I put the child's name on them too. I think this one turned out really cute.
this is a toddle hand that i did at one of my parties. This is the painted bases of course.
these are three of the most recent ones i have finished completely. I have a bunch that aren't on bases yet. Analise's is the on on the right with the purple ribbon.
As you already know... Kelson can fall asleep in the strangest places. This time he was in trouble and was told to SIT (not lie down) on the naughty mat. Cade was in trouble too, so he was on the "Steelers" mat in the office and Kelson had to sit in the kitchen. He got real quiet and this is what we found him doing.
I was cleaning the house and Analise started fussing... then I didn't hear her again... I walked out and Cade was here talking to her, telling her she was ok and that he was right there. It was pretty sweet.
I'm glad he wasn't a pooper when it came time to take a picture. I love this picture.
Cade's class had a special Mother's Day program for us. We had to wait in the hall and when we walked in the entire class was dressed the same. It was adorable. They had refreshments, flowers, gifts they had made, songs, and a poem for us. Cade wouldn't do half of it. He's kinda a pooper when it comes to such things.
Kelson at his first dentist appointment. He was SO good! Didn't really surprise us... he LOVES to brush his teeth. He did whatever they asked him to do with no problems. Cade on the other hand still pitched a fit.
The classes went crazy when the train pulled up. Scared all of the adults; about 100 little kindergarteners screaming and running around as this train pulls up only feet from them. It made my stomach jump just watching it
It wasn't a long trip, but still called for some entertainment. My ipod came in handy with the boys!
Kelson looking out the window saying goodbye to Greensboro!
Our first train trip. Well, not Tio's. Cade and Kelson had so much fun! I had to buy these tickets for the train field trip back in February. We had bought one for Grandpa to go with us. He got back from Mexico at 4am that morning. Tio Marcos was nice enough to take his place. The boys where thrilled. I don't think it was the highlight of Marcos' day... but we were glad he came with us!
Cheeto had a load of bark chips delivered. Cade and Kelson were such little helpers. It was so hot that afternoon too. Our boys are growing up!
Kelson's Curious George Cake!
Kelson and Grandma are ready to blow out the candles!
SSSSSHHHH! Tio sleeping! not really... analise really was though. Aren't they sweet? Marcos was almost alseep until we started taking pictures!
Analise thought she was pretty sneaky! She gnawed on it until it was soggy! Yummy!
Grandpa and Analise on Mother's day! This was taken between the hail storms.Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Quick story. I'll try to do a full update tomorrow morning.
Teresa was getting a serging lesson yesterday from Shena around lunch time. Christian Hines (who works with me in the office) and I went home to eat lunch with them. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, 70 degrees. Just before Christian and I left to head back for work, we were all talking by the open front door (glass screen door was still closed). Kelson was in a pretty good mood, and said that he wanted to open our car door for us when we went out (not sure when he started doing that). So he went outside, but the rest of us were still talking. Shena, Christian and I had our backs to the door, but Teresa was able to see out the glass screen door. All of the sudden she goes "What is THAT?" We all turned to see Kelson standing on the sidewalk just in front of the door, pants and underwear at his ankles, holding his shirt up, peeing on the grass. Kid has never done that before that I know of. And he couldn't do it in the bushes, or in the backyard. He did it in the front of the house, facing the street! How do you discipline a child when you are laughing hysterically?
I'll share pictures later - well, not of Kelson peeing, but others we've taken recently.
Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
Sorry about the weird font. Something's up with Blogger and I don't have time to try to fix it.
So far so good with the early rising. I've set my alarm each day for 2 minutes earlier than the day before. 6:01 this morning.
We had a good time last night for FHE. Grandma A. picked up Little Caesar's, then we headed over to Larry Miller's (Stu's dad's). Marcos had told us the other night that he had a great big train set in his basement. We thought the boys would like it. You should have seen the boys faces when they saw what he had set up. Cade went nuts...big grin, "oooooooooohhhh." He had about six different tracks. He had a Polar Express "D" scale hanging from the ceiling that the boys could see right up close if they sat on the stairs. He also had a great big "L" shaped setup that had 3 different scale models (Lionel, HO & N). It was pretty cool. I know there were several pictures taken, so I will be sure to include them. He also had a bellows looking train whistle that Cade loved too. I think he was more excited about the whistle than the trains themselves. He would have just made the whistle blow all evening if we would let him - but it was a pretty loud whistle and he was getting a bit rough with it.
Kelson had his first trip to the dentist this morning. He had been before, just not as a patient, so he was familiar with the place, but he did a GREAT job. He was a little nervous when they laid the chair back...he had a death grip on the arm rests, like he was going to fall out of the chair if he didn't. But otherwise he did a great job. Listened to the assistant, opened and closed like he was supposed to, etc.
Cade on the other hand, had a rough time. He didn't cooperate much. He didn't pitch a fit, just wouldn't open his mouth until the actual dentist came over. They've tried to get x-rays the last couple of times he was there, but he won't let them. He gags on the things they put in his mouth and I think it freaks him out. The good news is neither of them had cavities. That's easier on my pocketbook.
Dad should be home from Mexico today after being there since the end of January. When Marcos told Cade he was coming, Cade looked like he didn't believe him. I guess is been that long.
Marcos and Stu went to eat lunch with Cade (they took him an egg sandwich, which is Cade's favorite when Tio goes to eat with him), then he stopped and picked me up and we went and got Kelson and took Kelson to lunch at Chik-fil-A. Best part was Marcos actually paid. I'm always up for lunch when somebody else is paying.
Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
So another one of these infamous Cheeto experiments has begun. Not so much an experiment as another attempt to become a morning person. I've been trying for about 10 years now. Haven't had much luck yet, but I'm not giving up. I have a new technique for getting out of bed that I've been using for about the last 7 days. I know, that doesn't sound like a very long time, but it's a start.
I've always had a problem getting myself out of bed if I didn't HAVE to. I always seemed to rationalize and talk myself out of it when the alarm went off. "I really didn't get as much sleep last night as I needed. I'll just sleep for 10 more minutes." or "Man, my eyes hurt. I'm just going to close them for a second - let them rest for another second."
I have been checking in on this blog by Steve Pavlina since I stumbled on it from "My name is Will, this is what I clicked." I got real interested in seeing how Steve's polyphasic experiment was going. I don't know that I will ever try it, but of course I liked the idea of having four more hours per day to accomplish what I'd like to. Anyway, I read this article by Steve recently about getting up when your alarm goes off. He suggests that you practice getting up when you are conscious. Get ready for bed, set your alarm for two or three minutes out, lay in the position you would if you were asleep, close your eyes, then when the alarm goes off quicly turn off the alarm and get out of bed and start your routine. He says to do that several times.
I didn't do that. The only part I took from his suggestion was to consciously prepare in my mind HOW I'm going to get up in the morning. I decided that what I would do is turn off the alarm, immediately stretch for about 3 seconds (literally counting in my mind "one-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand three"), peel the covers off, sit on the edge of my bed, feet on the floor, for another three seconds (no counting this time), then stand up and start my day.
I realized that my lack of a wake-up routine was what was keeping me in bed. Sometimes I would lay in there and try to get my bearings, or talking to myself ("just a few more minutes - if I go back to sleep now I can get 20 more minutes before I absolutely have to get going - it's Saturday, I don't need to be anywhere for 2 more hours"...etc).
So far so good. Really haven't had any close calls. My goal is to slowly get my wake up time to 5:30 (before the end of May). That will give me time to do some exercise (my next great, previously failed mutlitple times, experiment). I've been up before 6:15 every day so far. One day was out of necessity at 5:30 so that I could be in Statesville by 7:30 to take a Long Term Care licensing test. The rest of the days have been voluntary. Now it looks like the problem isn't really waking up in the morning, it's getting to sleep at night.
I usually get REALLY sleepy at about 8:00 each night, which is obviously much to early to go to bed. But for some reason about 9:30 I get a second wind and don't feel sleepy again until about 11:00 - 11:30. Compounding the problem is Shena's inability to go to sleep when it's quiet. She needs a radio or TV going in the background to get her to sleep, and I absolutely can't sleep that way. I need white noise. Anykind of organized sound keeps me from falling asleep very deeply. So I have to stay up until she goes to sleep...and often what happens is as I am waiting for her to go to sleep with the TV on, I get into a show and wind up watching it to it's conclusion. I guess that keeps me from blaming her entirely.
I'm open for suggestions on how to solve this problem. Let me know what you think.
Cade's farm project. Grandma and Papa C sure came to our rescue. They sent the boys these tractors for an Easter gift. They sure made his project. The other kids in the class thought it was a neat project. He had real plants growing... green beans and peas. It was funny because the day Cade turned in his project the class started talking about photosynthesis. They all participated in watering his plants and watching them grow. They showed his project in the school library. He was pretty proud.
Kelson obviously got over his sadness. They are both lil' cheezers!
Greensboro had an indoor carnival at the colisium. $5 a person... babies too!!!! Ridiculous! But $5 for unlimited rides and food. Not bad for an afternoon of fun for the kids! This was a "Thomas" train. I think Kelson got squooshed! He was not a happy camper and just wanted out!!! But the ride had started and there was nothing we could do. Cheeto took him back later and he got to go by himself. That made him feel a bit better!
Sra. Castro just loves babies. She only has one son and no grandchildren yet. She was excited to play with Analise for a minute.
Sra. Castro trying to get Cade to smile and participate again! This is almost his entire class. I think a few boys were missing.
Cade and Petro... and a monkey of course!
Cade was such a poop on his field trip to NC ZOO in Ashboro. Sra. Castro tried so hard to get him to smile on more than one occassion! She is an awesome lady!
North Fisher Park... Cade had a teacher work day at school. Grandma bought us all a picnic lunch and met daddy at the park. We had fun! Cheeto had his mouth full of food! Bad timing on my part I guess! :)
Work & Play Is it the more kids you have that makes life crazy or the older you get? I don't always feel like I'm running around with my head cut off, but phew... weeks pass in a blink of an eye and I wonder why I feel like i don't get all the things done that I need to. I have been trying to find a way to get a hand impression done of Analise's hand. In the process of searching for a solution, I have come across a business opportunity. I'm not sure the cause, perhaps Analise, expanding the house, having to get a van... but money has become extremely tight. We are fine... just not much for entertainment or fun money. I have been praying for a solution... and in a sense feel like this is an answer to my prayers. I was looking one day on the internet to find a way to do the impression myself. I came across this website that the background music was "I am a Child of God", "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission", and other primary songs. I emailed one of the contacts and he has helped me out tremendously. After emailing back and forth he thought I would be able to do the impressions here in Greensboro. I would be affliated with his company, using their company name, logos, and business cards. He said he could come to train me how to do it properly and efficiently. I'M SO EXCITED!!!! I'm looking to make a big income, just enough to feel like I'm contributing. I think this is right up my alley. Those of you who know me know that I love crafts and such things. So after talking with Cheeto and praying, I feel like we are going to give a go and see what comes of it. Cheeto is an awesome supportive husband. I know he'll support me in whatever I decide which helps with the decision to try it. I'm really tired of the run arounds with piano. I enjoy the students I have and don't want to add more, but felt like that was my only option in getting some more income. I'm feeling like I don't spend much time with Cade after school and having to have someone watch the kids while I taught or stick them in front of a television and tell them not to bother me. That's not always fair for them. I want to be there for them and not be so busy that I'm always brushing them off.
Cheeto has been busy studying for another test scheduled in June, Elders' quorum, and doing seminars for Jim during the evenings. He seems happy, stressed... but happy. It's amazing to see how well he has been dealing with it all. I love to watch him relax some during the evening with the kids. I can tell he already has a different relationship with Analise than he has with the boys. She sure loves her daddy. The boys get him outside every chance they get. They are both really into baseball right now. Thanks to Chicken Little! They love to play out the scenes baseball scenes.
Cade's News Cade has been busy doing soccer and school. He has scored a goal almost every game this spring season. He is finally starting to understand the game and realizing that it's ok to take the ball from someone. He didn't like to before because he thought he was being rude and not sharing. It's sad that Grandpa Arellano is missing it all. Cade asks as soon as he makes a goal if he can call Grandpa in Mexico to tell him he scored. Cade is having end of school field trips about once a week now it seems. He gets to visit A&T farm next week. We went to Ashboro to the North Carolina Zoo the week before spring break. It's hard to believe he's almost done with kindergarten. This school year went SO FAST!!!! I almost have a 1st grader. Man, we are getting old. He is really enjoying school. I love to hear him read to me in English and in Spanish. It's amazing to see how the program works. He hasn't been taught to read in English, but he reads very well. I forget sometimes that he can read. I wasn't going to tell him about a birthday party he and kelson was invited to until it got closer to the date. Cade found the invitation, read it, and asked me when I was going to tell him about it. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say to him.
Kelson Adventures Kelson is quite the little companion. He keeps me on my toes. Last week we were outside writing with sidewalk chalk. I had traced their hands and feet on the driveway. I started to play hangman with Cade when Kelson comes and sits by me, he sticks his feet in the air and asks me to draw his bum. Cade looked at me and said, "Mom, that's gross! Don't draw his bum on the sidewalk!" I just started laughing! Then we went to get their pictures taken. They were going to have Analise sit up in the tiny wicker rocking chair. Cade wanted to sit in it but I told him is bum was too big. Kelson sticks his hands down his pants and rubbed his bum and tells me that his bum is small and would fit in the chair. What a kid! He can always make us laugh!
Analise Growing Pains - Analise is such a wonderful baby. I'm not just saying that because she is a girl either! She sleeps through the night like a champ! Only once in awhile does she wake up before 5:30 or 6am. If she does wake up it is around 4ish, she eats and lies right back down. I can handle this! Kelson bit her fingers tonight. She did this squeal type of cry. It was so sad. Kelson was trying to calm her down before I got there to scold him. I bit his fingers the same way and sat him on the mat. He felt bad... but still had to be taught a lesson. Cade and Kelson still fight over her; saying stuff like, "She's my sister. NO! she's my sister!" "I get to help change her diaper!" "I get to help give her a bath!" I have lots of littler helpers! 3 seems like a lot of kids... but in a way it's easier to have a baby when you have others to entertain and help with the younger ones.
Again... we said "shopping" to make her giggle!
Analise has this thing now when you mention "shopping" she starts to smile and chatter. Sure we think it's cute now... just wait a few years! ;)
S-T-Y-L-E that's what I have!
It's so hard to get all of the them to cooperate at the same time. Hey... it took me three separate visits to get a good one of the boys... at least i got an alright one the first visit with all three of them. What a crazy hour it was!!!!!!I know, I'm a loser. I never write anymore...not that any of you care. But I had to share a funny story from Wednesday night.
We had the missionaries over for dinner. Afterwards, they gave a quick lesson that included some laminated artwork. The gist of the story was about the Nephites building up the defenses around their city to protect themselves from the Lamanites. They talked about building a big, huge wall of dirt, with a fence on top, with pointy sticks.
One of the missionaries asked Cade: "Do you think that would keep the Lamanites out of the city?"
Cade: "Nope!"
Elder: "You don't? How would the Lamanites get in?"
Cade: "Ummm...first they would get their light sabres, and knock down the doors!"
Whhhhhhhaaaaaaatttt? What in the world does Cade know about light sabres? He's never seen any of the Star Wars movies. I've only dressed up like Darth Vader once (that he's seen)...and I didn't even have my official "Luke Skywalker Limited Edition Replica Light Sabre" on me at the time.
I guess he picked it up from the hours that Adam, Marcos and I spent playing the Play Station 2 game over Christmas.
We (including Grandma "A") tried not to laugh AT him, but it was pretty dang funny.
--May the force be with you...always.--
Cheeto
Daddy think he needs a nap too. Analise loves to sleep on her tummy!
Grandma loves to read stories! And as you can tell... so do my boys! They were in heaven!
What a cutie!
Last loves with mom before she had to leave. :(
Tio Marcos' first loves with Analise.
Cade's first soccer game in the spring. Analise's first outing... guess what she did? No guesses......? she exploded out of her diaper. I had an outfit in my car but we were parked way out in nowhere. I had Cade's other soccer shirt in my bag.... we improvised. Cade thought it was funny that he had to share with his sister. He said he understood why Kelson wore his clothes... because he was a boy!
Cade loves to read books to his brother and sister. I love it... it really helps me out. Analise even likes to be read to. What a mommy helper he is!
"Let me think... Do i really want to go to sleep?"
Cade had to make a project that resembled a farm. We decided to plant some seeds and put a tractor in the box to make it look like Papa C's farm. Cade doesn't immediately think a farm has animals... they are made of potatoes, grain, and combines. :)
I was just trying on Analise's Easter dress. She loved it so much she immediately started smiling. What was more funny was that when I took it off... she screamed. Think she was trying to tell me something? 
