Time Flies

Time is just flying by. Rose and Roman still take a good solid nap, while at times it is easier to just keep Allie and AJ awake and not fight to get them to sleep and interrupt the good 3 hour nap Rosie and Romo will take. So I sit here in our bedroom contemplating folding clothes as I watch Allie and AJ take turns covering up each other and pat each other's back and I think, "wow, where has the time gone". Our youngest child will be two in September and there are no more babies. I feel as though sometimes the growing up part is worse for us because we missed a big chunk of Allie, Aj, and Romo's earlier life since Allie was 1 yr old, Romo 8 mos old, and Rosie 2 yrs old when they came into our lives. In some ways it is nice not having babies anymore so that we can do more things, for instance, we will go on our first camping trip at the end of the month or like in a few years when we can get nice things in the house and not have to determine how it will be damaged by the kids. It would be difficult and like starting all over again if we had another baby. At the sametime I feel as though I want to have another baby to do it all over again and cherish it since our situation we have now happened so fast and it was more just being in survival mode all of the time. Well I could dwell on this everyday or I could just be at peace and try to enjoy each and every moment with the kids and not try to rush to the next thing. I choose to enjoy it and want to just make their life as great as possible so that when they grow older they would have had good guidance and great childhood memories. These kids are a gift from God. There was a time when my life had no purpose and I thought I would never have children and I still can't believe we have four beautiful healthy children that are all ours and I never want to take that for granted.
In closing there is one thing I really want the kids to know: Roman had the worse diapers out of all of you, and I mean BAD! His room still smells from the one he had this morning so Roman, you owe me big time, and the other kids should make you wipe my ass the most when I need it.
So some new things Roman says, "a mess", "spongebob"
Anderson says "look Allie, you" while showing Allie a picture of herself, also "little bear"

Kids Quote

Some things Roman says at 22 months
I Got It, Sorry, Get Down, Fun, Okay, a bee daddy

In the car the other day we were listening to a Kelly Clarkson song that says "cause we belong together now..." and Alice said, "Mom, that song says, Cause we belong together now, and we all belong together too"

SPECIAL KIDS DAY

Now that we have respite care, I have been able to spend more individual time with the kids so one day last week I took the girls to the Children's Museum. They had a blast, we packed our lunch and hung out for a while. Then another day I took the boys to play at McDonald's and Roman had a Dr. appt for his follow up with his ear tubes, which that wasn't fun but he still liked it. Now I am trying to do one on one time with the kids so today I took Anderson with me to run errands. All of the kids are growing up so fast and having this one on one time with them as allowed me to be more attentive to them and notice things that I wouldn't normally such as words they are saying, things they are doing, etc. I took Anderson to the mall to have lunch, ride the carousel, and play in the kids area. It was like he was so proud and confident to just be there with me. We also went to the Sprint Store to get my phone fixed and went to the cleaners to get hangers. While at the cleaners there is a fountain outside that he got to play in and we also got to see some firemen jump into the firetruck and run off with the sirens. Anderson said something today I had never heard him say, it was "mom, hold my fries" too funny. Anderson is such a mommy's boy, did I mention that he sleeps on our floor in our bedroom every night? I love it, I love having him right there with me but I am scared that he will never grow out of it, haha! Every now and then we can convince him to sleep in the girls room but most of the time we just don't feel like fighting him and will just let him sleep with us. Following this will be pics from the girls at the museum and Aj's day with mommy today from the sprint store and the fountain.

Roman Speaks

I can't believe all of things this boy says for his age, I will not be able to write them all but here goes some

I did it, look balloon, Dora, mine, potty, peepee, yucky poo poo, bath, diaper, cup, eat, food, I want some, Daddy, Allie, Rara (AJ), Rose, Boudreaux, Mommy, bed, Shoes, where, this, there, cheese, cracker, juice, milk, sorry, your welcome, thank you, car, truck, chair, swimming, I'm coming

This is all at only 21 months, he is way more vocal then any of my other kids were at this age so it is just amazing to me to see him so little saying all of these things. He is the cutest and sweetest little boy, I love him so much.

To Pee or not to Pee

Well today I started to potty train Anderson. I wanted to give it a try to see if he was ready but it seems as though it will be more of a challenge then I am prepared for. I had the babysitter come this morning to watch the other kids while I worked with Anderson. He woke up with a dry diaper and he went on the potty and peed. After that, he kept having accidents and also would pee on the potty if you sat him on there so all in all, he just wasn't able to tell when he had to go but if he just sat on the potty he would evenutally pee. As the day went on, he started having tantrums and not wanting to go on the potty and then I just thought about it for a while and decided not only is he not ready but more than that, I am not ready. I am not ready for the struggle, the accidents, having to bring three to the bathroom in public, traveling with three having to make potty breaks. I just got Rose out of pullups at night and here I am trying to go right into training Anderson, I need to just wait. I really need a step by step guide on how to do this because I don't have the confidence to just wing it so here is my plan. I was told about the 3 day potty training guide that gives step by step, day by day instructions with my name written all over it. My plan is to wait until I have enough respite hours to just have the babysitter come all day long with the other kids for those three days and then just focus on Anderson and try to get him trained. I also am going to wait until I am in the right mindset to give it my all which I am just not right now. On another note, Roman says potty so I bring him and he pees, afterwards he says "I did it Moma" maybe I should start with him :)

Playing Catch up

I can't believe it has been this long since I have written. I am understanding the importance of having all of this documentation for the kids more and more everyday. Life passes by so fast and you start to forget things. I feel like a bad mom sometimes because I don't have a baby book for them to write important things down and even if I did, when do I find the time. I guess that is why it is so great to have all of the technology we do today because typing is much quicker. Just a brief rundown since last I posted. The adoption was final on 2/12/09 and we also withdrew our foster license due to the law being no more than four under the age of 6. We are still trying to get used to all of the adjustments involving the kids being offically ours such as name changes, adding to medical insurance, added expenses, etc. We have been enjoying them nonetheless but they do keep us on our toes. Alice and Rose just had their first dance recital on June 5, 2009. They did really well, we were so proud of them first of all that they were brave enough to be on stage in front of all of these people. Of course I cried. Secondly, they actually did the dance fairly well. We are continuing to keep them in dancing year round because they love it so much. The girls also started going to a accelerated private preschool and are now off for the summer. They have really learned a lot just the few months they went, they are actually writing their names, (not perfect) but still really good. Alice also knows her last name and my full name which is great if ever she would get lost or something. The kids just finished their refresher lessons with ISR as well. I will not be doing that again, it is such a hardship to bring four kids to lessons everyday, this time for four weeks straight, not to mention it cost us $1000. On the flipside, Anderson is loving swimming in the water which is odd for him, he is so bashful. He swims to me underwater and gets my hand and then swims back to the step, too cute. Rose does the same and she did last year too. We also just started receiving respite services for the kids so I am able to get a break a few days a week and go run errands and Mike and I are doing a date night every weekend so that has been fun and relaxing.

Final Adoption

January 21, 2009 - Wednesday
Final Adoption
So we will offically be adopting all four kids on 2/12/09. I can't believe it is finally going to happen. For Allie and AJ, it has been 2 years in the making. Rose and Roman has been 8 months, it just worked out that it is all happening at once now. At the same time, Mike will get his MBA in February and AJ turns two so we have a lot to celebrate in February. We will end February by going on a cruise and then back to our life in AZ with finally, some stability. We are not sure what the future will hold as far as more kids, maybe we could get another sibling of Rose & Roman, or Alice & Anderson, but definitely not anything for two years, hopefully. We need to get some in grade school first before taking anymore babies. For now we will focus on our careers and family life and just keep living. Thank you to all for your love and support. Whoo Hoo!