Monster Truck Show

This year was the 2nd year that Evan got to see the Monster Truck Show and the Spring Fair.  Last year Tony and I took him and this year it was a daddy-son date. They had a blast!

Some of the things Evan came back with were:
"There was a green one, that was my FAVORITE!"
"There was a HUGE fire!"
"They were so LOUD!"
"The Bounty Hunter was the best, he was the winner!"
"It was so COOL!"

I was so proud of my boy!  I went with them to the fair before hand. We tried to get there early enough for a Monster truck ride, which ended at 6pm, we got there at 5:20 and they had already stopped selling tickets for it :-(  Evan was so sad, but he took it in stride and rode other fair rides instead.  Such a big boy!

A fun and memorable night that is sure to become a tradition.

Monster Truck rides we missed

Fair rides were just as fun for this little guy!

Getting ready to watch the show

I guess this is the ONLY time he would wear the ear protectors

This was one of his favorites

The winner

So happy!

Riley, Cute Riley

Riley is my quiet but loud kid.  He has the biggest smile that just lights up a room.  He is cuddly and needy. He is mischievous! Riley does thing on his own time.  He is not crawling yet and and he is just now showing a little bit of a desire to crawl.  He tries to get on his hands and knees, but gets stuck and ends up on his belly. He is USUALLY content just watching his brothers play and laughing at them. He loves to hop on his butt to get around and blowing raspberries is a favorite past time. He is smart and has things figured out. Just the other day he wanted a toy that was sitting on a shirt on the floor.  He tried and tried to reach the toy but could not get it.  I just watched to see what he was going to do to solve the problem.  He looked at the toy, then at the shirt then he pulled the shirt slowly to him and got his toy!  He was so happy and so proud of himself, and I was so proud of him too! Riley is sweet and sensitive and does not yet stand up for himself.  He will have to learn to be with Evan and Morgan the rest of his life!  He is so different from Morgan and Evan as a baby, it is going to be awesome to see how differently all my boys turn out.

I love this cute little smarty pants!

Evan's "Beautiful Mind"

Evan has been shocking us with some of the things that he remembers, says, and thinks about in the last few weeks.

We knew his memory was getting better a he got older, we realized we could no longer say "we will ____ tomorrow" and expect him to just forget.  He ALWAYS calls us on it now.  Just the other night I told him we could go to the park on the way to swimming.  well we ran out of time and couldn't go to the park so I told him we would TRY to go the next day if the weather was ok.  He woke up the next morning telling me about how he had DREAMED about going to the park!

Last weekend he amazed me when I was folding laundry and I heard him reciting the Pledge of Allegiance under the high chairs.  I asked him to come out and say it to me, so he did...perfectly! He said he does it at school every day ( 2 days a week).

I mean we really don't think this kid listens half of the time! He is a sweet, sweet boy and can tell you anything about dinosaurs, but the kid does not stop running!

So I guess what is making us think the most is this.....
When we ask Evan to count something he counts very well, he often will count an object twice or even skip over one simply because his hands work faster than his brain sometimes, BUT we just learned he can count in his head without even counting out loud!
Example: He got up from his nap one day, he was tired and groggy and upset.  He wanted his "stuff" from bed.  With out using his fingers or counting out loud or even taking a minute to think he said, "I need my blanket, mommy's blanket, my bear, my sheep, my green T-Rex that opens the mouth and my brown T-Rex those 6 things OK?" I was blown away!  I had to stop and count myself and he was right that was 6 things that he wanted!  How he knew that there were 6 things in that group, who knows.
So I thought that was a coincidence and let it go as maybe he already knew that or something. Then tonight Tony and Evan were outside playing and they were doing a obstacle type course.  Tony said "we are going to go to touch the fence, then touch Bampas truck tire, next we need to go touch the orange cone, then mommy's car and last we will get to the porch"  Right away Evan repeated the exact steps word for word and then added "all those 5 places!"  WHAT!?!  Tony had to count himself to see how many steps they had in their plan...he was right there was 5!

Who knows what goes on inside my little boys brain.  Maybe he will be a math wizard :-)

I love this kid!

Morgan is Crawling!

Morgan has taken off in the last couple of days.  He is crawling EVERYWHERE! I remember saying I can't wait for them to start moving, but now I am not ready! I spent today cleaning, vacuuming and picking up all little toys.  I covered all outlets, closed all doors, moved garbage cans and cords. Yikes, I guess I should have been more prepared!

Love this kid :-)

Busy Life!

I never talk about Tony or I in this blog.  It is the DeAugustine FAMILY blog, however we are not very exciting.  Our kids are the highlight of our lives and are what we live for.

Right now our lives feel really busy.

Tony is doing some work for my dad.  He has been working hard at it, and also taking care of us.  It is not easy to work in a house with 3 kids! He is such a good daddy and cooks dinner for us EVERY night and will often cook breakfast and lunch as well.  He takes good care of the babies when Evan and I head out to swimming or soccer and takes good care of Evan when I take the babies shopping.  I couldn't have asked for a better man to be my husband and father of my children.

I have been feverishly getting things ready and applying for teaching positions.  First was the resume and cover letter that my friend Janel so graciously helped me perfect, then all the districts have online application processes that are loooong and tedious! I have spent many hours on this for 3 districts and am working on more.  I would love to stay in Enumclaw and work, it is my goal.

Evan goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursday, swimming on Monday and Wednesday nights and will start soccer again in a week on Fridays, and he still has a ton of energy!  He needs more activities, or at least more sunshine :-)

The boys are busy growing...bigger every day and doing new things every time I blink.  It all goes too fast.

Love our family life!

8 1/2 Months

Well Morgan and Riley are now 8 1/2 months old and I didn't get it together and get their picture with a sign this month :-( 

Oh well, some months are busier than others (post about that to come)!

Morgan is a crawler now!  He crawls EVERYWHERE! He does an army crawl, regular crawl and he does a pyramid stance with his body and tries to crawl/walk that way.  He picks food up with his hands and eats now and has no problem eating most soft food with in reason despite the fact that he has no teeth.  He has a bad temper on him and does NOT like to get dressed or have his diaper changed. He is already bullying Riley and taking toys away from him and putting his feet all over him which really makes Riley mad. He has a sweet smile, loves to give hugs and kisses, recently learned to clap and is become more aware of his surrounding and other people everyday.

Riley is a thinker! Riley is a problem solver.  For example a toy that he wanted was on a blanket, he couldn't reach the toy so he pulled the blanket slowly so that the toy would get closer to him.  He got his toy! Riley likes to sit and observe, he is always watching his big brother and he is always watching Morgan to see what they are doing.  He is cautious, but curious.  He is determined.  If he wants something he will get it.  He does not crawl or roll yet, but he is taking his time.  He is content just watching.  Riley cries when he sees me so that I will pick him up.  He has a great fake cry and he balls up his fists and shakes to throw a tantrum. He is excellent about holding toys and moving them hand to hand and shaking them to make noise.  He has a huge smile, loves to snuggle and wave his hands in the air.  He is loud and wants to be heard.

I sure love these boys!

Pre-Writing

Evan never ceases to amaze me.

At school his teachers tell me he has a hard time sitting to do written work, and a lot of worksheets that he brings home are just scribbled on.  I have told myself that this is no big deal.  It is not quite age-appropriate yet for him to be able to sit for long periods and practice writing letters and lets face it, sitting for any period of time, especially to draw or color, is not Evans thing yet.

However, when he was just 2 and we got him an art easel at a garage sale he painted a rainbow out of the blue....Mommy was proud about that!  Then when we did a scavenger hunt for Tony's birthday Evan recreated the map on the white board and when he saw a sky scraper in the sky he immediately drew what he saw.  For Valentines day he attempted to write his name on a few valentines and did pretty well.  The other day he drew me a smiley face on the white board and when I asked him to draw a birthday card for Nana, I did not expect 2 letters of his name and shapes with no scribbles!

So he is listening and learning at his own pace on his own time.  I know he will not always be able to do this, but I sure am proud that my little guy is so smart!

Age 2 - drawing a rainbow

Writing his name on his valentines

A face

Birthday card for Nana with a clear 'E' and 'A' and almost an 'N' and a face

Drawing the sky scraper he saw


I just love this little guy and all his smarts!

Easter Weekend

The boys and I spent Easter weekend and Nana's birthday weekend at Nana and Papa's house.  Auntie Stefanie and Naomee were the only ones who were going to be there so we had plans to go shopping and do lots of girl stuff so we let daddy stay home and have a "mini-vacation" (actually he got a lot of stuff done around the house).

It was a crazy and hectic weekend.  At times I really wish I had Tony with me to back me up with Evan, but overall we had a fun time.  Evan had a lot of fun with his cousin Naomee who we don't get to see that often.  We had a campfire and smores, a bbq, an Easter egg hunt, a birthday party for Nana and LOTS and LOTS of play time!

enjoying the sunshine

coloring Easter eggs

nap time for Riley

Sweet Morgan

Nap time for Morgan

Nana and Riley

Evan and Madison being pushed by Auntie Randi

Little cutie Riley

Naomee Jean

Riley doing what he does best....screaming!

Morgan LOVES to swing

Morgan and Uncle Jason

Easter Egg hunt

Buddies

Too much fun at Nana and Papa's!

Memories in the making!

Swimming Lessons

Evan started swimming lessons a couple of weeks ago and has taken to them really well!

He used to be afraid to get in the water and afraid to get his face wet, but through some bathtub experimentation, swimming with me and swimming with Nana and Papa he has become a little more comfortable so we decided it was time to get him more independent in the water.

He listens to the teacher really well, easily goes with her and lays on his back, puts his face in the water and tries to blow bubbles.

He is so proud of himself and so are we!

I just LOVE this kid!