The kids, lately.

I haven't been able to access my blog account for a while, despite efforts to try and do so from multiple blogging apps that failed to support my needs. So, alas, here I sit on my husband's laptop fumbling my way through typos and two left hands as I try to acclimate to using a standard keyboard again.

I figured I'd do an update on the kids, lately.

Gino (19 months)

       As so many of my posts go about this boy, he keeps me on my toes. Nothing has changed. It's always a surprise as to whether he will sleep through the night, or spend half of it kicking his crib rails and wailing til the cows come home. You guys, I'm beyond EXHAUSTED. This not sleeping thing is way harder than I ever anticipated it could be. So many nights I want to yell and scream along with him, and throw my own tantrum. WHYYYYYY!?WHYYYYYY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH? WHYYYYYY BABY, WHYYYYYY? Now, logically, I know he doesn't actually hate me, it's quite the opposite. It just feels that way at 12:00, 2:30 and 4:15 in the morning. Night after night, after night after night. He does have weeks of solid sleeping, 7:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and I get so FREAKING excited and feel SO much like my old self..Really, a whole new woman. But, they've been short lived to this point in his life. I keep telling myself, someday he will sleep..Someday.

My favorite thing about this little bruiser is that he is starting to talk. He can call his brother and sister (Sal), (Carla), and Nonno by name, and also loves to say "poop", "ball", "uh oh", "look" and "no". He sits as plays with trucks and Carla's animal figurines, and loves it when Carla plays make believe "doggies" with him. They ask me to put their snacks in bowls so they can eat off the floor. He says, "bark bark!" and it is one of the cutest things ever.

Gino also loves to hit and run, dump toys out and stand on toilets to access our medicine cabinets. He is equally sneaky to Carla. Anytime it is quiet in our house, I know someone is up to NO good. One of the areas he excels in is his ability to scale just about anything ( I am dreading the day he figures out how easily he can get out of his crib). He can climb up onto our kitchen counters, using drawer pulls as steps, and has mastered our retaining wall to the point I no longer freak out every time I see him up top. He really likes playing in the dirt, running his trucks along the top terrace and dumping it in piles.

Carla ("almost 3")

      Carla continues to be a bundle of personality with expressions to match. She has a huge smile, and sunny disposition. She loves to play with her horsies and stuffed animals, and has yet to find any animal she hasn't professed her love for. This kid LOVES animals. At the same time, we still have to be on her case for pulling the cat's tail, or loving on them so much they're suffocating, but I think that is pretty much the relationship between any toddler and pet. She makes sure they have food and water, and many times in the morning, the kitties creep in her room and snuggle up til she wakes.

We switched her "school" from twice a week for 1.5 hours to once a week for 3.5 hours. I did this mostly for my own scheduling sanity, but also to allow her some more time at home to just be a two and a half year old. I believe that free play is so important for their development and helps them as they mature and since I am a stay at home mom, and have this luxury to be with them, why not?

She has her own big girl bed and room now, leaving the boys to share. She has improved greatly with the bedtime routine of needing to stay in her room after songs and "I love yous" but we do still have our struggles a few nights a week--especially if she napped that day. She doesn't usually fall asleep during naps, but every once in a while playing hard catches up with her and she just crashes. Most of the time she plays quietly in her room with her ponies and doll house or watches an episode of My Little Pony on the iPad as a treat for good behavior. 

Perhaps the biggest Carla news is that she decided to get her ears pierced--she amazed me at how mature she was just sitting in the chair so proud to be having them pierced. No tears until after it was all said and done, and we had all celebrated and scared her a bit. In her words, " Mama, I fancy now." 

Sal ("almost 5")

I love our conversations together. Whether it be from the back seat of the car to snuggled up beside one another watching "How It's Made" or his current favorite movie, " Wall-E", the things he asks and chooses to talk about blow my mind. He puts so many things together, that I often forget he isn't even five yet. For instance, I found a mailer advert taped to his door this week. It was for a local jewelry store sale. I asked him what was up with the wedding rings taped to his door, and without skipping a beat, he tells me that it's so he knows how much money he needs to save to buy his little crush a ring when they get married. He also tells me that they cost a lot of money, and that he doesn't quite have enough dollars yet. He thinks he might get a credit card, and a job to pay for the credit card, because "Mom, credit cards aren't free money, you know.You have to be able to pay the bill...so you need a job to pay the bill." SO SMART, this little guy of mine. Goes to show they are always listening and absorbing. And of course, with the presidential election and everything surrounding it--we had many a conversation about what it means to us to be a good person, what honesty is, and why lying can get you into trouble. It provided an opportunity to talk to him about our commonalities and differences as Americans, and how great this country of ours is to let all of its people vote. He turns to me after that conversation and says, " Mom, did you know that where Ayah's family comes from, her mommy can't vote?' Again, HOW'S HE KNOW THIS STUFF?!

He understands so much more than I ever expected a four and half year old to. Sometimes I wonder if he understands too much--and will be one of those cynical kids instead of the happy go lucky type. Here's to hoping we can pull off the Santa thing without him blowing the cover anytime soon. He's already spilled the beans to my sister and Carla on the gifts we bought them for Christmas. 

I haven't written much about it, but in the last year we've had Sal's speech assessed both by the county and school district, and in both instances, he qualified for Speech services for articulation issues. We started attending through the school district in September, and he goes two mornings a week before "school" and LOVES it. Gino, Carla and I also enjoy going, as the waiting room has a bunch of fun activities and toys for them to keep busy with while we wait for his session to end. Nick and I have both noticed a huge improvement on many of his sounds and hope that this early intervention gets him up to par with his age mates. 

The biggest struggle we face with Sal has been a tie between asserting his opinion ( which errs on borderline sass) and eating like a bird. He is not necessarily a picky eater-- it is more that he nibbles a few bites and claims he is finished. Afternoon stomach aches have ensued, and we are pretty sure it is hunger pains, so encouraging him to eat more has been my main focus as of late. I think the sass and meltdowns will become more manageable once we can get him to fill his belly.

And with that, bring on the holiday season! They're finally at the age where I think they genuinely feel the magic of Holiday gatherings and traditions. I am looking forward to post-dinner Christmas light drives in our jammies, decorating gingerbread houses and decorating the house with their little winter themed school projects this month!