Sunday, June 22, 2014

2014 Summer Bucket List

  I am joining the blogging trend of creating a Summer Bucket List of things that I want us to do before the end of summer. I am mainly writing it down for my own benefit so that I will remember everything I want us to do before Preschool and 1st Grade begin!

1. Go to Dinosaur World
2. Go to some of the programs offered by the Library
3. Ice cream and water fun at the Fishhawk Fountains
4. Plant some vegetable seeds
5. Ruskin Drive-in
6. Evenings at the beach
7. Busch Gardens Summer Nights (if we get passes!)
8. Get a bike for myself and take Marley on the trail
9. Have one-on-one day out with each kid
10. Get my hair cut!
11. Take them on the Ybor City cable car
12. Make a water blob for the kids
13. Try out the $1 movies
14. Picnic and nature walk at a local park
15. Long weekend at the beach with family (this will probably be the most challenging one)

I think this is a fairy doable list of things we can squeeze in before August 19th. Anybody who wants to join us on any of these let me know so we can plan. Happy Summer to everyone!





Sunday, June 15, 2014

Three Three Year Olds!!

   Another big thing that happened in my lapse of updating this blog is that the triplets turned three! May 16th was their big day and they are all so excited to be three. We spent their actual birthday with pizza at the pool and then the following day we had a birthday party for them at a local play place they enjoy. Almost all of their friends got to come celebrate their day. Three (six including their moms and grandma) friends came from pretty far away and happened to be another set of triplets! They are less than 3 weeks apart in age from my triplets so we lovingly refer to them as our triplet bff's. It was really a fun party and the best part is it was air conditioned as summer hit Florida early this year. Oh wait, it always does. I still refer to them as "the babies" because "the kids" just doesn't sound right. I often wonder when they are teenagers if I will still call them babies. They are all doing really well and I will give a few details on each of them.

Jack is still the happiest and silliest kid I know. He will do anything for a laugh and really just enjoys life. He is very rough and tough and all boy. He is lucky he has Marley here to play with because she enjoys getting knocked down, stepped and jumped on, ridden like a horse, rammed into at top speed and whatever other shenanigans this boy can think of. He really loves swimming and he is fearless in the water and swimming unassisted in the small pool at home. He also enjoys running and flipping into the pool and doing any crazy stunts his sisters suggest he do. He can be quite timid in new situations and really relies on Marley to help him at times. Luckily for him, she is happy to do so and she takes very good care of her little brother. If you can convince him to do something he is scared of once, he usually realizes he likes it and then does it over and over again. He is still a very picky eater, but he has gained 5 pounds since he had his adenoids removed in February! At his 3 year check he was 29 lbs and almost 39 inches. Really high in length and low in weight, but now he looks a lot healthier than he did at the beginning of the year. He is still thin, but not bony how he was a few months ago. I just love that little boy and he truly brings a lot of happiness and laughter into our home.

Makayla has become the outgoing child of the group. She will talk to anybody. She is so smart and I am usually amazed by what comes out of her mouth. She is really a thinker and a very quick learner. She can be very sassy and often puts her hands on her hips or sighs really loudly if she doesn't like what she is hearing. She requires the least amount of sleep and would really like if she could sleep next to me every night, but of course that's not happening! She is brave in new situations and usually goes in with little or no hesitation. She makes friends very easily and is very social. She is still the smallest of the bunch, at her 3 year check she was 37" and 24 pounds. She is growing just not too quickly. She is very sweet and likes to go around giving everyone tons of kisses and hugs. She is still a little spitfire and at times can be very challenging, but she always makes up for it with her sweetness.

Marissa is really a funny child. Not in the sense like Jack who is just a clown, but she  will say things to me because she knows it is funny and I will laugh. She also likes to make silly faces when she say things to make me laugh too. She will question things so she can learn about them and always remembers. She is also very smart and a quick learner. She is pretty outgoing though not as much as Makayla. She is a bit more selective in who she talks to now. She is also very good at making friends. She really loves playing in the sandbox and will spend over an hour just building things and playing pretend. She is very similar in size to Makayla- about 1/4" taller and half a pound heavier. She is very sweet and really enjoys doing things that she thinks the bigger kids do. She often tells me, "This is only for the big girls like me." She can still be a bit dramatic and sassy, but she has really become a sweet and caring person.

Together they are still so much fun. They are usually really good kids and are often complimented on their good behavior in public. It has really gotten a lot easier to do things with them and Marley and she is still such a big help. They really love their big sister and love spending time with her. She has a very nurturing soul and is a very good role model for them. She has taught them so much and they insist they are starting Kindergarten soon. They all play very good together most of the time. At times they can fight like cats and dogs, but nobody holds a grudge and they quickly go back to being nice to each other. It is hard to believe they are three years old already but I look forward to all this year of their lives has to bring.

The party animals!

Marissa & Bre
Triplet Bff's!

Happy 3rd Birthday!


The cakes they each chose

My boy in his new glasses

Sister kisses

Hanging out at Field Day

Seesaw

Rockstars

Makayla & Marissa

Just watching tv

Marley <3

Birthday muffins


Saturday, June 14, 2014

Celebration!

     I have so much to catch up on....again!! And the best part is that it is all good news. The first thing I want to talk about is the big celebration we had for my mom's victory over breast cancer. I wanted to do something special for her to honor how strong she was during all of her treatments. Her chemotherapy really made her sick and then the radiation burned her skin very badly. She also had two surgeries in the beginning of it all that were very hard on her. After finishing all of that I felt that a party was in store!! So around February I started planning a big SURPRISE party for her. We invited all of our family and her friends (and Lord knows she has a lot of them!) I was so worried somebody would tell her and a few times she said or did something where I was certain she knew. My Aunt and Grandma helped me plan the food and get all of the party supplies and we used my Aunt's church for the celebration. We told my mom that on April 19th my Aunt's church was having a Mother-Daughter Banquet that we were all attending. Instead she walked in to a little under 100 people wearing pink in honor of her!!! And she was so surprised! The food was good, the music was good but the fact that we were there celebrating my mom's defeat over cancer was perfect. I am so grateful to everyone who came and helped celebrate with us. It was truly one of the most special evenings ever.

My mom walking around telling everyone hello

More party-goers

My mom with her life long friend

The Trombetto's


Dessert!

I see a whole lot of pink!

Marley couldn't wait to greet Mimi!



My friend Paula custom made all of our shirts!!



Patty & my mom

The Zhendubayev Family

Rosie & Katelyn

The Party Invitation!  (also designed by Paula)

My Mom, Grandma, Uncle Larry & Aunt Jo

Wes, Shannon, Kiara, Keanu, Kaden & John

The Camille Family

Roger & my mom...Roger is currently fighting cancer and needs prayers. He will defeat it!

The moment she walked in!


The Woss Families with my mom
Our Family
My favorite :)

The Lindberg Family


 
 There were many, many more people and photos I have not posted here. My mom's friend Rick was there taking photos and he set up a special room for everyone to have their family photo done with a special backdrop that turned out great. Thank you all again.