A move to the big girl bed comes with a price

So about 2 weeks ago at bedtime Steve asked Sophia if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed instead of the crib. She thought that was a fantastic idea and was all for it. She went right to sleep and for the next few days there were no problems. She picked out new bedding and went with Mickey and Dora. We got her a gate because the stairs are right outside her door and Steve worried that if she woke in the middle of the night she might fall down them - it didn't even cross my mind...lol Well here we are now and it's a comedy routine at bedtime each night. There is no routine for us at bedtime here. When its time for the kids to go to bed they go to bed no questions asked but then came Sophia. She goes up and asks that we put the gate up -like were going to forget....jeesh! Well turns out after I think all are tucked in and dreaming of sugarplums really whats happening is that Sophia is putting on a show for the others. It has been going on for the last few nights for 2 or more hours. She usually loses Bella to the sandman but has Sam and Steven going. She needs the gate up because it's apparently part of the show. The other night Steve got home after the show was over and Sophia was out like a light. He noticed dozens of baby wipes all over the floor and asked me what happened. I tried to explain the craziness but he wasn't buying it. He felt she was trying to tell me something and went into the room to investigate. Well just freakin great! Turns out the kid needed a new diaper all along and took it off herself and left it on the floor and went to bed naked. So now Steve is grinning ear to ear - he does that when he's right and seeing how that's a rare occasion his grins are usually pretty big and cheesy.

So here she is sound asleep after her night of partying:




she's really in there...



the previous nights destruction:


Seeing all the shoes and make-up on the floor it must have been a fashion show of sorts....




Oh and YES she has a lot of shoes SHE'S THE THIRD GIRL! I HAVE SAVED EVERYTHING!

Happy Fathers Day to the BEST DAD I know!

I was going to wait and save this post until Sunday but thought it was too important for just one day. After all if we celebrate "birthday weeks" here then at the very least Steve should get a "Fathers Day Week" or at least 4 days....:)


I am looking at this and wondering where he is gonna fit the baby - someone is gonna have to sit on his head :)



To the BEST DAD I know - my best friend - my husband! It seems like I have been talking a lot about how wonderful Steve is lately and I am not even sucking up for anything. Man what's happening to me?!?! I guess I really am just a warm, caring, wonderful wife - ok enough about me this is about Steve. With Fathers Day around the corner I can't help but think about how perfect my kids lives are because of him. They have no idea how good they have it to have him as their father. He is their hero in every way. When he walks through the door at night cheers literally erupt from all corners of the house and he is attacked with hugs and kisses before he even closes the front door. I can only imagine how hard it is for him to be away so much from them and miss as much as he does but for that one moment when he comes home I like to think that he knows it's all worth it.

I always knew he would be a good Dad from the very beginning because he is a good son. He has a good father who taught him how to be a good Dad.


I knew he would be a wonderful husband because he loves his Mom like any son should and she raised him to be a great man. He always puts me and the kids first. If he's not at work he's home with us. He makes sure he gives personal attention to each of them even if it's getting them egg sandwiches on the weekend and taking them with him in their PJ's. He builds endless lego sets with Steven. He lets Sam read the same book over an over to him. He treats every picture Bella gives him as if it were a Picasso. He lets Sophia eat all the food off his plate before he even takes a bite.

If my son(s) turn out even half as good as their Daddy then I know I did a good job. If my daughters are lucky enough to find their soul mates that are half as wonderful as their Daddy then they will get their "happily ever after" like I did!


I knew once he met his first born he would turn to mush. I knew then he would be an amazing father!


Then I gave him a son and his life was complete.....or so he thought :)


He is a great multi-tasker! Feeding one while giving out kisses to the other



He loves getting to share his birthday with Samantha - he hates the attention...and blowing out the candles. Plus this way it will always seem like he's younger than he is because there is always less candles then there should be.



Like Father, Like Son!




He was given another little girl to spoil. I was telling him in this picture - "ya know we can't just have 3"....



He can never say no to a spin around the dance floor with his little girls. It's practice for their big days many many many years from now....


He's a good protector :



He'll always be there to see them through anything...



He will always be supportive even when he doesn't agree with their choices....even if it's only clothing....



He's there for all the important moments!



He got another little girl to walk down the aisle someday - he's lost count now on how many fingers he is wrapped around:



Look at him grinning ear to ear - he just said "this is the last time I need to stand in front of a stork to take a picture"....little did he know :)



He always fits in with the other Dads!



He is so good at letting me take silly pictures of him with the kids - Memories in the making!!!


He's so proud of all his kids! There is no better example for them to follow!


OK this was what he will tell you was his BEST fathers day gift. 2 years ago I got him an autographed picture of Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. He loved it as you can see. Well I am full of surprises and this year's gift will top any gift he has ever gotten or will ever get - he is gonna freak and I am so excited I am not sure if I will be able to hold out until Sunday - NO I'm not having twins - although that would most definitely suprise him...lol


Here's a little hint - it's in this box. I used the white out just so you can see the size of the box:





Here's what's inside the box:



Obviously just a picture of it but its an official seat from Yankee Stadium. They just started taking them out so it should be another 4 weeks or so until it arrives. Needless to say Steve loved it! BEST GIFT EVER - ya know aside from the kids :)



The Best Man I Ever KnewWhen we married, I saw you as perfect,
The ideal husband and more;
I thought I knew all about you,
All the things to love and adore.But when you became a father,
I saw new qualities to treasure.
You enrich all our lives in fresh ways;
As a dad, you bring so much pleasure.Our children are forever blessed
To have a father like you,
And I love you more than ever,
You’re the best man I ever knew.

I love you babe! - I hope you have a good day and that you are able to relax even if it's just for a little while! Relax?!?! Who are you kidding these are our kids do they look like they know how to relax....lol

One final Birthday post for Sophia

We got Sophia a new kitchen for her birthday. Steve spent the night before putting it all together for her. We left it in the living room and waited for her to wake up in the morning to find it. Well we tell her to go into the living room to find it and she only looks behind the couch and then goes to walk out. Steve had to help her out a bit so here she is finally seeing it....


Yeah!


Samantha giving her the baby doll...



Here she was opening new food for her kitchen...



Time for the party - favors are ready...



birthday girl ready an waiting for her guests....


favorite present - she got a "pillar" from Aunt Victoria. She tried to take this one to bed later that night too


Here she is with Aunt Gin Gin trying to get her to make the face with the eyes. Aunt Gin Gin makes this face with scary eyes and Sophia thinks its the funniest thing ever...


See - scary eyes makes her laugh. I know she is a weird kid :)


This is were all the Aunt and Uncles and Grandparents sat. They said this was where the old people needed to be... I didn't say it - they did. I don't see any old people here :)



OK as he prepares for his first jump of the day Vincent shakes off the nerves and just does it!



10 give 'em a 10! With perfect form - he's up......



he's so light he walks on water!


Foods ready!


Cake's ready but Sophia was to interested in the sprinkles instead of blowing out the candles


trying to pick out the perfect cupcake....



As if the cake and the cupcakes weren't enough they lined up for ice cream sundaes:



Sophia enjoying her ice cream


Who's birthday is it?!?!?!

ME!!!!!!!!

***** FOR THE BOYS AND GIRLS IN DC
YOUR TOKEN "STEVE" PICTURE! *****
see I always save the best for last :) enjoy! Only problem is I don't have a picture of the end result on this and lets just say it wasn't pretty....

Happy Birthday Sophia Anne!

Sophia turns 2 today! I liked to say the time has flown by but I swear she has been the craziest of the 4 and it seems like she has been "almost 2" for like a year now. She was supposed to be a he. I swore all my crazy signs were there but turns out I was wrong. It's OK we decided to keep her anyway. I told Steve recently she is my bonus baby. See Steve was "done" but I persuaded him to have just 1 more. It's always 1 more isn't it....lol. I think of her as the bonus cause funny enough, as you all know, I end up getting just one more after Sophia and as it turns out now we get the 2nd boy. So my thing is if Sophia was the boy I probably would have really meant it when I said we're done. Luckily she was a she and I got one more being a he. So she's the bonus! Get it ?!?!

She had a bit of a rough start. It's not really clear on what happened. Either she swallowed too much fluid during delivery or her lungs just weren't developed yet. Needless to say shortly after this picture was taken they put her in the NICU for a week. I was in recovery by then but completely unaware of what was going on. Dealing with my own issues in recovery Steve was left in complete control. I am to much of a control freak to not have any but during these few days I was completely incapable of comprehending anything that was going on. Steve was a trooper and handle EVERYTHING. He made sure he told me everything that was going on before any Dr. could and he explained everything to me in a way that Samantha would have understood. When we would sit with her in the NICU he knew what every machine did and what every # meant. When he left me at night to go home an sleep he stayed up and devoured any info he could find on the internet as to what was going on so when he came back in the morning it seemed like he was 1 step ahead of everyone else. He kept me calm and never let me freak out even though I wanted to.



This was the first time I got to hold her. It was almost 2 days after she was born. I remember Steve telling the nurses that they needed to do something because I was going nuts with not getting to hold her. She was a feisty one and had the prime real estate location in the NICU. Because she was the biggest baby there she got to be in the front window. So whenever anyone visited they got to see her. She kept pulling all her tubes out and making the nurses crazy! We were so proud of her for being so bad!



Almost ready to go home now. She still was a bit jaundice and because her future was so bright she needed to wear shades :)



YEAH -After a week we finally got to take her home! This was how she was met for the first time by her siblings. This picture speaks 1000 words!



The motley crew standing outside with the stork sign



Trying to get an announcement picture:


1st bath! No there isn't too much water Virginia - she learned to swim early :)



One of my favorite pictures. It's her toes and I took this for her baptism invite. Steve still makes fun of it and doesn't get it. Look at those teeny tiny toes -


Sophia and Yogi - this is a special picture because it is the only one we have of her and Yogi. He passed away later this night


I always wonder what she is thinking in this one:



Sophia's first christmas

Ready for VT:



goofing around:


I need to get better pictures of her with her"pillars" This is her pillars. She never goes anywhere without one or two. It's the Caterpillar from Disney's "A bug Life". She has never seen the movie and my good friend Amanda just sent it to her for her birthday so she is gonna freak when she see's her "pillar" come to life.




Sharing a moment with her big sister at field day - YES I put shoes on her before we left the house she choose not to wear them after we got to the field. Believe me no one tells this kid what to do:



I don't even need to hear her to know she is telling me to push her or else - look at that look she is giving me



"Come on Daddy hurry up!!!"


She had the first of her birthday parties last weekend. She was the best at opening the presents. Everything down to the wrapping paper made her excited!


She got money and thought that was fantastic!



She got books:


She is reacting to a bubble making gun in this picture



This puppy was a puppet that when you opened the mouth it sang her a song she thought it was the funniest thing!




Happy 2nd Birthday Sophia!!! Thanks for being such a good snuggle buggler :)