Evan - Soccer Camp

Today was Evan's first day at soccer camp - it was so much fun! I was feeling brave this morning (and Aunt Krista had a deadline and couldn't watch Drew) so I took all three boys with me. I didn't think I would have to do too much with Evan, since parents didn't go out at all at Alex's camp, boy was I wrong. I am so happy that Alex really behaved and watched Drew for me, while I ran around chasing the soccer ball with Evan. Alex is getting so big. He sat there and played on the iPad and would put in Drew's binky when it would fall out. He also told the rowdy child playing nearby that he was being too loud and that he was going to wake up his little brother - too cute! Evan interacted really well with the other kids and the coaches and did a really good job listening, which is crucial! Hopefully this is a turning point for Evan :) Afterwards, he said, Mommy, I kicked the ball really hard! This morning before I left for bootcamp at 5:15am, he was half awake and said, Mommy, I am going to kick the soccer ball really hard and hit you in the face - thankfully he hasn't learned to kick it that hard so far...

Random Pictures of Drew

Snoozing...


Big yawn!

Still in the hospital too - he looks miserable...

This was still in the hospital!

I was going through my iPhone and found some cute pictures I had taken of Drew over the past month or so! Enjoy!

Sleepy Boys

The only time they are good - when they are sleeping :) Drew was sleeping too - so for a brief moment in time, we had complete silence! This was on our way back from Columbus when we went to visit for Labor Day. We all love the mini-van and the wireless headphones for their DVD player!

Alex - Soccer Camp

Random friend, Alex, Jonathan, Alivia & Rocco with some of their coaches.


Listening to the coaches for instructions on their drills

Tonight was Alex's first night at soccer camp! He is going with his friends Jonathan, Rocco, Danny and Alivia. I think that this camp is going to be great for him, if nothing else - hopefully he learns to listen to adults and take directions. The coaches really knew what they were doing and were great with the kids. Alex really likes to pick up the ball vs. kicking it (watch the video - after being told to kick the ball back to the net, he runs out, picks it up and carries it back)! He was too cute - smiled the entire time!

Alex at the Dentist

Alex had to get sealants on four of his teeth. He was so shy and timid last time we went for his cleaning, so I really dreaded going with him this morning! However, he was great! The dentist said, "I prayed for a good patient first thing this morning and God sent me Alex". Maybe the Bubble Gum flavored laughing gas had something to do with it too! Regardless, he laid completely still, did everything they said and sat up smiling afterwards. Thank goodness for a good experience, because if we ever have to have something done that actually hurts - it will be a different story!

One Month Old...

Tell us how you really feel Drew!

Prison mug shot

I hate being 1 month old - waaahhhh

Is that the beginning of a smile?

His serious pose...

Actually he was more like 6 weeks old when I took these, but I am so behind on posting/taking pictures. Drew is now 7 weeks old! I feel bad, but I haven't been too camera happy with the new baby! I need to be better about it and promise that I will be from here on out. Next week the boys are going to be home with me more, so hopefully I will have plenty of opportunities to snap pictures of all three of them or I will be busy sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, drinking a bottle of wine, dreaming of doing tax returns...

We have been busy traveling and visiting family and friends. We were able to go to Somerset and introduce Drew to my grandparents. They were able to be at the birth of both Alex and Evan, but because of Poppy's failing health, they weren't able to make the trip up for Drew's birth. They fell in love with him instantly and spoiled the boys beyond belief. Poppy had created a candy cabinet just for them to take anything they want, when they want it. I just shake my head and look the other way... We were also able to see my dad, his wife Marla, my half-sister Jessica (who has grown into a beautiful young lady, by the way) and Little Miss Keelie. Keelie is the boys Aunt and is just four months old! My Grandmother Ray and Uncle Dan came to visit with us on Sunday. It was a special visit, since they had never met the boys! Mom and Jim hosted a movie night for the boys on Saturday night and Tim and I were able to go to the Harbor for a night out (okay, not a night out, but it was like for 1.5 hours, just to eat and then we were so exhausted we came back and went straight to bed).

Labor day weekend, we headed to Columbus for a couple events! Saturday afternoon was Kelli Marter's bridal shower. She is getting married this New Year's Eve! I took Drew to the party and he got to meet a lot of family friends. He was the only boy there and everyone loved him! It was so hot - the cakes melted - felt so bad for Aunt Kathy :( Kelli got a ton of new and fun things though - so overall, it was a fun day! Saturday night we were able to go to the Perdue families cornhole tournament! It was either that or Tim's 15 year reunion! Well, it turns out that most of the people Tim would have wanted to see was at the cornhole tournament. Paul and Carol watched the boys and we stayed way too late. Tim was in the final game against Alisha's dad. To quote Tim, "I am happy how I played, I just wish my partner hadn't been such a D-bag". Nice. My proudest moment was when he called a mid-game conference with this dude to tell him he needed to play defense - seriously?

As an update on Drew - he is doing great! He has been sleeping longer stretches at night - not consistently, but he is getting there. One night he slept 10 hours straight! He smiles for a few minutes right after I feed him and makes cooing noises - no words yet - haha... I swear he tries to crawl and he still randomly rolls over from his belly to his back - he is a very determined baby. He also has recently became interested in his mobile and the lights on the swing - he is just becoming more aware of what is around him. The boys love him to pieces and are still constantly trying to kiss him. It is cute for like 2 seconds, but then they end up fighting over who's turn it is to kiss the baby and then all hell breaks loose. His favorite things right now are me, milk, gas drops, the fan and our wall sconces.

Tomorrow Alex starts soccer camp with his buddies, Rocco, Jonathan and Alivia and next week he will start pre-school with Jonathan. He was able to meet his teachers last week and when they asked what his favorite food was, he replied water. Ummm, what happened to Cheese-Its Alex? Mary has really been working with Alex on his reading and he is able to read some BOB books on his own! He memorizes them, but apparently that is the first step to reading - I am very proud of him!

Evan starts soccer camp on Friday morning and I am a little nervous because it is parent interactive. Hopefully that just means making sure they don't run off the field... Evan will also be going to the same pre-school as Alex, but in a different classroom. I am really excited about the new things for the boys to do this fall! Evan has also taking an interest in reading and can tell his own version of the stories by pointing to pictures.

Both boys are obsessed with the iPad/iPhone and have been playing with them a lot. I have downloaded a lot of learning games and I really think it is helping them.

Wow, so this has been long. I wish I wrote more often... So to sum it all up - I am very thankful I am able to be off and enjoy being a mom with them for awhile. I do tease that it is stressful, demanding, etc... but this time truly is precious! The past 7 weeks have been great and I have enjoyed every moment of it! I worry how I will do it all when I do finally go back to work in February. I get sad just thinking about it...

First Day of Dr. Seuss Summer Camp

Alex began his first week of summer camp on Monday! He was so excited and has loved it so far! I was a little nervous that he wouldn't want to stay and would cry to come home, but he walked right in, turned around and waved goodbye to me. It probably helps that his friends Jonathan, Alivia and Rocco are going to camp too! The theme of the summer camp is Dr. Seuss and they are learning all kinds of fun Dr. Seuss things! Alex is making new friends and getting acclimated to the school - which is where Alex and Evan will start preschool in just a few weeks! Unfortunately Evan couldn't attend the camp because of his age, but we aren't worried about him fitting in at school. He will be running that place before we know it :)

Summer Dance Series - Ault Park

We went to Ault Park with Mom (in town to hang for a couple of days), Michael and Krista to have a dinner picnic and listen to music at one of four Summer Dance Series held at the park. The boys had fun eating pizza and listening to the music of Soul Pocket. They sounded so good - if you didn't know better, you would think it was just a DJ. The highlight of the evening was when Alex did a full sprint down the big hill by the pavillion, after Uncle Michael dared him - haha. I am glad I didn't see it because he face-planted. A close second for highlight of the evening was when Evan knocked over Tim's wine and it somehow spilled all over Tim's shirt and shorts. It was a fun evening!


Mom, Drew, Me, Krista, Tim and Michael - Alex took this picture. Not bad!


Daddy and two of his boys - going up to check out the band

Evan, up to no good!

Best picture I could get of Alex

1 Month & 4 Year Update

We went to the doctor today for Drew's one month check-up and Alex's 4 year check-up. This was a special milestone for Alex because he had to take a hearing test and a vision test. He passed both of them and enjoyed playing the "game". All was going well until we got the news that he had to have a shot. The look on his face was histerical - the look of terror. I thought we were going to have to strap him down! He ended up screaming his head off and getting loose and jerking the needle out of the nurses hand and it scraped his leg - good job Alex. He then proceeded to talk about how he didn't like the shot, didn't need the shot, didn't care if it helped make him healthy, etc... for the rest of the day. He also couldn't move his leg because it hurt so badly (according to him). Alex also got the flu mist already - glad to have that out of the way!

Drew also was in great shape! He was growing well - up from 30th percentile in weight to 60th - weighing in at 9lbs 10.8ozs. He had also grown 2.25 inches and is now 90th percentile for height. He is still the smallest of all three babies at this point, but not by much! He has another appointment September 21st. He has already changed a lot in the past five weeks. He is really filling out. He still wakes up about 2 times a night and prefers to sleep on his stomach. I am thinking he will start sleeping better in the next few weeks! I have to keep telling myself - weeks 2 - 8 are the worst! After that - it only gets better and to be honest - he has been pretty good. He goes back to the doctor in late September for his 2 month appointment.

See the bar to the right for their actual stats!

Playscape at Cincinnati Nature Center

Alex found a caterpillar on a tree


The boys building the roof of a fort with Uncle Michael

Alex in the logs

Evan braved the tunnel!

Michael and Krista invited us to join them at the grand opening of the New Playscape area at the Cincinnati Nature Center. Krista and Michael's wedding and reception was held at the Krippendorph lodge located at the Nature Center - it is beautiful out there in the fall! Overall, in the words of Michael - we were underwhelmed with the new play area. That being said, I think that it would be really cool for kids that were a little older. Alex kept asking where the slide and swing were - haha. The whole point of the new Playscape was to let kids explore safely in nature. The new area is completely enclosed and allows kids to explore and use their imagination while playing in the natural setting.

Alex's 4th Birthday

We were able to celebrate Alex's 4th birthday on his actual birth date - August 13th. We did a pirate themed party and it turned out to be a great time! We are always happy to celebrate with family and friends. Those who know Alex well, knows that he is into "dressing up" and is obsessed with wearing "long clothes". This drives me insane since it is 100 degrees outside, but he is really into it and I have decided it is not worth arguing over. If he is hot - it is his problem... It wasn't 100 degrees on his birthday, but hot enough. He wore a sear-sucker suit jacket, long-sleeved button down dress shirt, tie, dark denim jeans and dress socks to his party. Later he did a wardrobe change tossed aside the sear-sucker jacket and pulled out old faithful - his red Old Navy sweat jacket. Finally he went out with a bang and changed into a pirate costume that he had received as a gift from the Pusateri's and did not take it off the rest of the weekend. He typically changes clothes at least 4 times a day. Did I mention this drives me insane? Gotta love him though - he is too cute :)

Thanks to everyone who came and made the day special for Alex! OK - get ready for picture overload...

Me and Alex


Alex, Evan and Aunt Krista


The adults and Drew


Making treasure maps with Cioci Becca






Pusateri kids eating the yummy cupcakes!


Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday! Alex and his ladies...


Make a wish! Babci, Evan, Daddy and Drew are helping blow out the candle!


Can't believe he is FOUR!!!


What's the big deal MOM!


Alex stylin, hair done up like Daddy


Arrrghhhh - pirate cupcakes that Aunt Krista made!

Splash Park

Today Alex, Evan and I went to the Woodland Mound splash park for our first play group with Hyde Park Parents Exchange in a long time. A lot of their friends were there! Little Drew stayed behind with his Aunt Krista and had his first bottle - took it like a champ - all 4 ozs!

We had such a good time and the boys were so good, thanks to my pep talk on the way out there, I am sure! They were rewarded as we were leaving with an ICEE to drink on the way home. They rewarded me when we got home with no nap - thanks guys!


Jonathan, Alex & Evan - best buds!

Having lunch and being SO good! I was so proud of them today!

Alex going down the super fast slide!

Evan posing - he wore his sunglasses the entire time...

Good friends Alivia and Rocco!

Evan found a weapon - watch out! He quickly figured you could rotate this thing and spray people!

Alex in the shower!

Climbing up to the slide. As crazy as Evan is - he never would go down the slide!

Drew's First Bath

Tonight was Drew's first bath in the baby bathtub. His cord feel off this past Friday, so we were finally able to give him a tub bath. We also had the boys in the big bathtub at the same time - it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Drew didn't scream at first and actually kind of liked it, then something set him off and it was all over... At least I got these pictures in before all hell broke loose. So who do you think Drew looks like more? Alex or Evan? If you go back to older blog posts from Aug/Sept 2007 and Jan 2009 - you can see the boys first bath pics for comparison!

Drew's first trip to the Doctor

We had to take Drew to visit his group of pediatricians, shortly after he was born because ours did not visit us at St. Elizabeth's. They were impressed with his weight gain in the two days since we had left the hospital - 3.5 ozs - he was just 2 ozs away from his birth weight! They said everything else looked great except he still looked a little jaundice - ahhh! So like the other two boys, we headed back to the lab to get more tests. Since his weight gain was so good and they knew he was eating fine, they were concerned it could be a jaundice related to an imcapability with my blood type - so they needed three vials of blood. Poor thing - he was already tested twice in the two days we had been at the hopsital. The tests came back the next day and the levels were well within the low risk range for his age! The best part of the whole trip to the doctor was when they asked Tim to fill out the paperwork. He just stared at it - so I said, here - why don't you change the baby. Drew had an explosive poo that shot out and went all over the table and floor. Thankfully it somehow missed both of us!

We thought we were in the clear with the doctors until his one month appointment, but last Wednesday our doctor called us again! Now what? Apparently the bloodwork that Drew had drawn at the hospital that is required by the state of Kentucky came back with some borderline results regarding his thyroid levels. So back to the lab we went... I hate that place with a healthy newborn. They tell you not to take your infant around germs! It is a division of Children's hospital - BUT, there were people all over the place and they were coughing, etc... I was about to have a panic attack. I guess the lady checking in caught me glaring at someone coughing and not covering their mouth - so she let me weight in the supply room in the back! This time they needed "a lot" of blood for these two particular tests, so Mr. Drew got his first blood draw out of his little arm. He was so good and took it like a little man. We haven't got both tests results back, but the first one was normal - so according to the nurse, more than likely the second one will be normal as well - shew... There are lots of reasons I only wanted three kids, BUT I don't think my nerves could handle another pregnancy!