It's been TOO Long!

It's been entirely TOO long since I've blogged about the kids. It's been almost a month now! I'm a bad mommy. Alyson completed her first year of pre-school. It's amazing to me that she is only 3 1/2. We are so thrilled that her teachers are moving up with her. This makes me feel so much more secure as a mom knowing how much they adore her and how much she learned under their wings.

Paul is now 2 years old. His language skills are exploding! My favorite saying lately is "Big Kiss". He's putting 2 words together ALL the time and will throw in the 3 word sentences here and there. He's also so doting on Ella. He gives her kisses and asks where she is. He is still obsessed with all things BOY. Cars, trucks, planes, trains...and the Cars Movie.

Ella is almost 10 months old! Oh My! She is STILL our biggest. She just weighed in at 20 lbs (Aly and Paul didn't hit 20 lbs till they were a year old!). She's crawling, pulling herself up on things, walking when her hands are held, and follows big brother and sister around ALL The time.

We survived our road trip to New York. The kids were wonderful despite how stressful it was to travel so far by car. They enjoyed their time up there. We went to the beach twice and the kids LOVED it. Alyson followed her Grammie and Tita around whenever she could.

As a belated Mother's Day gift, we had the kids picutres taken. It's all I wanted. I guess we can consider it Paul's 2nd birthday pictures also. It blows my mind that I have 3 kids!

Ella Likes....TO EAT

Ella is now 9 months old and is trying to feed herself solid foods!
This weekend she successfully (and that means grabbing it and actually getting in her mouth) chicken lo mein, french style green beans, some chicken (I think she got some of that!), and both cheese and cinnamon goldfish crackers!

She's also crawling, RUNNING in the walker, trying to pull herself up, and my personal favorite, taking AMAZING naps.

Happy Birthday Paul!

Oh Paul Edward....

You are now 2 years old and the greatest joy a mother could have.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Alyson Paige 3 years old 3 Months (39 Months old)

How funny is this picture? I guess she didn't know what to do with all those Easter eggs!
Alyson is quite the little princess. She is adored by all....every teacher at Preschool wants to take her home.
She carries on full conversations with adults. She talks WITH Paul, not TO him which is absolutely precious to witness. And the funny thing is, they understand each other! Alyson and Paul love to play together and cause trouble together. They instigate each other.
Alyson is already turning into a little mama. She tattles on Paul relentlessly. She loves to help with the other 2 kids and with chores. She is completely potty trained (YAY).
We DO need to work on her listening skills....while she is an angel at school, we have our fair share of disobedience here at home. She is VERY stubborn.

Paul Edward 22 Months old

Oh My Boy! My Little Man will be 2 YEARS OLD. When did that happen? He is such a boy too.
He loves to run, climb, build, read, draw, and get dirty. His new obsession is digging. Good thing we have a sandbox, now we just need to put sand in it! He has also become VERY compassionate towards Ella. He'll say "it's ok" and "don't cry". He immediately asks for Daddy, Aya, and Ewawa when he wakes up.
His big brown eyes are just SO expressive too. He can be super affectionate when he wants to be. He's also "fighting" back when Alyson picks on him. I'm kind of happy about that! Don't tell anyone though.

Ella Jeanne7 Months Old

Ella Jeanne is now 7 months old. Her beautiful eyes are STILL blue...BLUE blue. She has an infectious smile and laugh. She bursts into laughter when you nibble on any of her many chubby baby rolls.
We have a TOOTH! Finally a tooth has cut through.
She is getting up and rocking back and forth like nobody's business. She also rolls all over the place.
One of her favorite things to do is steal big brother and sister's pacifiers out of their mouths.
She's an eater...loves her food now. She is getting puffs and cheerios in her mouth on her own too!

Alyson is TOO grown up

Look at my little girl. 3 years old and so grown up! Alyson is talking to Daddy in this pic and it's so funny. She grabs my phone and walks around the house talking to whomever is on the other end.
Alyson is totally potty trained now with the rare accident. She even keeps her pull-up or panties dry at night most of the time. She successfully tells me she has to go potty when we are out and about too. She is SO proud of herself too! I'm even more proud! 1 down, 2 to go!
She adores school. She is doing so well too. They are learning letters and she's even tracing letters on paper. She's also getting good with letter and number recognition as well as phonics!
We got the ultimate compliment from the Preschool director: She said that Alyson is the ONLY 3 year old she'd allow into the summer camp program (for ages 4 and up) since she is so mature/advanced for her age. I don't know if we'll do it, but it was flattering! We signed Aly up for the 3 day program next fall and Paul will be joining her! How exciting!
Oh my poor dear, after 3 years, got he first ear infection. She woke up every 2 hours crying one night, the next day was acting out of character, so we brought her in to the Dr. Lo and behold, an ear infection. She's much better now!

Ella is getting SO big

Little Miss Ella....5 months old! Can you believe it? She is truly a BIG girl. Ella is now wearing 6-9 and 9 month clothing in most things. Alyson and Paul were true age-size equivalents, so having Ella is a surprise to me! She also was measured at Stride Rite as a size 2 and WIDE. So that's 3 for 3 in the WIDE feet dept....darn it. Lucky for me I saved all of Alyson's shoes!!
Ella is also eating solids...sometimes she loves them, sometimes she hates them.
Let's not discuss the sleep issue. She's still nursing and not sleeping at night more than, oh, about 3 hours at a time. Naps...an hour long on average. I'm lucky if I get the 2-3 hour nap out of her. It's VERY Frustrating.
She's become very social...smiling at EVERYONE. She adores her big brother and sister and reaches out to interact with them whenever they get near her. Alyson loves her sister too. Paul, even more so. The minute she cries, Paul says "Ewwa wa". He gives her kisses too.

Mr. Chatterbox

Well, Paul has entered the world of conversation. He has a new word or a few EVERY DAY! My favorite new expression is "I did it!"
He is also quite proficient in his animal sounds! He has also become very enchanted with books. He'd rather read books than watch tv (YAY!). Our book basket keeps Alyson and Paul busy and quiet for almost 30 minutes STRAIGHT! Do you know how much cleaning I can get done in 30 minutes? Alot...when I'm not reading TO them.
Richs' favorite thing is that Paul will NOT let a meal go by without saying "Amen". It is SO sweet.

Rich and I were wondering when this all happened. When did we start UNDERSTANDING what Paul is saying? Truly amazing. I shed a little tear each time I think about how big MY boy is getting. There truly is something special about a momma's little boy.
And my boy will be going to PreSchool next Year!!! Paul will be going to the 2 year old program on Wed and Fri mornings!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Happy 3rd Birthday Alyson!

Oh Goodness. My first baby, Alyson is 3 years old today. Where has the time gone? Who is this little "old" person that has blessed us and makes us laugh so hard we could wet our pants? I could cry. Is there a way to make time stop? I really don't want her to grow up.

Our Little Alyson...so smart, precarious, creative, helpful, protective, frustrating at times, beautiful, and heartwarming.

Last night at dinner, she said her own prayer which included prayers for Daddys' back. She told Grandma that she's a great sharer (Grandma shared her dinner with Aly). She tells me I'm her best friend. Last night, she told me she loves me all the way to the moon (we read Guess How Much I Love You at bedtime twice!).

I must find some time today to cry...because I'm both happy and sad.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALY P. Mommy, Daddy, Paul, and Ella bella love you so much it hurts.

Sweet Sounds

She laughed.....3 1/2 months old and she finally laughed at me! Oh Ella Jeanne.....how we love your sweet smile.

Paul is having a word explosion! Shoe, down, and so many more. He's also quite proud that he knows his animal sounds. Cow says moo, cat says meow, chicken says buck-buck, etc. It's really cute!

Christmas Tornado!

Well, we made it through Christmas! We were not unscathed though! Aunt Vicki arrived without a hitch and Alyson took to her right away. Ella was mesmerized. Paul...a little uncertain but he warmed up!
Paul ended up with a Staph infection that presented itself in his nose, on his knee and thigh. A good dose of antibiotics is kicking its butt though and my boy is back to his normal crazy self. I won't scare you with pictures of his nasty nose.

Our house looks like Toys R Us threw up (again). I have no idea where to put all these toys and things!!! Luckily we had some beautiful weather to get the kids outside to play but we did not really get the opportunity to take them anywhere with Aunt Vicki since Paul was "confined" to the house.

The kids got some nice things...among them, a train table, a Fisher Price cash register, tons of arts & Crafts stuff, a tee ball set, some nice clothes, hats & gloves, a ton of DVDs, and a ton of books (which we LOVE). Oh and I must publicly thank Uncle Billy for the Princess Throne! OY!

I got the BEST gift....Alyson is potty trained!! Since she was off from school for 2 weeks, I simply refused to put a diaper on her which actually turned around and bit me in the butt....she ended up refusing to wear diapers for her nap and bedtime. Well, wouldn't you know that she is pretty much staying dry for naps and through the night (well, she wakes me up to go potty). We are SO proud of her.

He Ate What??!??

Ahh....the joys of having a great eater! Paul ate homemade lentil soup for lunch today! YAY! I'm so proud of the lil' bugger. The poor thing is STILL coughing when he goes to sleep and if we don't get in there fast enough to give him some water, he starts coughing so hard he throws up. I AM glad to say that Rich has been playing "catcher" for these incidents! I think I've had my fair share of being peed, pooped, and thrown up on in the past 3 years!

What? It's December already!

Holy cow....It's Dec 1st 2008. How did that happen? Who knows! The time is just flying by!

I'm excited to say that Ella slept 5 (maybe it was 5 1/2) hrs last night!! WOOHOO. Little Ella Bella is going for her 2 month well check tomorrow along with some shots. Poor baby. I can't wait to see how big she has gotten! I can't get over how happy she is just about ALL of the time. She's got these BIG blue eyes...not like Aly & Paul with their almond shaped eyes.

Paul is still wreaking havoc all over the place. He's been coughing at night, but thankfully we've only had one puking incident so far. He is just the worst teether. His new thing is climbing up on the kitchen chairs and helping himself to whatever is on the table. Some of his new words are juice, cow, no (along with shaking his head from side to side), and a cute version of please. He's so aware of the world around him...this morning he heard helicopters and climbed up on the couch to look out the window to see what it was that he heard! He also loves toting around a bag of some sort with things in it and then waving bye bye. It really is so cute. Oh, and my favorite thing is that Paule helps unload the dishwasher. YES! He takes the silverware out, opens the drawer where we keep it, and puts everything in there!!! He'll also take out the small plates and hand them to me as he says "Ma Ma".

Alyson is on the verge of being potty trained....she just prefers a diaper because she's lazy. I'm in no mood to just put panties on her and clean up after her several times a day. I know I have to....UGH. She's into imitating what she sees on tv in her imaginative play, taking care of babies (stuffed toys) and helping cook and clean. She's also discovered how to look in a toys r us circular and say "I want my very own _____ (insert whatever toy she is looking at)". She's also well aware that Santa is coming soon and that he's going to bring her toys if she is good. Now we have to convince her to GIVE some toys to Santa for boys and girls that have no toys.

I'm still without a digital camera, so no new pictures! I'm sorry! I'm hoping to get my DSLR SOON so I can start taking some AMAZING pics of the kids.
We Love You All!!

Silence is Golden

Silence is Golden....eh? In this house it most certainly is!

Paul is talking up a storm and everyday his words become coherent to outsiders. He's still pointing and saying "eh, eh" and "was dat". He now waves bye-bye when you tell him it's time to go night-night and most of the time, he'll head upstairs on his own. His favorite is STILL bathtime. He throws a fit if Grandma goes to put his pj's on without a bath.

Ella is all smiles and is such a good eater! I swear she's trying to roll over sometimes. It seems her shoulder (fractured at birth) is fine...she waves those arms around like an air traffic controller. Her big brother and sister are so sweet...they give her kisses, they bring her pacifier over to her, and Alyson even holds her sometimes in her lap.

Alyson....our angel. Ah....Almost three years old and quite full of sugar and sass. She's getting so independent. She wants to attempt most things on her own now and most of the time she is pretty successful. She's been "copying" what Paul does alot (grunting without words, crawling, mimicking gestures, etc). She's also an amazing helper. She loves to unpack groceries, help with laundry, dust, and cook.

WELCOME!

Welcome! You've arrived at Growing Up Feggeler where I'll be posting our comings and goings about our 3 beautiful babies....Alyson, Paul, and Ella.

Granted, I should have started this almost 3 years ago when Alyson was born, but I had no idea what technology could do for me.

I was inspired by a couple of good friends who "blog" about their kids. My gears started turning and I thought this would be a GREAT way for those who are back in NY (and scattered elsewhere) to keep up on what the kids are up to since I'm a terrible phone person.

Enjoy! And yes, we miss y'all!