Easter

I realize it's the end of April and I'm just making it to the first Sunday of the month...Easter!  But here it is.  We had SO MUCH fun!  I wasn't sure how much the kids would "get it" this year, but they LOVED it!  They loved coloring eggs, they loved finding eggs (well, kind of...IF they had candy in them; they'd shake the egg to see it it had something in it....if it did, it went in the basket, if it didn't, it was dropped back on the ground), and they loved the candy, of course...and we loved watching them!  Kids have made everything in life so much better!!!   

Most of the Stacey cousins (L to R - Emma, Dylan, Matthew, Ryan, Kallie, Timmy).  I'm so glad that the kids have lots of little cousins to play and grow up with.  

Timmy can barely wait to go get his candy!

Love this face :)

Emma's face says it all....this Easter Bunny is a little scary.  Kallie wouldn't go near it, and I can't say I blame her!

Timmy wanted to color every egg "buuuuuuue."

Emma and Daddy

Kallie showing off her egg...(thanks for helping Bri Bri :)

Our finished products...a lot better than I expected!

Easter morning!  Yep, they're eating suckers already!!!

I can't lie...these next pics are actually from the day after Easter.  It was POURING rain on Easter :/ so we had a little egg hunt indoors, but decided to wait until the next day, and nicer weather, for a real Easter egg hunt.

Timmy shaking his egg to make sure there's something in it...

Emma checkin' out her loot....

Kallie "protecting" her stash...

All three sitting still...for a moment!

The Queen

Princess isn't exactly one of the words I would use to describe Kallie.  Although she's the "baby" of the kids (if birth order has anything to do with it at all, let alone when you're born on the same day, just minutes apart), she acts like the first born.  She has the biggest heart, can be a total cuddly love-bug, and she often mothers Timmy and Emma (one of her nicknames is Lil' Mama).  BUT make no ifs, ands, or buts about it, she is also demanding and bossy, strong willed, and wildly independent.  And she has always seemed like an adult stuck in a little body.  I can remember when we first brought the babies home, Kallie would open her eyes and look at me with an expression that said, "YOOUUUU are my mom?! Oh brother......(sigh)" as she'd close her eyes and fall back to sleep.  She's always been a little bit of a challenge for me and every once in a while I have to remind her who is in charge (it doesn't hurt to remind myself either...it can be easy to forget when you're being bossed around by three 2 yr olds. on a daily basis).  And if she didn't already act old enough, she has recently started calling me "mom."  MOM....really???  Already???  I waited my whole life to be called Mommy, and all I got was 2 and a half years???  I keep telling her my name is Mommy, but she continues to call me Mom.  I almost think she sees what it does to me and likes the "power" she has.  Nope, this little girl is no princess...she's something more of a queen.  And the queen did not like having her picture taken on the potty!  Can't say I blame her :)

Happy Birthday...Vialpando style (LATE)!

Honestly, there are no words to describe how I feel about Tim and the kind of man/father he is.  He has far surpassed any expectations I had of him or the dreams that I had for myself.  He is ALL about his family and kids, and he is hands down THE BEST dad I have EVER seen!  Last year, when asked what he wanted for his birthday he said "a swing set."  So it didn't come as a huge surprise that this year he requested something else for the kids...another trip to Disneyland.

Tim, you are an amazing friend, partner, father...and soon-to-be husband :)  You are funny, sweet, caring, romantic, smart, honest, selfless, patient, hardworking, and a ton of fun to be around (I'm blaming all my wrinkles on you for making me smile and laugh more than I ever have before).  I love you for all these reasons and so many more.  Thank you for choosing to spend your life with me...I'm one lucky girl!

And alright, it didn't end up being "the best birthday ever!"  Disneyland was CROWDED (who knew so many people would want to celebrate your birthday ;), we had to buy blackout tickets for Friday, nobody cared about your birthday button, and the kids (and sometimes Mommy and Daddy) were cranky!  But HAPPY BIRTHDAY....here's to an amazing year ahead.  We LOVE you!!!

I'll spare everyone with ALL the Disneyland pictures because I know I've already posted a ton from our previous trip, but here are a few of my favorites...

Daddy turns....

Emma waiting patiently after we found out our passes were blacked out for that Friday!

Daddy with his birthday button....Happy Birthday "im!"

Yes, this is Kallie wearing a 1st Visit button....we figured it was the least we deserved after having to pay for the blackout tickets.  And the kids aren't reeeally old enough to learn from our bad examples yet.......are they???

One of the only pics I have of Tim with all the kids (sorry kids, this is all you were givin' me)!

I think the kids had some of the most fun at the water fountains.  It was a nice way to cool off and there was NO line!!!

I know I've posted teacup pictures before, but I can't get enough of them!  I never get tired of seeing my babies THIS happy!!!

March Madness

Yep, it's the middle of April and I'm just getting around to March.  It seems like the more things we do and the more I have to blog about..the less time I have to do it!  So I'm kinda cheating for March and throwing it all together in this post!  It was a busy month (guess life is pretty busy now :)  We had so much great weather so we took advantage of it by going to the park a ton, we had a couple play dates with our little cousins, and went to Story Time at the library with one of my best friends, Jocelyn and her daughter Torrie...and we made a couple special trips to do fun things with the kids.  First stop.....California State Railroad Museum!

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it again....Timmy loves trains!!!  Can't get enough of 'em, so this trip was especially fun for him.  There were big running trains outside, old trains on display in the museum, and lots of toy trains (displayed and running) all over the place throughout the museum.  They even have a huge area upstairs with tracks and choo choo trains for the kids to play with.  Timmy was in "too too tain" heaven!  

Timmy watching the trains run outside...

Kalllie fell right when we got there and got like 5 slivers in her hand.  She's such a trooper though; she didn't complain at all...until we got home and had to take them out :/

Daddy and Emma

Have I mentioned how much this little guy loves trains???

Let me clarify....he LOOOOVES trians!!!

Byt the end of the day, everyone was tired and it was hard getting Timmy to part with the trains, but.....

...a little bribe of ice cream always seems to do the trick!

Another special trip we took was to the Jelly Belly Factory with Grandma.  We had lunch and let the kids pick out a treat before we left.  They're so much fun right now!!!

I told everyone to wait for me at the door before leaving and this is how I found Emma :)

Surprisingly, the kids liked their hats and kept them on.  Wish I could get them to leave real hats on!

Kallie

The Jelly Belly shaped pizza was a big hit!

Grandma and the girls :)  Emma-L, Kallie-R

Timmy didn't quite understand that you're not supposed to just take the jelly bellies out of the containers and eat them.  I found him like this several times....ooops!

March was so much fun!  April has already been just as busy, but it's got me excited about the summer and getting out with the kids.  I guess you never stop getting Spring fever!  

8 WEEKS

Eight weeks, exactly, until Maui (ok not EXACTLY....it's actually more like eight weeks minus a day or two).  But saying eight weeks makes me feel better than saying 7 weeks and 5 days....especially since I have lost 0 pounds!    

Trizzle-nary

As anyone with children knows, kids put their own twist on words. It almost becomes their own little language of sorts...with only moms, dads and maybe close family/friends being fluent (fluent: having any clue as to what they are talking about). I've been wanting to write down all of the little things that the kids say right now so that I can remember them later....later, when they are teenagers and using proper English (hopefully) to tell me how much they hate me and wish I were dead. I want to be able to look back and remember all the cute little things they said and did at one time to make me smile on a daily basis :) Some of these REALLY need pictures with them, but I'm too lazy right now. So here you have it...our Trizzle-nary: small dictionary of words currently used by Timmy, Emma and Kallie....minus pictures!

Trizzles:
Nickname given to the kids by Auntie Kami (or as the kids call her, "Kami Kami"). This probably goes without saying, but she loves Snoop Dogg....I mean she REALLY LOVES Snoop Dogg! She loves his music, has gone to his concerts (IN UTAH, no less! She lives in San Diego now, but that doesn't sound nearly as funny), watched Snoop Dogg's Father Hood religiously, and has even dreamt about him! What makes all of this even funnier is that Kami just happens to be a beautiful white, very blonde girl with great trendy style (she basically looks like a model...yes you DO, Kam) and an amazing job. Not exactly what one would imagine Snoop's #1 fan to look like ;)

Mimmy:
What the girls first called Timmy when they were learning to talk. Even though everyone can say Timmy now, the mispronunciation has stuck and he's often called Mimmy by family.

Kaddie:
Kallie

Happy:
A candle. We're pretty sure this came from seeing candles on birthday cakes and associating that with singing Happy Birthday??? But now any type of flame (or fire) they see is a happy. We once drove by a house on fire and all the kids proclaimed, "Bick happy!" Which brings us to our next word....

Bick:
Big

Bick Wawa:

Beach

Hair-cup:
Haircut

Pribby codors:
Pretty colors - crayons and markers. When they say, "I want pribby codors." it means they want to color.

Wee:
Slides, not to be confused with.....

Wee-wees:
Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and pretty much anything with a siren!

Tea cups :
Anything that they can sit on and go around and around...the tea cups at Disneyland have made quite an impression.

La and Les:
Kallie's words for "yeah" and "yes."

Stinky:
The name of Timmy's lovey (and very possibly best friend). It's this little bear holding a small (and what used to be) blue blanket....and IT. IS. STINKY! Hence the name. Timmy loves this thing, specifically the blanket...he sucks on it, rubs it between his thumb and fingers, and puts it on or over his face (YUCK)! He HAS to have it to sleep and despite washing it everyday, the blanket (mostly the edges and corners) has turned into an unidentifiable color and it continues to stink :/ We have even bought him a new on exactly like the original, but he wants nothing to do with it. If we give it to him, he will either throw it out of the crib or stuff/hide it in between his crib and the wall.

Da-dop:
How Kallie pronounces Lamb Chop - her lovey. It started out as a cute and super soft stuffed lamb, but has become a dingy, matted mess. She also has to have it to sleep; luckily she doesn't put it in her mouth, but she has to flip the arm back and forth in between her fingers and rub it on her cheek while she sucks on the middle two fingers of her free hand.

"Sit Mommy" "Sit Daddy" "Sit (fill in the blank)":
This means they want to sit on Mommy's lap, Daddy's lap, Grandma's, etc.

"Hold you":
I want to be picked up.

"A turn":
Someone wants a turn. I'm not sure why they add the "a," but they always do! "Mimmy a turn!" "Emma a turn!" "Kaddie a turn!"

Chewies:
Fruit snacks

Puffs:
Pirates Booty

(We should really invest in these last two...the kids LOVE chewies and puffs and would eat them like they're going out of style, if I let them. The first thing Emma currently says to me when I get her out of her crib in the morning is, "I want chewies and puffs, mommy." Uuhhhhhh.....NO! Not for breakfast!

Gink:
Drink

Coo-coos:
Cookies

Pantcess:
Princess

Ala-cause:
Santa Claus

Aunkie:
Auntie

Flench Flies:
French fries

Cocorn:
Popcorn

Straw-babies and black-babies:
Strawberries and blackberries (the girls love 'em!)

"Buy the money":
"Daddy's at work...he buy the money!" Daddy's at work...he MAKES the money. This is accompanied by the signs for "work" and "money" and they are so cute when they talk about it. If they find a coin somewhere they will tell me they want to take it to Daddy at work. Little cuties!!!

Stinky bubbles:
When someone toots we almost always hear, "Stinky bubbles, Timmy!" Or whoever did it...they even tell on themselves. Example: if Emma is the guilty one, she will still say, "Stinky bubbles, Emma!" Gotta love kids :)

The next two you'll have to use your imagination for. I really have given the kids the anatomically correct names for these body parts, but this is what they have become in our house:

Pickles:

The kids are very interested in these for some reason and are always checking out their own, as well as each other's during bath time.

Peanut:
"Timmy is a boy because he has a peanut." Emma and Kallie "explain" this to me all the time! Thanks, girls...I don't know what mommy would do without you :) Note to self: start saving money for Timmy's therapy!