our Cousin Buddies

This past weekend definitely was a great opportunity for our kids to have some more bonding time with cousins. It was great to see their different personalities and certain cousins hanging out here and there.

Big Dave was such a fun and easy addition to the group! These three, and often just Big D and T, were often up to something silly.

But, when the boys were being boys, T was always very excited to play momma to this little sweetie!

However, she definitely noticed who was her size very quickly, and it was about a 50/50 split whether she was being sweet or stinky towards him. Patrick was usually a very good sport, though.

And we couldn't forget Gus! I think his most common phrase was simply "Li-ttle Dave!". For some reason he LOVES that kid! I'm pretty sure it was mutual.

Love, Us.

For Today: The Best Group Shots from the Visit

Well, the visiting family in on their return trip to Minnesota, stopping at the Little Sisters' for lunch today. It was a quick trip, but we fit a lot into it and got some quality cousin time in. For today, here are three of the best group shots from our time. I may add some more from our time on later dates (or you can check them out on my mom's blog). But, for today… enjoy!

Love, Us.

For Today: A Trip to the Zoo with the Minnesotans

Family arrived safe and sound Thursday evening, and we decided to make our first big outing to the El Paso Zoo. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day, and we had a great time!

(Try to ignore the young boy digging for gold…)

Love, Us.

For Today: Waiting for Family with a Sick, but Happy, Little Boy

Well, I was crediting it to teething, but when the fever got to 103 this morning, I decided it was time to make an appointment. We'll see what the doc says - hopefully nothing big, because we have some major fun times upon us with grandparents, an aunt, and multiple cousins on the road our way!

Say a prayer that all is well. If not, at least everyone will be able to enjoy more snuggles than usual!

Love, Us.

A Pic for Today: Thérèse's Willing Victim

T loves acting like a mother, especially when she gets to put babies into cute outfits. Well, she had a willing victim yesterday… good thing her little brother loves attention, even when it means getting shoved into way-too-small clothing! 

Hope this brings a smile to your face! 

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: An Unexpected Bathtime

Sunday morning we had thrown T and D in the bath to get all squeaky clean before Mass. Patrick had bathed the afternoon before, so he was just hanging around with us, waiting for his church clothes… or so we thought. Joe and I suddenly hear shouts from the upstairs bathroom. I go up to find this waiting for me in the bath…

Yup! He had climbed right in… complete with socks and underwear!

 What a goof!

Love, Us.

Pics for Today: Geology Presentations

Last Friday we had Geology presentations for Pilgrims of the Holy Family. Thérèse made an El Paso soil profile and did a very nice job telling the group about it.

David really enjoyed the rock collection presentations. Luckily, everyone was very accepting of the hands-on experience!

Love, Us.

For Today: A Reason to Smile!

No Cavities! 

PS - I really enjoy our kids' dentist. They actually LOVE going!

Love, Us.

For Today: Patrick's Encore

Patrick's speech therapy is really encouraging him to sign when he doesn't have the words to speak yet. And I must say, the few signs that he has down sure are helpful during meal times! 

So, without further ado: Patrick's Signs

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: Patrick's First Trick

I've decided to showcase some of Patrick's tricks here for the next few days. He is a very talented monkey, if I may say so myself!

For today: The Candle Blow-Out!

For a moment there I wasn't sure if it would be his blowing or his drool that would quench the flame… but he succeeded! Yay, Patrick!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: Wrestle-Mania at Our Place

I guess when you don't watch TV after supper in the evenings, things sometimes get a little interesting…

Love, Us.

For Today: A Private Zoo Viewing!

Last week David asked if we could go to the zoo sometime, and being that we have annual passes, we headed there on the first free afternoon we had. It was a beautiful day - probably high 50's or low 60's… perfect for the zoo. The animals were more active than on hotter days and there was no fear of sun burn. Luckily, however, I guess the rest of El Paso thought it was WAY too cold to go to the zoo, because we had the WHOLE ZOO TO OURSELVES! Literally, we saw two other families there the entire time, one of whom was walking in as we left! It was awesome!

As always, one of our first stops was to say hi to our dear friends, the meerkats.

The giraffes were REALLY fun and active!

We tried out the puppy dog backpack with Patrick - he wasn't a big fan. It didn't really matter though, because there was no crowd in which to lose him!

Another favorite spot to stop and view for awhile - the silly monkeys!

This leopard was growling at us - I think it was surprised by our talking amidst the quiet day and responded!

And to close - a couple views of just how quiet and private our tour really was!

Love, Us.

A Video for Today: T's New Poem

For today, here is T reciting "A Child's Prayer".

Love, Us.