My heart.

Watching Mickey

This is how yesterday began.  We woke up later than usual since I set my alarm for p.m. instead of a.m.  Well, now we weren't going to make it to yoga.  No big deal, we have a few errands to run anyway.  The little boys were awake and switching blankets when I walked in to greet them.  We tee-teed in the potty and went to the rug in the kitchen.  Instead of cereal, Eli asked for yogurt.  So we had a banana and yogurt.  Deciding it's time to get dressed, I sent them to my bed to watch Mickey while I got their clothes and got dressed myself.  The above picture is what I found when I was getting their clothes out.  They sit like this a lot when we do cartoons/get dressed.  The difference was Eli wasn't whining about it.  Porter is a leaner.  He gets that from me--he just likes to touch someone at all times.  Usually Eli pushes away after a minute or so.  Not today.  They sat like this until I started to get them dressed.

We left the house and headed to the Toyota dealership where we had to wait for about an hour to get a new battery.  We cleaned out the super-gross toy bin and chose to play with a couple of magazines instead.  They proceeded to chat, play nicely, and sit with me while people wandered in and out.  Time dragged for me because I was just waiting on the ball to drop.  They were just entertained watching people in and out, talking with them, or asking me what each person was doing or where they were going.  Time's up, car is ready.  We leave without incident.

On to the gym where I need to sort out some paperwork.  They love the gym playroom so I wasn't worried, however we were able to leave quickly when it was time to go.  Usually it takes 10+ mins because we have to say goodbye, linger, play some more, then we put the toys away.

On to Freebirds for lunch. Besides wanting to carry the high chair all by themselves which results in them pushing it, there were no incidents.  They ate lunch and I ate mine.  The sweetest moment was when I was cleaning up and each of them had one last chip.  Porter finished his and wanted another one.  After explaining that there were no more chips, I got up to throw the food away.  Then Eli handed Porter half of his chip.  Unprompted.  Porter said, "Thank you Eli", unprompted.  I almost melted on the floor.  It caught me so off guard as I stood halfway sitting, halfway standing at the table looking over my shoulder at these two little people, the beats of my heart.  We left with the only incident being when Eli got sad when he threw his milk away, it actually went into the trash can.  He was trying to miss the can.

Home for playing and puzzles and then naps.  They ate an early dinner because I had to sub a class.  They ate and got into the car.  This is when I realized it was THE day of all days.  I was early.  I teach at 5:30 p.m. every Monday.  And every Monday I arrive by the skin of my teeth because I have to feed them dinner first because we don't get home until 7 p.m. and that makes for too long of a day to still have to feed them at that point.  So yesterday, I subbed a class and when I dropped them off at the nursery and looked at my watch, I had 14 minutes until my class.  We didn't do anything differently, except that yesterday Eli and Porter were buddy-buddy all day.  When I said to go to the car, they both walked together to the garage.  When we got out of the car, they both took my hand and walked jumped their way to the door.  Usually one wants to sit in their car seat for another minute or someone wants to take an extra loop around the house with a train before we leave the house.  Not yesterday.  Left the gym, got home, took baths, read a book, said prayers and off to bed.

For anyone who knows us lately, knows we have an Escapee named Porter and a Tattle-Taler named Eli.  Porter joins Eli in his bed or tries to convince Eli to join him at the door and Eli does not want to join in or entertain him because our next move is taking something away--mainly blankets and Eli's paci.  Eli does NOT want that paci gone so he follows the rules!  But last night, no one escaped.  No one tattled.  They both slept--no peeps.  Evan was gone the last couple days.  The days I teach are long anyway since we get home at our normal bedtime and still have to do baths.  Usually though those few minutes when we walk in from the gym I have a few minutes to get everything ready for bath/bed because the boys are tumbling with Evan.  Even though he wasn't home to give me that little break, they walked right to put their shoes away and get to the bath.  I loved yesterday.  I was dog-tired since during naptime, when I usually nap too, I baked and packed.  But it was so worth it to spend every second with my favorite little people.  Not everyday is like this but I wanted to remember it.

With the holidays upon us, I think of everyone who will celebrate this year without the people they love.  Whether it is those families from the most recent events in Connecticut, a family member who lost their mother to cancer, a best friend who lost their mom to cancer, or families who lost children/family members years ago, who still wish they were around during these days.  I am so thankful I have my family around me, most especially Evan, Porter, and Eli.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Roman Gladiators!

Forget-Me-Nots

One of our favorite spots in Sacile and quacking for the ducks.

I have been busy lately with the transitions of moving, chasing toddlers, and traveling. Evan has been traveling for work, a friend's wedding, and work, work, work. Porter and Eli have been busy keeping us on our toes. I am so behind on blogging and as much as it's the only thing I want to do and keep up with, it's the item that gets the back-burner everyday. But I don't want to forget the everyday things the boys do that make me smile, make me curl my toes, or make my heart melt.

*Eli can spot a slide/playground from a mile away. As soon as we pull on base, he says "slide" or when we're out and about if he sees a playground, "slide".

*Eli has a squeal that he has developed in the last couple weeks. It is high-pitched and will make you want to answer him back with a scream. He is good at testing me but I'm just trying to curb the squeal with telling him that if needs me, which is usually the case, he can say, "Momma". It works half the time. The other half, I find myself taking deep breaths and really focusing on making my voice calm or at least not raised. He knows the button.

*Eli has these looks he gives when he's eating. He loves food and loves to snack and take forever and a day to finish. If I give 2 pieces of graham cracker to each of them, Porter has them gone in minutes and Eli will take 15 minutes.

*Since the week of the movers, Eli's pacifier has become much more of a hot issue. As in he wants it all the time. Since he's had his pacifier, he gets it in car on long trips, at naptime, and at bedtime. Now he wants it when we're running errands on base, while we're in the car anytime, or whenever he feels the need. I think he's going to be the one that takes all these changes the hardest.

*Porter still knows the my food button. He's become such a better eater in general and with vegetables specifically. It is amazing what bargaining does: "Eat a bite of this, and you can have a cracker with cheese."

*Porter is so organized and he knows where everything is in the house. If I say "shoes" out loud, he goes to his shoes or my shoes and if I am not right there, he will bring them to me. I have even said (just talking to myself) that I need my eyedrops. Porter knows where they are and he went to the bathroom door and wait for me to come open so he can go to the right cabinet and get them with me. 9 times out of 10 if I am looking for my phone, Porter remembers where I last had it and he will go to that room and help me look--it is so cute to see him "at work".

*When we are out and about and the boys are not in the stroller, there are 2 options usually: hold hands and walk or get carried. At times one of them wants to be carried, but usually they are good at holding hands. Sometimes I have something in one hand and they have to hold each other's hands. It takes a long time to get where we're going, but we do it. If anyone lets go of hands, the train stops until we're all holding hands again.

*When we play in the yard, they spend a lot of time putting the rocks on slanted piece of the staircase and sliding them down, they tear leaves into 100 pieces and stuff them in the drain (better than the rocks Lino pays for), and looking out the gate at the bikes, buses, strollers, cars, and dogs that pass by.

*Lino is very entertaining. He has been working on his back roof lately and we spend a few minutes on the way to and from the car talking to Lino and laughing and playing. This 75 year old gets on his hands and knees and bucks like a bronco to get laughs from the boys. They love it. I wish I knew more Italian to communicate and express my gratitude for being such a fun Nonno Lino.

*I don't know when it started but the boys have a way of greeting Evan. He taught them a long time ago to squish their face, purse their lips, and make a 'mmmm-hah' noise: mouth closed to mouth open. He started with Porter because Porter was making the face one day. It is now the noise/face they make if I call Evan during the day, if I say "we're at Daddy's work", if "Daddy's home". With him gone these past couple of days, they are good at doing it throught the phone. It's also my go-to when it's the rough time of day--call Evan and have the boys "talk" to Daddy.

*While the movers were here, the boys went to the care on base at the CDC. When we got home, they both walked in the door and put their hands up like, "what is going on?". When we came home after all the boxes were gone, they took off in a sprint through the house--they had so much room.

*The first of three days of care, Porter was in one room and Eli was in another room. They have been to the care before but only for 3 hours and always in the same room. Not for a full day and not separated. I was more nervous than them! Porter did just fine--walked in and got busy with some toys. Eli was okay but then he realized Porter was not with him. The caregiver said he was sad for a while but there is a window separating the two rooms, so they brought Porter to the window and Eli immediately cheered up. They were also able to play together on the playground but he liked to check up on him via the window.

*Downside to moving: no toys (a few cars, books, and blocks), nothing to curb their curiosity so they flip on the transformers, turn on/off the lights all day, and go to the windows to open and close.

*At times the boys just like to whine (Porter) or be dramatic (Eli) for one simple reason: to get my attention. This happens a lot while I'm fixing dinner or washing dishes. The other day I could hear Porter doing his, "uughhs" and after a couple whines I checked on him because I knew he was already on the floor of the kitchen. I was at the sink and turned around to see Porter on his belly, looking at me and whining, while Eli was sitting next to him and patting his back. I quickly turned back around and had to laugh. Porter was soaking it up! Now when times get tough, Eli does the same thing and Porter pats his back. I just smile to myself and try not to show them that I notice how cute they are at those moments.

*Porter has started saying, "it's cold" when he gets in the bath and it's chilly or when he first drinks his milk. It's supercute to hear him.

*Both Eli and Porter know our routine really well: everyday is pretty much the same with small change-ups. (1. Come upstairs, shoes off and put away, wash hands. 2. Clean-up after meals and put away milk in the fridge after breakfast and dinner. 3. Toys away, bath, pjs, book, prayers, bed. 4. a.m. Diapers, cereal on the window-sill then to chairs for breakfast.)

*Eli started fastening all the clips together in the past month or so. It started with their car-seats, then moved the high chairs, and now it's anything with a clip--diaper bag, a suitcase. Porter now joins in but I hear a lot of whining, then "Momma help please" after repeated attempts to undo all the clips so they can start over again.

*I kept a couple cars and books after all their toys were packed away. Just this morning while I was walking around getting things ready and getting dressed, they both grabbed their toys from the hallway and started hoarding them towards the window in the kitchen. This has happened a lot since the movers left, but the one difference this morning was each one was running back and forth from the bookshelf to the window wearing a hat. Not just any hat. Eli had on my smaller beach floppy hat and Porter had the huge pink sunhat on--leftover in the entryway from our beach weekend. It was hysterical and I just stood behind a wall and watched the fun and shenanigans and babbling. I don't have a picture but I hope I don't forget what they looked like.

6 years.

Flowers in a pickle jar, supported by the cappucino machine and crock pot bowl = l-o-v-e.

Eli's First Haircut

May 16, 2012

The time has come for Eli to get his haircut. The hair near his mole grows a lot faster and thicker than the rest of his head. It's been really cute because it has had a curl and was relatively easy to "style". Over the last two weeks or so it has grown to be a little shaggy and needs a cut. I was not expecting him to behave like Porter did. Eli has always been a bit (or a lot) more dramatic than Porter. I figured we would, hopefully, sit in the chair and at least look at the scissors. If it didn't work, at least we tried right? I could not have been more wrong. He was a little timid at first about the chair and the cape, but Christina moves slowly and talks and doesn't rush into the cut. He sat in the chair the entire time looking around, sucking on his pacifier, and playing with the brushes.
First cut. It was his teeny little curl in the back.He does not even look like the same little boy. I have been here for every moment, yet I don't understand how they have gotten so big and have turned from infants to toddlers to little boys.

Farewell: The Henning Family

May 10-11, 2012

There are not a lot of farewells at the legal office--few and far between. Well the goodbye season has begun. The Henning family started us off with a goodbye bbq at the park area on base. It was a long day for the boys. We started off at the spouse club breakfast where they played for 2 hours, I drove around so they would sleep for an hour in the car, and then we went to the bbq at 1 p.m. Despite the circumstances, they did great--just played, played, and played!

Playing with Mrs. Linda.
Porter loves Brett.Erin bought "Guido" and is shipping him back to the states. Everyone had a good time honking the horn--especially all the kids.

I remember watching Caden throw the baseball with Sean when the guys and Erin had softball games. He was a tiny little person just about the boy's size. Now he's super-tall and all grown up. The Hennings live past us in Sacile and have always been so helpful to us--Sean with our cars, Erin having us over for American night (she's a fabulous cook), and Kaden for entertaining the boys when we have office functions. They will be missed!Friday night we went over to the Davis' house for an impromptu grill night. We were not quite packed for Switzerland, but you have to eat right? Porter and Eli had fun running around, kicking the ball, and throwing their water bottles into the well near the front door.
My little Italian man standing and watching with his hands behind his back.This is very Porter-like. So observant.

Our Friend Sadie: Park & Eggs

 March 2012:

Porter and Eli spend a lot of time with Sadie.  She is definitely one of our best friends and it's a bonus because I get to hang out with my friend Christy.  After dropping off my parents at the airport, I took the boys to Pordenone for the morning.  We walked to the market, rode the carousel, and walked to a GREAT park near the main square.  Sadie was all about showing us around her hometown!

After doing my best at keeping the troops awake on the way home, they went to their usual spot on the way upstairs.  Anthony's mat.  If they are still eating their snack when we get upstairs, I have them sit on the rug by the door to finish it so they don't carry it around the house.  Well, they started making Anthony's mat the "finish-the-snack-mat".  So we sit and sit until all the snack is gone.  One time Anthony left the door cracked for a friend.  In there snacking, one of them leaned against the door and opened it.  That's what Eli is trying to do in the second picture.

We had egg-dying and dinner at the Curtis house a couple weekends before Easter.  I don't have any pictures of the actual dying because I was trying to keep all the eggs and dye from going all over the porch.  But we have a few after-pics.  This goes along with their personality too--Eli is just fine in a diaper and Porter, given the choice, will choose clothes every time.

 

 

 

 This afternoon/evening was by no means 'hot' but it was also not cold.  Maybe a little chillier when the sun went down, but it was a pleasant and warm-breeze type afternoon.  We had no problem stripping everyone to their diapers for the actual egg-dying part.  The Curtis' Italian neighbor got home and was chatting with Christy when she realized all 3 bambinos were in only their diapers and it was mid-March.  She was really shocked and shouted "crazy Americans"!!!  It was really funny and we all got a good laugh out of it!

 

 Sharing one pack-and-play so the adults can eat dinner after 7 p.m.--thank you and good night!